Weekly Log 6-24-13 to 6-30-13

Lots of interesting running things going on this summer.  There is a ton of interest in weekly track sessions - to be held early on Tuesday mornings.  Westerly Fun Runs on Wednesday nights with family and friends.  Group long runs on weekends.  Doubles!  And even the occasional race or two.  I was thinking about the Nipmuck South Trail Run (14.1 miles) this Sunday, but it's not going to work out with the family schedule.  I may get to race the Four on the Fourth in Keene, NH.  It would be awesome to race with my brothers and sister-in-law, and be humbled by the fast Keenyans up there.  The Run with the Beavers (10 mile trail race) is coming up too.  Not to mention all the usual fun summer stuff to do around here. 

Monday: 8 miles - Rome Point trails and beach alone.  I wasn't sure how I would hold up as the temperature was 93 in parking lot.  I carried ice water with me and just went for it.  Despite feeling insanely hot walking to/from my car, it is a different story when I'm running.  My body efficiently handles the heat, and I felt fine throughout.  It was hot on the beach, so I stuck to the woods most of the time.  Total time: 1:08:57.  Brought the kids (last day of school) to the pond at night for an hour and half swim. 



Tuesday: 15 miles in two runs. 7 mile track workout at CCMS with Galoob, Mark, and Nathan.  We met up at 5:45AM.  It was humid, but not too bad.  I got there a tad early and ran a mile on the track before the rest of the crew showed up.  My legs felt ready to roll.  We didn't have a plan coming in, so we settled on a ladder type workout (and adjusted as we went along): 2x200/400/600/800/600/400/4x200 with slow 200 recoveries.  The rest of the guys were working themselves into track shape, but I was feeling good and was happy with my results: 34/35/74/1:59/2:43/1:54/75/35/34/33/33

One mile cool down with Mike before calling it a morning.  Second run - 8 miles in Rome Point.  I had a "lunch meeting" with my boss.  We met up at Rome despite the intense heat.  It was 91 in the parking lot when we began (earlier start then yesterday).  We took it easy crusing around the park and finished up in about 35 minutes.  After drinking water and stretching, I headed back out alone.  My energy was really good even though it was hot (and it was my 2nd run of the day).  After another 30 minutes I stopped.  Total time: 1:06:32. 

Wednesday: 14 miles in two runs.  8 mile trail run in Ryan Park in the early afternoon.  My lower legs were sore from the track, but this run was a great way to loosen them up.  The day was noticeably "cooler" than the previous two, but still 86 degrees and muggy.  I mostly stuck with the wider, smoother trails of the park, and also tried to stay in the shade.  Total time: 1:03:02. 



Later in the evening I headed down to Misquamicut for the weekly WTAC fun run.  My kids were not interested in running on this humid night, so I was able to run an actual warm up.  My legs were sore and tired, but the warm up helped.  At one point I was running along and saw two runners coming my way.  One of them shouted out "hey Jonny", and then I realized it was Matty P and some other fit looking dude, probably out on an easy 20 miler at 5:30 pace.  I was hoping to see him in the fun run, but no dice.  There was a big crowd tonight, and there was good competition with FiveK, highshooler Nick, a guy with a college singlet (John B), Jeff, Muddy, and Mike B.  My plan was to run hard, despite the tired legs, and just use these fun runs as 5K experiments.  My experiment tonight was to not shoot off the line into the lead.  I began at a relatively relaxed pace and settled next to Jeff behind John, Nick, and Tom.  I noticed a difference in energy by beginning slower, and near the end of the first mile I moved up with Tom and Nick.  My first mile was still on the fast side, but I ran it smarter (5:30 GPS).  The second mile is impossible to run fast.  I stayed with Nick and Tom for the a while and then Tom picked up steam before the hills.  I hung back a couple of seconds until the start of the long straightaway on mile 3, where the gap between us increased.  I was feeling much better this week, however, and my pace was faster than last week.  I also had more in the tank for the end, finishing up in 17:56 (GPS pace of 5:39).  My splits (5:30/5:51/5:42/5:03) were very close to last week (5:30/5:51/5:45/5:11), but this one felt better.  Muddy and I quickly set out on a cool down before my legs tightened up and I lost interest. 



Thursday: 6 miles - Quonset Bike Path alone.  This was just an easy recovery run that after a quarter of a mile, felt pretty good.  I enjoyed the grey weather and the coolish temperature.  Total time: 42:55.  Band practice cross training at night. 




Friday:  13.1 miles - Wickford roads solo.  I couldn't pull the trigger on the 5AM beach run, but I was able to get in a decent workout in the middle of the day.  Fridays are extremely slow at the office in the summer, so I decided to do a hour and a half run, mostly on roads.  I ended up sticking to the roads (drier than the soggy woods probably full of hungry deer flies).  I hit up the bayside neighborhoods as I worked my way south on Rte 1A.  I then crossed over to Rte 1 and ran neighborhoods back to the office.  I ran 13.0 miles, but Strava revised it to 13.1, so I guess I ran a half marathon.  I was outrageously sweaty when I finished.  Super humid day.  My miles were low 7's through the first 8.  I was running easy, but the mugginess made it feel a tad uncomfortable.  I was feeling pretty darn good the last 5, and ended up with an overall pace of 6:59 - 1:31:17. 



Saturday: 0 - too lazy to run early then spent the rest of the day with the kids.  We hiked Mt. Tom ledges in the light rain and had a mosquitoey lunch on some high rocks.  We all had alot of fun though. 

Sunday: 16 miles - Chariho road loop with Ryan and Marie.  Ryan and I exchanged some emails about running together when he's in town during the summer (after meeting through Strava).  He brought his very fast sister-in-law along, and the three of us did a peppy 16 mile loop beginning at the high school.  They seemed to enjoy the backroads and it was hillier than I thought.  It was also ridiculously humid.  It was a fun run with good conversation.  Hopefully they'll join some local group runs too.  16.2 miles in 1:57:04 (7:14 pace). 



Overall: Another solid week of running with even a day off mixed in.  I'm loving the doubles on workout days.  Excited about getting back on the track. 

Weekly Total: 72 miles
Last Week: 69 miles
Year to Date: 1540 miles