Odds & Ends: 8-19-13 to 8-25-13

I was able to find a short article online about the 5K I ran up in Maine a couple of weeks ago.  Here's a picture from the finish. 

I've also finalized my fall racing plans.  I decided to jump into the fall marathon game, but keep it on trails rather than pavement.  So I'll be joining fellow WTAC'ers Rhody Seth and Critcherly in the Nipmuck Trail Marathon on October 6th.  I've been doing some marathon type workouts recently and just need to step up my trail work.  I've gotten away from technical trails, so I'll be focusing more on them, but I'll be happy to join others on roads for their marathon training too.  This also means that I'll be doing the Pisgah Mountain 23K instead of the 50K on September 15th.  My goal will be to break 1 hr 40 mins.  Last year I was 1:44.  It can be done, but I had a great race last year, so I need to work hard to drop that much more time.  I'm pumped to run both races. 

On to the weekly log.  Back to work week. 

Monday: 10+ miles on 2 runs.  I awoke early (anxious about going back to work) so I ran 5 miles from my house to relax, which worked like a charm.  I ran the roads (paved and dirt) to Schoolhouse Pond and back.  Felt good. 



Work wasn't as bad as I feared, and I was able to take a shorter than normal lunch break to run.  I ran the fun stuff on the west side of Ryan Park.  It was a bit warm (low 80's). 



Tuesday: 13 miles on 2 runs.  I again woke up early and decided to do some technical trail work.  This time I ran on my property, making a long loop (about 3/4 mile) that included two steep wall climbs per lap.  One was about 40-50' off my deck and the other was the 100' Shumankawall - hands may be required.  I did four loops and they were grueling, despite my overall slow pace.  Really good Pisgah and Nipmuck training.  Total time: 28:23 for 3 miles.  In the afternoon, I drove up to Big River and ran from the Hopkins Hill Rd lot.  I wanted to get some of my KOM's back that were recently taken from me while I was on vacation.  My legs proved to be a little too tired for any really speedy stuff, so I just ran the trails I wanted to run - mostly around the ponds.  I did push the pace on Foster's Folly Up and posted the fastest time (soft record).  I was feeling tired by the time I reached Tarbox Pond so I ran the road back up to the parking lot, thinking there was a Strava segment for it and I've never run it before.  It was a good climb.  Fun loop. 



Wednesday: 7 miles on 2 runs.  I woke up to sore hips and legs.  I think Shumankawall did me in.  I was hoping to feel good for the Westerly Fun Run mile tonight.  I didn't even think I would run at all, but I went to the Quonset bike path for some easy running to test things out.  First, it was hot (90 degrees), but not humid.  My legs and hips felt trashed, but my pace wasn't horrible, and the flat quiet path was rather soothing.  Then after 2 miles my watch announced that it had lost satellite communication.  I kept running, thinking that since it was clear out, the watch would quickly find them again.  No dice.  Whatever.  I was happy to get in this shakeout run (5 miles in 35:50).  At night, I ran the Westerly Fun Run mile.  My legs felt okay on the kids run (with my daughter) and I did a couple of strides before the mile.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  The start was super fast.  I was in 4th right away and remained there.  I thought about dropping out early on, but decided to stick with it.  As I neared the last 1/4 mile, I thought that I could at least pick up my pace.  Nope.  Ended up with 5:20 I think.  It was more fun to watch other teammates and friends finish their miles.  I walked until I saw my dad and son, and then jogged it in with them.  Awards ceremony after for the kids. 

Thursday: 10.5 miles - Rome Point trails and beach alone.   I went much longer than I thought.  It looked like I would be rained out, but then I decided to just go anyway, and hope I beat the heavy stuff.  It never was anything more than light rain, and my beat up legs felt pretty decent the entire way.  I followed my old course, which I liked. 




Friday: 16.5 miles - Wickford roads (7M) & Ryan Park trails (9.5M) alone.  Work was quiet and the weather was really nice.  I decided to start from the office and wander around for a while.  I knew I would spend some time in Ryan, but made up the course as I went along.  I made the last minute decision to not carry water with me.  It was pretty hot in the sun and I did get thirsty.  I also wore a shirt from the office and left it on the first few miles on roads.  This made me hotter than usual.  My legs felt weird at the beginning, but the soreness from mile trials and Shumankawall are wearing off.  My pace felt easy and was about 7:15 on the roads.  My legs never got that tired which was encouraging.  Good run. 



Saturday: 8 miles - early morning track workout solo.  Stole this workout from Greg - 4x(400,200,200) with 200 recoveries.  I originally wanted to do a Aussie Quarters or 13x200 workout with fast recoveries, but I'll save that for another time.  I was just happy that my legs continue to feel better, even after yesterday's long run.  The conditions were awesome: 52-54 degrees, sunny, no wind, no humans.  I did a 2 mile warm up and felt pretty good, but the workout was much harder than I thought.  My times were kind of mediocre and I had to work hard for them.  It was tempting to take a longer recovery between sets, but I stuck with just a 200 each time.  Not easy.  I'm assuming my splits would have been faster if my legs were fresher.  Results: 76/34/34/74/35/35/75/34/34/76/35/34
Mile and a half cooldown.  After an awesome day spent at Misquamicut beach with friends, we then went to a nearby block party at night.  I got to tire my arm out by throwing a football and then playing adults versus kids whiffle ball.  My wife and kids decided to join a few others in camping out, so I need to find my own way home.  I ended up running the near mile back to the house in the dark with my sandals.  I did have a headlamp so I wasn't completely unprepared. 

 Sunday: 15 miles - Burlingame trails alone.  I needed to wake up early to get a decent run in before my wife had to leave for the day at 8AM.  It wasn't easy waking up at 5:40AM, but I managed to get my act together and begin running at six.  I carried a small handheld with a GU, but I almost threw it into the woods when I fell 15 minutes into my run.  I felt unbalanced carrying it.  I ran the mile plus of roads and then jumped onto Sammy C's and ran that south.  I scared a small coyote off the trail at one point.  I was happier to encounter the coyote then the two large "friendly" unleashed dogs a mile or so later.  I poked my neck on a branch avoiding one of their happy jumps at me.  Fun.  I decided to head around the campground.  I realized I might be pushing my luck on time, so I improvised by running some trails around the campground and some camp roads.  I was a little confused, but it worked out just right as I found the bog bridge section of the North South Trail.  I then followed Vin Gormley CW until crossing Buckeye Brook Rd and running the north side.  These hilly old dirt roads mimic some of the stuff in Pisgah.  I was cruising along pretty good, knowing I was going to be pushing my 8AM required finish time.  This was a good loop and my legs keep feeling better and better (despite the 80 mile week!). 




Weekly Total: 80 miles
Last Week: 61 miles
Year to Date: 2064 miles