We met up at 8 AM. The plan was to run a short 3 mile loop (which of course was longer than that) and then take a break until 9 AM and then run a 6 mile loop for those that wished to do more.
The turnout was great. I didn't get an exact count, but was right around 30 people total. Once again, it was very hot and humid. The only good thing about that is that it was early in the morning, so the temperature began in the 70s.
We started off heading out the Henry Woods Trail. This is nice and flat and wide open to begin with. It is also scenic as it runs along the creek. It makes for a good warmup. I started off ahead of everyone at what I felt was an easy pace. No one really went right with me though. After a little while, this guy Art joined me.
Art and I chatted briefly. He's new to the club and started off by running a Spartan race. I'm not a big fan of those types of races, but at least it is introducing people to running. He hung with me for awhile. That is, until the steep hill anyway.
After making our way out, we came to that hill on the Homestead Trail. It was probably the toughest climb of the whole day. I figured it would split up the group early and it did. There were some women from the LVRR right behind me and they managed to stay together through this tough part. Most of the group fell behind though.
Two of my friends Wayne and Jerry came up with me after the hill. We chatted a lot, quite a bit about running at Trexler. Jerry has just started going there. Another guy, Todd ran with us as well.
The first mile was a 9:17 and the second mile, with the uphill, was a 9:42. It was a decent pace, but nothing too killer. What did make it kind of tough though is that at the top of the hill, it is all open field. We were exposed to the blazing sun. That really wore on me.
The nice thing is that what goes up must come down. We really went flying through the remainder of this loop. There is a lot of downhill where you can open it up. I didn't think we were running as fast as we were, but apparently the third mile was an 8:15.
When I had last run and measured this loop, I believe it was about a 5K. The issue is that since then, they are doing construction and closed the shortest route back to the parking lot. We had to go up to the right. This was a very tough climb and I was struggling a bit. It took a lot out of me. Todd said he saw a Bobcat up ahead of us on the trail, but I didn't see anything.
At one point, we ran into some of the group. They had taken a shortcut (not on purpose). I highlighted the route beforehand on a map, but it can be kind of tough to follow at Jacobsburg. It is hard to truly get lost there, but it is easy to go off track. There are so many side trails and trails that cut through the park.
There was a tight downhill turn with a cliff face that I forgot warn people about. I knew my group up front got through okay and I was glad that everyone else did as well. When we finished up at 3.86 miles, some people were already done. They had just cut right through the construction site. I'm glad my mileage was off. It wouldn't be a true trail run if the advertised mileage was accurate.The pace to that point had been quite brisk for me on a trail, especially considering the heat. I usually don't push much at all when I trail run. That loop's pace was an 8:57.
We had quite a bit of rest between loops. I really needed it. I drank a lot of water, but still didn't feel great. I felt sort of lightheaded. I knew that type of effort on the next loop and I'd be done for.
I saw my friend Aaron in the parking lot. He was only doing the second loop. It was good to see him, but I was also glad he didn't show up earlier. He's so strong and always kicks my butt, so he probably would've worn me out even more in the first loop.
The second loop began just after 9. This time, I wasn't out in front and others wanted to take the lead. That was fine with me. Aaron went out ahead. I ran with Todd for a bit and then told him that he could run with Aaron if he wanted to. Myself, Wayne and another guy stayed just behind them. We ended up getting on the subject of early 90s high school basketball in the area. That was fun and random.
I stuck with them past the road crossing near the red barn. I knew I'd be in trouble if I tried to stay with them all run. They were too strong and I wasn't adapting to the heat very well. I was far ahead of the rest of the group, so I figured that I would be stuck running alone.
I probably ran about half a mile alone. Then, right as I was coming to the small bridge over a creek, I saw a woman coming up behind me. I don't think she shortcut the course. She seemed to come from out of nowhere.
She wasn't really gaining on me though as we went over the three road crossings. That section was muddy, as it always is, and was a blast to run through. She faded a little with this section being uphill, but I could still see her. Since she didn't know where she was going, I wanted to make sure not to lose her completely. I kept looking back.
The frustrating thing is I can't recall her name and I ran a lot of this second loop with her. I'm really bad with names and forgot a lot of the people that I met during this run. I need to do a better job with that. After the road crossings, it flattened out and she caught up and we ran together. I was glad to see the group in front of us went up the powerline trail. I wasn't sure if they would know that I wanted to turn there. That hill is tough because it is wide open and exposed to the sun.
I saw Wayne and Todd up ahead and they were walking up the hill. Even though this hill is tough, I wouldn't normally walk up it. However, that looked like a good idea, so I did the same briefly. The woman kept going.
Todd began running again, but started to slip. I began to catch him and when I did, we chatted for awhile. The first mile of this loop had been pretty fast, under 8 minutes. The next 3 were over 9 minutes each. The one where I walked was almost 10 minutes. The final 2 miles plus were back under 9 minute pace.
Earlier, I had told the woman to basically turn right if you are unsure. When she was up ahead of Todd and I, she did just that. However, she would've come out at a road. We yelled for her to come back and she did and then caught up to us.
Todd, the woman and I ran together on the flat part. We came to Dave, Christina, Mel and a couple others. They had cut back the other way earlier on and were actually doing the Sober's Run loop in the opposite direction. That worked out in the end, although I think they got slightly lost.
Todd faded back and it was just the woman and I. We ran together to the road crossing and then back onto the trail. Now, we were finishing like we started the first loop. I asked the woman if she wanted to do the tough uphill and longer finish or take the shortcut. She was fine with either. I really wanted to climb some more, but didn't feel like my body had it, so we went the easy route along the road.I pulled ahead of the woman on the road. It was just past 6 miles of this loop when we arrived at the parking lot. I decided to run to 6.14 miles, so that I would have an even 10 miles for the day. The run ended right at the bridge and we waited for others to finish up. The group in front of us ended up running longer.
It was a good run. Although some people got slightly lost, no one got REALLY lost. I think just about everyone had someone to run with as well. It was a good turnout and a lot of fun. I'll probably do it again some time. Maybe I'll try again in the fall when the leaves change. I wish the trails at Jacobsburg were less confusing, but oh well.
My legs were feeling good, until I was on my feet at a kid's party all day anyway. Now, the quads are sore. I might have to get on the foam roller tonight. Looking at my pace, it is amazing how relatively consistent both loops were.
I'd love to run 20 miles tomorrow morning. After today's 10 miler, I'm not sure that that can happen though. It will be hot again, so that will be tough as well. I'll just have to see what my legs have. Like last week, anything over 15 miles would be nice.
Loop 1 3.86 miles - 34:29 (8:57 pace)
Loop 2 6.14 miles - 55:36 (9:03 pace)
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