Weekly Log: 8.5.13 - 8.11.13

Monday - Wolf Hill, Smithfield, RI - 5.6 miles

I didn't get much sleep last night after a late gig at the Spot in Providence. Ab Ripper definitely wasn't happening this morning. I didn't have much spring in my step but I decided to hit up Wolf Hill. I ran along the water for the first mile to avoid any elevation gain which helped and I started to perk up a bit. Did a big loop of my usual trails but didn't push the distance as I was feeling pretty beat by the end. No flies to speak of.

On the plus side I got my WTAC Singlet today.  Now I'm bonafide!

Tuesday - 0 miles

SICK!  Woke up at midnight with a 102 fever and chills.  Started a regimen of ibuprofen which knocked down the fever / chills but they came back worse each time the pills wore off.  Doc put me on antibiotics for possible lyme disease.  Had some blood taken so we'll know soon if it's tick borne or not. After dinner I went to bed where I shook violently for 15 minutes before finally falling asleep. Woke up 30 minutes later with a 104 fever. I felt like a turd sandwich.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Wow. After sweating profusely through the night I woke up feeling better. Way better. Fever was gone. No more chills. Antibiotics for the win!

Thursday - Ryan Park, North Kingstown, RI - 7 miles

After a seemingly complete recovery from Tuesday's sickness, I wanted to get a nice easy run in. I chose Ryan Park since the trails aren't taxing and I could run in the MT00s. It was my first run in 'em since I smashed my toe in Burlingame but I figured this was the opportune place and pace to get back into them.

It was nice running weather - cloudy and drizzly. I only saw only one deer fly and it made its last mistake by landing on my arm. Looks like the miserable little bastards might be done for the year. The miles went quickly as my thoughts drifted to my younger days playing World of Warcraft. I reflected on the many hours spent in Duskwood and Strangelethorn Vale. Ah the good ol' days, long gone but not forgotten!

Anywho, the run was a bigtime success considering two days ago I felt like utter hell.  And the shoes felt great.  I was psyched that I plowed through 7 miles in 'em with no calf/ankle soreness.  Just gotta remember to only use 'em for non-technical terrain.

Friday - North Smithfield Track - 6.2 miles

A light steady rain began falling as I parked next to the Bryant track. That didn't bother me but the train of big tough college athletes heading over there spooked me and I opted to head back to the North Smithfield high school track down the road. Much better - the place was empty. I opted to run in my New Balance 730s - I've been transitioning into them very slowly over the past year but yesterday's run in the super minimal 00s encouraged me to try to use them for more than just piddling cooldowns.

I ran 6 x 400m w/ 200m jogs and 6 x 200m w/ 100m jogs.

400s - 87 / 81 / 80 / 81 / 80 / 80
200s - 45 / 37 / 33 / 37 / 42 / 37

I think the timing on some of the 200s is suspect. It's hard to judge when exactly to start/stop them, especially when then begin on the corner. These track workouts are also so mental - I'm constantly bargaining with myself in order to get through them (Halfway done already. Only one more to go now!) I was really pleased when I got through all the 200s and very happy with how the 730s felt. I'm ready to start wearing them on some road runs and shorter road races. Fun workout in the rain.

Saturday - Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI - 6 miles

This was an easy afternoon run at Carter. I did the all the usual trails starting with the grassland loop (I discovered a short little woodland trail on the way to the loop.) It was pretty hot out there and kept the pace easy for the length of the run. Legs felt good.

Sunday - Arcadia Management Area, Exeter, RI - 16.1 miles

For this week's long run I wanted something I hadn't done in a while - Arcadia sounded perfect. I parked at the Hudson lot around 7 AM and made my way over to the Frosty Hollow pond, following trails up to Austin Farm Rd. I didn't really have a gameplan and decided to just head down Austin Farm for a bit. I passed a Road Closed sign which gave me pause and I soon found out why - the bridge was out just before the Shelter trail, which I had planned on taking.

This screwed up my plans as I wasn't familiar with trails to the south of my position. North was private campgrounds - I took a grass covered road up through them. I figured the road hugged the western boundary of the property and maybe I could pass through undetected. Instead I came upon an old basketball court and some creepy boarded up cabins. They gave me a Friday the 13th vibe and I retreated back to Austin Farm Rd.

I was wasting time and getting nowhere so I backtracked towards Breakheart Pond and made my way up to the Breakheart Trail which I took all the way to its end. I crossed the road and jumped on the Ben Utter trail. The river was moving well and at the end the Stepstone Falls seemed more lively than the last time I was here. Another runner with a hydration pack was following the North-South trail down the other side of the Falls. I wonder how far he was coming from?

I decided to check out some new stuff so I turned onto Falls River Road. This road was dirt but featured a monster hill all the way up to Escoheag Road. I followed Escoheag for a while and meant to jump back on to Austin Farm Rd but instead I got off too early and meandered down some part pavement/part dirt road for a while before finally rejoining the Ben Utter trail. Followed it back and then took Mt. Tom Trail down to Route 165. The last two miles of the run were on fresh asphalt - not as enjoyable as the 14 previous miles but I was ready to get back to the car and this was the easiest/fastest way.

Weekly Mileage: 40.9 miles

Year to Date: 1,102.4 miles

Another 40 mile week. I'm pretty happy about that especially considering my bout of sickness. It came on the two days I normally don't run anyway so it didn't actually interrupt my schedule at all. Fun runs in lots of different shoes.