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: 5.29.17 - 6.4.17

Things are still to fall back into place for ol' Seth so I guess it's time to start the weekly blog back up...

Monday - South Kingstown, RI - 6 miles

A rainy Memorial Day and I postponed my run to later in the day.  Always a bad idea as the day has a way of getting away from you.  Better to get it done early.  My wife and I spent midday shopping and went to Carrabba's for lunch.  I packed it away including calamari, sausage & lentil soup, chicken parm sandwich, orzo and a chocolate dessert thing.  Plus that goddamn bread and oil.  A gluttonous delight and when it came time to run a few hours later I wasn't in great shape.

Nevertheless I went over to the DuVal trails and gutted it out.  And "gut" is the appropriate word as my insides were sloshing around for the first few miles.  I kept it slow and steady and eventually felt better.  Then I could feel nasty bile creeping up my throat towards the end of the run.  Gross.  Aren't you glad I'm back to blogging.

So in the end I got a sluggish six miles of trails done to start the week.  Hooray!

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 2 miles

When I went to the ortho doc a few weeks back he didn't think I had a stress fracture.  He said to keep the mileage down and take days off.  To that end I've stuck to my plan of not running two days in a row.  So far, so good as that leg ache has been non existent.  So it was an easy walk to the post office at lunch today.

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 6 miles

For the 2nd Wednesday in a row I went over to Jenckes Street on College Hill for some hill repeats.  It's a touch climb but I did six and I ventured a little lower down Star Street on the 3rd and 6th ones to make it more grueling.  A good workout.

Thursday - 0 miles

Good session of lunch yoga.  Three weeks in a row!

Friday - Smithfield, RI - 6.5 miles

Back to Wolf Hill for a morning run.  I tried to hit as many hills as I could including the pisser of a climb up the Mary Mowry trail.  As I plan for a mountain adventure at the start of July, I'm going to continue to focus on hills so that I can hopefully complete the hike/run adventure without completely destroying myself.

I went for an MRI at midday for my neck.  The neck/back pain hasn't been too bad lately but the arm/hand numbness is still going on.  We'll find out the results next week.

Unfortunately I felt that dull leg ache later in the afternoon.  It didn't seem to linger however so I'm hopeful that it was just a passing ache.

Saturday - 0 miles
Sunday - 0 miles

Bailed on a Sunday run due to being very hungover.  Bailed on a lot of things actually.  After taking a long hard look at myself I've decided to quit drinking.  I'm sick of feeling shitty and ready for a change.  So that's that.

Weekly Mileage: 20.5 miles
Year to Date:  556 miles

A mediocre week overall but the leg seems to be improving.  I've got some trips planned over the next few months and good things to look forward to.  Let's get going.

Weekly Log: 1.16.17 - 1.22.17

Monday - South Kingstown, RI - 7 miles

3 minutes of planks (longest: 1:35)

Cold morning with a little bit of snow still on the ground.  I went over to DuVal for some easy trail miles.  My legs have felt beat last night from 15 miles in Big River but they felt better today.  Two miles in I tripped on a tiny tree stump and got laid out.  Smashed my big toe, scrapped both knees and an elbow.  Tore my tights and strained my shoulder.  After a minute I was up and running again but I was feeling it for the rest of the run.  Finished with 7 miles but the trails done beat me up good.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Definitely needed a rest day to lick my wounds from yesterday.  Also first day this year I didn't plank.  I was trying to keep up with the Facebook plank challenge but I think days off will only help me.

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 7.1 miles

6 minutes of planks (longest: 3:10)

Cold and drizzly outside.  My knees aren't as sore today and my shoulder pain has subsided.  Time to get back out there.  I did a loop I often run though I went in reverse this time.  It encompasses the trails behind the Seekonk Library and the Ten Mile River bikepath.  It's a fine lunch loop and the weather actually was pretty good for running.

Thursday - Seekonk, MA - 7 miles

6 minutes of planks (longest: 3:21)

Mid 40s today and I was feeling frisky so I went to the Seekonk High School for a track workout.  I went with 8 x 400s.  Went pretty well - most were in the 88-86 second range but my last one was at 81 seconds.  Perhaps I should have pushed them faster but they felt hard enough over all.  Looking back over some past logs, I had actually been running them a few years ago at the 78-82 range.  Whoa!  I have some work cut out if I want to hit those numbers again.  Right knee was pretty sore during the cooldown - I'm going to attribute that to my digger on Monday.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 8.8 miles

So I broke the bathtub last night.  I tried to switch the faucet and made it worse.  Much worse.  BUT that meant I had to stay home today to wait ont he plumber.  Hooray!  So I went for an early run at the Carter Preserve.  Some major mud at the powerline section.  My thoughts often turned to today's inauguration misery.  What a fucking world we find ourselves in.  Oh well, nothing to do but run on!

Saturday - 0 miles

5 minutes of planks (longest: 2:38)

Sunday - Exeter/North Kingstown, RI - 14.5 miles

12 easy morning miles in Arcadia with Muddy.  Despite chilled hands at the beginning it quickly warmed up and was nearly 50 degrees by midday.  Ran just long enough for me to justify calling this a long run.  Met my mom and Ezri at Rome Point.  They were already at the end so I ran down to where they were watching the seals and we walked back. 

Weekly Mileage: 43 miles
Year to Date: 122 miles

Weekly Log: 6.27.13 - 7.3.16

Yeah, yeah, I've fallen off the blog wagon.  It's not due to continuing injury - my recovery from the stress fracture is going well and I've been running consistently for a few weeks.  Rather I've just lost any motivation to blog (I still have a draft of a fun backpacking trip from May that I've yet to complete.)  Anyway, here's an update:

Like I said, the running is going fairly well.  After several weeks of running with lingering stinging/discomfort from the stress fracture, things suddenly clicked and I was running pain free.  Since then I've been slowly adding a few miles a week and my longest runs are approaching double digits.  I've even started to do some speedwork on the Seekonk track.

I ended up frigging up my wrist from all the planking I was doing - just another case of not listing to my body when I was doing sidearm planks.  The wrist pain kept getting worse until even pushing myself up out of a chair induced sharp pain.  Doc has me on an anti-inflammatory and wearing a real deal wrist brace.  The brace defiantly helps and I think the wrist is slowly improving.

My planking shit the bed for a while, partly due to the wrist thing but mostly because I lost interest (lazy).  I'm back at it now and the last few weeks I've had a good morning routine of either planks or my old friend the P90X Ab Ripper.

So there you go.  I feel like I'm progressing nicely and I hope to be in decent shape for the Run with the Beavers race in a few weeks.

Monday - Charlestown, RI - 5.5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

I'm working from home on Mondays for a while which makes my life much more pleasant.  Took the opportunity to head over to Carter Preserve at lunch.  It was a steamer out there - over 80 degrees.  The caterpillar infestation this year has been the worst in years and Carter Preserve has been demolished - no shade to speak of in the woods.  The shrubs were bigger than usual as a result.  The heat wore me out by the end but it was a satisfying trial run.

Tuesday - 0 miles

5 minutes of planking

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 6 miles

Trying to keep it Workout Wednesday so I went over to the Seekonk High School track for some 800s.  Chris Fox ran by as I was warming up.  Good to see him one last time as he's moving to Seattle in a week.  It was another very hot day in the sun so I didn't push too hard but I went from 3:06 on the first to 3:00 flat on the fifth.  Could have pushed them a bit more but I'm just getting back to the speedwork and plus it was miserably hot/humid out there.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 3.1 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Work has been miserable lately and didn't want to leave the office for long.  Plus my bad leg was achy - not from the stress fracture but the other side.  This didn't worry me much and once I got out there it wasn't an issue.  Ran along the river which is such a dump.  If they cleaned it up it'd be a cool little area.  Instead it's just garbage city.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 7.5 miles

7 minutes of planking (including new forearm PR - 5:01!)

I was working from home again so I decided on a loop through Browning Woods and DuVal.  Felt pretty good and once I left Browning and hit the dirt roads I was moving pretty well.  The sand pits are undergoing a change - they're building houses and a country club (golf course?!?) back in these woods and the dunes have been cleaned up.  There was even a fire hydrant in the middle of it now.  I'm not thrilled about all this new development but on the other hand people just dumped all their shit back there so I can't say it's a downgrade.

I kept the pace up all the way to the DuVal trail and once I hit the path I put in a solid effort to try to best my PR on the Strava segment there.  I came up short by about 15 seconds but I'll take it.  Then I took the roads back to my car.  A funny sidenote after the fact - Jonny and I nearly ran into each other.  A good motivating run to start the long weekend.

Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 4 miles

Wanted to get a short one in.  Went over to Wood River Junction and did a few easy miles on the North/South trail.  Mostly farmland and piney soft trails.  Hot one out there.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 10 miles

For my longish effort I went over to Burlingame early morning.  It was crisp and mid-50s.  No bugs!  I ran from the lot on King's Factory up Sammy C's and then took the trails to North Burlingame.  Did a hilly loop and then ventured down to the water at North Camp.  I stopped short of the beach when I saw a tent.  Then it was Vin Gormley back to the car.  I did a little backtracking to make it ten miles and the last mile was tough.  I was tired and beginning to bonk.  Still a good run overall and with no leg pain I'm happy.

Weekly Mileage: 36.1 miles
Year to Date: 409.9 miles

A good week of running!  I'm feeling strong and the leg stings sometimes but never when I'm running.  So far so good.

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.