Weekly Log: 5.25.15 - 5.31.15

May is wrapping up already and I finally have a race goal on the horizon as I've a kickass group of runners doing the Ragnar Trail relay in northern Mass at the end of June.  Now to keep the running momentum going.

Monday - Exeter, RI - 11.1 miles

It's Memorial Day and I joined Bob Jackman, Jeff and Garvin for an early run in Arcadia.  My pinky toe has been having blister problems but wrapping it this morning seemed to help.  However the outside of my left foot was sore this morning which was a new hurt.  It continued through the whole run.  The run itself was enjoyable.  We made our way up to the Step Stone Falls and continued along the North-South trail further on a section I had never explored before.  There were some definite mud/water hazards on this sections.  Jeff went splashing through as usual and one proved deeper than he suspected - he went down and was almost submerged.  A little while later we found ourselves on a road above the trail we needed to get to.  Bob suggested (jokingly) that we could bushwack our way down and the next thing you know Jeff is leading the charge down the steep hill.  The Gazelle would not be stopped on this run!

Tuesday - 0 miles

That outside foot pain is very sore today.  It doesn't feel right.  I'm worried it might be a stress fracture.  Definitely not running today.

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 6 miles

Foot feels much better today.  A little lingering soreness once in a while but I decided to try a run.  Not much pep and it was pretty hot outside so I did some an easy road/trail mix on the East Side along the river.  Pretty blah run but the foot had no pain so I'm happy.   My Garmin Forerunner 305 was unable to load the road afterwards.

Thursday - Seekonk, MA - 5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

So I think the  ol' Forerunner is finally toast.  Yesterday it couldn't load up runs and today it won't even turn on.  A sad day for myself.  And America as well.  Today I ran the dirt roads I recently discovered near Caratunk.  It's a fun mix of singletrack and wide dirt roads and I found there's a nice little trail that circles a small pond.  However I had my first run in with deer flies of the season.  Noooo!

Friday - Seekonk, MA - 9.5 miles

190 push-ups (standard/military/decline/wide) 30/20/20/30/25/20/20/25

With no magical spacewatch, I plotted out a route in advance on the country roads of Seekonk.  Another hot day but fortunately much of the run was cloudy.  The last time I was here the roads were icy and the shoulders snow covered.  Much easier running now but the deer flies found me along the most heavily wooded sections.  That damn pinky toe blister began to make itself know by the halfway point even though I wrapped it up.  Satisfying mid-distance run otherwise.

Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 3.1 miles

Ezri and I ran the Charlestown Fit 5k at Ninigret put on by Charlestown Elementary.  Jonny was working hard at the registration table.  Ezri and I had done a couple training runs but I wasn't sure she's go the distance, especially since the course was three loops on the bike track.  Thanksfully there was a serious fog blanket over Ninigret which made for cool running.  Ezri ran the first mile in just under 10 minutes and then the walking breaks began.  She didn't like me running alongside her so I lagged a bit behind.  Eventually she fell in with a couple older girls and the three of them walked/ran the last miles.  She finished in just under 40 minutes.  She did a great job and got 1st place for kindergarten!

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 14 miles

No motivation to get up early and run - Amanda took the dog out and then cajoled me into getting out there before the rain came.  Humid but cloudy morning and once I got going I perked up.  I took the Narragansett trail over towards the Carter Preserve.  I jump into the Preserve briefly to take the Red and Connector trails up to Charlestown Elementary.  Then I headed towards Shannock village before taking roads to the top of Shannock hill.  Such a brutal climb.  And with no spacewatch I missed out on stats for the Strava elevation challenge!  Such is life.  From the hill I took a pretty direct path back to the house and then calculated the mileage.  A good run - the pinky toe blister wasn't an issue though my legs were beat by the end.  The rain never ended up reaching us but I thank Amanda for getting me out the door.

Weekly Mileage: 48.7 miles

Year to Date: 738.8 miles

Another good week of running to cap May.  I ended up tying second best monthly total mileage ever with 203 miles.  Good stuff!

Weekly Log: 5.18.15 - 5.24.15

Monday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

I decided to park a little further down south from the East Bay bike path and explore some side roads of Riverside, a town within EP.  There was a large tract of forest on the map and I hoped I could find a way in to some tasty trails.  I parked on a busy road and made my way towards the woods, only to be thwarted at every turn.  The land belongs to some kind of oil refinery or something.  They have a private road that leads from the water to their compound.

There appeared no way in so I ventured off and found a little pond with a trail around most of it.  That was nice but I was not satisfied.  I continued on and came upon the fenced off forest again.  Such a waste!  Soon I smelled garbage - ah yes, the dump was on the other side of the road.  There was nothing for me in this blasted town.  Just as I was about to turn around I discovered a side street with a big sand pit.  There were a few short trails in the woods here but it was a pittance.  I made my way back to the car, my legs feeling the effect of 16 miles the day prior.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Tired legs and I went out to lunch with my coworkers so there would be no run today.  Tasty Indian food though.

Wednesday - Charlestown/Providence, RI - 12.5 miles

Amanda asked me to walk the dog in the morning and I did so grudgingly - legs still didn't have much pep and my calves were sore.  But by lunchtime my legs felt better and I set out to see if the Linear Park alongside 195 was now open.  I couldn't tell if it was and continued on and made a big Providence loop, running past Davol Square before going up and down College Hill several times (I grabbed a segment on a tough climb that I happened upon last week.)  Those hills wore me out but this was a satisfying run.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 5.2 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

It has been quite a while since I've done any P90X workouts, including the short but effective Ab Ripper X.  Today I finally put it up on the laptop and went back into the basement to give it a whirl.  It was rough.  I think I got through all the reps of maybe three of the exercises.  A humbling experience but I hope to keep it up and get back into the rhythm of it.

Man, my calves have been sore all week when I wake in the morning.  They improve through the day though.  Today was an easy short trail run.  I went to the Ten Mile Bike Path and stuck to pretty much just trails on either side of the path.  Tired legs and it took me several runs to realize that the rain sound I was hearing in the woods was caterpillar poop.  For the last week the little wormy buggers have been hanging from trees and I've been picking dozens of 'em off me after every run.  Still it's better than the flies that will soon be upon us.

Friday - West Greenwich, RI - 9.2 miles

185 push-ups (standard/wide/decline) 25/30/25/25/30/20/30

I was let out of work early thanks to my boss and the long weekend so I went to Arcadia since I rarely go there.  I planned at the J B Hudson lot and planned a loop up around the Breakheart trail, taking the Shelter trail back to my car.  I had to pick Ezri up from school so time was a bit of an issue.  It seems everytime I'm in Arcardia there's a time crunch.  Luckily I ended up finished with about 15 minutes to spare.  The run started off slow but my legs woke up and I ended up moving well.  These are great trails and I was happy to start off Memorial Day weekend with this run.

Saturday - 0 miles

I was hobbling like an old man today - I think a delayed DOM/overuse result of the Ab Ripper.  Sitting down was fine but standing up was tough.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 8.4 miles

I went over to Carter Preserve for a morning run.  I took the power trail right away which provides some really beautiful views.  I kept going along the powerlines past the Preserve boundary until it hits pavement.  Then I checked out some nearby clear cut trails.  They eventually wound me around back towards the pavement and I found an old dirt road, now long overgrown with shrubs and fallen trees.  I kept going and eventually came upon more Preserve signs.  Strange.  The "trail" curved around and eventually came out at the dirt road of the two houses alongside the Preserve parking lot.    That took about 2.5 miles.  Now back at the car I did a standard Carter loop, hitting the powerlines again, the grasslands and the various trails in the woods.  Good run!

Weekly Log: 42.4 miles
Year to Date: 690.1 miles

Good week of running and I was glad to get in a good amount of trail miles!  Ab Ripper did a number of me by Saturday but by Sunday I was feeling much better.  I'll take some time before I can get back to it regularly.

Weekly Log: 5.11.15-5.17.15

Monday - East Providence, RI - 8.7 miles

100 push-ups (standard) 20/20/20/20/20

I did almost nine miles of trails yesterday and I had the desire to match the distance on the roads today.  I wanted to see if I could map out a big loop that took me up to Pawtucket over the river and then back down the Blackstone walking path.  I had done it before in the other direction at around 11 miles but I wanted to tighten up the route for a lunch run.  Strava mapped it out at 8.5 miles which sounded good.

It was mid-afternoon and hot as balls when I set out (84 degrees accordingly to the web).  I had chilled a handheld in advance which was wise.  I went out way to fast and dropped a few 7 minute miles and soon felt the mistake as the hot sun beat down on me.  The pace dropped as I went and I tried to stay on the shady side of the street.  I had to stop a couple times to regroup.  I went through the Blackstone trails and at that point I was wiped out and glad to be almost finished.  This heat wave has come on so suddenly that I had forgotten the tenants of summer running.  I'll need to make sure I take it slower in the future.

Tuesday - Seekonk, MA - 6 miles

After two 9 mile days I went back to Caratunk to do an easy trail run.  I didn't spend much time in the preserve before taking roads over to that new atv trail network I found last time.  This trail network was much bigger than I had thought with wide dirt trails following a long powerline stretch.  Before I knew it time was flying by and I had to get back to work.  However I was pretty far from the car if I backtracked.  I ended up circling a hidden pond and coming out behind some businesses.  Luckily I was able to recognize the roads and get back to the car with no issues.  A new fun place to run!

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 7.3 miles

I was shocked and shagrinned when I went to change into my running gear and realized I had forgotten shorts.   I was thinking about how I'd fit in the miles the rest of the week when I remembered I had some cargo shorts in my desk.  But I couldn't really run in them.  Thankfully my coworkers goaded me into giving it a shot and out I went.  I stuck to my plan of taking the most direct route to the far side of College Hill and doing a couple hill repeats.  I scaled the steep end three times which was good for about 700 feet of elevation gain.  I didn't push it particularly hard up them.  This should be a weekly occurrence for me - it will make me strong.

Thursday - Charlestown, RI/East Providence, RI - 12.8 miles

110 push-ups (standard) 25/30/25/30

I got some new kicks last night - last year's version 4 of the New Balance 890s - and tried them out with the dog in the early morning.  Love that it's so light so early now.  Pace was slow and I was feeling all the recent miles in my legs.

I wasn't planning on running during the day but then decided to jump over to the dirt road/trails along the river.  They're only a 1/4 mile from the office but they are filthy - littered with trash and pollution from the oil refinery next door.  I decided to take the train tracks over the bridge to explore a little further than I had been before.  There was a big open area along the river.  At one time there must have been buildings here.  Now it was just trash, grass and bits of brick and stone.  Legs still didn't have much life in them.

I had a gig at the Parlour that night so after work I decided to hit up the Ten Mile River Bikepath for run #3 of the day.  The lot was packed!  I'd never been here after work and the place was filled with little league games.  As soon as I started running my legs felt great and the pace was much faster than the previous two outings.   I took the bike path down to Slater Park, mixing in some trails along with the pavement.  Good run!  This was supposed to be a low mileage day but it ended up being anything but.

Friday - 0 miles

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday -Charlestown, RI - 16.2 miles

After two days off I was ready to get in an honest long run.  I plotted out a course which I thought would net me about 15 miles.  I decided to take Route 1 over to DuVal.  It was 6 AM so the highway was pretty quiet and stress free.  I ran most of the DuVal trails including the new lollipop trail and then took the dirt road over to the Sand Dunes.  I remembered a trail I found past the dunes and explored where it went.  It led down to a swampy section and eventually revealed itself to be a loop.  Another more prominent trail led me back to the dunes.  There are definitely more trails here I need to explore.  Then I passed through the old folks neighborhood and took the Heart trail back over to Browning woods.  Then it was a few quick road miles back to the house.  Calves were getting sore towards the end but overall a great long run.

Weekly Mileage: 51.1 miles

Year to date: 647.7 miles

My first 50+ week of the year.  Not bad considering I took two days off.  Feeling good and ready for more long stuff.

Weekly Log: 5.4.15 - 5.10.15

A new week and the temp is going to be in the 70s.  Forget spring - summer is apparently here!  I took it slightly easier last week and hope to return to above 40 miles this week.  I may even sneak in a race this weekend...

Monday - East Providence, RI - 6.5 miles

Beautiful day!  I waited until later in the work day and then headed over to the Ten Mile River bike path.  I veered off immediately onto any trails I could find.  The path was bumpin'!  There was a bunch of kids doing some sprints.  People were riding bikes and walking their dogs.  Bunch of people fishing.  I ventured onto the nearby train tracks to cross the river and startled a group of teenagers smoking their tweeds.  Haha, sorry whippersnappers!  I ended up following the train tracks to some unfamiliar neighborhood roads and eventually made my way back to the bike path.  It was hot out there but I was feeling good on this relaxing run.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

Another day, another bike path.  Went over to the East Bay bike path and decided to do a hill workout.  I followed the path for a mile and then ran the road up to Bradley school.  Then back down and ran a nearby trail hill which lead to another good road hill.  I went back and forth between these two hills for a total of six climbs.  I felt I put in a good effort especially considering the heat.  I returned to the office a smelly ogre which offended the womenfolk.  Guess I'll need to get used to dealing with the "sweat issue" again.  Still better than winter.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 3.1 miles

145 push-ups (standard/decline/wide) 30/25/25/25/20/20

I went over to a big box store to scope out some shoes but they didn't have much.  Kinda bummed that I wasted so much of lunch on a pointless errand but I still had time for a short run around the Turner Reservoir.  My feet had been feeling beat up the last few days so it was probably a good idea to rest them anyway.

Thursday - West Greenwich, RI - 7.3 miles

Fortune smiled on me when I found out that Amanda was working from home today.  That meant I could get a run in before work!  Big River seemed a logical place and it had been a while since I had been on the west side.  It was a cool spring morning but I warmed up along with the temp.  A couple army choppers buzzed the woods very low to the ground.  Must have been a training exercise.  I made a nice easy loop of it, not sure exactly of where I was but I knew I'd hit the New London Turnpike eventually.   It was an easy run but I pushed it on the last trail section back up to the lot.  A man with a couple dogs threatened to thwart my segment attempt but I skirted past them and continued on.  Sorry guy.  Grabbed the segment which I'm happy about - segments on the west side are not as competitive as over by Carr Pond (though I'm sure Jackman will be by soon enough to retake this one from me.)

Friday - Providence, RI - 7 miles

170 push-ups (standard) 30/25/30/25/30/30

I decided to head over to College Hill for my run.  I kept the pace easy and went past Brown and down the steep roads towards downtown.  Then back up 'em and to the office.  Fun relaxing run but that climb is serious.  Forget anymore hill workouts at East Bay BP - I had just as much elevation gain on this run from one climb up College Hill!


Saturday - 0 miles

Amanda and I had considered running the Rainbow 5k in Richmond but when the morning came we weren't up for it and bailed in favor of the URI East Farm Festival where we picked up a bunch of plants and vegetables for the yard.

Sunday - South Kingstown/Charlestown, RI - 10.2 miles

Ezri and I went to my mom's for breakfast in the morning.  On the way we stopped at the Kingston train station and did a mile and a half on the bike path.  She did great, jogging most of the way with a few walking breaks.  There's some kind of fitness 5k at Ninigret on the 30th and she really wants to participate.

We had a picnic lunch at our house in the afternoon and then later I went for a run in Burlingame.  This time I parked along King's Factory and did a mix of Vin Gormley, North Camp and Sammy C's.  It was warm and very humid out there.  Started to notice a couple annoying bugs - oh yeah I forgot that's what the warm weather brings.  A fun run but the humidity really wore me down after only 8 miles.

Weekly Mileage: 41.2 miles
Year to Date: 596.6 miles

I'm feeling good and though the knee occasionally is achy I'm overall feeling healthy.  My running fitness is coming along nicely.  Now to get back to longer runs!

Weekly Log: 4.27.15 - 5.3.15

After four weeks of 40+ plus miles, this should be a lower week to give my legs a rest.  I'm also going to start counting my calories again using an app.  My weight's been creeping upward (no doubt thanks to my keezer).  Time to keep myself honest and drop a few pounds.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 3 miles

Holy Jeez my legs are sore.  Yesterday's 21.5 mile jaunt was much farther than I've run in some time and today I'm feeling the effects.  My quads have some serious DOMS and the calves aren't much better.  I discovered that I had a nail in my tire so I brought it to the mechanic about a mile from the office.  I extended the run to two miles heading back to work and then later in the day I took a straight shot to pick it up making for a short and easy day.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.2 miles

Well they could patch the tire.  Apparently it was too far gone.  The tread on the wheels was pretty low anyway so I brought the car back today to have some new tires put on.  Dropped it off in the morning and ran the mile back to the office.  Legs were still very sore from Sunday.  In the afternoon I did a longer run over to the East Bay bike path and then picked the car up on the way back. 

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 6.5 miles

I went over to the Caratunk Preserve for an easy trail run as the legs are still feeling sore.  I did the usual trail network which netted me about 3.5 miles and then I jumped on a nearby road to explore another powerline path.  The elevation dropped and suddenly I was looking at a swamp/stream ahead of me.  I considered turning around but said fuck it and clomped on through.  I got appropriately muddy and cut up by briars in the process.  However on the other side I was rewarded with a new trail!  I followed it and discovered a new network of dirt bike paths with some truly sketchy plank bridges.  I didn't fully explore it but now I know of some new trails to check out near Caratunk.

Thursday - Charlestown, RI - 3 miles

Took the dog out in the morning for what I knew would be the only run of the day.  The legs are still feeling lifeless and we kept the pace very easy.  At one point I had to fight the urge to walk.  Wow, that long run on Sunday really wore me out.  I definitely won't be looking to duplicate it this weekend.

Friday - East Providence, RI - 9 miles

165 push-ups (standard/wide) 25/30/25/30/25/30

I was kind of wishy-washy about today's run.  Not really sure where to go - I opted for the East Bay Bike Path.  I started off slow but soon my legs felt good and the pace sped up until I was running in the low 6s.  My body was responding to the speed so I kept going.  I had intended to turn around at 3 miles but I kept the pace going until mile 4.  Then I explored some trails nearby before heading back.  I wasn't going to pick it up again by decided otherwise on a long stretch between intersecting streets.  Good run and I was happy with how good I felt, especially the last few miles after the speed stuff.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 8.2 miles

I went over to Burlingame in the afternoon for some easy trail miles.  Parked at the entrance to North Burlingame and ran into the management area first.  Took the White trail down to the Pawcatuck - trail was in pretty good shape.  I got about five miles in the north area before heading down to Sammy C's.  I think I enjoy this trail much more when I start at the northern end.  Looked like there was some kind of fat bike race this weekend - lots of flags and tape.  From Sammy C's I took Schoolhouse Pond Trail to Vim Gormley and then back to the car.  I was going head down to the North Camp and make it ten but my pinky toe had been achy this week.  Just another injury to watch and I figured I'd just keep this run to 8 miles.  Always fun to get back to Burlingame and a good capper to the weekend.

Weekly Mileage: 36.3 miles

Year to Date: 555.4 miles