Week in Review: 3-16-15 to 3-22-15

Starting to get more serious about the Wapack 21.5 Mile Trail Race coming up in early May.  The race filled up right away, and I'm glad I got in.  No pressure: 

My mileage has been great during this miserable winter, but it's time to focus on climbing and descending.  Unfortunately, I can't do this yet on trails (still too much snow), but I can certainly make sure to mix in good hills in any type of run. 

Monday: 10 miles - Exeter/West Greenwich road loop.  I parked at Cuttyhunk Preserve and then headed north on Hopkins Hill Rd.  I then went left on Henry Brown Rd.  I needed to tack on a bit extra to make the loop exactly 10 miles, so I took a short detour on a road called Orion View.  I've been curious about the view and love the name.  The road is high up, but I couldn't see over the tree line.  I continued on New London Turnpike (paved and dirt) to Falcon Drive.  I headed south to Widow Sweets Rd (curious about this name too).  I was feeling pretty good as I dropped down the dirt hill on Pardon Joslin Rd (the improved section).  When I reached the far end with the big unimproved dirt road climb I was in for a treat.  First there was a snow bank to scale and then I had to "run" on 8" of wet untracked snow.  I stopped numerous times and was huffing and puffing.  According to GPS, my pace dropped to 15 minutes per mile.  I made it up, recovered, and then hustled back to my car.  Total time: 1:13:57 with 578' of elevation gain. 

Tuesday: 11 miles - West/East Greenwich road loop.  I parked at the tennis courts on Frenchtown Rd and then headed up Bates Rd to Hopkins Hill Rd.  Lots of climbing here.  I then continued north to Division Street.  I now had the wind at my back and cruised along to Carrs Pond Rd.  After a good climb the road evened out and then dropped quickly down Middle Road.  I cruised back up the other side to Tillinghast and then returned to my car on Frenchtown.  Good peppy run with most miles in the 6:30's and 6:40's except the first uphill 3.  Total time: 1:15:46 with 626' of elevation gain. 

Wednesday: 10 miles - workout on roads solo.  Yesterday afternoon Garvin took a hill segment from me on South Rd in East Greenwich (a long 1.5 mile hill climb).  I debated all morning if it made any sense to try and get the record back.  First off, I wasn't sure I could.  Secondly, even if I did, was it smart to start a Strava battle with Chris?  I actually ended up texting him right before I left for my lunch run.  He gave me his blessing.  Anyway, the plan was to copy his run, but perhaps make it my standard 10 miles (he ran 7).  Besides beginning with the roughly 10 minute hill sprint, he then did a 20 minute tempo on a gradual downhill section of roads.  I liked the idea of feeling fast again, and doing the same thing, pushing myself hard for 3 miles, taking advantage of the downhill terrain (and the wind at my back).  I began from the park and ride on Rte 2 and reached the bottom of the hill climb after a 1/3 of a mile.  I pushed hard.  I was killing myself effortwise, but I felt like I was running in slow motion.  I kept an eye on my watch and it kept showing a faster average pace than Garvin's record.  I made it to the top and stopped.  It took a few minutes to compose myself.  I got the CR by 14 seconds, averaging 6:33 pace.  I then recovered for a mile (uphill) before reaching the plateau on Shippee Rd.  I then began my three miles hard.  It was rewarding to be pushing myself and seeing a fast average pace on the watch.  Through two miles I was averaging 5:38 pace before the steeper drop down Frenchtown Rd to Rte 2.  I finished up in 16:38 (5:33 pace).  That felt good.  I debated returning down the busy Rte 2 to my car (about a mile), but decided to take the longer, more scenic way.  That meant running back up Frenchtown to Tillinghast.  After a mile and a half, there was a roadblock - emergency vehicles turning away traffic.  I think there was a tree down on the telephone lines.  Ugh.  I turned around and retraced my steps back to Rte 2, then headed down the busy road.  Total time: 1:06:17 with 448' of elevation gain. 

Thursday: 10 miles - NK roads with some snowy Ryan Park trails mixed in.  Recovery day.  I wanted to see if some of the trails in the fields and powerline were clear of snow.  It was a mixed bag, but promising.  I then ran a road loop on tired legs.  I finished up on more trails which was fun.  Total time: 1:17:39. 

Friday: 19 miles - local roads to/from the campground and snowy campground trails.  Happy Spring!  I took the day off for my son's science fair in the early afternoon.  Going for a long run all morning seemed like the thing to do.  Unfortunately it was overcast and cold (mid 20's).  I ran from my house, down Buckeye Brook Rd, to Klondike Rd, to the campground entrance.  I averaged 7:05 pace, but it was mostly downhill and didn't feel that easy today.  After exactly 6 miles to the Brrr-lingame course loop, I began the trails portion.  I would say that the course was about 25% clear of snow, but I was optimistic that a lot more will open up in the next few days.  Some parts were still rather deep with lots of postholes.  The bog bridge section was actually in the best shape of any on the course.  I got lost in the campground, never finding the cut throughs and having to back track and bushwack at times.  I finished the loop in about 45 minutes (not terrible at an easyish pace with old road shoes with no traction).  I did slip twice on icy snow and fell down, but if I had Yaktrax I would have been fine.  I continued on the trails following the NST to the campground entrance.  53 minutes of trail running.  I then took roads back to my house, tacking on a little extra to get to 19 miles for the day.  Lots of uphills, but I managed to get the average pace to 7:06 for the return trip.  I really pushed myself up Buckeye Brook Road.  Total time about 2:23 with about 900' of climbing. 

A good section near the ridge

tough double track

bog bridges almost completely clear

starting area looking good

Saturday: 7 miles - Yaktrax run in the snow on the South County Bike Path.  Not much snow at night, but then surprise snow showers all morning.  My son had a birthday party in the morning in Kingston.  After a crappy drive there, I parked at Curtis Corner Middle School.  I donned tights (I thought I was done with them) and Yaktrax.  The snow was tough as it was in my eyes for the whole way out to the train station.  There was an inch plus of fresh snow to run on which was perfect for the Yaktrax.  My legs were tired and I just wanted to get this run over with.  It was beautiful out though.  The run back was a little easier, but I was still tired.  Total time: 56:15.  As soon as I got home the snow stopped, the sun came out, warmed up quickly, and all the new snow (and then some) melted away by nightfall. 

Sunday: 11 miles - Richmond road loop with 2+ miles of snowy trails with Muddy.  We met up at 8AM at the Richmond Town Hall.  I had a fun loop planned out (more fun if the trails didn't have snow on them).  We ran down to Wilbur Hill Rd and then stayed on the TNC/RI DEM main trails over to Beaver River Rd.  The trails were very snow covered at first, but became less so as we kept climbing.  It still wasn't easy with road shoes.  We then ran roads to Punch Bowl Trail.  Instead of going up the steep hill, we turned left on the old dirt road here.  This of course was mostly covered in snow and felt longer than I remembered.  Finally we reached Hillsdale Rd and headed north.  I'm excited to explore the new state trail system here.  We ran up a good long hill before reaching the intersection with Mountain Rd.  It seems silly to have a road named that around here until you run it.  Long drop down to the river and then a really tough climb back out.  We finished up on Carolina Nooseneck back to our cars.  I had to get home immediately so that my wife could run.  I was jealous that Muddy went back out for more miles.  This loop will be really fun in a month or so when there is no snow and we can explore more trails, but still incorporate the road hills.  Total time: 1:26:54 with 707' of elevation gain. 

Overall: This was a good week.  The road workout was fun and a confidence booster, and the solo long run was good too.  I ended up with a good amount of climbing for the week also.  I'm really itching for clear trails and the weather next week should do the trick for most spots.  I'm excited to race the rescheduled Brrr-lingame 10M Trail Race on Sunday the 29th. 

Weekly Total: 78 miles
Last Week: 56 miles
Year to Date: 789 miles
March Total: 201 miles

Week in Review: 3-9-15 to 3-15-15

This was a strange week.  My son and daughter began the week still sick and I ended up catching a version of it on Monday night.  Despite feeling not 100%, after a day off, I felt okay running again.  We had three straight days of 50+ degree weather to begin the week.  Lots of rain at the end.  The snow is still sticking around.  So much so that the Brrr-lingame race on Saturday was postponed.  The weather was so miserable on Saturday that I took a second zero for the week.  I rallied on Sunday for a long run. 

Monday: 5 miles - local roads after work, but before dinner.  Both kids home sick and my wife had to go into work for the morning.  My turn was in the afternoon so no run during the day.  I snuck in a quick run when I got home.  My GPS was off until the last mile.  This is somewhat disturbing to me since I was on roads.  I was moving well up and down the hills.  Total time: 33:50.  Began getting sick at night. 

Tuesday: 0 - sick day with my sick kids.  Beautiful weather unfortunately. 

Wednesday: 10 miles - Quonset roads alone.  My whole family was back to school and work today.  I wasn't feeling that peppy, but the weather was sunny and reached 60 degrees.  I decided to try running, knowing that if my body felt terrible, then it was okay to call it quits.  Running felt good which was really encouraging.  I explored the Quonset area roads since the bike path was still buried under snow.  Despite the lack of shelter from the wind, I found some quieter streets that were somewhat enjoyable.  A good place to do some longer tempo runs for sure.  Total time: 1:10:07. 

Thursday: 10 miles - Exeter paved and dirt roads alone.  I mapped out a potential new 10 mile route.  I wasn't sure if one of the roads was really a road, so  I knew I might have to go to plan B.  That's what happened.  I parked at the Queens River Preserve and ran back towards Rte 2.  I then looped around South Rd to Williams Reynolds Rd to Mail Rd.  Since my plan of taking Hog House Hill Rd wasn't going to work (dead end dirt road at a gun club), I decided to go out and back on the dirt Kingstown Road.  I ran 1.5 miles down and then turned around.  Again my watch failed me as the back was a tenth of a mile shorter than the out.  Also my watch was showing a slower pace.  I was running steady throughout the run and I was again frustrated with technology.  I returned to my car on School Land Rd (dirt).  Total time 1:08:02.  Peppy run. 

Friday: 11 miles - Saunderstown hill workout alone.  I made this one up as I went along, first thinking I would do a mix of some hilly roads, shoreline, and mushy trails.  I ended up parking at Rome Point, running up the hill on Rte 1A, and then doing out and backs on the hilly bay side roads.  I was feeling pretty good today, and decided to push really hard on the first steep hill (Plum Point Rd).  I was happy to improve my CR by a couple of seconds.  This sprint took a lot out of me.  I then did the hills on Fleetwood Drive, Plum Beach Road, Champlin Road, and Cottrell Road.  I pushed the ups and tried to keep a steady pace on the flats and descents.  I repeated Plum Beach, Fleetwood, and Plum Point hills on the way back to my car, throwing in a hard last mile just to complete the torture.  Total time: 1:16:37 with 1,332' of climbing. 

Saturday: 0 - it was raining when I awoke and the early morning was my window to run.  I stayed in bed, made French toast for the family, and had a lazy day with the kids. 

Sunday: 20 miles - long run in the Weekapaug area.  I met 7 other guys at FiveK's house for an hour group run.  My plan was then to keep running with whomever was interested.  I had checked out a 3 mile segment in the Shelter Harbor neighborhood that was labeled as a race in Strava (looked like the Davenport's and friends had done it together on July 6th).  I had the idea of running this race segment hard after 10 easy miles.  The group run was fun, although it took quite some time for my legs to warm up.  We finished up 8 miles in exactly an hour and then I headed back out with Muddy.  He joined me for two miles to Shelter Harbor and then I was alone for the rest of the way.  I began running hard.  It was a long straight down hill to the water.  About halfway through I had the thought that I already started the segment wrong.  Doh!  I messed up again and ended up having to turn around at the community dock dead end.  I then did my best to capture the spirit of the segment running up down and back up to the top of the hill.  I was again getting frustrated with my GPS.  Surely I was running much faster than what it was saying.  I was trying so hard.  Anyway, I reached the end and took a moment to catch my breath.  My watch only had me running 2.8 miles.  I totally messed up the segment so I don't really know how I did.  At least the effort was there and I guess that is what counts.  I was feeling energetic after this, but my legs definitely were slowing down.  I made decisions to make my run longer and headed back down to the Weekapaug shoreline.  I decided to throw in another mile plus hard effort (I wasn't sure how long, but I thought there was a segment for the length of Noyes Neck Rd).  I wandered around, watching some big waves being surfed at Point Panic.  I then began my hard push up Noyes Neck Rd after 17 miles of running.  The road ended up being just a little longer than a mile, and I was happy to have my watch show my pace just under 6 minutes.  I regrouped again, and then ran another couple of circuitous miles back to FiveK's house.  Total time: 2:26:06. 

Overall: I was happy with the long run and the hill workout.  I'm glad everyone in my house is back to normal.  I'm impatiently waiting for the snow to melt off the trails. 

Weekly Total: 56 miles
Last Week: 63 miles
Year to Date: 711 miles
March Total:  123 miles

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

Weekly Snow Log: 2-23-15 to 3-1-15

it continues....

Monday: 9 miles - URI indoor track alone.  Back to school for the kids and I decided to just run once in the middle of the day.  It was another cold blah day so I decided to head to the indoor track for some warm miles.  The track was busier than in the mornings, but manageable.  My legs felt trashed from the Saturday long run/workout.  Running on the even track was fine though.  2 miles in 13:47, then reverse 2 miles in 14:14, then reverse 2 miles in 13:39, then reverse 2 miles in 13:21, then reverse 1 mile in 6:27 with 8x100 strides.  Total time: 1:01:30. 

Tuesday: 14 miles on two runs.  First, I ran 6 miles at the indoor track on my way to work.  Boy my legs are still trashed.  Total time: 41:21.  At lunch, I did a snowshoe run at Ryan Park hoping for better conditions than last week.  I did the 10K course, but starting from the Lafayette lot - the only one of the three that a vehicle could get in and out of.  Conditions were okay.  Rte 4 was only tracked by a single cross country skier.  I didn't sink much out there.  The heavily used trails are kind of a mess.  Frozen uneven boot holes are everywhere.  Being on snowshoes helps, but still frustrating.  Overall, I enjoyed being outside in the snow.  What I'm calling 8 miles in 1:05:33. 

Wednesday: 10 miles - Ryan Park snowshoe run.  Another one run day.  It was warm today - low 30's.  Roads were messy with puddles and slush so I opted for a longish snowshoe run back in Ryan Park.  The wet snow on top was better to run on then yesterday.  I saw the cross country skier for the first time.  Guy looked legit.  From Lafayette, I headed down the rail bed and ran some different trails at times.  Some spots were untouched and slow.  I ran around the ball fields and then made my way back to the west side of the park.  I took the new side trail to the pond, but mostly followed the normal trails.  I decided to cross Lafayette and try the powerline and other ATV trails.  Bad decision.  It was so deep and untracked.  A terrible way to finish a 1:23:27 snowshoe run. 

a happy moment on the trail

Thursday: 12 miles on two runs.  My legs were feeling much better and I wanted to try a workout idea I came up with a few weeks ago: a ladder with R and I pace: 200/400/600/800/1000/1000/800/600/400/200.  It seemed fun.  Anyway, I went for it this morning at the URI indoor track.  I did a mile warm up with a few strides and then jumped into the R paced portion: 200/400/600 with equal rest.  I just didn't have the speed in my legs today.  I bailed on the 600 and turned it into a 400.  I then switched to I pace and did the 800.  On the 1000, I bailed again and made it a 800.  I ran 4 800's at I pace and then did 400/400/200 at R.  A broken ladder.  This winter makes me feel slow, but I'm sure it is because snowshoe running is physically demanding and I'm still running a lot of miles.  But I still couldn't help being a bit disappointed.  Results: 36/76/75/2:40/2:41/2:41/2:42/76/76/35 (400 recoveries for everything except 200 for 200's).  Total time: 47:25 for 7 miles.  At lunch I again ran in snowshoes at Ryan Park.  I wasn't looking for much, just some active recovery.  It snowed again briefly midday.  I made it out before it stopped which was fun.  I ran on the west side of the park.  5 miles in 46:04.  Ready for another snowshoe running break. 

Friday: 10 miles - EG/NK road loop.  Nice day - 30 degrees and sunny.  Lots of puddles to splash through, but traffic wasn't too bad.  A decent amount of climbing as well.  Legs feel a little fatigued, but happy with my easy pace felt.  Total time: 1:11:45. 

Saturday: 16 miles - early morning long run with Muddy.  No later in the day start this week - we braved the chill (single digits at the start) and still managed to bang out a quality long run with two, two mile tempo pace blocks.  I'm glad I purchased the balaclava earlier this winter, but annoyed that I've actually had to use it a few times.  We parked at the Charlestown Bakery (unfortunately closed!) and ran roads to and around Green Hill.  At the three mile mark we did the first block of T pace (target is 5:52 pace per mile, but hard to do in the cold).  We had a relatively flat section of road and we managed a 5:59 and 5:46.  It felt relatively good, but not really.  We then got to relax for an hour, running along Card's Pond Rd, out to Deep Hole, and back to check out the bathroom at Trustom (it was open).  After 8 miles, we did the second T pace block.  Muddy got ahead of me after a quarter mile.  My legs just felt like they couldn't move any faster in my tights.  I struggle to a 6:09 first mile, before rallying to a 5:55 second mile.  My legs are officially destroyed.  I winced through a mile cool down (8:17) before stopping at my car.  Luckily I had a time constraint so I couldn't do the full cool down with Muddy.  Total time: 1:52:54

Sunday: 4 miles - Cambridge icy sidewalks in the late morning.  It looked like the storm was coming in faster than forecasted.  My nephew's birthday party was supposed to start at 3:30PM, but we decided to head up as soon as we could and then leave early.  I wasn't sure if I would even run.  I got my chance because there is no street parking in the city due to the snow.  So I had to drop my family off at the house and then park a mile or so away in a big shopping lot.  Luckily I had packed running clothes just in case!  I ran from the parking lot, taking a circuitous route to get to my destination.  Running in a city can be frustrating.  Somehow I avoided having to stop on this run.  On Mass Ave, a group of fast looking runners crossed the street and were a few hundred feet ahead of me.  I picked up my pace, but never closed the gap (I was running 6:45 pace here).  Anyway, a fun little run.  Total time: 28:49.  It was a long ride home (Rte 95 was snow covered most of the way), but no driving troubles. 

Overall: Another good week with a mix of track, roads, and snowshoeing.  I don't feel very speedy, but hopefully I'm stronger than ever.  Next week may be a bit of a cut back, but it depends how I feel. 

Weekly Total: 75 miles
Last Week: 74 miles
Year to Date: 592 miles
February Total: 285 miles
March Total: 4 miles

Weekly Snow Log: 2-16-15 to 2-22-15

Groundhog's Month....

Monday: 10 miles - long snowshoe run in Burlingame.  Conditions ranged between okay and poor.  I began from the trail head off of the bottom of Shumankanuc Hill Rd and ran down to Vin Gormley Trail.  My tracks from yesterday were the only ones.  I was hoping for more than that!  I reached VG with the plan to make a loop of Schoolhouse Pond to Sammy C's to VG.  I knew that it had been tracked two storms ago by at least a couple of fat bikes and probably more.  Unfortunately no one else had ventured out here in a week or so.  I tried to stay in the faint indentations of the old tracks, but basically I was doing a lot of sinking in and putting in a lot of effort for a crawl of a pace.  The woods were beautiful, I didn't see any sketchy animal tracks, and I enjoyed myself for the most part.  After making the loop I then headed south down an old double track that leads to the pond.  There were faint snowmobile tracks and I followed them out onto the frozen Watchaug Pond.  I veered west to reach the North Camp beach (where I was yesterday).  It was cool being out on the pond (all by myself), but I didn't linger and played it smart.  I reached the beach and then followed my snowshoe tracks from yesterday up the old camp road back to the intersection with VG.  I then headed up to Sammy C's and back to my car.  Total running time of 1:21:44.  Exhausting but fun adventure. 

Tough spot on Sammy C's

My tracks on Watchaug Pond

In the morning, the family went climbing at The Rock Spot in Peacedale.  After watching the kids for a few minutes, my wife and I decided we wanted to climb as well.  Super fun!  I didn't feel terrible at it thanks to all the push ups (not as many as Seth or Boj) I've been regularly doing for almost a year.  I tried a bunch of auto-belay routes and then did some bouldering.  I'm sure I'll get super sore from this.  Fish tacos at El Fuego for lunch. 2 hours of band practice at night.  Long day! 

My son climbing at The Rock Spot

Tuesday: 13 miles on two runs.  First, I headed out early to the indoor track.  More annoying snow to drive through.  I decided to do some T paced miles with 1 minute recoveries.  Honestly, my body felt lethargic and the first one did not feel easy.  They got better as I went along though.  Results: 5:51/5:52/5:49/5:52/5:50 (target=5:52).  7 miles in 45 minutes.  Later in the day I headed out to Ryan Park for an easy snowshoe run.  Wrong!!  We received about 4" of snow in the morning.  I hesitated about even turning into the unplowed Lafayette Rd parking lot, but took it slow and felt okay about it.  My plan was to head out on the rail bed, circle the pond, and come back on the rail bed.  If I was feeling good, I would add on from there.  Just like yesterday, I was the first person to be on the trails after the latest storm (just finishing up as flurries when I began).  This didn't seem like a big deal, but there weren't many tracks from after Sunday's storm (NK got more snow than Charlestown), never mind the nice packed down trails from last week.  It was like starting over.  Ugh!  I tried to stay in some cross country ski tracks from Sunday.  I reached the ball fields and after lucking out with the portapotties still being there from the race 10 days before I noticed a minivan stuck in the parking lot.  I headed over to help out and then spent the next 20 minutes helping this family back out the 100 yards to reach Oak Hill Rd.  Extreme upper body workout.  My snowshoes really helped both with my traction and digging out the snow from under the stuck tires.  Hopefully this would be good karma, possibly if my own car couldn't get out of the other parking lot.  After the delay, I began running again.  There was a huge snow drift near Bon Jovi Bridge, that looked like a glacier - 3' high and 10' wide.  I was feeling good by the time I was nearing my car, so I tagged on another 15 minutes in the woods and fields on the west side.  The snow was deep here and I had to stop every couple of minutes to rest.  What I'm calling 6 miles in 48:43. 

Hard to tell, but this is the "glacier" that appeared near the bridge

New snow on the trails

Wednesday: 8 miles - snowshoe run in Rome Point.  I really just wanted a few very easy road miles, but the side roads in NK are such a mess and the main roads have narrow shoulders.  I also couldn't get to the track today because of work, so back on snowy trails it was.  Rome Point had been well used as I suspected and I didn't like that the parking lot was almost full when I got there.  Somehow, I didn't really run into anybody other than one lady on a horse and a guy walking alone.  I stayed on the side trails that had been tracked by mostly just boots.  It was a mild 30 degrees, so the snow was decent to run on with my snowshoes.  I did a couple loops of the yellow dot trail and then thought I would peek at the shoreline.  The beach was covered in snow and ice near the water.  The bay north of the Jamestown Bridge looked like it was almost completely frozen over.  I saw a couple of open spots that had many sea ducks concentrated in them.  I tried taking pictures but my phone froze.  I ran out to the tidal stream and back.  My legs were getting cold since the frozen mixture on the beach was very wet.  I went back into the woods and ran more trails.  I tracked out a couple of short side trails I like to run, but I didn't mind too much.  Total time 1:07:34. 

Thursday: 10 miles on two runs.  First, 6 miles on the indoor track in the AM.  Tired body.  Easy miles.  Total time: 43:51.  Then in the afternoon I went back out for another Ryan Park snowshoe run.  My body really feels beat up.  I believe it is mostly from pushing the minivan two days ago.  My plan was to run a few easy miles on packed trails (fingers crossed) and then treat myself to a hot coffee.  Bad news.  Ryan Park trails are officially a mess.  They reminded me of the 10K last year.  No one packed it down nicely, just deep boot holes, and with the "mild" 25 degree temperature (probably mostly because of the higher sun angle), it wasn't even frozen.  My snowshoes sank slightly on the unevenness.  It was not what I had envisioned or up for.  I ran the rail bed, around the pond, and back on the rail bed.  Total time: 37:25.  Snowshoe running has lost its luster. 

Friday: 10 miles - Saunderstown roads hill repeats solo.  Frigid - cold and windy.  Still I was impressed that the higher sun angle still was melting the snow.  I parked at the park and ride on Rte 1A and then ran down to Plum Point Rd.  This straight road is one big hill.  Not quite as hard as Gilbert Stuart Rd, but the second toughest in the area, especially because of the grade.  I managed 5 controlled repeats.  They felt fine, but I wasn't pushing too hard.  I would get cold at the top (wind in my face) and warm back up on the way down.  I moved on to another road with a smaller hill, but still a good one - Plum Beach Rd.  The lesser grade and shorter climb (150' versus 175') seemed relatively easier.  I did four repeats here.  I finished up with 1,427' of climbing on the day in a total time of 1:18:07.  I managed to stay warm and run outside on a day most people didn't.  2+ hours of band practice at night.  Two weeks until our first performance in a year and a half. 

Elevation map of the Plumbs

Saturday: 18 miles - long run on roads with Muddy.  Today was very similar to last Saturday.  Super cold in the morning (again -10 in Richmond), warming up rapidly to 30, and then snow in the afternoon.  We again worked our schedule for a midday start to enjoy the best weather for our sufferfest of a run.  I came up with a road loop that minimized time on busy roads, but also mixed in some good climbs.  According to mapmyrun.com, two of them were Category 4 (however they determine that).  I wasn't sure what Muddy would want to do for the run, but I assumed we'd be mixing in Marathon Pace work and possibly Tempo Pace as well.  There were a couple of long flat sections that would seem to be good for whatever was in store.  We ended up doing a 6 mile block at MP from New Biscuit City Rd to Glen Rock Rd.  Our target MP is 6:14, but as Muddy says, it's about the effort.  All our miles were either just below or above the target, except one that was a little slower due to terrible road conditions (Lewiston Ave was still snow and ice covered).  We reached the village of Usquepaug and slowed it down to recover.  Well, not really, because we had to climb Punch Bowl Trail - a 200'+ half mile hill.  The road was also a bit slippery.  This was soul crushing.  We regrouped at the bottom (intersection with Small Pox Trail). We then did another MP block (3 miles) to the end of Beaver River Road.  This went okay except for a couple of spin your wheels slippery parts.  Again we nailed the pace.  However, we were both toast.  My upper quads were in pain and very sore.  I'm glad Muddy wasn't feeling well either, because I don't think I could have kept up with him on the "easy" miles back to our cars.  First, we recovered up Shannock Hill Rd.  Enough said.  Then we ran down the other side (more torture).  I wanted to quit running, but we had 2 miles to go, including one more good climb up side roads to Rte 112.  We got it done.  Total time 2:03:06 for a 6:51 average pace and 855' of climbing. 

Sunday: 5 miles - local hilly roads out and back in the afternoon.  Today we pretended it was spring.  We didn't run the wood stove and spent as much time as possible outside.  It was in the low 40's and at times sunny.  It felt great.  I put on my trail shoes for a sloppy road run before my wife headed out on hers.  My road was just plowed and in decent shape.  Buckeye Brook Rd hadn't been and was very slushy.  Still, it was quiet out there, and I enjoyed chasing a few miles.  My quads still felt very sore, but I had no problems running on them.  Total time 35:56 with 335' of climbing.  

Overall Theme: Getting it done.  My body was beat up thanks to non-running activities.  Snowshoeing lost its luster.  I didn't get to do I or R speedwork, but did mix in the hills instead.  The long run was solid.  I still have a few weeks to beat myself up until the next race. 

Weekly Total: 74 miles
Last Week: 56 miles
Year to Date: 517 miles
February Total: 214 miles

Weekly Snow Log: 2-9-15 to 2-15-15

Just keep plugging away....

Monday: 0 - snow day, no school or work for my wife.  I made it in to the office and then left in the afternoon once I had all my work done as the roads in NK were in bad shape.  Back home, I did get outside before dark to do some shoveling and then I snowshoed (hiked) a track on my property with my kids for about a half an hour.  I hope to run it sometime this week.  Should be fun and challenging. 

Tuesday: 0 - surprise sick day.  Stayed home as I woke up at 3AM to a runny nose that didn't quit until I went to bed at 9:30PM.  I did get the energy to shovel off the flat roof on our house and then did some wood stacking. 

Wednesday: 13 miles on two runs.  My cold was feeling much better and I stopped at the track on my way to work.  I have an idea of a mixed R and I paced workout I want to do, but I did not have the strength in my body to even try it.  Instead I just ran easy, although I didn't feel that great.  2 miles in 14:28, then reverse 2 miles in 13:22, then reverse 1 mile in 6:46, then reverse 1 mile in 6:47. 6 miles total in 41:29.  In the afternoon I headed out to Ryan Park for a snowshoe run.  Again I didn't feel that energetic, but the snowshoe conditions were awesome and I had a lot of fun.  7 miles in 1:00:35. 

Powerline trail.  The snowmobile track was hidden by Monday's new snow. 

Belleville Pond dam

The packed trails look like a luge at times.  So much snow. 

 

 

Thursday: 14 miles on two runs.  Again I stopped at URI on my way to work.  My body is feeling better, but my lungs were burning on the track.  I'm still not ready for a speed workout.  Instead I just made up a mini-workout as I went along.  There was a bit of traffic on the track (I did have lane 1 though) so I didn't think it was appropriate to run in the wrong direction.  This is what I did - 3 mile progression, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile with 8x100 strides. Results: 6:51/6:09/5:51/7:08/6:25.  5 miles in 32:27.  In the afternoon it was back to Ryan Park for more snowshoe running.  It was warmer than I thought (35 degrees by the time I finished).  The conditions were much different today.  I believe today is what the snow connoisseurs would call "mashed potatoes".  A little slow and my tights did get wet (and cold by the last 20 minutes).  I mixed up the route and explored a new side trail (slow going) that leads out to the southwest corner of the pond.  I ran briefly on the pond, but I'd rather not be alone doing this.  I then rejoined the main trail and thought I would break trail on the "middle trail" since it is apparent the snow will be sticking around for some time, so why not make all the trails accessible?  Punching through the wet snow was annoying.  It is still deep, even after settling for two weeks.  I hit the Rte 4 trail junction and jumped on that, abandoning my plans of breaking the majority of the middle trail.  Rte 4 trail was in okay shape.  At the end, I headed back down the field trail and then broke trail across the field to connect with the pond side trails.  Super deep snow here!  I rejoined the rail trail with thoughts of a cross pond finish (where I had seen ice fishermen earlier).  There was no one on the pond, so I stayed on the trails.  I'm calling this 9 miles in 1:18:19. 

 

Mashed potatoes?

Super deep snow in the field.  Where's my showshoe? 

 

 

Friday: 5 miles - URI Indoor Track workout solo in the AM.  I was feeling strong enough for a workout and decided to do some R paced intervals.  I didn't want to do the same distance over and over so I came up with the following plan: sets of 600/400/200 with equal recoveries.  I figured I would do at least two sets, possibly three, or maybe add something different on to the end of it.  I didn't have a lot of time and was planning on a double today, so I didn't do much of a warm up and no cool down.  The workout went well and felt relatively smooth.  I ended up doing two sets and then 4x200 @ R at the end.  This gave me two miles at this pace.  Results: 1:53/74/36/1:53/74/36/36/36/35/35 (targets: 600 - 1:52, 400 - 75, 200 - 37).  Total time: 34:17.  I ended up doing a bunch of errands in Wakefield and ran out of time for a planned snowshoe run at Old Mountain Field.  Oh well.  Officially acquired a new space watch - the Garmin 620.  I like it better than the 610. 

 

 Saturday:  18 miles - midday long run with Muddy in Chariho.  I had to run early because my wife was working and the weather looked scary.  Luckily, Muddy's wife was happy to have my kids over later in the morning so that we could run when it wasn't so cold (-10 in Richmond when I woke up).  We ran easy from his house over some hills and gobbling up a few side roads for his running project.  I felt uninspired today and I wasn't looking forward to any speed stuff during the run.  Eventually it was time to jump into so marathon pace work.  The plan was 7 miles, but we both agreed we could cut it short.  We began from Meadow Brook on Pine Hill Rd heading east.  It was uphill for a half mile and I was working very hard to try to get my pace into the marathon pace zone (6 teens).  After two minutes, it didn't seem remotely possible that I could run for almost 45 minutes at this pace.  I kept chugging along and by the time the first mile was over (ending with a nice downhill), my watch showed 6:09.  Too fast!  Oh well.  It was beginning to flurry and the roads were super busy with cars.  Where was everyone going?  It was infuriating at times.  On Rte 91 passing Kings Factory Rd, a kid in a truck rolled through a stop sign and almost hit me (I was paying attention so it wasn't that close).  He was on a cell phone too.  I began shouting at him and then so did Muddy.  I was wearing a fluorescent yellow shirt to be as visible as possible.  This gave me an adrenaline boost.  We finished up the seven miles with the following splits: 6:09/6:13/6:16/6:15/6:06/6:12/6:20.  We then stopped briefly to eat Gu and drink Gatorade Muddy had stashed.  We then had two huge hills and three miles to go back to his house.  Torture!  Fun to finish and nail the workout.  Total time: 2:03:29 for an average pace of 6:52.   

 

Sunday:  6 miles - snowshoe run in the fresh snow alone.  I headed out from my house as the snow was winding down.  It was super windy out though and only 20 degrees.  I wore my balaclava and was fine.  My road hadn't been plowed which was good for snowshoeing.  The fresh snow was extremely powdery and easy to run through.  I reached Burlingame and headed down trails to Watchaug Pond at North Camp.  Galoob had told me that a lot of the trails had been tracked by fat bike group rides and a couple of snowmobiles.  The going was decent thanks to these packed trails and just the few inches of new powder on top.  The woods were beautiful - the trees still holding snow.  I made it down to the pond and planned to take a track across it to another trail (as described by Galoob).  The blowing snow on the pond obscured the track, so I just ventured out on the ice a bit and took some pictures and video.  I returned on the tracked old camp road and then took VG over to the old double track that leads to the bottom of my road.  Hard work going up hill and I resorted to some walking a short breaks.  I finished on my road and then did a loop on my property that my kids and myself tracked a few days ago.  Fun stuff!  Total time: 54 minutes. 

Tunnel in Burlingame

Selfie on Watchaug Pond

My unplowed road

 

 

 

Weekly Total: 56 miles

Last Week: 72 miles

Year to Date: 443 miles

February Total: 140 miles

Belleville Pond Trail 10K 2015

Race #3 in the South County 4th Season Series was held last Saturday, February 7th, in Ryan Park.  I spent Tuesday through Friday tracking the course in snowshoes hoping to have better racing conditions than last year's snowy sufferfest.  On Thursday, I was able to run the entire course on snowshoes without walking or stopping, and in fact, I was beginning to get excited that the course would be in decent shape.  Approximately 2/3 of the course trails were hard packed by snowshoes, cross country skis, snowmobiles, and hikers.  The rest was slow, but at least it had 6 sets of snowshoe tracks on them (5 mine, 1 Mike Galoob's). 

By race day I had already decided on my traction device of choice - cross county spikes.  I had purchased them in the fall with the hopes of doing a cross country race or two, but I only ended up wearing them once in a workout.  They felt light and fantastic and I thought they should perform well on the tracked down 10K course.  Besides, Chris Garvin won last year's snowy race here in spikes. 

I arrived an hour early for the race and quickly began running into familiar faces.  After registering and chatting with fellow WTAC teammates, frenemies from other teams (TNT and Rhode Runner), I headed out for a warm up on the beginning and end of the course with Garvin.  The spikes did feel great on the packed down sections.  Somewhere along the way we caught up with Jeff and the three of us ran the end of the course, until the relatively untracked ballfield ending section in which I avoided, but the other two "ran".  During the week, no one besides me tracked it, and every time I did, blowing snow completely covered any work I had previously done.  The snow was also still very deep here, and I knew this was going to be the most miserable section of a race course maybe ever.  After the warm up, I returned to my car to warm up my feet and put on my race clothes - long sleeve green team shirt, shorts, hat, and gloves.  With five minutes to go, I headed back out for strides on the icy park roads, feeling fast and loose.  I was ready to race. 

Since my race two years ago where I finished 3rd overall and only 19 seconds behind the winner, I've come into this race with lofty expectations, only to have snowy trail conditions.  I don't race very well comparatively to others on snow, so I tempered my expectations for this race.  Based on the pre-registrators on ultrasignup.com, it was apparent that WTAC was going to have a tough battle with Rhode Runner.  My main goal for this race was for a team win.  The Rhode Runners may be faster on roads, but not on trails.  At least I hoped.  I wanted to go out conservatively (not in front!) and try to score for my team and stay ahead of Rhode Runner's #3 guy.  There were way too many fast guys to worry about my overall place. 

Chaos! - photo by Jana Walker

The start was very tough.  I tried to take it out slow, but it was just utter chaos.  I ended up taking the icy parking lot over the untracked deep snow option.  I felt slow, but out of breath.  I stayed on my feet and once we reached the main path around the pond, I found myself in about 10th place.  I was okay with this, as we were all together in one long line (lead by Jackman and Muddy).  After another minute or so, a lead pack was definitely forming and the two guys ahead of me (fast looking Rhode Runner guy and teammate Seth) had lost contact with them.  I didn't panic (I was happy with the pace), but I thought I should try to move up and latch on if I could.  I went by both guys, and was now in 7th place, trying to catch the lead pack that included Jackman, Muddy, Garvin, Brightman, Eric Lonergan, and Anthony Gonsalves.  I hit the short uphill deep snow spot and before I knew it, I was probably 20 seconds behind.  Ugh!  I was second guessing not going out faster and letting the adrenaline of being in the lead group pull me along.  I was now out with touch of them and I had company behind me.  I was paranoid it was the new Rhode Runner guy I had heard about (Matt Gingras).  I looked back a couple of times, and then I was pacified by the voice of Jeff telling me it was a friendly teammate behind me.  GPS mile 1 - 7:20.  Scott Mason photo from here here

I was now on the long straight rail trail.  This trail had the most activity on it, and was very firm and fast.  I pushed ahead trying to create some distance between me and Jeff (a notably awesome snow runner) and other runners behind him.  I did seem to create some space.  The leaders seemed so far ahead of me now.  My effort and speed felt good, but I wondered if I was fatigued from all the snowshoeing during the week?  I pressed on and reached the steep hill on the powerline.  This knocked my pace down to a crawl (GPS mile 2 - 7:05).  I made the sharp turn and could see Jeff and Chris Fox (Rhode Runner) not far behind.  I hopped through the deep snow, crossed the powerline, and then began the tough Rte 4 trail.  I was sure Jeff would pass me here.  I was planning to tell him to hold off the guy behind him (assuming he passed me too), or maybe I could keep Chris behind me.  Despite my attempts of making a nice track during the week, the trail here still was very slow.  It wasn't as terrible as if it was untracked, but shoes just sank in.  I tried my best to step in my snowshoe tracks for the best traction.  After a minute or so, I stopped hearing anyone behind me.  Was it possible I was out snow running Jeff? 

Nearing the end of the Rte 4 trail there was an optimistic sign.  Someone had cracked in the lead pack and seemed to be trudging slowly through the snow.  I was re-invigorated!  I pushed harder and caught up to Anthony Gonsalves right at the powerline (where the traction got better thanks to a snowmobile).  GPS mile 3 - 9:42.  I followed him until the next little uphill, where I motored by.  I made sure to keep on the gas once back on the packed field trail knowing that he is a faster road guy than me.  I was halfway done, and feeling great.  I might not have had the speed to keep up with the lead guys in the beginning, but I knew I was going to finish this race strong.  I hammered the downhills and pushed any short ups.  Knowing the course so well really helps.  I hurdled the giant tree hopefully saving me a couple of seconds running around it.  After a few minutes on this trail, I began looking back to see if anybody was still with me.  Nope.  Or at least that's what I thought.  It was hard to say since some of the guys had white jerseys and were nicely camouflaged.  There were some slower spots on this trail (that I already knew about), but overall I knew I nailed it.  GPS mile 4 - 8:12.  I reached the rail bed trail again.  I really let my legs go, fairly confident I wouldn't get caught.  Still no sight of anyone up ahead until the last section of straightaway (still at least a minute behind).  GPS mile 5 - 6:48. 

Not too much more to go.  I was feeling confident in my finishing place (6th).  I kept pushing hard on the well packed trails around the pond.  It was then time to die on the Field of Broken Dreams.  I could here Mike Galoob (RD) yelling at me, but the snow was so deep.  It was even more miserable than I anticipated.  I nervously plodded along, hoping the snow gazelle didn't run me down.  I mercifully crossed the finish line in 46:20.  GPS mile 6 - 7:19.  Results here

Field of Broken Dreams - photo by Jana Walker

 

 

What a fun race!  I chatted with the top finishers for a few minutes and then watched teammates Jeff and Seth finish up.  WTAC pulled out the win!  Congrats to Garvin on another win in the series and to Muddy for having such a strong performance on snow (his nemesis).  After a fun team cooldown I returned to my car to change into dry clothes and warm up.  I picked up a couple of beers for the team win and then a coffee stout bomber as thanks for tracking the course during the week.  It was then off to the Oak Hill Tavern for food and fun with teammates and Turtles.  I still will dream about tearing up this course on a snow-free day, but for now I am very happy with the way this race turned out. 

 

WTAC cool down crew - photo by Jana Walker