Week2 of 2-13 to 2-19, 2-20 to 2-26: Starting with Winter, ending with Spring?

Cold days to begin this stretch of February, but hey!  Looks like a big time warmup coming, and all that pesky snow's gonna melt.  Gonna be beach weather soon, hahaha...Mike B.!  You ready for the Taylor Swift run?

Monday - Tuesday - 0.

Wednesday - 4.  Mohegan Park footpaths, Norwich.  Too much snow, and the trails were nonexistent.  Opted for paved paths around the park, with a more peppy pace.  Cool but not ridiculous.

Thursday - 3.  Beebe Pond Preserve and Moore Woodlands, Noank.  Screw it, I slipped and slid all over the place, it was cold and windy, and I had the whole place to myself.  Nice!

Packed down, icy and cold, and awesome!

Friday - Saturday.  0

Sunday - 17.  Mystic Long Run.  Met Jim for a trail run, but the trails were a sloppy mess.  After 3.5 miles, Jim was done and I decided to hit the roads solo...and immediately ran into Al and Steve!  Ran downtown with them, where they were gearing up for a pub crawl, said hello to Way Hedding who was also doing the crawl, and continued up the river.  Great day.  Temps around 60 degrees, Sun out, breezy but perfect running conditions.  I maintained a steady pace (after the slog of the first few miles) and when I looped around past the reservoir toward the nature center, I was tempted to try the trails again, but I had a good thing going and didn't want to mess it up.  Got close to the truck at 16.5, and looped the Village once to hit 17 and called it a day.  Felt really good, except for my feet.  The Salomons rock, but they're not cushy and I can feel it.  New shoes coming in a couple days, will try them to see if the extra cushion makes a difference?

Got Hooters?

Geese taking a break in the Mystic River, and heading Northward...I hope!

Monday - Tuesday - 0.

Wednesday - 6.  Lantern Hill.  Wanted to check out the trail conditions after work, and aside from the slushy, slippery first hill, it's all clear!  There's even a "new" trail that branches off the lower green loop, with some nice rolling singletrack, and a bridge across the normally swampy stream section.  Good time in 50-degree temps :)

OH!  Look what arrived today!  Gonna try these for longer runs, as they're supposed to offer some good cushioning and whatnot.  Figure I'll give 'em a go!

Hoka One One Challenger ATR 3!  Let's see how these feel...

Thursday - 0.

Friday - 5.5.  Lantern Hill.  Warm!  Sunny!  Let's GO!  I finished work early, and dropped off some things at the transfer station, and hit the trails in the Hokas.  They were a bit different, definitely cushiony (bordering on spongy), but once I got used to them, they were awesome.  Got them good and filthy, too!  They'll do nicely on long trail runs, except for anything wet, rocky and technical.  They don't grip nearly as well as the Salomons do, and I found myself avoiding certain lines downhill that I wouldn't have thought twice about.  Great shoes, though, and they have their place in the lineup!  I'm sold on their comfort, and if they make a model with bigger lugs I'll buy them in a heartbeat...

Saturday - 5.  Champlin Glacier Park.  Dropped the dog off in Westerly at the groomers, what to do?  Hit Champlin for a few miles, in t-shirt and shorts!  Again!  In February!  Had a steady run on the rolling singletrack there, and very enjoyable, and then got some other shit done in the warm weather...yardwork?  Spring cleaning?  Hell, I even fired up the bus and took it for a drive.  Great day!

Sunday - 10.  Group run in Pachaug! - Met up with Jeff, Matthew, Aaron and Jonathan, and ran one of the loops I know in Pachaug, which includes parts of the Pachaug, Quinnebaug and Nehantic trails, and offers a smorgasbord platter of trails, from easy soft singletrack, to steep technical climbs/descents, and forest roads, along with some pretty decent scenery.  Weather was chilly but quite manageable (still shorts weather!), and a good time was had by all!

Emerging from the Winter Doldrums: Week(s) of 1-23 to 1-29, 1-30 to 2-5, and 2-6 to 2-12

 I'm climbing out of the mileage hole I somehow found myself in, and it's feeling pretty good!  I'll admit that the lack of daylight, refusal to use my treadmill, and work/family obligations was getting the better of me, and taking my mood down along with my weekly numbers.  Let's start with the week of 1-23 to 1-29, where I ran twice, totalled 10 miles, and only had one run of 7+ miles, mainly due to me missing a critical turn on trails.  We'll call that a base.  Level Zero, a la Kung Fu Panda.  Even the Dragon Warrior had to start somewhere!

1-30 to 2-5.  29 Miles.  That's better!

Monday - 0.

Tuesday - 5.  Copp Preserve run with Faith.  Awesome time exploring this gem, which is really convenient, has a ton of trails, and a good mix of technical/easy.

Wednesday - 5-ish.  2 Miles Poquetanuck Cove Preserve, 3 Miles Copp Preserve.  With snow still on the ground, I was determined to get in a run before it all melted.  I'd wanted to check out this small preserve along one of the tidal marshes on the way to work, and as it only had a short loop trail, it fit the bill nicely!  After work, I scored another 3 miles at Copp before I picked up the dog.  Great day!

Thursday - 0.

Friday - 9+.  Rocky Neck run.  Marked and unmarked trails, and after 4 miles I was joined by my friend Adam, who's training for his first 50-miler in March.  Cold, partly cloudy, and breezy, but a great time cruising around the park!

Saturday - 3.5. Old Mountain Field 5k.  Hey, it's race day!  I loaded up some beers to gift/trade, and headed down to the race.  Very twisty and technical single track trail race, and the second race of the winter trail series did not disappoint!  I met up with a shit ton of people, ran a warmup with an up-and-coming trail runner who I coached in Rec soccer six years ago (who kicked ass in the race), and had a great time on a tough course, and finished well.  Super fun!  And hey, in a Brightman/Hammett age group, I'm in 4th for the series!  I could be (probably not) a contender!

Sunday - 6.  Mystic Nature Trails.  I slunk out of the house before the Super Bowl to get a few miles, and bagged 6 on fun trails before I had to head homeward.  Cold, muddy and awesome.  Saw lots of people out with dogs (and solo)!


2-6 to 2-12 - ???

Monday - 5.  Canfield Meadows w/Adam B.  Adam is a longtime friend, fairly new trail runner, and training for his first 50-miler, and we hit a good, hilly out and back on these very runnable, and quite hilly trails.

Tuesday - 4.5.  Mohegan Park trails, Norwich.  Fun trails in the rain, although I got a bit lost at first. Lots of unmarked stuff there.   Looks like a local XC team uses them for meets as well?

Wed. - Fri. - 0.

Saturday - 10.  Snowy Arcadia Trail/Road mix, Exeter.  Quite a slog in deep snow on the trails - spent some time exploring some of them, and ultimately wound up running Frosty Hollow road down to Breakheart Pond and back.  Good day, felt great, and wish the trails had been more passable!

Sunday - 3.  Postholing trails in Mystic.  Snowing out, I was getting stir crazy, and drove in slippery conditions down to Mystic, where the less technical trails would offer fewer hidden surprises.  Slow going, but I kept an honest pace in spite of the deep snow.  Lots of postholing, especially around the fields in between the wooded areas, but fun!