Weekly Log: 6.24.13 - 6.30.13

Last week before vacation!  By Sunday we'll be in the White Mountains.  Can't wait!

Monday - Ryan Park, North Kingstown, RI - 7.1 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

It was hot and humid when I parked at Ryan Park this morning and I thought it would be refreshing to run without a shirt.  BIG MISTAKE.  It is now officially deer fly season and the bastards began attacking me in force before I was even halfway down the rail bed.  Their numbers are legion and I hate them so.  They seemed to ease off as I neared the root run but they didn't completely disappear.  I threw in a couple of miles on the neighborhood roads just to gain a respite from the little fucks.  They weren't as noticeable on the west side of the park away from the wetlands but make no mistake: the deer flies are here.

Tuesday - 0 miles

P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps (60 minutes)

I was very pleased to make it all the way through this workout with minimal right elbow discomfort.  It began to feel pretty tight by the halfway mark but there was never any pain so I consider that a victory.  It's been a month since I did this one and my numbers were a bit lower but that's to be expected with my lack of strength training lately.

Wednesday - 0 miles

P90X Yoga X (60 minutes)

Great Yoga session this morning.  With the heat wave, our basement is sitting at 75 degrees which is probably 10 degrees warmer than most of my previous Yoga workouts.  As a result I felt a lot looser and more flexible. 

 

Thursday - North Kingstown, RI - 7 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

I wanted to do a short run in my vibrams and then change into my minimus shoes.  I was going to do it all at Rome Point but the traffic was backing up so I decided to run the vibrams at the west side of Ryan Park.  In addition to breaking in the vibrams, I also wanted to test out the waist pack I bought before I bring it to New Hampshire next week.  At first it was jostling around some but after cinching the belt tighter it wasn't bad.

After 3 miles at Ryan park, I drove to Rome Point for another 4 miles.  I wore the MT20s on this run but I still kept the waist pack on.  By the end I was starting to feel the weight of the pack (I had loaded it up prior to the runs) and my pace began to drop.  All in all it was a successful test of the pack - I think it will work well in New Hampshire.

Afterwards I headed to band practice where we figured out the setlist for a gig we're excited about - opening for Badfish at the Ocean Mist on August 2nd.  Plan to come on out!

Friday - Watch Hill & Misquamicut, Westerly, RI - 14.3 miles

First day of vacation and I wanted to get a long run in.  Despite living one town over I rarely run in Westerly so I wanted to do a loop that encompassed a great deal of the area.  I parked at the Stop 'n Shop across from the airport and took the main roads over to Watch Hill.  I ran a loop in Watch Hill then took the long Ocean View Highway over to Misquamicut.  It was humid and sticky and there wasn't much of an ocean breeze to cool me off but I was feeling good and kept the pace under 8 minutes.

After looping through Misquamicut, I went down Route 1A.  I meant to pass by the golf course and then loop back onto the airport industrial road but I passed signs for the Glacier Park and knew I had to check it out.  I ran a bunch of the trails in this little reserve - fun, hilly singletrack.  I jumped back on the road and found my way through the development to Tom Harvey Rd and headed back to the car.  I was a sweaty mess by the time this run was over but it was enjoyable.

Saturday - 0 miles

No time to run today - we've much packing to do.  I needed a rest day anyway.  Calves are feeling pretty sore and this next week's gonna test 'em.

Sunday - Echo Lake / Bartlett Hills, NH - 8.4 miles

Made it to New Hampshire very early Sunday morning!  After watching the girls do awesome at their dance recital we finished packing the car and got out of dodge around 8:30 PM.  We ended up arriving at the cabin at 1:30 AM.  Pretty late but we had a cool specimen waiting to greet us.

Big Ass Moth

While the thread of nasty weather looms over the whole week, it turned out to be a nice day.  We spent a few hours at Echo Lake, enjoying the water.  Amanda swam the lake in her wetsuit and I spent some time exploring the trails around the lake.  I attempted to explore the trail leading up to the White Horse Ledge but the blue blazes seemed to stop after awhile.  I attempted to trounce around and pick 'em up but the going was steep and I decided to leave it to the mountain climbers.  Finished circling the lake and then jumped back in the water.


Back at the cabin, I ran a few miles on the local roads.  You know when all the roads have the word "ledge" in their name they are going to be hilly.  I avoided going all the way to the bottom of the neighborhood so the elevation wasn't as bad as it could have been but I'll have to be ready for steeper climbs on future runs.

Beer
Tuckerman Pale Ale x2
Tuckerman Headwall Alt x1

 

Weekly Mileage: 36.8 miles

Year to Date: 887.2 miles

June comes to an end but I start July in New Hampshire with my girls so I'm a happy man.  This ended up being my 2nd highest mileage month at 167.8 miles.  Looking forward to the week ahead.