Trail Half Marathon week! Week of 3-31 to 4-6

It's time for the fifth and final 4th Season trail race event, the burly Big River Half Marathon trail race.  I have a score to settle with this race, as I went off course last year and recorded my first (but probably not last!) incomplete race due to getting lost.  It was a gorgeous day, though, and the group I was running with kept things fun, and we all had a great time.  I'm doing construction all week with a friend, which is going to include deconstructing kitchens and bathrooms right down to the bare walls, and somehow attempting to get some trail time in, in the face of 5+ inches of rain and moderate flooding everywhere around here.

Monday, 3-31 - 0 Miles.  Destroyed a kitchen for 8 hours!

Tuesday, 4-1 - 0 Miles.  Destroyed a bathroom for 7 hours!

Wednesday, 4-2 - A.M. - 5 Miles (Roads) - Clamdigger course measuring with Gazelle and Mike B.  Between the three of us and our Space Watches, we've got the 5M course nailed down pretty tight as far as distance.  The 5K should be all set as well!



                          P.M. - 2.5+ Miles (Trail) - Perry Preserve, Stonington.  Mike mentioned this preserve, and I swung by on my way home to check it out.  Nice trails, some small hills, and of course I got lost on an unmarked trail and wound up on a hill overlooking I-95...very wet trails because of the rain, one trail was even a fully flowing stream.  Awesome time!



Thursday, 4-3 - 15.5 Miles (Road/Trail) - Local roads/Narragansett Trail sandwich.  I wasn't able to line up someone to help me drop my truck, and drive me to the other end of the trail so I could run the whole 21 miles, so I decided to run the 5 miles from the house to the Cossaduck Hill section, run the 8 mile stretch of trail to Route 49, then run back to the house.  Good fun out there today - I had to wade through several streams, partially fell into one, got a bit bloodied on some branches, and super muddy.  Lots of water on the trails, but the weather was perfect:  pushing 60, sunny, and a nice light breeze.

View from atop Cossaduck Hill today

Looking up at High Ledges

The trail along one of the streams (not the one I fell in!)

Muddy, and a nice war wound.  Probably should have taken my shoes off outside...

Friday, 4-4 - 0 Miles.  Sore from yesterday's antics, and need some rest before Big River...however, I did manage to print, fill out, and mail in my registration for the Pisgah 23K trail race!  I'm officially in!

Saturday, 4-5 - 13.5 Miles (Trails) - Big River trail half marathon (and trail warmup).  See separate writeup!