Monday: 1 walk
After 21 straight days of running, with 18 of those off from work, it was time for a day off. Feeling cooped in from sitting in my office all day, I went for a Avondale Preserve post-work walk. Jana and Brady were kind enough to accompany me.
Tuesday: 1 walk, 5 run
Monday night I planned out an 11-mile run to start and end at my Land Trust CCC assignment, laid out my running and work crew clothes, set my alarm for 6:30am, and went to bed.
6:30am: Alarm off. I got up, looked outside. It was dark and cold. I whined, probably cried a little bit, and slunk back under the covers. Pathetic.
Slept another hour, then got up for a casual breakfast before heading off for the CCC assignment. Today's assignment of locating a historic cemetery circa 1680s at Grills Preserve was pretty cool. Here is the documentation we had to go off from 1878:
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| Description we had to go on. Dorrville was renamed to Niantic, and subsequently to Bradford. "Hon. N. F. Dixon" was a US Senator at the time this was written in the mid-1800s, and his farm is the current site of Grills Preserve. We know that 50 rods = 825', but how liberally is the "about" in "about 50 rods" used, is the direction really 0° north, or just generally in northerly direction, and are unmarked stones even above ground anymore? |
After the failed cemetery locating, as I was getting a ride back out of the preserve, I was told that a bad day in the woods beats a good day at the office. So true! That changed my mood a little bit more upbeat after being disappointed with not getting out earlier, but still in some kind of funk. Managed a kind of lackluster 5-miler using some trails in Burlingame, before heading home for afternoon meetings.
Wednesday: 8
Trail run at Wahaneeta / Woody Hill with Brady. Just a thin overnight coating of snow. Stopped at Woody Hill Marsh. The only thing I could hear was the water moving on the pond. Oh, and Brady jumping through the paper thin ice to get into the pond. No one else out there this morning.
So glad I got this run in before the day turned chaotic during the counting of the Electoral College votes:
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| What is going on?!!! Absolute chaos at the Capitol, with incitement from a sitting President? The first breach of the US Capitol since 1814, and that time was by a foreign power during war! Yes, this is a running blog (mostly), but I also try to log those life items that affect me, as this did and does. As Strava co-founders published this week on a statement denouncing this domestic terrorism, "This is not about politics. It is about fundamental principles we deeply believe in: Treat ALL people with decency, respect and equity." I am very upset about this. So bear with me for just a few shocking photos here... |
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| Not only our northern neighbor and ally, but the whole world is watching us with shock. An absolute embarrassment. Hopefully our own precipitous fall in trust and partnership in the world in recent years is soon coming to an end. |
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| Armed standoff inside the Capitol?! This looks like something out of a fiction movie. |
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| What a scary sight to see this redneck parading the Confederate battle flag inside the US Capitol in 2021. Fortunately the FBI found and arrested him. |
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| The fact that this QAnon "Shaman" freak (as well as racist Proud Boys leaders) were trampling through the Capitol building is just disgusting and unacceptable. And note the genius to the right (carrying red Trump flag) forgot to take off his work badge around his neck, making it easy for law enforcement to identify him, as well as his employer, who by the way fired him. Oops. |
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| As the idiot in center is charging towards a US Capitol Police officer (the idiot is under arrest now), taking a cue from the red MAGA hat on right in picture, is THIS insurrection how we are going to "Make America Great Again"? |
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| Final riot picture: The only thing positive I see in this picture of Trump supporters attacking Capitol police in riot gear is the temporary staging in upper left: In just two weeks, we usher in a new president and administration, and while of course not all will be smooth or perfect, the bully goes away and hope springs eternal. |
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| I had to get that off my chest. And now back to our regular programming. What I would much rather remember this January 6 for is Epiphany. As with Christmas, we personally don't celebrate the religious aspects of Epiphany, but it is also known as "Twelfth Night" as the twelve days of Christmas have just completed, and this is the traditional end of of the Christmas season. Growing up in Germany, my Mom would put up the tree on Christmas Eve and take it down on Epiphany. The latter is my goal every year, and fortunately, with this year's tree dropping almost no needles at all, we were able to do so. |
Thursday: 0
Poor planning amidst a slate of meetings and appointments throughout the day. The holidays and unfettered days are now gone; I need to plan out my runs a day before if I'm to get them in.
Friday: 9
Border Patrol Challenge #5 - Li'l Rhody course. Late afternoon run with Brady. Lost a little time on the road sections leashing and unleashing him, as well as one pee break he took off the road, but other than that, no issue. He alternates running slightly ahead of and slightly behind me on single-track trails, with the only time he significantly deviated today being when he saw two white-tailed deer cross the Vin Gormley Trail and he sprinted after them. I just let him go, as sure enough, within a minute or so he comes right back. Oddly enough the times he saw other dogs on the trail today he just avoided them and stayed right with me. 52 minutes. Not bad for a solo race effort for me.
Saturday: 9
Resolution Reunion. Steve Brightman had brought back a 2nd reunion tour of the old Resolution 5K. It was kind of like a reunion that you see of last men standing from a long ago Army tour. Our ragtag outfit consisted of about a dozen diehards, and it was noted that only two were under the age of 40.
I arrived about 45 minutes ahead of the appointed hour, and as I had brought both road and trail shoes and there was a cold wind on the open beach, I opted to warm up for 4 miles on roads instead. I was really cold for a good mile or so, but then shifting directions, warmed up nicely. Even shed my quarter-zip and hat just in time for the "race".
Much as with the 1897 Boston Marathon (I remember that one vividly), with Steve dragging his shoe in the sand, the start line was established. Although there are several routes that Galoob had employed over the years, today we would run the traditional route of south to the end of the beach, turn-around, out to Ocean Road, a CW loop of Black Point trails, through the old house remains, jump the stream, and sprint the beach back to the finish line.
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| And here we are lining up for the start of the Resolution 5K run. In 2014, that is. BTW, whose is that guy in WTAC singlet and yellow shoes between Muddy and Seth? My memory is sure fading, as I can't figure that one out. |
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| Running through the remains of the stone house is pretty cool. Except in years where there is ice on the surface, which fortunately there wasn't this year. |
Sunday: 11
Border Patrol Challenge #6 - Green Falls Pond lollipop. Parked at Hidden Lake, and then warmed up for just shy of two miles on a mix of dirt road and easy single-track. And now it's time to go.
You know those days when you're out on a trail run and you just get into a rhythm? Yeah, today was NOT one of those days. Green Falls Pond is probably the second most technical course in the BPC series, behind Narragansett, or at least that's my assessment thus far. But I knew that ahead of time, I've run the technical parts many times, and I just couldn't seem to get going today. At least three times, I jumped up onto the next rock only to "fall" back off the rock and get started again. Brady seriously had to stop and wait for me many times. Both south of the pond and west of the pond were very slow for me, and I was uncharacteristically relieved to come out onto asphalt (yes, you read that right, but I'll deny it) for the short road section north of the pond near the campground and bathrooms. Returning to single-track on the eastern side of the pond, I did better and there are several "fast" runnable sections there. I could see the southern end of the pond and dam coming up soon, yet somehow in the glare of the sun (or at least that's my excuse) I completely missed the hard right trail down to the dam to start the final section of the "stick" to finish the run. I noticed my mistake pretty quickly, but then wasted too much time deliberating whether to bushwhack my way down the steep embankment to the dam or backtrack on the trail (the latter is what I finally chose, but only after I had started my way down the steep part). Did my best to finish out the stick and the route overall, and somehow still nabbed the fastest BPC time on this route so far in 23:07 (average 9:11 pace).
By now, it had warmed up into the 30s and with the sun and after a hard effort, I felt very comfortable. Extended my cool down to a 6.5 miler going back into RI, around Yawgoog Pond and Hidden Lake to finish up.
Weekly mileage: 43
Weekly synopsis: Low mileage week in a strange, strange week. No one to blame for the low mileage but myself as I didn't do a good job acclimating to the return of the dreaded 5-day work week since the first time since before Thanksgiving.
Weekly highlight: Probably the Resolution Reunion. Just good to get out and see and talk to fellow runners.
Weekly lowlight: The deadly riots and insurrection at our nation's capital for sure. Paling in comparison is my low mileage effort and return to the reality of work. Onward and upward ...
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