Between Eastern States and making a video of Eastern States, I've been too busy to run. Friday evening was my last one. I had to get out this evening, even though the video isn't done.
The weather had been another reason I didn't want to get out there. The last few days, it was in or around the 90s and super humid. August had finally arrived. I went shirtless and was sweating by the end of this evening run, but it wasn't terrible.
I figured that I'd just do one loop at South Mountain (Lehigh) and take it easy. I got there a little after 6 PM. I was cruising down the first hill and was surprised to run into two trail runners. I never see anyone here. I was even more surprised to see it was my friends Wayne and Todd. They were doing repeats. I said hello and was on my way.
I was wearing my new Bushido shoes. They caused my ankle to twist a few times, but in general were pretty good. I have them laced differently and may have to adjust them again.
I cruised on the downhill. I knew the climbs could be a challenge. As I crossed the road, a mountain biker was coming out of the trail. After that, I saw my first deer. I think there were 6 of them, including a baby, throughout the run.
I was interested to see how the first climb would go. I struggled with the heat so much earlier in the summer that I had to hike these. It wasn't easy, but I was steady and I managed it today.
Since it was still early, the second climb was a bit of a challenge. It is a gradual one. My breathing labored some and my lungs were burning. Luckily, I knew how long the climb was and I made it to the top without stopping.
Some of the trail was a little overgrown in spots, but overall not too bad. I crossed the next road and enjoyed the rocky descent. I didn't fly over the rocks, but I was solid. It was still hot and I wanted to be conservative. My feet seemed to get better and better over the rocks.
The previous climb and final long gradual climb were so difficult before I was heat adapted. After the view, I started that gradual climb. I took my time, but it seemed rather easy today. I'm sure all the steep elevation training is helping now too. I never even thought about stopping.
I wanted to get under an 11 minute pace. I realized that that would definitely happen with the road running at the end. I ran up that and got more elevation too. I wanted to get to 4.5 miles, so I ran a short bit in the parking lot to get there.
It was a short, but solid run. I was thrilled that it went much better than my last run there in June. I'm finally used to the heat. I still can't push in it, but at least I can manage to run easy. I couldn't even do that before.
Tomorrow, I plan to run again. I'm not sure where at or how far. I'd like to get to Tammany, but unsure if I'm up for driving there. With a slight cough, I haven't been running much lately. I'm still not over it, but should run more anyway.
4.5 miles - 48:14 (10:43 pace) 694 feet of elevation gain
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