Monday: 9 miles - Gravelly Hill trail run with Narragansett runners and Jeff and Muddy. Mike invited us to run with his group today. We met at Tuckertown Park at 8:30AM in the 12 degree weather. Lot's of people showed up despite this. I ran up front but behind Jeff and a barefoot runner (wearing primitive sandals) who was familiar with the trails. Muddy and I let them run ahead and kept the pace moderate. This was the plan until two fast guys went by (Glenn and Kevin) and I was motivated to stick with them. At an intersection the barefoot runner stopped to wait for the rest of the group and told us to keep going. I took the lead as I was the only one who knew the trail. I felt pressure to keep up a good pace, and attacked the hills (which are numerous). I began chatting with Kevin which kept me distracted the rest of the time. I felt in my element today and it was fun running with some fast local runners. Total time: 66 minutes.
Tuesday: 10 miles - Rome Point trails and beach alone. I wasn't super motivated to get out there this afternoon knowing that it was going to be messy wherever I ran, but I dragged myself down to Rome. I wore my trail shoes and accepted that I would get my feet wet. The trails were muddy, with puddles from the rain and melting snow. I set out to run my standard 11. When I reached the beach, the tide was very high, and I opted to just run through the tidal stream. I then got my legs soaked by an incoming wave trying to skirt around some rocks. It also began to rain which added to my sogginess. After turning around, I again got drenched by a wave and then ran through the tidal stream. Back in the woods, I decided to cut my run a little short. I changed things up, but when it I finished it was still an honest 10 - total time: 1:16:01.
Wednesday: 10 miles - Ryan Park trails with 2x(6x40sec) workout with 50-60sec rest. I really wanted to meet up with Muddy, Jeff, and Mike at CHS for a track workout, but my schedule at work didn't allow for it. I thought about doing my normal workout on the Quonset Bike Path, but decided it would be too windy there. Plan C was to run in the relative shelter of the woods at Ryan Park and throw in a workout on the flat, mostly even trestle trail section. My brother Greg suggested I do 200's for my next workout, so I went with the idea of sprinting 40 seconds and then recovering for a about a minute (which seemed too long so the second set I went with 50 seconds). I ran a two mile warm up and then got to work. I think I was achieving the goal of a good sustained effort, but not going all out. After a set of 6, I then ran the three mile loop around the fields, before doing the second set. I then ran another 2 miles for a cool down. This workout was fun, and easy to incorporate into my Ryan Park routine. The wind was only an issue in a few exposed spots. The biggest obstacle was the large number of people out walking the trails today - I couldn't believe it - but it was nice to see on such a chilly day. Total time: 1:13.
Thursday: 9 miles - Calf Pasture Point roads, trails, and beach alone. Almost perfect weather (a little more wind than I thought) for this leisurely run. I felt sleepy today, but I had enough energy to enjoy this run. I found a new interesting single track trail in the woods and wondered if Mike had anything to do with it. On the beach, I got to watch a duck hunter set up his decoys, but didn't get the chance to see him shoot the brant that are always there. Lot's of waterfowl in the coves - I need to run with my small pair of binoculars on easy days like these. Total time: 66:04.
Friday: 5 miles - Rome Point trails alone. Classic winter run today. I got to put on the Yaktrax for the first time this year (after wearing them 100 times last winter) thanks to the 1" of crusty icy snow on the trails. I wasn't looking for many miles, just fun ones. The weather was fantastic - 30 and sunny. I just crisscrossed the park, hitting the hill three times. I had to stop for a cross country skier which may have been a first. Total time: 38:09.
Saturday: 16 miles - Burlingame snowy trails with Muddy, Mike, and Aaron. I wasn't sure about the driving to and from the picnic area, but I knew the running would be a blast. We met up at 7AM - it was snowing and chilly (high teens). We ran to the campground and then Mike showed us the course (2 laps) for the upcoming Brrrlingame 15K in February. The single track trails around the campground were new to me - rolling and twisting fun. The campground itself is still confusing, but maybe the snow had something to do with it. We then headed out clockwise on the Vin Gormley Trail. The snow was slowly accumulating on the ground. It's funny to run over sections that I know are full of roots and rocks that aren't visible. Eventually we took the Sammy C series of trails. I needed to get back home so I left the group and returned to my car. Total time 2 hours 15 minutes. I ran with my Yaktrax and had good traction throughout the run. My only issue is that early on I rolled my bad ankle and then proceeded to roll it five more times. This made me run rather conservatively at times. The other issue was the snow seemed to be in our eyes no matter which direction we were heading. My ride back home was a little dicey and then I spent the rest of the day playing in the snow with the family.
Sunday: 0 - I guess it's okay to take a day off once a week. I spent a couple of hours in the morning shoveling and stacking wood for some decent cross training.
Weekly Total: 59 miles
Last Week: 48 miles
Year to Date: 172 miles
Did you get to try out your snowshoes today? Perfect snow for it this morning! Very curious to hear how they are. I've snowshoed a lot, but never running.
ReplyDeleteI tried them out briefly in the woods around my house. They felt strange at first, but I was adjusting to them pretty quickly. I didn't have the time to get a real run in unfortunately. They are Atlas Runs if you were wondering.
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