Yesterday, I felt great during my 20 mile long run and more importantly, I recovered very well too. That allowed me to do what I wanted to do today. That was run a double session. It was supposed to be 5 miles in the AM and 10 more in the afternoon. Instead it was 10 in the afternoon and 5 more after dark.
All the miles were easy, so that was a big key. This afternoon was beautiful. The temperature was in the 50s. I'll take that any day. I went with shorts and a short sleeve shirt for the afternoon run.
I wanted to run somewhere different, so I opted for the D&L Trail at Sand Island. I don't run there very often. I should go there more frequently because it is mostly a dirt path west of Sand Island. It used to be the same to the east, but they just redid the Freemansburg section.
I started off heading west. There was a breeze along the river. It was a little chillier than I anticipated. It wasn't bad once I warmed up though. I almost stepped on a dead pigeon early on. That was an awkward moment.
This path isn't busy, but there were a few people out. I saw a guy in the beginning and passed him again an hour later. I couldn't help but notice there were a lot of lovely young ladies running. I guess most were either Lehigh or Moravian students.
I cruised along and was running with about my usual effort and pace. I enjoyed the path, although it was sloppy at times. This section isn't the most beautiful. It runs right along some train tracks on the other side of the canal. I did see a couple ducks crawling on some ice in the canal. That was neat.
The most annoying thing is that there is a busy train yard where the cars crash into each other. That ended a peaceful run. My peace was also ruined by a nearby island full of crows. They were so noisy.
I kept going out and out. I figured the farther that I could make it, the better. My legs were slightly sore after the big day yesterday, but overall not too bad.
I got to the canal park in Allentown and ran a loop in the parking lot before turning around. That put me at mile 4.5 and meant that I'd get back to Sand Island around mile 9. On the way back, I ran into an interesting older couple that was sort of running and almost looked like they were dancing. It looked funny, but I was glad to see they were out there. A homeless guy was nice enough to say "hi" too.
The legs got a bit sore and I slowed slightly on the way back. I managed to keep going with little problems though. A train drove by and scared the crap out of me with its horn. It had some tankers and I was glad it was going slow. I wasn't sure what kind of chemicals were in there, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been good if it derailed.
I got back to Sand Island at mile 9. I ran out the other direction. I came across quite a few more cute women in this direction. I was actually going to turn around at 9.6 miles, but then I saw one of them up ahead, so I kept going until I passed her. I waited and turned around.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about a lot of these women was how fast they were moving. Some might've been faster than me or at least close to it. This last one had on a St. Luke's Half Marathon shirt. I figured that if I would catch up to her, I'd tell her that I took photos for that race. A brief conversation would've been nice and so unlike me. However, I never came close to her and thus missed my chance.
I stopped at mile 10 and had a walk back to the car. It was a nice and easy, solid 10 miler. I made sure to stretch afterward. I probably don't do that enough. I should get on the foam roller tonight and more often as well.
After dinner and some rest, I headed to the Nor-Bath Trail for 5 more easy miles. I started on the east end at Jacksonville Road. The plan was 2.5 miles in each direction. Since the legs ran earlier, I started off nice and slow. This was actually probably a perfect pace for a second run of the day. The first mile was just under 10 minutes.
I got a little faster, but not much. I had wait at Airport Road both times, but it wasn't too long. I got out to about 1.6 miles and I heard something howling across the field. It was likely a dog, but it could've been a coyote. I wasn't going to take a chance, so I turned around. It kept howling for some time after that. It was never close though.
All of this trail is fairly remote, so no matter where I was it could be slightly dangerous. I wasn't too worried. I headed back and when I got to the end of the trail it was around 3.2 miles.
After that, I headed the other way to the very east end of the trail. This provides about another mile of running. It was easy and fun. The legs were again a little sore, but not bad. I had on a jacket this time, but might not have even needed it.
I got back to Jacksonville Road around 4.25 miles. I decided to go back out in the original direction. I went almost the whole way to Airport Road. Since my overall pace was just over 9 minutes, I decided to push slightly in the last half mile or so. I turned around at 4.8 miles and finished up at 5 miles. I then walked back to the car.
It was another productive day. That's 15 more miles after 20 yesterday. It's only 3 days into the week and I already have 40 miles. Only 30 more miles to go to hit 70 miles. The legs are developing some soreness, so I do have to be cautious and listen to my body.
Tomorrow, I plan on 800 repeats. I'd love to run 10 of them, but I'll let my body decide what it can handle. If it is only 7 or 8, so be it. I should be at the Nor-Bath Trail again.
Afternoon Run
10 miles - 1:22:17 (8:14 pace)
Night Run
5 miles - 44:51 (8:58 pace)
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