I took off from running and biking yesterday, since it rained a lot. I had done one or the other or both for about 10 straight days, so that meant I could use a break anyway. Today, it was time to get back at it and in a big way.
The plan was a 15 mile trail run and then follow that up with 15 miles on the bike. I would've liked to have biked in the morning, but I didn't sleep much last night and I needed some rest.
I headed out to Jacobsburg for the run in the afternoon. I'm kind of getting tired of running there, but it is close and I didn't have a lot of time. It is also an easy route to run.
For summertime, the weather wasn't bad. That said, it was still humid and being out there for hours, I knew I'd sweat a lot. I went shirtless as usual. That was a big help, but of course I was still soaked by the end of the run.
I ran my regular 6 mile loop from the main lot first. I started along the crowded creek section. I haven't run since Tuesday, so I felt quite fresh. I cruised along. It was pretty uneventful. I then saw a half eaten raccoon on the trail. That was rather interesting.
I went along and got faster as I ran on. When I got through some of the narrow sections, I noticed that it was very muddy. Some of these sections usually aren't too bad. It rained a lot on Thursday, so I knew the rest of the route would be a mess.
Sure enough, the normally muddy section was very muddy. Typically, I can run around it. Instead, I didn't even try to this time. It was just too muddy. Luckily, someone put some sticks on one section. My feet got covered in mud regardless.
I walked some of the uphill in this section, but for the most part, I just ran. My pace was much faster than a few weeks ago when it was very hot. I crossed all the roads and was to the Sober's run loop.
I guess they cut some of the brush in this area. It wasn't a problem today. When I got to the small parking lot, I saw some equipment spreading stone on the trail. I ran through there. It was nice that they were doing maintenance, but the stone is too soft right now. I was glad that I wouldn't be on this section for very long. I got to the powerline uphill and walked up most of it.
My left upper quad area has been having some minor discomfort. It really started to bother me around mile 4 or 5. Luckily, it didn't get worse. It actually improved as the run went on.
After getting to the top of the hill, there was a lot of downhill. The pace dropped as I cruised downhill. When I came out to the road, I saw a woman running on the road. I ended up following her. She turned on the trail that I was headed. I guess she had headphones in, so she was shocked when I yelled, "coming on your left." I said, "I tried not to scare you too much." She responded, "It's too late for that."
I wanted to walk up the big hill near the new building and I did that for a short while. However, the woman was coming up from behind and I didn't want to be leapfrogging with her. When she got close, I just ran again.
When I got to the spot where I usually head back to the parking lot, I decided to run the other direction. This section is along a ridge and can be a bit tricky, so I don't run there much. Last time I did so, it was last fall after the hurricane. Trees were down everywhere. Now, it was clear.
I had fun on this section. I had enoyed leaping over roots. At one point, I had to pass a family that was hiking. There was someone walking a dog too.
I got back to my car at 7.75 miles. It was good to be over halfway done. The longer loop at the end added some distance. I took a much needed break to towel off, drink some water and also eat a Clif Bar.
After about 15 minutes, I headed back out. This time, I was going to run the shorter loop through the open field. I knew the beginning was uphill and that would be difficult. The second half of the loop would be downhill though.
I walked a lot of big hill in the beginning. I was thrilled that it was now cloudy in this open field. My pace was under 10:30 for most of this run. I was just trying to focus on each upcoming mile at this point.
When I got to the split for a second time, I took the fun, longer way again. When I got down to the main path, I suddenly had to use the bathroom. I ended up using one of the inground ones that smells awful. My pants were soaked from running and putting them back on was no fun. When I restarted, I started to chafe. I was past 12 miles into the run at this point and close to the car.
I got to the car back at 13 miles. I rested briefly again and grabbed more water. I crossed the street and wanted to run a mile out and back. I really sputtered along. I struggled with the chafing issue.
Someone I slowly made it back. I felt pretty good in the final 2/3 of a mile, so I pushed the pace. It had been over 10:30 before that point. It dropped under 10:30 when I finished up. I was exhausted.
After a couple hours of a break and some dinner, I went back out to bike. I rode a nice and easy 15 miles. The end was a little tough because I was exhausted after nearly 4 hours of working out.
Tomorrow should be another tough day. In the morning, I'm volunteering at the Blue Eagle 5K. I normally like to run it, but I'm so slow right now so I didn't bother to sign up. After that, I'm planning on another 15 mile trail run. I'm not sure where that will be at yet. I'm thinking that I might want to go to Blue Marsh Lake. There is a 50K than I want to run there in October and I'd like to see some of the course. I also want to bike 20 more miles. If I can do all of that, it will be the conclusion of a big week. I will have put in over 40 miles of running and 100 miles of biking. That will easily be my biggest week ever. Hopefully everything goes well.
15 miles - 2:37:05 (10:28 pace)
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