Are You Ready For Some Hills? The South Peachtree Creek Trail

The late November or early December holiday season finds us visiting my daughter, son-in-law, and not quite ready to be born grandson in Atlanta.  I eagerly anticipate some runs in and around my daughter's home, even though I am still a good twenty pounds to the bad of where I would like to be and fearful of the steep never-ending hills that Atlanta running is known.  I did not think I would get the chance to do any trail running since I have no access to a car, but I was surprised to hear that my daughter wanted to go for a walk in a nearby park.  I might be able to get a run in.

We drove to Mason Mill Park in (or at least near) the Toco Hills section of Atlanta.  Mason Mill Park serves as a midpoint for all three spurs of this trail.  One spur takes you to Medlock Park, one to Emory University Clairmont, and another to the intersection of North Druid Hills & Spring Creek Roads.  I chose to take the ladder, mainly on the advice from my son-in-law concerning elevation or the relative lack thereof.  After a brief warmup around Mason Mill Park, running to the rhythm of pinging pickleball racquets, I'm off and running.

After a brief start on asphalt, the footing changes to a raised boardwalk.  The surface was not slippery, and there was a noticeable decline in elevation.  Knowing that I would have to navigate the incline on the way back, I slowed down and calculated how to end my run at the planned distance without facing this "hill."

The asphalt "resurfaces" at about the .3 mile mark.  From there on, there are no problematic hills to encounter.  There is a slight incline, but nothing to cause any concern.  At about the .8 mile mark, you will be at the intersection and trailhead.  Now for the fun part.

I saw a runner on the other side of the road pushing a baby carriage.  He did not cross the road but instead turned onto the side road and kept going.  The runner's route gave me the impression that the trail continued on this side road and further continued after that—a big mistake.  I crossed the street only to find that the road split into two dead ends.  I chose the left to turn around, only to be met by a 15% grade hill.  Turning around in the cul de sac saw not only the apparent uptick in my heart rate but nowhere near the mileage I wanted to head back at, so I took a left on the busy road and put in about a half mile total.  I turned around at a condo development with a walking path in the rear of the complex.  The track looked highly similar to the trail, at least from the standpoint of the benches and markings.  I thought about rambling down the hill and trying to see if it somehow connected to the trail, but I thought better of it and turned back.  I could not find any documentation concerning the path in the back of the condos, so I thought it was just an amenity to the complex.

I knew what to expect on the run back, which made the run smoother and gave me the confidence to reach the goal mileage.  The trail picked up in terms of usage; it was also noteworthy that folks of all ages were using it.  Most were walkers and dog walkers, but there were a couple of other runners.  I nailed my 3.5km goal, just where I intended, and had a tremendous cool-down walk back to the park.

Upon further research, the spurs to Medlock Park and Emory University are similar to the spur I ran on.  There is a significate amount of mileage on a raised boardwalk, the length and incline are similar, and they both go through a swampy area in an urban setting.  It was challenging with the hills, but not so much that you could not make the entire trail in one run.  You could also add mileage at either park that the course goes through.  There are mileage and elevation markers, but they are sporadic and follow no discernible pattern.  The trail was very clean and well-maintained.  Give this trail a try.

Harlem Valley Rail Trail - A Full Review

 My running activities, as of late, have been unremarkable and certainly not blog-worthy. I have been happy to have a run done at a sub 8:00km pace. I have become a "Local Legend" in a Strava Segment that I frequent, perhaps more out of fear of looking like a slowpoke on a road course. However, I did get out of town for a few days and managed a run on a nearby rail trail. Here is a review of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail extends 23 miles through Dutchess County in upstate New York. Its northernmost trailhead is in the town of Hillsdale and extends to its southernmost point in the village of Wassaic. This is where I started my modest run of 5 kilometers.

The trailhead is located at the convergence of four roads in the center of the hamlet; Main Street, Firehouse Road, Nelson Road, and Furnace Bank Road. There is trail parking for about twenty cars on Main Street next to the railroad tracks across the street from the Post Office. Crossing the railroad tracks will find yourself standing in a tiny clearing with some historical signage. You will see two massive buildings on either side of the road. The building to the north looks like a repurposed mill, and the building to the south is a factory. And just to confuse you, there are running trails beside each building and the tracks. I was curious about the southern route to see if it was an extension, so I chose to take a warmup run on it.  

After about .2km on the mostly stone and gravel trail, I found that it spilled into a park with a well-maintained playground setup for kids. There was also a rather large field that did not seem to be set up for any kind of organized sports. Perhaps kite flying or a soft surface track in case any old runners needed an extra half-mile to warm up. I chose to circle around and follow the path back to where I started.  

After some brief stretching and adjustment of all things electronic, I am ready to hit the actual trail. My goal of 5 kilometers started at the trailhead on Furnace Bank Road and was flanked by railroad tracks on one side and the large repurposed mill on the other. After no more than ¼ mile, you see a field to the west with some eclectic sculptures. 

Amazed by the birdhouses!!

Not sure what these were, but they were nice to look at!

And to add to the bucolic feeling of taking a run in upstate New York, I encountered this almost immediately after passing the sculpture field.

Ignored by the horses.

After passing these sights, the trail takes a couple of forty-five-degree turns and spills out to a pedestrian bridge. After the bridge, you will encounter your first intersection, this being the entrance to the Wassaic Train Station. There was no traffic, but I was not running at a peak commuting time; since there was no signal, I would use caution, especially if riding a bike. I did look into parking options at the station, there is a small fee, but it is waived on weekends.

The station and its parking lot seemed to go on forever; at the end, it looked like there was a maintenance facility. Once you pass this, you are again flanked by long stretches of woods. You are aware that a major road (in this case, NY-22) is just beyond the trees. Still, it was difficult to see any passing traffic.  

There was another intersection at about the 1½ mile mark; it looked like an entrance to a quarry and did not look well traveled. Just beyond this point, I saw my first fellow trail user, a gentleman on a bike. I was ready to turn it around, so I waited until he passed me, which by coincidence was right at the 2½ kilometer mark. I was reasonably happy with a time of about 21:30 and felt good about finishing my run as planned.

I saw an unplanned spring in my step on the way back. I was unsure if I wanted to cut my run at forty minutes or just carry on to the finish at about 42 to 43 minutes. My heart rate was steady, and I was not feeling overly sore, so I just played it minute by minute. I reached the 4-kilometer mark at the intersection of the train station at about 33:30. I was encouraged by both a negative split and another trail goer, a man about my age, taking a slow walk. He looked at me like I was a crazy old wheezing fool, which might have been just the motivation I needed.

I crossed the bridge, navigated the two turns, and saw perhaps the best part of the run. The last ½ kilometer was a clear, flat, straight shot, one that you could easily see the endpoint. I decided to go for the entire run and turned on the speed (relatively speaking) to finish the run. I had another negative split, about 36 seconds faster than my slowest split, and finished the run at 41:49 for a pace of about 8:19km. Two minutes quicker than expected on a new course? I'll take it.  

I did a little research on the mill at the end of the trail, and it turns out that it is called the "Wassaic Project," a building that houses artists' studios. It seems that this is a well-known and established place for all kinds of creative individuals to pursue their craft in the art community. They also support the community with shows, concerts, and galleries.

No ordinary painting!

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail is clean, wide, and paved. You could quickly lose yourself in the quiet, picturesque setting, especially in the autumn season. A further trip up the trail will see you pass through several villages, providing its users with amenities like bathroom facilities and small shops to refuel. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to add mileage posts next to the trail; for a path of this size, I saw neither signs nor markers. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail gets my full recommendation, go out and enjoy it.

 

                   

Harpeth River Greenway, a Full Review

 Wow, has it been almost six months since I last blogged?  My inactivity can be explained mainly by my newfound sedentary lifestyle.  Since my retirement last December, my life has revolved around sleeping late and watching way too much television (did you know there is an entire channel devoted to game shows?  And it's in HD), driving my wife around to her various appointments, watching my great-nieces and nephews, and copious amounts of Windows Solitare.

I had done some sporadic running, starting with Zwift on the treadmill, then evolving to running outdoors when the weather turned warmer in the spring.  I quickly and embarrassingly found out that my treadmill speed was measured WAY too fast, thus providing me with an overrated fitness level.  After realizing that I could not run 2½ miles without walking and could not do it in under 40 minutes, I finally knew exactly where I stood.  After three months of inconsistent training, I find myself 1) able to do 4k in under 34 minutes 2) do it without taking walk breaks, and, in general, 3) too scared of failing to try anything else.

Foolishly, I signed up for the Peachtree Road Race, a 10k in midtown Atlanta, on July 4th.  Since it boasts of being the largest 10k race in the world, I am optimistic that I can run/walk the distance while simply blending into the crowd.  It is more of an event than a race, so while I have a definite time range goal, I am not overly concerned if I do not meet it.

I decided to try a trial 10k run six days from the race.  My wife and I are currently in Nashville, TN, in the process of moving my daughter and son-in-law to Atlanta.  The Harpeth River Greenway is the closest trail to home base, so I chose to give that a go.  Here is a full report.

The trail covers about 5¾ miles; however, a few offshoots on the main track seem to add to the mileage.  I started at a small parking lot near the bridge on Old Harding Pike, where they had a detailed trail map.  I took a warmup going westbound on the trail; it circled a medium-sized pond that a couple of anglers took advantage of.  Nothing on the ½ mile run seemed noteworthy.

The main run starts at the eastbound parking lot, with a nice view of the Harpeth River.  You then run parallel between the river and a golf course for about a kilometer.  A net separates the trail from the golf course, presumably to protect trail goers from errant golf balls.  I would guess this is a common occurrence by the number of golf balls near the net and the profanity-laced tirade thrown by one of the golfers.  You then cross a bridge over the Harpeth River to the next part of the journey.

Harpeth River from the Bridge

The trail continues for another 2½ miles with a large field on one side and a wooded area that leads to the river (which you won't be able to see for a while).  This was, without any question, the least shaded area on the trail.  I also saw a deer at the one-mile mark; he was staring at me for quite a long time.  Looking closely at the left of this picture, you can see him jumping away.

Deer at about eleven o'clock!

The end of this section also features quite a few wooden bridges that pass over hilly terrain.  You will also find several homes abutting the north side of the path.  The upside here is plenty of shade; there is even a makeshift picnic area close to the end of this section.

At about the three-mile mark, the path splits.  There are no signs (from this direction) but going left seems to take you to a trailhead, a group of little league fields, and a subdivision.  I chose to take a right and continued about ⅔ of a mile, then turned around and started to head back.  There was nothing too fascinating about this part of the trail; it seemed a little more secluded, and you will go under an overpass for another Harpeth River bridge.  For some reason, the path appears to circle outward from the river at this point.

Overpass, note grafitti near the truss

The turnaround featured nothing that I did not notice on the way up.  There are a few benches along the path if you need a short break.  I took advantage of this opportunity a couple of times due to ever-increasing back pain.  I also had to walk the last 1½ miles due to grossly underestimating my hydration level.  I finished the 10k run/walk at about 1:47:00, a little disappointing, but I suppose I could say I was trying to be overly observant.

The Harpeth River Trail is a paved trail that travels parallel to the Harpeth River and the Little Harpeth River.  Except for a few spots near the golf course and Harpeth Knoll Road, it is pretty secluded.  The entire surface is paved asphalt, except for a tiny section at the start of the trail that is concrete.  The course is very flat, with prominent mile markers every ¼ mile.  The trail seemed to attract a wide variety of users; I saw kids on bike rides, dog walkers, another runner (she kicked my butt), and a wheelchair racer.  I give this trial five stars and my full recommendation.

My First Product Review!!

 Ever since I started my running career, I have had issues with one aspect of workout technology: the heart rate monitor.  A brief history, if I may.....

I did not start using any heart rate monitors right away; while I vaguely knew that there had to be some kind of device to measure heart rate, I did not put any thought into it.  Then, at the starting line of my first race in 2014, all that changed.  I was standing in the group (it was a really small race, no pens) trying to get out of everyone's way, figuring I would be a back of the packer.  I was very nervous, just hoping that I would finish the race, when suddenly and without warning, my Garmin started to beep and vibrate uncontrollably.  I look down, and the watch's face is flashing "180."  I know it is reading heart rate, but I have no idea how, where, or why, and I figure that if my heart rate really is 180 at this point in time, I am probably dead.  The race starts, my watch goes back to normal, and I finish the race, coming in last in my age group.

I started to consider using a heart rate monitor when I started to get serious about running on a treadmill.  I had to get a foot pod to measure cadence, distance, and speed, so while looking for listings for accessories, heart rate monitors popped as well.  I decided to splurge and purchase.

The Garmin HRM was easy to set up.  It came with a 2032 battery, it paired with my watch quickly, and while the chest strap was a little difficult to clip on, it was comfortable to wear once you started running.  So far, so good.

The pros were straightforward, the readings seemed accurate, and it was easy to set up and use.  There were, however, a few cons.  The first was the method by which the monitor communicated with the watch.  Most technology involving sports fitness equipment works with Bluetooth, which is very popular for quality, ease of use, and use over different platforms.  At the time of purchase, all Garmin products used a platform called ANT+, which I found very reliable but unable to use with my running app.  I also had an issue with figuring out if it needed a new battery.  There was no way to check the battery strength, and if you did not use the monitor after even a short period of time, it seems to have a problem connecting.

I shopped around to see if there was anything else, mostly looking for Bluetooth connectivity.  I decided to try the Wahoo HRM for several reasons.  It was Bluetooth compatible, there were lights on the front to signify that it was on, and it also made some other promises that seemed appealing.  However, after it measured a short run on the Cape Cod bike path as going from Western Newfoundland to Equatorial Guinea, I decided to settle in on heart rate measuring.

I found some cons, and they were oddly similar to the Garmin.  You could tell if the device was turned on at first, but I found that it dropped during the activity, and it was hard to tell if it was the battery or some other problem.  A battery change helped for the first few workouts, but the drops would become more frequent after a while, and it seemed like accuracy was compromised.  Time to do more research.

My investigation seemed to lead me down one of two roads.  One road seemed to recommend either the Wahoo or the Garmin.  Simply put, I wanted to try something else.  The other road led me down a road that offered some options that were convenient and accurate but cost much more than I was willing to spend.  One of the few alternatives was something called the Scosche Rhythm+.

My Scosche Rhythm+

One of the write-ups that I saw put the Rhythm+ at the top of the list in terms of accuracy and listed the price as comparable to the Wahoo and the Garmin.  I decided to take a chance.  I was cautiously optimistic, and quite frankly, my expectations were low, given my hard luck with previous products.  Then it arrived.

The Scosche has quite a few differences from the traditional chest strap heart rate monitors.  The first and most obvious one is where you wear it.  It does not go around your chest or on your wrist (like a high-end sports watch).  You can wear it on your bicep, your tricep, or your upper forearm.  I chose to use it on my forearm.  You activate the monitor by pressing a button on the front of the unit, which triggers a flashing blue light indicating that the unit is searching for a device to pair with.  When your workout is complete, you simply press the same button to shut it off.  The light turns red then goes out, leaving you with no doubt that it is shut down.

The other major difference with the Rhythm+ is that it does not run on a replaceable battery.  It has a built-in battery that you charge with a dock and a USB power source, similar to a sports watch.  You no longer need to stock up on 2032's, but you also know that the unit is indeed charging (the led light flashes red).  Another major pro is that you can check the battery's power level if you simply download the Scosche app to your smartphone.

These features are wonderful, but if the unit does not measure heart rate accurately, the product is still a dud.  Time for a Zwift ride for a test.  I switched the unit on just before pairing all my sensors, and it connected flawlessly.  I chose a route with a decent amount of hills and ascent to hopefully get some variation in my heart rate.  It did not disappoint.  My heart rate correlated nicely with my exertion output, and a few quick corroded heart rate checks found the numbers to be spot on.  It did not drop during the hour or so ride, and it was easy to check the power status by turning your arm around.  There was also no problem shutting the unit down at the end of the ride.

I have been using the Scosche for about two months, without any issues.  The company offers a few models, including a waterproof, high-end model targeted to athletes training for a triathlon.  The price is reasonable, especially when you consider that it is a product that works as advertised.

The Scosche Rhythm+ gets my highest recommendation.  It is a piece of fitness equipment that I could not do without after using it frequently and often.