Running in Reading

One of the great things about running is that you can do it anywhere.  I was going to run at home today, but that didn't fit into the schedule.  The problem was that before work, during work and immediately after it, it was supposed to pour.  It sure did too.

I was heading to Reading for the Nazareth girls basketball game at 5 PM.  When I looked at the forecast for Reading, I saw that the rain would end early in the afternoon.  I thought, why not run there?  I packed my bags and headed there right after work.

Things worked out perfectly.  I had to find somewhere to change, but right as I was ready to start my run, at 2:30 PM, the rain stopped.  It was still cloudy, but quite warm.  The temperature was in the 50s, so I wore my shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

When I was in Reading a month ago, I stumbled upon a park area by a museum.  As I was looking for places to run, I saw this area.  I also saw that it linked with the Schuylkill River Trail.  I decided to run there.  The thing I needed was a paved path.  Although I'm trying to stay off of paved surfaces, a stone trail might be too soft after heavy rains.

I looked at the map and headed off on the Wyomissing Creek Trail.  It linked up with the Schuylkill River Trail about a mile into the route.  I wanted to do some speedwork today.  The plan was to run 800 repeats.

The thing that I was tricky was not knowing the terrain.  It would've made the run a little easier if I did.  Thankfully, most of the trail was pavement, but some of it was beat up and bumpy.  It also was curvy.  That's not ideal for speedwork.

The section of the trail near the museum was beautiful and the landscaping was spectacular.  I had to wait at a light to cross the road.  The trail then went around a park with a pool.  This area along the creek was nice too.

It didn't take too long for things to change.  Reading is a rough city and that was the case along a lot of the run.  It went through some industrial and run down areas.  There was a lot of graffiti.  It didn't seem too dangerous, but I wouldn't want to be hanging out in the area at night.

The trail crossed over the Schuylkill River and shortly after that, it was time to begin the 800s.  The first one was a little tough, but I felt pretty good.  My breathing was definitely heavy.  I didn't feel like I went out too hard.  I was very impressed when it ended with a 6:27 pace.

I still needed all the recovery I could get.  The second repeat was certainly tough.  My paced dropped, but I was still quite happy with it.  It was a 6:40.  I knew I was slipping though.  Somewhere around this point, the trail hit a dead end.  It must've went a different way.  I was beat, so I wasn't going to worry about doing too many repeats.  I had hoped for 6 of them, but 4 would be enough.  I opted to just turn around.

The way back was even tougher.  Not only was I tiring, but the wind was in my face.  I had to work harder.  I just kept pushing.  I couldn't keep this one under a 7 minute pace though.  It ended at a 7:02.

The good thing is that time was sure flying by.  Before I knew it, I was on to my 4th repeat.  This one took me back across the river.  I was at least able to hold this one fairly consistent when compared to the previous one.  It was a 7:01 pace.

I figured that I was done at this point.  I recovered well though and I was back near the pool.  I decided why not just run hard again.  If I felt like quitting before half a mile, then I would do so.  I continued on.  It wasn't easy, but that was fine by me.  When I got to the road crossing by the museum, I had the green light, so I kept going.  The curvy path of the park by the museum slowed me down.  I also came to a flooded section of the trail, so I took another part of the trail.  That was even worse and my feet got soaked.  I was done shortly after that though.  The pace for that segment was a very slow 7:17.  It was good to push myself through the extra repeat though.

Clearly I didn't hold back enough in the first repeat.  I was still happy with my progress.  I just need to get back to running hard again.  I was very happy with the opening 800 that had a 6:27 pace.  Now, I have to string some of those together.  I need to get my 5K pace just under that, so that I can break 20 minutes again.

I continued my cool down in this park area.  It was nice and peaceful.  I watched a couple ducks float down the fast moving water.  My feet got soaked again in another flooded section.  I cooled down for a mile and a half.  Finally, I was done with six miles in the books.  I need workouts like this to get faster.

Needless to say, my legs were quite sore after the run.  I stretched them out.  After sitting through three basketball games, my calf is bothering me a little.  Maybe some more massaging and stretching will help.

I'm not sure what my plan is for tomorrow.  I may or may not run.  I might try to squeeze in another run after work.  I want to run at Trexler though.  That might not happen tomorrow.  I'm driving a couple hours to the Patriot League Championship Game at Bucknell.  If I don't run at Trexler tomorrow, then I'll need to get out there Friday.  That is definitely a possibility.

6 miles - 48:28 (8:05 pace)