Trail Running: I’m Hooked!

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

Big news on the blog today… I think I’m turning into a trail runner! It all began on January 17th when I avoided the trails and chose the easier road course at the Pickle Run. After the race was over two Trail-Picklers cheerfully informed me that the trails were WAY more fun than the boring out-and-back road course. They suggested that I give the trails a try in the future and I took their advice to heart.

The Sunday after returning home from Vegas I took Piper out on a walk/jog in Ridley Creek State Park to see for myself how fun this whole trail running thing could be. I LOVED IT!! The snowy trail wound around in the woods, up hills and over little frozen creeks. Every once in a while the trail would intersect the paved multi-use park road and Piper and I would dash across, pausing just long enough to glimpse a few road-runners before diving back into the woods on the other side. Piper shouldn’t be running any significant distance yet since she’s still very young, but we couldn’t stop ourselves from breaking out into a slow jog on the beautiful trails. Piper’s tail was up in the air and wagging the entire time. 😊 (Side note: Piper is going to be an awesome running buddy someday!!)

I headed out onto the Ridley Creek trails again on Tuesday, this time ready for a more serious run and armed with a new pair of Yaktrax to help with traction on the snow and ice. I parked at area 14 and enjoyed a hilly route that followed sections of the blue, white and yellow trails. I completed 4 miles in 44:44… a lot slower than my normal road runs but given the rough terrain and snow that was fine by me.

Ridley Creek Trail Run (Interactive Map)

January at RCSP

Saturday I was at it again, now venturing out on the Darlington and Rocky Run sections of my beloved Middletown Township trails network. The area around the parking lot looked melted and muddy so I initially left my Yaktrax in the car, but promptly turned around and grabbed them after immediately hitting a section of trail that was pure ice. (Apparently ice stays on the trails even when it has melted everywhere else. Who knew?) This run was hillier than my forays in RCSP but quite enjoyable nonetheless. After 5.1 miles at a slightly improved 10:12 pace I think it’s safe to say that I am officially hooked on trails.

In other big news… After thirty-four 5Ks and four 5-milers I’m finally trying a new race distance – a 10K!! I’ll be running the Tyler Arboretum 10K on April 11th. It’s a trail race (!!!) with four creek crossings and – I quote – “TONS of elevation changes” so it’s a good thing I’m embracing this whole trail running thing now!! Tyler Arboretum is right next to Ridley Creek State Park but I’ve never actually been there since they charge admission and don’t allow dogs. I’m definitely looking forward to my first 10K!

I still have a lot to learn about trail running but here are a few things I’ve picked up so far:

Trail running is different (harder!) than road running. Just because the pace is slower doesn’t mean you’re not working as hard.
Ice and snow remain on trails even when everything else is melted. Yaktrax are awesome!
Trail running is much more peaceful than road running. Just you and the woods. And your audiobook if you’re me. (I’m 7 hours into Seabiscuit.)
Trails are a great alternative to icy winter roads with their icky, salty, slushy shoulders. I’d rather plan for constant ice and snow on the trails versus trying to dodge ice (and traffic) on the roads.
Don’t get lost. Run somewhere you’re familiar with, plot your route ahead of time, use a mapping app on your phone… whatever you need to do. I would want to hike a new trail with Matt and Piper first to get a feel for it before attempting to run anywhere new alone.
Tell someone where you’re going. I let Matt know my plan and also use the cool “LiveTrack” feature on my Garmin so he can watch my run in real time on his phone if he wants to.
Be safe! So far I have felt very safe at Ridley Creek State Park and on the Middletown Trails, in part because they’re places I go all the time and also because honestly, what crazy predator would be hiding out in the woods on a 19° winter day on the off chance that a lone runner passes by? Still, if I’m going to be running solo I might need to invest in some pepper spray…?

Runners!! What trail running tips would you add to my list??

1Sep2014

Valley Forge Hike with our newest 4-legged house guest, Ganon

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

Happy Labor Day! Matt and I have been enjoying a relaxing holiday weekend at home. We raced The Pickle Run on Thursday, hiked on Friday, went to TWO barbecues on Saturday and did lots of yard work on Sunday. At the moment we have nothing planned for today… that’s my favorite kind of day off! 🙂

We also hosted a new 4-legged house guest at our home this weekend, my step-brother’s pup, Ganon. Friday was our first full day with Ganon so we took him hiking at Valley Forge National Park. Matt and I have done the 5 mile paved Plumb Martin loop at Valley Forge several times but since we had Ganon along we wanted to try some hiking trails instead. Every time we’ve done the paved loop we’ve seen a sign marking the turnoff for a pedestrian crossing over the (very wide) Schuylkill River. I’ve always been intrigued by the river crossing so on Friday we decided to give it a try.

Schuylkill River

VFNP River Trail

We parked at the Visitor’s Center and followed the paved loop north for a short while before turning off the trail towards the Schuylkill River. From there we followed a road that dead-ended at what had been the old Betzwood Bridge (now just a precarious drop-off to the river!) before turning up a steep path to Highway 422. The “pedestrian crossing” was a rickety 3 foot wide cantilevered walkway that was tacked onto the side of a major highway bridge several stories about the river. Eek! Not quite the peaceful hike I was expecting, but still very exhilarating (or terrifying, depending on your perspective).

Despite some wobbly boards and lots of traffic whizzing by, we survived the bridge crossing and thankfully returned to ground level in the quieter, less tourist-y “north side” of Valley Forge. (Where, for the record, there’s a perfectly good parking lot… We’ll probably drive over the 422 bridge and park there next time!) I later read that ground has been broken for a brand new pedestrian/bike bridge that will be located at the site of the old Betzwood Bridge. We’ll try the crossing again in May 2016 when the new bridge is supposed to be completed!

Once we arrived on the northern bank of the Schuylkill, we walked along the paved Schuylkill River Trail for a few minutes before transitioning down to the less-traveled gravel River Trail. The River Trail hugged the river and offered gorgeous views of the water and woods. We hiked for about 3 miles before turning around to make the trek back, but the trails kept going and we could have extended the hike quite a bit if we had wanted to. There were a few spots where the path led right to the river which Ganon really liked. 🙂

View from the River Trail

Schuylkill River pup

The north side of Valley Forge was really beautiful and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to get away from the big crowds, tours, and reenactments that you’ll find on the more popular south side of the park. I think Ganon would recommend it too… he had fun and was completely exhausted afterwards!

Here’s a map of our 6.2 mile hike shown in red on the VFNP North Side trails map. You can view the official Park map on the NPS web site here: http://www.nps.gov/vafo/planyourvisit/upload/northside-2012.pdf

Have a great Labor Day!

1Jun2014

Double Trail Run Weekend

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

This weekend I ran TWO 5K trail races and I had a great time! The first race was the Rocky Run 5K hosted by the Rocky Run YMCA in Media, PA on Friday night. This race was originally scheduled for May 16th but it had to be postponed due to extremely heavy rainfall (over 2.5″ inches in 8 hours). Postponing the race was a good call – the extra two weeks gave the winding trails behind the Y time to dry out and Friday’s weather was absolutely perfect.

The Y’s 5K course started out on a short pavement loop before entering the woods on the Rocky Run Trail. (This trail is part of a large network of trails in Middletown Township including the Darlington and Linvill Trails… if you’re in the area I’d highly recommend checking them out!) I’ve spent a lot of time hiking on these trails but I’ve never actually run on them so Friday’s race was a new experience for me. The first 1 1/2 miles seemed pretty easy and I felt good as I dodged tree roots, mud, and rocks. At the halfway turnaround I discovered that I was the 2nd place woman (woohoo!) which put some pressure on me to keep up my pace for the second half of the race. I didn’t know how far behind me the 3rd place woman was, but I do remember the second half of the race feeling MUCH harder than the first half, probably because it was almost entirely uphill!

The last mile wasn’t pretty, but I held onto my second place spot and finished in 27:40, good enough for 14th overall out of 88 runners, 2nd place female, and 1st in my age group. The overall female winner was actually also in my age group but I got the AG award since she got the overall award. 🙂 The Rocky Run 5K marked the first time I’ve won an actual prize in a race — a $25 gift certificate to a local running store!! — and also helped me realize that I might REALLY like trail runs!

After my great off-road experience on Friday night, I decided to sign up for another local trail race on Sunday morning. This race was Radnor Conservancy’s Race for Open Space 5K Trail Run. It was held at the Willows mansion/park in Villanova, PA which is actually where my parents got married back in 1983! Despite the Willows only being about 20 minutes from my house I’ve never actually been there, so it was pretty neat to visit the alcove and gardens that I’ve only ever seen in old wedding portraits. I was surprised to discover that my parents’ wedding ceremony site is now a parking lot… I guess modern-day weddings happen somewhere else on the property??

2014 – the same alcove is a parking lot today!

1983 – My parents’ wedding at The Willows

Much like the Rocky Run 5K, the Race for Open Space started on a short stretch of pavement before entering the woods on winding, hilly trails. My Runkeeper App couldn’t get a good GPS signal during the race and it reported that I had already run 5 miles after only 7:46 had elapsed. Whoops! The Runkeeper app continued to malfunction throughout the race (at one point it told that my mile split was 81 miles per hour!!) but it was useful just to know the race time even if the miles were way off. I thought that this course seemed harder than the Rocky Run course so I was pleasantly surprised when I finished in 25:49… nearly 2 minutes faster than Friday’s time. Yay!!

Pieced together Runkeeper stats from Radnor

The Willows Pond

Medal!!!

My 25:49 finish was good enough for 31st overall out of 96 runners, 10th place female, and 1st place in my age group. 🙂 Considering that I had not originally been planning to run any races this weekend, I was pretty thrilled with how my two trail races turned out. Now I really can’t wait to do the Run-A-Muck trail race in September… I have a feeling that I am going to be able to improve significantly on my 35+ minute time from last year!!

My next race is the Media 5 Miler on June 20th. This is a road race (which should feel easy after tree roots, rocks and mud!) and, with over 1500 runners, it will be the biggest race that I’ve run in so far. Less than 3 weeks to go!

Miles since last post: 53.8
Days since last post: 13
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.81
2014 TOTAL MILES: 721.3

Related Posts:
• Run for Victory 5K (5/18/14)
• Elwyn 5K (5/3/14)
• St. Tim’s 5K (4/26/14)
• Rick’s Run 5K (4/19/14)
• Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/14)
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

21Sep2013

Kirkwood Preserve

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

Guess what? In 2 hours I will be running in my first distance race since 1999!!! The 5K is hosted by Willistown Conservation Trust, a local non-profit land preservation organization in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania. To prepare for the race I’ve been running like crazy on my treadmill AND, because the real world isn’t as flat and smooth as a treadmill, Matt and I have also been hiking (and sometimes jogging) in lots of local parks and preserves.

This week in honor of the upcoming race we visited Willistown Conservation Trust’s Kirkwood Preserve.

Kirkwood features 83 acres of grasslands along a stretch of the picturesque Crum Creek. The preserve has been classified as an “Important Bird Area,” meaning that you’re likely to see some endangered grassland birds on your hike. More importantly (for me, at least) this also means that dogs are strictly prohibited from all areas of the preserve.

I actually have a very personal connection to the rolling hills of Kirkwood Preserve because I grew up about 2 miles away from here. When my brother and I were kids we would walk here from our house with my mom all the time. This was back before the land was preserved (it was just a cow farm then) and we spent hours and hours of our childhoods here hiking, playing, cross-country skiing, fishing, picnicing… you name it! With all of those memories in mind it was really neat to come here with Matt and see that the land is still here and open to all. (Of course the barbed-wired cow fences are all gone and the fields are full of natural grasses now, but that’s fine with me!) Here are some photos from our walk:

Kirkwood Preserve

Sorry Bailey, no dogs allowed!

Kirkwood Preserve

Kirkwood Preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset and has well-mowed walking trails. We did the outer loop on our visit and our total walk was just shy of 2 miles. The only access to the preserve is via the gravel parking lot on Grubbs Mill Road.

OK… time for Matt and me to start stretching and getting ready for the race! Here’s my running tally as of yesterday evening:

Miles since last post: 60.2
Days since last post: 11
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 5.56
TOTAL MILES: 361.2

Wish us luck at 4pm…! 🙂

Kirkwood Jump

Other local hikes, parks, and preserves:

• Ridley Creek State Park (Edgmont Township, PA)
• Okehocking Preserve (Willistown Township, PA)
• Darlington Trail (Middletown Township, PA)
• Linvill Trail (Middletown Township, PA)
• Stroud Preserve, (West Chester, PA)

8Nov2012

The Darlington Trail (Middletown Trails)

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

As the weather gets cooler I find myself getting the urge to go hiking in the woods with Matt and Bailey. We took a nice 2 mile walk at Okehocking Preserve last week but, since that’s already been featured on my blog, I thought I’d write about another one of our favorite hiking spots: Darlington Trail in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

The Darlington Trail is part of the wonderful “Middletown Trails” network that is owned and maintained by Middletown Township. You can view a map showing the rough location of each of the six trails in my Linvill Trail post from last March.

One of my favorite parts about the Darlington Trail is that it crisscrosses an old rail line. These tracks used to carry passenger trains from Media to West Chester (an extension of the current-day Septa R3 Media/Elwyn line) but now they are only used by the occasional freight train traveling at night towards Philadelphia from a nearby quarry. We’ve never seen a train on this stretch of tracks during the daytime so we always feel very safe walking along (or on!) the tracks.

The train tracks cross high over the Chester Creek in two spots. I wouldn’t recommend trying to walk across the rail bridges on foot because the space between each of the railroad cross ties is completely open to the creek 30 or so feet below. Seeing the water rush by below your feet is pretty disconcerting when you are standing on a bridge that’s only a couple of feet wide with no handrails or guardrails!

The first time we hiked the Darlington Trail we were exploring the tracks and somehow ended up on the wrong side of one of the bridges. Bailey definitely would have fallen right through the holes between the ties if we had tried to walk on the bridge so Matt concluded that the only way to get her to the other side was to carry her. Luckily she was very calm and stayed perfectly still while Matt tiptoed from tie to tie across the bridge! (Note: you do not have to cross the bridges in order to hike the trail!)

The bridge doesn’t look very intimidating from here, but when you get closer and realize that there’s nothing but air between the rail ties it might make you feel a bit unnerved when walking over it!

The terrain is quite varied on the Darlington Trail. At some points you snake along the wide bank of Chester Creek (great for dogs who like the water!) and in other spots you hike through rolling farmlands and are rewarded with a great view of the surrounding area and the trail as it continues on in the distance.

According to the trail map, the entire loop is about 2.75 miles long. The trail is well maintained and is clearly marked with yellow diamond-shaped trail signs. We usually park in the lot located on Darlington Road just north of the road’s intersection with Route 1 / Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills, PA. You can also park near the original Wawa dairy (yes, THE Wawa!) on Valley Road just north of Route 1.

If you live in the Delaware County/Chester County area and ever decide to hike the Darlington Trail I would love to hear what you think of it! Do you have a favorite section of trail (or does your dog have a favorite section of the creek?) 🙂 Please share!