I was looking for another challenging day today. Since it was a little on the warm side by the afternoon, I opted for South Mountain near Lehigh. I missed Dave's run there on Sunday, but luckily he didn't take the pink ribbons down yet.
The start was tough. Not only was I slow, but my wound burned a bit. I had some anti chafe cream near it, so maybe some of that got in there. Not sure, but the beginning was a struggle. One nice thing is that early on is downhill. That doesn't last very long though.
Within the first two and a half minutes, I already spotted a deer on the trail. He ran down the hill and the trail actually looped around him. When I passed him the second time, he just watched me. I'm glad I didn't make him run back up the hill. I was only about 10-15 yards away too. It was the first of four deer that I came across along the trail. I'm sure there were some more that I didn't even notice.
Shortly after my deer encounter, I was across the road and starting the long climb. It was very taxing. I was only a little over a mile in and I was exhausted already. I saw my second deer around this point. It was much easier last time I was there because I walked that stretch. Today, I tried running on the uphills. It was a slow go and difficult, but I managed it.
Once I finally got to the downhill and flat portions things flew by. While the first mile seemed like it took forever, the second mile was gone before I knew. I was sweating pretty good uphill, but downhill was great among the trees. It was nice a cool.
The next section seemed familiar. It wasn't just from Dave's run. I had hiked parts of it near South Mountain Park last year. I wasn't far from the disc golf course. There are a lot of off shoot trails here that I'll have to explore in the future. I'm actually glad the pink ribbons were still there, because I likely would've taken a wrong turn through this section.
At about the two and a half mile mark, I came across the trail where Dave laid out the cooler last time for a water stop. To my disappointment, it wasn't still there. I had a hydration pack anyway, so it was no worry.
Right after the water stop section is a grassy area with all this weird art. It is interesting, but I really didn't have time to look. Running through the high grass is a little tough. I also worry some about ticks in this area. Thankfully, I didn't find any after the run.
After the open area, it was back into the woods. There was still some tough climbing. Luckily, the hardest section was the beginning in that respect. I didn't remember as much uphill in this section last time. I remember flying downhill, but there really wasn't much of that until right at the end. It didn't matter too much though since I don't have any speed for descending right now.
Before I knew it, I was at the four mile point and back at the water stop. From there I could take a longer loop, but this was enough for the day. The trail came out near the frats at Lehigh I still had a lot of ascending to finish the route.
The last mile on roads was a gradual climb. It seemed like forever out in the sun. Luckily, there was a nice breeze. I kept checking my watch over and over again, hoping to be done. I was finally finished right near my car. It was a solid five miles. I wish I would've been a little faster and ran the route under an hour.
This was another tough run. It didn't beat me up as much as Trexler yesterday, but it was still very challenging. I'm very proud that I was able to keep running throughout the route. There were a few times where I considered walking, but I had to tough it out. It was great to finish the whole thing running.
After the run I was hoping to go near the frats and get some cool trail pictures. Of course two Lehigh police vehicles had to be parked right where I wanted to go. I guess I'll get photos next time.
Tomorrow, I'm planning on running the LVRR Group Run in the evening. It will be good to be back, even if I have to start slow. I was considering a flat recover run. Some people are running Trexler in the AM. I'm tempted, but that just seems a little too crazy. I need to give my legs some recovery. I might just do some afternoon core work.
5.0 miles - 1:01:29 (12:18 pace)
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