Monday: 7 miles - Ryan Park trails with Dan. It felt good to check out the trails at Ryan Park after a two month lapse due to the snow cover. I thought the trails would be runable after all the melting, but the field trails were still inches deep, and even deeper in places where we had to break trail. The snow was mushy with the sun and 50 degree temperature! Ten minutes after the first mile we stopped to catch our breath and decided to run the road to the other side of the park and take our chances there. The trails near the pond were packed down, and thus runable. We looped twice around the pond, and then took the main trail back to where we started. The going was good for a while, and then got really treacherous and slow (boot holes everywhere). Overall, it was a really fun day. Total time: 54:31.
Tuesday: 9 miles - Rome Point trails 7M and beach 2M with Dan. 32 degrees and sunny today, but with a very strong NE wind. The trails here were packed down and icy, but manageable with Yaktrax. Dan set a tough pace for the first two miles. We had to slow down on the lesser used single track. The beach was really fun on the way out, but on the way back the wind was outrageous. I was getting an ice cream headache and felt like I was running in place at times. The bay had 1 to 2 foot waves breaking onshore (normally calm). We warmed back up by hitting the big hill and then hit some more extremely slow single track. Eventually, we made it back to good footing, and coasted home for a total time of 1:10:40.
Wednesday: 9 miles - Calf Pasture Point and Mount View roads 5M, trails 1.5M, and beach 2.5M alone. Interesting run today. I wanted to keep it easy, and opted to try this spot after some frustration with it last week. I was happy to see pavement for most of the road out to the trails and beach. The trails were in horrible shape and I knew I would only do this part once. The road out to the beach was in bad shape as well (full shade). The beach was slow heading out with a strong headwind, but the payoff was the tailwind on the way back. There wasn't anything too unusual going on - the normal gigantic flock of brant, some sanderlings, and quite a few mute swans (I avoided the ones that were on the beach itself). Because I didn't want to repeat the snowy sections, I concocted a plan on the fly and went for it. I hopped onto the road near the beach and planned to stay left on the roads and find my way back to the bike path. This section of town (Mount View) is secluded and tricky to get in and out of. I never have done it before, and I was going on memory from checking it out online. Some of the houses (estates) were huge and old trees lined the road with big stone walls. I was getting a little nervous after running for a while that I wasn't going to figure this out. Eventually, I saw the bike path after 24 minutes at a fastish pace, and could relax. The bike path was snow covered for the most part (pretty deep snow too). Total time: 1:11:20.
Thursday: 9 miles - Rome Point trails 7M and beach 2M alone. Wow - I wanted to call this 10 miles based on effort, but it was the same exact run as on Tuesday. I was feeling a little sluggish today, but I couldn't wait to get out and enjoy the sunny 58 degree day in shorts and short sleeves! Originally I was thinking roads, however the lure of the trails swayed me. The going was slow, slushy, icy, and challenging. I can't believe the snow and ice cover despite warm temperatures and rain the last two weeks. There were alot of cars in the parking lot, and I tried to metally prepare myself for the oodles of unleashed dogs I was inevitably going to run into. Despite the amount of dogs I actually did run into, I couldn't get upset as their human companions were extremely pleasant today. I did my normal routine of trails, beach, and then trails in the opposite direction. The tide was lower than usual, and I spotted a couple of harbor seals in a new place (closer to the bridge). I was a little shocked at my overall time, but the footing was slippery, and besides, I really enjoyed myself out there - way better than roads! Total time: 1:14:48.
Friday: 7 miles - Rome Point trails with Dan. More slush than ice today. Another scorcher - 59 degrees. Slow go, but fun. Total time: 54:30.
Saturday & Sunday: 0
Overview: I was excited about getting in the first "regular" week of the year - running all five days of the week. I probably could have snuck in a short run on Sunday, but my body is still a little sore and tired from all the exhausting trail work, and I'll be going long tomorrow with Boj.
Weekly Total: 41 miles
Last Week: 41 miles
Year to Date: 281 miles
i keep tellin nick cash to put his gd dog on a leash but he never listens. also im comin down to rhody tomorrow for vacation. i dont know what the snow situation is like in arcadia but it would be sweet if all of us could get out there again for some epicness.
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea. There will still be some snow, so we might need keep the mileage a little lower.
ReplyDelete