I've been taking it easy this week, with Mega approaching this weekend. After a few days off, I headed to run today. I decided to change it up. I headed to Walking Purchase Park, near Fountain Hill. It isn't too far away, but I rarely run there. I'm not sure I have been there in the last year. I should probably go there a little more frequently.
It was a great evening. The weather was cool and not too humid. I wore a singlet and was comfortable, although still sweating plenty (it is still August). Most of the time I've run there, it has been in the summer and super humid.
One of the nice things here is that I usually start at Dodson Street Park, at the top. That means the beginning is mostly downhill, although none of this is straight up and down. It was built by mountain bikers, so it is mostly rolling.
I started on the yellow trail and then went to the right on the loop. I followed the orange trail to loop to the red trail. This was fun in the beginning, but surprisingly, I twisted my ankle a few times. It is rocky in spots, but overall I wouldn't call it too bad. I wasn't sharp early on. I ate not too long before that.
Some mountain bikers had taken off before me. They are one of the reasons I don't like to run here. There are plenty of blind spots. I can't say I've ever had an issue. One of them was changing a tire and I ran past them. I was cruising along.
This trail is a little tough in that it is all runnable. However, the ups and down can wear you out too, especially when it is hot. I kept moving forward. It also turns a lot, so it seems slow and like it is taking forever.
The red trail seemed to go on and on and on. I could tell I wasn't too far from civilization, as I could hear train cars breaking across the river. I also heard a couple sirens.
I passed a guy walking and startled him. Shortly after that, the three riders came behind me. They weren't together, so I had to let all three pass at different times. I'm glad I saw the last guy coming, as he was flying downhill. I got out of his way with plenty of time to spare.
At 3.6 miles, I finally got to the stone road crossing. I always forget just how long this route is. There is a parking lot. After that, it is some climbing up the ridge. I saw the mountain bikers at one point, but they went on the blue trail. I stayed on the red.
You run parallel to the road for awhile, but keep going in and out. That can get kind of frustrating. It was a relief to finally cross the road.
I followed the red trail after that. A short bit later, it actually started to switchback and go back to the road (the wrong direction). I saw some smaller trails earlier and thought maybe I needed to take them. They were a little overgrown. It said "advanced" on them. A short time later, I just came back to the trail that was heading the wrong way.
I followed it out and was then able to head the right direction. This was good, but it still took awhile to get back. It was some tough ups and downs. It seemed like more up, even though I was near the top already. I continued to just run.
With a couple miles left, I scared a deer. I was surprised when I saw it. It was a buck, which I rarely see. There wasn't much other wildlife in the thick bushes. I'm sure there was actually, but all I could see were birds.
I continued to push on. I was hoping it would be about 6 miles to finish the run. As I got to 6 miles, I realized it was likely closer to 7 miles. I cruised along. It was good to get to the yellow trail.
I followed this up some more. I then started to recognize where I was. I got out to the parking lot. I was nearly at 7 miles. I ran around the lot for a minute to reach that distance.
Although it was a bit more challenging than expected, I had a good run. I ended up running the whole time and got a good workout and good distance. The foot is a little sore. Hopefully, it doesn't act up for Mega.
I'm going out to Lock Haven and camping at the start/finish area tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having a fun day and taking it easy. Normally, I plan the race out some. I've barely looked at anything this time. I'm going to just have fun and wing it really. I'm hoping to run with Destrie. On Sunday, I'd like to throw in 30 more miles here at South Mountain (Lehigh).
7 miles - 1:15:10 (10:44 pace) 935 feet of elevation gain
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