Weekly Snow Log: 3-2-15 to 3-8-15

I began this week with the idea I needed to take things down a notch.  I wasn't happy with how trashed my legs felt last week, and also how slow I was feeling on speed work.  But, for some reason or other (staying off the snowshoes for a few days, no hills on the long run with Muddy, very short easy day Sunday), I began this week feeling much fresher.  Still, my band is playing a show on Saturday night and most of the local guys are running a half marathon on Sunday.  This likely means no long run for me.  I may just head down to the Brrr-lingame course and work on that. 

Even the kids are sick of the snow

Monday: 10 miles - URI indoor track alone.  I didn't have my snowshoes with me (6" of new snow overnight) and the roads were very sloppy (sunny and melting).  Off to the track it would be.  After working out the tightness in my lower legs, I began feeling really good on this run, and ended up doing my longest run ever inside.  I was cranking out sub 7's with little effort.  This was very encouraging.  2 miles in 13:43, reverse 2 miles in 13:54, reverse 2 miles in 13:20, reverse 2 miles in 12:59, reverse 2 miles in 13:15.  Total time: 1:07:16. 

Tuesday: 15 miles on two runs.  In the AM, I did a workout at the indoor track since I my legs were still feeling good.  I wanted some redemption, but mostly just practice tempo pace.  My plan was 5 x 1 mile with 1 minute recoveries.  The first one did not feel great and I had my doubts.  I rallied, and like the last time I did this workout, the reps got easier as I went along.  Target: 5:52. Results: 5:50/5:49/5:51/5:51/5:48 with 1 minute recoveries. 1 mile WU, .5 mile CD. Total time: 45:15.  In the afternoon, I headed out for some road miles.  I wanted to keep things easy, but still mix in some elevation.  I ended up doing an out and back that incorporated two roughly 250' climbs.  8 miles in 58:09.  Good day! 

Wednesday: 6 miles - URI indoor track in the AM.  My legs are feeling tired, but not trashed.  I kept the pace very easy.  It felt better going in the "wrong" direction on the track, so I did most of the running that way.  Total time: 44:36. 

Thursday: 11 miles - snowshoe run from work on ridiculously snowy roads to/from snowy trails in Ryan Park.  I wasn't driving anywhere in my car as it was buried in 6" of new snow and it was still puking snow out.  I'm not sure what puking snow means, but I think that is what was going on.  I just through my snowshoes on in the parking lot and began running down the road.  I took the trestle connector through town (luckily just tracked by a cross country skier).  I got out to Rte 1, and waited for no cars to cross over to more snowy neighborhood roads.  I then trudged through the hopelessly deep snow into Ryan Park.  Again I followed cross country skies, and eventually found the guy responsible.  The railbed was okay.  I then took side trails on the west side (frustrating), crossed the field (over knee deep) and then ran back along the railbed.  This time I circled the pond and eventually made my way out.  I retraced my tracks on the roads and trestle.  I then stopped to chat with the cross country skier I had been following.  He was interested in how far I had run and what running snowshoes were all about.  It was here I accidentally saved my run.  I then began a new one, this time heading to the snowy coastline of the NK town beach.  Bad idea.  I had to resort to hiking.  I finished up in about 1hr and 34m of snowshoe running.  A new record for me.  I hope I can drive home. 

the old Wickford village trestle - following the xc ski tracks

Friday: 0 - I originally thought this would be a day to double, but things turned out much differently.  First off, my son was home sick for the second day in a row and it was my turn to stay home with him.  Lazy day.  I did some snow shoveling cross training as we ended up getting a total of ten new inches of snow in Charlestown yesterday.  At night I planned to meet early at the Mews (for the WTAC team celebration of our Super 5K victory) for a run, but I needed to pick up band equipment at a friend's house, and then got stuck in URI traffic.  I missed the start of the run.  I debated going out solo, but the temperature was in the low 20's, the sidewalks were a mess, and I opted to sit in my car and wait for my teammates to finish.  Fun time with the crew at dinner. 

my back deck on March 6th!

This is getting ridiculous!

Saturday: 10 miles - snowshoe run in the Burlingame campground with Garvin and Galoob.  We had a plan to meet up in the late morning at 8AM, and I arrived at 7:30 to bag a few early miles.  The camp roads were nicely plowed, so I stuck to them for 3+ miles before meeting up with the guys.  We then headed out on the Brrr-lingame course to pack it down.  Some spots already had snowshoe tracks, and some didn't.  It was exhausting.  Mike left us to go get his bigger snowshoes.  We made it to Vin Gormley Trail, and then bailed to the camp roads.  I had a time deadline, but we were able to run another nice stretch of snowy trail on the way back, running into Mike again.  Total time: 92 minutes. 

I then spent the afternoon prepping for our band's show at the Crown Plaza.  Set up went well, I enjoyed seeing old friends, and had a blast playing with the guys - our first performance since August 2013.  We ended up playing 50 songs non-stop for close to three hours. 

Sunday: 11 miles - Burlingame campground snowshoe with Galoob.  I was able to meet Mike in the late afternoon on this warm sunny day.  The trails were in much better shape today.  Really fun snowshoe running conditions, but still tough.  I did a 32 minute out and back before meeting up with Mike.  We then did the entire loop, except for the single track parts in the campground itself.  We ran snowy camp roads instead.  I let Mike lead which was probably a mistake.  He set an aggressive pace that I "enjoyed" trying to keep up with.  What a great workout.  Total time: 88 minutes. 

Overall: Decent week.  I enjoyed snowshoeing again.  I need to take it easy next week for Saturday's Brrr-lingame race. 

Weekly Total: 63 miles
Last Week: 75 miles
Year to Date: 655 miles
March Total: 67 miles