Boston -78 -- Sun. Jan. 31

Arrived a minute or two after 10, to find just Andy set to run--Bill there too, in passing, as he's already run (off to a kids bdy pty). Fortunately Ken arrives, so we're three. Andy's doing a 22 miler w/ Bil tomorrow so today only about 10. I suggest a Barrett, and Ken is reluctantly game, so we're off. Trail in okay shape, and we start easily, to the underpass, then on to road and head down as usual to Bardwell, on down to Barrett. At midpoint we're doing about 8:00s, and Andy picks up a bit, so we do a bit of stop and go as Ken's going a bit slower. Reach Bardwell junction and head back up towards town, then peel off road for the early entry to the trail just by the car dealership; nice to do the extra trail, though we have to slide down an iced over sand cliff at one point! Then steady back, coming in at 10.5 miles. Jay's waiting, so briefly join the chat, have some gatorade, then head back out for my remaining 7.5, basically a modified reverse Enfield. Through trail to BHS exit onto OldSpfld, then up into town, down Jabish, up Enfield, along Allen, then at 202 head up into town directly. Run around common and behind town hall to make sure I get the distance, then down 202 directly back to DnD. Here's both parts:

Time: 1:26:48 & 56:42
Distance: 10.52 miles & 7.54 miles
Pace: 8:15s & 7:31

Comment: the pace for the first part was maybe a tad faster--stopped once or twice w/o stopping clock while K caught up. But also, I was wearing longs and aiming for approx 8:00s. So, fine. Second part I did in shorts, not pushing hard, but rolling where I could and feeling a bit last mile boosted near the end. Mile 16 was sub-7, I recall. Given that the route was hillier than part 1, I'm happy with it. Then I ate a good lunch and slept for an hour!

Boston -79 -- Sat. Jan. 30

Yesterday was horribly cold, windchill down to 0 or below, and work was long, so I was NOT going for a donut run, which left me 12-13 to do today. Fortunately, though very cold (16F), it was sunny and only barely windy. Plan was a tempo run, but longer distance: using a 4+ mile loop, do it twice, with a two mile warm up and similar cool down. Took trail from Austin G to warm up, going under the Yamaha tunnel, and stopping at 1 mile to stretch achilles, then down along GeoHannum to the Boardman turnoff: that's the loop start. Reset clock, and started on Boardman, all along to 202, up to Eskett, back to Boardman, then Rural and right on Geohannum back to start. Aiming for 6:50~7:15 range, and watching clock to adjust pace as I went. First lap felt okay, only pushing a bit on the last mile, and came in at about 7:00s. Reset clock, and off for second lap: quick, as I was already warmed up, so after a couple of 6:40s I really throttled back to come in at about 6:55s overall. At end of last mile, legs going a bit stiff, but okay. Then reset clock again and headed home back up GeoH, still running a bit hard: 7:18 going part uphill, so slowed right down and took rail trai to development, much slower. Overall, here are the two runs, laps first, then the before and after:

Time: 59:34 & 33:41
Distance: 8.55 miles & 4.29 miles
Pace: 6:58s & 7:51s

Comment: quite a revelation: an 8-miler, effectively, not at race/threshold pace, but close to what I consider a tempo pace (6:45 is my target tempo, when I'm doing just two miles of it). So, this is more of a distance tempo, a new part of my marathon prep. Next week, maybe I'll try three laps instead of two, again aiming for 7:00s.

Boston -81 -- Thu. Jan. 28

Today was another test: come into work for a meeting, THEN go and run, and still get back to campus for my afternoon classes. Plan: drive in, partly in running gear, then run home, and take bus back in. It nearly worked, sort of partly anyway. Main problems were an unanticipated blizzard (wuh?) and missing the bus back in. Ouf. But will do better next time!

Running wise, I jogged to the visitor lot, then moved car to my lot, and ran from there. Snow was steady with some wind, so I wore longs and my NorthEast jacket with hood up over hat (noisy, but warm for the start). First part was fine, plod plod along Univ. Drive to join the rail trail which while under an inch of fresh snow was mainly clear of old snow and ice (thanks to recent rain). Going was slipperyish, but not too hard. Followed trail all the way, hitting 6 miles as I exited to Warren Wright; pace was steady, but harder work than clock shows thanks to footing. Then along to the gentle climb up Orchard, on to Federal; then deviate onto Metacomet to add a bit of distance and stay off 9--to Bay instead, then up to Hamilton, and finally stop clock just after 12 miles at railway underpass, thus:

Time: 1:32:51
Distance: 12.10
Pace: 7:40s

Comment: jogged home and felt a bit sore, but refreshed too. Good miles, good run.

Boston -83 -- Tue. Jan. 26

Feeling a bit sore from Sunday, but businesslike: up early and out running by 8:30 ish, on a cold morning but sun was good. Shorts, and back-up hat as others in wash (torrential rain Monday meant no drying). No trail option, so tried a Stebbins variant: out to 9, left to Federal, along to Metacomet (decide not to stop and stretch as feeling okay and warming up slowly), across to Bay, right to Stebbins and then all along--past GeoHannum to 202. Left there, up past Boardman all the way to Eskett, then start to stretch out a bit: fast mile nine, but connecting to Rural, slow down a bit (despite feeling fast), and so push as I head back up GeoHannum to get another faster mile 11, then add one more by going along Jackson until clock hits 12 miles (just past Howard). Reset, then head home via rail trail and development for another 0.82 miles in 7:52, a slow 9 minute+ pace. The main run:

Time: 1:28:15
Distance: 12.01 miles
Pace: 7:23s

Comment: this turned into a pace run, with a few tempo miles. Started with easy (read, downhill ish) pace, 7:30 felt good: decided to work on getting used to it, and stayed very close for 8 miles (within about 15 seconds overall), then did a 6:50 (too fast) and paid for it with a 7:27, then a 7:01, and then throttled right back for last mile. Overall, a good learning experience: 7:30 is definitely a possible marathon pace, but I need to work on more tempo sessions in training (at about 6:55~7:05) during pace runs.

Boston -85 -- Sun. Jan. 24

Headed to DnD with an open mind and thoughts about a second lap--anything but the rail trail again. Andy and Amy, plus Bill, Nick and then Ken -- Steve L. passed through but was biking rather than running -- so a good crew. Andy had run 7+ (he's now into Boston Prep finally), but Bill said he was game for a second round. Was I up for 18? Heck, why not (ulp!)? Others were game for 8-10, so we started out all together for a Stebbins loop: to Howard, Jackson, Hamilton, down Bay and along to Stebbins; all along to GeoHannum, left in there and along back directly. Pace was mild at first, then Andy Bill and I drifted ahead; regrouped at end of Stebbins, but then strung out again, with Andy picking up more near the end--he decided to add end of Jackson, but I dropped back to go right on Howard with Bill, and we ended up back with just over 9 miles done (I'd missed starting clock, hence +0.4 miles). Then water and half a chocolate cream donut, and Bill and I were off for round two, an Enfield: again to Howard, Jackson, Hamilton, up and over Allen (feeling it a bit there), then down Enfield and up Jabish (getting sore!), and round through the high school to finish, for nearly 9 more, thus:

Time: 1:07:15 (+0.4) and 1:10:00
Distance: 8.83 miles and 8.85 miles
Pace: 7:37s and 7:55s

Comment: sore in the hamstrings, and ankles, but feeling good mainly. Hot chocolate after was *delicious!* That's the longest run since the marathon, I think, and will help me stay on weekly mileage track.

Boston -86 -- Sat. Jan. 23

So, too tired: we stayed up to watch Blues Brothers, it being last chance, with ninja girl going back to college today. That and my needing to drive her back meant I couldn't spare the two hours driving to and from Spfld, etc. So, lay in a bit, then out at 10:30 after some chores to warm up. This time, sunny and bright after a hard cold night, I figured I'd try the rail trail again, but with a different start: down geoHannum to the waterworks, stop clock at 1 mile, and stretch. Then reset clock and off up the x-country trail (hard climb, but not too icy) along to Wallace pond and out on to 202--very slow mile there, over 9:00, and quite hard work. Cross to DnD side and through on to rail trail: follow it all the way to 181 (mixed surface: sometimes hard and choppy, sometimes slippery, sometimes firm snow--good ankle test!), then back up road all the way to town and down to 9--supermarket--11 miles and stop:

Time: 1:25:24 (+ 7:32)
Distance: 11.17 (+ 1)
Pace: 7:39s

Comment: achilles a bit sore on right leg, and generally twingy, but took it easy mainly, pace-wise (effort was high on trail despite low pace). Final whole mile was 6:45 ish, just because. This gets weekly mileage over 50 again; cheering.

Boston -87 -- Fri. Jan. 22

Just a donut run to cut down the miles needed on Saturday. Arrived home a bit later than I'd hoped, and didn't get out to run until a bit after 9 p.m., when it was already darned chilly. Did a straight reverse Hamilton 5k, via 9 and Bay, then at the end ran up Greenwich and round Clark to add a tiny bit, thus:

Time: 31:26
Distance: 3.82 miles
Pace: 8:13s

Comment: kept this one very slow, but still a bit nervous about how it will affect me tomorrow morning for the Snowstorm. Still, I've got to start working donuts in a bit to gain mileage. We'll see.

Boston -88 -- Thu. Jan. 21

Classes to do, but first the morning run: out by 8:45 on a pretty chill but sunny morn, and figured I'd stay on roads to keep things straightforward. Bagg Hill run: started on GeoHannum, decided to stick with it all the way to Stebbins/School and left along to 202, crossing over and straight along, then double back on Chicopee. Back at 202, go right up to Eskett and then to Boardman and head home from there. To add a bit of distance at the end (wanting to reach 11) run up to DPW and then back homewards again. Stop clock at 11, then jog home to cool off.

Time: 1:21:49
Distance: 11.03 miles
Pace: 7:25s

Comment: Took this mainly quite easy, but running in shorts felt good (chilly! but good) and pace was steady. This felt promising for the marathon pace, though I've really got to try it over 18-21 miles to really see. In a few weeks. . .

Boston -90 -- Tue. Jan. 19

First try at the new semester schedule: running on a Tuesday morning with a class in the p.m. The sky was delivering a wintry mix, mainly snow, but pretty wet by the end of the run. Started off intended to out and back on the railtrail, but TOO wet, sloppy feet before I'd even gotten to the level crossing. So, head across the tracks, through the chestnut orchard and take to the road: plot a ten miler on the fly, and decide to head to Summit, via Jackson/Howard/202. Very slow first mile, under the circumstances; 9:30 or so, then little by little pick it up--but the snow in face and underfoot is not conducive to speed. Also I'm wearing longs, and feeling stiff. Top Summit, and then up Oakridge to the very top, then down Mt View/Barton (a bit slippery). Open up a bit, for one mile at good speed, then cross 202 and Eskett/Boardman/GeoH homewards, feeling a bit sore, stopping clock just at the railway underpass:

Time: 1:18:43
Distance: 10.05 miles
Pace: 7:50s

Comment: This was a bit of a slog for the weather, but worth the effort. I went on to do a full day's work.

Boston -92 -- Sun Jan. 17

Up early, so hungry again by 9:30: with a long run in mind eat small second breakfast, then get to DnD to find Jay (still not running), Bill, and Rob L., then Ken too. Smith indoor track this evening, so Rob not looking for too much; Bill w/ dodgy hip, and Ken out of practice, so an 8-10 is chosen, leaving me to do my extra five later. We decide on a reverse Enfield, and start off nice and easy, chatting variously. Cold-ish, but for the first time in many Sundays I have no windjacket on, just two layers, plus hat, gloves, and short. Through high school, back up to town center, down Jabish and start up Enfield. Ken flags a bit, and I drift ahead to catch the other two; mention plan to run down to the water, so Bill suggests he run w/ Ken and I go on w/ Rob who's game for the extra. We do that and the pace settles into the 7s; down to the water, along the trail (which is mainly okay) and back up the hill, finding this adds two miles to the route. Pace up further, to low 7s, and we go on w/ Allen, down across 202, up and over to Hamilton, clocking a sub-7, then back through the state school to base. Brief stop there for me, then out again to do extra loop proposed by Bill (modified by me to add trail!): 202 to Howard, but take railtrail to Jackson, cross and rail trail to GeoH, then past development to 9, right to 202 and right up to common, going left around common and through town hall car park then down OldSpfld to rail trail again and finish along trail; penultimate mile is a sub-7. Combined data:

Time: 1:56:14
Distance: 15.27 (10.44 + 4.83)
Pace: 7:37s

Comment: this ended up feeling quite okay, not a stress, but I was hungry then sleepy--slept an hour+ once I got home and settled. Good to be building up to longer runs, though I'll need to start doing double-outings to get miles soon. Good start for the week's mileage, and a day off tomorrow.

Boston -93 -- Sat. Jan. 16

A bit late starting for Spfld, and missed the exit the first time, so happy to see on arrival that the outhouse was open; jogged down to clubhouse and signed up, then headed right out on a very mild even, sunny day for a mile+ warm up. Started the 10k route, did 3/4 mile and stretched, then back to clubhouse: LARGE crowd, not surprising. Turned out it was a record (150+), with all the usual suspects and more. Not much GPS signal, alas, and once the race started it disappeared a couple of times, so the laps are suspect. Before we started the organiser called on one woman who'd been there at the very first Snowstorm, 30 years ago--pretty neat. Then we were off: steady up the hill, following Billy R and Scott R, but Scott took off really quickly so we were behind. Seemed like a brisk pace, and indeed the first mile was sub-6, if GPS was right. Made me a bit cautious, given numbleg, but I risked it, and it felt steady, not all out. Coming round the carpark and out toward Sumner we'd passed most of the folks we were going to pass; at that point Billy made a move and passed Scott at the end of the straight. He and a white-sleeved guy were soon about 10 seconds ahead of me, Scott maybe 5. It stayed like that all through the streets; my ankle-strap small muscles were sore and tight, maybe from running in the other shoes all week, and from yesterday's run (which definitely was taking the edge off my pace), and I couldn't make any headway. I figured I'd try on the downhill, and I made a bit of ground on Scott (Billy and whitesleeve were trading lead regularly) but then at the bottom I went to take off my hat and really attack, but managed to knock the hat to the ground. Ugh. Stopped, went back, grabbed it and rejoined the race. The last 1/4 mile was just a grit teeth and bear down, but positions stayed unchanged. Here's the data:

Time: 19:32 (GPS 19:31)
Distance: 3.1 miles (GPS 3.39)
Pace: 6:18 (5:45)

Comment: I wonder what the real pace was? Faster than the official, but probably not 5:45s. Still, encouraging. After a chat with several folks (Scott, Billy, SteveO --who was in shorts!) I went out for the 4 mile cooldown* I'd planned; felt pretty stiff and slow on that, but made my weekly mileage goal, just above 50. Step by step.
* pre and post run stats: 1.22 miles, 8:08 mins; 4.01 miles, 30:41 = 7:40s.

Boston -94 -- Fri. Jan. 15

Feeling pretty knackered and sore yesterday, so skipped a potential run opportunity. Today was to be a donut, maybe 4 miles, but instead it's a hill sandwich. I'm already at about 34 for the week, so only need 6 with the race lined up for tomorrow, but I planned a 7.5 mile route -- and then added a mile pre-stretch warm-up at the start. GeoHannum and rail trail for a mile, to stretch at the level crossing on Jackson; then down Jackson, across to Hamilton, to Bay down to Allen, up and over 9, up and over 202, up and along to Enfield; throughout, moving slowly and feeling a bit tight. Then going down Allen loosen up a bit, crossing 9 and up Jabish moving steadily but not pushing. Only at the top did I feel like opening up a little, and heading along the back side of the common I increased stride and kept rolling down the hill, a comfortable 6:30 pace. Decided to stop a bit short of the 8.5 mark, halting clock at entry to GeoH., thus:

Time: 1:02:11
Distance: 8.23 miles
Pace: 7:33s

Comment: then jogged the half mile home, feeling quite warm (above freezing today, apparently), and hopefully not overstretched for tomorrow's 5K. Must get new *shoes* soon!

Boston -96 -- Wed. Jan. 13

Not feeling too bright, partly from getting up at 4 for an hour or so. Head out late, after 10, but it's still plenty cold, steely dreary cold. Wear longs, but more to remind myself I'm aiming for gentle pace, just out to move and clock some miles. Do a Rural Figure 8, more or less: down GeoHannum, on to Boardman and out to 202, left back to Eskett, but add a tiny bit there via Barton Hill entry loop, then back to Boardman, left to Rural and then to GeoHannum--but, aiming to get the 8 miles before home, turn to head along Jackson and to the rail trail like yesterday, stopping the clock when I emerged from the trail back on to GeoH., thus:

Time: 1:02:53
Distance: 8.18 miles
Pace: 7:41s

Comment: Felt better once I got going, and had to put the breaks on a couple of times. Ended up with a *positive* split, first 4 miles being 7:31s or so. Didn't do 1 mile stretch, as pace was gentle.

2009 in review

Just added up the miles for last year in the Numbers spreadsheet I downloaded from somewhere. Interesting data:

totals: 162 runs for 1512.7 miles
monthly average: 13.5 runs for 126.06 miles
weekly average: 3.16 runs for 26.978 miles

peak month: July, 21 runs for 196.55 miles
lowest month: December, 92.23 miles
Feb. & Sept. 10 runs

and finally, average run distance = 9.34 miles.

That seems about to match my sense of things, though I must admit I felt I'd covered more miles, and run more days. For 2010, two sort of goals:

--run 180 days or more
--reach 2010 miles

Let's see how that goes!

Boston -97 -- Tue. Jan. 12

Almost mild this morning, probably up to low 30s in the sun, though wind was a bit chilly: legs took a long time to warm up, though I ran two miles before stretching to help. New route, aiming at 10 miles: started going straight out to 9, left along to Federal, then paused to stretch; then back on along as far as Orchard; along and down to Warren Wright, then left up to Bay (first real uphill), and left again to Old Bay, follow that (stopping to send an inquisitive dog home) all the way and up to the crest on Bay, then right on to Stebbins: all the way to GeoHannum and then homewards. Veer right to the DPW to get ten miles clocked, pushing a bit at the end; then recover with an extra 1.49 miles going up to the rail trail, double back along it to GeoHannum and thence home.

Time: 1:13:03
Distance: 10.02 (+1.49)
Pace: 7:18s (+9:01s)

Comment: this is an *interesting* new route: feels like downhill nearly all the way until the final stretch of GeoHannum, so it would be good to do in reverse too for gradual climbing. Took it easier for the first five, aiming to do a negative split; this was a bit hard given the hills, but managed it okay, with a sub-7 final mile. That was a push, but the only place I tried; felt a bit delicate otherwise, okay in rhythm but not ready to romp exactly.

Boston -99 -- Sun. Jan 10

Snot-freezing morning, but ended up choosing shorts (w/ jacket on top of fleece & T-shirt) to join Bill, Andy and Amy. Nobody else shows, alas. Took maps of a 7 and 14, hoping either to loop or do the whole: Bill agrees to do the whole, and Andy and Amy (short on time) come along for an 8 miler. The route is one I've been planning to do for ages, so happy to do it, and not aiming for any pace, just distance--Bill's a bit unhappy about it being trail in parts, but is game (props!). Start down rail trail, gently; Finley dog trotting along beside. Out onto road at NoWash, follow along and down to Bardwell, then across to NoLib, where A & A & Finley head off back; follow Bardwell all the way down River road and then along Keys past the Grogge shop, doing steady 8:20s or so. Then enter the trail--pretty much as clear as the rail trail; slog along that to the other end, then road and the hill. Bill wakes up at that point and attacks the hill a bit, so I just aim to stay close. 0.7 miles to the top of the hard stuff, then another 0.3 to the real peak, but by then Bill's feeling under par (did 21 miles yesterday, 90 last week). Steady along Cold Spring back to 181 (much colder in the wind there), then some much appreciated down hill; steady slog along 181, and Bill calls it at 13 miles, so I head on solo, getting pretty cold and realizing it's been close to two hours. Finally up to the top, and then at the town hall turn down 202 for the last bit and really open up for the last 0.6, ending up thus:

Time: 1:59:59
Distance: 14.61 miles
Pace: 8:13s

Comment: this is a good start to the week, just what I needed. I drove back to pick up Bill, who'd made it almost to the library--it was too cold to walk much. He treated me to cocoa and donut, too generous really--I was v. appreciative of the company on a run I've wanted to do for a long time. Pretty tired afterwards, but solid.

Boston -100 -- Sat. Jan. 9

Off in fairly good time on a cold morning, after porridge and tea; feeling traces of effects of post-nasal gunk (that's maybe why I was tired on Thu., a mild cold passing through?). Stop to pick up a coffee (again, asked for dark and got it black--so some people don't know the difference a drop of milk makes?) and arrived at Forest Park just before 9. Parked in usual spot, but outhouse not open so straight to clubhouse--sign up, change and head out to warm up. Go up the hill and round the houses for a mile, then stretch achilles; jog back to a more crowded house, so go to shorts and no jacket and then jog a wee bit more (saying hi to Steve O, among others). Moderate crowd, including Carlos, but again he's only running bandit.

Off slowly, aiming for about 7 for first mile, and going up the hill gently. Feel okay (if a bit cold!), and follow the lead pack (which is a slow one today, no real racers) at a possible striking distance. Billy R up there too, and noone really for me to pace on. GPS goes wonky for miles two and three, despite the clear sky, so I play it by ear, overhauling one or two guys who slowed down, and staying about 30 seconds behind the front cluster. No trouble from numbleg, so after three miles start to close up a bit, and at 4 miles, where Carlos has stopped and is calling out times, move up to 15 seconds behind the cluster of 4, while Billy R has moved to the lead (some other runners further ahead out of sight too). As we leave the park on to Sumner, catch one more, so the cluster is right ahead, and I'm spectating Billy's tussle with a young runner. Good stuff, and I keep closing in, finally catching them all on the long straight just before reentering the park. Billy starting to fade, I'm feeling good, so go for it and pass all three. Pace is now 5:50s, and the young guy sticks close; I try to lose him on the downhill, and we stay neck and neck until the last stretch-I push off, but can't keep it going, and he does, making 5 seconds in the last 200 yards. Come in 5th, though the records say 4th (someone took a lolly stick by mistake):

Time: 41:23 (gps 41:20)
Distance: 6.2 (gps 6.46)
Pace: 6:40s (gps 6:24s)

Comment: that was a FUN race, for all that I was staggering in the last 200 yards--I felt fresh right away after, and did a gentle mile and a half cooldown. Chatted with Billy R and the young guy who beat me too: he commented, as we walked back to the clubhouse, "I want to be like you guys when I'm old." Well, maybe he said "older," but, yeah. Billy R and me, we're those old guys. Next time, one of us will have to beat him :P

Seriously, useful training, with 2.82 miles on top of the 6.46, so I'm close to 50 miles for the week -- onward and upward.

Boston -101 -- Fri. Jan. 8

Just a donut run today, so wore longs (it was snowing very lightly, after a dusting in the night) and tried not to get very warm. GeoHannum, to the waterworks to stretch at 1 mile, then back to Hamilton, along and up Allen, over to 202, then pick up pace a bit to stretch as far as the Townmart, then back homewards, stopping clock just past the supermart:

Time: 35:21
Distance: 4.62
Pace: 7:39s

Comment: this takes me almost to 39, so with the 10K tomorrow I'll hit 45. It sure feels like work though, which means that it's proper training! 100 days to go!!

Boston -102 -- Thu. Jan. 7

Cold morning, but with a 1 pm meeting no chance to hang around, so off at about 9 for a longish one. Start down rail trail (via GeoHannum), finding the going tough: stretch after a slow (8:28) first mile, then continue via Jackson/Howard before rejoining trail. Decide to follow it all the way on the down incline, given how much hard work it feels (though there were tire treads and ski tracks to follow; it wasn't really slippery or deep, just heavy). Out on 181 and cross to come back up Michael Sears, then Sabin/Cold Spring past the orchards (fabulous views and the UMA extension looking classic), then down Cordner (slip and nearly go flying), along 181 and then decide too knackered to do Jabish canal trail, so follow road all the way home, up over the common and down to 9, etc., thus:

Time: 1:31:40
Distance: 12.02 miles
Pace: 7:37s

Comment: for some reason this felt like really hard work, even though I didn't run yesterday. Mainly felt okay, just low energy, so could be the total mileage having an effect? I really should get some new shoes -- maybe this weekend?

Boston -104 -- Tue. Jan. 5

Blooming freezing again, though no more snow since Sunday. After that morning run I went sledding with the kids, and got more worked out and quite tired out! Monday I took happily as a day off, and even this morning I was a bit sore in ankles from the snow running. But no sense passing up on daylight and no classes to go to, so shorts, hat, gloves, and jacket, and I was out just after 10 am for a hill run, but aiming for marathon pace of 7:30, and about 10 miles. Took GeoHannum to Boardman, Eskett, across to Barton and up that hill -- felt good, not working very hard, except for the final steep part which was a bit tough. Still, pace was good up to there: despite the hill I was only 30 seconds off exact pace, easy to make up on the downhill. That was going fine until a house on Summit where two wee dogs came out after me. Not dangerous except to trip over -- I nearly fell avoiding stepping on one, a Yorkie, so I stopped to remonstrate with the owner -- but noone was home. Asked the postman (who was just driving up), but that wasn't very satisfactory; returned to run, trying to regain smooth pace; followed 202 back down to Eskett, then at GeoHannum decided to add Rural in, and went round that way. Coming back up on GeoHannum again, just before the waterworks, I was nearly run down by a Ford SUV that drove along the verge as if aiming at me! I was so gobsmacked all I did was wave my arms and expostulate -- two cars close behind, so he didn't stop and I didn't get a very good view. RRRR. Should carry a rock for such idiots. Then ran up as far as the sledding hill before stopping clock, thus:

Time: 1:14:52
Distance: 10.16 miles
Pace: 7:22s

Comment: Given the terrain (hilly, but not slippery, to be fair), and how I felt afterwards (pretty good), this is very promising. My goal is for 7:27s as marathon pace, and while ten miles isn't a great predictor, it's a start. At least I think I can keep it as a goal.

Boston -106 -- Sun. Jan. 3

Brightening but cold, and a good layer of snow overnight (still snowing at 9 am). Only a few there at DnD: Bill, Tim (from WestSpfld), Nick, and Ken. Jay also comes by to chat. Stay wrapped up (first run in longs for weeks), though only have back up (blue) hat--this ends up being a problem... Suggest new route I'd mapped out to avoid roads, 11-12 miles, and Tim & Bill agree; Ken and Nick aim for 8. Start off on rail trail -- quite heavy underfoot, but all going slowly so Ken and I lead. *Very* cold. At Jabish canal, Nick and Ken stay going straight, but we three others go right: the canal's even narrower with ice now, and the going is quite tough (though not deep snow, just a bit slippery and cold). Bill and Tim going slowly, so I periodically slow up. Exit on to Bardwell after 4 miles, and it feels like they were uphill! The road is surprisingly good going, not slippery: follow Bardwell all the way to the junction with Michael Sears, then left and back up to 181, still me leading and slowing up periodically (but pace is quite slow). Along 181 to the rail trail then just 4 miles to go. Harder work again, and the slight uphill grade adds to that, but just keep slogging away; serious whiteout w/ blown snow at one point! At the underpass Bill pauses, says he's feeling bushed, but okay to go on; I'm very cold at this point from the inadequate hat and constant wind, so decide just to plug on to the end, change hats, and then check back for them. Here's the stats:

Time: 1:41:34
Distance: 11.99 miles
Pace: 8:28s

Comment: this was a *solid* workout, though without any fast stuff. Tired afterwards, but felt pretty good. Bill said he'd pursued over the last two miles, but hadn't made up any ground--it was that tough (and he'd probably run 20 miles the day before). Good start to the week, and I feel that I'm back into proper training. Had a glorious DnD hot chocolate w/ whipped cream after - mmmmm.

Boston -107 -- Sat. Jan 2

A Snowstorm 5K and a snowy day -- just a perfect birthday treat! Didn't feel too much like getting up at first, but managed to leave by 8:15; the drive was mainly quite hairy, with lots of slippery snow on all the roads. Skidded past the stop line at several junctions, including at least one red light (that was fortunately about to turn green). Got to the park and decided to take car right to the boathouse--but then couldn't drive down the slope as folk advised it was too slippery. Registered and retrieved my hat, gloves, and digivice (yay!), then went to warm up (still wearing longs). Feeling pretty faded after the last couple of days, but got 1.46 miles in before returning to the boathouse to stretch, then it was race time.

After a moment of silence for a GSH member who'd died (in his 50s), we were off, slipping and clambering up the first hill. It felt tough, though I was not quick and was a way back. Pushed on past a few and then toughed it out waiting for my stride to settle. It didn't get much easier, and I was close to pushing a bit, but the first mile was 6:45 ish, so I didn't worry. Then focussed on my target (no Billy this week, so Scott R instead) and steadily closed in. As we hit Sumner he took to the road,and I followed: good to have traction, even if everyone else took the shorter route on the sidewalk. Caught him as we slipped and skidded on the streets between the houses, and then went after the next guy, a young highschooler. Got him before the downhill, then just worked to stay ahead, which I did barely, though he closed a bit at the end. Here's the data:

Time: 20:41 (20:40 GPS)
Distance: 3.1 miles (3.18 GPS)
Pace: 6:40s

Comment: A bit gasping at the very end, from the effort at keeping traction. Came in 8th out of more than 100, good enough. Grabbed some food then headed off for the four mile extra loop of the 10K to get the mileage I needed. Took this easy at first, then woke up a bit and opened stride: ended up with 4.03 miles @ 30:48. This brings my weekly total to just over 25; again, good enough in the circumstances, if not quite where I need to be for the marathon... My first run as a Harrier, too!

Boston -108 -- Fri. Jan. 1

Mass instead of a morning run, but after doing various chores did get out for an early afternoon run. Basically a Jabish Canal loop: started on GeoHannum, then railtrail and stretch at level crossing (back very sore!), then continue on trail all the way to the underpass, and right on to Jabish canal trail: beautiful half-iced stream, and not too deep in snow to run (although a bit slippery); out the other end, then up the road all the way to OldSpfld, feeling tired then; along to the high school entry, but pass that and choose rail trail instead, going under 202 and then onto Howard and out to Jackson, stopping the clock at the level crossing; jog home after that. Here's the data (from cell phone and mapmyrun again):

Time: 1:10:19
Distance: 9.68 miles
Pace: 7:16s

Comment: pace is good considering the conditions. I really must focus on miles now, so this week I'll look to round out with about 10 tomorrow to get over 25, then next week back up to forty again. Tomorrow, a new age group!

Boston -109 -- Thu. Dec 31

Missed the Sunday SRRC run with back pain, and then the week went past quickly as I was trying to catch up with grading. Not good, but finally today I got out for a morning exploratory run. No digivice, so took cell phone as stopwatch, then measured via mapmyrun. Snowing quite heavily, and a bit cold, but in shorts: stayed on trails a lot to keep the windblown snow out of my eyes.
Entered trails right across from Greenwich, then the upper trail round and down to rail trail, out on to Hamilton, back to GeoHannum and down to logging trail up to Wallace pond, then out on to road and across past tractor dealer to planet fitness and through on trail to CHCS, round the high school to Old SPfld and up to town, then along common and down hill to 9, then round past supermarket and home again. Here's the data:

Time: 57:36
Distance: 7.9 miles
Pace: 7:17

Comment: back felt mainly okay, and it was fun to run in that much precipitating snow (iced up eyes and beard and knees!). Chatted briefly w/ Bill at the end, as he was finishing a longer run.