This evening was the weekly LVRR Group Run. For the third time in four weeks, I was kind of hoping no one would show up and I'd run alone on the softer surface of the Saucon Rail Trail. Instead, someone showed up again. It was a woman that had never come before. I can't remember her name. That was pathetic with it being only one new person. In my defense, it was a unique name. I think it started with a C.
We had two nice days in a row, but that didn't last. Today was brutal. The wind was was crazy. Although the numbers didn't indicate that it was as bad as last week, it felt worse. That was especially true at SteelStacks where the wind really seems to come off of the Lehigh River. I think the actual temperature was right around freezing with the wind chill making it around 20 dregrees.
I overdressed, but I didn't care. I wanted to be comfortable as I waited for the run to start. I not only wore ColdGear and a fleece vest, but I added my jacket on top of that. I also had tights, gloves and a hat on. I can't recall ever wearing 3 layers on the top.
The woman said she doesn't run too often and has only run 5Ks. She did say 4 mile would work for her. Her pace was around 10:30. I sort of let her dictate it. We just ran the usual route to the Hill to Hill Bridge, down Main Street, up Broad Street and then back over the Minsi Trail Bridge.
It was really cold and windy by SteelStacks and over the Hill to Hill Bridge. We chatted and crusied along. It was an easy pace for me, but she struggled a little bit. That was especially the case as we went up hills like the Hill to Hill Bridge.
After crossing the river and getting onto Main Street, the run was great. The wind was basically completely gone. I even took off my gloves and switched my hat for a headband. It made the run so much easier. I tried to be cautious with all the hills around there. I knew she was struggling on the them. Finally when we got caught at a light, I just stopped and let her rest a little.
She got more rest a little later on. She had to use the bathroom, so she stopped in Wawa. That worked out great for me. I told her I would do some more miles so I ran up the Minsi Trail Bridge and then back down the other side to meet her.
I went basically to the top of the bridge. That was right around the far side of the river. It was very windy when I got there. I came back down and met her at the bottom of the bridge and went up it again. That gave me some hill work and extra mileage.
The rest of the run was windy. It even got worse and worse. The headwind was brutal right it front of the Steel Complex. I even tried running backwards for a bit. It started to snow too as we ran by the outlets. Snow would've been pretty if it wasn't blowing right in our faces. Just when I though it couldn't get worse, we went on the road in between buildings. It was so cold and hard to see. Thankfully, we were almost done. I sprinted ahead to finish up a few seconds earlier.
Conditions like this were some of the toughest that I ever faced. It was good to have some else to run with. Hopefully she'll come again and hopefully I'll remember her name next time. I'm having trouble getting people to come back. I feel like they enjoy the run, but then they don't go again. I think part of that is because the group is so small and they are expecting bigger. I also wonder if part of it is that they know I'm faster and they feel like they are holding me back. I hope that's not the case because I don't care about the pace. That's why I signed up to be a run leader in the first place.
Tomorrow will be an off day. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet on Saturday. The BCR is running on a paved path, so I think I'm going to skip that for softer surfaces. I may run alone. I'm also considering going to the LVRR Group Run on Saturday morning. It may be tough for me to get to Allentown early enough to join the group. We shall see.
4.55 miles - 47:17 (10:24 pace)
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