Yesterday was a tough 30 miler. I wanted to do 30 again today. I definitely thought going to Jacobsburg would beat me up much less than it did. In the evening, I was so sore that I wondered how I'd be able to run today. However, I woke up feeling much better and was more encouraged by that.
Originally, I was going to go to the Delaware Water Gap. However, I needed to get back for dinner. I had to make sure work didn't call me, so I wasn't able to start until mid morning. I slacked for a little bit too. I decided that I would run loops at South Mountain (Lehigh). That would give me some elevation, but also fairly runnable trails. I began at 10:30 AM.
Even that early in the morning, it was already pretty humid. The first loop felt worse than I felt at all yesterday. By the end of the run in the afternoon, it was around 90. I definitely suffered a bit. My shorts got quite soaked.
The nice thing is that this starts with some downhill. My legs, not surprisingly, were sluggish. They clearly weren't recovered from yesterday. I could tell early on that it would be a long day. I figured that I would just see what happens.
I was conservative of course, walking any early uphill. Even with that, I felt very slow. My running portions sure weren't crisp. I saw a couple deer early on and began to count them. That kept my mind thinking of other things. I counted 9 throughout the run (and one groundhog).
Most of the middle of this loop is a slow ascent. It is runnable on a short run, but not today. It was super hot too, as there isn't much shade and that was the sunny side of the mountain. I also was breaking a bunch of spider webs.
I cruised along when I got to the downhill. I was careful on the technical terrain, as my legs weren't sharp. I also probably didn't come into the run with enough calories, although I was now taking Tailwind. I was surprised to see another runner on the technical stuff. It looked like a college student.
There was also another guy with a weed whacker. I could tell most of the sections along the trail had recently been trimmed. I was very thankful for him.
Instead of the normal route, I decided to try to run some of the loop across from a foot bridge. I often get lost in this area and it seems like I run forever to get out of there. However, I thought it might be flatter and more runnable. It turns out it wasn't. I hiked about a quarter of a mile and then ran back down. At least I added on to this loop.
The top of my right foot bothered me on the downhills yesterday. During this stretch, it started to bother me now. It seemed like when I ran a straight line downhill, it was an issue. If I went side to side, it wasn't as much of a problem.
I ran on the road by the lookout. I then crossed the road and headed back up on the trail. This is uphill and I mixed running and hiking. I came out to the Mountaintop Campus and went across to my car.
I was at 5 miles and beat. I knew there was little chance for 30 today, unless I recovered miraculously. I toweled off, refilled my water and Tailwind and ate two pretzels. It was actually breezy and chilly at the top.
That didn't last though, as I went out for the 2nd loop. It was muggy again, especially when I climbed. I hiked the uphills this time too. I started trying to figure out how long I'd go. I figured that since my goal race(s) are three straight days, maybe I could do less on this day, but do a decent amount on Tuesday.
I plugged away. I felt like crap on the uphills, but enjoyed the descents. My right calf was a little sore. Since I was going so slow, I stopped paying attention to pace and just kept moving forward.
I finished the second loop, by adding some paved running around the top of the campus. Actually, I walked a bunch of that too. I got back to the car at over 10 miles. I knew I had one more loop in me.
I had my usual pit stop and was on my way. Things started off slow in the first loop and got even slower now. I just concentrated on getting to the next mile. I hiked even more now, although I could still run. The technical sections had me very cautious though.
Near the disc golf course a bunch of college students were doing something. It was nice to see some cute girls. Most of this run was lonely. Then, I saw some mountain bikers after crossing the road.
I cautiously went down the technical section. I was so wiped out by now. The combination of the heat, humidity and fatigue were really getting to me. I slogged along.
It was great to get to the final mile. I then ran up through the campus again. I had to add on about .4 miles to get to mile 15. I did that on the hot pavement. I finished right at my car, exhausted.
This was definitely a disappointing day, especially because I didn't really push myself like I could've. I did that more yesterday. Today, I quit earlier than I probably should've. I was hiking so much and just gave in. That said, this isn't the time to test my limits either. That is next month. I was hoping I could do more today.
If I can do 10-15 miles again tomorrow, I'll be much happier and more confident. I had run back to back 20s before, but never tried this much on consecutive days. I'd like to think with less heat, I could've pushed to at least 20-25 miles today.
My training hasn't been where I have wanted it to be. I actually haven't run all that much, outside of the long races I've done. I definitely should've done more going into the West Virginia Trilogy. Of course, I also know this, but decided I would give it a go anyway. I want to see where my limit is and how far I can push myself. I may be able to run that whole thing in a month, but hitting that 50 mile cutoff could be very tough. I will certainly have to feel better than I did today.
I don't know where I'll run tomorrow. I'd like to get up to the DWG. That would give me a tough 15 miles and leave me more satisfied with these three days.
15 miles - 3:36:16 (14:25 pace) 2044 feet of elevation gain
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