Snow on the Schuykill River Trail

I wasn't sure where I was going to run today.  Then, I decided to go to a high school basketball game in Pottsville.  I recalled that the Schuykill River Trail runs right near Cabela's off of Route 61.  I figured that I would run there after the game and see what it is like.

I started out around 3 PM.  I knew that it was supposed to snow, but I didn't think I would encounter any yet.  By the time I got to the trail, there was probably already an inch of snow and it was coming down heavy.  I was thrilled.  I have yet to run during a snowstorm this winter.  I have only run after it has come down.

There were a couple cars in the parking lot, but as I was changing, most of the people arrived back at their cars and wisely left.  I'm the crazy one, so I was just starting my run as the snow was coming down heavy.  I didn't want to pass up a great opportunity to run in the snow.  I figured that if too much snow came down, I would turn around and leave.  The big problem was that I was an hour drive from home (and that is with clear conditions).

I wasn't sure what to wear.  I started off with thin gloves and a hat, but brought thicker gloves and a headband along in my jacket as well.  Since wet snow was coming down, I figured the jacket would work better than my fleece vest.  That might've got to wet and became heavy.  The big issue was that I forgot to grab some pants.  Rather than moisture wicking pants, I had to settle for wearing cotton sweatpants.  Not the best idea, but it actually worked out okay.

Even though it was snowing, there wasn't much wind, so it actually felt kind of nice.  That allowed the sweatpants to work out well in addition to the jacket.  Not too far into the run, I even swapped my hate for my headband.  It was comfortable out.

Near the parking lot, there was a regular rail trail, but also a cool looking winding trail through some open space.  It was also neat because there was a mountain in the background.  That made for a cool picture with my GoPro camera.  It was also more fun than starting in a straight line, so I headed that way.

I thought I would only be able to do a short loop and then I'd have to head out north on the rail trail.  I was thrilled when I came around a curve and realized that the trail headed southeast.  It ran right along the river.  I was glad I went this way.  It was neat as the trail weaved in and out of the woods.  It made for a great setting.

I had my watch in my pocket for most of the first mile.  The problem is that when it is in my pocket it loses its signal for a short distances.  That made the first mile a slow 10:39.  I actually ran longer than a mile.  My slowest full mile of the whole run was 9:05.  That was the only mile over 9 minutes.

The snow was nice and pretty and it wasn't slippery.  The temperature was good too.  I was enjoying the run, expect for the fact that the snow was blowing and it was blowing right in my face.  I could barely see.

Somewhere around the first mile, I crossed under the Route 78 bridge.  That was cool and it looked even better because of the snow.  I could hear the cars going fast overhead, so I was glad that traffic wasn't slow on the road.  I needed to head home that way.

I kept going and eventually came to a small pedestrian bridge over the river.  At one time, it was an old train bridge.  It was kind of small.  After going over the river, there wasn't much left of the trail, so I turned around.  I was at 1.25 miles at that point, at least according to my watch.

Going back was fun too.  Since I was enjoying myself, I set a goal to get to 5 miles total by the end of the run.  If it wasn't snowing, I would've been shooting for 8-10 miles, but with the snow I was willing to accept less.  I figured that I would get back to the car and then run the other direction for a bit.

One thing I decided was that I needed to grab my cap from the car.  I had to get the blowing snow out of my eyes.  I needed a brim.  Luckily, I had a cap with me to wear at the basketball game.  I was tired of wearing my GoPro camera, so I dropped that in the car when I picked up the cap.

I ran out along the rail trail.  I was between 2.5 and 3 miles.  The plan was to go out to about 3.8 miles and turn around and then get to 5 miles total.  This trail wasn't bad, but it was straight and more boring.  After I got out a bit, I looked down and saw the road a story or story and a half below.  I had started off on the same elevation as the road, so either I had been going uphill or the road was going downhill or a combination of both.  I think I was ascending since it didn't feel too easy.  It was a gradual climb though. 

As I got to somewhere around 3.5 miles, I encountered an awesome sight.  It was another old railroad bridge.  This time though, it was a large steel truss structure.  It looked so cool in the snow.  The rail trail went right over it.  I was so mad that I didn't have my camera.  A short time after going over the bridge, I got to mile 3.8 and turned around and headed back.

I spend the entire way back thinking about the bridge and how to photograph it.  Going back out to it with my camera would just add another 2 miles to the run.  I didn't want to do that.  I could've drove my car out that far, but the road was so far below, I'm not sure how I would've got back up to the trail.  Plus, that road wasn't plowed and I certainly didn't want to get stuck back there with no one around.

Finally, I figured that I would just forget about it.  I said to myself, that bridge will always be there and you can get some pictures of it next time you come out here and run.  Then I realized that getting photos of it while it is snowing out would be unlikely.

I decided that I just had to retrieve my camera and run back out there.  If it meant 2 more miles, then so be it.  I was feeling good anyway.  I got to my car at slightly before 5 miles.  I grabbed the camera and was back on my way.

I ran out to the bridge and it didn't seem to take long.  It was actually only about .8 miles from the car.  Not as far as I originally thought.  That meant that after getting photos, I could run back to the car and get 6.5 miles in.  I thought that I got some really neat photos, but they aren't zoomed in enough.  I still have to work on timing my pictures correctly when I'm photographing an object.

I made my way back to the car and still felt good.  I figured that I might as well make it an even 7 mile run.  I was just over 6.5 miles when I got to the parking lot.  I went through the open section that I started out in.  I turned around and had completed 7 miles before I knew it.

I always say that I love snow running and this just proves it.  Even though I was running alone, time just flew by.  The run was great.  One of the best ones of the year.  I was worrying about traveling home in the snow, but only encountered minor problems.  It was definitely worth taking the time to run on the Schuykill River Trail.  It was cool place and I might go there again whenever I make a trip out that way.  The snow just enhanced the experience.

I was a little worried after the run.  My left foot, which was bothering me a lot in the fall, was really sore on the car ride home.  Hopefully I'm not developing a stress fracture or something like that.  It isn't bothering me now.  Maybe running on the snow was the problem.  If it becomes an issue again, I will back off.  The good news is that my quads aren't a problem at all.  I didn't even get to stretch as much as I wanted to because I was so cold.

Tomorrow, I am taking off.  It is Super Bowl Sunday, so that means we are having the big LVRR Super Bowl 10K.  I am looking forward to that way more than the Super Bowl.  I'll get to see a bunch of friends and take plenty of photos for the club.  It should be a fun day.

On Monday, I'd like to go to Trexler again.  I'll have to think about it.  If it is going to be very muddy again, it might be wise to skip out on that.  Either way, I have to run somewhere.  I sure wouldn't mind a trail.  Next Saturday, I'm running the Warm Hearts 5K in Nazareth.  That should be interesting.  I don't know what to expect.  I haven't run anything fast in months.  I also haven't run a 5K since September.  I'd be thrilled if I could run a 7:15 pace or better.  We'll see what I have.  Weather could be a big factor in how well I run.


7 miles - 1:02:17 (8:54 pace)