Yesterday, I was feeling a bit unmotivated to do a long run. I postponed it to today. I didn't exactly slack off yesterday. I did bike 25 miles, for nearly 2 hours. When I went out the door this morning to head to work, I knew that pushing the run off was a big mistake. It was so much more humid than yesterday.
The plan was to run the usual 15 to 20 mile long run. We had tickets to the ballgame tonight, so I kind of had a tight window. Not that it was that tight, but 15 miles of running takes around 3 hours on trails. I started off right at 1 PM. So that I didn't waste any time, I ran at Jordan Creek Parkway again. It is 5 minutes from work.
I got there and it was incredibly humid. I was just thankful that I would be running in the shade. I figured that that wouldn't help much though. I ran shirtless as I have all summer.
There were far less cars in the lot today when compared to Saturday. That meant fewer people were playing disc golf and I could run the trails around the holes more frequently. I started off immediately to the left and into a new section by many of the holes.
This was a nice start. It ran along the creek and was a flat, dirt singletrack. I wasn't in the way of the disc golf course too much either. It wasn't long before I came to an end and had to cross over a bridge to get back on course. I then ran the singletrack out on the opposite side of the stream.
I stayed on the perimeter and eventually came out to a baseball field. It was the park that I was in last year and I knew exactly where I was. This area had a couple ponds and I looped around them. Someone looked like they were pulling a trap or something like that out of the water. At first, I thought maybe it was some fishing method, but now I'm thinking maybe a beaver trap or some other critter. I don't know.
I thought the section that I ran the other day had so many options. This area took it to a whole new level. It seemed like every .05 miles there was a split in the trail and more options. I felt like I could run there all day and never do the same section twice. At times, I had no idea what direction I was headed. One time, I thought I was going one direction, but I actually ended up going the complete opposite direction and came out right back where I started.
There were a few disc golf holes on this side. I didn't get in the way at this point. One of the holes had a steep uphill climb. Since it was early, I walked up it. Even with all of the in and out running, the mileage wasn't adding up too much. Eventually, I came to the main stone trail and ran on it.
When I got to the paved section, I decided to run the steep uphill. I knew I wouldn't be able to climb this later on because I could trip when I was tired. I ran about 3/4 of the way up it and could've actually run the whole thing. After going in and out of some more trails, I eventually came to my car. I did a little bit of out and back until the next mile.
I was at 5 miles when I got back. Although running wasn't bothering me too much, when I stopped it was awful. I was soaked and could really feel the humidity. It seemed like I might be getting a little lightheaded. I strongly just considered call it a day. Instead, I toweled off, drank some fluids and added some electrolytes to my drink.
I figured that I could probably at least get to 10 miles and then I could be somewhat satisfied and call it a day. I headed back out. This time, I planned to run the section that I had run last time I was there. I was familiar with this section by now. It had some climbing and that was tough. Other than that, it wasn't too bad and it was fun. I was still able to take a couple different routes.
I just focused on getting to mile 10. That would be huge. By now, I was really soaked, but actually getting used to it. You can only get so wet and as long as I'm not chafing and I'm hydrating properly, there isn't an issue. I tried going through the section with all the disc golf holes and was hoping I'd come out with around 11 miles. I got back near my car sooner than I thought though and I ended up at 10 miles when I stopped. I interrupted to people who were trying to take their shots at disc golf. It was later in the afternoon and the course was becoming crowded.
This time, I tried to make the stop at the car quick. Not only was I soaked, but the legs were getting tired too. I didn't know if I could make it to 15 miles, but I figured I'd at least get to 12 miles at this point. I ran along the main path and the trail near the creek that I've run over and over again. I crossed "The Bridge to Nowhere" as I learned it is called and headed onto the singletrack. Normally, I've gone to the right and up this hill. This time I went left. I forgot that it goes along the creek. I think I took this route early on on Saturday's run and had forgotten about it. It didn't add a lot of distance, but every little bit helped at this point.
As much as I didn't want to run on pavement, it was flat and easy and wouldn't be a tripping hazard. Therefore, I started out on the main paved path. I was only going to to go out .15 miles, but I just kept going and going, knowing that I was knocking off distance. Eventually I came to the end of the path and was into a housing development. I turned around.
I ended up following a young couple on mountains bikes. I lost them at the end of the pavement. I realized that they couldn't be going where I was headed because they were riding slow and I likely would've caught them in the singletrack section.
I was so thrilled when I got to 14 miles. I knew I'd make it through the final mile. I had to do a short out and back on the creek section through the disc golf course to finish up. It was such a relief to be done. I really still have no idea how I did it. I just put my head down and kept pushing. I'll need that type of mental toughness for the 50K. It is good to get through a day like this too, in case I have a tough day again in the future.
Tomorrow, I'm hoping I can do another 15-20 miles. I'd really like to get a 20 miler sometime soon. I haven't had enough of those. I think it might be humid or even storming tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. Although I'd like to travel a little for one of these runs, it probably won't be tomorrow. I'll probably just go to Jacobsburg.
15 miles - 2:46:02 (11:04 pace)
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