Mon.-Thurs. - 0 Miles. Kids' Summer Finale in full effect. While I stretched, did karate on Monday and Wednesday, and played with the kids (and the dog), no runs were had for the first four days of the week...
Friday, 8-8 - 4+ Miles (Trail) - 2.7 miles at Lantern Hill. Warm and I felt sluggish, probably due to the 4 days off. Lots of people out today! Good to see hikers of all ages out there.
p.m. - 1.5 Miles on Grindstone/Fowler Preserve trails across the street with Lori and the dog. Sort of a hike/jog, but Lori did say that she finally understood why I run trails all the time...long time coming to hear that, but I'll take it!
Saturday, 8-9 - 4 Miles (Beach) - Barefoot beach Progression run, Misquamicut. Felt really, really comfortable today, starting off super easy and gradually increasing the pace the entire time. Low tide helped, and there were a few knee deep runout spots to cool off in. Good run on a gorgeous summer day!
evening - 1.7 miles (Trail) - Dog jog, peppy pace minus the "stop and sniff" method. We even made it to the stream for a quick cool off before heading home, where Lori and I threw down with some Speedminton. That shit is a legit workout...
Sunday, 8-10 - 20 Miles (Road/Beach) - Run from the house to the beach. Having not done any long training runs for quite a while (as later pointed out by Jeff), I decided that I'd put together something in the neighborhood of 20-ish miles, and a roundabout run to the beach was plotted. The run would take me from my house in North Stonington into Pawcatuck, through Westerly and out to Watch Hill, where I'd make the turn toward Misquamicut and finish at the beach club. I'd meet the girls there and hopefully they'd give me a ride home...?
I got started later than expected, it was already warm and getting hotter by the minute, and I realized after a few miles that this was going to be a tough run. I had a CamelBak and a handheld, and drained the handheld rather quickly. The pack was drained until it got hot enough to not drink - Powerade is nasty when it's warm. I saw several friends out walking during the first few miles, and called my friend Jim to join me at mile 8, where I stopped in at a convenience store to buy some water for the handheld. Jim stayed with me until mile 11, then turned back toward his house. Nice to have some company for a few miles!
By the time I reached Watch Hill at mile 15, I was out of gas - the heat had done its job. I've done longer runs, and much faster long runs, but this was a slog. I fueled properly, took gels right on schedule, and was drinking enough liquid (I thought), but I was hurting at this point. I bought another large bottle of water in W.H., and continued on past Ocean House, and along the ocean on back roads until I got into Misquamicut, where I promptly ran into Sharon, my next door neighbor. She said later that my eyes were glassy and I looked like I was on speed or something. That's not quite the look I was going for, but thanks!? Once I got to Westerly Town Beach, I was out of water. I decided to finish up on the beach, where it might be a bit cooler (it wasn't), and walk/jogged (Beth cringes at the word "jog" but I'd hardly call it running at this point) the last couple of miles. I was a hot mess by the time I got to the beach club. Thankfully, I made it! Lori was there with a grinder and large iced coffee, water, and a shade umbrella. I rinsed off in the ocean, scarfed down the grinder and stayed in the shade the rest of the day. Mike B., fresh off a 10-mile beach run, stopped by to check on me and offer some kudos in person, and later on we had a nice chat with Jeff, Matthew, Mark and Jonny E., who were doing a short beach run.
WTAC powwow on the beach!
I'm going to call this run a learning experience. Knowing the forecast, I should have left much earlier than I did. I also should have filled the pack with water and ice cubes, not Powerade. I sweat like a pig, and didn't bring anything to wipe my face. I did put two water stops on my route, but at the rate I was drinking, I should have bought an extra bottle in Watch Hill, as I ran out two miles from my destination. In spite of all of this, I enjoyed the run, the challenge of plotting a course and not giving in to the urge to call Lori to pick me up (which crossed my mind more than a few times). I'm gonna take another stab at this route on a cooler day, and do it a bit better. I should be closer to 3 hours in the right conditions, I think...
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