Big Pocono State Park Run with a Friend

I cramped up while sitting around yesterday.  I decided to just pass up a run then.  I opted to run today instead.  I needed a decent run.

My friend Ryan asked me if I wanted to run somewhere.  I suggested running at Big Pocono State Park.  That would give us some nice climbing.  We met at the Crossings and I drove over there.  The park road itself at the top of the mountain is closed in winter.  Good thing we were starting at the bottom.

We started off and I let Ryan dictate the pace for awhile.  This was a nice and gradual climb for about 2 miles.  It is perfect for warming up.  There was a section that didn't drain well and was super sloppy.  Ryan was cautious on it and I blew right through it and went ahead.

It was easy and fun until mile 2.  Then, we hit a switchback and began the climb.  I ran up it nice and slowly.  There were some rocks, but it wasn't too technical.  Ryan fell behind a bit, but he did a good job.

I ran the first few sections.  Then, it just got too steep and my breathing was labored.  I did run better than my fall run there.  Back then, it was the first chilly day of the year.  Today, it was probably warmer, as it was nearly 50 degrees.

I made sure to wait at the top of some of the climbs.  I didn't want Ryan to get lost.  He was a bit behind on the first one, but not too much on the others.  I had to hike quite a bit.  I think mentally I quit too soon.  If I really tried hard, I could probably climb the whole thing.  It is fairly smooth.  It's just tough because there are some flat sections, but they are short and don't allow for much recovery.  My breathing had become very labored.

Near the top, we were next to the ski slope.  That was very neat and we were on a warm and clear trail and people were skiing on snow next to us at Camelback.  That was truly unique.  I even had on shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

We were near the top at that point, but still had a little more climbing to do.  We ran and hiked some of it, just enjoying the skiers.  We then got to the road.  We ran on that for a bit and passed some young ladies that were walking. 

We ran up a short section of trail and were at the top.  Ryan wanted to stop and get a photo.  I did that and we spent some time hanging out up there.  There are awesome views to both the north and south.  It is cool to see the Appalachian Trail ridge to the south.

We continued on the park road.  It was good to be back running, since it was getting chilly standing around the top.  We ran past a lot of people that were walking around the top.  We were the only runners. 

I wasn't sure where to pick up the rim trail, but we did find it.  There were four ways to go.  Luckily, I knew the direction head back and we took the correct route.  Now, we had only slight elevation change.  It was a little technical, but not too bad.  It was worse last time I was there as fallen leaves were all over the trail.  It was much more clear today.

After some ridge running, we took the trail back down.  This was fun after having climbed all the way back up.  We cruised downhill over the switchbacks.  There weren't people there.  We had the trail nearly all to ourselves.  It was good to chat.

Ryan stopped to eat a GU at one point.  I waited for him.  It was a short enough run that I didn't take in any calories.  Even with the stop at the top, we were making good time.  That's because there was a lot of runnable trail.

Eventually, we came out on the smooth old railroad section.  We were nearly at mile 9 and almost done with the run.  It was only a slight descent left.  We did have to run through the slop again.  We finished up at just over 9 miles.

It was a good run with some climbing.  It wasn't as technical as I recalled.  I think I'll have to run there more often.  I may even try running several shorter loops.  I ran with my Ultimate Direction vest on again.  That worked great and I didn't even notice it after awhile.  I like it very much and will use it often now.  It will be perfect to run ultras in.

Tomorrow, I'm not sure what I'm doing yet.  I'd love to get a decent long run in.  It is supposed to be colder out tomorrow.  I'll just have to dress accordingly.  With the Eagles out of the playoff picture, I don't have to worry about their last game of the season.

9.17 miles - 1:43:47 (11:19 pace) 1478 feet of elevation gain