Run the Reservoir 15k Race Report

This was a great run! I loved it and so did my friend from JogNewLondon.com.

The race took place this past Saturday, March 18th in Scituate. The course started and finished on Danielson Pike, with some sections on wooded trails and route 116.

At about mile 4 we crossed a causeway straight through the middle of the reservoir. Felt like about 3/4 of a mile with BEAUTIFUL views on either side. I felt like I was in upstate NY, Vermont or New Hampshire. The lake was so flat that the reflection of the wooded hills and blue sky looked just as good as the actual wooded hills and blue sky.

Two hills, the second one worse than the first, but the rest was pretty flat. Both hills were over by mile 5.

The worst part of MY run happened at some point during mile 5 when the man in front of me blew snot out of his nose (no big deal, we all do it) but he didn't move over to the side, wasn't aware of me behind him, and his snot landed RIGHT ON MY FACE. Nose and lips. Disgusting. I passed him and thought about saying something but decided I'd just make a point to stay in front of him for the rest of the run.

Everyone there was super nice, and I won a raffle prize. Can't beat it.

4 Miler Tonight in Niantic

Loved the O'Niantic course so much and really enjoy the Niantic Bay Boardwalk, so I combined the two for this four miler. It's about 50 degrees right now and there should be a little breeze coming in off the water, but I don't anticipate it getting too cold:

Race Report: O'Niantic 5k

We had a blast at this race. Not only were the costumes fun and outrageous, the course was flat and FAST. In fact, we both now have new PRs!

Here are a few photos.

Next race is probably the Run the Reservoir 15k in Scituate on March 28th.

O'Niantic

Great run at the O'Niantic yesterday. Photos and the route on the way!

Tonight's Run

Going for 4 miles on the bike path tonight. Hoping it's not too cold and that we'll see some deer or something. (NOT skunks!) This daylight savings thing bites in the morning but has been awesome for our running schedule at night.

St. Patrick's Runs in New England

We'll be running the O'Niantic 5k and Wee Mile this weekend in our green and shamrocks, but there are a ton of races to celebrate in New England. Here are a few:

Thursday, March 12th
Shamrock 5 Mile Tempo/Fun Run
Irish American Club, 147 Main Street, Woburn, MA, 6:35pm


Saturday, March 14th
O'Niantic 5k & Wee Mile
Methodist Street, Niantic, CT 9:30am

Lucky Leprechaun 5k
Amalfi Restaurant, Water Street, Rockland, ME, 11:00am

Shamrock Shuffle
Lebanon City Hall, 51 North Park Street, Lebanon, NH, 12:00pm


Sunday, March 15th
St. Patrick's Day 5k Road Race and Walk
Boys & Girls Club, Corner of West 6th and F Streets, South Boston, MA, 10:00am

Max's O'Hartford 5k & Wee Mile
185 Asylum Street, Hartford, CT, 12:30pm


Saturday, March 21st
St. Pats 5k
Rhode Island State House, Smith Street, Providence, RI, 11:30am

7th Annual Shamrock Run & Walk
Chippens Hill Middle School, 551 Peacedale Street, Bristol, CT 9:30am

34th Annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Road Race (10k)
Maple and Lyman Streets, Holyoke, MA, 1:00pm

Send us your favorites!

Race Report: Train to End Stroke 5k

We LOVED this run!

Started at 6:00pm at the Harp & Hound in Mystic, CT and by our GPS was just under a 5k along the Mystic River. Beautiful scenery, great weather, fun people - no bibs, no t-shirts, just a great time. TONS of raffle prizes and great food afterwards. Also plenty of Guinness on tap, which we took advantage of. (left)

The run takes you up Pearl Street in Mystic and along the Mystic River to just past where the river runs under I-95. You're looking at some great coastline scenery, beautiful historic homes, boat launches, and a view of Mystic Seaport from across the river.

It seemed as though this run used to be in February, but with nearly 60 degree weather and daylight at the start, I can't imagine running this a month earlier.

Stay tuned, we will definitely be running this one next year.

If you live close to southeastern Connecticut, check out JogNewLondon.com -- our friends from the site joined us for this race (right). That site has great running routes for the area, and a complete race calendar for most of Connecticut and Rhode Island along with a slew of running resources.

Course map is below.

6 Miles at Roger Williams Park

Despite what you might think about Roger Williams Park, it's full of hills. None of the hills on this route were particularly long or steep, but there were a bunch of them.

Today, all of the streets were free of snow, and a lot of the sidewalks were fine too. You really can run right in the road, except in a couple of high-traffic areas. Or, areas that are highly trafficked with geese --- they are NOT afraid of you, so you're better off if you run around them instead of assuming they'll get out of your way. (Learned that lesson today.)

We found it best to park at the carousel where there's plenty of parking and open restrooms and start the route from there, but you can really park wherever you want and do the loop.

You also might want to drive the route to orient yourself before running it as there aren't a lot of street signs to be found.

The route offers plenty of scenery, lots of statues (you can read about some of them and the park's history here), gardens, waterfowl and horses.

Great Run, Close to Rhode Island

Celebrate the extended daylight on Sunday, March 8th at the Train to End Stroke Mystic Moon River Run / Walk.

The race starts at 6:00pm from the Harp & Hound Tavern on Pearl Street in Mystic and ends there as well. The tavern is located in downtown Mystic and is a great little authentic Irish pub, one of our favorites.

It's a 5k, $20 donation to benefit the American Stroke Association.

More details and the registration form here.

For directions to the Harp & Hound, click here.

We're Registered!

We're all set for the Willow Tree Half Marathon in Providence on Sunday, May 3rd as part of Cox Rhode Races.

Here's the link for more info and to register.

Has anyone run this race before? Got any feedback on the course? Anyone planning to run it this year?

We've been doing our long runs on Saturdays or Sundays, so as we continue to plan those, we'll post them here to see if anyone's interested in joining us!

Snow, Slush and Yuck!

On the way to work this morning I saw a hard-core runner out on the snowy shoulders of the road. The weather obviously does NOT bother him.

At first I felt pretty wimpy, if this guy can do it, why don't I?

Then turning a corner, I skidded in a pile of slush, and while it wasn't anything major, I did swerve quite a bit on the road and realized that the skid could just have easily ended up pushing my car right into the runner.

I hate running in the snow. I hate the slippery feeling under my feet, the constant feeling that cars won't see me, won't give me enough room or will hit me.

Anyone know of some indoor running spots in Rhode Island? Indoor tracks? Something other than a treadmill?

6ish Miles in Providence

Sunday we tried out a variation of a Providence route that we found on MapMyRun.com. We started at India Point Park, where there's a public lot. The parking lot is across the street from the Radisson Providence at 220 India Ave.

The park is nice, some pathways around the perimeter, and Brown's boathouse is located there too. I have a feeling if it wasn't winter, things would have been a lot more active there.

The first mile of this route was a little "eh" on the scenery. You run under some new highway construction and Gano Street had a bunch of vacant buildings, building with graffiti etc. Add to that the fact that you're going up hill for the first mile too.

But the rest was very nice. You can choose any road on the map as a cut-over to Blackstone Boulevard, and by then, you're going past some beautiful homes. Blackstone is a divided road with a gravel sometimes asphalt path down the middle. Plenty of trees, other runners, people walking their dogs. It was a chilly and somewhat dreary day and there were still lots of other people out being active.

The last mile is quick, all downhill.