Trail Running = Fun (maybe a little pain)

I am blogging remotely today, from the newly opened Epic Cycle in Clermont http://www.epiccyclesusa.com I thought I should take advantage of some down time and update progress on training.

This is a recovery week for us and the speed work and long run have been reduced - mileage is still staying pretty high but we are spreading it over more days than normal. I truly enjoy opening my workout schedule for the week and seeing two 8 mile week day runs that are to be done on a soft surface. Trail Run time - this is so much fun.

Tuesday I made the trek to Wekiva State Park in the Longwood area for my run. I really enjoy this place because the trails are well marked, they have different length courses and the spring is a nice place to wash off and soak the legs after your run.

This 8 miler turned into about 10, but was fun. I did two loops on the orange course which is relatively easy to run on - just have to watch out for roots that tend to reach up and grab you. Especially at the end when you are not thinking too much about them.

No good wildlife on this run - lots of squirrels and only one deer - last week I encountered a flock (is that what you call a shit load of wild turkeys) of wild turkeys and many deer. I am still waiting to see my first bear - not that I really want to see one up close but the little dudes are so cool looking.

I felt terrific during this run - the first lap was very easy and I seemed to recover well from the 18 miler over the weekend. The second loop was as uneventful and I was still feeling great - I passed one person and scared the crap out of them because they did not hear me coming (maybe he thought I was a bear). Unfortunately, on my way back to the spring I trip on one of those dreaded roots - fell - smashed my toe pretty good (thought for sure I lost a toenail) and overall embarrassed myself. So, what is the first thing someone does when they fall - look around to see who saw it???? Cool, no onlookers but it would be hard to hide the fact that Ii am now covered in dirt pretty much head to toe :-).

Well, after getting up and dusting off -(pigpen!) cleaning off my water bottle and finishing my run - I was in one piece, no real pain and heading for the spring for a dip. The water is about 60 degrees (I think) so it feels awesome to soak the legs after a run - helps with recovery and to get cleaned up a little.

My rules of trail running:

1. always take out what you bring in - do not litter and do not feed Gel to the animals.
2. watch your footing - you have to pick up your feet
3. run a little slower than on the roads - get used to it
4. carry enough fluid and nutrition in case you get lost (or at least a map) - Ii spent over 4 hours in the forest one day because I was lost!
5. enjoy!

if you ever want to go for a trail run let me know - company is always welcome.