10 and 10

I haven't worked out at all since Friday.  I haven't become lazy, I've just been busy.  I watched over 20 basketball games over the weekend.  Yesterday, the weather was stormy.  That meant I had to get a lot done today.  I opted to bike and run.

I had to work at lunch and later in the afternoon.  In between, I got out for an easy 10 mile bike ride.  That was nice.  The weather was much better than last week.  It was still humid, but only in the 80s.

After dinner, I had to try to get my run in.  I needed to let my stomach settle a little.  I knew that starting around 7 PM would mean that I'd be close to dark when I finished my planned 10 mile trail run.  I'm basically just running on trails these days.  

I headed to Jacobsburg again.  This time, I parked in the small lot at the north end of the park.  I wanted to start somewhere different for a change, even though I'd be running about the same course.

I ran the Sober's Run Loop.  I went in the clockwise direction this time to change it up.  Usually, I run the other way.  The beginning was annoying because they haven't trimmed the brush along the trail in that section.  After I got past there, I was on to the nice, soft dirt section along the ridge.  I went along nice and easy.

I was on the main trail and instead of staying on that, I ran the winding dirt singletrack along the creek.  I just discovered this section and I really like it.  It is peaceful along the water and it is kind of remote.  Plus, it is something new. 

After that ended, I came back onto the main trail.  This was a different section than I usually run too.  I wasn't sure where it would come out.  I still sort of knew where I was.  The path then came out to a road and I had to turn around and come back.  It wasn't too long and I was on the section I am familiar with.

This next section was a long gradual uphill.  Usually when I run this loop, I go the other direction and I have a steep uphill and gradual downhill.  This time, it was the opposite.  Because this section was such a gradual ascend, I ran most of it.  I did walk for a short bit though.  I didn't walk much at all during this run.

It wasn't too long and I was back at my car to wipe off with a towel and refill my water bottle.  By now, I was at mile 3.33.  I still had 2/3 of the run to go.

I decided that I would run my usual long loop.  This time, I would going the opposite direction too.  It rained a lot and I was looking forward to running through the muddy sections between the roads.  That was sure a fun mess.  I was glad I didn't lose a shoe.  Going this direction, this section was mostly downhill.

I was now around mile 5.  By this point, my shorts were soaked from sweating.  Even though it was cooler, it was still humid out.  The most annoying part of the whole run was in this area.  As I ran through the woods, flies or some bugs kept landing on my sweaty head.  It was annoying.

I saw some bikers in this section.  I came across quite a few people on this run.  There were a handful of mountain bikers, some hikers and two runners.  I rarely see anyone trail running there.  Of course I was on the only one running shirtless, but I sweat so much that I'm glad I did that.

I cruised along the path toward the main parking lot.  This section was nice and easy.  It was starting to get a bit dark under the cover of the trees.  It was somewhere around 7 miles where I got to the water fountain for a brief water refill.  Luckily, I didn't really need it since it was cooling off a lot.

I watched the miles tick away.  Now, I headed up the steep path.  I ran just about the whole thing since I was feeling good.  I was going to run my usual route, but in reverse.  Then I saw the path that leads to the open field area.  I knew it would be a tough uphill, but it would be short.  After that, it would be mostly flat and I could cruise along.  There was a lot of downhill.

I cruised down the trail.  This section was nice because it was open to daylight.  I didn't have much of that remaining, but it was good to have.  Eventually, I was back to the road and going back to the Sober's Run Loop.

I was over 8 miles and figured that when I got back to my car, it would be 9 miles.  By now, I was getting a bit tired.  Plus, I was soaked.  I was also losing a lot of light.  I could've ran through the true dirt trail section back to my car, but with little visibility and my headlamp in the car, I opted for the flatter normal path. 

I got back to my car at almost exactly 9.33 miles.  That meant this longer loop was 6 miles long.  I decided to cross the road and do a short out and back on the Bushkill Trail.  I was just hoping they didn't ticket my car because it was after dark.  I went out and turned around and finished up at 10 miles.

My quads were a bit sore.  It was a nice run though.  I was happy to hit double digits.  I'm hoping that I can run another 10-20 easy trail miles tomorrow.  I'm trying to get myself used to running back to back long runs.  That is a staple of ultra running.  I did that pretty well that the other week.  I also hope for another double digit bike ride tomorrow.  It is time to get back to work with my training.

10 miles - 1:49:15 (10:55 pace)