Friday, January 15, 2016

First Leaser Lake Run

I always like going to new places.  I wanted to that today, but the trick was that I didn't want to travel.  I opted for the trail around Leaser Lake, in northwest Lehigh County.  I had been in the area, but never actually there.

There is a loop around the lake.  It was supposed to be 4 miles, so I figured that would be perfect for my current pathetic running state.  I had not run since Monday.  My dad went with me to hike and hangout.

It was pretty warm, in the 40s.  I went with shorts, short sleeves with a shell over top.  I was sweating quite a bit at the end.  At times, it was sunny and other times cloudy.  I decided to run in a counterclockwise direction from the north end parking area.

The trail had blue markings and a lot of them early, as I started from the shore.  The trail quickly went back into the woods.  This section was fun and pretty, even with all the leaves gone.  It had some rocks, a little mud and a couple streams crossings.  My feet got a little wet.  This was one of the best sections, but it didn't last too long.

After a bridge over a stream, it was a short climb to an open field part.  Most of the run was around open fields, along the lake.  These were a little tricky, because there was a slope and it was a little muddy.  I'd slip at times and the angle made it hard to run on.  I saw my dad on a bench across the lake and I waved to him.

I realized that the mountain was behind me and the view would be awesome if I was running the other direction.  Maybe I'll try that next time.  I really did like this trail, despite it being a lot of open fields and pretty flat.  I knew coming in that it should be very runnable, so I was happy about that.

The lake has almost fingerlike coves to it.  I went around one of those.  I had been wondering about it before, because it seemed like I was close to the dam.  I had to loop around one of the fingers.  After that, was the worst muddy, banked section.

Eventually, I got to the dam.  I know they want to build a bridge over the spillway.  When looking at a map earlier, it looked like you could run over the water if you went down farther.  There was a guy walking his dog and I passed him.  I guess I should've asked him where to go.

I ran down, but eventually came to a house, with a bunch of cars.  I couldn't tell if this was an actual house or a park office.  I didn't want to chance it, even though I could've run over the roads without touching water.

Instead, I tried to figure out how to get over the spillway.  It was wide but got narrower.  The problem was that I had to go through some woods.  I found a small path.  The water was still wider and deeper than I wanted.  There was ice on the edges.  I didn't want to turn around or go through the yard, so this was my only option.

I ran through the cold, thigh deep water.  It wasn't too bad actually.  I'm used to creek crossings and it was only in the 40s today.  I've been through worse, even if I did have wet feet.  After that, I had to climb up the dam.  That was a hike and one of the only times I wasn't running.

After that, it was back to more field like running.  I cruised along, although I was getting kind of tired.  It definitely wasn't hilly, but a little more challenging than I expected.  I saw a couple cool deer.  One guy was fishing on the shore and a couple was walking their dogs.  It was mostly quiet though.

There was more running along fields and rolling hills.  It was good to finally get to mile 3 and at 3.1, I took my watch off and carried it.  I was getting a little bored of the fields, so I was kind of glad that I was nearly done.

Eventually, I came to a road.  The trail went on it briefly, but then back into the woods.  This was near where we came in, so I knew where I was.  I ran along this second wooded part.  This was quite fun and super rocky.  it was wet too, with a bunch of small streams.  I hopped over them.

When I came out of the woods, I saw my dad walking along the lake.  I ran back to my car.  I was over 4.25 miles and under a 10 minute pace.  It was a fun little run.

This is too far to come regularly, but it is a charming little place to run.  It would be an awesome place for a loopy run or timed event.  Maybe I'll put one together in the future.  It sure could be hot in the summer.  I wouldn't mind doing a picnic.

I hope to run tomorrow.  If I can get up, I'll go to the BCR group run.  It has been awhile.  I could run with Angie and Nicole there.  They are going to run along the D&L in Easton.  I do like that part.  I'm thinking 6 miles would be good.

4.3 miles - 42:32 (9:54 pace) 121 feet of elevation gain

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