I got back home on Tuesday. I haven't had a desire to run since then. My lack of interest in running is continuing I guess. All I want to do is run new trails. However, the weather was nice, so I thought I'd head out today.
It was super comfortable sitting around, but a little hot running. Mostly, that was because I worked a bit hard at the end. I wore shorts and a tank top. At least I can still run with some type of shirt on. That won't last much longer.
I headed to Mauck Chunk Lake in Jim Thorpe. I wanted to run and also check to see if any of the flowers were in bloom (they weren't). I started at the lake and headed down the Switchback Trail. Even without flowers, it is green tunnel of beauty. It is one flat, stone trail I can enjoy. If it was closer, I'd put in more miles there.
It was a bit over a mile until the Fireline Trail. Eventually, I got to that and the fun started. I ran for a bit, but didn't want to force it. Once my breathing was quite labored, I hiked uphill. This seemed a little tough. Maybe it was steeper than some of Colorado. I find that hard to believe. Perhaps the rocks gave me some trouble. I'm not sure.
I continued on and after about 500 feet, I came to the top. Some of the trail had high grass, but now I had the wider doubletrack to work with. Last time, I took the trail to the east. This time, I went west to explore more.
I continued to run along, since it was mostly flat. It was slightly uphill I guess. At 2.65 miles, I decided I would run to 3.65 miles and turn around. This was a fairly flat mile. I thought I heard an animal, but it turned out to be the wind.
It wasn't long and I was ready to turn around. Instead, I went out farther. I turned back at mile 4. This would be a productive day. I had been just trying to go under a 12 minute per mile pace, but now knew I'd do that.
I continued on. I was going to just go back to the Shoreline Trail and head down. I'd go around the lake and that would be good enough. I pushed a bit and my pace was getting better. I thought maybe I could even run a sub 11 pace.
I got to the Shoreline Trail. This was a descent, but it was quite rocky and technical. I stopped gaining ground on the clock. Instead, I was breaking even. It wasn't long to the bottom.
I then came out on the dam. I had to be careful not to get stung, with all the flowers on the dam. I cruised along, pushing things a bit. I just wanted to cross the dam and get out of the sun.
I did that and followed the trail back. I was along the lake and then up into the woods. I was now on the Switchback Trail. I was well over 6 miles and not sure if I'd get to 7 miles. I did some calculations in my head and figured I was under an 11 minute pace now.
I passed a family walking. I could see the end of the path. I ran and finished at the end of it, before mile 7. I had pushed a bit and finished with a nice time. Most of this run was easy. That was interesting, since I don't run for long stretches much any more. It is usually run, hike, run, hike.
It was a solid workout and nice to be back running. I feel like I want to run again on Sunday. We shall see. I'd love to get to the Pinnacle. I haven't been there in awhile. It might be better suited for a weekday though.
6.87 miles - 1:14:53 (10:54 pace) 816 feet of gain
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