South Mountain (Emmaus)

I decided head over to Emmaus this afternoon.  I stopped in at the Finish Line running store and then stopped at Camp Olympic.  I couldn't find the trail to run there, so I just went to South Mountain.

I figured I wouldn't be able to run straight up the mountain, so I started on the much flatter spur route.  I felt good early on and cruised along.  The weather was very raw.  It rained overnight and was cloudy and drizzling with temperatures in the 40s.  I figured I'd wear a jacket since I wouldn't be running long enough to be hot.  That was a good choice.  I got a little hot at times, but the jacket was a plus.  The cold air bothered my ears a little, but the hood on the jacket helped.

Once I got onto the main trail, it was fun.  There were quite a few wet spots.  It is pretty hard soil so it wasn't too muddy.  It was fun splashing through the puddles.  I ended up running uphill for about .15 miles.  That was good because that was about all I could take.  It was slowing me down.  Hills are still a struggle for me this early on.

Going back was a little easier.  It was mostly downhill.  I did start to struggle in the final quarter mile though.  I'm in better shape than I expected, but two miles still isn't an easy run, especially with some elevation change.

Tomorrow, I might do some sort of speedwork, even though that isn't the best thing to do this early.  Maybe I'll try hill repeats instead of a track workout.  We shall see.  On Thursday, I might do a bit longer run with some of the Breakfast Club Runners.

2 miles - 20:24 (10:13 pace)