Saucon Rail Trail With the BCR

I went out for a group run at the Saucon Rail Trail with the Breakfast Club Runners.  It was only my fourth time out and the goal was to run three miles.  The rest of the group was planning four miles.  Although it was cloudy and looked bad, it was nice and comfortable and great for a run.

I thought the pace might be a little slower because it was an easy run for them.  I knew it would be hard for me no matter what.  It turned out fine though because the faster early pace pushed me.  I stuck with Gayle, David and Chris for about 3/4 of a mile.  The first mile ended up being an 8:44.

I knew I'd never make three miles if I didn't back off though.  So I dropped back, but it still ended up being a much faster pace that I had run on my own up to this point.  I turned around at 1.75 miles.  I figured I'd walked the final half mile if I couldn't run 3.5 miles. 

As I was running back, there was a very steep hill.  I noticed some dirt sliding down it.  I thought it was a squirrel or other small animal.  It actually turned out to be a deer standing right on the side of the hill.  That was pretty cool. 

I started falling apart a bit around 2.5 miles.  Surprisingly, it was actually my legs limiting me, not my lungs.  I started developing sore hamstrings again.  As I approached the 5K mark, I noticed that I was actually going to break 30 minutes.  I actually broke 29 minutes in fact.  I didn't think I could be that fast this soon.

Even though they went further, I figured the other guys would catch back up to me.  That would've allowed me to push a little more too, but they never caught up.  I still finished pretty strong though and it was a great workout.

My progress has been great.  I'm so much further ahead both in distance and pace than I suspected.  I'm going to have to keep pushing myself.  More group runs should be a big help to continue improving.  I am having some exploratory surgery in June, so I need to be in great shape then so I don't lose too much fitness.

I'm not sure when I'll be running again.  Hopefully sometime this weekend.  Tomorrow is a big high school track meet and Saturday I'll be at an AAU tournament.  Tomorrow, I will likely be to sore to run anyway.  No matter when it is, I can't wait to get out there again.

3.5 miles - 32:29 (9:17 pace)