Yesterday's 20 miler was fun, but challenging. The legs were very sore afterward. I was wondering how I'd be able to run again today. I also wasn't sure how I could manage 20 more miles. However, as I watched friends run the St. Luke's Half Marathon this morning, I realized that I recovered pretty well.
I was tired when I got back. I tried taking a nap, but that didn't work. Finally, around mid afternoon, I got out the door. I headed to Jacobsburg. I figured it would be good to run local after yesterday's trip.
The weather was kind of tricky. When the sun was out, it could be warm. That was when the wind wasn't blowing though. It was breezy and chilly. I opted to start with a shirt. I figured that I could take it off if needed. That was a good choice, because I needed it.
I started heading out to do the main longer loop that I usually do. I walked some of the early, short uphills, but this route is so runnable. I didn't stop much. The legs were feeling pretty good.
The wind was kind of annoying at the top, near the highway. I enjoyed when I got on to the singletrack. That was much more fun than the section with more stone. I was disappointed when one section was closed for trail maintenance. Even more disappointing was it looks like they bulldozed that trail and made it wider. It was more fun as a narrow singletrack. It did get messy when it rained though.
I walked some more of the short hills. Finding places to walk was difficult because this trail is so easy. It wasn't long and I was on to the Sober's Run Loop. I had run for quite some time, but it was flat or downhill for a bit, so I kept running. I knew I'd have to walk the powerline section.
I saw a horse as I started that section. I did walk up this part. It is quite long and I watched my overall pace climb. I knew I'd be flying on the downhill back half.
I took it easy, but was cruising on the downhill. I was to the road in no time. I was now around mile 5. I felt good, but couldn't believe I was only a quarter of the way done with the run. I should've walked the pavement, but instead, I kept running.
I walked the big uphill later on. That was behind the new building. I was adding on to make this loop a bit longer. I had a blast going over the narrow ridge section. It goes up and down and has lots of roots. That is my favorite part. The only issue is getting around hikers. There were a ton of hikers today, because it was a nice day out. The main lot was actually full of cars when I pulled in.
Before long, I was done with the first loop. It was slightly over 7.5 miles. I ran it somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:15. I was right around a 10 minute pace.
I stopped to towel off, stretch, and eat and drink some more. It was only a few minutes. I did carry GU Chomps again, as well as a handheld. I was feeling alright, considering the circumstances.
I debated whether to run the longer loop again, or more shorter ones. I figured the farther along I could get with each loop, the better. I headed back out. I walked the short hills again and ran a lot more. I felt okay for awhile, but somewhere around mile 9 or 10, I was getting kind of lightheaded. That has happened to me before here. I think it was probably on chilly days. I walked a little more and was good after that.
I was to the Sober's Run Loop in no time. I continued to run a lot until the powerline. Walking up that part was much needed. I still had nearly half of the run to go. The recovery was great. I had to be careful though, because it was hard to start back up after long walking periods. Eventually, the legs would come around though.
I cruised downhill after that. That was tricky because it was easy, but my quads weren't thrilled about going downhill. It wasn't steep, so at least they weren't killing me. My overall pace dipped under 10 minutes again.
This time, I walked the road section. It isn't long, but I lost some time because of that. I ran for a bit, then walked the steep uphill again. I walked some of the uphill on the ridge part too. I arrived back at my car at 15.55 miles. It was great to be through 15 miles at least. My legs were far from great, but they weren't falling off. I ran a lot of the end of this loop, so they were a bit tired.
After another rest period at the car, I decided to run the short loop through the field section. I knew that that was about 4 miles. I ran a lot of the beginning and even pushed some of the uphill near the Boulton area. I knew a steep and long hill was upcoming. I was going to walk one of the hills, but these kids were waiting at the top to push a tire down it. I didn't want to hold them up.
I walked the steep uphill and lost more time. It flattens out toward the top, but still climbs slightly. I just decided to run when I hit mile 17. I was feeling okay.
I ran along at what seemed like a slow pace. I guess it was solid though, because I still managed a 9:04 mile 18. My pace dipped down toward 10 minutes flat again.
I continued to sputter along in this open field. There was a lot of wind there and it was kind of annoying. I looked at the mountains in the distance and enjoyed that view. It distracted me.
Since I wasn't feeling as bad as I thought I would be, I had to challenge myself, so I continued to run. I figured that that would make it harder on my body. I think I basically ran all of the final 3 miles.
I arrived back at my car at a little over 19 miles. I didn't want to go up the hill to finish, so I headed back on the flat main trail. I went along easy. I ran by a couple with dogs. The woman say "hi" but it was more in the way of someone you know. I think it might've been someone that I've run with before, but I didn't actually look that closely when I saw her. I was beat by then.
I went on this section to avoid hills. Instead, I pushed right up one and didn't turn around until I got to the top of it. I wanted to test myself. I turned around with .35 miles left. I finished up on the flat and walked some to recover. The pace was under 10 minutes now, thanks to all the late running.
This was certainly not an easy run, but actually I was kind of disappointed. I thought I'd struggle more with a second straight day of 20 miles. The body felt pretty good though. I need to stress it a little more in the next week and then recover. If I can't put more stress on it, I might be screwed during the 50 miler.
I've now run 62 miles in the last 4 days. That has to be my biggest 4 day period ever. Tomorrow is my off day and I look forward to it. I might take an extra off day sometime too, after this big weekend. I would like to run fast one day during the middle of the week. It doesn't have to be long at all. I just want to keep the legs sharp.
20 miles - 3:19:11 (9:58 pace)
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