WEEK 29: 35.5 miles and Blessing of the Fleet

Monday
Rail-trail to hinsdale with Greg and Griffin, 5 miles; good run- ran faster than yesterday thats for sure! Saw a gray fox and a red fox!

Tuesday
Burt Hill Road and some upper strength at home; Good run and strength workout. Log 7 miles.

Wednesday
0, travel to RI, beach!

Thursday
AM: 5 miles trails in RI with Greg and Griffin
PM: roads just to loosen up, solo, 2 miles

Friday
Blessing of the Fleet 10-miler;  time 1:22/8:12 pace...eh

Saturday
5 miles trails with Greg, Griffin, and 10 BILLION DEER FLYS and 99% humidity....struggle, but got it done.

Sunday
gym; missed spin class, did elliptical, core, stretch and 1.5 miles TM....

Miles: 35.5 miles

YTD: 739 miles

Lots going on this week!  After the brutal Stowe race I woke up Monday and blasted down the railtrail for a couple miles just to be sure I still could!  I needed that run.  Tuesday was another good run up and down Burt Hill and I felt way better about things.  Then I headed to RI with Greg and Griffin to stay with his family.  A couple days at the beach and some trail running on trails that will be part of the Rhody Race in November led up to Friday and the Blessing of the Fleet race. (Greg ran the fun run on Wednesday night - which I am glad I decided not to do...see his account of the weather.)

Anyway, it was brutally hot and humid all week but on Friday it rained....a lot.  It was a relief that the race wasn't going to be in hot sun.  We left for Narragansett, registered really early, and met up with Greg's friends (Justin, Heather, Marc) and brother, Jonny.  It was a pretty laid-back atmosphere and we didn't do much warming up.  Heather and I headed to the bathroom lines while the boys headed to the woods and the start.  There were A LOT of people at this race. 

The start was really crowded and it took over a minute for me to reach the chip line. I felt ok, but knew I wasn't running under an 8 minute pace and kinda knew I wouldn't.  I just didn't want to implode like I did at Stowe.  Lots of lateral movement due to crowds the first mile and I was right...8:05.  From there the splits were pretty consistent and in general the race nondescript.  Heather found me around mile 2 and I shouldve stayed with her, but I stopped to adjust my shoe (Greg would NEVER do that!!!)  and just never caught back up to her.  At one turn I could see her, but by then our paces were similar and I couldn't gain any ground.  She finished right where I wanted to at 1:20.  I never got real comfortable but didn't blow up either.  At mile 6ish it started to rain...then a little harder...then a ridiculous downpour (greg was finishing his race at this point). It was better than the expected heat and humidity and made it pretty fun too. There were also a lot of crowds at this race. 

I finished at 1:22 at an 8:12 pace.  Two minutes slower than my 10 mile races in February (which were harder courses) and 4 minutes slower than my 10 mile split at the New Bedford Half Marathon.  So not my best work, but it'll do for now.  I was a little frustrated at first because I really thought I could stay under 8 minute pace by now, but I have to remember that at this point last year I was struggling to be under a 10 minute mile pace!  Patience.  I found Greg and his brother at the finish.  We found out there wasn't a free beer, and caught a shuttle back to the truck...by then we were cold!  We met back up with Justin and headed to a local restaurant for dinner.  It was a fun atmosphere with some really cool people and finally the beers the boys wanted. 

The next morning I ran with Greg and Griffin on the trails by his parent's house again...it was MISERABLE.  We headed back to NH both with colds.  Sunday I just couldn't get into any kind of workout but after counting my miles for the year I saw I needed to have a .5 somewhere....so I did 1.5 on the treadmill and some core.  Year to Date....739 miles.

This week will be tough as I have to get quality workouts in before leaving for NY for a high school reunion on thursday.  We'll see.  Only 2.5 weeks left of my summer!!!!  ;(  It's a process....and I love it....