Saturday: 7 miles, pancake loop. Oh, the irony! I choose to do a fast, flat run around Fresh Pond because we were going camping and I wanted to preemptively minimize contact with insects. An added bonus was the access to modern bathrooms, and my digestive system was feeling rather productive that morning… too much information, but what happened not ten steps away from the bathroom was a shot of insect-given pain behind my knee — spider? flea? — that radiated through my entire upper calf. A red dot marked the epicenter of the bite; it didn’t start to swell until later that night, when I awoke in a tent feeling as if my entire right knee was on fire. Oh, the irony.
Sunday: 9 miles. A little bit of technical trail, a little bit of pavement, mostly dirt road. We camped in north-central Massachusetts at our favorite local campground. We’ve been there about a half-dozen times and I’ve gradually discovered a network of short trails that can constitute a longish run. I needed this run — I loved every moment!
A Lily Pad Pond
Last Spring, I discovered a small nineteenth-century cemetery grandly named New Boston Cemetery, with gravestones for men who fought in the Revolutionary War! But I am drawn to Sally’s tombstone.
Sally's Tombstone
More scenic waterways.
Otter River tributary
And then I returned to pond at the campsite, where Little Boy and Mr. P frolicked, built canals, and tried to catch fish. Lovely, lovely camping trip.
Summer Fun
Monday: 8 miles, Bread and Butter Loop. Last hard effort before the taper for Saturday’s race.
Tuesday: 60 minutes swimming. Tuesday is the day the fast girl shows up at the pool (she told me she goes to three different pools around the area, depending on her work schedule). When I give a hard effort, she’s actually not that much faster than me, but her flip-turns are wicked fast. If the pool is too warm, she’ll bitch about it and leave notes to the pool maintenance man. She is intense; I don’t usually swim on Tuesdays, but when I do I feel somewhat challenged by the fast girl.
Wednesday: 30 minutes circuit training/jump roping; 30 minutes swimming. I must admit that I am majorly in love with the jump rope. For awhile my gym had a small stash of jump ropes that I grooved on in 1-minute intervals in between planks, wall sits, kettle bells, and stretching, but the jump ropes disappeared. So I bought my own — a red-and-black beaded jump rope that is serious exercise fun. I’ve improved technically, so my limitation is often purely cardio. After jumping and planking myself into a sweaty mess, I hit the pool for a half-hour of solid crawl.
Thursday: 7 miles easy hills. After two days off running, this last run before my hat trick 5K on Saturday felt pretty easy.
(planned) Friday: 60 minutes swimming… and hopefully a mid-day peak-bag!
