Today was an excellent day. I got my weekly mileage back on track with a pair of fun trail runs. Most importantly, I had company for these runs. I'm so used to running trails alone, so that was a lot of fun.
I didn't have to work today, so I was able to leave late in the morning and run trails with Angie. Earlier in the week, I was thinking about running Wissahickon Valley Park, near Philly. I haven't run there in about a year and a half, so we headed there.
We arrived around 11 AM. It was already quite warm, so I ran shirtless. I'm glad I did, as we were both soaked by the end of the run. It wasn't the hottest day this summer, but it sure wasn't great weather either.
Normally, I start by the Valley Green Inn. This time, I decided that we'd run the loop clockwise and start across from the entrance road. There's a nice wide stone path in the middle of it and then higher trails on the ridges all around.
We had a nice start on the easy path. Then, it was time to climb. We took it easy. Angie was pretty beat up still from a half marathon earlier in the week. I was in no rush, but I didn't want to walk at all.
There is a lot of fast ridge running on this side. I felt bad though, because I told her that once we climbed, that's mostly what we'd be doing. Instead, it seemed like we went back down and then up several more times too.
I felt good and ran easy. Angie was doing fine, except she took it easy on the hills and walked some of them. I kept running and slowed down on the flats, so that she would catch up. This section was fun, running above the valley, but it was quite basic.
Near mile 2, we had a long downhill. A young lady was walking up there and then began running. I was having fun with the descent.
We then had to run along the shoulder of the road briefly. We were on the other side after this point. Now, was the part of the run that I was looking forward to. The other side of the trail is amazing. It's so out of place and doesn't feel urban at all. It started off pretty easy, but then we climbed a bit.
There were options to go uphill, but with Angie having some trouble, I decided on the lower trails. Those were nice because in the beginning, they were along the creek. The scenery was great and on this side, the hill kind of blocked out the sun.
While the other side is fast and kind of smooth, by trail standards, this part is very technical. At one point, our pace had been a 10:38, but it got slower and slower. Still, this part was so much fun.
I don't even know how to describe it. There are giant flat boulders everywhere. Sometimes, they are next to the trail. Other times, they are on the trail and you almost have to rock scramble over them. Luckily, I didn't manage to fall. Angie took 2 spills I think.
Although these miles went slow, they were a blast. There was some climbing involved too. There were plenty of roots as well as rocks. We went down this cool set of steps, with an archway over it. There are a lot of neat man made stone features like that on the trail. I just love it.
Miles 4 and 5 seemed like they took forever. We ran past the Devil's Pool area (a swimming hole). That was kind of unpleasant with a lot of trash. One of the best parts about this run is that so few people use the trails. We had them all to ourselves for the most part. We did come across a few people, mostly dog walkers.
At one point, we ran through two boulders that were probably about 8 feet high on each side of us. That was neat. After some time, I decided that we should climb for a change, since we had recovered a bit. This was good for me, even though Angie didn't enjoy it.
Then, we came to what was almost a dead end. Luckily, I saw the trail go down below. I had been telling Angie about the Fingerspan Bridge and I was hoping we'd find it. First, we went up some stairs. They were pretty steep and I flew up them. Angie walked up them and was surprised that I ran up them with such ease.
At the top was the Fingerspan Bridge. It's this pedestrian bridge that is high in the air. It's really neat, but Angie was a little uncomfortable walking over it. The bottom is open grate and so is the top. I love this part.
We continued along this fun section. There were a lot of cliffs and some more stairs. Angie wanted to stop at one pedestrian bridge and look at the water. Then, we climbed some more technical sections.
A large road bridge goes overhead. Finally, we came out to where the main path goes over the creek. We ran on that. It was much easier running. We were at around mile 7 at that point.
Both of us were nearly out of water. We got to a split and I told her we could either run up and ridge run on the trail again, or head back on the wide stone path that is Forbidden Drive. Since she was struggling, so I decided that we had had enough climbing. We took Forbidden Drive.
Of course, I forgot how hilly this can be. It's not too challenging, but there is quite a bit of gradual uphill. It is pretty too, with a wide stone road. I cruised along. Angie began walking up one hill, so I kept going.
I decided I'd run to the water fountain at Valley Green. Then, I'd bring water back in case she needed some. We were farther out then I thought. It was 9.4 miles when I got to the water. I filled up and headed back out.
Shortly after that, I saw Angie following another woman who was running. I thought maybe they were talking, but Angie was just pacing off of her. I ran with Angie back to the water fountain. She stopped and I ran out to mile 10. I got in just the miles that I had hoped for.
Other than the heat, I think Angie really enjoyed the run. I know I did. I love this unique place. It's kind of a hidden gem. At least the trails are. Maybe I'll try to set up a group run there when the leaves are changing. I bet that that would be amazing.
After we were done, Angie informed me that Gary was trying to get people together for a 4:45 PM run at Jacobsburg. I didn't have much recovery time, but I figured why not do it. I wanted a second trail run anyway. I was hoping to run in my new shoes, but they had not arrived yet.
Gary and I were the only ones running. He didn't feel that great to start, so we both took it easy. Rather than the normal route, he wanted to run the field section. I wasn't crazy about that with the sun blazing, but we did it.
We had a good chat going on and we were cruising along. We got to the long climb up to the field and that was kind of tough. I took it slow, but ran and Gary walked some. I headed back down briefly too and then climbed a short bit when I got back to Gary.
There was more gradual climbing in the field part. Then, we had a nice downhill. We were around 3 miles into the run when we reached the bottom.
We took the road across to the Sober's Run area, since he wasn't feeling terrible. My feet were sore from the earlier run and getting worse because I had my road shoes on. Since this trail is very non technical, that wasn't the worst thing though.
We then crossed the small bridge over Sober's Run and ran along that. This part was nice and easy. I didn't mind it.
Gary walked up the short hill at the end of this part. At the top, I saw he was struggling and nearly cramping, so I just took off. I ran the mile or more back to the car on my own.
I was doing good until the road segment. Then, my legs started to tire. It was a lot of trail running to do. I ran back to the car and then over to the bathrooms to throw some gum away. Finally, I finished up in the parking lot with a solid day.
It was a great day on trails and I need to do this more often. I really need more trail running partners. It makes the running even more enjoyable than it already is. Now, if only we could get some nice weather too.
Tomorrow, I'd like to get in 10 miles again. That may be one run or two runs. I'm definitely doing something on trail. I need to try out the new trail shoes and see how they work out. I may need to do one more long run in the old shoes though.
Wissahickon Run - 10 miles - 1:54:20 (11:26 pace)
Jacobsburg Run - 5.5 miles - 52:41 (9:30 pace)
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