Reverse Pelham Hills Loop

Time: 70:50
Distance: 10.5 mi.
Map

Hilly afternoon run in Amherst. I was undecided about where to go, and only decided on this loop as I was heading along Harkness. It was a good decision as I really like this loop, though I am pretty run down from the last week (and still somewhat dehydrated and underfed), so the hills "found me out" a bit (a Bill Bowerman expression). The run was only interrupted by having to shout down and then outrun two dogs near the top of Gulf Road.

I ran with some music again, this time getting through selections from the Notorious B.I.G. classics Ready To Die and Life After Death. So many of the songs on these albums are stories that I felt like I was basically listening to an audio version of a gangster movie. Things could be worse.

Also, there's an article in Slate about John L. Parker Jr.'s classic running novel "Once A Runner" that is worth reading, though I have to say that I disagree with the author's dismay that the book is going back into print. If anyone reading this hasn't had a chance to read "Once A Runner," you'll be able to grab a new copy in April (for less than $100).

Pelham Hills, North Valley

Time: 99:00
Distance: 14 mi.
Map (approximate)

This is about as hilly of a run as I could've done. I'm not sure exactly why I chose that, as my legs were sore from the workout on hills yesterday, but it's a fairly nice loop. In under an hour (~8 miles) I climbed about 850 feet. My legs were fairly tired on the way down. And I was dehydrated.

Pelham Hills

Time: 84:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Map

Pre-Christmas gathering morning run back into the Pelham hills not far from the hilly sections of my Sunday run. Definitely still feeling the effects of that this morning as my quads seemed totally shot, especially coming back down. Turned around at the church at Amherst Road.

Johnny G used to give us Christmas off, and there was some debate about whether we should really take it off or not...

Pratt Corner Loop

Time: 126:15
Distance: 19.5 mi.
Map

"The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat." - Bill Squires

Back up to the two hour mark with a long run through Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury, Leverett on the roads the run the periphery of Amethyst Brook. The first half of this run is almost relentlessly uphill--never super steep but almost no steps down and coming back down on Pratt Corner was a bit dicey in sections as the dirt sections still had a lot of snow on them so despite a pretty good effort the whole way it wasn't too fast. The pounding coming down wasn't terrible, but my legs started to get pretty tired at 90 minutes. I hit 2 hours exactly at the one mile mark from home on Old Farm Road and ran the last mile in 6:15.


Elevation of the first 8 miles of the run