Brrr-lingame Week (Week of 2-4 to 2-10)

Monday, 2-4 - 0 Miles - Karate class, some light weights and stretching and a zero day!

Tuesday, 2-5 - 8 Miles (Roads) - Chilly but not windy 8 mile loop from the house.  Not too bad out, 28 degrees but no wind whatsoever, some flurries, no traffic and felt pretty good.  Got a nice shot of the falls at Spalding Pond along the way:

Glad to get some miles in early this week, now going to give that whole "taper" thing a try before Sunday's race?

Wednesday, 2-6 - 4 Miles (Trails, some road) - Champlin Park and Westerly Roads.  After karate this morning, a small window before the kids' early dismissal, and 38 degrees?  Sure, and trying to be smart about my mileage going into this weekend's race...although Winter Storm "Nemo" might bury us all...

"Just keep running, just keep running, what do we do? We run..."

Don't forget your Yaks!!!  (P.S. I just wish I had a picture of Mike B. on Saturday morning, standing in two feet of snow, all "I Hate Winter," getting ready to shovel his driveway.  Mike, if Julie could make that happen, that'd be awesome...)  See you Sunday!

Thursday, 2-7 - 2+ (Trails/Road) - Narragansett Trail maintenance and short run.  I needed to get out to the Wyassup part of the Narragansett Trail to check the condition of the trails, do some minor clearing, and possibly get a short run in before my trip to the gas station/supermarket.  Found out I should have stayed in the woods, as the market was insanely crowded with people stocking up for "Nemo" (see above).  Cleared a lot of downed branches on the first half mile in, headed back to the boat launch, then did a couple of exploratory out/backs.  Not enough time to get a solid run in, but I got some work done on the trail and felt pretty good.

Friday, 2-8 - 4-ish - (Road?) - Hilly out/back from the house.  As I couldn't get my act together early enough this morning, and get my morning stuff out of the way in time, I missed the group run at Grills/Woody Hill with the crew.  And, timing being everything, the starter on my truck decided to go this morning as well, so no 4-wheel drive today!  Once the snow really kicked in, I decided to suit up, throw on the YakTrax, and get out the door.  Four good, hilly miles, and ice-covered eyebrows by the time I got back to the house.  Is it still a road run if there's so much snow your feet never touch the pavement?

Saturday, 2-9 - 4-ish again - (Road) - Cold run from the house.  Late afternoon, after way too much shoveling, finally got motivated for another short out and back from the house.  Sun was just dropping below the treeline, Yaks were digging in nicely, and the brisk breeze was at my back for the last mile:

Did I mention I'm 27 feet tall?

Will be waiting to see whether tomorrow's race is on, or postponed to next week...only Mike G. knows the answer to that burning question...either way, I'm going to try like Hell to be there, even if I have to drive the VW (no heat), as the truck isn't getting fixed until at least Monday...

Sunday, 2-10 - 1.5 (Trail) - So the race was held today...about 40-50 intrepid souls showed up for the Brrr-lingame Trail race, including the WTAC crew, with another great turnout.  During the race instructions, Mike G. warned us that this wasn't going to be an easy run (I think he used the term "Quad burner"), and that even with some snowshoe tracks already down, two feet of snow is still two feet, and it would be slow going.  There'd be two options:  first, a shorter 1.5 mile option, and second, the full 5 mile course.  I don't think anyone did the full 10?  After turning into the woods, which were beautiful (seriously, just incredible), I quickly realized that the Yaktraxs were pointless with the deep snow, and that I was going to enjoy the shorter distance option and bail out onto the road.  Upon getting back to the start, I got a text from my wife that our power had gone out, and could I please haul my butt back home ASAP to start the generator.  Five minutes after I start the generator, the power comes back on...classic.  Good to see everyone, even if only for a few minutes!  Weird, though, the next scheduled race I have isn't for another month, might have to start shopping online for something (Colchester 1/2 on 2/24 maybe?) to fill in the gap...