Weekly Log: 11.2.15 - 11.8.15

With the decision to enter the RI 6 Hour Ultra this weekend, this will be a very easy week.  I'm so used to having to fit in a week of runs that it'll be weird to have so much free time.

Monday - 0 miles

Tuesday - 0 miles

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 5 miles

I went out a lunch for an easy five along the East Bay bike path.  My pace wasn't anything special but it felt like work and I spent the run dwelling on this weekend's race and feeling unprepared.  My knees were twingy too.  Just pre-race nerves but it was annoying.

Thursday - Cranston, RI - 4 miles

I felt like spicing it up so before work I picked a random spot in Cranston and attempted to explore some nearby powerlines/trails I saw on Google.  I missed the road I was searching for and ended up parking elsewhere.  Then I did an easy loop involving another stretch of powerline followed by a short exploration of a golf course.  Pretty hilly area and people drive way too fast on backcountry roads.  I may never step on that land again.

Friday - East Providence, RI - 4 miles

Before work, I went to the Ten Mile River Bike Path for one last easy run.  Calves felt tight which wasn't reassuring but otherwise an uneventful run.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Warwick, RI - RI 6 Hour Ultra - 40.5 miles

4th overall.  40.5 miles over 5 hours and 43 minutes.  Very excited about this run.  Report forthcoming.

Weekly Mileage: 53.5 miles

Year to Date: 1,737.3 miles

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!

Weekly Log: 4.27.15 - 5.3.15

After four weeks of 40+ plus miles, this should be a lower week to give my legs a rest.  I'm also going to start counting my calories again using an app.  My weight's been creeping upward (no doubt thanks to my keezer).  Time to keep myself honest and drop a few pounds.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 3 miles

Holy Jeez my legs are sore.  Yesterday's 21.5 mile jaunt was much farther than I've run in some time and today I'm feeling the effects.  My quads have some serious DOMS and the calves aren't much better.  I discovered that I had a nail in my tire so I brought it to the mechanic about a mile from the office.  I extended the run to two miles heading back to work and then later in the day I took a straight shot to pick it up making for a short and easy day.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.2 miles

Well they could patch the tire.  Apparently it was too far gone.  The tread on the wheels was pretty low anyway so I brought the car back today to have some new tires put on.  Dropped it off in the morning and ran the mile back to the office.  Legs were still very sore from Sunday.  In the afternoon I did a longer run over to the East Bay bike path and then picked the car up on the way back. 

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 6.5 miles

I went over to the Caratunk Preserve for an easy trail run as the legs are still feeling sore.  I did the usual trail network which netted me about 3.5 miles and then I jumped on a nearby road to explore another powerline path.  The elevation dropped and suddenly I was looking at a swamp/stream ahead of me.  I considered turning around but said fuck it and clomped on through.  I got appropriately muddy and cut up by briars in the process.  However on the other side I was rewarded with a new trail!  I followed it and discovered a new network of dirt bike paths with some truly sketchy plank bridges.  I didn't fully explore it but now I know of some new trails to check out near Caratunk.

Thursday - Charlestown, RI - 3 miles

Took the dog out in the morning for what I knew would be the only run of the day.  The legs are still feeling lifeless and we kept the pace very easy.  At one point I had to fight the urge to walk.  Wow, that long run on Sunday really wore me out.  I definitely won't be looking to duplicate it this weekend.

Friday - East Providence, RI - 9 miles

165 push-ups (standard/wide) 25/30/25/30/25/30

I was kind of wishy-washy about today's run.  Not really sure where to go - I opted for the East Bay Bike Path.  I started off slow but soon my legs felt good and the pace sped up until I was running in the low 6s.  My body was responding to the speed so I kept going.  I had intended to turn around at 3 miles but I kept the pace going until mile 4.  Then I explored some trails nearby before heading back.  I wasn't going to pick it up again by decided otherwise on a long stretch between intersecting streets.  Good run and I was happy with how good I felt, especially the last few miles after the speed stuff.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 8.2 miles

I went over to Burlingame in the afternoon for some easy trail miles.  Parked at the entrance to North Burlingame and ran into the management area first.  Took the White trail down to the Pawcatuck - trail was in pretty good shape.  I got about five miles in the north area before heading down to Sammy C's.  I think I enjoy this trail much more when I start at the northern end.  Looked like there was some kind of fat bike race this weekend - lots of flags and tape.  From Sammy C's I took Schoolhouse Pond Trail to Vim Gormley and then back to the car.  I was going head down to the North Camp and make it ten but my pinky toe had been achy this week.  Just another injury to watch and I figured I'd just keep this run to 8 miles.  Always fun to get back to Burlingame and a good capper to the weekend.

Weekly Mileage: 36.3 miles

Year to Date: 555.4 miles

Weekly Log: 9.8.14 - 9.14.14

This'll be an easy week as I dial back the mileage before ramping it up as we push towards October and race time.  The weather is finally cooling and hopefully I'll have more pep during my lunch runs.

Monday - 0 miles

270 push-ups (standard/wide/decline/Pike's Press) 40/40/35/20/40/40/35/20

No running today but I had a good Yoga session at lunchtime.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 6.5 miles

East Bay Bike Path for a progression run.  I wore my New Balance 890s instead of the 730s (which I usually wear during speedwork.)  I'm thinking that minimal 730s might be to blame for some aches I've been feeling.  They didn't have much cushion to begin with and now both of my pairs have about 250 miles on them.  Anyway, it was a beautiful overcast day and it was great running.   I managed to keep increasing the pace until I was sub-6 for the last 1/2 mile.  Felt good but I think I'm due to try to fit in longer tempo runs.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 4.3 miles

Easy peasey trails over at the Seekonk Meadows.

Thursday - Providence, RI - 6 miles

27 pull-ups w/ assists (standard/chin-up/wide) 3/5, 5/3, 3/3, 4/3, 5/4, 2/3, 5/4
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

I ventured out at lunch without any real gameplan.  Ended up crossing the bridge to the East Side and running towards Butler, where I explored some woods around the hospital.  There were just a couple of newly cleared dirt roads but otherwise it just led down to the shitty shoreline (by shitty I mean filthy as hell.)  Then I ran back to work, taking the trails through Blackstone Park.  Kept the pace somewhat snappy at around 7 minute miles.

Friday - Charlestown/Smithfield, RI - 10.9 miles

160 push-ups (standard) 40/40/40/40

Dark and early dog jog.  I wanted to take the trail off Black Pond Rd over to the Narragansett Trail but the darkness made it difficult and I don't think Oliver appreciated getting whacked in the face by bushes.  Last time I was here I commented on the improvements made to the "trail" near Black Pond Rd.  What a difference a month makes.  The growth was back and it was tough locating the path with only the headlamp.

After work I headed back to Smithfield for another one of my favorite former haunts - Wolf Hill.   The trails showed signs of having recently been maintained and there were fresh blazes on all the trails.  I noticed they changed the trail colors for a lot of them.  After a mile of climbing I emerged at the power lines and promptly took a digger and cut my knee up good.  I continued on and was surprised how overgrown the powerline road was - at points I could barely see the path for the weeds.  I guess the power company doesn't travel up there much anymore.

Wolf Hill contains a WWII Memorial Trail and an a memorial rock for a plane of soldiers that crashed here during the war.  I was pleased to see that the nearby "No Trespassing" trail was finally bonafide and had become an extension of the WWII trail.   I hit most of the trails on the hill, saving a trip up the quarry for just before sunset.  I had made a challenging segment and decided to see if I could set the CR.  As I was running up the quarry I could see the shadow from the setting sun moving up the rock wall which gave me some extra motivation.  I pushed it pretty hard and shaved 19 seconds off my time which I'm psyched about.  With the sun just about down it began to get pretty dark in the woods so I meandered my way back down to the car.  Despite the banged up knee this was a great run.  If you've never been there you owe it to yourself to make a trip up.

This one's for Jeff

Beautiful trails as the sun sets

Long shadows at the top of the quarry

Saturday - 0 miles

We were going to camp in Burlingame but Ezri's been fighting a fever and with the rain forecast for the evening we didn't have much interest.  Instead a productive day around the yard.  I did manage a visit to Whaler's Brewing in Wakefield.  They're a very small operation but I highly recommend checking them out - their tasting had some tasty brews including a hazelnut stout and an apricot sour.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 5.5 miles

Just an easy like Sunday morning run up Old Coach Road.  I threw in a couple trail sections and kept the pace easy.  Weather was just about perfect and it looked like my fellow WTACers had some great races at the Surftown 1/2 Marathon.

Weekly Log: 33.2 miles

Year to Date: 1,374.5 miles

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: 7.7.14 - 7.13.14

Now that vacation week is behind us, it's time to focus on the rest of July which is a doozy!  Lots to do!  This weekend is the Run with the Beavers race.  I did well last year and hope I can duplicate that performance, especially since this is the third and final race of the RI Trail Racing Triple Crown.

Friday is the start of what's become a mini tour of sorts for Hip Bobsha.  We've got four shows over the next five weeks - it's been awhile since we've had so many gigs on the horizon.  I hope to see you at one of them!

Friday, July 11th - Greenwich Hotel, East Greenwich, RI

Friday, July 18th - Manchester 65, West Warwick, RI

Saturday, July 26th - Phil & MJ's Wedding Reception up in Crazy Maine

Saturday, August 9th - Tara's Tipperary Tavern, Matunuck, RI

Next weekend Amanda takes on the Save the Bay swim!  And then the final weekend of July starts with the Blessing on Friday night and continues with a big party up in Maine.  I have a feeling the rest of this month is gonna fly by!

Monday - East Providence, RI - 5.4 miles

215 push-ups (standard/wide/decline/Pike's Press) 40/40/30/15/40/50

It was hot outside and I didn't have much gumption to run.  I was glad I did as once I started my legs had a lot more life than days past.  I think I'm finally recovered from last week's adventure.  I ran over the bridge to to the east side of Providence, running some in Blackstone Park and some on streets.  Like I said it was very hot out but I felt good otherwise.

Tuesday - Seekonk, MA - 4.1 miles

Another super hot day.  Went over to Seekonk Meadows to try out my new NB 601 v2 trail shoes.  I plan to use 'em on Saturday and wanted to get at least one test run in them.  No issues - they should work well.  Once again I was soaked by the end of this short run.

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 6.7 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

Hey alright, another hot day.  Well I had intended to attempt a tempo run on the ol' East Bay Bike Path and I stuck to the plan despite the temp being in the mid-80's.  After an easy mile I increased the speed to the mid 6's and continued for another 2.3 miles until the bikepath intersects roads in Riverside.  I was hot but I didn't feel too bad - I took a few minutes to stretch in the shade before making my return trip.  As has been the case with these short tempo runs, I felt good going back and my pace crept down towards 6 flat.  I told myself to run hard until 5.6 miles (which would give me a 1 mile cooldown to the car) and the last half mile of the tempo was tough.  It was very hot and I was breathing hard, the sweat stinging my eyes.

Finally I hit 5.6 miles and slowed down, immediately feeling completely winded and exhausted.  I could barely muster a walk, let alone a jog.  I slowly made my way back to the car but I stopped a few times in the shade.  Back at the car I downed a bottle of water but still felt pretty weak.  My face was quite red.  This was definitely a case of pushing too hard when the weather's too warm.  Luckily I felt better after getting back to the cool office and eating some lunch.

Thursday - 0 miles

P90X Chest & Back (50 minutes)

No running today as we're having lunch-in since a coworker is leaving (plus yesterday's run left me wiped out.)  Instead I returned to a full-fledged P90X workout since I've long neglected them.  I was curious to see how I'd fare in Chest & Back since I've been fairly consistent in my weekly push-ups.  I was not disappointed.  I hit a total of 248 push-ups which is easily the most I've done in this workout.  My pull-ups were paltry of course and I know I've said it before but I've got to start working on them a couple mornings a week.  Good workout though!

Friday - East Providence, RI - 5.6 miles

Did an easy run over the bridge and around the neighborhood streets of the fancy houses of the East Side.  Kept the pace slow and the heat wasn't as bad as in days past.  After a late night of band practice and an even later night with tonight's gig, it'll be interesting to see how I fare with tomorrow's race.

Saturday - Run with the Beavers 10 Mile Trail Race

Official time: 1:12:15.  7th overall.  Report to follow.

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 3.1 miles

Very easy dog jog in the morning.  Calves a little tight but otherwise not too bad.  Later in the day my left ankle began to hurt on the outside.  Not sure what's up with that.  Probably just strained it from the uneven terrain of yesterday's race.

Weekly Mileage: 35.8 miles
Year to Date: 1,094.5 miles

Weekly Log: 6.16.14 - 6.22.14

Monday - East Providence, RI - 6.1 miles

I decided to return to the East Bay Bike Path, the site of last week's cake incident and try another tempo run, albeit a shorter one.  This attempt went much better with the first couple miles around 6:30 before I was able to kick it up to 6:00 for the next two.  Hot day but the breeze along the bay helped.

The big news today for our clan was that Ezri's leg cast came off!  Huzzah!  It'll still be a few more weeks before she can walk unassisted but at least now she can get wet and go to the beach.

Tuesday - East Providence/West Greenwich, RI - 10 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)
235 push-ups (standard/decline/wide/diamond) 40/30/40/15/30/25/40/15

At lunch I dropped my car off for an oil change and did 3.5 leisurely miles around town.  It was oppressively hot.  And my oil change was oppressively expensive.  I won't be going there again.

After work, I ventured over to Big River.  It was cooler now and I opted to follow the same trail as last week that skirts Capwell Millpond.  Within a half mile the first deer fly appeared.  Soon one became two and then...well you know.  I wished I had thought to grab my hat out of the car.  With my newly buzzed haircut they were having a field day and my curses grew and grew.  After two miles I threw my shirt over my head and soldiered on.  Now their full onslaught began - one fumbled its way into my mouth and another landed on my cheek and bit.  Fucking shitmisers!  There is no recourse against these bastard creatures.   I took Steeplechase back towards the car and still had some time (if not much will) so I ventured over to the Pine trail which was thankfully not fly territory.  Would have been an enjoyable trail run otherwise but next time I'm going apeshit crazy and bringing duct tape.

Wednesday - East - Providence, RI - miles

Hey guess what?  It's hot as balls again!  Hooooray!  Went over to the Ten Mile River Bikepath intent on doing four easy miles and that's just what I did.  Between the shade of the trees and a near continuous breeze I was never hot and it turned out to be a very pleasant run.

In other news, it's sad to watch my hard won Smithfield Strava segments slowly get whittled away.  I lost one a couple weeks ago and another one was taken from me today.  Soon I will be but a distant memory over there.

Thurday - Seekonk, MA - 7.4 miles

195 push-ups (standard/decline/wide/Pike's press) 40/30/40/15/40/30

Today was a speedwork day and I decided to check out the nearby high school.  I parked near the Turner Reservoir and ran a 1/2 mile of trail until it reached the Seekonk High track.  It was empty except for two women walking.  But it was hot.  I didn't think to bring water, a hat or sunscreen.   Dumbass.  Next time.  Anyway after a few laps as a warm-up I got into it.  My plan was 800s, 400s and then 200s - four of each.  As soon as I started the first 800 my brain started trying to negotiate me down to three but I did not relent.  The track was in full sun but thankfully I had cloud cover for most of the 800s.  However I was baking for the other sets.  School got out just as I was getting there and a bunch of kids came to the track to socialize but soon they retreated to the shade of the concession stand.  I still don't know how fast I'm supposed to be running these things but I gave a hard effort and was spent by the end so that's good enough for me.  For now.

Friday - Caratunk Refuge, Seekonk, MA - 4 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

At lunch I went for an easy run in the Caratunk Refuge.  Trails were a lot dryer than the last time I had been there but as I ventured further into the woods I encountered some heavy vegetation at times.  I guess the deeper trails don't get a lot of use or maintenance.  Still I enjoyed the run and the lack of serious bugs.

Saturday - Richmond, RI - 16.4 miles

The original plans for a long group run petered out and I decide on this run at the last minute.  I wanted to explore some more of the North/South trail that was new to me so I parked in the Carolina Management Area and ventured north.  The plan was to follow the trail for 8 miles and then turn around.  Beautiful cool morning - around 55 degrees.  The first 1.5 miles were trail but then I hit charming neighborhood roads.  These were bad but then I came to a busy street.  When I saw the sign for BBQ I realized I was on Route 138.  The trail follows 138 for about a mile which is one mile too many.  Finally I turned onto side streets and ran another two miles of hilly roads.  I was starting to wonder if I'd picked the most road heavy portion of the trail when finally I reentered the woods at 5.5 miles.  I was on trails for most of the rest of the way, eventually passing underneath Interstate 95 and entering the outskirts of Arcadia.

I ran until I hit 8 miles when I encountered a cool river of boulders.  I ventured just beyond them and then began the long return trip.  My legs began to tire but at least it was more downhill than not. Route 138 was just as annoying the second time.  It's too bad that the trail diverts onto roads for four miles but looking at the map I guess it has to navigate around quarries.  I don't know if I'll ever do the whole thing but I enjoyed exploring a couple new sections of trail.  And it was nice not worrying about directions and just following the blue blazes.

Sunday - 0 miles

Weekly Mileage: 48.1 miles

Year to Date: 987.6 miles

Weekly Log: 6.9.14 - 6.15.14

Monday -  0 miles

P90X Shoulders & Arms (45 minutes)

It's been a while since I did a P90X workout but I wasn't running today so I opted for one in the morning.  This one was a good choice and the light weight work hit the spot.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

I decided to run the East Bay Bike Path after work and further decided to make it a tempo run.  Though I'm taking it easy through June it's never too soon to start thinking about those muggy July races.  I figured five miles at a 6:20ish pace would be a good effort in line with what I'd be running at the Blessing.

Unfortunately, I made the unwise decision to eat a slice of carrot cake at 3 PM in honor of a retiring coworker.  I didn't think much of it at the time and figured it'd be replacing my usual afternoon snack of pretzels & carrots.  But this was a Gregg's cake, loaded with buttercream deliciousness.  As soon as I started the run I didn't feel great.  I felt churglins and gurglins in my gut that just wouldn't go away.  I decided to attempt the workout anyway so after a mile I cranked it up.  Immediately I could feel the bile begin creeping up my throat.  The bike path was loaded with people and I didn't want to puke and scare the children.  I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain the pace so after 1.5 miles I bailed and trudged along until I hit 3.5 miles.  I stretched for a couple minutes and then made my way back to the car, never really feeling any better.

As an aside, people are dumb as hell (or just don't care, which is worse.)  How hard is it to walk on the correct side of the bike path?  Keep to the left, dummies!

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 6 miles

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

When I run across the Henderson Bridge I see a dirt road below - it didn't take me long to figure out where it starts and today I went exploring.  It ran along old unused train tracks before opening up into a big sand pit clearly used by 4 wheel drive vehicles.  I came out along the shore of the Seekonk River which is a smelly, oil-stained place.  I followed the shore briefly before finding some more trails.  The ground was black, unnatural.  I was behind the industrial behemoths that occupy the land near my office.  It was very noisy and the woods were littered with trash and fossilized tires, long decayed.  All in all a pretty nasty place.

After that I jumped onto roads and ran down a couple neighborhood streets.  Therer was an unusually large amount of old people hanging out by their fences (maybe waiting for the mail?)  They all seemed to give me a cold glare as though it was my fault they were stuck in East Providence.  Sorry folks, there's nothing I can do for you.

Thursday - Charlestown/East Providence, RI - 10.3 miles

Dog Jog first thing in the morning.  We did the loop from Black Pond Rd to the Narragansett trail and then back on Old Coach.  I didn't consider that the spring growth would make finding the trail difficult - we basically had to bushwack to get to a clearer path but Oliver was a good sport about it.

In the afternoon, I stuck to my plan and did some 1/4 mile intervals on Waterfront Dr (the empty straightaway I discovered last week.)  I settled on 12 since I did 6 half milers last week.  Since I wasn't on a track I wasn't sure how to measure out the downtime in between.  I settled on 1/10 mile jogs since it'd be easy to calculate with the GPS watch.  This seemed to work well and didn't give me too much rest in between.  Like all good speed work, the last few sucked and I had to bargain with myself to get through 'em.  A satisfying workout but I got back to the office a big sweaty mess.

Friday - Seekonk, MA - 5 miles

290 push-ups (standard/wide/decline/pike's press/diamond) 50/40/30/20/15/40/40/30/15/10

I got absolutely drenched making trips out to the car this morning but amazingly I left the torrential downpours in South County and my commute wasn't awful.  By lunch the storm had passed and I hit up the Seekonk Meadows for some humid, muddy fun.  Actually there wasn't too much mud - the trails drained well.  I wore my minimal MT00s per usual with this place - they drain exceedingly well.  For the first time I wore 'em without socks.  Worked really well.  It my muggy but not buggy so I'll definitely take it.

Saturday - 0 miles

Plenty of stuff to do around the house.  Figure I'll run long on Father's Day.

Sunday - Charlestown/North Kingstown, RI - 7.8 miles

Okay so that long run didn't happen.  I woke up without much gumption to run for two hours.  So as I lay in bed I shortened it to 1 hour.  Then I mentally shortened it again to a short dog jog.  So my 14 miles ended being whittled down to 2.2 miles.  It's June, I do what I want!  I'm not in training per se at the moment and I'm giving myself license to chill.  Plus without the long run I was able to go out to a wonderful Father's Day breakfast with all my girls which was a treat.

In the afternoon I brewed some beer with bandmate Jay at his house.  The whole process went quicker than planned and I found myself with some time before dinner was ready (Jay and his special ladyfriend were making kabobs.)  I took the trail and beach over to Rome Point for an easy, hot afternoon run.  Rome Point was packed with people on this beautiful day.  I was moving pretty well considering that I had a couple beers in me and really enjoyed the trails.  Plus I felt less guilty about shirking my morning run.

Weekly Mileage: 36.1 miles

Year to Date: 939.5 miles

Good week.  Glad I made up for the cake incident with another round of speedwork on Thursday.  If I can keep the workouts occurring on a weekly basis, I'll be in good shape (though next weekend I really should run long seeing as I bailed on the last two.)

Weekly Log - 6.2.14 - 6.8.14

Everyone else is doing it, so I'm also going to add a Strava feed to the side of the ol' blog rather than post the individual entries in the blog itself.  It'll help streamline things plus if Strava craps out it won't make my past blog entries look awful.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 5.4 miles

It was a hot day out there.  At lunch I went over the the East Bay Bike Path and took off at a jaunty pace.  The breeze off the bay kept me cool.  I jumped into the woods to check a small circuit of trails before continuing along the path for a while longer.  Beautiful day along the water.

Tuesday - West Greenwich, RI - 9.9 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes) / 160 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 40/30/40/20/30

After work I hit up Big River.  I wanted to continue to explore the trail along Capwell Millpond.  I continued to bear left and eventually it turned south and intersected the New London Turnpike.  From here I ventured over towards the quarry and made my way up to the Lookout.  Found it on the first try!  Then I planned to take Elephant back down to where it intersects Sawmill but I got turned around and ended up back at beginning of Sawmill.  No matter, at least I knew where I was.  Followed Sawmill all the way and then took I See Dead People back towards the car.  This run was a lot of fun.  It was humid but no bugs yet.  Encountered several mountain bikers on this run and when I returned to the lot there were quite a few more cars.  Lots of people enjoying Big River on this particular evening.

Wednesday - Providence/Hopkinton, RI - 10.6 miles

With no real plan in mind I decided to hop across the bridge to the east side and head towards India Point Park.  At first I felt normal but by the time I reached the park I began to tire.  I ventured up to the Brown Campus and wandered this way and that.  Legs never pepped up and it was a bit of a slog.  Very humid too.

After work I went to the mall to get my poor iPod Touch fixed (replaced) and then I had time before picking up Em to tack on a few more miles in Hopkinton.  Just like at lunch my legs felt fine for a while.  I went into Black Farm and did the usual small loop of trails before arriving at the water vista with the long-gone train bridge.  I enjoyed the serenity and sounds of the marsh creatures as dusk settled over the land.  But it was tough to get going again.  And it was even more humid than it had been at lunch time.  The run back to the dance studio was slow and sluggish.  I was very glad when it was over.

So probably more running than I needed today but it was National Running Day.  The last few years I've never been able to run on this day so I felt compelled to make up for it.

Thursday - 0 miles

310 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 40/20/40/30/40/30/50/30/30

Legs need a day off.  Instead just a boatload of push-ups at lunch.

Friday - East Providence, RI - 7.2 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

There's a road that was recently finished near my office (it's still under construction on google/maps) that's a throughway to bypass a bunch of congested neighborhood streets.  I started taking it this week as it's wide, straight and free of side streets.  Hmmm, perhaps I could put this new find to work?

It was 80 and sunny but I ventured over there anyway, intent on doing some form of speedwork.  It's close enough to the office to allow me to run to and from as a warmup/cooldown.  I opted for six 1/2 mile intervals, run at my 5k pace with 1/4 mile jogs between.  T pace, I pace - I still don't understand this shit.  So I went with Seth Pace, an effort that feels hard and makes me want to quit.  It went accordingly and the last two were exhausting.  Thankfully the sun went behind clouds for the second half of the run.  The road itself proved perfect for the workout - not a lot of traffic and very wide shoulders.  I'll be sure to come back for more suffering.

Saturday - 0 miles

Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 7.4 miles

Originally I was going to run long in the morning but by Saturday afternoon I decided to hell with it.  No motivation to get up early and run for a few hours.  It's June - I do what I want!  So I had sort of accepted a zero for the weekend but then as Sunday unfolded I decided to run at the beach in the afternoon when the opportunity presented itself.  I parked at Charlestown Beach, ran down to the Breachway and then in the opposite direction to Green Hill.  Beautiful day - lots of people enjoying the warm sunny afternoon.  After 3.5 wet sandy miles I decided to take the roads back to the car.  I enjoyed the beach but battling the tide takes its toll.  The road miles were uneventful but enjoyable as well.  Good way to end a productive weekend.

Weekly Mileage: 40.4 miles

Year to Date: 903.4 miles

Couple good runs this week.  10 miles of fun in Big River and a return to speedwork on Friday.  Pleased to hit 40 despite no long weekend run.  Let's keep it going.