Weekly Log: 3.3.14 - 3.9.14

March is finally here.  Maybe this long bitch winter will finally be over by the end of it.  Or perhaps she will continue into April, beating us further into submission with more snow and frigid temperatures. Who can say?  At any rate the long range forecast looks pretty good for the Ocean's Run 1/2 marathon on Sunday.  This'll be my first road race of the year and my first half since Surftown last September.  This past weekend has left me feeling gluttonous and slow but I know that's not an accurate gauge of my abilities.  My plan is to cut down considerably on the running this week in order to put me in a good position to PR on Sunday.  Then I'll ramp up the mileage for another three weeks before cutting back once again for more racing.

Monday - 0 miles

Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 3.5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Friggin' cold this morning for the weekly dog jog.  I'm sick of this shit!  I guess I've finally reached the Mike B level of winter hatred.  Knee felt a little twingy during the run.  Hopefully it's nothing.  Afterwards I shambled my way through Ab Ripper but it was a struggle.  Can't say that I'm feeling very confident about Sunday's race but I'm sure once race day arrives I'll be ready to go.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Took a while to get out of bed this morning and my plans for a morning lifting workout faded quickly.  It's crazy to think that I'm so committed to exercising now that I actually feel guilty if I don't work out.  Well, I'm taking it easy this week so deal with it, self!

Thursday - East Greenwich, RI - 7 miles

Enough of this rest day bullshit.  Thought about giving the trails up at work a shot but we'll save that for tomorrow.  Instead I headed to my new favorite spot over on Frenchtown Road.  I did the road loop from a few weeks ago but in the opposite direction.  Also took a couple side roads to inspect some ridiculously fancy houses.  Despite being in the teens I saw a couple other intrepid runners out there.  Thinking I would use them on Sunday I wore my minimal New Balance 730s.  But they made the tops of my feet hurt and now I'm leaning towards the new 890s.  But it was a good run and the pace was in the low 7s - I needed a snappy run to get me psyched for Ocean's Run as it's been a while since I ran with any speed.  Feeling good for Sunday!

Friday - Smithfield, RI - 6 miles

210 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 25/25/25/25/25/25/30/30

I decided to attempt some trails up at work as I saw that tire tracks had cleared narrow paths in the rocky dirt road.  They were runnable though there were big ice sheets at spots.  In fact I soon found it easier to just run on the snow between the tracks which was well packed down from ATVs.  I took one bad digger after about a mile, slipping on a hidden ice sheet and hitting my arm and wrist against the hard ground.  Shook it off and found some snowier trails with well-worn ATV tracks.  Still tough going out there and three miles of trails were enough for me.  This run didn't motivate me like yesterday (it probably did the opposite) and my wrist is sore from the fall.  Hopefully a few days of warm weather will improve the trails - I'm afraid it might still be awhile before they're truly runnable.

Saturday - 0 miles

Everyone's out there getting some good runs in this morning and making me feel guilty - but I'm feeling sore and tired after yesterday's fall.  The rest will do me good.  Looking forward to tomorrow's race!

Sunday - Ocean's Run 1/2 Marathon  - 18.5 miles

Official time: 1:23:06.  12th overall.  Report forthcoming.

Weekly Log: 35.2 miles

Year to Date: 368.8 miles