I came into this week looking for another of high miles and lots of intensity, but my motivation is waning. Instead, I'm hoping for 60+ miles and a workout or two. Brrr-lingame 10 Mile Trail Race is next Saturday, the 22nd. Trails are clearing nicely in southern RI, and I can't wait to race again on them!
Monday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails (half snow covered) alone. I had to stay close to work and run by myself today. I wasn't too inspired about running. I opted to try Ryan Park, knowing that there was going to still be snow on the ground in places there. It was warm enough that I had good traction on any snow and ice. The going was just slow which was fine. And kind of hard. There were nice stretches of muddy trails (including the railbed) to be had. I was shocked to see how deep the snow was on the powerline - doesn't it get excellent sun exposure?
Tuesday: 10 miles - Hilly road T-pace run solo. This workout just sort of happened. The weather was super nice - 60 degrees with filtered sunshine. My legs, which had been beat up, were feeling re-energized. I decided to run a 10 mile lollipop course that is rather hilly I did a couple of weeks back. My plan was to enjoy the day and keep the pace on the peppy side. After a half mile I checked my watch and saw 6:24 pace. I was feeling good, and decided to keep it up. The next 3 miles are all uphill. I didn't look at my watch, but figured I was slowing down. I could make up time on the downhill miles. Running up Stony Lane was hard. The same could be said for South Rd - first because of the strong wind in my face, and then all the climbing. Once I reached the top of the hill on Shippee Rd, I just let my legs go. At about 4.5 miles in, I checked my watch and saw that my run was averaging 6:30 pace. Okay - now let's watch that go down on the next 2+ downhill miles. I reached Tillinghast Rd and worried that I'd soon begin climbing again. I was wrong - it only climbs at the end near South Road. I pushed hard up this steep hill. South Road was into the wind and a gradual uphill. It was not easy to maintain my pace (overall pace had dropped to 6:24 by this point). Finally I reached Narrow Lane and it was flat and then downhill for the next two miles. I let my legs do their thing. My overall pace crept lower and lower, and by the time I reached the bottom of the hill on Stony Lane, I was now at 6:18 average pace. My finish was on Rte 2 - not a fun road to run on. The worst part was that I had a tough hill climb up to Quaker Lane Liquors. I really dug in and then descended the other side until I reached 10.00 miles on my watch. Total time: 1:02:52, 6:17 average pace (which corresponds to my Daniels' MP and adjusted TP for 10 miles). The grade adjusted pace for the run was 6:13. This run felt great. Huge confidence boost.
Wednesday: 11 miles - Rome Point trails and beach alone. I beat the rain and it was still warm today - 52 degrees. The issue was a very strong SE wind. I ran around Rome Point, happy to see the trails were finally clear of snow and ice. Some spots were super muddy, others were dry. After wandering around for 45 minutes, I hit the beach. I ran directly into the headwind, which paired with the terrible footing, was rough. I made it under the bridge and to the end of Plum Beach and then had to turn around. This was much better - the strong wind was pushing me over the obstacles below my feet. I ran even further on the beach, all the way to the point. I then finished up on trails back to my car.
Thursday: 10 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. Very cold day with a fresh coating of snow. Funny thing was that it was already melting despite the 21 degree temperature - gotta love the March sun angle. I wandered around the west side for a few miles and then made my way over to the east. I was happy to make the best of a crappy weather day.
Friday: 7 miles - Old Mountain trails alone. I had another busy day at work, and couldn't get out for my break until after 3PM. I parked at Old Mountain and ran the 5K course twice with a little extra thrown in. It was cold in the wind. My feet are fatiguing with all the trail work this week. I guess I need to get used to it again. I wasn't going fast, but I was trying not to go slow.
Saturday: 15 miles - early morning Burlingame trails with Muddy and Jeff. We met in the dark at 6:30AM. It wasn't too cold, but damp, and eventually there was light rain. We ran from the picnic area, through the Kettle Preserve and onto the Brrr-lingame course single track. There were a couple of icy spots, but not much mud, and the race should be fast. We reached the far end of the campground and then figured out the rest of Mike's course - pleased to see there were some fun hidden single track sections mixed in. We then embarked on a planned workout. I wanted to run approx. 4 miles of single track on the course hard. This would be good practice for the race next week both in terms of intensity and familiarity. I set the pace at first. My feet and lower core were feeling sore and tired on the 1 hour warm up. Running fast felt pretty good, but it was a hard pace to maintain. I was getting hot and took off my gloves, dropping one. I stopped to retrieve it and then Muddy took over. He killed the rest of the tempo. He would pull away from us and then have to wait to know which way to go at intersections. I was tiring and had the added pressure of Jeff running behind me on the many downhill sections. The whole ordeal finished on the bog bridges and we stopped at the Vin Gormley Trail. It was a nice 23 minute hard effort. Too fast to maintain for 10 miles, but a good workout. My body fatigue kicked back in once we began moving again. I was struggling to keep Muddy and Jeff in my earshot. We ran out to the observation tower in the Kettle Preserve. Then we returned to our cars, where I bid them adieu.
Sunday: 9 miles - Burlingame trail loop alone in the afternoon. After a nice nap, I got my act together for a run. I was excited to run my favorite local trails in Burlingame from my house again after not being able to for a couple of months. I entered on Burdickville Rd and headed down to the river. I then ran the river loop. This trail is so fun and needs some TLC, before nature takes it back. I ran the double track to the Ledge Trail. I began climbing and then saw two men on the trail - one peeing in front of the other guy. I wasn't sure what to do, but I just continued on and passed by them without incident. I then looped back on the double track to Buckeye Brook Rd where I picked up the Vin Gormley Trail. I then jumped on Schoolhouse Pond Trail. I caught a mtn biker from behind, and then had to wait for a section to make a pass - kind of fun, kind of annoying - they saw me and didn't let me go by. I passed a few more mtn bikers (resting - a common theme?) as I took Sammy C's back toward Buckeye Brook Rd. I cut my legs up on the overgrown Governor's Trail and decided to hoof it back on the road to my house. GPS really doesn't do justice the work I was putting in on the technical stuff. This was a really fun run and a great end to another big week - thankfully mostly all on trails.
Weekly Total: 71 miles
Last Week: 74 miles
Year to Date: 643 miles
March Total: 170 miles
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