I've biked a few times since Bear Mountain, but for the most part, I've rested. I didn't run, as I'm trying to heal up. Nothing really hurts, but my feet bother me slightly. I decided to give running a try tonight.
It was unseasonably warm, even in the evening. It was still over 80 degrees. I wore a sleeveless shirt for the first time. I had on my visor, but that became too hot. I wore my old shoes to be safe.
The plan was for just a short run at South Mountain (Lehigh). I haven't been there in the evening since it was dark and snowy. I looked forward to a nice evening run, even if it was on the hot side. At least the leaves are coming in nicely and I knew there would be shade.
I figured I would run the typical loop and if I felt good, keep going around the other side of the mountain to run another mile or so. I do like that this run starts at the top of the mountain and I can run downhill to begin with.
Normally, I run almost all of my runs nice and easy and try to be consistent. I've decided that I need to mix things up. Therefore, I pushed a little bit on the early downhill. This part is fun and fast and semi technical. I twisted an ankle once, but overall, I just flew downhill.
Going hard was fun, but it had me breathing heavy. I turned about halfway down the hill, to cross the road. Some of the pink ribbons I put up last year are there still, but not all of them. For others, this route might be a little hard to follow. However, I know it by heart.
I crossed the road at a decent pace and ran along the fun, flat singletrack. Then, I got to the first ascent. It is short and semi steep. If I'm not going hard, I can run up it. However, I was pushing earlier and breathing heavy, so I had to hike. That slowed my first mile to 9:38
I hiked most of the hill and then ran again when it flattened out. I tried to run up the next gradual climb, but my breathing just continued to labor. I hiked rather than forcing myself to run. By now, my strategy was to take it easy when I couldn't run, but to run hard on the flats and downhills.
At the top, I picked my effort up again and started breathing heavy again. I was flying, pushing hard, but also having fun. I only ate 1 hour and 30 minutes before the run. My stomach had not settled. I ended up burping up some of my food. At least I didn't throw up though. Mile 2 was a 10:00.
Next, it was on to the most technical part of the course. It was fun, because I was blasting downhill and making good time for the most part. I saw my first deer of the run here. I saw 6 total throughout the run. A few of the rocks hurt my feet, but overall, it wasn't bad.
I was really tiring though. I'm not used to this weather yet and I pushed too hard in the first two miles. I had to hike some slight uphills now. I ran a lot of this mile though, especially when I got on to the road to the overlook. Mile 3 was a 9:15.
I then climbed the short climb, before running some flats for a bit. That didn't last though, as I came to a gradual uphill. Again, this section is very runnable, if you are cautious. I had burned myself out badly though. I did run a little of the ascent, but not much of it. It was mostly a hike.
I ran some of the rocky part near the top, by the road. Mile 4 was a much slower, 11:28. I had hoped to run a sub 10 minute pace per mile, but this mile just slowed me too much and I was simply too tired.
I ran the flat part of the road. I ran some of the uphill paved steps between the road, but not much of it. I was exhausted and wanted to be done. Finally, I ran on in on the flat part and finished at just over 4.5 miles.
Most importantly, I didn't have any foot issues. I was happy that I went out and tested myself. Even if I pushed too far in the early heat, it was fun. I need to mix up my training for sure and get out of my comfort zone.
Tomorrow, I'll probably ride again. I haven't ruled out running, but I don't think I'll be doing that. I do need to break in my new shoes a little and work on getting used to zero drop. Most likely, I won't run again until Saturday. I have no idea where that would be yet, but I would like to get in double digit miles.
4.51 miles - 45:56 (10:11 pace) 666 feet of elevation gain
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