I felt good after a lot of my miles were on trails yesterday. Today, was another super warm day. I had to get out and run. Since I was going to a basketball game in the evening, I went to nearby Green Lane to run the loop around it.
It was super warm. I wore shorts and a singlet. The singlet was soaked early. I did get used to the heat. It also helped to have a breeze off the water.
I took the loop in the clockwise direction again, like I did last year. This starts off with open fields. It is a lot like Blue Marsh. There are some small hills. They had me breathing hard, especially with the heat so early on. The beginning of the trail was sloppy, but not bad after a bit.
I ran by a ranger that for some reason was parked on the trail. I cruised along. It is pretty running around the water. Most of the time, I wasn't too close to it, but I could usually see it.
I was happy to get to mile 3 fairly quickly. I wasn't looking at my watch too much. The trail crossed the road for a bit. There are some horse jumps. It it wide and covered in stone. It was kind of boring and my legs were a little sore.
I was glad to get back across the road to continue the loop. I passed two horses coming the other way. I was very happy to get on some singletrack. I forgot about that fun section of it on the Red Trail.
I then came out to more stone and the Connector Trail. There was some gradual uphill. Since it was early, I hiked it. I had been running a sub 10 minute pace, but this slowed me a bit. Still, I was moving fairly well.
I then ran by a school. Next, it was on the paved Perkiomen Trail. This hurt the legs a little, but at least it was downhill. That trail then turned to stone. I continued to follow it. It was easy running, other than being in the sun.
I came out to Green Lane Park. I lost the trail last time I was there, but now I knew where to go. A woman was running the other way. The trail is on the shoulder of the road for a bit.
Then, I connected to the Blue Trail. There was another woman with a dog there. I hiked up this hill because it was pretty steep. I was getting a little tired with all the sun, no water or food. I was in no rush anyway.
At the top, there's a camping area. Then, the trail crosses the road and becomes cool singletrack. It is fun running down to the water, except that means you have to go back up too. I just hiked some of the tougher uphills.
I was happy to get to the one entrance to the day use area. I knew where I was because I went there to park during my first trip there. The trail went back down along the lake.
This section was fun, but exhausting too. It was great and easy running when it went near the water. However, there were all these small creeks and mini hollows. The trail would cut around those. Some of the climbs were a bit exhausting.
I kept looking for the bridge over the water and back to my car. I knew when I could see it, I'd be close to getting done. I hit mile 10 and it still wasn't visible. Then, it seemed to pop up out of nowhere. I saw a guy running the other way around this part.
After one really tough hollow section, I was finally back to some easy trail. With all the singletrack and soft trail, the legs had recovered. They now felt great.
I got to the bridge at mile 10.9. I figured I'd now get back to the car around 11.5. The bridge sucks because it is paved, but otherwise it is cool. There is a separate lane for pedestrians and bikes. There are these fishing cutouts too. Quite a few people were using them.
Since I was on pavement, I dropped my pace under 11 minute miles. I cruised on back to my car. I arrived there at 11.45 miles. Since the start of the trail was slop, I turned back around. I did a short out and back on the pavement to finish up.
It was a good run. I wasn't too sore. I got some solid miles in. I was a bit tired from all the heat though. My legs will definitely feel better if I keep mixing trail and road.
Tomorrow, I'm not sure what I'll be doing. Maybe I'll get on roads again. I wouldn't mind trails either though. I'd love to get 12-15 miles. That would be a very productive day.
11.99 miles - 2:10:51 (10:55 pace) 656 feet of elevation gain
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