Pioneer Valley Trails

Runs on the Holyoke Range (semi-Sisters, etc.) have been a staple in the training diet for a while. During the past few weeks I was lucky to explore some "new" options there and at the Mt. Tom Reservation with TM and TW.

Tim Mahoney put this one together and it makes for a good 2 hrs. The high point (not literally) is the cliff edge traverse on the M&M heading south to the towers. Definitely not a headlamp or snowshoe run.











Last Thursday, still recovering from the Grindstone 100, TW suggested a route on the south side of the Holyoke Range. The idea was to run out to Lithia Springs Reservoir then up to Tayler Notch, take the M&M back to the Low Place, then down and out. Instead we took the Black Rock trail up to the ridge to meet the M&M. Neither of us had been on it before and it turned out to be the runs high point. A sweet vista looking back to the Res. as well as some cool rock formations.








Time to look closer at all those maps DCR has online.

Off Road Folks

Just a reminder that here in the Commonwealth of Mass we are into whitetail season. Archery opened on Oct. 12 and runs until Nov. 21.
Shotgun and then muzzleloader season run from Nov.30 - Dec. 31.

Leave the white apparel at home
Wear something blaze orange
SHARE THE WOODS

The Rest of September

Before too much more time goes by and I totally forget the month of September here's a few tidbits to share.
Except for the Greylock race on Labor Day, the rest of the month was just a continuation of what will be dubbed "the year that wasn't" come December 31st.

Ran my worst time out of 9 years at the 5k Summit Race on Mt. Holyoke on Sept.14. A full 1:22 slower than 2008.
The one interesting thing that day was a young lad ringing the ol' Bevin bell on the last incline. I've always thought they had a place at mountain races particularly on the descent at Cranmore and Northfield. When my daughter was involved in Inter Club ski racing all us parents dutifully set out along the course and at the finish line making a bit of noise.
Seems they might not be too offensive at the finish line of a snowshoe race or the descent on Curly's.
Curious if mountain races in Europe encourage a bit of bell ringing.






Spent the next two weeks fighting off some cold/virus. Good fortune just won't quit this year.

On the 26th I decided to run at Mt. Toby. The loop starts at Cranberry Pond and makes its rolling way over to Reservoir Rd. in Sunderland then continues up to the intersection with the jeep road that leads to the fire tower. Run up to the tower (or not) and then 3 miles down the jeep road, cut off on a trail that follows the shore of the pond and back to the beginning.
When I reached Reservoir Rd. some folks there said word was a black bear was seen just off the trail not quite a mile up. Checked my watch and took a guess at how long before I might cross paths with the bruin. Slowed a bit and had my ears peeled. When your actually concentrating on seeing wildlife it's amazing how even the rustle of squirrels can sound like a larger four legged. Anyway fifteen plus minutes up the trail I did stop for some noise in the leaves and there only 20 yds to my left was the bear. We sort of stared at each other and then when I took a picture it bolted at the shutter sound. It went broadside at that point and my best guess was that it went about 150lbs.
The photo was taken offhand with a small autofocus point and shoot so said bruin isn't much more than a blurry black mass.
Shortly after my encounter with this bear I had what I called a Bear Grylls moment.
I began to have a nerve problem in my foot that caused one toe to feel like it was being stabbed with each push off. I've had this happen before but the onset is usually not so sudden. The remedy is to prop up the dropped metatarsal on that toe. Problem was I hadn't brought along any sticky back felt or Moleskin foam to put on the insole. The second problem was it would have taken too long to walk out to the truck and I had help coming over to help stack wood when I got home.
So Bear time. Stop, access the situation, see what raw materials the forest has to offer. (Bear probably would have taken his knife and severed the nerve while biting on a branch)


Maybe a stick. No, too uncomfortable and won't stay in place.
Maybe some moss rolled in a leaf. No, won't hold up.
Maybe I should have brought some tape. No wait this is Bear Grylls time.
Maybe the gel in my pocket. Yes, eat the gel, fold up the foil pouch and with the aid of some oozing gel stick it to my foot, put the sock back on and run out. It took about five minutes to settle out but it worked.

So that about did it for September. Pathetic mileage, couldn't hit 3 digits. There's still a couple months before snowshoe racing starts so the year may not be a total write off.










PS: Added a little slide show and ripped off Dbl J's weather widget.

Old Eyes

The 'ol eyes can't seem to focus too well on white text with a black background these days so here's a new template/color scheme.
As cool as the white on black looks, , I'll be leaving it for the young guys.

Mt Greylock Auto Rd. Race

Prompted some by an email from Tim Mahoney and from being chastised* by TW a while back, I drove out to the Berkshires on Labor Day to run the 34th Greylock Rd. Race. I don't know much about it's history except that it started in 1975 and that road construction has precluded it's legal running the past two years.
The race begins at Mt. Williams Reservoir in North Adams and runs uphill at an average grade of 6.9% for 8 miles to the summit of the mountain (3,491'). The road is open to auto traffic during the race but that never seemed to be a problem. A no frills event with a $10 entry and some refreshments at the top drew 71 runners to the line on Monday.
After registering and finding out the start was at 10 and not 10:30 (don't know where I got that from) I went out for a warm up with the Tim and Abby. We ran the first 1.5 miles from the start line to the gate at the park entrance and back. We were surprised by the grade. For some reason we figured it wouldn't be as steep. Turns out the first 4 miles were steeper and tougher than I anticipated.

Bob Dion gives us a few instructions, mostly pertaining to the cars we'll be sharing the road with, and then off we go.
Tim took the race out and expanded his lead to the end winning with a time of 56:13.
Abby (Mrs. Mahoney) won the women's race with a 66:08. They'll both be at the Summit Run this coming weekend so look for another win by these two.
My own race went better than expected. Not exactly 2008 standards but passable non the less. The fast guys (Martin, Rob, et al) stayed home so I took the M50 with a 65:37. Joe Fois caught me in the last 400 meters or so and we had a fun sprint to the line that Joe won. The results don't look like it but it happened.
After a walk up to the top of the Memorial Tower (for a foggy view) and a stop in Bascom Lodge we ran the road back down. I was hoping for trails but Abby needed the road miles for her marathon training so pavement it was.

It never ceases to amaze me how I manage to overlook all these gems close to home. At about an hour and twenty from Amherst, the Mt Greylock Reservation has quite a lot to offer. I've mapped out a nice 12 mile, 3 peak trail run for my next sortie.

I know this race is a Labor Day tradition but it would be GREAT to see Dave and Bob somehow work it out so this event replaced the somewhat overpriced Pack race in the Mt. Series. I'm sure parking would be the biggest problem but these guys are smart; I'm sure they could work out some sort of shuttle.



* It won't have the same effect here (and you don't care anyway but this is my little corner of cyberspace) but the message TW left on my answering machine a week or so ago was priceless.
The transcript goes something like this:
" Paul (pause), Todd, You can't hide forever man, I'll hunt you down. Come out and play.........."
Now if that don't get your butt in gear.......