Snowmageddon! Blizzard week of 1-26 to 2-1

And there I was, thinking we were gonna make it through winter without getting a solid snowstorm...and NO!!!  Wrong, dummy!  Mother Nature is about to drop the hammer on New England, with a nice fat blizzard.  Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few days, you've already heard about it, and we're set to get hit with 15-30" of the white stuff, with locally higher amounts possible.  I'm working Monday a.m., and most likely won't get a run in.  No worries...

Sunday is the Narragansett Super 5k, one of my "legacy" races, and I never miss it.  I'm shooting for a PR.  Will it happen?  I think so...previous results below:

2010 - 25:57
2011 - 26:57
2012 - 25:12
2013 - 22:03
2014 - 21:35

If I feel good and go out strong, who knows?

And in other news here in North Stonington...

Mountain Lions!  In my town?  The State DEEP has (and will) deny it to the hilt, but a number of NoSto residents have reported seeing them in recent weeks:

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/North-Stonington-Residents-Report-Seeing-Possible-Mountain-Lions-289679831.html

So move over, hybrid wolfdogs!  There's a new sheriff in these woods...and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all to come across one, although they're too stealthy and I'm too loud and clunky to see one of the big cats.  There have been a couple of times though, where I felt like something in the woods was checking me out (and not in a good way), and is one of the reasons why I run with a blade when I run alone in the woods.  You just never know, but so far all I've come across on trails have been sketchy people, not animals :)

It's gonna be a snowy, cold and uncertain week...we'll see what Tuesday brings (besides a crapload of shoveling)!

Monday, 1-26 - 0 Miles - Work in the a.m., and last-minute storm prep in the p.m.  I hate to say it, but I might very well break down tomorrow and fire up the treadmill if there's zero chance of running outside...might give me a chance to try one of the Daniels treadmill workouts, anyway...

Tuesday, 1-27 - 2 Miles (Road) - Snow-covered hill run with the dog.  No treadmill!  Shoveled 2 feet of snow for three hours, then changed and took the dog for a run up the road.  Trails were NOT an option...cold, still snowing and breezy, but we had a great time, Henry and I!

Wednesday, 1-28 - 7 Miles (2 Road/5 Treadmill) - Repeat of yesterday's dog jog/First treadmill run in forever.  Cold, breezy and slippery run up the hill with Henry, who's come to expect that when I pull out my running gear, he's coming along.  We did the two miles, and I didn't feel like I was quite finished running for the day, but I was also not looking forward to changing clothes and hitting the slushy streets again.  Solution?  The Daniels book had a section on treadmill training, specifically for hill workouts and interval training.  I did a bit of both, warming up with increased pace/incline every half mile up to three miles, at which point I was moving at a 7:00 pace.  I then dropped the incline back down and alternated 400m at 6:00 pace, then 400m at 7:00 pace for the last two miles, followed by a short cooldown.  Blasted loud punk rock the entire time.  Nice to be able to run in just shoes and shorts!  Might have to incorporate more of these workouts in the future.  Cue snarky comments from Beth in 3, 2, 1...

Thursday, 1-29 - 5 Miles (Beach/Road) - Napatree Point beach run with Watch Hill roads.  Found myself in the Dunn's Corners area, so I cruised over to Watch Hill and ran Napatree Point.  Funny, I saw one person on the entire out/back, this dude walking his dog, and as I passed by and said hello, he replied with "Didn't I work with you at the casino?  Mike, right?"  Small world...after that I had the whole beach to myself!  Seriously, the weather couldn't have been any better for a run - low 30's, sunshine, and zero wind.  Awesome...

Cresting wave of snow...

Frozen boulders!

Icy coast

Perfect day for a beach run!

Frozen Watch Hill harbor

Lighthouse in the distance

Yeah, my horizons are off-kilter just a touch...beautiful day though!

Friday, 1-30 - 0 Miles.  Loads to do at the house.  I did, however, throw my hat in the ring and sign up for the inaugural Mystic Half Marathon, scheduled for May 31, 2015.  I run there a lot and am quite familiar with most of the course, but I also created a Strava map of the course:

https://www.strava.com/routes/1226586

It's more hilly on the back end, so I'll plan on banking time on the river sections in the first few miles, and trust that the hillwork I do now will serve me well during the latter part of the race.  Can't wait!  Those in the know can run a warmup/cooldown on trails right next to the start/finish :)

I'll plan on giving it a go in the next few weeks, weather permitting...and in other news, my daughter turned 13 today, so say a little prayer for me, will ya?  The next few years are gonna be iffy at best...Happy Birthday, Soph!

Saturday, 1-31 - 0 Miles.

Sunday, 2-1 - 7 Miles - Narragansett Super 5k warmup/race + dog jog.  21:26, 50th OA of 213.  This is my sixth time running this race.  It's a pretty damn deep field for such a small race (the top 30 runners were sub-20), and the weather is usually a big X factor.  This time around?  Not so much with the weather, except that it was chilly and breezy.  I drove up with Colburn and his friend Tom, and it was nice to have some conversation on the ride.  After we checked in and dropped our gear at the WTAC table, I went out for a warmup, and spied Beth out on the road.  I caught up with her just as she abruptly changed direction (and startled both of us), and cruised back to the start with her.  I felt good, not great, but I was pretty determined to try for a PR.

I finished my warmup and stopped for a bathroom break, and had just enough time to run to the truck for a change of hat and gloves.  I'd just gotten to the group assembled for the start of the race and the horn went off.  Crap!  I was starting at dead last, and wove my way through the group to get to where I should have been.  That said, I managed a decent first mile at a 6:47.  The second mile?  Well, it included the turnaround, and I checked my watch.  10:42.  Shit.  No sub-20 today, my "A" goal.  Let's keep going and try for a course PR.  Mile 2 was a 6:53, and mile 3 a 6:43.  I felt good not great, and couldn't muster any kind of kick whatsoever.  My official time was 21:26, a 9 second PR for the course.  I also had a "Space Watch" PR for my 5k time, but I'm not gonna count it.

Had loads of fun at this race.  NRA puts on a great event, and we were up against the Turtles again, who came out in force and brought their wunderkind, DJ, who finished 2nd in 16:17?  He's what, 15 or 16???  My time wasn't a factor in the Men's team category, but our guys managed to edge out the TNT crew by just a smidge.  Great rivalry, and good fun at these races with our "frenemies."

So the recap?  I PR'd the course, didn't hit my A goal, but did well overall.  Not too shabby, and I really need to do more speedwork!

I also took the dog on a run when I got home, which he was very excited about :)