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Friday, April 15, 2011

Bill Rodgers' favorite places to run in New England

Bill Rodgers, if you don't know, won the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon four times each. He is a legend.
Reading Boston.com this week has been great. With Marathon Monday just days away, they've done a great job of including all sorts of interesting running related stories.
Today, there was a feature on Bill Rodgers' favorite places to run in New England. I found it of particular interest. And since this blog serves more as a personal diary that only myself and two of my best friends and running buddies read, its not out of bounds for me to include regional-only information. Can't wait to try some of these.


Farm Pond Loop in Sherborn
I lived in Sherborn for about twenty-three years and have logged many miles on the rolling roads of the town. The lanes are beautiful and shady and the scenery ranges from fields to farms to forests. In any season the place is so varied and interesting that it often helped make the sometimes long miles of training there much more enjoyable. My favorite course we called the Farm Pond Loop. You can park anywhere in the center of town and head East on Route 16 for about a mile until you reach Lake Street. The road then winds through the woods and farms with beautiful views of the water of Farm Pond. Circling Farm Pond and back to town is a 9 to 10 mile run. Friends from Arizona. once described this course as “a religious experience”. I’d have to agree.

Boston Common
I started running when I was fifteen and one of my favorite experiences then was to run around my neighborhood of Newington Connecticut in December with my brother and my friends and look at all the Christmas lights and decorations. It was this memory that started the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run years ago with the intent to look at the Christmas lights of Boston, especially Boston Common, have some fun and maybe raise some money for a good cause.. We started with just a few friends and would go jog around the Common to see the lights and sing carols and in few short years, our numbers grew into the many hundreds but the joyful spirit still remained the same. I still love to run around the Common and see the lights of the city, the greenery, the Swan Boats. I don’t know the exact distance around the park, but I do know it encompasses fifty acres. Perfect for an easy and uplifiting scenic run.

New Hampshire Seacoast
Until recently, I didn’t even know New Hampshire had a seacoast. In eighteen beautiful miles between Massachusetts and Maine, it provides not only fantastic ocean views and breezes, winding un-crowded paths and walkways, but even a few public “pitstop” places, (in summer anyway); an invaluable asset for a long training run. You can park at either end of this course: Odiorne Park in Portsmouth on the Northern end or North Hampton Beach toward the Southern end. Little Boars Head in North Hampton has sweeping views across the Atlantic out to the Isles of Shoals as you ascend the high cliff walkway above the ocean. You can run any distance out and back on the eighteen mile stretch and soak in the beauty with the ocean air.

Mount Washington Hotel/Bretton Woods New Hampshire
A list of great New England running would be sorely lacking if it did not include any of the fantastic trails we have. One of my favorite things about New England is its abundance of nature. A stunning example of this is the Mount Washington area in New Hampshire; where the trees seem to go on forever. Of course, the skyline isn’t bad either – a spectacular vista of snow-capped mountains seems, to me, the very definition of “scenic”. I have had the pleasure of running some of these trails, ones that began at the very backdoor of the Mt. Washington Hotel and wound their way into the expansive greenery of the mountainside. This trail features some excellent sights, including a rushing river, high stone cliffs and quiet moss-covered vales. My brother, Charlie, used to call it “The Lord of the Rings” run which always seemed appropriate. There is no real set distance to these trails so you can make your loop as long or short as you like – just be sure not to get lost!

Lake Champlain, Vermont
I was first introduced to this area via the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon and it’s been a favorite of mine ever since. The course starts in Battery Park, in Burlington which is a great, friendly city and runs up the Vermont side of Lake Champlain. It’s a beautiful route, having views of both the Green mountains of Vermont and the Adirondacks of New York State. Lake Champlain itself is also quite a sight, especially in the summer when people come out in droves to relax, walk and run along it’s edge. You can go as far as you like, even to Canada if you’re feeling ambitious! All in all it’s a great spot for sightseeing, meeting new people and of course, running.

Ocean Avenue Loop, Newport, RI
I’ve made several visits to Newport and I always follow some version of the Ocean State Marathon course which starts going south along Bellevue Avenue. This is an interesting course, not only because of the nearness of the ocean but also because of the rows of unbelievable mansions lining the street. From there I take Ocean Avenue along the coast, which is wonderful in the summer because it supplies a steady cool breeze, and keep going past the Benton Point State Park onto Castle Hill Avenue and finally, Harrison Avenue. Harrison Avenue will bring you back to Bellevue for a solid 9 1/2 mile loop of very enjoyable running. This might seem like a lengthier jog, but the terrain here is so flat and smooth that it’s a real pleasure to do.

Bar Harbor, Maine/Acadia National Park
Running camps are a great way to explore new training territory and that’s how I discovered this awesome place to run. Bar Harbor Maine and Acadia National Park contain 127 miles of trails with 57 miles of gravel roads originally designed for horse-drawn carriages. This affords a great off-road experience without the usual sprained ankles that often come with the rockier hiking trails. If you’re anything like me though, you’ll want to bring some friends with a good sense of direction or a really good GPS system. It’s not quite as beautiful when you’re hopelessly lost.

Bushnell Park, Connecticut
Running is one of the best ways to explore any city. You get a feel for the layout, the people, the architecture and the culture of the place. In Hartford, where I was born, is a jewel of a park that is within sight of Mark Twain’s mansion where my great-grandfather worked as his gardener. Obviously I’m rather connected to this place! I re-discovered this connection through my association with the Hartford Marathon which begins at Bushnell Park. A few times around the 1.27-mile loop provides a pleasant little training run.

Jamaica Pond/The Emerald Necklace, Boston
Contrary to popular belief Jamaica Pond is nowhere near Jamaica and “The Emerald Necklace” is not a Dharma station. It is, however, a great place to run. Hardly a day went by in the 70’s and 80’s when I did not run some variation of this course. My training partners and I would start at my old store at Cleveland Circle, wind our way through the Chestnut Hill neighborhoods and through the Greenway designed by Frederick Law Olmsted until we reached Jamaica Pond. The 1.7 mile loop around the pond is filled with a never-ending stream of walkers, runners and those out just enjoying the day. Thanks to Olmsted’s environmentally-forward thinking, we have a true oasis in the middle of our city, one that everyone, runner and otherwise, can enjoy forever.

Cape Elizabeth, Maine
My experience here began with an invitation from Joan Benoit Samuelson to run the Beach to Beacon 10K. It’s a great road race with a fantastic course that I enjoy running in training as well. The route begins near Crescent Beach State Park in Cape Elizabeth and moves toward Fort Williams before finally finishing at the Portland Head Lighthouse. The rolling course varies from oceanfront to shaded neighborhoods to the spectacular lighthouse on the bluff. It’s only too bad that the training runs don’t end the same way as the race itself: with a big, New England clambake.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Cross Training

Good news! I had my Physical Therapist friend take a look (and a poke, and a twist, and a bend) at my ankle, and he's confident that there is nothing seriously wrong with it. The pain I am experiencing is not a stress fracture or what Curt Schilling had or anything of the sort.
However, that doesn't mean I can stop doing all the right things. (i.e. increasing mileage and speed gradually, icing it, and staying away from uneven surfaces)
One thing I know I can do is add some cross training. Especially if I cut back a bit on mileage as I do that. But my ankle is not going to get worse if I play tennis or hike.
Fortunately for me, it just got wicked nice out this week. And I just purchased a rowing machine. And i just finished a rest week and feel great. Perfect combination for me to have a very productive week of working out.
Here is the training I've scheduled for myself this week.

Monday- lift + rowing machine
Tuesday- 3 mi + lift
Wednesday- 3 mi + 6 mi elliptical
Thursday- 3 mi + mountain biking
Friday- rest
Saturday- hiking/ trail running
Sunday- 13 mi long run

I'm going to burn hella calories this week. And I have no plans to throw out any of that work with binge drinking or eating either!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

It's April!

Can you believe it? Its already April. April means running outside, probably the entire month! Since I have never been a serious runner at this point in April, (I probably started my memorial day 1/2 marathon training last year 6 weeks out, around the 15th) I am going through a few things that are new to me, just like I did with winter running.
Specifically, rain. And, actually, here in Massachusetts, the snow. Yeah it snowed 5 inches between Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1. But by now I'm used to snow. Snow usually has an easy solution- get your ass to the gym and try not to go insane on the treadmill.
Rain, though, makes for a more difficult decision. If its a light rain, its no problem. If its completely pouring, probably not. If its in between, wing it and hope you don't get too wet? I guess?
Thats what I've been doing. Last week I ran inside when I could've run outside because it looked like it was about to come down hard. Today the rain stopped a few hours before my lunch break, and it seemed like it might hold off at least an hour so I went for it, and came back drenched. I was unprepared too- I wore my white basketball pants which could win me some wet t contests. And I wore my running shoes to work, so I had to slosh around in wet shoes for the rest of the day.
Another problem I've had to deal with is dressing appropriately for the temperature. I am starting to hone in on the right combinations of layers, etc, but it is truly an art. I'm good below 35 and above 55 but its all the stuff in between I'm not sure of. And it seems like I'm both too hot and too cold when it is around 45.
These are some of the things you learn by doing. Now I know why runners buy running pants. Recently I learned why runners ease into a new routine, even if it seems pretty harmless to run a few more miles. I know why runners are so fussy about their shoes, and why, unlike body builders, they're not scared of carbs.
Early spring running is what seems to separate the men from the boys. Not as extreme as winter running but I have to say that anyone who starts a training program right now (not just running when its nice out) is probably for real.