Weekly Log: 7.11.16 - 7.17.16

Monday - Charlestown, RI - 12.1 miles

Took the dog out early for a few walking miles.  I am working from home on Mondays so at lunch I went over to Green Hill.  Ran a bunch of dead-end roads I had never been on and then a bit of the beach before heading back to the car.

In the afternoon Ezri and I went over to Chariho High School for the first in their series of summer fun runs.  While I'd love to get down to WTAC's in Westerly it doesn't really jive with my hour commute.  But since I'm working from home on Monday's this one works out well.

I tried to convince Ez to run the 1 mile but she was determined to run the 3 mile instead.  So I jumped into the 1 mile and gave a solid effort.  It's a mix of track and cross country grass and I eeked out a 5:50 which I was happy with.  Then I ran the 3 mile with Ezri.  She finished in a solid 34 minutes which included scooping up the orange cones along the way.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 6 miles

I dutifully went over to the Seekonk High track for Workout Wednesday.  I must say that trying to do these workouts in the noonday sun is not much fun.  That said I ground out 8 x 400s. Average pace was 88 seconds and I was pretty wiped by the end.  Cooled down on nearby trails.  I saw a bunch of people wandering the woods for Pokemon which was pretty funny.

Thursday - Seekonk, MA - 6 miles

I planned to venture over to the Seekonk library for easy trails at lunch.  Of course it started downpouring not long before I left.  I went over anyway and had a great run in the pouring rain.  It was still very warm so I was really enjoying myself even though I was soon soaked to the bone.  Lots of standing water on the trail but I just splashed through.  A super fun time.

Friday - 0 miles

Family camping trip to New Hampshire.  After a day of driving and setting up camp there was no time for a run.

Saturday - Woodstock, NH - 13.4 miles

I set out for a morning run from our lovely campsite situated along a crick.  I found some nearby roads that went up into the hills and followed a bunch of them to their conclusion.  Big climbs!  I love New Hampshire - the houses are a mix of shanties and mansions.  Seven miles total and I felt good on the climbs.

The weather was originally going to be worse today but then this morning it looked liked Sunday would be the worse day.  So we decided to hike today - I picked Osceola as I got Ezri a 4000 passbook and I knew she's be excited to bag one.  We didn't get going until 11 AM and there were so many cars at the trailhead.  We took our time and Ezri did great.  Lots of folks at the summit.  Amanda and I were running out of steam on the way down but Ezri lead the way.  My morning running plus hiking Osceola finally caught up to me.  As we went down I saw local trail master Ryan Welts ascending on another epic 45 miler.  Makes me want to come back up here and try something longer.

Sunday - Franconia, NH - 1 mile

An easy day for us after yesterday's hike - we just wandered around the Basin in Franconia before heading over to North Conway for some food/shopping.  Then the long drive home.

Weekly Mileage: 38.5 miles
Year to Date: 517 miles

Any week that sees me in New Hampshire is a good week.  I tried to convince Amanda we should move up there but she wasn't interested.  I'll have to plan another adventure up there soon! Also finally passed 500 miles for the year!  I'm feeling healthy so now it's time to just keep extended those long runs and get in that weekly mileage.

Weekly Log: 7.27.15 - 8.2.15

Last week of July already?  This summer is flying by and I'm none to happy about it.  I WILL NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS OPPRESSIVE HEAT AND HUMIDITY.  I EMBRACE IT WITH EVERY PORE.  

That said, I've got five days left to complete this silly Strava challenge I've set my eyes on.  16,404 feet of climbing in July.  5700 feet to go.  Madness?  Probably but I shall give it a shot.

Monday - Providence, RI - 7.3 miles

Oh so hot outside!  This is pure folly but I parked on the East Side and made my way to Jenkes Road, a steep mother of a road that I knew could not be avoided.  There was a young woman running the hill as well.  She was only venturing half as high before returning to the bottom but she was in sweats!  True madness and I commended her.  I switched between Jenkes and a more moderate climb and ended up ascending it eight times which was brutal.  There was some powerhiking by the end.  But it worked.  1050 feet on the day.

Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 8 miles

I was working from home so I knew I'd be running those roads above my house.  It was even hotter than yesterday and by the time I set out the cloud cover was gone, vaporized by the hell sun.  I took a bottle of water on this one and was taking slugs early and often.  There were a couple walking breaks.  The heat was oppressive and I began to think about shortening the run.  I took it one hill at a time though and eventually eked out the 8 miles I was looking for.  I was very proud of getting this one done and the cold shower afterwards was killer.  However Strava absolutely gyped me compared to a shorter run there only a few days prior.  That should've been over 1k but in the end they only gave me 825 feet.  What could I do but take it and shake my fist at the hill.

Wednesday - Exeter, RI - 8 miles

190 push-ups (standard/wide) 45/45/40/25/40

I couldn't stomach the idea of running in the city with 90 degree midday.  So I took my lunch hour at the end of the day and headed south.  After scanning Jonny's feed for choice routes, I settled on a dirt road section of Ten Rod Road that intersects with the New London Turnpike.  They were hilly as advertised and very similar to the hill > valley > hill format at Pardon Joslin Road.  Actually there was more vehicle traffic than I had anticipated though most drove slowly and gave me plenty of room.  The road had a good amount of shade and that helped make the run tolerable.  Bugs weren't too bad either.  Near the end of my run I came upon a biker who had gotten his hog stuck on a root when he had attempted to turn around.  I asked if I could help but he seemed to ignore me in favor of cursing to himself and revving the bike very loudly.  I left him too it.  As usual the last few climbs were brutal and contained a bit of hiking.  Still I got it done and hit 1000' for elevation which is what I was looking for.

Thursday - Exeter/East Providence, RI - 14.2 miles

Two days to go and 2800 feet to go.  It's getting down to the wire and I'm not sure I'm going to get this done. In the morning I returned to the Fisherville Preserve and ran repeats on the Pardon Joslin dirt road.  It was incredibly humid and the air felt like soup.  The deer flies were mercifully sporadic however the little black flies hounded me throughout the run.  After yesterday afternoon's run my legs were really feeling all this climbing.  It didn't take long before all these factors made me consider cutting this one short.  Maybe just four climbs instead of six.  But I knew that would probably be the end of the challenge.  Dutifully I trudged back down and grinded out two more, though they were very tough.  Afterwards I was very satisfied to get it done and I collected another large basket of raspberries in the parking lot.  1100 feet on this one.

The morning run was good but I knew I had to head back out at lunch to grab some more elevation is I was going to have a chance to finish on Friday.  It was 88 degrees out and I had little desire but I went back to the roads above the East Bay bike path and went to work, using the same decent hill along with a small trail network at the base.  Thankfully, there were storm clouds rolling through which provided plenty of shade and wind.  This made the work tolerable.  Back at the office, I was really happy to see that I got 800 feet out of this one.  That leaves with with just under 1000 feet to go.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 8.8 miles

I had the day off so in the morning I set out to get this thing done.  There was no real choice - I went back to the roads above my house and did repeat after repeat.  It wasn't too hot yet and there was a decent amount of shade to make use of but it took it's toll.  My legs were toast and it became really hard.  I wanted 8 miles but I was happy to do a little more to seal the deal.  I ended up hitting 1100 feet on this run.  Success!

Saturday - 0 miles

No running today after getting this damn challenge done.  I was happy to take a rest day.  Besides I already have 46 miles on the week.

Sunday - Westerly, RI - 10 miles

It was a family beach day and originally I was going to run for a while on the roads near Misquamicut but once we got there I decided to run less and just stick to a barefoot beach run.  This proved to be the right choice.  I ran two miles down to the breachway and as I turned around who do I see but Mike B.  He spotted me running by and quickly joined me.  We ended up following the beach for five miles to the Ocean House and then I left Mike when we got back to Misquamicut beach.  The beach was mobbed and the conversation was lively.  Fun run and I was glad for the impromptu company.  Huge waves today made for fun in the ocean too.

Weekly Mileage: 56.5 miles
Year to Date: 1098.4 miles

Not only did I hit my elevation goal but I also got a goodly amount of mileage for the week.  6000 feet of climbing for this last week of July.  Happy to be done with the challenge and I'm looking forward to not chasing elevation as we head into August.

Weekly Log: 7.20.15 - 7.26.15

Monday - Seekonk, MA - 7.1 miles

Janky Knee is acting up since Saturday's Beaver race.  It feels off with weird twinges when I'm just standing around.  Annoying.  It was about 93 degrees today and between that and the Janky Knee I came very close to bailing on the lunch run.  But in the end I got it done.  I did a loop on Seekonk country roads and luckily there was a good amount of shade because the few exposed sections of pavement were miserable.  I brought along my water bottle which was drained by the end.  The occasional breeze and cloud cover helped make the run not that awful though I was ready to be done with a mile to go.  Janky Knee felt fine during the run.  It only feels aggravated when I'm not running.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Another very hot day and since I wanted to get in a yoga session this week today seemed like the perfect day for it.  There was a lot of stretching which my legs appreciated.  Janky knee was a little less janky today.

Wednesday - Providence, RI - 9.5 miles

250 push-ups (standard/wide) 40/45/40/40/40/45

Still hot out there but a little more forgiving than the last two days.  The Strava Challenge is coming to an end in nine days and my chances are completing it are diminishing with every passing day.  Today I was determined to get in some decent hills some I ventured over to Providence and ran up and down the moderate side of College Hill seven times.  There was a good amount of cloud cover and the grade was moderate so I was able to keep the pace up throughout (though the last climb really wore my legs out).  I ended up with 700 feet of gain which was less than I was going for but I'm pleased that I got over nine miles out of the run.  Janky Knee was absent for the run though on the return trip to the office the back of my knee began to ache, I think from that knee strap thing I was wearing.

Thursday - Exeter/East Providence, RI - 15.8 miles

I knew if I was to have any chance of completing this elevation challenge I'd need better hills.  With my lovely wife taking care of Ezri this morning, it was my chance to run outside of my usual radius around East Providence.  I decided to consult the Strava archives of the Master, since he ran almost 30,000 feet of elevation last month using whatever means he could in southern Rhode Island.  I decided to check out these big climbs he devoured near Cuttyhunk/Fisherville.  It's been awhile since I had run here and there were a huge amount of raspberry bushes in the Cuttyhunk parking lot.  If only I had a bucket! I did a brief section of Cuttyhunk that I was familiar with then took the rocky Stony Lane to Pardon Joslin Rd.  It's a dirt road with two steep climbs, one side unmaintained and unpassable unless you're in a jeep or ATV.

I went back and forth, ascending each hill twice.  I was feeling it on my last climb and had to powerhike part of the rocky side.  Then I ventured into Fisherville Sanctuary as I've never been here before.  Beautiful place with well maintained trails and a perfect little pond in the middle.  I definitely need to come back here again when I'm not killing myself with hills.  After this nice respite, I went and climbed each hill once more before shambling my way back to the car.  Then I realized I had an empty water bottle in the backseat so I filled it up with tasty raspberries.  Total elevation = 1,200 feet.  I've still got a long way to go and a short time to get there but at least I've given myself a chance.

So at lunch I decided to really ramp up the pain train and do a few more miles in the midday sun.  I went to the East Bay bike path and thankfully there was a good amount of cloud cover.  After a mile on the path and went into the neighborhoods above to do...that's right more hill repeats!  Oh the joys of self-imposed lunatic challenges!  These weren't actually too bad but my legs were good and dead so the pace was slow but hey!  Another 400 feet on the day.  So about 16 miles on the day - I think this will end up being my sort of long run for the week.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 5.4 miles

245 push-ups (standard/wide/decline) 40/45/35/40/50/35

Late in the day I took the dog out for a few miles on the hilly roads above my house.  It was humid and he was looking dog tired after two miles (hyuck, hyuck).  So I cut through the woods and dropped him off at the house and then ventured back for another couple miles.  Only about four miles on these roads but I nabbed another 700 feet of elevation.  Within an hour of this run we were hit with the worst thunderstorm we've had in a while - we even got hail!  I was glad to see that it didn't affect the Blessing of the Fleet race.  There were some dynamite performances this year.  I'm slightly bummed that I decided not to run but there'll be plenty more years to return to it.

Saturday - 0 miles

We had a summer cookout so I was busing setting things up in the morning and entertaining in the afternoon.

Sunday - 0 miles

So after having my share of fun on Saturday, a run today never materialized.  I had wanted to grind out more elevation on those nearby hilly roads but I didn't get it done.  This may have put the Strava challenge out of reach.  Oh well.  That's the way it goes.

Weekly Mileage: 37.9 miles
Year to Date: 1,041.9 miles

Well I grinded out almost 3,700 feet of elevation this week.  Respectable but I chumped it by skipping out on a Sunday run.  That may end up being the deciding factor in my completing this challenge but I'll have no one but myself to blame.

Weekly Log: 7.13.15 - 7.19.15

Run with the Beavers week!  Not counting Ragnar it's been a while since I had a long trail race and this will be my third time running the Beavers 10 Miler.  It promises to be a good time.

In other news my band Hip Bobsha has finished our first album.  It's an EP with six tracks and you should check it out here!

Monday - East Providence, RI - 5.3 miles

220 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 40/30/40/40/25/45

I decided at the last moment to head to the Ten Mile River bike path for some nice and easy miles.  My legs were pretty beat from yesterday's long run in Burlingame and my janky knee was a little achy.  Annoying but it didn't make itself known on the run.  Very hot out there.  Back at the parking lot I saw some dude heading out to walk his dude with a gray parrot perched on his arm.  Go get 'em guy.

Tuesday - Providence, RI - 8.4 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Another hot one and I set out to beat my self up with some time on College Hill.  I know I need to rest up for the Beaver race but I've got it in my head to complete this Strava elevation challenge which requires over 16k feet of elevation gain for the month of July.  Not sure that I have it in me but I want to take a fair stab at it.  To that end. I wandered over to College Hill and meandered up and down the brutal roads.  The heat and hills wore me out by mile 6 and I was glad I brought a water bottle.  About 900 feet of elevation on this run but it felt like more.

Wednesday - Charlestown, RI - 8.7 miles

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

I was working from home so in the morning I ran down to Charlestown Beach.  It was humid and foggy and the sun was a blur up in the sky.  Pretty cool.  I wanted to jump in the water but the waves were pretty big and I'm not a great swimmer.  I opted to just run down the beach a bit before heading back to the house.  Once back across Route 1, I went up to the hills above my house and ran the roads there for another 1.5 miles (the elevation challenge can't be ignored after all) and then cut through the woods back to my place.  I was a complete sweaty mess by the end of this run.  Grabbed about 400 feet from those neighborhood roads so if I'm serious about completing this challenge I have a feeling I'll be heading back to those hills for some repeats.

Thursday - West Greenwich, RI - 5.2 miles

Okay, time to actually take it easy in preparation for Saturday's race. I stopped at Big River West on the way in to the office and did some easy miles.  I was just going to follow the dirt roads for the whole run but I veered off early to explore a trail.  It was muddy twisty turny fun but I dutifully turned back at 2.5 miles.

I see from Jonny's blog that he's enlisted Mike Galoob into his HammBoner team.  It's sad to see another defection from WTAC and I'm hoping for a repeat of last year's results.

Friday - 0 miles

Saturday - Run with the Beavers 10 Mile Trail Race - 12.9 miles

Official time: 1:11:56.  8th overall.  Report here.

Sunday - 0 miles

My legs are pretty beat up from yesterday's race.  I was content with taking it easy.  Mowing the yard was enough of a workout for me.  Towards the end of the day ol' janky knee made itself known.

Weekly Mileage: 40.6 miles

Year to Date: 1004 miles

Over 1000 miles so far.  It'd be tough to pull off 2000 this year but not impossible.  Just sayin'.

Weekly Log: 6.29.15 - 7.5.14

We're now post Ragnar and this should be an easy(ish) week for me as I look to recover and head into July.  Not sure what this month will hold for me.  I'm pretty sure that I'm passing on the Blessing of the Fleet this year but I still plan on doing the Run with the Beavers race.  Otherwise I just would like to get in some decent long runs!

Monday - East Providence, RI - 6 miles

My quads and calves are still very sore from the Friday/Saturday relay.  Also I've got a lot of soreness in my upper back/biceps (a reminder that it's good that I continue to do push-ups).  I parked in Riverside and did an easy run along the flat bike path into Barrington.  Lots of cyclists out today.  Pace dropped down to the low 7s without really thinking about it which I consider a good sign.

Tuesday - Providence, RI - 5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Another easy run - this time over the bridge and around Blackstone Park.  Legs are still pretty sore but I did a few hills to complete the Strava Nepal challenge.  Of course now they unveil a new July elevation challenge with basically double the elevation.  Dunno if I'll complete it but I'll try to give it a shot.

Wednesday - 0 miles

210 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 35/25/50/35/25/40

Went to Yoga today.  Had a great session.  It was warm in there and I really started working up a sweat halfway through.  Felt great!  Then banged out some push-ups towards the end of the day.

Thursday - South Kingstown, RI - 10. 5 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

I got out of work early and decided to check out the trails near Barber Pond.  I went with the minimal MT00s that I haven't worn in quite some time.  The trail network turned out to be very small and I found myself at Route 2 with plenty of time.  I decided to explore Wolf Rock Rd which I had never been on.  It proved to be very hilly and while a dead end much longer than I anticipated.  The road ends at the train tracks and on the way back I decided to follow a powerline trail.  The trail was in great shape and a kid on a dirtbike passed me twice.  It was getting late but I hoped I'd be able to find a way to take it back to the car.  I came very close - swamp and briars blocked my path and I didn't want to run into some guy's backyard.  So I abandoned the effort and beat feet all the way back to Wolf Rock Rd and the car.  This added several more miles than I had planned on running and my calves were aching from the minimal footwear by the end.  Fun run though and a great way to start the three day weekend.

Friday - 0 miles

Tired legs from yesterday and today we went up to Purgatory Chasm in Mass where the massive rock canyon is quite impressive.  Fun place to hike and explore.

Saturday - Charlestown, RI - 4.1 miles

I took the dog out in the morning for a hot, humid jog.  Pace was easy but I through in a few climbs to keep us honest.  We were gross by the end.

Sunday - South Kingstown, RI - 15.5 miles

In the early AM I returned to Barber Pond to explore some more of the area around Wolf Rock.  After hitting up the road and powerlines that I explored last time, I went in the other direction on the powerlines before coming upon a dirt road.  This led up to a creepy hillbilly compound so I return to the powerlines and continued to follow it to another dirt road.  This one led back to Wolf Rock Rd which kind of disappointed me.  My plans for discovery thwarted, I decided to run the first powerline trail again and explore some other neighborhood roads.  By now the hills and miles were wearing me down and the neighborhood roads proved much hillier than I anticipated.  Good long run but I was beat and the Janky Knee was a little achy towards the end.  Finished it off with a quick dip in Barbers Pond.

Weekly Mileage: 41.6 miles
Year to Date: 909.1 miles

Weekly Log: 5.18.15 - 5.24.15

Monday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

I decided to park a little further down south from the East Bay bike path and explore some side roads of Riverside, a town within EP.  There was a large tract of forest on the map and I hoped I could find a way in to some tasty trails.  I parked on a busy road and made my way towards the woods, only to be thwarted at every turn.  The land belongs to some kind of oil refinery or something.  They have a private road that leads from the water to their compound.

There appeared no way in so I ventured off and found a little pond with a trail around most of it.  That was nice but I was not satisfied.  I continued on and came upon the fenced off forest again.  Such a waste!  Soon I smelled garbage - ah yes, the dump was on the other side of the road.  There was nothing for me in this blasted town.  Just as I was about to turn around I discovered a side street with a big sand pit.  There were a few short trails in the woods here but it was a pittance.  I made my way back to the car, my legs feeling the effect of 16 miles the day prior.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Tired legs and I went out to lunch with my coworkers so there would be no run today.  Tasty Indian food though.

Wednesday - Charlestown/Providence, RI - 12.5 miles

Amanda asked me to walk the dog in the morning and I did so grudgingly - legs still didn't have much pep and my calves were sore.  But by lunchtime my legs felt better and I set out to see if the Linear Park alongside 195 was now open.  I couldn't tell if it was and continued on and made a big Providence loop, running past Davol Square before going up and down College Hill several times (I grabbed a segment on a tough climb that I happened upon last week.)  Those hills wore me out but this was a satisfying run.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 5.2 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

It has been quite a while since I've done any P90X workouts, including the short but effective Ab Ripper X.  Today I finally put it up on the laptop and went back into the basement to give it a whirl.  It was rough.  I think I got through all the reps of maybe three of the exercises.  A humbling experience but I hope to keep it up and get back into the rhythm of it.

Man, my calves have been sore all week when I wake in the morning.  They improve through the day though.  Today was an easy short trail run.  I went to the Ten Mile Bike Path and stuck to pretty much just trails on either side of the path.  Tired legs and it took me several runs to realize that the rain sound I was hearing in the woods was caterpillar poop.  For the last week the little wormy buggers have been hanging from trees and I've been picking dozens of 'em off me after every run.  Still it's better than the flies that will soon be upon us.

Friday - West Greenwich, RI - 9.2 miles

185 push-ups (standard/wide/decline) 25/30/25/25/30/20/30

I was let out of work early thanks to my boss and the long weekend so I went to Arcadia since I rarely go there.  I planned at the J B Hudson lot and planned a loop up around the Breakheart trail, taking the Shelter trail back to my car.  I had to pick Ezri up from school so time was a bit of an issue.  It seems everytime I'm in Arcardia there's a time crunch.  Luckily I ended up finished with about 15 minutes to spare.  The run started off slow but my legs woke up and I ended up moving well.  These are great trails and I was happy to start off Memorial Day weekend with this run.

Saturday - 0 miles

I was hobbling like an old man today - I think a delayed DOM/overuse result of the Ab Ripper.  Sitting down was fine but standing up was tough.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 8.4 miles

I went over to Carter Preserve for a morning run.  I took the power trail right away which provides some really beautiful views.  I kept going along the powerlines past the Preserve boundary until it hits pavement.  Then I checked out some nearby clear cut trails.  They eventually wound me around back towards the pavement and I found an old dirt road, now long overgrown with shrubs and fallen trees.  I kept going and eventually came upon more Preserve signs.  Strange.  The "trail" curved around and eventually came out at the dirt road of the two houses alongside the Preserve parking lot.    That took about 2.5 miles.  Now back at the car I did a standard Carter loop, hitting the powerlines again, the grasslands and the various trails in the woods.  Good run!

Weekly Log: 42.4 miles
Year to Date: 690.1 miles

Good week of running and I was glad to get in a good amount of trail miles!  Ab Ripper did a number of me by Saturday but by Sunday I was feeling much better.  I'll take some time before I can get back to it regularly.

Weekly Log: 5.4.15 - 5.10.15

A new week and the temp is going to be in the 70s.  Forget spring - summer is apparently here!  I took it slightly easier last week and hope to return to above 40 miles this week.  I may even sneak in a race this weekend...

Monday - East Providence, RI - 6.5 miles

Beautiful day!  I waited until later in the work day and then headed over to the Ten Mile River bike path.  I veered off immediately onto any trails I could find.  The path was bumpin'!  There was a bunch of kids doing some sprints.  People were riding bikes and walking their dogs.  Bunch of people fishing.  I ventured onto the nearby train tracks to cross the river and startled a group of teenagers smoking their tweeds.  Haha, sorry whippersnappers!  I ended up following the train tracks to some unfamiliar neighborhood roads and eventually made my way back to the bike path.  It was hot out there but I was feeling good on this relaxing run.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

Another day, another bike path.  Went over to the East Bay bike path and decided to do a hill workout.  I followed the path for a mile and then ran the road up to Bradley school.  Then back down and ran a nearby trail hill which lead to another good road hill.  I went back and forth between these two hills for a total of six climbs.  I felt I put in a good effort especially considering the heat.  I returned to the office a smelly ogre which offended the womenfolk.  Guess I'll need to get used to dealing with the "sweat issue" again.  Still better than winter.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 3.1 miles

145 push-ups (standard/decline/wide) 30/25/25/25/20/20

I went over to a big box store to scope out some shoes but they didn't have much.  Kinda bummed that I wasted so much of lunch on a pointless errand but I still had time for a short run around the Turner Reservoir.  My feet had been feeling beat up the last few days so it was probably a good idea to rest them anyway.

Thursday - West Greenwich, RI - 7.3 miles

Fortune smiled on me when I found out that Amanda was working from home today.  That meant I could get a run in before work!  Big River seemed a logical place and it had been a while since I had been on the west side.  It was a cool spring morning but I warmed up along with the temp.  A couple army choppers buzzed the woods very low to the ground.  Must have been a training exercise.  I made a nice easy loop of it, not sure exactly of where I was but I knew I'd hit the New London Turnpike eventually.   It was an easy run but I pushed it on the last trail section back up to the lot.  A man with a couple dogs threatened to thwart my segment attempt but I skirted past them and continued on.  Sorry guy.  Grabbed the segment which I'm happy about - segments on the west side are not as competitive as over by Carr Pond (though I'm sure Jackman will be by soon enough to retake this one from me.)

Friday - Providence, RI - 7 miles

170 push-ups (standard) 30/25/30/25/30/30

I decided to head over to College Hill for my run.  I kept the pace easy and went past Brown and down the steep roads towards downtown.  Then back up 'em and to the office.  Fun relaxing run but that climb is serious.  Forget anymore hill workouts at East Bay BP - I had just as much elevation gain on this run from one climb up College Hill!


Saturday - 0 miles

Amanda and I had considered running the Rainbow 5k in Richmond but when the morning came we weren't up for it and bailed in favor of the URI East Farm Festival where we picked up a bunch of plants and vegetables for the yard.

Sunday - South Kingstown/Charlestown, RI - 10.2 miles

Ezri and I went to my mom's for breakfast in the morning.  On the way we stopped at the Kingston train station and did a mile and a half on the bike path.  She did great, jogging most of the way with a few walking breaks.  There's some kind of fitness 5k at Ninigret on the 30th and she really wants to participate.

We had a picnic lunch at our house in the afternoon and then later I went for a run in Burlingame.  This time I parked along King's Factory and did a mix of Vin Gormley, North Camp and Sammy C's.  It was warm and very humid out there.  Started to notice a couple annoying bugs - oh yeah I forgot that's what the warm weather brings.  A fun run but the humidity really wore me down after only 8 miles.

Weekly Mileage: 41.2 miles
Year to Date: 596.6 miles

I'm feeling good and though the knee occasionally is achy I'm overall feeling healthy.  My running fitness is coming along nicely.  Now to get back to longer runs!

VACATION AWESOMESAUCE: 6.30.14 - 7.6.14

Vacation Week is Here!  Looking forward to a relaxing week in New Hampshire with my family, while finding time to ingest indigenous beer and get in some tough run/hikes.

Monday - Bartlett, NH - 4.3 miles

I got out of the house at 5:15 AM and drove about 10 minutes to the Mount Stanton trailhead.  It was 1.4 miles to the summit of Mt Stanton and another 0.7 to Mt Pickering.  There were some runnable sections near the base but also some steep climbs which wore me out.  Nice views from various ledges of the Bartlett valley and Attitash.  Once on the other side of Stanton, there were great views of Stairs Mountain, Iron Mountain and the hills where we're staying.  The trail descended before climbing again to the top of Mt Pickering.  A great early morning trail run but a stark reminder that I'm a flatlander.  I need to taper my expectations when I go out on a longer adventure later in the week.

Sunrise from the ledges of Mt Stanton

The hills where we're staying

It got hot quickly during the day and the choice to swim at Echo Lake was a good one.  Then a trip to the outlets.  The girls bought a crapload of clothes while I went straight to the New Balance store.  Picked up another pair of 890 v3 and decided to try the 610 v2 as my next pair of heavy duty trail shoes. We'll see if I prefer them to the Brooks Cascadias.

I dig this spot

A New Balance fan could get in real trouble in that store

Beer:
1x Baxter Stowaway IPA (20 oz)
1x Tuckerman Pale Ale (20 oz)

Tuesday - Bartlett, NH - 2.8 miles

Amanda went rappelling down a waterfall this morning.  She was very excited.  I jogged with Oliver in the morning while she was making preparations.  The roads around the cabin are wide open with awesome views and killer houses.  Oh to live up here!  Good run and the hills kept both Oliver and myself honest.

While Amanda and Em were doing the rappelling thing (Em took pictures) Ezri and I went to North Conway to check out a few stores (I used to love going to Dondero's Rock Shop as a kid and I was happy to see that it remains unchanged.)  Then we returned to Echo Lake for a bit more swimming.

I was going to run in the afternoon but it's almost 90 degrees out.  I wasn't that psyched to begin with and then we decided to move my solo adventure up a day.  We have a date with Santa's Village.  The next two days both have sporadic thunderstorms on the menu.  But tomorrow is forecast to be 90 while Thursday drops to 82.  So we'll try for SV on Thursday.  So I'm taking it easy the rest of today in preparation for tomorrow's effort (whatever that may be.  At this point it's very much dependent on the weather.)

Beer:
1x Moat Mountain Iron Mike Pale Ale
2x  Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Wednesday  - Twin Mountains, NH - 18 miles

Peak bagging that started at North Twin trail.  Took me over North and South Twin.  Went on to Galehead and Guyot.  Separate write-up to follow.

Beautiful day up in the mountains

In the afternoon we took a brief trip to Jackson Falls just before the thunderstorms began.  It came down awfully hard for a while.  Amanda made a terrific steak dinner.

Beer:
2x Moat Mountain Violet B's Blueberry Ale
1x Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Thursday - 0 miles

Oh my sweet calves!  It feels like someone filled them with cement!   The result of yesterday's effort was brutal and immediate when I woke up this morning.  After a bit of shambling around the cabin they began to loosen up some.  We drove almost an hour north today to hit Santa's Village for the first time.  We've always just gone to Storyland since it's five minutes away.  SV was really nice though.  Ezri loved it.  There were no crowds, the park was extremely clean and the forecast thunderstorms didn't materialize until we got back home in the late afternoon.  At that point a restaurant excursion would have been a shitshow so we opted for some tasty takeout from the nearby Red Fox Restaurant.  Good choice.  And I fulfilled my contractual obligations of being cheerful and mobile at Santa's Village despite 18 miles of trails on Wednesday.

Beer:
1x Hop Nosh IPA
1x Stone Ruination IPA

Friday - 0 miles

360 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 40/30/50/30/50/50/30/50/30

4th of July today but the forecast is miserable with rain/thunderstorms all day.  We went to breakfast in North Conway and then spent a couple hours doing the tourist thing, shopping downtown.  A return visit to Dondero's where Ezri bought a cool stone fish.  And then back across the street to revisit the climbing shop (they have a great consignment basement - I picked up a windbreaker and soft shell jacket this week.)  Then we grabbed some pizza at the famous Elvio's to bring home for lunch.

We spent the rest of the day puttering, packing and cleaning up the cabin.  Figure we'll try to leave bright and early tomorrow so that we can enjoy the better weather back home in Rhode Island.  I shall miss you New Hampshire.  Hopefully another hiking adventure is in the cards later this year.

Beer:
1x Moat Mountain Iron Mike Pale Ale
1x Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Al
1x Allagash Saiso
1x Moat Mountain Violet B's Blueberry Ale

Saturday - Bartlett, NH - 4 miles

Parting is such sweet sorrow.  Before finishing the packing and cleaning the cabin I went out and did four very easy miles with the dog.  My calves are still pretty sore from Wednesday and I didn't have much pep on those neighborhood hills.  Still, it was nice getting some last looks at the nearby hills (one road had a great view of Mt. Stanton and Mt. Pickering that I hiked on Monday.)  I didn't get over to nearby Iron Mountain as I hoped and I also didn't get around to trying to take back the nearby segment I had created.  Oh well, there's always next time!

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 7.1 miles

Nice cool morning back in Rhode Island.  No real desire but I dragged myself down Old Coach Road for a penance run.  Legs still don't have much life and my body is lacking for energy after a week of beer and junk food.  Back to the grind tomorrow.

Weekly Mileage: 36.4 miles

Year to Date: 1,051.6 miles

Another great vacation week in the books!  I miss the White Mountains already.  We had a lot of fun up there and hopefully next time we venture north Ezri will be able to go hiking with me.  Oh and my elevation gain for the week?  9,048 feet.  No wonder my legs are beat!