This is a busy weekend for me, so not a lot of running. I was hoping to do 20 miles this morning, but I didn't feel great and didn't get up early enough. It is probably good that I didn't try that because it was a rough day.
I still wanted to do loops at South Mountain (Lehigh). I got there and started at 11:30 in the morning. My new plan was 10 miles. That would be a little over 2 loops. It was definitely cooler than it has been, but I was still pretty sweaty, particularly early. I went shirtless and was glad that I did that.
I made sure to put on lots of bug spray since the grass is starting to get overgrown in some parts. I headed off from the mountain top. I ran nice and easy on the pavement and then easy again on the downhill.
I could probably run 10 straight miles here if I worked at it, but since I didn't feel great, I decided to just hike the uphills. I hiked the first easy one near the road crossing. I ran across the road. Right near the trail, there was a baby deer staring at me. It ran away, but the mother stayed on the other side of the trail. I think they are probably the same two that I saw in this area earlier in the week.
I cruised along. I walked the next uphill. I then ran again for a bit. Then, I got to another gradual ascent. I hiked that one too. I was feeling pretty crappy, even with the hiking. The first two miles took some work.
I knew I'd now be descending a lot though. I had to move out of the way for a couple mountain bikers. Other than them, I had the trails to myself. I did see some disc golf people, but they weren't right on the trail.
I enjoyed the rocky descent. I took it easy. Before long, I was on the pavement again and heading toward the overlook. I ran past there and back on the trail.
The rest of the trail on this loop was running and hiking. I hiked the steeper stuff, but ran the flatter ridge parts. I just ran yesterday evening and my upper quads were bothering me slightly. They haven't been an issue in some time, so that is a little concerning. I'll try to stay away from Jacobsburg, for that reason.
Before long, I was back on the pavement and headed toward my car. I ran the flats and still hiked some of the stairs. Two college girls were sitting at the wall above as I neared the building. I cruised on back to my car. This loop was about 53 minutes.
I didn't want to waste time at the car. I toweled off, mixed in more Tailwind and ate a gel. I'm really struggling with early energy in runs. I don't think I start runs fueled up enough. I thought the gel would help give me a boost, but really it didn't have much impact.
Loop #2 was more of the same. I ran some of the same sections and hiked some of the others. It was good to get over mile five and into the second half of the run.
I hiked the two early hills. I knew this would be a key section to push through. I managed to do so. I looked forward to the rocky downhill part.
I was going through that part and noticed some dog crap on the trail. I didn't see any on the first loop. I thought this was odd too, because not many people are on the trails at all. I rarely see a dog walker. I was then hiking a short uphill and I noticed a dog staring at me. It looked like a pitbull and it looked a little rough. I was glad it didn't come after me. If it looked like a nicer dog, I might've looked for a collar. I'm also not sure what I would've done anyway, as it was halfway through my loop. I guess I could've taken it to the Lehigh Police or something, but I don't even know where they are at.
I continued on. I ran past the overlook again. I started up the hill. I heard either a guy whistling (maybe for a dog) or a loud bird. I couldn't tell and I couldn't see either one of these things. I ran along.
It was good to get over mile 8 and be near the top. I knew I needed to add some distance to get to mile 10. Rather than running straight back to the car, I took the outer loop. It would be pavement and in the sun, but at least it would add distance.
There was still some uphill and that made it a little tough. I kept checking my watch. I went out the edge of the Mountaintop Campus and then came back. I looped around to my car. When I got there, I had less than a quarter mile to go. I continued on past my car.
It was nice to finish up heading downhill. I hit mile 10 near my car, but kept going a bit to get over 2 hours. When I did that, I stopped the run. It was a bit of a struggle, but a productive day anyway.
Tomorrow, I doubt I'll have time to run. I'm going to the Pocono IndyCar race. If I'm lucky, maybe I can go somewhere in the evening. It is doubtful though. I'll probably run on Monday. Next weekend is my big goal weekend. I have Mega on Saturday and hopefully another 30 miles on Sunday. It would sure be nice if I'd feel better and particularly stronger by then.
10.09 miles - 2:00:07 (11:54 pace) 1331 feet of elevation gain
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