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.

Bike Path Farm Loop

Time: 70:30
Distance: 11 mi.
Map


Dry cornfields along the side of Moody Bridge Road, about 6 miles into the run

Morning run with a slight variation of a run that I did this summer. There were actually two main differences between the two runs: first, that day had a heat advisory and this morning was 30 degrees as I was heading out the door; second, I went back Moody Bridge and Pomeroy instead of past Mill River. Due to the cold weather and some wind coming across the farm fields my legs were a bit stiff the whole way. My right glute and hip flexor were a bit tired and getting sore by the end of the run. I got the pace going a little bit, averaging 6:25 for the whole run, and running the Station Road mile in 6:10.

I listened to Wolf Parade's 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary straight through, as well as the first half of At Mount Zoomer, which came out earlier this year. I haven't really given the new album a chance yet, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard today--particularly Call It A Ritual.

Back From Northampton

Time: 63:30
Distance: 9.5 mi.
Map


The bridge at the Northampton end of the bike path

Fairly easy distance run back from Northampton where I was dropping off my parents' car to get repaired. I started the first mile on the bike path, before heading over towards Moody Bridge Road. It was nice to zone out mentally on the time/distance knowing that I just had to make it home. The hammy felt surprisingly good, probably assisted by 30 minutes of heated seats before the run.

Moody Bridge

Time: 82:30
Distance: 12 mi.

Early morning run out through the South Amherst common to near the end of Moody Bridge and back. I felt alright, but was coughing up a lot of crap throughout the run still. There was a lot of fog which made the corn fields along this run look eerie. It only started to burn off right as I was getting back around 8:45.

Moody Bridge, Bay Road, 116

Time: 93:30
Distance: 14 mi.
Map


Cows at a farm along Bay Road

Solo morning run from the house. I started out heading towards Moody Bridge Road, not knowing where I might end up but not particularly enthused about the prospect of running for 90+ minutes. Of course, once I got out there there was nothing I would really prefer to be doing, except towards the end when my legs got very stiff and tired. Instead of making this an out-and-back to the end of Moody Bridge, I turned left on Bay Road and made a loop up around Hampshire College and 116. I finished going Potwine to Middle Street and South East Street and Station Road.

An ice bath would've been nice after this... my legs, right hip, and lower back are all quite sore.

Moody Bridge, Bay Road, West Street

Time: 119:11
Distance: 18.5 mi.
Map

Quality long run. Switched this to today to keep from interfering with travel plans tomorrow. Headed out not knowing quite where I was headed but I figured out a good run on the fly that ended up being damn close to 2 hours. It took a little time to get warmed up and going, but once I got out to Moody Bridge I started rolling along at a pretty steady place, probably just a bit over 6 min. pace most of the way back. The notoriously fast downhill Station Road mile was 5:45.

To break up the monotony of doing this run alone I took along some music, which I usually don't really like, but was a nice diversion. I just put the iPod on shuffle with everything that is on it, which was a bit weird because I would get a pretty random collection of songs (e.g. Notorious B.I.G. followed by Wilco).