Tuesday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. My body was telling me "day off", but my mind wanted to run. I kept it slow throughout. I ran the standard 7 miles and then spent the last two exploring side trails around the field. I'm pretty excited about incorporating one particular trail to my usual routine now that I found where it connects (I've had trouble before figuring it out). Total time: 67 minutes.
Wednesday: 0 - I was having the same internal debate as yesterday, but I let my body talk me into resting. Plan B was to go for a walk and bring my binoculars, but the howling wind on the water nixed that idea as well.
Thursday: 11 miles - Reverse Ladder Workout (2 Mile, 1 Mile, 800, 400) on the Quonset Bike Path with Calf Pasture Point roads, trails, and beach warm up and cool down. Absolutely fantastic running weather today - sunny, light winds, and temps in the high 40's. After my mile and half warm up and ditching my hat and gloves, I got to work. My goal was to run hard and either match or better my best 2 mile time set a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps due to the cool air, my lungs were burning. I felt like I gave it my all and completed the 2 miles in 11:44 (one second off my PR). I was initially wiped out, and my recovery jog almost began with a crawl. Three minutes later I found myself running hard again - this time for 1 mile. I was tempted to quit at 800, but pushed on and ran 5:53. My recovery jog was almost as terrible as the first, and then I finished up with my 800 (2:55) and my 400 (80). I happily stumbled to my car for water and to put my hat and gloves back on. I always look forward to my long cool down, especially when it's going to be nice on the beach. The sand was even firmer than usual as an added bonus. I returned on the trails and spooked a large owl that I have seen here before. I briefly stopped to take in the views at the top of the rock outcrop, and I finished my run by exploring a side trail that produced a decent amount of waterfowl in a hidden cove. Total time: 1:22.
Friday: 9 miles - Calf Pasture Point road, trail, and beach out and back with Mt View roads alone. I was drawn back to the beach I ran yesterday, probably because the weather was so similar. My legs were tired from the workout, but I was able to manage an easy pace with no real problems. The flock of brant has now reached about 125 on the bay. The tide was very high, but I was able to jump the tidal stream both ways. Today was a good day. Total time: 1:09.
Saturday: 16 miles - Hopkinton/North Stonington paved and dirt roads with Muddy and Jeff. We met extra early this morning to accomodate my schedule. It was rather novel beginning at 6AM, almost a full hour before sunrise. We began at the Exit 1 Park and Ride and headed north up Rte 3. We all were chilly at first as none of us overdressed, and this may have lead to the faster than normal pace. Visibility was an issue for footing. By the time we reached Denison Hill Road (25 minutes in), there was adequate light. I remembered this paved road as eventually changing to dirt, but that didn't occur until the last half mile or so. What I didn't remember was that the road steadily climbs for miles. Nothing major, but after every turn, the road would go up. This became a running joke (pun intended). The road passes through Pachaug State Forest and there were plenty of hunters out. We reached Green Falls Rd (dirt) and then headed east through the Camp Yawgoog boyscout camp. Back on paved roads, the course finally veered south for the duration of the run, most of it on North Road (some parts are dirt). My legs were tiring at the 1:30 mark, but Jeff kept up the pace by hammering the downhills. We made it back to the parking lot in just over 1:57 - good for low 7:20's pace. Fantastic run.
Sunday: 0 - good cross training day with stacking wood, and a family hike (2.5 miles) in the Glacier Park:
Visibility was awesome. Bock Island can be seen on the left:
You could even see Montauk, Long Island on the right:
Overall: I opted to not chase miles on Sunday to get to 60. I'm happy with my week. 2500 miles for the year is in reach.
Weekly Total: 55 milesLast Week: 60 miles
Year to Date: 2291 miles
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