Weekly Log: 2.20.17 - 2.26.17

Monday - 0 miles

I woke up in our Littleton hotel with a painful lower back.  Guess the pack I used up Mt Liberty is the culprit.  So no follow-up hike today.  We did stop at a sport shop on the way out of town and I scored a pair of Dion running shoes at 40% off.  Probably won't have a chance to use 'em this season but now I'm ready for next winter.

Too bad the snow disappeared while I was away!

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.8 miles

Man, it's hard to get back into the swing of things in dumpy East Providence.  I enjoy the mountains so.  Wish I lived up there.  Back is still sore from Sunday but running didn't seem to aggrivate it.  I ended up going over to the East Bay bikepath in Riverside and shambling through 7ish miles.  The lane was mostly clear.  A few spots still had a goodly amount of snow but there was always a clear section.  Not much to say other than I got it done.

Wednesday - Johnston, RI - 8 miles

6:00 minutes of planks (longest - 3:06)

With Amanda off this week I get a couple early morning runs and this one led me to the Snake Den.  I went with the Speedcross which was a wise choice.  The first trails of the day were caked in icy snow and hard going.  The postholing and shitty trail conditions wore my ankles/calves out quick.  Surprisingly things improved with the Connector trail as the snow became very soft and I could just run through it.  A surprise: a new bridge has been built on the Connector trail so it's no longer necessary to traverse that downed tree!  Once on the other side I usually found a clear path on the trail to run but there was still plenty of snow and it wore me down.  I ventured over towards Route 295 which ate up time and after a swampy bushwack I was forced to take roads back to the car.

Thursday - 0 miles

My ankles are chewed up from yesterday.  Despite the 60 degree temps outside, I decided to take the day off to let my legs heal.  Grrr.

Friday - West Greenwich, RI - 7.2 miles

I left the house real early intent on getting in some decent time in Big River.  My left ankle was hurting on the outside but I chalked it up to rolling it several times on Wednesday.  At first it looked like it was going to be a great run but once I hit single track I came upon pine and pine bent over on the trail.  In fact the whole place had taken a beating - lots of big trees/branches were down and the little ones had just keeled over from winter.  I backtracked to the dirt roads but after 1.5 miles I felt pain in my ankle.  Damnit!  This was a bummer but I still had an hour and a half to kill before heading to work.  I just followed the New London turnpike to the quarry and then turned around.  Nice morning (if a little chilly in just a tech shirt) but now I definitely need to be smart and take several days off.  Then it'll be just pavement for a while.  Bah.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - 0 miles

5:30 minutes of planks (longest 2:35)

Weekly Log:22 miles
Year to Date: 302 miles

King of a chumpy week in the end.  My ankle still hurt at times over the weekend so I'm assuming I just rolled it worse than I thought on Wednesday.  I plan to rest it early next week as well and hopefully it will mend quickly.

Weekly Log: 10.12.15 - 10.18.15

Monday - 0 miles

My legs were shot from last weekend in New Hampshire so I content to take a zero.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 7.1 miles

Not much motivation today but I got myself out to the Ten Mile River Bikepath and did a mix of trails, path and pavement.  I ended up moving pretty well despite how lethargic I felt.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Legs are still sore and I had things to do so no running today.

Thursday - Johnston, RI - 8 miles

Got up to the Snake Den for an early morning run.  Crisp out there but I warmed up pretty quickly.  Instead of the usual Connector trail I took the road over to the power line trails.  This was a nice change.  I also discovered a well marked dirt bike trail.  Lots of orange blazes and orange arrows pointing the way.  It was barely a trail in places.  I wore the Hokas and I had to be really careful about rolling my ankles here.  I enjoy running in these shoes but they just don't work for me on anything remotely technical - they really want to roll on me.  Anyway the dirt bike trail was a lot of fun but the markings ended and I had to bushwack briefly to rejoin it.  After that I went up to the scenic vista before heading back via the Connector trail.  Just as I'm stepping off the trail I roll my ankle pretty badly of course.  Damnit!

Friday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

Beautiful autumn day but I was aimless about where to go.  I headed over to Riverside and had the idea to attempt a segment around Bullocks Point.  It's a neighborhood loop of about 1.5 miles.  I pushed it as best I could.  I was happy to see 5:20ish on the watch for a while but then it caught up to me and I was over 6 minute pace by the end.  Unfortunately the segment began and ended a 1/4 mile farther up the road.  Whoops.  Still happy to see that I've got some speed in those legs - Strava says it was my third fastest mile at 5:36.  The rest of the run was meandering through coastal neighborhoods followed by some bike path to tack on mileage.

Saturday - North Kingstown, RI - 14 miles

I ran around N.K. for my weekend's long run.  Started at Wilson Park and first ran through Wickford neighborhoods.  Then I headed down to Rome Point. Ran into a friend pulling his daughter on Terre Mar and walked with him for a few minutes.  In Rome Point I was already getting tired but I did find a new trail that skirts the southern boundary which I really liked.  It spits you out at the old chimney in the woods.  I took Annaquatucket up to the old railbed and followed that to the library and then the car.  My legs were very tired by the end.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 2.1 miles

Took the dog out in the afternoon for a very easy jog.

Weekly Mileage: 38.4 miles
Year to Date: 1,556.8

A lower mileage week but my legs were pretty sore from all that hiking.  Overall I'm happy with my mileage lately.  I've hit 50 miles in six of the last twelve weeks.  Pretty good!  As you can see from the graph below, I've overtaken the progress from the previous years.  If I can keep it up, this'll be my highest mileage year yet.

Red is 2015, purple is 2014 and orange is 2013

Weekly Log: 7.6.15 - 7.12-15

Monday - North Kingstown, RI - 5.2 miles

185 push-ups (standard/wide) 40/35/40/30/40

Yesterday's long run trashed my calves and my legs didn't have much life this morning.  I got out of the house early so I ran before work.  Decided to hit up Ryan Park because I wanted trails that were easily accessible and not too taxing.  Took it easy and enjoyed the beautiful day in the park.  Legs found a little life by the end.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.6 miles

Steamy day in the city.  Decided to explore some new streets.  Parked at the East Bay bike path and took it for a mile to nab a Strava hill segment.  After that I just wandered around using a map I printed.  The heat wore me down and I found myself running out of time before I was needed back at the office.  I misjudged the roads and found a pond and golf course blocking a direct route back to the car so I had to book it (as best I could) to make it back in time for a conference call.

Wednesday - 0 miles

250 push-ups (standard/wide/decline) 45/35/25/40/40/25/40

Good yoga session at Providence Power Yoga during lunch.

Thursday - Johnston, RI/Rehoboth, MA - 12.5 miles

Elbow planks 6 x 1 minute

Before work I went over to the Snake Den for some trails and hills.  Also mud.  I don't know if I've ever seen so many water hazards on these trails.  People had done some work on these trails - there's not a clear trail leading down to farmland and another parking lot.  I discovered a patch of raspberries and gobbled some up before moving on.  I grabbed a segment nearby by my real goal was a segment over by the powerlines that Tod Mahony had named in my honor.  But on the way over the Connector Trail, I smashed my big left toe against a rock.  Christ it hurt.  I stopped to inspect it (I always expect my blood to be caked in blood) but it was only a little bruised.  By now the pain had lessened and I was able to keep running.

I made my over to the Seth segment and hit the gas.  There's 135 feet of climbing and plenty of rocks to contend with.  I pushed it as best I could and was running out of stream by the end.  I needed a breather at the top and luckily the view there is pretty spectacular thanks to enterprising folks who cut down a couple trees.  Turns out I grabbed the segment from Mahony by 2 seconds.  After that I took it easy going down the powerline trail before going back up in a display of pure masochism.  Time was against me now so I took roads back to the car.  I had forgotten that this road is all uphill (ha!) but I wanted elevation today and I guess I got it (700 feet total).

With my day's run out of the way I thought about doing yoga at lunch but I was itching for more miles.  So I drove over to Rehoboth and did some repeats on Rocky Hill Road.  I had done much of this road as big loop from the Wheeler School but never had taken it this far.  The hill was steep and no joke!  The road was also narrow and people drove like maniacs on these back roads.  I had to be careful.  I couldn't imagine a cyclist going down this hill - dicey.  Anyway I did three repeats and would've liked a few more but I had to get back to the office.  Glad I know about this place now - a good alternative to College Hill.

Friday -Westerly/Charlestown, RI - 12.6 miles

Mike B organized a swim/run at the Westerly Town Beach in honor of Tommy 5k who's getting hitched today.  I opted out of the swim and showed up late, talking with Crutch and 5k's brother until the crazies finished their mile swim.  A round of mimosas followed after they pulled themselves out of the way and then we did a three mile beach run.  Fun chitchatting with everyone and I hope 5k has a great wedding.

Then I drove home and switching into some road shoes and took the dog out for 2.4 miles.  Very humid and he clearly lost interest after the first mile.  We managed a little over two miles and cut through the woods to take a shortcut back to the house since I had to start working.

Since I was working from home today, the lunch run was different than usual.  I ran down to Charlestown Town Beach which was packed with folks.  Took off my shoes and enjoyed a few minutes in the ocean before heading home.  It was hot but the water did me right and I enjoyed the run back.  Not a shabby way to spend a lunch run and psyched to get two 12+ mile days in a row!

Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 3.4 miles

Took the dog out for a few easy Saturday morning miles.  Humid as usual.  Kept it easy but sneak in a few hills on him.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 14 miles

Went over to Burlingame for a morning long run.  Parked on King's Factory and ran Sammy C's around before heading down to North Camp.  Had some groin tightness but otherwise felt okay.  Then I headed to North Burlingame where the hills worked me over.  I followed the N/S Trail to where it hit road and then reversed course.  Now my legs were feeling it and the groin tightness was getting worse.  The rest of the run was a slog, but I still went out of my way to work in some big climbs because I wanted to get a goodly amount of elevation this week.  It worked and I had 1000 feet of climbing for this run.

When I got home I loaded this run into Strava as "the Great Suffering."  It sounded good at the time but after seeing all the awesome performances on Sunday (Jurek's AT record and Adam Wilcox crushing Hard Rock in particular) perhaps I was being a bit dramatic.

Weekly Mileage: 54.3 miles
Year to Date: 963.4 miles

Big week of miles and also 3200 feet of climbing!  I'd say let's keep it going but I suppose I should taper some for the Beaver race next weekend.

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.