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.

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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