I used to love running on trails, mostly in high school where we had really easy access to a pretty extensive network right on the GDA campus. We also would take trips out to parks in the area for long runs during cross country season. I have some really fond memories of running with my high school team, and many of those memories took place out on runs in the woods. In college we still trained on trails, but not nearly as much as I did in high school. I think this might have been because we just had way more options in terms of road runs around Bucknell. The trails around there you either needed to drive to, or they weren't very good. We were also running a lot more miles, so it just ended up being easier to hop on the roads around the school than drive to a park somewhere. That being said, we did subject ourselves to running on the fields on campus a lot, now that I think about it. That was a 1.5-ish mile loop around the practice fields and golf course that we did all the time. Not true trails obviously-- just a softer surface.
Anyway, I digress.
Since I started working with SC I've done a ton more road running. This has been mostly my decision making, and I've chosen to stick to the roads because I can just run so much faster on that surface. Why run on some trail somewhere at 8:00 pace when you can (seemingly) get much better (read:faster) results on the road? Whenever I did run on the trails I was frustrated at the softness and non-responsiveness of it. I just loved the speed of the roads, and I got some really amazing training runs in on that surface that wouldn't have looked so impressive if they were on undulating single track.
The game has officially changed with the reality of this injury. Obviously, I've needed to work on more core strengthening and even change my gait a little bit by engaging my glutes more. The ever evolving plan to keep myself strong in the core is to do some really long, slow runs on hilly trails. I started by doing 45 minutes at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth about a month ago, and have basically been building from there. The most recent breakthrough I had was 1:45min run on the trails surrounding Mt. Aggie in Maine yesterday where I covered over 11 miles. Yes, it was a lot slower than my normal road pace, but the key was the time. That's what I'm latching my brain on right now. I have no consideration for pace, only heart rate and time, and it's a pretty amazing reality. It had to have been the most satisfying run since my marathon last June. Had to be.
Trails are so much less stressful than road running, for so many reasons-- I know you probably don't need me to tell you that, but it's just so fun when you take away all the speed expectations you might be used to focusing on. You're just out there plopping along at a relaxed pace, and yet your feet are stepping quickly from rock to root and your mind is so engaged on where to plant them next. The hills are steep and challenging and the downhills are sometimes a suicidal rush of speed, but ultimately it's a really cool combination of sensations, and something I'm not entirely used to. I love it though, and had forgotten how satisfying a couple hours in the woods by yourself can be.
I'm stoked to keep building up my base and hopefully keep the pain on my right side at bay, or even maybe work through it entirely in the coming months. Eventually I'll be hoping to go up to the white mountains and do some traverses, 5+ hour adventures with just me and my little water vest.
Speaking of which, I have been using this new vest for these long trail runs. It's amazing and doesn't bounce on me at all. It has tons of useful storage (which I haven't really needed yet) and a 2L water bladder. I love it. I feel awesome out there with everything I need on my back-- food, water, whatever else-- to run super far. Yeah. It's a lot of fun.
More to come soon!
AH
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