South County Trails: Weekly Log 5-27-13 to 6-2-13

Finally I get to race again. It's been too long. Friday night I'm officially registered for the Twilight Trail Run (7.4M) at Bluff Point in Groton, CT. It appears to be a flat and fast course. Weather may be a factor, but at least I'm acclimated to the heat at this point. Should be fun! Saturday, Mike C. is hosting a free trail race on the Narragansett Trail. I'd love to race that one too, but I'll have the kids that day. I plan to bring them there to hike/cheer. Sunday is the 2nd Arcadia Back Road Ramble which I don't think is in the cards for me unfortunately.

Monday: 9 miles - CHS track workout solo. Busy day that began in NH. I did a family canoe paddle on Highland Lake in the morning followed by a midday family hike up Bald Mountain in Antrim. Proud of the kids completing the 2.5 mile hike with 900' of elevation gain. Great views from a couple of ledgy overlooks. Sunny and beautiful weather. After driving home, ice cream for dinner, and unpacking, I had the chance to go out for a run. I decided to head over to the nearby CHS track and run some 2's, 3's, and 4's. I'm not sure why I decided on this, but I came up with the following plan that I was able to stick to: 2x200, 3x300, 4x400, 3x300, 2x200 with full recoveries. As usual, I felt like the workout was going to be too hard to complete after a couple of intervals, and then felt good by the end. Consistent splits: 34/35/55/55/55/77/76/76/76/55/55/55/35/34. There was some wind, but the temperature in the fading light was in the 50's. No one else around. 2 mile warm up and almost 2 mile cool down. Total time: 1:01:28.

Tuesday: 8 miles - Saunderstown road loop with some easy trails mixed in. I parked at Rome Point and ran north on Rte 1A. I then ducked into the Plum Point neighborhood which meant a decent hill climb back to 1A. My pace was purposely easy and I wasn't looking to push any hills today. I then headed down Snuff Mill Rd to Gilbert Stuart (avoided the spur to the hill), back to 1A. I then ran a few side roads before entering Rome Point trails. I stuck to the main wide paths back to my car for a full GPS 8 miles. Total time: 1:00:56.

Wednesday: 9 miles - Calf Pasture Point loops alone. I was looking for easy miles again, but didn't want roads. I ended up running 3 loops (2.2 GPS miles) around Calf Pasture Point that includes beach, trail, and bike path. I really enjoyed this run today. It was getting warm and muggy, but the breeze kept things pleasant. There was a ton of nature out and about today including a large snapping turtle laying eggs on the edge of the trail, fiddler crabs in the mud near the point, horseshoe crabs, snowy egrets, orioles, unidentifiable sparrows, and other commons. Total time: 1:13:02.

Thursday: 7+ miles - Rome Point trails and beach alone. I was debating taking a zero because of lingering soreness from the track on Monday, but my legs felt much better today. I parked at Rome Point and ran the trails for a couple of miles nice and easy. I was sweating more than usual, but felt fine in the heat (90 degrees in the sun but much cooler in the woods and along the water). The tide was super high, so I could only go so far which was fine with me. I was able to mix up the route enough to make it feel somewhat fresh. Total time: 1:00:52. Race tomorrow!

Friday: 12 miles - Twilight Trail 7.4M Run in Bluff Point, Groton, CT. 5th overall - 46:18. Really fun race. Pretty happy with my performance. Enjoyed the course - more trail racing than I thought - similar pace as Li'l Rhody. Separate write up to follow.

Saturday: 1.5 miles - Narragansett Trail 5K with my kids. We headed out to Mike C's trail race on this hot morning. I wasn't sure what the three of us would end up doing. After Mike gave us racing bibs, we decided to start the race with everyone and see how far we would make it. My kids both ran quite a bit of the first half of the race. It was hilly and technical, and really fun. The walking breaks increased as time went on, and we turned around at about the halfway point. This was a fun event and my kids loved cooling off in the Wyassup Lake post race.

Sunday: 7.5 miles - Burlingame trails with Chris G. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that Chris was back to running as he was gobbling up a bunch of my Strava KOM's. I met him this morning at the Schoolhouse Pond parking lot so that I could show him some of the more interesting trails in Burlingame. It was muggy and my legs felt sort of blah, but having company passed the time quickly. I did end up going to the Backroad Ramble later in the morning with my family, but my wife ran and I spectated. The weather was really nice, and we lingered at the pond post race for a long time. It was fun watching my WTAC teammates race and catching up with them.