Weekly Log: 9.21.15 - 9.27.15

October is practically here and with it comes a cornucopia of big fall races.  I've not set my sights on any 50ks this year.  I feel like my lack of long runs is pretty apparent in my fitness and I'm wary to go out for a very long trail race.  Plus my schedule is already book with stuff so my options are limited.  I'm actually looking towards Bob Jackman's 6 Hour Ultra in the beginning of November.  I've been interested in it before but other fall races have always taken priority.  With lowered personal expectations, perhaps this is the year to give it a shot.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 5 miles

My calves were still sore from seizing up two nights prior plus yesterday's shortened trail run in Arcadia.  I almost bailed on today's lunch run but willed myself out to the Ten Mile River Bikepath for a few easy miles.  Still the legs have no pep though they loosened up a bit as I went.

Tuesday - Smithfield, RI - 7 miles

140 push-ups (standard/diamond/wide) 30/20/35/25/30

I returned to Wolf Hill for another meandering run on some of my favorite trails.  I discovered a couple new trails that seemed well groomed though they just led to houses.  Good run but again the last two miles were on trashed legs.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Definitely needed a day off to rest the legs.

Thursday - Exeter, RI - 11 miles

I wanted to get a decent amount of miles in the morning so I decided to stick to mostly roads.  I thought upon a run around the perimeter of Big River West that incorporated the dirt roads of the New London Turnpike and Sawmill Roads.  This turned out to be a good route but again by the time I reached the halfway point my legs began to ache.  Division and Hopkins Hill Road also suffered from fast moving traffic which was a pain to deal with.  Any thoughts of tacking on a little trail work near Tarbox Pond was gone by the time I passed it.

Friday - Providence, RI - 8 miles

200 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 35/25/35/35/30/40

I bailed on a second run yesterday before band practice which put my arbitrary 50 mile week goal in jeopardy.  I was determined to get 8 miles at lunch and also work in some hills.  Over the bridge I went and ran the roads over by Rochambeau Ave.  Once again, I was feeling good for most of the run but after mile six I ran out of energy and took a couple breaks while I stretched out my angry calves.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - North Kingstown, RI - 13 miles

I had grand plans for a long run that took me from Quonset over to Hopkins Hill Road via Stony Lane and then back again via Frenchtown Road.  I knew that with my recent tired legs this 19 mile route was ambitious/stupid but I felt compelled to try anyway.  I had mapped out a 13 mile bailout option and once the climbs started on Stony Lane I knew I'd be using it.  The legs just had no pep and the climbing made my calves ache.  Even with the bailout option it was still a long slog of a loop and I took several breaks to stretch out the calves.  A frustrating run that left me dispirited.

Weekly Mileage: 44.3 miles
Year to Date: 1,479.6 miles

Well my legs have been junk all week.  I guess I've no choice but to decrease the mileage next week and give them some time to rest.  I really need to be more consistent with the foam rolling too.  Sunday's aborted longer run made me question any sort of longer race, even the RI 6 Hour.  So we'll see.

Weekly Log: 9.14.15 - 9.20.15

Monday - North Kingstown, RI - 3.2 miles

Evening run from my mom's house.

Tuesday - North Kingstown, RI - 5.6 miles

Basic Quonset loop

Wednesday - Smithfield, RI - 8.3 miles

215 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 35/30/40/40/30/40

Got out early and up to my old place of work to run the trails behind Fidelity.  They really are great trails and there's so many of them.  I miss them.

Thursday - North Kingstown, RI - 12 miles

Planks (53 / 55 / 58 / 58 / 62)
Chin-ups (3 / 4 / 4)

Did a run up to Calf Point.  I hadn't been here since they finished connection the two portions of the bike path.  I stopped for a bit on the beach to reflect and watch some fish swim near shore.  A couple fitness stations had been built along the path and I did a couple chin-ups at each one.

Friday - West Greenwich, RI - 8 miles

Parked at the Hopkins Hill lot to run around Carr Pond at Big River.  I attempted to find that cool rocky section that Galoob added to this year's Big River race but I failed.  Instead I passed a couple of mountain bikers and ran in circles a few times.  Rolled my left ankle bad with 1/4 mile to go.  Fun run though.

Saturday - 0 miles

Saturday - Exeter, RI - 10 miles

I went out to Arcadia to do a long run, parking at the Midway.  A big group of young runners passed just as I arrived, heading up along the dirt road.  They were gone by the time I set out.  I had brought my ankle brace since my left ankle was feeling very weak from numerous recent rolls.  The thing was a tangled mess and I gave up though.

My right calf seized up something fierce in the night and it was very sore this morning.  It loosened up once I started running.  I ran up to Breakheart Pond and then took the Breakheart trail around.  I had intended to head up to the Stepstone Falls and run the brutal hill up to Escoheag Rd but by the time I reached the Ben Utter Trail my calf was really starting to become uncomfortable.  I decided to just bail on the added miles and head back towards the car.  Not as far as I wanted but no point in pushing the point with a janky calf.  On the plus side I managed to not roll my shitty ankle.

Weekly Mileage: 47.3 miles
Year to Date: 1,435.3

Weekly Log: 9.7.15 - 9.13.15

Dropped the ball on last week's log so this one'll be short.

Monday - 0 miles

Despite the Labor Day holiday I didn't run.  Felt lazy about it but we spent a fun day in Newport and walked around a wildlife sanctuary so I wasn't a complete schlub.

Tuesday- Charlestown/Narragansett, RI - 12.2 miles

220 push-ups (standard/diamond) 40/25/45/40/25/45

I did four miles in the morning as I knew the forecast was for a brutally hot day.  I had planned to do four more at lunch but Amanda suggested I wait until after work to run.  Good idea.  I drove south to Narragansett.  By the time I got there the temp was much more reasonable.  I did a mix of surfaces.  I parked at the elementary school, ran the length of the beach and then following the ocean wall into nearby neighborhoods.  I found a trail network I had never known about and continued along it until it plopped me out over on Kinney Ave.  Whoops - a little farther than I had planned but I didn't mind making it 8 sweaty miles.

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 5.2 miles

Another really hot one.  I went out to the East Bay bike path and did five.  The wind coming off the bay made going out slow but it was still a relief from the temp.  I stopped at the midway point and enjoyed the ocean vista before heading back (aided by the wind).

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 11 miles

210 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 35/30/35/40/30/40

I left the house early intent on a trail run but the forecast was nasty with big thunderstorms moving in.  I opted to drive up to Providence where it looked like I'd be able to avoid 'em.  Did a big loop over to the East Side, up through Pawtucket and then back down to East Providence.  Explored a dirty trail just past a cemetary and some side roads to expand this normally 8 mile loop to 11 miles.  Good run and the weather ended up cooperating.  Humid as hell - probably would have been better if it had rained.

Friday - 0 miles

Saturday - Exeter, RI - 6.7 miles

I parked at Barbers Pond in mid-morning and ran the roads around Wolf Rock.  Good morning run and I found a new trail which I think would have led down to Hundred Acre Pond if I had kept going.  Saw a big snapping turtle in the small pond at the end of Wolf Rock Road.

Sunday - South Kingstown, RI - 15 miles

Met up with Muddy at the DuVal Cemetery and we had a good two hour run that included DuVal, Browning Woods and a extended portion of time in the Sand Dune trails where we got pretty lost.  I had no idea that they had clear cut so much of the forest near the dunes.  Progress cannot be stopped I suppose.  Luckily the trails nearby were spared...for now.

Weekly Mileage: 50.2 miles
Year to Date: 1,342.6 miles

Weekly Log: 8.31.15 - 9.6.15

Monday - Providence, RI - 8 miles

190 push-ups (standard/diamond/wide) 35/20/40/35/20/40

Hot day out there but the overcast sky and the continual breeze made it manual.  I went over to the East Side and ran up College Hill, hitting a bunch of different climbs.  I brought a handheld which helped and overall it wasn't too bad a run despite the temp in the high 80s.

Tuesday - 0 miles

13 pull-ups w/ equal # of assists (standard/chin-up) 3/5/2/3
Planks (1:12 / 1:07 / 1:04 / :55 / 1:05 / 1:00

Lazy day and I didn't have any initiative to head out and run.  Blah.  Sick of running around these dumpy streets.  Anyway, I did some pull-ups in the morning and planks in the office so at least I did something.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 7 miles

I was going to run the sand dunes near Caratunk but then I had an idea to see what would happen if I followed some nearby traintracks.  A google search showed what looked like some ATV trails along the tracks so this sounded like a new adventure.  It was pretty hot so I brought a handheld.  The train tracks ended up being abandoned so no threats of trains.  And the dirt trails led to a cool little loop in the woods.  There would have been more trails but unfortunately a large swath had been cleared out by dozers for what I assume will be fancy homes.  Always good to find new trails.

Thursday - North Kingstown, RI - 16 miles

In the morning I got out early and parked at Cuttyhunk.  I did a short section there before taking the dirt road over to Fisherville.  I did some hills repeats mixed with exploring the Audobon trails.  A couple fun little loops here even though they technically ban "jogging."  After climbing back out I could have made a direct line on the road to the car but I decided to venture back into Cuttyhunk for a little more abuse.  This last mile wore me out and the deer flies finally found me as well.

Before band practice I did a few easy miles along the beach and down to Rome Point.  I thought I was going to get pretty far due to low tide but I guess I misjudged it.  This ended up being a super humid run and I was glad to take a cold shower back at the band house.  Super psyched to get sixteen miles on the day.

Friday - Providence, RI - 7 miles

220 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 40/30/40/40/30/40

This was a easy run through the city.  It was beautiful out - 75 degrees and not humid as hell for a change!  Not much to report other than I was happy to get it done and happy with my miles so far for the week.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Richmond, RI - 16.2 miles

Originally I was going to run at Burlingame but I've been there, done that and it didn't hold much interest for me.  I got out the door at 6:20 AM and was driving towards Arcadia even though it was farther than I wanted to travel.  On the way, I decided to park near Chariho Furniture and follow the North/South Trail to the north.  This proved to be a good choice.  The first 2.3 miles were pavement and then it was almost all trail for the next 6ish miles.  This is a fun section of the trail and the portion I ran in Arcadia featured the cool boulder garden.  The later parts were familiar from a previous run with Muddy.  It wasn't until I left Arcadia on the way back that my calves began to ache.  The last couple road miles were a slog but welcome after all the trails.  And I didn't roll my ankles on the run which was a bonus!

Weekly Mileage: 54.5 miles
Year to Date: 1,337.8 miles

Really happy with this week of running. Over 50 miles 3k elevation with two days off.  Good stuff.