Miscellaneous rambling:
- Now having raced 6 out of the past 8 weekends (and three of them around the 25K distance), it's time to take a little break from racing and refocus. Tentative race schedule.
- Our HR department sent out a notice detailing that on July 6, in person capacity will increase to 75%. At this point, it's voluntary. The notice included a survey to fill out and indicate 1) vaccination status and 2) your desire to return to work in-person at this time. Quick and easy for me to return. Vaccination status is easy (fully vaccinated); desire to return to work in-person is very easy as well. I work most days outside on my deck in shorts, a t-shirt, and barefoot, often with Brady by my side; not looking to give up that freedom any soon. It's the next phase in September where they're looking for a return to the new "normal" that has me concerned.
- I went to our local bicycle dealer to inquire about buying a new road bike to replace my 15-year old bike. When I started the conversation, I was quickly interrupted with "you're looking to buy next year, right, Jeff?". What? No. It turns out that like cars, the bicycle supply chain was severely disrupted by COVID, and the bikes they're getting in now are ones that customers ordered last June. Ugh.
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| Recent photo snippet from one of my many WebEx meetings. I'm occasionally asked if my background is a virtual background. Nope! And I don't want to give it up and go back to a concrete jungle. |
Monday: 0
Mount Washington +1 Day: Sore.
Tuesday: 0
Mount Washington +2 Days: Even more sore.
Wednesday: 8
AM: Mount Washington +3 Days: Still sore, but a little less than yesterday. Ran 5 miles slow and easy at Ninigret. Matthew continued on for a few more, but I was done, so I waded and played with Brady in Li'l Nini Pond.
PM: WTAC Fun Run #4. Deliberately slow 21:44 5K.
Thursday: 8
Bluff Point and Haley fire roads. STILL sore. Ugh. Getting a little worried, as my 25K is coming up in just two days.
Separately, I had been forewarned that Bluff was now charging for parking for out-of-staters. $15 on the weekends; I'm not sure how much on weekdays. As I remember at Cockaponsett State Forest, when I legitimately had no idea that parking fees were charged to out-of-staters and didn't pay, I got a ticket for the exact same amount ($15), so I figured I had nothing to lose by not paying and hoping not to get a ticket. That sounds petty, but if the amount were just $2 or $3, I'd likely have paid it. Got lucky and didn't get a ticket, as presumably the same happened for the few other vehicles in the lot with out-of-state plates.
Friday: 5
Avondale grass paths and roads, again at an easy pace. Still some residual soreness from Mt Washington, but mostly gone.
Saturday: 17
Catamount 25K race. Separate write-up to follow.
We had originally planned hiking in the afternoon, but it rained pretty much the whole afternoon. Maybe just as well. Matthew wasn't feeling well, I was tired, and my legs were really sore.
Sunday: 5 run, 6 hike
AM: The four of us (Matthew, Brady, Jana, and me) ran a portion of the Stowe Recreational Path (Stowe, Vermont), which was very convenient as it started/ended at the Innsbruck Inn, where we were staying for two days. A really nice paved bike path, paralleling a classic rocky New England river, and views of barns and mountains.
Late AM/early PM: Hike up to Camel's Hump. Started at about 1,800' elevation, with the summit just over 4,000'.
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| Rocks were wet pretty much the whole way, and slippery in a few spots, as it had rained the day before. |
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| Right before the summit. Leashes were optional (for dogs under voice command) until now. |
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| Very windy at the very top. My shirt and Brady's fur and tail are blowing in the wind. |
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| Socked in at the summit, with only occasional fleeting views. |
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| Very windy up top. |
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| Starting the descent down into the clouds. Brady wanted to race after Matthew. |
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| The descent down was quite technical, but the views were grand below the summit. |
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| King of the Rock |
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| Don't step backwards, Brady |
Weekly mileage: 43 run, 6 hike
Weekly synopsis: The recovery road back from Mt Washington took longer than I thought, so taking an extra day off this week made sense to me. Didn't have close to the same soreness level from Catamount 25K that I did from Mt Washington, so I'm expecting to be back to a full regular week next week. Also watching some different fall marathon opportunities in hopes of getting a spot, so it's time to start ramping up training.
Weekly highlight: Probably the hike up to Camel's Hump. Interesting hike and topography in a remote area I had not hiked before.
Weekly lowlight: Very, very sore from Mt Washington Road Race. I did not see that coming.
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