Closing out February: Week of 2-23 to 3-1

March begins on Sunday, and along with it hopefully we'll see some warmer days.  I don't mind some cold, and some snow, but we're on target to finish February as the coldest month in CT since the started recording weather.  Like, EVER.  Races have even been cancelled because of it, which really sucks for the people who put down good money on hotels, made travel plans, etc...So bring on Spring, dammit!  I'm ready for it.

Monday, 2-23 - 0 Miles.  1 hour karate class, followed by some weights/light stretching.

Tuesday, 2-24 - 0 Miles.

Wednesday, 2-25 - 4 Miles (Treadmill) - Short interval workout. - Daughter got sent home sick, so in between household stuff, I squeezed in a good 4 mile workout on the treadmill, with intervals.  Slow start to the week, and I'm hoping for some bigger and better things for the weekend!

Thursday, 2-26 - 0 Miles.

Friday, 2-27 - 4.6 Miles (Trail/Road) - Lantern Hill run, and afternoon dog jog.  Decided to hit Lantern Hill to see how bad it was.  Quite a bit of snowshoe/xc ski activity on the main trails, so I tried to stay on that for the most part.  Some postholing though, and the last section I ran/walked before I finished up was untouched for at least a month:

But as always, a great time in the woods!

Saturday, 2-28 - 3 Miles (Road) - Downtown Westerly park and roads to close out the month.  Was in town running errands, and squeezed in this run.  All good, until I fully wiped out on an icy patch of sidewalk near the Y, and ultimately cut the run short.  Hit the ground hard, but not enough blood to make a highlight reel...and screw you. February!  You sucked.

Sunday, 3-1 - 7.5 Miles (Beach/Road) - Watch Hill run.  Met up with Jim H., who wanted to run but hadn't since over a month ago.  I suggested Watch Hill, as it was gonna be low-ish tide and we could run the beach.  Great time out to Napatree and back, and we saw another runner approaching on the beach.  Hey, it's WTAC member Ben Moon!  He joined us, and we headed off the beach and down to the lighthouse, then ran Jim back to his car at 4 miles.  Ben and I tacked on an extra 3.5 miles and finished up.  Great way to kick off March!

Piling it on (and more snow!), Week of 2-16 to 2-22

So guess what?  Looks like we're on target here in CT for the coldest February in recorded weather history, at somewhere around a 16 degree average?  What the???  Oh, and then there's the snow.  It just keeps piling up, without any above freezing temps to melt any of it.  Matter of fact, it's snowing as I'm writing this on Tuesday morning.  I'm sure as heck not planning on signing up for any races in the next few weeks!  I've been able to get out for some outdoor runs, and have supplemented them with a couple of treadmill runs, my last resort (although I'm getting less anti-treadmill the last few weeks...).  I also have an appointment Tuesday for my first ever PT session for my left knee, will see how that goes...

Monday, 2-16 - 9 Miles (7 Treadmill/2 Road) - Bone-chilling Presidents' Day, with wind chill factors well below zero.  I opted to get set up in the "sweatbox" exercise room, put on a movie on the iPad, and threw on the wireless headphones.  Easy progression run, and the 7 miles went by faster with the distraction.  As cold as it was outside, the dog thought we were going for a run when I got geared up and looked rather upset.  I changed up (again) after the treadmill run and braved the frigid temps with him, and got 2 snow-covered road miles.  The wind had died down some, so it was still really cold but manageable.

Tuesday, 2-17 - 0 Miles.  Saw a Physical Therapist for the first time - she had me flex my knee this way and that, and gently dug into the tendons to find out where my discomfort was coming from...meniscus it is, with more PT scheduled, along with a prescribed regimen of stretching exercises and foam rolling.  We'll see how it goes!

Wednesday, 2-18 - 7 Miles (Beach/Road) - Watch Hill run with Napatree Point beach run.  I really love this place...

Had the entire beach to myself today - no wind, 30 degrees and perfect :)

Thursday, 2-19 - 2.6 Miles (Trail) - Champlin Glacier Park.  2.6 miles of snow-covered trails.  Cold and breezy day, and I was looking to get into the woods for a few miles.  The main trails were packed down a bit by snowshoe tracks, but a couple of the trails weren't, and it was a tough slog punching through the crusty and deep snow.  Why, you ask?  Because it's awesome in the woods.  Tough to run in?  You bet.  But totally worth it!

Friday, 2-20 - 7 Miles (Treadmill/Road) - 5.5 mile treadmill run, 1.5 mile dog jog.  Flippin' cold out!  Couldn't bring myself to run in minus whatever wind chills today, so I grabbed the iPad, wireless headphones, picked out a movie to zone out on (Frankenstein!) and hit the treadmill.  Steady pace, and ran 400's at race pace (6:30 avg.) for the last two miles, alternating with a 400m jog between each.  Later, the wind had died down some so I took Henry for a run.  Good time but still cold and breezy, but glad we got out!  

Saturday, 2-21 - 2.5 Miles - (Road) - Late afternoon dog jog with Henry.

Sunday, 2-22 - 9+ Miles (Road/Beach) - Watch Hill beaches and roads w/Gazelle, and slushy dog jog w/Henry.  Met up with Jeff in Watch Hill for a beach run.  Sunny skies and 35 degrees was awesome!  This was the day that finally felt like Spring was on its way.  Lots of people getting outside too, another good sign.  Did the out and back Napatree Point run, then took the trail next to Taylor's place down to the oceanside beach and ran that for a bit, before finishing up on uncrowded side streets.  Great run!

Watch Hill harbor

Another Monday, another storm! Week of 2-9 to 2-15

This is the third consecutive Monday that school's been cancelled due to a snowstorm, and although we're set to receive the lower end of the snowfall estimates, we get the added bonus of freezing rain!  Awesome!  Nothing like turning everything into a skating rink, right?  The rest of the week sees temperatures plummet, and the potential for two more snow events toward the end of the week???

I also don't have a race scheduled for at least a month!  There are options, I just don't have anything pencilled in on the calendar...

Monday, 2-9 - 0

Tuesday, 2-10 - 0

Wednesday, 2-11 - 0

Thursday, 2-12 - 8+ Total - 6.2 Miles (Road) - Snowy streets of Misquamicut and Avondale w/Gazelle.  Perfect conditions for a run, 32 degrees, very little wind, and big fat snowflakes falling.  A truly enjoyable run today, on what's set to be the warmest day for at least the next week.  Met up with Jeff, and we cruised around Avondale, and ended up at Misquamicut for a quick beach check.  Tide was high!

                             2 Miles (Road) - Dog jog.  Henry and I were able to maintain a faster pace!  Light snow falling, great run with the boy!

Friday, 2-13 - 4 Miles (TM) - Happy Friday the 13th!  It's friggin' freezing out, so I opted to play around on the treadmill...4 progression miles (with 4x1 minute 6:00 pace runs at the end, with easy recovery), and sweaty as Hell since I was in my house!  My humps!!!

What I think I look like on the treadmill...

Saturday, 2-14 - 2 Miles (Road) - Dog jog with Henry.  I also mailed in (mailed?  people still do that?) my race application for the all-new Chikumbuso 10k race, to be held on 4/25 right up the road from me at the Jonathan Edwards Winery.  This should be a lot of fun, and I plan on running the two miles to the race as a warmup, running the race, and then running back to the house afterward.  The winery is at the top of one of the hills in town, so whichever way the race starts is downhill, with a pretty solid uphill finish...

Sunday, 2-15 - Blizzard!  Once I dig us out (again), I might venture out for something...looks brutal though!!!

Belleville Beatdown Coming! Week of 2-2 to 2-8

I blame myself.  With zero snow up till last week, I'd piped up with "I hope we have some snow for Belleville!"  Well, we got it in spades, and it's shaping up to be an even bigger shitshow than last year's sufferfest, which took me 1:06 to finish, and was described by 81-year old Colburn Graves as "The toughest thing I've ever done."  That's testimony right there.  It was brutal.

Monday, 2-2 - 0 Miles - Yet another storm, and another two rounds of shoveling the driveway.  All set here...

Tuesday, 2-3 - 0 Miles.

Wednesday, 2-4 - 2.8 Miles (Trail/Road) + 3.3 Miles (Road) - Attempt at a trail run in Champlin, and a time-killing progression run before B-Ball practice ended.  Was finally able to make it to karate class this morning!  Great class, we went through all our kata and yakosoku kumite drills, and spent some time doing self-defense.  Good stuff!  I was planning on hitting Watch Hill to run, but on my way there I decided to scope out Champlin Glacier Park.  Footprints on the first trail!  I quickly geared up and put the Yaks on for the first time this year...

100 yards into the woods the green trail branches off to the left and it's my favorite.  I take it and immediately, I'm working.  Hard.  The snow is still pretty deep and has a nice crusty topping to punch through.  I went a mile in it, the snow averaging shin-deep, and bailed onto the road for a bit, then found a tracked-up trail and looped that a couple of times.

Champlin trail?

Crusty!

More crust...

In the afternoon, I got to my daughter's school early and decided on a hilly-ish progression run.  Started at an 8:06, ended at a 6:33 pace.  Felt good and was thinking about trying to loop around on Jeremy Hill road but ran outta time (It's about a 6-mile loop).  3.3 miles was it, but a good run nevertheless...

Thursday, 2-5 - 0 Miles.

Friday, 2-6 - 5 Miles (Road) - Mystic.  COLD!!!  My wife was getting her hair done, so I ran and answered various texts from her about her timeline, which ran late.  Turned into a progression run of sorts, although I was laying off before the race...

Saturday, 2-7 - 6.2 Miles (Trail? Snow? IDK???) - Belleville Pond 10k, NKRI.  One Hell of a race, and a true "Sufferfest" to get through.  My take?  I packed all my gear and left the house, got on I-95 and quickly realized that I forgot.to.put.my.damn.shoes.in.the.car...and turned around to get them, which ate up all my time for a warmup.  I got to Ryan Park with 10-15 minutes to spare, got checked in and chatted with some friends.  Perfect day.  25 degrees, overcast and no wind.  Providence vagabonds Monica and James showed up, ready to run and kicking off their 2015 season...Beth???  Not so much, I called her during my shoe crisis and she growled out something about "I'm not going..."

The race was as I expected:  I went out at an average pace.  I saw George up ahead and decided to catch him and stay with him for a while, which we did.  I finally passed him and tried to reel in runners as I went, but that mile 3 was awful!  I averaged a 14-15 minute mile.  The packed snow after that was like a gift, and I increased the pace, finishing in 1:05.  Official results to follow, but what a great way to spend a Saturday morning in New England!!!  Anyone who hasn't gone to the woods in winter, and walked in the snow, is missing out!  It's so great to have so many runners out there!!!

I'll also offer this:  I noticed that my friend Monica hadn't finished, and James and I went to the finish line to greet her.  A runner named Betsy was coming in, and we cheered her in.  She was awesome!  Gave us high-fives and everything.  She's a breast cancer survivor, and her goal was to finish the race this year...so my hat is off to Betsy, and I'm lucky to have met her!  She also told us that Mo was right behind her, and there she was!  Monica, total badass, crossing the line in a tough race, with us yelling at her to pick it up.  Love it!!!  Great to cheer friends to victory :)

Sunday, 2-8 - 6.2 Miles (Road) - Mystic again?  Had to pick up a prescription in Mystic, so it was to be a chlly and breezy 10k along the water.  I really didn't have a particular time or distance in mind, either, just meandered around until I got to around 4 miles, and decided to get 6.2 total, to finish off the Strava 10k challenge.  I don't really have anything I'm training for, so aside from working on speed, I don't really NEED to get a set number of miles in each day/week.  Is that really such a bad thing?

Snowmageddon! Blizzard week of 1-26 to 2-1

And there I was, thinking we were gonna make it through winter without getting a solid snowstorm...and NO!!!  Wrong, dummy!  Mother Nature is about to drop the hammer on New England, with a nice fat blizzard.  Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few days, you've already heard about it, and we're set to get hit with 15-30" of the white stuff, with locally higher amounts possible.  I'm working Monday a.m., and most likely won't get a run in.  No worries...

Sunday is the Narragansett Super 5k, one of my "legacy" races, and I never miss it.  I'm shooting for a PR.  Will it happen?  I think so...previous results below:

2010 - 25:57
2011 - 26:57
2012 - 25:12
2013 - 22:03
2014 - 21:35

If I feel good and go out strong, who knows?

And in other news here in North Stonington...

Mountain Lions!  In my town?  The State DEEP has (and will) deny it to the hilt, but a number of NoSto residents have reported seeing them in recent weeks:

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/North-Stonington-Residents-Report-Seeing-Possible-Mountain-Lions-289679831.html

So move over, hybrid wolfdogs!  There's a new sheriff in these woods...and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all to come across one, although they're too stealthy and I'm too loud and clunky to see one of the big cats.  There have been a couple of times though, where I felt like something in the woods was checking me out (and not in a good way), and is one of the reasons why I run with a blade when I run alone in the woods.  You just never know, but so far all I've come across on trails have been sketchy people, not animals :)

It's gonna be a snowy, cold and uncertain week...we'll see what Tuesday brings (besides a crapload of shoveling)!

Monday, 1-26 - 0 Miles - Work in the a.m., and last-minute storm prep in the p.m.  I hate to say it, but I might very well break down tomorrow and fire up the treadmill if there's zero chance of running outside...might give me a chance to try one of the Daniels treadmill workouts, anyway...

Tuesday, 1-27 - 2 Miles (Road) - Snow-covered hill run with the dog.  No treadmill!  Shoveled 2 feet of snow for three hours, then changed and took the dog for a run up the road.  Trails were NOT an option...cold, still snowing and breezy, but we had a great time, Henry and I!

Wednesday, 1-28 - 7 Miles (2 Road/5 Treadmill) - Repeat of yesterday's dog jog/First treadmill run in forever.  Cold, breezy and slippery run up the hill with Henry, who's come to expect that when I pull out my running gear, he's coming along.  We did the two miles, and I didn't feel like I was quite finished running for the day, but I was also not looking forward to changing clothes and hitting the slushy streets again.  Solution?  The Daniels book had a section on treadmill training, specifically for hill workouts and interval training.  I did a bit of both, warming up with increased pace/incline every half mile up to three miles, at which point I was moving at a 7:00 pace.  I then dropped the incline back down and alternated 400m at 6:00 pace, then 400m at 7:00 pace for the last two miles, followed by a short cooldown.  Blasted loud punk rock the entire time.  Nice to be able to run in just shoes and shorts!  Might have to incorporate more of these workouts in the future.  Cue snarky comments from Beth in 3, 2, 1...

Thursday, 1-29 - 5 Miles (Beach/Road) - Napatree Point beach run with Watch Hill roads.  Found myself in the Dunn's Corners area, so I cruised over to Watch Hill and ran Napatree Point.  Funny, I saw one person on the entire out/back, this dude walking his dog, and as I passed by and said hello, he replied with "Didn't I work with you at the casino?  Mike, right?"  Small world...after that I had the whole beach to myself!  Seriously, the weather couldn't have been any better for a run - low 30's, sunshine, and zero wind.  Awesome...

Cresting wave of snow...

Frozen boulders!

Icy coast

Perfect day for a beach run!

Frozen Watch Hill harbor

Lighthouse in the distance

Yeah, my horizons are off-kilter just a touch...beautiful day though!

Friday, 1-30 - 0 Miles.  Loads to do at the house.  I did, however, throw my hat in the ring and sign up for the inaugural Mystic Half Marathon, scheduled for May 31, 2015.  I run there a lot and am quite familiar with most of the course, but I also created a Strava map of the course:

https://www.strava.com/routes/1226586

It's more hilly on the back end, so I'll plan on banking time on the river sections in the first few miles, and trust that the hillwork I do now will serve me well during the latter part of the race.  Can't wait!  Those in the know can run a warmup/cooldown on trails right next to the start/finish :)

I'll plan on giving it a go in the next few weeks, weather permitting...and in other news, my daughter turned 13 today, so say a little prayer for me, will ya?  The next few years are gonna be iffy at best...Happy Birthday, Soph!

Saturday, 1-31 - 0 Miles.

Sunday, 2-1 - 7 Miles - Narragansett Super 5k warmup/race + dog jog.  21:26, 50th OA of 213.  This is my sixth time running this race.  It's a pretty damn deep field for such a small race (the top 30 runners were sub-20), and the weather is usually a big X factor.  This time around?  Not so much with the weather, except that it was chilly and breezy.  I drove up with Colburn and his friend Tom, and it was nice to have some conversation on the ride.  After we checked in and dropped our gear at the WTAC table, I went out for a warmup, and spied Beth out on the road.  I caught up with her just as she abruptly changed direction (and startled both of us), and cruised back to the start with her.  I felt good, not great, but I was pretty determined to try for a PR.

I finished my warmup and stopped for a bathroom break, and had just enough time to run to the truck for a change of hat and gloves.  I'd just gotten to the group assembled for the start of the race and the horn went off.  Crap!  I was starting at dead last, and wove my way through the group to get to where I should have been.  That said, I managed a decent first mile at a 6:47.  The second mile?  Well, it included the turnaround, and I checked my watch.  10:42.  Shit.  No sub-20 today, my "A" goal.  Let's keep going and try for a course PR.  Mile 2 was a 6:53, and mile 3 a 6:43.  I felt good not great, and couldn't muster any kind of kick whatsoever.  My official time was 21:26, a 9 second PR for the course.  I also had a "Space Watch" PR for my 5k time, but I'm not gonna count it.

Had loads of fun at this race.  NRA puts on a great event, and we were up against the Turtles again, who came out in force and brought their wunderkind, DJ, who finished 2nd in 16:17?  He's what, 15 or 16???  My time wasn't a factor in the Men's team category, but our guys managed to edge out the TNT crew by just a smidge.  Great rivalry, and good fun at these races with our "frenemies."

So the recap?  I PR'd the course, didn't hit my A goal, but did well overall.  Not too shabby, and I really need to do more speedwork!

I also took the dog on a run when I got home, which he was very excited about :)

More Muddy Miles! Week of 1-19 to 1-25

No snow, some ice, but mostly mud this winter thus far.  Two weeks to the Super 5k, and I'm getting some good runs in: some roads, lots of trails, and everything at a seemingly faster pace.  I think I'm in good shape for the race, and as it's an out-and-back that I know very well, I'll be shooting for a 10-minute midway.  It's very slightly ascending for the first half, and descending the second half, so if I make the split at 10, I've pretty much got the sub-20 5k I've been looking to snag...we'll see!

Monday, 1-19 - 9.6 Miles (Trail/Road/Beach) - 8 Mile group run with some of the crew, and a dog jog with Henry later.  Run #1:  Met at Jeff's place for a run planned by Mike B., which included a cruise to Watch Hill, then a high-tide beach run back to Misquamicut.  I was suckin' wind on this run.  Partly because my legs were fatigued from the run the day before, and partly because the group's "conversational pace" is just a bit slower than my race pace...so I gasped out answers to questions when I could, and wasn't quite as chatty as I'd normally be.  Fun, but I was working hard (especially on the beach!) and was thankful for the short break after the beach where Shara snapped this picture:

Don't slip!

In the afternoon, I took Henry out for a jog and played around with the GoPro, but didn't like the footage I got.  He had fun though!  Needs to be a more epic run to translate well in video...

Tuesday, 1-20 - 4 Miles (Road) - Watch Hill cruisin'.  Dropped the dog off at the groomers and had some time to kill, so I hit Watch Hill and meandered around.  Chilly, but a bright sunny day, and lots of cool sights to see!

Watch Hill lighthouse

Napatree Point!

Henry!

(Added another nearly 2 miles on sloppy Wheeler XC trails, along with a few parking lot pickups, while I waited for my daughter's basketball practice to finish.  Thought I had more time, apparently not!  Got home to find this in the mail:

Following the lead of some of my fast friends, I'm gonna check this book out...)

Wednesday, 1-21 - 0 Miles - Planned 0, and got a bunch of things done 'round the house, along with work in the a.m.  Needed a day off anyway to let some soreness/fatigue subside.  Started reading the book, and the good doctor stresses rest time as a crucial component of training...agreed, and noted, and way too easy to forget.  Funny, I also recognize myself as one of those without natural ability, but with an inherent desire to perform well, so I suppose that's a good thing?

Thursday, 1-22 - 4 Miles (Road) - Watch Hill again!  My last three runs have been in Watch Hill...gorgeous place, and I notice something different every time I'm there.  For example, local running friends, has anyone noticed the disturbing as Hell bunker built into the hill in the backyard of one of the houses on Yosemite Valley Road, with the green cast-iron doors, barred windows, and a deathcamp-style industrial sized exhaust vent?  It's creepy, awesome, and I need to get a picture of it...there's also just so many cool architectural features in Watch Hill, and the Ocean to run along.  Great place.  I also managed a peppy segment attempt on the Taylor Swift segment and got it!  33 seconds from the carousel to the corner in front of her driveway.  Not bad!

Friday, 1-23 - 0 Miles - Visit to the Doc to have the knee checked out, and I'll likely be going for a visit to a specialist and getting an MRI in the near future.  Still doesn't hurt when I'm running, so the Doc said I can continue to run until we know what the deal is.

Saturday, 1-24 - 0 Miles - Chillin' with the family.

Sunday, 1-25 - 3 Miles (Trail) - Local trails with Henry.  Crunchy, snow covered trails, mid-late afternoon and perfect...

Crunchy winter trail run...

Hetchel Swamp/Pendleton streams converge

Sun getting low...

Let's go!

The Need for Speed: Week of 1-12 to 1-18

With no races scheduled until the Narragansett Super 5k on Super Bowl Sunday, I'll be working on getting faster!  I'd really like to obliterate my course PR here (21:35), and my overall 5k PR.  I started off the year right with a great race at the Resolution 5k, and I want to continue having fun and trying to improve at the same time!

Monday, 1-12 - 0 Miles - Workin' Wolcott...Castle Craig calls again...anyone looking for an outing, let me know because I'm gonna do it...

Tuesday, 1-13 - 2.3 Miles (Trail) - Wheeler XC spin, waiting for basketball practice to finish.  Peppy pace, almost dark, and cold!  Although the trails were frozen, crusty mud that my feet punched through on parts of the trail, I still banged out some pretty decent numbers, including a new CR on the straightaway trail.  Yes, I'm the only one who's ever run the segment on Strava, but out of 17 attempts, this was my best at a 5:52 pace.  Not bad!

Wednesday, 1-14 - 3 Miles (Trail/Forest Roads) - Pachaug Forest run.  Found myself cruising through Voluntown, after a successful search to find my wife 1 more skein of a particular yarn she needed to finish a sweater...and with little time to spare, I quickly hit the trail and got moving.  Increasing pace throughout, although I had to use the forest road for a bit as they're doing some cutting on the Nehantic Trail and had a section blocked off.  Cold, and icy on the roads.  Salomon shoes were perfectly grippy though, and I didn't wipe out once!  Thought I might have seen a black bear far away down the road when I got off the trail...not sure though.  Need a longer run this week!  The short stuff is fun, but I'd like to log some miles...

Thursday, 1-15 - 4 Miles (Road) - Short, "dodgy" run in Westerly.  Flurries flying and an overcast 28 degrees in Westerly.  I originally wanted to cruise around in Watch Hill, but just couldn't block out enough time for it.  Instead, I fit a progressively faster 4-mile run in, and only almost got hit by cars twice.  Does anyone even stop at STOP signs anymore???  Not in Westerly!  Have to be on high alert when running in town.  Was just finishing my run when somebody across the street called out my name...hey, it's Steve S., head honcho of the WTAC!  I was able to grunt out a hello but couldn't stop, as I had to get home.  Good run, and I purposely didn't try any segments, that's for another day :)

Friday, 1-16 - 8 Miles (Trail/some Road) - 2 runs.  #1:  3 Miles - Dog trail run with Henry.  I decided to up the distance with the dog, and we did three miles in the preserve across the street.  He had fun in the streams breaking through the thin ice, and the cold water didn't affect him at all.

Henry, deciding whether to jump in the water.  He did.

Pendleton Hill Brook

On the longer, upper blue trail that I rarely run on, I noticed the fiber optic line trail and marker #122...which connects the preserve to Pachaug...so that opens up a whole new section to explore, and the only road I'd really need to run is the 100 yards from my front door to the trailhead!  Sweet!  #2:  5 Miles - Lower Lantern Hill trails and Foxwoods trails/roads.  Before Soph's B-Ball game, I hit Lantern Hill, but the upper trails were icy so I stayed to the lower stuff.  Easy pace, slowly increasing but kept it reined in.  Chilly and windy if I wasn't in the woods...

Saturday, 1-17 - 1.6 Miles (Trail) - Dog jog!

Sunday, 1-18 - 10 Miles (Trail) - Arcadia run with George Ross.  George had floated the idea of doing a 10-miler on trails earlier in the week, and I said I'd be up for 10 in Arcadia, which turns out to be a halfway point for us.  Pulled into the lot, and a bunch of Stedman's biker dudes were gearing up for a ride.  Good to see lots of people out and enjoying some winter trail action!

George and I got moving, and he informed me that this would be his longest trail run...ever?  Pretty cool to be a part of that!  Service roads were totally iced over, but once we got on the trails, everything was good.  I opted to take George on the loop I'm most familiar with, which runs along the stream and around Breakheart Pond, where a bunch of people were ice fishing, and then on to Penny Hill.  I mistakenly turned us onto the service road after Penny Hill though, and we were winging it at that point, but had a great time getting lost and cruising around on unmarked trails for a while, until we finally emerged onto the Midway road at just under 10 miles, and finished up a bit over.  Great run, and the rain only started up for a bit, and then we were clear!