Jacobsburg Recovery Run

My quads were killing me today, after yesterday's marathon DNF.  I'm glad I didn't push through it, or I really would've had problems.  Even though I was hurting, I needed to bounce back with a run and mentally recharge myself.  I've been desperate for a trail run.  It has been months since they have been runnable.  I elected to head to Jacobsburg.  I was there in snowshoes over the winter.  Otherwise, it has been since December that I've been there.

The plan was to simply get the muscles moving again.  I only wanted an enjoyable, fun run.  I decided on a simple 4 miles.  I wanted to start in the section across from the main parking lot.  That would give me a decent amount of singletrack running.

The weather was a bit of a challenge.  I went with a lightweight long sleeve shirt and jacket and long pants.  I also put on the headband and gloves.  Those came off quickly and I was quite hot by the end of the run.  With the wind in the beginning, determining what to wear was tricky.

I didn't know what to expect from the trail conditions.  Our grass doesn't have much snow left.  I figured the woods would be different, especially since the woods near my marathon were snow covered yesterday.  I certainly knew some sections would be melted and muddy.

I started off very easy.  It was hard to even run in the beginning with the stiff and sore quads.  They loosened up though.  The beginning had some slight uphill on the singletrack.  It has partial snow and ice and I was able to run around it.  A little farther up, there was more snow and I had to be more cautious.  I had fun navigating around everything and it was just good to be back to running on trails again.  My legs definitely enjoyed the lack of impact.

I was surprised at how runnable this early section was.  I figured the singletrack through the woods would be full of snow.  I guess since the trees had no leaves, it wasn't bad.  I cruised along.  I was surprised at how fast this easy first mile was, considering the conditions.  It was  a 10:05.

I enjoyed the downhill.  While there was mud, it wasn't as much as I expected.  Some of the worst sections were still snow covered I guess.  They will probably be bad in a week or two.  I went through these sections.  The uphills weren't too bad and the pace was easy.  I headed over to the Sober's Run loop.

I came through mile 2 at 9:43.  I was amazed at how fast that was, considering the trail and the beat up legs.  I had so much fun that I didn't look at my watch very often.  This run was just what I needed.

I decided that I wanted to run the singletrack section through the Sober's Run loop.  I thought this could be fun.  I also figured it might have some snow on it.  It has a cliff face on one side and probably doesn't see as much sun as other areas do.  I was correct.  It was definitely tricky running there.  I was surprised however when I looked at my time.  It was a fast 3rd mile at 9:05.  Only the last little bit of that was on the road.  I guess my legs were coming around.

I headed back toward the start.  I was going to run my usual loop up and down the hill around the new building to finish up.  I figured that that would get me close to 4 miles.  I started going uphill and an amazing thing happened.  One deer ran across the trail and a second deer ran the other way.  I've never seen a single deer there in all my times running at Jacobsburg.  That's probably somewhere around 500-1,000 miles.  It's a lot of runs.

I went downhill shortly after that and the trail was clear.  I came across a guy hiking.  He was the only person I saw out there during the whole run.  I guess others will be out there soon enough.

Right near the end of the route is a tricky spot.  It is downhill with only a narrow ridge to run on.  Below that, it's a steep cliff.  I fell here once before, so I knew to be cautious.  However, I didn't realize how bad it was.  I was barely running and I nearly fell.  I caught myself on the upper side wall.  This section wasn't soft at all.  It was very icy.  It doesn't see much sunlight and it probably got walked on a lot.  I nearly fell again just walking down.

Finally, I was able to make my way down it.  I ran a little bit at the end and went a short distance out to the bathrooms.  The final mile was a 9:44.  Overall my pace was faster than I expected.  It was great to be done and it was such an enjoyable run.  It is just what I needed after a tough day yesterday and a tough winter overall.  I can't wait until spring finally fully arrives.

As far as marathons go, I'm looking into a few.  I might run one in Cape May in 2 weeks.  I have to keep up with the weather first.  It is a flat course that I feel like I need.  The big issue might be the wind.  Maybe I'll give it a try and go into it without expectations.  I'll try to start off significantly slower and see what happens.  I won't even worry about tapering before it.  I'll just run it.

Tomorrow, I think I'll take a day off.  My quads are still quite sore and could use the rest day.  I want to jump back into it later in the week.  I hope I can hit more trails now and start saving my legs.  The pavement has beat them up over the winter.


4 miles - 38:37 (9:39 pace)