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)

Incredibly Windy Group Run

This evening was the weekly LVRR Group Run.  For the third time in four weeks, I was kind of hoping no one would show up and I'd run alone on the softer surface of the Saucon Rail Trail.  Instead, someone showed up again.  It was a woman that had never come before.  I can't remember her name.  That was pathetic with it being only one new person.  In my defense, it was a unique name.  I think it started with a C.

We had two nice days in a row, but that didn't last.  Today was brutal.  The wind was was crazy.  Although the numbers didn't indicate that it was as bad as last week, it felt worse.  That was especially true at SteelStacks where the wind really seems to come off of the Lehigh River.  I think the actual temperature was right around freezing with the wind chill making it around 20 dregrees.

I overdressed, but I didn't care.  I wanted to be comfortable as I waited for the run to start.  I not only wore ColdGear and a fleece vest, but I added my jacket on top of that.  I also had tights, gloves and a hat on.  I can't recall ever wearing 3 layers on the top.

The woman said she doesn't run too often and has only run 5Ks.  She did say 4 mile would work for her.  Her pace was around 10:30.  I sort of let her dictate it.  We just ran the usual route to the Hill to Hill Bridge, down Main Street, up Broad Street and then back over the Minsi Trail Bridge.

It was really cold and windy by SteelStacks and over the Hill to Hill Bridge.  We chatted and crusied along.  It was an easy pace for me, but she struggled a little bit.  That was especially the case as we went up hills like the Hill to Hill Bridge.

After crossing the river and getting onto Main Street, the run was great.  The wind was basically completely gone.  I even took off my gloves and switched my hat for a headband.  It made the run so much easier.  I tried to be cautious with all the hills around there.  I knew she was struggling on the them.  Finally when we got caught at a light, I just stopped and let her rest a little.

She got more rest a little later on.  She had to use the bathroom, so she stopped in Wawa.  That worked out great for me.  I told her I would do some more miles so I ran up the Minsi Trail Bridge and then back down the other side to meet her.

I went basically to the top of the bridge.  That was right around the far side of the river.  It was very windy when I got there.  I came back down and met her at the bottom of the bridge and went up it again.  That gave me some hill work and extra mileage.

The rest of the run was windy.  It even got worse and worse.  The headwind was brutal right it front of the Steel Complex.  I even tried running backwards for a bit.  It started to snow too as we ran by the outlets.  Snow would've been pretty if it wasn't blowing right in our faces.  Just when I though it couldn't get worse, we went on the road in between buildings.  It was so cold and hard to see.  Thankfully, we were almost done.  I sprinted ahead to finish up a few seconds earlier.

Conditions like this were some of the toughest that I ever faced.  It was good to have some else to run with.  Hopefully she'll come again and hopefully I'll remember her name next time.  I'm having trouble getting people to come back.  I feel like they enjoy the run, but then they don't go again.  I think part of that is because the group is so small and they are expecting bigger.  I also wonder if part of it is that they know I'm faster and they feel like they are holding me back.  I hope that's not the case because I don't care about the pace.  That's why I signed up to be a run leader in the first place.

Tomorrow will be an off day.  I'm not sure what I'm doing yet on Saturday.  The BCR is running on a paved path, so I think I'm going to skip that for softer surfaces.  I may run alone.  I'm also considering going to the LVRR Group Run on Saturday morning.  It may be tough for me to get to Allentown early enough to join the group.  We shall see.

4.55 miles - 47:17 (10:24 pace)

Tough Trexler

After three weeks off in December, I wasn't ready to run at Trexler last week.  I wasn't ready to run again today, I probably won't be next week and maybe not next month either.  However, that won't stop me from going there.

The brutal hills are such a great way to get into shape, so I just have to keep going back and back.  I need to conquer them if I want to achieve one of my two main goals for the year (Top 20 finish at Quadzilla).

Yesterday was relatively warm.  Today, was even more amazing.  After still being in the 40s yesterday, it was over 50 degrees today.  The only downfall was that it was very windy and there was some rain.  The worst of the rain actually came right at the end of my run and after it was over.

I got to enjoy a winter run with shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  It wasn't all fun though.  It was still very hard.  I thought that the lack of cold air might help my breathing a lot, but it didn't matter with these hills.  There was also a lot of moisture in the air, so it felt rather humid.

Since I always start going the counterclockwise direction, I decided to change it up today and run clockwise.  It has been a long time since I went that way.  Part of it was that I wanted a different route and another part was that I was pretty sure the start is easier in that direction.  Not that anything at Trexler is ever easy.  It always throws out its best and makes you work.

I was correct.  That direction was definitely easier.  However, I did run into one major problem, which I discovered early on.  That would be mud.  In the other direction, the trail is a mix of dirt and rocks.  The way I was going it was almost all dirt.  With recent rain and snow melt, that made for one muddy mess.  Add to that some of the steepest hills around and you have a very challenging run.

It was amazing that I never fell.  I was slipping and sliding all over the place.  It was worse going downhill, but it wasn't easy uphill, on flats or slight hills either.  My feet could never get any grip.  It was like I was ice skating, my feet were sliding under me so much.  Some of the switchbacks are narrow and steep and it was incredibly difficult not to slip and fall down the hill.

The first part of the run was definitely tough, but it was mostly downhill until the Orchard Road crossing.  After that, was a challenging climb, but luckily it is very brief.  This area is so interesting.  All the tree branches are gone and the grass that is high in the summer time is dead.  It looks almost like a desert or maybe the old west.  You can see a lot more of the trail from far off.  The sight lines here in the winter are much better than summer.  It gives a different perspective.  Although a lot of the vegetation is dead, it is still a beautiful sight.

After the climb, this section does wind in and out.  It is a lot of gentle rolling hills.  It was still muddy and slippery.  I had fun taking pictures with my GoPro Camera throughout the beginning of the run.  The first mile was tough, but it was fast (8:54)

After coming out of that section, it is on to an old dirt road.  There is a lot more rock here and it is flatter.  It was still muddy, but much more runnable than the first section.  Last time I ran in this direction, I never did find where the Border Trail goes into the woods.  I've come out of the woods going the other way, but never into them.  Thankfully they have the trail marked with red triangles.  I didn't miss it this time.

The hill in the woods is always one of the more difficult climbs I encounter when I come the other direction.  With all the mud, it was probably the trickiest part off the whole run.  I was sliding downhill the whole time.  I was as cautious as I could be.  Usually, I'm reckless when I'm descending.  Today, I took it easy and ran downhill carefully, the same way I assume normal people run trails in normal conditions.  I went off of the trail and onto the grass alongside of it and was able to find more grip.  Even so, I was still sliding a lot in the grass.  Towards the bottom of the hill there were a couple sections with rock and that made such a difference on grip.

I got through the downhill section and then crossed the road.  There was a little uphill here.  After being careful on some more downhill, I emerged along one of the roads.  You have to take a bridge over the creek.  I did that and saw that the creek was almost completely frozen.  That would've made it difficult to cross at the other spot if I went that far.  I would've had to take the long way.  I wasn't going there anyway.

I faced a dilemma around this time.  I wanted to run out and back, but with the long steep hill and the other tough hill by the Environmental Center, I knew that I would never make it and I'd just have to walk.  Therefore, I just kept going and hoped that I would make it to the zoo area.

Shortly after the bridge, I had to change plans.  The trail went uphill.  It was challenging my lungs and my feet.  I was sliding everywhere.  I looked down at my watch and decided that since I was right at 2 miles, I would call it a day.  I was very frustrated that I couldn't run farther than last week.  I had quite the walk back to the Environmental Center.

After walking for a few minutes and recovering, I decided that I might as well start running again.  I really should've just kept the watch going while I was walking and kept track of those miles and that time too.  Instead, I just reset the watch and started over.

I started off on a downhill section again.  This was easy, other than the footing.  This place never gives you much downhill though.  Before I knew it, I was headed back uphill.  At one point, it was so muddy that while I was trying to go up the narrow trail, I had no choice but to stick my hand in the mud.  I then spent the next few minutes shaking it off.

I noticed a couple old abandoned cars in this area.  I thought that was odd.  I didn't remember seeing them before.  I struggled and struggled up the hill as my lungs burned.  That is both such a good and awful feeling.  It hurts, but it feels like you are accomplishing something.  I got to a fork in the trail and saw that the border trail went uphill, so I took the yellow trail that was going downhill.  I also noticed that a sign said, "New Border Trail" and was pointing the direction I had come from.  I didn't think that part of the trail was familiar.

I took the yellow trial and went downhill.  This is the one time where I really came close to falling.  Gravity took me down faster than I wanted and there was just no way to slow down.  I just had to pick the best landing spots and go with it.  It was a miracle that I didn't fall.  This part of the trail is the beginning of Quadzilla.  It meets up with a gravel path along the creek.  When I got there, I was able to cruise and rest.

I'm so glad that there is a pedestrian bridge over the creek, because I didn't want to go through the Ford.  It was weird because last time I was in this area, in the summer, there were a lot of kids playing in the creek.  Now, not a soul.  I started on the aqua marked trail back up towards the Environmental Center.  This was narrow and slick, but it did have some rocks for grip.  After a short while, I got to a small water crossing.  I decided I would go back and find another way back to the start point.

I went along the gravel trail next to the creek.  At first I thought it was the Border Trail because it was red, but then I realized it was two red triangles, not one.  I took this out to the road next to the covered bridge.  At this point, I was nearing 2 miles in the segment of the run and 4 miles overall.  I decided to stop at that point and walk back along the road.

I was hoping I could find the trail and use it to get back, but then I realized that it was actually in the opposite direction.  After a walk that must've been over half a mile, I got back to the first road crossing.  I was right near the Environmental Center.  I could've taken the road, instead I went up the trail.  I started running a 3rd segment.

It began raining harder now and the wind was really blowing.  Conditions were difficult.  Making matters worse was that the trail was longer than I thought and not only did it climb, but it dropped back down and then climbed again too.

I knew this last little bit of a hill would be a struggle.  It killed me for sure, but I pushed an pushed and tried to ignore the pain.  When I finally got to what I thought was the top, I saw there was still some more to go.  I just stopped at that point.  I was beat.  This segment was .29 miles, but it was a highly difficult short segment.  I now had a brief walk to finish up. 

When I got to the car, I was thrilled with how much I pushed myself.  I developed some blisters on my feet.  It was definitely hard work, but it was so rewarding.  I love the setting so much that I sat at the Environmental Center in the rain and wind for a few minutes.  I just had to soak it all it.  This place is so different from everywhere else I run.  It's almost like another planet instead of nearby.  It is so inspiring.  I guess this is what people feel like when they run in some of the most beautiful places in the country, like the Grand Canyon, the Rockies or the trails along the ocean on the west coast.  This place needs to be a regular destination for me, even if it is a half hour drive.

Tomorrow I will be running in the evening with the LVRR Group Run.  I think the weather is still supposed to be decent, before it gets cold heading into the weekend.  Hopefully some people will show up and I won't be forced to run alone.  This will be my first time running back to back days since December.  We'll see how it goes.  So far, this cautious, gradual approach has been great for my quads.  Hopefully it will stay that way.

2 miles - 18:16 (9:09 pace)
2 miles - 19:28 (9:44 pace)
.29 miles - 2:46 (9:36 pace)

Another Snow Covered Run

Although I would really like to get a run in while it is actually snowing, I feel fortune to do both of my last two runs on snow covered paths.  Today's run wasn't quite a much fun as Saturday for two reasons.  First, it was solo and not the fun of running with the BCR.  Second, it was actually raining when I ran today.

We had snow this morning.  It was only less than an inch.  By the time I got to running in the afternoon, it was raining and raining pretty good in fact.  I wasn't thrilled when I saw that.  If I was just doing 3 runs a week, like I have been recently, I probably would've skipped today and just ran tomorrow.  However, I am planning on running 4 days this week and the only way to do that would be to run today.  Otherwise, I would've had to run 3 straight days at some point.

I thought about heading to Jacobsburg.  I figured a trail run could be fun in these conditions.  However, I realized that I haven't run at the D&L Trail in Cementon in awhile.  I decided to head there.  The plan was for just 3 miles.  If I felt really good, perhaps I would stretch it to 4 miles.

When I arrived, there were no tire tracks in the parking lot.  I was the first person to go there all day.  I knew it would be a lonely run.  Snow was gone from the roads and most of the grass, but the stone trail was still covered.

Dressing for this run was quite frustrating.  It wasn't anywhere near as windy and cold as it has been.  However, with the rain, I had to wear a jacket.  I knew that would make me a little hot.  I still had on long pants, gloves and a winter hat.  I felt comfortable when I started, so I knew I had on too much.  I switched the hat off and went to a headband.  Since I just shaved most of my hair off, I had to go back to the hat.  Later in the run, I took my gloves off too.

I started off cruising along.  My tracks in the path were the first ones.  I didn't encounter any others until later in the run.  I looked back and it was cool to see my tracks in the snow following me.  I thought I would get a picture of my lonely tracks when I got back to my car.  I elected not to wear my GoPro today.  I figured that I had enough snow pictures.  I later on regretted not bringing it.

When I first looked at my watch, I thought I was around 1/2 of a mile into the run, but it only said 1/3 of a mile.  I thought it was odd and I couldn't be going that slow.  I felt good.  It was a little hard running in the snow, but wearing trail shoes helped.

When I looked at my watch for a 2nd time, it only read .78 miles.  I then looked at my pace and it was around 12:00.  I knew I might've been slower than usual, but definitely not that slow.  My GPS was certainly off.  I came through the first mile and it read 11:25.  I took my watch out of my jacket at that point.

I said earlier that I wished I would've had my camera on the run.  I can't remember where I was when I saw it, but there was a cool sight along the trail.  The old railroad (which is now the trail) was cut through some rock.  With all the cold weather we've had lately, the rock wall had large ice crystals come out of it.  That would've made for a cool photo.

Because the first mile was inaccurate and looked slow, it pissed me off.  I pushed the pace a little more after that.  I still wasn't going hard and I'm not sure I would call the pace moderate either.  It was definitely faster than an easy pace though.  With my watch out of my pocket, I checked it more often.  It seemed accurate the rest of the run.

Before turning around, I encountered another runner.  What were the odds?  He was running with his dog.  I saw that and was hoping that I wouldn't catch him when I turned around.  I didn't want to have to pass him and the dog again.  Luckily, they were pretty far ahead and must've been moving fast.  I don't think I even gained ground on them.

The 2nd mile ended up being blazing.  It was run at 7:36.  I can't even imagine how much faster it would've been on a normal, clear day.  I continued to plug along.  I couldn't wait for the final mile to be over.  I looked at my watch again and again.  My pace kept crawling closer and closer to a 9:00 overall pace.  My goal then became to get it below that.  I hit 9 flat when I was in the final quarter mile of the run.

I finished up under the 9:00 and felt great.  The last mile did wear me down a little and my breathing was laboring a bit.  That mile was done at 7:42.  It was good to complete this run.

Since I had gone out about a 1/4 mile that wasn't accounted for by my watch, I had a short walk back to my car.  The guy with his dog came by in the other direction.  That meant that my footprints weren't the only ones, so I didn't take any photos.  I was confused for a minute because I didn't see my prints.  Then, I realized that mine were actually just in front or behind his.

It was a good run and I'm very happy with how fast the last 2 miles were.  That's especially true considering that I wasn't pushing too hard and the conditions were tough.  I haven't done speedwork in so long, but with healthy quads, I feel like my slow paced runs are much quicker.  It will be interesting to see how fast I'll be when I run the 5K next weekend.  I'd like to think that I can at least break 22 minutes.  I might even be able to get under 21 minutes.

Tomorrow should be a little warmer.  I might go for a bike ride.  Wednesday, I'll be running again.  I'm leaning towards going to Trexler again.  It should be really warm then.  Maybe I can run better without cold air.  I'll need some better weather to conquer those hills.

3 miles - 26.44 (8:55 pace)

BCR Through the Snow

I've been working on getting up earlier all week.  Maybe it finally paid off, because I got a decent amount of sleep last night and actually woke up about half an hour before my alarm.  I was happy because it snowed a couple inches and I really wanted to get out with the BCR this morning.  I did make it there for 7:30 at the Plainfield Recreation Trail.

It was one of the coldest runs I've ever done.  The temperature was in the teens and with the wind chill, it might've felt like single digits.  Even with that, we had a good crowd for the run.  It was over double digits.  It wasn't quite as windy as the other day.  I threw some shorts on over my tights.  I wore some ColdGear and my fleece vest.  I added gloves and a headband that I just bought to protect my ears.

This time, I remembered my GoPro camera and the camera card as well.  I took a couple pictures.  I wanted to get some action shots of everyone running, as well as a couple videos.  It doesn't zoom anywhere near as much as my regular camera, so I have to get used to when it is the appropriate time to take pictures.  Usually, I'm too far away.

We took off into the layer of snow.  I took a couple pictures.  I then saw Flo and Chris and they seemed to be going kind of slow.  I sprinted to catch up with them and did chat for a bit.  With the cold air, the pace did end up being a little too much.  My breathing was getting heavy.

I wisely back off and they gradually faded into the distance.  Now, I was on my own with this run.  That is one thing that is frustrating for me right now.  I'm faster than most of the group, but I can't hang with Flo or Chris.  Even though it is a group run, I end up running it alone.  It does help to be behind them though, so at least they are sort of pulling me along.

Between taking pictures and chatting with those two, the first 3/4 of a mile flew by.  The scenery was pretty and that made the run easier.  There were a couple sets of footprints in the snow.  I could easily tell where Flo's small feet had been.

The snow was soft and fluffy.  It wasn't too bad to run on.  It wasn't slippery.  Even so, your feet would slide a little whenever the path went slightly uphill.  I could even tell this by looking at the footprints that were dragging along. 

The 2nd mile was a bit of a struggle.  It must've had some uphill in it.  It was great to be able to turn around though.  I took a bunch of pictures of the group as I passed them.  The 3rd mile actually wasn't much easier than the 2nd.  I passed a guy running with his dog.  I wasn't sure if he was with the group, but I ended up sitting next to him at breakfast.  I've heard of his daughters because they are pretty good runners at Beca.

I knew the last mile would be downhill.  As I approached the start of it, I was glad that I didn't go out any farther.  My body would've really struggled to run a 5th mile.  I might've end up walking it.

That final mile was definitely better.  I cruised along, knowing that the end was near.  I finished up with a solid 4 miles.  They were all fairly consistent, from 8:10 to 8:26.  It was fun, but also a relief to be done.

I went back up the path to take pictures of everyone.  It seemed like it took them awhile to get back.  Obviously they went farther than me.  All I managed to get pictures of were Dave, Flo and Chris.  I started to get very cold and couldn't wait around longer.  Maybe next time I can get some better photos.

I love running when it is snowing.  I was happy to be able to finally run right after a snowfall.  I haven't done that since 2010.  It's been awhile.

My quads feel good.  I'm going to bump my running up to 4 days next week.  I need to gradually work back into it.  I think I'll be running Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.  I have no real plan for Monday yet.  We'll see what I decide to do and where I decide to go at a later time.

4 miles - 33:08 (8:18 pace)

Battling the Cold and Wind

I won this round today, but it wasn't an easy fight.  I made sure to get out and run on Tuesday because I knew the rest of the week would be brutal from a weather standpoint.  I also knew that I'd have to run it at some point anyway.  I tried biking indoors yesterday, but that was boring and lasted about 10 minutes.  Today, I just had to get out and run again.

It is Thursday, so this is usually LVRR Group Run night.  However, I actually wanted to go to a high school basketball game and I knew that no one would show up for the run anyway, so I cancelled it.  My friend, Laurie, heads up the Thursday afternoon run.  I messaged her to say that I'd join her for the run, but shortly after I did that, I saw she cancelled her run too.

I decided to start where her run begins anyway.  I went to the Saucon Rail Trail.  Instead of starting at my usual location, at Water Street Park, I went to the south end of the trail and started at Upper Saucon Park.  My plan was to run the whole trail and I figured having a different perspective would make that easier.  I've only run this trail from there one other time.

Upper Saucon Park is a longer drive for me.  It is right next to DeSales University.  One thing I love about this trail is that people actually use it.  It goes through well populated areas and isn't nearly deserted like a of other rail trails that I run on.  A nice feature of this park is that the bathrooms are heated.  After sitting in a warm car and then a warm bathroom, it was definitely hard to get out there and run through the cold.

The temperature at the bank that I drove by said 24 degrees.  With the wind chill, it was likely in the neighborhood of 10 degrees.  A lot of times, I have trouble deciding what to wear in winter.  Mainly, that has to do with not wanting to sweat too much.  Today, the only decision was whether to throw on a third layer.  I felt comfortable in the parking lot, so I just wore my ColdGear base layer with my fleece vest over it.  The vest was a great investment.  It keeps my core warm and allows my arms to breath.  My arms and legs don't need as much coverage.  I received a pair of biking winter gloves for Christmas, so I wore those instead of my normal gloves.  I don't like wearing a full hat, but this weather warranted that item.  Then of course I had my tights on too. 

As I was walking through the parking lot, heading to the trail, I saw two women running.  I said to them, "good to see I'm not the only one crazy enough to run in this."  They just laughed.  To my surprise, I came across two solo runners within the first mile.  After that, it was mostly just a couple walkers, specifically dog walkers.

It was definitely cold at the start.  My eyes watered early on, until I adjusted to the conditions.  They usually only water when I bike, so that gives you an idea of how cold it was outside.  I tried to make sure to take it easy.  I guess I was going slow enough because my breathing wasn't compromised.

The other day, my Garmin watch band broke again.  That is the 2nd time this year.  I guess I'll have to buy a new one again.  Because of that, I was forced to put the watch in my pocket.  That meant I had no idea of how far I had gone.  When I hit the first mile, I could hear it beep.

Going out was definitely cold and difficult.  The wind was just steady.  Thankfully, there weren't insane gusts.  I have run in worse weather, but not by much.  I kept moving along, all alone.  I told myself that it would be worth it on the way back.  I would have the wind at my back and things would get much easier.

Going out did seem to take a long time.  I didn't hear my watch beep for miles 2 or 3, so I never had any idea where I was.  Finally, I could see one of the road crossings up ahead.  I knew it was Walnut Street and after I got there, I had about 3/4 of a mile to the Water Street crossing.  That would be the end of the line for me.

I continued to just plug along.  It was hard work going against the wind, but my legs felt pretty good.  A few times, I was able to open my vest up more.  Most of the time though, it was windy.  It was so cold that the edges of the nearby creek were freezing over.  We haven't been over 32 degrees in two days now.

As I approached the Water Street crossing, I took my watch out of my pocket.  I was very happy to see that I was around 3.75 miles.  Usually, I look at my watch long before that.  That was the first time I took a peek all run.  I kept the watch out and had to cross Water Street a short distance before turning around.

I was shocked when I saw that my 4th mile was run at 7:28.  I didn't think I was going that hard.  I was pleased that my overall pace was right around 8 minutes at this point too.  The first mile was a slow 8:49.  The rest of my miles actually varied quite a bit.  Maybe that was from the weather conditions or maybe it was because I wasn't looking at my watch.

I headed the other direction and immediately felt warmer.  I took off my hats and gloves.  I thought things would get easier from here.  They didn't though.  It turns out that it was actually still cold and windy in this direction.  Shortly after the Walnut Street crossing, I checked my watch again.  I was disappointed to see that I was only at 4.65 miles.  I still had a long way to go to reach my goal of 8 miles.

The way back was quite unpleasant.  It got so cold that I put my gloves back on.  Fighting against the wind on the way out had taken a lot out of me.  I was exhausted.  Add to that the fact that 6 miles was the farthest I've run lately and I was toast.  My goal was to just focus on hitting that 6 mile point and then go from there.  The other thing that was disappointing is that I thought I'd be going downhill to finish.  If it was slightly downhill, it didn't feel like it.

I thought I heard my watch beep, so I took it out.  Sure enough, I was just over 6 miles.  Physically I was drained and mentally too.  The good thing is my quads, which have been giving me problems, were only mildly sore.  The thing that really kept me going was knowing that if I stopped early, I'd have a long walk in the freezing cold back to the car.

The next time I took my watch out to check it, I was right around 6.9 miles.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I could win the battle at this point.  I just had to keep pushing and gut it out.  I sure couldn't wait to be done.

The final mile I checked my watch over and over again.  I like to do that as I near the end.  It makes me feel good as every step goes by.  The pace continued to be just under 8 minutes.  Although I felt like I was slipping and I'm sure my form was breaking down, my pace held fairly constant.

I came across a woman running the other way.  This was the first runner I had encountered since early on in the workout.  Then as I got to the final road crossing and inside the last quarter mile, I was surprised to see a big group of runners approaching.  I was trying to figure out what group would be out running.  I was also jealous because having a group would've been a big help.

I got closer and could see that it was about 6-8 guys.  As I passed them, I realized they were college aged.  I think they were likely a few of the guys from the DeSales team.  The school was nearby.  I was disappointed that I didn't see any of the female runners from that team.  One of their freshmen when to Nazareth and another went to Freedom.  I would recognize both of them.

I was never happier to be done with a run than this one.  It seemed to take long, especially the last few miles.  It was quite the battle.  I was thrilled to see that my overall pace was spot on 8 minutes.  Not bad considering the conditions and that I wasn't going too hard.  That's the longest that I've run in over a month too.

My quads were a little sore by the end.  Rather than stretch out in the cold, I opted to go into the heated bathroom.  That was a good idea.  As I was stretching, I noticed that my stomach was red and then realized that my legs were still quite cold too.  I guess I didn't realize how much the cold and wind was bothering those two areas.  I thought both were covered well enough.  They are fine now, but it took some time to warm up.

I love and hate days like this.  I hate the actual run itself of course.  It is just miserable.  I love the challenge that it provides though.  Days like this in the winter make me mentally stronger in the spring and summer.  If it gets tough during a race, I can just think back to today and know I made it through a difficult day before.  People that skip runs on days like today will be wondering why they are behind me come May.

It is supposed to snow on Friday night.  I do plan on running Saturday, but because of the snow, I don't know how many miles I'll be able to get in.  That's why I wanted to make sure that I did 8 today.  On Saturday, I'm thinking it will be in the 3 to 5 mile range.  The BCR is meeting at Plainfield.  Although running in the snow is tough, I like doing it.  I'll be there if it does snow Friday.  Otherwise, I'll head somewhere else because I don't want to run on the hard pavement.

8 miles - 1:03:56 (8:00 pace)