It didn't look to promising for a long run earlier in the day. It was raining down buckets. I don't mind running in the rain, so I probably would've done about 5 miles. However, there was no way that I would run 15 or more miles. I took a nap and had to drag myself out the door around dinner time.
I went to Jacobsburg for the run. Of course being in the woods, everything was still wet. The good news was that the rain had stopped. I decided to park in the small lot at the far end of the trail, near the new Bushkill Township Trail. I'd start with the Sober's Run Loop.
I went without a shirt and was questioning that decision briefly. The temperature was nice and cool, in the low 70s. However, the air was still damp. I felt great in the first mile, but by mile 2, I was wiping sweat from my head. It is amazing how used to it your body eventually gets. That or you are just so soaked that you can't get any worse. After an hour or so, I didn't feel bad. It also got cooler I guess.
I began with a short loop along the creek. Some of that is stone trail and another part is dirt singletrack. I thought about continuing this loop over and over and over again. I figured it would drive me crazy though. I also ran along the other section of the creek, nearby. This is a fun singletrack too.
Although I was back at the car, I didn't stop there. I wasn't more than a couple miles into the run. I continued on to the normal loop in that area. That meant an early climb up the powerline section. I decided to walk up it to be cautious. After that, it is a lot of downhill, so I cruised.
I had some issues trying to figure out where to go from this point. I was going to run through the muddy section, but the mud I encountered was just too much, too soon. I came out to a road and started running up it. I then just decided to head back down it and take my normal route.
This meant a climb up the big hill by the new building. I walked up this too, so that I could conserve energy. I didn't walk much on this day though. When I got to the water fountain by the main lot, I refilled my bottle briefly. I was around 6.5 miles at this point.
I decided that I would take the long section from here that I usually begin with. That would get me fairly close to 10 miles. Then, I could stop and rest at the car. There weren't many people out after such crappy weather, but I came across a very attractive young lady who was mountain biking by herself. I can't remember the last time I actually saw a woman on a mountain bike, particularly alone. I saw two guys on bikes with a dog later on. Luckily, we didn't really cross paths.
I went through the muddy section and that was a blast. Usually, I can hop over or go around the mud to avoid it. There were some massive puddles today and I had no choice but to go right through them. I crossed all the roads and came out near the Sober's Run Loop. I was almost back to my car. Rather than head there, I decided to go the opposite way and take the short loop along the creek to my car. That would add some mileage.
This was about a mile and a half more. It is an easy section. Still, I started to get tired. My only rest break was the brief water stop. My legs had no time to recover. After 15 miles yesterday, they were starting to feel it.
I got back to the car at just over 11 miles and was exhausted. I toweled off a bit, drank some more water and ate a Clif Bar. I definitely wanted to get to 15 miles, but in the back of my mind I was thinking I could do 17. I had decided that fairly early on in the run.
I headed back out, planning the usual Sober's Run Loop. That meant a walk up the powerline hill, but a lot of nice downhill after that. That would be good as I would approach about the 14 mile point before getting back to the car. At one point, you can turn right off of the main trail and go out to a road. I ran a short out and back there. In the end, it got me to just over 14 miles.
By now, it was starting to get dark. If I wasn't behind trees, it wouldn't have been too bad. The singletrack in the woods was getting tough to see though. I had tripped over a root earlier and didn't want to fall. I was cautious. I made it out fine.
When I got back to my car, I had about a mile to go to 15 miles and 3 miles to get to 17 miles. I decided I would try to run a little on the Bushkill Township Trail. I needed flat and easy to run surfaces since it was getting dark and I was getting tired. This worked out well because it was a little brighter in this area.
I got to mile 15 and turned around on the trail. I couldn't see my watch, so I just had to listen to the beep at each mile. I have a light on my watch, but when I sweat too much, it acts funky if I touch it. I didn't want to mess with it.
I got back to my car just before mile 16. It was very dark by now. I continued onto the main trail. This time, it would just be a short out and back. Since I couldn't see my watch, I didn't quite know how far to go. I didn't go out far enough, so I had to do another short out and back before I finally heard the beep.
I had a tough 17 miles in the books, after 15 miles yesterday. That's definitely the most mileage I've ever done on back to back days. I'm a bit sore, especially since I ran on a stone trail near the end. My feet were bothering me a little. If it wasn't dark, I might've really pushed myself to 20 miles. I was glad to get a couple miles over 15.
Tomorrow will be a rest day from running. I'm hoping to get on the bike for 30+ miles. If I have time on Friday, I'll do the remaining 8 trail running miles for the week. It would be nice to get to Saturday and basically be able to rest.
17 miles - 2:56:54 (10:24 pace)
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