Weekly Log 1-10-11 to 1-16-11

Monday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails alone.  I wore my Yaktrax over trail shoes.  The trails were fun where it was just 3" of powder.  The trouble spots were where the snow was hiding ice footprints underneath.  Once I got into a grove I really enjoyed this run.  I stopped to check out a lone American Coot and a few Ring-Necked Ducks (presumably) in the open water of the pond.  Total time: 1:10:47. 

Tuesday: 10 miles - Calf Pasture Point and Quonset Bike Path roads 3M, trails 4.5M, beach 2.5M solo.  I checked the bike path and it looked to be in really good shape so I just ran in my trail shoes.  However, I was greeted by a lot of snow (covering ice footprints) on the road sections - there wasn't much blacktop at all out there today.  The run was slow, tiring, and challenging.  I was even having trouble finding firm sand to run on the beach.  Total time: 1:20:05. 

Wednesday: 3 miles - Shumunkanuc Hill roads alone in the snow.  After a full day of shoveling a foot of snow, I snuck out for a quick run before returning to my cross training chore.  I began the run with my Yaktrax, but took them off as the roads were in really good shape.  Untimed, but I ran this hilly out and back pretty fast.   

Thursday: 9 miles - Saunderstown hilly roads solo.  I headed a little south today and began my run at the park and ride near the Jamestown bridge.  The roads near my office are an absolute mess, so I thought I would stick to the main plowed road and then explore if conditions looked favorable.  I ran Rte 1A south past Casey Farm and then veered off onto Old Boston Neck Road.  This road holds some of the biggest houses around - I couldn't even speculate the square footage - just monsterous.  At the intersection with South Ferry Road I turned left and ran up the hill to South Ferry Church, and then did the screaming descent down past the URI Bay Campus to the water's edge.  Okay, it wasn't screaming today since this road was either slushy or sandy, and I hoped that I could keep myself under control.  The hill looked intimidating as I headed back up it, but my body enjoyed the challenge.  Back on Old Boston Neck Road i decided to check out an exclusive neighborhood overlooking the bay - Crosswynds, Sea Ridge, Horizon, and Wyndcliff roads - nothing says class like replacing an "i" with a "y".  Another good hill in there though.  I made my way up to Rte 1A and then took the first right down Ferry Road and followed it straight down to the bay.  This hill was not as steep as the one on South Ferry, but very long and consistent.  I made my way back to 1A, took in the sights by Casey Farm, and then explored more side roads - Cottrell, Lloyd, Wilbur Hazard, Spring, Plum Beach.  The last being another great hill - steep and long.  This brought me back to 1A right near my car.  This was a really fun route - 5 significant hills - tolerable traffic - very scenic.  Total time: 64:28. 

Friday: 0 - couldn't get motivated to run in the afternoon

Saturday: 3 miles - Shumunkanuc Hill roads alone in the early morning cold.  I had the opportunity to run early, but the extreme cold made me revise the distance.  I left the house at 7:15 and it was 1.8 degrees.  It had warmed up to 2.9 when I took the following pictures.  Using the kitchen clock instead of a watch, it took about 20 minutes. 

Sunday: 4 miles - Fresh Pond and nearby roads in Cambridge, MA with Chris.  Family trip to my sister-in-law's today.  The ladies took the kids to the Children's Museum in the afternoon while Chris and I watched a horrible football game, made a delicious Gluten free, vegetarian dinner (well Chris did it all), and I talked him into a pregame run.  It's interesting running in the city - I'm definitely not used to it - lot's of stopping at intersections (every minute or so) and very busy on the trail around the pond (unleashed dog heaven).  The weather was perfect - 34 degrees and sunny.  Untimed. 

Overview:  Strange week due to weather and schedule.  I was happy to run 6 days, and it was almost 7.  The down side was not alot of miles, but I was happy with the efforts. 

Weekly Total: 38 miles
Last Week: 50 miles
Year to Date: 88 miles