As usual, I slacked off and only ran once last week. Yesterday, I used lack of time as an excuse, but really that wasn't a good one. This Sunday, I had no excuses left, so I headed to the D&L.
I love the section between Cove Road and Slatington. The scenery there is great, so I headed out there. I was hoping for a 10 miler, but any running at all would be better than what I've been doing. I haven't run 10 straight miles without some hiking in some time.
The weather was unseasonably warm. It was nearly 50 degrees as a high. That is crazy for December. I went with shorts and a short sleeve shirt. My legs were a little chilly early, but it was perfect. I'd take this weather all year long.
I felt awesome at the start. I was nice and fresh as I began past the bridge. It starts with some uphill, but I didn't even notice it much. The beginning of this run was awesome. I didn't even look at my watch until .87 miles into the run.
The scenery is great and exactly what I needed. You are above the Lehigh River on one side. The other side has these cool rock cliffs. It is stone rail trail, but it is about as close to nature trail as you can get. My mind was in a great place and I was enjoying myself.
There were a lot of people out. Mostly it was people on bikes. I only saw one runner and a handful of walkers and dog walkers. One woman on a bike asked if I was cold. I told her how perfect the conditions were for me. Bikers were definitely bundled up more.
I continued checking out the scenery. I was looking around to see if there would be any cool places there to meditate. I might have to try that in the future. I'm not sure how I'd get up the cliffs. I could also probably sit down by the river. There is a spot where there was an old bridge. I didn't look at my watch for a 2nd time until 2.4 miles.
I was going nice and easy. My breathing wasn't smooth, because the air was a little cold. I focused now on getting to mile 3 and then mile 4. I wasn't quite enjoying the scenery as much. I was happy to get to mile 4. I figured mile 5 would be near Slatington.
There is an old signal near there. That is neat. I kept on moving along. I was happy when I finally got to mile 5. I turned around and headed back.
I had recently started looking at my time. I was over 8 minute pace, but it was dropping. I figured that maybe I could get below that by the end of the run. The focus from then on was getting to the next mile.
I really had been focusing on mile 7 as a bigger milestone though. Then, I'd be inside of 3 miles to go. Whereas I enjoyed the scenery going out, I didn't going back. I couldn't wait to finish and watched my watch way too much. I was figuring out the pace too.
Getting to mile 7 was great. I ran past where there are often horses out. They weren't there today though. I continued to focus on the next mile. My pace was a little quicker now. I figured I was probably running well under 8 minute miles and indeed the data shows that I was.
Around 7.5 miles, my hip started to bother me. I've always had issues on these stone trails after a long time. That was the case now and it was no surprise, since I haven't run far on any trails lately. I pushed on though. I figured I could handle 2.5 miles.
The nice thing heading back is it is a lot of downhill. I tried to look at the cliffs again, but it was hard to relax now. I wasn't running hard, but I was running comfortable either. I was happy to get to mile 8 and then mile 9.
In the final half mile, my watch lost its signal. It got messed up and thinks I ran across the river. The distance was going up very fast. I hit mile 10 about 2/10ths of a mile from the bridge. I stopped my watch, but ran on to the bridge.
It was a nice run. I wish I could've enjoyed the second half as much as the first half. I'm thrilled to get into double digit miles. It was a good Sunday and a beautiful day too. I'd prefer some colder weather, but if it stays warm, I guess I'll take advantage.
10 miles - 1:16:18 (7:38 pace) 84 feet of elevation gain NOT ACCURATE DATA
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