National Running Day

Happy National Running Day!!

Yeah, that's my badge.  I have so many reasons why I run....for my health, to feel free of my stress and other BS, so that I can eat dessert, because I enjoy it, but most of all...because I CAN.  Years ago, I would never have been able to imagine running a mile, let alone 10.  I couldn't imagine running for FUN! After all, who in their right mind does that?  Apparently, I'm not in my right mind.

Well, the past two days I've had some really nice runs thinking about national running day.  Yesterday Adrian and I ran together at Honeygo Run Park after dinner.  It was super crowded, which made it more fun.  Only did a short run- 2 miles.  Earlier in the day, I had to return the no good running skirt (it's a nice skirt, just didn't work for me) to Lululemon and ended up getting some new gear.  See below for an entire outfit- loving them so far!  The crops are awesome- it feels like you aren't wearing anything.  Hope I'm still feeling that way when I run in 90 degree weather. lol.

Hello Lululemon

I'm especially happy that my soreness, which was still bothering me at the beginning of my run yesterday, was all but a happy memory this morning.  So I laced up for what I wanted to be a 4-5 mile run.  On my way out, I decided the weather was just too beautiful to not hit the trails so I laced up my trail shoes.  

On the move at Gunpowder Falls

It was GORGEOUS out!  There was a lot of people, dogs, and random wild animals out keeping me company, and I enjoyed passing by every one.  I have been trying to unplug more, and one thing I've been doing is no music on the trails.  It's so wonderful to just focus on the run itself and enjoy your surroundings.  To be so easily amused by things like jumping over logs and smiling as you think about horses while doing so.  Also, I have to stay so focused on the path in front of me so I don't fall on my butt, face, or twist an ankle.  I did manage to twist my ankle today- when I took a second to check my garmin for my heart rate.  Apparently the trail running gods didn't appreciate my garmin obsession. Sorry!

At first I was going to stick to the mainly flat out and back trail along the river, but after looking at the trail map I decided to go on the Wildlands Trail that was a 2 mile loop through the woods and then grab the Stocksdale trail to get back to Big Gunpowder Trail to get back to the parking lot.  What I didn't realize was the amount of intensive technical climbing that would commence....holy crap.  It's also crazy how much more difficult it is to take those super rocky trails down hill, especially how much harder it is on your feet.  At points I actually had to really focus on letting my heels focus to give the balls of my feet a little relief  By the end of 3.5 miles or so, I could feel some hot spots sprouting up on my feet.  It felt like I could push through it, so I finished out the trail down to the small falls.  Yeah...by the trip back (a little over a mile) to the car, I decided I needed to give my hot spots a break and walked over any rocky areas, only jogging on sand or dirt. 

And yup....I have blisters on each of my feet- in different places oddly enough.  On the back of my left big toe and side of the ball of my right foot.  Both pretty small, but I put blister bandaids on them before heading to work.  Hopefully it will help because I want to get a 6 mile in on Saturday morning and that would suck with these blisters.

So, happy national running day! I would also love some advice from my friends on the blister issue...

Why do you run?

What do you do when you get a blister?

Trail Run!

I embarked on my first, what I would consider, real "trail run" today.  I've run at Fair Hill natural resource center before, but what I've run there is typically a very well kept single or double track road that's mainly gravel with few areas with roots, loose rocks, etc.  There's even a long stretch of pavement I've done before on my loops.  I ran a little bit of foot trails there with heavy rocks and roots, but it wasn't even a full mile at that and I mainly walked.

Now, that's not to say that I ran the entire 4 miles today.  Hardly! There were chunks, particularly during mile 2 that I had no choice but to hop from rock to rock and side step massive puddles and ankle deep mud.  And of course, sometimes end up in nearly ankle deep mud! For the most part, though, I was able to avoid the thickest mud and huge puddles by finding some creative paths.  Like this one:

One of many giant puddles across the trail

If you look carefully, you can see to the right of the puddle is a secondary trail that was much more passable- if you were willing to get a little pricked with prickly bushes.  I'm lucky that there was a young guy walking ahead of me with his dog, because he actually showed me some of the better ways to navigate the trail by picking through it first and tramping some of it down.

After getting through that nasty part plus some, I meandered up into a high trail through some really muddy woods that forced me to turn around because it was nearly impossible to pass through.  But it got me to a beautiful creek, so it was worth it.  After turning back around, I found another trail.  It climbed and climbed and at one point I almost just turned around because it didn't seem to ever end.  But if I had turned around, I wouldn't have gotten to enjoy this:

Running in the middle of a forest

It was so stunning and peaceful.  For a good stretch up this hill, I enjoyed running on soft pine needles with very little rocks and roots to watch out for.  When I got to this area, it finally started going down a little, so I took it as a sign I should turn back around....plus I had been hearing thunder in the distance, and I didn't want to get caught in the storm.  Well, I did anyway.  Good thing I hadn't been wearing my headphones, but I will say that my Garmin didn't dig on the rain AT ALL.  It basically beeped continuously  trying to toggle back and forth like I was touching the bezzle.  O well, at least it kept recording!  I was trying to keep my heart rate below 150 the whole time, but there were some hills that I just resigned to staying under 160.  When it started raining I picked up the pace and just ignored my HR because I wanted to get back.  It was the first time I've ever run in serious rain, where I was dripping from the rain instead of sweat.  It was a very interesting mix on my arms....sunscreen+ sweat+ rain water. Yum.   Within a minute of getting back to my car, the heavens opened up and it was pouring cats and dogs, so I'm glad I turned around when I did!

Think my shoes are broken in?

Now that I am freshly clean, stretched, foam rolled, and refueled..... I still have a smile on my face from that run just thinking about it.  It was great to have some time to just be....all that consumed my head during the run was not falling on my face or twisting my ankle- which took a lot of concentration! I brought my ipod along with me, but after only a single song, I turned it off and stashed it in my hand held bottle- I wanted to just enjoy the trail.  And enjoy I did :)


Do you like running or hiking on trails? What do you look for in a good trail?