Weekly Log 2-21-11 to 2-27-11

Monday: 16 miles - Arcadia trails with Boj.  After much internal debate, I settled on an all trail course for us to run this morning thinking that the trails would be in decent enough shape.  We met up at the church at 9AM, just as the snow was ending (1" maybe) and the temperature had risen to 32 degrees.  Everything was shaping up for a near epic run.  We hit up the Mt Tom trail and conditions were decent.  We took it slow on the cliffs rather than push it and tumble to our deaths.  We crossed Rte 165 and enjoyed the next flat then downhill section.  At Austin Farm Road, we crossed the river and then began the long ascent on the Breakheart trail.  The snow here was deeper with annoying frozen boot holes and I lost the yellow blazes at times, but still we were having fun and climbing.  The trail gets really steep as you reach the summit of Penny Hill, and we made a nice push up.  I was enjoying the recovery of running downhill when we stopped for a minute.  We were 75 minutes in and in awesome spirits.  As soon as we started back up again, things got bad and our spirits got crushed.  The trail was awkward and slow.  Boj was having some serious ish with an abdominal strain and he would shout in pain whenever he took a bad step.  We had to stop several times to either locate the next yellow dot, or navigate a labyrinth of downed white pines.  Mix in an obnoxious uphill, and that was the recipe for running disaster.  We were still very far from our cars, so I just tried to keep turning my legs.  Luckily, the trail conditions improved, and I could tell we were getting close to the pond at the end of the trail.  We decided that we would skip the last couple miles of trail and opt for the better footing of the dirt roads.  In another cruel twist, the road was a sheet of ice with just a dusting of snow over it.  Boj watched me slip and fall three times (he missed the fourth).  We turned onto a better used road and the footing did improve.  Unfortunately, I had nothing left, and this road seemed to go on forever.  There is nothing more disappointing than coming around a corner expecting to see your car, but instead seeing another long straightaway with a hill mixed in.  We did make it back in 2:12.  I'm really curious to see how my body feels tomorrow as I feel pretty beat up now.  At least I can claim I did an epic snow run with that guy Boj. 

Tuesday: 7 miles - Rome Point trails with Brad.  I was a little worried because I didn't have my winter gear with me, but the late February sun and light wind made running in shorts more than adequate.  The footing was way better than yesterday, and we are days away from clear trails.  A nice relaxing run.  Total time: 51:13. 

Wednesday: 9 miles - Quonset Bike Path 6x800 workout with Calf Pasture Point warm up and cool down alone.  A gorgeous day today - low 40's and sunny.  I was excited about trying a workout today after hanging with my brother last night.  I again decided to test the condition of the bike path with the assumption that it would be clear or mostly clear of snow.  On my warm up, I had a near panic moment when I saw a human lying down on the ground next to a bicycle and not moving.  I was really freaked out, and when I approached I blurted out, "are you okay?" just as I realized it was a woman lying motionless with a camera taking a close up of the snow.  Onto the workout itself - very fun, but parts of each 800 had a snow section.  The 1st and 6th were 2/3rds snow and therefore slow.  The 2nd and 5th only had a couple of snowy patches and pretty close to a normal sprint.  The 3rd and 4th were 1/3rd snow.  The results: 3:14/2:57/3:05/3:00/2:55/3:20.  Total time: 67 minutes. 

Thursday: 9 miles - Rome Point trails and beach with Greg and his wolf.  Another nice weather day, and pretty good trail conditions.  Finally some bare spots, but still snow and ice covered.  It was fun to show my brother my home course.  The tide was really high and the water crossing was rather intimidating, but Greg wanted to make it to the bridge (so did I), so we tip-toed through the shallowest part to cross.  The high water provided some new obstacles, and we had to scramble over someone's rock wall to continue.  On the way back, I slipped and fell really hard on my thigh.  It really hurt and I was afraid to look at for a few minutes.  There's a nice bump, and it's really bruising up now.  The next few miles were a little uncomfortable, but I figured it was better to keep it loose.  We backtracked our way through the trails and finished up in 71 minutes. 

Friday: 0 - 2" of rain, 50 mph winds, and a bruised and sore thigh.  2.5 hrs of bass slapping cross training at night. 

Saturday: 0 - family trip to Maine.  Sledding cross training. 

Sunday: 5 miles - Shumunkanuc Hill roads alone.  I got in a quick run after the 3.5 hr drive home from Maine and before the sun went down.  My thigh, although still bruised, felt good to run on.  Total time approx. 37 or 38 minutes. 

Overview: A fun week: a lot of miles early, a chance to run with a couple Keenyans, a speed workout, and a long run.  I'm glad my horrible fall on the rocks Thursday is not going to be a long term nuisance. 
Weekly Total: 46 miles
Last Week: 41 miles
Year to Date: 327 miles