Swanzey to Richmond

Toughest leg to date - no comparison!  Snowed overnight and spent couple of hours shoveling ahead of time.  Was tired and thought about delaying, but opted to go ahead.  Had scouted a route that was on a side dirt road (also longer by 2 miles), but because of snow kept the run on route 32 the whole way.  Was best option and footing was good throughout.

 

Strategy was to hold back first half of run to have plenty in the tank for “the hills” - 600 ft of elevation gain once crossing over town line.  I hadn’t found the climb categorization on mapmyrun ahead of this - probably best I didn’t know as the last hills was a toughy starting at Mill Rd.

 

Nancy was great support as she was available for me at 3 and 5 mile marks - the quick water breaks were very helpful.  Town Hall for Richmond is outside main town center next to a cemetery and not much else. 

 

After wrapping up run it was off to Keene to meet someone from Vermont with a spinning wheel Nancy bought.  We both had great outcomes!

 

Random Run Thoughts:

• Can you be over hydrated ahead of a run, or is it just age …. More pit stops than normal needed along the way :)

• I need to plan better for how to get ready for each run.  The longer the drive to get to the route the more planning needed.

• Ran with armband and music - went fine, but still not comfortable.  Best option will be an Osprey to help with carrying phone and water.

• Underestimated the last hill - knew it was steep and long, but couldn’t fully appreciate it until running it - 12 minute pace felt like a sub 8.  Guess I’ll need to get used to this - plenty more killer hills ahead!