Challenging Short South Mountain Run (Lehigh)

I took off yesterday.  I should've gone out this afternoon, but I was tired.  I didn't make it out until after dark.  I wanted to do repeats on South Mountain at Lehigh.

The weather is supposed to get bad again later tonight.  Because I of that, I was cautious and wore a ColdGear base layer.  It was too much and I was hot for a lot of the run.  My gloves were off pretty early and my ears uncovered.

Starting at the top of the mountain provides a descent to start.  First, I had to run past 4 deer that were hanging out next to a building on the campus.  I saw a few deer in the same place last week, so I assume they were the same ones.  They watched me, but I was able to slip past.

The beginning of the trail looked promising.  Some mountain bikes had gone through.  However, their section was very, very short.  In no time, I was on to snow.  My footprints from last week were still visible, but they were covered by some additional snow.

Running downhill was fun and I cruised along.  These are mountain bike trails and there are banked turns and some cool wooden jumps.  I brought my GoPro and used it to film some of me running by.  I set it up a couple times.  It was too dark and I really couldn't get any video.  However, I think if I set it up during the day, it will be very cool.  I may try it tomorrow.

I tried to run back up the hill.  However, it was too uneven and too difficult to run up.  I had to hike.  I was hoping my prints from last week would be useful, but they weren't that helpful.

It was fun coming down again.  I descended even further down the mountain.  I was done filming.  I was getting hot.  Even running downhill was uneven.  I sure did miss running on a place with a path. 

I hiked back up the mountain.  At one point, I actually missed the route back up.  I was right next to where I needed to go, but I couldn't see it in the dark.  It was frustrating not being able to run and having to hike up the hill.

I was working way too hard.  I had not run many miles or got much elevation gain, but this was a slow go and taking too much effort.  I just decided to hike back up and call it a night.  I love winter trail running, but sometimes winter wins.

At the top, I saw the deer again.  They were in the same place and a couple of them were even sitting down.  Again, they stared at me, but didn't run.

Tomorrow, I need to bounce back with a good run.  I'll probably go to the Delaware Water Gap or Lehigh Gap.  Those are two great places that are packed down and fun to run in the snow.  They are also challenging climbs too.  It should be a fun time and maybe I can film again too.

2.66 miles - 43:20 (16:18 pace) 532 feet of elevation gain