I set up a crazy group run at Lehigh Gap next weekend. It is going to involve a lot of climbing. While I had an idea of the routes I wanted to run, I needed to check it out. I haven't exactly run all the parts of it yet. I also haven't been there in awhile.
It was nice and warm. I wore a lightweight long sleeve shirt. It was orange, in case I ran into any hunting areas. I also had on shorts. The big downside to today was that it was foggy, so there were no spectacular views of the mountains.
I started off on the flat D&L for a mile. I'm going to have multiple options, with the easiest being to just run on the D&L. The second option will be a short climb up to the LNE Trail. This short climb was a little difficult. I was breathing hard, even after the mile to warmup. A guy that had passed me on a bike earlier was now walking it up the hill. I didn't see many people out on this dreary day.
I climbed and climbed and climbed some more. Last year, I ran this part with Kelley, but it was just too hot that day to do much. I think I probably got about half a mile up the mountain today, before I began to hike. I hiked and ran off and on. Some of the hiking was due to the trail being very rocky and other times it was because I was gassed. I haven't done much climbing lately.
There were a lot of runnable sections of this climb. I didn't always have the energy for them. At one point, I thought I was finally to the top as the trail dipped back down. However, it went right back up again. I was frustrated and couldn't believe how hard the climb was. It will definitely test some limits next week.
Finally, I was at the top. However, I didn't quite know where to go since I didn't have a map. That's why I was glad I was doing this recon though. I don't want to encounter these problems next week. I went down for a short bit, but it was super rocky and I thought the trail ended anyway. It turns out I was correct. There is a nice view there, but it wasn't visible on this foggy day. I had hiked this area before, but that was over 2 years ago.
I then headed the correct direction. It was a short climb again. Finally, I was headed downhill at about mile 2.5. At first, the trail was smooth and fast. As I got near the AT, it became much more rocky. It was starting to rain quite a bit too.
The very rocky section was difficult. I came upon two hikers. At first, I went the other way, but then turned around and passed them. I had to be very cautious going downhill on the wet rocks. I slipped a couple times, but luckily didn't fall. I may have to consider cancelling the run if the conditions are like this next week. I'm sure we would have multiple slips and falls.
Eventually I came out to the AT. Instead of following it to the parking lot, I took it farther. I thought I knew where it came out and I was correct. I wanted to head over to the other side of the mountain for a little. It was getting late, so I didn't plan on running too much over there, but I had to scope some of it out.
I crossed the river over the bridge and ran across the road. I was then onto the Winter Trail. This is nice and flat for awhile. It then climbs like crazy. I forgot that one section is very wet. My feet got soaked as it was impossible to avoid the water. That was fun. I haven't been on trails in awhile, so really the whole run was relaxing and enjoyable. The climbing was tough on my feet and legs, but I managed.
When the Winter Trail started climbing, I headed up. I went until I hit a tree line and then turned around. This isn't the best place for anyone that is afraid of heights, but it isn't as dangerous as I thought. This section is definitely runnable. I briefly ran up the AT in this area too. I'll have to run this whole section next week though, to make sure it is good.
I came back down and headed back to the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. I figured that I would get back there around 6.5 miles. I wanted 8 miles for this run. I ran a short out and back toward Slatington. I don't like this section much, so I was glad it was only a short segment.
I began having some chafing issues again thanks to the rain. Since it was nice out, I just decided to take my shirt off for the final mile. I considered going over 8 miles, but changed my mind and decided that that was enough.
I want to take off on Friday, so I decided to do a double session today. I watched some of the Sound of Music on TV and then headed out for a late night run. I would've preferred a softer surface, but with all the rain today, I knew those would be muddy. I opted instead for the pavement at Mill Race Park.
I think it was even warmer than earlier. I went with short sleeves this time. It wasn't raining, but again it was very foggy and damp. With the headlamp on, a lot of the moisture in the air was very recognizable. It reminded me of the summer night that I ran at Trexler. Of course, it was 30 degrees hotter that day.
The water droplets were annoying and combined with the fog, it was next to impossible to see anything. The visibility was low. Only when I ran by street lights could I see much of anything.
I started off heading toward Tatamy. I stopped when the pavement section ended. When I got back to the start at Mill Race Park it was about a mile into the run. The first few miles seemed to take awhile.
Since I couldn't see anything, I just focused on each upcoming road crossing. That made the miles go a little quicker because none of them are too far apart. I wasn't sure how far out I'd be able to go. It ended up being 2.75 miles more to Hackett's Park. That was 3.75 miles total at that point. I was happy to be almost halfway done with the run.
I happened to turn the side of a cutout just before turning around at the Crayola Factory and I saw a deer right there, just a few feet away and staring at me. That was cool. Later on, I saw a couple others nearby in some grass. I don't know if either was the one I saw earlier.
The remainder of the run was boring and uneventful. I focused on the upcoming mile and/or next road crossing. By mile 5, I was starting to get sore. The big week had been taking its toll. I just plugged along though. I knew at mile 6, I would cross the 100 mile mark in the facebook challenge group that I joined.
I got to mile 6 before Mill Race Park. When I got to the park, it was about mile 6.4. I went back out toward Tatamy. I decided to continue past the pavement and onto the stone part of the trail. I needed more mileage anyway. I continued on again until I was back onto pavement. I then turned around at mile 7.17.
I ran back to Mill Race Park. I couldn't see well at all through the dark section before the park. I'm glad there were no animals or people near there. I finished up with 8 miles right around Mill Race Park. I was fairly sore, so I stretched a bit.
It was a tough day and a very difficult 5 days. I've put 67 miles in over that time. I'm not sure I've ever run that many miles in an entire week, let alone 5 days. I want to finally rest tomorrow and then I'll hit the 70 mile mark for the week at the 5k on Saturday. I'm hoping to break 20 minutes then.
I certainly need the rest tomorrow and will have to get busy on the foam roller. I pushed myself right at my limit. Now, I'll only be running about 8 miles over the weekend. I'm hoping that will allow me to recover. If I can, I want to run 70 miles again next week. I don't want to run much more than that during marathon training, but I want to be consistent from week to week. It is important that I recover well after big mileage weeks.
Afternoon Run 8 miles - 1:30:50 (11:21 pace)
Night Run 8 miles - 1:08:37 (8:35 pace)
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