Great run at Conewago
On Tues and Wed I ran in Philly along the Schulkill and it was miserable. Even when getting up before 6:00 trying to beat the heat it was still really hot and humid. I ran about 8.5 miles each day and then took Thurs and Fri off. I was planning on taking it relatively easy this (Saturday) morning and then getting in a nice long run in on Sunday. When I checked the weather this morning I was somewhat shocked to see it was 59 degrees in Elizabethtown, so I thought I’d take advantage of the cool weather and do my long run today on the Conewago trail.
It was really refreshing to get out of my car at the trail head and have the air feel nice and crisp. The first mile of the run was a bit of a struggle, but soon after hitting the first mile marker my legs and heart seemed to settle down and I got into a good flow. In the past, when doing a long run at the Conewago I’ve always ran to the 5 mile mark and then headed back to the trail head, then going back out for a mile or so depending on the overall length of the run I wanted to do. Today as I was nearing the 5 mile mark, I saw a runner coming from further up the trail and decided to keep going. The trail isn’t quite as nice (a little bit overgrown, but still very level and covered with cinders) as the first 5 miles, but I did find a small playground next to the trail which had a porta-potty very close to the 7 mile mark, which is good to know if you are going to be out running for two hours or so.
I felt really strong as the run progressed and started to pick up the pace more on the way back. My last 7 miles averaged just under a 7:30/mile pace, which I was thrilled with. I felt like I was pushing it, but definitely still had some more effort in reserve. Having nice weather makes a huge difference and today was a real confidence booster after struggling with the heat earlier in the week.
Podcasts: Skeptics Guide To The Universe
Equipment: Nathan Sports’ Speed 4 Fuel Belt , Garmin ForeRunner 305
August 12th, 2007 at 1:15 am
That’s incredible man! Almost 2 hours at sub 8 m/m pace, wow. I am planning on heading up there tomorrow morning to give that trail a try out, can’t wait to see it.