Welcome to New England, where we start this week with a snowstorm that's timed just right and just enough to cancel school for Monday, and we'll be back into the 60's by Wednesday. This weekend is also the Brrr-lingame 10-mile trail race, which I'll try to bookend with a warmup/cooldown and get the miles I'm supposed to have. Should be, as always, an interesting week!
Monday - 2 Miles - Dog Jog. Seemed like a good day to jog with the dog, and take some time to get things done around the house :)
Tuesday - 6.5 Miles - Recovery Run at Rocky Neck (Sort of.) - OK, so here's the deal: A while back, I did a run at Rocky Neck and somehow managed to tie a segment CR held by a certain someone. It's a cool segment that winds its way through the woods like some Galoob-inspired runner's nightmare, and I tied the CR. I have been wanting to snag that segment ever since, and I took a shot at it today during a recovery run of sorts. Cruised around RN, from the beach up into the hills, and after the climb up from sea level, banged out a new CR on the segment. Sweet! Cruised around some more on hilly but easy trails, and took a poke at a parking lot segment right before I finished. Brisk wind, sunny skies, and back to work tomorrow :)
Wednesday - 0 Miles.
Thursday - 3+ Miles - Castle Craig run, Meriden. Short time frame meant a short run up to the Castle and back. Got down to a 10-minute average pace!
Friday - 13 Miles - Pachaug Loop with Joe. Started at Green Falls below the dam, and made our way over to the Pachaug Trail, and took it to Beach Pond. It was misty and rained a bit, so we were pretty well soaked by mile 3. Crossed the pond and continued onto the Tippecansett Trail, which leads back into the Yawgoog Scout Camp property, connects with the Narragansett Trail again, and finishes on a short section of dirt road. Good run!
Saturday - 9 Miles - Warmup, Brrr-lingame 5 Mile Trail Race, extra miles after - Decided to do the 5-mile race, and not race. I drove down to B-Game with Colburn, who was doing the 5 and started as soon as we arrived. I did a short warmup with John P., and we almost missed the start of the race! Got to the start with 30 seconds to spare. I started the race with Beth, and we chatted for the first mile or so. Ran the back end of the race with Carol Ann, and did a cooldown run with Paul, plus some extra trail time solo. Great time!
Sunday - 8 Miles - Dog Jog/Winery Run. Ran just under 2 miles with Henry on trails, then did the 6 mile out and back to the winery, while gradually increasing the pace.
Weekly Totals: 40 miles, mostly trails, 4000'-ish elevation gain.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Plotting and Planning: Week of 3-14 to 3-20
This week looks to be cooler and less stable weather-wise than last week. My work schedule is also still up in the air, so I'll probably make an effort to follow the training schedule as much as possible. Looks like the schedule calls for runs of 4, 6, 8, 20, and 10 miles, and two rest days. Monday's weather looks like shit so I'll take a rest day there, and see what unfolds after that. I'm putting more time into carefully planning my routes as well, but I also really need to pick back up with regular stretching and weight workouts, as I really haven't done much of that at all...
Monday - 0 Miles.
Tuesday - 4 Miles - Lantern Hill workout. - I had about an hour to run, so Lantern Hill was the call. Misty drizzle, foggy, and a very slippery trail run, especially the downhills. I did a 3x run to the top, with different routes than my usual stuff. Nobody there! In 4 miles I snagged 1200' of vertical gain, and it really didn't feel that bad...
Wednesday - 5+ Miles - Nature Center trails, Mystic. Decided to hit a less hilly trail system today to give my legs a rest, but I did end up running at a faster pace and got a good workout on the trails there! Shorts and a t-shirt again, awesome...
Thursday - 4.5 Miles - Long/Ell Pond Preserve w/Mystery guest, Hopkinton. Runner "X" gave me a shout about hitting some trails. I gave him a choice of easy or difficult, and to his credit, he chose the tougher option! I'm okay with that. Great day, it rained for exactly 5 seconds, and was otherwise warm and perfect, weather-wise...
Friday - 6.5 Miles - Green Falls with Faith and Joe. Faith was scheduled for a 75 minute run on forest roads/trails as part of her training for the big VT race, so I mapped out a loop around Green Falls Pond that included exactly that! Lots of mud was a bonus. 50-55 degrees and breezy, and I know that area of Pachaug just a little bit better now!
Saturday - 5+ Miles - Dog Jog/Lantern Hill run with Jim. Got in a 2-mile dog jog with Henry, where we heard a woodpecker loudly hammering away at a tree, but couldn't quite find him. No worries, there everywhere near my house, awesome birds! On my errands today, and got a text from Jim about running Lantern Hill. I was gonna do a medium long run, but Lantern is an excellent sub for lower miles...3 miles, 900' of vertical, and I capped it with a good effort on the first hill segment, where I tied young Mr. Walker and came in 1 second behind Mr. Ridley. You're going down, sucka! Just a matter of time...
Sunday - 14+ Miles - Trail run with Claire G., Mary C., and Nicole L., South Kingstown That was fun! Met everyone at Claire's place and we set out on a route she'd plotted, which included trails in Duval and Browning Preserves, as well as some unknown stuff around the ponds. We even had a water stop! Cold day but the miles went by, great conversation was had, and I hit my 7 hour weekly goal (actually 8), hit a half marathon, and racked up another 1200' of vert. Sweet!
Weekly total? 40 miles, all trails, and 5000'+ of elevation gain.
Monday - 0 Miles.
Tuesday - 4 Miles - Lantern Hill workout. - I had about an hour to run, so Lantern Hill was the call. Misty drizzle, foggy, and a very slippery trail run, especially the downhills. I did a 3x run to the top, with different routes than my usual stuff. Nobody there! In 4 miles I snagged 1200' of vertical gain, and it really didn't feel that bad...
Wednesday - 5+ Miles - Nature Center trails, Mystic. Decided to hit a less hilly trail system today to give my legs a rest, but I did end up running at a faster pace and got a good workout on the trails there! Shorts and a t-shirt again, awesome...
Thursday - 4.5 Miles - Long/Ell Pond Preserve w/Mystery guest, Hopkinton. Runner "X" gave me a shout about hitting some trails. I gave him a choice of easy or difficult, and to his credit, he chose the tougher option! I'm okay with that. Great day, it rained for exactly 5 seconds, and was otherwise warm and perfect, weather-wise...
Friday - 6.5 Miles - Green Falls with Faith and Joe. Faith was scheduled for a 75 minute run on forest roads/trails as part of her training for the big VT race, so I mapped out a loop around Green Falls Pond that included exactly that! Lots of mud was a bonus. 50-55 degrees and breezy, and I know that area of Pachaug just a little bit better now!
Saturday - 5+ Miles - Dog Jog/Lantern Hill run with Jim. Got in a 2-mile dog jog with Henry, where we heard a woodpecker loudly hammering away at a tree, but couldn't quite find him. No worries, there everywhere near my house, awesome birds! On my errands today, and got a text from Jim about running Lantern Hill. I was gonna do a medium long run, but Lantern is an excellent sub for lower miles...3 miles, 900' of vertical, and I capped it with a good effort on the first hill segment, where I tied young Mr. Walker and came in 1 second behind Mr. Ridley. You're going down, sucka! Just a matter of time...
Weekly total? 40 miles, all trails, and 5000'+ of elevation gain.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Vertically Challenged: Week of 3-7 to 3-13
Going to keep the theme going, with mainly trail runs done on hilly, technical terrain. I've been able to rack up some decent vertical, and get some spectacular views in the process, and have fun doing it! I also, oddly enough, have another road race scheduled for the coming weekend, the Bolton Road Race 5-miler, which is where my friends Faith and Joe are tying the knot. Should be a good time! Meantime, looks like a slow work week for me, as our Meriden jobs are done, and the new gigs haven't started yet. So that means...more running! And all the stuff at the house that's backlogged, of course...
Monday - 5 Miles - Castle Craig ascent on the Mattabesett, descent on the White trail. My legs were tired after the Pachaug run, but my new Fellraiser shoes came in, and I got done with work early. What would you do? I cruised an easy pace on the paved path along the reservoir to where it meets the blue trail. Very windy! Even the reservoir had whitecaps. Once I hit the trail, I kept it pretty mellow, but steady, and got to the top where I was all by myself at the castle. I briefly ventured toward the North peak, but did the math and realized it'd take too much time. I also toyed with trying the "Kamikaze Trail Descent" again, but I'll save that for another day. Descended on White, which starts out sketchy but mellows out near the highway. Good "recovery" run with 800'+ of vert.
Tuesday - 4+ Miles - Devil's Hopyard, Haddam. Had the day off, and was in Waterford running errands, so a quick shot up 85 to Haddam was the call. 60 degrees and sunny? Shorts and a t-shirt weather, and I could have skipped the shirt. Started the mile long, rolling ascent to the vista, and was halfway there when I realized my watch was frozen, so I rebooted and carried on. Steady climbs (800'+ of vert), and I blasted the descents. Bettered my Strava CR's on two segments, including the short and brutal "Devil's Oven" segment. What a bitch, 140' scramble at 33% grade. Awesome. Great fun, and lots of people out on the trails today!
Wednesday - 5 Miles - Devil's Hopyard, Haddam. Went back for more, and chose a completely different route. Was so warm I got to rip off the shirt and try to get some Sun on my pasty white skin, much to the delight of all the hikers, I'm sure...also decided to get to 1000' and exactly 5 miles, and was dragging ass at the end of the run. This is turning out to be an interesting week!
Thursday - 3+ Miles - Lantern Hill. Ran down to Kelley's Pace to pick up more Tailwind (that shit is expensive, but awesome), and was going to run some mellow, flatter trails near there, but I somehow ended up at Lantern Hill. Swore to myself I'd take it easy? Cruised up to the top and felt pretty good, and decided to give the "Top to Bottom" segment a go. I know I beat it the first time, but I had paused my watch at the top and forgot to hit start, so I had to do it again. 3:31. That's about as fast as I can go on this section! Warm day, and great short run with another 700'+ of vert.
Friday - 0
Saturday - 12 Miles. Dog Jog, and Lantern Hill Beatdown. Faith was under the weather, so I decided to take the dog for a quick 2 mile trail run, then hit Lantern. I had never done more than 6 miles here, so I decided to hit 10. 5 times up and over the top should do it! The rock climbers there were actually keeping count, and cheering me on. Saw my first snake of the season (garter), which crossed my path on a rather narrow stretch of trail, and I startled a herd of huge turkeys on the lower trail. Caught a glimpse of a pileated woodpecker as well. 2000' of vert in 10 miles on technical trails. Sweet!
Sunday - 9 Miles? Dog Jog and Warmup/Bolton 5-Mile Road Race. I signed up for this as soon as I found out that Faith and Joe were getting married right before the race. How cool is that? I'd heard that this was a very hilly 5-miler, and I had no expectations, as my legs were tired from the week's runs. Met up with a number of friends and in no time, the wedding was on! Pretty awesome that friends and total strangers all came together to watch these two get married. Great turnout, too! I decided to do a warmup and just let my watch run when the race started. Saw Don and Beth lining up, and Don said he was running with Beth this race, and I joined them! What a fun, hilly race to do with friends. Loved the signs written on the first two hills, "This isn't the Hill," and "This isn't the Hill either." When you get to "The Hill" in the last mile, you know it's the one. Steep climb! Had lots of fun during the race with Beth and Don, and at the afterparty Faith had put together a really cool slide show of her and Joe. After that, I had to jet home, run the dog, and get the house ready to host a family dinner. Great day.
Mileage is coming up, as is the elevation gain. This week? 37 miles, and 6000' of vertical. Getting there!
Monday - 5 Miles - Castle Craig ascent on the Mattabesett, descent on the White trail. My legs were tired after the Pachaug run, but my new Fellraiser shoes came in, and I got done with work early. What would you do? I cruised an easy pace on the paved path along the reservoir to where it meets the blue trail. Very windy! Even the reservoir had whitecaps. Once I hit the trail, I kept it pretty mellow, but steady, and got to the top where I was all by myself at the castle. I briefly ventured toward the North peak, but did the math and realized it'd take too much time. I also toyed with trying the "Kamikaze Trail Descent" again, but I'll save that for another day. Descended on White, which starts out sketchy but mellows out near the highway. Good "recovery" run with 800'+ of vert.
Tuesday - 4+ Miles - Devil's Hopyard, Haddam. Had the day off, and was in Waterford running errands, so a quick shot up 85 to Haddam was the call. 60 degrees and sunny? Shorts and a t-shirt weather, and I could have skipped the shirt. Started the mile long, rolling ascent to the vista, and was halfway there when I realized my watch was frozen, so I rebooted and carried on. Steady climbs (800'+ of vert), and I blasted the descents. Bettered my Strava CR's on two segments, including the short and brutal "Devil's Oven" segment. What a bitch, 140' scramble at 33% grade. Awesome. Great fun, and lots of people out on the trails today!
Wednesday - 5 Miles - Devil's Hopyard, Haddam. Went back for more, and chose a completely different route. Was so warm I got to rip off the shirt and try to get some Sun on my pasty white skin, much to the delight of all the hikers, I'm sure...also decided to get to 1000' and exactly 5 miles, and was dragging ass at the end of the run. This is turning out to be an interesting week!
Thursday - 3+ Miles - Lantern Hill. Ran down to Kelley's Pace to pick up more Tailwind (that shit is expensive, but awesome), and was going to run some mellow, flatter trails near there, but I somehow ended up at Lantern Hill. Swore to myself I'd take it easy? Cruised up to the top and felt pretty good, and decided to give the "Top to Bottom" segment a go. I know I beat it the first time, but I had paused my watch at the top and forgot to hit start, so I had to do it again. 3:31. That's about as fast as I can go on this section! Warm day, and great short run with another 700'+ of vert.
Friday - 0
Saturday - 12 Miles. Dog Jog, and Lantern Hill Beatdown. Faith was under the weather, so I decided to take the dog for a quick 2 mile trail run, then hit Lantern. I had never done more than 6 miles here, so I decided to hit 10. 5 times up and over the top should do it! The rock climbers there were actually keeping count, and cheering me on. Saw my first snake of the season (garter), which crossed my path on a rather narrow stretch of trail, and I startled a herd of huge turkeys on the lower trail. Caught a glimpse of a pileated woodpecker as well. 2000' of vert in 10 miles on technical trails. Sweet!
Sunday - 9 Miles? Dog Jog and Warmup/Bolton 5-Mile Road Race. I signed up for this as soon as I found out that Faith and Joe were getting married right before the race. How cool is that? I'd heard that this was a very hilly 5-miler, and I had no expectations, as my legs were tired from the week's runs. Met up with a number of friends and in no time, the wedding was on! Pretty awesome that friends and total strangers all came together to watch these two get married. Great turnout, too! I decided to do a warmup and just let my watch run when the race started. Saw Don and Beth lining up, and Don said he was running with Beth this race, and I joined them! What a fun, hilly race to do with friends. Loved the signs written on the first two hills, "This isn't the Hill," and "This isn't the Hill either." When you get to "The Hill" in the last mile, you know it's the one. Steep climb! Had lots of fun during the race with Beth and Don, and at the afterparty Faith had put together a really cool slide show of her and Joe. After that, I had to jet home, run the dog, and get the house ready to host a family dinner. Great day.
Mileage is coming up, as is the elevation gain. This week? 37 miles, and 6000' of vertical. Getting there!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Trippin' on Traprock! Week of 2-29 to 3-6
Back at it! With the family visit in the rear window, and the training schedule (and accompanying spreadsheet...eek!) looming large, it's time to take advantage of this effing awesome weather and hit the trails. I do a lot of research on trails I'm thinking about, and working in Meriden right now is making it easy...the Hanging Hills are the call! I'd like to think that, although I'm not particularly fast, I am a really good technical trail runner. I'm confident on really tricky stuff, not at all afraid of heights or ridge running, and I absolutely LOVE descents...so the ups and downs and cliffside running of the Metacomet and Mattabesett Trails are my bread and butter right now. Best training for Breakneck Point, 7 Sisters, and Cayuga I can get!
Monday - 4 Miles - Ragged Mountain Preserve, Berlin. What a place! I checked out the maps beforehand, and settled on a 4 mile loop with a couple of Strava segments to spice things up a bit. I stopped on the way up and at the top to snap a couple pics, then bombed down the muddy, sketchy blue/yellow trail to return to the parking lot. 2nd fastest ascent, fastest downhill! Sweet! And running in shorts and a t-shirt on February 29 ain't bad either!
Tuesday - 3 Miles - Higby Mountain, Middletown. More shorts and t-shirt weather! I pass by a commuter lot every day that has a blazed connector trail to the Mattabesett, which ascends to the double camel hump ridge of Higby Mountain. I had enough time for a 1.5 mile out, 1.5 mile back run, which netted me 900'+ of vertical gain, and a great workout on some awesome trail!
Monday - 4 Miles - Ragged Mountain Preserve, Berlin. What a place! I checked out the maps beforehand, and settled on a 4 mile loop with a couple of Strava segments to spice things up a bit. I stopped on the way up and at the top to snap a couple pics, then bombed down the muddy, sketchy blue/yellow trail to return to the parking lot. 2nd fastest ascent, fastest downhill! Sweet! And running in shorts and a t-shirt on February 29 ain't bad either!
I like...
Great views!
Lookout below!
Top of Ragged Mountain
Tuesday - 3 Miles - Higby Mountain, Middletown. More shorts and t-shirt weather! I pass by a commuter lot every day that has a blazed connector trail to the Mattabesett, which ascends to the double camel hump ridge of Higby Mountain. I had enough time for a 1.5 mile out, 1.5 mile back run, which netted me 900'+ of vertical gain, and a great workout on some awesome trail!
Views from the cliff
Mud = good
The least technical part of the trail...really!
7 Sisters, anyone? Paul???
Late afternoon awesomeness.
Wednesday - 2 Miles - Canfield Woods, Essex. I actually wasn't going to run at all, as I was going to be late getting home, but a shitty commute required a diversion. I pulled up Strava and hit segment explorer, and saw a bunch of red squiggly lines right off the highway that meant trails. Got to a small parking area and set out up the hill, and did a few repeats before I found the main trail, and did a short up and back, stopping briefly to chat with a local who was walking her dogs. Turns out, this is a pretty big place. I'll be back after some research!
Thursday - 3 Miles - Mattabesett Trail out/back, Meriden/Middlefield. I've been hitting the Higby Mountain side of Route 66 on my way home, but this time I opted to try a section on the other side, recommended by fellow runner Russ (aka Backpacking Engineer http://www.backpackingengineer.com/), who just completed the last piece of the New England Scenic Trail, which weighs in at a hefty 215 miles total...pretty badass. So with enough time for 30-40 minutes of trails, I parked and got right to it. 1.5 out, and fantastic views (again) from the ridges, 1.5 back, and another 700' of elevation gain. The steep, technical hills are getting easier...
Friday - 0.
Saturday - 6.5 Miles. Trail warmup, Hare Hop 5k (30th of 212 in 22:27), and a Dog Jog with Henry. My legs felt heavy after all the hills this week, so I had no expectations going into this race. At this point, I really have no interest in running on roads at all, unless it's with friends, out of necessity, or it's a race with some special meaning. In this case? The Hare Hop, put on by friend/fellow runner/Kelley's Pace owner Jeff Anderson. A bunch of friends were running so I signed up. Chilly 8 a.m. start, I arrived early and did a warmup on the trails across the street. I started the race conservatively, and my legs felt pretty good! I gradually increased the pace, did great on the hill (141' of gain for a 5k race), and my last mile was a 6:40? Nice! Great to see lots of friends at this race, it was a lot of fun!
After the race, I met Beth at the corner of Shore/Noyes Neck road in Weekapaug to watch our friends come through at the other race going on, the Ocean's Run HM. We were positioned right at mile 8-ish. The first thing I noticed? Major intersection for runners, no flaggers, and just a small directional arrow painted on the ground. A small crowd of us gathered to cheer everyone on. I'll keep my opinions mainly to myself so as not to stir shit up too much, but I'll say this: one of my friends got screwed out of a podium finish due to poor course markings and a lack of volunteers, and some of the leaders went off course, and the distance of the race was wrong. I'm not fast, so I don't give a shit if I run 13.1 or 13.5, but to a runner moving at a fast pace, it's kind of a big deal. Shouldn't have happened, none of it.
Then I went home and ran trails with Henry! Awesome!
Sunday - 11+ Miles. Pachaug trails with Faith, and a short dog jog beforehand. I was trying to decide where to go when Faith texted me and asked if I was running? I said yes, and she mentioned wanting a 2 hour trail run. I picked a good loop in Pachaug, with a mix of technical/non-technical trails, hills, and a couple of dirt forest roads thrown in to break things up. Great day, perfect weather, and total fun!
Recap: 30 miles for the week, and 4000'+ elevation gain. Not bad, and a big increase in degree of difficulty. Feeling pretty good about my racing season right now...
Week of 2-22 to 2-28
Interesting week coming up...still working in Meriden, wild weather midweek forecast, and meeting my brother and his wife in NYC this weekend?
Monday - 0
Tuesday - 3 Miles. Copp Property trails, Groton. Had just enough time for a short run before I picked up the dog. This place is right up the street from his daycare, so I hit the trails as some fat snowflakes started to fall. Peaceful, and although I got somewhat lost due to some poorly maintained trails, it was a really enjoyable 3 miles!
Wednesday - 0.
Thursday - 4.7 Miles - 1.7 Dog Jog, 3 Hewitt Property. Fun cruise with the dog, and a good run at Hewitt while I waited for the child's B-ball practice to finish.
Friday - Sunday - 0. My brother was in NYC for my SIL's birthday, so we made plans to meet them. Great time, great foodI purposely didn't bring any running gear, even though I've always wanted to run amok in Central Park (And yes, Paul, I did see some trails! Ha!). The weather on Sunday was ri-dic-u-lous, at 60 and sunny, and the park was filled with runners, Sun lovers, kids climbing on rocks, etc...but I was a good boy (and secretly jealous of all the people getting miles). Probably walked 5+ miles though!
Scrap this week for training, but it was still fun :)
Monday - 0
Tuesday - 3 Miles. Copp Property trails, Groton. Had just enough time for a short run before I picked up the dog. This place is right up the street from his daycare, so I hit the trails as some fat snowflakes started to fall. Peaceful, and although I got somewhat lost due to some poorly maintained trails, it was a really enjoyable 3 miles!
Wednesday - 0.
Thursday - 4.7 Miles - 1.7 Dog Jog, 3 Hewitt Property. Fun cruise with the dog, and a good run at Hewitt while I waited for the child's B-ball practice to finish.
Friday - Sunday - 0. My brother was in NYC for my SIL's birthday, so we made plans to meet them. Great time, great foodI purposely didn't bring any running gear, even though I've always wanted to run amok in Central Park (And yes, Paul, I did see some trails! Ha!). The weather on Sunday was ri-dic-u-lous, at 60 and sunny, and the park was filled with runners, Sun lovers, kids climbing on rocks, etc...but I was a good boy (and secretly jealous of all the people getting miles). Probably walked 5+ miles though!
Scrap this week for training, but it was still fun :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)