Monday - Wolf Hill, Smithfield, RI - 5 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)It had been a while since I've been to Wolf Hill and with the NipMuck slowly appearing on the horizon, I thought it best to get back to the hilly terrain that awaits me in October. It has hot already when I started the run at 8:45 AM and I was soon sweating. I wore my new running cap backwards and it helped keep the flies off my neck. Towards the end of the run, I was heading down from the quarry and navigating a tricky hill strewn with large loose rocks. I was moving at a good clip, using my arms for balance when BAM! A deer fly went right into my EYEBALL! Gah! I was taken off guard and could feel my ankle begin to roll. I crushed the bastard with my eyelids and luckily righted the ship. After their kamakaze attack failed, they then attacked en masse. The rest of the run was less than enjoyable, as the flies became relentless and I began to run out of steam from H3 (heat + humidty + hills.) I only ran five miles but it felt like a real workout.
Tuesday - 0 miles
P90X Legs & Back (60 minutes)Hard to believe it's been over a month since I did this workout but there you have it. 77 degrees in the basement and it didn't take long to work up a sweat with this one.
Wednesday - 0 miles
Was supposed to do Yoga X this morning but I chumped out. Maybe later in the week. Just as well - after yesterday's L&B I'm walking like I just rode 20 miles on a horse.
Thursday -North Kingstown, RI - 7 miles
P90X Core Synergistics (60 minutes)Haven't done this one in a while. Fun workout with a lot of variety. The basement provides little relief these days and I was pouring sweat by the end. It also helped with my DOMS from Legs & Back which was still in full effect when I woke up.
I headed to my buddy Jay's house for band practice but got there early in order to run beforehand. It was pretty oppressive but I had been drinking water all day and took Amanda's advice to spike my handheld with some electrolyte tablet. It did the trick - I felt strong throughout the run.
However the deer flies were near unbearable. I started down Snuff Mill Road and they began to attack me. There's not even relief from these monsters on the roads anymore! Since it was clear I'd be dealing with them for the whole run, I headed towards Rome Point figuring the ocean breeze might ward them off. This turned out to be correct but first I had to pass through the forested section of RP where their numbers were legion. Running the twisty turny singletrack amongst the skinny trees was my worst fly experience yet this year. Just brutal.
When I finally made it to the beach there was some folks who had apparently set up camp, complete with a fire, clothesline and tents. Um, okay. I followed the beach until I could cross over to the powerline access road which I took back to Jay's neighborhood. I came out at the bottom of Plum Point Road. I decided to take a run at Jonny's segment on this brutal hill - that was, until I was about halfway up. At this point I said, "to hell with this" and opted to just finish the run on a couple roads rather than kill myself in this humidity.
Which reminds me: Hip Bobsha will be opening for Badfish at the O-Mist on Friday, August 2nd. Get your tickets early as this will sell out!
Friday - Richards Trail / Burlingame Trails, Charlestown, RI - 6.9 miles
So hot, so humid. I had the day off so after dropping off refuse at the dump I went and checked out Richards trail off of Route 2. I ran on this last year when there was barely a trail there. Now they at least have a full loop, though it's only about 1/3 mile long. Soft, smooth singletrack in a pine forest. Perfect for my newly purchased NB MT00s. I did the loop several times in both directions to get 1.5 miles. They got a good amount of land here so I'm looking forward to when there are more trails to explore. Not sure when that's going to happen though.
I was going to head next to the Carter Preserve but changed my mind at the last minute and went to Burlingame, parking on King's Factory Road. I enjoyed running in the MT00s so much that I kept them on, even though I knew the more technical trails of Burlingame might cause some foot discomfort. I ran VG to Sammy C's then jumped on Schoolhouse in order to find the Secret trail (obviously I couldn't - I was on the wrong trail.) Jumped back on VG and managed to find Secret from the other direction.
I was really feeling the heat now and the water bottle I was carrying was nearly empty. My form began to suffer and I took a couple diggers. At least there weren't a lot of deer flies. Secret dumped me back on Sammy Cs and I took it back to VG. I was almost back to the car when I took my 4th digger of the run - this one was the worst as I really jammed my left big toe. The true minimalist shoes offered no protection and now hours later, it's pretty sore. I don't think it's broken or anything but I'm not sure if I'm going to be up for tomorrow morning's long run.
Saturday - Burlingame, Charlestown, RI - 11 miles
Woke up to a sore toe that made me question even heading out the door. Once encased in sock and Cascadias, I did a quick lap around the house. Didn't feel great but didn't feel painful either. I didn't want to bail on what sounded like a fun run so I downed some aspirin and headed out.Met up with Jonny, Gunshow, new guy Ryan and another fellow Frank who was in town from Iowa. We did the VG loop in addition to the trails south of the campground. It was another hot, humid day and the pace was not very casual for me. I kept up with the group for the first five miles then decided to ease off as it was starting to really feel like work. They waited for me at Klondike Road and I was able to keep up and chat with Frank for a bit but it was wearing me out.
At the trail to North Camp, Jonny and Ryan headed south to add some miles and the rest of us kept going on Vin Gormley. I think we were all feeling it at this point and ready to wrap it up. The last couple miles felt like a real slog although it doesn't appear that my pace dropped all that much. A dip in Watchaug afterwards was most welcome.
Sunday - 0 miles
Weekly Mileage: 30 miles
Year to Date: 989. 8 miles
Hot week of running with mixed results. I enjoyed the group trail run to end the week but bumbling around Burlingame the day before and smashing up my toe was not desirable. It doesn't feel great to walk around on so I may end up taking most of next week off from running to heal up for the Blessing.
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