Week 1: 1.1.18 - 1.7.18

Here we go - a new year, another chance for blog redemption!  This is a big year for ol' Seth as I turn 40 in April.  Let the midlife crisis begin!  Perhaps my ascension to Master status will inspire me to up my racing game once again.  Here we go!

Monday - Charlestown, RI - 8 miles

It was about 10 degrees out and my wife helped motivate me to get out the door to start the year right.  Ventured over to Carter Preserve and ran a mix of the usual trails.  Just enough snow on the ground to provide a nice crunch.  Chilled at first in just my cold compression tights but eventually I warmed up everywhere except my elbows which always fare poorly when the weather is especially cold.  Do they make elbow warmers for such occasions?

Tuesday - South Kingstown, RI - 6.5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Started the day with a return to the Ab Ripper.  I mean to restart these morning workouts or die in the attempt!

I'm working from home this week and went over to DuVal at lunch for some crunchy trails.  Not as cold as yesterday but I was still chilled for the first couple miles.  Right towards the end as I'm approaching the cemetery I tell myself to keep my eyes on the ground - my stumbles always seem to come right at the finish line.  It didn't matter though, I still managed to bend my right foot backwards on a rock.  Pissed that once again I have summoned the Jank Monster™ ™to derail my efforts.  I hobbled along for a few steps and then was able to shamble the final stretch to the car.  It was very tender afterwards.  I'll almost definitely need to take it easy for a couple days.  Curses.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Yeah, the ankle hurts.  As does my pride.  I had hoped to get in a run today before the storm dumps on us tomorrow but it is not to be.  Looks like I'll have to be content with dragging in firewood as my day's effort.  My whole right foot is very swollen.  Luckily being in my snow boots seems to stabilize it so I won't be able to shirk my upcoming shoveling duties.

Thursday - 0 miles

The latest blizzard has arrived and I've got the basement cookin' at 80+ thanks to the wood stove.  Amazingly we haven't lost power which is a welcome break.  My foot is still very swollen.  Walking around isn't bad but I've got to continue to take it easy so that I can make a quick recovery.  Dammit.

Friday - 0 miles

A goodly amount of shoveling yesterday and another big round this morning.  Plow guy came in the night so we're in good shape post-storm.  Foot swelling is finally going down.  I was looking forward to some snowshoe exploring in my new Dion's at, say, Carter or DuVal but it is not to be...

Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 3 miles

Ankle remains sore and a bit swollen but I would not be denied another day.  Strapped on my snowshoes and hiked three miles in Carter Preserve, breaking trail most of the way.  Kept the pace easy and other than the wind chilling my nether regions as I battled the drifts in the grasslands I was very comfortable in the cold temps.

Sunday - 0 miles

Mileage: 18 miles

Time on Feet: 4 hours

Elevation: 1,993 feet

This ankle injury is an annoying way to start the year but I'll be back to running soon.  Anyway with the decent snow we got and my apathy towards roads I may just be looking at more snowshoeing for the time being anyway.

Weekly Log: 8.3.15 - 8.9.15

August is here and I've no idea what my fall plans are.  But I'm sure I'll come up with something and so it's time to kick up the mileage and begin to focus on long runs.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 8.1 miles

It was a hot one out there but with the bastard Strava elevation challenge complete I was happy to head out on a flat run.  I ran the East Bay bike path down into Barrington and the pace ended up being pretty peppy.  I'll contribute that to finally having flat route to run.  I found a little trail network right where I wanted to turn around.  I'll have to explore it another time.  Overall pace for the run was under 7 minutes which pleased me.

Tuesday - Providence, RI - 4 miles

This morning a screaming hellstorm came through, stealing our electricity but luckily not causing any destruction in our yard.  Up at the office, it turned out East Providence was without power as well.  Before heading back down south I got a short run over on the East Side, hitting the hills around hope street.  Up and down, up and down.  It was fairly hot and my legs weren't happy to return to hill work.  Back at home there was still no power - a seemingly yearly occurrence that we are now well used to.

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 8.3 miles

Busy day at work and I didn't get out until later in the afternoon.  No time to drive anywhere so I just ventured over the bridge to Providence and ran aimlessly until it was time to turn back.  Weather was finally reasonable and not too hot.  Legs were feeling tired by the end.  After a night without power we weren't looking forward to more of the same but luckily the lights came back on at 7 PM.

Thursday - North Kingstown, RI - 8.2 miles

290 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 45/30/40/30/45/30/40/30

Before band practice I ventured out for an afternoon run.  Went through Rome Point first before touring the old stomping grounds.  Some some family friends on their property and then ran past my childhood home.  By now I'm at four miles and while I was hoping for about twelve my legs were feeling spent.  I suppose from all the recent miles.  I was intent on hitting up Snuff Mill Rd but there was no pep.  I had already convinced myself to do ten but by the time I got to the top of the hill I was happy to cut it again to eight.  No reason to kill myself and I was ready to get back to the band house and order some dinner.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 7 miles

I was working from home so I opted to visit Carter Preserve at lunch time.  After doing a loop through all the woodland trails I went over to the grassland loop and followed an overgrown trail that leads to the train tracks.  I watched a train go by and then following the tracks for awhile, not really sure what my plan was.  I soon came upon an overgrown dirt road and knew I had to check it out.  Eventually it came out to some property I think is owned by the electric company.  I backtracked and followed a side trail which was became sand and pine needles.  I found myself at another one of those sand dunes where folks like to ride dirt bikes and a little more exploration led me to the Narragansett Trail Rd.  Satisfying to find some trails outside of Carter and I followed the powerlines back to the car.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 14.7 miles

My long runs have been sorely lacking so I wanted to get one in today.  Amanda and Ezri were heading to Wheeler Beach so I decided to run and meet them there.  It would be about 15 miles which was just what I was looking for.  I left a few minutes after them even though the skies were cloudy and overcast.  After a few miles I began to feel drizzles and cursed myself for forgetting to bring my phone.  Would the weather get worse?  Would they stay at the beach?  Nothing to do now but soldier on.  I took Worden's Pond Road down past Tuckertown and then went briefly through Wakefield on my way over to Point Judith Road.  It sprinkled intermittently throughout the run but nothing major.  It was actually great running weather.  PJ Rd was busy and kind of blah but my pace picked up here so I guess my legs liked it.  Good run and no knee issues.  The girls were still at the beach and we spent another couple hours there as the weather cooperated.

Weekly Mileage: 50.5 miles
Year to Date: 1148.9 miles

Weekly Log: 4.6.15 - 4.12.15

With the Big River race in the rearview mirror, I don't have any races on the horizon.  At this point I feel like my janky knee is in pretty good shape with minimal jankyness.  I want to hit the trails as much as possible and work more speed/hills into my weekly runs.  Looking forward, I'm sure there's a challenge race out there for me but I'm not sure what it is yet.  It may be that I don't pick a major races until the fall.  Onwards and upwards!

Monday - Charlestown, RI - 6 miles

Ezri has a stomach bug so I was staying home with her.  While Amanda was still home I took the opportunity to head over to Carter Preserve at sunrise.  It's great to finally be back on clear trails.  There was only one spot with snow and it was just before the grasslands loop.  The snow there was surprisingly deep.  I ran most of the trails in the preserve and my legs were still feeling pretty tired from Big River.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.2 miles

I went over to the Ten Mile River bikepath.  It was drizzling a bit and cold.  On the way out I hit as many trails as I could before doing a loop at Slater Park.  I stuck to the path on the way back.  My legs still don't have much pep but they loosened up by the end.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 4 miles

Now that spring is well and truly here I'm hitting all the trail spots near work.  Today I went over to the Caratunk Preserve.  I expected it to be pretty wet and it was.  The muskrat pond has overflowed and the trail that circles it is underwater.  There were water hazards throughout the preserve but I made my way around or through all of them.  Short run but my legs still felt taxed.  I'm guessing it's a mix of Big River hangover and just being generally out of shape when it comes to trails.

Thursday - Johnston, RI - 8 miles

I was able to get out of the house at 6 AM and I wanted to visit on of my old haunts from when I worked at Smithfield.  I've been seeing some Strava runs at the Snake Den state park so that prompted me to return there.  I knew it would be wet and I was not disappointed - there were some pretty dank areas and the connector trail was quite boggy in places.  My Garmin didn't have any juice so I brought my flip phone just so that I could keep track of time.  It was great running these trails again and the climbs up along the powerlines did not disappoint - great views up there.  It looks like folks had taken a chainsaw to one hangout spot and cleared a few pine trees to make the view truly stellar.  I ran for about 75 minutes so I'm calling it 8 miles.  Good to be back in these woods.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 4.2 miles

Took the dog out for an early jog.  Luckily the rain held off until later in the morning.  We ran into a shitty German Shephard that my wife is always complaining about.  He was in the middle of the road barking at us.  I didn't want to deal with it so we went over to Mohawk/Kickapoo roads instead.

Saturday - 0 miles

I was out late from playing a gig at the Malted Barley.  It went well but four hours of sleep left me in a zombie state for much of the day.  Still got some stuff done though and an afternoon nap helped.  By evening it was time to do it again but this time at the Newport Sportsman Club.  Luckily a reserve of energy kicked in and we had a good show.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 12.5 miles
After getting home at 3 AM it was another lifeless day.  I dragged myself through it and manageable to get some chores done but as the afternoon crept along I didn't see a run happening.  Another nap helped and I finally made it out in the late afternoon and went over to Watchaug.  I was looking for around 12-13 miles so I did a counterclockwise loop which included Sammy C's, North Camp, Vin Gormley and a bit of the Brrr-lingame ridge trail.  Fun run and I felt good through.  As I approached North Camp I heard a couple dogs that sounded really angry.  I decided to avoid the hellhounds but as I still ran into unleashed dogs as I was heading away from North Camp.  The young women walking behind them couldn't even be bothered with the obligatory "Don't worry they're friendly."   People have no goddamn sense when they bring their dogs into the woods.  

Otherwise it was a fine run.  Plenty of mountain bikers out there and I even saw a couple guys climbing the steep rocks near Buckeye Brook Road.  I tweaked that nerve on the arch of my foot with about four miles to go and it was a pain to run with the rest of the way.  But eventually it settled down.  I was pretty tired by the end but I ended up with a few minutes to kill before picking Em up from work so I checked out a tiny trail network behind the Cross Mills library.  Not much to say about it other than it has some marsh, runs near Route 1 and does a fine job of identifying local trees.

Weekly Mileage: 41 miles
Year to Date: 436.3

Good week of running and fun weekend.  I'd like to keep my mileage in the 40s for the next few weeks.

Weekly Log: 12.29.14 - 1.4.15

End of the year!  With the week off from work I hope to get in a couple shorter runs and finish the year strong.

Monday - 0 miles

No major pain in my knee after yesterday's 12 mile group run at Barn Island.  That's a positive development.  Still I wanted to keep it slow and steady so I opted to just walk the dog today instead.

Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 5.6 miles

Headed over to the Carter Preserve at lunchtime.  I did a counterclockwise loop on the outermost trails.  Beautiful day out there.  I ventured down to the train tracks again and was happy to finally see a train go by.  I didn't explore on the other side though.

Wednesday - Charlestown, RI - 4.1 miles

Last day of the year and I definitely wanted to finish the year on the right note.  Donned the tights for the first time this season as it was in the 20s.  Knee was a little achy by the end.

Thursday - South Kingstown, RI - 4.4 miles

Might as well start the new year off right as well!  I figured there'd be a good amount of folks hiking the DuVal trail today and there were some but I think the frigid winds kept plenty of them away.  It was about 30 degrees but the wind made it pretty damn cold.  Passed a few unleashed dogs and Garvin's recent encounters gave me pause but luckily they were friendly beasts.

Friday - 0 miles

After three days of running in a row I thought it best to take it easy today.  We headed up to Boston to the Children's Museum and had a fun time as our Christmas vacation nears its end.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 3.8 miles

Strange weather.  Yesterday it was snowing for a few hours and made the roads pretty shitty in the early evening.  This morning the snow is gone and it's 40 degrees outside.  Took Oliver out for a jog before we ventured to Ikea.  We headed down Old Coach Road to South Farm and ran the trails there.  Ran into a couple off-leash dogs which were a pain in the ass.  This was the last day of my Christmas break.  Tomorrow I return to the grind.

Weekly Mileage: 17.9 miles
2014 Mileage Final Tally: 1,720.9
Year to Date: 8.2 miles

A low mileage week but my knee felt pretty good overall!  Slow and steady progress but hopefully I can keep the mileage in upper teens/twenties for a couple weeks and it will continue to improve.  My mileage for the year was just over 1700 so this is the first time I didn't surpass the previous year's total (1803 last year.)  It's due to the knee of course so hopefully I'll get back to it soon and maybe take a shot at 2000 for 2015.

Weekly Log: 8.11.14 - 8.17.14

Running is back in session!  I need to start to put together an actual training plan (or at least my ramshackle version of one) because Bimbler's Bluff 50k is only 10 weeks away.  It will be here before you know it.

Monday - Ryan Park, North Kingstown, RI - 7.2 miles

290 push-ups (standard/decline/Pike's Press/wide) 40/40/20/40/40/40/20/50

Ezri was home with Amanda so I was able to get out of the house early and hit up one of my former haunts, Ryan Park.  Nice to be able to run before it got too hot and the trails were a welcome change from the roads of East Providence.

Tuesday - 0 miles

20 pull-ups w/ assists (standard/chin-up/close grip/wide) 4/6, 4/6, 3/5, 2/5, 3/5, 3/5, 1/4

Decided to take a break from the running in order to ease back into everything.  I only want to run 30+ miles this week.  Instead I went back to PPP for another lunch yoga session.  Lots of lunges and warrior poses - good stuff.

Wednesday - Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI - 5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Man, I took one week off from Ab Ripper and it kicked my ass today.  Wasn't even able to finish the mason twists to end the workout.  That almost never happens.

The weather is crappy all day and I was regretting my choice to take yesterday off.  Today would have been much better.  But I had some time before work and luckily a break in the weather allowed me to run over at Carter Preserve.  Saw a really cool little box turtle with an orange shell.  The thing was only the size of my fist.  I took the new trail over to the grassland loop and made my way back to my car via the red trail.  The rain started with about 10 minutes left but it was more refreshing than anything.

Damn rain ruined our plans to go the Washington County Fair in the afternoon.  My doughboy will have to wait until the weekend.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 7.1 miles

Beautiful day out there.  Decided today was a good day to get over to the East Bay bike path and get a decent workout in.  Not too hot and some decent cloud cover throughout the run.  First 1.5 miles were easy and then I picked up the pace as I went.  I stopped at the halfway both in Riverside to stretch my calves (is that cheating?)  After the short rest, I was able to churn out two 6:09 miles but it was an effort.  Pleased with this run but now my left calf is very tight.  To the foam roller!

Friday - Caratunk Preserve, Seekonk, MA - 5 miles

P90X Chest & Back (50 minutes)

Five miles in Caratunk.  A couple groups leading packs of children around the initial grassland sections.  Stay out of my way, urchins!  Actually the kids were really enjoying the place.  Once I got in the woods I left the crowds behind and as I progressed farther it was clear that few people ventured east of the powerlines.  The trail was tough to make out at spots but I did see a deer and five turkeys.  I hit pretty much all the trails on this short, easy run.

Plenty of wide grass trails for the kiddos near the parking lot of Caratunk

Saturday - Hopkinton/Westerly, RI - 17 miles

Met up with Muddy on the Hopkinton side of Grills Preserve for an early AM long run.  We ran the trails on both sides of the river and the pace and conversation were both agreeable.  I had mentioned wanting to fit in a visit to Woody Hill so from there we ran about two miles of roads to get to the additional trails.  We were over an hour and twenty minutes into the run now and I was beginning to feel it.  I knew I'd be fine for a while but I thought the return trip might get ugly.

I was right.  The trails of Woody Hills began to wear at my reserves.  I started to drift farther and farther behind Muddy and became a listener more than an active participant in our conversation.  We did a loop (I need to spend more time in this place, it was only my second visit) and then returned to civilization via the same dirt road. The pavement should have provided some relief but it did not - my legs were toast.  I was completely exhausted and needed several rest breaks before I could complete the three mile journey back to our cars.  It was a pitiful slog and gave Muddy the opportunity to check off another HRG road while I shuffled on ahead.  It's been a while since I ran this far (on trails especially) and I paid for it in the end.

Sunday  - 0 miles

Hamstrings are oh so tight today.

Weekly Mileage: 41.4 miles

Year to Date: 1,209.5 miles

So I was aiming for low 30s but the long run pushed it over 40.  I suppose the suffering was good prep for Bimbler's.  Right?

Weekly Log: 5.12.14 - 5.18.14

T minus two weeks until the Pineland 50k.  Time to start obsessing over the weather report (long range forecast looks wet and I heard the farmland course gets muddy quickly.)  I'll be dropping the mileage into the 20s this week.  Nothing crazy at this point.  I plan to listen to my body and get to the starting line rested and healthy.

The bigger change this week will be helping Ezri recover from the three broken bones in her leg. She'll be spending a lot of time on the couch and I'm sure we're all going to have to adjust to a new normal for awhile.

Monday - Charlestown, RI - 4.2 miles

Extended the dog jog this morning a bit as it would be my only run for the day.   Encountered a few people and dogs and Oliver was surprisingly good when we passed.  Only barked briefly.  I guess Amanda has been training him well.

Went up to work for 1/2 a day and then brought Amanda and Ezri home from the hospital.  She's definitely miserable at times by being bedridden (couchridden) but hopefully she'll adapt to the situation quickly. 

Tuesday - Seekonk, MA - 5 miles

Decided to head back to the Caratunk Sanctuary at lunch time. I wore my MT00s as I knew I'd be in for some wet spots and these things drain well.  The only question was if there's be too many roots/rocks for the minimal shoes.  It was a goddamn gorgeous day and I enjoyed exploring these trails again.  Terrain wasn't too much for the shoes but I was definitely right about the water.  As I got deeper and deeper into the woods I entered a swampy section where getting wet was inevitable.  I did what the Gazelle would have done and charged right through!  Great little place to run - the only downside was that tick season is now in full effect.  Found a big nasty sucker on my leg midrun and another later in the day on my car seat!

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 5.2 miles

Funny how I can drive 10 minutes from work and enter a totally rural Seekonk that harbors gems like Caratunk.  But around the office it's a completely different story.  Left work at lunch with no real plan other than to run some new streets in East Providence.  To that end I succeeded - kept the pace in the low 7s and saw a variety of houses.  It's interesting how some people have crafted little fortified homes of marble and stone in the midst of a sea of houses otherwise sandwiched together.  It was hot out there (72 degrees) and I was sweating pretty good by the end but I really enjoyed this run.

Thursday - 0 miles

Worked from home while I stayed with Ez.  No real window to run and no desire to do any strength training in the morning.  Ezri is up and down throughout the day.  It's very frustrating for a five year old to be immobile and she fluctuates between happy and angry as the day progresses.  She hates being touched so moving her from room to room is unpleasant for everyone.  I can only hope she acclimates to her situation in the coming days.

Friday - Seekonk, MA - 4.1 miles

230 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 40/30/40/10/30/20/40/20

After work I headed to the Seekonk Meadows for a quick four mile jaunt.  It was a brief lull in the rain but very humid.  Legs were feeling full of energy - tapering effects no doubt.  Along the water I scared a frog which made a most unusual sound, like a drowning cat.

Saturday - 0 miles

Rest day # 2 for the week.  Planted some stuff outside though.

Sunday - Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI - 8.2 miles

Finished off the week with an easy Sunday run in Carter Preserve.  Parked off of Route 112 and ran the Yellow trail over to the Grassland Loop trail.  Then I did a little tune-up for next weekend's race.  I figured the grass trail would simulate a lot of what I'll be running on. I tried to keep it at an 8 minute pace but ended up closer to 7:30.  At any rate running five loops was a good repetitious act and I feel good for next weekend.  Looking forward to seeing what I can do.

Weekly Mileage: 26.9 miles

Year to Date:  800 miles