Weekly Log 2-28-11 to 3-6-11

Monday: 4 miles - Rome Point trails with Dan.  It was looking like a zero weatherwise, but the rain stopped and the winds died down, so Dan and I snuck in a quick wet and muddy run.  Unfortunately, parts of the trail were sheets of ice and we were unprepared (no Yaktrax).  So, the run consisted of running, sliding/sloshing, walking, and cursing.  The yellow dot hill trail was mostly clear so we sprinted up and down it two times for a nice hill workout.  This made it all worth it.  Total time about 28 minutes. 

Tuesday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails alone.  Dan talked me into trying the trails here again, but then his schedule didn't allow him to run.  I headed out by myself and this time wore the Yaktrax.  The field section was still snowy and icy, but my footing was good.  The wood trails had a lot of clear spots and a couple of new blowdowns.  The first half of the run I was not that into it, but I really felt good the last few miles.  Total time: 1:09:09. 

Wednesday: 9 miles - 6x800 workout on Quonset Bike Path with Calf Pasture Point warm up and cool down alone.  I was excited to get in a workout today.  I figured the bike path would be almost clear of snow and that was true.  The 1st and 6th 800 were about 1/3rd snow covered and thus slower.  There was a small patch of snow that slowed me down a second or two on the 3rd and 4th.  Strong headwind at times heading out, nice tailwind on the return efforts.  The results: 3:09/2:57/3:01/2:54/2:52/3:11 - total time: 66 minutes. 

Thursday: 9 miles - Rome Point trails 7M and beach 2M solo.  I still have a big smile on my face about this one.  I hit the trails later than usual (3PM) and in the unusual (for March) temperature of 30 degrees.  My body was kind of sore from the workout the day before and I wasn't expecting too much from this run.  I found the conditions to be fantastic - for the first time I was trail running again - with only a few icy spots.  I was not working hard, but was surprised by the 9 flat minutes it took me to get to the end of the point.  I cruised around the trails and the beach and couldn't stop thinking about how winter running was now over.  I was enjoying the payoff of my hard work of running in the snow or doing hilly runs on the road for the last two months.  To top it off, I ran into a barred owl near the powerline trail.  It flew into a nearby tree and sat and watched me for a minute.  I did my best barred owl call - who cooks for you, who cooks for you alllll - but it didn't seem impressed.  Eventually it flew off, but it was a great encounter.  My total time was 60:41.  The last 3 times I ran the exact same course I did it in 70:40, 71:00, 74:48. 

Friday: 9 miles - Rome Point trails 7M and beach 2M with Dan.  We considered Ryan Park, but we knew the conditions would be better at Rome Point.  I let Dan set the pace, and as usual he made me work hard for the first 3.5 miles, and then the beach slowed him down a bit.  A strong headwind and no firm sand made the push to the bridge challenging.  It felt great to turn around.  We picked it back up on the hill, sprinted through the cedars, and made it back to the parking lot in 63:58.  This effort felt harder to me than yesterday. 

Saturday: 0 - fun day with the kids including 3 hrs outside.  Sore from previous few days. 

Sunday: 0 - family swim in the morning, family hike to the beaver pond in the afternoon. 

Overall: Another normal week of 5 runs on my lunch break and hitting 40 miles.  I'm happy with the efforts and look forward to clear trails! 

Weekly Total: 40 miles
Last Week: 46 miles
Year to Date: 367 miles