Weekly Log: 1.21.19 - 1.27.19

Monday - 0 miles

Still down in Nashville but decided to give my legs a day off.  A few straight days of pavement was wearing the soles of my feet out (need some new road shoes) and I figured I'd get in a decent run tomorrow.

Tuesday - Nashville, NT - 9 miles - 1550' elevation

Got out of the house just after sunrise in brisk mid 20s weather.  I mapped out a run through the local neighborhoods to bring me to a big hill which I went up and down and up and down.  It did the trick and I received a goodly amount of elevation for my efforts.  Great views at the top.  Then off to Waffle House for breakfast before we packed up and eventually made our way back to Rhode Island.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 4 miles - 300' elevation

No snow in Charlestown but there was some crunchy snow/ice near work so I did some easy trail miles on the trails near the Wheeler School in Seekonk.  At first I was regretting not bringing some traction but after a few minutes I found my snow legs.

Thursday - 0 miles

Pouring rain and very windy.  No thanks.

Friday - 0 miles

I was down in Virginia for work.  In a shameful act, I decided to spend the early morning lounging in my comfy bed rather than exploring local walking paths.  I regret this.

Saturday - Wakefield, RI - 6 miles - 700' elevation

After dropping Ez off at drama class, I went to Old Mountain field for some easy miles.  A few of the less used trails were difficult to follow (a little bushwhacking involved) which left me with some good briar scratches.  A bunch of repeats up to the rocky outcroppings resulted in some good elevation gain.  With just a few minutes left in the run I managed to roll my left ankle very badly.  I knew right away it was much worse than other recent ankle incidents and I hobbled back to the car.  Gah.

Sunday - 0 miles

Ankle is swollen and it really hurts.  Looks like I'll be taking it easy for a little while.

Weekly Mileage: 19 miles / 2600' elevation

Year to Date: 93 miles / 17,800' elevation

Weekly Log: 1.14.19 - 1.20.19

Monday - 0 miles

Tuesday - Providence, RI - 3.2 miles - 1000' elevation

Neutaconkanut Hill is now officially my favorite go-to spot to get elevation at work.  It's a drive to get to at lunch so it cuts down on my actual running time but unlike Jenckes Road climb over on College Hill, this is actually trails.  I did about 40 minutes and the climbs are steep enough that it's more hiking than running.  Lots of taco places I mean to try on the way back too.

Wednesday - Charlestown, RI -  5 miles - 540' elevation

Working form home as we're getting an energy audit done to see how energy efficient we are (not bad - just need some new insulation on one side of the attic).  At lunch I went over to Burlingame and did a loop on Schoolhouse and Sammy C's.  A dull lower leg ache began to make itself known halfway through.  It was uncomfortable enough for me to take a few walking breaks.  I think this is where my stress fracture was a few years back so I'm hoping this is just some weird phantom ghost pain I've heard of.

Thursday - 0 miles

P90X3 Eccentric Upper (30 minutes)

Afraid of this new pain, I opted not run today.  But I got in another Eccentric Upper session.  Two weeks in a row!

Friday - 0 miles

Heading to Nashville today with my family to spend time with my brother's family.  Could have run in the morning but I chumped out, partially out of lingering concern about my ankle but mostly because I'm just lazy.

Saturday - Nashville, TN - 5.4 miles - 600' elevation

My brother Jesse lives in the suburbs maybe 15 minutes from Nashville in a neighborhood with some steep climbs up dead end streets.  My kind of place!  It was downpouring much of the morning but there was a brief window when I ducked out into just cloudy weather.  I did a short run in the morning to get the lay of the land and gobble up a few of this short steep climbs.  Started to drizzle by the end but I beat the next downpour.  Leg seemed fine so whatever that pain was seemed to be a temporary thing.

Sunday - Nashville, TN - 11 miles - 1500' elevation

A light coating of snow and some downright chilly temps came through in the night (low 20s!)  Jesse took me over to Percy Warner Park which has lots of hills and a wide connection of trails, both pavement and otherwise.  We stuck to the pavement since the trails were a mucky mess from yesterday's rain.  Roads were icy in spots but just snow covered or bare in others.  Jesse runs the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon here every year in November on these roads which ends up being about 4k or so elevation over the course of it.  Makes for some loooong uphill climbs - definitely different from doing steep hill repeats on trails.  A good workout in a beautiful snowy landscape.  Pretty funny that I still haven't seen snow at home but I found it down here in Music City.

Weekly Mileage: 24 miles / 3700' elevation

Year to Date: 74 miles / 15100' elevation

Weekly Log: 1.7.19 - 1.13.19

Monday - 0 miles

Post New Hampshire malaise in effect.  No real desire to get out there.

Tuesday - Providence, RI - 2.3 miles - 800' elevation

Should've ran yesterday since it was drizzly and cold today.  Still I went out to Necotunkadunk Hill (incorrect spelling).  Took a while to get there with bullshit construction on 6/10 connector so I only ran for 35 minutes or so.  But I did a bunch of climbing which was my goal.  Calves not so happy after this short one.  Too bad calves, there's more to come!

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 8.4 miles - 360' elevation

Very windy out there.  Big a big usual loop through E.P., Pawtucket and Providence.  Felt pretty good once I got out there.

Thursday - 0 miles

Postponed office Christmas party so I focused on eating sausages and cake today.  But I did get in my first P90X3 workout in quite some time in the early morning hours so kudos to me for that!

Friday - Smithfield, RI - 8.5 miles - 1400' elevation

Frigid out there this morning, probably in the low teens.  The powerline sections of Wolf Hill that were exposed to the wind were extra nippy but the wooded trails weren't bad.  Never seem so much water on the trails - it was partially frozen but you certainly couldn't walk on it.  Was able to get there with enough time for a 1.5 hours which allowed for a good amount of elevation gain.  A fine trail run.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - N. Stonington - 9.4 miles - 3300' elevation

A return to elevation in the dark of 6 AM for more Lantern Hill repeats!  Pretty much just went up and down, up and down for a little over two hours.  I'm pretty much just hiking up and then running the techy downhills but I really think this is a great place to get in some extended climbs which will (eventually) pay dividends in the Whites.

Weekly Mileage: 28.7 miles - 5900' elevation

Year to Date: 49.4 miles - 11,500' elevation

Weekly Log: 12.31.18 - 1.6.19

We begin the week on the last day of 2018 and this is a good reason as any to attempt to continue resurrect this blog. I've been off from work since the 22nd which has been glorious but sadly it's time to head back to work this week.  At least it'll be a short week.

Monday - Stonington, CT - 13 miles / 4100 feet elevation

Despite having all this time off from work, my running was nearly nonexistent.  Determined to at least finish the year on a good note, I ventured over to Lantern Hill to "run" some repeats.  The family had gone hiking here two days prior and since my only previous visit had been at the end of an exhausting long adventure back in 2014 I had completely forgotten what a great climb it has.  I ran up the hill a total of 11 times with a short break in the middle to check out some other nearby trails.  I rolled my left ankle badly about 45 minutes in but the pain subsided and I soldiered on.  The nice thing about this long run/workout was that I could use my car as a base of operations in between ascents.  I'll definitely be returning here in 2019 because it has more continuous ascent then most other trails in this area.  And they mirror the Whites in technical style as well.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Happy New Year!  My ankle is definitely hurting today so plenty of ice and board games as I lounged around like a slug with no shame whatsoever.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Still some Jank McStank in them flappy ankles.  Another day off it is then.

Thursday - Providence, RI - 5 miles / 300 feet elevation

Determined to get out there, I strapped on an ankle brace and ran some Providence streets.  A dull ache in the back of my lower leg - not sure if it was from the brace, the lingering injury or just a smiting from a cruel God - but I took some walking breaks at points.  Beautiful day otherwise. 

Friday - Seekonk, MA - 4.4 miles / 250 feet elevation

Wife and I are heading up to NH this weekend so some easy trails during lunch today.  The Caratunk Preserve in Seekonk was very waterlogged - lots of rock and log hopping and some of the trails were just too flooded.  Ankle brace helped a lot but I still tweaked it a bit at one point.  Still a pretty great day out there in 40 degree weather so one can't complain.

Saturday - Crawford Notch, NH - 5.5 miles / 2400 elevation

My wife's shoulder has been troubling her and she was in so much pain that she decided not to hike.  So we parked at the Highland Center and she read a book by the fire for a few hours while I went up and down Mt Jackson.  The trip up was slow going, a reminder that I'm not nearly in the shape that I wish I was.  Great views at the top on a cloudy but warm day and I chatted with some folks for a bit.  Then a quick descent back to my Love at the Highland Center.  No issues with the ankle.  Microspikes the entire way and love of winter hiking = renewed.  This was my 12th winter peak of the NH 4ks.

Sunday - Waterville Valley, NH - 6 miles / 2500 elevation

I left our Plymouth hotel early to get to the Waterville Valley ski mountain parking lot at 6 AM.  Went up the to Mt Tecumseh at a relaxed pace.  A light snow the entire way was welcome.  Put on my snowshoes with a mile to go just to get some more experience with them.  Met an great guy and his kids who were camping at the top (good for them!)  Another fairly quick hike like yesterday (3 hours) and then I made my way back to the hotel and my wife to pack up.  Winter ascent # 13.

Weekly Mileage: 34 miles / 9700 elevation

A fine week of climbing!  The Monday at Lantern Hill helped but it was wonderful at always to spend a few days up in the Whites with my wife.  She didn't get to hike but we had a great time and I still was able to bag a couple winter peaks.  Good!