Emerging from the Winter Doldrums: Week(s) of 1-23 to 1-29, 1-30 to 2-5, and 2-6 to 2-12

 I'm climbing out of the mileage hole I somehow found myself in, and it's feeling pretty good!  I'll admit that the lack of daylight, refusal to use my treadmill, and work/family obligations was getting the better of me, and taking my mood down along with my weekly numbers.  Let's start with the week of 1-23 to 1-29, where I ran twice, totalled 10 miles, and only had one run of 7+ miles, mainly due to me missing a critical turn on trails.  We'll call that a base.  Level Zero, a la Kung Fu Panda.  Even the Dragon Warrior had to start somewhere!

1-30 to 2-5.  29 Miles.  That's better!

Monday - 0.

Tuesday - 5.  Copp Preserve run with Faith.  Awesome time exploring this gem, which is really convenient, has a ton of trails, and a good mix of technical/easy.

Wednesday - 5-ish.  2 Miles Poquetanuck Cove Preserve, 3 Miles Copp Preserve.  With snow still on the ground, I was determined to get in a run before it all melted.  I'd wanted to check out this small preserve along one of the tidal marshes on the way to work, and as it only had a short loop trail, it fit the bill nicely!  After work, I scored another 3 miles at Copp before I picked up the dog.  Great day!

Thursday - 0.

Friday - 9+.  Rocky Neck run.  Marked and unmarked trails, and after 4 miles I was joined by my friend Adam, who's training for his first 50-miler in March.  Cold, partly cloudy, and breezy, but a great time cruising around the park!

Saturday - 3.5. Old Mountain Field 5k.  Hey, it's race day!  I loaded up some beers to gift/trade, and headed down to the race.  Very twisty and technical single track trail race, and the second race of the winter trail series did not disappoint!  I met up with a shit ton of people, ran a warmup with an up-and-coming trail runner who I coached in Rec soccer six years ago (who kicked ass in the race), and had a great time on a tough course, and finished well.  Super fun!  And hey, in a Brightman/Hammett age group, I'm in 4th for the series!  I could be (probably not) a contender!

Sunday - 6.  Mystic Nature Trails.  I slunk out of the house before the Super Bowl to get a few miles, and bagged 6 on fun trails before I had to head homeward.  Cold, muddy and awesome.  Saw lots of people out with dogs (and solo)!


2-6 to 2-12 - ???

Monday - 5.  Canfield Meadows w/Adam B.  Adam is a longtime friend, fairly new trail runner, and training for his first 50-miler, and we hit a good, hilly out and back on these very runnable, and quite hilly trails.

Tuesday - 4.5.  Mohegan Park trails, Norwich.  Fun trails in the rain, although I got a bit lost at first. Lots of unmarked stuff there.   Looks like a local XC team uses them for meets as well?

Wed. - Fri. - 0.

Saturday - 10.  Snowy Arcadia Trail/Road mix, Exeter.  Quite a slog in deep snow on the trails - spent some time exploring some of them, and ultimately wound up running Frosty Hollow road down to Breakheart Pond and back.  Good day, felt great, and wish the trails had been more passable!

Sunday - 3.  Postholing trails in Mystic.  Snowing out, I was getting stir crazy, and drove in slippery conditions down to Mystic, where the less technical trails would offer fewer hidden surprises.  Slow going, but I kept an honest pace in spite of the deep snow.  Lots of postholing, especially around the fields in between the wooded areas, but fun!