I had a strong start to the week, but faded down the stretch. I took Thursday off and Friday I wanted to do 15, but I had to work in the afternoon. I was going to go to Mt. Tammany this morning for 12 miles, but I couldn't get out of bed. I still hoped for 15 miles in the afternoon.
I haven't been to the Ironton Rail Trail in some time. I thought that that would be a good place for a long run. The weather was nearly impossible to figure out. It felt warm, so I went with just a lightweight long sleeve shirt. However, the slight breeze was bone chilling, as it pierced my shirt. I quickly went back to the car and put on my jacket. I also had tights and shorts on. I went back and forth between cold and hot.
I started off not feeling so great. I just felt tired, slow and sluggish. With two days rest, at least there was no soreness. Within the first mile, I figured I was also going to be very hot and overdressed at times. I quickly realized 15 miles wasn't going to happen. This wasn't going to be my day.
Even the downhill in the beginning wasn't great. I ran along anyway. I knew I'd do one loop of 5.3 miles and I was hoping for 7 miles at least. That could be a productive day.
A bunch of people were using the trail. Some were running, some biking and others walking (often with dogs). I saw a woman that started around the same time as me. I saw her a few times and she had her face covered from the cold. I couldn't understand that, as it wasn't that cold.
I was sweating a lot pretty early on. Any time the wind was at my back, I was super warm. My gloves went off and my sleeves were even rolled up. Eventually the headband came off too.
I cruised along, continuing to feel sluggish. My one foot landed funny a couple times and produced a brief, sharp pain. It was better quickly though. The road crossings caused me to wait a little, but they weren't too bad.
I love this trail because it is a loop. The kind of remote section not far from the river was a little cold at times. Even this part was busy. I looked at my watch a lot, but the miles clicked off fairly quickly.
The last time I was there, they were building a bridge. Now, the trail goes under it, with a cool tunnel. After that comes the short stone section. It is the only non paved part of the loop and it was sloppy.
I knew the worst part was coming down. It was the gradual uphill by the cement kilns. Someone on a bike made a comment. I think she could tell I was struggling, but I didn't hear what she said. I kept battling, but was feeling so slow.
The one good thing was I was catching this guy. I finally passed him right at the end of the loop. I was over 5.4 miles now. I was determined to get to 7 miles.
Now, I had a nice downhill. I continued on the loop for a little out and back. I kept going and had to cross the road once. At .75 miles into this loop, I turned back around. I headed back toward the car.
I didn't want to end with the uphill, so instead, I ran out the spur section. I've been on this before, but now it is paved. I went out to the Whitehall Parkway and then finished up there and walked a bit back. Next time there, I want to go out and explore more.
It was a disappointing run in that I didn't do as much as I wanted to. However, it was probably better than I didn't overdo it this week. After 18 miles last week, I did 35 this week. That is reasonable. If I got up to 50+ miles, that might have caused some issues.
I do want to build on this. I'm going to watch the Super Bowl 10K tomorrow morning. After that, I'm hoping to try the 15 miles again. I may just go to Ironton again, since I like it so much. Maybe I'll be able to dress better.
7 miles - 1:01:34 (8:48 pace) 92 feet of elevation gain
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