1/12/2015 to 1/18/2015

January 12, 2015

3 miles at Upper Campus in late afternoon. I did the first mile with Karl. We immediately set off at a lightning-fast pace, which we kept up around the Hospital Hill loop. He handled himself possibly even better than I did on the icy descent, possibly due to his having twice as many legs. Cheater. The rulebook doesn't say that you can use four legs. By the time we got to the straightaway that comes after Hospital Hill, he was dragging and his tongue hung about half a foot out of his mouth. He sped up to a full sprint as soon as he rounded the row of flags at the far end of the field and saw his goddess (my mom) walking towards us. I handed over the dog at that point and did two more miles.

January 15, 2015

4.4 miles on Upper Campus. The first two were with Karl.

January 16, 2015

Two miles on Upper Campus. I started the usual way, then went down the Mankiller trail and back up. I rendezvoused with my mom at the top of the hill and tried to take the dog for the last half mile, but he refused to leave her behind, so I handed the dog back and took off alone again. Total time: 15:40. Total pace: 7:50. Both miles were in the 7:46-7:50 range, but I did the last tenth of a mile at a sprint (roughly a 5:40/mile pace).

January 17, 2015

3 miles at Upper Campus in the morning. I ran alone and slowly, doing one extended hospital loop and one regular one. My time was 23:45 and my pace was 7:54/mile.

3.2 miles at Briar Creek Lake Park in the late afternoon. Last time (link to other post) I said that I would go back there for a short run if Upper Campus ever had me bored senseless. Both criteria were met, so I headed over there. Last time, the place was like a bog, but this time the lake was frozen over (apparently pretty thickly; some people were messing around out on the ice in the middle of the lake) and even the trail was iced over in places. I headed along the south side of the lake, at one point going out a few yards onto the ice to see how solid it was (it was very solid). I then ran up along the dike and then let my momentum carry me down it. I then looped around the fields, through the Fowlersville Covered Bridge, and back to the lake. I did a smaller loop that involved sprinting up the dike and then returned to my starting point at the western end of the lake. My pace was about 7:55/mile, maybe a bit slower.

January 18, 2015

10 miles at Weiser. I checked out one of the side trails. It was a dissapointment, but there are other trails, like the South Branch Trail. The last seven miles were all between 7:24 and 7:45. My overall time was 1:22:50 and my pace was 8:17/mile.

1/5/2015 to 1/11/2015

January 6, 2015

Three miles at Upper Campus. This week is the coldest week this winter. It's so bitterly cold that I'm only doing twenty miles instead of the usual twenty-five. I have a blister on one toe and there are a couple of inches of snow on the ground, so I took this one slowly. I did two loops around the fields and Hospital Hill and then one loop around the upper fields. I did the last tenth of a mile or so at a sprint. Total pace: 8:16/mile.

January 8, 2015

Four miles at Upper Campus. Somehow, it was even colder than last time. Around the fields and Hospital Hill, then around the eartern loop, and back. Then once around the soccer fields. My splits hovered around 8:00s except for the last mile, which was 7:15. The total pace was in the 7:50s.

January 9, 2015

Still bitterly cold. Another four miles at Upper Campus. Pretty much the same course as yesterday, but after three miles, I took the dog with me for the last mile. The first three miles were slow. The last one wasn't. Once we get going, he was a good running partner, just like the last time I ran with him. For a while, he was bouncing and galloping haphazardly, apparently excited to be running. He settled down after a quarter of a mile, but once we reached the far side of the fields and turned around towards the car, he darted ahead, almost pulling my arm off. It was all I could do to keep up. The last mile was spectacularly fast for a training run.

My time was 31:15 and my pace was 7:49/mile. My first three miles were 7:53, 8:07, 8:12, and 6:59. That dog is energetic.

The dog in a state of repose. For those who don't know, his name is Karl.

January 10, 2015

2x2 miles on Upper Campus. This is the coldest day so far this winter. The first time I ran, around 11 in the morning, it was around 1 Fahrenheit counting the windchill, making it probably the coldest weather I've ever run in. I was heavily bundled up. The run took me around two loops around the fields and no Hospital Hill loops. One the first lap, I was blasted by a bone-chillingly cold wind on the way out. That part of the loop was also in the shade. Then I headed out into the sun as I followed the loop back to its starting point. The wind all but vanished and it felt about twenty or thirty degrees warmer. I was seriously considering taking removing a layer. It was almost warm. Then it got bitterly cold on the first half of the second loop, only to warm up again on the second half of the loop. My first mile was in the 7:40s and my second was in the 7:30s, but I don't remember the exact time or pace.

The second run was in the late afternoon. I went directly over to the fields in the east at a slow pace. Shortly after entering the loop, I looked at the fairly wide view of the area. Across the field, I spotted three dogs heading towards me along the trail. They were about four hundred feet away as the crow flies and about four times that via the trail. I didn't want to be held up by them this time, so I presently slipped onto a side trail that follows the main trail. About fifty feet of hedges separate the two trails and I evaded them with no problem. I did eventually run into them on the access trail that follows the powerlines, and was held up there for a minute or so. Once I got going again, my Garmin died, so I don't know my pace. I finished at the parking lot near the soccer fields. My first mile was 8:18. The second was probably faster, but I don't know if I cracked 8:00s.

January 11, 2015

5.1-ish miles at the Robbins Trail. Temperature in the 30s. Compared to yesterday, it was almost warm, but it was damp and dreary. For some reason, I took a shortcut through the bicycle skill park to the trail and then headed out on it in the direction I usually go. At the bridge, I saw that Mahoning Creek was iced over. Being me, I stopped to throw a few small rocks at the ice to try to break it. It didn't break and the rocks just skittered and bounced over the ice. That ice must be indestructable. I followed the trail around the the Mahoning Flats Natural Trail and followed that along its full length to the main trail, then along the spur that parallels Mauses Creek, then back to the natural trail, to the powerline access trail, and back to the parking lot. I ended the run with a sprint in Hess Field. My Garmin died just over 4 miles in, but my pace was just under 8:00s at that point.

No map this time since it's late.

Busy

I'm busy with real life now that the winter break is over. I'll skip this week, but there will be a post next week.

12/22/2014 to 12/28/2014

December 22, 2014

2.7 miles at Upper Campus, mostly on the XC trails to the east.

December 24, 2014

First day of winter break, though it wasn't very wintry. In fact, the temperature was in the 50s and Upper Campus was like a bog in places. I did 2.5 miles in dense fog. Starting from the parking lot, I was going to head to the eastern XC trails via the powerline trailhead, but there was a large and uncontained dog on the trail ahead. The dogs around there tend to be friendly, but can be annoying when one is trying to run (as I found out the other week. So I retraced my steps and got to the XC trails through the other trailhead, at the parking lot. From there, I headed along the trail. The whole area was swathed in a dense fog and visibility was only a couple hundred yards. It was a rather remarkable experience to run through that. I eventually got to Arbutus Park Road and followed the trail along that, occasionally going through patches of tall grass. The trail eventually left the side of Arbutus Park Road and wound back towards the main trails and from there back to the soccer fields. I didn't see the dog again.

December 25, 2014

Christmas Day. I did 6 miles at the Stewardship Trails in surprisingly pleasant weather. It was almost like spring. I followed the power line right-of-way up the ridge like I did last week. After that difficult climb, I went down into the valley on the Black Bear Trail, somehow managing to keep my balance on the shale that made up the path. From the Black Bear Trail, I scrambled up the Squirrel Trail to the top of the ridge. I looked at the scenery as I usually do. Then I continued onward along the top of the ridge. From the radio tower, there was an easy half-mile descent to the parking lot. From there, I headed over to the Rattlesnake Trail. I've been running at the Stewardship Trails at least half a dozen times, but only been on that trail once before. It was steep and had a lot of uneven rocks and leaves. The climb was definitely harder than the climb up the Black Bear Trail (the way I went down anyway) and perhaps rivals the climb up the powerline right-of-way. At the base of the hill, I passed a family of hikers, who were also running for a brief period. At the top of the hill, the trail meandered around and I briefly explored a small unpaved road before running into a Posted sign. Shortly afterwards, I began descending. After a while, I came out into the open in a clearing that the powerlines run through. There was a powerline right-of-way trail heading up he mountain, so I decided to check it out. It was rocky and climbed very steeply for about a quarter of a mile amidst yellow-brown grass and purplish rocks. Eventually, I got to the top and had a look at the spectacular view. The access road continued for a while before starting to descend again and at that point I turned around. It could be interesting to explore it again. Upon returning to the Rattlesnake Trail, I continued descending along that until I got to Powder Mill Road, which led back to the trailhead. I still had a little ways to go, so I followed a trail through the woods to a spot about a quarter of a mile up the powerline right-of-way (the first one, that is) and then back down that to Powder Mill Road.

Time: 55:38. Pace: 9:16/mile. My fastest mile, the third mile, was in 8:28. One or two of the other miles were in the mid to high 8s, but the rest were all over 9:00 if I'm not mistaken. To be expected, considering the terrain.

December 26, 2014

2.7 on Upper Campus. Around the soccer field (no Hospital Hill loop this time) and then over to the eastern XC trail, around that, and back to the parking lot. I'd write more, but it's already Wednesday and I'm trying to hurry up with this.

December 27, 2014

5 miles at the Briar Creek Lake Park, a system of trails around the Briar Creek Reservoir (link to WP). I haven't run there in three years and was looking forward to it, but it turned out to be a disappointment. Not a lot of trails. Still, I could to a quick 3-mile run there on occasion, when I'm bored senseless of Upper Campus.

From the parking lot at the west end of the lake, I followed a rather soggy trail along the side of the lake and along a dam on the lake's east side. I did some hillwork on the dam, sprinting up at top speed. It took eight seconds to go about eighty feet. After leaving the dam behind, I wandered around some fields and rolling hills
to the south of the lake, at one point crossing a covered bridge. Eventually, I returned to the dam before returning once more to the trails and heading back to where I started.

My time was 39:48 and my pace was 7:57/mile. Unusually slow considering that it was new terrain, but then again, it was uninspiring. My first three miles were 7:36, 8:21, and 8:00.

December 28, 2014

5.9 miles at the Stewardship Trails in late afternoon. Very hilly course; I did well over 10s. Part of the route was on a continuation of the powerline right-of-way I discovered on Thursday. A section of that was to steep and rocky to run up, so I powerwalked it. I finished just before dark.

Wish I could write more, but I should've published this two or three days ago.

12/15/2014 to 12/21/2014

December 15, 2014

I snuck in a quick two mile run at Upper Campus before dark. From the parking lot above the soccer fields, I headed through the soccer fields, around the Hospital Hill loop and over towards the Mankiller trails. I didn't actually do the Mankiller loop (too dark), but I did a little flat loop at the top of the hill. Then I began heading back to the soccer fields. On the uppermost soccer field, I wandered around for a while before finishing by running down the steep hill with the remains of a snowdrift on it (see last week's post). After finishing, I threw a few snowballs, not aiming at anything in particular. Then I walked back to the car.

My time was a somewhat slow 15:58. My pace was 7:57/mile.

December 16, 2014

A rather unusual distance in a very mundane place. 2.74 miles at Upper Campus in the dark and in the rain. I did the loop that I always do and then, on a whim, headed to the track. I did a few sprints on the track. It was dark and wet and I was in charge of the stopwatch (actually, my Garmin). First I did a 100-meter sprint
in ~17 seconds (the Garmin only measures seconds, not tenths or hundredths of a second). Then I jogged halfway around the track before doing a 200-meter sprint in ~33 seconds. I did another 100-meter sprint in ~100 seconds and then headed back to the soccer fields. I finished with a loop around those fields, as I often do. My time was 21:20 and my pace was something like 7:39/mile. The first mile was 8:06 and the second one (the one where I did the sprints) was 7:13.

December 18, 2014

3.6 miles on Upper Campus. Somehow, I managed to find a bit of trail that I haven't yet explored. The run started out normally enough. Then I headed over to the XC trail on the east side of Upper Campus. On the way back towards civilization, I saw the remains of a trail going through the woods to my left. I didn't check it out. Maybe some other time. I did take on offshoot that goes through a field down towards a farm near Pennsylvania Route 487. I have been on that route before once or twice, but have turned around both times. This time, I continued onward instead. Right before the trail got to the farm, it turned and skirted the farm. Then it turned again and headed along near the bottom of Turkey Hill with woods on one side and a field on the other. I was here once before, on November 19. The climb back to Upper Campus was as steep, uneven, and full of tall grasses as I remembered it to be. When I made it up that, I looped around to the trailhead and from there headed back to the soccer fields to finish the run.

Total time: 27:39. Total pace: 7:41/mile. My splits were 7:44, 7:32, and 7:50 (the third mile was the one with the hill full of tall grasses).

Even though this one was on Upper Campus, I'll still post a map this time since it's a new course.

December 19, 2014

4 miles at Upper Campus at dusk. Starting from the soccer fields, I headed around the Hospital Hill loop and from there to the Westernmost Trails. I did the full loop around those trails, which are nice in their own way. The fallen tree that I encountered a few weeks ago wasn't there anymore. I also tacked on a little steep and
somewhat rocky and muddy side trail that goes down to someone's driveway. Once I left that area, I did the smaller Mankiller loop. A tough climb. From there, I headed back to Hospital Hill, where I did a couple of loops. I stopped once to let some deer pass by. I have no desire to have a hoof-shaped hole in my head, so I try not to disturb the deer that I run into. On the second loop, I left the trail just before coming up the hill and followed a trail that goes along the edge of the woods, a short distance south of and below the soccer fields. I reached 4 miles soon after reaching the end of the trail.

I don't recall what my time or pace was. This was one of the occasional runs where my arch gives me trouble, so that slowed me down some.

December 20, 2014

One of my long(ish) runs. 5.8 miles at the Susquehanna Riverlands, though I had only planned on 5. I started with my dad, but I didn't see him after the first three quarters of a mile or so. I started along the Riverside Trail, which, despite its name, only goes along the side of the Susquehanna River for a third or so of its length. The rest of the time, it goes through woods and fields, with occasional patches of mud and tree roots. About three quarters of a mile in, the trail switched to gravel and went right alongside the Susquehanna River, just a few yards away from the waterline. I was hoping it would take me to some place I hadn't been before, but instead it turned and headed through some fields, just like the time I ran at the Susquehanna Riverlands a couple of weeks ago. I followed the trail through the fields to the main Towpath Trail and from there headed south and into the forested wetlands. My course was mostly the same as it was a couple weeks ago. I followed the Wetlands Trail to a trail that paralleled the old North Branch Canal. Eventually I came to the end of the trail and decided to explore the road a little bit. I saw no less than three trails, but all of them has posted signs. I continued along and eventually found a road called Wetlands Drive, which went north. I followed it for a bit, but before I saw anything, it occurred to me that it was getting a bit late. I began heading back to where I came from. Like the last time, I took a detour through the Wood Duck Trail and the Great Warrior Path before returning to the Wetlands Trail. I began really ramping up the pace around here and I reached the Towpath Trail shortly before 5 miles. I did the 5th mile in 6:54. I then headed north along the Towpath Trail to the parking lot where I started, passing the plaques of the Planet Walk along the way. I finished fast.

My time was 42:20 and my pace was 7:15/mile. Funnily enough, that's the slowest run I've done at the Susquehanna Riverlands in recent times (the other two were 7:01/mile and 6:45/mile), but faster than almost any other training run I've done in the past few months.

December 21, 2014

A double run today; 4.2 and 2.7 for a total of 6.9 miles. I had wanted to check out a trail near Catawissa. The River Town Marathon goes along that trail for a few miles, so I thought it would be worth checking out. It wasn't. When I got to the trailhead, there were No Trespassing signs plastered on every surface that it was possible to stick a sign on. One would've been sufficient to get the message across, too. I suppose the only open the trail for the marathon itself. A pity, because it looked pretty nice.

I decided to run at the Geisinger Stewardship Trails in Danville instead. Technically they are hiking trails, but since I am a trail runner, I go there now and again. I haven't been there in a while. On a whim, I decided to head up a power line access road near the trailhead instead of going up the Black Bear Trail like I usually do. It was a good decision. The rock and dirt trail climbed very steeply, rising 300 feet in less than half a mile. The climb was grueling, but the views of Danville from the top were worth it. After that, there was a brief downhill which I barreled down and then a steep little uphill. After that, I reached the Black Bear Trail. It dropped steeply down into a valley and continued to follow the power line right of way for a little while before veering off into the woods. I decided to continue following the power line right of way and see if I could follow it up out of the valley. No such luck. The trail rapidly deteriorated to the point where bushwhacking would have been needed to go any further. I turned around and followed the Black Bear Trail into the woods. Not long after, I took an offshoot called the Squirrel Trail. It proved to be another good move on my part. The trail is a shortcut up to the top of the ridge. It was very steep and at times I was moving at a pace that would have been a brisk walk on flat terrain. I saw a few ice formations along the way. The trail was less than a quarter of a mile long and once I was at the other end of it, I looked at the view for a while. Then I headed off through the woods along the top of the ridge. This was the easiest part of the run and my pace picked up. Once I passed the radio tower and the trail widened as it descended towards the trailhead. I picked up the pace another notch and actually managed to crack eight minutes on this mile (the third one). Once I got to the trailhead, I had a look at the map to figure out a good place to do the last mile. I
settled for the Turkey Path, which would allow me to have an epic downhill finish on the power line access road. But you have to go up to come down.... The climb up the Turkey Path was slow. It steep and slippery from falling leaves and uneven rocks lay under the leaves. I tripped and fell badly a couple of months ago under similar terrain, but this time I made it up without incident. Then came the epic descent. I charged down the power line access road, then up a little rise, then back down again. The descent lasted for almost half a mile, ending when I reached a real road, where I did the last hundred yards or so. My time was 38:20 and my pace 9:07/mile. Respectable for that kind of terrain. My splits were something like 9:19, 9:44, 7:58, and 9:44.

The second run was much less interesting. 2.7 at Upper Campus in the dark. I did one loop around the soccer fields plus Hospital Hill, then one loop around the fields, then a brief run across one of the soccer fields. I had to battle a side stitch for the first mile and a half, but it let up after that. Time: 22:07. Pace: 8:12/mile (would've been faster if not for the side stitch).

The maps below are of the first run.

12/8/2014 to 12/15/2014

December 9, 2014

 I was going to the rec center to play racquetball and they have an indoor track there, so I did a short run. Just one mile, which is eight laps around the track. Pretty much as soon as I started, my shins decided that they didn't like the hard surface. After two or three laps, I picked up the pace and the pain went away. I kept picking up the pace and by the fifth or sixth lap, I was practically sprinting. On the sixth lap, I decided to shoot for sub-6s. I finished with a flat-out sprint, but I still barely missed sub-6s. My time was 6:04. I could've easily broken 6 had I been going hard from the start. The turns also slowed me down some. Curiously, my Garmin only recorded the distance as half a mile, presumably due to all the turns. It must think I'm terribly slow.

December 12, 2014

 This is my first time running after I pulled my shoulder the other day. I did 4 miles on Upper Campus, starting just after sunset and finishing just after dark. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground. The weather was cold, but not bitterly so. As always, I started out on the soccer fields, doing Hospital Hill on the way. I then went over to a little trail at the top of the hill where the Mankiller trails are. When I got to the end of that, I saw what appeared to be tire tracks in the snow on the trails. Curious, I decided to follow them. They ended up going into the Westernmost Trails and then diverging in several directions. I followed the main trail south and then west before leaving the tracks to follow the middle trail. I did that partly because I've only been there once or twice before and partly because there is a fallen tree on the western trail.
When I got back to the main trail, I heard a curious loud noise, like an engine or something. At one point I caught a glimpse of a car on one of the trails and saw some people cutting down a few trees. I suppose that explains the tire tracks. I returned to the soccer fields, where my Garmin's battery died. I hate it when that happens. I continued on to the XC trail on the other side of Upper Campus, where I did the main loop as darkness fell. It was dark by the time I reached the parking lot, so I just headed from there over to the soccer fields, where I finished with a quick loop around the upper fields.

I was doing about 8:20s before my Garmin battery died.

December 13, 2014

I ran twice today. Both times it was 3 miles on Upper Campus (actually 3.1 in the case of the first run).

The first run was before lunch. I did the Hospital Hill loop and the loop around the soccer fields (yawn) and then headed off to the XC trails. I briefly explored a dirt trail going off towards Arbutus Park Road, but stopped when I got too close to someone's yard. I then returned to the XC trail. About a quarter of the way though, I was cornered by a boisterous and rambunctious trio of loose dogs, one of whom drooled on my running shorts. They merrily danced around, crashing into each other in their excitement as they tried to get my attention. I managed to get past two of them eventually, but the third followed me for a good quarter
of a mile, cutting in front of me every few seconds. I couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused. Eventually the third dog stopped following me, leaving me on my own. I followed the trail to the parking lot and from there followed the road to the soccer fields, where I stopped.

The second run was in the afternoon. I did you-know-what and then headed down the Mankiller trail and went through a gap in some bushes and onto a closed section of Arbutus Park Road. It's semi-paved (I'm guessing it was paved twenty years ago, but was never maintained), gated at both ends, and goes through the woods by a ravine. It's also rather steep. Going up the road/trail on the edge of the ravine, I managed to startle a large group of either turkeys or turkey vultures. The rest of the climb up behind the student apartments and to the tennis courts was uneventful. There was a bit more remaining pavement than I remembered, but it wasn't painful. As I ran up the really steep (paved) road towards the tennis courts, the even steeper, grassy hill behind the tennis courts caught my eye. I ran over to it. It was partly covered in snow and I guess some people had been sledding there. From the bottom of the hill, I sprinted up, periodically almost losing my balance in the snow. I ended up going down and then sprinting up a couple more times. A spontaneous hill workout. I made it up the third time in 16 seconds. Then I looped around the tennis courts to the soccer fields and sprinted straight across them. There is a steep little hill with a knee-deep snowdrift at the edge of one of the fields and I wondered if I would go through it if I didn't turn. I hit 3 miles a few feet before the snowdrift, but my momentum carried me into it. An interesting way to end a run. If I remember correctly, my pace was 8:18/mile. No doubt it was slowed down somewhat by the hill repeats.

December 14, 2014

I did 5 miles on the Susquehanna Warrior Trail in the afternoon. I started from the Susquehanna Riverlands trailhead and headed north. Pretty much from the start, I was going fast. Eventually I left the Susquehanna Riverlands behind and the scenery turned from moderately pretty to rather ugly as the trail got gradually closer to US Route 11. I continued on and after about a mile and a half, I came to a spot where all sources claim that the trail ends. But it didn't end. It kept going right next to US Route 11. I continued on. The ground was mossy and slippery in this leg of the trail, but that didn't affect my pace. Just over two miles in, I happened to glimpse a parking lot for State Game Lands Number 260 across the highway. I stopped to have a look, but I couldn't see any roads or trails. I continued north on the Susquehanna Warrior Trail. The trail veered a few yards away from Route 11 and got slightly less ugly, so I continued a quarter of a mile past 2.5. I was pretty close to Shickshinny (the Shickshinny-Mocanaqua Bridge was less than half a mile away). I toyed with the idea of running all the way to Shickshinny, but I had planned to be back within 40 minutes, so I turned around after some deliberation. The run back was even faster than the run out and I didn't notice much scenery or really think about much of anything except the pace. I did the last half mile at a near-sprint.

My time was 37:08 and my pace was 6:45/mile. Not much slower than the pace I usually race such distances, but it was completely unplanned. My splits were 6:55, 6:49, 6:43, 6:41, and 6:47. The last half mile was at a 6:26 pace.

12/1/2014 to 12/7/2014

n.b. No maps this time. I'm already late in posting this and have been busy with things lately.

December 3, 2014

3 miles at Upper Campus. Pretty much absolutely nothing to say about this one. It was dark by the time I got there, so I didn't run on any trails. I just did three loops around the soccer field. It was a slow run, but I don't even know how slow since my Garmin died less than a mile in. There was one muddy patch on the loop.

December 4, 2014

4 miles at Upper Campus. This run was slightly more interesting than the last, but not by much. I headed off through the soccer fields and down Hospital Hill. Near the bottom of the hill, I turned left to explore a trail in the woods. I've seen it often, but never checked it out. The first few yards had a lot of fallen shrubby plants
that I had to navigate through. After that, it was not very interesting. I ended up doing two little loops around a quasi-trail in the woods before finding another trail and following that through the woods. It was muddy and there were branches everywhere, so the going was slow. The trail dead-ended, so I wandered out of the woods and back to Hospital Hill at the same place where I left it. I headed up Hospital Hill and then around the soccer fields on the main loop. I was about halfway through by that point. I did the remaining two miles somewhere on the soccer fields as it got dark, but I have no recollection of where. (So no map for today. Come to think of it, what's the point of including those maps when I run on Upper Campus. Perhaps I'll stop adding them.) The last two miles were very fast, for a training run anyway.

My first mile (the one where I was wandering through the woods) was 9:52. The second, third, and fourth miles were 7:44, 6:52, and 6:57.

December 5, 2014

5 miles at Upper Campus. The weather was uninspiring, but I'm glad I went. It was a nice run. I went a little earlier than usual, so for once it wasn't almost dark when I headed off. I did one short loop around the upper soccer fields to warm up and then headed over to the XC trails, where I started off on the main loop. When I got to the most distant point on the main loop, I encountered an offshoot. It was still not dark and the trail looked to be in pretty good condition, so I checked it out. I have only been on that trail two or three times before. It went a little less than a quarter of a mile east to Arbutus Park Road. I turned around and gazed at the scenery for a bit. There were rolling fields and woods stretching on for a long way in that direction; the main part of Upper Campus was not visible. I then began heading back to the main loop and from there to the parking lot, where I looped around towards the trailhead. That stretch of trail is one of the places on Upper Campus that is surprisingly scenic. In the daytime, one can see great views of Knob Mountain to the east, but the light was low by this point, so I could only see the lights of the cars on Interstate 80. I contemplated on how many of those cars were probably people coming back from work. They were bound by a rigid schedule and the demands of society. I, on the other, hand was out running on the trails at dusk, with no influences but my will and the forces of nature. Then, there was the Garmin on my wrist, counting every second and every hundredth of a mile. Perhaps I am just as bound by standards as the commuters on Interstate 80, but at least they are my own standards. I stopped thinking these deep thoughts by the time I got back to the soccer fields. It was dark by this point and I was considering just running on the soccer fields, but I decided to do Hospital Hill. It was dark, but nothing sinister and dangerous jumped out and attack me, unless you consider deer to be sinister and dangerous (and they didn't attack me). It began to rain lightly. When I got off the Hospital Hill loop, I considered going down to the far end of the soccer fields, but the Pet Dome is near there and I've been staying away from that area after dark. I've heard reports of dogs screaming there, possibly due to a werewolf bear. So I didn't go all the way to the far end of the soccer fields, but instead headed diagonally across the fields at the second baseball field and then headed back to the upper soccer fields. I did one loop around both of the upper soccer fields, then one loop around
just the upper upper soccer fields. On the last loop, I stopped in the rain and had a look at the distant lights of Buckhorn before continuing on my way.  I finished with  a quick run down the middle of one of the fields.

It was a slow and easy run, hovering just under 8s for most of it. My first mile was 7:48, my second was 7:56, my third was 7:59. I don't remember my fourth, but my fifth was in the 7:30s. If I'm not mistaken, my total time was 39:15 and my pace was 7:50/mile.

December 6, 2014

 I didn't want to do eight miles all in one lump, so I did two runs today. Well, three actually. If the weather was uninspiring yesterday, it was downright vile today. Instead of being bitterly cold, it was bitterly cold and raining. Nevertheless, the run(s) were good.

The first run was 3 miles at Upper Campus. I started from the Jessica S. Kozloff Apartments and headed across the soccer fields to Hospital Hill. From there, I continued west across the fields, past the Mankiller trails, to the Westernmost Trails. I looped around those to the south end, where I explored a little trail that's nestled in between the eastern and western trails. This was partly out of curiousity and partly to avoid a fallen tree on the western trail. The trail (the middle trail) was much like the other two of the Westernmost Trails and I soon ended up on the north end of the trail network. Hoping to head further west, I explored one trail, but it only led to a backyard. I officially gave up on trying to find any trails west of the Westernmost Trails. I returned and explored another trail, which went through the woods for a bit before going out onto a high ridge overlooking a backyard. Eventually I wasn't on a high ridge and was in the backyard, so I returned. There was a third trail going off to the left. I knew it would eventually dump me out onto somebody's driveway. I could've still gone on it, but I decided not to and returned to the Mankiller trails. I did a little loop on the grass fields, finishing fast.

The second run was at the Myron Hopewell Memorial Park. I headed out to the trailhead, only to discover that the trail was closed for the first half of December due to hunting. There was a trail going off to the left that wasn't technically part of the trail system. I had walked there with the dog three years ago and didn't remember it going very far. Sure enough, after a quarter of a mile, it dead-ended in some sort of shooting range. Beyond that was a no tresspassing sign. I turned around and headed back. I heard a gunshot on
the way. Total distance here: 0.6 miles. I decided to finish up at the J. Manley Robbins Trail. That was only on the other side of Danville, so I didn't bother to reset my Garmin.

When I got to the Hess Field trailhead at the J. Manley Robbins Trail, I headed off along the Mahoning Flats Natural Trail. Since it was raining and the trail is in low-lying swampland next to a creek, it was muddy, with puddles everywhere. It took some skilled maneuvering to avoid getting soaked and hideously dirty. The trail took a bend and began running alongside Mahoning Creek. The creek looked rather high and muddy and was flowing fast. I would not have wanted to cross it without the aid of a bridge. After a few minutes, the trail joined with the Robbins Trail. The bridge was just a hundred yards or so away and I crossed it. (Good thing there was a bridge.) On the other side of the bridge, I continued straight, following the spur that runs between Mauses Creek and some unnamed ditch towards Mausdale. When I got to Mausdale and Pennsylvania Route 642, I returned, carefully avoiding a couple of large puddles. When I got back to the main trail, I followed it south alongside Mahoning Creek, keeping a sharp eye out for an interesting little offshoot that I've seen a few times. As the area between the trail and the creek morphed from a little hill into an 80-foot cliff, I began to wonder where it was. Eventually, the cliff became less steep and I saw the trail. It was a bit of a disappointment. It got off to a promising start, sloping steeply down to the creek. But it ended there in a large puddle. I went right up to the creek and looked at the view for a moment. I wonder how many people go down there. Anyway, I returned to the main trail and from there headed to the roads and from there to the other end of the Mahoning Flats Natural Trail. It was beginning to get dark and I was more focused on speed than not getting soaked and muddy, so I ended up tromping through a lot of puddles. It was less muddy once I got to the section that runs parallel to Mahoning Creek. A short distance later, I reached the Robbins Trail again, near the bridge. I ran from there to the trailhead at a near-sprint. I think my pace was in the 7:50s or thereabouts.

December 7, 2014

I considered running 5 miles at the Hopewell Park today, but instead decided to go to the PPL-owned Susquehanna Riverlands. The Pumpkin Run takes place there, but I there are also a lot more trails there.
I started from the parking lot that doubles as the Susquehanna Warrior Trail trailhead and headed south on the Towpath Trail, which is where the Pumpkin Run goes. While running, I noticed informational plaques on the planets at points along the path. Another Planet Walk, just like the one at Montour Preserve. I did the first mile and a half at a very good clip. The Towpath Trail ended here, but another trail went still further south. I checked it out. My pace slowed on this phase, but only slightly. It was a very scenic trail, going through a tract of slightly swampy woods filled with a lot of small lakes and streams. At one point, I saw a grass trail following the old North Branch Canal. The path headed south, which was the direction I was seeking to go. I passed a couple of fishermen and came to a fork in the trail. One fork had a sign labelled "Trail", so I followed that for a bit. The trail passed between two lakes (at one point through them, but the water was only an inch or two deep there). It then curved north (back towards where I started), so I turned around and continued going south again. Eventually the trail came to a road and beyond that it was gated and had a posted sign. I looked around for a bit, trying to see if there was a trail that led further, but I didn't see one. I turned around and went on the trail marked "Trail" again. From there, I went through a rabbit's warren of trails, heading north. There were views of the immense Susquehanna River at times. Eventually I returned to the Towpath Trail, although I saw one or two other trails that looked promising. My speed really began picking up on the way back: sub-7s. When I got to the trailhead, I explored the Riverside Trail, which went in the opposite direction. It was another interesting little trail in the woods and fields, with views of the Susquehanna River. There are also some more trails worth exploring in that area. Eventually I looped back through some fields to the Towpath Trail. I passed near some large power lines, which were somehow very loud. They sounded like airplanes droning overhead. By this point, I was already at 5.5 miles, so I decided to make it 6. I ran up the eastern side of the Towpath Trail and then crossed a bridge over a lake to the western side, where I had started the run. By the time I got to the trailhead, I was already past 6 miles, so I
headed up the Susquehanna Warrior Trail a short distance to make it an even 10k.

My total time was 43:31 and my pace was 7:01/mile, just a hair slower than my 6 mile run last week. The first mile was 7:04. I don't remember what my times on the second and third miles were, but they were definitely under 7:30 and at least one was under 7:20. The fourth, fifth and sixth miles were the fastest ones: 6:58, 6:49, and 6:46, respectively.