Swatara Gap AT Run

With the very challenging 50k coming up this weekend, I didn't want to overdo it.  I didn't work, so I decided to try something different today.  Once again, I headed to a new section of the Appalachian Trail, at Swatara Gap.  It's a little over an hour from my house, where Route 78 turns into Route 81.

I went to Cabela's first and started the run approaching 3 PM.  It was a cloudy and cool day.  We now finally have perfect weather.  If only this could last all year.  I still wore shorts and a lightweight long sleeve top.  It was orange since it is hunting season.  That wasn't needed though, as I saw no one the entire run.

I wanted to park right next to the AT.  However, there wasn't much parking there.  There are a ton of trails in the area on the State Game Lands.  It is known as the St. Anthony's Wilderness.  I never did find most of the trailheads.  I was only planning on running the AT anyway.  In the future, I'll explore things much more.  I got a good map of all the trails from Cabela's.

I ended up parking at the Trout Run Trailhead in Swatara State Park.  That park was undeveloped until a few years ago.  I headed out on the Trout Run Trail, which was a bike path for a bit.  I was very disappointed in the start.  It was all paved as it switchbacked down hill.  That is no fun.  It was pretty along the creek though.

After over a mile, I came to a  cool bridge and the AT.  The trail crosses over this foot bridge.  It is really old and used to be part of the railroad I guess.  This was a big coal and railroad area around 100 years ago.  Almost all of the towns have since disappeared.  That left a lot of trails and other paths though.

After crossing the bridge, there was a little more pavement for a bit.  At least I was now officially on the AT.  Then, the singletrack began.  First, the trail went under Route 81.  This area reminded me a lot of the Wind Gap section.

After going under the highway, it was time to begin climbing.  The ascent was gentle at first.  I had no issues.  After climbing a bit, the AT went along a ridge partway up the mountain. 

Following the ridge section was a series of switchbacks.  The combination of uphill, rocks and leaves made it tricky.  It wasn't overly rocky, but a little annoying.  With the fallen leaves, getting good grip was tough at times.  I continued along at a snail's pace.  I was still running.

It got a bit steeper toward the top.  My breathing was labored a bit.  I climbed over 500 feet of elevation gain.  Then, it just got too steep for me.  I had to hike.  Perhaps I could've battled the remaining few hundred feet if I knew what was in store, but it would've been a struggle.  Climbing new sections like this is largely mental.  I have to work on pushing a bit more.

After a brief hike of 200 to 300 feet, I began running again.  There was some more uphill, but I was mostly at the top at this point.  Now, I just had to do some ridge running.  The incline was slight, but I was still going uphill for most of the rest of this run until I turned around.

My plan was to go out to 3.5 miles and turn around.  I was also hoping to find the first view.  The issue was that I started farther away from the AT than I had planned, so I guess I never got to that point. 

I kept going out, enjoying the ridge running.  There were a few up and downs, but not much.  It was pretty as the fallen leaves offered a seasonal view through the trees.  I could see farmland and Route 78 and Route 81.  The trail was nice in this section.  It was rocky enough to slow me down, but not too rocky.  With all the leaves down, I had to be a little cautious not to run on hidden rocks.

I went out to 3.5 miles and decided to keep going.  The trail became more runnable and I was still hoping to find the view.  I knew I was close.  However, I was already going to be late for dinner, so I only went to 3.75 miles and then turned around.

Coming back was nice as it was slightly downhill.  I really opened it up.  I still had to be careful, due to all the rocks.  A couple sections were super rocky.  Overall, it was pretty runnable though.  There were enough rocks that it required focus.

I thought about how far I've come on technical trails and climbs like this and how much farther I have to go.  I wondered how much myself from a year ago would struggle to keep up with my current self on this kind of terrain.  I also thought about how my current self would struggle with the same, trying to keep up with myself from next year.  It's all a process and I'm getting better with every run.  I have thousands of road miles, but I'm still relatively inexperienced on this type of terrain.

After hitting the 5 mile point, the trail began to descend.  I was careful at the top, as it was quite steep.  I got faster and more confident as I neared the bottom.  I thought about my technique at the bottom too.  I read/watched some stuff about downhill running and it talked about leaning forward and extending your legs back.  I'm good doing that on smoother downhills, but I worry about tripping on rocky parts like this.

Another thing I practiced was looking farther ahead on the trail, rather than straight down.  That seemed to work well toward the end of the descent and I seemed to run faster.  Maybe the terrain was just easier.  It was kind of weird not seeing what I was able to run over.  I only stumbled a few times though.  Every now and then throughout the run, I twisted my ankle or slipped, but nothing was too bad.

Finally, I was down off the mountain and back onto the paved trail.  I went over the bridge and uphill on the other side.  My back started bothering me a bit on this part.  I think that the road sections are what gave me some slight soreness there at the DWG the other day.  Hopefully, it isn't too much of a problem on Saturday.

I finished up at 7.5 miles, right at the parking lot.  My car was now completely alone in the lot.  I was happy to be done.  I did some climbing, but the run didn't take much out of me.  I should be ready to go for Saturday.

Tomorrow, it is supposed to rain.  I'll likely do nothing.  On Friday, I hope for an easy Jacobsburg run or maybe even a loop or two at South Mountain (Lehigh).  Saturday is the tough race.  I would've liked more preparation, but I should survive it.  It will be my toughest race to date.

7.5 miles - 1:28:13 (11:45 pace)