Weekly Log 20-Feb to 26-Feb-2023: Ankle Rehab

Monday:  10 ride, 1 walk

Stonington, CT:  Assisted in course certification of Battle of Stonington 5K.  Includes riding 1,000' course calibration, taking temperature measurements, calculating wheel revolutions per mile (and kilometer), and riding and measuring course with Jones counter.

New London, CT:  Same task, different course:  Sailfest 5K.

Westerly, RI.  Course measurement took all day.  Stopped at Avondale Preserve on way home for a brisk walk.

Tuesday:  6 walk, 1 run

Westerly, RI:

- CCC:  2 miles clearing the new cedar trail at Barlow Preserve 2.

- Time killer:  Finished CCC early, with 40 minutes before the next task, so drove to nearby Weekapaug and walked the beach area.

- Trail connecting:  With the WLT Land Stewardship Manager, and Google Maps overlaid with property boundaries, walked a path from Cottrell Preserve to the Westerly Town Forest trail system.  It's wet in a few places, but not as bad as we thought.  Has potential for a future trail.

Discovery during our walk.  Doesn't look like this car will be
moving again anytime soon!  I wonder how and when this was
driven here and apparently abandoned.

Charlestown, RI:

First run since my ankle sprain five days ago.  Went to Ninigret Park and ran an easy mile on flat paved bike path.  Running straight felt fine, as did turning left (interior angles for my swollen right ankle), but right turns (exterior angles) did not feel good or stable at all.  Progress, but I've got a ways to go.

Wednesday:  4

Charlestown, RI.  A 4-mile run!  Yay!  Almost aborted 1/4 mile in as ankle felt quite awkward.  Fortunately I continued on and it got better.  Simplified the route to eliminate a number of turns and that worked well.  Flat and even paved roads works well; hard right turns continue to be unstable and uncomfortable.  Ruled out racing this weekend, and probably will avoid trail running (excluding manicured trails) until after that.

Thursday:  3 walk

Westerly, RI.  Ankle sore from yesterday's run.  Played it safe and limited today's activity to the WLT Thursday hike series, with today's being at Bradford Preserve.

Friday:  8

Exeter, RI.  Slow and easy on Arcadia roads with Brady.  Planned straight quiet roads with all left turns.  Started at Arcadia check station, and kept telling myself slow and easy and just turn around if it bothered me.  Felt awkward but no pain.

We got to the southern end of Blitzkrieg Trail (dirt road) and then I figured if I turned around at this point it'd be 7.5 miles or I could trek on to make a loop and run 8.  Loop it is.   Turning onto Arcadia Road, we encountered the single car of the whole run!  Left onto Summit Road, another dirt road, and it was back to a very quiet country road that we could just run in the middle of the road.  I think that was my first time ever running the full length of Summit Road, and it went by very quickly.

Saturday:  10!

South Kingstown, RI.  Bagged the Colchester Half based on my ankle.  Still a bit swollen and black/blue.  Wanted to continue to run easy and quiet roads, but also being a snowy day it seemed the South County Bike Path with zero cars would be a good idea.  I think the last time I ran the bike path was three years ago, when we were smack dab in the pandemic, the bike path was teeming with people who previously didn't get outside for exercise much, and some of them were none to happy voicing their displeasure that I wasn't wearing a face mask.  Yes, outside on a bike path while running.  Fortunately today I encountered neither crowds nor zealots.

Speaking of which, it was so refreshing to go to my annual physical last week and finally NOT to have to wear a face mask in the medical office.  Completely optional unless you had any sickness symptoms.  

Back to the run:  Parked at Kingston RR station, and ran 5 miles OAB to Peace Dale.  Just past the old Peace Dale Train Station, I was coming up on 5 miles and between the snow-covered path, my injured ankle, and my disdain for "cone turnarounds", I opted to run a short lollipop turn-around loop:

Turning onto Columbia Street, it was a trip down memory lane for me:  

• I saw my kindergarten building in the background, and was glad to see that like me, it was still standing after all these years.
• Next I ran past River Bend Athletic Club, where I played racquetball decades ago.  Also tried at my hand at squash there after being introduced to it in Macao.  That was so long ago that Macao was part of Portugal back then.  Which brings up a question of whether I can include Portugal in the list of countries I visited?  I digress ...
• Ran past the Neighborhood Guild, where I played on the playground many, many times as a child and even skated there when they flooded the tennis courts and they froze over.  Do they still do that?  I also wondered if the Indian artifact museum still exists on the 2nd floor.
• The Peace Dale library!  I probably didn't appreciate the architectural marvel back in the 60s and 70s, but I sure do remember Mom bringing us there to get books.
• And finally, I ran past where my Dad worked early on in his career as an accountant.  The old mill buildings used to be Palisades Industries, but it now seems to a cornucopia of mixed use, including a brewery and an indoor climbing studio.

I was giddy from my childhood flashback as I turned back onto the bike path in Peace Dale and headed back towards West Kingston.  The snow was picking up and that kept me in a good mood as well.  On the way back, I encountered two recreational areas I don't think existed last time, although I could be wrong:  a disc golf course adjacent to the bike path and wooden steps leading up to a SKLT marked trail and kiosk.

This kiosk seems very new.  Nothing even attached to it yet!

Which SKLT preserve is this?  Where does this trail go?

Ah, snow!  The way February should be in New England.  Not much, but
 I'll take it after this year's disappointingly warm winter bereft of snow.
  With today's high only in the low 20s,
the snow was dry and not slippery on the bike path at all.

Neat view looking from the trail into the Great Swamp.

Sunday:  4

Westerly, RI.  At Grills with Brady.  I call this one "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back".  Stuck to dirt roads almost exclusively, and then on the short connector parts, I just took it super slow and cautiously.  Ankle did not feel as good as yesterday and both calves were sore, so this would be good for a short recovery run.

I had only about a half mile left to do and was on the dirt road headed back (orange "trail") when all of a sudden I rolled my right ankle outward.  I immediately noticed it, caught it, came to a stop, and walked it off.  This was real minor compared to the ankle sprain nine days ago, but it scared me a little (maybe a good thing?) and got me thinking:

1. Should I bow out of my 5K a week from today?
2. Should I stop running anything but asphalt?
3. Should I bag my loose plans to try single-track in the coming week?
4. Should I drop out of the Border Patrol Challenge?

Went home, iced it, and reflected again on these four questions.  Came to the following conclusions:

1. No, unless something worsens, run the 5K.  It's asphalt, very flat, and only has two right-hand turns.
2. I would say stop running anything except asphalt and near-manicured dirt roads, at least until the swelling is gone.  (e.g., roads like I ran Friday - Blitzkrieg Trail and Summit Road are fine, dirt roads in Grills no)
3. An emphatic yes.  Unfortunately.  Ankle is just too unstable.  Let's re-evaluate in another week's time.
4. I don't want to get ahead of myself.  Certainly no BPC runs this week, and will re-evaluate beyond that.  It's just not worth re-injuring unnecessarily.

Weekly mileage:  27 run, 10 ride, 10 walk

Weekly synopsis:  The weekly run mileage just doesn't mean anything to me while I'm trying to recover from my ankle injury.  What matters much more is measurable progress, and that I can observe.

Weekly highlight:  Saturday's run on the South County Bike Path.  It was my longest run since the ankle injury, I had zero pain, and it was snowing!  All good stuff.

Weekly lowlight:  Today's setback.  Trying to stay positive though, and reminding myself that injury recoveries seldom take a linear path forward.

Weekly Log 13-Feb to 19-Feb-2023: Ankle Distress

Monday:  5

Westerly, RI.  Wahaneeta / Woody Hill.  Recovery jog with Brady after yesterday's USATF-NE 5K championships.  Not a soul out there.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 11 run

Westerly, RI.  CCC monitoring at Riverwood Preserve.

Charlestown, RI.  From CCC to Burlingame Campground, for a road work-out.  Descending ladders on gated quiet paved roads.

Wednesday:  10

Westerly, RI.  With Brady.  Easy and uneventful run on the Grills 10-Mile course.  Only saw one person out there, with their dog, but parking lot was half full on way back.

Thursday:  3 walk, 11 run

Westerly, RI.  5 mile pre-breakfast run with Brady, from home.  Mixer including Winnapaug Farm Preserve fields and short trails and Champlin Glacier trails, plus roads to and fro.

Westerly, RI.  WLT Thursday hike at Riverwood.  I've been leading about one of these per month.  Today we had a group of 15, with the oldest being 92 years old!  This is a really nice preserve, but with lousy access.

Westerly, RI.  Late afternoon pre-WTAC board meeting run, with Justin and Dave.  Dave led us out from Barlow and we were doing fine until we got on a really twisty trail I'm not familiar with.  Zooming in on Strava post-run, it looks like it was "Naughty Nurse", and the trail certainly was naughty to me.

I was running between Dave leading and Justin trailing, when on an uneven but straight section of trail it happened.  I heard a "snap" as I stepped awkwardly landing on the outside of my right ankle and rolling the ankle, painfully stretching the ligaments.  I did not fall but due to the pain, I instantly laid down and yelled.  Took me a while to get up and walk it off, but I did finish the run out of there, especially as there was really no other choice.  Some swelling occurred, and I iced the best I could when I got home post-meeting.

Friday:  0

Woke up to an ankle that was very swollen, painful, and difficult to walk on.  As luck would have it, this just happened to the date of this year's annual physical, so I had to checked it out and evaluated.  I am pending x-rays to rule out a stress fracture, but it sounds like it's strained ligaments.

Pretty gross, eh?
Swollen, bruised, and painful.

Saturday:  1 walk

Westerly, RI.  After hobbling around in pain yesterday, it was no nice to see a visible reduction in the swelling today.  Still swollen for sure, but I can once again see my ankle bone, so it's moving in the right direction.  Also no more pain when walking, so I late afternoon I went to Avondale Farm Preserve with Brady to walk the 1-mile perimeter route.  Took a few jogging steps which unsurprisingly did NOT feel good, but that's OK, I'm just happy to be walking normal and getting better.

Kind of depressing flipping through the Strava feed and seeing friends bang out Border Patrol Challenge runs, but I know I have to be happy for them and not jealous.

Sunday:  3 walk

Hopkinton, RI.  Sought out flat and even ground, and thus went to Grills Wildlife Preserve for a brisk walk with Brady.  Finished the walk with 3 x 100-meter easy jogs.  Felt just OK.

Swelling is going down.
Purple and black bruising and discoloration is worse now.

Weekly mileage:  38 run, 9 walk

Weekly synopsis:  The first half of the week (pre-ankle kerfuffle) went pretty well.  The second half of the week, not so well.  After my blister issue from last week had healed, I figured this would be a great week.  But that's the funny thing about running; one moment everything is going great but you just never know what the next chapter is going to bring you as there are so many variables.

I'm trying to be patient and allow the injury to heal, which is not something I'm very good at.  Fortunately, this was not a race weekend, as it was hard enough to turn down invites to run the trails.  Next weekend I have the Colchester Half Marathon scheduled, although I would say that it's in jeopardy at this point.  If I can heal up and get better for USATF-CT 5K championships the following weekend, I'll be happy with that.  Trying to stay positive in the meantime.

Weekly highlight:  Grills 10-mile course run with Brady.

Weekly lowlight:  The ankle sprain and resulting debilitation.

Weekly Log 6-Feb to 12-Feb-2023: Blisters & Sock Tests

Monday:  14

Exeter, RI.  Border Patrol Challenge - Arcadia Trail.  13 out of 19 completed now.  

Went with Brady to Browning Mill Pond.  I thought we were in Richmond, but now I see the main parking lot is in Richmond, but where we parked in very nearby Roaring Brook was just over the line in Exeter.  At any rate, after a short warm-up along the pond shores, it was go time.  

We headed south on the Arcadia Trail, and I immediately fell through some black ice and went down.  Other than on the ice, I was having great traction on both rocks and all boardwalks.  The boardwalks felt tacky under my VJ Ultra shoes.  I might have gotten a little cocky when I was "flying" downhill headed towards KG Ranch Road, slid on a root (no traction there), slid awkwardly, fell, and rolled downhill through a rock and root garden.  Scraped up the thigh, but certainly could've been worse.  Got up and got going.  Again.

Other than tiring on the climbs and tough footwork through technical sections with a lot of rocks, wet spots, and ice, I was feeling good on this run.  Until I wasn't.  We had repassed Roaring Brook and were now tackling the northern section.  My feet were really hurting now.  Both feet, but in different places.  On my left foot, the ball of my foot.  On my right foot, the outside of my right toe.  I figured we had about three miles to go and rationalized I should trek on despite the increasing discomfort.

As soon as we finished and got back to the car, I couldn't
get my shoes and socks off fast enough.  Well, this pic and revelation would explain
why I had the hot spots.  I'm pretty sure (but not positive) that my socks
were not torn when I put them on, but as seen here, the threads were quite worn from
so many repeated runs and washes and they were likely 
on their last miles already.
---
The right toe is already blistered.  Maybe I should've just stopped?
Or maybe for longer tough technical and wet friction causing runs like
this, I should have some new and maybe blister-resistant socks?
And periodically check my socks and throw out worn ones?
(Probably all of the above.)

Considering that I fell twice, I had one wrong-way turn that I had to reverse and correct course, and a few ice-covered sections that I had to slowly work through, I was very surprised to see that I took over a minute off my time from two years ago.  1:51:07 vs 1:52:23.

Tuesday:  1 walk, 1 run

Westerly, RI.  CCC annual monitoring, as required for Land Trust accreditation, is about 3/4 complete now.  Today we monitored the nascent Cottrell Preserve, which I am proud to say had ZERO litter!  Wish we could say that about all of our properties.  Next up for monitoring it was off to Colonel Willie Cove.  Had no familiarity with this WLT property at all.  When we got there, I figured out why:  it's almost completely underwater.

Post-CCC, I went to Weekapaug and got ready for a run as I typically do post-CCC.  Even putting on my running shoes, I could feel the friction on my two blisters from yesterday.  Ran slow and easy hoping this wouldn't bother me, but it did and I realized it was smart to take a break.  Aborted the run and returned to the car.

This evening I popped and drained the two blisters, but they were painful even wearing socks so I walked around the house barefoot.

Never thought of it that way, but
there is some truth to this for sure!
---
Way back in the 1970s, my typing teacher
Ron DiFabio
at Chariho would hit me with a ruler
(seriously) when I slouched while typing,
and I only took the course as an elective,
not having any idea of how often we would
type (instead of write) in the future.

Wednesday:  1 walk

Stonington, CT.  Getting up in the morning with pain in the popped blisters told me the best action today would be no running.  Went to Kelley's Pace to get some blister-resistant running socks, and took Brady for a walk in Mystic in the fields off nearby Maritime Drive.

It was depressing with the temporary break from running,
but at least it was a nice day to get outside for a walk.
I think Brady agreed.

Thursday:  3 walk, 10 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  Weekly Thursday WLT hikes.  Today's hike was at neighboring Champlin Glacier Park.  Of course I've been there many times before, but it was a good opportunity to get out on the trails with other like minded people.  I also learned a few items (e.g., the difference between kettle ponds and vernal pools, and the specific places in this preserve where evidence of indigenous peoples' activities were found).  Jana, my Mom, and Brady also joined the hike.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  Not feeling pain in my blisters for the first time since Monday, I figured today would be fine for an attempt to get back out there and try out my new Kelley's Pace socks.  Ran the VG plus Burlingame Trails with Brady and Matthew.

Today's sock:
feetures Elite Ultra Light

I think this was my first time wearing
left and right specific socks.

Today's sock synopsis:  I had never heard of the feetures brand of socks, but when I Googled "anti blister running socks", this brand featuredly prominently.  The socks felt just a tad loose, but that could be just because I'm right on the cusp of a medium and large.  The socks were very comfortable and I had zero issues with them.

Friday:  12

Hopkinton, RI.  Challenging and technical run with Brady.  From Canonchet trailhead on Route 3, up Canonchet Trail to end, left on Stubtown (dirt trail), right on North Road (dirt), and then up and around Yawgoog Pond.  Returned via the very technical Narragansett Trail.  

Was feeling fine until the last few miles when I started getting really weak.  It was getting towards 2pm and I hadn't eaten since breakfast.  That's the trouble with running mid-day.  I can't run immediately after eating lunch or I'll throw up, but I also weaken without food.  Anyhow, I was running downhill getting close to Asheville Pond when I didn't notice a large branch poking out from the side of the trail and ran smack into it hitting my left bicep.  Man did that hurt!  I stopped and yelled out in pain, while Brady came back to me to see what was wrong.  After gaining my composure, in the technical section just before Asheville Pond, I fell in a rock garden, smacking my left wrist and right knee into rocks.  I may or may not have dropped some very loud obscenities.

I had two miles to go, but the rest of the run was not nearly as technical and I had no further issues.

Today's sock:  Darn Tough

Pretty cool that they're made in Vermont

Today's sock synopsis:  Unlike feetures, I had heard of this brand before.  This brand came up in a search for "what sock do ultramarathons wear", but not in the "anti-blister search".  In a Runners World review of socks, the feetures sock was rated the "Best for Long Runs" and the Darn Tough socks the "Most Durable".

The Darn Tough socks were comfortable, but unfortunately they irritated one of my two blisters and made it worse.  While it's possible this wouldn't be an issue if I didn't have the blister to begin with, this was disheartening and once again I went through the process of popping and draining the now-inflamed blister on my right toe.

So while I'll certainly wear these Darn Tough socks again, after these two tests, in future long trail runs and races especially where I may get my feet wet, I'll be reaching for the feetures socks first.

Saturday:  8

Charlestown, RI.  Easy road and grass run at Ninigret Park with Matthew and Brady.

Sunday:  10

Cambridge, MA.  Abbreviated warm-up plus disappointing poorly organized race.  Separate write-up and rant already posted.

Milton, MA.  Six mile cool-down at Ponkapoag and Houghton's Ponds.

Weekly mileage:  56 run, 4 walk

Weekly synopsis:  Salvaged running week after painful blister issue.  Kind of.  Long run mid-week was out, as was any workout attempt.

Weekly highlight:  Canonchet / Yawgoog technical run.

Weekly lowlight:  Blisters issue.

USATF-NE 5K Championships 2023

This year's USATF-NE 5K Championship race

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Cambridge, MA

Preface:  As I start this race report on the eve of the race, I reflect back on last year's USATF-NE 5K Championship race (Needham, MA in November) where I ran a 17:40 and came in 4th in my age division.  I was disappointed in that time as based on my 2-mile split of 11:02, I figured a PR (17:32) was in the bag.  

I am NOT anticipating a PR tomorrow.  The course is slightly flatter, but I'm not in the shape as I was in November coming off my marathon PR.  I'd be really happy if I could get a 17:40 tomorrow, so I'll call that my A) goal, 17:50 as my B) goal, and 18:00 for C).  Slower than 18:00, I'll probably sulk.

Race day:  Writing this now post-race, it looks like I'll be sulking.  Which I did and got out of my system.  Here is the back story.

Transport:  Had my typical race day breakfast of oatmeal with granola and berries and left the house at 6:15am.  The race wasn't until 10am, but we were picking up Matthew's friend at Exit 1 Park 'n Ride and driving to Quincy Adams to take the red line into Cambridge.  We had buffered in 15 minutes of extra time and used that right away when we arrived to see the red line just leaving and the next one 15 minutes away.  No problem, we planned for that contingency and should still have plenty of time for check-in, bathroom, run the full course as a warm-up, check bag, etc.  Or so I thought ...

Check-in disaster:  Arrived Cambridge 8:50am and at the race check-in at 8:56am.  There were six lines, four for 5K and two for the 5-Mile starting five minutes later than the 5K.  Spent the next almost forty minutes in line waiting for bib pickup.  Each line had a single volunteer that was looking up runners on a tablet, checking them in, getting their bib, and whatever giveaway (hat included, shirt for an extra fee).  Having only one volunteer at each line to take care of all these tasks resulted in a long backlog and a VERY slow moving line.

Bathroom debacle:  9:35am.  Now to use the bathroom and then whatever abbreviated warm-up we can muster, as there's no longer any time to run the course.  Fortunately, some CMS team members we know offered to let us put our bags at their tent, otherwise, there's no time for baggage check-in anymore either.  There are about eight porta-jons outside the check-in line, and another four or so outside the team tent area.  For about 2,000 runners!!!  Someone made a mistake there.  Long, long lines.  Again.  Great, we won't be able to use the bathrooms either.

Matthew, Andrew (Matthew's former UNH teammate), and I run a very abbreviated warm-up on side walks and city streets while on the lookout for a porta-jon.  Several blocks away Andrew spies one and saves the day.

Race start delay:  Lined up as close as I could get to the start, and gradually eased forward until I got about as far forward as I could, maybe ten rows back.  At 10am, an announcer came on the speaker and said the race would be delayed ten minutes as there were still about 300 people in line waiting to get their bib!  Ugh.  More standing around when it's time to race.

Race start:  Twelve minutes after scheduled race start, the race got underway.  The start on Linskey Way was really too narrow to support a mass start of this field size.  People in front of me were just running too slow for me and not properly seeded, but there was nowhere to go with the masses blocking the way.  I saw one runner go between two parked cars, off the road, and onto the adjacent sidewalk, and I followed.  Running the sidewalk was awkward and also adding slight distance, but I could run faster there than the clogged road.

After two hard lefts, we were on a much wider road:  Binney Street.  This was fine and I could open up for a while, until the right-most lane (the one I was in) was closed for some kind of construction and the construction cones narrowed in, forcing me back into the masses.

The rest of the 5K was pretty much uneventful.  I finally had enough room to run but every turn I had to run pretty wide around other runners.  I really had no idea how I was doing as there were no mile markers, and although I heard my watch beep at Mile 1 at 5:33 pace, I couldn't trust the accuracy given the tall buildings, wide turns, sidewalk running, lack of actual mile markers, etc.

On First Street, with about 1/2 mile to go
(Pic from Somerville Running Club FB page)

Only as I crossed the finish line did I see my actual time on my watch:

Final result:  Gun time 18:13, chip time 18:01.  231st out of 1,145 runners.  5th in 50-59 age group.  Full results here.

I was disappointed with my result and the whole experience at large, so I went directly to get my bag and moved away from the finishers so I didn't infect others with my negativity and sulking.  Waited for Matthew and Andrew, and then we went off for a cool-down in Milton at Ponkapoag Trail.

Kudos to Matthew and Keith for getting PRs in their races.  The race experience overall was not good, and evidently many others feel the same, as I see words like "poorly organized, "clusterf%#k", and "sh%t show" used liberally on posts and reviews, including numerous reviews like this one:

While I might have gone a few seconds faster if the race organization hadn't been botched, I wasn't going to PR today for sure and I own that one.  I'm mentally already moving on to the next race.  

Weekly Log 30-Jan to 5-Feb-2023: Frigid for a Day

Monday:  6

Westerly, RI.  Short and intentionally very slow recovery run in Wahaneeta and Woody Hill with Brady.

Tuesday:  1 walk, 10 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  CCC.  Continued monitoring.  Finished up Champlin Glacier Park.  Snowing the whole time, with some minimal accumulation.  Unfortunately at about 35°F it was really wet.  Got pretty soaked and cold walking through the woods.  Need to invest in some waterproof pants.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  Solo.  Almost bailed after CCC and came home to warm up.  But changing out of my wet boots and gear and into dry running clothes, while blasting the heat, gave me a renewed interest.  Ran my usual Quonnie 10-mile loop, except started from Blue Shutters this time.  After lollygagging with slow 7:30-7:50 paces in the first few miles, I picked up steam and ran the last six miles averaging about 6:30 pace.

Wednesday:  11

Charlestown, RI.  All with Brady.

Warm-up:  Parked on Buckeye Brook.  Two mile North Camp loop down to Watchaug Pond.

BPC run:  Carter Preserve.  I was forewarned in other BPC'ers Strava posts as to the amount of blow-downs, but it was just unbelievable.  More than 50.  I lost count.  Many, but not all, of the downed trees were dead trees in middle of the preserve where it's just scrub bushes.  Presumably many are dead from the gypsy moth defoliation a few years ago.  It's a shame that happened, but also a shame that seemingly no one from The Nature Conservancy is maintaining these trails as the blow-downs have been there for quite a while.  Ran in 53:52, almost a minute slower than Nick's fast recent time.

Cool-down:  Went to Charlestown Moraine Preserve for a 1.5 mile cool-down.  Undulating territory; was beat and hungry when finished and went to Dave's Coffee.

Thursday:  6 run, 5 walk

Groundhog Day.  Well, Phil, if we get six weeks of real winter
including a snowstorm, that will be good.  But I've had
enough of the January "winter" here with rain and 30s.

Charlestown, RI.  Burlingame Campground run with Brady.  Temps in low 20s, which I think is pretty normal for this time of the year, but it seemed cold based solely on this very warm winter to date.  Warmed up after about 2 miles.

Stonington, CT.  Westerly Land Trust weekly Thursday hike series.  My Mom had asked to go to this one, as she had never been to Barn Island.  Temps had warmed up to mid 30s and felt nice in the bright winter sun.  Big group of 21 humans and 2 canines.

Wequetequock Cove, at end of hike.  The Black Lab in Brady
assures he goes into almost every body of water that he can,
no matter the season or water temp.

Just a beautiful day out there today at Barn Island.

Friday:  8

Westerly, RI.  After a WLT board meeting, I was originally thinking to run roads solo.  But checking the temp (20°F) combined with wind (22mph sustained) gave me a change in heart, as I headed to the woods.  Parked and ran from Wahaneeta on a loop into Woody Hill and back.  Very windy and cold at the Woody Hill Marsh as it's wide open, but otherwise not bad.  Everything warmed up except the fingertips.  Humans seen on the trails:  zero.

Saturday:  5

North Stonington, CT.  Woke up to -6°F, the coldest temps in many years and the first time sub-zero in five years.  Fortunately, there were three other crazies planning to join us for running, so that kept me engaged.  

-3.6°F when I left home for the trail run.
According to Channel 10 weather, this was 
the first time in five years that the temp
has been below zero in RI.

Four crazies out running in sub-zero weather

Ran the Tri-town Border Patrol Challenge (my 12th of 19) and it had warmed up "all the way" to -2°F by the time Nick, Justin, Matt, and I started.  I actually stayed warm the whole time, but it was at the cost of being bundled up so much (heavy waterproof shoes, thick long socks, tights and running pants, shirt and quarter-zip, balaclava, hat, and very thick gloves.  Nick flew out ahead.  At a switchback at the first summit, I could see him ahead of me and Justin behind me, and then I never saw either again until the finish.  I ended up constantly pulling my balaclava down below my mouth to make it easier to breathe and was also having trouble with my eyelashes freezing, but as mentioned I did not get cold otherwise.  I was very slow out there as I knew I would be, so not disappointed, and also reminded myself if I finish all 19 and still have time left over, I can also go for a re-do if I want.

Finished in 50:24, more than ten minutes slower than I ran this route two years ago in 39:49.

Met Justin and Matt afterwards at Little Man's Diner in North Stonington for hot coffee and an egg sandwich. Very enjoyable.

Sunday:  6 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI.  Easy run at Grills Preserve with Brady.  Ran the 10K race course.  Saw one other trail runner out there, also with his dog.  

It's been years since I saw the Pawcatuck River frozen over!

There was only one flooded section of trail (on the yellow
trail).  The advantage of it being frozen today was that
Brady and I just walked over it and continued on!

Post-run, we went to WLT's annual Souper Bowl hike at Wahaneeta, a short hike around the preserve followed by sampling five homemade soups.

Weekly mileage:  52 run, 8 walk

Weekly synopsis:  First, regarding the Border Patrol Challenge, I've now completed 12 out of 19.  So I have seven runs remaining with six weeks left in the challenge.  Many weeks I've run two challenges,  but three of the six remaining weeks I have a race so those weeks will single-BPC weeks.  I don't have the endurance of BQ to be able to run 3 in a day (!) but the math still works out if I still to the plan.

Now to this specific week, it wasn't the best with mileage dropping off and a really slow BPC in the freezing cold, not to mention no long run, but it wasn't terrible either.  Let's just get back at it next week, with goals for the week of one BPC, one long run, and a good performance at the USATF-NE 5K Championships.

Weekly highlight:  10-mile Quonnie run.

Weekly lowlight:  Tri-town BPC run.  Nice preserve and nice trails, and always fun to run with the guys.  Just a predictably very slow time all bundled up in the frigid weather.