November 18th through November 24th

Sunday, November 18th
MEWS Gear N Beer 5k, 16:44, 10th
Results
After grabbing our numbers, t-shirts, and wrist bands, Kelsey and I headed out for a 15 minute warmup.  Besides being tight, I wasn't sure how I was going to do today.  In my opinion, the Mews 5k is one of the more challenging races in the local area.  With a hill right in the beginning and another monster in the final mile, times are unpredictable.  Before the race, we chatted with my parents and headed over to the start.

As I lined up towards the front, I couldn't help but notice a variety of stud runners getting ready for the big show.  The gun went off and I immediately settled in at a pace I could handle.  Within a half mile of the race, I was already in "no-man's land" and was working alone.  I hit the mile at 5:22 and was fairly comfortable.  I continued to chase the pack and came across through the 2 mile mark just under 10:50.  This was good news!  I was running evenly and now I just had to make it through the final hill.  As I started to climb the hill, I could hear a runner coming up behind me.  I was thinking, "You have got to be kidding me?  Who would come after me right now?"  The runner came up aside of me and passed me by.  It was the same kid who beat me handily at the Colt State Park 5 miler and Freaky 5.  He immediately took charge and tried to widen the gap at the top of the hill.  "This can't be happening!"  I went after him on the final downhill, caught up to him, and crossed the finish line right next to him.  After checking the final results, we appear tied by gun time.  If you look at net time, he beats me by two seconds.  Oh man.

Anyway, today was a good day.  I ran 20 seconds faster than I did at this race last year.  Kelsey was 4th overall in the women's category in a time of 20:04.  Dave ran a 24:10 and reported being sore from last weekend's race double.  We finished the day my eating some grub and refueled with beverages.

When I arrived home, I ran another 3 miles with Lu and was already sore.

15 minute stretch

Monday, November 19th
Planned 0
With meetings and such, the workday didn't end until nightfall.  After the recent soreness I have been dealing with, this was a much needed day off.  I did get in 40 minutes of pushups, core work, and stretching.  Sore.

Tuesday, November 20th
6 miles..not a good run.
Everything felt really tight today and even the bottom of my left foot was bothering me.  I didn't push it on this run with the hope that my body would work out it's own issues.

Wednesday, November 21st
a.m.  445 Club with Gazelle and Mike from Jeff's house.  We covered about 7 miles through Misquamicut neighborhoods,  Ocean View Highway,  Avondale, and climbed some rolling hills in the final mile.   We did some pick-ups on the hills and rested on the flats in that final mile.  My quads and calves were still very sore so I didn't overdo it, although I was still pretty tired at the end.  Fun run.

p.m. In the midst of cooking up some Thanksgiving/Turkey Day grub, Kelsey, Lulu, and I went out for an easy 3 miles.  Tight and sore.

Thursday, November 22nd
4 really easy miles around Seekonk reservoir with Kelsey, Dave, & Lu.  Beautiful day..stretched after the run...and TURKEY time.  Still very sore.

Friday, November 23rd
6 miles on local roads and did some beach running on the Weekapaug end of Misquamicut.  It was my first opportunity to see some of the damage that Sandy did on the beach side.  Felt the same soreness (calves, quads, & hips).  Stretched for 30 minutes post run.

Saturday, November 24th
7.6..tried my GPS watch for the first time on this windy day.  I ran the first part of my loop around the beach roads.  Accidentally, I set up a race with a "virtual partner" who was racing me.  Fortunately for me, he was running at 9:15 p/mile so I beat him pretty good.  The wind had me running at a really inconsistent pace, which I wouldn't have noticed as much without the watch.  I hit 3 miles in 19 minutes and the watch informed me that the run was complete.  Does this mean I should have walked home from there?  I ran home and picked up Kelsey and Lu to repeat the loop.

Miles: 42
Stretch/Core/Strength: 90 minutes

Synopsis:  A weird week for sure.  While I was happy with my mileage, I'm not happy about the generalized soreness I experienced throughout the week.  My greatest concern is getting re-injured and having to start back at square one.  I've stretched and tried to rest up, but saw limited progress.  Fortunately for me, I do not have any immediate racing goals.  I hope to compete in another race or two in 2012 and am looking forward to 2013.