Dave Decker's Loopy Run

I'm trying to heal up, so I should be running easy right now.  However, I was pushed pretty hard and ran fast on Thursday evening.  That made for little recovery before Saturday's run.  I was hoping I wouldn't be sore, but I figured that I would be.  Unfortunately, I was correct.

Today was another one of Dave Decker's crazy runs.  It was a 4.4 mile figure eight loop at Riverview Park in Easton.  You have to finish one loop in an hour and then if you do, you can run another loop the next hour.  This continues until everyone gives up or can't finish a loop in under an hour.  We had a huge group of almost 50 people.

Since I'm trying to take it easy, I wanted to just run one loop and then continue to get in 8 miles.  We had a whole tailgate/picnic type setup going.  I brought a bunch of stuff, but I only arrived a few minutes before the 7 AM start, so I had to get my things out later.

I began by taking pictures of the start and then I put my shoes on to run.  Since I was kind of rushing, I didn't get any good pictures of the start in the dark.  Because I was taking photos, I began running alone.

I have run at Riverview a number of times as well as the paths around there.  I was very puzzled by the course and quite interested how it went.  I knew of an uphill by the Route 33 Boat Launch, but I had no idea how the path would come back.  Dave mentioned a tunnel, but I was still confused.

It was a bit cold at the start and in fact throughout the whole day for that matter.  The temperature was in the 30s.  On the way out it wasn't too bad because the breeze was the other direction.  Coming back was quite cold and I regretted dropping off my gloves and headband after the loop was complete.

Jennie and female Gayle were out earlier in the week, cutting all the trees that had fallen after the hurricane.  They did a good job, but we still had to go around some of the bigger trees.  My quads were already very sore within the first mile of this run.  It wasn't as bad as a couple weeks ago, but things weren't good either.  At one point, I had to get off the path to go around a tree.  Running on dirt was great.  I might have to stick to trails a lot more in the near future.  This was all pavement as was my run on Thursday.

Within the first mile, I noticed the path below and the tunnel underneath.  I somehow never saw that before.  I guess part of the reason for that was that the leaves on the trees always hid it.  I was still intrigued though as I didn't understand how our path would get to that one.  At least I sort of understood the route at that point.

As I approached the Route 33 Boat Launch, I was surprised that I had not passed any of the slower runners yet.  Although it took me a couple minutes to get started, I figured I would catch them by this point.  My first mile was a little slow, but I began to get faster.  Sometime around that part, I could see some of the people running on the path above me.  I knew I was closing in.

At around 1.6 miles, the path split off and went uphill.  There was a cone there and the rest of the course was well marked too.  Jennie went out on her bike and made sure we didn't miss the turn.  Shortly after the turn, I finally caught some runners.

People were already walking up the hill.  I was very surprised to see Kelley was one of them.  I knew she wasn't running much, but I thought she would be farther up than that.  Later she explained why she was going slower and it made more sense.

The first hill was a little tough, but that wasn't the end of it.  There was a brief downhill.  This section was nice as there were some houses on the hill.  I actually remember riding my bike in this area years ago (probably while I was in high school).  I passed a few more people including April, Melissa, Frank and handful of others.  Dave took a bathroom break and I went by him as well.

After a little downhill and rolling hills, there was more uphill.  The climb wasn't too bad, but after a few loops, it would've been brutal.  My time definitely slowed down at this point.

The good thing is that what goes up must come down, unless it is a point to point course.  There was quite a downhill.  I had to make sure that I didn't fly too hard and fall down due to all the debris on the trail.  Going both up and down the hill, there were logs to hop over.  It was almost like a trail run.

After flying downhill, I went under the tunnel and saw more people up ahead.  I picked off a few of them including female Gayle and Christina.  I went by so quickly that Gayle asked who it was passing them.  Having people in front of me helped pull me along.  I would estimate that I passed about half the people within the loop.  My fifth mile, which included the big downhill, was a nice 8:07 pace.  I was definitely taking it easier today and was much happier with my pace when compared to some of my other recent fast runs.

While everyone else rested after the first loop, I continued on.  I wanted to do 8 straight miles and not stop.  With all of the trees on the hill section, I decided that I would turn around before the hill.  One loop was enough climbing too.  I went out and again I was lonely.  My legs just felt so beat.  I had begun the run with an insole, but it was uncomfortable, so I took it out.  That meant that my foot was sore.  I was trying not to run up on my toes so much, but I couldn't help it.  Often I'd catch myself doing it and would change my form.  I think my form is a big reason for the sore quads.

Miles 6 and 7 seemed to take forever.  I turned around right before the Boat Launch at mile 6.25.  Somewhere around mile 7, I passed the second loop going the other way.  Flo was running with another guy.  I was disappointed to see that Mertz had quit already.  I later saw him on a bike.


My last few flat miles were pretty slow.  They were around an 8:50 pace.  I actually don't mind that pace if I was running it healthy, rather than beat up.  I made it back to the starting point and was happy to be finished with my 8 miles.  It wasn't easy.  Staying on my feet the rest of the day sure didn't help either.  I am sore now.

After I was done running, it was all about hanging out the rest of the day.  First, I watched the second loop come in and took pictures.  Flo said she didn't even recognize me at first and thought I was some creepy guy.  That's not the first time that has happened.  Photographing this event was fun.

We had a fire going at the pavilion and a lot of food too.  It was fun sitting around and chatting.  There were quite a few people that only did one loop and more than only did two loops.  The fire crowd got bigger and the running crowd shrunk with every hour.

The fire was great, but at least I was smart enough to have several layers on.  I was laughing at Flo because she weighs nothing and wasn't wearing much.  Therefore, she was huddled over the fire the whole time.  We even had marshmallows to roast too.  A few people carried wood for the fire at the end of their loop.

Some people had impressive runs.  Karl had a good day.  After several loops, there were still 11 people or so.  Angie and Mel went pretty long.  I knew female Gayle would last awhile.  Most people left the fire by late morning.

It didn't take too long until the group was down to four runners.  I figured the end might not be so far away, so I stayed around.  If I thought we would be there all night, I might've left early.

Gayle was hurting and she finished up at 2 PM.  That was still an impressive 7 loops and over marathon distance.  It was down to three runners at that point.  One woman from New York, Mary, was running consistent times.  She was impressive.

After 8 loops, the final three runners had enough and they quit.  That's a lot of running.  To be honest, I thought it would go a lot longer.  It probably could've if the three of them would've been very competitive.  They weren't thrilled about the cold.  I'm glad I didn't try to run this because I don't really know when to quit and likely would've hurt myself.  I'm sure these three would've killed me.

After they finished up, we hungout for another hour.  There was less than 10 of us at that point.  It was still fun.  It would've been an even better day if things ever got warmer.  Maybe next year, I'll really try to do well in this event.

I have too look at my schedule and see when I'm going to run next week.  I'm thinking I need a trail, perhaps Trexler.  I was hoping to run four days next week, but we will have to see since my legs are sore.  I am disappointed that they aren't getting a lot better.  I'm going to continue to stretch and strengthen them.  If I have to, I guess I'll hop on the bike some more.  I need to build my mileage back up, but not wear my body down.

8 miles - 1:08:30 (8:34 pace)