Merrill Creek to End a Cut Back Week

After pushing pretty hard the last few weeks, including 40 miles running and 100 miles biking last week, this was a cut back week.  I sort of ending up taking it to the extreme and didn't do much at all.  I ran and biked way less than I had hoped to.

My bike tire had a hole in it and I had to get a new one before it got a flat.  It is now fixed, so I will test it out soon.  I ran on Tuesday, but the rest of the week, I ended up slacking off.  I wanted to run Thursday, but we had some pretty wicked storms.  Yesterday was unbearably humid, so I skipped that day.  I probably would've run one of those two days if it was a normal week.  Even today's run wasn't what I had hoped for.

Jacobsburg has been a perfect place to run, but I'm there so much that I'm getting tired of it.  Plus, I'm not crazy about having to do so many loops.  Still, it is good because I can at least run somewhat fast and it isn't too challenging, so I can do a 10+ mile run.  The biggest issue I've encountered since switching to all trail running is the time it takes.  I need to commit 2 to 3 hours for every run, since it is much slower than road running.  I guess I need to get faster on trails.

I decided to change things up and run at Merrill Creek in New Jersey.  It is a bit north of P-Burg.  I've run there some in the past, but I don't go there too often.  I'd bet that I haven't been there in 4 months or so.  It a trail around the outside of the reservoir.  A lot people boat there.  The scenery is great.

Each loop is about 5.5 miles and the trail varies.  It starts off as a wide stone path and eventually becoming a rocky and root covered singletrack through the woods.  The trail also goes over top of 4 dams.

I started off at the main parking lot by the boat launch.  This section of the trail is wide and covered in stone.  My legs have been off for days, yet my quads bothered me in this section.  The fairly even strides that I take combined with a harder surface than I'm used to, bothered me.  The upper quad area was sore early on.

The other challenge was that I was going uphill quite a bit early.  It wasn't steep, but it was a challenge with my legs not warmed up.  The temperature was pretty nice and it wasn't very humid, but the sun does shine on a lot of of this trail.  I was also somewhat hot because I wore a hat and my GoPro camera on top of it.

It wasn't too long until I was to the first dam.  It is awesome running on top of the dam (even if the stones are big).  It is cool having the water right next to you.  The scenery in this part was a big reason I wanted a GoPro.  I haven't worn it much in the summer because it is just too hot.  Today, I couldn't pass up the chance for some good photos.  I wasn't disappointed either.

After the first dam, it is back into the woods for a short while.  Then, comes the second and longest dam.  There is a gate in front of this one.  The trail goes down to the bottom and then comes back up.  The problem with this is that it is probably a couple hundred feet of elevation change.  I figured I wasn't supposed to run on top of the dam, but I decided to do so anyway.  I went down some big rocks and around the fence.  When I got to the other side of the dam, I realized there is a pedestrian walkway at the top.  I guess they don't care about foot traffic on the dam, they just don't want vehicles on it.  That was good to know.

I ran along the dam while people were paddling on the water.  One woman was facing me and rowing the same direction as I was running.  That was cool.  I was relieved to finally get to the end of the dam.  This time, I went right through the normal gate.

I was now onto the wooded singletrack.  I walked some of the slight uphills in this area, to make sure that I didn't run too much.  I was planning on 15 miles of running, so I needed to be conservative.

Around 2.5 miles, I came to a bench in the middle of the woods.  It is an odd spot.  I guess it is pretty accessible because there were 3 young ladies there.  I remember seeing some young kids there last year too.  I think last year they were smoking and maybe drinking.  Perhaps it is a teenage party type hangout, since it is quite remote.

Shortly after that section.  I followed the trail downhill to the right.  I wasn't paying attention.  I then realized that this went nowhere.  It was just straight into the water.  I had to walk back uphill.  My camera was dead at this point, so that sucked too.

I was now back on the main trail.  From this point on, I payed more attention to the blazes.  This back trail section was much more difficult than I recall.  Nothing is too steep, but it is like a roller coaster, up and down, up and down (although it seemed much more up than down).

I then came out on the third dam.  This one is much shorter than the previous one.  I passed some people walking on it.  I then headed back into the woods briefly before the final, short dam.

I was now about 4 miles into the loop.  This last section was anything but easy though.  It was a lot more up and down and even more roots and rocks than before.  I knew this could be a big challenge in later loops.

I passed a few people in this section.  I went by a couple on a narrow stretch.  Shortly after that, I ducked under a tree branch.  The top of my head hit the branch and I forgot about the GoPro.  That crashed right into the branch and fell to the ground.  Luckily, it didn't break.  Shortly after that, I bashed my foot into a sharp rock just before a footbridge.  That hurt and this section was no fun because of those two incidents.

I thought it might get easier in the last half mile or so.  I was wrong.  There was more uphill and more rocks.  I still would like to know where all the downhill was.

Finally, I went through a more pleasant section.  As I was heading down one hill, I realized I needed to go up the other trail a short distance to get to my car.  I turned around and finished up at my car.  I stopped my watch at exactly an hour.

The plan was to rehydrate and refuel.  I had not eaten any lunch.  I was beat and couldn't recover.  My quads felt better, but they were still bothering me.  I thought about how difficult the first loop was and how much harder a second loop would be.  I had had enough of the stone path, the sun and the rocks and roots.  I was disappointed, but I decided that calling it a day was the best option at that point.

I didn't do quite what I wanted, but I'll pick it up next week.  I think the most disappointing thing was how much my quads were bothered by the stone trail.  They've been better since I went to dirt trails, but I guess it will still be an ongoing problem on other surfaces.  I was hoping to just cruise through the VIA Marathon nice and easy, but it looks like those surfaces could be a real struggle for me.

As I mentioned, finding places for 15+ miles on trails is tough and it is so time consuming.  I guess I need to run more with friends.  That is difficult for me too because I hate getting up early to run and that is when most people who have a life actually run.  I guess it is a decision I will have to make.  What do I enjoy more, sleep or company?

Tomorrow, I am going to a 2 year old's birthday party.  Somehow, I have to find time for a run either before or after it.  I'd like for the run to be 15 miles, but I guess I'd be happy if I at least hit 10 miles.  I'm not going to up my weekly training much from the current 40 miles of running a week and 100 miles of biking.  I just want to stay consistent now.

The other big news of the week was that I signed up for a 50K.  It will be my first ultramarathon.  It takes place near Reading around Blue Marsh Lake in early October.  I can't wait for that weather.  I need to find some time to run there before the race.  I can't wait to dip into the world of longer runs.

5.44 miles - 1:00:01 (11:02 pace)