Running Log: 11.11.12 - 11.18.12

Monday - Smithfield, RI - 7.1 miles

The rest of the family was off for Veteran's Day but poor Seth had to work.  At least I got to head up early and get a longish run in.  There were a couple of hilly segments I had a desire to capture but otherwise I just wanted to run.  I discovered a new little park called the Mowry Conservation Area.  There's a beautiful stream that runs through the entrance to this park.  It held a couple short trails through a pine forest.  I left the marked trails to explore some ATV trails but they seemed to all lead to houses so I opted to just finish the marked route. 

Then it was segment time.  Both the segments featured major hills.  The first was steeper but the second one was longer.  I really pushed the pace on both of 'em and felt the exhaustion when I got to the top.  I felt confident that I snagged both of them and it was confirmed when I got home.  Overall this was a great run and the hills were a tough, satisfying workout.  The only negative was the amount of time I spent on the Douglas Pike running against morning traffic.

Thursday - Bryant Track - 6 miles

I decided to do 8 x 400 today which I stole from Jonny's blog which he stole from Mike G's blog.  Circle of life.  200 m cooldown between each one.  It was cold out there and windy at times but once the 400s started I warmed up.  2 mile warm-up and maybe 1.5 mile cooldown.  The last couple 400s were tough but I felt great when they were all done.

Friday - Smithfield, RI - 6.9 miles

This is a fun loop I've done before.  From the Fidelity parking lot, I headed into the woods and took the well worn trail parallel to Hanton City Rd until it reaches Rocky Hill Rd.  Some sections of the trail are pretty rocky so I tread carefully - I wanted to avoid any more snafus with the ankle before Sunday's race.  I ran the entire length of Rocky Hill Rd, which is a quiet road with some nice houses.  Then I take the Providence and Douglas Pike back to Fidelity.  It was a little later in the morning so traffic wasn't as bad.  I tried to keep the pace slow but I'm finding that my easy pace on shortish runs is in the 7s which is promising.

Looking forward to Li'l Rhody Runaround on Sunday!

Sunday - Li'l Rhody Shitshow...er, Runaround - Charlestown, RI - 9.6 miles 

This did not go well.  Seperate write-up.

Weekly mileage: 29.7 miles

Year to date: 1127.7 miles