To the End of Pennsylvania

Given the length of some recent race report posts, I'm aiming to keep this one short with more of a "story in pictures" approach.

Throughout this calendar year, I've been hiking portions of the Appalachian Trail in PA in an effort to see every mile of trail before 1/1/2013.  I've walked most of the 230 miles via day hikes and weekend backpacking trips, but several miles near home were also done on trail running adventures.  Many of the longer trips I couldn't have done without the help of a shuttle and I've got my wife to thank for most of those.

When looking at my training schedule through the fall and early winter, there were only a few weekends that might cooperate for my final AT trip.  Even being less than a week from the Hershey Half Marathon, and with Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the east coast, this past weekend looked like the best chance to squeeze in the final 70 miles from Hamburg Reservoir north to the PA/NJ border.

To get all of the mileage in before the storm was forecasted to hit Sunday night, I needed to average over 20 miles a day: preferably much more than that on Friday and Saturday, to make Sunday less stressful about beating the storm.  I'd done one backpacking day back in July when I easily managed 24 miles in about 10 hours, but this weekend would be a daunting personal physical challenge (that I was very much looking forward to) putting 3 days in a row with similar mileage.  With only 10 hours of daylight per day this time of year, the biggest challenge would be keeping the pace on the infamous PA rocks.


Day 1:  Hamburg Reservoir to Bake Oven Knob Shelter, 26.8 miles

I got an extremely affordable shuttle from Janet, charging only 27 bucks from the DWG Visitor's Center to the Hamburg Reservoir.  She got me on the trail by 8:30AM and I headed up the lane in the fog towards the Pulpit and the Pinnacle.  There were no views for the entire day, just constant slippery rocks.  In my opinion the rocks in the section from Hamburg to Bake Oven Knob were the most difficult to navigate for the entire weekend.

No views from Pulpit Rock

Socked in on the gamelands road leaving the Pinnacle

Notice the red sign advising southbound hikers.  This is just north of Hawk Mountain Rd.

The Knife Edge.  While not slippery, these rocks were challenging due to the awkward angles and large drops.  There just weren't very many good routes through here.  I'm not one to complain, but this section is also completely unnecessary   The trail actually skirts along the north side of this outcrop for about a quarter mile then suddenly turns up and over it for about a tenth of a mile, only to come right back down on the other side.  Nothing changed about the topography of the ridge during this entire 1/3 of a mile or so.

By 6:30PM, I made it to Bake Oven Knob shelter and stayed inside that night with one other guy who didn't seem very happy with my late arrival (at sunset).  My theory on that though, is that if you're staying in a shelter, you're going to deal with other people.  If you don't want to be disturbed: stay in your own tent, hammock, tarp, or whatever.  To his defense though, he was much more conversational the next morning.


Day 2:  Bake Oven Knob Shelter to Stealth Campsite north of Wind Gap, 29.4 miles

I braved a little bit of mist in the morning, but I could tell immediately that it would be much clearer today and while not sunny, offering more views for all that hard work climbing over them there PA rocks.

Some lovely PA rocks at a powerline clearing just south of Ashfield Rd.

There must have been 10-12 of these boundary markers along the trail during this 70 mile stretch

The trail and trees are all in line.  Just north of Ashfield Rd.

Approaching Lehigh gap.  This is the "lower view" of the bridge.

Interesting "country club" approach to the Superfund Site

The rocks heading north out of Lehigh Gap are like nothing else in PA on the AT.  This is straight up .

This is the "upper view" down to that same bridge, coming out of Lehigh Gap.  Yep, there was actual climbing involved in this spot.

Some pretty rehabilitation at the Superfund site.  I might call these weeds at home, but pink and purple are colors few and far between this time of year, and a very welcome sight.

Fields of Gold near the Superfund detour

There were constant views to the north on the Superfund detour trail.  This trail was also as easy on the joints as it gets: "grassy highway" as I described to a SOBO later that day.

View north to Palmerton and the Zinc Smelting Plant

Getting late in the day I had a choice near Wind Gap: push through and try to find a flat spot to camp on the other side of the gap, or stop early and tackle the climb the next morning?  Based on timely information regarding ample campsites from some SOBOs I passed between Leroy Smith Shelter and Wind Gap, I decided on pushing forward.  Doing so, I faced one of the toughest physical challenges I've had recently on the climb (this includes the finishing miles of two half marathons in the past two weeks).  On paper, the climb isn't particularly difficult but at mile 29 at twilight, it was tough to say the least.  I soon found a flat spot right next to the trail, offering space just big enough for my tarp footprint.


Day 3: Stealth Camp to Delaware Water Gap Visitors Center NJ, 15.6 miles

This was by far the best day of the trip: better views, better (more diverse) trail, and higher spirits.  The trail was still rocky, but aesthetically it was just nicer.  This section has become one of my favorite on the trail in PA.  The pictures tell much of the story here.

Awesome viewpoint just north of Kirkridge Shelter

Some pink foliage along the trail near Totts Gap

Heading into DWG NRA at Totts Gap

Still a rocky trail here, but easier on the eyes with the simple addition of grass in between the rocks

Viewing into NJ from Mt Minsi.  Absolutely the exclamation point to the trip.

The Rhododendrons were plentiful on the descent down to Delaware Water Gap from Mt Minsi

Cascade at Eureka Creek about halfway down to DWG

I-80 and Delaware River

Beginning the long bridge walk over the Delaware

The noisy bridge walk was over a half mile long, but with pretty fall river views

The personal physical challenge was great, but so was the reward.  I'm happy to say I made it to my vehicle in NJ well before Hurricane Sandy showed up.  There are some big blisters on both feet, my left shin is killing me, both ankles were sprained multiple times during the hike, but I'm okay and enjoyed the trip...and the state.  As I wrote earlier, one of my favorite sections in PA is probably Fox Gap to Delaware Water Gap.  The other is much farther to the south: Caledonia State Park to Boiling Springs.  Both of these areas have similar characteristics, atypical of PA trail as they don't generally follow the ridgeline, having nice twisting sections with more diverse plant life.

The next state for me might seem logical to be NJ, but I think I'm going to finish up the 30 miles of Appalachian Trail in MD during some trail runs in December, training for an upcoming race.

PA is completed!

Hershey Half Marathon Race Report

Less than 7 days from when I crossed the finish line in the Paine to Pain Trail Half Marathon, I arrived with my wife at the packet pick-up/expo for the Hershey Half Marathon.  During the 6 days in between, I had run (or more appropriately, jogged) exactly 5 miles on laughably flat routes in order to simply keep my legs loose.  I wasn't really sure what to expect over the next 24 hours mentally or physically, but I was willing to give it a shot and allow things to play out.

First up, we were extremely happy to find a legit race expo at the Ice Palace at the Hersheypark Arena, home of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game which took place 50 years ago this past March.  There were at least a half a dozen retailers along with 20-30 other booths with the standard giveaways and/or information.  The actual packet pick up was at the far end of the hall, well organized and well staffed.  It went smoothly, but we were then directed over to a separate area to do a chip verification scan, something neither of us had ever heard of.  Basically, a volunteer waves your bib over a scanning device to ensure the timing chip is working properly.  I suppose this extra step was most likely in response to the timing fiasco that occurred in the inaugural Hershey Half Marathon, but even though we were both involved in that event two years ago, were not worried this time around.  Ironically, my wife was hopeful to hit a PR during this year's race, which would rely on an accurate chip time...what is that saying about lightning striking the same place twice? ;)

Busy expo, Saturday around noon

Later that evening, we enjoyed some down time taking a peek into our race bags, highlighted by 2 Hersheypark in the Dark tickets a piece.  This was followed by her idea for a pre-race meal: dinner pancakes (they're the same as regular pancakes but you eat them in the evening). During our consumption of three giant-sized cakes each, she hinted at a new tradition which I have to admit, just might stick around for years to come.  We got to bed early in hopes of getting plenty of rest before a 5:00 AM wake-up on race day.

Race fuel

Fast forward to 6:56AM, and we're in Hershey, just a few hundred yards from the starting line and traffic going into the parking area is moving slower than some of us would be at 12 mile mark later that morning.

Busy underpass, Version A (6:56AM)

We eventually made it to Hersheypark Stadium, right next to the starting line in hopes to use the facilities.  The lines proved to be too long to get that business taken care of before the race, though.  It seemed like mere seconds from the time we walked out from underneath the stands to the time the gun went off, at 7:30AM.  With only 4 minutes between when the sun came over the horizon and the starting gun's explosion, we all set out braving the chilly, dim morning and for 13.1 miles of fun.

Many of us spent the final moments before the race in the warmth at the stadium

I've never designed a race course, but would imagine an important aspect of the first few miles is the width of the road.  The organizers did a great job here, utilizing all three lanes of the pavement (see busy underpass pictured above, 40 minutes beforehand) which wraps around The Giant Center while the runners spread out.

Busy underpass, Version B (7:36AM)

It was around this point that my Runkeeper audio cue (which is set to give me feedback on pace, time, and distance every half mile) gave me the heads up that I started off a little too briskly at about a 7:40 pace: almost a minute faster than I originally intended.  With nothing to lose and legs which (currently) felt good, I decided to let it ride.

Soon after the Giant Center loop, we encountered a line of spectators along Hersheypark Drive representing the Children's Miracle Network, the beneficiary of the race's net proceeds.  This was certainly one of the loudest cheering sections on the course, rivaled by only the enthusiastic Team in Training groups near every odd mile marker, as well as the kids around every corner at the Milton Hershey School...more on the MH kids later.

Miles 2-3 had us winding through Hersheypark, with some tight sections keeping everyone on their toes.  Though I've been skeptical about using gels during races recently due to stomach problems after the finish, I got one down the hatch about a half mile before the aid station near mile 4.  There were aid stations at every even mile (2, 4, 6, etc.) offering Gatorade and water, in that order from a runner's perspective.  My legs continued to feel good so I kept up the pace established early as we left the park and headed east.

Aside from a short little section through a tunnel then past a few holes of Hershey Country Club and the High Point Mansion, the next 3 miles were long, straight sections in eastern Hershey with not a lot to see.  I did find it funny that this is the second race in as many weeks that brought me right up against a golf course though.

Early morning scene near Hershey Country Club and the High Point Mansion.  This photo could have been really cool with everyone's breath in the morning sun, but the photographer's timing was a bit off.

Despite the heavy feeling beginning to set into my legs, I decided to go for a negative split and push just a little bit harder shortly after the halfway mark, which I crossed in 50 minutes and some change so I knew I'd be setting a PR today if I could get through the final 6.5 miles injury-free.  Plus...you're able to stop running sooner if you run faster, right?  The course didn't provide any relief to help in my effort though, seemingly getting more and more hilly as the mile markers passed.  Speaking of mile markers, the course was absolutely littered with orange cones alongside, displaying detailed mileage information down the the second decimal place.  This was a bit overkill for a race of this length...did we really need to know we were currently at mile 7.15?  Each mile would be perfectly sufficient in my book.

Near mile 8, there was a slight incline to an area of the Milton Hershey School property consisting of wide open spaces and several student homes.  By this point it was around 8:30am and all of the MH kids were out lining the route, cheering everyone along while donning their sweats and fleece throws in an effort to stay warm.  Their attire reminded me of what most folks wear while opening presents Christmas morning.  One young boy along the hill was a little overzealous, shouting out phrases such as "YOU OWN THIS HILL!!!".  His outbursts were fun and "PG", bringing a smile to many of the participants' faces through that short section.

The next 3 miles are now a blur, with the exception of a high five from my Mother in Law at mile 10.5.

We were getting back into the town of Hershey by mile 11 and encountered the hill from hell just before the "Chocolate Aid Station" (where instead of water and Gatorade, volunteers are handing out mini Hershey's Chocolate bars).  It wasn't particularly demanding: only about 50 feet of climb over .2 miles, but being at mile 11 of a half marathon was a complete drain: far enough into the race that your legs are complete toast, but not close enough to the finish to let the endorphins take over.  All I could do to get up this obstacle was stare down at the double-yellow line in the middle of Chocolate Ave and put one foot in front of the other.  I made it to the top in one piece and wanted nothing to do with chocolate.  I wasn't the only one around me who didn't partake; it seems the hill may have done a number on their appetites as well.  Oh and in case you're wondering, Hersheypark Drive and Chocolate Ave are legitimate street names in Hershey.  We didn't run on it, but Cocoa Ave is another!

After passing through town we skirted the amusement park boundary, coming within just a few feet of Hershey's newest addition to its roller coaster arsenal: Skyrush.  A quick loop around Hershey's Chocolate World and we were on the homestretch towards the stadium.  Along the final quarter mile of the course, I passed 10-12 other runners in hopes of breaking into the top 100 finishers for the day.  As I crossed the finish line inside the stadium, the clock read just under 1:39:00!  Knowing that I just (to quote Eric Turkewitz) "blew the doors off" my PR by over 7 minutes, the next few moments all seemed so secondary as I came through the chute grabbing my medal, water, heat sheet, and post-race food.  The immediate order of business though, was to find my wife on the course.  She'd be coming through within 20 minutes with her own hopes of a PR.

I secured a spot along the fence right where the runners were entering the stadium.  After about 10 minutes, she came speeding in, with a strong cadence for the final 150 meters.  I asked the gentleman next to me if he had the time and I was elated when he responded with 9:28AM.  This put my wife with a PR for the day as well!

By this point a large crowd was gathering in the infield and we followed suit.  Hershey's candy mascots were all around for photo ops and high fives, meanwhile the timing company had results stations near the finish line, which was a nice touch to check on our official chip times immediately following our finishes.  Bree ended up beating her previous PR by about 2 minutes, clocking in with a 1:57:50, and I had a 1:38:15, good enough for about 135th out of around 4,000 participants.  We didn't stick around for too long though, since the chill was beginning to set in as our bodies cooled down.

Celebrations, stretching and fellowship in Hersheypark Stadium

Later at home we had a chance to check on the post race goodies, chock full of Hershey's stuff:

Post race "lunchbox"

Click here for detailed info about my run, recorded by the Runkeeper app on my Android Phone.

By the time the day ended, it couldn't have gone any better:

• We both had PRs
• All of our friends who also ran were happy with their races
• My fantasy football team won
• and...the Steelers had a victory late on Sunday night!

      

The next race for these two running fools will be the Sophie's 6K in about 4 weeks, a much smaller race and a much shorter distance.  It'll be nice to rest for a week then get back into some more regular training after these two crazy half-marathon weeks.  Though they were difficult, I had a blast challenging myself and sharing a great day with my wife and friends.

Paine to Pain Trail Half Marathon - Race Report

Sunday October 14th, 2012, 6:00AM.  Raceday.  The alarm on my phone rudely awakens my unusually restful sleep the night prior to a race.  With an hour and a half before my wife and I needed to leave the hotel, I figured I had a little extra time and to hit the snooze, which didn't last long because I knew what kind of hurt I'd be in if I didn't follow my pre-race routine.  My leisurely morning consisted of coffee, a blueberry muffin and a banana as well as catching up on some local NYC news (which interestingly, on two different channels, 100% of the on camera staff were women...not a good or bad thing...just an observation).  The ladies' weather forecast called for temps starting in the 50s with a slight chance of showers in the morning, then quickly rising to near 70 by noon.  Sounded like a good reason to run fast!

This time also gave me the chance to sit and lazily ponder why I was here.

No seriously...WHY WAS I HERE?!?  Did I really just drive 4 hours to New York City to run on some trails?  I have TONS of trails to run on at home, including one you may have heard of: The Appalachian Trail, less than 15 minutes drive from my front door.  So what was the purpose of this journey?  I didn't have anything to prove; I know I'm not going to win, and I'm sure a hell not going to set a PR.

- Maybe I came for the medal?

- Challenge myself on a farther trail race than I've ever run before?  Possibly.

- Or maybe I just wanted to complete a half in NY State to have that notch in my belt.

One thing was certain though...Despite the how and why, I would be running 13.1 miles today on rocks, roots, through water, over boardwalks, on catwalks, by golf courses, and maybe even into a horse's ass along the way (trust me, this disclaimer is worth the couple of minutes to read).

We arrived at New Rochelle High School just before 8am, plenty of time to head over to Paine Cottage, pick up my race packet and other pre-race goodies like a water bottle, and a very nice tech race shirt with wrap around graphics. REI also had a table set up with complimentary Clif gels and bars.  In addition, there was a bag check which I wouldn't be needing since my wife was spectating today and serving as my pack animal for a few hours (thanks honey!).

While jogging around the start area, I discovered several historical markers including this one pictured below, explaining to guys like me who were fast asleep in history class, why exactly we should remember who this Thomas Paine fella was.

The starting area was well organized, and at first I thought they may have gone way overboard on the number of porta-potties (but in the closing minutes up to the race start at 9am, the lines were 10-12 deep).

Lonely porta-potties at 8:23AM

As reported in the past, I normally use my phone with a fitness app such as RunKeeper or Endomondo for tracking runs.  It's very convenient having everything contained in a single device (music, GPS tracking, emergency calls) but since headphones were banned from this trail race for safety reasons, it was going to be considerably more convenient to use my wife's Garmin Forerunner 210 to track pace.  I'd been using it for the past week getting the hang of the controls so I didn't screw it up on race day.

Satellites: found.  Ready to run.

As usual, I had my Spibelt bib rig, which I still love for races, it carries all I need: gels, bib and phone.  The timing chip for this race was on the back of the bib...which I also love since it's basically idiot-proof.

Simple bungee and cord lock system on the Spibelt

Due to the popularity of the race this year, it was a wave start, four of them in total.  I was in the second wave, ready to go off at the gunshot at 9:05am.  After a few short steps, me and 200 of my newest friends had our first run in with cheerleaders from the local high school doing a fantastic job lifting our spirits as we drove up the first climb, which was a perfectly designed half mile road run to stretch out the waves before we hit the trails.  It ended up working just as planned without any bottlenecks.  Mind you, we were on each other's heels, but there wasn't any noticeable loss of pace once we said goodbye to the pavement.

(New Rochelle High School?) Cheerleaders lining the first few hundred meters of the course

All smiles about a third of a mile into the race.  I'm a short guy, but not nearly as much as this photo makes it look!

Once on the trails, we had the usual passing and adjusting through the first 3 miles of a half marathon, just made a little more interesting with the sometimes rocky and twisting conditions.  I got my phone out for a few blurry photos along the way, but for the most part kept it stowed away so I could focus on the trail and everyone around me.  During this section we ran on a series of wooden boardwalks, the only ones we'd see on the course.  The remainder of the race surface was either paved road crossings, dirt or gravel trail, small (3-4 foot wide) stream crossings, or the final 300 meters on the track.  With all of these friendly surfaces under foot, I was comfortably keeping around an 8:30 pace.

Trail scene around mile 5

Meanwhile...at the finish line...

The kids had a chance to get some racing in today too; my wife got this shot of the top few finishers in the fun run; they seem to be having a good time:

and...back to the course...

The field around me continued to thin out, and we had several road crossings manned by local police and countless enthusiastic volunteers.  At around mile 7, we actually ran right up the side of a golf course fairway, of which I miraculously managed to get a non-blurry photo.  The gentlemen on the golf course didn't seem to mind our presence, probably because the only sounds coming from our direction were footsteps; there wasn't a whole lot of chatter at any point along the race and for good reason - we were all working pretty hard putting one foot in front of the other!  After the golf course was an aid station where afterwards I sucked down my second energy gel.  I'm still trying to figure out my nutrition during races, and while I continued to feel good through the remainder of the course, I'm not completely sold on the gels; I suspect they're the cause of some post race "digestion problems", but I guess I'll have a few more races this fall/winter to get it all sorted out.

Fore!

Meanwhile...at the finish line....

The leader was coming down the home stretch and completed his half marathon in a time that I could only dream of: 1:23:26.

The first place female came in shortly after, in 1:31:39, crushing the ladies' course record by almost 8 minutes - congratulations!

Good form, all the way to the end.

Us slowpokes were meanwhile still enjoying the course's scenery and at roughly mile 11 we passed under the Hutchinson River Parkway for the last time, and as you can see the field really was stretching out by this point, and we were pretty much around the people we'd be finishing with.  

This is the final blurry photo...I promise.

At mile 12.6 we emerged from Nature Study Woods Park to a gang of enthusiastic cheerleaders lining the road on either side, and to whom I gave a round of applause for their support which in turn produced deafening cheers from their end.  The mutual appreciation was electrifying, and in stereo...from my standpoint.  Thanks girls - you gave me the emotional burst I needed for the final half mile.

When I arrived at the stadium however, there was some crazy lady yelling at the top of her lungs (and this is literally what I thought when I heard the voice).  Admittedly after 13 miles, my mind may have been playing tricks on me, but it took a few seconds to realize that it was my wife belting out "RUN FASTER!!!".  She knew that I was actually very close to a PR time and obviously really wanted me to give it everything I had to try and finish as close to 1:51:12 as possible.

Here's the math:  my PR was set in June of this year at the appropriately named PR Run in Oil City, PA.  My time was 1:46:12 and since I began in the second wave today at 9:05AM...well, you understand.

This kid is mesmerized by my finishing speed...lol.  He also has really good taste in clothing colors.

Crossing the finish line, just over a minute off of a PR

One major thing to consider here, is that I'm basing all of this PR talk off of my road half marathon times, so coming within 2 minutes on this trail run was quite the accomplishment in my book.  I was extremely pleased with my time, and how my legs felt throughout the run.

Don't mind me...just hangin' out on the 50 yard line

So in the end, was the 4 hour one-way trip to NYC worth it?  Most certainly.  It was a fabulously run event with a great course.  There were no out and back sections or double loops.  The enthusiasm of the volunteers and cheerleaders was just icing on the cake, not to mention the post race food, massages, stadium finish, quickly posted online results and photos...the list goes on and on.

Thanks to everyone involved in making the race a success; I had a great time.  Next race for me?  Hershey Half Marathon on 10/21/12...yep...less than a week from the P2P.  I think I'm crazy.