Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hitting the Dirt

I'm happy to report that after over a week without running (the longest I've gone without being injured in I don't know how long), I am back at it again.

On Monday, I went out for a casual almost 4-mile run. I took it easy at a 10:00 pace and felt great - I definitely had a lot more in me, but I didn't want to push it too hard. I was happy just to be running.

In the time I was away, the weather got much, much colder. It was time for a long-sleeved shirt, tights, jacket, hat, and gloves. I swear to Yoda, I saw a couple of snowflakes while I was out! Can anybody recommend some good cold weather socks? My toesies definitely get cold.

Today, I'm going for a miles TBD trail run at Blackhawk State Park. You guys, trail running is really hard! Those of you who have run long races and training runs on trails have my respect. I'll be out there working my butt off, heart pounding, trying not to fall down a cliff, and Paula The Garmin will notify me that I am, in fact, crawling along.

The thing is, though, that although I'd be much faster on the road or on the track, I would not be surrounded by breath-quickening beauty every step of my run. I wouldn't have the fun challenge of jumping over tree roots and climbing steep hills. Plus I wouldn't have the excuse to wear my super cool new green trail shoes!

My series of November cross country races starts on Sunday with the Governor's Cross Country race. How awesome is it going to be? Let's review the race application again, shall we?

"Weather conditions can make the course very difficult. Be prepared to get wet, muddy, slip, fall, and laugh at yourself. "

9 comments:

joyRuN said...

Sounds like you'll be having a fun weekend! Enjoy the trails :)

tfh said...

Thanks for the link! Enjoy your run. My favorite part about trail running is that it SLIGHTLY levels the playing field-- the fastest runners have to slow down more than the slowest runners to avoid wiping out. Of course, wiping out is underrated-- love the cross country race info...sounds like it'll be a blast.

I Run for Fun said...

The trail run sounds good...and hard! Have a good time.

Kent said...

Hey welcome back, and only like 23 more days until the greatest day on the calendar....

Julianne said...

Trail running *is* hard! I still have mixed feelings about it! I've been told, once you go trail, you never go back but that hasn't been the case for me... But I love the change of scenery that trail running provides!

Meg said...

Sounds like fun! Be sure to take some pictures of some of the scenery on your run!

Anonymous said...

Betsy - I could not agree more! I DO feel like I'm crawling or going backwards on my trail runs, but they are just so dang fun I can't say no :) Good luck-

Ms. V. said...

Sounds fun! Thanks for inspiring me!!!

Nat said...

Oh god... it's cold now isn't it?

I tend to have warm hands and feet when I run so I wear the same sock all year. Sorry.