Tuesday, June 24, 2014

New Northampton Route

I have really been struggling lately because I'm getting tired of the same routes.  I know them all too well, even though there are many options around here.  Of course, the hot and muggy weather isn't helping either.

It took me a long time to get out there.  Eventually, I did run in the late afternoon.  I had started mapping out some routes in Northampton.  I was hoping to take several different trail options there.  I hoped that maybe I wouldn't get as bored.  When doing that, I noticed that the D&L goes south along the river and is paved for a bit anyway.  I had never realized that before.  We ran there during the half marathon, but it was on the road next to it.

I was at least excited to try this new route and see how far south I could go.  It was in the mid 80s again and humid.  Of course I went shirtless and of course I was soaked by the end of this 10 miler. 

I parked at an elementary school across from Northampton High School.  It was next to their baseball fields.  That meant that I could get some extra distance through town.  I ran out to Main Street to start and then crossed over it.

I went to Route 329 and then turned down Canal Street.  After that, I was on to the D&L.  It is a nice paved section along a park.  There was a row of trees with some shade.  The trail did have some minor up and down.

The first mile was fairly quick.  I wasn't trying to push at all, but I was feeling good and enjoying the change of scenery.  I didn't look at my watch too often at this point.  I continued on.  Some people were hanging out.  Others were getting ready for baseball.  I passed a few walkers and slow runners.  I also crossed paths with a young girl running.

I cruised along.  Some people were even swimming in part of the river.  That sounded nice as I was already sweating.  The paved trail went out about 2 miles.  Then, it ended.  That was what I figured when I looked at the map.

I was encouraged earlier when there was a sign for the D&L to Hanover Township.  I knew it went there, but I wasn't sure how.  After the pavement ended, it was on to a dirt singletrack.  That was awesome.  The river was on one side.  I had lots of shade and the trail was fairly fast.

The only thing that worried me is it was kind of remote and seemed like an area that troublemaking youths would hangout.  I did see some later, but they weren't nearby.  I enjoyed this section a lot and there were some off shoot trails too.

Shortly before 2.5 miles into the run, I the trail became a little overgrown.  I decided to go to an off shoot trail.  When there is less brush, I'll have to run this main part farther.

As I turned off the trail, a guy came running downhill.  I then came out on a railroad track.  I figured that the guy came from somewhere, so I ran down the tracks a bit and found another singletrack.  There were a bunch of trails in there.  It looked like riding trails.  I didn't want to get too lost, so I simply turned around.  I had gone out far enough.

This dirt section was fun, but it did slow me a bit.  I was quite hot too.  The miles seemed to take awhile.  Eventually, I was back on pavement, but still overheating.

I didn't want to go back to my car and only be at 5 miles, so I crossed over the river.  I decided that I would run the D&L Cementon section for a bit.  I got over the road smoothly and was on the trail in no time.

It was very hot in the beginning with no shade.  Not long into the run, I had a massive cliff blocking the sun.  That was a huge relief.  I had run a couple sub 7:30 miles, but was now going a little slower.

I kept doing the math in my head to figure out which mile I'd end up back at my car at.  I kept trying to push another half mile or more.  I saw a couple guys running.  I wasn't feeling all that great.  I was burping my lunch a lot.

Most of the rest of this run had shade, but the sun was peaking in between the trees, so it wasn't as good as the cliff section.  I turned around at 6.1 miles, right before some people that were walking their dogs.

It was good to be headed back.  I was beat though and struggling.  My pace wasn't falling off at least.  However, I was burping and coughing a lot.  I tried to drink more, but that didn't help much.

One good thing was that I was slowly reeling in one of the runners that I saw earlier.  I wasn't trying to catch him, but I was going much faster.  He heard me at one point and turned around.  Shortly after that, I blew past him.  That was a good feeling.

I was now past mile 7, and approaching mile 8 as I crossed over the river.  I didn't want to go back to my car yet, since I was feeling a little better.  Plus, heading there meant some heat running (because of lack of shade).  I decided to go back on the paved canal section.

That was good and I ran out for about half a mile or so.  By now, I'd be almost done when I got back to my car.  I turned around and headed back up the canal.

Near Main Street, I got to mile 9.  It was hot, but my pace wasn't dropping.  I ran along Main Street for a bit.  I was looking for the road to the school, but wasn't sure which one it was.  I figured that it was named differently.

I ended up going past it, so I had to go around the block.  That added some extra distance and it worked out perfectly.  I finished up mile 10 right at my car.  It was a tough workout in the heat, but great to be done.  I'm adapting to the heat now, but I don't think I'll ever get used to it.  I'm always soaked afterward too.

Tomorrow, I'd really like to run hard.  That would require me to get up early and head to Riverview.  I'm hoping that I can do that and then run a second run later in the day.  I think we are supposed to get storms.  It will also be hot and humid the rest of the week.  That is both good (for my heat training) and awful (because I hate it).

10 miles - 1:16:58 (7:42 pace)

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