Monday: 8 miles in 1:02:43. Solo snowshoe run in Ryan Park. Late afternoon start from the upper Oak Hill Rd lot. The main trails were packed rather nicely (a bit uneven but good for RI). I ran through the fields, down the rail bed, around the pond, and back. My average GPS pace was right around 10 minutes per mile. I was moving well. At the end of my run, I encountered another snowshoe runner coming my way - Scott Mason. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes. He went on to the power line and said the snow was deep and untracked. Glad I stuck to the main trails.
Tuesday: 8 miles in 1:04:26. Snowshoe run in Ryan Park with Galoob. Met at the same lot as yesterday, and conditions were still good. Mike was leading and the pace was a touch hot for me. I kept up without much trouble, but this was a good workout. Our average GPS pace was around 9 minutes per mile. I think I got my fix of snowshoe running.
Wednesday: 12 miles in 1:24:37. Solo hilly road run in West Greenwich. My legs and lower core felt tired, but I had the opportunity to do a fun run, so I just battled through it. I opted for a very hilly road run. It began on a side street 2/3 of the way up Plain Meeting House Road climb, then headed back down the hill (west) on the road all the way to the four corners. My GPS couldn't find me until 3.3 miles into the run which was annoying. I continued west down Liberty Hill Rd. I then went south on Hudson Pond Road, which is in the middle of nowhere along Kelley Brook, and beautiful. I then went west on Falls River Rd. I had hoped to summit Escoheag Hill via this dirt road, but ran out of time. I turned around at Stepstone Falls and retraced my steps. This direction was a long climb up Liberty Hill Road and finished with the Plain Meeting House monster (360' in 1 mile). My average pace for the run was pretty good, once I figured out the GPS glitch, and considering the hilliness.
Thursday: 4.5 miles in 34:13. Short recovery run with Galoob in Saunderstown. We both were hurting (he did a 22 mile run the day before) and we cut our planned easy hour short. I thought I might head out later to gobble a few more miles, but my day got way too busy.
Friday: 15 miles in 1:42:25. Solo hilly uptempo run in West Greenwich. Parked at the same place as Wednesday, with plans to follow my same out-and-back course, but this time making it up and over Escoheag Hill. I pushed the hills a little harder today, and also kept a steady pace on the flats and downs. I was averaging 6:42 pace until I hit the climb up Falls River Rd. Here I encountered iced over snow on the dirt road that climbs dramatically straight up. I had to find traction on the non-icy snow, which I sank in. This was a horrific experience. I made it to the top without stopping, but it was a slow sufferfest. I then continued on Escoheag Hill Rd (paved) heading north, back down the hill. Here I had to deal with a loose, aggressive dog. It looked mean and was harassing me. My loud stern voice wasn't working. A car came down the road, and paused to watch the interaction. It distracted the dog enough that I could run by. I began hammering the down hill, and the dog was soon out of sight. Annoying! Anyway, I reached my turnaround point, but I didn't want to repeat the Escoheag Hill debacles. I soldiered on up the road, hoping my memory of maps was correct. I was heading north for quite a while, but did find a connecting road to Hudson Pond Rd that I thought existed. A bit of a relief, but I wasn't sure what my mileage back to my car would be. I reconnected to my original route, having to blast up the two big hills. I got my average pace back down to 6:49 (6:41 GAP), but it was no doubt much faster without the slow snow climb.
Saturday: 4.5 miles in 32:00. Short solo run from my house. Legs felt trashed. We were traveling up to Maine later in the morning, so I forced myself to do a run beforehand. The weather was really nice and I tried to enjoy myself. I began mixing in short strides, which did seem to help loosen up my legs.
Sunday: XT - Shawnee Peak skiing with family and friends. This was my first time skiing in maybe 15 years, and the first time taking the kids somewhere besides Yawgoo Valley (for lessons). It was very warm on the mountain (mid 50's in the late morning, down to high 30's at 5pm). We got in a full day of skiing with our Maine friends, and everyone had a great time. It was fun!
Weekly Total: 52 miles
Last Week: 62 miles
February to Date: 165 miles
Year to Date: 447 miles
Neat to ski in 50 degree weather. Despite the 15-year absence, I imagine it was like "riding a bicycle"?
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