Weekly Log: 6.23.14 - 6.29.14

And so we come to the end of June.  I said that this would be a do-what-I-feel month and I've stuck to that.  Only one long run for the month thus far and no races to speak of.  It looks like I'll be breaking 1000 miles for the first half of 2014 so I'm right on pace for 2000 for the year.  This last week promises to be busy, busy, busy as next week is the return of Vacation Awesomesauce.  I'm probably more excited than anyone else but I've got a lot to do at home and in the office before we can depart.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 3 miles

110 push-ups (standard/military/wide) 40/30/40

My calves have been quite sore over the last two days.  After 16 miles on Saturday morning, I tied one on in the afternoon.  I was fairly hungover on Sunday and I think the dehydration really prompted the soreness in my calves.  I debated just taking the day off but ultimately figured a few easy miles would help loosen 'em up.  I ran over the bridge and through the Blackstone Park trails before returning to the office and banging out a few push-ups.

Tuesday - East Providence, RI - 10.2 miles

170 push-ups (standard/decline/wide) 40/30/40/40/20

At lunch, a bunch of push-ups.  Then a few very easy miles.  Calves finally feel back to normal.

After work, I ventured over to the East Bay Bike Path for another tempo run.  Legs felt good right off the bat and I picked up the pace quickly.  The cross wind from the bay was powerful and I had to work hard against it.  I stopped briefly in Riverside to stretch and then turned around, picking up the pace to 6 minute miles.  I got into a focused, rhythmic breathing and was moving very well.  I kept pushing the pace along the water and when the path veered uphill/inland I continued to push but once I crested the hill I was beat.  Slow and steady the rest of the way to the car.

Wednesday - Seekonk, MA - 5.1 miles

Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)

It was mid-80's today and super muggy.  The air was thick and oppressive.  Nevertheless I stuck to my plan of easy miles in the Seekonk Meadows.  I decided to test run the waist pack that I'll be bringing up to New Hampshire (it's not a fanny pack Jonny!  There are many pockets!)  The humid heat really sapped my energy.  I had put a water bottle in the pack to add some weight to it but I had drank it all by the end.  Pretty tiring conditions but the pack should work well in the Whites.

Thursday - Rome Point, North Kingstown, RI - 4.7 miles

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

I had band practice in the evening (we'll be at the Greenwich Hotel in E.G. on the 11th.  Come out!)  I stopped at Rome Point beforehand and it looked like thunderstorms had passed through.  Everything was wet and there were puddles everywhere.  The air was nice and cool.  Good run.  Wore my MT00s which I've been wearing without socks.  They drain so well.  I was enjoying the evening run but my calves began to feel sore so I cut it a few miles short.

Friday - Charlestown, RI/Seekonk, RI - 11.5 miles

Dog Jog in the morning.  In the afternoon I went over the Seekonk Track.  The plan was a ladder - 200 / 400 / 800 / 400 / 200 - three in each set.  It was hot and sunny but there was wind which, while made one side of the track a bear, also kept the temperature reasonable.  Right from the get-go I didn't have much oomph and I definitely wasn't giving it 100%.  Still the pace picked up as I went and I'm glad I got it done.

Saturday -  0 miles

Packing up and getting ready for our vacation.  Then my Uncle Jimmy and his lady came into town from the Virgin Islands and took us and my mom out for a great lunch at the Breachway Grill.  Then we went to Miriam's dance recital where she did great.  Finally back home to finish packing.

Sunday - 0 miles

Woke up early and hit the road by 5:45.  Arrived in the lovely Glen, NH by 11 AM.  Went to Moat Mountain for lunch and had my usual beef brisket sandwich.  I love that thing.  Also a couple beers.  Then back home before attempting to hit the outlets...all closed.  Damn Sunday.  Well at least we bought groceries for the week.   I still amazed when I can buy beer in a supermarket.  Ezri was a bit of a grump throughout the day.  Let's hope it's not an indication of what's to come.

Beer:
1x Moat Mountain East Intervale IPA
1x Moat Mountain Slow Chair Trippel
2x Moat Mountain Iron Mike Pale Ale

Weekly Mileage: 34.7 miles

Year to Date: 1,022.3 miles

No running this weekend but that's alright as the rest is probably necessary.  I expect I'll be topping my last two months of elevation with the next week of vacation.

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.)