Amherst Trails

Time: 52:25
Distance: 7.5

I was finally feeling decent and ready to sweat it out. It has been annoying to be in Amherst the last few days and not get in a good run, so I went right to some of the trails around the Bike Path and Amherst College. I even jumped in the river near Stanley Street.

I was feeling very positive and my lungs weren't too congested, which was nice. My left hip flexor was again worse than I would've liked it, but I did stretch it out well after the run. I'm assuming everything is no faster than 7:00 right now. I timed the first mile in months for the last bit of this run and (admittedly picking up the pace a little bit) ran just under 6:30.

Wednesday-Saturday

I wanted to stop over-thinking everything I could the week of the race, so I stopped really paying much attention to recording or worrying about exactly how much running I could get in. In this span, I ran twice or three times, including a nice pre-race run in Austin the day before with the crew in town for the race.

Echo Hill Loop

Time: 45:11
Distance: 6.5 mi.
Map

Easy 45 minute run in Amherst through Echo Hill. I was neurotically thinking about how my sesamoid felt and I did sense a bit of tightness, but there was really no pain during the run.

I loaded up the iPod with some Ratatat beats to try to keep my mind clear.

Damn I'm Cold

Time: 56:40
Distance: 8.25 mi.

Early morning run before leaving Amherst, hopefully somewhat permanently. My legs were a bit shot from yesterday's run and it was 7 degrees when I headed out the door fairly well bundled up. I was hoping to get in 60-70 minutes, but I was stiff, cold and tired, so when the loop brought me back towards the house, I just finished it up.

And without further ado: Bun B and Lil' Wayne - Damn I'm Cold

Sixty Second Hills

Time: 88:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: 12 x ~300m hill (actually probably 290m), 4 comfortable / 4 hard / 4 harder
Workout: 65.2, 66.0, 62.1, 62.6 (avg: 64.0); 60.6, 61.1, 61.6, 58.3 (avg: 60.4); 59.4, 58.6, 57.4, 56.2 (avg: 57.9); rest between 75 and 90 seconds running down

First time I've gotten out for a hill workout in this training cycle, and it felt pretty good. I started from Puffer's Pond and ran up past the starting point for the hills so that I could get in a 25 minute warmup. The hill, starting at Market Hill and going up the first section of Flat Hills Road isn't too steep, but is a steady grade until the top where I went up and over. I finished with 35 minutes easy back to the car.

Moody Bridge

Time: 99:45
Distance: 15.5 mi.
Map


Light snow covering the Mt. Holyoke range, just south of Moody Bridge


Dirt section of Moody Bridge Road

Out and back run on Moody Bridge road and out to RT-47. Feeling a little bit guilty about taking yesterday off, I vowed to get in a mid-week medium long run today. The weather was quite nice, and despite some random shin tightness in the first 5 miles and some standard piriformis tightness/soreness towards the end I felt fairly good. I am a bit dehydrated, though, which didn't help me feel sharp. I kept the pace up for the last few miles, getting down to 6:05 on Station Road and 5:40 through Amherst Woods.

I queued up the new TV On The Radio album Dear Science, which I will admit is very good (despite being inclined to be skeptical about any indie music that Pitchfork loves) and kept the energy up throughout the run.

I took the photos here later in the day when I was out doing some errands. I am the proud owner of a nice new DSLR, so hopefully I'll be able to post more original running-related photos when I get the chance.

UMass

Time: 81:45
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Map

Dave Burnham drove down from his parents' house where he is hanging out for winter break. We got in a nice easy run through Echo Hill to UMass and back through the center of Amherst. The sidewalks still aren't completely clear and the shoulders aren't well plowed, so we had to jump on and off the street throughout the run. Sesamoid still a little bit sore.

South Amherst Loop

Time: 69:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.
Map

Easy afternoon run with Jon Rosen (after whom the classic Rosen Loop is named) and Matt Lacey. Jon just got back from Zanzibar, and it was interesting to hear some of his stories from his time there. Man, I want to travel. Matt was in the middle of a 2 hour run and started from his house. This was a good recovery run, though I didn't feel too bad after yesterday's effort. My right sesamoid is a bit sore, which I will keep an eye on.

Super Rosen Loop Steady Run

Time: 112:46
Distance: 18.25
Map

Target: 2-3 miles warmup, 12 miles steady, 3-4 miles cooldown
Run: 2.75 miles, 12 miles averaging ~5:45, 3.5 miles

A mediocre long hard effort of 12 miles on the 7 mile Rosen Loop. My watch lost the splits somehow, but my splits ranged from 5:35 to 6:30 (a seriously uphill mile that included a GU, water, and a shirt change). The majority were in the mid-5:40s (with a few faster), so I'm going to call that the average. This loop is much more hilly than my last steady run and despite feeling great aerobically throughout I my legs felt pretty dead from the get-go. Oh well, it's another long and hard effort. I should be much better rested by the next steady effort in two weeks.

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).

Amherst Loop

Time: 76:18
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Map

Decent afternoon run in Amherst. The roads aren't completely clear from the recent snow, so I had to stay on fairly well-trafficked roads. I went out through Echo Hill to Amherst Road and did a lollypop around the high school and town before heading back.

Not Gonna Happen!

Time: 46:30
Distance: 6.25 mi.

I aborted a 2 hour run after about 25 minutes. It was 32 degrees and raining--black ice city. I guess I will have to try to get it in tomorrow.

South East Street Fartlek

Time: 47:00
Distance: 7 mi.
Map

Target: easy fartlek to get the legs going a bit
Workout: 8 x 2:00 hard / 1:00 easy

After driving back to Amherst, I got in another run. My parents had my running shoes, however, so I had to throw on some old Streak XC flats for this one. That turned out to be fine, and it was fun to have some lighter shoes on for the harder effort. I don't know how fast I was running in the hard sections, particularly because I'm fairly tired from the last few days with friends and family, but it was definitely sub-tempo pace at least. I started out trying to run on the bike path, but unlike during the last snow, it had not really been cleared. As a result, I just ended up going out and back on South East Street.

North Amherst, North Hadley

Time: 92:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

Morning run with Matt Lacey, who is back in Amherst for the holidays, from his house. He's just getting started on a training cycle for the Boston Marathon. We went north from his house, which is a nice change of pace for me in terms of Amherst runs, and did a big loop around Teawaddle Hill, across Routes 63 and 116 and back near North Hadley. We overshot our 12 mile goal by a bit, but the pace was easy and it was nice having company, so I didn't mind. My legs were tired by the end but not too sore.

Warren Wright, Bike Path

Time: 60:35
Distance: 8.5 mi.
Map


It was over 55 degrees and raining, which melted all of the snow on the bike path

Early morning run in Amherst. Luckily the temperature has gone up 50 degrees in the last two days, so it wasn't too bad. My legs are shot from the last few days, though, so I went very easy.

North Amherst, Puffer's Pond

Time: 92:23
Distance: 14 mi.
Map

I was bored. I went running for a while.

Music: Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary and At Mount Zoomer

Long Rosen Loop

Time: 67:45
Distance: 10.5 mi.
Map

Nice somewhat uptempo run on a very chilly afternoon (under 20 deg.). I got out the door at about 4:00, which left me finishing just after the sun set. I put on my Ekiden pre-race playlist, a diverse list of good energy music (which, on shuffle leads to some pretty random sequences... e.g. Lil' Wayne followed by Dwight Yoakam).

Pelham Hills, North Valley

Time: 94:10
Distance: 14.5 mi.
Map

Back to the medium long run, as I start to build my Sundays up past 20 miles. Snow had been lightly falling all morning, but the only sections of this run that were really cold were along Amherst Road where it was very windy. I did this run once at the end of July and decided it would be a good road-based 90-minute run for today. The first 8 miles are very much uphill (I ran about 7 minute pace) and the next 6.5 are predominantly downhill (I ran just over 6 minute pace). My legs and lungs both felt surprisingly good, and I very much enjoyed clearing my head and enjoying the fresh snow.

I didn't have anything to eat before I got out for the run a little after noon, so I was hurting for fuel by the middle of the run, which was a little tough. I listened to some shuffled Radiohead for the run, including "Idiotheque" a few times.

IFM in the 413

Time: 45:30
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Ian is in town for Thanksgiving, so we grabbed a jog in the middle of the day. Running around Amherst with him tends to make me a bit nostalgic, but it's nice to go with someone who knows all the routes and trails around as well as I do.

ARHS Alumni Thanksgiving Run

Time: 37:00 (?)
Distance: 5 mi.

Annual Amherst High School cross country alumni Thanksgiving run from the Keene residence. We did a loop on Mill Lane, the bike path and back through the South Amherst common. I'm turning the corner on being sick.