Hill Week 2014: Trexler

You should always save the best for last.  I had to end the first ever Hill Week with a run at Trexler.  It was National Trails Day.  It was a perfect morning when we got started on the 8.5 mile loop.  I didn't sleep much.  We had a nice turnout.  The only disappointing thing was that Jerry was the only runner new to Trexler and even he wasn't really that new.  Apparently, he had trouble finding the loop on a few times out there.  I was hoping to introduce some other to the awesomeness of Trexler.

I started off leading the group.  I knew Aaron and Pat would be ahead of me shortly.  Pat went by on the first steep hill.  I was hoping to run a lot of the trail.  I have a half marathon on Sunday, so the plan was to take it easy.

Aaron took some more time to get by me.  He went past on the shorter climb by the bison pen.  Jerry, who was running with his dog Boone, stayed behind, but had me in his sights.

As I was rounding one turn, Pat came out of the woods.  I guess he went to the bathroom and Aaron passed him.  They then ran together.  They were up ahead, but I could see them.

A mountain biker came onto the trail from the road, before we did the long climb.  I gradually caught him on this climb.  As I passed him, he said, "you are making me look bad."  I responded with, "those guys up ahead are making you look worse."  I think Jerry might've passed the guy as well.

Aaron seemed to take off uphill, but then Pat caught back up.  I wasn't losing much ground to them and that really helped.  Mile 2 clicked off and I saw it was a 7:44.  I almost broke out laughing.  I don't know if I've ever run a mile that fast at Trexler.  Plus, that was a mile with the uphill.  I didn't think I was going too hard either.

We got to the view area and I took some photos.  I kept going though.  I still had those two in my field of view and could see Jerry and Boone behind me as well.  The others were probably fairly far behind at this point, thanks to the fast pace.

Once again, I was fooled by the short hills before the big one.  I didn't walk them though.  I kept going.  I ran all the way to the big hill, which is close to 4 miles.  I really wanted to try to run up that one too. 

Pat began walking and I actually caught him.  However, I wasn't gaining much by running, so I decided to just walk.  I'm a little more confident now that I could actually run up that entire hill on its own.  Before this run, I wasn't so sure.

Aaron and Pat went ahead.  I kept going along.  I had been amazed that my pace was at almost 8 minutes flat, before the big climb.  Now, of course it was much slower than that.  Still, it was much faster than I had ever run this route.

I ran up the second steep hill and that wasn't too bad.  I just kept plugging along.  Aaron and Pat broke off to do the 10 mile loop.  I couldn't stop now, because I was on record pace.  I recovered pretty well on the downhills.

The creek crossing was fun.  Of course I couldn't run that part.  I had been recovering pretty well in between the hills.  I knew the long uphill after the road crossing would be tough and it was.  I plugged along and made it up that.

That part had be a chore and then the grass hill starts right after that.  I didn't even give the grass hill a chance.  I began walking briefly.  I probably should've tried running because it really isn't that steep.  I didn't waste too much time walking.  I did notice that Jerry and Boone had fallen back a bit.

After the grass hill, I knew quite a bit of recovery would be coming and that I could run some pretty fast times too.  I got back to running an 8:34 mile at one point.  I had 2 sub 8 minute miles throughout this run.  On the one downhill, I flew past Wayne and his wife.  They were running the shorter route.  I also had to dodge a few small dogs that a woman was walking on the trail.  Apparently Boone had some fun with them.

I kept focusing on trying to run and run more.  I started figuring out paces in my head as I was around mile 6.  I began to realize that I was going so quickly that I should comfortably run under 1:20 for the route.  The 1:25 that I ran last month there was a previous record for me, so I was happy with that.

I crossed the creek on the road section.  Then it was through the muddy part.  My somewhat tired legs didn't enjoy that much.  I hoped that they could still get me up the long climb.  I had no such luck though, as I had to hike again briefly.

I lost some time while doing this, but not too much.  By the top, I only had about 1.5 miles left.  I knew the dirt/stone road section would be fast and it was.  I was glad I knew the route, because the sides of the trail have grown so much that I could've missed the sign to turn. 

I cruised along the rolling uphill and neared the final half mile.  I was amazed that my overall pace was still run at sub 9 minutes.  I didn't think I could do a loop that fast around there.

I kept running as I crossed the road into the final section.  I knew I had one very steep hill left.  I really wanted to run up it, to finish the run.  However, as I got near the top of it, I was staggering and breathing heavy, so I opted to play it safe and walk.  I did that briefly and then ran the last short hill to finish.

If you don't count the creek crossing, I only walked 4 times total.  All of them were fairly brief too.  There was far more running than I've usually done at Trexler.  If I had to guess, I'd say that I ran about 8.25 of the 8.45 miles.  I surprised the heck out of myself, as I finished in under 1:15 minutes.  That crushed my personal best there by over 10 minutes!

Since Aaron and Pat did the longer loop, they didn't come back yet.  Jerry and Boone were back first.  I was happy for them, because I figured that he didn't get too lost.  Aaron and Pat then came in, followed by Tim and Jeff and then the rest of the group.  I waited at the end in my chair to take photos of everyone finishing.

Although I ran harder than I should've, it was an awesome run.  It was a fun day to end a great week.  I was glad I was able to push myself.  It was also one of the few times that I've actually run there and not been sore afterward.  I think having good trail shoes now, has helped my feet a lot too.  They always used to be sore after these runs.

I will definitely do this Hill Week again.  Since I wasn't running hard too many days, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be.  It was productive anyway.  Tomorrow, I'm heading down to Philly bright and early for the half marathon.  That should be fun.  I have goal time ideas, but really I don't care.  The heat could get to me.  I don't know, but I'm not taking the race too seriously.  A bunch of friends are running it as well.

8.45 miles - 1:14:42 (8:51 pace)

Hill Week 2014: Jacobsburg

This evening was the 6th of 7 runs in Hill Week 2014.  This was the one closest to me at Jacobsburg State Park.  It is also by far the easiest trail run.  It's still fun though.

We had another solid turnout of 7 people.  Most of them were BCR folks.  I was glad that the group wasn't too big, because this can be an easy place to get lost at.

We did my normal loop here.  It starts with the nice section along the creek.  I had to get my camera in the car, so I had to run back to get it and catch up.  I figured the group wouldn't be too far ahead.  I was moving pretty good to catch back up.

I did that and we all stopped at the first turn.  This would've been a place for people to get lost easily.  It was good to keep everyone together.

We then started going uphill.  A mountain biker passed us and I had a rare deer sighting.  I've run probably over 1,000 miles at this place and I've only seen like 2 deer ever.  This one ran across the trail.

Since we were all sort of together, I didn't stop much in this area after the road crossing.  All the trails kind of merge anyway.  Angie wasn't far behind and most of the rest of the group stayed together.  Gary dropped back and ran with Susan. 

The weather was nice, but of course I was still sweating by this point.  Any humidity at all destroys me and I have some chafing issues.  I guess I'll have to start running shirtless most of the time now.

There was a fun singletrack section and I flew through it.  They opened up a section that was closed last time I came through it.  I was disappointed though because they just widened the trail.  It used to be a fun and challenging downhill singletrack.  Now, it is a wide, smooth and boring downhill, like a lot of the rest of this place.

After that section, we stopped and waited again.  I wanted to make sure that everyone knew to take a right over the bridge and onto the next singletrack section.  This part is fun and has some climbing.  I had to stop at one point and make sure everyone made the correct turn to get over the roads.  I told David to go ahead and Angie did too.

Eventually, I caught back up with them and went by both of them to lead again.  This section was very muddy, as it almost always is.  There was another intersection after all the roads and I made sure to stop there too.

We waited for everyone but Gary and Susan.  Gary knew the route, so I wasn't worried about them.  Everyone else was running relatively close.  I ran ahead again.

We got to the flat and wide part and I ran with Angie.  It was good to chat and catchup.  Then, it was the one tough climb of the run.  The run up the powerline.  I ran up that and Angie dropped back and then walked some of it too.  I was excited to see another deer at the top of the trail.  That is rare.

At the top, I stopped again for everyone to catch back up to us.  Angie and I ran downhill together again.  This section is so wide open, so it is easy to chat.  I was concerned that I didn't see the others behind us, but then I finally did and they made the correct turn.

We got to the road and I wanted to make sure that everyone was together again.  I joked to Angie that we were on her terrain (the road) and she should be flying now.  She did pick it up then. 

We were then back onto the trail a short time later.  There was less than half a mile to go.  Since it was a straight shot back and everyone seemed to know the route, I decided to really push it.  I was flying over the short hills and the singletrack.  I finished pretty far ahead of everyone and the final mile was 7:27.

It was another nice turnout and a fun time.  I've enjoyed meeting new people and introducing them to new trails too.  I definitely want to do this again.  Tomorrow, might be the best run of them all.  It is at Trexler in the morning.  That is my favorite place to run in the LV and many others share those same feelings.

6 miles - 53:05 (8:51 pace)

Hill Week 2014: Bear Creek

Today was the 5th run of 7 for Hill Week 2014.  We met at Bear Creek.  They have fairly regular Thursday evening group runs, so I made the run this day.  It's a fun and challenging place to run.  You run on a trail around the outside of the ski slope.

It wasn't too bad weather conditions today.  However, it is still humid for me.  I wore a singlet and it was soaked by the end.  I sweat so much.  We've had great weather all week.  I'm glad for that.

Since I've been leading this run, most of the week has been kind of easy for me.  I'm now in good enough shape that I can do these climbs with an easy effort and they aren't challenging.  Even running slow in the past used to be a struggle for me on trails with climbs.  My fitness has improved a lot.

We had a small group and it is an easy trail to follow.  Plus, I figured Wayne would be sticking in the back with Jess and Miriam.  That meant that I could try to hang with the fast guys and push it a bit.  Last month was my best run ever here because I arrived late and had to catch everyone.

I led the way early on and was moving pretty well.  I almost ran through a closed section.  Then, Aaron and Pat went by me.  That was good since Aaron knows the trail better anyway and I sometimes get lost in the beginning of this route.

I followed the two of them back into the woods.  We were moving pretty good as we went in and out.  I was breathing heavy and it was quite early.  It was flat, so that helped.

Then, we began to climb.  I was able to hang with both of them through the beginning of the climb.  That didn't last very long though.  I'd like to think I'm pretty fast, but those two were amazing.  They kept pulling away.  Since I went so hard, so early, it was a struggle.

As I got to the flat part, I saw Aaron stopped off to the side.  He decided to wait for me, Tim and Rob.  Rob and Tim were a bit behind me.  Pat had decided to keep going and that he would wait for us at the top.

This next section is a fun challenge.  It is very rocky and technical.  It is also quite steep.  We came across some mountain bikers in this area and that was a bit annoying.  Aaron didn't take off too much.  Once the terrain leveled off and became smooth, he was gone.

Aaron stopped again and so did I.  I realized that my watch had not restarted for this previous segment.  That meant I lost close to a mile.  Oh well, it wasn't that big of a deal.

This time, Aaron told Tim to lead.  We had some fun, flat sections and then the trail began to climb again.  This pace wasn't bad, but a little slower than I'm used to going.  Maybe everything was taking its toll because I started to struggle a bit.  It was also very muddy.

Aaron went by Tim and I passed Rob on the last steep section right before the top.  This climb was very tough for me and I was breathing heavy at the top.  My butt was whipped.  Pat was waiting at the top and we all waited for Rob.

Now, it was on to the fast, fun downhill.  I stayed in the back of the group and cruised along.  I can fly downhill, but I was in no hurry.  I was just enjoying the run.  Tim was talking to me at one point, but Rob was in between us, so I went by him.  I chatted with Tim for awhile.

Then, Tim told me to go by him.  By now, Aaron and Pat were long gone.  Tim wanted to make sure Rob found his way out.  The end can be tricky.  I get lost in that area too.

There is some in an out in this section.  That is followed by some deceptive short climbing.  It wasn't as tough this time as when I was beat last month.  It wasn't easy though.  The bikes came flying by again.

I was happy that I took the correct route through the whole thing.  It isn't easy to follow.  I made it though and then came out on the parking lot.  It was another fun run.  This one was more challenging than the others.  We hungout for awhile afterward.

It was definitely a humbling run.  I don't hit trails as much as I'd like and especially not ones with a lot of climbing.  I also don't often push myself on trail runs.  I take in the scenery more.  This run showed me how far I still have to go to hang with the top guys.  It's a long process and improvement doesn't happen overnight.  Once I get a BQ out of the way, I'll run roads less and trails much more.  That should help me improve a lot too.

Tomorrow is the 6th day of Hill Week 2014.  We going to meet at Jacobsburg.  That is by far the easiest run of the week.  If I get a chance in the morning or afternoon, I'm hoping to run 10 miles or so.  That should be a good time too.

3.9 miles - 40:07 (10:17 pace)

Hill Week 2014: South Mountain (Lehigh) - 2X

Today was the 4th day of Hill Week 2014.  We were meeting up on Lehigh's Mountaintop Campus.  This route is unique in that the trails aren't official and there is no map.  I would not even know about them, if not for the fact that Dave Decker introduced them to us during his "Loopy Runs."

The trails aren't marked, but thanks to that day's run, plus several other runs here, I know the trails well.  I figured some of the pink ribbon markings were still up, but not all of them.  That meant that I had to run through early in the day and remark them.

It was hot when I did that first run at 2 PM.  I ran shirtless.  There was a breeze from time to time that provided relief.  I was happy to see that a good number of markings were still around.  That meant that I didn't have to stop too often.  I might've added a few more than necessary, but I didn't want anyone to get lost in the evening.

I saw a deer early on.  I had fun with the first downhill.  The uphill in the first mile really threw me off.  I didn't recall it being as tough as it was.  I can run up the whole thing, but it does take effort.

There is a gradual climb after that.  I marked quite a bit along this section.  Then, I crossed the road and on to the rocky downhill.  This section can be a lot of fun, but it is very technical.  If you aren't used to it, it can be a challenge.  It's not too tough for me.

I almost fell when I tripped at one point.  I had already lost some scissors on the route.  Good thing that the ribbons were easy to tie.  I even saw some orange ribbons that I think were from the year before.  Mountain bikers and some hikers use these trails, but there usually aren't many people on them.  Weekends can get a little more busy.

I'm not sure what caused the problem, but I had a sharp pain in my foot.  That worried me.  Maybe I hit a rock awkwardly.  Whatever the case, I was able to keep going, but I had to run funny.  Eventually it went away and I was very pleased.

The trail comes out after a bridge.  Then it goes to the road.  There was a Lehigh Cop sitting parked there.  I ran by him and hoped he didn't question my pink tape.  I ran past a second cop, just up the road.  He didn't do a thing either.  However, I couldn't mark this area.  I figured that I would have to stop there in the evening.

I then did the long, gradual climb up to the parking lot.  That wasn't too hard for me and it was a lot of fun.  I'm definitely more fit that a year ago.  When Dave Decker did his runs here, you had to finish in under an hour to do another loop.  Even with stopping and marking all of the trees and going too long at one point, I still made it back in under 1 hour and 2 minutes.  I thought it might take longer.

Tonight, was a small group.  It was me, Steve, Chris H and Dave K, all from the BCR.  They are all decent runners, but none of them is fast, so I figured it would be an easy run.  The good thing is that they are all pretty similar in pace.

We started off with the downhill and scared some deer.  It wasn't long until we crossed the road.  Steve stayed behind me, then Dave and finally Chris.  It was good to cruise along.

When we got to the big hill in the first mile, I took off.  It is hard to run too slowly uphill.  I flew up it and then waited for everyone at the top.  I also wanted to make sure they didn't miss the tricky turn back into the woods.

I got ahead a little more on the next gradual climb.  Even though the course was marked, I made sure to wait every so often at the tricky turns or road crossings.  We were pretty much together before the technical section.

That section is a fun downhill, so again I flew ahead of everyone.  There was a part where I could see the trail below and I wanted to get down there and see if I could get any good photos of them running above me.  The trail went out too far first though.

It wasn't long until I got near the short bridge and road crossing.  I waited for everyone there.  We cruised along on the road and past the lookout.

Much to my surprise, we came across another trail runner in this section.  I never see anyone else running there.  Now, we had a short, but steep climb.  Then, it was on to the gradual climb.

The gradual climb wasn't too bad for me, but it did take its toll on some of the others.  I stopped a couple times to take some video of Steve running toward me.  That came out pretty well.

I think everyone was relieved when we got to the road.  Then, they became frustrated when they saw the steps that we still had to climb.  I coasted up them and waited for everyone at the top.  They weren't too far behind.  I finished in just under 51 minutes and they all came in within 3 minutes.

I didn't get a great workout, but it was okay.  I'm having fun anyway.  I thought this might be more of a challenging week, but it is fine since I have a half marathon this weekend

.  I'm still getting some good climbing in.  I get to introduce others to new trails and I know that they are getting a pretty good workout.

Tomorrow, will be the run at Bear Creek.  This is a regular group run, so I'm hoping for decent attendance.  This should bring out some more of the people from the western part of the Lehigh Valley.  Jacobsburg on Friday should bring out some of the BCR.

Afternoon Loop 4.5 miles - 1:01:56 (13:48 pace)
Evening Group Loop 4.25 miles - 50:43 (11:56 pace)

Hill Week 2014: Walking Purchase Park/Salisbury

Today was the 3rd day of Hill Week 2014.  We met at Walking Purchase Park, on the Bethlehem/Allentown border.  I've only run here twice ever and it was so hot when I did that that I didn't run too much.

Again, I didn't know what kind of crowd to expect.  Dorf was the only one of the regular trail runners there.  He grew up down the street, so he knows the trail better than me.  I let him lead, as we started from Dodson Street Park.

It was very hot and humid.  This trail always seems to be that way.  It can be brutal.  I don't know if the heat gets trapped or what.  I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I was soaked by the end.

Lisa showed up again, as did Susan, from the BCR.  I didn't know the other two women and I actually forgot their names.  I'm terrible with names and I'm surprised that these are the first names that I forgot all week.  I was glad to see some different faces.

Without the speedy regulars, I knew this would be much more of a fun run.  We started at Dodson Street, on the top of the hill.  That meant going downhill to start.  The plan was to run the yellow and red loops.  I figured that those would be about 6 miles in total.

I pointed out a sign for the Dodson Street Park as we made our way down.  It was funny because this sign wouldn't help later on.  We cruised around downhill.  I tried to kind of stay in the middle of the group.

We stopped at the junction of the red and yellow trails.  These breaks were good to keep everyone relatively together.  We also stopped near the orange trail, to make sure no one took that path.  Someone randomly left a birdcage at one spot.  That was interesting.

We continued on.  Some of this early section was rocky.  I thought there were a lot more rocks on this trail than we actually encountered.  Maybe that was because I took a different section (possibly the blue trail) the other time.

Going downhill and bouncing over the rocks was fun.  When we got to the road crossing at the bottom of the trail, we stopped again.  I didn't mind the stopping, except that my shirt was soaked and starting again was uncomfortable.

I had talked with one of the new women for a bit on the way down, but she dropped behind as we climbed.  This next mile or so was a climb back to the top.  Dorf took off and I followed him.  I then stopped for a couple photos and fell back.  I followed Lisa for most of the rest of the run.  We chatted a lot.  It was fun.

The climb wasn't too hard for me, but it did take its toll on some of the others.  We waited again at the road crossing at the top of the trail.  Now, we were on relatively flat parts of the trail.  I followed Lisa some more.  We talked about marathons and stuff like that.

Finally, we stopped again at the junction of the yellow loop.  We were nearly done with the run.  I figured that the hard part was over.  However, even with the sign back to the park, we somehow missed the quickest way back.  I took us down one path, but then decided to backtrack.

We went another route, but it still wasn't the same way that we came down.  Dorf led the way down this part anyway and we followed him.  It might've taken a little longer, but eventually we found the way back to the park.  That was good because it was nearly dark.  It was a fun adventure.

I'm loving that all these new people are coming out to the runs.  That is especially surprising, since I didn't open this up to everyone.  It has simply been friends and friends of friends.  I'm happy with the turnout.  The runs aren't

huge, but they are perfect for what I can handle.  If they got too big, I would have to mark courses and do other stuff to keep them more organize.  I'm very happy that a lot of first time runners are coming out.  I like for people to explore new trails.

Tomorrow is another day of trail running.  This one will be at South Mountain on Lehigh's campus.  I'm going to use the route from Dave Decker's Loopy Run last year.  I know it well.  I'm hoping a lot of the course is still marked.  I'm planning on heading there tomorrow afternoon to run it on my own anyway and mark it as needed.  That should be fun.  It is a place that is easy to get lost at.  Running the loop twice tomorrow should be a good workout.  I might even add a nighttime second loop.

5.54 miles - 1:13:15 (13:14 pace)

Hill Week 2014: South Mountain (Emmaus)

Today was the 2nd of 7 days of Hill Week.  This run was at South Mountain in Emmaus.  It's about a half hour drive, so I've only run there about 5 times or so before.  I had not been there since the fall.

It was very hot and humid, so I wore a sleeveless shirt.  It got soaked by the end.  I was just glad that we were in amongst the trees.  That made it cooler at least.

I arrived pretty early and Lisa (who I had never met) did too.  Wayne and his wife came along and one of their friends, Jess.  It was good to see a lot of new faces.  Chris was there again after yesterday and Krissa, who I have a lot of mutual friends with, was there as well.

We started off with the flat section.  I figured that that would be a good warmup.  Since none of the fast local guys showed up, I was leading this run.  Jess came up and ran with me.  I told her I'd slow down if she needed.  I wasn't looking to run fast, just whatever the fastest people wanted to run.

As we got close to the main loop and the climbing portion, Jess began to drop back.  I was surprised by that.  I figured that she might struggle with the climb, but I didn't think I was going too fast for her on the climb.  I felt bad because if I knew she needed to go slower, I would've slowed down.

Krissa and Lisa eventually passed her as we began to climb the orange loop.  I tried to keep it nice and easy, but I still found myself pulling away at times.  I slowed down some more.  I wasn't going to leave them, especially because they didn't know where they were going.

This climb used to be quite hard for me, but now it was easy.  I guess that shows how much stronger I have become over the past year or two.  I made sure to take it slow enough to not lose them.

Krissa kept up fairly well and I guess Lisa eventually fell back.  There is a cool boulder formation near the top of the climb.  I stopped there and took pictures as Krissa came through.  The two of us then continued on.

It wasn't too much longer and we came to a blue and white trail.  I was looking for a red one.  I was confused.  We kept going and ended up right below where we just were.  I decided that we should just take the blue and white trail.

Krissa was worried, since we were lost.  Me, on the other hand, I enjoy getting lost.  I knew where the orange loop was and how to get back, if needed.  I just didn't know where we were headed.

We climbed and climbed some more.  This was becoming a good workout.  I had never gone up this section.  I told Karissa that we would just run to 2.5 miles and then turn and head back downhill.

Right before that point, we came out to a powerline clearing.  I wasn't exactly sure where it was, so I decided that we should simply backtrack.  It was better than getting too far out.

Now, we had a fun run down the hill.  It's a little rocky, but not too bad.  It wasn't long until we were back on the orange loop.  I was wondering if we would ever find the red trail.  We finished up this loop.

We were concerned of where the others were.  I asked Karissa if she wanted to do the orange loop again.  She said as long as it wasn't too far.  We had heard some yelling earlier and wondered if someone might be lost.

We went back on the loop and climbed again.  Even this didn't bother me too much.  I was soaked, but that was about it.  Karissa had to walk briefly, but otherwise she did great with keeping up on the climbs.

As we got near the boulders, we saw Wayne, his wife and Jess walking by.  At least a lot of the rest of the group was together.  We still didn't see Chris or Lisa, but we hoped that they were together.

We continued on the orange loop.  Just before the bottom we came to Chris and Lisa.  They got a little lost too.  It seemed that everyone did.  I was glad that everyone was accounted for at this point.  We almost all came to the end of the orange loop at the same time.

We ran back on the flat part.  I chatted briefly with Lisa and then decided to take off.  I thought I could get a fast half mile in anyway and since everyone knew their way back, that would be fine.  I took their photo as they came through the finish area.

I love getting lost on short trails like this and then finding my way.  That's a big part of the fun.  I know some of the others were worried, but not me.  If I had more time, I would've marked these routes beforehand.  I did post maps for anyone that was really concerned with getting lost.

Tomorrow, the run is at Salisbury/Walking Purchase Park.  I don't know that one too well either.  Much like today's run, it is hard to truly get lost there.  That route is very rocky.  I'm hoping for a decent turnout.

5.6 miles - 1:03:21 (11:19 pace) 

Hill Week 2014: Lehigh Gap

For some time, I've thought it would be fun to put together a full week of challenging trail runs throughout the area.  I put together a run for National Trails Day, last year and this year I decided that I'd make a full week of trail runs leading up to it.  Today, was the first day of that week.

We met up at Lehigh Gap.  This would be one of the longer runs and some of the best, if not the best, scenery out of all the runs.  I love running here, but it is in the northwestern corner of the LV, so not too many trail runners venture out there.

It was ideal, sunny weather for this first run of the week.  That was good, since it can get quite hot on this exposed trail.  Many of the trees were killed off years ago, by a nearby zinc plant.  Some prairie grass has started to grow back.  I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt for this early morning run.

I wasn't sure what kind of attendance to expect.  I had plenty of people committed to come to a run throughout the week, but not too many people were talking about coming to this run specifically.  I figured some of the regular trail runners would show up, and they were there when I arrived.

We took off on the LNE.  That has a challenging short climb.  It was a good way to wake up the lungs.  I led the way, but Aaron and Pat soon passed me.  I wanted to kind of hang in the middle of the group, so that no one got lost.  I also brought along my GoPro camera and got a ton of good photos.

The LNE is flat for awhile.  That provides a good warmup.  I ran with Kristin and then we got on to the Prairie Grass Trail.  This is where all the fun climbing begins.  I ran with Kristin for a bit, but then she dropped back.

I was going nice and slow.  The bottom of this section isn't too bad, but it gets pretty rocky at spots.  It climbs over 1,000 feet and that makes it difficult, when combined with the rocks.  I ran and walked it.

I kept heading back to check on people.  Eventually, Tim and Tim passed me.  I followed behind them for some time.  We were on the Charcoal Trail now.  There are some decent views here.

Last time I ran here, I had some trouble finding the North Trail.  Once Tim, Tim and I found it, I went back to find everyone else and make sure they didn't miss the turn.  Kristin wasn't sure where to go, so she stopped and was waiting for everyone else.  I sent her on to the North Trail and made sure the rest of the group found it too.

Once everyone was on to that trail, I took off after Kristin.  We ran together for awhile, but then stopped to take some pictures, when we had good views.  The trail runs along the ridge near the top of the mountain.  It makes for amazing views.  It is also a lot of fun.

Everyone else caught up to us and we stopped briefly for photos and to chat.  This was clearly not a super fast run.  It was a fun trail run.  We all ran together along the ridge, near the communication towers.  I got some cool pictures.

After stopping a couple more times, we all finally connected to the Appalachian Trail.  Now, it was basically a run straight down the mountain.  Since I didn't run up the whole way, I wasn't all that tired.  I didn't get much of a workout during the climb.

Once I told everyone how to get back to the parking lot, I took off and few down the trail.  I wanted to push a little bit on this downhill.  It is fun and fast early on.  There is a shelter that I went by.  After that, it is very rocky.

I still ran at a decent clip over the rocks.  I had to be careful with my GoPro in one hand.  I had told the group that we had to turn left onto another trail.  However, I gave them the wrong trail name.  It was actually the Woodpecker Trail.  I turned there.

I went over a rocky section.  Somehow I got lost after that.  I was on some overgrown trail.  I've gone this way a few times and never had a problem.  I ended up coming out with the AT, near the bridge on the main road.

I tried going down each side of the bridge, but it was more overgrown than last time that I went through there.  Instead, I ran on the road and cut through a business.  I made it back right at 7.50 miles.  That was good, since I didn't think the run would be that long.  I forgot to start my watch after one break and I did run some extra distance back to everyone, so that was pretty close to an accurate distance.

I went up the other trail and waited for the rest of the group to finish.  Eventually, they came out the same part that I did.  The others ahead of me had already gone out to run up the other side of the gap.  I'd like to do that next time that I am there.  Apparently the group behind me almost ran through someone's yard, before they were kicked out.

It was a solid turnout and a great group run.  I'm glad I could introduce this fun and scenic section to some other people.  I hope to do some more runs in the future.  Tomorrow's run with be at South Mountain in Emmaus.  It is in the evening and will probably be a few miles shorter than today.  Hopefully, we'll have a similar turnout as today.

7.5 miles - 1:32:19 (7:19 pace)