Running in Valley Forge

Today I had my first official training run for the Chicago Marathon! It was very exciting!  I went to work in the morning and then got out early and headed straight over to Valley Forge National Park!

I was so excited to switch up my run today! I was such an awesome feeling to be running in unfamiliar territory. It made the time fly by!

The really fun part about running in the Valley Forge National Park was all the amazing history!

I even got to run past log cabins! Woohoo!

 

Can I just say that today was absolutely gorgeous?! I love the blue sky and the green grass!

There were lots of people out today on the trails. People were running, walking, biking, walking their dogs, walking their kids – everyone was definitely out and about. 

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.

I ran (and jumped!) past the Memorial Arch.

Everything was so gorgeous. I barely remember running the whole time, I was just in awe of everything!

Did I mention I loved the log cabins (and camera self-timers!)! 

 

Part of the loop that I did was covered in shade  and the other part was out in the open. I enjoyed the mix.

  

I was having a blast running in a new territory!

There were even cannons along the way! Cool!

 

About halfway along my voyage I had a GU Chomps pack from the North Face Endurance Challenge packet.

The strawberry flavor was yummy!

 

Did I mention the skies were crazy blue?

 

Here is a little peak of the trail I was on. The Joseph Plumb Martin Trail was claimed to be around 5 miles long, but when I ran the first half of my loop it was closer to 5.6 miles. It was a nice long trail and it took me through some awesome spots in Valley Forge.

I love that the trail was named after a 15 year old boy who fought in the war! What a brave young lad!

Then I came across Waterman’s Monument. 

 

I liked how this monument was dedicated to all the soldiers who slept here during the cold winter months from 1777-1778!

 

It was really beautiful – it reminded me of the Washington Monument, but on a smaller scale.

From far away it looked really small, but up close it was BIG!

Next up I passed by the chapel in Valley Forge. It was beyond beautiful. When fiancé and I get our vows renewed 30 years from now, I would like them to be here! It’s so pretty! 

(But obviously I love where we are actually getting married BEST!)

 

I started and finished my first loop by the Visitor’s Center. After passing by here I started round 2!

On round 2 I passed by my favorite log cabins again.

I was feeling really good until about mile 7, then things started to get a little tougher, but definitely manageable.

Around mile 6.5 I decided to break off the trail  and take a different path back to my car. This involved going on the main roads, but there weren’t many cars, which was good.

The one main thing which I love (and hate!) about the Valley Forge Park is all the Hills!! There were so many everywhere, I was constantly going up and down, which is an awesome workout, but it makes everything a little harder.

But of course, what goes up, must come down, which I appreciate.

The last 2 miles I was baking in the sun! It was hot and I was feeling it!

Then I saw some  horseback riders which entertained me for a bit!

THEN I saw these signs around the entire perimeter of the park, which caused me a little concern…

Any thoughts??

 

After pondering the above sign for the last few miles I passed by this which distracted me. It’s a field bake oven! How cool is that?!

Maybe I should see if it still works and see if they will let me use it for a blog post?! Haha!

Soon after passing by the oven I completed by first long training run for the Chicago Marathon. I was feeling fabulous and on top of the world!

I ran 10 miles in 1 hour and 33 minutes, which is about a 9:18 minute/mile pace! I was pretty happy with that!

I feel like I had negative splits but my Garmin is acting up and won’t give me my splits. I know I sprinted the last mile at a 7:30 something, which is AWESOME!

Yay for 10 miles! 

    

For more details on my training, follow me on Daily Mile! I don’t always post my workouts and times on the blog, but I always log my exercising on there, if you are interested.

Are you on Daily Mile? I love it and think it’s pretty awesome. If you aren’t on it, maybe you should join!

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What’s your favorite running route??

Valley Forge totally won me over today! I defiantly see myself doing more long runs there! It was lots of fun and a nice change of pace. I had a blast and the miles flew by! Woohoo!