Weekly Log 2-6-12 to 2-12-12

Monday: 11 miles - Saunderstown hilly roads (6M) and Rome Point trails (5M) alone.  Another warm sunny winter day.  I drove by a very packed Rome lot and continued on to the park and ride.  I ran up the long steep hills of Cottrell, Plum Beach, and Plum Point roads.  I then cruised down to Rome Point, and entered the trails.  I bumped into two coworkers finishing up a run, and after a brief stop and chat, I continued on my way.  I randomly weaved through the single track of the park, enjoying the shelter from the wind.  I was happy that my legs were feeling good again, despite the 5K yesterday.  I exhausted my single track options and hopped back onto the road.  I was greeted with one final hill (up 1A) on the mile back to my car.  Total time: 1:21:29.  This run felt longer than 11. 

Tuesday: 5 miles - Calf Pasture Point roads, beach, and trails alone.  Surprise - warm again.  I was considering a zero, but my legs have a lot of life in them again after being tired the two previous weeks.  I didn't wear a watch, but I wanted to keep my pace moderate, so I made sure to pick it up at times.  I was happy I got the wind right on the beach, so I could enjoy the sights.  Nothing unusual, but plenty of activity.  I ran in the Reebok's again today - I'm trying to decide if I like them or not.  Approx. 36 minutes. 

Wednesday: 11 miles - Ryan Park trails with Tom.  We parked at the upper Oak Hill Rd lot and made our way down through the fields.  We then turned left and did the loop one and a half times, where he stopped, and I kept going.  Our pace was pretty decent throughout.  I finished off the second loop and then when I reached the railbed I ran about a mile at a pace that felt faster than my recent 5K.  I was monitoring my pace with my iphone, but the GPS technology is garbage, and my pace fluctuated anywhere between 5:40 and 6:40.  It felt close to the lower number.  I then ran easy around the pond before pushing another mile on the railbed.  This time the pace varied even more, but on a very straight open section it was reading 5:35.  I'll take it.  I then slowly made my way back to the car, finishing up in 1:18:54. 

Thursday: 13 miles - Charlestown Breakway to Deep Hole beach run with some roads mixed in around Matunuck.  I had the day off, and a chance to run while my daughter was at preschool.  I parked at the breachway and hoped to reach the west wall in Jerusalem in an hour and then run back (I had two hours to run).  I didn't check the tides until just before beginning, and knew that I was in for a struggle since the tide would be very high.  The sand from the breachway to Green Hill was very soft.  I was going slow, but it was tiring.  Luckily the weather was awesome.  I was able to race the waves around the first Green Hill rock pile, but I had to find a way around the next one.  Fortunately, there were easy off, easy on access points.  The beach in front of Trustom Pond was a mess of rather large smooth rocks/deep sand.  I trudged on.  I figured that I wouldn't be able to get by the Carpenter's Beach houses on the water, but as I neared Moonstone Beach Road, I decided to try it anyway.  Again, I was able to avoid getting wet.  The beach here was also more firm.  I reached the SK town beach and hopped off and then hit the pavement of Matunuck Road.  I was at 47 minutes, so running to the west wall was not going to happen.  Oh well.  I wanted to see the access from Matunuck onto East Matunuck beach, as I notice people walking from there in the summer.  I ran to where I thought it would be, but the roads to get there were advertised as private.  I then ran to the Deep Hole parking area to see if I could skirt the shoreline there, but it was blocked by a rock wall.  Maybe if the tide wasn't so high I could do it?  At this point I had been running for over 57 minutes, so I retraced my steps back to my car.  The NW wind was slightly in my face, so I was glad I had my little red hood to wear.  Running this many miles on the beach was exhausting.  I did have firmer sand to work with as the tide receded, but it took forever to reach landmarks I was chasing.  I finally made it back in 1 hour 53 minutes. 

Friday: 7 miles - Ryan Park trails alone.  My lower legs and feet felt tired from the beach run as expected.  I still had fun doing the field loop in both directions, plus adding on some other trails.  Eight deer on the trail near Rte 4.  No humans.  52 minutes. 

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 12 miles - Brrr-lingame 15K Trail Race - 9th 1:02:56, 9th overall.  Awesome race!  Separate write up soon. 

Weekly Total: 59 miles
Last Week: 50 miles
Year to Date: 322 miles