October 28th through November 3rd

Sunday, October 28th
6 miles
Warmed up  for 3 miles with Kelsey and checked out the roaring surf!  Stopped by Hell Field for a quick workout..
800-400-800-400-400-200-200
(236, 75, 231, 75, 73, 35, 35)
As usual, not sure of exact measurements but I assume the distances are pretty close based on effort.  I was feeling the wind throughout the workout and wondered how my WTAC friends made out at the Charlestown 5k in Ninigret Park.  Ran a mile cool down home and then rushed to a Lowe's to purchase an emergency sump pump in case Sandy gets nasty!

Monday, October 29th
a.m. 3 miles
With school cancelled and Hurricane Sandy moving in, I was chomping at the bit to check out some waves.  Since road access was closed off, there was only one way to get to the ocean..on foot!  Ran my loop and shot some pics by the overlook. It was kind of cool to have the entire place to myself.  I hit some serious gusts on my way home.  Followed up my run with some stretching and strength work.

p.m. 3 miles on the treadmill..19:40

Tuesday, October 30th
Let the clean-up begin..massive leaf racking and yard work.
Easy 4 miles with Kelsey and Lu.  Roads of Weekapaug were shut down to traffic but we made the trek down on foot.  From the sounds of it, Weekapaug is in much better shape than Misquamicut,

Wednesday, October 31st
a.m. 7 miles..
Part 1: I really wanted to check out Misquamicut with Kelsey, so I decided to park at Champlain and attempt to make a trek down.  Unfortunately, we do not have Gazelle skills and were immediately turned back from any direction we tried to go.  Instead we cruised around Shore Road, Champlain, and finally went down to the salt pond through Lathrop to check things out.

Part 2: Let's try things from the other side!  Struck out on the other side of Atlantic Ave as well.  Ran another 4 miles through Weekapaug with Lu.

p.m. 15 minute stretch

Thursday, November 1st
3 mile warm-up with Kelsey before she dumped me off at Hell Field to do some work.
8X300m ranging from 57 to 60 seconds.  I tried to focus on my turnover throughout the reps and didn't worry about my times since I'm not sure of the accuracy of the distance anyway.  I felt really good and strong today.  This workout was a confidence builder.
2 mile cool down.

Friday, November 2nd
Took advantage of not having school by meeting up with Jeff at 7 am for an 11 miler through the newest Westerly Land Trust Property and Woody Hill.  The run was awesome and it is always nice to explore and play on new trails.  We did a ton of "bushwacking" today.  The whole experience reminded of one of my favorite tag team wrestling groups growing up.

                                     Luke and Butch?  Or Jeff and Tom?

Saturday, November 3rd
4 easy miles with Kel and Lu at Ninigret.
Overly tired today and not sure why.


Weekly Totals:
Mileage: 43
Strength/Stretching: 35 minutes

October 21st through October 27th

Sunday, October 21st
EPFD Freaky 5k-17:06, 2nd
Results

I was already up in East Providence for a family bash at Kelsey's parents' house.  I ran and won the Freaky 5k last year and figured I'd give the race another shot going into this year.  Going into the race, I had little to no rest, but not too many miles under my belt.  It was pretty neat because a bunch of Kelsey's family members run the race every year and our entire entourage totaled 5.  I warmed up for a little less than 15 minutes with Kelsey and then headed over to the start to listen to some bagpipers.

While lining up at the start, the competition looked strong.  I noticed Sean, the guy who recently beat me in a 5 miler at Colt State Park, and knew today was going to be a battle.  As the fire engine horns blew, the race shot out.  There were some young guns right up front and I had a feeling they would drop off shortly.  After about a half mile, Sean took the lead with a young dude right on his heels.  I sat back in striking distance hoping they would come back to me and things would come together.  I crossed the first mile in 5:24 and 5th place.  Right after the mile, I was able to pick off a few of the young guns and was now chasing the top two guys.  Heading towards mile 2, I caught the younger guy who was holding second throughout the race and could immediately tell that he wasn't coming back to me.  My new focus was on Sean.  He held a sizable lead and I knew it would take an outstanding final mile for me to get him.  Unfortunately, the last mile also holds a long gradual hill that would end up kicking my butt.  Reaching the top of the hill, it seemed like Sean was getting closer, but so was the finish line.  I closed out fairly strong, but never caught him.

Overall, I'm disappointed with my performance and time that was slower than last year.  I never like losing, but often can find satisfaction in running a fast time.  Today was not my day.  The event itself was still awesome and I'd do it again in a minute.

On a positive note, Kelsey banged out a nice PR and ran 19:50.  Nice to see her continue to progress.


Monday, October 22nd
6 miles, 41 minutes..local roads

With long work days and other commitments this week, 4:45 am club it is!  Threw on my head lamp and vest and got at it.

Tuesday, October 23rd
a.m. 15 minute stretch

p.m. Today was my only real opportunity to do a workout this week, so I decided to make the trek over to Ninigret to do a ladder workout with Kelsey.  After about a mile warmup, we did the following ladder workout-200-400-600-800-800-400-400-200
Since I didn't know exact field measurements, I ran off of predicted times.
35, 75, 145, 230, 235, 75, 75, 35

I was definitely feeling the heat as I was going "down" the ladder.  We finished with a light 15 minute cool down.  Sore and tight by the end, but happy to get some quality work in.

Wednesday, October 24th
6 miles, 43 minutes.

Another 4:45 Club Day...work is kicking my butt!

Thursday, October 25th
3 miles on local roads..4:45 Club

Friday, October 26th
7 miles, 46 minutes on area roads.
After a number of early morning runs this week, I was glad to have Jeff join me for what turned out to be a great run.  Highlights of the run included cruising for a few of the miles and checking out the new Weekapaug Inn.

Saturday, October 27th
9 miles..
Started from my house, cruised down Shore Road, played in Champlain for approximately 25 minutes, and made the trek back home.  Upon entry in Champlain, I immediately had difficulty following the trails with all of the leaves on the ground.  I was given a quick reminder of my poor trail running skills when I took a good digger on some covered roots.  The rest of my time in the trails was fun.  I ran with wind in my face the entire run home and finished pretty beat.

Weekly Total: 41 miles.
Reflection:
-Happy to get in some solid mileage
-I don't love the idea of running so many early morning runs, but it is better than the alternative.
-Need to keep up with a weekly workout.
-Work on stretching this upcoming week (ended the week with calf/hop tightness).

October 14th through October 20th

Sunday, October 14th
6 miles..solid pace.  Shore Rd, Moonlight, &Urso loop.
Sore.

Monday, October 15th
a.m. 15 minutes of stretching
p.m. 7 miles...first 6 on local roads, followed up with another mile with Lulu pretty hard through the neighborhood.  We couldn't beat the rain and ended up soaked. Light post run stretch, sore again.

Tuesday, October 16th
Off..traveled to DC

Wednesday, October 17th
5 miles on the hotel treadmill at 5 am.
Sorry Jeff...no great stories to report for DC..no running through the mall or by any monuments.  With serious supervising commitments and highways surrounding the hotel for very early AM runs, this is it,

Thursday, October 18th
5 miles on hotel treadmill at 5 am.
Quick post run stretch

Friday, October 19th
5 miles on hotel treadmill at 5 am..eventful I know!
Quick post run stretch.
Exhausted from the week

While in DC, I logged some serious miles on foot and the days seemed endless.  It was sweet to check out all of the monuments.  As the bus was departing from Washington, runners were starting to pour in for the Army 10 miler.  How cool would it be to do that one?

Saturday, October 20th
7 miles on local roads.  It definitely felt great to be back in Rhody!


Total Miles: 35
Time didn't all me to do anything productive this past week.  As the week closed out, I just felt tired.

October 7th through October 13th

Sunday, October 7th
Definitely feeling "post-wedding effects."
Shot up to Providence to the Grog N Jog Run.  Prior to the race, I went for an easy 3 miler on some trails in East Providence with Dave, Kelsey, and Lulu.  It definitely felt good to get some blood flowing in the legs despite the soreness from dancing.

Grog N Jog:  As we arrived at the race, the rain was pouring down. My team's name was Run S'More.  With the cold rain and general soreness, I thought to myself, "oh man."  I then realized I was running a fun 1 1/4  mile race with a huge piece of cardboard on my back (I was one of the graham crackers).   I ran the lead leg and handed off to Kelsey in second place.  I think my best work in this event was taking care of the beverage.    I have no idea what place we finished, but had a blast doing the event.  It really is non-competitive and almost every team has some type of costume.

(4)

Monday, October 8th
Ran an easy 2 mile warmup with Kelsey and then turned off to do some work at Hell Field.
6X400 (74,75, 74, 73, 71, 73) w/ 45 second rest.
(5)

As I arrived at the field, I noticed a huge family with two dogs hanging out there.  As I jumped into my first repeat, one of the dogs, George, decided to run at me.  I thought to myself, "Don't think so buddy," and I cranked it around a corner to avoid him.  George looked to be a Portugese Water Dog with a hard-to-read temperament.   My next few repeats were non eventful until I started rep number #5.   George decided to try to chase me down this time and I ran at an all out sprint for about 100m.  Once again, I beat out the mutt and he gave up.  Approaching the final repeat of my mini workout, I knew he was going to be an issue.  Sure enough, George must have known I was about to finish up so he really needed to get at me.  This time he ran straight at me in an aggressive manner.  I stopped for about 5 seconds and his owner yells, "At least he will help you run faster."  I laughed a bit, but was also irritated at the same time that the owner didn't contain the dog while I was running.  Two minutes later I see the dog harassing this older gentleman who likes to walk those local roads.  Did the owners quickly intervene and take care of their dog?  Hardly.   I'm a huge dog lover, but control your animal and respect people around you.

Tuesday, October 9th
a.m. 15 minute stretch
p.m. 6+ miles...first 4 with Kelsey and Lulu and final 2+ on my own.
After an easy warm-up, I ran 5X1 min hard/easy with the dog.  She was plenty fast, but called it the quits after five reps.

Wednesday, October 10th
a.m. 6 miles with Jeff...445 Club.
Really enjoyed this morning's route..especially cutting through Ice Pond Road since I'd never been on it before.  Very solid effort.

p.m. 40 minutes of pushups, core, & stretching.

Thursday, October 11th
a.m. 3+ miles with Kelsey...445 Club..I kid you not.  We had to pick up our race numbers in Hartford at night, so there was no other chance for a run.  This one wasn't even my idea!

p.m. Race expo and dinner in Hartford.

Friday, October 12th
4 miles with Lulu..fun fall run.  Sore.

Saturday, October 13th
Hartford Half Marathon 1:17:53
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/ct/Oct13_INGHar_set9.shtml
I left Westerly right around 5am this morning to  get up to the the heartbeat.  The temps in Hartford even seemed cooler than RI, so I decided to throw on some gloves and a hat for my running "event."   As the gun went off, I reminded myself not to bite off more than I could chew. Throughout the race, I ran pretty evenly despite the feeling of tightness on the hills.  Prior to today, I had not ran further than 7 miles since July and was really unsure of how my body would respond.  Although my legs started to feel like jello after 10 miles, I was happy to be able to hang on and maintain my pace.  My hardest mile was from 11 to 12 due to a gradual hill that kicked my butt.  I was able to recover after 12 and cruise in to the finish.

Pros
-Time, despite lack of training/distance
-My form felt pretty good
-Tightness was not too bad and this is probably the most comfortable I've felt in months running.
-Good fun in the garden after the race and at McKinnon's with Kelsey and company.
-The "event" became a race!

Cons
-Wish my time was faster.  My PR is is just under 1:15.  I'd like to get closer to that.
-Need to do some more hill work.  Most of my work today was done on the flats and downhills.
-Post race stomach issues.
Noteworthy splits that I remember include: Mile 1: 5:45, Mile 5: 29:30, and Mile 10: 59:28.




Weekly Miles: 40
Stretch/Core/Weights: 55 minutes

September 30th through October 6th

Sunday, September 30th
Sinus Infection..down for the count
15 minutes of stretching

Monday, October 1st
6 miles on local roads
Major sinus pain and reactions to meds.

Tuesday, October 2nd
Easy 4 miles with Kelsey and Lu.
Still not feeling well.
15 minute stretch at end of the run

Wednesday, October 3rd
5ish..

I'm starting to feel like my antibiotics are doing their job.  The havoc those nasty drugs have wrecked on my stomach is another story, but that's a subject that would be best left alone in this blog.  I ran the first two miles of the run lightly with Kelsey before hitting up Hell Field for some repeats.  I figured if my headache came back, then at least I was in the right place for it.

6X400m with 30 seconds rest
(75, 76, 74, 73, 71, 70)

While I'm not thrilled with all of the physical issues I'm dealing with, I need to start incorporating speed work back into my routines.  Quality is always worth more than quantity.

15 minutes of stretching

Thursday, October 4th
a.m. 15 minute light stretch
p.m. quick 4 miles..not sure of pace, varied my effort.

Friday, October 5th
6 solid miles..neighborhoods and sand trail before heading up to Western MA for my cousin Pat's wedding.  Headache and stomach issues...ughh...

Saturday, October 6th
a.m. While spending much of the morning doing best man duties and taking care of last minute business, my cousin Pat asks me if I wanted to grab a quick run before it all began?  "Pat, I think we will be able to make time.  I took him to the Northampton Community Gardens, which has a nice trail system for an easy 3 miles.  We probably covered it in about 28 minutes.  The trails were less than a mile from where the Hotel Northampton-the site of the reception!

p.m.-the wedding and 4 hours of some serious dancing!

Weekly totals:
Miles: 28
Core/Stretch/Weights: 60 minutes