Still Not Recovered

Originally, I was hoping for a big day of running.  I wanted a quality 20 miles.  It was super windy in the afternoon.  I planned on heading to Trexler, but that place is terrible in the wind.

I figured if I was going to suffer with wind, at least I'd do it somewhere different.  I opted to head to Hickory Run State Park.  I haven't run there in quite some time.  I drove all over the park trying to figure out where to start.

It wasn't too windy when I began, but there was still some snow on the ground.  I wore a jacket over my short sleeve shirt.  I also had on shorts.  The clothing choice was good.

Since I didn't have a map, I decided that I would just try an out and back on the Boulder Field Trail.  There's a giant open field with several hundred yards of boulders.  You can drive right there and I've done so.  This time, I wanted to run there.  The maps said it was 3.5 miles each way.  That might be good enough for today.

I encountered a mother and son who were hiking from the trail.  I asked them and they said there was basically a section of trail that was a lake.  I figured I could cross a little water.  It was no big deal.  I was very wrong.

I started off and it was nice and dry.  Then, I hit some snow and a little water.  Then, I came to the lake they were talking about.  I ran through the freezing cold water.  It was a shock to the feet, but I recovered.  A short distance later, I came to more water.  The trail was basically a stream.  I can run through water here and there, but continuous cold water simply wasn't going to work.  I didn't even get half a mile in and I had to turn around and give up this idea.

I didn't want to call it a day.  There's a smaller loop that I hiked once on the northern end of the park.  It has a view of Lehigh Gorge.  I figured the loop would be around 5 miles, so I elected to give it a try.

I started off here on the Fireline Line Trail.  It was nice and dry.  There was a trail off to the right a short distance ahead.  I followed that and I'm thinking I probably should've stayed straight.

This trail was relatively dry too, but there was some water off to the side.  The real problem now was my body.  My legs were sore and my foot really hurt.  The shoes were still bothering the top of it.  I went out .86 miles.  I was starting to go downhill and it just became too uncomfortable.  I decided to just call it a day.

It was disappointing, but I don't want to force a run.  I need more rest and maybe wearing my old shoes would help too.  At least I tried.  I need to get my foot back to 100% for my big race in 2 weeks.  That is the most important thing.  Maybe I'll just run less and bike more.

I doubt that I'll run tomorrow.  Maybe I'll do so on Monday.  More likely though, it will be on Tuesday.  I'm sure I will ride at some point.

1.19 miles total