After only running 5 miles on Wednesday, I thought that my chances for 90 miles this week were out the window. Running 16 total miles yesterday gave me a fighting chance to do that. I needed a big day though, either today or tomorrow. Today is the 4th of July, so I had plenty of free time.
I hoped to run 20 miles total. I had considered a race, but I didn't get much sleep. The plan was then to try to run 14 miles during the first run. That would get most of the day out of the way. Then, I could run 6 miles later on.
We finally had a major release from the heat and humidity. Hurricane Arthur rolled through North Carolina, before heading out to sea. It left some rain here and was out of the way by early afternoon. It was cloudy at the start of my run. The hurricane did leave super windy conditions though. I still ran shirtless.
I decided to go to Northampton, like I did earlier in the week. I parked at an elementary school, near the high school. I decided that I would run from there to the Ironton Rail Trail and then loop around there. That would give me 8 miles and over half of the run would be done when I got back to my car.
It was definitely cool and windy to start. I wasn't complaining. The legs felt quite beat from all the running yesterday. It was probably a good thing that I didn't try to race. Mile 1 was an 8:36.
Now that I know how to cross the river and get to the trail, it isn't too bad. I arrived at the trail at 1.3 miles. That meant that I'd come back at mile 8. I wanted to get the hilly part of the loop out of the way first. I headed in the counterclockwise direction.
A lot of people were out during this run. I thought I might catch a guy running, but he stopped. Going up the hill on beat up legs was tough. It was nice to get to the top though.
The downhill was awesome too. I decided that I wanted to add a mile to the run. I did a short out and back on the spur trail. That was nice and isolated. I was feeling better, as the legs were adapting.
It was nice to be back on pavement. I cruised around, trying to take it easy. With the cooler weather, I was able to run pretty solid times. Mile 2 was 7:50, mile 3 was 7:36 and mile 4 was 7:40. I recall getting to mile 4.5 and thinking it was quite far just to get back to the start at mile 9.
I plugged along. The sun was out by now. It was very windy still and almost a little chilly. I did fine, as long as I didn't encounter any hills. When I did, it was a slow go.
I did feel better and better. Mile 6 was even a 7:16. My overall pace was getting quicker. I was happy to get back to the bridge over the river at mile 7.7. I then crossed the bridge and made my way back.
Running through the town of Northampton wasn't bad. It is something different. It was good to get back to my car. I actually felt kind of awful a few miles earlier, but by the time I approached my car, I was in a groove. Finally, I was back there at mile 9.05.
I used my towel and got a drink. After refilling my handheld, I headed back out. I didn't really know where to go, but I decided to head to the Cementon Trailhead on the D&L. If I could go out 2.5 miles from my car, I could come back and get to mile 14.
The run to the trailhead wasn't bad. It was very windy near the river. I was almost too cold at this point. It started to become a struggle after that. I pushed forward though. It took a lot of focus to get to the turnaround point.
My pace wasn't slipping at least. That first mile out had been slightly slower, but all my miles after the first one were sub 8 minutes. I turned around right before the one tree that looks like it is in the middle of the trail.
Being on my way back was huge. I kept looking at my watch. It was so nice to make it through mile 12 and work my way to the half marathon distance. I was starting to tire, but I hung on.
I just concentrated on the current mile. Before long, I was through mile 13 and back on to the bridge, headed to Northampton. I looked at my watch a lot in the final half mile. I finished up with mile 14, right before my car. It was chilly when I stopped.
My quads were sore after this run. They haven't been sore in awhile. I think my strength training is helping with that. I went out for my 2nd run over three hours later. It was a little after 7 PM.
Things got even cooler and it was still windy. This time, I wore a shirt. That is a summer rarity. This allowed me to wear my compression shorts too, since I don't like to wear them shirtless. I needed those shorts too.
With my quads sore from earlier, I expected this run to be a struggle. I didn't feel anything though and I think the compression shorts were a big reason why. There was some minor soreness early in the run when I warmed up, but otherwise the legs felt outstanding, considering the mileage.
I went to Penn Pump Park for this run. It is nearby and a good place for a flat 6 mile run. I started by heading toward the Crayola Factory. Mile 1 was a little slow at 8:42. Every mile got faster.
I saw a deer in someone's yard next to the trail. That was cool. There were a number of walkers out on the nice evening. A few people were running too. I turned around after a mile. That was at the factory.
I headed back feeling decent, considering all the mileage I put in. It was good to get back to my car at mile 2. That mile was just over 8 minutes. I didn't even bring a handheld, since it was so cool and the run was so short.
I headed out in the other direction. I'd have to run out 2 miles and come back, to get to mile 6. This wasn't bad, but going out did seem a little slow. I was happy to get to mile 3. I ran that one at 7:40.
The run was getting faster and faster. I didn't really want to go to Mill Race Park, but I had to to make it out 2 miles. It was very windy in this open area.
I turned around at mile 4, right before the Tatamy road crossing. Thinking about only having 2 miles left helped me when heading back. I also totaled my weekly mileage in my head. Mile 4 was a 7:26.
The pace was getting faster and faster and I was feeling better and better. I was actually pushing a bit in the last 2 miles. My breathing was a bit labored. Mile 5 was a 7:05 and mile 6 was a very speedy 6:38. I was impressed that I could run my 20th mile of the day that fast.
It was a hard day, but it was definitely worth it. I need some practice running on tired legs and with a tired body. I'm not sure how well my legs will recover. I only have 15 more tough miles tomorrow though. Then, I can take Sunday off and start to taper. My marathon is 3 weeks from today. Tomorrow will be tricky because I'll be at the IndyCar practice at Pocono most of the day. I'll likely run twice. Perhaps the evening one will be near the track. I might go run the D&L through Lehigh Gorge State Park. The morning run will likely be kind of short and also nearby.
Afternoon Run 14 miles - 1:47:49 (7:42 pace)
Evening Run 6 miles - 45:38 (7:36 pace)
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