Anyway, last week was spent actively recovering from the Big River Half/Chariho 5K weekend.
Monday: 10 miles - hilly paved and unpaved roads with Galoob. I didn't feel terrible, and I was able to meet up with Mike for a hilly run. We parked at Allie's Donuts in NK, and ran up Stony Lane (long hill), eventually cresting and then continued on the unimproved dirt road section. The pace wasn't as snappy as the previous week, but on dead legs, it felt challenging. Plus parts of the dirt road are tricky. We crossed Sunderland Rd and then continued west on Pardon Joslin Rd until we reached the far end. This worked out to be five miles, which was perfect. We turned around and retraced our steps back. No donuts this time. 10 miles in 1:15 with 933' of climbing.
Tuesday: 9 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. This was an easy recovery run (which never feel easy). I don't remember much about this run other than it was soggy because of all the recent rain, and I wanted to try to get my CR back from Garvin on the railbed segment, but successfully talked myself out of it. Total time 1:12:44.
Wednesday: 7.5 miles - NK mostly trails with Sandals and his dog. I was thinking about joining Mike for a track workout (although my legs still felt like junk) until I received an invitation from Sandals to run the trails behind and around his house. The weather was sunny and warm. Sandals took me on a tour of his hour loop. The conversation was lively and it was fun checking out new trails. Total time 1:00:58 with 454' of climbing.
Thursday: 10 miles - Big River trails alone. The weather was awesome again, and I had the opportunity to head to Big River. I parked at the Hopkins Hill lot and ran around Carr Pond (opposite direction of race) until I reached Foster's Folly. I then ran south along the ridge (also opposite direction of race). At the spot where some of the 1/2 marathoners got off track and connected with the 10K course, I did the same. I then ran north along the wide pond path looking for the new single track Mike added to the 10K race this year. I found it and it is awesome. It might be my favorite trail in the park. Kudos to the mtn bikers who made it. It winds through granite slabs and rocky ridges, eventually connecting back with the most used ridge trail. I then followed the half course trails to Tarbox Pond, before adding some different stuff to make my run longer. Finally, I returned via trails after debating a sprint up the road back to the parking lot (Strava segment). I still don't have the pep in my legs. Total time: 1:20:12 with 560' of climbing.
Friday: 9 miles - Burlingame north hilly trail threshold run solo. I had an hour window to run in the late afternoon. It was 68 degrees. I headed south from my house and entered Burlingame at the beaver pond trail. I then ran the dirt road loop which is about 2.5 miles. I was running pretty hard - what I considered T-pace feel. The loop is hilly! I ended up doing three loops with no rest, all in about 17 minutes flat. I kept up the hard pace all the way back to my house for a total time of 1:01:11 (886' of climbing). This was a great workout, one I'm sure to repeat. The wide double track is reminiscent of Pisgah.
Saturday: 16 miles - Carter Preserve trails with Seth and local hilly roads to/from alone. This group run turned into just a two person affair. I awoke early and was out the door at 5:55AM. There was already plenty of light and the temperature was warm (low 50's) and muggy. Lots of birds singing. My legs were back to feeling like junk after yesterday's workout. I took my time running the four miles to the Rte 112 parking area, which included running the powerline hill. I waited for a couple of minutes until I saw Seth arrive (he also ran from his house). We paused for a few more minutes to make sure no one else was joining us and then ran for an hour in Carter. We kept the pace easy and the conversation about trail races. I also was hungry. We then parted ways after exhausting the trail system. My run back was decent. I took the longer way home. I was not going fast at all, but the weather was splendid. More hills. Good run. Total time: 2:05 with 915' of climbing.
Sunday: 6.5 miles - Burlingame north loop alone in the late afternoon. Most of this day was spent with family and friends. We hiked Mt. Tom in Arcadia. My son and I didn't stop with everyone for lunch at the ledges, and instead completed a loop hike that he picked out of a book. Walking down Old Ten Rod Road (dirt) made me remember my mtn biking days in this section. It looks like no one uses these trails anymore. Too bad. We met back up with everyone at the stream back near Mt. Tom. The book called the loop 3.6 miles, but my GPS measured it at 4.1, and you know my opinion about that. Fun 2 hour loop.
Waiting for the adults to catch up.
After spending 4 hours outside with the kids, it was my chance to run. I wasn't too enthused, since I already felt relaxed and exercised. But the allure of chasing miles was too strong, and out the door I went. I ran a loop that I had my wife and friend run a week ago. I kept the pace easy, but still had to do some climbing. I saw zero humans. Great way to end the week.
Overall, it was a decent recovery week. My body still doesn't feel all the way back to normal, but then again, I haven't given it much chance to rest. I was happy to accumulate 4,388' of climbing for the week. Friday's hilly trail threshold run was awesome.
Weekly Total: 68 miles
Last Week: 58 miles
Year to Date: 892 miles
April Total: 116 miles
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