April 29th through May 5th

Sunday, April 29th
RI State Police Foot Pursuit 5k, 16:50  3rd overall, WTAC Win.
http://coolrunning.com/results/12/ri/Apr29_RhodeI_set1.shtml

Prior to today, I had never run the Foot Pursuit before.  Going into the race, I knew the field was always competitive and expected some challenges throughout the race.  Ran a 2 mile warmup solo and felt stiff and tired.  Before the race, I told myself to just run your own race, have fun, and see what happens.  I was pumped for the team competition and knew WTAC had a good chance to do well.

At the starting line, I lined up the Colonel, Muddy, and Derek J.  I never really got comfortable in this one.  I hit my first mile at 5:21 and thought it felt like a 5:10..oh man!  As I approached the 2 mile mark, Derek J. made a move and passed me by.  After hitting the 2 mile in 11:00,  I knew my time wasn't going to be great and changed my focus to the competitors around me.  As Derek cruised in front of me, I could hear a couple of other runners closing in behind me.  I decided that it was time to "man up."  You can hunt or be the one hunted!  Long story short, I was able to close in on Derek and slightly pull away from him by a few seconds. 

While I would have liked to have run faster, I was happy with how I finished.  WTAC took the team competition, my teammates ran well, and we had fun.

Where is my prize anyway?  Guess it's pay back for all of those speeding tickets I've avoided.

1.5 miles cooldown.

Liked this race!

Pros:
-Strong finish
-WTAC win & turnout (Muddy, Jeff, Dave, Matthew)
-Desire to run faster (I want to get to sub 1640)
-General fun atmosphere

Areas of improvement:
-Overall pace
-Poor focus in the first two miles
-General tightness (need to stretch)
-We need those club singlets...stat!

Monday,April 30th
6.5 miles
2.5 with the girls, followed up by another 4 miles at a pretty solid pace through Weekapaug.  General post race soreness and finished at a hard pace.

Tuesday, May 1st
7 miles..first part of run was roads at a slow pace, second part of the run was from my house down to the Weekapaug Sand Trail. Ran on the trail until I came across a rock that said, "Turn around, too late."  It's never too late.  I may start hitting up this trail for some of my add-ons.  I felt pretty beat up after this one!

Wednesday, May 2nd
Planned off day...
Coached Unified Track after work.
Did some pushups, pull-ups, and core work before bed.

Thursday, May 3rd
7 miles..
First part of run with the girls, followed by 15X 1 minute hard/1 minute easy.  Solid.

Friday, May 4th
7.5
4.5 at a moderate pace through Dunn's Corners and Weekapaug neighborhoods.  After the first part of this run I picked up Kelsey and Lulu and ran over to my parents for a visit.

I was really hungry at the end of this one...I think I ate my parents out of house and home.  Followed up the visit with a trip to Appleby's.  If I get bored with the road racing scene, I can always try out for Man vs. Food!

Saturday, May 5th
A.M-7 miles
-3 mile warmup with the girls
-Followed by 8X300m hill on Meadow Ridge Lane.  All of reps were between 57 and 59 until I banged out a 55 on the last one.  I can't say I gained speed from this workout but it was a good strength builder.
-1 mile cooldown

PM-Cinco De Mayo Wedding in Holyoke=good time!


Weekly Total
40 miles
A solid training week.  I didn't get a long run in, but I was able to get some good speed workouts in there.  I'm in a little funk right now.  I don't have any big goal in site and haven't been able to get even close to any of my PRs in races.  On the up side of things, I'm happy to be training and that I'm healthy.

April 22nd through April 28th

Sunday, April 22nd
7 miles
AM-3 miles with Kelsey and Lulu to go visit my parents before the rain came.  Thought about driving over, but didn't feel like polluting the environment.  It's kind of nice to get to a necessary destination under your own power.  Some may call these kind of runs junk miles, I call them a way of life.

PM-4 miles on the treadmill 25 minutes.

Monday, April 23rd
Planned off day, but did some cross training.
Circuits-pushups, pullups, 1 minute walk on highest treadmill incline
Shoulder press, abs, etc.  Very good cross training workout after a long day of work.

Tuesday, April 24th
Unplanned off day...work and life didn't allow me to get out there today.

Wednesday, April 25th
6 miles
AM-3 miles on the treadmill..20 minutes.
4:30 am run-I wasn't sure if my day would allow me any other opportunity.  There was no way I was taking off three days in a row.

PM-3 miles easy with Kelsey and Lulu through Weekapaug.  I only had the opportunity to come home for 45 minutes before night work obligations.  Fortunately, I have a girlfriend and dog that like to spend "quality time" out on the roads.  I ate this one up!

Thursday, April 26th
7 miles
2.5 with the girls followed up by another 4.5 miles through Weekapaug down through Misquamicut and back up through Noyes Neck.
6:17 was my mile pace for my 4.5 miles.

Kelsey was on the bike for the second half of my run and was sure to remind me that I was sucking wind!  "Who's huffing and puffing now?  Try to keep up with me now buddy!  Ha Ha Ha!"  Serves me right!  Fun run.

My training this week ended up being completely unplanned.  As I think about it, I'm happy for the opportunities I did have to get out there.  I didn't get a solid workout in but I did get in some harder running today.  You have to be flexible. Life happens my friends!

Friday, April 27th
6 miles, 40 minutes
Solo today..ran from my house, through Shore Road, up the Moonlight Hills, down through Rockridge Road and did some loops around.  The hills definitely kept things honest today and the wind made me really work for it.   As I ran through Rockridge, I wondered if I'd have a Gazelle encounter?   Solid run.

Saturday, April 28th
11 miles
8+ with the Trails Gods and new guy Mike B. in Grills Preserve.  I love stomping through these trails!  It's always neat to climb to the top of BIG Hill and stop to check things out.  Great conversations and a relaxed pace.  Jeff was even willing to listen to a story from my high school glory days.

2.5 miles with the girls..Piezzo loop.
Followed my some serious mwoing.


Weekly Miles
37 miles.  Regarding mileage, a strong finish to an otherwise lackluster week.  I was unable to get a workout into the mix, but was able to put  a strong effort in on Thursday.  I'm not a big fan of running 11 miles the day before a race, but would never pass up the opportunity for a trail run or run with the girls.  Hoping to get back into the 40s this upcoming week with a workout, long run, and core workout.  We'll see.

April 15th through April 21st

Sunday, April 15
11 miles
WTAC Clamdigger 5 miler
28:36, 3/187got
http://coolrunning.com/results/12/ri/Apr15_WTACCl_set1.shtml

After a tough end to a vacation and general tiredness, I contemplated not even running this one but really wanted to support my team and friends for all of the effort they put into this race.  Besides, it doesn't get any closer to being a home race for me than the Clamdigger.  I had no expectations going into this one. After a 3 mile warm-up, I knew conditions were pretty good.  The wind was there, but wasn't too bad and it was warm.  It actually felt similar to the conditions I ran in while I was in Florida.

As we lined up at the starting line, I knew the field looked strong.  Once the gun went off, Greg Hammett and Jeff Wadecki immediately took off.  I knew it would be a race for 3rd and wasn't sure how things would pan out for me.  I felt pretty good as we cruised down to the Weekapaug Overlook. Moving through Weekapaug, I was hitting a few spots where I was unsure which way to turn.  As Muddy and I hit an intersection, we were totally unsure which way to go.  It turned out we got off track!  Once this happened, both Muddy and I became discouraged.  I contemplated asking him if he wanted to just run it in together but decided this thing wasn't a total wash.  As we figured things out, the race was back on!  I tried to maintain focus and do my best to finish the race in a respectful time.  I approached the finish line feeling good and was happy that I had some turnover in the last mile.

3+ mile cooldown with Muddy and Greg Hammett along Atlantic.

Kudos to Jeff Walker and WTAC for putting on a good race!

Pros and Cons...coming soon!

Monday, April 16th
7 miles..first three with Kelsey and Lu, followed by another 4 down by the beach on my own.  Felt pretty good out there.  Hit Fenway Beach and saw a bunch of fair weathered surfers catching some waves.
Followed this one up with some lawn mowing..

Tuesday, April 17th
6 miles..Westerly roads..hammered for about 10 minutes and then my body laughed at me.

Wednesday, April 18th
6 miles
Warmup
6X800 w/ 1 minute recovery
2:38, 2:36: 2:36, 2:37, 2:35, 2:33
Cool down

Felt very tight and sore in my left hip today.  I haven't been stretching at all lately and need to pick up with it.  Did the workout at HELL Field.

Thursday, April 19th
4 miles..planned off day, but it was too nice to pass up a very light run with Kelsey and her Dad through Weekapaug.  We checked out the Noyes Neck Family Cemetery-which is a Westerly Historical site.  Some of the sites were pre Civil War.  Also was amazed by the progress of the Weekapaug Inn as we cruised through the public right a-way.  Sore, tight, and pressed for time, but it was well worth it!

Friday, April 20th
4 miles...what should have been another planned off day--oh well!
Run with Kelsey and Lulu...dropped into HF to do a quick 4X400 w/30 seconds rest.
75, 73, 74, 70
and then off to chaperone a dance...awesome.

Saturday, April 21st
16 miler with Jonny and Muddy (2/3 of the Trails Gods).
Met on Rt.3, headed up North Rd. MOUNTAIN, jumped into the Canochet Brook Preserve, back to the roads, Asheville Pond, and back around.  Awesome run.  My trail prowess is still very poor, but I love running through them anyway.  I had great fun running/sliding around on the trails.  Towards the final third of the run we made an epic climb to up another really technical hill.  Once on top of the hill, we looked down upon the pond and it was an impressive site to see.

This was another area of RI that I had never been before.  The varying terrain and trails kept this run interesting.  I was impressed by the various landscapes and interesting houses we ran by along the way.  I felt like I had more in the tank at the end of this run and that is a good thing.

Other random thoughts/facts from this run:
-To keep up with the "The Gods" on the tough sections, I took advantage of any non-technical straightaways.  Non-technical=sprint! haha
-This area served as an early training ground for the young Hammett's--swimming, climbing, hill repeats, swinging from trees, jumping off rocks..you name it.
-I think we woke up every dog in the town of Hopkinton.
-Dog Bites=0
-Post Run Munchkins I consumed: 9
-I-PADs found on the run: 0


Weekly Miles:
54

April 8th through April 14th

Sunday, April 8th
Happy Easter!
5+ miles....cruised  on A1A (the strip) with Kelsey and followed up with another 3 solo on the beach. Followed up this run by plummeting into the Atlantic.

As I ran on A1A, the following Vanilla Ice lyrics kept re- playing in Tmy head.

"Yo so I continued to a1a Beachfront Ave"

Another line from the song goes like this:
"Rockman lovers driving Lamborghinis"
Sure enough, in a very short period of time I saw at least three lamborghinis.  So far a very fun place.  The beach is great for running, but I wouldn't exactly call this area runner friendly just yet.

Monday, April 9th
7 miles
A.M.
Back to A1A for the first part of my run with Kelsey...I can't get over how many hotels are on the strip.  All of the "workout" people are doing their morning thing (walking, power walking, running, biking, rollerblading).  It's interesting to see...you see all shapes and sizes.  I did the second part of the run on thick sand on the beach.  The sand on Ft. Lauderdale Beach is pretty awesome and it felt good to run barefoot.  The sand was extra thick from the "beach groomer" which made for some nice resistance training.  As I ran down the beach, it was gently raining.  By the time I finished the sun was blazing.  I love Florida!

P.M.
Margarita Madness

Tuesday, April 10th
4 miles
First part of my run was with Kelsey on A1A..I had no love for the concrete today. Followed by 10 minutes of 30 second sprints and 30 seconds of rest in the beach sand.  While the workout was short, it was intense.

Wednesday, April 11th
3 miles on Pompano Beach...harder running through this sand.

Thursday, April 12th
4+ miles
Pompano Community Park.
20 minute run with Kelsey, followed by 6X500m on a turf practice field w/1 minute walk recovery.  I was feeling the Florida sun during this one.

It was nice to see a park that was completely geared towards physical fitness.  In general, I have not came across too much open space in the Ft. Lauderdale area.  It was neat to see the "stations" along the 1.25 mile gravel track. PCP offers a aice alterative to the gym that allows people to add some creativity to their routine and they also don't have to worry about tons of traffic.


Friday, April 13th
3 miles/Various Fitness Stations at Pompano Community Park w/Kelsey.
Stations consisted of: push-ups, pull-ups, kicks, prisoner squats, abs, basketball court sprint sequences, monkey bars, etc.

After yesterday, we really wanted to give the stations a shot to see what it felt like. While this workout had a running base, it was definitely a little unorthodox.  While the total workout took about 30 minutes, I was feeling it by the end.

I always think about doing these kinds of workouts in RI, but never end up doing them.  I'm hoping this experience will motivate me to try more like it.

Saturday, April 14th
0
Red eye flight, sick girlfriend, & trying to get things back together...thought about it, but it wasn't realistic today..exhausted. 

Weekly mileage: 26
I was very happy to just stay active in Florida.  I definitely enjoyed running on the beach and Pompano Community Park.  Besides those two places, South Florida is not a runner's paradise.  Maybe I should have ventured out to the Everglades and tangled with some Gators?!?  Overall a fun vacation.  With a very busy week of work, I hope to get my mileage back up to 40 this upcoming week.

April 1st through April 7th

Sunday, April 1st
6+
Brief run with Kelsey followed up with 30 minutes of romping on my own in Glacier Park.  I actually felt good moving through the trails and had no ANKLE rolls today.  Finished the run at Charlie's Overlook...quite possibly the coolest spot in Westerly.

Gazelle sightings: 0

Monday, April 2nd
8

Did a cool Misquamicut Beach Loop from my house.  Ran an average of 6:25/mile throughout the run.  While there was definitely some wind out there, this was a fast loop.

Cool Sightings:
-Fox on Atlantic Ave.
-Palm Trees at the Purple Ape.  While these trees were transplanted, they are still a sign of summer!!

Tuesday, April 3rd
6ish
Just cruisin' around..did the first part of my run with Kelsey and Lu..then hit up some small trails and roads around my house.  I was glad to be able to get this run in despite it being an otherwise crazy, busy day.

Wednesday, April 4th
7
Hard Day
5 minute warm-up
20 minute tempo run through Indian Hills-Shore Rd-Langworthy-Wawaloam- and finished just past overlook.  It was cool to check out Blick Island from the point as I took a little breather.  I then jogged over to HELL Field to do 4X400 w/30 seconds breaks (79, 75, 73, 72). At this point, I was pretty cashed in...tried to thumb for a ride home, but didn't have any takers!!
10 minute cool down

Since I won't be able to make the Red Rooster Rambler with the trail gods and am not sure what my next ten days of training will or won't look like, I wanted to put a solid effort in today.  I definitely stepped on the accelerator today, but didn't hold it down to the floor the whole time.

Thursday, April 5th
5+  Weekapaug loop, followed by Shore Rd. loop with Lulu and Kel.

Friday, April 6th
0

Saturday, April 7th
4 miles
Mills Pond Park, Ft. Lauderdale.  The closest I can get to trails in this area..found a big urban athletic facility..incorporated 5X 2 minutes hard/1 easy into this run.