Monday: 5
Monday is usually my rest day, or at least cross-train day. But after a botched pond swim due to too foggy to even see the buoys, I was kind of dejected and needed to get some exercise in, albeit now wet, barefoot, and in swim trunks. Ran the wet grassy fields of Ninigret Park.
While 95% (just a guess) was on grass fields, there were sections that I had to cross the road/bike path/etc, and it was interesting to see how different sections impacted my bare feet. The bumpy asphalt surface on both the crit course and main roads in park were bothersome, but the paved bike path was smooth and I ran on it for a while without issue.
Tuesday: 9
Bradford Preserve solo. 3 miles of running and snipping with loppers, and the balance an easy run through Woody Hill.
Wednesday: 5
Late afternoon solo short run on local roads. Needed a quick stress buster during a busy work day. Finished the run, quick dinner, and back at work until after 10pm. Uncharacteristically stressful with some post-systems conversion issues and impending client impact.
I am also stressed that September has now come and gone, and with the Run for the Pumpkins three days away, we still do not have state approval. This is why I normally apply back in March, but I couldn't exactly do that at the outbreak of the pandemic. I didn't sleep well. What if the state denies the permit application? Do we cancel and refund? Would runners understand a last minute cancellation? Or do we reroute and have loops on the town-owned property where we already have permission?
Thursday: 5
I know it's going to be another hectic work day with multiple check-ins and updates that I need to give to senior management. I should've gotten up earlier. I also want to stop at the club PO box and check on the permit. The state probably mailed it out, didn't let me know, and it's there waiting for me.
Went for a run at Barn Island with Brady. Like yesterday, it was rushed, my mind was racing, and I didn't fully enjoy it. Rolled my ankle not paying attention. Stopped at the post office. Just junk mail! The permit is not there! Now what? I e-mailed and called the appropriate state office, but of course it's all automated and I left a voicemail.
About 3pm I received notification from the state that our permit has been approved, but with the added condition of 75 participants maximum. I'm just happy that we got the approval with the event a little over 36 hours away, but now I need to scramble to close registration and update the website as we have 76 participants now.
Friday: 3
Easy shake-out at Ninigret. Spent much of the day preparing for Pumpkins race, including assigning waves and bib numbers, and using my chainsaw to remove a partial obstruction of the 8K "Pumpkins Connector" trail.
Saturday: 12
Run for the Pumpkins Trail Race! 12 miles including set up, racing, and breakdown. Separate write-up in the works.
Sunday: 12
Slept in and then got ready to go to Burlingame for a recovery run. Brady was excited and following me very closely as I was dressed in running garb and stretching out in our foyer. I hadn't run with him in three days and I think we was telling me he really wanted to come.
I had planned to run the VG loop CW (starting/ending at Buckeye Brook Road), as I figured I'd run easy trails today as a recovery and 8 would be enough. Got going and thought Brady would enjoy going down to North Camp, so that was our first diversion. Sure enough, he was intrigued and seemingly bothered that a large branch (about 10' long) was submerged a few feet in from the beach. He went out there and tried to move it with his paws, and failing that put his head completely underwater and as he could barely get his mouth around one end, he'd drag it a foot or so and stop. It was kind of weird and impressive at the same time. He repeated this process until he had the whole thing out of the water and up on the beach, and then satisfied, was ready to resume the run. Wish I had taken pictures of his "project".
Halfway into the run, we went down to the boat launch and he was standing on the dock whining. I knew what he wanted, so I took his orange off, as well as my shirt, socks, and shoes, and we both ran down the dock. He was already jumping off the end of the dock for a full submersion before I even got there. That water has really started to cool off! Didn't stay in long, and we were back on our way again. Opted to run Burlingame Trail instead of campground roads, and ended up with 12 on the day. Good run!
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| Sunday nights are typically the one night where I'll make dinner or at least the main course. Tried something new tonight of grilled sweet potatoes with a cilantro lime glaze (lower right). Came out much better than I thought and we had with grilled teriyaki salmon and grilled littlenecks, accompanied by a great salad Jana made with slices of avocado and Gala apples. |
Weekly mileage: 50.
Weekly synopsis: Finally hit my weekly mileage goal after a few shorter weeks. Had a good week of running overall and the Run for the Pumpkins event was quite successful. Waffling between New England Half and Mohawk Mountain next weekend. I was pretty much sold on the former, but logistically it's not so easy to pull off especially with the family.
Weekly highlight: Besides the obvious of Running for the Pumpkins, I would say the AC/DC reunion news this week!
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| 40 years after the release of "Back in Black" (I was in high school when that hit came out), it appears that AC/DC is about to release a new album and new single "Shot in the Dark" on Wednesday. And look who's back on lead vocals: Brian Johnson! How cool is that? (Well, assuming you're an AC/DC fan.) Posters went up in the UK this week, "Are you ready?" Oh yeah! |
Weekly lowlight: Stress from last minute permit approval and preparations, as well as work. Should be fleeting for both.
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