Brook-side trail biking

This afternoon two other people from my lab and I went for trail biking by a brook near Haystack. Two of us from the group had done this before. The fall colors are now starting to show. Couldn't resist taking some pictures along the way.





Here's the map - notice Haystack (my lab) on the lower right corner (just above Terms of Use)


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13.6 miles on Rail Trail

Well, we did it today, a little more than the half marathon distance. We did the entire Bruce Freeman trail end to end back and forth. We started at the Chelmsford center, went to the Lowell end that is 1.8 miles one way. I liked that those 3.6 miles felt like nothing more than a warm-up. Our pace still wasn't great - 15 minutes/mile, but that should improve. The last 2 miles were the hardest. I wasn't tired, but my legs were. I couldn't feel them by the end. But it feels good to have done the whole distance.



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The hills are...

...alive with the colors of foliage! It was the hill workout day. I used my downhill running to chase the falling leafs. So fun :)



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10 mile Saturday

Another 10 mile run today on the rail trail. This time at the end we didn't feel like we were dying, but I wouldn't mind a little more variety than the straight line trail for such a long run. It seems to never end psychologically. Next time we'll try some other paths in Westford I think.

Run in the morning, work in the afternoon, here's the result !


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Hills and fall colors

Yesterday was our hill workout day. We went to a hilly road that we've never been to before. It has pretty steep hills and there is grassland north of Keyes road. I don't know the reason, but all the trees in grasslands all around Westford have already turned colors. It makes for a spectacular sight. Our pace was okay, but in the hill workout we don't look for the overall time.


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5 mile Nabnasset loop

Not a major improvement over yesterday, but it's getting better. The mornings are chillier and the fall colors are starting to show. The grassland on our root looks so different now than in the summer. I should post some pictures.

Not sure whether it was the 3 phys therapy sessions and stretches I did, or the rest I've had, or my technique has improved, or the fact that I've found it to be a rather mental phenomenon than a physical one and have decided to ignore it, or the combination of all of the above, but my knee/shin issues have entirely disappeared. Let's see if it stays that way.


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On the road again

After a hiatus last week due to a fall followed by a crazy work week followed by a sickness, we just started running again today. We did a short 3.7 mile run along the Nabnasset lake in brisk fall weather. I have to say I was quite impressed by our 13 minutes/mile pace today - an improvement from 15 minutes.


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