A couple of weeks ago I ran a 10 mile trail run race. I kind of did it on a whim, meaning that I kind of trained, but not really. I didn't really know what I was getting into because I've never done a trail run before. But, I thought "how much harder can it be than a 10 mile road race? I expected to encounter a few hills and some rocky paths, but all in all I thought I would just get a good workout while enjoying some beautiful nature. Well, it was a lot more work than I thought. I didn't know anything about the course until right before we started when they did a brief overview. The guy said there was a 1 mile climb around the 5 mile point. I thought "well, just get through it and then the worst will be over." Well, I guess that 1 mile climb was not the only climb. I think the majority of the race was 1 mile climbs with little rolling parts in between. I would call this more of a hike and run. I found myself wishing I had better shoes on and I kind of laughed at myself for how stupid I must have looked to all the trail runner veterans as I grabbed onto trees or plants to catch myself from rolling down the steep downhill curves of loose gravel. It was quite the adventure- very different from a road race, but I don't regret it. I think the whole adventure part made me want to do a trail run again although it was somewhat of a grueling experience. I loved the feeling of jumping over logs, ducking beneath fallen trees, and running over wood planked bridges. Although I was the probably the biggest ammature there, I felt like I was hard-core. My only regret was that I wish I could have enjoyed the scenery more rather than staring at the ground the whole time to make sure I didn't trip over any narly tree roots or rocks. I think I tripped and almost tumbled over about 5 times. All and all, I reccommend it...unless you have bad knees. It was a fun experience even though I didn't get a t-shirt to show for it....just a pair of running socks! What's THAT all about?!!!! Must be a trail-run thing.
Posted by leah

3 comments:

Ms. Bananie said...

Woohoo! You ROCK! And you RUN over rocks, too! I bow down to you and your adventurous streak. Glad you had fun, and happy to see Boedy making the FUNNIEST CUTEST faces!

July 19, 2008 at 3:06 PM  
jamie said...

they better be some pretty sweet socks, then! nice work, by the way...maybe we can run it together next year.

July 20, 2008 at 9:20 PM  
KatieB said...

leah, found you through the mormon blog channels. boedy is ADORABLE! congrats! katie neuenswander
http://sandiegobrowns.blogspot.com

July 27, 2008 at 7:57 PM