Sloppy Trail Run

Today I made my weekly trek out to Trexler.  I believe this is the 4th straight week.  I'm going to try to keep the streak going.  Maybe I'll extend it all the way until Quadzilla in July.  Regardless, I want to get out there at least every other week.  I just love the place and the challenge that every run there brings.

The last few weeks, I felt like I made progress.  Today was a dose of Trexler reality.  I wonder what it is like to truly conquer this place (if you ever actually do it).  Any time it seems like it gets easier, I get my butt kicked the next time.  I know if I ever finally do feel comfortable on a run there than I've made it pretty high up the fitness ladder.

I look forward to the day that I can run the whole loop without walking.  Maybe that will come around summer, maybe later or maybe never.  Some people do double loops and I love the idea of even trying triple loops whenever I get into ultra running.  As this trail destroys me week after week, I can't imagine actually doing that.  I've got to set some high longer term goals though.

The weather at Trexler is making things difficult.  It is always the worst near the parking lot.  The wind is brutal so it is usually cold.  Most of the run is comfortable though.  Since I always start at the coldest spot, I always wear too much.  That was the case again today.  I did have on a lightweight jacket over my shirt, but really I could've gone without it.

There are two tricky things about winter running.  One is the wind and the other is the sun (or lack of sun).  Sunday's run was perfect because it was sunny and there was no wind.  Today with almost the same air temperatures it was brutal.  The sun was behind the clouds in the beginning.  Toward the end it was pretty hot because the sun was out.

My friend Gayle ran at Trexler on Sunday.  I was curious how the trails were after a fairly significant snowfall over the weekend.  The problem is that since she ran there, it was so warm out that her assessment wasn't up to date.  The higher temperatures of the last couple days melted away some of the snow, but not all of it.  That made for a sloppy mess.

I started out going the normal (counterclockwise) direction.  I figured this section with more rocks would have more grip.  Really I doubt it mattered too much.  The partially melted snow just became slush.  At first I thought it was great because I was going downhill and the snow was crunching under my feet and I wasn't slipping.  That is until I started to feel the water in my shoe.  There was ponding on top of the ice.  I wasn't even a quarter of a mile into my run and my feet were already wet.  I knew that wouldn't be good in the cold.  I had to be extra cautious to avoid the snow from then on.

Luckily, most of the big hill is exposed to the sunlight.  Almost all of the snow was gone and it had pretty good grip.  The downhill parts of the trail on the other side, didn't do as well.  I had to make sure to be careful and take the descending sections slowly.  I ran on the grass next to the trail in a lot of places because it was the place with the best grip.

The short but steep section right before leaving the zoo area was very tough.  It was snow covered and I almost slide down the hill.  At least I didn't fall.  The rocky section was interesting because it was partially covered rocks and partially exposed ones.  With the wind made my eyes water in this area and that made it extra difficult to navigate.  I managed to though.

After that section was the long uphill section.  I was glad this part sees a lot of sun, so I didn't have to battle through the snow too much.  I still had to battle though.  I don't know what it was, but I was dead and exhausted early on in the run.  Maybe it was inconsistent and messy terrain making me work too hard.  Perhaps it was the hard trail run that I did on Sunday still lingering around.  Whatever the case, I just felt very slow.  I wasn't worried about the actually pace, so I just kept going.

I wanted to get out farther this week than I did last week.  I'm just looking to make some sort of progress every week.  Instead of turning around today, I hoped to make it to the zoo area and then cut across on one of the other trails.  That would give me something over 5 miles of running and it could be a loop rather than an out and back.

My foot continues to bother me on trails.  I don't know what it is, but it gets sore on the bottom when I'm going uphill.  It is no problem going down hill or flats.  I stretched a little, but maybe I should do that even more before a trail run.

Around 2.5 miles, I hit the sloped section of the trail.  I'm glad it isn't too long.  This is the most difficult section for footing.  There was zero grip on the snow.  I then went to what looked like grass alongside the trail, but it was even worse.  It was muddy and slippery.

Finally, I made it over that section and into the view section.  The short climb to there was tough and it was windy.  This is about how far I made it last week before turning around.  Today, I planned to go farther.  Although I knew it wasn't realistic, I secretly wanted to complete the whole loop.

After the view section, it is into a more wooded type of section and mostly downhill.  That is until you get to the bottom and have the two massive hills.  Those are the most challenging ones on the whole loop.  I figured I would have to walk them today, especially with the trail conditions.

As I was going down one hill, I saw a building near the trail.  This didn't look familiar, so I went back up the hill, thinking that I was off the trail.  I wasn't though, so I headed back down the trail.  I had to be very cautious descending.

I was closing in on 3.5 miles when I hit the "false hill."  I call it that because it is very steep and I always think it is one of the two massive hills.  That is until I get to the massive hills anyway.  I tried running up the "false hill" but with it so steep and snow covered, it quickly turned into walking.  The issue was that it was so steep that it was difficult to even walk up.  I had to make a decision quickly, so I went back down the trail and opted for a smoother yellow trail that I just passed over.

I didn't know where the yellow trail went, but it looked like the right direction.  The issue was that this was a long uphill.  My legs just didn't have it in me.  I couldn't take more climbing, so when I got to 3.5 miles, I decided to stop and call it a day.

After about a minute of rest, it dawned on me that the road was right near by.  I didn't want to run on pavement, but I knew it would be easier and I could get back to my car.  I took that route.  It was kind of depressing because I could often see the trail next to me, although it was higher up.

The road might have been easier, but it wasn't easy.  There were still some hills.  At least my pace was faster.  I still felt like I was dragging along and being whipped.  Some of that was the addition of the sun.  Without the wind and protection from the trees, it felt blazing.  I had to open my coat up to get some air circulating through.

I thought I was on the road next to the zoo, but apparently I wasn't.  It seemed like I kept going and going on the road.  I went over 1 mile on there and then 1.50 miles.  Finally, at just around 5 total miles, I headed into the zoo area.  When I saw that it was uphill, I decided to quit at 5.25 miles.  That was it and I would live to see another day.

I thought I was done running, but I was so far away from my car at that point that I had to run again later.  I was near the zoo and could see the Environmental Center where the car was.  I saw a yellow trail and knew this one led to the area near the Ford.  The Environmental Center didn't look too bad when I first saw it.  That was because I was on top of one hill and it was on top of the next one.

Running from one to the other would be difficult.  The yellow trail was very slippery going down.  I didn't fall though.  I then crossed over the Jordan Creek on the pedestrian bridge.  I am glad that it is there because I wouldn't want to run through the creek.

I stayed on the road as long as I could.  That wasn't very long though as the road goes nowhere near the Environmental Center.  I had to take a trail back up the hill.  This wasn't the steepest trail, but it again had no grip and I was so beat.  I stopped way before I would've liked to.  I barely ran over half a mile in this segment.  At least I cut some time off of getting back to my car.

I ran a short untimed sprint up the last hill.  It was good to be done.  I didn't do as much as I hoped and I felt terrible, but at least I did enough to satisfy myself for the day.  I always like to call this place Trexler the Humbler and it was that and more on this day.  Maybe in better conditions in a few weeks, I'll fair much better.  Who knows though.  This trail never seems easy.

I'm not sure when I'll race again, but I am kind of interested in seeing what I can do at a 5K.  The guy I ran with on Thursday, who fell behind me at the end of the group run, ran under 20 minutes at the Fast and Flurry-ous 5K on Sunday.  I haven't done speed stuff recently, so I'm not sure I can break 20 minutes yet, but I must be close to that kind of shape.  I won't find out until I actually run a 5K though.  I haven't done so since early September.  Hard to believe that was 5 months ago.

Tomorrow is an off day.  Thursday is my LVRR Group Run.  Since it is also Valentine's Day, I don't expect anyone to show up.  Since I'm single, I'll be there.  Maybe I'll promote it as some type of singles run and see if others will come.  I don't know.  We shall see.

5.25 miles - 48:18 (9:12 pace)
.58 miles - 5:46 (10:00 pace)

Wissahickon/Valley Green Run

I was considering that Fast and Flurry-ous 5K this morning.  Then I saw the predicted temperature of 20 degrees at start of the race.  I'll run in weather that cold if I have to or if I'm already committed to a race, but I wasn't signed up yet, so I decided to pass.

I was heading down to Philly for the Drexel men's and women's basketball games anyway, so I decided why not run there.  I haven't run down in my old stomping grounds in quite some time.  I ran the Schuykill River loop so many times that I got sick of it.  I could've run there, but I love running the trails at Wissahickon/Forbidden Drive so much more.  It is such a hidden gem.  There is the option to run on a wide stone path along the river (Forbidden Drive) or more typical singletrack wooded trails around the top of the gorge.  I opted for a little of both.

I stopped at REI in Conshohocken to look at snowshoes.  I got a little lost going to Valley Green.  I knew where I was when I was on Northwestern Avenue near Chestnut Hill College, but it has been so long that I couldn't remember how to get to Valley Green.

I got to Valley Green at 1 PM and it was crowded.  The weather was a little nicer than it has been lately, so everyone was out and about.  I parked at the first spot I saw, but actually there were plenty of spots available.  Valley Green is an old restaurant next to the creek in the park.  It would probably be cool to eat there sometime.

The weather was excellent at the start.  I struggled with what to wear.  I brought along a ColdGear top and lightweight long sleeve shirt.  I thought I'd need a vest, but it was way too hot for that..  I couldn't believe how warm it was, especially with almost no wind.  It must've been around 40 degrees.  I wore the lightweight top.  Since I had no pockets, I decided against bringing gloves and a headband along.

At one point, I thought to myself, it is too warm to even wear long pants.  I dug through my bag and found shorts.  They were a very short pair.  I wish I would've had a longer pair, but that was the best I could do.  I went back and forth on what to wear.  I thought to myself, it is February you can't wear shorts, you are crazy.  I knew the way it felt dictated shorts, so I threw some on.  I didn't feel so bad when I saw a few other runners throughout the days with shorts on.

I started off in the crowded area around Valley Green.  Almost right next to the restaurant is the trail to the top.  It is probably less than .1 miles from where I started out.  I had no warmup before I was climbing.  I remember this climb and how tough it used to be.  It wasn't quite easy today, but much easier than I recall.  I guess it is because I'm more adapted to hills more than when I used to run mostly on the flat terrain of the city.

The hill was still somewhat of a challenge because it was covered in snow and also it was so early in the run that I couldn't warm up.  Other than that, it seemed easy.  I also go to the top quickly.  I can't imagine that it is much more than a 100 foot climb to the top of the gorge.  It isn't like the 700 feet climbs that I often encounter at mountains around here.  It is quite steep, but also short.

The good thing about getting to the top is that most of the climbing is over when you reach that point.  The trail kind of runs along the rim of the gorge.  It does go up and down wherever other paths come into the main road, but that isn't very often.

The trail had some mild up and down terrain.  It was pretty easy once I was at the top.  I just cruised around.  The snow made me work a little more than dirt would have, but it wasn't slippery or anything.  In some spots, the snow was melting and the dirt was visible or it was muddy.  I had no problem going through it.

I didn't have to be too cautious.  I did have to watch out for hikers and bikers up there.  I flew past one guy who was hiking with poles.  He must've thought I was crazy for running up there.  Running in snow seems like it is good for improving balance and I would think it can only help improve my trail running for easier surfaces.

I've run this trail only once in the last 3 years.  Even when I lived there, I probably didn't run the trails more than 10 or 15 times.  I was both lost and knew where I was at the same time.  Everything looks familiar, but it has been so long since I ran there that I couldn't remember the order of the trail.

Somehow I used to always seem to end up crossing over the main path and I could never figure out how.  I thought I was in that area again, but actually this time that never happened.  Some of the up and down was tough.  My right foot was very tight whenever I was climbing.  Luckily, this run didn't involve too much ascending.

There were a lot of runners on Forbidden Drive, but not many up here.  I saw one here and there.  Two young women ran by in the other direction.  I commented that at least I wasn't the only crazy runner up there.  I think one of them was wearing shorts, so I also wasn't the only crazy one wearing shorts.

I was hoping that I could run 4 miles at the absolute minimum and I really wanted to run 5 miles.  After I got about 3 miles out, I decided that I would take the next possible path to Forbidden Drive.  I did just that and I think was at 3.15 miles when I headed back on the main path.

This section on Forbidden Drive seemed to go on forever.  I was nearly at the end of it when I started making my way back.  Again everything was familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time.  All I could remember was that you could see Valley Green after coming around a curve.  It seemed like I went past several curves though before finally getting to the correct one.

The hills on Forbidden Drive used to seem tough.  Today, they felt easy.  I guess that proves I'm in pretty good shape.  Some of this path was icy, but overall it wasn't too bad.  A lot more people were walking, biking or running here.  Between my shorts and the funny looking camera on my head, I got some strange stares.  I'm not surprised.  One guy thought my camera was a light during another run, so most people probably don't know what I'm actually wearing.

Although it was relatively warm, after some time the inside of my legs got cold.  I definitely could've used longer shorts.  I'm not sure if it was the cold air or that my shorts were rubbing against my legs, but they began to chafe and were very irritated.  I had no choice but to keep running because otherwise I would have to walk in the cold.

The most interesting thing I saw on the trail was two guys in army clothes with packs on.  Maybe they were training by hiking with heavy gear.  I decided that I had to run past Valley Green so I would finish up with whatever half mile came after I got there.  That ended up being mile 6.  It came just past where I parked my car.  That was perfect, expect I had to go around about 7 people who were walking their dogs and blocking the whole path.  Some people can be so inconsiderate. 

The scenery was excellent as usual.  I got some good pictures, but there must've been a smudge on my camera or the housing because it showed up on the photos.  Still, it was a cool place to use my GoPro.  I finished up and quickly applied cream to my chafed legs.

As always, this was a great run.  Wissahickon is my second favorite place that I've ever run at.  I only enjoy running at Trexler Nature Preserve better.  It was good to get back here.  It was especially fun to run in some snow and compare my fitness with my past fitness.

I had some time to kill after the run and before the games, so I headed to Boathouse Row to drink some coffee and watched people run.  One thing I do miss about running in the city is all the attractive women.  I don't usually see many runners anywhere that I go these days.  The Parkway is the place most alive with people up here.  City running sucks because there are so few places to go, but that also makes those places crowded and filled with energy.  There is just a certain vibe about it.  It is very different than a lot of the nature trails that I run now.

Tomorrow is an off day.  I'd love to hike, but that is doubtful with my chafed legs.  I'll be happy if they aren't bothering me by the time I plan to run again on Tuesday.  I'm hoping Trexler won't be too bad and I can run there.  We did get more snowfall than they did at Wissahickon.

6 miles - 52:54 (8:49 pace)

Blue Eagle 5K Course in the Snow

The weather threw a wrench into my weekend running plans.  Originally, I was going to run the Warm Hearts 5K on Saturday.  We are expected to get 3-8 inches of snow over night, so they postponed the race.  I had to readjust my schedule.

I'm looking at possibly running another 5K on Sunday.  It is near my house in an industrial park.  It is called the Fast and Flurry-ous 5K.  Hopefully the snow will be out of the way and I can run well.  I probably won't run it if the roads aren't clear.

I didn't want to run the day before a 5K and I'm not sure how tough snow running will be tomorrow.  Therefore, I decided to run tonight at 8 PM.  The snow was coming down heavy, but there was only 1-2 inches at the most.

I was going to run the Saucon Rail Trail, but my parents convinced me not to drive.  We actually went for ice cream before before the run.  Who does that in the snow?  Instead of driving, I opted to head to the other neighborhood and run the Blue Eagle 5K course.

I didn't want to run 3 straight days, but there weren't a lot of options.  It was a great run anyway.  The snow is so beautiful.  One nice thing about running in the snow at night is that it does brighten everything up.  I still wore a reflective vest.  I also had on tights, a jacket over my shirt, gloves, a headband and most importantly a hat to keep most of the snow out of my face.

The snow conditions were actually pretty good.  With my trail shoes, it was crunchy and had great grip.  I was still slowed up by the snow, but it wasn't too bad.  It just made me work a little harder.

The first mile was about what I expected, an 8:34.  Most of the time, it was actually pretty warm.  I put my hood down early and later around mile 2, I took off my gloves too.  Going into the wind was a little uncomfortable.  With the wind at my back, things felt great.

I don't like running in neighborhoods much.  One of the big reasons why is because I worry about dogs.  Around 1.5 miles I heard one barking.  Thankfully I never saw it and it didn't actually come near me.  There are usually dogs on the other side of the street in this area.  I really worried about them tonight because who would think that anyone would be out running in this weather.

Approaching mile 2 is tough because it is uphill.  I knew I didn't have too far to go to finish.  There was only one more hill to go.  I was working a little harder now.  Before I knew it, I was up that final hill.    A car was coming as I went up the hill and I had to cross the road.  I was glad I didn't see too many cars out there.  It was nice and peaceful.  I thought I heard snowmobiles and I saw their tracks, but never came across them.  Of course there were no runners.  Just an occasional set of footprints with dog tracks next to them.  Some people were out in their yards here and there, but it wasn't many.

I managed to see my watch when I completed mile 3.  It was a fast 7:53.  Not bad considering I had a lot left in the tank.  With the cold air and wind, my breathing was a bit heavy.  When the pavement is clear, I can always see the finish line marking from last year's race.  Tonight, I just had to guess.  I was pretty close as I ran 3.15 miles.  The overall pace of 8:07 was quite impressive considering the conditions and the fact that I wasn't going too hard.  I can't wait to see what I can do when I do push myself.

One thing I thought about a lot during the run was snowshoe running.  I asked for cross country skis for Christmas, but didn't get them.  I can't complain because we don't usually get a lot of snow.  Recently, I came across the PA State Snowshoe Championships info online.  They are actually next weekend about an hour from here at Nescopeck State Park.  I have been there before, but didn't run there.  I just explored it.  It is near my friend Eric's house.

I was considering getting some snowshoes, although I don't really have the money.  It would just be nice to workout in nearly all conditions.  My friend Sue said she actually ran that race two years ago and won.  She said it was fun and you could rent snowshoes.  I might end up doing that.  If you join the USSSA and finish in the Top 10 in the race you can qualify for the Nationals.  Looking at the results, that looks fairly easy.  Only around 20 people even enter the race.  Maybe I'll shoot for that next year.  I'd imagine that qualifying would be tough in a place like Colorado, but obviously snowshoe racing isn't that big in this area.

As I said earlier, I might run the 5K on Sunday.  If not, maybe I'll run elsewhere Sunday.  I'd like to run 4 days again next week.  The Warm Hearts 5K is likely going to be rescheduled in March.  I look forward to that race.

3.15 miles - 25:34 (8:07 pace)
Last hill car

Faster Than I've Been

Tonight was the usual LVRR Group Run.  I often forget to check the guest list for the run on the LVRR website.  I remembered this week and saw we had 3 women signed up.  I arrived 5 minutes before the start of the run because I was running late.  Maybe they already came and took off.  I don't know, but they weren't there.

Because of the women RSVPing, I figured it would an easy run.  Instead, it ended up being the most I've pushed myself since taking the end of December off.  A guy named Jerry, that showed up when we first moved the run here, came out again.  I remember him being pretty fast and having to push it a bit last time.  He said he ran earlier, so he wasn't sure if he could do much.

It was the usual cold weather evening.  The temperature was around freezing the freezing mark with a wind chill in the lower 20s.  I asked for a lightweight long sleeve shirt for Christmas and I wore it today.  It is definitely lightweight as my arms were freezing when we stood around.  It was so bad that I was actually hoping no one would show up and I wouldn't have to run.  I still wore my fleece vest, gloves, a headband and hat to go along with my tights.  That gave me some warmth.  I actually knew I'd be pretty good once we started running, but standing around for 10 to 15 minutes is brutal.

We started off on the usual route.  I kind of let Jerry dictate the pace.  I usually do that and if someone wants me to push it more, I will.  We chatted a lot about running as usual.  He was telling me that he wants to improve his 5K time by about 1:30 in the next couple months.  I'm certainly someone that believes in setting high goals, so I wouldn't question him for that.  I should be able to shave that much time off too.

The wind was tough near SteelStacks and especially when we ran over the Hill to Hill Bridge over the Lehigh River.  It gets so much warmer once we get into town.  One thing that has been good about this run is that even though it is through town, we usually haven't had to stop at lights very long.  We did for a little while today.

I think my watch might've been off by a little in the beginning again.  I'm not sure why it seems to be having so much trouble with satellites lately.  It felt like we were fast and I'm pretty confident that the first mile wasn't over a 9 minute pace.  At one point around mile 2, my watch read 8:34 pace.  I commented how it felt like we were going faster and we must have been.

Climbing up Broad Street can be a little tough, especially when I'm pushed like today.  I was definitely breathing heavy.  I haven't run even a moderate paced run in almost 2 months.  Everything has been easy.  I'm just trying to get stronger and stay healthy.  I think I would call today's pace moderate.

Heading towards Wawa on Broad Street is downhill and that was a nice recovery.  Jerry really started flying and pulling ahead of me.  I could've kept up, but didn't want to push it too much.  I have a race scheduled for Saturday and couldn't afford to kill myself today.

I let him go and he was well ahead of me as we got to the Minsi Trail Bridge.  I continued to run the same way up the bridge and suddenly I gained ground on Jerry.  I noticed that mile 3 was a fast 7:17.  It didn't seem too hard though. 

I caught up to Jerry and told him if he felt good to take off.  Clearly he was struggling though.  He was breathing heavy, like I had been earlier.  I was feeling good.  I guess I'm in a lot better shape than I give myself credit for.  I think my hill running at Trexler over the last couple weeks is really starting to pay off.  Maybe that will be the secret to really getting faster this spring.

Since Jerry flew down the previous hill, I thought he would pass me back on the last downhill into the Sands area.  He never did though.  I kind of wish he would've.  When I'm ahead of someone, I have a habit of maybe pushing it a little more.  If he would've went by me, maybe I would've slowed down.

The 4th mile was a solid 7:37.  I am very happy with that.  We finished up with just over 4 miles in the books.  It was a good run because I ran a little faster and with more effort than I had been, but I didn't kill myself.

Tomorrow is an off day.  I'll appreciate the rest after a long run yesterday and somewhat hard run today.  I'm scheduled to run the Warm Hearts 5K on Saturday in Nazareth.  It's not looking good though.  The forecast is calling for a lot of snow Friday night on into Saturday morning.  I can't imagine it being clear by race time.

I kind of wish I could run a race in the snow, but at the same time, I would like to see how fast I am now.  Today's time was a big boost.  I think there may be a chance that I could run around a 6:45 pace for a 5K.  I could possibly even go under 6:30.  Originally, I was hoping to go under 20 minutes in this race, but that was before taking so much time off in December.  Now, I have ideas of what I'd like to do, but no real expectations.  I am just going to run on feel and not worry about time.  The big question will be whether I can sustain a hard effort for over 3 miles.

4.25 miles - 34:03 (8:01 pace)

Tough Ten

Yesterday was a fun day off.  I did some hiking at the Lehigh Gap.  I got some pretty amazing winter scene photos.  It was a tough climb of probably somewhere around 1,000 feet in elevation change.  It was definitely worth the trip.

After that, I was back to running today.  I planned to run 10 miles, but I really had no idea what I'd be able to do.  The problem is that it hasn't been warm enough to melt the weekend snowfall, at least on the trails.  It is kind of weird because there is almost no snow on the grass and pavement, but the stone trails are pretty much covered.

I want to stay off of hard surfaces, so I just decided that I'd try running on the D&L.  Cementon is the easiest place for me to start at, but I can only head in one direction there.  I don't like that much for a long run.  Instead, I headed to the Cove Road Trailhead to give myself options.  I can get 6 miles in going to the south and I can go about as far north as I desire (probably close to 20 miles to be exact).

With so much snow on the trail, it made wearing trail shoes an easy decision.  It was in the 30s, which seems fairly warm compared to what we've had lately.  The wind wasn't all that strong either.  I opted just for pants, a long sleeve shirt and my jacket.  My fleece vest is kind of heavy, so I decided against that.  I wore light gloves and a headband too.

Normally, I like to head south from Cove Road.  That is because heading north is uphill.  Today, I decided to get the hard part out of the way first, so I went north and started climbing.  Later on, I was glad I chose this option.

The trail was snow covered and actually beautiful.  The sun isn't out too often in the winter, but it was shining bright today.  It made everything glisten.  The trail is cut into a lot of rock and there are huge ice crystal all over the rock walls.  That was definitely the coolest part of this run.

The snow on the trail wasn't too deep.  It was only a few inches.  There were some footprints.  A vehicle must've gone through there because there were fresh tire tracks.  I really struggled with where to run.  The tire tracks made for an even surface, but they were slippery.  The snow was uneven, but had more grip.  I went back and forth on this.  I never could decide.  Switching terrain frequently might have actually helped me.

I think my GPS was off in the first mile.  What else is new?  This time, it was on my wrist though instead of my pocket.  It did seem pretty accurate and my pace was fairly consistent after that first mile.

I was surprised at how many tracks were in the snow.  This trail normally is kind of lonely.  On the whole run I saw about 5 people and a couple dogs.  That's more than usual.  All of them were walking.

Running in the snow is just so much fun.  Between that and using my GoPro, time passed quickly.  It was a little windy at times, but early on I ended up taking off my gloves and headband.  The temperature was quite different in the sunny sections when compared to the shade.

This section of the trail is so nice and peaceful.  It is very remote with just a house here and there.  With so few landmarks it can get kind of monotonous, but it wasn't bad with all the snow.

Originally, I was planning to run about 2 or 3 miles at most to the north.  I normally like to go out a little farther on the first out and back.  I got to 2 miles and felt good so, I plugged along.

At around 2.5 miles, the vehicle tracks were gone.  Now, I had no choice but to run in the snow.  That was a struggle.  I passed a house with an adult horse and a pony.  That was cool.  I don't remember seeing them out there before.  A couple dogs barked at me in that area, but luckily none chased me.

I just kept on focusing on each half mile.  I finally got to mile 3, then 3.5 and finally 4.  I was struggling some by the time I got to 4 miles.  I figured that that would be a good time to turn around.  If I went out much farther, I might not make it back.

Almost immediately after turning around, I felt exhausted and start struggling.  I just concentrated on small steps.  I just tried to get through the next mile.  My legs still felt decent.  Hitting 5 miles was huge.  At that point, I figured I could do 6 or 7 miles and would walk a little bit if I needed too.

Breaking down the run into shorter segments always helps.  It makes the run more manageable.  I wasn't as strong as earlier, but I made it through miles 6 and 7.  Now, I knew I'd make it back to my car at least.  Even if I had to walk some, it was no more than a mile.  I kept going farther and farther early on because I knew that I'd have to come all the way back.  If I chose to stop running at any point, I would have to walk the distance back to the car.

Around 6 or 7 miles, I allowed myself to start thinking about getting in 10 miles.  The last time I ran 10 miles, it was on this trail in about mid December.  My body was very taxed that day.  Going slower, around an 8:30 pace for most of the run, saved me some on this day.  Even so, I didn't know if I could get more than 8 miles in.

When I finally arrived at the 8 mile mark and was back at the car, I felt like I had more in me.  I was slowing and feeling weaker, but I wasn't too bad.  My foot bothered me a little and my hamstring had some soreness, but most importantly, my quads were good.

The final 2 miles turned out to be by far the most difficult.  This is because the trail conditions changed.  This section was exposed to more sunlight and the snow had melted in spots.  I was glad that I had not started out in this direction.  The surface was so uneven with snow in some spots and clear trail nearby.  I couldn't find any good, consistent footing.

I just plugged along and focused on getting to mile 9.  Then I could turn around and make it back for 10 miles.  Mile 9 seemed to go on forever.  As I was at mile 8.9, I approached a house with barking dogs.  I decided it was time to turn around.  I've run by there before and they run to the edge of the yard and bark.  I didn't want to mess with them.

The final mile was not only uneven, but uphill too.  It was so difficult that I considered quitting.  I was too close to do so though.  Since 8 miles is the most I've done recently, and that was on good terrain, my legs were getting sore and my body was breaking down.  Finishing was all mental at this point though.

I had to run a little past the car to finish up.  That is because the dogs made me turn around early.  This wouldn't have been too bad, except that now I had to run up the steepest part of this trail.  It was a good feeling when I finally hit 10 miles and was finished.  I really didn't think I would make it that far, but mission accomplished.

I stretched a little, but wasn't too sore.  If I can tough it out in the snow like today, I'm good to go about anywhere.  It could be interesting because the 5K that I'm running on Saturday might have some bad conditions.  It is supposed to snow Friday night.  With an 11 AM start, hopefully it will be clear by then.

Tomorrow is my second week in a row with back to back running days.  Tomorrow is the usual LVRR Group Run.  I'm pretty excited because I noticed that there were 3 women already signed up for it.  At least I'll have some company.  Maybe some warm weather could actually make this a decent group run heading into the future.  Perhaps I'll be able to keep the run there when spring rolls around.

10 miles - 1:26:04 (8:37 pace)

Making Progress at Trexler

Maybe I don't give myself enough credit.  After struggling to run 2 straight miles the last 2 weeks at Trexler, I said I wasn't ready to run there and I wouldn't be ready for weeks, if not months.  Today I proved that wrong.  I'm still not conditioned well enough to run the full 8.5 mile loop, but I'm stronger than I thought.  I'm sure I could run/walk the loop at this point.

I headed out to Trexler late in the morning.  I thought about going in the afternoon, but it wasn't going to get much warmer anyway.  It was in the low 20s with a wind chill in the teens.  Saturday evening, we had a couple inches of snow.  That did make for an interesting LVRR Super Bowl 10K on Sunday.  I had fun taking pictures and seeing friends (a lot of them did well too).

I'm trying to make sure I get out to Trexler a lot, so I'm well conditioned for the Quadzilla 15K in July.  I saw my friend Jill at the race yesterday.  She is the race director of Quadzilla and I told her I would be signing up for it the first day registration is opened.  I can't wait!

The snow melted fast on the roads and there wasn't much on the grass around me.  I didn't anticipate that there would be any on the trails at Trexler.  I was more worried about it being muddy again.  To avoid the mud, I was planning on running the normal direction (counterclockwise) which is more rocky and thus has better grip.  I was very surprised when I got out there.  There wasn't much snow in the grass, but the trail was almost completely covered in snow.  I figured that I would just start running on it and if it wasn't runnable, I would stop and go somewhere else.

Dressing for a winter run at Trexler is always tough.  There are so many hills and valleys that if it is windy, it can be warm in some places and cold in others.  At the Environmental Center, right near the parking lot, is probably the worst place in terms of wind.  That was the case today.  As much as I didn't want to wear 3 layers, I couldn't imagine putting on less when I was in this windy section at the beginning. 

While I was getting all of my cold weather gear on, something interested happened.  Out of nowhere, a dog appeared next to my car.  He was standing there just staring at me.  His face looked a little scratched, so I wasn't sure if he was a stray.  I didn't want to pet him since I didn't know where he came from.  I figured that I would watch where he went and then if it was a stray, I'd let the people at the Environmental Center know.  He was a slow old dog and eventually wandered across the street to a house.  He walked in front of car on the road too.  Another dog was barking earlier.  There is always a dog there barking at me.  I couldn't remember if they had 2 dogs or not.  As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw this dog just sitting in the garage, so he was clearly at home.  At least if that happens again, I will pet him. 

After wearing too many layers, I was off and running.  It starts with a nice downhill and a short, but tough climb.  I ran under control (something I don't usually do in good conditions) and the snow caused no problems.  There were just enough tracks to have somewhere to run, but not enough to make it icy and slippery. 

My real goal was to make it up the first big hill.  I haven't been able to do that since the summer.  I didn't know how it would be with the trail in these conditions.  It was tough and my lungs hurt from breathing a lot of cold air.  I just kept going though and eventually got to the top.  Conditions weren't oto bad and I had now accomplished mission number 1.  Towards the top, the sun had melted the snow and it had very good grip.  That was a big plus.

The hardest thing with these hills, besides going up them obviously, is that it takes so long to recover.  There is a good downhill after this and then a much easier uphill.  I went by the bison pen before the uphill and didn't see any of them out.  I started this shorter hill and still wasn't recovered from the big hill.  Luckily, I knew to just make it to the top and I'd have a good half mile or more until the next uphill.

I went through the wooded section, the open meadow section and then onto the pavement.  This was all flat or downhill and a good recovery.  Right before the pavement, I finished the 1st mile at 10:00.  Certainly not fast, but not bad considering the conditions.

I was wondering how the rocky section would be.  It was definitely easier to navigate with a lot of the rocks covered in snow.  I still had to watch out for sharp ones and slippery ones.  Luckily, I didn't slip at all.  My eyes did become watery from the cold air at one point while going over the rocks.  That was the worst place for that to happen since I had to focus on the ground.  I managed to make it through there alright.

I then began climbing the long hill.  It's not too difficult, but it does seem to go on forever.  If I remember correctly, it is close to a mile.  The good thing is that it levels off for a short period a couple times, so you can catch your breath.  I did just that.  My foot did start to bother me when going uphill.  I think it was due to the snow and running on uneven conditions.  It was my right foot this time, not the left one (which usually bothers me).

I got to 2 miles and then kept going.  My goal was to get to one of the beautiful views after the long hill.  You can see all the way to the mountains in the north.  I haven't been there with my GoPro camera yet, so I wanted to keep going.  I figured that I would probably struggle on the hills at the Environmental Center on the way back, so I might as well go out farther to make sure I get mileage.

There is one section through the grassland that is on the side of the hill and quite steep.  The trail isn't even flat enough for two feet.  It makes it uncomfortable to run on, especially with some snow.  This section isn't long or I might've turned around.  Finally, around 2.6 miles, I made it to the view.  I took a couple photos, but they didn't come out as good as I had hoped.  I really could use more of a zoom on the GoPro.  An interesting thing I noticed is what appeared to be sled tracks from a house to the view.  It would sure be fun to sled at a lot of these places when it really snows.

I wanted to just go out to 3 miles and turn around.  If I did that, I wouldn't encounter any tough hills until leaving the pavement near the zoo exit.  If I made it that far, I would be at 5 miles.  I could manage walking a mile back to the car.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to 3 miles.  The trail started to dip before that and I didn't want to do much climbing.  Plus, my foot was really starting to bother me, so I didn't want to chance it and I headed back at 3.8 miles.

The long hill does kind of suck on the way out, but it is fun going downhill on the way back.  I knew I had a long ways to go before I would have to go uphill again.  I cruised along.  Then I was down the hill and over the rocks.  I entered the paved area.  I know the dirt trail section after the pavement is very steep.  I tend to forget that the pavement is a gradual uphill.

I made it up the pavement, although it wasn't easy.  I had to make it up the short hill (as long as there was enough grip in the snow to climb it).  Initially, I figured I could stop here if I wanted to.  Since I didn't go out far enough, I wasn't at 5 miles yet.  That really meant I'd have to battle up the hill.

It is surely tough, but definitely short and great when you are finally at the top.  I just stayed mentally strong and talked to myself.  I finally was up it and was able to get a little rest.  The flat meadow and woods section was short though.

Now, I had a dilemma.  I still wasn't going to be at 5 miles until I got over the next hill.  I didn't want to stop, so I decided that if the hill got too difficult, I'd turn around and head back down it to get to the 5 mile point.  This was very tough and I was beat up at this point.  I knew I was almost done with the run though, so I kept at it.

I tried not too look at the top the hill too much.  I was breathing heavy and really working, but I continued to battle.  I just took it one step at a time.  Finally, I made it to the top.  If I didn't know the size of a lot of the hills ahead of time, I probably would end up quitting a lot sooner.  That was one advantage I had at Quadzilla last year and a big advantage that I'll have this year.

Even as I got the top, I still had about .2 miles left to hit 5 miles.  I enjoyed the short downhill.  What made it even better was that the bison weren't out.  I decided that I would get off the trail for a short bit and get some pictures of them while I ran.  They stared at me for a few moments.  For some reason a bunch of them started running.  It was weird because they weren't running towards me or away from me.  That was quite a sight to end on.  I thought of the book Running with the Buffaloes (even though that is actually just about training with the Colorado Cross Country Team).

I felt great after being done.  Maybe I could've pushed a little more.  I definitely could've ran another easy mile.  The question was whether I could've ran another Trexler mile.  That is a big difference and I doubt I could've, especially knowing the hills that were up ahead.

As I got to the last hill before the Environmental Center, I was feeling great after some walking.  I thought, what the heck, I might as well run up this hill.  It wasn't fast, but I made it to the top.  I didn't know if I might have to quit early, but I made it all the way.  Just another nice and quick strength builder.

After the run, I had to get some photos of the trail with my good camera.  I took a few shots from the Environmental Center.  Then I got some of the curvy section near the road, even though I didn't run there today.  It looked very cool all covered in snow.

This was such a rewarding run.  I remember going home from Trexler disappointed a few times because it kicked my butt.  I always feel like I have accomplished a lot whenever I complete a run there though.  It is such a workout.  I exceeded my expectations today with 5 straight miles of running on the snow covered trail.

I am so focused and hungry right now.  I will be a Trexler a lot in the next few months.  I want to know the trail inside and out.  I also just want to get much stronger and faster in general.  I'm sure this place will be a big help.  I'm running smarter now by running less mileage, with less speed and less frequency.  That doesn't mean that I still can't challenge myself on difficult courses like this one.  That's exactly what I'm going to continue to do.


I have a 5K coming up this weekend.  I haven't run for speed in some time, so I have no expectations.  I'm just going to run hard and enjoy myself as much as I can.  There is no pressure.  I think when that happens, sometimes you can do amazing things.  A bunch of my friends did better than they thought in the snow at yesterday's race.  Some of that might've been that they gave the snow too much credit or didn't give themselves enough credit for the kind of shape they are in.  I also think some of it might've been that the snow caused them to lower their expectations and thus they took a lot of pressure off themselves.  They just went out there to have fun and ended up doing well.  I hope that can happen to me this weekend.

Tomorrow is an off day.  I may completely rest or I may try hiking.  On Wednesday, I'll be back at it.  Since Saturday's run will be short, I'm considering a long mid week run.  I'd love to do 10 miles.  Perhaps at the D&L Trail.

5 miles -46:54 (9:23 pace)

Snow on the Schuykill River Trail

I wasn't sure where I was going to run today.  Then, I decided to go to a high school basketball game in Pottsville.  I recalled that the Schuykill River Trail runs right near Cabela's off of Route 61.  I figured that I would run there after the game and see what it is like.

I started out around 3 PM.  I knew that it was supposed to snow, but I didn't think I would encounter any yet.  By the time I got to the trail, there was probably already an inch of snow and it was coming down heavy.  I was thrilled.  I have yet to run during a snowstorm this winter.  I have only run after it has come down.

There were a couple cars in the parking lot, but as I was changing, most of the people arrived back at their cars and wisely left.  I'm the crazy one, so I was just starting my run as the snow was coming down heavy.  I didn't want to pass up a great opportunity to run in the snow.  I figured that if too much snow came down, I would turn around and leave.  The big problem was that I was an hour drive from home (and that is with clear conditions).

I wasn't sure what to wear.  I started off with thin gloves and a hat, but brought thicker gloves and a headband along in my jacket as well.  Since wet snow was coming down, I figured the jacket would work better than my fleece vest.  That might've got to wet and became heavy.  The big issue was that I forgot to grab some pants.  Rather than moisture wicking pants, I had to settle for wearing cotton sweatpants.  Not the best idea, but it actually worked out okay.

Even though it was snowing, there wasn't much wind, so it actually felt kind of nice.  That allowed the sweatpants to work out well in addition to the jacket.  Not too far into the run, I even swapped my hate for my headband.  It was comfortable out.

Near the parking lot, there was a regular rail trail, but also a cool looking winding trail through some open space.  It was also neat because there was a mountain in the background.  That made for a cool picture with my GoPro camera.  It was also more fun than starting in a straight line, so I headed that way.

I thought I would only be able to do a short loop and then I'd have to head out north on the rail trail.  I was thrilled when I came around a curve and realized that the trail headed southeast.  It ran right along the river.  I was glad I went this way.  It was neat as the trail weaved in and out of the woods.  It made for a great setting.

I had my watch in my pocket for most of the first mile.  The problem is that when it is in my pocket it loses its signal for a short distances.  That made the first mile a slow 10:39.  I actually ran longer than a mile.  My slowest full mile of the whole run was 9:05.  That was the only mile over 9 minutes.

The snow was nice and pretty and it wasn't slippery.  The temperature was good too.  I was enjoying the run, expect for the fact that the snow was blowing and it was blowing right in my face.  I could barely see.

Somewhere around the first mile, I crossed under the Route 78 bridge.  That was cool and it looked even better because of the snow.  I could hear the cars going fast overhead, so I was glad that traffic wasn't slow on the road.  I needed to head home that way.

I kept going and eventually came to a small pedestrian bridge over the river.  At one time, it was an old train bridge.  It was kind of small.  After going over the river, there wasn't much left of the trail, so I turned around.  I was at 1.25 miles at that point, at least according to my watch.

Going back was fun too.  Since I was enjoying myself, I set a goal to get to 5 miles total by the end of the run.  If it wasn't snowing, I would've been shooting for 8-10 miles, but with the snow I was willing to accept less.  I figured that I would get back to the car and then run the other direction for a bit.

One thing I decided was that I needed to grab my cap from the car.  I had to get the blowing snow out of my eyes.  I needed a brim.  Luckily, I had a cap with me to wear at the basketball game.  I was tired of wearing my GoPro camera, so I dropped that in the car when I picked up the cap.

I ran out along the rail trail.  I was between 2.5 and 3 miles.  The plan was to go out to about 3.8 miles and turn around and then get to 5 miles total.  This trail wasn't bad, but it was straight and more boring.  After I got out a bit, I looked down and saw the road a story or story and a half below.  I had started off on the same elevation as the road, so either I had been going uphill or the road was going downhill or a combination of both.  I think I was ascending since it didn't feel too easy.  It was a gradual climb though. 

As I got to somewhere around 3.5 miles, I encountered an awesome sight.  It was another old railroad bridge.  This time though, it was a large steel truss structure.  It looked so cool in the snow.  The rail trail went right over it.  I was so mad that I didn't have my camera.  A short time after going over the bridge, I got to mile 3.8 and turned around and headed back.

I spend the entire way back thinking about the bridge and how to photograph it.  Going back out to it with my camera would just add another 2 miles to the run.  I didn't want to do that.  I could've drove my car out that far, but the road was so far below, I'm not sure how I would've got back up to the trail.  Plus, that road wasn't plowed and I certainly didn't want to get stuck back there with no one around.

Finally, I figured that I would just forget about it.  I said to myself, that bridge will always be there and you can get some pictures of it next time you come out here and run.  Then I realized that getting photos of it while it is snowing out would be unlikely.

I decided that I just had to retrieve my camera and run back out there.  If it meant 2 more miles, then so be it.  I was feeling good anyway.  I got to my car at slightly before 5 miles.  I grabbed the camera and was back on my way.

I ran out to the bridge and it didn't seem to take long.  It was actually only about .8 miles from the car.  Not as far as I originally thought.  That meant that after getting photos, I could run back to the car and get 6.5 miles in.  I thought that I got some really neat photos, but they aren't zoomed in enough.  I still have to work on timing my pictures correctly when I'm photographing an object.

I made my way back to the car and still felt good.  I figured that I might as well make it an even 7 mile run.  I was just over 6.5 miles when I got to the parking lot.  I went through the open section that I started out in.  I turned around and had completed 7 miles before I knew it.

I always say that I love snow running and this just proves it.  Even though I was running alone, time just flew by.  The run was great.  One of the best ones of the year.  I was worrying about traveling home in the snow, but only encountered minor problems.  It was definitely worth taking the time to run on the Schuykill River Trail.  It was cool place and I might go there again whenever I make a trip out that way.  The snow just enhanced the experience.

I was a little worried after the run.  My left foot, which was bothering me a lot in the fall, was really sore on the car ride home.  Hopefully I'm not developing a stress fracture or something like that.  It isn't bothering me now.  Maybe running on the snow was the problem.  If it becomes an issue again, I will back off.  The good news is that my quads aren't a problem at all.  I didn't even get to stretch as much as I wanted to because I was so cold.

Tomorrow, I am taking off.  It is Super Bowl Sunday, so that means we are having the big LVRR Super Bowl 10K.  I am looking forward to that way more than the Super Bowl.  I'll get to see a bunch of friends and take plenty of photos for the club.  It should be a fun day.

On Monday, I'd like to go to Trexler again.  I'll have to think about it.  If it is going to be very muddy again, it might be wise to skip out on that.  Either way, I have to run somewhere.  I sure wouldn't mind a trail.  Next Saturday, I'm running the Warm Hearts 5K in Nazareth.  That should be interesting.  I don't know what to expect.  I haven't run anything fast in months.  I also haven't run a 5K since September.  I'd be thrilled if I could run a 7:15 pace or better.  We'll see what I have.  Weather could be a big factor in how well I run.


7 miles - 1:02:17 (8:54 pace)