Amazing Day and Run

 After running a poor 5K yesterday, I headed out for a long run today.  Last week, I ran 10 miles.  That was my first double digit run in some time.  I planned on running 12 miles today.  I decided that I would run the D&L Trail starting at Cove Road.  That way I could do some out and back runs in each direction.

For the 2nd day in a row, the weather was beautiful.  It is amazing what that does when we get the first warm weekend in months.  The Cementon trailhead was packed like I've never seen before and Cove Road was crowded too.  When I left, cars had to park in the grass there.  Everyone came out of the woodwork for this warm weather.  Most of them were walkers, bikers and dog walkers.  There weren't too many runners.  I rarely see anyone on this trail, so I welcomed the crowd.  The temperature was in the low 50s.  Of course I wore short sleeves and shorts.

I started off heading north.  Even though that is an uphill start, I prefer that direction.  It isn't a killer hill.  It is just a long and gradual one.  There was a woman that ran by me as I was at my car about to leave for the run.  That was both good and bad.  It was good because it gave me someone to chase down.  It was bad because it was so early in the run.  When I lived in Philly, I used to have people to catch all of the time.  Here, that rarely happens.

I wasn't trying hard to catch the woman, but it is only natural to run a little faster when there is another runner up ahead of you and you are faster than they are.  I slowly reeled her in.  I felt pretty good early on.  I caught and passed her right around the 1 mile mark.  That first mile was an 8:05.

Right around where I passed her were some tough trail conditions.  I guess it is an area that doesn't get a lot of sun.  The trail was soggy and wet and made running kind of difficult.  I got through it though.

These first few miles on the run were so tough.  I ran maybe a little faster than I should have.  I certainly wasn't pushing it though.  It was probably between an easy pace and a moderate pace.  With some sun, good temperatures, nice scenery around the river, and all the people, this was a fun run.  Much, much better than the harsh winter runs of recent weeks.

I just tried to stay focused on each upcoming mile.  My legs felt okay.  They weren't terrible or great.  I had some soreness in the inside of both calves.  It wasn't enough to bother me too much, so I kept plugging along.

I wanted to get to the 4 mile point before turning around.  That was the minimum.  If I did that, then I would only have 4 miles left to run in the other direction.  I focused on getting to 4 miles, but it wasn't easy.  There was a little breeze, which at times felt good and other times it was annoying.

I passed so many families out either walking or biking.  It was so energizing.  I wish they would come out all year long.  Somewhere around 3.5 miles, I got a glimpse of the mountains and the Lehigh Gap.  That was cool and I knew I was closing in on Slatington.  I wasn't going to run all the way to the gap, but thought maybe I would continue on to Slatington.  Miles 2 and 3 were a fast 7:38 and 7:42.  There must have been some downhill there.  Mile 4 was much slower at 8:39.  That was by far my slowest mile.  My pace was generally pretty consistent.

When I got to mile 4, I was hurting some, but I knew I could make it to mile 5.  If I did that, at least I'd have to run or walk 10 total miles to get back to my car.  That usually forces me to keep running.  I was going to turn around at mile 5, but right as I got there there was a lady walking a baby.  It would've been weird to turn around right at that spot, so I kept going.

At this point, I was close to the Slatington Trailhead.  I decided to just run there until I got to the road crossing.  Then I could turn around.  I looped through the parking area and headed back down south.  Heading that way wasn't a lot of fun.  It took some getting used to the wind.  It was stronger in this direction and blowing in my face.  I wish it blew in this direction during my fall half marathon.  After running just over 5 miles, I was pretty beat up.  I wondered how I could last and make it through 7 more miles, or at a minimum 5 more miles.

The key as always was just to focus on the next mile or two.  I got to mile 7 and that was a big mental hurdle.  I now knew that it would only be less than a 5K until I hit double digits.  I thought about getting to mile 8 and then mile 9 (3/4 of the way through the run).

I found another fun thing to do to keep me focused.  I saw my watch at 5.55 miles, I missed it at 6.66 miles, but I saw it again at 7.77 miles.  From then on, I focused on getting 1.11 miles farther.  Hitting mile 9.99 was a goal.  The time for mile 8 was back to an 8:01.  I thought maybe I was slipping.  I was happy to get that far at under an 8 minute overall pace.

There is a stable with a couple horses right next to the trail at one point.  As I came to that area, I saw 2 people were actually riding the horses in front of me at the road crossing.  That was cool and I had no trouble getting around them.

I was thrilled when I got to mile 9.  The only issue was that this area was sloppy again.  I could feel the tire tracks from the bikes that had gone through before me.  The softness of the trail as well as the downhill of this section, made it kind of easy.  It was definitely better than I was feeling earlier.  I knew at this point, I would get to 10 miles.  Could I run another 2?

My lungs were a problem yesterday, but at this pace today, there was no issue.  The issue was my sore legs.  I felt like I was slowing down and falling apart, but my times showed otherwise.  I was still going strong.

I got to mile 10 and ran that one in 7:54.  I wasn't quite back to the Cove Road Trailhead, but I was close.  I continued on past the parking area.  A woman was running from the parking lot.  Even though my legs were struggling, that gave me another thing to focus on.  I wanted to catch her before turning around a little after the 11 mile point.

It is amazing how legs can go just as far as they have in a recent long run.  Then, when you go past that point, they get very sore.  That was the case when I passed the 10 mile mark.  My lower back started to get sore as well, but I had to keep going.

I ran hard when I got to the woman.  I wanted to make the pass happen quickly, so that I could slow myself down a little after it.  I almost sprinted by here.  A little while later, a guy was walking his small dog in the other direction.  It looked like it wanted run with me.

The plan was to get to get to somewhere between 11.25 miles to 11.5 miles and then turn around.  There is a house about a mile south from the Cove Road Trailhead.  Their dogs are always out and they always run over to the fence and start barking.  They did that again today, so I turned right around at 11.26 miles.  They have yet to chase me, but I'm not taking a chance.

Coming back for the final 3/4 of a mile was hard.  It was back uphill and I was physically destroyed.  I went by the guy with the small dog and the dog ran with me briefly.  That was kind of cute.  It then went back to its owner.

I struggled through the finish.  I kept looking down at my watch and counted off every .05 miles or every .1 miles.  Eventually I was done with a strong final mile.  It was run at 7:45.  Only 3 of the 12 miles were over an 8 minute pace.  Two of them were barely over 8 minutes.  That was consistent.

It was a great run.  My last mile of the 5K was a 7:57 and my pace for the entire run today was 7:55.  That shows that I have some good endurance at a comfortable pace, but I need to be able to extend my faster pace.  I learned a lot with both of these runs this weekend.  I'm now ready and prepared to take what I've learned and improve my running throughout the spring.

When I was back at the parking lot, I saw the woman from the beginning of the run.  She was walking now, but I was still impressed.  She had started at some point before me and was still going over 1 hour and 30 minutes later.  That is some good exercising.

I'm not sure what my plans for the week are yet.  I'll probably rest tomorrow, but if I feel good, maybe I'll try running.  Running on Tuesday is more likely.  I'd like to do some speedwork as well as a Trexler run.  Mix in the group run and I don't have many other options for the week.  Wednesday I'm heading to the Lafayette basketball game at Bucknell.  That doesn't give me much time to fit in a run, unless I do a dreaded AM run.

12 miles - 1:34:56 (7:55 pace)

Warm Hearts 5K

Well today was my first race since November.  I ran the Warm Hearts 5K in Nazareth.  To say it didn't go well would be an understatement.  The course was tough, but I ran slower than I did at the Blue Eagle 5K back in August.

It was a beautiful day compared to the weather lately.  It was in the 40s with sun.  There was still some wind though.  It was so warm that I wore just a singlet and shorts.  That worked out fine.

I started off with a mile warm up.  The race began at Holy Family Church.  What made the warm up tough was that the entire area was hilly.  I ran out towards the circle in the center of town.  I saw my friend April warming up right in front of me.  She turned around and headed back and I kept going.  I ran farther than I wanted because I didn't want to stop at any lights.  I ended up walking a little to get to the start area.

The start was a little annoying because there were a few speeches and we had to stand there waiting to get going.  I lined up in the 2nd row.  That was frustrating because the woman or women in front of me started off very slow and got in my way.  I had to sprint to get into the position that I wanted.

Very early on in the run, there was a steep uphill.  I knew it would be tough, but I thought the warm up would've helped.  It didn't and I struggled to the top.  I was breathing so heavy.  I did pass a girl on the Nazareth High School team.  I was wondering why she started so far up front.  I knew she wasn't that fast.  A few people passed me on the uphill.

I knew after the hill, it was a long downhill and then flat for awhile.  I was looking forward to that.  I cruised down the hill and began enjoying the run.  It was still fast paced though, so I was never able to recover my breathing.  It continued to be heavy.

The first mile seemed great.  I came in at 6:45.  That was better than I would've expect, especially with the hills.  The downhill helped a lot for that one.

I held steady for quite a while.  I think for another half mile anyway and about halfway through the race.  We did pass a couple walkers and I think one guy commented that I was breathing hard.  I guess I didn't realize how much I was struggling.  I didn't feel great, but I still felt kind of good.

There was a tough uphill alongside the high school and Shafer Elementary School.  I started to catch up to the lead woman, but I was struggling.  She actually began walking up the hill.  That was amazing.  I ran by a house and one of Nazareth's girls basketball players was actually shooting in her driveway.  That was funny.

At the top of the hill, the lead woman began to pull away.  The second mile dropped to a 7:11.  I really slipped in the back half of that mile.  Knowing the course was kind of a downfall to me.  I was struggling so much and knew that I had a lot of hills yet to go.  Rather than killing myself, I decided to just shut it down and cruise to the finish.

I passed my friend Linda, but that didn't help.  I was already cooked.  I was then passed by the 2nd place woman.  I told her that the first place woman was up ahead, but she had on her headphones, so I'm not sure if she heard me.

I have hardly run anything fast all winter.  When I did run fast, it was basically 2 miles of hard running.  That's pretty much as long as I was capable of running hard today.  It is amazing how that works.  The pace was there for a short time, I just have to increase how long I can carry the pace.

I did hang fairly close to the top 2 women.  I was impressed that the woman that was walking was able to keep her lead.  She walked again until the 2nd place woman was on her heels.  She then pushed through and took the lead.  I had a good seat to all of that action.  Maybe I could've pushed myself and mixed it up with them, but there was really no point.  There are times to push through tough patches and other times to just shut it down.  I clearly wasn't ready for this race today.

The final mile was 7:57.  That is basically my easy run pace.  That is pathetic.  It was over a minute slower than my fast first mile.  It sure gives me something to work on.  I definitely need more speedwork now as the weather gets warmer.  I was coughing a lot after the race and I'm not sure if something else might have been bothering my breathing too.  My lung capacity is definitely my limiter right now.

I did still finish the race 13th overall and was 2nd in my age group.  A high school track teammate's brother actually won the race.  A fast 13 year old from Pleasant Valley was 2nd overall.  I've seen his name before in some 5Ks.  I assume he will be a very good runner for them at the high school level in a few years.

I'm hoping to run tomorrow.  It is supposed to be beautiful again.  I'd like to run 10 to 12 miles.  I have no idea where or when.  It will probably be on the D&L Trail somewhere.  That's usually my go to long run place.  I broke 30 total miles this week and hope to go over 30 again in the upcoming week.

Warm up 1.11 mile - 8:45 (7:54 pace)
Race 3.13 miles - 22:55 (7:19 pace)
Cool down .5 miles - 4:33 (9:11 pace)

So Nice I Ran Twice

The title is sort of a lie.  I did run twice and I did so because it was nice in the afternoon.  However, it was miserable during my second run in the evening.  That was the LVRR Group Runn though.

I wanted to get some extra mileage in, but also wanted to make sure I still rested tomorrow with my 5K race on Saturday.  Therefore, I decided to run twice.  Initially, I wanted to run early in the morning, but I couldn't get out of bed.  I didn't end up having any work today, so I ran at lunch time.

I just wanted an easy 3 miles and I wanted it to be close to home.  I was considering running the Blue Eagle 5K course.  As I was about to leave, my mom said she was taking recycling down the street.  I asked her to just drop me off and I'd run home.  She actually forgot the recycling. 

I had her drop me off at an old dairy store not too far away.  I figured that it would probably be pretty close to a 3 mile run home.  We rode our bikes to this store when we were kids, but now it is closed.  That is kind of sad.  I miss those summers.

It was a rare day with the temperature fairly high and the sun shining bright.  Of course we still had wind, but I'll gladly settle for 2 out of 3.  That's far better than we've had lately.

I left the dairy store and ran down a hill then along a long stretch of road.  I wanted to run this area because it is relatively rural.  Rural it sure was.  I could smell plenty of cow dung from the nearby farms.  I enjoyed the run except for the fact that the wind was blowing in my face.  I can just never escape it.  Of course I was only running one direction, so I had no choice but to face it head on.

I couldn't believe how fast the 1st mile was.  I was running easy and somehow it was well under an 8 minute pace.  It is amazing what running in just shorts and a long sleeve top can do.  I can't wait to see what kind of times the warmer weather will bring.  It would've been even more amazing without any wind.

The long road is about 1.25 miles long.  It was great because I only encountered 2 cars the entire time.  There was a slight hill towards the end.  It was nothing too bad though.  As I turned onto Georgetown Road, I had to face a short, but steep hill.  Then I was back into the neighborhood and headed towards home.  The 2nd mile was slower, but still under 8 minutes.

The 3rd mile was all through the neighborhood.  It was peaceful and easy.  Before I knew it, I was done.  It was almost perfect.  I hit the 3 mile point right as I was just across the street from the elementary school that is next to my house.  I thought I might have to add some distance or shorten the route and walk, but it was pretty much dead on.

After a few hours of rest, it was on to the LVRR Group Run.  The sun set and it seemed like the wind picked up.  Whatever the case, it was the terrible weather that I've become accustomed to.  Not surprisingly, I was the only one that showed up.

I decided I would try a new route.  I headed out into the blast of wind.  It was a brutal way to start.  I then did the usual run up the hill to Lehigh's campus.  This time as I was on the normal route, I saw another hill up into the heart of the campus.  I figured why not go there too.  There were some students out, but not many.  They were all bundled up.  They must've thought I was crazy running with just shorts and a jacket.  It actually wasn't all that bad.  I could've used some ear protection, but I didn't anticipate it being so cold, so I had nothing with me.

I ran west through South Side Bethlehem.  It is an area that I don't know all that well.  There has never been a reason to spend much time there.  I knew the tricky part would be crossing Route 378 and it was.  I didn't want to stop, so I ended up going down the hill and then back up it after I crossed over.  I was happy to get some extra hills in.

I went by a cemetery that I've never seen before.  The first 2 miles seemed to take forever.  With all the hills and wind, they were quite slow.  It was nothing like the earlier run.  I do know the area in general.  I was hoping to get to the pool in Fountain Hill and add some more hills around there.

I got to Fountain Hill and managed to cross a busy road.  I continued out, but never did make it to the pool.  At 2.5 miles, I turned around and headed back.  I knew I'd need to add a little distance.  I decided that I would run up another hill and do a little bit of a loop.

I ended up running up the hill and then right around St. Luke's Hospital.  I was hoping to come across some cute nurses, but I had no luck.  Unfortunately, I've spent enough time in hospitals to know that they usually don't change shifts around the time I was running in that area.

After the hospital, I was back onto the main road towards Steel Stacks.  This was the opposite direction of the way I started the run, yet somehow I was facing a headwind again.  It was very frustrating.  Coming out of Fountain Hill was nice because it is a steep uphill.

Again, I got to Route 378 and didn't want to stop.  I ran back and forth until I could finally cross clearly.  I saw that there is a road under the Hill to Hill Bridge.  I'll have to check a map and see if it goes anywhere.  Maybe it can be used in the future.

I was finally back at Steel Stacks and again the distance was perfect.  I hit the 5 mile point just before the main building.  I couldn't have run these 2 runs any more perfect when it came to distance.

The inside of my left ankle was sore after the 8 miles on pavement today.  I massaged it a lot as well as stretched it.  It is kind of frustrating that it is bothering me, but I'm just glad that my quads are doing well.  It would just be nice to have zero problems for a change.

As I said, tomorrow is a rest day.  Saturday is the 5K race in Nazareth.  It should be fun.  I hope to do well, but really have no expectations.  Maybe I can surprise myself.  The weather is supposed to be better.  I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Run 1: 3 miles - 23:18 (7:46 pace)
Run 2: 5 miles - 44:06 (8:49 pace)

Bitter Cold and Wind

Cold and wind have been the story of the winter.  Today might've been the most wind of the entire season.  It was so gusty.  Of course yesterday the weather was actually beautiful and it was my day off.  At least it wasn't as bad today as it was supposed to be.  We were expected to get some snow.  Of course the weather folks were wrong and we had none.

Since I was anticipating some possible snow, I didn't have high expectations for the run and the mileage.  That was especially the case because I was planning my weekly Trexler run.  It wasn't the best day to go there, but it was my only option to keep my weekly streak alive.  It is now up to 7 weeks in a row.

I didn't want to start in the killer wind, so I decided to begin near the Lehigh Valley Zoo entrance.  The wind was much better there.  That calmness didn't last very long.  Just a few minutes later, it was freezing.  I made sure to wear my fleece vest today with all the normal cold weather gear.

One tough thing about starting here is that it begins immediately with a hill.  It isn't the steepest or the longest, but it isn't easy either.  It is a solid 0.1 mile hill.  It got me breathing hard early.

After the top of the hill, I couldn't relax.  It did flattened out, but then I was on the mild hill on grass.  I hate running on grass, so it was frustrating.  It was more annoying at the end of the Quadzilla race, but it wasn't a picnic today.  This area is exposed to the elements and at the top of the hill, so it had a lot of wind.

They moved the trail and I wasn't even sure where to go across an open field.  Luckily I saw the signs.  I still didn't know where the trail actually itself actually was.  There was a lot of straw on the ground and that was rather annoying.

Shortly after the grass area, I was back into the wooded area.  Once I got there, things warmed up immensely.  I was now in a flat or downhill section for some time, so it was comfortable.  Of course I didn't bring my GoPro camera and I came to 6 deer long the trail.  That would've made for some great pictures. 

Most of the run was flat for a period of time.  Then there was some up and down at both the road crossing and going around the creek.  I was happy because the trail was muddy, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

One thing that is interesting is how they moved the trail around.  I'm not sure if it shortened the trail or not.  When I ran from the other direction a few weeks back, I came through this area.  I was at least sort of familiar with it.

I definitely struggled with some of the minor hills, but nothing was too bad on the way out.  I was pleased when I got past the 2 mile point.  I really hoped that I could get 4 miles or more by the time I was done.  Right before the long hill, the trail was very messy.  It is a low area and it is filled in with a lot of wood chips.  It is very muddy.

I ran up the long hill for quite a while.  I could only make it so far though before I had to turn around.  I was breathing heavy.  I might've been able to make it to the top, but if I did that, I would have to go all the way to the Environmental Center to do a loop rather than an out and back.  I wasn't sure I could do that without walking up a lot of the big hills near the Environmental Center.

When I turned around, I was at 2.2 miles.  I was very happy with that.  I did well for a while.  A lot of the first part was downhill, so now I faced some uphill.  That is where I struggled.  I got up a tough short hill that was muddy.  After that was a long hill and I just couldn't take it any more.  The hills finally took their toll.  I got part way up this long hill and just quit.  I was disappointed because I was only at 2.76 miles.  It was very frustrating.

The problem with running here and especially this back part of the course is that I don't know it well.  After a short walk, I reset my watch and began running again.  The hill really wasn't that tough or long, I just didn't know what was up ahead as I was running on it.  Now, I'm more prepared for next time.

I continued running along and was doing well.  I crossed the road again and had a short uphill.  For some reason I stopped at the top of it, like I was going to quit.  It was just a very short pause though, and then I continued on.  I came to some more hills and was battling up them for awhile.

When I got to the part where the Border Trail merges with a yellow trail, I decided to go downhill and take the yellow trail.  I just couldn't run any more hills.  I knew where I was at this point and after going downhill, I was on the flat stone path near the creek. 

I wasn't too far from the zoo, so I continued on.  I ran up a paved hill back toward the trail.  It was hard, but I was approaching 4 miles total.  Finally, when I hit that point, I was done.  Even though I stopped briefly, I was happy to at least get through 4 miles.

After walking back to the car, I was rested.  I decided that I would add some more to the workout.  I figured that I would run up the first hill twice.  It wasn't too long or steep.  At least it didn't seem that way.  It also didn't seem windy.

Of course after ditching my vest and taking off up the hill, I hit a headwind.  I saw a log at the top and decided to run until I got there.  It looked closer than it was.  The final part of the hill seemed to take forever.  I was exhausted and breathing heavy when I made it to the top.

I thought maybe this would be my only time up the hill.  Walking down it, I recovered well.  I figured why not run it again.  I did that, but this rep wasn't easy.  I battled and was finally done.  The hill was about 0.1 miles long.  The first time it took me 49 seconds and the second time 50 seconds.  I probably could've run up it a 3rd time, but I didn't want to press my luck.  The extra work was good enough.  I might try running this hill again in the future.

All in all, I had mixed feelings about the workout.  It was as much as I expected, although I didn't have high expectations because of the possible snow.  I was disappointed because I had to stop part way through it.  I need to learn to stop and walk a little if I have to and just keep my watch running.  There's no shame in doing that on this course.

I kind of feel like I'm not making much progress at Trexler.  I thought I could conquer the hills better by this point.  Maybe it is the weather or maybe I'm just not that fit.  I don't know.  The sloppy trail conditions sure aren't helping any.  We'll see what better conditions bring in the spring.

The thing with this place is you can't fake it.  Sometimes on normal routes, I can say to myself "just 1 more mile."  That usually works, but with this terrain, I never know how far I can go.  If there is a big hill up ahead, I can't go even 1/10 of a mile.  Getting to know the whole trail will be as important to being successful there as getting in shape will be.

I'm glad ran this area, since I don't know it that well.  I'll have to get out there more.  This is the start and finish area of Quadzilla.  I started off too slow and conservative last year.  I need to go out fast this year and then finish strong too.  Knowing the course inside and out will be a huge benefit and allow me to do well at Quadzilla.

I was pretty beat when I got home.  I took a short nap before dinner and that was great.  I'm hungry to run some more.  Since we didn't get any snow, I might run a double session tomorrow.  I am definitely running in the evening with the LVRR.  I may try to get a short 3 miler in in the morning as well.  Maybe I'll go to Mill Race Park or possiblly just run the Blue Eagle 5K course outside of my house.  It will be my last running day before the Warm Hearts 5K in town on Saturday.  I hope to get to 30 miles this week.

2.76 miles - 26:36 (9:39 pace)
1.26 miles - 12:13 (9:40 pace)
528 feet - 0:49 (8:17 pace)
0.1 miles - 0:50 (8:06 pace)

Better Weather at Jacobsburg

It amazing what a difference that fiery ball in the sky can make.  The temperatures and wind were both their usual miserable selves today, but the sun was out.  That made my run so much more bearable.

I decided just to stay close to home and enjoy an somewhat easy trail run at Jacobsburg.  It has probably been close to 2 months since I ran there.  It really is a great place to run.  I just don't care that much for it because the elevation isn't challenging enough.  When I hit trails, I like to be pushed to my limit.

I only packed a ColdGear top, but luckily I had a lighter long sleeves shirt with me.  I wore that along with my jacket, tights, some gloves and a headband.  The gloves and headband came off pretty early and stayed off most of the run.

I was just planning on 4 miles and maybe I would add a 5th if I was feeling good.  I was definitely not going to run more than that though.  I headed off on the main path where people usually walk their dogs.  Some sections here were washed out and will need some spring maintenance.  It wasn't bad for a trail runner.

I was a little surprised early on.  I thought for sure my legs would be sore after 10 miles yesterday.  They felt great though.  I had minor trouble with some of the short climbs, but that was about it.  I went out as far as I could and then crossed the road near the red barn structure.

This section was a little tough because it was uphill and the footing wasn't great.  The trail was narrow and there appeared to be huge horse tracks right in the middle of the trail.  My foot started bothering me at just over a mile into the run.  It was the bottom of my right foot.  Every uphill was tough and there were a lot of those.  Even if there aren't much in the way of big hills here, there are plenty of rolling ones.

For some time, I was thinking that even 4 miles might be tough.  My foot was bothering me that much.  I just kept plugging away though.  The trail was a little soft here and there and muddy in spots, but overall it was in pretty good shape.

Going through the section near Route 33, I bashed my foot on a couple rocks.  Nothing too serious, but it did sting.  The problem was that with the wind, my eyes were watering and I couldn't see the rocks too well.  A couple of them caught me by surprise.

Getting to the 2nd mile was great.  Even though my foot was hurting, I knew I'd manage to get my 4 miles in.  The section with 3 road crossings is always tricky.  It is usually muddy and an uphill climb.  I battled through it though.  I thought about taking one of the roads back to the main parking lot, but I decided to keep going.  I lost some time at the last road crossing as I had to wait for 3 cars.  That is rare because these roads aren't very busy.  That cost me about 10-15 seconds.

I crossed the final road and began feeling much better.  It was a lot more flat and downhill.  I also think my foot was getting used to running at this point.  As I came up to the intersection that I was looking for, I saw a dog.  I was wondering where its owner was.  Then I saw a woman get off a white horse and start yelling at it.  That was a new experience for me.  I've seen people yell at their dogs before, but never a horse.  Horses on the trail annoy me, so I had no problem with that.

Usually at this intersection, I'll make a right and head north along the creek to a parking lot.  Since I was almost at 3 miles at this point, the plan was to go left.  That would eventually get me back to the main road and I'd finish up right around 4 miles.  My timing was perfect because I'm not sure where the horse and dog were going, but I wasn't planning to go the direction they were coming from.  I'm glad whenever I can avoid horses all together.

I was now on a nice ridge section above the creek.  This was the section that I fell at last year.  I was thinking of how easy the section was and tripped on a rock.  No way was that going to happen today.

Before I knew it, I was back onto the main road.  I had about .4 miles to go.  I thought about sticking to the road, but I decided to opt for the trail instead (once I arrived there).  From here, the trail used to go back to the main parking lot.  However, they are constructing a new building.  I was curious as to where the trail went.

I finished up at 4 miles right before hitting a dead end at the construction area.  I was feeling good, but I was too close to the parking lot to try getting in an extra mile.  I had to walk up another trail and around the new building and the parking area.  I probably could've added another half mile with how long this section was.  It was alright though and I was happy with the run.

As I was walking back, I started to think about possibly leading an LVRR run there on some Sunday morning in the spring.  Maybe I could work it in with the BCR group.  They run there often.  I know I have a few friends that are interested in getting to know the trails there.  I have an idea of a 3 mile loop and a 5 or 6 mile loop we could do.  We could run one and stop back at the cars to refuel and people could leave if they didn't want to continue on.  I certainly don't want to lead a regular group run there, but doing it once would be fun.  I know the trails better than a lot of people.

The rest of the week should be interesting.  Tomorrow, it is going to be nice out, but I'll be off from running.  If I can get my bike tire fixed, perhaps I will ride.  Whenever I do get it fixed, I want to start doing 2 workouts a day.  One before work and one after it.  I'm going to try getting to Trexler on Wednesday, but we shall see.  We are supposed to get some snow, although it will be worse farther south.  I'm excited because the weekend weather looks very good.  That would be great for my 5K.

4 miles - 37:24 (9:21 pace)

A Nice 10 Miler

I didn't quite get as many miles in last week as I would've liked.  I also haven't run 8 miles or more very often lately.  To remedy both of those problems, I headed out for a 10 miler this afternoon.  Some BCR people were originally talking about meeting up in the Parkway at 8 this morning.  I could've used some company, but I was glad that they changed their plans and I could run later.  I wish people wanted to run later in the day during this awful weather, especially on the weekends.  I get that you would want to run early when you have to work during the week.  I just wish it wouldn't carry over to the weekends too.  I need some afternoon running partners.

I decided to head up to Lehigh Gap.  That way at least I'd have some scenery on the run.  It looked like it was going to be another miserable day with temperatures near freezing and a fairly strong wind making it even worse.  When I got there, it was definitely cold, but not as bad as I thought it would be.  I wore a lightweight top with my jacket over it.  I had some tights on.  I also brought along a hat and gloves.  I couldn't find my headband.  That would've been better in this wind.

I knew the wind would be strong in one direction and light it the other.  I decided I would head out with the wind at my back.  The beginning of the run is when it is the coldest for your body, so I wanted to be comfortable then.  I could deal with the cold later on after I was warmed up.

The wind dictated that I headed south towards Slatington.  That was also a good idea because the last time I ran there, the path was more firm in that direction.  I started off and it was very comfortable.  One thing that helped out a lot during the run was that the sun was actually out for a change.  That makes a huge difference.  I quickly took my hat and gloves off.  I didn't want to get them sweaty early on.  I figured that I might need them later.

While there was no wind, I still struggled a lot in the beginning.  The surface was firm, but perhaps too firm.  My quads have now been good for some time, but my lower legs give me trouble.  That was the case through these first 2 miles.  My calves were getting quite sore.  It kind of felt like shin splints might be coming on.  I tried slowing down, but that really didn't make a difference.  Nothing was helping. 

I wish I knew what the problem is.  My legs just seem kind of dead lately.  I was looking at my feet and I'm thinking maybe my running style changed.  It looks like I'm underpronating, rather than overpronating.  That would sure explain a lot of the soreness.  I'll have to check the wear pattern on my shoes.

Since I was sore, but my legs weren't killing me, I just focused on getting to Slatington.  That turned out to be the 2 mile mark.  The plan was to try to run on the paved Slate Heritage Trail.  It is pretty bad when you are looking to run on pavement as an improvement for sore legs.  That's where I was at though. 

Things didn't improve much as I first went out on the Slate Heritage Trail.  I did feel a little better, but I was definitely still sore.  I was also going uphill at first, so things weren't easy.  This is a pretty nice trail along a creek.  I figured this would be a good way to get a couple extra miles done.  Any time I can add miles in a different direction like this on a long run, I'll do it.

I passed a guy walking his dog.  He was only person I encountered on the entire 2 miles that I ran this trail.  Throughout this run, I rarely saw anyone.  Only a handful of people.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Slatington is definitely more of drink beers and watch NASCAR on a Sunday type of town than a lace up your sneakers town.  That is definitely the case with the weather not being very good.

I turned around after going out a mile on this trail.  I then headed back and encountered a lot more downhill.  The legs were feeling great at that point.  The pavement definitely helped.  When I got back to the D&L Trail, I was at the 4 mile point.  Rather that head back, I decided to go the other direction towards Cementon.  I figured I could run 1 mile out and 1 mile back and get to 8 miles when I arrived at my car.  Then I could do a short out and back to finish up at 10 miles.  My goal was actually to get to 10 miles, with a minimum of 8 miles and maybe even 12 miles if I felt very good.

Heading south towards Cementon was great.  It was warm again with the wind at my back.  I didn't quite get to the 5 mile point before turning around.  I encountered a guy walking his dog, so I just turned around about .05 miles short.

I figured that heading back towards Lehigh Gap would be brutal.  Things actually weren't too bad.  There was definitely more of headwind.  It wasn't that strong though.  If anything, it was actually kind of refreshing after sweating through a lot of the first half of the run.  I was glad that I was into the second half of the run.

Thinking about each little segment made this run much more manageable.  Going 3 miles back to Lehigh Gap was going to be tough, but doable.  I almost had an incident when I got to the Slatington Trailhead.  I was busy putting my hat and gloves back on because it was getting colder.  I didn't notice a dog and he ran towards me barking.  I yelled at him and his owner beeped his horn from the car in the parking lot and the dog backed off.  I was thankful for that because he didn't look like a nice dog.

After I was out of Slatington, I was back onto the tough firm trail again.  It was much better going in this direction.  Maybe that was because I was warmed up or perhaps I was going downhill rather than uphill.  Either way, I was doing okay.  One thing that helped in this section was that I could see the mountains up ahead.  They didn't look too far away.  It was encouraging as I got closer and closer to them.

As I did get near them, the wind pick up more and more.  By the time I ran by the small airport, it was quite windy.  I was disappointed that I didn't see any planes flying today.  I was excited when I got to mile 7.5.  I knew that I was 3/4 of the way through the run.  I was beginning to struggle a bit, but knew I'd complete the 10 miles.

Finally I was at the Lehigh Gap area.  I kept going out past the 8 mile point.  I figured that I'd keep heading north.  My plans changed as the trail conditions changed.  It was now soft and wet.  I figured I would just have to head back toward the south again.  Just after the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, I turned around.

Instead of running on the firm trail, I decided to opt for the road.  That wasn't a bad option.  The shoulder was a decent size.  The only issue was that it was covered in cinders from all the winter snow storms.  Cars drove by, but I had no problems.  I went past a flea market and was about to turn around.  Then I saw a small road up ahead.  I thought it was the road to the airport and I was correct.  I figured I could run the last mile or so back on the D&L.

I finished up with a strong headwind.  It was good to be done.  My legs were a little sore, but not too bad.  If I had the wind at my back, I probably could've run 12 miles.  No need to push it too much though.  It was a good workout and I was very happy with the results.  Every single mile of the 10 miles was between 8:20 and 8:33.  That is very consistent.  It was also an easy pace, which is another key.

I'm definitely going to try running 5 times this week.  The 5th run will be the Warm Hearts 5K on Saturday in Nazareth.  I plan on running tomorrow.  I'm just not sure when or where yet.  I'd like to go to Trexler on Wednesday, but we could get snowstorm.  That might make running there tomorrow the better option.  I'll decide in the morning.

10 - 1:24:38 (8:28 pace)

Trexler Hill Repeats

I had been thinking about heading to Trexler Nature Preserve for a second time this week to do some hill repeats.  When I saw that Quadzilla registration opened up yesterday, I was even more inspired to get out there and continue to prepare.  I'm already signed up for the race and it isn't until July.

Since I haven't done hills in a long time anywhere or ever at this location, I didn't have a game plan.  It was really just a matter of letting my body dictate how much it could handle and build on it for the future.

I did plan on running the very steep hill near the Environmental Center.  It has a lot of stone, so I figured the grip would be good.  I was correct.  I figured running all the way to the top wouldn't be realistic for repeats.  I struggle just to make it up there once.  In the future, I do hope to do repeats the whole way up though.

I wanted to warmup for about a mile to get the legs going.  There is a short loop around the Environmental Center.  The map said it was .3 miles.  I thought 2 loops around that would be perfect.  It didn't seem like the elevation would drop too much.  I've never run on this part, so I didn't know what to expect.  I thought it could make a good warmup area.

I was wrong.  There isn't much elevation change, but it is on the side of the hill.  It is hard to get your footing.  It is also grass, not trail.  It wasn't tough, but not the ideal warmup area.  You want to be comfortable and feel nice and easy during the warmup.  I'll just run around the parking lot to warmup next time.


The weather wasn't great, but actually slightly better than it has been.  The wind was still there, but it wasn't killer.  The sun actually came out during the repeats and I had to take off my jacket and run in just my ColdGear top.  I sort of felt overdressed, but knew I could get cold during my recovery segments, so I was happy with what I had on.

By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was 2/3 of a mile into the run.  Even though I had no plan, I really wanted to get at least 5 solid repeats in.  I cruised up the hill.  Throughout the repeats, I never pushed the pace too much.  Even without doing that, I still struggled by the end of each segment.

The hill is basically split into 3 sections.  It seems like the steepest is the top one and it gets easier and less steep as you go down.  For my first repeat, I went up past the 2nd section.  I just went a little past that and was breathing hard, so I decided it was time to stop and head down.  At 51 seconds, this was my longest repeat of the day.

After the first repeat, I just decided that going to the end of the 2nd section would be good enough for each repeat.  That was difficult as it was.  Every time, I started off well, but really faded by the top.  The recovery was definitely helpful though.  It was tough to tell what was limiting me, my legs or my lungs.  I'd probably say my legs were slowing me down, but my lungs weren't exactly having a good time.  My breathing was heavy.

I just battled through several of these repeats.  I was thrilled when I got through 4 and 5.  I felt like I had enough in the tank for a 6th repeat.  That was was definitely difficult and my legs and lungs were feeling the burn as I was nearly walking by the end.

After some recovery, I decided that I would just see if maybe I could do 2 more, but only go to the end of the 1st section this time.  I knew making it to the top of the 2nd section would be tough.

These were much easier.  The terrain didn't seem steep at all.  The only thing that was tough is that I already had 6 solid repeats under my belt.  My left calf was getting sore after a couple of these shorter ones.  My right foot bothered me as well.  After 2 short repeats and 8 total repeats, I decided that I had 2 more in me.

I got through those 2 and was very relieved.  The shorter sections took about 18-20 seconds and the longer ones were around 43 to 45 seconds.  It was a good workout.  I sort of wish I would've pushed a little more during each repeat and then took advantage of the recovery time, but I was happy with how things went .

I ended with a brief cool down.  At the bottom of the hill is a relatively flat trail that goes out for a bit.  I thought I saw some deer on the other hill, but I think it was actually the Elk in their pen.  I'm not exactly sure where that is at.

I definitely like this workout and will do it again.  In the future, I might do it as a ladders segment.  It would be something like, run to the top of section 1, then to the top of section 2, then to the top of section 3 (the top of the hill).  After that, I'd come back down the "ladder."  Run to the top of section 3, then section 2 and then section 1.  That could make for 6 solid repeats.  I could even add some more too if I was feeling frisky.

Last year, when I couldn't even run yet, I was hiking at Trexler.  I thought that running out half a mile from the Environmental Center and then the half mile back could make for killer mile repeats.  I am surely not ready for that.  Maybe late spring or summer, I can attempt it.  Perhaps I could go half a mile out, rest at the top of the hill for a couple minutes, then go the half mile back, rest some more and repeat.  There are a lot of cool options.  I need to keep working out there.

The BCR group is going to Plainfield tomorrow.  It is paved and I hate that trail anyway, so I'm going to pass on it.  I'd like to run 8-10 miles somewhere on Sunday morning.  Maybe I can see if some of the BCR people are running anywhere.  I haven't had a good long run in awhile.  I hope to run 5 days next week, including a 5K race.

2 miles - 27:37 (13:49 pace)