Sue set up a night run at Jacobsburg to prepare for the Ragnar Relay they are doing. I'm not a huge fan of running there, but I love the idea of night runs. There were 6 of us there.
Christina wanted to start early. We rode over, since they only allowed us to park a limited number of cars in the lot. It was cool that they gave us permission. I wasn't going to run until the main group showed, but I changed my mind and decided to run with Christina.
We started off doing the main loop. She's starting to get to know it, so I kind of let her lead. It was fun to drop back a little. My watch didn't get a signal right away and it became quite frustrating throughout the first loop.
I haven't run with Christina, so it was good to chat and catch up. It made things easier, but still Jacobsburg always seems mentally long for me. At least the singletrack was fun.
The real challenge for me is that I don't run for miles and miles any more. I basically hike a lot in between running. We ran the entire loop and 6 straight miles of running was a challenge.
The powerline was slow and tough for both of us. It reminded me of how out of shape I am now. It was good to get up it though.
Then of course there was nice descent. We heard a bunch of loud music. I guess from a nearby house. That was interesting.
I didn't realize that she usually goes along the creek, so we did that. I love that section anyway. There was a lot of horse crap throughout the run.
She wasn't quite sure on some of the turns, but we made it back okay. It was a solid time, as it took an hour. I was amazed at how labored my breathing was early, but then good later on.
We had to wait half an hour for everyone else to show up. It was nice out, but humid, so my shirt was soaked. I decided to change, but only had a light weight long sleeve. I rolled the sleeves up and it wasn't too bad.
I also dropped my vest. It was making me hot and I was drinking any water any way. It was getting dark now, so it was a good thing I had my headlamp, like everyone else.
Ryan led the way at the start. I chilled in the back, talking with Sue. I was in no rush. She feel back a little on the first gradual hill, but that was fine with us and we hiked some.
The singletrack was a little interesting in the dark. Of course the headlamps helped some. I talked with Ryan a bit about racing. We haven't run in awhile.
We stopped for a beautiful pink sky. It was still light out, but dark back in the woods. Back into the woods we went. There was a lot more singletrack. Christina was now leading us.
I was starting feel quite crappy. It was just too much running for me at the moment. Plus, I ran yesterday. I'm in terrible shape now. I don't care much, but I was paying for it.
We were even at the powerline and I wanted to walk. The heel that I injured in Moab started bothering me. I was glad we hiked up the powerline. However, I was slow as I had no energy. I was hurting too.
Then, we got to the top and I got my second wind. I felt cool and didn't want to coast around. I wanted to be done with the run, so I passed Ryan and Christina and starting flying downhill.
It was kind of fun and kind of creepy. I was well ahead of everyone and running through the dark woods. My headlamp kept sliding down my head, so I just carried it.
The fireflies were neat. They brightened up the darkness. I didn't want to do the singletrack, so I just turned before it. Nice and smooth running.
I couldn't want to get over the bridge and near the road. That didn't take too long. I was starting to tire, but almost done. When I did get to the road, I didn't want to deal with cars. I blasted through that and back on the trail.
It wasn't long and I was back the parking lot. I was beat, tired and sore. It has been awhile since I did 12 miles. I also can never handle the Jacobsburg stone. It sure beat up my feet and calves. I waited a few minutes and everyone came back.
I am sore, but was happy with the run. It was good to run with others. I need some longer runs every now and then too.
Tomorrow is definitely off. I'd like to do hills on Tuesday (maybe at Trexler). Later in the week, I'm camping in Ithaca. I can't wait to run along the falls and gorges. It should be thrilling.
Loop 1 About 6.1 miles and an hour (GPS data was incorrect)
Loop 2 6.15 miles - 1:10:38 (11:29 pace) 370 feet of elevation gain
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