11/9 - 11/15

Monday 11/9:  I lifted after school today - upper x2.  My back is tight!  Hopefully lifting will help.  I probably won't be able to run tomorrow with meetings.

Tuesday:  meetings

Wednesday: 3.5 at Brattleboro track. 1 mile of sprint float sprint. Didn't feel great. Freezing cold rainy day plus a head cold.

Thursday - Saturday: 0. Cold is raging plus lazy.

Sunday: 6 w/ crew. Felt sluggish.

Less than 10 for the week. Cold was a motivation killer. Fun bday party for Brady and Emma.

November and a little more time on my hands.

Cross country has winded down, so I'm able to get out on my own now. I ran Wed (4), Sat (4), and Sunday (3).

I managed anywhere from 10 to 25 miles per week during the season.  I'm just getting my health back after a Crohn's flare-up in mid October.  I'm hoping to lift at school 3 days per week and build my mileage back towards 40 in December. I love late fall running and I'm not feeling too shabby.

Summer 2015, week 8

8/10 - Monday:  4 miles on the HRT.  My back was a little tight in the early stages of this run.  It loosened up as I went along.  Nice negative split on this run.  17:45 first half, 15:20 second half.  Happy Anniversary Honey - 5 years!  We are heading to Boston on Friday night to celebrate.

pm:  Greg and I were able to get the canoe up to our secret spot for an encounter with some lunkers.  I got a really nice one in the 5 to 6 pound range after sunset.  Greg also landed a 5 pounder.  Good night!

Please forgive the photo of a photo.

All these fish we've been catching have been long and solid, but not hogs.  We'll have to make it a priority to get up there this fall when they stock up a little, and back in the spring when they are spawning.  We're quite addicted!

8/11 - Tuesday:  0.  Hung out with the family.  We went to the Southern Vermont Nature Museum on Hogback Mtn.  What a difference a year makes!  The kids loved it.

8/12 - Wednesday:  0.  We went to Spofford Lake with the kids for a swim.  Then I watched them all afternoon.  Too lazy to run in the evening.  I'm losing fitness!

8/13 - Thursday:  4 at Kilburn.  Gina dropped the kids off at daycare, so I went running.  I planned on going farther, but the reality of how out of shape I'm in hit me.  Yowzers.

Summer 2015, Week 7

8/3 - Monday:  0.  Went to Misquamicut Beach then drove home.

8/4 - Tuesday:  3.  I ran to my fishing spot and back.  Decent fishing - 6 bass and a pickerel.  Nothing big.

8/5 - Wednesday:  6 - Oxbow, Monument, Plain.  I ran at 2pm and suffered.  The weather was cool for summer - 80 degrees, but the open roads and sun exposure got to me.  I definitely was feeling dehydrated at the end of this one.

8/6 - Thursday:  3. Happy Birthday Jonny!  I ran up to the fishing hole today and back.  I caught 5 bass and a pickerel.  My fish were all bigger than Tuesday's fish.  I managed to land a 3 pounder.  I lost about 17 dollars in lures too.

8/7 - 8/9:  Had fun, but I didn't get any runs in.  I turned 38 on Sunday.  Happy Birthday to Greg!

Weakly total:  12

Summer 2015, Week 6

7/27 - Monday:  3 at night around school with a full belly.  I belched up dinner the entire run.  I ended with about 1200m of tempo effort.

7/28 - Tuesday: 5.5 around PTSA 5k route from home.  Legs were stale from 3 days in a row of quicker paced running.

pm:  3 miles at Kilburn + a splash in the pond.  I felt pretty decent on this one.  It was hot - 86 degrees.  Tomorrow will be in the mid 90s.  Blech!

7/29 - Wednesday:  5 on HRT.  I got out before the real heat hit.  My legs felt sluggish.

7/30 - Thursday:  1.5 at school w/athletes.

7/31 - Friday:  0.  I watched the kids all morning then fished late into the night.  I caught 20 bass.  I didn't get anything bigger than 2.5 pounds.  George and Greg landed and hooked into some hogs.

8/1 - Saturday:  0.  I drove to Rhody.

8/2 - Sunday:  3.5 w/Pard in Burlingame.  Fun run despite full stomachs.

Weekly Total:  21.5

Summer 2015, week 5

7/20 - Monday:  Zero.  I did manage to go fishing with Greg at secret spot 1.  We caught some more monster bass.

7/21 - Tuesday:  6 in the morning on HRT and around school.  I didn't feel great.

pm - Greg and I grabbed the canoe from Stoddard to bring to Hinsdale for an assault on Secret Spot #1 later this week.  Before we left Stoddard, we went for a 30 min fishing trip on Highland Lake and caught a couple beautiful bass.  I've now caught 5 of my top 6 biggest lifetime bass in the last week and a half.  Clearly I didn't know how to fish for bass back in the day (and I probably still could use a few pointers).  Fun night.

Greg hoists a nice one.

Greg's lunker.  This is a photo of a photo if it seems blurry.

7/22 - Wednesday:  Zero.  I had a chore day today.  No time for running.

7/23 - Thursday:  8 around Kilburn counterclockwise in 1:07.  Slow time.  I felt pretty good in the beginning, but the wheels really fell off.  I've got to hydrate better.

7/24 - Friday:  0.  Very lazy day.  I should have run in the morning because I had the kids all afternoon and night.  This isn't going to be a very good week.

7/25 - Saturday:  Happy Birthday Mom!  I ran 4 today at tempo effort.  It was a nice morning to run.  I didn't feel great.  

7/26 - Sunday:  5.5 w/athlete in Pisgah.  We ran up to the Ridge from Kilburn.  It was socked in, so there were no views.  Hammered the last .7 back to the parking lot.


Weekly total:  23.5 - Not a good week - too many zeroes.
Summer total:  139.5

Summer 2015, week 4

7/13 - Monday:  5 on 119 from house.  I felt pretty decent.  I've been doing a lot of pushups lately and I've noticed that my back hasn't been nearly as tight the last week.  Maybe I can get out for a few miles this evening.  I need some mileage this week.

7/14 - Tuesday:  8 - Clockwise Kilburn.  I tried to break an hour and ended up fading and not really coming too close.  1:05+ - almost 1:06.  I did stop at 57 minutes for a swim.

7/15 - Wednesday:  3 - Charles Street Loop from house.  This was a great day.  After running Greg and I went to secret spot #1 and caught a few beautiful bass.  I caught a 3 pounder and Greg caught a nice 5 pounder - no joke.

7/16 - Thursday:  7 at Kilburn w/athletes.  Absolutely beautiful morning for a run.  58 degrees, crisp and sunny.  Feeling good.

7/17 - Friday:  6 miles HRT + downtown roads.  Another humidity free morning for running.  I felt pretty darn good today.  I lifted a little weights in the basement after my run.

7/18 - Saturday:  4 on HRT + other roads.  The humidity was back.  Decent run today.  Good week going.

7/19 - Sunday:  6 in the morning from the Pisgah Reservoir parking area.  It was another brutally humid run.  I may have had my slowest Spirit Breaker Hill ascent while running the entire way 7:10 from gate to gate.

pm - 1 mile w/athlete around school before thunderstorms cut it short.  We were hoping to get three miles.  He would have hit 50 miles for the week, but we decided to be prudent.  The 1 mile was enough for me to hit 40 for the week.  The humidity reminded me of summers past running in Ashaway.  Feel like my fitness is coming around.

Weekly total: 40
Summer total after 4 weeks - 116

Summer 2015, week 3

7/6 - Monday:  3 w/Greg.  We ran and swam at Kilburn.  Glad I got out as I had earlier conceded to getting a zero when I chose to mow the lawn instead of run.

7/7 - Tuesday:  0.  During my window to run, we had a lingering thunderstorm.  I decided that my legs could use a zero - sore calves.

7/8 - Wednesday:  6.  I ran in the evening from the school down Plain Rd to Fox Run.  I went in the development to get the right amount of time for a slow six miler.  I felt decent despite having just eaten a burger.  Interesting digression - when I went to light the grill today I noticed a mouse nest in the grill.  I quickly shut it off when I heard some of the nest ignite.  The momma mouse hopped up onto the surface of the grill.  Hopefully no babies were barbecued.  I don't think they were as there were no visible flames.  I ended up cooking the burgers inside.  I'll have to relocate the nest.  I don't mind killing mice, but burning them alive isn't my thing.

I also had the pleasure of running into my former athlete, Evan.  This was the second time this summer that I've crossed paths with him on a run.  He's been running 5 days a week.  His running has become his stress relief from a very busy schedule.  He's a chemistry major and is currently working for one of his professors on a new drug that is a promising cure for breast cancer.  He has to give a speech in San Diego at a huge chemical convention about the work they've been doing.  It made me proud to have gotten to coach him in basketball, cross country, and track and field.

7/9 - Thursday:  4 w/athletes at school in evening.  I felt good - ran nice and easy.  We had 5 athletes show up tonight.

7/10 and 7/11 - Fri/Sat:  0.  Headache on Friday led to a wimpy zero, and trip to Mass on Saturday.

7/12 - Sunday:  7 at Kilburn w/athletes.  Nice morning for a run - a little on the humid side.

pm - 1+ running from Sasquatch at Pisgah Reservoir in pm.  Great fishing w/Greg.

Weekly total - 21

Summer 2015, week 2

Monday - 6/29:  4 miles around school.  Parked at the boat landing and ran Stage/River/Main Street loop.  My legs felt tired today, and I didn't have much motivation to run.

Tuesday - 6/30:  0.  We took the kids to the Friendly Farm in Dublin.  They had fun chasing the ducks and chickens.  I rested as I felt a little PF in my right foot potentially coming on.  I usually get this when I have sore/tight calves.

Wednesday - 7/1:  4 from Greg's house to short Friedsam loop and back.  Humid run today.  I snuck out between rain showers.  My legs felt ok.  I wore my old shoes because I thought I would do a run in Pisgah today and I didn't want the new ones getting soaked.

Thursday - 7/2:  6 w/athletes at Kilburn.  Beautiful morning for running.  Ran with three members of the boys' team.  We all took a dip in the pond afterwards.  Felt very stiff (upper back) in the morning. Loosened up during the run.  Legs feel good.

Friday - 7/3:  0 today.  I went fishing in the morning with the intent of running after a few casts.  During my fishing, I had to wade through a lot of poison ivy, so I went home to wash my legs.  I never hit the roads after - oh well.

Saturday 7/4:  5 at the Four on the Fourth.  I ran 31:29.  I notice Jonny got hosed in the official results - they don't even have him listed.  He ran great, and Greg and Pard ran strong as well.  I wanted to break 32.  I went out with a coworker who eventually pulled away on the big climb after 2 miles.  I felt awful as usual on the last mile.  I'm not in any kind of fitness for racing.  My upper back was an issue during the run and still is now.

Sunday 7/5:  I am supposed to run with some athletes tonight at 6.  I'm hoping my upper back can handle it.

6pm:  4 on HRT.  Very easy pace.  Felt ok.  My upper back has been extremely stiff.  I need to lift weights.

Weekly total:  23

Summer total:  55

Summer Begins

6/22 - Monday:  0.  Last day of school.  I went golfing with a coworker afterwards.  I got a par on the first hole and got worse from there.

6/23 - Tuesday:  4 at Kilburn in the am.
                         
                           2 on Oxbow Rd pm.

6/24 - Wednesday:  4 from Boat Landing to the Town Hall and back.

6/25 - Thursday:  6 w/athletes at Kilburn.  Fun running with company.

                            3 w/athlete around school in pm.

6/26 - Friday:  0.  We went to check out couches and the YMCA.  We had a nice family day.

6/27 - Saturday:  4.5 on HRT.  Beautiful running weather for late June.  I ran at 10am and it was only around 67 degrees.
                           
                             2.5 around school in pm.  I felt decent tonight.  Third easy double of the week.

6/28 - Sunday:  6 w/athletes and Greg at Kilburn.  Rainy and cold morning (for June).  Felt good.


Weekly total:  32

April week 2

Monday - Friday - Once again nothing significant to speak of because of track practice.

Saturday - 3 miles around school.  Felt decent.

Sunday - 10 miles w/athlete.  I wasn't planning on going this long as I never thought my back would hold up.  We were supposed to run an hour, but there was a little bit of a communication snafu.  My athlete took my watch and ran ahead after 19 minutes of him graciously running at my pace.  I told him to turn at thirty minutes and that I would be following him on the straight out and back.  He kept going and going.  He thought I meant an additional 30 minutes!  Thankfully, he only kept it up for 25 minutes and figured he had gone far enough.  He was no worse for the wear, but I was really struggling at the end.  Oh well, beautiful day and I made it.  He looked great.  Now we just need a meet to not get cancelled like the first two.

First week of April

Monday - Friday.  Nothing exciting to speak of.  Coaching is in full swing.  I didn't do much running with the kids.  Probably < 2 miles.  I have been seeing hundreds if not thousands of Canada geese flying up the CT River.  A lot are landing in the open patches of river.  The highlight was a flock of snow geese with two in the blue phase that flew over the school.  I've been seeing the eagles at practice too.  The killdeer are back around campus which is a sure sign of spring.  The birding is great, but I need to squeeze in more miles during practice.

Saturday - 2 miles on the HRT.  I felt miserably stiff during the run.  I saw an otter on the ice.  There were a lot of ducks and possible 1,000 + Canada geese on the open patches of water.  I might have to go back with my binoculars today.  I did a good stretching routine after the run, and I am feeling looser as I type this.  Hopefully, I'll feel up for a longer run tomorrow.

Sunday - 4 miserable miles on HRT.  My back started bothering me after about 15 minutes.  I was reduced to a hobble for the last two miles.  I did see a lot of ducks - hooded mergansers, common mergansers, and ring necked ducks.

Getting over sickness, race, and long run - Last week of March

Monday - Wednesday:  My Crohn's was back thanks to too short a dose of meds.  I had to take two sick days Tuesday and Wednesday, but I was making a big rally by Thursday.

Thursday - 2 miles + 3 hill sprints and lots of drills.  I even banged out a bunch of burpees with the team.  Fun to feel my health coming around.  Big turnout this year.  Lots of promise!

Friday - 1 mile w/more drills.  Legs a little sore from yesterday - glutes and quads mostly.

Saturday - 5 at the Fast Friends Road Race.  Cold and snowing with snow accumulated on roads.  I ran the 4.5 in 37:42 - 8:23 pace - 36th place.  Mile splits were 8:20, 8:26, 7:59, 8:49, and around 4 flat for the half (don't feel like doing the math).  I was happy to be under 8:30 pace.  I felt good through 3 miles which included a long hill in mile two.  Rig mode was accomplished in the last 1.5.  Fun day.

Sunday - 9 w/athlete around Hinsdale.  My pace was sluggish.  My right calf was pretty darn tight after 6 miles.  Tough day after a race.

Week - 17

Realistically, I won't get many more miles than this during track season, as I stick on campus with the throwers, sprinters, and jumpers.  I'll continue doing drills and getting out on weekends.

Second week of March

I haven't been getting out much.  My arthritis and Crohn's starting acting up these last two weeks.  I was able to get to the doctor's on Friday, and I'm already feeling a lot better as of Sunday.  I just got back from a nice five miler down by the setbacks.  It was 35 degrees and overcast.  A lot of melting is taking place.  We're in mud season up here.

Weekly total:  8

Next week doesn't look like I'll be able to run much as I have to watch the babies all week after school while Gina is at rehearsals for her musical.

Last week of February

No point in doing a day by day breakdown.  I ran 12 miles on 2 days of running.  I've been busy (excuses, excuses) and the cold is getting to me.  Today (3/1), I ran 9 miles and it was 7 degrees.  It's snowing and 23 degrees as I type this.  Hats off to the more dedicated athletes out there!

2/16 - 2/22 February Vacation

Last week I ran a total of 6.5 miles on two days.  I was busy working as the substitute VP for 2 days plus meetings and cold weather.  I didn't get out until Saturday.  Sunday we were getting hit with more snow and I only ran 1.5 miles.  Let's see if this can be a better week.

Monday 2/16:  3 miles.  It was -20+ windchill during my run.  Have no fear; I completely overdressed.  I was a sweaty mess by the end of this one.

Tuesday 2/17:  3 miles on HRT.  I wanted to go farther, but I just didn't have the mental fortitude today.  It was another cold day, 7 degrees, when I headed out.  I couldn't get into the run.  I'm sick of dressing like Nanook of the North every time I go for a run.  Tomorrow should be warmer.

Wednesday 2/18:  0.  Just didn't get it done today.  Gina headed out with her sister to enjoy a kid free day, and my window to run was early morning.  It was too darn cold for me.

Thursday 2/19:  0.  Meetings in the morning.  We did take the kids to the Keene Children's Museum which was pretty fun.

Friday 2/20:  4 to Walmart N Back.  3 degrees when I ran.  The sun was shining and I heard some robins.  It almost felt warm.

2/2 - 2/8

Monday - Friday: - 0.  Tons of snow, tubing at Granite Gorge, and refereeing all contributed to yet another dismal running week.

Saturday 2/7:  4 around town.  Nice morning.  I snuck out in between rounds of flurries.  Here comes more snow tomorrow and Monday.

Sunday 2/8:  4 around town.  It was snowing heavily.  I drove to the school and ran around the quieter roads of town.  I managed to not see one car while running.


Weekly total:  8

Check this out

I rarely go to Flotrack, but something compelled me to tonight.  This was a nice surprise!




Making Chariho proud



Just nipped it by 3 hundredths of a second.  He joins 429 others from the U.S.


List of Americans who have done it

1/26 - 2/1

Monday 1/26:  Meeting after school + preparation for blizzard kept me from getting out today.

Tuesday 1/27:  1.5 on snowshoes around my woods.  So far, we haven't gotten too much snow.  I know it's worse in other parts of New England.

Wednesday - Saturday: 0.  Lazy and slightly injured.  Right hip is bothering me.

Sunday 2/1:  9 w/athlete.  Nice sunny morning.  Felt pretty good.


Weekly total:  10.5

January 19th - 25th

Monday 1/19:  0.  I'm in a rut time wise and energy wise.  The achilles is ready.  Time to get on the horse.

Tuesday 1/20:  0.  My pep talk entry didn't work.

Wednesday 1/21:  2.5 around school.  Blech.  At least I ran.

Thursday 1/22:  0.  My rut continues.

Friday 1/23:  2.5 around school.  I didn't feel great, but I'm glad I got out there.  Nice and warm - 35 degrees.

Saturday 1/24:  4 miles.  I lifted weights - 2x upper body then I warmed up with a mile on the treadmill.   I hit the snowy roads for three more miles.  I don't know how people can run for more than ten minutes on a treadmill.  It's torture.

Sunday 1/25:  6 w/athletes around town.  We tried heading out on the rail trail, but it was too darn slippery.  The pace was easy, but the effort wasn't.  Tough slogging for some reason for all.  Beautiful weather - maybe a tad too windy.  I felt hot when the wind was at my back and cold when it was in my face.  I definitely felt like February is almost here.

Weekly total:  15.  Getting back into things.

January 12th - 18th

Monday 1/12:  0.  I stayed home today to get the furnace serviced.  It's been a little janky to use the vernacular of Seth.  I would have loved to run today, but my left achilles is a tad tender.  I better be cautious.  Probably a result of running so long yesterday on slippery roads.

Tuesday 1/13:  0.  My achilles is still an issue.  I really feel it going up and down stairs.  I didn't have time to run anyway today, but I'm hoping tomorrow the achilles feels better.

Wednesday 1/14:  0.  Again the achilles is an issue, and again I was swamped with things to do which included getting ready for my first day tomorrow as the substitute vice principal.

Thursday 1/15:  0.  Four straight goose eggs.  My day was hectic and rewarding.  The good news is my achilles gave me no complaints today.  I even jogged from my car to test it out.  Things are looking up for this weekend.

Friday and Saturday 1/16 & 1/17:  0.

Sunday 1/18:  1.5.  I tested out the achilles today.  It seemed decent.  Felt like I hadn't run in a month.

Weekly total:  1.5  -  Big week!  I think the rest was well spent as my achilles felt ok on Sunday.

January 5th - January 11th

Monday 1/5:  0.  Getting my energy and appetite back.  I had a lot of chores today.

Tuesday 1/6:  0.  Chores and meetings.

Wednesday 1/7:  2.5 around town.  It was cold and windy.  Tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be brutal.  These are the nights I worry about the furnace.  I guess I inherited that trait from Pard.

Thursday 1/8:  7 w/athletes after school.  We ran an old 7 miler that I hadn't run since 2013.  The rail trail had decent traction thanks to snowmobile tread.  It wasn't easy to take the steep goat path out of the rail bed at the end of the run.  It made for some pretty hilarious moments as we all slid backwards down the slope.  We eventually got out by crawling up on our hands and knees and using any trees we could to claw our way up.  Cramp-ons and an ice axe would have been helpful.

Friday 1/9:  0.  No time after school.

Saturday 1/10:  5.5 around town.  Cold morning.  My right hip is a little sore.

Sunday 1/11:  11 w/athlete on roads of Hinsdale.  Brrrr!  Zero degrees when we headed out at 8am.  Felt decent.  


Weekly total:  26