Plotting and Planning: Week of 3-14 to 3-20

This week looks to be cooler and less stable weather-wise than last week.  My work schedule is also still up in the air, so I'll probably make an effort to follow the training schedule as much as possible.  Looks like the schedule calls for runs of 4, 6, 8, 20, and 10 miles, and two rest days.  Monday's weather looks like shit so I'll take a rest day there, and see what unfolds after that.  I'm putting more time into carefully planning my routes as well, but I also really need to pick back up with regular stretching and weight workouts, as I really haven't done much of that at all...

Monday - 0 Miles.

Tuesday - 4 Miles - Lantern Hill workout. - I had about an hour to run, so Lantern Hill was the call.  Misty drizzle, foggy, and a very slippery trail run, especially the downhills.  I did a 3x run to the top, with different routes than my usual stuff.  Nobody there!  In 4 miles I snagged 1200' of vertical gain, and it really didn't feel that bad...

Wednesday - 5+ Miles - Nature Center trails, Mystic.  Decided to hit a less hilly trail system today to give my legs a rest, but I did end up running at a faster pace and got a good workout on the trails there!  Shorts and a t-shirt again, awesome...

Thursday - 4.5 Miles - Long/Ell Pond Preserve w/Mystery guest, Hopkinton.  Runner "X" gave me a shout about hitting some trails.  I gave him a choice of easy or difficult, and to his credit, he chose the tougher option!  I'm okay with that.  Great day, it rained for exactly 5 seconds, and was otherwise warm and perfect, weather-wise...

Friday - 6.5 Miles - Green Falls with Faith and Joe.  Faith was scheduled for a 75 minute run on forest roads/trails as part of her training for the big VT race, so I mapped out a loop around Green Falls Pond that included exactly that!  Lots of mud was a bonus.  50-55 degrees and breezy, and I know that area of Pachaug just a little bit better now!

Saturday - 5+ Miles - Dog Jog/Lantern Hill run with Jim.  Got in a 2-mile dog jog with Henry, where we heard a woodpecker loudly hammering away at a tree, but couldn't quite find him.  No worries, there everywhere near my house, awesome birds!  On my errands today, and got a text from Jim about running Lantern Hill.  I was gonna do a medium long run, but Lantern is an excellent sub for lower miles...3 miles, 900' of vertical, and I capped it with a good effort on the first hill segment, where I tied young Mr. Walker and came in 1 second behind Mr. Ridley.  You're going down, sucka!  Just a matter of time...

Sunday - 14+ Miles - Trail run with Claire G., Mary C., and Nicole L., South Kingstown  That was fun!  Met everyone at Claire's place and we set out on a route she'd plotted, which included trails in Duval and Browning Preserves, as well as some unknown stuff around the ponds.  We even had a water stop!  Cold day but the miles went by, great conversation was had, and I hit my 7 hour weekly goal (actually 8), hit a half marathon, and racked up another 1200' of vert.  Sweet!

Weekly total?  40 miles, all trails, and 5000'+ of elevation gain.