I didn't quite get as many miles in last week as I would've liked. I also haven't run 8 miles or more very often lately. To remedy both of those problems, I headed out for a 10 miler this afternoon. Some BCR people were originally talking about meeting up in the Parkway at 8 this morning. I could've used some company, but I was glad that they changed their plans and I could run later. I wish people wanted to run later in the day during this awful weather, especially on the weekends. I get that you would want to run early when you have to work during the week. I just wish it wouldn't carry over to the weekends too. I need some afternoon running partners.
I decided to head up to Lehigh Gap. That way at least I'd have some scenery on the run. It looked like it was going to be another miserable day with temperatures near freezing and a fairly strong wind making it even worse. When I got there, it was definitely cold, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I wore a lightweight top with my jacket over it. I had some tights on. I also brought along a hat and gloves. I couldn't find my headband. That would've been better in this wind.
I knew the wind would be strong in one direction and light it the other. I decided I would head out with the wind at my back. The beginning of the run is when it is the coldest for your body, so I wanted to be comfortable then. I could deal with the cold later on after I was warmed up.
The wind dictated that I headed south towards Slatington. That was also a good idea because the last time I ran there, the path was more firm in that direction. I started off and it was very comfortable. One thing that helped out a lot during the run was that the sun was actually out for a change. That makes a huge difference. I quickly took my hat and gloves off. I didn't want to get them sweaty early on. I figured that I might need them later.
While there was no wind, I still struggled a lot in the beginning. The surface was firm, but perhaps too firm. My quads have now been good for some time, but my lower legs give me trouble. That was the case through these first 2 miles. My calves were getting quite sore. It kind of felt like shin splints might be coming on. I tried slowing down, but that really didn't make a difference. Nothing was helping.
I wish I knew what the problem is. My legs just seem kind of dead lately. I was looking at my feet and I'm thinking maybe my running style changed. It looks like I'm underpronating, rather than overpronating. That would sure explain a lot of the soreness. I'll have to check the wear pattern on my shoes.
Since I was sore, but my legs weren't killing me, I just focused on getting to Slatington. That turned out to be the 2 mile mark. The plan was to try to run on the paved Slate Heritage Trail. It is pretty bad when you are looking to run on pavement as an improvement for sore legs. That's where I was at though.
Things didn't improve much as I first went out on the Slate Heritage Trail. I did feel a little better, but I was definitely still sore. I was also going uphill at first, so things weren't easy. This is a pretty nice trail along a creek. I figured this would be a good way to get a couple extra miles done. Any time I can add miles in a different direction like this on a long run, I'll do it.
I passed a guy walking his dog. He was only person I encountered on the entire 2 miles that I ran this trail. Throughout this run, I rarely saw anyone. Only a handful of people. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Slatington is definitely more of drink beers and watch NASCAR on a Sunday type of town than a lace up your sneakers town. That is definitely the case with the weather not being very good.
I turned around after going out a mile on this trail. I then headed back and encountered a lot more downhill. The legs were feeling great at that point. The pavement definitely helped. When I got back to the D&L Trail, I was at the 4 mile point. Rather that head back, I decided to go the other direction towards Cementon. I figured I could run 1 mile out and 1 mile back and get to 8 miles when I arrived at my car. Then I could do a short out and back to finish up at 10 miles. My goal was actually to get to 10 miles, with a minimum of 8 miles and maybe even 12 miles if I felt very good.
Heading south towards Cementon was great. It was warm again with the wind at my back. I didn't quite get to the 5 mile point before turning around. I encountered a guy walking his dog, so I just turned around about .05 miles short.
I figured that heading back towards Lehigh Gap would be brutal. Things actually weren't too bad. There was definitely more of headwind. It wasn't that strong though. If anything, it was actually kind of refreshing after sweating through a lot of the first half of the run. I was glad that I was into the second half of the run.
Thinking about each little segment made this run much more manageable. Going 3 miles back to Lehigh Gap was going to be tough, but doable. I almost had an incident when I got to the Slatington Trailhead. I was busy putting my hat and gloves back on because it was getting colder. I didn't notice a dog and he ran towards me barking. I yelled at him and his owner beeped his horn from the car in the parking lot and the dog backed off. I was thankful for that because he didn't look like a nice dog.
After I was out of Slatington, I was back onto the tough firm trail again. It was much better going in this direction. Maybe that was because I was warmed up or perhaps I was going downhill rather than uphill. Either way, I was doing okay. One thing that helped in this section was that I could see the mountains up ahead. They didn't look too far away. It was encouraging as I got closer and closer to them.
As I did get near them, the wind pick up more and more. By the time I ran by the small airport, it was quite windy. I was disappointed that I didn't see any planes flying today. I was excited when I got to mile 7.5. I knew that I was 3/4 of the way through the run. I was beginning to struggle a bit, but knew I'd complete the 10 miles.
Finally I was at the Lehigh Gap area. I kept going out past the 8 mile point. I figured that I'd keep heading north. My plans changed as the trail conditions changed. It was now soft and wet. I figured I would just have to head back toward the south again. Just after the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, I turned around.
Instead of running on the firm trail, I decided to opt for the road. That wasn't a bad option. The shoulder was a decent size. The only issue was that it was covered in cinders from all the winter snow storms. Cars drove by, but I had no problems. I went past a flea market and was about to turn around. Then I saw a small road up ahead. I thought it was the road to the airport and I was correct. I figured I could run the last mile or so back on the D&L.
I finished up with a strong headwind. It was good to be done. My legs were a little sore, but not too bad. If I had the wind at my back, I probably could've run 12 miles. No need to push it too much though. It was a good workout and I was very happy with the results. Every single mile of the 10 miles was between 8:20 and 8:33. That is very consistent. It was also an easy pace, which is another key.
I'm definitely going to try running 5 times this week. The 5th run will be the Warm Hearts 5K on Saturday in Nazareth. I plan on running tomorrow. I'm just not sure when or where yet. I'd like to go to Trexler on Wednesday, but we could get snowstorm. That might make running there tomorrow the better option. I'll decide in the morning.
10 - 1:24:38 (8:28 pace)
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