Yesterday was very nice weather and a good run. Today, it was a little warmer, but still supposed to be nice. Tomorrow, it might rain again, so I had to run today. I headed to South Mountain (Lehigh) in the evening. The plan was to run the longer loop.
Although it was still decent weather, I wisely took off the singlet and went shirtless. It was quite humid. I was sweating a bit by the end. At least it was in the low 80s or upper 70s.
Rather than finish the loop with the add on section, I decided to start with it. That meant warming up with a half mile or so of pavement and downhill running to the trail. I ran 6 days last week, plus the first day of this week. I could feel that in my legs as I started. I haven't run that many days in quite some time.
I was going nice and slow, as I hoped to run this entire time. I found the trail easily. However, I messed up early on, but things worked out fine. I wanted to run the downhill switchbacks and then back up. Instead, I ended up higher up, running mostly on a ridge. I was going the right direction though and figured that I would eventually connect with the trail I was looking for. This part was very rocky and there were still a lot of leaves from last fall. Finding the trail was tricky in spots.
I connected with the main trail and shortly after that saw a mountain biker waiting for me. I had not noticed him. I rarely see anyone when I run here. There was some tough short climbs here, but I picked my way up them very slowly. Like yesterday, slow and steady was the goal. Going up, I take small steps and run in a straight line, rather than going side to side. It works well.
Along the ridge, a deer ran to the trail and paused and stared at me. I tried to take its photo, but it ran off. It continued on the trail though and stopped a looked back again. I got a photo this time, but it wasn't good. Then, the deer ran off.
I connected back up with the regular trail somewhere around 1.5 miles. That was solid. I crossed the road and ran along. Things are starting to get overgrown here, with all the recent rain. I'm not sure how much longer I want to run here.
Again, I was steady up the decent climb after that. It became quite challenging by the top. My breathing was labored and my legs burning a bit. I just focused right in front of me and kept going.
I had a little recovery before the gradual climb. Knowing the trail was a big help with getting through this next part. I knew I had a lot of downhill afterward, so I was able to climb slowly.
Now, it was back to descending and going through some of the technical stuff. I was okay, but not great on the technical stuff today, for some reason. I got scared by a jeep on the dirt road nearby. Maybe it was Lehigh Police.
I came to the road in no time and then ran out to the view. I was approaching the final long, climbing section. At least I knew this part wasn't steep. The first part was slightly, but then it leveled out.
After that, I came to another trail runner, maybe a Lehigh student. I almost never see anyone there and a trail runner is even more rare. Sometimes, there are mountain bikers. I don't think I've ever seen two separate people on these trails during the same run.
I then was back to climbing steadily again. This was two good, long but moderate climbs. I made my way up both without too much trouble. The slow pace was a big help. I then popped out on the road.
I was almost done, but I had one more cruel climb left. I went up the paved stairs for maybe 100 feet or so. That was a struggle by the end, but I successfully ran the whole way.
I got to my car with about a quarter mile to 6 miles. I looped the parking lot to get to that point. This added some slight elevation too.
My legs are definitely getting tired now. This was a good workout though and I was quite happy. If only the cool weather would stay around.
Tomorrow, I'm not sure what I'll do. I'd love to join the folks doing track workouts at Nazareth. I'd probably run the hill on the side over and over. However, they get up so stinking early. We shall see.
6 miles - 1:09:51 (11:39 pace) 655 feet of elevation gain
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