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.