There's a beautiful wetland that the trail passes through right near the beginning of the course I run. Down a little further, you pass over the Salmon River, a waterway protected by the Connecticut General Statutes. I believe the state built the bridge over the river. I plan on running out there tomorrow morning. I'll let you know all about my run later this weekend.
Ken
Unfortunately, I was unable to get to the Airline Trail due to time constraints. I did go to the Hop River Rail Trail though. I arrived at the trail on Saturday morning at 9:00 am. The temperature was around 60 degrees F and it was sunny. There were very few of the regular Sunday crowd. However, I was surprised by the number of cars in the parking lot. The vast majority of the people there were riding bikes.
As I was doing my pre-run stretches, a gentleman finished his walk. I recognized him once he neared the picnic table. His name is Ed. He is recuperating from shoulder surgery. His orthopedic surgeon is the same guy I used to repair my knees, Dr. Dan Veltri. He admitted that it's been difficult being patient while his shoulder healed. But he didn't want to have another setback so he was following doctor's orders- no running for 4 months. I knew what he was going through but things could have been worse.
I said goodbye and headed off for my 6 mile run. My energy level was good. I quickly got into a rhythm and cruised along at a 7:57 min/mile pace for the first mile. Just after crossing over Tunnel Road, I picked up the pace a bit. This is where the pitch of the trail starts to rise. By the time I reached the 2 mile mark, I had covered the distance in 15: 52. My pace had increased slightly despite the incline. I thought about my friend, Gary, who's house is along the trail at the 1.5 mile mark. He has a full house now since his wife's daughter and her four kids moved in. I think, in spite of the obvious chaos that occurs when things like this happen, he's enjoying the company.
By the time I reached the three mile mark, I had seen numerous birds, several squirrels, a chipmunk, and four dogs. My time was 23:39, the same as last week. This is a 7:53 min/mile pace. Not bad for an uphill trail run.
On the return trip, I was able to shave off ten seconds from my time last week or 22:39. This is a 7:33 min/mile pace and I covered the last mile in 7:24. I briefly talked to a young female runner as she was preparing to start her run. I headed home about 10:00 am with a sense of accomplishment knowing that I just trimmed ten seconds off my PR for the return trip.
How was your last run/workout? I'm interested.
Ken
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