Granville, MA. Final day of winter, with spring arriving about 5pm today. I'm really disappointed with the pathetic winter we've had in RI. I can't remember a winter with less measurable snow than this one. We had four inches of snow on the ground for one day this winter, and that was about it. While I'm sure climate change plays some role and we may never see the kind of winters from decades ago, hopefully this was still an outlier.
Wanted to get at least one day of cross-country skiing in this winter, and this was it. Fortunately, just a two hour drive away, there is plenty of snow as western MA got hammered with feet of snow just a week ago. I was getting a little nervous when I was a mere 15 miles away and there was still no snow on the ground, but the scenery went from bare yards to yards buried in snow very quickly.
I think it had been a few years since I've been on XC skis and it took me a little bit of time getting used to. After struggling and getting my [rented] boots into the bindings, I stood up and promptly fell on my kiester! Nothing hurt but my pride and no one around to witness it.
Had a fun go of it and after a few awkward missteps, it all came back to me. I wouldn't say my balance issues went away, as I also fell going down a hill awkwardly, but I got better at it. It was 31°F at the start but I quickly warmed up and even had to come in to the lodge to go with lighter clothes than I was wearing. Changed out of insulated running pants into running tights, and that worked much better also.
This is just a great cardiovascular exercise that is complementary to running. I hope a lot more XC skiing is in my future.
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| Started out on the beginner field ... |
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| ... before going on to more challenging trails. Note the maple sugaring lines here as well. |
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| Skiing in a running quarter-zip was just right. Had to swap out above hat though for a standard tech running cap. There are literally feet of snow out here! |
Tuesday: 2 walk, 8 run
AM: Westerly, RI. CCC. Clearing Larkin Foundation at Grills. This dates to the mid-17th century and is easily overgrown. We made a lot of progress, but will likely go back next week to finish the job. Should've taken before and after pics, but I didn't.
PM: Hopkinton, RI. Late afternoon run with Brady. Very warm near 60°. Dirt road Arcadia loop. Made sure to stop at streams and rivers for him.
Wednesday: 14
Westerly, RI. Coastal loop from home. Three mile warm-up, then 2 x (3 MP, 3 recover), two mile cool-down. Had trouble to maintain pace, but overall this was a good effort.
Thursday: 6 walk
Westerly, RI. Led Thursday WLT hike from Wahaneeta into Woody Hill, and also WMLT property including the rock outcroppings and ravines north of Woody Hill Marsh. 14 humans and Brady. Took just over 3 hours, including stops for me to explain some of the history and features. After returning home and getting lunch, then a 2-hour wait that I need post-meal, I lost interest to run.
Friday: 20
Charlestown, RI. Nice late morning run with temps in upper 40s, low wind, and partly sunny. Parked at Dave's Coffee, ran a big loop including Quonochontaug, Burlingame Campground, Kings Factory, Shumankanuck, Buckeye Brook, and Route 216. Lots of rolling hills which eventually wore me down. Stopped at about 15 miles in for a quick pee break, and it was really hard getting going again after that. Final mile was a big downhill that I finished out in 6:09. Average pace 7 flat.
Big mistake post run was not getting protein quick enough. Waited almost an hour before getting lunch and by then I was really weak. A tuna fish sandwich eventually gave me some strength, but I should know better not to wait so long.
Saturday: 6
Charlestown, RI. Recovery run on Burlingame perimeter roads with Brady. Got this in just before the rains arrived. Pretty empty and quiet.
Sunday: 9
Charlestown, RI. Arcadia dirt roads with Brady, Matthew, and Andrew (UNH teammate of Matthew's who moved into the areas). Unlike yesterday at Burlingame, today was a sunny day with temps in the 50s and every parking lot we went past in Arcadia had quite a few cars. Arcadia is big enough that it was never crowded, but just more activity than normal.
Unfortunately, the gates on Plain Road and Blitzkrieg Trail, which are closed all winter, are now open allowing vehicular traffic. Again, it never gets busy, but it's nice to run in the middle of the road without issue.
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| One of the successes today was nabbing fresh swordfish from Stop & Shop at $12.99/lb instead of the usual $22.99/lb! Picked up some fresh asparagus (on sale also), put them on the grill along with some littleneck clams my Mom gave me yesterday from a fisherman friend, seasoned the swordfish with some olive oil and cajun spices, and had a great meal cooked on the grill. |
Weekly mileage: 57 run, 10 xc ski, 8 walk
Weekly synopsis: Pretty good week overall. My run mileage wasn't really high, but again I feel the cross-country skiing is complementary to running. I know a few runners from northern New England that switch from running to cross-country skiing in the winter. Also, I got in a workout and a long run, so that's good stuff.
Weekly highlight: The cross-country skiing! Something I'd like to do more of in the future.
Weekly lowlight: Five weeks post-ankle injury, having my ankle swell up again. Not as bad as original, no associated pain, but still annoying as the swelling never went fully away and I don't know what caused this sudden flare-up. I've been "behaving myself" by not running any trails other than super flat and short, so what gives? My previous x-rays ruled out any break or stress fracture, so that's good. May seek the advice of a PT on strengthening and healing the ankle at this point.
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