Thursday, March 10, 2016

Warm Day on the D&L (Raubsville)

It's been unseasonably warm the last few days.  I dealt with it on Tuesday, but couldn't get myself to do so yesterday.  I decided to take the day off.  Even though nothing changed and it was still in the 70s, I had to get out there today.  The plan was for 12 miles.

Of course I had shorts on.  I went with a sleeveless top.  It was definitely hot, but not as bad as I expected, as I started after 3 PM.  I guess as long as it isn't humid, 70s this time of year aren't too bad.  I was sweating by the end, but I dealt with it.  I didn't even have any water either.

I thought about going to Trexler.  I decided on some easier terrain though.  I wasn't sure what hills and heat would've done.  I decided to head to the D&L near Raubsville.  This is about 5 miles south of Easton and my favorite section.  I started at the canal lock and headed south.  It was definitely warm at the start.

I felt great and didn't even look at my watch.  The canal is on one side.  The other side has the river and there are great views early on.  It was such a picture perfect day to be out there.  I cruised along.

About 1.5 miles into the run is probably my favorite part.  The one side has the canal and road.  Above that is cliffs and the wall next to the road has old stones.  The trail goes right next to the river and there are almost no trees blocking the view.  It is spectacular, to say the least.

The legs felt good and I sensed the pace was pretty good.  I had not looked at my watch once yet though.  I was merely enjoying the day.  I did wish I put on trail shoes.  Some parts had had heavy equipment on them and the surface was uneven.  I could really feel that with my road shoes.

A bit after the cliffs is another cool section.  The trail and canal run right through some buildings and the small town of Riegelsville.  There is a neat cafe next to the trail.  A car bridge and pedestrian bridge go overhead.  I continued to trot along.

Things kind of reverted back to normal after that part.  A little bit later, I looked at my watch.  It was around 3.67 miles.  That was the first time I looked at my watch the entire run.  That is amazing for me.  However, I thought I was over 4 miles at that point, so I was a little disappointed.

I didn't feel too bad, but I was a little warm now.  Since I had no water, I was slightly concerned.  If it did get too hot, I would've turned around.  I wanted to really try to get to mile 6 though.

Somewhere around mile 5 is another neat part.  It is a farm with a fruit stand and stuff like that.  It is really outstanding in the summer.  Around here, I came to two geese.  These were the only ones I saw all day.  I approached cautiously and basically walked around them.  I didn't have much choice, with a canal on one side and a small garden on the other side.

I made it through.  I was tiring a bit, but I focused on mile 6.  I had looked at my watch more frequently now.  I ending up turning around at just the right point.  I ran right in front of this cool house.  It is old and right on the trail.  They have a footbridge over the canal, but no car access to the actual house.  Their garage is on the other side of the canal.  I could definitely live there.  I wish I didn't have to turn around, as I was approaching more cliffs.

It was good to be heading back though.  I tried to just focus on the next mile.  I wasn't hurting, but I also certainly wasn't as strong as before.  It was great to get back to the farm.  I then went around the geese with no problems again.  That was a huge relief.

I tried to focus on getting back to Riegelsville.  That would be about halfway back, near mile 9.  At times, I ran on the grass, as my legs were getting sore.  I wasn't about to quit.  I would've needed to walk anyway.  One good thing with ultra running is that it has taught me how to push through.

I did get to mile 9.  There were a few people out in this area.  I saw some dog walkers all throughout the run.  I didn't see any bikers until nearly the end.  A couple runners were out as well.  Still, for all the time I spent out there, there weren't that many people.  It was quite pleasant.

Sometime after Riegelsville, I came through a stretch with more houses along the canal (but on the other side).  Two dogs barked at me.  I wasn't worried as I was confident they wouldn't swim through the canal to chase me.  That would've been funny.

It was great to get to mile 10.  I just kept pushing.  I felt pretty consistent and the data shows I was.  Most of my miles were between 8 minutes and 8:30.  I really wanted to get back to the cliffs.  Just before that, some young girls were biking and turned in front of me.

I sort of got pulled along by the them.  I went over the cliffs and one walked her bike there.  I ran over the bumps.  I was happy to know that I had about 1.5 miles to go.  Earlier, I thought my watch added a bunch of distance, but it actually looked quite correct.

As I neared the last mile, I saw a dog that wanted to play.  Its owner was very cute.  I wish I could've stopped.  I wanted to be done though.  The sun was starting to set and it was cooling off just a little.

I enjoyed the river views as much as I could.  The last mile was slightly tough though.  I kept at it.  Before long, I rounded the final curve and saw the end.  I decided to run to exactly where I had started.  That was a little over mile 12.

I just love, love, love running this stretch.  It is so beautiful.  There aren't many flat places that I could run for this long and enjoy it, but this section is definitely a place like that.  It does beat up the legs a little, but overall it isn't too bad.

I was happy to get 12 miles in and move to 37 miles for the week.  I should have no problem hitting 50 miles again.  Maybe I'll even push 60 by the end.  I don't know.  I'll be quite busy with wrestling over the next two days.  I'm going out to Hershey tomorrow and hopefully Saturday for it.  I'd love to at least get 10 miles in tomorrow.  I might have more time on Saturday. 

12.05 miles - 1:41:56 (8:28 pace) 119 feet of elevation gain

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