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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

May 25th through 31st

Sunday-1600 yd swim at the Y.  Went a little after 7 and the place was packed.
8 mile run from my house down to the State Beach and back to Weekapaug.  Intended on running next to my parents while they rode their bikes--I couldn't stay anywhere near them.  Speedy clip.

Monday-49 mile morning group ride (Garwin, Gazelle, Boumenot, and new guy Dave).  I almost bailed on this ride due to issues with my rode bike.  Gazelle convinced me to join the crew on my hybrid..good decision.  Very fun ride through small Rhode Island towns that included some solid hill climbs and scenic views.  Towards the end of the ride, Boumenot treated us to a coffee stop at D & D..best part of the ride! Later in the day, I took my first ocean plunge of the year and went for a quick dip in the Long Island Sound down in Milford, CT with Shara.

Tuesday-6+ miles on local roads.  Incorporated 4 hill pops on Meadowridge..I was really, really sore today from yesterday's ride.

Wednesday-5 mile run through Glacier Park.  The run itself took 40 minutes...the windy trails kept the pace slow but the effort really didn't feel like 8s..
1400 yd swim at the Y.  Met Boumenot who is ramping up his TRI training.  Good to get this swim in.  We are approaching June and I still can't fathom an ocean swim yet..may be starting open water swimming in a pond.

Thursday-20 mile ride through Westerly with Gazelle.  Rode some spirited segments.
Weekapaug Point

An energetic Gazelle.."I just kicked 5k's butt in a segment."



Friday-1200yd swim at Y
7 mile run (3 solo hard, 4 with Shara/Lulu)

Saturday-13 miles as part of Garwin Breakfast run.  Great fun, great trails, great food, great team.
14 mile ride w/Shara

Run: 5X, 39 miles
Lulu: 1X, 4 miles and lots of loops in the back yard
Swim: 3X, 4200 yds
Bike: 4X, 72 miles

*Solid overall volume.

Monday, May 19, 2014

May 18th through 24th

Sunday-In the midst if a quick visit to my old hometown, I met up with Shara, who was at Mount Holyoke College for some alumni stuff, and ran some miles in the Chicopee State Park.  I posted about running in this park last fall.  Out of my entire running career there isn't one place where I've ran as many miles as the state park.  There are plenty of trails, dirt roads, and hills for just about anyone's liking and it's a very scenic place.  We started the run at a small park right near the house I grew up in and ran into the park.  After getting to the lower pond I asked Shara if it would be "okay" for me run a few hill repeats for old times sake.  I got after four hill repeats, rested for a minute or two, and then got running again.  We then ran the remainder of the Chicopee High/Chicopee Comp XC Course.  The coolest part is the roller coaster..a series of small up and down hills on a single track before the final 1/2 mile of the course.  I found it fascinating that as I ran this I still knew where every rock and root was and could fly up and down the thing..funny how the brain works. Very fun run on a beautiful afternoon. Miss this place! (6)
This park made me a real runner

Monday: More running with Shara..even Lulu joined in on the run today.
2 mile warmup
8:30 Challenge-I randomly came up with the grand idea of trying to run 2X800, 2X400 with rest in less than 8:30.  Forget about splits-just try to get it all done in this short period of time..while I had great fun trying, I came up short in 8:33.  I'm not sure of the benefits of this kind of workout, but it was pure fun!
2.5 mile cooldown
(6)

Tuesday:
a.m. 20 minute core routine, pushups, shoulder press, pullups, abs.
p.m. 18 mile ride with Gazelle on Charlestown backroads.  Gazelle was on fire on today's ride. No signals of a hernia as he hammered various sections of the ride and I had no response.  I swear the man was doing altitude training in Colorado while claiming he had a hernia.  Towards the end of the ride I landed my first flat ever.  Fortunately I had most of the necessary supplies to fix it and had Gazelle to walk me through changing a flat.  Tri training is on! Feeling fatigued


Wednesday: SHS Distance Project-1.5 mile warmup, 3X2X200/1X400 (200s..31-32, 400s-65-67) Windy, fun.  Semi short rest on 200s..and a little over a minute rest of the 400s.  This was the kids final workout before their ECC Conference Meet on Saturday.  For some, it's the last workout of the year.  1.5 mile cooldown. (4.5)

Shortly after arriving home, I took Lulu for a jog on a route I affectionately named after her (Lulu's Loop, 2.5 miles)


Thursday: Woody Thrill with Gazelle. 6+ miles on humid afternoon.  Checked out new trails that were recently purchased by the Town of Westerly and just enjoyed the run.  I was very impressed by all of the efforts of the Westerly Land Trust to create new trails and make the area even nicer than it already happens to be.  I was feeling it physically today..good fun.

Friday: 2400 yd swim at the Y..600, 500, 500, 200, 200, 4X50 (Slow), 200 cool
Need to get in the water more.

Saturday: 15+ miles WTAC Group Run (Gazelle, Boumenot, Muddy) on Woody Hill Trails from my house.  Great run, great fun.  Just need to learn these trails.

Totals:
Run: 5X, 40 miles
Lulu: 3X, 8 miles
Swim: 1X, 2400yds
Bike: 1X, 18 miles
Core: 1X, 20 minutes

Synopsis: running was good (workouts, long run), but TRI training was poor (1X bike & swim).  Still need to get two rides/two swims a week while keeping miles up.  I face the same May/June mileage-training dilemma that Muddy does.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

May 11th through 17th

Sunday-4 mile shuffle with Shara on Wyatt Earp Parkway in Dodge City, Kansas.  With a very, very short run window, I was glad to get this one in.  Typical mid-west run: flat and windy.  While the wedding was fun, I was happy to "get the hell out of Dodge."  After a long trip home, I landed in Providence around midnight.

Monday-7 miles on local roads at a very good clip.  Exhausted.

Tuesday-430 Club with Gazelle (5 miles).  Solid start to the day! Coached SHS Track while Crutch officiated in the afternoon.

Wednesday-25 mile ride through Misquamicut.  Was able to push hard on various segments.

Thursday-SHS Distance Project..1.5 mile warmup, 6X400 w/60 to 90 sec rest..66-68.  Windy. 1.5 mile warmdown (4).
Post practice: met up with Gazelle for some Woody Hill exploring...there is legit trail access to this cool trail system right from my house.  Gazelle showed no signs of a previous ailment as we cut through the trails and ran a final mile in the low 6 minute range..felt like I was up against the ropes.
(6)  Great run and need to do more exploring!

Friday-1500 Y Swim before work.  Having to chaperone a prom at night, I went home after school and took a snooze.  Feeling exhausted.  Saw Jeff Duda..he reminded me that I really need to do more tri training.

Saturday-rain reports indicated that weather conditions would be quite poor Saturday morning.  We had a great idea of trying to get a group together and do some type of run/bike mix.  With early morning showers and wet roads, Gazelle and I decided to hit the roads for a run first and follow up with a ride, if conditions permitted.  Did a nice 11 miler through Misquamicut, took a break at my crib, and then headed out for an additional 16 miles at a controlled pace on the bike.  Great training day!  Spent the rest of the day working in the yard and doing chores.

Run: 6X, 37 miles
Lulu: all in the back yard..not sure she wants to train w/ me anymore.
Bike: 2X, 41 miles
Swim: 1X 1500yds

"Get the hell out of Dodge"
Scene from my Sunday morning run
With the Kansas trip, work commitments, and track volunteering, I thought this week was going to be terrible for training.  Fortunately, Thursday's and Saturday's training sessions allowed me to get some volume.  Still need to bike and swim more, but I'm doing okay.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

May 4th through May 10th

It's going to be another mixed up week of training.  I'm hopeful to get in some solid stuff early in the week and planning on (not by choice) taking a 0 on Saturday.  Struggling to keep my training well rounded and getting solid run miles in at the same time.

Sunday: 10 miles from my hood through Weekapaug, Misquamicut, and back around the pond.
Throughout the first half of the run I faced a very strong headwind, which peaked as I was running on the beach.  After turning the corner on Fisherman, things drastically improved  as I now had a tailwind with me.  Approx 630 pace.

Monday: 6 miles..first 4 with Lulu from my house down to the beach and back.  While the pace was off and on again, she was more into it than last Friday..did another 2 miles..621, 617.  I felt heavy, lethargic, and slow today.  Weather was great.

Tuesday:
a.m. Re-Introduction of the 430 Club w/Gazelle..Hospital Loop 5.5 miles, 730 pace.  Pumped to have Gazelle back on the roads..gotta keep doing these early runs..they help build up mileage.

pm:  26 mile windy, Misquamicut loop with Schonning.  Very solid ride, just lots of wind.

Wednesday: 1500yd swim at the Y..500 warmup..felt like I was suffocating...think my breathing was off! 500 more, 6X50 fins, 2X100..
Quick pre-dinner run at a snappy pace from my parents' house..640, 613, 542 (yearning for BBQ chicken), 545..just under 5 miles miles.  Happy with the effort even if the run was short.

Thursday: 6 miles, local roads, uneventful.  Very short window to run today--happy to get something in.

Friday: early AM swim..US Air had other plans for me as I was on the phone for approximately 90 minutes try to work out flights after one of mine was completely cancelled.  While frustrated and waiting to speak to a receptionist, I shot the Gazelle a message seeing if he wanted to grab a quick run in Glacier Park.  Luckily, he took the bait and my day ended up getting a whole lot better with a nice trail run.  Spent the rest of the day and night traveling.

Saturday: 6+ miles in Dodge City, Kansas.. Ran from the hotel to Dodge City Community College..checked out fields, the campus, and even jumped on the Dodge City High Track for a semi-hard 800.  This was my first visit to this part of the country and I'm glad to say I ran in Kansas.

Totals:
Run: 7X, 44 miles
Lulu: 1X, 4 miles
Swim: 1X, 1500
Bike: 1X 26 miles
Core: 0