Whitehall High School Run

This afternoon, I was going to head to the Nor-Bath Trail.  However, it looked like it may still be snow covered.  Instead, I waited until late in the evening.  I went to the Nazareth wrestling match at Whitehall High School.  I was unsure where to run and then realized I could run around the parking lot after the match.

The temperature had dropped significantly.  Still, I ran with shorts on.  I had a long sleeve shirt with a shell on and added gloves and a headband.  It was windy at times and comfortable at others.  It began to snow a bit during the end of the run.

The match ended and I quickly got changed in my car and headed out.  I figured I could probably get a mile or two going around the parking lot.  It is a big complex, with the high school, middle school and an elementary school and some other buildings.

I had to be careful of traffic leaving the match.  I headed out toward the football field.  I looped around the parking lot there.  A little after that, I was half a mile in.

I saw there was a long road out of the campus.  I decided to take that out and back.  Near the end was another building and I looped around that lot.  I noticed a neighborhood next to the road.  It had a path to it, some street lamps and sidewalks.  Since I wasn't wearing a headlamp, this was the perfect option.

I went there and started on some of the sidewalks.  I was going slow, but feeling okay.  I didn't recover too bad from the 15 miles on Sunday.  I had no idea how long this neighborhood would be.  I figured I'd try to loop around the perimeter.

I made a few turns.  I was happy to get to 1.5 miles and then 2 miles.  I figured by the time I made it back to my car, I'd at least be at 3.5 miles.  That would be great.

The snow started sometime during this loop.  I was always pretty sure what direction I was going, but the roads did curve in this neighborhood.  It wasn't long and I was back to where I started this loop.  I was thrilled to be halfway done, at 2.5 miles.

I went back around the building parking lot again, to add some distance.  Then, I continued my loop around the whole complex.  There was a "no outlet" sign at the middle school.  However, there was a gated road around it.  I used that and was able to add plenty of distance.

I then went out and back for a bit on another entry road.  A car drove by at one point.  I now was over well over 3.5 miles and headed back to the gym and my car.

I arrived at my car right around 4 miles.  I was surprised at how slow my pace was.  It didn't feel that slow, but it was way over 9 minute miles.  I just wanted to finish one more mile.

I went back out to the football stadium lot.  I then ran by the track stadium too.  I now finished a shorter loop, as I headed back toward the gym.  I was happy to nearly be done.

I got back to my car over 5 miles into the run.  My legs were getting a little sore and the snow was falling more.  I was happy to be done.

This wasn't the fastest run, but it was good to get out there.  I'm happy with how I recovered.  I'm also happy with how creative I was finding somewhere to run.

Tomorrow, I hope to run again.  We may get 1 to 3 inches with this storm.  If not, I'd love to get on some trails.  My legs could benefit from an even softer surface.

5.06 miles - 48:43 (9:38 pace) 89 feet of elevation gain