Monday, 3-24 - 4.7 Miles (Trail) - Lantern Hill. Have I mentioned that I love Lantern Hill? It's the perfect training ground for real trail running: steep (20-30% grade in places), multiple trail options, beautiful views, runnable and highly technical sections alike, and close to the house. And I'm usually the only person there. I've gotten to know every root, rock, nook and cranny there, and it never gets old. Set out today for a double up and back from the bottom to the top and got it, although my GPS was squirrelly and gave me credit for a segment I didn't earn. I did the right thing and flagged it, and it should be removed by morning. If I'm gonna hold the fastest time for a route, it's gotta be through an honest effort. That said, the winds were blocked by the hill, and I had a great time out there. Even surprised a big buck in the lower trails by the pond, which got my heart racing. Love the trails...Too much fun, and I can't wait to try the point-to-point Narragansett Trail, 21 miles of hilly awesomeness. Once the gun club's restriction on their piece of the trail is up, it's on!
Tuesday, 3-25 - 0 Miles. Worked with a friend gutting a kitchen today, so I got an excellent workout taking down cabinets and countertops, dragging them outside, smashing them and loading the whole mess into a dumpster. Good fun!
Unfortunately, the local and national news picked up the story about a pack of hybrid wolf dogs that have been roaming around the area right up the road from Lantern Hill, where I ran yesterday, where I run all the time, and where I have been aiming to do my CT50 elevation training runs because of the grade %. I did some research, as they apparently cornered a homeowner on his property, wouldn't be scared away, and one of them had to be shot. Not a pet, people!!! They retain the predatory instincts of a wolf, but have no fear around humans and will try to establish dominance over them. The DEEP Conservation Officers are investigating, and local word is that they know who the owner (irresponsible asshole) is. Hope this gets taken care of quickly...meantime, plenty of other places for solo jaunts in the woods.
Wednesday, 3-26 - 0 Miles. 1 hour karate, light weights and stretching. Too windy! I'll get out tomorrow, the wind will have died down, and I don't have anything scheduled.
Thursday, 3-27 - 3 Miles - Salt Rock State Park/Campground, Sprague CT. I was headed to Lisbon to get some home supplies, so I scoped out local parks with my Pocket Ranger app. Awesome app, they have one for CT and one for RI, they're free and quite comprehensive. A short ride up the road from the Home Depot was the Mohegan State Forest, but I totally missed the side road that the entrance is located on and, short on time, remembered that I'd passed a state park called Salt Rock. Turns out it's just a campground, but I found a really nice mile long section of unmarked trail along the Shetucket River, and some decent hills coming up from the river, so it was worth checking out:
Bright, sunny day...
Probably wouldn't hit this spot again, as there are so many other parks and preserves in this area to check out, with a lot more acreage...gorgeous day though!
Friday, 3-28 - 5+ Miles (Trails) - Devil's Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, CT. Anticipating yet another trip to Home Depot, I knew that 20 minutes up the road from the Waterford store was the Devil's Hopyard, so there I went. It started raining right before I got there, but it was just drizzly and not a factor. Because of the tree cover, there was still ice on some of the trails, but I was able to avoid slipping. I did, however, get absolutely filthy in the mud, which was awesome! Great hills there, and I have plenty more exploring to do...
Interesting juxtaposition here: "Got bliss?" with "You're not alone..."
The Devil's Oven, complete with the last lingering icicles
Trail goodness along the river
Chapman Falls
Saturday, 3-29 - 4.5 Miles (Trails) - Long and Ell Pond Preserve, Hopkinton, RI. I'd decided to do a trail run with Beth, and threw out an invite to a few people for a morning (not early!) run. Jim and Jeff came along, and the more the merrier! The weather was perfect, 40-45 degrees, no wind, and based on our meeting place I decided on the last, and possibly most interesting part of (besides Lantern Hill, High Ledges, Green Falls, etc...), the Narragansett Trail. It's a roller coaster ride of a trail, with several climbs at a 20-45% grade...we kept it at a conversational pace, and I felt really comfortable. Easy pace, but I was able to get in some quick climbs, and plan on creating a segment out of the section pictured below, as it's one of my favorites:
One of several short but sweet climbs. Photo by Beth!
I've been able to hit several super technical, hilly trails this week, and my goal of ramping up my elevation totals is working (currently at almost 2,200'). Miles, not so much, but the trails I chose are not easy. I'll take what I can and call it a victory...
Sunday, 3-30 - 0 Miles - So it poured last night, and has been steadily drizzling all day, and it's pouring again right now...running errands around town today, I was able to take a look at the streams and rivers in the area, which are all at or above flood stage, and frighteningly reminiscent of the Flood of 2010, which was really bad. There was water coming across route 49 already, right up the street from me, so I'd expect a challenging Monday getting out of here. Fortunately, the kids have no school tomorrow. I ended up with less than 20 miles for the week, but it was an all trail, good elevation week, which leaves me in good shape for Big River next weekend.
On a positive note, I have a new toy to play with, courtesy of my nephew Julian!
GoPro Hero HD
Can't wait! I picked up a 16G memory card, read the instruction manual, and already shot, downloaded and played back a short video, so I'm comfortable using it and transferring footage, etc...looking forward to hitting some hilly trail climbs to try it out...
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