Monday: 1 walk
Mark and Matthew left home yesterday, and today I'm back to work after nine consecutive days off. Ugh. On the bright side, after catching 4 mice in 3 days, I was relieved to see the mousetrap in the basement empty today.
Easy post-work neighborhood walk with Brady. It's the only time I left the house today.
Tuesday: 3 walk
AM: 2 miles. CCC at Avondale Farm Preserve. Today's job was an interesting one: walk the fields, locate rocks, dig/pry them up, move to a local pile for pickup by farmer. I had no idea what to expect, and feared the back-breaking work my father and oldest brother did in moving rocks and establishing a stone wall along the border with a neighbor. It was anything but, and as my grandmother used to say, "Many hands make light work.". Between about 20 volunteers, the farmer and his tractor, and various implements, it wasn't bad at all.
PM: 1 mile. Afternoon walk with Brady at Avondale Preserve. I contemplated going for a run, but between feeling tired and run down (what gives? a cold? leftover weakness from marathon?) and my last meeting getting out at 4:30pm when it was dark, 35°, and raining/snowing, I lost interest and am surprised I got out to do anything at all.
Wednesday: 8 run, 1 walk
Morning run on the VG loop with Brady. Felt pretty good out there. Until I wiped out on an icy bog bridge, that is. Landed hard on a bog bridge, and then somehow rolled off and there were briars jammed up into my shorts. Got the wind knocked out of me, ripped up by briars, and a good raspberry on my hip, but otherwise seem fine.
Late afternoon returned to Avondale for a walk with Brady and Jana.
Thursday: 5
Lunchtime run with Brady at Woody Hill Management Area, from Fallon Trail DEM trailhead. It was 57°! Sweat was running down my face, as this is not very December like. There was not a soul out there today. Well, except the snake that was sunning itself, and I didn't notice until it moved as I almost stepped on it. Beautiful creature.
Friday: 10
Very pleasant trail run at Grills with Brady mid-morning. Had taken off all Fridays in the month of December (my employer has a "use it or lose it" policy), and after a Westerly Land Trust meeting early morning, it was so nice to casually run without having to look at my watch and see what alterations I might need to make to get back to work and whatever meeting I'm running close for.
Very windy day, so appropriate to seek the protected safety of the woods. This is also the last day before the start of shotgun season, so I'll stay out of the woods for at least a few days. While most hunters are fine, I've certainly run into a few that have told me I don't belong in the woods in hunting season, and a few that have grumbled or yelled at me, and while of course I have every right to be out there, arguing with an angry person with a shotgun isn't an approach I'm comfortable with.
At any rate, today's run was awesome. Ran the nascent Grills 10 Mile Trail Race course, and ran into two very friendly small hiking groups. The trails were covered in dry leaves and frankly, I like that surface and fall feel.
Saturday: 8
WTAC Mystic group run, as organized by Kevin Murphy. Nice quiet roads on the Groton side, and good conversation as always. Finished up with a visit to Sift, ostensibly for coffee, but as the line was so long, Kevin suggested a place right across the street owned by the same baker. First visit to Young Buns. Coffee was good; doughnuts were pretty interesting but a little too rich for me.
 |
| Lots of neat creations. |
 |
| My doughnut today. You only live once. 1/4 of this would have been good. Peppermint Hot Chocolate doughnut. It was tasty. |
Sunday: 7
Pearl Harbor Memorial Race. Write-up to follow.
Weekly mileage: 36 run, 5 walk
Weekly synopsis: I suppose 40+ combined run/walk two weeks out from the marathon is OK, especially I took the first two days off and have been feeling a little run down. But I am also conscious that I am running without any kind of plan, and I feel a bit aimless. Signing up for two short races this weekend and next does help with motivation, but I feel I "need" to get something bigger on the books for spring.
Weekly highlight: Running and winning the Pearl Harbor Memorial Race!
Weekly lowlight: A bit of stagnation, a couple pounds of weight gain, slightly run down, and needing to figure out what's next.
No comments:
Post a Comment