Monday, 1-28 - 3.75 Miles (Road) - Post karate class run around Westerly. Puts me over 125 miles for the month...oddly, I was thinking I'd be slower after the Belleville race yesterday, and having run the previous few days, but I ended up with some pretty good times! And, depending on next Sunday's weather, a really good shot at a PR at the Super 5K. I also wanted to create a segment for the hill on Granite Street from Wilcox Park to the stoplight at the top, which will most likely be "Gazelled" within the week...
Tuesday, 1-29 - 3.3 Miles (Road) - Almost identical loop to the one yesterday, so I could try to beat my time on the Granite Street segment. Oddly, I pulled up my numbers, and I finished the segment in exactly the same time, down to the second...what the? But faster overall, and a consistent pace, and building my confidence about Sunday's race...
Wednesday, 1-30 - 0 - Rest day. 1 hour of punishing self-defense drills in karate this morning, and in spite of the warm weather, I'm taking a zero today. Runs will resume tomorrow or Friday, but I'm trying to be smart about this weekend's Super 5K. I've never really had a set training schedule (i.e. intervals, speed work, tempo runs, etc.), but I think I'm on the right path as far as getting faster and going longer...
Thursday, 1-31 - 4-ish (Trails/Roads) - Champlin Preserve trails with Jim H. Met Jim at Rotary Park, and introduced him to the Champlin trails, which are right up the street from his house. Of course he loved it...the stiff 30-40 MPH winds were a bit tough to get motivated for, but once we dropped into the woods, the winds were blocked by the hills and it was really enjoyable. Ran in shorts today. January 31? 55 degrees and sunny? Loved it, but it was noticeably cooler by the time we got back to the cars. Glad to get a run in today, and felt really good.
Friday. 2-1 - 3 (Trail) - Lantern Hill solo jaunt. I hadn't done the Lantern Hill climb in 6 weeks? Longer? Fun, scenic, and technical as Hell. Great workout. Even the downhill part of the trail on the backside of the hill is no bargain...was able to clear some downed branches along the way, as part of my duties as Trail Manager, and note some places where blazes need to be refreshed/added.
Saturday, 2-2 - 5-ish (Road) - Out and back from the house. After having not gotten properly motivated to meet the WTAC crew for the planned run in South Kingstown, I felt as though I needed to get out there and get a few miles in today as penance...cold, but the sun was out and I only had one car pass me the entire run, so nice and quiet...
Sunday, 2-3 - 6 Miles (2.5 Trail, 3.5 Road) - Narragansett Super 5K, see separate post...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Long Runs and Belleville 10K Week...
Monday, 1-21 - 14+? Miles (Roads/Trails) - Westerly YMCA to Barn Island and back. Met up with Jeff and Muddy at 6:30 as it was just starting to get light out. 24 degrees, but without a trace of a breeze it was much more comfortable than the previous few days. Didn't remember to start my running app until 1 mile in, typical...I think I'd have made the whole 18-20 goal if I hadn't gone out yesterday, but at Jeff's water stash stop (mile 9?), I bowed out and took the road back to Westerly. Still ended up being a pretty good distance, though! Barn Island was awesome, and we got there right at sunrise, very cool place and I'd have been utterly lost without a guide...cool running with those guys, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a zero day tomorrow!!!
Tuesday, 1-22 - 0
Wednesday, 1-23 - 0 - Karate class a.m., p.m. stretching and light weights.
Thursday, 1-24 - 3.1 Miles (Treadmill) - Hamster Wheel Run. Part of a larger strength and conditioning workout, and at my 5K race pace, alternated 6, 7:30 and 8-minute paces randomly. Nice to be able to run in just shorts and racing flats - would love to be outside, but I have to admit it's just too damn cold out for me at a negative wind chill...looks like a warmup coming at the end of the weekend!
Friday, 1-25 - 4 Miles (Trails) - Grills Preserve, Hopkinton. Finally got to check out Grills Preserve, and loved it. Well-marked trails, cool rolling wooded area 8 minutes from the house. I missed the turn to the big hill, but on my second loop from the lot, was able to find the big rock:
Saturday, 1-26 - 6.5 Miles (Trails/Roads) - Champlin trails and Westerly roads with Jeff, Eric B. and Yvonne R. Sunny, chilly day, with about 1/2 inch of fresh snow covering everything, great morning for a run. Took off from Eric's place at a nice easy pace, about a half mile from Champlin Glacier Park. Great day for a pre-Belleville warmup, and didn't need the YakTrax at all...
Sunday, 1-27 - 8 Miles (Trails) - Belleville Pond 10K Trail Race. The third race in the 4th Season Race Series, a strictly offroad trail race around Belleville Pond in North Kingstown, RI. Great course, Mike G. and company flagged/marked it perfectly. Ran into Mike K. and his friend Tracy, along with Eric B. and his friend, Jeff and family, and the usual WTAC suspects (minus Rhody Seth and Mike B., both on the DL). Did a very cold, very short warmup and lined up for the start.
Went out at an easy pace, middle of the pack, and ended up behind WTAC'ers Carol Ann and John H., who were running at a comfortable speed. I had the plan that when my phone chirped the end of 7K, I'd kick in whatever extra gas I had and finish as fast as I could. As soon as it beeped, I said "Here we go" to Carol Ann and started picking off runners ahead of me, and had my fastest kilometer of the race. Slowed a bit in the narrow, rooty 9th K, then picked it up again for the home stretch.
Still had some energy left at the finish? Means I could have kicked in sooner, maybe at 5K? Still trying to figure it out, but I felt pretty good despite the temp/winds...joined Mike and Tracy for a quick cooldown, watched the awards ceremony (Curse you, Turtles!!!) with Jeff and the boys, and hit the road. Next stop, Super 5K!
Tuesday, 1-22 - 0
Wednesday, 1-23 - 0 - Karate class a.m., p.m. stretching and light weights.
Thursday, 1-24 - 3.1 Miles (Treadmill) - Hamster Wheel Run. Part of a larger strength and conditioning workout, and at my 5K race pace, alternated 6, 7:30 and 8-minute paces randomly. Nice to be able to run in just shorts and racing flats - would love to be outside, but I have to admit it's just too damn cold out for me at a negative wind chill...looks like a warmup coming at the end of the weekend!
Friday, 1-25 - 4 Miles (Trails) - Grills Preserve, Hopkinton. Finally got to check out Grills Preserve, and loved it. Well-marked trails, cool rolling wooded area 8 minutes from the house. I missed the turn to the big hill, but on my second loop from the lot, was able to find the big rock:
Hey, that's a pretty big rock...
Snowy and 22 degrees, but the wind had died down and it wasn't too bad. I did take Seth's advice and dig up my Nipmuck thingy:
So a successful first outing at Grills, and going back for more soon, have to do more exploring there...
Saturday, 1-26 - 6.5 Miles (Trails/Roads) - Champlin trails and Westerly roads with Jeff, Eric B. and Yvonne R. Sunny, chilly day, with about 1/2 inch of fresh snow covering everything, great morning for a run. Took off from Eric's place at a nice easy pace, about a half mile from Champlin Glacier Park. Great day for a pre-Belleville warmup, and didn't need the YakTrax at all...
Sunday, 1-27 - 8 Miles (Trails) - Belleville Pond 10K Trail Race. The third race in the 4th Season Race Series, a strictly offroad trail race around Belleville Pond in North Kingstown, RI. Great course, Mike G. and company flagged/marked it perfectly. Ran into Mike K. and his friend Tracy, along with Eric B. and his friend, Jeff and family, and the usual WTAC suspects (minus Rhody Seth and Mike B., both on the DL). Did a very cold, very short warmup and lined up for the start.
Went out at an easy pace, middle of the pack, and ended up behind WTAC'ers Carol Ann and John H., who were running at a comfortable speed. I had the plan that when my phone chirped the end of 7K, I'd kick in whatever extra gas I had and finish as fast as I could. As soon as it beeped, I said "Here we go" to Carol Ann and started picking off runners ahead of me, and had my fastest kilometer of the race. Slowed a bit in the narrow, rooty 9th K, then picked it up again for the home stretch.
Still had some energy left at the finish? Means I could have kicked in sooner, maybe at 5K? Still trying to figure it out, but I felt pretty good despite the temp/winds...joined Mike and Tracy for a quick cooldown, watched the awards ceremony (Curse you, Turtles!!!) with Jeff and the boys, and hit the road. Next stop, Super 5K!
Monday, January 14, 2013
The January Thaw (Weekly log 1-14 to 1-20)
Monday, 1-14 - 8 Miles (Road) - Dairy Farm Loop in North Stonington. It would be a total waste to not get a good run in, when it's 60 degrees and sunny in New England in the middle of January, right??? Kept a good, steady pace today, and was totally comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. Crazy. Awesome day. Here's the damage, I didn't mean to but I accidentally PR'd everything up to a 10K distance since I switched over to Strava. Coolness...
Tuesday, 1-15 - 6 Miles (Road) - Hangman Hill Loop - Again, good steady pace, good hills, and I was able to beat my course record for the Gypsy Woods Hill climb on route 49. Overall, a good run before our little patch of dodgy weather tonight/tomorrow...looking forward to the Belleville race on the 27th! Have I really run 11 of the last 12 days??? Good Lord...
Wednesday, 1-16 - 0 - Shoveling snow and karate this morning. I intentionally took a zero today, and I think it was the right play. Going out tomorrow for a run with Jim H., should put me over 75 miles for the month! Shooting for 150 miles for the month at this point, looks doable...
Thursday, 1-17 - 7 Miles (Road) - Streets of Westerly with Jim H. Most of the snow has already melted, so the streets weren't bad at all. Set out from Jim's place, looped through town and headed back toward his place around mile 4, where I dropped him off and went back through town one more time. Even had a Walker sighting! Nice day, and put me at 77 miles for the month/challenge...next stop, 100...
Friday, 1-18 - 2.5 Miles (Road) - Short and chilly out and back from the house. Pretty cold, especially with the gusty winds...can't even imagine what the 4:45 club felt like this morning...warmer weather this weekend means more miles!
Saturday, 1-19 - 0 - Family day!
Sunday, 1-20 - 8 Miles (6 Trail/2 Road) - Champlin/Wahaneeta Preserve trails. Took my friend Tonya, who's never been trail running before, out to the Champlin Preserve trails today. Another convert, she loved it out there, and never realized that it was right up the road from her. We did almost 4 miles, including the road up to the trail entrance. Jeff had mentioned that he and the boys would be running Wahaneeta/Woody Hill trails around the time I'd be finishing up, and I wanted to make sure I hit my weekly target, so I drove over and hit the trails there. After three miles of running the blue and white trails, no luck finding them. Got back to my car and found this lovely note on my windshield:
Tuesday, 1-15 - 6 Miles (Road) - Hangman Hill Loop - Again, good steady pace, good hills, and I was able to beat my course record for the Gypsy Woods Hill climb on route 49. Overall, a good run before our little patch of dodgy weather tonight/tomorrow...looking forward to the Belleville race on the 27th! Have I really run 11 of the last 12 days??? Good Lord...
Wednesday, 1-16 - 0 - Shoveling snow and karate this morning. I intentionally took a zero today, and I think it was the right play. Going out tomorrow for a run with Jim H., should put me over 75 miles for the month! Shooting for 150 miles for the month at this point, looks doable...
Thursday, 1-17 - 7 Miles (Road) - Streets of Westerly with Jim H. Most of the snow has already melted, so the streets weren't bad at all. Set out from Jim's place, looped through town and headed back toward his place around mile 4, where I dropped him off and went back through town one more time. Even had a Walker sighting! Nice day, and put me at 77 miles for the month/challenge...next stop, 100...
Friday, 1-18 - 2.5 Miles (Road) - Short and chilly out and back from the house. Pretty cold, especially with the gusty winds...can't even imagine what the 4:45 club felt like this morning...warmer weather this weekend means more miles!
Saturday, 1-19 - 0 - Family day!
Sunday, 1-20 - 8 Miles (6 Trail/2 Road) - Champlin/Wahaneeta Preserve trails. Took my friend Tonya, who's never been trail running before, out to the Champlin Preserve trails today. Another convert, she loved it out there, and never realized that it was right up the road from her. We did almost 4 miles, including the road up to the trail entrance. Jeff had mentioned that he and the boys would be running Wahaneeta/Woody Hill trails around the time I'd be finishing up, and I wanted to make sure I hit my weekly target, so I drove over and hit the trails there. After three miles of running the blue and white trails, no luck finding them. Got back to my car and found this lovely note on my windshield:
Can you say a-hole???
Jeff had a matching note on his car as well, so now I had to find him...I was also 1.6K from hitting 50K, my weekly target, so I headed back out and quickly ran into them, chatted for a bit while they finished up their run, and banged out the last bit of distance I needed. Nice trails out there, and nice boulders...
Going out for 18-20 with some of the WTAC crew tomorrow, time for some football this afternoon!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Weekly Log 1-7 to 1-13
Monday, 1-7 - 4.5 Miles (Trail) - Hoffman Evergreen Preserve, Stonington. Thank you, Yaktrax!!! Another Avalonia Land Conservancy gem, located 1.2 miles north of Rte. 184 on Rte. 201. Great trails, still snowy and a bit icy in spots, but I didn't slip once thanks to the "Yaks".
Well-marked trails, nice hilly sections, and a few stream crossings, but what I really liked about this spot was the fact that it's situated entirely in pine forest, so the trails are pretty smooth single track with a nice layer of pine needles:
Tuesday, 1-8 - 3 Miles (Trail) Copp Property Trails, Groton. - 246 acres with mostly flat trails throughout, and extremely dog friendly. One really nice hill up to "Eagle Claw Ledge" and some really cool technical single track along the ridgeline. Not well marked or maintained at all, but it gets enough foot traffic that the trails are well worn, even in winter. About 1.5 miles in I had to negotiate a couple of streams and planted my right foot in about 6 inches of water, that was a shock to the system...got really muddy quickly and at nearly three miles, found myself back by the parking lot. Quick hit and run. GPS got screwy at the end too. The highlight of this run? On my way home in North Stonington, I came across about 8 cows that had gotten loose and were just wandering up the road, so I herded them back to their farm with my truck:
Have to drop the wife's car off in Pawcatuck in the morning for an oil change, maybe take a page out of Seth's book...
Friday, 1-11 - 6 Miles (Road) - The mean streets of Westerly. Better than sitting in a waiting room, drinking bad coffee and watching even worse television:
Saturday, 1-12 - 8 Miles (Trail) - Li'l Rhody course with Jeff, Muddy, Eric, Mark and Shira. Good temperature, and nice muddy trails to run on. We ran a good, comfortable pace, and it was nice to get out there with our newest WTAC'ers. Great time! That also put me over the 50 mile mark for the Strava Challenge, and at 100 miles since Christmas Eve...I would never had thought I'd be capable of this many miles, even a year ago. Crazy...
Sunday, 1-13 - 3 (Mostly Trail) - Pequot Trail (Access Denied, Parts 1 & 2...) - Went to run the Rose Hill section of the Pequot Trail today, as it's 10 minutes from the house and looked like a good run on paper. Found the trail no problem, and it's a straight uphill shot to the top from the road. Good stuff. I even had a segment created by Strava for it??? Anyway, I get 1 kilometer in, and there's an enormous briar-wrapped tree down across the trail, and briar patches on either side. No way around. Fine, then! I run back to the car, hop in and follow the blazes along the road until I get to the other part, going toward Foxwoods. This time, I get about 1k-ish in, and the blazes abruptly disappear, and even backtracking I can't see any sudden change in direction or anything, so I go back up to the road, do a little bit on the road and decide to bag it for the day. No worries, there's sausage & peppers, beer and football waiting for me at home...
Well-marked trails, nice hilly sections, and a few stream crossings, but what I really liked about this spot was the fact that it's situated entirely in pine forest, so the trails are pretty smooth single track with a nice layer of pine needles:
I still have some more exploring to do there, there are about 7 miles of trail, and I got turned around a couple of times and missed some of it, but a really nice spot!
Tuesday, 1-8 - 3 Miles (Trail) Copp Property Trails, Groton. - 246 acres with mostly flat trails throughout, and extremely dog friendly. One really nice hill up to "Eagle Claw Ledge" and some really cool technical single track along the ridgeline. Not well marked or maintained at all, but it gets enough foot traffic that the trails are well worn, even in winter. About 1.5 miles in I had to negotiate a couple of streams and planted my right foot in about 6 inches of water, that was a shock to the system...got really muddy quickly and at nearly three miles, found myself back by the parking lot. Quick hit and run. GPS got screwy at the end too. The highlight of this run? On my way home in North Stonington, I came across about 8 cows that had gotten loose and were just wandering up the road, so I herded them back to their farm with my truck:
Roads tomorrow after karate...with dry shoes! Suck it, winter!!!
Wednesday, 1-9 - 0 - Karate class in the morning and then 101 things to do after that...
Thursday, 1-10 - 3 Miles (Trail) - Unmarked trails in Burlingame with Jim H., Tia and Sally. I'm turning more friends on to the trails in their own backyards, and how much fun it is to get off the road and into the woods, especially when the weather is this good. Really cool single track trails off King's Factory road, on the northern end of Burlingame. Kept the run to 3 miles, they had a blast (as did I), and already want to schedule another run in a couple of weeks! Great time...
Thursday Part Deux - 4.5 Miles (Road) - Hangman Hill out and back. Had enough time to get out the door for another run before the kids got home, at a bit faster pace. Felt really comfortable, too:
Have to drop the wife's car off in Pawcatuck in the morning for an oil change, maybe take a page out of Seth's book...
Friday, 1-11 - 6 Miles (Road) - The mean streets of Westerly. Better than sitting in a waiting room, drinking bad coffee and watching even worse television:
Saturday, 1-12 - 8 Miles (Trail) - Li'l Rhody course with Jeff, Muddy, Eric, Mark and Shira. Good temperature, and nice muddy trails to run on. We ran a good, comfortable pace, and it was nice to get out there with our newest WTAC'ers. Great time! That also put me over the 50 mile mark for the Strava Challenge, and at 100 miles since Christmas Eve...I would never had thought I'd be capable of this many miles, even a year ago. Crazy...
Sunday, 1-13 - 3 (Mostly Trail) - Pequot Trail (Access Denied, Parts 1 & 2...) - Went to run the Rose Hill section of the Pequot Trail today, as it's 10 minutes from the house and looked like a good run on paper. Found the trail no problem, and it's a straight uphill shot to the top from the road. Good stuff. I even had a segment created by Strava for it??? Anyway, I get 1 kilometer in, and there's an enormous briar-wrapped tree down across the trail, and briar patches on either side. No way around. Fine, then! I run back to the car, hop in and follow the blazes along the road until I get to the other part, going toward Foxwoods. This time, I get about 1k-ish in, and the blazes abruptly disappear, and even backtracking I can't see any sudden change in direction or anything, so I go back up to the road, do a little bit on the road and decide to bag it for the day. No worries, there's sausage & peppers, beer and football waiting for me at home...
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