Weekly Log 17-Jul to 23-Jul-2023: Another Trip around the Sun, plus a Swim Race!

Monday:  43 ride, 4 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  Gradually upping the ride distance.  I planned out a 40 mile ride (Westerly => Charlestown => Richmond => Hopkinton => home), with a food and drink stop at The Food Truck on 91.  Of course, just my luck that the one day they're closed in Mondays.  Didn't have much in the tank on this hot 80+ degree day, so rerouted up to DD in Ashaway.

PM:  Stonington, CT.  Kelley's Pace Monday night Monk Run.  Brutal 84°F.  Ran with two guys whose names I have already forgotten.  I'm terrible like that; takes me 3-4 times before I can put a name with a face, and in the meantime, it's just an awkward "How are you doing?" or "How have you been?", hoping that I don't get the dreaded "You don't remember me, do you?".

Gross looking.  Two days after my fall on the road,
this thing is really bothering me.  Tough to sleep last night,
as it's starting to scab exactly where the knee bends and anytime
I move it's just uncomfortable.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 9 run

AM:  WLT Mowing Team:  weed-whacking at Barlow and Grills Preserves.

AM:  Post weed-whacking, I went to Ninigret for a 7-mile run on a mix of grass and asphalt.  Another hot day there.  Jumped in Lil Nini Pond and swam a bit.  Odd moment when a guy came up to me in the water holding out his hand for me to shake and said, "Hi, I'm Serge; could you teach me a few things?"  Hopefully not about the birds and the bees, and when I shot back "Like what?", he said, "Well, you look like a professional swimmer and I'm hoping you can give me a few pointers."  I laughed awkwardly, as a professional swimmer I am far from. When I probed a bit more, he said he's working on his underwater swimming endurance.  Yeah, sorry, not sure how I can help.

PM:  Dash & Splash with Brady from Kettle Pond.  2 mile run, brief dip in between at Watchaug.

Wednesday:  6

59 years old.  First the bad stuff:  On a personal note, this was a birthday anniversary that had ominously bothered me for a couple of years now.  The short background is that my Dad died just days before his 59th birthday, having succumbed to cancer, and I had been diagnosed with and battled cancer myself through two surgeries just two years ago.  Yes, they were very different cancers and mine was detected in an early stage (barely before moving to Stage 2) and my dad's in a late stage, but that didn't change that I personally knew two local people that died of the cancer I had (melanoma) and I worried. It was one of several factors in my decision to retire early.  Life is short.   Make the most of it.

Now the good stuff:  My Mom had invited me (and Jana) to a breakfast birthday celebration at the Cooked Goose.  The food and locale were good as usual, but it was great to share my birthday with my Mom. 

AM:  Dash & Splash with Brady from Watchaug boat launch.  Planned for five miles, but this was just awful and bailed and turned around after 1 mile as both of us seemed to be having trouble in the disgusting 82° heat.  I brought a tennis ball, and that added to the fun in the water.

PM:  Fun Run #8.  75°.  It was hot, but not as hot as last week.  I should be used to this by now, right?  No, just continually slowed in the heat.

Start of tonight's Fun Run.
I'm in 2nd row, far left.

Post-fun run, we were invited my sister-in-law Caroline and her extended family to join them for dinner / ice cream at Salty's (clam shack in Weekapaug).  Sure, why not?!  It was awkward for a long time after my youngest brother Kurt died last year, but now it was great to see Caroline and her two daughters occasionally.  Got salmon tacos, RI chowder, and a milkshake, all paid for by Caroline's Dad and family on occasion of my birthday.  Nice to be included!

Thursday:  11

Exeter, RI.  Arcadia dirt roads with Brady.  Finally a run that didn't feel oppressive.  Temp about 70° and humidity about 75%.  About 80% on dirt roads, but still had significant deerflies.  Very nice dunk and swim in the Wood River.  13 DFKs and my first and hopefully only horsefly kill of the year.

Friday:  8

Exeter, RI.  Essentially the same route as yesterday, minus the Breakheart Pond loop.  Matthew joined Brady and I this time.  Much fewer deerflies (2 DFKs) today, and an equally enjoyable post-run swim in the river.

Saturday:  1 swim, 6 run

Narragansett, RI

Jumped into the Waterman Eco Challenge 1-Mile Swim.  I knew one of my Washington Trust former colleagues would be there, as well as Tommy 5K.  I don't know how many more tris I will do this summer, but as this is by far my weakest sport of the three, I figured I would benefit from a swim race.  In a tri, I know there will be plenty of other swimmers behind me because there are plenty of other triathletes whose weakest sport is swimming.  However, in a swim only race, the swim competition is even stronger.  The only other swim race I ever did in my life was the Salt Pond Challege 1-Mile swim in Misquamicut years ago, where I finished 2nd to last!  Against that backdrop, my true only goal for this race was not to finish dead last.

I lined up towards the back of the pack for RD announcements, and then we all walked down to the water, crossed timing mats, and then swam out to the start.  That's right, the swim start was out in the water; a first for me as we treaded water awaiting the start.  There was a brief countdown and we were off.  

The course paralleled the Ocean Drive seawall,
starting at Monahan's Dock and ending at Narragansett Town Beach

First two buoys on the course

Getting race instructions from RD.  I'm in back row,
directly below silver minivan's passenger door.
As you can clearly see, right?
(these pics from race photographer)

Walking across timing mat and into the water

Treading water waiting for the start

And we're off ...

I repeatedly collided with a teenage-ish girl who was swimming butterfly.  Finally changing direction a bit, I got out of her path.  I sighted and navigated the first three buoys just fine, but then had trouble sighting the next buoy and found myself alone and off-course.  Even though I didn't see the next buoy (at that time), I figured I was OK because I was sighting the beach.  I only knew something was wrong when I looked up and saw two lifeguard kayaks directly in front of me in my path.  Stopped swimming for a moment, listened to the lifeguards, and then they pointed me far to my right and said, "That way!".  Then I saw the next red buoy.   Yeah, I was off course, and I see no one around me at all now.  Oh no, am I last now?

Veering off course
about 2/3 mile in

Correction made, but I have no idea how much time I have lost.  From here on in, I have no problem with the remaining buoys, of which there were three.  Getting close to the beach, I am knocked around as a wave crashes over me.  I am really close to the beach now and after a few more strokes, I touch the sand under the water.  I stand up and see about three others around me also now running to the beach and finish line.  Oh no, are these the last three?  I can't let them beat me!

Final result:  35:17, 176th out of 201.  Final results.

Steps from the finish line,
trying to stay ahead of at least a few competitors

It turns out that there are 25 swimmers still to come in, and with the last more than 20 minutes behind me.  I am a very slow swimmer for sure at a 12th percentile finish in this race, with my finishing time more than double the winner's time, but I wasn't last and perhaps more importantly, I had fun!

Catching up with my former Washington Trust
colleague and HR partner, Ellen.
This was a fun day!

Sunday:  19

Westerly, RI

Two early mornings in a row for me, as I got up early enough to grab a quick bite (bagel and OJ) and run nine miles before meeting up with RWYC for their punctual 8am start.  Ran the nine miles solo around the pond, arrived at the RWYC start (Kings Way lot of Avondale Farm Preserve) at 8:01am and the RWYC group of about eight had just left.  Caught up with them on the loop and continued as far as Watch Hill, before splitting off to the ocean at East Beach, taking off my shoes, and running.  Took a dip in the ocean before leaving the beach for the short run home.

Weekly mileage:  63 run, 43 ride, 2 walk, 1 swim

Weekly synopsis:  This was a great mix of activities this week.  Upped the distance of both my ride and swim, which I need to keep doing every week now, and got in a good long run and run mileage overall.

Weekly highlight:  Waterman Eco-Challenge Swim.  It was actually pretty fun!

Weekly lowlight:  Heat and deerflies.

Gunstock Trailfest

Gilford, NH

Saturday, June 24, 2023

New races for me.  And for Brady!  We spent the night before at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, and this made for only a 1-hour or so drive to the race start.

Enjoying a campfire (tent in background) on the
eve of our race(s)

Race 1:  Canicross 5K Race - 9:30am

First ever canicross race!  So first, since I get this question often, what is a canicross race?

Equipment:  In reading the equipment requirements on the race website, you can use a traditional leash (what I typically use when Brady is leashed running with me); however, you cannot connect it to a collar as it pulls on the dog's neck.  Instead, you have to use a harness.  I talked to others I know who actually have done this before.  I learned that instead of a traditional leash, most humans in this sport will use a retractable bungee leash that goes around the runner's waist.  Procured one from Kelley's Pace and tried it out at Ninigret Park before heading to New Hampshire.

Prep:  Matthew pointed out that since I'd likely have two different bibs (for the two different events), it would be advantageous to use two singlets so I could swap out between races.  I wish I had brought two different race belts to quickly swap out between races, but those are back home in RI and won't help me now.  I also planned for two different pairs of shoes:  my Salomon UltraGlides should be fine for the non-technical canicross race, but I'll rely on my grippier but short-distance-recommended VJ Sparks for the second race.

Race:  After a mile warm-up with Brady, we headed back to the start and lined up with the 78 other canines and 78 other humans!  Was pretty close to the start, but when the race started, a few others blasted out ahead.  Brady seemed confused at first as to what was going on and he jumped up on me!  After I explained to him this was a 5K race (which I'm sure he understood!), he charged out after the other dogs in the lead and we had no further jumping or other shenanigans.

Just before the start of the 5K Canicross race

Start of the race.  Brady and I in center,
with other dog/human teams all around us

And here's the part (9 o'clock) where Brady for some reason
decided to jump up on me.  Dogs pulling in various directions.

Pretty tight here.
It was nice to have my hands free,
and hopefully Brady also appreciated that the
leash wasn't pulling on his neck in this race.

As one other competitor I know described, the first half-mile was absolute chaos.  Dogs were immediately ahead of us, beside us, and behind us, lurching and pulling in various directions.  At one point, a dog pulled a hard left right in front of Brady, and Brady instinctively went right to give us some room, but in doing so, went under the other dog's leash.  Oh no, now what?  I had fears of several of us going down in entangled leashes, but somehow the other dog's owner got him back and was able to get the leashes free.  Whew!  Crisis averted.

After that, it thinned out quite a bit.  The teams that sprinted out had faded behind and we were in 2nd to 3rd place.  Impressively, the guy that was leading at this point had not one, but two dogs attached to him and pulling the lead!  It was impressive until it turned comedic, when we went out around a corner (probably a mile in now) and there was a very inviting river running alongside the trail.  The guy's two dogs thought that was more interesting and literally pulled him off the trail and towards the river.  I had to yell to Brady in order that he not follow suit (he loves rivers!) and we went past and into the lead.

It wasn't a minute before the same two dogs and their owner went past us again, and we followed for a while it close pursuit.  A longish climb was ultimately the deciding factor, as his dogs tired and slowed more than we did, allowing Brady and I to take the lead for good, about halfway through the race.  On the downside, with dogs ahead of us, Brady was interested in chasing them, but now with no one ahead of us, he slowed to be next to me and sometimes behind me.  I'm sure heat was a factor (70°F and 90% humidity) and I had to keep trying to encourage him, "Come on, Brady!".  Pesky deer flies were also bothering us by now.  I never took a win for granted, and kept trying to keep Brady "in the game".  It's a good thing I did as others also passed the guy with two dogs, and we crossed the finish line 39 seconds ahead of the next competitor, Jim Boule and Lexi, the only other competitors I knew.

Back out of the woods into the field,
with the finish line in sight in the distance

Finish chute!

And we're done.  1st place!!

Final result:  23:04, 1st overall of 79.  Full results here.

Award mailed out post-race

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Race 2:  Peak-to-Peak 10K Challenge - 10:00am

No sooner had I crossed the canicross finish line than I heard the announcer call all 10K participants to the start line.  Oh, no.  I quickly handed off Brady to Jana and then ran over to the picnic table where my stuff was.  Switched out of my wet singlet with Canicross bib into a dry singlet with the 10K bib pinned to it, and conscious of the time, I skipped swapping out shoes.  I didn't know it at the time, but this turned out to be the mistake of the day.

We had a few minutes to spare, but I didn't realize that when I opted to keep the same shoes on.  And I'm writing this in retrospect obviously.

I lined up in about the second row, had a quick chat with Matthew, and we were off.  Other than the first 1/10 mile and final 1/2 mile, this course would not have anything in common with the canicross 5K course.  The Canicross course had 300' of gain whereas this one had 1,500'.  At 1/10 mile, we made a hard turn left and started the dirt service road climb.  700' of elevation in this mile.  I actually ran about 500' of this, and then the elevation got too much for me.  Even before I changed from run to hike, people were passing me left and right.  I could see Matthew (eventual winner) for a ways, but then not again until the finish.

At the top of climb, the service road ended, we went past a couple of volunteers at a water stop, and onto trails.  Pretty much immediately I was on a long slab of wet rock and had a horrendous slip and fall.  My legs came out from underneath me, and I landed hard on my left hip and forearm, and then slid down the rock on my bare legs and shoulder.  Ouch!  That really hurt, but it was time to get up and get going.

Jogged and limped for a bit until I got my stride back.  Then about another mile in I slid and rolled my ankle, and fell again.  This fall was not nearly as bad, but cemented that I had very poor grip on the wet surfaces.  We had a mile or two of dirt twisty trails, and I was able to pass a few people here.

The final straw for me came when we were back out on a wet rock section, I had someone right on my tail, and as the trail on the rock slab went ever so slightly left, I slid, fell, and landed in the bushes scraping myself up yet again.  The guy right behind me asked if I was OK, and I said yes, I was fine and urged him to keep going, but in reality I was hurting physically and was pretty dejected.

Of course, I got up and got going again, but now each time I came up on a wet rock section I almost tippy-toed way across it.  This just wasn't fun anymore, and with a 50K coming up in seven days, I didn't want to injure myself any further.  Every time a runner came up on me, I made sure to give way and just let them go past.  

So glad to finish

Eventually, with just over a mile to go, the trail leveled off and became non-technical, and only then did I consciously pick it up again.  Crossed the finish line a little bloodied and beaten up.

Bruised, bloodied, and muddied

After the 10K (second race),
with the other two race winners

Final result:  1:07:51, 11th overall of 184, 1st (barely) in my age group.  Full results here.

What went well for me today:

• Canicross race went well and the win was a nice surprise!
• Deferral option from last year was fantastic
• While I could have used some more "confidence flags", the courses overall were sufficiently marked
• Organization from parking to registration to check-in to results were all top notch
• Fun trailfest vibes
• Post-race cookout was nice.  Not amazing, but nice to have food right afterwards.

What could've gone better:

• Wish we could've used the indoor facilities like we do at other races at ski resorts 
• Didn't really have enough time between races (this was on me clearly, but just mentioning)
• My Salomon Ultra-glide shoes were fine for the non-technical Canicross race, but clearly the wrong shoe for the 10K (again, this was on me, as I had the grippier shoes ready to go, but just didn't have much time.  In retrospect, I would have worn my VJs on both races.  This was a wake-up call for the 50K coming up the following week.
• I wish they had an awards ceremony, as I hoping to parade Brady up on stage for his overall win.  Clearly, I couldn't have done this one without him!

We all had a nice cool-down
post-race in a nearby lake

Weekly Log 10-Jul to 16-Jul-2023: Triathlon & a Very Hot Week

Miscellaneous rambling:

• I finally got my entry link into XTERRA World Trail Championships (Sugarloaf, Maine in October), from qualifying at Pineland Farms 25K this spring, but I was told/mistakenly believed that the entry was free.  It's not; it's $100 plus Active fee, so less compelling to me.  We'll see ...

Pretty meager harvest,
but nice to have blueberries
off my race award from
winning last September's
Trails to a Cure (a blueberry
bush that I planted in our yard)

At Stop & Shop.  I'm just disgusted
by this "nips" problem and our state legislature
kicking the can down the road on any
type of legislative solution

• Amidst my complaining of the heat and humidity, one thing I do really like about the summer here in RI is the swimming.  We have the ocean, rivers, streams, ponds, etc, with numerous free choices to cool off in the water.  I plan many of my runs to end at a swimming hole.

Monday:  3

Charlestown, RI.  Run with Matthew, mostly on dirt roads.  Nice dunk in Watchaug Pond post-run, although the water temperature is already warmer than I prefer.

Tuesday:  2 walk, 10 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  WLT summer mowing team, working today at Winnipaug Farm Preserve.  Pulled one tick off of me.

AM:  Westerly, RI.  7-mile run from Weekapaug Breachway.  I was doubtful that I would be able to get a free spot at 11am in July on a hot summer day, but lo and behold, there were a few spots left.  As I backed in, I recognized the person getting out of the car next to me:  Rose Buckingham.  She came over to give me a hug, and I warned I was pretty gross and covered in grass and weeds.  Good to catch up with her.  Out and back on the beach.  A little too crowded at Misquamicut State Beach as I had to dodge beachgoers, but it was just a small section near the pavilion as most don't venture far from there.  Refreshing dip in the ocean at finish.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  3-mile run with Brady.  Loop from Kettle Pond Visitor Center, and a dip in Watchaug Pond with 1/2 mile to finish.

Wednesday:  10

AM:  Charlestown, RI.  Hottest run yet this year at 82°F.  Easy on roads from Burlingame Picnic Area.  Uncomfortably hot.  Sapped my energy and I bailed on plans for a swim as I just soaked in the pond.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Fun Run week #7.  Hot.  1 mile warm-up solo, then ran and chatted with Chris for the Fun Run itself.  Average 6:18 pace.  That's about as fast as I can run and still carry a conversation.

Near end of first mile, with Chris
(Photo courtesy Robin Kerwin)

Thursday:

AM:  Exeter, RI.  Parked and ran from/to Arcadia Check Station.  Figured running the roads would eliminate the deerflies and ticks.  I was wrong, or at least on the first account.  16 DFKs.  Ugh.  Very humid and hot run with Brady.  Stopped at three rivers along the way, and then a long soak and short swim in the Wood River back at the check station.

PM:  Marlborough, CT.  Lake Terramuggus Tri.  This was part of a series of tris that they run every two weeks here.  This was #3 of 4 and the only one I'd be able to make based on scheduling.  The tris are no-frills (no food, no shirts, no bibs) but are amazing well run, professionally timed, and cost just $45 for the sprint tri ($35 for the shorter super-sprint tri).

I arrived at 5:30pm for a 6:15 start.  Another 15 minutes would have been good, but it was fine as there were no lines for check-in, bathroom facilities, etc.  Three very quick stations for check-in:  1) give your name and get your bib number (but no bib), 2) body-marking - just give your bib number, 3) pick up chip.

I quickly setup my bike and transition space (no assigned rack spaces; first-come, first-served), only to realize that I didn't bring a towel and I didn't bring a wetsuit.  I'm such a scatter brain.  Both were in my car, so I used that as an opportunity for a short warm-up.  Plenty of time for a final bathroom stop (real bathroom facilities!), listen to pre-race instructions, get my wetsuit on, and get into the water and catch up with Bob Kerwin.

Swim:  Just a 600 yard swim.  Water was very warm, with a lot of weeds until water got deeper.  What should have been clean 90-degree turns didn't end up that way.  It was only the final leg back that I just get kept drifting off course.  You can see it in my Strava post below.

At 4 o'clock or so, you can see
how I really kept drifting off course on 
final return.  I sight about every five strokes,
and had to correct often.

View of the swim finish

Bike:  Course was shortened to about 8 miles this evening, due to road construction work.  No complaints from me!  I gradually passed rider after rider, except for the one that blew by me.  Was he lapping me on second loop, or an even slower swimmer than me that was just catching up?

It was nice to see all ages out there,
including some very young triathletes

Run:  Finally in my element.  The only activity that I'm decently good at.  Passed runner after runner.  With less than 1/2 mile to go, I passed two runners, one who I recognized as being in my age group (John Minhervino).  The other runner was much younger, but yelled out to me, "Strong finishing pace!".  As I made the final turn off the road and headed downhill into the park, I heard someone coming close to me.  I figured it was one of the two I just passed, and was determined not to let them re-pass me.  Picked it up and kicked it in as fast I could, just staying seconds ahead of my suitor.  Only after crossing the finish line did I look back, and saw it wasn't either of the two that I passed but rather a 15-year old who had the fastest run of the day.  He congratulated me on my kick.  It's certainly not often that I hear that!

I am finished!  All tri photos courtesy of
Lake Terramuggus FB page.

Struggled getting started with 1st mile run split of 7:05, picked it up to 6:12 and 5:49 for Miles 2 and 3, respectively.

Final stats:  Full results here

So how did I do?  Awful in T1, not surprisingly pretty poor in both the swim (even for me) and
T2, decent on the bike, and really good on the run.

Friday:  9

AM:  Charlestown, RI.  Recovery run, with off-and-on light rain.  With Brady.  Mix of campground roads and trails.  Jump off the dock at the boat launch into Watchaug Pond.

PM:  Portsmouth, RI.  Possibly my first ever time running in this municipality.  This was entirely in support of my niece Lucy's Portsmouth Family Fun Run that she put on.  Much of it was modeled after our Westerly Fun Runs, but she also added her own twists, including a raffle and handwritten signs.   My assignments were to augment the spray-paint markings on the grass (the course was entirely on grass fields at Lucy's school) and then a course marshal.  Since my course marshal assignment was about 2 miles into the 2-loop course (2 different loops), I ran the 1-mile loop with Brady, and then we went to our assignment.

Start of the kids' 1/3 mile race.
(You can see the WTAC green flag at 3 o'clock)

The 1M / 5K run.  I ran 1M with Brady, before peeling off to
our assigned course marshal station.  Brady is just ahead of
Adam (owner of Run Newport store) pushing a double stroller.

So many young kids asked if they could pet Brady, and of course he was just fine with all the doting.

Saturday:  16

Westerly, RI.  Only a very short section in Westerly, before continuing onto a loop that would traverse parts of Hopkinton, Richmond, and Charlestown.  I really picked a bad morning for this weather-wise as it was about 75°F and 92% humidity.  Five decent but manageable hills (100' to 150') along the way.

I planned water stops at Miles 6 and 12 (where the rivers where) and drank from the rivers using my Salomon XA filter and flask.  I pushed every 4th mile, which helped to nicely break up the solo run into quarters and make it more manageable for me.  I saw John Ward on Woodville Road coming towards me on a bike, but otherwise just a few other bikers and one runner, none of whom I knew.

At Mile 6, I slid and went down hard on the road.  Who falls on the road?!  It was on a patch of slick mud that I didn't see, and it must have washed onto the road during last night's storm.  Ugh.  Turned out to be great timing with my river stop as I washed the road debris and blood out of my new leg cuts.

Started and finished at the kayak launch and fishing area on the Pawcatuck River in Bradford.  I can't remember ever swimming there before, but it sure was refreshing post-run today!  Repeatedly dove under the water and swam upstream against the current and floated downstream.

Glad I got this done, but the cost was that the rest of the day I just felt weak from heat sickness.

Sunday:  9

Charlestown, RI.  Recovery run with Brady on yet another soupy day.  76°F and 93% humidity.  Ugh.  Ran VG Trail CCW and added on down to North Camp Beach, as I wanted Brady to get a good cooling off halfway through.  17 DFKs for a season-to-date 114.

About the only good thing on this run is that with two miles to go, it started to rain steadily.  That not only felt good, but also when we got back to the boat launch area where we parked, both that area and the adjoining beach area were now completely empty in the rain!  Enjoyed swimming and frolicking in the pond in the rain and brought one of Brady's tennis balls for him to swim after.  Was engrossed in the water when I didn't even hear a MTB rider come up to the dock and ask how the water was.  He was watching Brady jump off the dock and swim, and said he had previously had Labrador Retrievers and missed having a swimming dog.

Weekly mileage:  69 run, 8 ride, 2 walk, 0.4 swim

Weekly synopsis:  For such lousy hot and humid weather, really a good running week.  8 out of 11 runs ended with a dunk in the nearby water!  Getting in a tri for practice was good as well, although I'm a long way from the distances I need for the Ironman.  Enjoying having some temporary downtime from running races, especially in this heat.  Not having races undoubtedly helped me get my highest mileage run week since early June, when I coincidentally also did not have a race.

One more weekend free from running races, and then I jump into the trifecta of hot summer races:  Blessing, Kerri, Doyle.

Weekly highlight:  Getting in a good 16-mile hilly training run in this soup.

Weekly lowlight:  Deerflies.  Just hate them.  So many bites and make me itch.  New patches should arrive early next week.  Hoping these work.

Summer Solstice 8M

 

Hebron, CT

Saturday, June 17, 2023

I last ran this race eleven years ago.  At that time the race featured two distances only, a 5K and 5-Miler, the latter distance which I ran and finished in 6th.  This year they had an 8-Mile distance, which also served as one of the USATF-CT MUT (Mountain/Ultra/Trail) races.

After a one-hour drive from Westerly, I arrived at Gay City State Park with plenty of time to spare.  I digress for a moment to satisfy my innate curiosity:  why the weird name?  I'm assuming it has more to do with the traditional meaning of the word gay being "happy" rather than the more modern usage of the term, but in turns out both guesses would be wrong.  Originally settled in 1796 by a religious sect, the surname "Gay" was more common than any of the other residents, and it gradually became known as Gay City and developed as a mill town in the 1800s before burning down post-Civil War and eventually turned over to the state of CT as a state park.  Huh ... who knew?

Big field was used for start, finish, registration, and awards.

Back to the race:  I was on a trail winding down my warm-up when I heard the national anthem play.  I kind of freaked out as I feared I'd miss the start.  Did I screw up?  Not really, as my watch showed 7:21am against a 7:30am start and I was only a quarter-mile away.  Turned around and quickly ran to the field with the start/finish line just as the national anthem was finishing.  No one was on the start line; this was weird but reassuring.

Start:  I was in the first of three waves, and made sure to get up close to the start line, in about the second row.  The first quarter-mile or so was on pavement before we split off onto single-track.  I entered the trail in about 10th place.  The lead woman passed me early on and I enjoyed watching her pass the two guys ahead of me, but it didn't last long.

I just ran my own race, but in doing so, gradually worked up my up in the pack.  The guy immediately in front of me was likely a faster road runner, but each time we got to a technical section he really slowed down.  Then the short technical section was over and he picked up the pace again.  Finally in one crazy section where we had to jump over a partially downed tree in the middle of a rocky trail section, I went past him and didn't look back.  Also caught up to teammate Dave Goodrich, who let me go by, and then on a downhill, re-caught and passed the lead woman.

Early on, behind lead woman.

The rest of the first loop was pretty uneventful and on pretty easy terrain.  I passed two more runners and then at five miles, the five milers peeled off to the finish and we started a second, shorter route.  Grabbed a water at the start of this loop and off I went.  

Start of second loop.

This second loop was not only shorter but also easier.  There was a fair amount of double-track and a long gradual downhill section early in the loop, where is where I ran my fastest mile of the race (Mile 6) in 6:38.  I felt good, the loop went by quickly, I passed two more runners, and I crossed the finish line in 4th place.

Finished!

Final result:  55:28, 4th out of 97 finishers overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Age group award.  Top three got a pie;
just missed that one.

One teammate, Marc Olivier, won the race outright, and with Dave moving up to finish in 6th place, the three of us combined to win the men's open team race today!  This race wasn't particularly hard or technical, but had just enough variability to make it fun.  I would definitely run this again if it fit in my schedule.

(l-r):  me, Mark, Dave

Weekly Log 3-Jul to 9-Jul-2023: Low Mileage Recovery Week

Monday:  0.5 swim

Charlestown, RI

2 days post 52K.  Woke up in the middle of the night with searing pain in my legs.  Slept in and noticed one of my foot blisters had swelled and popped.  Decided to give the old, tired feet a day off and swam instead.  Easy (translation: very slow) swim, triangle from/to the boat launch.

Tuesday:  5

Charlestown, RI

Fourth of July!  With Matthew and Brady.  Plan was to run from the B-game Picnic Area, but it was already packed in the morning, even though there was light rain.  Ran from the Kettle Pond Visitor Center instead.  Very warm and humid.  Dip in Watchaug Pond post-run.

4th of July was quiet for us this year, having been away a lot recently.
But it's always a good time to grill.  Cajun swordfish, zucchini, and garlic bread.

Wednesday:  8

AM:  Charlestown, RI.  Five miles at Ninigret with Matthew and Brady.  Just super humid.  Singlet quickly drenched.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Fun Run week #6.  Pretty miserable weather with the heat about 80° and humidity in the 80s.  Somehow ran about a 6-flat pace, so that was encouraging despite the weather and recovering from my 50K.

Thursday:  23 ride

Westerly, RI.  Very hot on my 2nd ride.  Incorporated some of the Charlestown hills.  My plan was to go from the bike immediately into a run, but I just felt awful in the heat and spent the rest of the day inside with air conditioning.

Friday:  6

Westerly, RI.  Early (6am) low-tide beach run with Brady.  Six miles seemed a good distance to start with, for my first barefoot run of the season.  Post-run ocean dip felt heavenly in the soupy air.

Spent the late afternoon and early evening running
Sailfest 5K packet pickup at Kelley's Pace.  As Race Director, I don't get
much time to talk to runners on race day.  So it's nice to talk to
runners here, including both those I know and catch up with, as well as
those that have questions.  There were a few first-time 5K'ers
that were looking for advice on different topics, and others that had
questions on nutrition, moving up to longer distances, chafing, etc.
---
Do you remember your first 5K race?  Ironically, mine was a
Kelley's Pace race (Hare Hop) twenty years ago.

Saturday:  11

Exeter, RI.  Arcadia trail run with Brady.  Just oppressive heat and humidity.  Stopped at every river possible for Brady, and joined him in many.  Dunked myself completely at the swimming hole in Breakheart Brook on Shelter Trail, and then back at the check station went in the Wood River for a long soak and swim.

The one issue, and in retrospect it was a big one, was the bugs.  52 DFKs, and three ticks taken off my legs in the Wood River when we finished up.  52 is a disgusting amount of deerflies, and who knows what the ratio is of ones buzzing around my head to the ones I actually kill, but it likely means hundreds were bothering me during the run. 

What was really surprising to me was that the deerfly patches I used FAILED to catch a single deerfly (all 52 kills were by hand, which is kind of disgusting in its own right).  Anyway, after getting home, I went online to check if efficacy of deerfly patches is lost over time.  On the manufacturer's website, it states that the shelf life is three years, and lo and behold, these are more than three years old.  They're only $11 for 12 patches, and a dollar less than that on Amazon, so I'll just get a few more.  (Note:  several reviews also suggested to wear a hat you don't care about as sticky residue can be left behind.  That was the case with me.  Yes, solvent can remove it.)

Here's a picture I posted on my blog 3 years ago,
so clearly they worked at one point.

The bigger problem was the other vile creature you encounter trail running.  Ticks!  Three on me was a price I was willing to pay, but not the 15 or so that we pulled off Brady after he got home.  I have no more trail races in the immediate future, so running roads and dirt roads may make sense for me now.

Sunday:   3

Westerly, RI.  Short and easy run with Brady on local roads at 5am.  After yesterday's deerfly and tick encounters, opted not to go into Winnapaug Farm or Champlin WLT properties.

Weekly mileage:  33 run, 23 ride, 0.5 swim

Weekly synopsis:  Easy recovery week after the longest duration race and likely hardest of my life.  Will pick it up from here.

Weekly highlight:  Barefoot beach run with Brady.  I do like beach running.  Not everyone does.

Weekly lowlight:  Unbelievably bad deerflies and ticks at Arcadia on Saturday.

Weekly Log 26-Jun to 2-Jul-2023: Quebec

Recently watched a clip of the Cheese Rolling Contest (above),
 held near Gloucester, England, where participants race down a
200-yard long hill chasing a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese.
Would be fun to watch, but bonkers to participate in!

Monday:  0

Complete day off.  Very sore and beat up from the weekend. 

Tuesday:  7 run, 2 walk

Westerly, RI

AM:  Short early morning run with Brady on local roads.

AM:  Morning break during an 8-hour WLT Strategic Planning session.  Had many of these during my working career; while this was productive, I don't miss them.  Took a walk around Barlow Preserve.

PM:  Afternoon break - repeat of above.

PM:  5-mile run at Grills at 4pm conclusion of Strategic Planning meeting.  No one out there.  Enjoyed the solitude.

Wednesday:  7

AM:  Hopkinton, RI.  Short early morning run with Brady at Canonchet.  Intended longer, but after 10 DFKs, bailed at two miles.

PM:  Westerly, RI.  Fun Run week #5.  Took it really easy with a big race coming up on Saturday.  20:47.

Thursday:  5

Groton, CT.  Bluff Point run with Brady.  Warm.  Mix of carriage roads and single-track.

Friday:  4

Hartford, VT.  Road run in the White River Junction village with Matthew and Brady, as we stopped here overnight to break up the trip to Quebec.  Roads kind of busy in the first half; second half was better.

Saturday:  32!

Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Quebec, Canada

Quebec Mega Trail 50K.   Race report to follow separately.

Sunday:  4

Beaupré, Quebec, Canada

Easy recovery run.  With Matthew and Brady.  To/from our hotel at Mt Sainte-Anne.  Unfortunately, the deerflies are bad up here too.  4 DFKs.

Weekly mileage:  58 run, 1 walk

Weekly synopsis:  After weeks of building up, we finally hit the crescendo, Quebec Mega Trail.  One week of recovery, and then refocus on what's next, including popular local road races in late July and August, and tri buildup.

Weekly highlight:  QMT 50.  Very difficult for me, but rewarding to complete this.

Weekly lowlight:  Deerflies at Canonchet.  Unbearable.

Weekly Log 19-Jun to 25-Jun-2023: From DC to NH

Monday:  0.5 swim, 6 walk

Charlestown, RI

Swim:  Knowing I would be going for a walk at 9am from VG trailhead on Kings Factory, I got there 35 minutes ahead of time to go for a pond swim.  New equipment today included a bright neon yellow swim buoy and a new pair of goggles (thanks Jana).  Swim felt really good.  Arms tired, but not as much as last time.  And time to throw the old goggles out, as I had to bail on the swim last time with leaking goggles, and today was perfect!

Walk:  Met up with John K, his son, and his friend George for a walk of Sammy C's, North Camp, and Vin Gormley back to start.  They all seemed to really enjoy Sammy C's (other than that I couldn't answer who is "Sammy C") and the view at North Camp beach.

On the way back home, stopped at Dave's Coffee
(one of my favorite coffee shops) and sat outside here.
Looks pretty simple to put together.  I'm sure I'm underestimating it,
but maybe this is something I could try at home.  Something about
flowing water is just so soothing to me.

And came home to find this in my driveway.  Probably
the opposite of soothing!

Tuesday:  1 walk, 6 run

AM:  Westerly, RI.  Final CCC before summer break.  Worked on white trail, on west edge of clearing.  Cleared a lot of overgrowth, so hopefully this will extend the trail a bit and pay dividends in the form of lighter maintenance in the fall.

PM:  Charlestown, RI.  Burlingame North with Brady.  First DFK of the season.  Ugh.

Wednesday:  3 walk, 10 run    

Washington, DC.  Down here in the nation's capital with Matthew for two days visiting potential grad schools that he has been accepted in.  Opted to take the train down as 1) I really didn't feel like driving the busy Northeast corridor, and 2) I cashed in a few Amtrak points to get free business class tickets.  I earned them from all the years commuting into Boston when I worked at Fidelity.

Leaving Boston en route to Washington, DC

Walk:  Walked 3 miles including a self-guided tour at George Washington University, then to the place where we'd leave our bags while going for run, from there to dinner, and then to the Metro station to head to the hotel.  Rainy; glad I brought a rain jacket at Jana's suggestion.

Washington's Metro system is one of the nicest in the country

Clean and stately

Run:  After stopping to cross a few busy streets, we ran in East and West Potomac Parks, managed by the National Park Service, and enjoyed about 4 miles of almost zero-traffic park roads.  This was perhaps the best part of the run, as we were on a scenic peninsula where we could just run right in the middle of the park road.  Certainly weather played a factor in the scant amount of cars and people out in the park, but no complaints here.

A few neat scenes along our run:
World War II Memorial

MLK, of course

The iconic Reflecting Pool

and our 16th President

The last part of the run was on the National Mall.  The rain had picked up and there were very few people out and about.  The only downside was how many times we had to stop here at road crossings and wait for a pedestrian signal to go.

Thursday:  13 run, 4 walk

College Park, MD.  Up relatively early (6am) to get in a run before a busy day of college visits and train travel.  I had planned out a 12-mile route to/from our hotel, and the route got expanded by about a mile due to trail closures/detours.  The route we ran broke down to about 4 miles of road and 9 miles of bike paths and trails.

We got most of the roads out of the way early, with 3 miles on mostly neighborhood roads.  We even crossed "Rhode Island Avenue" en route!  We ran through Buddy Attick Park, including along the shores of Greenbelt Lake.  After a short distance on roads, we ran next into the Greenbelt Park, owned and maintained by the National Park Service.  Unfortunately, part of the Perimeter Trail (which I had mapped out) was closed and a detour dropped us into the Greenbelt Campground and this is where the added mile came in.

Nice easy trails and greenway at Greenbelt Park

Note the deer alongside this double-track path

Greenbelt Lake, at Buddy Attick Lake Park

After one more short road stretch, the remainder of the run (~5 miles) was entirely on paved biked paths around a small airport (College Park Airport), around Lake Artemesia, and through a wooded canopy and greenway.  This section was really nice as it included dedicated tunnels under roads and really nice bridges.  Much of it reminded me of the paths I've run on in Rochester, MN.

Washington, DC.  Tour of Georgetown University

Philadelphia, PA.  Self-guided tour of Drexel University

Friday:  3

Charlestown, RI.  Short and easy run with Brady, practicing with canicross leash and harness.  Took me a few tries to get the hang of it.

Late afternoon we drove up to Bear Brook State Park in NH,
where the four of us camped for the night (note tent in background)
and enjoyed a campfire.

Saturday:  10

Gilford, NH.   Gunstock Trailfest.  Separate write-up to follow.

Sunday:  5

Charlestown, RI.  Easy run at Burlingame campground with Brady.  Body is really beat up, bruised, and sore.

Weekly mileage:  48 run, 16 walk, 0.5 swim

Weekly synopsis:  Quite the varied week.  I didn't quite hit my weekly mileage goal (55), but I also walked more miles than I have in a long time, so the combination fit well.

Weekly highlight:  Gunstock canicross run with Brady.  The Maryland run a close second.

Weekly lowlight:  Gunstock 10K. It was a good race course and well organized.  I just fell too much and got banged up and ended up running slow and cautious.  (more to come in race report)