Wednesday, January 2, 2008

A New Year's Day Run

I went on my first group trail run yesterday. I'm getting into trail running and although I have been running 20+ years, this feels like starting over. I've never been a fast road runner; more of a jogger, really. Having decided to start ultramarathoning, I covered 43 miles at Kansas City's Brew-to-Brew last Spring. Now I want to complete some long distance events off-road.

Maybe it's too ambitious a practice. I, who never liked departing the road even for neatly manicured grass, now want to tackle muddy, rooty, rocky trails. Yesterday was decidedly a workout. Because I ran 19 miles Saturday (with 2 or 3 miles of real trail), my lower legs were a little stiff when we started. And they stayed that way all 7 miles. But it was fun running with Stephen and some of the SLUG's. Physically, it was merely an "okay" run, but overall the experience was fun because of the company and the new venue. It was cold too - about 25 F with a strong wind - I'm sure that didn't help; it's hard to see the rocks when your eyes are watering!

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