Upstate NY running

New Jersey has no shortage of hills. Every run I do includes some, and every long run involves big ones (small mountains, really).

But in upstate New York, the mountains are large and there is nary a bit of flat land, even along the eastern border by the Hudson River.

The morning after a raging night of Phish, I plotted out a 13-mile run from Glens Falls, where I was staying with Karen, through the surrounding areas. And this route was chock full of quad-busting uphill climbs and calf-killing downhills.

Throughout these rolling hills, though, I got to see a lovely bit of New York country. I passed a Six Flags amusement park, a centuries-old cemetery, and some lovely neighborhoods.

Of course, it was tough to enjoy all that because not only were the hills difficult, but the heat was punishing. It was the early afternoon on a hot July day and there was no escaping the sun, save for the shade of a few tree-lined roads. I would have loved to have gotten out earlier, but that is the life of a runner on Phish tour - you stay up late and you run after noon.

After the run, it was a shower, then Denny's for dinner, then back to SPAC for the last show of that leg of Phish tour.