Sunday Run

If you’re getting ready to join in on the Sunday Morning Long Run, well, you missed it. Today at 8AM many of us met for the Easter Edition of the Sunday Long Run on Saturday.

With Erin’s car poised at water stop 1, and Nick and Rick ready to man their spots along the route to help us through the miles, the group was ready to head out the door of Brueggers… although some headed out the back door and some headed out the front door. Eventually we were all on the sidewalk posing for a quick picture of the group before heading out for a run of up to 18 miles (give or take).

Part I – Expecting windchills down to the teens, a bundled up pack of about 16 runners headed up to Melrose Common and over to the scenic Swains Pond section of Melrose. The wind was at our back though so sweat started to pour from underneath our winter hats. As we weaved back towards Main St through Malden a few gusts reminded us that although it was now Spring, it’s still New England. As we approached Main St, Nick ushered runners over to Erin’s car, where we drank up before moving on.

Part II – Cutting across Oak Grove and through the winding hills of Glenwood St, once again it was proved that no matter which was you go in Melrose you’ll hit a hill. These short ones were just warming us up for the Fellsway East. From where I was on the Fellsway you could watch the pack spread out ahead of you rising to the crest of the hills ahead before sinking out of sight downhill as if riding a long asphalt carousel. This ride took up onto the LynnFells and over to “the knoll” where Rick awaited up with an assortment of snacks and drinks at the ready. Also there was Lois, battling a coldgoing around effecting a different set of runners week by week. Get better Lois!

Part III- With a Snickers in our belly and Gatorade wetting our lips we off to follow the LynnFells to the other end. With the wind gently nudging us in the back we enjoyed the flattest part of the course for 3 miles, giving us a chance to relax before turning in to Breakheart. Before taking on that task we took a break with Nick and dropped off our hats and mittens.

Part IV – Why did we drop off those hats and mittens? A cold wind found its way through the tall pines in Breakheart and hit us squarely in the face. An unexpected effect in what is usually an area protected from wind, wet hair and sweaty clothes made this a chilly surprise. We forged on through the steep hills and across th icy slicks crossing the path in several places. Returning to the parking lot at the end of the 3 mile loop we were greeted by a field of Easter eggs. This lone sign of Spring would soon be a frenzy of little children hunting for jellybeans and Snickers. Our hunt was easier, a short jaunt over to Nick’s car for the 4th water stop of the day.

Part V - Donning the articles of clothing we had shed less than a half hour ago, we made the trek back to Melrose. This time the nudge from the wind seemed stronger and in the opposite direction, trying to keep us from making it to our destination. It’s been worse in the past few weeks, but this wind was coming later in the run on legs that were more tired. Those legs got us there, back to Rick’s car and our last binge of candy and gatorade to supply some sugars for the ride home.

Part VI – One last set of hills along the LynnFells and we were finally turning onto West Wyoming. The wind coming off of Spot Pond was blowing in our favor helping ur legs get us to downtown Melrose. Along the way, on the grass at the side of the street was an abandoned skateboard. I wondered which would be easier at this point, dragging myself through the last half mile or trying to ride a skateboard? It’s been 30 years since I’ve been on a skateboard so I opted to let my legs take me in on their own. Down Main St to Brueggers, another 18 mile run in the books, and we finished about 24 hours ahead of schedule!

Have a good Easter to all who are Eastering tomorrow! Enjoy the jellybeans and Snickers you usually have to run 3 miles for.

[Note: next week is our annual trip to Hopkinton. Anyone interested in helping with waterstops, we need all the help we can get. We’ll be trying to have some people run parts of the course while providing waterstop support for other parts of the course. Please e-mail me if you would like to help. -Jim]

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 2:34 pm and is filed under Recap, Week 11. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.