Marathon training doesn’t stop just because of vacation. And since I love running in new places anyway, it was a no-brainer to get my eight miler done while on vacation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
My boyfriend, Mike, and I stayed at a beautiful place in Dutch Country called The Hertzog Homestead Bed and Breakfast in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, on Friday and Saturday nights. It was surrounded by farmland and provided some nice scenery for a long run, although you could certainly smell the, um, farms.
Saturday’s eight-miler was my last long run before the Shamrock Marathon. I did four miles by myself and then I ran the other four miles with Mike. The second half seemed to be hillier than the first half. During that run, my watch tracked a total of 299 feet of elevation gain.
Since the first part of the run didn’t seem to be too hilly, when I saw a bridge with a decent hill at one point, I decided to go up it since I knew I’d have to add on some distance anyway, as the first loop I mapped out was 3.2 miles, and I needed 4 for that half. That ended up leading to a lengthy hill, and then on my way back to the B&B, it was also hilly.
That’s something I’m not used to in Salisbury. In my long run the week before — the Tim Kennard River Run 10-miler — I logged 73 feet of elevation gain. And in my 14 miler at the Algonquin Cross-County Trail, I only gained 38 feet.
It was quiet. I did see one other runner, and at one point, I stood off to the side of the road while a large tractor passed so that a car could go by. It was mostly rural farmland, so I was surprised to come across some sort of career and technology center. I wasn’t as surprised to see a bunch of farm animals!
During my first half, I stayed on the side of Route 222 that I was already on, but when Mike and I ran together, we went over to the other side (you can cross over on overpasses), where it seemed to be a little more residential. I also did a 3.5-mile loop on Sunday and ran on both sides.
I’m glad I got to explore some of Lancaster County on foot! And I actually walked a lot later that day, too.
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