I was still pretty beat after the climb up South Mountain
Drive on Thursday evening, so heading out to Trexler around lunchtime Friday
was a challenge. I probably wouldn’t
have even bothered going there if I wasn’t trying to keep my weekly streak
alive. I also doubt I would’ve been
running on a Friday either.
I was sunny and warm, although still a little breezy at the
start. That died down quickly
though. I saw a horse trailer in the
parking lot and was hoping I wouldn’t run into them.
With somewhat dead legs, I took it nice and easy in the
beginning. I don’t think I’ve ever run
up the big hill by the Environmental Center with any less effort. It was still a little challenging in the top
third, by then I was going so slowly that it was much easier. That seemed more consistent than a lot of my
runs up the hill.
I now had a lot of recovery time. I went by the bison pen, but didn’t see the
newborn bison. That was a little
disappointing. I continued along at an
easy rate. At some point, I should
consider running a little harder at Trexler.
I know this whole section inside and out by now.
When I got out of the gate and to the road crossing, I saw
the horses waiting to cross the road.
That was great. It was a perfect
time to encounter them. It wasn’t on a narrow
section or anything like that. I slowly climbed up
the hill, sore legs and all. I ran past
a guy that was hiking.
The plan was to at least get out 2 miles and turn around for
a minimum of 4 miles total. I ran up the
hill and the dogs weren't out to bark at me from the nearby houses. It was nice to have peace for a change.
I felt okay as I hit mile 2, so I went on. I figured that I would turn around at 2.5
miles. If I tried going 3 miles, the
trail would start heading downhill and I would have to climb back up. When I turned around, I was on the sloped
part of the trail. That section is one
of the most annoying parts of this loop.
I headed back downhill, but it was into quite the
breeze. I’m used to the breeze being in
the other direction. It was that way all
winter. Although I went downhill, I
didn’t feel great. I think my quads
really took a beating the other day.
I wasn’t sure how much more I had left in the tank. I knew some tough hills were yet to
come. I went over the rocky section and
started the climb on the pavement. This was
getting hard and I was closing in on 4 miles.
I figured that I wouldn’t be pushing that extra mile. I ran up the short, steep part of the
trail. I hit the 4 mile point and
stopped my watch. I then continued the
short distance to the top of the hill.
I walked the remaining mile back to the car. I didn’t want to completely trash my
legs. They already felt quite dead. When I went past the bison area and I saw the
young bison, but it was way up on the hill.
It was still cool to see.
Hopefully, I’ll get a closer glimpse in the next couple weeks.
We are spending the weekend camping in French Creek State
Park, near Reading. I’ve never run here
until today. I love being able to run
and explore new places. Trail running
can be a lot of fun and I’m usually pretty good with directions. The plan was to run 8 miles to hit 50 miles
total for the week. I had a loop sort of
mapped out, although it looked like it could be 12 miles or more.
I headed out from near the campground. The trail started as a fun wooded trail. Then I got to a fork in the trail. Even though I saw the map earlier and thought
I should go left, for some reason I decided that going right was the correct
way. That was a big mistake.
This short section of the trail was nice. It was downhill and through the woods. The whole area is a lot of up and down. Although I enjoyed the run very early on, it
was short lived. I crossed a small road
and I had a feeling it was the park road and not the main road that I was looking for. I came out to Hopewell Furnace
National Historic Site and realized that I was correct in my assessment of the situation. It was cool running through there. It is an old area where they used to make
iron and they kept some old buildings. I
guess they have actors there in the summertime.
Since I didn’t have a map, I didn’t quite know where to
go. I decided to run north up the road
to the original trailhead that I was looking for. This section really sucked. It was up and up and up on the pavement. My legs weren’t enjoying it at all and I was
cursing under my breath.
It seemed like forever and ever to get up the road. The hill was a gradual climb for almost a
mile. I didn’t need that, but if I was
going to climb like that, I’d rather it be on a trail. I was so frustrated.
Finally at the top, I found a parking lot. I stopped and looked at a map. They did have a lot of maps around and I
stopped often to either look at them or adjust my GoPro camera on my head. With that on, my head was very sweaty. It was actually a cool and relatively
comfortable day though.
I finally found the trail I was originally hoping to
do. That didn’t improve my spirits
though. I was hoping for a fun
singletrack through the woods. Instead,
it was a wide and straight doubletrack.
I think it was likely an old road.
Near the trailhead, it was a lot of stone. It wasn’t even crushed stone. It was medium sized stones that rolled under
my feet and provided no traction. I
wasn’t even 3 miles into the run and I was a very unhappy camper.
My trashed legs weren’t enjoying the run either. I was climbing and climbing again on this
section. I continued cursing, this time,
often aloud. Luckily, no one heard
me. I did pass a few people on this
trail, but not many. Not only was my
left calf bothering me, but now my foot was acting up. That happened a little yesterday too. I haven’t had that occur recently, but
sometimes in my past it bothered me going uphill on trails. I'll have to monitor that.
The trail did finally venture off to the left. It was now more of a singletrack through the
woods. It was still climbing some, but
not as much. I ran on that for a
while. I started going downhill and
didn’t want to do that for very long. I
think I turned around at 3.5 miles. I
knew the loop would be downhill and then back up and I wasn’t sure if I could handle
it.
I came back and it was at least a little more enjoyable in
this direction. At least I was going
downhill. It was still uncomfortable
with all the rocks and loose stones. I
just looked forward to getting back near the campground. I’d be around 5 miles at that point.
When I got back to the main road, I crossed over and found
the connector trail that I was initially going to use. It was amazing. I was going uphill now, but it was a soft
dirt path with few rocks. I enjoyed it
and so did my dead legs. They really
started to come around. They didn’t even
mind that I was going uphill.
The trail continued on past the campground road. I ran over there as well. It was more of the same and the trail was
outstanding and I could enjoy it. It was
more in and out running too, instead of just straight ahead.
I ran for a while, but then I hit a rocky stretch. I didn’t want to keep going, so I turned
around. I went back through the trail
from where I came. I was then out onto
the road into the campground.
I had no idea where I wanted to go and I still needed about
2.5 miles to get to 8 miles. I ran
downhill on the pavement and hoped I could find a trailhead somewhere. I never did.
Eventually, I came to the 2nd lake road. I had not been there yet, so I ran towards
it. That was first uphill and again not
fun. A small access road to the lake
went downhill, so I elected not to go there, because I didn’t want to run back
up.
I found a trail that looked like it would go to the
campground. It was going uphill, but I
only had less than half a mile from the finish.
I should’ve stopped and looked at a map.
Instead, I elected to turn around and run back down the hill to the map. I finished up there at just past 8 miles.
I saw the map did go to the campground area. I then walked back and saw a couple that I
had passed quite a while ago. I thought
it must be far to the campground, so I started running. I only could make it .15 miles up the
hill. I didn’t want to kill my legs
anymore. They were already hurting.
Walking back to the site wasn’t as bad as I thought it would
be. I was there in no time and could
finally refresh myself with a drink.
I’m unsure if I’ll run tomorrow or not. My body definitely needs the rest. I would rather try to run tomorrow and rest
Monday though. If I do run, I might
drive to the nearby Schuylkill River Trail.
That is flat and would be much faster.
I am going to cut back my long run distance. I’m hoping to run 13 miles. That could take some time on a trail. I’ll decide whenever the sun rises.
Trexler 4 miles – 36:45 (9:12 pace)
French Creek 8 miles – 1:25:18 (10:36 pace)
French Creek .15 miles – 1:31 (10:32 pace)
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