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While I much prefer to explore in forests and other natural settings, I’m not opposed to the occasional bit of urban exploration and have found the pedestrian crossings on some bridges rewarding for their unique viewpoints.  A bridge crossing that has been on my to do list for a while, but that I never managed to find time for until recently was the Mario Cuomo Bridge Path that crosses over the Hudson River.  The trail runs about 3.6 miles which, if you run the full length out and back, makes for run of just over 7 miles. 

The path did offer up some great views of the Hudson River at each of the multiple observation decks that you pass as you travel down the path.  Moreover, I really appreciated how they had separate lanes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as on other bridges, like the George Washington Bridge, I’ve often found myself needing to play a real-life game of Frogger with oncoming cyclists.  The path and facilities at each end were also well maintained and parking ample enough. 

I don’t regret the experience of running the trail but, despite all the positives, this is not a trail I see myself repeating with any kind of frequency. When I run I like the solitude and quietness of nature and being in close proximity to a major interstate highway made for a noisy 7 miles. 

Kaaterskill Falls is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Catskills and a hike I have made many times over the years.  The trail to the base of falls is a little under a mile and consists largely of stone steps once you begin your descent.  It is worth noting that on the trail down to the base you do have the option of stopping at the middle stage of the waterfall and it is well worth it as it offers an impressive and unique view of the falls. Kaaterkskill Falls is a location in the Catskills that every hiker who visits the area needs to explore at least once, with the best time to visit being in the early spring where the recent snow melt maximizes the flow of water over the falls. 

With that being said, the beauty of the location combined with its relative accessibility has led it to become an extremely popular destination for visitors of the area.  The parking lots are difficult to get into on the weekends unless you get there very early, and even on a weekday it can be quite crowded.  These crowds can often include inexperienced hikers as well that are trying to navigate the often muddy trails in footwear like flip flops, which can be something to watch out for.  It’s a trail I recommend checking out but on weekday and early in the morning before the crowds arrive. 

The posted picture is from the bottom of the falls but does not do the falls justice.  It was a crowded day and my attempts to find an angle where the view of the falls would not be filled with people was not successful.

When visiting the Catskills, the Ashokan Rail Train has become a favorite place to get a run in and was a perfect way to get some easy miles in this week.  The trail is a well-maintained path that is covered with crushed gravel most of the way.  It’s an approximately 11.5 mile trail (map here) that contains a parking lot on each end and one that is roughly in the middle.  The trail is relatively flat and provides a very scenic way to get a 10-20 mile run in depending on which lot you choose to start from. 

The parking seems to be ample enough, and I’ve never struggled to find a place to park in any of the lots unlike a few other hiking sites in the area.

Month 3 continues to build on Month1 and Month 2 of the program and consists of circuit training with weights.  It was an enjoyable month that in conjunction with the Macrofactor app helped lean me out even more.  I lost the bit of weight I put on during my build up to the Spartan Ultra in April as well as a couple of additional pounds. The leaning out a bit also helped improve my speed a bit when I tested myself towards the end of the program.  My overhead press, bench press, and squat also saw some modest gains over the course of the 3 months, which was a welcome surprise given the calorie deficit.  It was a fun and well laid out program and one I see myself repeating in the future. 

More importantly, I really liked the pairing of the program with Macrofactor.  While I was slowly and steadily seeing my trend weight go down, at no point did I really feel my performance in any of the workouts or any of the longer hikes and runs I did suffered.  I think I may even be able to shed another 10 pounds or so over the next few months with the guidance of Macrofactor and reap the speed benefits of that.  A one week deload with a lot of hiking and then back to it. 

Fahnestock park is a 15,000 acre preserve that house miles of trails to explore, including a segment of the Appalachian trail.  It’s also the home of the annual ultramarathon Fabulous Fahnestock.  This is a great place to hike and train for lengthier trail runs as you can create routes that will cover longer distances without having to repeat the same section over and over again. The trails are also very runnable and tend to be well marked with an example below from a recent exploration of the School Mountain Trail:

It’s a place I’m planning on using again and again in the coming months for some lengthier trail-based training runs.

This is a short one mile loop trail that overlooks the Hudson River and is a bit of a hidden gem found within the grounds of the historic landmark Boscobel House. While most visitors visit the landmark for the gardens and the impressive views of the Hudson River this trail can be found off to the side of the grounds and also boasts some interesting views of the Hudson Valley such as this view of West Point from the trail. 

The trail is too short for any form of serious training/hiking but well worth checking out if you ever find yourself visiting the grounds of Boscobel House. 

Circuit training is a mode of training that I typically respond really well too and something that I tend to turn to a lot in my training.  One of the minor but annoying issues that I tended to encounter was that tracking the time for various sets and rest periods using my phone was a bit difficult with the built-in time app, especially when different timings were involved (e.g. 30 seconds of burpees followed by 15 seconds of rest). 

For the past 2 years, I’ve solved that issue with the TimerPlus app which easily lets me set different timings for different elements of the circuit, including variable rest periods between sets and a complete run of the circuit.  It’s proven to be highly customizable and I also appreciate the audio cues it gives between elements as depending on the exercise it’s not always easy to reposition yourself to look at a clock or watch.  I prefer a GPS watch for timing runs and hikes, but have found this app really useful for tracking gym-based circuits.

While well-known regional nature preserves like Minnewaska State Park, Harriman Park, and other popular destinations can offer amazing scenery to take in, they also often come with overcrowded parking lots and lots of people on the trails.  Sometimes it can be nice to explore in more local preserves that while smaller can still contain unique sights worth exploring.  One such local preserve I visit periodically is the Leon Levy Preserve in South Salem, NY.  While the trails are not lengthy they are very runnable and allow for the easy planning of routes that form a loop.  It’s a great place for a 5K or 10K length training run. 

I’ve also always been partial to trails that contain a bit of history and the preserve checks that box as well with the ruins that are now known as the Black Mansion – a summer home built by the renowned organic chemist James Mason Crafts (discovered the Friedel-Crafts reaction) that burned down in 1979.  The Freidel-Crafts reaction is a key component of processes used to make certain pharmaceuticals, many polymers and resins, as well as industrial chemicals.  While that particular reaction predates the building of the Black Mansion, one can’t help but wonder what chemical breakthroughs were made as Crafts traversed many of the very same trails. 

It’s a great local preserve that also contains a small gorge and stone bridge that spans it.  

I was searching for some interesting new trails to hike and ran across the North East Ultra 8 Challenge.  It consists of hiking/running the 8 most difficult trails in the North Eastern US in less than 24 hours each.  The 8 hikes consist of:

The Mahoosuc Traverse – Maine/ New Hampshire

The Cranberry 50 – New York

The Pemi Loop – New Hampshire

The Taconic Crest Traverse – New York/ Massachusetts/ Vermont

The Saranac 6 – New York

The Presidential Traverse – New Hampshire

The Great Range Traverse – New York

The Devils Path – New York 

While I have done parts of a couple of trails on the list, I have not yet done any of them end to end.  The list of trails has definitely inspired some ideas for some future adventures.