I've been thinking about my big spring race. I know I've been chatting up the Providence Marathon in May but I'm finding that I've little taste for road marathon training and all that it entails. I know that I could just do whatever and still have a good race but I feel like if I'm going to commit the money to 26.2 on the road then I should commit to the training as well. With this in mind, I've begun to think about a long trail race instead. There's a bunch in the region to choose from but I'm not really interested in an April race. However the Pineland Trail Running Festival over Memorial Day Weekend might just fit the bill. There's a 50k on what looks like a fast course. Seems like they get a good turnout with a fun atmosphere and I have several friends who live nearby which might make this a good option. Stay tuned.
Monday - 0 miles
A much needed rest day. I had planned to run at Ryan Park and take a rest day tomorrow but I had no pep this morning and opted to just take it today. I feel like I might have the makings of a cold coming on. My upper body is still really sore from Back & Biceps on Saturday.Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 2.8 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes) / 90 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 30/20/20/20A short cold jog with the dog in the early hours. I had considered trying to lead us through my recently discovered path over to the Narragansett trail however yesterday's "warmth" made my previous tracks difficult to follow and I thought better of it. Plowed through the Ab Ripper and even though my biceps still had DOMS I did a bunch of push-ups.
Wednesday - Ryan Park, North Kingstown, RI - 7 miles
Biceps still sore this morning. Decided to forgo Yoga X (too bad - was looking forward to making it three weeks in a row.) The morning snow resulted in a late arrival at work and I had time to run around in Ryan Park. Great morning out there. Not too cold and just enough snow to make for a great winter run without becoming a slog. Wore the new Yaktrax and again it was an issue-free run (maybe they're alright after all.) Glad I had 'em as there were definitely ice traps hidden under the snow on the rail bed and the open field trail. The wooded trails seemed better though. I'm looking forward to racing here in 10 days.Thursday - Charlestown/West Greenwich, RI - 8.2 miles
After a couple miles in the cold morn with the dog, I was able to get out of the house early and opted to run at Big River as it has been awhile since I tackled the trails on the west side. It was cold and I wore my cold compression gear and fleece vest but I didn't realize just how frigid it actually was. Within minutes my hands were freezing. Not the first time this has happened - they usually warm up after a mile or two. I decided to take the Log Trail down to the New London Turnpike. What human tracks there were had been covered up by more snow. There were some cool paw prints though - coyote? After 1.5 miles my hands were still cold and my right thumb was really cold. I had brought a water bottle because I was planning to run 8-9 miles and I think it made it harder for my hand to warm up.When I reached the turnpike the numbness in my thumb was really worrying me so I took the dirt roads directly back to the car. Once the dirt road turned north my hand finally started to warm up and I started to get that prickling sensation in my thumb. I had brought my iPod Touch and was going to snap some pictures of the pond/waterfall (really impressive with the sun rising over the trees) but it was so cold that the iPod shut off. I tried to drink from my water bottle but the nipple was completely frozen. I ended up running just under 6 miles so I got in a good amount of distance but it was a stressful run and I didn't really get a chance to enjoy it.
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| So cold I had to wait for the iPod to warm up in the car |
Friday - Bryant Track, Smithfield, RI - 8.3 miles
Much warmer than yesterday. It's practically summer out there. The Bryant track was (mostly) clear so I stuck to my guns and did some speed work. I did 6 x 400m with 200m jogs in between and then 6 x 200m with 100m jogs. Three of the corners had snow/ice creeping onto the track so I probably ran a little farther but that makes me feel even better about the effort. I was running in shorts and a long-sleeve tech shirt which seems crazy after my near-frostbite experience yesterday. Anyway the intervals were hard work and I'm happy with the consistency I hit.400s - 77 / 79 / 77 / 78 / 76 / 77
200s - 37 / 36 / 37 / 37 / 37 / 36
Did a long cooldown afterwards on the old cross country trails and the Bryant campus. Very pleased with this workout!
Saturday - 0 miles
Putterin' and mutterin' kept me busy today. No desire to exercise.Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 13.1. miles
I wanted to push the pace a bit on today's long run. Decided to run down Gravelly Hill, up Ministerial and back home along Worden Pond Road. Beautiful weather this morning. I kept the pace in the 7s to begin with and then it began to creep under 7 minutes. I turned it on when I hit Worden's Pond Road to improve on the segment I created there (stay away Garvin!) Lots of people out on the ice. Felt odd running in shorts and a T while dozens of people are standing on a frozen pond. I attacked the hills and completely wore myself out by the end of the road but I took three minutes of what had been a good segment time for me. The rest of the run was a slow cooldown back home. Quads felt pretty sore afterwards. I've said it before but I need to run more of these faster tempo runs.Then we headed down to Narragansett to cheer on Amanda as she ran the Super 5k. I got a lot of shit for standing around in my winter coat instead of racing but I was happy to watch from the sidelines with my girls. It looked like everyone in WTAC had great performances. Amanda went out too fast and wasn't thrilled with her race but she'll get 'em next time.
Excellent day Friday! Nice job.
ReplyDeleteThat's an impressive time on the Wordens Pond segment. While it is my home territory, I have no desire to try to take it down...for now. Just don't do anything to make me angry!
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