Marathon Training Week 4 - Week of 9-2 to 9-8

Another week down, another week closer to the Nipmuck Marathon.  Most of my training is going to take place on trails for the next month, with some minor exceptions, and preferably on trails that are technically more difficult than the Nipmuck course...

I was supposed to go to a friend's wedding in Ohio this coming weekend, but due to the high cost of plane tickets, my wife is going solo.  That said, since I'm not going, I decided to sign up for the NK5K, which I've done twice before.  Tommy FiveK and I are carpooling to this race, which is flat, fast and in need of some PR setting.  My previous results are listed below:

2011 - 174/532     28:09 @ 9:04 avg.

2012 - 103/522     24:40 @ 7:57 avg.
2013 - ???            2*:** @ 6:** ???

Monday, 9-2 - 7 Miles (Trail/Dirt Roads) - Tippecansett/Deep Pond/Dye Hill/Pachaug loop, Arcadia Management Area.  This loop starts off fairly benign along the lake, then gets twisty, hilly and technical, before ending on a dirt road and briefly hitting pavement.  Very humid still, and raining just a bit.  Very cool trails here, and we did go off trail a couple of times but weren't super lost, just sort of lost...heard some rushing water off the trail at one point, decided to explore a bit and found an awesome campsite somebody had set up next to a stream, complete with  stone benches and firepit, overlooking a series of small waterfalls.  Never would have known it was there, and only 50 feet off the trail.  Photos of today's trail coolness below:

Trippy 'shrooms, man...going to collect this tomorrow :)

Misty morning on Beach Pond

Rhode Island???

50 feet off trail.  Campsite/firepit is behind the stone wall...

Off trail.  Love it...

P.M. - Trip through torrential rain and traffic-clogged I-95 to get Soph some soccer gear, and I was able to wrangle a quick pit stop at Waterford Wine and Spirit, home of one of the best darn selections of beer anywhere, and look what's in stock!  Delicious...I've mentioned before that I don't normally like fruit or spices or any unusual additions like that to beer, but Dogfish Head pretty much nails the balance on all their limited-release stuff...

Great way to start the week!

Tuesday, 9-3 - 2 Miles (Trail) - 2 super short runs.  First, I ran out to collect the mushroom I photographed yesterday, as I was told it's a special "Chicken of the Woods" mushroom, highly prized by mushroom fanatics and supposed to be delicious when prepared properly.  Gone when I got there, and whoever took it, took it right down to the bark.  Bummer.  I'll know for next time, I guess...

Raced over to the middle school in blinding rain, only to find out that the soccer tryout meeting had moved indoors.  So I'm milling around, waiting for them to finish, and the rain lets up a bit.  I notice a dirt track out by the soccer field, and see one of the coaches doing some paperwork, so I ask if it's okay if I do some laps.  We get to talking and it turns out he's the Wheeler cross country coach.  THEN he tells me there's a whole network of trails just into the woods?  Really?  Suddenly waiting for my daughter's practice to get out every day isn't going to be so bad!  I did a very short run in the rain to check it out, and they're nice trails, super runnable and just enough technical stuff to make it challenging.  Best thing that happened all day!

Wednesday, 9-4 - 0 Miles - Got a call from a friend who owns a landscape company, who was shorthanded and was looking for some help.  So, I spent the day getting filthy, whacking weeds and helping a friend.  Good day.

Thursday, 9-5 - 2.5 Miles (Trails) - Hewitt property trails and local roads.  Had a small window of opportunity before my daughter/nephew's extra-super-early dismissal (11a.m. for the middle school? 12 for the elem.?  Really?), so I hit the Hewitt Farm, just around the corner from the schools.  Got viciously stung by a hornet on my calf, but otherwise had an enjoyable romp around the property...



Friday, 9-6 - 3+ Miles (Trails) - Wheeler Trails behind the schools.  More exploring while Soph finished up her soccer practice, which is 5 days a week and means that I'll be spending lots of time on these trails.  Even the cross country team knows me on sight now (and they have one kid who's ridiculously fast), so I'm some random dude running in the woods behind the school.  I even chatted with the CC coaches, cool dudes.  Next up?  Carpool in the morning and the NK5K with Tommy FiveK, should be awesome!



Saturday, 9-7 - 6 Miles (Roads) - NK5K warmup/race/cooldown.  Separate write-up to follow...