Week2 of 2-13 to 2-19, 2-20 to 2-26: Starting with Winter, ending with Spring?

Cold days to begin this stretch of February, but hey!  Looks like a big time warmup coming, and all that pesky snow's gonna melt.  Gonna be beach weather soon, hahaha...Mike B.!  You ready for the Taylor Swift run?

Monday - Tuesday - 0.

Wednesday - 4.  Mohegan Park footpaths, Norwich.  Too much snow, and the trails were nonexistent.  Opted for paved paths around the park, with a more peppy pace.  Cool but not ridiculous.

Thursday - 3.  Beebe Pond Preserve and Moore Woodlands, Noank.  Screw it, I slipped and slid all over the place, it was cold and windy, and I had the whole place to myself.  Nice!

Packed down, icy and cold, and awesome!

Friday - Saturday.  0

Sunday - 17.  Mystic Long Run.  Met Jim for a trail run, but the trails were a sloppy mess.  After 3.5 miles, Jim was done and I decided to hit the roads solo...and immediately ran into Al and Steve!  Ran downtown with them, where they were gearing up for a pub crawl, said hello to Way Hedding who was also doing the crawl, and continued up the river.  Great day.  Temps around 60 degrees, Sun out, breezy but perfect running conditions.  I maintained a steady pace (after the slog of the first few miles) and when I looped around past the reservoir toward the nature center, I was tempted to try the trails again, but I had a good thing going and didn't want to mess it up.  Got close to the truck at 16.5, and looped the Village once to hit 17 and called it a day.  Felt really good, except for my feet.  The Salomons rock, but they're not cushy and I can feel it.  New shoes coming in a couple days, will try them to see if the extra cushion makes a difference?

Got Hooters?

Geese taking a break in the Mystic River, and heading Northward...I hope!

Monday - Tuesday - 0.

Wednesday - 6.  Lantern Hill.  Wanted to check out the trail conditions after work, and aside from the slushy, slippery first hill, it's all clear!  There's even a "new" trail that branches off the lower green loop, with some nice rolling singletrack, and a bridge across the normally swampy stream section.  Good time in 50-degree temps :)

OH!  Look what arrived today!  Gonna try these for longer runs, as they're supposed to offer some good cushioning and whatnot.  Figure I'll give 'em a go!

Hoka One One Challenger ATR 3!  Let's see how these feel...

Thursday - 0.

Friday - 5.5.  Lantern Hill.  Warm!  Sunny!  Let's GO!  I finished work early, and dropped off some things at the transfer station, and hit the trails in the Hokas.  They were a bit different, definitely cushiony (bordering on spongy), but once I got used to them, they were awesome.  Got them good and filthy, too!  They'll do nicely on long trail runs, except for anything wet, rocky and technical.  They don't grip nearly as well as the Salomons do, and I found myself avoiding certain lines downhill that I wouldn't have thought twice about.  Great shoes, though, and they have their place in the lineup!  I'm sold on their comfort, and if they make a model with bigger lugs I'll buy them in a heartbeat...

Saturday - 5.  Champlin Glacier Park.  Dropped the dog off in Westerly at the groomers, what to do?  Hit Champlin for a few miles, in t-shirt and shorts!  Again!  In February!  Had a steady run on the rolling singletrack there, and very enjoyable, and then got some other shit done in the warm weather...yardwork?  Spring cleaning?  Hell, I even fired up the bus and took it for a drive.  Great day!

Sunday - 10.  Group run in Pachaug! - Met up with Jeff, Matthew, Aaron and Jonathan, and ran one of the loops I know in Pachaug, which includes parts of the Pachaug, Quinnebaug and Nehantic trails, and offers a smorgasbord platter of trails, from easy soft singletrack, to steep technical climbs/descents, and forest roads, along with some pretty decent scenery.  Weather was chilly but quite manageable (still shorts weather!), and a good time was had by all!