Miscellaneous Olympics rambling:
- I typically watch very little sports on TV, but I really enjoyed watching the 2022 Winter Olympics.
- I think the only Winter Olympics event I would feel comfortable with trying would be any of the nordic skiing events. The rest of the events are fun to watch, but a little too extreme for me personally. Well, I suppose curling seems safe enough, but not that interesting to me.
- Next Olympics will be in Paris (Summer 2024). Will they really be able to clean up the "River of Rubbish" (the Seine) and be able to host the triathlon there?
- Summer Olympics 2032 will be in Brisbane. Does that mean it will be held during Brisbane's summer, or during ours?
Monday: 3
Westerly, RI. We were only supposed to get a "coating to an inch" of snow, but instead we woke up to 4" of fresh powder. Got out in the afternoon for a very fun, if not tiring, snowshoe run at Woody Hill with Brady.
Tuesday: 12
AM: Stonington, CT. 7 miles. Had a short window between work meetings to get out there for a run. Weather late morning only 23°, but it was sunny and calm and felt great. Ran on mostly quiet roads in lower Pawcatuck, and vowed to get out there again today.
PM: Westerly, RI. 5 miles. Late afternoon with Brady at Grills. Trails were generally well packed down hardpack snow. Conditions were just superb. Zero ice as temps have been below freezing since the snow fell 48 hours ago. Amazing sunset and bright white moonrise atop Big Hill. I read later tonight that this was the "Snow Moon"! Fantastic.
Wednesday: 15
AM: Westerly, RI. 8 miles. 'Round the pond solo road run. Still 15mph wind from the south, off the ocean. Felt cold because of this and a lack of sun, despite temps in the high 30s. Average pace 6:59, but overall pace pretty inconsistent, which I'll chalk up to the wind.
PM: Charlestown, RI. 7 miles. Parked at Kings Factory Road trailhead and ran the road section first, as we started at 4:30pm and I correctly predicted we'd finish in the dark (without headlamps). In other words, I'd much rather finish on trails in the dark than roads with cars. Trails were 90% snow-covered, with a soft wet snow. Traction was fine except on the bog bridges. Brady slipped awkwardly near the covered bridge. I didn't think much of it at the time and just slowed the two of us down while on bridges. However, an hour or so after getting home, he was really limping and keeping his rear left leg from hitting the floor. If I fall or injure myself, that's one thing. But when he gets injured, I feel badly and guilty even; hopefully a quick recovery.
Thursday: 8 run, 3 hike
AM: Westerly, RI. WLT hike from Wahaneeta into Woody Hill. I led a group of 22 (much more than I expected!) on a warm but wet day. Great group of people, mostly all retirees and many whom I met for the first time. I hope activities like these are ones that I can establish more firmly when I reach retirement.
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| Leading a hike, and explaining something along the way (far right) |
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| We had a lot of different ages and abilities on our hike, which was great, but I was a little nervous on technical river crossings (behind me), and made sure I stayed behind to give any assistance. Was thrilled everyone got across with zero falls. |
Mid-afternoon: Charlestown, RI. 4 miles. Had a short window to run between a post-cancer checkup and my next appointment. Ran wet roads inside Burlingame Campground. The asphalt roads were fine; the dirt roads were basically rutted mud.
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| Yikes. Glad this was finally caught and surgically removed, just as it was starting to spread. I'll be having a full checkup every four months for ten years, and I am just fine with that! |
Late-afternoon: Stonington, CT. 4 miles. After my final appointment, starting at 5pm, my next window was short due to impending darkness. Easy run in lower Pawcatuck.
Friday: 5
Westerly, RI. Late afternoon easy run with Brady at Woody Hill. Yay, he's recovered! From Fallon Trail. Temps dropped 30 degrees today (from low 60s to low 30s, and it was brutal, but fortunately Woody is fairly well protected. I can't imagine a road run along Atlantic Ave today. Brrr.
Saturday: 22!
Richmond, RI. Parked at Arcadia Y, and got ready in the car for my planned out and pre-mapped run loaded to my watch. Conditions? 28° with a 10mph wind. OK, hat? Check. Gloves? Check. Quarter-zip? Negative. Oh man, what a dunce. I remember taking it out last night (bright yellow to be visible on roads), but pretty sure I left it on my nightstand. A lot of good it does me there. Now what? Drive back home, get it, and return? No. Cancel the run? No. I resolved to get out there sans quarter-zip, run at least a few miles, and then adjust or end early as needed.
Got of the car and was instantly hit by a gust of cold wind. Brrr. What am I doing, thinking of a long run in just short shorts and a thin tech shirt? Stick to the plan, man. Started the run, and not unexpectedly, my core got cold pretty quickly. Hang in there, and stop the whining. Within a mile, I saw two other runners out there. See - other people are out here running. Yeah, but both are wearing tights AND at an additional top layer. Oh.
Two miles in I was committed. I no longer felt cold, and other than occasional short cold bouts in shaded and/or gusty headwind areas, I felt fine. Today was an intentional LSD. Never pushed the pace, and never looked at my watch, except when the watch beeped for mile splits. Even then, I never adjusted my pace based on what I saw.
I ran five miles on dirt roads (Blitzkrieg Trail and Skunk Hill Road), and the rest on asphalt. Mostly very quiet, rural roads. I felt good until the final two hills, when I was fatiguing, even on downhills. Without any drink, food, or gels during the 22 miles, I was feeling pretty hungry and weak when I finished. I know first-hand how important it is to get some protein ASAP after a long, hard, or depleting effort, so off it was to Alaina's for a turkey sandwich and iced latte. Hit the spot.
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| Four hill climbs in today's run: one 150' early on, and then three 200' climbs late in the run. I certainly wouldn't want it that way in a road race, but this was good practice. --- Next weekend (Colchester Half), it looks like I'll have a 150' early, a 100' and 150' climb middle, and another 150' to finish. |
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| Awesome dinner (if you like sushi and eel) in Mystic seemed a fitting end to a great day. |
Sunday: 9 run, 2.5 hours skiing
AM: Charlestown, RI. Recovery run with Brady. 3.5 mile Burlingame North dirt road loop, then 5.5 miles on North Camp, VG, and Sammy Cs. 20° at start, but little wind for a change today. Between the relative calm and sunshine, I warmed up quicker than I had expected. The cold temps did not stop Brady from walking right into Watchaug Pond, and the price for him to pay was snow and ice chunks on his legs until we finished. Didn't seem to bother him! It was beautiful out on Sammy Cs with a thin veneer of snow covering the trail and woods.
PM: Exeter, RI. First time ever skiing with my sister-in-law and nieces. Good to spend time with them, and a lot of fun to boot. Brought back a lot of memories, as this is where I learned to ski at age 5 (just a few years ago!), enjoyed night skiing back in high school, and brought Mark and Matthew to skiing lessons at about age 4.
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| Skiing with (behind) my 6-year old niece, on her favorite slope at Yawgoo. (Pics by Jana) |
Weekly mileage: 75!
Weekly synopsis: Great mileage build-up week. Really happy to hit this kind of weekly mileage, which I had not seen in over three years.
Weekly highlight: Saturday's 22-miler. Felt really good. Ran easy and didn't feel sore afterwards at all. Next I have to mix some harder miles into my long runs.
Weekly lowlight: Time pressure several days with limited windows to run. Not a huge complaint, as I'm cognizant and appreciative of how flexible my work schedule is.
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