Rolling Into 2015: Week of 12-29 to 1-4

So I mentioned last week that my left knee was not quite right.  I smartly (I think, anyway) took a couple of days off, spent some quality time with the family and didn't mention running once to them.  They aren't runners, so my blathering on probably sounds like Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty's teacher in Peanuts:

That's about my wife's reaction when I talk about running...

Good news?  A couple of days off and my knee feels quite a bit better, less janky, and I'm ready for some tentative runs.  Easy, though.  Any chance of that last-minute 80k goal is out, I just want to run!

Monday, 12-29 - 0 Miles.  Rest day (as mentioned above).

Tuesday, 12-30 - 3.5 Miles (Road) - Flat, chilly progression run in Misquamicut.  Had time to kill before my daughter's basketball game up the street, so I hit Misquamicut for some flat roads, just to see how the knee felt.  Started out slow but the knee felt good, so I kept gradually increasing the pace throughout the run until I was in the 6's by the time I completed the loop.  Felt no pain, and very little when I got home, so I'm a bit more confident than I was a couple days ago! Maybe I'll even be able to finish out 2014 with something good...

Wednesday, 12-31 - 7 Miles (Trail) - Mystic trail run with Mike B.  Looking to close out 2014 with some kind of a run, I was thinking about hitting Mystic and shot a quick message over to Mike to see if he was game.  He was, and wanted to check out the Nature Center trails, which start right across the street from the Aquarium.  We managed 7 miles, and almost never had to run the same trail twice.  Not bad!  Great way to finish the year.

Thursday, 1-1 - 6.7 Miles (Road/Beach) - Group run to the beach and Hell Field.  Met up with Mike B., Garvin, Gazelle, and FiveK at Tommy's place, and we set out for Misquamicut Beach.  Frickin' cold, and the gusty wind was pretty relentless, but a great day and perfect way to kick off the new year!

Friday, 1-2 - 2 Miles (Trail) - Wheeler XC trails.  Just a short spin while I waited for B-Ball practice to finish up!

Saturday, 1-3 - 6 Miles (4 Road/2 Trail) - 4-miler in Mystic, 2-mile dog jog.  I hit the chilly streets of Mystic, hoping to try my hand at a steep uphill segment.  Got to the top and didn't exit the segment...grrrr...dummy.  Cold but fun run, saw a few other runners out today!  Knee feeling pretty decent.  Got home and took the dog for a quick trail run across the street, and the first snowflakes started flying just as we finished our run!