Tuesday: 13 miles - CCMS track workout with Spring Forward warm up and Tri Pond cool down solo. I'm still not really excited about any runs this week, but I decided to do a track workout since it wasn't too warm out, and there's a chance I can run the Westerly Run for Fun tomorrow night. My plan was to do 2 x (1x800, 2x400, 4x200). My legs are not sore, but still kind of blah from Sunday I assume. My warm up was the Spring Forward course at an embarrassing slow pace. I then jogged over to the track and did 3+ laps for a 3 mile total warm up (25 minutes). Mentally, I kind of had a bad attitude about my plan because I wasn't feeling that loose or fast. Still, I went after it. I did the 800 in 2:45 and felt smooth. 400 recovery then the 400's - 78, 78 (200 recovery). Pretty good, but already feeling hot. 200's with 200 recovery - 35, 35, 35, 36. Happy with the times, but feeling hot and tired. My form was slipping during the last two, and my left leg was feeling tight all over. Half way through my planned workout and I was toast. I jog over to a water fountain and luckily it worked. I stopped for a minute and got my act together. I decide to at least do the 800 of the second set - 2:50. Slow first lap and picked it up especially the last 100. I ended the workout there. This is a case where working out with others would have helped. I got some more water and then headed out on my planned longish cool down. I wandered through the woods back to the bike path and then went east. I jumped onto the TriPond trails with the idea of circling the ponds. I first ran around California Jim's Pond, getting lost at the far end. I knew this narrow trail would be overgrown and dicey, but I figured it out. I completed the loop and ran some more trails back to the bike path. I then dropped down onto the rooty, rocky, bog bridge trail. Navigating this trail on heavy legs is not easy. I then ran around the small pond on Rte 108. I returned on the gnarly trail back toward Asa Pond. This pond doesn't have a trail around it, so I just followed the narrow gravel trail until it ends at someone's backyard and turned around. I was glad I included it however, because it was lined with blooming flowers the entire way. I then ran the dirt road out to the nature center, and then hopped back onto the bike path heading west. Checking my watch, I decided to add some more distance to get a nice even 13 for the day. I ran some of the Spring Forward course and around some of the athletic fields and finished up in 1:40:58. Side note #1: as of today I'm at 1396 miles for the year. This was my exact total for the entire year in 2010. Side note #2: these are the internet searches that lead to my blog in the last week (pretty amusing):
Search Keywords
13 mile and ryan park
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running on trails alone
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burdickville boat ramp
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is the pisgah mountain trail race hard?
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jonny hammett charlestown ri
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rainbow run richmond, ri photos
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Wednesday: 8 miles - Rome Point trails and rocky beach alone. Great day - 80 and sunny with low humidity. Still hoping to run tonight, I kept it rather easy. I changed up my zigzag course to the point which I really like. I then ran the very rocky at times stretch of coastline south to the end of the park and then hopped back on the trails for more zigzagging. I ran the same stretch of beach in the opposite direction before finishing up my run in 1:01:23.
3.5 miles - Westerly Run for Fun. I was able to get down to Misquamicut with my kids so that they could do the kids fun run again. My son ran with my dad and I ran with my daughter. They both ran faster than last week. My dad then let me run the 5K, and he watched the kids. I was excited to run. Tommy 5K was there, but he was going to run with his girlfriend. I didn't see anyone else that I recognized as a "top local finisher", so I figured it would be between myself and Jeff. I was hoping to muster up a 18:15 - 18:20 effort on my fatigued but not too sore legs. I took off in front at the beginning, and was a little concerned I didn't know the curvy course. Luckily (?), Jeff and another guy passed me and I hung a few seconds back of them through the first 1.5 miles. It was kind of hot and I was thirsty, so I was a little concerned about overheating, but I was fine. My first mile was 5:47. The second mile has a couple of small hills and then a nice fast downhill section. I was getting closer to the guy in second with Jeff gazelling away from him on this descent. I knew I had a shot at catching up with the short but steep hill around the corner. I blasted up this hill passing the guy in second, and gaining some ground on Jeff. I passed the 2nd mile marker at 11:57. The third mile begins as a very long straightaway towards the beach. Jeff's gap wasn't too big, but I didn't have the strength to try and close it. As we got to the last few turns, Jeff got even further ahead of me and I finished up in 18:37. Not quite what I hoped, but I'll take it. My kids asked to go swimming afterward, so we played in the water at Misquamicut until it was time to get home and go to bed.
Thursday: 4.5 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. My legs felt surprisingly good on this short run today. Sunny and warm (86 degrees), but the heat didn't bother me. I ran the trails through and around the fields, stopping to take a couple of pictures:
I took the high road
the trail used to be straight ahead
steep little hill
love the smell of sweet fern
milkweed patch
Friday: 10 miles - Carr Pond trails alone. Tried out my iphone GPS since my watch battery died yesterday. It's nice to tick away those 10:30 miles. At least I got a map out of it. I was super sweaty out there, but never hot, even though it was 84 degrees and humid today. Legs felt pretty good the entire time. Hopefully, they'll be ready to go long tomorrow with Mike and Muddy. Total Time: 1:17.
Saturday: 12 miles - Exeter trails and dirt roads with Mike, Muddy, and Ben. This was a fun exploratory run. We met at 6AM at the Cuttyhunk Preserve. We ran up to Stony Lane, an unimproved dirt road. We then ran west, crossed Sunderland Road, and then continued on Pardon Joslin Road. There was a long downhill section to the Fisherville Brook trails. We ran two different loops on the south side. Mike and Ben picked up the already steady pace and Muddy and I hung back. The trails were soft and fun. We then did the loop north of the road, which again was soft footing, but a bit more hilly and overgrown at times. After completing the loop we headed back up the long hill on Pardon Joslin Road. I was feeling good and climbed pretty well. It seemed like good training for the Pisgah race. We regrouped at the top, and then explored side trails off of Stony Lane that were part of the Cuttyhunk Preserve (or so we thought). We ran a long dirt road that ended at a sketchy trailer with scary signs. I stopped immediately and was ready to run for my life. It took the rest of the guys a minute to figure out what we had stumbled upon. We safely made it back to Stony Lane and continued until it became paved. Due to time constraints, we turned around and ran the dirt road and then trails back to our cars. Total time: 1:32:xx. Bodyboarding, and bodysurfing crosstraining at night with my brother Glenn and Jason.
Sunday: 0 - Mt Tom family hike. Despite the heat, the kids had a great time on this standard hike of ours. Lunch in the shade at the top and then cooled off in the stream at the bottom. Sore from bodyboarding yesterday.
Overall: Good week in the heat.
Weekly Total: 58 miles
Last Week: 58 miles
Year to Date: 1434 miles
No worries about your shortened track workout, you can finish it when we run at the track on Thursday morning...
ReplyDeleteKiller miles this year! You're a maniac!