Weekly Log 2-Jul to 8-Jul-2018: The Road to Recovery?

Monday:  0 run, 3 walk
Parked at John Ward Physical Therapy, and before my appointment, walked in my old neighborhood, Tockwotten Cove Road, Charlestown.  Caught up briefly with one former neighbor. She did remember me (we moved out 16 years ago), and we had a pleasant chat.

The disappointing part to me was walking through eight different "No Trespassing" signs.  I can understand keeping your part private, but these were all on the road.  "No Trespassing", "Turn Around", "Members Only", etc.  My house was the last on the public portion of the road, and I do remember that many of the roads going down to the water were private, but I never remembered it this exclusive.  Ugh.  Love thy neighbor?  Not here.

At the PT appointment, was happy to see hear John say he saw real progress in me, but disappointed to hear him say still no running.  When I asked him "for how long?", he took the high road and said he didn't know, but that I wasn't ready now.  So frustrating.  I must have sounded like a two-year old whose candy was just taken away from him, as I had a little bit of a meltdown.  No Loon.

Tuesday:  0 run, 3 walk
Was finishing up my local neighborhoods walk when I saw a SUV turn around and come back towards me.  Uh oh, what now?  Oh, it's WLT president Sheilia!  She's wondering why the heck I'm walking, and do I need a ride back home.  I told her my story.  She had just gotten in from a trail run, and I told her I hate all runners!

Wednesday:  0 run, 21 ride
4th of July!  While my running friends were all posting runs (as they should), I tried to keep it fun all day long.  Rode to Quonnie to watch T5K, Shara, JV, PG, and others run the 4-mile race.  That was actually pretty fun.

After an afternoon at a neighbor's pool party, Matthew and I had a bonfire and lit fireworks.  Some traditions I really relish.  This is one of them.

This will be fun!
Hopefully the "Bad Ass Shells" will live up to their name.

I always love a fire.

A roman candle we bought in NH last year
(not legal in RI).

These ground displays are legal in RI,
and neat to look at, although some of the
ones with pulsating lights were blinding.

The poor pic quality doesn't do this justice,
but this was just awesome!  This was one of the
"Bad Ass Shells" that we launched out of a tube.
Not sure where we got these from, but I'm quite
sure these are not legal anywhere in New England.
(For perspective on launch height, in the lower right
of pic is the tops of our trees.  This fireworks display
was way above them!)

Thursday:  0 run, 3 walk
Most of the walk was pleasant and almost no pain now, but the short section of trail through Rotary Park was unbearable with deer flies in full force.  Running is bad enough in deer fly areas, but walking apparently is just inviting trouble.  3 DFKs to bring it the season tally to 8.

Friday:  nada
Although I'm only walking and not running these days, still seemed good just to take a day off from all activity (except my PT stretching exercises, of course).

Saturday:  0 run, 5 walk
AM:  2.7 miles in Ninigret.  Nice cool, low humidity run.  59 degrees.  The only downside:  7 DFKs, bringing the season's total to 15.
PM:  2.7 miles in Mine Falls Park, Nashua, NH.  Nice post-lunch break on way to Loon.  I ran here a few times when working in nearby Merrimack years ago.  No deerflies.

Sunday: 0 run, 2 hike
Parked at Loon Mountain and the guy that parked right behind me was Crutch!  The guy who parked in front of me came over and said, "You're Jeff Walker, right"?  Does he have me confused with "Maine Jeff Walker"?  No, he said we both ran Newport Marathon last year.  OK.  Of course I had to look up his time (3:15) and place in age group (2nd behind me).  Now I remember he came up post-race and congratulated me.  Yeah, sure I do.  No, really.

Anyhow, I started 1/2 hour before the Loon Mountain Race, so I could hike up and get into place for my first viewing point to watch Matthew (at the 90-degree turn off the service road and onto double-track).  Two others had the same idea, so we chatted while awaiting the race leaders to arrive.  A guy from TX watching his early 20s son who was trying to qualify for Worlds(!), and a NH woman watching her boyfriend Tristan race.  Based on their predictions, the TX son would be in the top 4, and both Tristan and Matthew somewhere between 20 and 40.  Sure enough, the TX guy was in 5th and Matthew in 25th right behind Tristan at the first stop just over a mile in. Little changed position wise when saw them again about 3.5 miles, except that runners were spreading out.

I was only hiking parts of the course today, and I found this sign early on
in the 6.6 mile race to be soul-crushing.
It's like those fans at the 1-Mile mark in a marathon shouting "Only 25.2 Miles to Go!"

After the second stop, it was a steep climb upper Lower Walking Boss and then Upper Walking Boss where the first runners were just starting their 40% plus grade ascent.  On the hike up, a black bear ran across the ski trail we were on!  Too quick for a pic.  I was happy I was able to hike up without pain, and I was much less disappointed to miss running the race than when I first learned I wouldn't be ready for it.  Matthew finished as 1st junior (< 20 years old) overall in just about an hour flat (1:00:21)!

Weekly mileage:  0 run, 16 miles walked, 21 biked

Weekly synopsis:  Real happy with this week!  Seems so odd to say that in a week where I ran zero miles, but the fact that I got there and walked with a bare minimum of pain when I was hobbling and wincing most of the previous two weeks speaks volumes to me.  I'm cautiously optimistic for my recovery while obviously I'm champing at the bit to get some run miles in (who says that?  am I a horse?  and why "champing" and not "chomping"?).

Pack rat digression:

The back of my Audi for about 15 minutes.
Isn't this disgusting?  Jana e-mailed me that the state was having a "Hazardous
Waste Collection Day" in Westerly this weekend, and it was finally time to clean
out a bunch of crap, mostly old paints, from our basement.
--
An 1/8 of a gallon of paint dated 2005 in a rusty old can.  Why am I saving this??
You never know when lime green will come back in vogue and you'll want to paint
your bathroom with it?  Maybe I kept because you can't just throw it out, but still I'm
disgusted with myself.  Maybe like a fat guy posting a picture of himself
shirtless on his fridge may curb his excess eating, posting a picture of my excess junk
here may curb my hoarding?

Well, if I can do it for old paints, the same
goes for old cell phones.  Remember flip phones?
How can you get rid of these things?  You can't just
throw these in the trash, or at least I couldn't responsibly
do that.

Did you know they have automated kiosks now
for scanning and recycling old phones?!
Well, I didn't it.  It even gave me $3 back at the end.

And onto my next effort of de-cluttering and responsibly recycling:
Spent hours wiping computers that we collected and sat over the years. 
Just one more computer to go, and then this lot is off to an e-waste facility. 
Of course, every computer had a different OS and
different process to wipe.  Remember XP?  How about Vista?
--
Hope I can keep this de-cluttering effort going.  I didn't accumulate junk
overnight, so it's not going to go away overnight either, but hopefully I can
just keep tackling a bit at a time.  Then maybe some year when we downsize
or I kick the bucket, I will have left less of a footprint and mess for others to clean up.

Weekly Log 25-Jun to 1-Jul-2018: Life Sucks, then You Die ...

... not's really, but that's how I feel in my roller coaster week this week, in pain, hobbling, searching for answers, and unable to run.  (You do remember that funny song "Life Sucks, then you Die" from The Fools in the 80's, right?)  So far my wife hasn't run off with a one-legged plumber, and I haven't cut off my private parts with a power tool, so I guess it isn't that dire.  :)

Yes, I need to put things in perspective and realize how fortunate I am to live a generally healthy and happy life, but at present I am wallowing.

Monday:   0
A week to the day since the pain and limping brought an end to my running, today is the day I resolved to see the doctor.  After listening to my spiel about my two recent injuries and a little poking and prodding, he surmised that I was compensating for my torn left calf muscle and in the process injured my right glute.  OK, I'll buy that.  He gave me a steroid injection in the local area of the pain, indicated I should feel much better soon, and I should jog/walk a mile Tuesday on grass or track, and be back to regular running on Wednesday.  AWESOME NEWS!!

Tuesday:  1
Bradford Preserve.  I got through the prescribed mile, but not at all pretty.  Broke it into 4 400s at a jog punctuated by a minute walk.  1st 400:  uncomfortable, 2nd 400: painful, 3rd 400:  unbearable, walked the rest.  Arggh.  Depressed again.  Maybe it just takes time and tomorrow will be a better day.

Wednesday:  0
Westerly High School track.  OK, color me skeptical, but today IS the day I'm supposed to return to regular running.  Started out walking 400 meters.  So far so good. Now for running 400 meters:  I made it about 5 meters, PAIN.  Done.

Limped and sulked until Fun Run time.  Tried real hard to put on smiles and be a positive role model, but deep inside sitting on the sidelines at the Fun Run for the 2nd straight week was hard.  In truth, I enjoyed being there even as RD and spectator.  We had a new course record in the Kids' Fun Run and a very fast 5K, and both were fun.

What wasn't fun was a double whammy of my rapid body deterioration and well intending folks telling me what I should do.  I tried to hide my limping, but it wasn't possible, especially when any weight bearing became unbearable and I had to sit down on the grass for relief.  One person came over to tell me some specific chemical that I should have injected that worked for him decades ago, and a second guy gruffly asked me, "Do you wear orthotics?", and when I answered "No", he pointed at me and barked, "Get some!".    Ugh.  Thanks, stranger, for the unsolicited advice.

After nearly everyone left, I limped/shuffled/winced back to the car in the most excruciating pain yet, and then collapsed in my car seat while Jana packed everything up and loaded up the car.  Pathetic!  Got home and could barely walk.  Matthew got his crutches for me.

Thursday:  0
This clearly isn't working.  Time for another approach.  Call John Ward Physical Therapy.  John is a former marathon training buddy, and although he doesn't run anymore due to his own ailments, he religiously sponsors Li'l Rhody every year.  Anyhow, John was kind enough to stay after hours to wait for me.

After much questioning, listening, and having me try various stretches, he came to a very different diagnosis:  Adherent Nerve Root. (basically a nerve attaching to my sciatic nerve "stuck" and not gliding the way it should).  He speculates that the injection three days ago didn't work because the doctor treated the symptom and not the cause.  Hmmm, interesting; I'm listening.  John prescribed specific stretches every two hours for the next five days, and then come back and see him again Monday morning.  No running.  Lots of walking, some cycling.

Friday:  0 run, 1.6 walk
Back to WHS track.  Odd - I was nervous about taking a walk on the track.  Could I do it?  Yes!  Was it painful?  Yes, mildly.

In the evening, while out mowing and weed-whacking, my next door neighbor state trooper goes out for a run.  Again.  Ugh.  Good for him of course, I'm just coveting anyone and everyone out running.  He finished up and stops by.
Me:  "How far did you run?"
Him:  10 Miles!
Me:  Liar.
Him:  Ok, will you believe 2.6 miles?
Me:  Maybe.  Where did you run?
Him:  "Jana's loop".  (OK, I will believe that.  Her regular is indeed about that distance:  Shore Road, Newbury, Tom Harvey, back through SeaGlen)

Saturday:  0 run, 18 ride, 2.9 walk
Met up with Tommy 5K, Mikey B, and JV for an easy shoreline ride.  The best part for me is the post-ride iced coffee social.  Honestly.  Uphills a little painful; the rest fine.

Immediately post-ride, walked from home on "Jana's loop", plus tacked on the short Audubon Society trail out to the pond and back.  Chatted with a old guy there (even older than me) finishing up clamming.  Nice catch!  Catch?  Harvest?  Bounty?  Once on Newbury, I was really tempted to duck into the Champlin trails, but they're just too uneven for me at this point.  Oddly enough, felt fine on the flats, just OK on the uphills, but painful on the downhills (including down stairs).

Sunday: 0 run, 0.6 swim, 3.2 walk
Met up with Tommy for a swim at Watchaug Pond.  First open swim of the year for both of us.  We had some nervous laughter about how do you this again, can I grab on to your legs and you can pull me, etc., then got going.  Swam the 1/4 mile marked course out and back, plus a little tacked on at beginning/end.  Went much smoother than expected, and I knew I would be tired with 1st swim and overall upper body weakness, but really very happy with the outcome.  The best part:  NO PAIN!!

Tommy and I parted ways, and I went for my new routine of a daily walk.

Really enjoyed the walk, as first time on real trails since injury!  Also walking through the Burlingame campground was fun and reinvigorated my interest in camping this summer (well, that, and the huge cash drain that my house repairs is causing, but that's another story).  The downside of the walk:

I'm just disgusted by the number of out-of-towners and out-of-staters who come to
nice state parks and beaches in South County and treat it like their toilet.
As Tommy pointed out, zoom in on the sign for the ultimate irony.

Weekly mileage:  1!  Uno, eins, un, один, however you want to state it, it's:  ONE glorious mile.

Weekly synopsis:  Life sucks, then you die.  Didn't you read my title?  To be fair, the one mile is running only, and I did walk 7.7 miles, ride 18, and swim 1/2 mile.  The fact that I'm walking at all now after limping for a week and a half gives me some reason to hold off on the complete doom and gloom.  Again, trying to keep things in perspective.  Life is good, my friends.

Weekly Log 18-Jun to 24-Jun-2018: June Injury #2

Monday:  7
Lake Brandt, Greensboro, NC.  Last day in NC, and I won't miss this weather.  83 degrees and dripping humidity by 7:30am, before going up to 98 degrees in the afternoon.  I have a brother in inland Georgia and a son in Tampa, FL, and I really don't understand how either can stand to stay in the south in the summer.

Anyhow, other than the heat and deerflies (5 kills), the trails were pretty interesting.  Started off on a mile of paved bike path, then ventured onto the dirt single-tracks.  Nothing technical, but a fun trail network that was entirely shaded.  Really just scratched the surface of the trail network here.

Frequent overlooks onto Lake Brandt

Fun single-track through the forests

Many commemorations of RI General Nathaniel Greene can be found here,
including this trail.  Greene was a highly respected general from RI serving under
George Washington and credited with turning around the war in the southern states.

Almost stepped on this poor guy!
He blended right in on the trail and I just spied him at the last minute.

And the walls came crumbling down (Mellencamp?):  What fresh hell is this?  (Sheldon Cooper?)  Unlike with last week's calf injury, there was no defining moment that precipitated today's injury.  The run felt fine throughout, but lo and behold, the rest of the day I was hobbling from pain in my gluteus / right hip area.  We had time to kill in the afternoon before flying back to RI, and when visiting a neat aquarium outside Charlotte, I tried my best to walk normally, but my Mom detected my limping right away.  When Jana and my Mom wanted to walk some more, I found a comfy chair, winced, and collapsed into it.

Tuesday:  0
Nope, not happening.

Wednesday:  0.2
Adams Farm, Walpole, MA.  Not even close.  Stupidly tried to jog and did nothing but hobble in pain.  Abort running.

Thursday:  0
Nada.  Pain and limping.

Friday:  0
Durham, NH.  Up here for student/parent orientation.  Really, really, really wanted to run in College Woods and adjoining trail systems, but that's not happening. 

On the way back home, we stopped at Treetop Adventures in
Canton, MA.
Full disclosure:  the green course (novice) was fun, the blue course
(intermediate) was quite challenging for me or at least 2 of the stations were,
and by the black course (advanced) Dad had bailed and relegated himself
to watching and photographing Matthew traverse the course (above).

Saturday:  0
Nope.

Sunday:  18 bike
Bike with Mikey felt just fine.  Around the beach easy pedal with a coffee break at the end in Weekapaug, and catch up on life.  It's all about the iced coffee stops for me.

Weekly mileage:  7  (does 7.2 sound better?)

Weekly synopsis:  Lowest mileage week ever.  Even the week of my ventral hernia surgery I managed to eke out 9 miles.  Every single day this week I have been in pain and hobbling.  What is wrong?  Why isn't this getting better?  I've resolved that tomorrow morning either I magically wake up feeling better, or I'm paying a visit to old sawbones.  Depressed and worried.

Weekly Log 11-Jun to 17-Jun-2018: June Injury #1

Monday:  0
Planned day off.

Tuesday:  7
New London, CT.  Dropped car off at Audi dealer in New London, as was having a duplicate key programmed.  Was told it would take about 1/2 hour, so went off for a run.  Started with my fear of running sidewalks and sucking down exhaust fumes, but actually only for a very short distance as I quickly got onto back roads and after two miles, actually ran trails, real dirt single-track trails!  Ran 2+ miles of single-track, and then grass fields at Conn College, before returning to the dealer.

Single-track!

Fun running at Conn College

Lots of fields to run on.  

Odd thing happened at the end of the run.  After traffic passed, I crossed a main artery and stepped up onto a sidewalk.  Must have stepped in an odd direction or height, as all of a sudden my left calf was in sharp pain.  Half-walked, half-hobbled into the dealership, and was kind of glad my car wasn't quite ready as it felt good to sit down at their customer waiting area, have a water, and just relax for a moment.

Wednesday:  3
Westerly Fun Runs #2.  My left calf was rock hard by now and uncomfortable but not exactly painful.  Ran 6:30 pace with Muddy.

Thursday:  0
Giving it a break.  The calf is really uncomfortable.

Friday:  0
One more day off.

Saturday:  3
Calf is still rock hard, but less discomfort today, so made another go of it.  Easy run on the flat trails at Ninigret with Jana.

Sunday:  5
Greensboro, NC.  Heat and oppressive humidity galore.  Ran 5 miles from hotel on local roads.  Kept it "easy", although picked it up on the three segments I ran and managed to take all three! 

Surprised to be able to get this set of wheels as a rental car.
First time ever driving a Mustang.

Weekly mileage:  19

Weekly synopsis:  Obviously very disappointing volume, but it was the right thing to do to back off on running, with a calf injury that I had never had before.

Weekly highlight:  Oddly enough, the run in New London, mostly due to unexpected terrain of single-track and grass fields.

Weekly lowlight:  Clearly the calf injury.  Disappointing.

Weekly Log 4-Jun to 10-Jun-2018

Monday:  0

Tuesday:  0

Wednesday:  9
AM:  6 miles in Hale Reservation, Westwood/Dover, MA.  Easy mix of trails.
PM:  3 miles at 1st Westerly Fun Run of the season!  I felt like I was pushing it, so the finishing time of 19:11 was a tad disappointing.

Walking to get lunch mid-day at the Wellesley Office Park,
I almost stepped on this poor guy.
I remember when I accidentally chopped up a snake with a lawn mower
in my youth at my parents' house; I was devastated.

Thursday:  0

Friday:  17
AM:  11 miles from Arcadia Y.  Mix of asphalt and dirt roads up into Exeter via Blitzkrieg Trail, and back via Skunk Hill Road.  The country roads here are so nice and quite.  Went more than 5 miles without seeing a car.
PM:  6 miles with Matthew at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Sudbury, MA (off I-495 west of Boston).  As with this morning's run, a mix of asphalt and dirt.  We underestimated distances on the trail map, and had to cut our run short to avoid getting mega-mileage the day before Matthew's NE meet.

Saturday:  7
Oaklands Forest, Exeter, NH.  Was trying to follow a 5-mile loop marked with red blazes, but got off course so many times.  Far too many intersections were just completely unmarked, leading me to taking wild guesses.  Thanks to local mountain bikers Ben and Paul for repeatedly pointing me in the right direction.

Trailhead where I started from

Trail going right through a cool rock formation

A number of bogs in the town forest

Sunday:  9
Metacomet Trail, Meriden/Berlin, CT.  With Matthew.  He planned this one out.  Almost all single-track, with some asphalt mixed in early to be able to make a loop.  Very technical, very steep for much of the way, with rewarding views, especially from appropriately named if unimaginative East and West Peak.

Descending from West Peak.
Watch your footing here!

Very technical.  Yes, this is the trail.
You can see Matthew pausing to wait up for the old guy.

Views from Castle Craig.

Castle Craig

Awesome lake views on the way back.

Weekly Mileage:  42

Weekly Synopsis:  Far too many zeros this week, but somehow still made it to 40+.  Fun runs in four different states.

Weekly Highlight:  Metacomet Trail in CT.  Great training and views.

Double Race Weekend: Twilight & BRR

Twilight "Trail" Run
Groton, CT
Friday, June 1, 2018

I really enjoy running in Bluff Point and Haley Farms State Parks, site of tonight's run.  While I did realize ahead of time that most of the race would be on carriage roads and not on my preferred single-track, I was still looking forward to the single-track heading out from Bluff Point on the way to Haley.  Tonight held an added bonus as it had rained much of the day and the single-track would be wet and muddy.  Fun!  Or so I thought ...

Last minute sign up and check-in just 15 minutes before race start.  What a rookie!  Caught up with CT runners Rob Buttermore, Mathew Ridley, Paul Gray, and a few others.  Only had time for a 1/2 mile warm-up, then toed the line.  The race featured both a 3.5 and 7.4 mile distance, but it looked like all the fast runners were running the long distance.  The race director announced that the single-track was too wet and muddy to run on, and so that portion of the race would also be re-routed onto carriage roads.  What?!!  How is that possible?  I've raced through swamps, boulder fields, a foot of snow, ice, etc., so how can a race course be "too wet and muddy" to run?  Had I known this ahead of time, I wouldn't have come.  I know I probably sound like a spoiled little brat or at least a poor sport, but bear in mind that I paid $30 to run the Twilight TRAIL Race, and I wouldn't end up running trails at all.

The gun went off, and I tried not to sulk and stay positive, but my motivation was gone.  Not an exciting race for me by any means.  The two leaders took off so fast that I figured [incorrectly] that they were running the short race.  I saw Mathew Ridley for a little while, I got chicked by fast Becky Snelson, and then I settled into a routine.  At about 1.5 miles where we round the peninsula and start a slow climb, I passed one runner, uphill, go figure.  The re-route not only took away the only single-track on the course, but also added injury by having you run through the finish line and then out again.

I followed Becky out to Haley Farm and passed her there.  After that I just ran in no-mans land for the rest of the race, missed the finish line completely, which added a few seconds to come back and cross, but I really didn't care.  Scratch this race off my list.  Again, Bluff and Haley are fine places to run, and my disappointment was entirely that the race terrain (carriage roads) didn't live up to the race billing.  False advertising.  End of whining.

Final results:  49:25, 5th overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Back Road Ramble
Charlestown, RI
Sunday, June 3, 2018

This was the 7th annual edition of this race, of which I've raced all 7, and served on the race committee for the past 6.  This race has had many race modifications, the latest last year when DEM put the kibosh on any more races that go through the campground during camping season.  As an alternative, I came up with the idea of starting out on dirt roads (North Camp) to allow a mass start, and then single-track the rest of the way, including the moderately technical Sammy C's, before running the mile road to finish at the YMCA's Camp Watchaug.  The hitch was being point-to-point meant we needed to provide transportation, and I was skeptical we could pull that off, but when the Chariho bus company donated two buses and drivers, we were in!

To broaden appeal, we have both a "long" course (5.8 miles) and a short (2.7), and typically get about 100 runners.  Why the waterfront activities (use of kayaks, canoes, swimming, water trampoline) and lunch included in race entry don't induce more runners to sign up is beyond me.

Arrived at 6:30am to set the course with fellow committee member, Sergio Cherenzia.  We ran, flagged, and marked both the long and short courses, before arriving back at Camp Watchaug in plenty of time to meet with the course marshal and water stop personnel.  Unlike last year's scramble, I headed out earlier to get both groups situated at their designated points and got to the start line 10 minutes ahead of the start.  After some pre-race remarks from Karen (RD and Arcadia Y branch manager) and me, we were off.

Crowded start line with a number of the usual suspects.
(All pics courtesy of Jana except as marked.)

A kid of about 8 flew out ahead of everyone and then 100 meters in, unceremoniously completely stopped in the middle of the trail.  Odd.  Chris and Jonny took it out pretty good, and I followed them for the mile down to the North Camp beach.  At that point, I had occasional glimpses of Jonny for the next mile, but they were basically gone and no one was around me.  This was in sharp contrast to last year, when I stayed with leaders Galoob and Jonny for 2 miles and had youngsters nipping at my heels.

In no-man's land about 2 miles in.
(Courtesy YMCA)

Unfortunately, I was lulled into a slower pace than I realized.  By all rights, I should have run faster than last year's much hotter weather, but it wasn't to be.  All of Sammy C's passed by fairly quickly and easily, which confirms I wasn't working hard enough.  Hitting the road for the final 0.9 mile, I passed a few walkers from the short course.  Finally picked it up, but finished 37 seconds slower than last year.  My cool-down was a swim out to the water trampoline, which unfortunately I couldn't drag any of my teammates along this year.  :(

Finishing up at Camp Watchaug

Final results:  40:26, 3rd of 36 in the long course.  Preceded by Chris and Jonny, and succeeded by Jonathan Short.  Full results here.

With a few of my teammates at the waterfront

Post race follow-up:  We met as a race committee a week later for a post-mortem as we always do.  It really is a good idea while the successes and short-comings are fresh in one's mind.  We had 102 registered runners this year, with 82 finishers across the two races.  This was the lowest turnout in a few years.  Plausible explanations ran the gamut, from too many race conflicts on this same date, colder weather tampering interest in water activities, a second trail race in Charlestown just one week later, absence of SNERRO keeping away a few race entrants, and late day start a turn-off for some as it takes up so much of the day.  After much discussion, the only planned changes thus far for next year are to hold it later in the month (June 23, 2019), start 1 hour earlier (10am) and nix the grill items due to time of day and replace with something else.

Weekly Log: 28-May to 2-Jun-2018: A Return to Racing

Monday:  8
Memorial Day.  Why can't every weekend be a 3-day weekend?  Who made up the stupid 5-day workweek?  Probably the French.

Technical Yawgoog trails in the AM with Matthew.  Out to Southwest Marker, and the CCW around Yawgoog Pond.  North of Hidden Lake, I missed a seemingly obvious right turn on blue, and back-tracked when it didn't look right.  This added about a mile, but would've been much more had we kept going, as we were on the blue trail headed towards Green Falls Pond instead of the blue trail headed back towards Camp Yawgoog.  Really like these trails, but I did get worn out during the run.  Wimp.

Tuesday:  5
Run for the Pumpkins course at Noon.  81 degrees; too hot.

Wednesday:  14
Noon:  6 miles.  Surveillance of the Back Road Ramble course at Burlingame Management Area.  Totally bonked on this one.  Note to self: you may want to eat something more substantial before Sunday's 11am race.

Evening:  8 miles.  Haley Farm and Bluff with Matthew and John Walker (no relation on the latter).  Ran progressively faster miles mostly on fire roads, but when the mile pace dropped to 6:24, that seemed like a good time to break off and run single-track for a while.
Finishing up in Haley (just after crossing the RR bridge), there was a deer on the side of the trail.  I ran up beside it and past it, coming about 3 feet away, the closest I've ever been to a deer.  I felt like I could reach out and touch it.  It looked nervous, but never ran off.  I could never shoot a deer or eat venison.  Awesome wildlife moment.

Thursday:  5
Legs feeling yesterday's double, so I took it easy mostly with grass laps at Bradford Preserve.

Friday:  8
Twilight Trail Run.  Separate write-up forthcoming.

Saturday:  6
Kettle Pond, Kimball, and B-game campground trails solo.  Controlled slow and easy, as between races.

Sunday:  15
Course marking, racing, and course clean-up at the 7th annual Back Road Ramble.  Separate write-up forthcoming.

Weekly mileage:  61!

What's wrong with this picture?
Unusually at the top of the club leaderboard.

Weekly synopsis:  Return to high mileage for me.  I know Jonny Hammett would yawn over a mere 60-mile week, but for me, that's my highest mileage since last October!  I don't expect next week or every week to be a 60-miler, but I would like to get at least 50 as my norm through the summer.  Really happy with this week's runs.

Weekly highlight:  The Back Road Ramble trail race.  From both volunteering and participating in this race, it's just a fun time.