Trail Running.

Today I did some trail running at a beautiful park that is, unfortunately, a good distance from my house. The picture above is not from that park, but resembles it somewhat. I was too lazy at this late hour to upload my own picture. Later I do plan to upload a picture of it, though, as it is by far my favorite place to run.

I do think I'm going to try and swing running at this park least once a week from now on. It is just too good of a place to run not to. It has a trail specifically for runners and is a perfect one mile loop, so no measuring required.

This was my first run in about five days and it felt great to be out there again. For some reason I wasn't feeling well for a few days, and my motivation was lacking, but now I feel better and can't wait for my next run. I need to prepare for my next 5K race, after all, which will be on May 19. Today I was pleased to see that my pace had improved some. Even though I only had time to run two miles, I was able to maintain a better pace for the entire two miles, which is an improvement from my normal habit of slowing down after the first mile.

Trail running is different, that's for sure. You can't just run absentmindedly. You have to be very present and alert, navigating around roots, rocks, pine cones and uneven surfaces, making sure you don't take a wrong turn and wind up in the middle of a lake. Oh and did I mention dogs? They and their owners like those trails, too. And they leave presents. At least they're cute to watch as you run by. Most of them don't even bother to bark. They're trail hardened and runner immune. Oh. It's just another one of those "I'm-only-teasing-not-really-going-to-attack-you" running humans. Never mind. I'll go back to marking my territory now.

It's never boring, as running down long stretches of straight, paved, sidewalk and telephone pole-lined roads can be, and I like that. And I also like the fact that there are no cars whizzing by, no stares from the people inside them, no exhaust fumes flying, no music blaring. Just the sound of the rustle of leaves, lake water splashing, ducks quacking, geese wings taking flight, squirrels scurrying. I definitely want to do more trail running.