Date: 2011-06-06
From: The Allenberry, Boiling Springs, Day 2

To: The Doyle, Duncannon
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

(In which I attempt to trail run a marathon on my zero day)After several failed attempts to find a ride back to Duncannon, Buffalo ends up calling "Trail Angel" Mary again to arrange a ride. I decide to send my pack with Buffalo and try some trail running while I have the opportunity. It's 25.5 miles from Boiling Springs to Duncannon, so I figure that I may as well walk another 0.7 miles south on the trail to make it an even 26.2. The fact that I've already traveled these miles and so this technically is another zero day just makes the whole thing more fun. I wait with Buffalo for a bit, but when the scheduled time of 10am rolls around and Mary has yet to arrive, I start walking south. When I reach the campground that the guidebook says is 0.5 I estimate another 0.2, turn around and start jogging.Buffalo is still waiting for the ride when I pass him, so I tell him that I'll race him back. The first 14 miles are the same flat ones from the Cumberland Valley, and it feels exhilarating to run without a pack. I carry a water bottle in one hand and a plastic grocery bag with granola bars and candy bars in the other hand. In the small rear pocket of my shorts I carry a piece of paper with the relevant sections of the guidebook hand copied and my headlamp, just in case something goes wrong and I need to limp back in the dark.In the first half an hour I pass all of the thru-hikers who started in Boiling Springs, and I also pass two other trail runners who are jogging a bit slower than I am. They have fancy Camelback packs for their water and snacks and carry trekking poles, and by comparison I look like I just came out of a convenience store, plastic bag in one hand, drink in the other.Since there is no camping in the next 14 miles, I run in a pocket devoid of thru-hikers. I am too far behind to catch the hikers from the shelter 14 miles in, so I am alone for nearly the entire day, seeing only a handful of day hikers.Trail running, I find out, requires more mental discipline than hiking, and after the initial exhilaration I have to fight the constant temptation to slow to a walk. I maintain a good running pace for the first 14 miles, but when I hit the steep uphill near the first shelter I start walking, and then take a snack break at the shelter. From there on the terrain is mostly rocky or hilly, and by the time another flat section appears, running has become too exhausting for me to do for very long. Walking without a pack should be easier than hiking, but coming after a 14 mile run it seems even harder, and I struggle to keep myself motivated to continue moving forward.I've run 26.2+ miles several times before I started hiking without ever resorting to walking, so I find it strange that it seems so much harder now, especially since I am fitter now than I've ever been, and I am coming off of a day and a half of rest. The more difficult terrain is likely one factor, all of my previous long runs being on flat roads. But the bigger difference, I decide, is the different long term stamina needed for running and hiking. My runs were all followed by weeks of rest, and so I could run without saving any energy reserves for later. After so much experience hiking, however, my body knows that there's always more work to be done in the near future, and has seemingly ramped down the amount of my available energy it is willing to spend without coercion. I think that I could probably override this, but know that my future hiking self would almost certainly regret it.In Duncannon I stop by the first gas station I see to buy a Dr Pepper, then walk down the road to the Doyle where Buffalo has rented a room. I'm exhausted and want few things more than to lie down on a bed or any other flat surface, but getting to the hotel rooms requires going through the bar, and Pat, the unfriendly owner I met previously, is sitting outside and refuses to let me in with an open soda bottle. I have too much left to chug, so I walk down the street to a pizza shop and order a side of garlic bread with cheese, the only sauceless option available on the menu. The pizza shop has no problem with my Dr Pepper, so I sit in one of their air conditioned booths, drinking my soda and eating the dinner I hadn't realized I was so hungry for. I make sure to finish all of the garlic bread, knowing my chances of being able to bring it back to the hotel.At the Doyle I see Buffalo again, who admits that after eight days without tobacco he finally broke down and bought a pack of cigarettes. I think about German Shepherd and River Rat, and hope that their attempts to quit are faring better. Buffalo gives me a tour of the hotel, commenting that at least I should be able to get some cool photos. The building looks like it hasn't been renovated or cleaned since the '40s. Electrical wires run along cracked walls and ceilings, and our ceiling fan dangles precariously from its wiring. The light switches look like they are from an earlier era when electricity was still new and exciting, but not particularly safe or well understood. The entire floor shares one bathroom, with a mildewed shower, toilet and washing machine all kept behind the same latched door. The whole building looks like it has not been up to code since it was built, or more likely not even then.I'm sweaty enough from my run that I decide to risk the shower, then return to the room for a solo round of Guess Where That Stain Came From and a nap. We had planned on zeroing here tomorrow so Buffalo could wait for his shoes to arrive and I could recover from my run, but I now refuse on general principle to spend any more money that will go to the owner, so we will need to come up with a new plan tomorrow.