This was a bizarre week as I spent most of it traveling. During the 1st part of the week, I attended a conference up in Saxtons River, hosted at the Vermont Academy. Southern Vermont is just gorgeous during the summer and the terrain was ideally suited for some really nice runs. I took advantage of several surprisingly crisp mornings to explore the surrounding areas. I even managed to squeeze in a track workout on an old-school cinder track The most memorable run was the Wednesday semi-long run. I set-off on Rte. 121 and ran through the hamlets of Cambridgeport, Athens, Brookline, and West Westminster, before looping back into Saxtons River. The run was relatively uneventful until I made the turn into the trails and made a wrong turn. Soon I was running on a road with makeshift sign reading, "Penis Rd." It was obvious I had made a wrong turn... I retraced and continued down a different fork and soon found myself going up at least a 20% gradient. This was a hill! I slowed to a walk and didn't resume running until I had crested the hill. The small trail eventually merged with a larger dirt road and I was assured I was back on track. I held on towards the end, but I have to admit I was feeling dehydrated by the end. All in all, there's nothing like spending a week in Vermont to get reinvigorated about running.
The latter portion of my week was spent in New York, getting together with my college buddies to celebrate a couple 30th birthdays. One friend in particular is notorious for throwing big parties, so it was an event not to be missed. He rented out the penthouse suite of the Hotel Rivington, and the party lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I can't remember the last time I stayed up late enough to see the sunrise. Ever since I started running marathons seriously, I've been living like a monk, so this was quite a shock to the system. Needless to say, Saturday morning's run was quite an adventure. The route itself would have been absolutely enjoyable on any other day, but the perfect storm of a hangover, lack of sleep, and hot and humid condition turned this into a real slogger. It made me wish for the cool shaded Vermont trails from earlier in the week, even with the steep hills. The weekend really took its toll on my body, and I was so tired after getting home on Sunday that I just bagged my usual run and slept for about 12 hours. What a week!
Week Summary
Mon: 2.4m (11:48), easy run in lieu of normal pool run
Tue AM: 5.2m (9:13), easy morning run
Tue PM: 4.5m, 3x1 mile w/ 3min. RI, 6:07, 6:09, 6:08
Wed: 12.0m (7:55), flat run except for a massive hill in the middle
Thu: 5.5m (7:54), easy run on trails
Fri: off, travel day.
Sat: 15.8m (8:23), hot and hungover, not a good combo
Sun: rest day
Total: 45.5 miles
I'm going to try and bump it back up to 50+ this week, but I'll see how it goes following the Yankee Homecoming 10 miler.
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