Tuesday: 11 miles - Saunderstown roads (4M) and Rome Point trails (7M) alone. Feeling better today, my plan was to run the hills of Saunderstown and maybe jump on the trails of Camp Nokewa. Instantly my body didn't feel 100% and I wasn't sure if I needed to stop running right away. I ran down Plum Point Rd and then ran up the steep long hill. It felt harder than usual, but when I checked my watch, I was just as fast if not faster than ever. So, I continued down the road and due to the strong wind, I opted to run in the woods at Rome Point for shelter. Very quiet in there, and I only ran the trails I wanted to - I didn't have the need to grab every mile I could. I popped out about 7 miles later and then ran back to my car on the roads. This included the Rte 1A hill and Plum Point Rd again. Total time: 1:21:33.
Wednesday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. Again, I didn't stick to my plan. I was going to do a 10 mile road tempo run, but my body didn't seem up for it yet. Figuring I could do something fast on Thursday or Friday, I drove to Ryan and parked at the ball fields. I cut out some of the more boring sections in the beginning and end, but stuck to my 5 mile routine on the trails around the fields. My pace seemed pretty good, but I couldn't really tell. I ran the railbed hard for 5 minutes on the way back. Total time: 65:21.
Thursday: 10 miles - TriPond & Spring Forward trails and South County bike path solo. Today I couldn't decide what sounded fun, and then I came up with this plan: park at TriPond Park on 108, run to the Spring Forward course and then hammer it (2 miles), continue on the bike path towards Genesee Swamp throwing in a couple mile repeats to/from (and stop to check for birds), find the trail around California Jim's Pond before returning to my car. I executed this plan pretty well. I ran the rooty bog bridge trail faster than ever, took it easy on the bike path, and then got to work on the Spring Forward course (beginning at the muddy spot). I was running pretty hard, but didn't feel fast - but I guess that's how I felt when I raced it. I finished up in 13:31 - a couple of seconds faster per mile than when I raced it, except then I did 4 laps. I continued west on the bike path feeling tired and hot. My plan was to run the next mile after crossing South Road, but this took a while. I eventually found it and ran hard, again not feeling fast. I was happy to see the 5:41. I turned around and jogged back to Genesee Swamp. I stopped and checked out the wildlife, sweating profusely. Once I got going again I noticed that I was running into the wind now. I also saw half mile markings on the bike path and decided to continue a reverse ladder and run a 800. This wasn't fun into the wind, and it was all slightly uphill, so I wasn't upset with the 2:50. Someone has also marked one side by quarter miles, so I ran the next one I came to: 83. Again into the wind and uphill. I was so wiped out I briefly stopped to regroup. I then shuffled my way back toward the TriPond trails. I did one more interval for about a quarter mile on a twisty section. I picked up the narrow and faint at times trail around California Jim's Pond, which was longer and more interesting than I thought. I backtracked briefly on the bike path and then finished on the crazy trail I began with, feeling tired and happy. I'm glad I could make running fun today! Total time: 1:11:46.
Friday: 6 miles - Crawley Preserve loops with Jon. I headed over to Usquepaug to check out Jon's new house and then we head out for a run in the nearby Crawley Preserve. Right away this place wasn't what I expected. For some reason I was thinking flat and open, but instead it was hill and woods. Basically it's on the side of a hill - one mile up and one mile down. It's never steep, and it takes a minute or two before you realize that you're out of breath. I ran two laps with Jon and then tackled one more by myself. Not the biggest place, but really nice. Total time: 48:45.
Saturday: 13+ miles - roads solo to Grills Preserve trails with the usual Saturday morning crew plus Mike B. Since the guys were racing on Sunday, today's run was only going to be about an hour. They also were going to start late at 6:30 so I opted to run the 4.75 miles of roads from my house to meet them. I was going too fast because of fear I would be late and I clocked in at the 3 mile mark of very hill roads at 7:04 pace. The group run was slower, but still pretty peppy. My legs were feeling good, even climbing up Big Hill. I talked them into one shorter loop which went by Big Rock. We ran the roads back to their cars where I was feeling too lazy to run home so I begged Muddy for a ride. Total time: 1:39. Evening hike with my wife in Carter Preserve - field loop and powerline trail.
Sunday: 4 miles: Burlingame trail loop with my wife. We ran a fun loop down to the pond and back from the bottom Shumankanuc Hill Rd. At one point she asked me what that side trail was. "Ssh - it's a secret".... Untimed.
Overall: It was good to mix it up a bit this week from the usual runs. Fun, busy weekend.
Weekly Total: 53 miles
Last Week: 62 miles
Year to Date: 930 miles
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