Weekly Log 11-12-12 to 11-18-12

Monday: 6 miles - hilly road tempo run from my house alone.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to run today as my family was heading up to Boston for the day.  Somehow a short window opened up after breakfast/before getting ready to go.  I've had a feeling of missing hill work in my routine, so I opted for the rollercoaster 3 mile out-and-back from my house I've done many times, but not recently.  A day after a 5K, I wasn't planning to run so hard, but run hard is what I did, and it felt good (in a bad way).  After a first mile of 6:52 (up and down), I then coasted down Buckeye Brook Rd in 6:10.  The third mile is all up hill and was a challenge, so I was thrilled with the 6:29 split (faster than I thought).  Mile 4 is all down hill (6:11), before I begin the long climb up Buckeye Brook Rd.  I was again surprised to see a 6:26 (definitely my fastest ascent ever).  Mile 6 is up and down back to my house (6:04).  Total time: 38:16.  Feeling good! 




We spent the rest of the day up in Boston/Cambridge.  This was a good chance for the kids to hang out with their first first cousin and for us to walk some of the Freedom Trail. 

 

 

 

Tuesday: AM 3 miles - 9 loops of home trails before work.  I had a poor night sleep and was feeling rather anxious when I awoke, so I did this impromptu trail workout to help relax my mind.  Works like a charm.  The trails are relentlessly twisty and not flat, requiring a lot of concentration.  The last loop I climbed the infamous Shumankawall.  My legs were toast, but I managed to fake run up it.  Total time: 23:40. 

 

               PM 10 miles - Ryan Park trails alone.  I ran later in the afternoon doing the usual 10 miles.  At first I was only going to do 7, but my body was feeling fine and the pace was easy, so I kept going.  I avoided the rain for the most part, but the temperature was 20 degrees cooler than in the morning.  Total time: 1:13:46. 

 

Wednesday: 10 miles - Quonset speedwork: 8x400.  I should probably call this 2x(4x400) since I backtracked 1.5 miles after 4 intervals to avoid running into the cold NE wind.  I stole my workout this week from Galoob's blog.  Again, with my GPS watch I'm able to program in the workout, but I don't know the results until I upload the data.  This usually leads to a tad more inconsistency than I'd like.  Results:  71/76/76/76 74/77/76/75.  Pleased with the times.  I was running comfortably hard and they match my VDOT.   The cooldown into the wind (and 46 degrees) was annoying.  Total time: 1:08:21.  The plan for the rest of the week is to run long and slow in Burlingame tomorrow (day off from work) and then maybe 2 days off before Li'l Rhody Runaround on Sunday.  Does that make sense? 

 

Thursday: 15 miles - Burlingame trails alone.  What better use of a day off from work than a long run in the woods?  After everyone left the house I grabbed my running gear and headed out the door.  I ran the 1.5 miles of road and trail to the Vin Gormley Trail.  I was trying to keep the pace conservative, and I wanted to check out the condition of the Li'l Rhody Runaround race course.  The trail was in great shape out to Kings Factory Road.  There was a double-trunked tree that you need to sneak through (easy enough for a someone short like me) right after the intersection with Schoolhouse Pond Trail and then a reroute to the right around a big fallen oak about a mile further down.  The mass destruction near the road has been completely cleared.  I ran the roads to the campground and then detoured to the single track of the Brrr-lingame 15K course.  I was amazed at first by how there were no fallen trees anywhere, but near the camp road crossing there was a lot of scrambling to do.  I really enjoyed being out in the woods with no humans around and the nice crisp (mid 30's) air.  My legs were definitely tired from all the recent speedwork.  I weaved my way back to the VG trail and continued my course recon.  The trail was in great shape to Klondike Road and I could see all the work the guys did along this stretch - thanks!!  With the new bridges, this section should actually be faster than in past years.  That will be helpfull considering the next stretch of trail between Klondike and Buckeye Brook Rd.  My dad told me that there were 27 trees that fell across the trail here, including a 90' pitch pine (yes, he measured it).  There were other giant oaks that fell on the trail as well.  In total there are 4 (I think) reroutes to the right around some of the behemoths.  This will add a bit of distance to the course, but there is a nice flow on the reroutes that should allow you to maintain your speed for the most part.  The last section to check out was the mile or so from Buckeye Brook Rd to my side trail after the old camp road.  I don't remember anything out of the ordinary here, but I was also tired and losing focus.  I then had to run mostly uphill back to my house.  Total time: 1:56:31.  See everyone on Sunday! 

 

 

 Friday: 5 miles - Rome Point trails with Tom.  A nice late fall run.  Despite his concern about me going too fast (I said I wanted to go very easy), Tom kept the pace brisk out there.  My legs feel good.  Total time: 35:05. 

 

Saturday: 0 - Hammett Thanksgiving at night. 

 

Sunday: 10 miles - Li'l Rhody Runaround 50:04, 7th overall.  See separate write up. 

 

Weekly Total: 59 miles

Last Week: 59 miles

Year to Date: 2646 miles