Tuscarora State Park Run

I always love finding new places to run.  I am heading to a sprint car race that is a little over an hour from home tonight.  Therefore, I decided I’d find somewhere to run nearby.  That ended up being the Tuscarora State Park in Tamaqua.  I had actually run my first trail race there, but that was back in 1999.  I don’t remember much of it.  I actually thought it was just another road race.  Turns out it was more of a cross country race.

The Schuykill League has their cross country league championships there in addition to the run that I did there (The Truskey Memorial Run).  I figured I’d try to run the cross country course and maybe add on a little more.  I asked where the course was at the park office and the woman working there only sort of knew.  She gave me a rough idea, but I decided to run on my own.

I started off on the Old Log Trail near the parking lot.  This was tough because it was an immediate steep climb.  I love climbing, but hate it when my legs aren’t warmed up.  The trail was nice though.  It was grassy and wide.  It was very long though.  I then picked up the Forest Edge Trail.  After going through the woods, it came out into an open grass area that was mowed.  This definitely looked like part of a cross country course.  I didn’t want to run on the grass too long, so I went back into the woods when I found another trail.

This trail was called the Laurel Trail.  I saw a deer streak across the woods in front of me.  This section of trail wasn’t bad, but there were a lot of low bushes that brushed up against my knees.  I don’t like running trails like that because I’m always worried about ticks.  This section was short though and eventually I wound up back on the Old Log Trail and back to the parking lot.  Going downhill on the Old Log Trail was much easier than the uphill portion.

I was thinking about trying to find the trail that runs along the lake and then pick up a short, but steep mountain trail.  I ended up noticing another trail right near the parking area called the Spirit of Tuscarora Trail.  This was much better to run in.  It was dirt singletrack, which I love.  It was very winding with some nice up and down segments.  There were some roots and rocks, but it wasn’t too technical.  I had done about a mile and a third thus far and was hoping to get to about 4 or 5 miles.  

What was making the running somewhat tough is that I bought a new Camelback for trail runs.  My other one was too big, so I wanted something lightweight to use.  The Rogue model that I bought carries 70 ounces and has storage for a couple things, like keys, a wallet and some maps.  I was a little worried about the way it attached to me, but it worked out well.  Hearing the water move around was a little annoying.  Otherwise, it worked pretty well.  The biggest problem was just getting used to the extra weight.  Although it isn’t much, it still took a toll on me, especially on the uphill sections.  I definitely have to get used to it.  I plan on taking it on the Trexler Nature Preserve Group Run tomorrow.  It should work.

The Spirit of Tuscarora Trail was very nice as I said earlier.  From the start, it dropped down to the lake and climbed a little.  Most of it was composed of talls trees and fairly wide open.  There wasn’t too much thick brush.  Because of how open it was, it got a little tricky to follow at times.  It was well blazed though.

One section ran along a creek.  Another part was quite muddy and fun to run through.  My plan was to make it to two and a half miles and turn around.  I lost the trail though right before that and it seemed like I was running up a dry creek bed.  Therefore, I headed back the way I started.

In some of the open sections, I got lost briefly.  One crossed a mostly dry creek and I eventually found the blazes.  There was some climbing that was tough at times, but it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  It seemed like there was a lot of downhill going out, but coming back wasn’t too tough.  It was fun and actually over before I knew it.  

It was an excellent run.  I’d definitely run here again if it didn’t take so long to get to.  I might run the Truskey race again at the end of the summer.  The 5k is usually very competitive since all the local high school cross country runners race it.  I might try the 10k version.  The history of the race is sad.  When I ran it, it was the Chris Truskey Memorial Run.  Chris was a Tamaqua high school runner who died in an auto accident.  Since I ran it in ’99, his brother Kevin also died in an auto accident, so both their names are now on the race.  What a terrible way to lose two kids and both at different times.  Kevin was 25 when that happened, but it is still heartbreaking.

I’ll be getting home late tonight, but I still plan on the group run at Trexler Nature Preserve.  I need to see if I can complete the 8.5 mile loop before the Quadzilla 15k next month.  Of course my health and upcoming exploratory surgery on Monday will be a big question when it comes to that as well.  This week, I’ve really been putting on the miles.  After 20 miles last week, I’m already up to 26.5 miles this week, with an 8.5 mile run to go.  Plus, I plan to run Sunday too.  That’s certainly not following the 10% to 15% weekly increase rule.  Even if surgery goes well, I plan on resting a couple days.  I should have time to recover.  If I was hurting from the higher mileage this week, I would’ve backed off too.  I feel good though.

4 miles – 49:31 (12:23 pace)

Good Group Run

While I didn't get the workout of last week's LVRR Group Run, tonight was still productive.  Dave, from the BCR came out and joined me.  More importantly, we had two new runners Kelley and Jeff.  I did a nice 5 miles.  Kelley and Dave ran more and Jeff did a little less.

We had to get started because there was a huge 5k going on too at the same time.  We started off going away from the 5k.  The pace was nice and comfortable early on.  We cruised around.  Jeff was sticking with us, but falling back slightly.  I had a feeling he'd have some trouble when we went up the giant hill by the Fish Hatchery.  He did and ended up walking it.  I slowed to wait for him, but he told me to go.  Dave and Kelley waited for all of us at the top of the hill.

Since I wanted to get a workout out of this, I decided to fly down the hill.  I also really attacked the other hill sections in the run.  I waited for the group for awhile.  I was running with Dave and Kelley, but I could see Jeff was slipping back.  I hung back and waited for him.  He was good until we got to the big hill on the backside.

Everyone waited up and we gathered at the covered bridge.  I nailed the last hill section and then Dave and Kelley catch up.  I stopped at the clubhouse to wait for Jeff, who was running and walking.  He ended his run there and I took off to try to catch Dave and Kelley.  It was some good speed added to the end of an otherwise easy run.

I never caught Dave and Kelley and somehow I had lost site of them.  I finished at 5 miles right at the clubhouse.  Jeff was waiting there, but Dave and Kelley were no where in site.  Eventually, they came back they had actually gone out further.

I tried to stick with Jeff, but he insisted on me letting him drop back during most of the run.  I don't want to leave people behind though because I want to encourage them to come back.  Hopefully he won't be discouraged.  I think Kelley had a good workout and I'm hoping she'll come again.  We need more people to show up on a regular basis.  I want to do whatever I can to get them coming back.

Most of the run was nice and easy.  I got some good work in though on the hills and trying to catch Dave and Kelley.  I'm putting in a lot of miles this week, so I didn't need a hard run.  I just wanted to keep people coming back.

The only frustrating thing about being a group run leader is never knowing who is going to show and what pace they want to run.  Some days it is an easy workout for me.  Other days it is a hard day.  I'm fine with either one.  I just wish it was consistent so I know how to set my training schedule.

I'm very excited for tomorrow.  I'm going to go to a dirt track race near Pottsville, so I'm going to run at Tuscarora State Park in Tamaqua beforehand.  They run the Schuykill League Cross Country meet there and Truskey Memorial race was my first trail race there in '99.  On Saturday, I'm getting up for the T-Rex group run at Trexler.  I'm hoping to do the whole 8.5 mile loop.

5 miles - 48:13 (9:39 pace) 

D&L Trail Fartlek

I wore my compression socks last night and the soreness from earlier in the week was basically gone.  I'm sure yesterday's easy recovery run helped too.  Because of that, I decided it would be a good day to mix in some speed.  I decided on a fartlek run at the D&L Trail in Cementon.

For some reason, this has become a spot I like doing speedwork on.  It is flat and fast, so that's part of it.  There also are minimal road crossings and the ones that it does cross are very lightly trafficked.  It is scenic too as it runs along the Lehigh River.  The gravel surface is nice and forgiving too.

Fartlek is funny looking, but it means "speed play" in Swedish.  It is really an unstructured speedwork session.  You pick a spot, like say a pole up ahead and run hard to it.  You can vary paces and distances.  Like normal speedwork, you recover in between hard sections.  Recovery time can be based on how you feel too.

This type of run was perfect for today and early on in my training.  My goal was just to get some speedy running in amongst a week of a lot of running.  It was a good way to incorporate some speed without taxing myself too much.  It is also perfect to practice the changing paces that often occur during a race.

I started off by warming up for three quarters of a mile.  After that, I did a short hard run to a gate.  It was about .03 miles.  I forgot to adjust my watch.  Even though this type of run isn't meant to be structured, I do like to add some structure to it.  Rather than run to objects, I pick distances to run.  I use my Garmin watch for this.

This actually sort of turned into a ladder workout.  I started my second hard segment by running for .10 miles.  I build up throughout the run.  After short recovery, I then went hard for .15 miles.  These were all out efforts, but they were definitely out of my comfort zone.

I then did a .25 mile segment and .15 mile segment before turning around.  My recovery time varied depending on how I felt.  My peak distance on the way back was .30 miles of hard running.  I did that segment at a 7:00 pace.  Some of the earlier segments were faster, at around 6:30.  I was definitely falling off a bit by this point.  I can run fast, but not for too long.

This wasn't a true ladder workout in that I didn't going exactly the same distances up and down.  My last segment was a .15 mile hard run.  It was a solid 6:39 pace.  My legs were feeling it at this point.  I just tried to be solid and run with good form.  It is interesting because early on, my lungs were hurting and making the run tough, but by the end it was my legs that were slowing me.  All in all, my pace was fairly consistent throughout the fast and slow segments.  That shows that I have a darn good feel of how to run effort wise.

I finished the run up with a three quarter mile cool down.  I hate long cool downs after speedwork, but this wasn't bad.  I started thinking about my form and tried to work on keeping my elbows more straight during this segment.  My elbow position isn't bad, but they do swing out a little.  My form is pretty good and I wouldn't change it, but I do want to look at it more and find some little tweaks that can help me run more efficiently.

This was a perfect workout for what I was hoping to achieve.  It gave me some good speed without draining me.  I had a lot of energy afterward and felt I could do more.  That's what you want.  I also wasn't too sore.  That's a big plus in the middle of this week.  I did 20 miles last week and I'm already up to 17.50 this week, with three days of running to go.  I'll definitely be over 30 miles when the week is over.  Not a great idea to jump so much, but I plan on resting after surgery on Monday.  Hopefully the rest and recovery will me less, not more.

Tonight I'm going to take some more pictures of the LVRR's Summer Series 5k race.  It is free and fun and a good time.  Food afterward is a nice bonus too.  Tomorrow, I'll be leading the group run again in the evening.  Hopefully someone will show up.  I plan on doing about 4 miles myself.

4 miles - 35:00 (8:45 pace)
 

Playing in the Mud

I was hoping to do some type of speed session after my day off yesterday.  I still had some muscle soreness though, so I elected for an easy day instead.  Either way, the plan was to fit the run in between my doctor's appointment and the Nazareth baseball game.  Therefore, running Jacobsburg was one of the few options.

I figured I'd do the longer loop that I did last year.  The plan was to do about 4 miles easy.  I couldn't remember quite how far that loop would take me.  The beginning of the run was a little tough.  It was a gradual uphill, but all the hills on Sunday had my calves sore.

Nevertheless, the first mile was a good warmup.  I came across the same cat on the trail that I saw a couple weeks ago.  It was in the same area, so I'm guessing it is a stray.  It darted in the woods pretty quickly.

I wore some new sunglasses that I bought today.  They are a little better than completely cheap sunglasses, but not expensive enough to bother me when I lose them like I always seem to do.  I wore them early on and they seemed to work pretty good.  Sweating on them is usually the problem, but so far so good with this pair.  I didn't wear them that long though since it was cloudy out and I was in woods most of the time.

Pretty early on, I encountered a pleasant surprise.  There was mud on a section that isn't usually mud.  I love mud, so this was a great sign.  We had a lot of rain lately and some of the shaded areas didn't dry out.  The second mile along route 33 winds in and out.  That combined with the mud made it a slow go.  It was fun and the times seemed to fly by.  I was taking it easy, but some of the short hills were a little on the tough side.  There is one section that goes downhill and it is often a stream.  I was surprised to see it was relatively dry.  I guess all the water had run down already.

Since I was already encountering more mud that usual in these spots, I knew the area that is usually muddy would be outstanding.  It sure didn't disappoint.  There was some fairly deep mud and plenty of standing water.  Some sections were almost impassible.  I went through them swiftly though.  I got my foot stuck in there last year and lost my shoe for a moment.  The key to mud is to be light on your feet and just go through it quickly.  Luckily, I am good at that.

After the muddy section the trail became a lot less interesting and much easier after that point.  I was disappointed to see that they cleared a lot of trees along the one powerline.  Because the one section was solid and boring, I decided to run on a dirt trail that was created just above the normal path.  That was good, but it didn't last long.

I was worried that I had gone out too far.  I didn't turn earlier because I wasn't in the mood to go over the creek crossing.  Instead, I used the bridge.  I then came out back on the road.  By this time, I was actually tiring some.  I hit the four mile point before the parking lot, so I decided to run past the parking lot and into the wide hard trail for awhile.  That added another half mile to the run.

After the run an old dog wandered toward me.  I felt bad because it could barely walk.  It was very friendly though.  Too bad it was so slow and its days are number.

I didn't even think about mud on the trail, so that was a huge bonus.  It made this run a blast.  At times, it was challenging, but I'm getting stronger and running at Jacobsburg is getting much easier.  It is nice a close though and I still enjoy going there.  I also didn't get into the steeper sections too much yet either.  Maybe I'll add those in more in the near future.

I'm hoping I'll be a little more recovered tomorrow.  No matter what, I'm doing some sort of speed session.  I'll like do a fartlek.  That will allow me to run hard whenever I feel like it and run easy whenever I need it.  I'm thinking I'll run it on the D&L Trail, but not sure.  I wouldn't mind something with some hills.

I have to get my run in early because I'm going to the LVRR Summer Series 5k in the evening.  I'll be the race photographer and I'll put my pictures on facebook.  It is fun and I enjoy doing it.  Hopefully I'll be recovered by then.  I might have to consider a post run ice bath tomorrow.


4.5 miles - 44:27 (9:53 pace)

Five Year Goals

I made a goal list last year, but it is time to revise or update it after surgery.  I have an off day today, so I figured now was a good time to write them.  Some are more short term, but I think most although difficult are realistic to attain within 5 years.  I've only ever been able to put a full year of training in at a time.  If I can get 5 good years in a row, I can accomplish amazing things.

Stay Healthy

This issue is obviously the biggest thing when it comes to all my race goals.  I still have Crohn's Disease, but I'm hoping I can manage it.  If I can steer clear of any major problems for five years, I can accomplish a lot.

Qualify for the Boston Marathon

Since running my first marathon, this has become my biggest goal.  It is definitely one that is very achievable.  I missed it by about three and a half minutes in my second marathon.  That was after only a year of training.  The standard has now dropped to 3:05 from 3:10, but I still don't think it would be too much of a problem for me to get there.  I was far from my peak after a year.  I also want to hit this goal before I turn 35 and wind up in the easier age bracket.   I don't even care so much about running fast in the race itself.  Just getting there and experiencing Boston is my goal.

Break 3:00, 2:55 and 2:50 in the Marathon

These are stage goals.  I definitely think I can run a marathon under 3 hours within the next five years.  The question just becomes how far I can go.  It will really be tough to tell until I get a good two year or so of consistent training is.  Then I'll have a little bit better idea of what my peak truly is.

Qualify for New York City Marathon

This was already pretty tough and has actually become even more difficult.  Most people enter this race through the lottery, which is much easier to do if you are foreign than American.  If I can't ever get fast enough to qualify, then I'll go that route.  I'd like to automatically make it in on time though.  The standard for qualifying is dropping from 2:55 to 2:45.  I'm fairly confident I could hit 2:55, but 2:45 will be very tough.  I love the challenge though.  I could actually run a 1:19 half marathon.  That might be the easier route, but I'd rather get it with a fast marathon time.

Top 5 Finish at the Blue Eagle 5k

I don't care that much any more for 5k runs or shorter races.  I do them from time to time, but I'm more interested in longer stuff.  That said, this race is very special to me.  It is run at my elementary school and in my parents backyard.  It is put together by my high school track and cross country team, where I got my start.  Obviously, it holds a lot of meaning for me.  I've also run this route or large parts of this route numerous times.  It will be tough to ever win this event with how fast high school kids are, but I think I can at least finish in the Top 5.  It would be a dream come true to win the whole thing.  I might've missed my best running days when I was in my 20s, but I know I still have plenty of good running ahead of me.  Just how much though is the question.

Top 5 Finish at the Quadzilla 15k

I've never run this race, but Trexler Nature Preserve has become my favorite place to run.  The rolling hills are tough and view is spectacular.  By all accounts, the race was well run in its inception last year.  I hope to run it this year, but I'm still on the comeback trail, so it won't be very fast.  Again, this is a race I'd love to win, but it is probably more realistic to shoot for a Top 5.  It is a fast growing event and will probably have a stronger field every year.

Top 25 Finish at the Run for the Diamonds 

This has been my favorite race that I've run to date.  It is a 9 miler in Berwick on Thanksgiving Day.  It is a small town that comes out and supports the race.  It has a long history that dates back to 1908 and in the earlier years regularly included Olympic Marathoners.  It has a steep climb too which is awesome.  You earn a Diamond for a Top 7 finish.  I'm not sure if that is realistic or not for me, but I think finishing in the Top 25 of this 2,000 or so person field is.

Run a Marathon in Slovakia and Big Sur California

These would be my destination races.  My grandfather is from Slovakia so I'd love to go there and run a marathon.  None of them are big races, but running where my family originated is important to me.  The Big Sur Marathon in California would be another one.  Big Sur is the most beautiful place I've ever been and with its breathtaking views, I'd love to run the marathon there.

Train In Colorado and Kenya

Training in Colorado for a few weeks is certainly the more realistic of these two.  Those mountains in Boulder were beautiful and I want to go there again and train for a few weeks.  If I ever moved again it would likely be to Boulder or somewhere in Colorado to train.  I've always been fascinated with Kenya and their great running.  I'd love get over to Iten and train there.  There have been some trips set up to train there, but it can be a little sketchy will the political situation there.  One nice thing is that they are so poor that staying there for awhile would be cheap.  Getting there is another story tough.

Run 100 miles a week

The most miles I ever ran was 60 miles a week.  I don't necessarily want to run 100 miles every week, but I'd like to peak at it in training.  I'd like to get to a point where I consistently train at 80 to 90 miles a week.  For most people it is hard to find that kind of time.  I'm single though and not too busy.  I'm hoping to work at a running store in the coming months and that should still allow me a lot of time to train.  To do this, I'll also need to run twice a day on most days.

Run a 50 mile race

So many people are completing marathons these days, that a distance junkie like myself wants to take the next step.  The big problem with me when it comes to ultrarunning might be the nutrition.  With my Crohn's Disease, it could be hard to fuel properly.  That sure won't keep me from trying.  Now that I have Crohn's that makes me want to do long races even more and prove that I can control the disease.

Run a 100 mile race

Running for 24 hours or more would certainly be tough.  Again, nutrition will play a big role to this goal.  I love trail running and want to do ultras on some tough mountain terrain.  Even though I have some decent speed, I still feel like I bring more endurance to the table than I do speed when I run.  I've always felt like I was stronger with the longer that I've run.

Run a famous 100 mile race

I really would love to run one of the bigger 100 mile races out west.  Western States, Leadville or the Hardrock 100 would be great.  The hardest thing might be getting into the field at one of these events.  Of course qualifying isn't exactly easy either.  I do feel like I'm a good trail runner and could do well in those races.

Run the Entire Pennsylvania Section of the Appalachian Trail

Some people run the entire trail.  I really have no interest in going that far.  I would love to run the entire Pennsylvania section at once.  I would camp and rest nightly along the trail.  It obviously wouldn't be very fast and a true run, but I'd like to cover something around 20-25 miles a day.  With how rocky this section is, it could take awhile.  I believe the trail is something like 250 miles long in this state.  I have the time now to do it, but not the strength.  I also haven't camped on the trail on my own yet either.  Finding time when I get back to working could be tough, but it would be worth taking a vacation for.

Be a Race Director

I'd definitely like to be a race director at some point.  Maybe I'd start out small, but I'd love to be in charge of a unique race at some point.  I know a few people who already have their own races and it seems like fun.  I could get some tips from them.  If I do create my own race it will likely be crazy.  I thought about doing one in Bethlehem that would go up and down South Mountain several times.  It would make the South Mountain 10 miler look easy.  I've also thought about doing a weird distance like maybe a race that was actually 3/4 of marathon distance.  There are plenty of half marathons and full marathons, but usually not much in between.  I think that could be an interesting niche race.

Coaching

I've read so much on running and continue to do so.  I've absorbed a lot and feel I could be a good coach.  I'm always learning and willing to try new things.  I always felt like I could be a good coach.  I might go to the RRCA coaching certification course in the near future.  I'd really love to coach at the high school level, but that might be tough to do without being a teacher.  I think I could do well and would have fun coaching adults too.  I'm just not sure if I could make much money doing it.  Any small supplemental income would be great.  I'd love to coach full time, but part time would certainly work fine.  I just love helping and teaching others about running.

Be Written About in a Magazine

This might be more of a long term goal, but I'd love be written about in Runner's World, Running Times or Trail Running Magazine.  I generally don't care so much about getting attention and often deflect it.  It's more about accomplishing something that's worthy of being written about, whether it be with my running or as coach, than actually have something written about myself.  If I just did something that might be worthy to make one of those magazines, but it never actually made print, that would be good enough.

I have even loftier very long term goals that likely aren't realistic.  If I accomplish most of these on this list, then I might go after those or make some new goals.  For now, this is a difficult enough list as it is.

Now that I've put those out there it will be fun to see how I do and I can also be help accountable.  I just want so badly to have five good years of relatively healthy running.  If that can happen and I don't acheive any of my goals then I really only have myself to blame.  Regardless, I'm hungry and will to put in the time and effort.  I wasted some of my best running years, but I still need to see where running can take me.  Then maybe I can hit 40 years old and back of and just get to enjoying running while cruising along.  With my competitiveness though who knows.

Dave Decker's Pancake Flat 5k Fat Ass Run

Dave Decker setup his pancake flat 5k today.  The joke is that it isn't flat or a 5k.  It was a wonderful trail run through the trails at Lehigh's Mountaintop Campus.  We parked up top and began there.  Dave took the time yesterday to mark out the course with pink ribbons.  That was excellent because there are quite a few crisscrossing trails and everything is unmarked.

We started next to an eyeglass sculpture.  That was pretty cool.  There were around 25 of us doing the run.  Since we were at the top, it began by going downhill.  That was great and I stuck with the fast guys for awhile.  It wasn't too long before we hit the uphill though.  I'm getting stronger, but some climbing is still tough for me.  I already had to start walking.  In this section we also ran through weird art sculptures.

Going uphill, Sarah (who was on my relay team last year) passed me.  Once we got downhill and into some flats I decided to pick it up and go by her and try to catch the fast guys.  I was able to do that and stay with them again for a little while.  At times, they stopped and waited for a bit for most of the group to catch up.

I found that I have to speed to fly downhill (which I love) and on flats and even up some hills.  What hurt me is when the hill was too steep or too long.  I ended up out of breath and walking.  It actually didn't bother my legs too much though.  I just have to improve my oxygen consumption.

After a little over two miles, Dave left a cooler and some snacks on the trail.  We all took a rest for a few minutes.  This combined with the water was a big help to my recovery.  I was a little tired at this point, but not too bad.

We had come across some mountain bikers on the trail shortly before the stop.  At the stop, we ran into them again.  They had their dogs running along and the dogs went flying into the creek to cool off.  That was neat.

The only thing that sucked is that it seemed like there was a climb after every stop we made.  It made it tough to get the legs going again.  My other problem is that it didn't string everyone out again.  I was trying to stay in front of the main pack, so I didn't get in their way when I started walking.  That was hard to do with the uphill so early on in this segment.  Whenever I was walking uphill and the pack closed in, I'd pick it up again.  There was so much up and down that this actually turned out to work great.

I did let Tom and another guy go by me at one point and then tucked in behind them.  I decided to stay there for awhile to recover.  Eventually we hit a downhill portion and I decided to go by and try to catch the faster guys.  I love opening it up downhill.  Someday it will probably lead to a nasty fall.  I definitely need to practice that at some point.

I was a little disappointed that shortly after we started downhill we were back at the rest stop.  I was hoping I might be able to catch the fast guys.  We stopped again until everyone caught up.  Once again, this was huge for recovery.

Starting up again was a difficult as always.  What made it challenging was going uphill on the road for a short distance.  The pavement isn't as forgiving as the trails and it was a weird feeling.  Thankfully, we were in the woods again very shortly.

Again, I stayed with the fast guys for a bit.  It didn't take too long for them to lose me as well as everyone else.  I was running alone for most of the rest of the run.  At times, I thought maybe I was lost because I didn't see anyone else or any pink ribbons.  There were a section of downhill switchbacks where I saw the front guys and I could here the people behind me yelling, "there he is."  After that, there was some more uphills and walking involved.

I was starting to get pretty beat at this point.  I'd only run 6 miles max up to this point and we were approaching that distance.  There were some amazing views at this point.  I did notice the the Sands Casino at one point.  I was too focused on the trail to notice much ahead.

As we got around 6 miles, I considered looking for a road crossing to cut back and finish up.  There really weren't any though.  I just kept going.  Chris (one of the faster runners) passed me while I was walking uphill.  I was wondering where he was during this segment.  What really confused me was when I came to April and two others.  They were behind and now suddenly in front of us.  I didn't even realize it was them at first.  I thought maybe it was some hikers.  Apparently, they actually found a short cut.  Smart girls!

After passing the girls, the climb was tough.  I decided to try running it as much as I could though.  I kept pushing on.  I figured I was almost done, so I might as well give it what I had.

I then came out of the woods and was at the Mountaintop Complex.  I could see the fast guys ahead, so I followed for awhile.  The rest of this run was mostly on the road.  It was still quite a climb at this point.  Making it worse was the sun and heat (now that it was two hours after we started).  Tom passed me going up some stairs.  I still had to run/walk at this point.  We then finished up at the glasses.  It was 7.4 miles by my watch.

Since the course wasn't as long as some thought, there was a small group of us that went back out.  I wanted to get to 8 miles.  I was feeling good.  I figured I'd do an out and back.  Going out was easy because it was downhill.  Not too far into the route, I came to a road crossing and just decided to leave the group and head back.  Running on the roads was very tough at this point, especially because it was uphill.  I walked quite a bit of it.  Once I hit about 8.5 miles, I was at the Mountaintop Campus again.  It was still uphill, but I trotted most of the way in and finished in front of my car and grabbed a water.

Everyone was hanging at the glasses for a while to relax and cool down before heading to Dave's post race gathering at his house.  We were worried that we had lost Kim because no one had seen her in awhile.  A search party was starting to go out when she appeared.  She ran through the glasses and finished to cheers.

Because I can't run the hills, this run actually wasn't too difficult for me.  When I run the whole thing again, it will probably kill me.  Basically I ran it like ultra runners typically run a tough and long course.  That is, walk a lot of uphill and fly on the downhill and flat portions.  That worked and I was able to keep ahead of most of the pack in doing so, thanks of course partly to my speed.  It also gave me a lot of recovery, so my legs aren't hurting too much.

The course was great.  It was well marked and the rest stops were amazing as well.  I never ran there last year and I was glad to be able to.  It is a little tricky finding your way, but I know the roads around there, so if I ever get lost I'll eventually find something familiar.  There were some rocky sections, but most of it was smooth.  It was a good combination of uphill, downhill and flat.  Originally, I was thinking it would be a run down the mountain and back up.  I'm glad it wasn't because I can't take a long climb.  The mix was perfect and the trails were awesome.  It will certainly become a staple of my trail running.  Most of the other good trails in the LV are a bit of a drive for me.  This is pretty close.

It was fun not only running with friends, but chatting with them afterward at Dave's house.  He had some good food and maybe more importantly a pool.  I joined everyone in dipping my legs in it for a recovery.  That was good.

I'm definitely more sore than I have been, but overall not too bad.  My legs took a pounding on the road, but the trails were great and the rest was a big plus.  I shouldn't have too much trouble recovering even though I ran a lot farther than I have.

Tomorrow is definitely an off day.  At some point this week, I'm going to help a girl from high school who is trying to get into running.  I suggested meeting at Jacobsburg.  That should be fun.  No matter what, I plan on running for seven straight days after tomorrow's rest.  I'm having surgery on June 11th and could be out after that, so I might as well bust my butt until then.  I certainly won't be following the 10-15% rule though.

This was just another run to give me confidence.  The way I flew downhill continues to make me believe that could be an even better trail runner than road runner.  Obviously, I still have to get in better shape, but I working on that.  I thought I'd get killed today, but I didn't.  I might have to join some more of the group trail runs. in the future.  Since I completed 9 miles today, I might consider re-entering the Quadzilla 15k next month.  I love running in Trexler.  Although the course is tough, I'm now convinced I could run/walk it.  Some of that will depend how surgery goes.  I'm not committing to anything until surgery is over.  Overall, it was another amazing day of running.  A far cry from where I was around 6 months ago.

9 miles - 1:43:40 (11:31 pace)

Freedom to Liberty 4 Miler

I wanted to get a race in before my exploratory surgery on June 11th (hopefully they don't find anything).  I figured the Freedom to Liberty 4 miler would be a good one because of all the fast kids running it.  I was definitely right.  The course starts at Freedom High School and ends at Liberty High School (both in Bethlehem).

I knew the kids would set too fast of a first mile for me.  Therefore, the plan was to lay back and take it easy early on.  I felt like I was doing that and in the first quarter mile the pace was under 7 minutes.  It was crazy.  I was just shooting to go under 8 minutes for the whole race.  Even though I didn't feel I was going fast, I backed off even more.

The first mile was definitely very comfortable.  I had a pretty good warmup and I think that helped a lot.  I never used to warmup much, but I'm doing that more and more now.  Even after backing off, the first mile came in at 7:35.  It was definitely much faster than I had hoped for.

Me At the Beginning of the Race

There was a young girl in front of me.  Her pace seemed good, so I tucked in right behind her.  We were right around an 8 minute second mile.  I followed her and focused on her behind.  Maybe I shouldn't admit that, but it is a good way to be pulled along in the middle of a race.  There's nothing else to really look at anyway and you have to stay focused straight ahead.  Good thing it wasn't a guy right ahead of me.  The benefits of being slow (by my standards) at this point I guess.

I actually hit a mile and a third and wasn't feeling very strong.  My legs were feeling the early fast pace.  I stayed behind the girl and eventually an older women passed me.  I did notice her shoe was untied.  I should've said something, but didn't.  She ended up stopping to tie it later on and I passed her.  She passed me again shortly after that.

Eventually the younger girl that I was following was just slipping too much.  The second mile ended up being a pedestrian 8:10.  I couldn't let the pace drop much below that, especially since I still didn't feel like I was running all that hard.  I decided I had to pass her and pick up the pace a little.

Somewhere just after mile two, we started hitting the downhill portion.  I stopped for some water there right before Easton Avenue.  Both of those factors helped.  I began cruising downhill and suddenly the run felt like a piece of cake.  The recovery second mile allowed my legs to start coming on.  I was still behind the older women, but I stayed about 50m away at all times.  I gained on two younger kids and passed them during this stretch.

I was thrilled in the last two miles as my overall pace started out at 7:57 and kept going down.  Before I knew it, it was 7:52 and down and down it went.  I kept pushing as I was getting closer to the finish, but I didn't want to go too hard, unless I had to.  No point in killing myself this early on in training.

I was feeling so good that I ended up cruising by the older woman.  That got her attention as she picked up the pace and passed me back.  We then passed an older gentleman too, just before getting to Liberty.

I could see Liberty in the distance, but I knew we still had to go part way around the school and about 300 meters around the track.  My time was dropping under the 7:50 at this point and I figured I would just cruise home.

Near Liberty High School, I passed one of Freedom's top female runners.  She had been way ahead of me.  She must've collapsed or nearly collapsed because she was being carried on the sidewalk.  She was the same runner than collapsed at the end of the Freedom vs. Nazareth cross country race.  Not sure if there is something wrong with her or if she doesn't know how to run or hydrate properly, but it is scary to see someone do that twice in one year in short races.  She did recover and eventually finish, so that was good to see.

As I entered the track I realized that I either didn't run tangents well (which would be odd for such a short race with few turns) or the course wasn't accurately marked at four miles.  I looked at the clock and thought I might not make it in under my goal of 32 minutes (an 8 minute pace).  My actual pace was well ahead of that, but I had run farther than four miles.

I put on the killer finishing kick as I usually do.  Around the final turn, I ended up coming up on a kid that couldn't have been more than 10 or 12 years old.  I said, "good job."  He turned around and I guess I surprised him because he started sprinting.  I was already in sprinting mode and he had no chance anyway.  I wasn't racing him, I was racing the clock.  I felt kind of bad because I saw him right before the track and thought maybe I could pass him and pace him in and then let him finish ahead of me.  The clock was just too close for for comfort though.

My watch time was 31:49 for 4.1 miles and a 7:45 pace.  That was significantly faster than I thought I could run.  My official time was 31:50 and 47th place overall.  I was 4th in my age group.  That was actually good.  I don't care for getting awards when I'm not anywhere near peak condition.  It just doesn't mean much to me.  The great run itself was reward enough.

Although my splits kind of look awful, I ran the race just how I wanted to.  I started off faster than I would've liked, but I recovered and finished strong.  The weather was perfect too and that led to a big part of my success.  I'm just so amazed at where I'm at right now.  I came through the 5k at under 24:30.  When I ran my first 5k last July in that comeback attempt, it was over 25 minutes.  If I take out my slowest mile, the rest of the 5k I ran in 23:40.  I think that is even faster than my time at the Blue Eagle 5k in the beginning of August last year!  That is crazy!

I'm starting to think that being healthy is a big reason for such great progress.  My first time coming back in 2009 I was overweight and out of shape.  Last year was my second attempt and I ran even though I wasn't healthy.  I was also giving myself Humira shots and that was draining my energy too.

I'm so excited at where I'm at and where I'm going.  I ran better than expected and didn't even push too hard.  I actually ran harder on my group run on Thursday night.  I just hope they don't find anything with my upcoming surgery and that I'll be able to run again shortly afterward.  If not, I'll do what I can to get back when they fix me.  I want to be in the best possible shape at that point, so I lose as little fitness as possible in case I have to make another comeback.

One of the guys from the Breakfast Club Runners is holding a "Pancake Flat 5k" tomorrow on South Mountain in Bethlehem.  I wasn't sure if I was going to run it or not, but the soreness right now is a minimum, so I should be in.  It isn't flat or merely a 5k though.  It is not only on the mountain, but a minimum of 5 miles and possibly 12 miles or more for those that feel up to it.  I'm excited because there are a lot of unmarked trails to run up there.  I never got a chance to run there and explore the area last year.  I look forward to it and hope to add that to my training as well.

Watch: 4.1 miles - 31:49 (7:45 pace)
Official 4.0 miles - 31:50 (7:57 pace)