Follies of Trail Running (or, Things I Learned Today)

[KiaKat]

I'm a trail runner. Hoping to build up enough endurance to do a half-marathon in January, we'll see if it happens. For now, I usually do 30-40 minutes, 3 times a week. In two weeks, I start adding days and distance, to start pushing towards 13.1 miles. I have a great area nearby, with lots of trails that wind in and out of each other. Which gives me a great opportunity to just start running, and know that I'm going to end up back where I started.

Usually.

Except there's apparently this ONE trail that is only connected at one end... the other end comes out more than a few miles later on a road that is easily 3/4 mile from the entrance to the park where I leave my car. Entails running on a road-with-no-shoulder for that bit of distance. Absolutely hellish, especially on a very hot, very sunny afternoon where I don't have a water bottle. Why not? Because I thought I'd be running in the woods for no more than 30 minutes. I shouldn't have NEEDED a water bottle.

This new trail (never ran it before today) turned out to be steeper than anything I've run before. There were moments where I was literally pulling myself up a switchback by holding on to trees.

I tripped, twice. Never running without my cell phone again.

There are some very nice people in town. One of them offered me a glass of water. I gladly accepted - turned out he's retired from the Sheriff's office recently, and his wife has made the same mistake I did, just the other day.

Turns out I can run for nearly a full hour, with only a few moments of "oh gods I can't do this."

Oh I am SO going to hurt tomorrow.

[kzc]

Glad to hear you survived. It's probably a good idea to carry water whenever you're running a trail you're unfamiliar with. Have you considered using something like a Camelbak instead of carrying a bottle? I've found that to be much easier for longer distances.

I've done half-marathons on both trail and road, and trail is more challenging, but so much more enjoyable. Best of luck in January; please let us know how the race goes.

[KiaKat]

The stupid thing is that I know the trail. I just happened to go the wrong way. I meant for yesterday to be a short run, not a long one. And I intended to stay in the woods.

The half-marathon in January is road, so that'll be *very* interesting.

Besides which... depending on various factors, I may end up restricted to the 5K. We'll see.

Camelbaks always feel awkward. I prefer running with a hip pack that has a bottle attachment.

[BlaqueKatt]

Camelbaks always feel awkward. I prefer running with a hip pack that has a bottle attachment.

if the straps bother you, they make cycling jerseys with an integrated camelback(cycling and running clothes are quite similar in fabrics)

[KiaKat]

It's more the weight distribution. I like to have any extra weight settled right over my sacrum, if I can manage it - my hips and legs are incredibly strong, and I prefer to keep my center of balance as low as possible. The exception is my iPod (poor thing died on this run, that's why I missed the turn), which is either tucked into the front or the back of my running top, depending on which one I wear and how low the neckline is.

The iPhone will be getting an armband. We'll see how well that does, or if I'll have to suss out a different way of carrying it. I'm pretty sure the iPod died because it was drenched in sweat. Ew.

[Seraph]

Kia, at least you didn't try running on our lovely Appalachian Trail right now, lol. Its more like...hurdling, at this point.

[Andara Bledin]

Yeah. Totally never go without your cell phone and your water, no matter what.

You may plan for a short run, but fate may have other ideas, and it's always better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.

^-.-^

[KiaKat]

That was a bad habit I got into in high school. We had a trail on campus that was considered too difficult for HSX-C, so they saved it for practice (no wonder we had the top runners in the region, and have sent two people to the Olympics, with another dozen or so Ironmen...). Because it was a closed loop (split in two, a 2-mile for middle school and 3.1-mile for HS), and we ran in groups, we never bothered to bring water, nor did any of us have mobiles at that point in time (mid-90s), so I got into some very bad habits.

My poor iPod is officially dead. This makes me sad. Gonna take it into Apple and see if it's a simple component change, or if there's something more complex. I may love the lil demon, but it *is* 7 years old. Just a *bit* old for an iPod at this point.