Running stats:
Miles run: 263.5
Elevation gain: 16,873'
Weekly miles (for weeks ended in month): 28, 52, 58, 59
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| Slight uptick in miles and elevation after end of April marathon |
Primary running surfaces: Trails (156 miles), roads (76)
Primary running locations: Charlestown (67 miles), then Exeter (49) - same pattern as last month
Other disciplines:
- Walk / hike: 28 miles
Quick synopsis:
- Slight bump in mileage post-marathon.
- One low-mileage recovery week.
- Just two races this month, and both of them I performed well in. I'll take quality over quantity any day. Something I need to put into practice more often.
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Interesting runs:
- Pachaug Half, Voluntown, CT, May 15. 13 miles. Re-ran the now defunct Pachaug Half Marathon (of which I hold the CR; imagine that!) with Brady. I enjoy much, but not all of the course, as there's some loose rock sections, but I do remember I really enjoyed running the race at the time.
Rocky, hilly terrain. - Arcadia Catch-up, Exeter, May 16. 11 miles with Matthew and Brady. Mix of dirt roads and trails. Just fun to catch up with the former, for the first time since he was out here for Christmas vacation.
- Heat Acclimation, Exeter, May 21. 11 miles with Matthew, sans Brady due to heat. Started/finished at check station, but much of the run was in southern Arcadia (Richmond). Definitely had never run this route before, and it included at least one unmarked trail that I had never run.
- Two Months 'til Blessing, Narragansett, May 22. 11 miles solo workout, including the vast majority of the Blessing course. Ran a descending ladders workout, which I was pretty happy with. Finished the workout and signed up for my 22nd consecutive Blessing race in late July. Will be here before you know it.
- Two Province Run, Ottawa, ON, May 26. 8 miles with Brady, pretty much evenly split between Ontario and Quebec provinces. Almost entirely on paved bike paths, with many views of the Ottawa River.
On the Ontario side of the river.
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Races:
Vermont Overland Trail (May 11):
West Windsor, VT
15 miles and ~2,000 feet in elevation gain. 2:01:01, 1st in 50-59 age group. A mix of single-track and dirt roads with some good hill climbs and descents, this put my endurance to the test and I'm really happy with the results!
Ottawa 10K (May 25):
Ottawa, ON
Flat and fast. Canadian national 10K championship in the nation's capital. 37:11, 1st in 50-59 age group. Other than the chaotic bib pick-up process and no seeded start, this was well run and again, I'm pretty happy with this result as well.
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Miscellaneous:
- I was actually able to lead one WLT Thursday series hike, as so many were cancelled this spring due to rain and/or flooding. This was a 4 mile hike in Burlingame North leading 11 humans and 3 canines, with the highlights being the dam and the canoe camp site.
- Continued my long overdue clean-up of the basement. We've lived here for 22 years now, and just accumulated and kept too much "stuff".
Well, based on the current geopolitical climate,
if there were ever a time that I would swear off learning
Russian, it would be now. And good thing I held on to
my Fortran textbook from my Computer Science degree
back in the 80s. I have had to refer back to that one exactly
ZERO times. And yes, the "77" in Fortran 77 refers
to the 1977 version.
It's hard to throw away stuff that there's nothing wrong with,
but being able to donate all this winter sporting equipment
(that no longer fits anyone)
to a second-hand store made it easier.
Good thing I saved a set of four hubcaps
from my 2000 Volvo station wagon. I haven't had that
car in 14 years, but you know just in case I happen to
buy another 2000 Volvo station wagon that also happens
to need hubcaps. Ugh.
Just such a cluttered mess. Why would anyone post a photo
of this? Kind of like a previously fat guy posting a picture
of himself in his previous state on the refrigerator door: to remind myself
of the need to change and improve my ways.
---
The hot water heater (left) sprang a leak, and if there was
a silver lining, it's that it gave me more impetus to get this area
cleaned up before the technicians arrived to remove and replace it.
Real happy with the shelving I set up, both standalone and hanging rails on the wall.
This allowed me to take so many items off the floor and organize them better.
Incremental progress. - The most exciting event for me in May was finally seeing The Rolling Stones!
Actually my first time ever to Gillette Stadium.
Fun fact (as announced by Mick Jagger): the Rolling Stones
played at Gillette Stadium before the Patriots did!
(Stones played 5 days before Patriots' season opener in 2002)
Fun fact #2 (also as announced by Mick): this was the
Stones' 100th concert at Gillette! 100!
7:56pm. Arrived 1/2 hour after the announced
start time of 7:30pm; had no interest in the
warm-up band that I'd never heard of.
8:30pm: Seats are starting to fill in now.
Estimated attendance 60,000.
Why on earth was this band chosen as the warm-up band?!
Some band from the south, which didn't even play rock & roll.
One of the band members had a t-shirt with the words,
"Who the f%#@ [spelled out] is Mick Jagger?" Not at all funny to me.
With Jana, awaiting the Stones. Seats weren't bad.
I had originally scoffed at paying about $300/ticket,
then prices actually went DOWN. Seats were available
as low as $129, but I paid a bit more to avoid the
nose-bleed seats.
The Rolling Stones took the stage at 8:49pm, playing Start Me Up. Wasn't sure how
the octogenarian Mick Jagger would sound, but he was AMAZING! If I didn't know
his age, seeing his appearance and running and dancing around the stage for
two hours, I would've guessed 65. So glad I went to the concert. Top notch!- Apparently the carpet on the catwalk was wet and a bit slippery in one spot (it had rained earlier in the day). After the first song, Mick asked his crew to fix that carpet "before he falls on his ass". That one got some laughter from the audience.
- Early on in the evening, before it even got dark, the guy to my right stood up, tried to go over the then empty seat in the row in front of me, and promptly fell, landing horizontally two rows down on top of four people. He seemed more embarrassed than scathed. His partner said he had had too many beers.
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| Keith Richards, on the other hand, yeah, he looked 80. But he sure can play. |
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| And lest you think it's all old white guys, here's Chanel Haynes and Mick duo singing Give Me Shelter (Photo by iorr.org [It's Only Rock n Roll]) |
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| Mick and the boys (Ronnie Woods [left], Keith Richards [right]) were just AWESOME. (Photo by Boston Globe) --- They played Emotional Rescue for the first time in 10 years! How Mick hits that "falsetto" singing is beyond me. So many classics played, from Bitch, Little T&A (glad this slightly raw song didn't get cut due to political correctness), Sympathy for the Devil, Paint it Black, Jumpin' Jack Flash, and closing out the night with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. |
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| Note in lower right who is this sponsored by! A nod to the overall age demographics, for sure. --- Again, just an incredible concert. |
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Looking ahead to June:
Two races on the docket:
- Goodwin Forest Trail 30K, Hampton, CT, June 2. Longest trail race since last summer, but should be a fun low-key one.
- Branford 5M Road Race, Branford, CT, June 16. Never run this one before. Unfortunately it's the same weekend as the Summer Solstice 8M Trail Race, which I ran last year and really enjoyed, so I'll alternate this year.
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Monthly highlight:
Running: Vermont Overland 15M. Just a fun low-key race, yet one that pro runners also run for serious money. And my own performance was much better than I expected, especially on the back half catching and passing so many.
Non-running: The Rolling Stones concert!
Monthly lowlight:
Just in general struggling on warm runs. I feel I struggle in the heat more relative to others. Maybe it's just my perception, and hopefully I'll acclimate enough to be able to run well in several goal races I have this summer.
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