Weekly Log 21-Dec to 27-Dec-2020: Christmas Week

Monday:  5

Annual Christmas Light Run.  Group of 6.  We cycle through different friends hosting, and this year I hosted.  In many past years, post-run we've gone in the house of the host for drinks and maybe some food, but this year with COVID would be different.  I took the conservative route and hosted the post-run get-together outside on my patio, and Jana brought out hot chocolate for those so desiring.

I like a fire almost any time of year or weather, 
but this was something special this year when offset by the snow.

Socially distanced, catching up with each other.

Tuesday:  11 run, 2 snowshoe

AM:  I "needed" to be at CCC about 8:30am at Barlow, so Matthew and I backed the time up to run at 7am and start from a reasonable proximity from Barlow Preserve.  30° felt warm after the recent cold streak.  Ran from Bradford Citizens Club down to Burlingame Campground on roads, then through the campground roads, and finally Bog Bridge and Vin Gormley Trail.  Campground roads were horribly icy and rut-strewn, but the trails were nice with just soft snow.

AM:  CCC group snowshoe (6 of us) at Crandall Family Preserve.  A nice get together and catch-up, after coffee and donuts for the final get together before Christmas.

First pic I took.
Second is one captured from a trail cam (I'm second)

Wednesday:  8

Border Patrol Challenge - #1 of 18 - Canonchet OAB (5.4 miles)

Matthew was off running with a college friend in CT, so I figured I'd go for my first Border Patrol Challenge, and pick one that didn't hold much appeal for him.  I picked the Canonchet Trail OAB, and headed there with Brady.  Obviously I knew the trails would be snow covered, so I picked my Gore-Tex waterproof trail shoes.  So glad I went for a warm-up, as I was sliding around on icy sections, of which there were many.

Back at the car, I added on my Yak-Trax Run (with microspikes) for traction.  They worked!  I never slipped again for the rest of the run.  I also correctly surmised that we wouldn't see anyone on this run, so I left Brady's leash in the car to keep my hands free.  Don't report me to the Nature Conservancy authorities.

The first mile (from Route 3 trailhead) is relatively easy, but the next mile has some decent hill climbs and technical sections, and I was running so slowly through here (as in slower than 10 minute pace).  The final section has a water crossing and wetlands with slippery log bridges that were just iced over and borderline treacherous.  Brady was uncharacteristically lagging behind here, but once we got past that, of course he caught right back up.  Obviously not an impressive time given the snow and ice conditions, but still fun to get out there and get one done.

Thursday: 11

Burlingame slush / snow / ice / puddles run with Matthew and Brady.  A little bit of everything on this trail run.  Legs pretty sore by finish.

Friday:  11

Christmas Day.  Woody Hill.  As with Thanksgiving Day, this holiday run and most of the day would be in the pouring rain.  I was joined by two nuts (Matthew and Brady), and not surprisingly, we never saw another soul in the pouring rain on Christmas Day.

This year's 8' white pine
from Hartikka Farms

Brady, right in the middle of Matthew and Mark
and the present-opening action.

With our sons now grown up,
it was fun to have the excitement of a "kid"
(2-year old Brady) opening his presents.

Went over to my Mom's for the afternoon
on Christmas Day.  We didn't get to see her
on Thanksgiving, as she was understandably 
not comfortable with everyone just arriving in
RI before Thanksgiving.  
---
But with all four of us home for the past month,
and Mark and I getting COVID tests just last week, I guess that helped.

Christmas to me is about the season, the lights, and seeing
relatives and friends (didn't have much of the latter of course
this year). 
---
Still, a sampling of loot that will come in handy (from upper-left):
chocolate to fatten me up even more and sate my sweet tooth,
Body Glide, 890v7 road shoes, NB shorts, the latest AC/DC album,
Dave's Coffee gift certificate, a 25' tape measure to replace the one I
destroyed at Li'l Rhody measuring out starting corral, and a
pair of trail shoes with lugs that will see action right away at
the Border Patrol Challenge.

Saturday:  11

Border Patrol Challenge - #2 of 18 - Ben Utter OAB (2.7 miles)

Warmed up with Matthew and Brady on dirt roads from Breakheart Pond.  

I debated about putting Brady on a leash for the "race" portion, but he's so good about staying with me, and it would cramp my style and his trying to run all out and up and over bridges.  So I just carried the leash in case needed (it wasn't).  Matthew continued his warm-up and stretching while Brady and I toed the line.  Taking a cue from Muddy's Strava post, I started a little before the actual trail start and we're off.  We had surmised that we may see others running the Border Patrol Challenge today, and sure enough, within one minute of my start, we encountered Jonathan Short finishing up.  It was kind of an awkward encounter, as this early section was right along the banks of a raging river and completely flooded as we passed each other.  That water was ankle deep and cold to run through!

We passed a couple of hikers and their dog on the way up, and Brady ignored them and just stayed with me, generally just a few feet ahead.  The trail was well marked and easy to follow, and while I wouldn't call it technical, it did have a few techy sections that slowed me down.  I took the long bridges crossing rivers and skipped the short ones and ran across the streams instead.  It was about 180' steady climb during the trail going up, but so steady that I really didn't notice it nearly as much as I did on the return downhill.  Turned around at the road, and heading back down, we crossed Matthew on his way up.  This was a dilemma for Brady as he stopped between us trying to decide which runner to follow.  Fortunately, after calling him about four times, he came to me and of course caught right up, so I didn't need to slow down.  The rest of the run went very quickly and before I knew it I was back along the river running through the cold flooded sections.

While waiting for Matthew to finish, Brady and I cooled down on the dirt road that was gated off and closed to traffic for the winter.  Almost immediately, an ATV followed by a dirt motorcycle came at us.  It seemed like they were racing and going near 50mph.  Maybe my speed judgment is off, but they were going way too fast and it was pretty annoying.  Fortunately, they were both so noisy that we were alerted in plenty of time to get off the road into the bushes on the side of the road until the idiots passed (ask me how I really feel).

After Matthew finished, we cooled down on the Breakheart Trail back to the car.  Breakheart has at least four blow-downs blocking the trail, so it was good to see this as Breakheart is another upcoming challenge.

Sunday:  12

Another day, another race, or another informal one at least.  The "Run Away from 2020 5K" was a Jeff Vuono production, and I commend him for putting this together and keeping it small and COVID restriction friendly.

The announced plan was warm-up at 8am and race at 8:15am, so I made my own warm-up by running the two miles from the house and arriving about 5 minutes ahead of time.  I ran a few strides and then stripped the running pants (I left the house at 19°, but it was sunny, no wind, and warming up decently).  

Sizing up the competition, it was no surprise to me that Tommy 5K would be leading the pack out.  I kept Tommy in sight pretty much the whole way.  I surprisingly ran very consistent splits of 5:54, 5:56, 5:51, and finished in 18:16, about 30 seconds behind Tommy.

Thanks to JV for putting this on, and Shara for the ornaments designed by her Mom.

Results

Ornament from Kathy (Shara's Mom)
with "RWYC" (Run While You Can)

Weekly mileage:   70!

Weekly synopsis:  My highest mileage week in 2020!

Weekly highlight:  The Christmas Light Run.  Good to get together with friends, albeit a smaller group this year, and have some sense of normalcy and tradition.

Weekly lowlight:  None.  A huge (for me) mileage week, and no injuries.  No complaints about that.

Weekly Log 14-Dec to 20-Dec-2020: Snow!

Miscellaneous ramblings:

• Breaking up is hard to do:  Got notified that three long term relationships are ending.  1) My primary care of physician of 25+ years is retiring, 2) SNERRO (WTAC timing company) is scaling way back in 2021 and will not be timing any of our races going forward, and 3) imATHLETE (WTAC registration company) has been bought out by enMotion and is gradually moving over to their platform, with less functionality and potentially more cost.
• The State of RI is getting much, much better at COVID testing.  I got tested again this week, for the same reason as the previous test (travel to Maine, which requires a negative test or quarantine).  This time instead of having to travel to Providence and pick from limited slots five days out, there were plenty of slots available in nearby South Kingstown.  Also, instead of waiting two days for results and having to go to a 3rd party site, I got a text in twelve hours with a link to my results.
• Interesting to see the technology advances at ski resorts.  I had no idea that the traditional paper lift ticket is soon to be a thing of the past.  At Sunday River, we purchased online, received a reloadable credit-card size card with an RFID chip, and when we approached the lift loading area, automated scanners read your card wherever you stashed it in your clothing pockets, and then automatically opened the gates for you.

Monday:  3

Super short local run in a tight window between work meetings.  Trying to finish up a bunch of tasks and meetings before taking tomorrow off.  With my final work day for the rest of the year on Wednesday, I don't have rescheduling or deferment options at this point.

Maybe just as well that this run was so short.  It was 37° and raining.  Yuck.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 10 run

AM:  Westerly Land Trust CCC ("Coffee and Clearing Crew") weekly fun.  Coffee for the first hour, and work for the second.  I usually go for any assignments out on the trails, because that's how I roll, but others prefer painting, building bridges, stone walls, outhouses, etc.  My assignment today, along with a crew of five, was carrying a chainsaw for 2 miles walking through Riverwood Preserve and taking out five small blowdowns.

Mid-day:  Bradford Preserve / Woody Hill / Wahaneeta with Brady and Matthew.  They met me after my CCC work was done, and we ran a lot of the usual trails.  Great weather, with temps in upper 30s and sunny.  Ran into Jeff Huckle near the Woody Hill Marsh.  I think that's the first time I've seen him in about a year.

Wednesday:  8

Final work day of the year!!!  Anticipating a busy work day, I got out there for a 'round the pond run at 6:50am.  To be fair, with the thermometer reading the coldest this season at 18°, I might have bagged the run altogether if it weren't for Matthew planning to run with me.  How JV and T5K get out there day after day solo before 5am is a loss to me, but kudos to them.

Had it been in the low 20s, I most likely would have gotten out there in shorts, but alas this was my first tights day of the season.  Stayed reasonably warm throughout the run, as I had on a quarter-zip, warm hat, and gloves.  Sunny and comfortable at a short stop at the Westerly Town Beach.

Thursday:  5

We got about 8" of heavy, wet snow.  After shoveling most of the driveway and walks, it was off for a run in the snow.  The roads were tough with snowplows out and a nasty wind exceeding 30mph.  The trails were tough going but really comfortable out there.

After last year's pathetic winter, this is clearly the most snow
Brady has ever seen.  (In Champlin Glacier Preserve)

Friday:  5

Local road run with Brady.  A bit too much slush and ice, but we got it done.  I don't know why we over-salt roads so much in RI.  I'd much prefer a snow hardpack on roads, much as you often see on Canadian back roads.  In places there were big clumps of salt, so I followed vet recommendations and made sure to wash Brady's paws at the end of the run.

Drove up to Maine in the afternoon.

Saturday:  5 run, 22 ski

AM:  5° run at Sunday River, Maine.  Roads were a mix of clear and snowpack.  Tights for sure at this temp, and put a pair of thin running pants over them.  Stayed warm.

AM-PM:  Skiing with my oldest son Mark and his friend.  Good to spend some time with Mark, especially as he has made known his plans to live in Florida permanently.  :)  Anyway, my days of ski jumping are over (think dislocated shoulders from previous jumps and subsequent crashes), but otherwise I kept up with the young guns pretty well.  As with trail running, the more technical the ski trail (like moguls), the better I could keep up or even stay ahead of them.  18 runs, 22 miles, maximum 48 mph.

Cold, but sunny day, with beautiful views
of the nearby mountains.

Not recognizable in this photo all bundled up
and with the obligatory mask, but here is my Floridian son Mark.

Sunday:  16

AM:  12 mile road run in Newry, Maine.  Most of the roads were very quiet, and at last four of the miles were on plowed dirt roads with a thin covering of snow.  The snow covered roads were the best.  It's amazing how some of the roads that I was on, although dead ending, went on for another 10 miles or so.  After a while on the dirt roads, I ran past the last electricity pole, so I'm guessing no more houses in the miles to come, but a sign indicated some wilderness camps.  I wish I had gotten going earlier, as I was really enjoying this run and could have run a few more, but I was running up against a condo check-out time of 10:30am.

Along my run, looking back at Sunday River ski resort.

Very happy to see this sign!

Ah!  Bliss.  Loved running on this hardpack surface.
Grippy in the cold; not slippery at all.

Neat covered bridge along the way, 
crossing THE Sunday River.  I learned it was used
for automobile traffic until the 1950s.

Inside same covered bridge, fortunately open
for pedestrian traffic.  Aren't those wooden trusses
amazing?

128 years old!
(Just like me.)

Noon:  4 mile snowshoe run at Carter's XC.  I was considering both XC skiing and snowshoeing, but when I got there and they explained they weren't renting out their equipment due to thin snow cover, it made the choice easy for me, as I don't own XC skis, but I do own snowshoes.  Some trails had a good 4" plus of solid snow, where other sections had a lot of bare spots.  Would have been much nicer with a foot of snow, but I made the best of it and ran the entire 4 miles, even the uphills.  

Shortly after starting off, two dogs ran with me and kept bringing me sticks to throw.  One dog stayed with me the entire way, and another found more interesting company (two women XC skiing with a black lab), and then he ditched me.  I surmised and confirmed that the dog that stayed with me belonged to the owners of the XC area, and learned the second one belonged to an adjacent farm.

A mountain cabin about 1.5 mile hike uphill from the start.
I walked inside and looked around.  It had a stove and 5 beds, presumably which could
be rented.  The dog that stayed with me the whole time is at 9 o'clock.

And here's the fickle dog that tired of my company :(
Weird that we have more snow in southern RI than in ME

Weekly mileage:  53 run, 22 ski, 2 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Hit my mileage goal.  Got to Maine for a couple of days of downtime.  Sizeable snowstorm in RI.  Finished working for the year.  What's not to love about this week?

Weekly highlight:  Sunday River 12 mile run.  Really neat to run on snow-covered roads through a very rural area.

Weekly lowlight:  Nothing at all.  Just a great week!

Weekly Log 7-Dec to 13-Dec-2020: Trail Variety & Christmas Tree

I have way too many WebEx meetings that chew up my time.
I've got to learn some tricks from Wally.

Monday:  0

Tuesday:  1 walk, 10 run

AM:  WLT CCC volunteer work marking the border at Winnapaug Farm Preserve.

Noon:  Solo chilly 29° run from Wahaneeta, with a classic trails CCW loop.  This is the first week of RI's shotgun season, and I was glad to be wearing a bright orange quarter-zip AND an orange hat when I encountered two hunters out there.  I saw them before they saw me, and for the rest of the run I made especially sure to keep my eyes and ears focused.  Nice to be out in the woods.

Wednesday:  10

Late afternoon run at Ninigret with Matthew and Brady.  37° with wet snowflakes and a light breeze.  Laps on asphalt and grass fields.

Thursday:  10

AM:  Five with Brady on local roads, trails, and fields.

PM:  Five with Dave and Justin P at Brazen Hen Fun Run.  I felt like Rudolph with my blinking headlight, but visibility is key.  Nice social catch-up outside post-run.

Friday:  11

Tillinghast / Wickaboxet trail run with Brady and Matthew.  Started/finished at the Hazard Road trailhead.  A fair amount of the trails had a thin veneer of snow, which was kind of fun.  Hope we get a lot of snow this winter!

Saturday:  14

With Brady at Yawgoog.  Nice loop from North Road, through the very technical Narragansett Trail down to Asheville Pond, Table Rock Trail (a bit overgrown), and then up to Green Falls Pond and back Freeman Trail through the camp itself.  A lot of technical trails today, took me about 2 hours 2 minutes at a comfortable but not rushed pace.

Very foggy at start, switching to steady soaking rain 5 miles in.  Considered bagging the run at that point as we were close to the car, but I'm glad I didn't.  We saw a few hikers very early on near Long and Ell Ponds, and then no one the rest of the run.  I guess one advantage of steady rain!

So I carried a leash in my hands for 14+ miles, but never put it on Brady.  There just wasn't ever a need to.  The two times we went by people early on, he just stayed at my side and ran with me.

At Southwest Marker (RI/CT border on the technical, rock garden red trail), someone constructed two new cairns with really neat and unusual stones.  Even on busy trail days, I have never in my life seen anyone out at Southwest Marker or on the "Death Valley Trail".  Pretty remote out there.

Sunday:  0

A rare Sunday zero.  I believe you have to listen to your body, and my body today said I'm sore and hurt.  I don't know if I tweaked something on yesterday's technical run, but it's odd for me to be this sore after a 14-mile non-race run.

Went to get the Christmas tree with Jana and Brady.  

Posing in front of our 8' white pine
(no more 16' trees for the foreseeable future)

Jana is better than me at following 
COVID mark directions at the farm

We brought our own saw (although you could use one
of theirs), and they had carts for pulling the trees
back to the baling area.  (Hartikka Tree Farm, Voluntown, CT)
---
Call me old-fashioned, but there is something really neat
about walking around a Christmas tree farm, picking out
and cutting down a real tree.  Our adult sons no longer
see it that way and seemingly have little interest, but Brady seemed to 
enjoy the country outing.

At home and setup.
I don't think we ever had a white pine 
Christmas tree before.

Weekly mileage:  55

Weekly synopsis:  Hit my weekly goal (50) in just five running days, and with all runs in different locations, so that kept it interesting for me.

Weekly highlight:  The technical 14-mile trail run at Yawgoog / Green Falls.  Yes, even in the cold soaking rain.

Weekly lowlight:  Not getting a run in on Sunday, albeit that being the right thing to do.

FIT Turkey Trot Trail Race

Cumberland, RI

Thanksgiving Day, 2020

Thanksgiving Day.  Perfect for a Turkey Trot.  Only we're in a pandemic and races are [nearly] impossible to find this year.  Won't be running the Pie Run (Newport County) this year, nor any of the Turkey Trots in CT that we had checked out, as the former went virtual and the latter were all just canceled per order of the Governor of CT.

What to do?  What to do?  With the COVID race cancellations, I was down to three options:

• Millenium Running 5K (Manchester, NH)
• FIT Turkey Trot (Cumberland, RI)
• Avondale Turkey Trot (Westerly, RI)

Each was feasible, but came with their own upsides and downsides (personalized from my standpoint of course):

• Millenium - Pros:  well organized, this would be my 3rd Millenium event this year and complete 26.2 miles, earning me a jacket; Cons: do I really want to drive 5 hours round-trip on Thanksgiving, even if breaking it up Wed night/Thu AM?
• FIT - Pros:  the only real race in my own state, or in all of southern NE for that matter; Cons:  rolling start, purported manicured trails, billed as leaf-blown (I guess some runners would like that, but it's a con to me and certainly doesn't give me any advantage)
• Avondale - Pros:  chance to catch up with running friends on Thanksgiving, super close to home; Cons:  likely an individual time trial, as this was a group run and not a "real" race

So, of course by now, you know which one I chose, but I seriously considered all three.  Woke up at 6am (8am start, 1 hour drive) in the dark and rain.  I knew the forecast, but wasn't excited to even get out of bed, never mind drive and race.  The rain lightened up by the time I got there.  My mood did improve as I lined up amongst decorated Christmas trees!  The check-in line was pretty quick and I picked up my bib and D-style timing chip with ankle strap.  I've only worn those at triathlons in the past, but whatever.

Registration was amongst decorated memorial Christmas trees!

Hadn't worn this type of chip in years.
Was afraid it would be uncomfortable,
but soon completely forgot about it.

There was a 5K and 5M option as well,
but I figured I might as well go for it,
so this is the option I chose.  Based on the language above,
I assumed that 1) I could not start until 8am, and
2) I had to finish my final lap before 10am.
Thus in two hours I should be able to complete 3 laps (15 miles),
but most certainly cannot complete 4 laps (20 miles).

With the rolling start, you choose whenever you want to start in the two-hour window between 8am and 10am.  Since it's all chip timed, your start and end time of each lap are automatically tracked.  

I went for a quick warm-up, where I saw Bob Corsi, then went back to the car to strip down to my singlet and affix the bib and timing chip.  Total warm up of only about a half-mile, because 1) it was getting close to the 8am start, and 2) how much warm up should I really go for on a 15-mile race?

Lap 1 (Miles 1-5):  On the race website (which wasn't the best organized and still doesn't have links to the results over a week later), it said you have to check in after each lap, so I asked the RD how you do that and who do I check in with, and he said there is no need because of chip timing mats at the start and finish of each lap.  OK.  Sure glad I asked.

There was a big group ahead of me waiting to start, so I waited until they had all gone off, plus a little allowance as I guess correctly on their attire that I would soon be passing them.  The RD pointed to where you enter the trails across a field and said after that everything would be easy to follow.  He was right.  While there were never any confidence flags (which I do appreciate), it was easy to follow the leaf-blown (and mostly manicured) trails and every intersection had some type of directional arrow indicating the way.

Starting line with timing mats
(Finish line with its own timing mats was to the right
of the clock and tent)

I went out a little spicy in my first mile at 6:56 and realizing this was a 15-mile race (that was my goal - three 5-mile laps), I backed off just a little bit.  I was passing runners constantly, especially during the first lap (many were just running one lap).  After a mile and a half, you came to the first (of several) splits between the 5K and 5Mile.  The 5K continued on the gravel manicured trails, while the 5-Miler broke off onto a power line loop followed by all single-track return.

After rejoining the 5K back on manicured trails for a mile or so, we went up the first and only appreciably hilly and rocky ascent of the course.  This 80' hill climb I would actually designate as technical, as well as the descent.  The trouble on the downhill for me was passing people and still avoiding some of the rock obstacles, but I'm still glad this part of the course was there.

The 5th and final mile had some bizarre features, including some asphalt sections and after a sharp turn, a swampy area with all dead trees that reminded me of the scene in The Two Towers where Frodo falls into the dead marshes.  The asphalt wasn't good to run on, as it was very old, uneven, and buckling.  I tried to avoid it in subsequent loops.

I finished up my first lap in what was now a downpour.  I asked the RD if there was water, and he gave me a bottle, which I took a swig of, placed in an area I could remember (at the wheel of the timing van), and went back out for Lap 2.

Lap 1 split was 35:31, for an average 7:06 pace.

Lap 2 (Miles 6 - 10):  This was the rainiest lap, as it was an absolute downpour for most of the lap.  As a plus, I had the confidence of knowing the course and what was coming up, as opposed to the first lap, where without confidence flags or mile markers, I repeatedly felt I had made a wrong turn.

It was interesting that when passing certain runners in this lap (and the next), I could remember that I had passed them earlier.  Sometimes it was because they were running the 5K course slowly and I had passed them again on my 5-mile course, and other times it was because they were running multi-laps.  Sometimes they remembered me as well, as I heard more than once something to the effect of "he's passing us again".

Finishing up my 4th mile of the lap (9th mile overall), I heard my name called, and looked over, and as I saw the runner running away from me (as we were on different miles of the course that just happened to intersect), I thought I heard "It's Bob xxxx".  (His last name isn't really "xxxx", but I just couldn't make it out.)  Only later in the day did I learn from an e-mail from him that it was Bob Segal, a runner from Providence who just recently ran Rhody and said I was easy to recognize because I was only the person out there in a singlet in the rainstorm and not bundled up like most other people.

Lap 2 split was 37:01, an average pace of 7:22 (a minute and a half slower than Lap 1).

Lap 3 (Miles 11 - 15):  Early in this final lap, the downpour eased up to a steady but light rain.  But the legacy left in its wake was the trails being flooded in a number of places, especially on the non-manicured trail sections.  By now obviously I was totally fine running through the puddles, some of which were ankle deep.  What I thought slowed me down even more were the sections that were just mud, as well as the rocky climb in Mile 4, which was now a tad slippery.

However, knowing this was my final lap and feeling tired but not out, I pushed it in the last couple of miles where I could and finished up my 3rd lap half a minute faster than my second.

Lap 3 split was 36:25, for an average pace of 7:17.

Final results:  1:48:59, 2nd out of 26 multi-lap runners.  Full results here.

As I crossed the finish line for the 3rd and final time, someone called my name and came over to say hi.  It was Way Hedding!  What was he doing way up here in Cumberland, RI?  Oh, of course, races in his home state (CT) were completely cancelled, so this might actually have been the closest real race on T-day for him.

Yep, a muddy trail race for sure.
Or at least the final lap was.

I collected my awards, and then thought about doing a cool-down on the course and snapping a few pictures, but I was completely drenched and mud-covered, and starting to get cold, so that's enough.  Besides, it is Thanksgiving Day, so good to get home with family and help prepare our Thanksgiving feast.

I figured that I was one of the top finishers, if not the top finisher.  No, I'm not conceited, but rather basing that on the fact that while I passed many, no one ever passed me during the race.  You race who shows up on any given day and I thought that today perhaps no one faster than me bothered to show up.  

So after getting home, I was surprised to see the results and learn that I finished second, not because anyone ran faster than me, but because one person ran more laps (4) than me (3).  How is that possible?  Did he really finish in less than two hours?  No.  Well, when the instructions stated to start on on or after 8am and "run the 5 mile course as many times as possible before the 5K wave at 10:00am", I can only take an educated guess that my interpretation of above as "run and finish as many laps before 10:00am" was incorrect and the real meaning and allowance was to "run and start as many laps before 10:00am".  

Second overall in multi-lap option, not because of speed,
but because of number of laps run.

It's easy to say that I had known that, I would have simply run a 4th lap, but that's a Monday morning quarterback speaking.  It really was time to get heading home.  Let me wrap up this post Tommy 5K style:

What went well:

• It was my first time running in Cumberland and first time on the Monastery trails.  If it hadn't been for this race being the only game in town in southern New England on Thanksgiving, I don't know if I would have ever made it out here.
• I had chance to talk to the RD and it was clear he put a lot of time and passion into this race, and was friendly and helpful to me.
• He was right in that it would be hard to go off-course, as every intersection was well marked.
• The block of wood award was really unique and interesting!  (I don't know where I'll put it; maybe start a man cave or an awards wall in my garage like Mikey B?)
• The organization and timing, from check-in to awards to support, was really quite good.
• Most importantly, I had fun out there, pouring rain and all!

Interesting award, to be sure.
Now what to do with it?

What wasn't optimal:

• The website isn't optimal.  As mentioned, there is still no link to results (race was two weeks ago now; I wouldn't know where to find results if I hadn't happen to ask the RD at event), the "Upcoming Events" page still starts off with an event held back in October, and the course map and description (which I studied for this race) was of last year's course and not this year's.  This threw me off in the first lap and contributed to me thinking that I was off course.
• This is just a personal preference, but having now run 12 "real races" during COVID, and this being my first rolling open start, my clear preference is for the staggered seeded wave starts of the other 11 races I ran.  No knock on the organizer, and in fact huge kudos to them and to any organization holding a real running race in COVID times, but the downsides to me are 1) I really had no idea where my competition was in this race, and 2) passing so many people who started earlier than me, while motivating, wasn't pushing me to run harder.
• Now with this race completed and COVID running restrictions only getting tighter, I feel a let down coming as I don't know when my next race will be.

Weekly Log 30-Nov to 6-Dec-2020: Into December We Roll

I have a bunch of online training courses that are due December 31,
and I only have four working days left.  If this detection were true,
I would really be in trouble!

Monday:  0

Planned day off.  Good thing, as it was a nasty heavy wind-driven rain day.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 5 run

December already. How did that happen?

AM:  Rigorous clearing of invasive snaking vines and brush at Avondale Farm Preserve.  The CCC works for two hours (coffee before) each Tuesday, and two hours was about my limit today of swinging a weed-wacker with a steel saw blade.

Noon:  Easy paced run from Fallon Trail through Woody Hill.  Never saw a soul out there today.

Wednesday:  8

Noontime solo run at Bluff Point.  Almost entirely single-track.  Somebody lightly blazed one of my favorite single-track trails, so that was pretty cool.  Added on Poquonnock River Boardwalk towards the end.

Thursday:  12

Solo road workout on coastal Westerly roads.  2 mile warm-up before jumping into:  Two 3-mile MP mile sessions (6:26, 6:24, 6:27, recovery mile, 6:31, 6:34, 6:25).  The second set felt harder than I wished.

Friday:  10

Arcadia early afternoon single-track run with Matthew and Brady.  Trails in good shape and weather unusually warm at 55°, but I just didn't feel well.  Hopefully just weak from poor timing of meals and not sick.

Saturday:  10

Monsoon like weather today.  Avoided the morning, and waited for Matthew so at least I had a partner in crime to go out for a run in this weather.  Kudos to my Strava followers who got out first thing in the morning today while I wimped out and hid under the blanket covers.

Waited until 3pm today, but it didn't get any better, and actually got colder.  35° when we started our run on Burlingame loop, plus the Burlingame trail.  Pouring as we got out of the car, so I figured the first mile would be cold.  But to make matters worse, it turned to sleet being driven into our faces as we ran down Sanctuary Road along Watchaug Pond.  That sleet hurt!  The last 8 miles were all single-track.  Obviously none were dry, and I was fine running through 2" of standing water, but anything deeper than that (of which there was plenty) went right into the shoes and socks, and that water was cold!  Streams were overflowing and often spilled calf-deep onto the trail.  By the end, it was getting dark, wet snow was falling, and my fingers were really cold in my now soaked gloves.  Glad I got this in, but that was one tough run.  

Brady led the whole way, and to my amazement, always seem to know the right trail to take.  Animal sense or memory?

Sunday:  12

Return to Bluff Point, but with a different twist on trails today.  Matthew picked a bunch of single-track trails that I don't think I had ever been on before.  Really fun trails gradually winding down towards the beach, before taking the single-track that runs between the two main fire roads and then winding down towards the deserted Mumford Cove and the Sand Loop.  Ran into Haley State Park for a sampling of single-track, before returning and finishing.  Fairly easy pace, but a good run to end the week.

Weekly miles:  58

Weekly synopsis:   Another great running week!  Exceeded my mileage week, got in a road workout, and a number of good trail runs.

Weekly highlight:  Single-track runs at Bluff.

Weekly lowlight:  The nasty frigid, windy, wet weather on Saturday's run.

Li'l Rhody Runaround 2020: Running in COVID times, and planning for '21

 

Charlestown, RI

Sunday, November 15, 2020

This year's race was hugely successful, and even sold out, but it wasn't by any means an easy path to host.  Where do I start with this race report?  I'll go back to the outcome of last year's race, where we hosted the USATF-NE Trail Championships and modified to a 10-mile course as is consistent with previous championship courses.  I don't want to spend a lot of time with repeated analysis of a race that happened a year ago, but while I (and the club!) had been very excited last year about hosting the championships, a new 10-mile course, and the expected surge of USATF-NE trail championships, let's just say the race did not meet expectations.

2019 backdrop:  Many 4-milers went off course, flags and signs were inadvertently pulled up, and on the 10-mile race, after all the effort and extra work of many in making it an official USATF-NE race, it only added 17 USATF-NE runners!  (There were 25 registered USATF-NE runners, but 8 of them are regulars of this race, so net gain of 17.)  The initial results for the 10-mile race were long delayed and then incorrect!  Accordingly, the awards ceremony became a mess with having to ask incorrectly designated winners to return their awards, and while it was known ahead, the weird way that CT is not part of USATF-NE led to confusion and disappointment for some.  Finally, while there were clearly people who voiced that they liked the 10-mile course and the addition of single-track and reduction of asphalt, there were many that wrote in to say we should not have tried a new course, they didn't enjoy it, and even suggested they may not return if we didn't revert to the 8-mile course.  Ugh.  Not exactly one of my shining moments as Race Director.

Contrasts:  So I'm done ranting about last year's race, but I wanted to give that backdrop.  Here is my point and contrasts:  Last year we had high expectations for a very successful race, and due to a number of issues as stated, including some things I could have done better, it didn't turn out well.  This year (2020), due to COVID, we had low to no expectations on the race even happening, and jumped through many hoops and made many modifications, including last-minute changes required by the state, and in the end we had a very successful event.

2020 success:  I won't go into all the boring back and forth details, additional paperwork, safety plans, etc, but instead I want to extend a huge gratitude to our runners who believed in us, our awesome club volunteers who came out in droves, and the state DEM who worked with us with different options when the governor in the final week before the race further reduced attendance limits and imposed additional COVID rules, when it would have been easier for the DEM to just revoke our state permit.

It was a long day with having the 4-milers start two hours before the 8-milers.  The deal we worked out with the state was to have the majority of 4-milers completed and offsite before the 8-milers arrived.  After being part of a team to mark the course on Saturday, on Sunday I was out at the race site from about 5:45am to 1:30pm, and there were many other awesome volunteers that gave similar time.

4-mile race:  

Arrived early and coned off the new starting area
before any cars could park in that area

It was a cold morning below freezing, or at least
it was up to and including the 8:30am 4-mile start
(Westerly Sun pic, I think)

Masked registration crew in the COVID era
(Westerly Sun pic)

We couldn't block Sanctuary Road this year,
because of our staggered starts
(I don't usually take any pics at our WTAC race
starts, but since I wasn't running for two hours...)

It seemed a little weird to start in the parking area,
but it all worked out well with waves of 10
every 30 seconds

The 4-mile race went off quite well.  Friends Tommy and Shara broke the course records!  (Note to self to update our course records on web.)  When I learned that a fast young racer went off course, I went into momentary panic.  Oh no, a repeat of last year?!  How many went off course?  What did we miss this year in marking, or were more flags and signs pulled again?  I fretted for naught, as I learned he was the only one off course, and while he was upset, his own father told me later that the course was well marked and clear and the youngster just didn't pay attention.  Whew!  I'm sorry for him, but happy that no course issues this year.

This was the area last year where so many 4-milers
went off course and inadvertently started a second loop.
(This is Mile 3, in Kimball Preserve)
---
As you can see, there are a lot of leaves on this part of the 
course already.  Last year, many runners took a right
where you see the new left "Trail Race" arrow above,
but this year blocking that spur trail with the left arrow,
plus some additional flags seemed to cure the problem.

Near the finish of the 4-mile course,
during the race.  In fact, the 4-mile is more picturesque
than the classic 8-miler.

8-mile race:  As this is the event I ran (my 17st consecutive), I'll switch narrative here to describe my own race.  I was self-seeded at 18:10 for a 5K, which put me towards the back of the 2nd wave.  In the first wave were a lot of the very fast runners who had come out for our entire Fall Trail Race Series this year.

After running the perimeter of the parking lot, the entire rest of the race course was exactly the same as the classic 8-miler we've run for decades.  Most of our wave of 10 stayed together for the first mile or so.  Recent WHS grad Sebastian was pretty chatty, and it was obviously much easier for him to run and talk than it was for me (I ran a 6:06 first mile split, and since the first 3/4 mile is on dirt road, we likely ran sub-6 here).  I ducked into the single-track just ahead of a blond 16-year old Fitch High School runner (Carson Riley) and teammate Dave Goodrich.

The rest of the first half of the race was pretty nondescript.  This part of the course is mostly flat and fast.  My 2nd mile split was a fast 6:01.  Carson and Dave were right with me or just behind me as far as I could tell.

Mile 4 - coming into the water stop
(Pic courtesy of Chris Garvin,
who was manning the water stop with his wife Katie)

Back half:  I much prefer the 2nd half of the course, as it gets a bit more technical (it's relative here; I wouldn't call the course technical by any means, but there are are a few rock gardens and boulders), and also can become a game of endurance versus short-distance speed.  Things switched up a little here in the second half.  

Some of the more technical terrain on the back half
(Photo courtesy Mike Crutchley)

Just before the short section of Buckeye Brook Road, Sebastian went by me with ease.  Clearly he had taken it easy the first half.  He kindly put in his Strava comment, "I’m glad you weren’t running all out. ... letting me beat you is always nice".  Um, yeah, we'll just go with that!  I could still see Sebastian ahead as I came up on Matt Ridley, from the 1st wave.  Uh-oh, I guess he's not having his best day; he later relayed that he had twisted his ankle during the race.  I waited until after we got past the boulder scramble, and then went past him and never saw him again until the end.

About Mile 5
(Pic courtesy of Mike Crutchley)

The last couple of trail miles is very often where I am running as an island, with no one in sight in front or behind, and I just naturally slow down.  I lamented that this would likely be the case again this year with the staggered waves separating things even more, but then I got thrown a bone!  Coming up into one of rock gardens (mile 6 or so), I spied a runner in front of me.  This was exciting and invigorated a chase in me.  He turned out to be Jake Cardello, who is only 22, but has run a number of trail races, and is lot faster than me.  Over the next mile or so, I inched closer and closer to him, and just before the end of the trail portion, I had finally come right up on him and could almost touch him.

But alas we exited onto the dreaded road and any chances of me passing him vanished.  Or did they?  It just occurred to me (yeah, I'm a little slow) that I don't actually need to cross the finish line ahead of him to beat him, but rather since his wave started 30 seconds before mine, I just need to stay within 30 seconds of him.  OK, then.  Let's go!  I pushed the road very hard, running my last mile in a 5:43 pace, and finished just 10 seconds behind Jake, which really means I finished 20 seconds ahead of him in the final results.  

Final results:  50:58, 9th overall of 105, 2nd in 50+ age group.  Full results here.

So everything went quite well really.  Personally, this was my fastest Rhody in five years, so I'm stoked with that.  After two years beset with physical issues, I feel like I'm finally running well this fall, and certainly having people in sight almost the entire race helped push me as well.

From a RD and club standpoint, I'm ecstatic with both the way this race and the Fall Series turned out in spite of the pandemic.  We were able to get in the races just before races shut down in nearby CT until mid-January and races in RI shut down for the first two weeks of December.  Here is just a small sampling of the many comments received (all positive this year!!) specifically on the Rhody race:

• My first time doing the Li’l Rhody. Great job despite the challenges. A big thank you to you and your dedicated crew. 
• I just wanted to say thanks again for putting on a really fun event. It felt well organized and safe.
• Congrats on a great race today. I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for everything you did for the race today. I am sure it wasn't easy to coordinate and implement all the rules and regulations, but as a participant it was such a great race. 
• Your race was well organized from start to finish and I want to thank you and your crew for putting on this race during the COVID19 situation. Excellent and strong verbal instructions prior to the race.
• I want to compliment you on a very well organized event.  Everything seemed very safe and everyone was so happy to be there.  I am very excited for next year and will keep my eye out for other events that you put on.
• Just wanted to send a quick thanks for putting on this event! You guys did a great job organizing, Keeping everyone safe, making last minute changes and filling us all in in order to keep this event going for 2020. It was my first time at the Rhody runaround, and it definitely won’t be my last.

And as far as the series, I am really hoping to capitalize on the success of this year's series (Pumpkins and Rhody sold out; Wahaneeta had a record number of finishers) and that more runners return next year, even when the choice of races likely expands as COVID gets under control.  To that end we sent out a brief optional survey to runners who ran 2 or more of our series, in order to get insight before the club board plans our 2021 events, and we got a 67% response rate!  I know I am NOT a fan of taking web surveys, so I appreciate the time runners took.  While most of the responses were not surprising, I'll just highlight three questions here where the responses did come in a little surprising:

Almost 80% of respondents indicated a preference to retain
some form of wave staggered starts post-COVID.  That was a real surprise to me.

60% of respondents asked us to consider adding one more race
(one added in comments to add two more races; another added in comments to bring
back the 10-mile Rhody as a spring race)

It's almost unanimous that respondents are fine with either "old school" OR
a mix of old school and traditional races.  This is good news for us, as it's frankly a lot more
work and expense to get sponsors, purchase swag, etc.

It was with complete sincerity that we asked for runners to help us plan for next year, and accordingly, after our December meeting of the WTAC Board of Directors, I can tell you we will be honoring the majority survey responses in 2021 in some fashion.  Details to be worked out, and slate of events to be posted by January 1.  Stay safe, and stay tuned ...