Monday: 0 - 2nd zero in a row for the first time in a while. It felt good physically, but terrible mentally. Hiked Mt. Tom in Arcadia with my family.
Tuesday: 13 miles - Burlingame trails (9M) and hilly roads (4M) alone. I left my house in the afternoon feeling kind of anxious. I ran the roads to the Vin Gormley Trail off of Buckeye Brook Road. I was going easy, but being mostly downhill I was moving pretty fast (7:03 pace). I entered the woods, and although I was most likely going slower, I was working hard to keep up the pace. I rolled my ankle bad enough that it hurt for a minute near Klondike Road. I always just keep running after doing this, but this one made me think about stopping. I continued through this technical section being a little cautious, but eventually forgot about it. I reached the 5 mile mark (assumed) at 36 minutes. I then turned right onto the North South Trail. At first the going is slow, and there are numerous bridges. Once you reach an old dirt road and then turn left up a hill, the trail is really fun and rolling. I kept checking my watch to see where the 6 mile mark might be, and after 8 minutes, I decided to make it to 6.5 miles before I turned around. This ended up being right about the time I reached the campground entrance road. By now, I was focused on my run, and really relaxed. I was curious if I could maintain this effort for 13 miles. It briefly rained and the woods were getting darker. If anything, my pace was quicker than on the way out. I reached the road, and then had the 1+ mile climb up Shumunkanuc Hill. I attacked this hill. I guess killing myself for 2 miles isn't intimidating to me, even after 11 miles. The first mile I did in about 7 minutes, and the second (which does have one screaming descent) I did in 6 minutes. Total time: 1:32:46. Loved this run. I've felt calm and happy ever since.
Wednesday: 11 miles - track workout with Boj, Muddy, and Jeff. I got a text from Muddy Tuesday night, while out at the Mews replacing chromium with my wife and friends. He said he was meeting Boj at 9AM at the CHS track. Perfect - this was my chance to finally do a workout on a actual track, and also not do a workout alone. When I arrived, Muddy was already there with Jeff. We waited around for Boj to show up, and when he did, he was in classic form. We ran a warm up around the trails and fields. Boj had a few ideas for a workout and we decided to do the reverse ladder plan of 1x1600, 2x800, 4x400. Then commenced the running in circles. The mile was fun. Boj, who is faster and has a ton of speedwork experience, was up front. The pace felt comfortable to me. I finished up and realized I didn't set up my watch properly. I was between Muddy's 5:34 and Jeff's 5:37. Whatever it was, it was a PR. I was pretty happy about this. What I didn't like was some lower calf tightness I was experiencing. We did a 400 recovery and then began the first 800. Boj was off in the woods, so it was up to the rest of us to figure out how to run it on our own. I began up front, but was concerned about my calf. It didn't get worse, so I continued. Muddy lead the rest of the way, and I clocked in at 2:47 - a 1 second workout PR for me. Boj was back for the second 800, and this time I finished pretty far back, but again at a good time for me - 2:48. I asked Boj if we should shorten the recovery jog for the 400's. He said no, and he was right. I couldn't believe how hard the first one felt to me - 78. The next one was another 78, and the last two were 79. I was very pleased with my workout, despite being noticeably slower than my WTAC teammates on the 400's. It was great to have Boj join us, and guide us along. We cooled down in the woods and fields, and by the time we finished, I realized that I was starving. Overall, it was great to get a track workout in, and not run alone. I was happy with my times, and also to see what the difference between speedwork on the bike path versus the track was. I might have been faster if it wasn't for yesterday's aggressive run, but it seems that I am better at the long efforts than the short stuff. Total time: 1:20.
Thursday: 0? - I planned for a short recovery run this morning before traveling to NH with my family. I wasn't too excited about it, but headed out the door anyway. My wife questioned if I was only doing it to get to 2500 miles for the year. I said I needed to recover from the workout, but deep down I knew she was right. I ran .25 miles down the road in the wind and cold and then abruptly turned around. Maybe I'll run later in NH or maybe I'll fall a couple of miles short of 2500. What's really the difference between 2492 and 2500?
Friday: 0 - a repeat performance as yesterday except this time I made it less than .1 miles before bagging it. Fun full day in NH.
Saturday: 17 miles. 5 miles AM in Stoddard, NH. This run was slow and treacherous. The dirt roads were coated in ice, and it was drizzling out. I ran the big hill up to Kings Highway and then skated down the other side. Total time: 41:40. Back in RI where the sun was shining and it was warm, I ran in shorts and short sleeves in the afternoon. 12 miles of mostly roads, some hilly, and a little bit of trails. I was moving well the first two miles (mostly downhill) and then worked to keep up my sub 7 minute pace the next few. Instead of the planned out and back, I jumped onto the North South Trail near the campground entrance, and then made my way over to Prosser Trail, where my legs began to feel fatigued (8 miles in). My legs were hurting the last three miles, but I was still going 7:16 pace and it was mostly uphill. Total time: 1:25:30 (actual distance 12.1). A great way to end the year.
Sunday: 0 - football on the beach cross training.
Overall: I procrastinated this week getting to 2500, but pulled it out with the Saturday double. I wasn't too motivated to run, which seems to happen when the whole family is off. 41 miles in only 3 days of running. Back to normal next week.
Weekly Total: 41 miles
Last Week: 60 miles
Year to Date: 2501 miles
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