A Long December: Running toward Winter and the New Year

Here comes Winter!  For most, this means it's time to break out the treadmill, but for many of my more hardy friends (and myself), this means another awesome New England season of running, and the start of the 4th Season Trail Race series, hosted by Mike Galoob and his team at Off Rhode Racing.  This also means another opportunity to crush some Turtle dreams, heh heh heh...

I've already begun mapping out my race schedule for 2016, and it will of course be heavy on trail races, and only include a select number of road races that I plan to do every year until I croak.  The plan for the next six months?  Build a base of miles/elevation/technical runs that will culminate in my first 50-miler.  I have some really interesting races already set/scheduled, as a precursor to this, and I'll be as ready as I can be!

Or, it'll all fall to shit, and I'll just wing it (as I usually do)...

12/6 - 36th Pearl Harbor Masters 5-Mile Race, Waterford.  I knew a few friends were running this race, and I woke up with intentions of a long trail run, but when my wife mentioned she had plans, I threw my shit together and headed down to the race.  It's a race in its 36th edition, my first attempt, and is restricted to us "old farts," (thanks, Beth!) 40 years old and above.  Still some fast seasoned runners there, though...

I checked in, chatted with a whole bunch of friends who were there, and ran a short warmup on the back end of the course to assess the "hill" at the start/finish.  Great going out...not so much at the finish!

Chatted before the race with the older dude wearing nothing but angel wings, tutu and running shoes.  Interesting...

So the race starts and I'm thinking "I know about 30 people here, and I haven't run in a week, I hope I don't bomb out today," but that went away after the downhill.  I settled into about 10th place, felt good, and decided that if I could maintain that spot, I'd be happy.  Great course, too, especially once we turned off the main road into the residential area along the coves.  Gorgeous scenery, rolling roads on the water with little traffic, and the occasional hoots of encouragement from residents!

I'd run a consistent race, and finally reeled in one more runner on the last hill (Sorry, Steve!) to finish in 9th place, which also scored me 2nd in my age group and a sweet trophy!

The afterparty, in true Elks Lodge fashion, included beer on tap and venison stew, which was delicious.  Great conversations with friends, and I had one of the best race days I've ever had.  Just a great time...

And the WTAC cleaned up!  Josh came in 3rd, and the AG awards were plentiful...next up, the Christmas 10k in Newport, beware Turtles!!!

12/9 - 6 Mile Beach and Trail run, Hammonassett State Park, Madison CT.  What a glorious stretch of weather, that I was able to run on the beach, in shorts and t-shirt, on December 9th, and felt oddly overdressed!  Great run on the beach to kick things off, then I ventured onto their nature trails, until finally running out of time and hoofing it back to the truck.  Great run!

12/12  - 2 Mile Shakeout run, Canonchet Preserve, Hopkinton RI.  I was able to squeeze in a short trail run this afternoon, which started with another "Aggressive coyotes have been reported in this area" sign at the trailhead, and a giant "Hunting Season!  Wear all the orange you own" sign where the preserve becomes state land.  I saw neither beast (hunters or coyotes), and had a thoroughly enjoyable run here.  Great trails!

12/13 - 10-ish Miles, w/u, c/d, and the 32nd Newport Christmas 10k.  I'd never run this race before, but I like the idea of a scenic road race, and headed down to Newport with friend and fellow WTAC'er Joe S.  My mileage has been low because of work, and I had no expectations other than to have fun.  Ran a good warmup with my fellow WTAC members, and then extended my warmup when I noticed a trail across from the race HQ.  Of course!  Turns out, there's an awesome singletrack trail that loops around an old quarry, with dramatic cliffside views.  I looped the whole thing, short and sweet, and ran back to the car to change shirts.

Funny thing, it being warm enough to run along the ocean in December here in shorts and a singlet!  I was determined to enjoy the view, the run, and let things run their course.  I lined up way back, and wove my way through runners after the start.  I felt pretty good, and picked up speed slowly but steadily.  What a great day!  Light winds, warm temps, and possibly the scenic damn course anywhere.

The race played out better than I expected!  I negative split the course, felt great, and finished 94th out of 385 runners at a 47:04.  Awesome!

Afterwards, we went on a group cooldown which involved tracking Beth down on the course (she LOVES this), and running her in.  After a group photo op, I led a short trail run to see the quarry, which really is a hidden gem in Newport - it's dramatic, scenic, cool, and a fun respite from the roads.  Lunch with the crew and great conversation, and a total win for the day!

12/19 - 6+ Miles - Old Mountain Field 5k, Wakefield RI.  Muddy splatterfest, report to follow...and yes, a 5k trail race will get its own report, it was that much fun :)

12/23 - 5+ Miles - Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middletown CT.  Got done at our current jobsite early, and as I was headed through Middletown, I decided to give this park a shot.  What a great spot!  Waterfalls, fun climbs, a mansion, and lots of marked and unmarked trails to explore:

Easy main paths

"Big Falls"

"Little Falls"

Nice trails along either side of the stream

Wadsworth Mansion

12/24 - 3.5 Miles - Dog Jog, and a solo out and back from the house.  Pre-gluttony workout.  Got some time in with the dog, then dropped him off and did a more peppy couple of miles before it got dark...

12/25 - 4.8 Miles - Christmas run, and dog jog from the house.  Pre-gluttony workout part 2.  Ran the dog for a bit, then banged out a few more miles solo.  Gorgeous day.  I like running in the snow, but this weather has been a treat, I'm not gonna lie.  I'll embrace the cold when it gets here, but for now?  I'm good!

12/26 - 3.5 Miles - Dog jog and Dump Run, North Stonington.  Ran the dog for a bit, then went to the town dump, which happens to border Lantern Hill, my favorite place.  A peppy ascent, and even more peppy descent (4:18).  Great time there!

12/27 - 9.6 Miles - 8.5 Mile Green Falls run w/Jeff V., and short dog jog.  Wet, muddy, and misty Green Falls was a great call today!  Jeff met me at my place, and we made the 5 minute trip to the trailhead.  Great time!  We had to bushwhack up the gorge, as the river was too high to cross, but running unmarked ridgelines on the cliff was pretty sweet!  Lots of water running everywhere from all the rain, and there were streams where I've never seen them, and waterfalls at lots of the crossings.  Plenty of mud, too!  I crafted an 8.5 miler with no double-ups, and we had a great time in 55-degree, late December weather.

12/28 - 4 Miles - 3 Mile Canonchet Trail run w/Jim, and short dog jog. - Got a run in with Jim, in good weather on easy trails.  Great time, albeit a short one!

12/30 - 1.6 Mile dog jog.  Henry decided on a more peppy pace, and I was happy to oblige!

12/31 - 7 Miles - 6 Mile Lantern Hill run, short dog jog.  Jeff texted me about leading a group run at Lantern Hill, and I put together a good route, 1000' of elevation, and very little repeating trails.  The six of us spent a little over an hour cruising around the hill, slipping and sliding, climbing and descending the short, sharp changes on the rocky terrain.  I'm pretty sure they all enjoyed it!

So that closes out December!  It started poorly, with very few runs, but I did very well in the races I entered and had a much more consistent finish to the month, due to some much-needed down time from work.  So overall I'm happy that it turned out the way it did, although I wish my mileage were higher.  No worries!  Goin back to a weekly recap starting tomorrow, and I'm determined to keep my mileage higher and more consistent.