This week's music comes from Rancid's B Sides and C sides album. All sorts of song styles represented here. This is one of the more catchy tunes and includes a signature Matty Freeman bass line:
Monday: 8 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. I was feeling more beat today, two days after the long trail run. The weather was nice, so I needed to do something. I parked at the high lot on Oak Hill Rd, and ran up and down the trails on the west side of the park. My legs perked up after about 10 minutes. I then made the decision to run down the railbed and run a few more trails. Instead of backtracking, I ran the mile back on the road to my car. Total time: 1:04:54.
Tuesday: 9+ miles - Narragansett roads, trails, and beach with Galoob and Nate. I met Mike at the Commons on this summer-like day - 80 degrees! We ran down Rte 1, crossed at the light, and then took some backroads and sketchy paths over to the Canonchet Farm Trail where we met up with Nate. We then ran the trail to Narragansett Town Beach. My legs felt a little better than yesterday and the pace felt a little peppy. It was a little cooler at the beach and windy, but still warm enough to be full of college kids. We ran down to the river mouth and back before heading back on the trail. The roads back included a pretty good hill. It's strange to sweat during a run. Legs feeling good now. Total time: 1:11:51.
Wednesday: 9.5 miles - Big River trails solo. Another nice day (high 60's - sun and clouds). I decided to head up to Big River for some trail intervals. I parked at the place affectionately called Greasy Joe's by mtn bikers. I picked a fun loop, but I didn't plan the Strava intervals very well as the two on my course were back to back with no break. So, basically I was doing a 4 mile warm up, 3 mile interval, 2.5 mile cool down. My pace felt good from the start, but nowhere near my pace during the half marathon. I followed the course for 1.5 miles before taking the trail by the old chimney and then running the ridge south from there. I wound my way back north and west until meeting back up with the half marathon course near the 7 mile mark. I felt hot running rather hard in the warm conditions, and wasn't sure how the speed portion coming up would go. I reached the short steep hill where Bob surged past me during the race, and was determined to run fast once I hit Dead Shed. I felt like I was running faster than my race effort on this trail. I felt a little out of control, but I was having a blast. I reached the New London Turnpike and then began the next Strava section called Twisty Fun. I was definitely tiring by this point. GPS gets really slow in here, so I had no idea how I was doing. I finally reached the end on a dirt road, and then took it easier the rest of the way. Overall, this was a great loop, and a fun workout. Total time: 1:13:24.
Thursday: 8 miles - Rome Point mostly trails alone. No motivation today, but with tomorrow looking like a washout, I finally ended up running. And it was fun. I parked at Rome Point and ran the direct way down to the point. I then ran the shoreline to the edge of the park and began zigzagging my way up the hill. After 5 miles, I headed to the yellow dot loop for a fastish 1 mile interval (with a hill). I began steady and increased my pace as I went along - a novel concept for me. I really was flying up the hill and clocked in a PR tying 6:05. I then slowed it down and ran trails out to Terre Mar Drive, where I came across a group of NK runners heading to Rome. I finished up on Rte 1A, and was happy when GPS found me again, and I realized I my pace was in the 6:30's. Total time: 58:52.
Friday: 0 - Mike and I cancelled our midday run due to the pouring rain and gusty wind.
Saturday: 13 miles - Arcadia trails with Rhody Seth. We met up at 6AM at the John B. Hudson lot on Rte 165. Usually my drive in the dark (out the door at 5:15AM) is lonely, but today was opening day for fishing, and the roads were packed and any place with water I passed was a zoo. I worried my D&D breakfast might be in jeopardy due to long lines, but no one was in there. Seth's plan was to run a loop of Mt Tom and Breakheart trails clockwise. After the light improved and we warmed up, the pace got rather snappy. We maintained a nice effort for the duration. The hills felt good - I especially enjoy the climb up Penny Hill (it gets steeper as you go). This is a great loop. Good fun. Total time: 1:43:32.
.5 miles - PM walk/run on the bike path with family and friends. My kids were on scooters and this required a few sustained sprints to keep up. I need to cancel out the .5 earlier in the week anyway.
Sunday: 8 miles - CHS track alone. Two words: Aussie Quarters. Loved the idea of this workout after I noticed someone doing them on Strava and then reading about them online. The formula I was using was 8x400 (six to eight seconds faster per mile pace than race 5K pace) with 200 "recoveries" at 1 minute plus 5K pace. Playing around with the numbers I decided I would shoot for 80 seconds per 400 (2 seconds faster than goal 5K 400 time) and 48 seconds recovery (6:30 pace). What's cool about this workout is that if you start with a 200 "recovery" you get an even 5K for the total workout. So, I've been excited about trying it, and finally had the ability to head to my local track on Sunday morning after breakfast to give it a whirl. My legs as usual had some fatigue in them, but the weather was fantastic - high 40's, sunny, light breeze. I ran a two mile warm up (14:11). I then stretched and prepared myself mentally for the task at hand. My first 400 was too slow - my watch measures the track wrong so my actual pace is slower than what the watch is showing. I did get into a good rhythm, especially after getting three 400's under my belt. Doing the entire workout felt daunting, but it felt awesome to complete it, especially being out there by myself. Results:
45/85/50/81/48/81/47/82/48/81/48/80/79/49/78/43 = 17:58
It was hard to run the 400's as fast as I wanted, but considering my PR 5K pace is really 5:38, I technically was on track. The workout is really fun and challenging. And it's cool to see what the total time (5K) comes out to be. I then ran a 3 mile cool down (staying on the track). I was running rather fast (20:07 total time), probably just anxious to finish running in circles.
Overall: Decent week. Getting close to the TARC 50K now.
Weekly Total: 56 miles
Last Week: 70 miles
Year to Date: 860 miles
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