No real focus this week other than chase miles. I'm still dealing with tightness in my lower core that popped up after the weekend of racing over a week ago. I will just continue to actively recover.
Monday: 11 miles - crazy mix of trails, roads, powerlines, hills with Galoob. We met at Barber Pond on Rte 2 on this warm, muggy, and windy day. We climbed a couple of good hills in a nearby neighborhood before jumping on a powerline. We then ran some 4x4 trails before rejoining the powerline. Snakes everywhere! We made it to a dirt road and had to figure out which way we could go next. We ended up crossing the tracks and running old trails in the North Woods of URI. By the time we popped out on top of the hill, we had been running for 52 minutes. We ran roads back, including the long climb up Wolf Rocks Rd. We finished up on the flat dirt Barber Pond Rd. Total time: 1:24:28 with 674' of climbing.
Tuesday: 10 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. This was a very stormy day. I left earlier than normal to start my run during a break in the action. It was already beginning to rain lightly when I started and it was very windy. After about twenty minutes of winding around the eastern side of the park, I ran the rail bed hard over to the other side. This was an attempt to get back my KOM from Chris Garvin. I may have started the segment too late (not wanting to start too early and burn out). I lowered my PR, but I'm still 11 seconds behind Chris. It was now raining steadily, and with the strong wind, it was rather miserable. I recovered on the other side of Lafayette Rd and then did a protected loop on the west side of the park. I was soaked. Eventually I took off my shirt to avoid chaffing and the extra weight. I decided to run the rail bed back hard. I have the CR for this almost mile segment, but tried to lower it. It was funny running hard in the pouring rain and crazy gusts of wind coming off the pond. I again missed the CR, this time by 5 seconds. I quickly returned to my car since the conditions were deteriorating. Changing in my car was a challenge without getting everything wet. Total time: 1:10:36.
Wednesday: 8.5 miles - Big River recovery run alone. I was feeling lazy about running today. Eventually I drove around until I ended up at the Hopkins Hill lot. I got out of my car and just shuffled around some trails. My plan was to run the new single track trail I found last week. I took the long way there. It was annoying to see spots with snow (we had a coating overnight), but the April sun felt good (despite it only being mid 40's). I ended my run by wading through the Carr River, since there was no easy way to cross. It was up to my shorts. Total time: 1:11:38 with 460' of climbing.
Thursday: 11 miles - workout with Galoob and Jakoboski. We met up at Treaty Rock Park on Middlebridge Road for a 2 x 3 mile @ T pace workout with short hill climbs between reps. Mike was excited to try out his skipping up the hill he read about online somewhere. He called it bounding, but it was definitely skipping. Anyway, after a 2 mile warm up and a couple of strides we began the out-and-back 3 mile threshold run. My target was 5:55, but I figured having two fast guys ahead of me would make me be faster. There was a chilly headwind on the way out, but at your back on the way back. I chugged along, paying way too much attention to my watch. Mike and Derek were going to run a little longer down the road than me so I hoped we would finish up closer together. Nope. Those guys were so far ahead. Humbling. Still I ran 17:29 (5:50 pace). Next we did some reps up Torrey hill (rather steep road). Instead of skipping, I opted to take more powerful steps than normal as I climbed. I did five reps and took it very easy coming back down. I then jumped into the next threshold run. My legs felt fine, and the time passed more quickly on this one. Unfortunately, my pace was a tad slower, but still good - 17:40 (5:53 pace). Short cool down after.
Total time: 1:16:28. This was a great workout!
Friday: 10 miles - Arcadia single track and dirt roads alone. Good Friday means leave work really early. I had to pick up the kids at my in-laws, who happen to live in Arcadia. So, I parked at the Midway lot and ran up to the old Ten Rod Rd (dirt). I then weaved around forgotten mtn bike trail gems. I worked over to the top of Mt Tom and planned to run down the valley and back up Escoheag Hill. This is what I ended up doing, but frankly I was lost. Once I descended into the valley, trails appeared to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Is this a trail or a wash out? I would find dirt bike tracks occasionally. I knew that I would end up hitting Austin Farm Rd, Barber Rd, or Escoheag Rd. I did end up at the top of Austin Farm Rd. I ran down that (dirt) until I picked up the white dot Escoheag Trail. After a steep climb, I continued on Mt Tom Trail and back down old Ten Rod Rd. Fun run (except for missing the valley trail I was looking for) with 890' of climbing. Total time: 1:22:29.
Saturday: 19.5 miles - Carolina early morning group run with Muddy, Garvin, and Jackman. We met up at 6AM at the management lot on Rte 112. Muddy put together a good loop from there, which was mostly all easy trails. After the long dirt hill climb on Kenyon Hill Rd, we reached Muddy's aid station he set up. We then left Carolina and headed up the North South Trail to Rte 138. We backtracked on roads to our cars, but veered off onto Wilbur Hill Rd to check out some more trails (except Chris who at 1:45 had run long enough). We explored the Grass Pond Preserve (TNC) and Delbonis (State of RI property). Hilly! Can't wait to explore a little more here. We ran back to our cars via Kenyon Hill Rd and a wide dirt trail. Total time: 2:28:15 with 986' of climbing. This was my longest run in quite some time and I felt good until the last 2 or 3 miles.
Sunday: 5+ miles - quick Burlingame loop recovery run alone. I wasn't sure if I'd run at all today, after feeling terrible last night (chills, sweats, muscle aches), but woke up feeling way better. I decided since I had the time before Easter festivities to run a few miles. I ran a loop of my road to Sammy C's to Schoolhouse Pond to Vin Gormely to the Beaver Pond and back. Everything felt good. Total time: 41:06 with 397' of climbing.
Overall: Happy with this week. Big mileage with a challenging workout and a longer than normal long run. I was able to get in almost 4K feet of climbing. My body even feels back to normal.
Weekly Total: 75 miles
Last Week: 68 miles
Year to Date: 967 miles
April Total: 191 miles
Good week, Jonny!
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