Root and Rocks: Weekly Log: 2.10.14

With the brutal Belleville 10k in the rearview, I have about a month without racing. Huzzah! Looking forward to getting in some long trail runs (once the snow cover packs down) and doing some speed work to prepare for the Ocean's Run 1/2 on March 9th.

Monday - Smithfield, RI - 7.3 miles

My ankles are quite sore. My right knee is also sore. 6.2 miles of snow racing is no joke. I wanted to do an easy shakeout run this morning but man I didn't have much enthusiasm. I thought about skipping it but eventually just parked at Bryant and ran the nearby roads. Once I started running I felt great - the healing power of the run! Despite it being an easy shakeout I somehow picked all the hilliest roads. Took some new (to me) roads up into the hills. Wide empty roads and fancy houses made for nice running despite the elevation.

Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 2.1 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes) / 150 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 30/20/20/20/20/20/20

Cold out there! While they were fine during yesterday and this morning's run, my ankles and knee are still pretty sore. A non-running day tomorrow should be welcome

Wednesday - 0 miles

Supposed to be a Yoga X day but our basement was frigid and the will was not there. Amanda took the dog out for a walk in the single digits this morning. When we got this beast she said that she was going to be responsible for the walking and she has been true to her word. Even as the mornings grew short and cold she has continued to walk the dog every morning. I only do one weekday and the occasional jaunt on the weekend - mostly it has been all her (with Em walking the dog in the afternoon.)

A couple weeks ago Strava offered me a free month of the premium. I was excited to finally try the heatmap feature. It's nifty - it pretty much shows every run I've done since I started using a Garmin so you can see where the runs nearly intersect each other. And of course it's very obvious where I do most of my running.

Thursday - Charlestown, RI - 6.5 miles

Snowy morning, slushy afternoon. I was home with the girls so I could only run during Ezri's nap. At that point the beautiful morning snow had given way to cold rain. I had zero desire to head out in the muck but I hadn't had a real run since Monday and the Quest for Mileage must be respected. Old Coach Road was in good shape but the side roads hadn't been plowed. My feet were quickly soaked and frigidly cold. I thought it would be a short disappointing run. I opted to jump into the woods and head over to the Narragansett Trail. Surprisingly the snow was now decently runnable since it was compacted and no longer crusty. It's funny that it wasn't the snow that chilled my feet but rather the slush once I returned to the roads. I hit up the trails at South Farm before trundling back home to my warm fire.

Friday -Smithfield, RI - 4.2 miles

135 Push-ups (standard/military/decline) 30/20/10/20/20/15/20

Uck. Another messy winter run, this time up at work. Decided to wear my minimal MT00s for some reason even though I knew I'd be on roads. Maybe for the traction. The first section of footpath had a few inches of snow on it which made it fun to run. The plowed section was worse - slushy with cold puddles. Stuck to the roads after that although I ducked into the woods to take a leak. Probably about a foot of snow and the icy crust cut my bare legs as I broke though. Now I know what happened to Jonny's legs at Belleville. It was windy throughout the run and a stinging blinding snow began towards the end. My calves were becoming sore from the MT00s and that was a good enough excuse to call it after four miles. With the extra time I pumped out the push-ups in the locker room that I had shirked earlier in the morning.

Saturday - Chariho, RI - 20.4 miles

An email chain indicated everyone was interested in a long group run and Jonny was kind enough to put together a route. Eight WTACers showed up at the Chariho High School at 6:30 AM. Great turnout! The pace was in the low to mid 7s throughout - never too tough and still allowed for plenty of conversation.

National Wear Blue to Your Run Day - Photo by Jeff Walker

There were no shortage of big hills on this run but I felt good throughout and never felt like they would undo me. After five miles, FiveK, Garvin and Nate headed back to make their run a 10 mile progression (they were cookin' after they left us) while the rest of us continued on hilly country roads. Mike B and Jonny both provided water stops. Despite having lived in the area for half a decade I still was exploring many of these roads for the first/second time - always interesting when you don't know exactly where you are. This run was a lot of fun. It definitely didn't feel like 17 miles and I'm pleased that I was able to maintain a pretty fast pace with the guys and not have it feel grueling.

Afterwards I padded my mileage while Ezri was at dance class with a short 3+ jaunt. This gave me 40 miles for the week and with today's snowstorm/heavy mileage I doubt I'll want to run tomorrow.

Sunday - 0 miles

My legs are beat from yesterday's efforts! Sore quads, sore calves, sore toes. Did some shoveling today to dig out from the latest snow onslaught so I'll think that's a good enough way to end this week. I hope to keep my weekly mileage in the 40s leading up to Ocean's Run before tapering for that half.