Tuesday: 8.5 miles - sick track workout at CHS alone. Sick as in sick sick. Driving home from Boston in the morning, I passed the track and thought, hmm, I could do a workout there this afternoon. I wasn't feeling that great all day, but the idea of running was still appealing. Finally, at 3:30PM I headed over to the track, which was empty. My plan was to warm up with a few laps to see how I felt. That went well so I then proceeded with my plan of 2x(6x200) w/ full rest. I checked my VDOT R pace to see what I should be doing these in - 39 seconds. The first set felt really good. I then ran a mile between sets just for mileage sake. As I finished my 2nd 200 on the second set, I felt a muscle tighten in my thigh. I stopped briefly to stretch it out, which didn't work. I finally decided to just try to run on it to see what would happen. I gingerly ran a 200, and then the last three felt better than the previous. I did a 3 mile cooldown on trails behind on the school. My thigh muscle was tight, but okay to run on. Results: (36/38/37/37/37/36) (38/37/44/41/39/38). Total time: 64 minutes.
Wednesday: 7.5 miles - Calf Pasture Point roads, trails, and beach alone. Warm, but windier than advertised. I looped around the point twice with the wind at my back. Busy out there today. There was a big group of sanderlings working the shoreline. Plenty of brant out there too. My legs were a bit fatigued from the workout, and my cold is still lingering as well. Total time: 60:49.
Thursday: 0 - instead of running on my break today I met my wife and kids at Rome Point for a hike. We went through the woods down to the point to check out the seals, which were numerous. We then walked the shoreline back to the main trail. This turned into a decent workout of shoulder/piggybag rides uphill to the car. Sinuses are really clogged and annoying.
Friday: 11 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. Very happy to get in this run today, as the miles have been slow this week, the weather was kind of crappy, and my head still feels kind of crappy. I thought about just napping in my car, but I motivated myself enough to get out of my car and run. I didn't even pack appropriate clothes, so I ran with a short shorts/polar fleece combo. After a mile my mood improved and I enjoyed the rest of the run. I assumed the trails would be mostly dirt and mud, but I was wrong - snow cover the entire time. I wish I put on the Yaktrax, but at least I had good trail shoes on. I had to walk down a couple of steep slippery hills and over Bon Jovi bridge. Despite my lingering cold, I had plenty of energy over the 11 miles. Total time: 1:25:23.
Saturday: 16 miles - Burlingame trail loop with Jeff, Mike, and Aaron. We met up at 6:30AM at the picnic area. I wasn't sure what to expect weather-wise or trail-wise. It was very windy, but the temperature was about 40 degrees. The wind helped dry up the trails so that no one really got wet. It felt cold when you weren't running, but fine during. Mike and I had the same idea of a course, but then he and Aaron were considering an extra hour or so of running by exploring Woody Hill. Jeff and I were just going to run with them until we wanted to get back (only looking for a 2 hour adventure today). We ran the Vin Gormley Trail counterclockwise until Schoolhouse Pond Trail. We eventually ran a few mtn bike trails until we crossed Buckeye Brook Rd and entered the north side of the park. Mike was looking for a hill workout, so we weaved around hitting some of the best ones, including Ledge Trail. I haven't run that in probably seven years. I think I'm a good climber, but these guys were even more aggressive than I am. The pace was also fast on any of the more wide open trails, but I would catch right up on the technical stuff. Once we hit the south side, again on Vin Gormley Trail, I began chatting with Aaron and didn't realize that Jeff and Mike were way ahead of us. They waited at the spot where Mike and Aaron were going to split from us, but they decided that a 2 hour trail run was enough on this day, so we finished the VG trail (mostly) back to our cars. The distance seemed perfect to me, as I was only getting tired at the very end. Total time 2:03:44. Mike and Jeff had various distances on their Garmin, but I don't think it was very accurate, especially considering the twisy trails we were on. To me it felt like we were going under 8 minute pace, except for a few slow spots, and low 7 minute pace on some of the easier terrain, so I'm calling it 16 miles.
Sunday: 8 miles - Burlingame trails alone in the afternoon. I ran the mile down the road and entered Burlingame on the east side. My body felt tired on this hilly road section, but at least it was snappy - 7:01. I slowed it down in the woods, and made a creative loop around this side and then eventually returning through the north side by the beaver pond. It wasn't quite the relaxing run I had envisioned, but I was appreciating the awesome trails I could run to from my front door. Total time: 61:42.
Overall: I was able to salvage the week after struggling early with a lingering head cold. I thought I'd only get about 40 miles in. We'll see what next week brings.
Weekly Total: 51 miles
Last Week: 65 miles
Year to Date: 438 miles
Wow. I had a 26 mile week when I sick. You are tough!!
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