Monday - Ryan Park, North Kingstown, RI - 4.2 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)Legs were pretty tired after the last four days of running so this was just a short trail run to start off the week. Stuck to the trails on the west side of the park. I spooked (and was spooked) by a doe and her fawn. Ran in my MT20s and my ankles were beginning to feel it towards the end. I've been wearing these a lot lately and think I'm pretty well acclimated to them but I'll probably give 'em a rest until the end of the week.
Tuesday - 0 miles
P90X Chest & Back (40 minutes)No problems with my elbow when I started doing all the push-ups and pull-ups in this workout but I was 2/3 of the way through and my other elbow started to hurt and feel really tight. I ended up bailing on the rest of the exercises. My P90X Guru Ryan suggested I vary the grips/positions I'm using for the push-ups since that's when the pain comes in so I'll take a few days off and give it another shot.
Wednesday - Big River, West Greenwich, RI - 12.2 miles
Another late dance class for Em, another long Big River run for Seth. I parked at the usual spot off of Exit 6 and was looking forward to building off the knowledge I gleaned from my last run. Realized I forgot to bring a water bottle for this run which was annoying as my throat was dry but I forgot about it soon enough. Started again on Log Trail but soon jumped off it to explore Sizzler (or at least trails in its vicinity.) I figured if I was going to check out some unknown trails best to do it early in the run when I had time to spare. It was here that the moment I've been dreading arrived - the first deer flies of the season. Goddamn nasty things - they show no mercy.I popped out on the New London Turnpike and stayed on the paved road as it headed towards the quarry. The deer flies retreated back to Sizzler and I was relieved to find that they didn't return for the rest of the run. Next run here will be much worse, I'd wager. I was going to take the BR Expressway up to the Hopkins Hill lot but the first stream I encountered was raging and I didn't feel like getting my feet wet. The water was also a nasty white color thanks to the nearby quarry. Ah progress!
I turned around and decided to try to find the Lookout. Shouldn't be a problem as I had already found it once before but when I tried to remember the route I found that it was easier said than done. I actually looped around the Lookout and eventually found it from the opposite direction (thanks to the Elephant marker I remembered from last time.) After a few minutes and a few chocolates I left the Lookout and took Elephant trail down to Saw Mill trail.
With the heavy rain I had already encountered water hazards and found another big one as I approached Saw Mill. Once again I managed to avoid soaking my feet. I took Saw Mill up to the NL Turnpike and spent a little time on the dirt roads before jumping on Things Go Bump in the Night (the last time I ran with Muddy he chided folks that knew the crazy names of all these trails - sorry Mud, now I'm one of them!) It was here at 9.5 miles that my water luck ran out. My foot paths sunk under me at a very wet section and I just had to wade through the muck to the other side. The rest of the run I heard squish, squish, squish.
I did a little more exploring of the trails adjacent to Big River and then made my way back to the car with weary legs. Good stuff.
Thursday - Fidelity Trails, Smithfield, RI - 4.3 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)Legs were tired after last evening's run so I wanted to take it easy and just get in six easy trail miles before the rains came. Muddy, wet trails soon soaked my shoes. My calves were a bit sore which was to be expected but about 2 miles into the run my left shin began to hurt sporadically. Every 30 seconds or so it would pulse with a dull ache. A new injury to deal with - awesome! After a while it seemed to go away but I decided to just cut the run short less nothing became something.
Friday - 0 miles
P90X Legs & Back (60 minutes)I opted to forgo running this morning in favor of one of my favorite P90X workouts. No issues doing any of the squat/lunge moves and no elbow pain when doing the various pull-ups.
Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 6.4 miles
Hot midday run on the local roads. Wasn't sure exactly where I was going but the plan was to run a 10k to complete a Strava challenge. Quads and glutes were pretty sore from yesterday's Legs & Back - it's been a while. My mainstay Strava segment - the Nordic Lodge Loop - was recently hijacked by local speedster Chris Garvin. I knew I didn't have any chance of taking it back but I decided to run it anyway and at least try to improve my personal best.I was moving slow to begin the segment but I soon started to feel peppy and pick up the pace. On the return trip from the Lodge I was really moving - in fact Strava says it's my fastest 1/2 mile ever. Once I hit Old Coach Road my pace dropped and I soon payed for my hard effort with a stitch in my side. I took it fairly easy for the rest of the run. After uploading my run I found out that I came a lot closer to reclaiming the segment than I thought - only 24 seconds off the KOM! I smashed my previous best by almost two minutes. Watch out Garvin, I shall reclaim my segment yet!
Sunday - Burlingame, Charlestown, RI - 7.7 miles
We were going to Watchaug Pond for a midday swim. I left early and decided to run Vin Gormley counterclockwise. I tried out my latest culinary creation prior to the run and it did not agree with me. Within a half mile I began feeling nauseous and the feeling persisted for some time. I felt pretty blah and didn't have any pep. The trail was muddy with several areas of standing water blocking the trail.After about three miles I began to feel better and my pace improved somewhat but I never really found a good groove. I kept the pace easy and plodded along, taking breaks to observe the heavy water at various streams. No mountain bikers which wasn't a surprise however I saw quite a few runners on the trail. When I finished I thought I'd enjoy a dip in the pond but it was pretty cold and I'm a wuss.
Spent the rest of Father's Day puttering around in the yard before enjoying a big cookout that Amanda put together. Pulled pork, fried onion strings, mango salad, frozen chocolate peanut things. I'm going to roll over to the couch now.
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