Today was my last scheduled long run. The plan was for 23 easy miles. I couldn't get up in the morning, so I didn't run at Eddyside. I walked out the door with all my gear at noon. It was so hot, so I walked back inside. I decided that I'd run in the evening or even the dark. That wasn't the worst idea.
It was cool when I first started, at least by current standards. It was still hot enough to go shirtless and of course my shorts were still completely soaked by the end. I hate summer so much.
I didn't eat dinner before the run. I would end up paying for that. I headed to Northampton for the run. I figured that I could run on the D&L, Ironton Rail Trail and Nor-Bath Trail from the middle of Northampton. It would take a little distance to get to each trailhead, but that was fine. I could just about divide the run up nicely into thirds.
I parked next to Northampton High School's baseball field. I put on my headband, filled my handheld and grabbed some GU Chomps. I ran toward Main Street to start out.
The plan was to go out to 3.5 miles and turn back for the first segment. I'd head over to the D&L first. I'm not crazy about that surface, so it was a good place to start.
I felt good as I ran through town. I was on the D&L fairly quickly. I opened with a nice 8:10 mile. The legs were sharp. It was still a little hot, but in general, not too bad. I could deal with this temperature and humidity all summer.
I cruised along up the trail. I was relaxed and not looking at my watch too often. The cliff along the trail blocked a lot of the early sun. The run was going well. I began clicking off miles at sub 8 minute pace. I was working at a comfortable effort too.
There were a few people out on the trail, but I was surprised that there wasn't much traffic. It was rather light. I got out to 3.5 miles in no time and I turned back around.
Heading back to Northampton wasn't bad. This first segment was nice. As long as I focused on getting to the end of it, things were good. It was when I realized how much more mileage I had left overall that gave me problems. It seemed overwhelming.
I was back at my car just past 7 miles. I was a little sweaty and exhausted. The stop was good though. I dried off, refilled my water and grabbed some more GU Chomps.
Next on the agenda was to run the Ironton Rail Trail. This would be a little more challenging. I'd have to run over the river on the bridge and then go down and find the trail. I ran through Northampton, to the bridge. I had a nice downhill segment. I wasn't crazy about climbing this later.
I crossed over the bridge. I saw some stairs, but then I realized that they were closed. I started running on the road parallel to the trail. There was a road that didn't look like it went down to the rail trail, or rather it looked like it was fenced in.
I continued on along the road. There were lots of houses, but no path to the trail. I was over 1.5 miles out from my car at this point. I passed a few kids playing catch in the street. Finally, at a dead end, there were steps down to the trail.
I began running the trail in the clockwise direction. I couldn't believe that I wasn't at mile 10 yet. I had a long way to go yet. The good thing is the sun was setting and it was getting cooler and cooler. I felt good and at times, I was almost chilly. This trail was quite busy.
It was slow early on, but I got into a groove and cruised along. I was thrilled to get to mile 10. Then I hit the halfway point at 11.5 miles. Getting to 13 and 13.1 miles was nice too. I tried to focus on making it to the main parking area.
That actually occurred right before 13 miles. I wanted to get there, so that I could drink some cold water. That brief stop was refreshing. I was feeling a little beat though. I was hoping to be fresher at that point.
I finished up the loop. When I got to the bridge, I saw that the road I was looking at earlier, went up to the bridge. I took that route. I figured that I'd arrive back at my car around mile 15. That would be nice.
I decided that I wanted a little more distance. Therefore. I ran to Route 329 and then down Laubach, back to the high school. That got me very close to mile 16, when I was at my car. I did a short out and back to hit that mark.
It was good to have 2 of 3 segments done. I threw my headband off and dropped off my handheld too. It was getting very cool and nearing darkness too.
I was shocked at how wiped out I was at this point. I almost considered quitting right there, but I decided to tough it out. I hoped that the break would be a big plus. I toweled off, drank some more and popped a couple GU Chomps.
I took off for the Nor-Bath Trail. The downhill start was excellent and I felt much better. That didn't last at all though. I began to feel awful on the side of Northampton High School. I was only about half a mile into this segment. I was completely exhausted and having some minor stomach issues. I just turned around to go to mile 17. I was very disappointed.
I ran to mile 17 to finish the run. I ran very slowly up the hill to finish up. I was quite disappointed. The heat might've taken some toll, but I was done in mostly by not eating dinner. I definitely needed more calories in my system, than the few I was getting from GU Chomps. I usually don't worry about calories and I don't have a problem with them. Without eating though, I crashed big time today. I was even still exhausted when I got home.
I do have to laugh a little that I ran 17 miles and I'm disappointed. I came up 6 miles short of my goal. I could've struggled badly and made it to mile 20, but that would've been pointless. I just called it a day. This was supposed to be my last long run before the marathon. Therefore, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Tomorrow, is normally my off day. However, I'm busy on Tuesday. Therefore, I'll probably take off Tuesday and run a bit tomorrow. It would be nice to run twice tomorrow. Maybe I can get up in the morning for a short run. I'd love to hit 90 miles this week. I think I might shoot for 20-23 more miles on Wednesday. I don't think I can let this week go without running that far. It just won't sit well with me.
17 miles - 2:14:18 (7:54 pace)
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