Monday - Charlestown, RI - 8 miles
I was working from home today, tasked with getting the well pump working again. Before work I did three miles with the dog. By noon the water guys showed up and quickly put in a new well pump. We were probably long overdue for this so I was glad we finally got it done. Later in the afternoon I went back out for another five miles on Old Coach and nearby streets.Tuesday - 0 miles
In the morning I had a appointment with a neurosurgeon about my neck. I've got a bulging disc which is squeezing the nerve, causing the numbness/tingling down my arm. Apparently this is a common problem and in fact my spine doc has had it three times. He's also a runner who just had to bow out of Ocean's Run because of his IT band. It was fun talking running with him for a few minutes and it made me feel better about the neck situation. Anyway I'm going to start going to PT for the neck and see if that does the trick.Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 4.5 miles
I wanted to see if the Ten Mile River Bikepath was still plowed and I met a really annoying dog owner right off the bat. His beagle was off leash and he had absolutely no control over it. At least the dog was friendly but all he did was yell at the dog and the dog did not care whatsoever. The bike path was now down to a singletrack in the snow which I ran until the going got too tough. On the way back I passed the dog guy and decided to stick to roads for the rest of the run. In a neighborhood nearby I spied a snowy field - turns out to be more open space I've never explored. I stuck to the singletrack paths and the running wasn't too bad here. This connected to trails I've been on next to the Turner Reservoir. After a bit of exploring, I made my way back to the car. It's always fun to find new trails however short and I was glad to finally hit some beaten down snow trails.Thursday - Rehoboth, MA - 8.5 miles
A return to the Wheeler parking lot at the edge of Seekonk and I mapped out another loop on some new roads. It was cold but pleasant out and I carried the Yaktrax in case I needed them. I regretted bringing them as they made my hands cold but I took a detour through a neighborhood that was very icy so they ended up coming in handy. These country roads are ideal for this tough winter - they are wide with little traffic and they don't have much snow/ice on them. This was a good run and I was pleased with how my body responded considering that I didn't have much pep at the beginning.Friday - Seekonk, MA - 6.5 miles
Back to the Wheeler parking lot yet again. I was going to try the East Bay Bike Path but I was skeptical of the conditions and didn't want to be disappointed. Maybe next week. Instead I did another of my signature loops. Nice warmer day and lots of puddles from melting snow which is always a positive development. By the end I was feeling really good. So glad the knee is finally back on track. I suppose that means I need to start getting back to some honest workouts as well.Saturday - 0 miles
Sunday - North Kingstown, RI - 9.5 miles
I was meeting the family for lunch up near Quonset and decided to try Rome Point for the weekend's "long run." I had chopped my anticipated 14 mile run down to 10 since Ocean's Run is a week away and I was prepared to go lower based on how the trails were in RP. This place is very popular and I was happy to see that the trails were all very runnable. I had the road shoes with Yaktrax and they worked well. I did the usual trails before heading down the beach. It occurred to me to continue past the bridge Jonny-style. I've never actually ran down here and it was the best part of this run. The shore was frozen over and watching the ice/slush chunks smash into buoys was cool. This winter may suck and the approaching storm may be another pain-in-the-ass but on at this moment everything was pretty magical down by the water.I returned to Rome Point and hadn't been back on the trails long when I noticed that my Yaktrax had broke. Curses! I wonder if the rocks on the beach had done it. I was six miles in so I dropped them off at the car and headed back onto the trails. The road shoes were noticeably more slippery now but overall the traction was still decent enough. I meandered here and there until I tweaked a nerve on the bottom of my foot and headed back for the car which is just as well as my quads were getting tired from the snow miles. Just a great winter run. Finally.
Weekly Mileage: 37.1 miles
Year to Date: 228 miles
Been a while since I ran this many miles in a week. I've got the standards aches and pains but it feels like things are finally clicking. And despite another storm to end the week I feel like spring is finally on the horizon. It's coming!
Bummer on the Yak-trax. I'm on my 2nd pair - this one a Yak-trax Run model with replaceable spikes that I hope will last longer, but I'm also intrigued by those Kahtoola microspikes.
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