Comeback #33: 8/12

Monday: 6 miles solo up Mt. Wantastiquet. 24:50 up, 19:5x down. I wasn't going to run today in order to rest my left leg, but it felt pretty good after a soak in Putney today. The water was way too cold to swim, so I just waded in a little above my knee. I felt good going up Wantastiquet despite having just eaten. My legs are getting stronger. I walked Jimmy down the road for a nice cool down.

Tuesday: 3 miles w/Jimmy on the HRT. I added 6 x 200 meter pickups at R pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles w/Jimmy in Pisgah. We did the Southwoods/Fullam Pond route in reverse direction from Horseshoe Rd Parking. I ran 51:30 and closed the last climb in 2:47. I sort of hurried this run as I wanted to get other things done today. I wish I enjoyed it and ran a little slower as I would like to feel fresh for tomorrow's Fun Run. I cranked on all the downhills. I also fell on the first long bridge on South Woods, but I'm fine.

Thursday: 3 miles at Fun Run. I warmed up with the mile by running with a 6 year old. He ran a 9:22. He could have gone faster, but he lost focus numerous times. Great kid; I can't wait to coach him in 8 years. I then pushed the 2.3 and finished with a 16:36. My legs were pretty tired from 3 relatively tough days previous. This was a season's best by about 30 seconds. Next week I'll go in fresh with some racing flats and see if I can dip under 16:00. Fun night.

Friday: 0. I needed it.

Saturday: 0. I had an all day birthing class at the hospital. I had to leave at noon to take Jimmy to the vet. He had a bad horsefly bite that got infected. He's on prednisone and a cortisone spray. I went back to the birthing class. When we finished, Gina and I went to the Marina for our late anniversary celebration. No time to run today.

Sunday: 13 up Pumpelly. I decided to not take a watch. I wore my Road ID and brought a camelbak with some water, food, and some emergency stuff - impending fatherhood is making me cautious! It took me about 1:10 to get up. I really struggled on the steep stuff. I am amazed at how fast others (Boj and Greg) can run this. I stopped a couple times to take photos which got me reenergized and running again. I power hiked a lot! Right as I weaved my way past the weekend throng of people to the summit marker, I ran into Garry Harrington. He was bagging a few summits from the Marlborough Trailhead. It was fun catching up with him - I haven't seen him in a couple years at least. I grabbed a photo of him. Notice I have a purple face while he looks fresh as a daisy. I ate a granola bar and just about finished my water. I headed back down and had fun running the exposed rock on the upper ridge section. Once I got back in the forested steep stuff my legs stopped having fun. It was a grind to get back to my car. Dublin Lake was a refreshing reward - not nearly as cold as Putney. I realized I probably could have used more than the twelve ounces of h2o that I brought. I had about a pint left in my car then it was off to Doug's Dogs. Unfortunately being Sunday, Doug's was closed. Bummer. Happy Birthday to my nephew Jackson and my niece Ellie. Here are a few photos: