Blasting Through Jacobsburg

I felt better than expected on Sunday and could've run that day.  I didn't have time before the Eagles game.  Then, yesterday it was rainy and wet.  I wanted to run at night, but I had enough rain during my 50k on Friday.  Finally, today I got to my first run after that race.

It is amazing how much stronger I've become in a year.  After that first 50k, I could barely run a mile by this time.  Now, I was feeling good and could've probably even pushed it to 20 miles again today.  I headed to Jacobsburg after the EPC XC Meet.

It was nearly 5 PM when I arrived.  I just wanted a fun and easy recovery run.  That didn't exactly happen, but I was thrilled with how the run turned out.

The temperature went back up and it was humid today.  It was also cloudy.  It wasn't great, but we've certainly had worse.  I wore a regular shirt.  Wearing less might've helped.

The fall colors were inspiring.  It was simply amazing to see the yellows, reds and oranges along the main trail at the start.  It made the run so pleasant.  I ran by a bunch of people in this area.

I then started slightly uphill and toward the road crossing.  I felt kind of crappy during this part.  My breathing was labored.  I thought I was running terrible.  Looking back though, I guess I was simply pushing it more than I thought I was.  Mile 1 ended up being a fairly quick 8:53.

I was just getting warmed up.  I kept at it.  I was planning on doing the main loop, plus adding the fun ridge section for another mile or more.  I flew through the technical sections.  I had to be careful to not trip too much on the hidden rocks.  Most of the leaves are still on the trees, but some have fallen and covered the rocks.

With some downhill, mile 2 was a 7:42.  I was shocked that it was that fast.  Really, I had no intention of going fast today.  I was just running and went with it.

I breezed through the technical gradual uphill section.  That had several road crossings.  I came up behind a mountain biker at one of them.  He took off after the crossing and flew well ahead of me.  He later stopped to fix his bike and I passed him.  I never saw him again.

I twisted my ankle in this section.  It hurt for quite a few steps, but I didn't slow.  I kept on at it.  A dog and mountain biker came the other way.  I stumbled there too.  Mile 3 was an 8:29.  I was still speedy.

Up next was the Sober's Run area.  I passed two older people running the other way.  The woman had a dog with her.  I cruised along the flat parts.  My breathing was a bit labored.  I slowed it down for the powerline climb.  I recovered slightly, but not a lot.  I did certainly struggle some.  I knew a downhill section was coming.

I was shocked that even with the climb, I still ran mile 4 at 8:01.  I was cruising.  I knew I'd blast downhill now.  I came across two cute young ladies walking.  I was flying.  The one downsize is that I was going so hard that I didn't really enjoy the beautiful scenery.  With the humidity, I was sweating a lot.

Mile 5 was a speedy 7:48.  I was nearly done with the loop and out to the road.  I completed both of those parts and headed back to the starting area.  I was really moving now.

I wanted to climb up to the ridge, but I decided that I would just finish up the loop.  It was a good practice, as I don't typically run trails fast.  Running 6 quality miles was tough.  The short uphills at the end were even a challenge at this pace.  The mountain biker with the dog blew by me again.  I was super impressed with that.  That dog was fast as hell.

I came out to the main parking lot.  I then ran over the bridge.  I was breathing very heavy and pushing it in the last mile.  I didn't think I'd run a sub 8 minute pace.  However, this last mile was super fast.  It was a 6:52.  I was very happy with the outcome.

I'm pretty sure that I've never run anything over 5 miles at a sub 8 minute pace on trails.  Jacobsburg is certainly where some of my fastest trail running has occurred, but I've never cruised quite like this.  It was amazing even to myself, especially because of the slow start and the fact that I actually didn't plan to run hard.

I might do a short night trail race in a couple weeks, so this was certainly good practice.  If I do run that, I want to be very competitive.  I need to start pushing myself to go faster on trails.  The only downside to it is that I don't enjoy the trails quite a much as I do at a slower pace.  Still, it was a fun run when all was said and done.

Tomorrow, I'm looking to run a bit longer.  I'm hoping to knock out 10 miles.  I think I'm going to go on the AT.  However, I'm going to run from Route 191.  That section seems more manageable, other than the rocks.  I need to start living on the AT.

 6 miles - 47:47 (7:58 pace)