Night Runner

I don't normally run at night but rain has poured here for a week and I haven't been running the trails.
But tonight, the sky cleared, the roads were dry and the air was still except for me slicing through for 4.5 miles.
What I'm loving about night running is the element of surprise. I smell the strong fragrance of honeysuckle all of a sudden but can't see it's source. I hear the trickling of water going down storm drains. My head lamp catches a frog leaping just out of my path. Street lights momentarily light up a bit of earth and flying insects as I pass.
Its the same streets I drive, walk my dog, and go about my errands but at night, it's a brand new trail I've never explored.

Meet: The Gal Gallup

On Tuesday I ran a quick 3 miles on some neighborhood roads but tried to stay in the grass as much as possible to simulate trail running. I think it helps to build my legs muscles. Although, when running uphill or when grass isn't available I've been not worrying as much about pavement running. I'm so much faster than I used to be (at least going short distances) and it's been fun to look down at my Garmin and see a 9:45 min pace or 10:30 pace here and there. I can't hold it for long, but more often, I'm seeing those faster paces flash across the watch. My legs are used to having to dig into the grass or mud or dirt for traction, so when I'm on the roads I'm fly'n! (relatively speaking to my usual snails pace)

Thursday I met another new trail running group! This is an all women's group that meets on the Kansas River Sandrat trails. The trails are on a loop but it's so narrow it's almost an out and back. They are also relatively flat - nice! There were a bunch of new runners (new to running and new to the group) so it was a great turn out and fun to meet everybody. There were two different paces going on. The first group I went out with ran faster than a 12 min/mile pace. I stayed with them until the turn around and then joined the 12 min-ish group to go back to the trail head. We finished right before it was getting dark and the air was still warm. Such a perfect evening!

Can't wait to see these girls next Thursday!

Meet: The Lawrence Trail Hawks

Last year, after moving to Kansas from Alabama, I knew that I needed to do two things to keep running: one; find unpaved trails and two; find new running friends.
After running the Dogwood Canyon 25k, I met up with the Kansas City Trail Nerds one night. They were very nice and have run together consistently for years. However, the 3 guys I met that night ran way faster than my pace. One guy from out of town did stay behind me but I held everybody up by alot and it was obvious. The hilly trails they run at WyCo Park were just too much for me, especially a week after doing a very muddy, hilly race. We were probably going seriously slow from their normal pace but their slow pace still sent my heart pounding into my throat. I wasn't ready and after two miles I had to drop out. I didn't go back. I didn't know when there would be girls or if there would be slower runners. I couldn't hold them up all the time and I couldn't run alone in that area. So I just quit. I ran a few more times outside at Fort Leavenworth before the weather turned cold and I turned to the treadmill at the YMCA.
But this spring, looking at hitting double digits on my long runs, I knew I'd have to find longer stretches of unpaved road or trail. I also needed people to run with for safety and for help reaching my new goal this year.
It turns out that my old boss is married to someone who is in a running group in Lawrence. So, I contacted Gary and within a half hour knew where and when everyone would be meeting! Today I met the group at the Clinton Lake north shore trail head for a 10 mile run. Everyone was very welcoming and there were a few other new to the group runners as well.
Again, everybody ran way faster than me. UGH. In fact, I'm so slow that I think people think I am new to running. People mentioned it a couple times but after we talked for a while they realized I knew a little more than a newbie would know.... I've been running since 2004. lol. Oh well. And the funny part is that I've actually gained some speed this year - - I have been running in the 10-11 min/miles on paved roads and 12+ on trails. But running with faster people all the time is tough (though they are all super supportive - it's my own negative self talk) and it makes my gains in speed seem like nothing!
I will say, in my defense, the Clinton Lake trail is more technical than I've been training on so far this year. -Lots of hills and the mud was outrageous! Almost every step we sunk, slipped and slopped. Worst mud I've ever ran in for a training run. I've run in rain, hail, sleet/snow, on icy paved paths, etc. I'm not a pansy to running in less-than-perfect conditions. But the way that the mud pulled at my shoes, my knees ached at pulling back with every step. Hoping my knees heal quickly and if I have to, I'll go back to running dirt roads and wait until the trails harden.
Anyway, Gary was awesome and let the group go on so he could run my pace to keep me company (and keep me on the right trail). Thanks Gary!! Colleen also met us half way through and finished out my milage with us.
Afterward, in my car I peeled off all my wet, brown clothing and saw blisters on my feet. Dang! I never get blisters so I chalked it up to the 2 hours and 45 min of running in the mud with old socks. As soon as I can I'm going to pick up some Drymax socks that I keep reading about...
I will definitely be running with the Hawks again! I will probably let everyone know that I can run alone because I don't want to hold people back each run. They've got their own races to train for and I'd feel terrible if someone had to baby sit me each time. I think it will be good enough to know people are out there on the trails when I am, for safety.
And I'm really excited to have new trails to train on!!

Run with TrailNerds

Since I moved back to Kansas in September and realized what my running options were locally, I've known that I'd have a hard time putting in long miles by myself. Mostly for safety reasons.
I have been following a lot of the Trail Nerds' blogs since living in Alabama and decided to meet up with them for an evening run.
I got out there with only a minute to spare but luckily for me, they never start on time. It turned out there were about 3 guys who showed up and myself. Right off I asked them if they were going to kill me slowly by pace. They were really awesome and quickly promised to "go slow."
We set out and right away I knew it was a pace I'd never be able to hold. I had never run at Wyco Park and found out immediately it's all hills with a 600ft elevation gain and loss. And November means the trails are full of leaves so seeing the trails is impossible. On top of that it was pitch black out there in the forest and I only had a flash light. Oops. Shaking and jarring around my light made me think of Blair Witch Project. Awesome. Out here with three guys I have never met, in the dark, in a forest. Brilliant!
These guys couldn't have been kinder though. As I dropped back further and further the guys took turns one at a time staying behind me to make sure I didn't get lost. Then the guys out front would stop and wait for me to catch up. It was so amazingly sweet but wow, I felt like a loser. Like I'd never ran a day in my life. I had just ran a 25k last weekend and I just completely looked like a noobie.
The guys reassured me I just needed to get to the gym and work on strengthening my legs. But two miles into it, feeling guilty for slowing them down (and with how fast they were going, they must be super fast when I'm not there), I bowed out. I asked them to loop us back to the cars so I could split.
*sigh*
So now, I don't know what to do. I am a 12 minute/mile pace. It's slow, I know. But I've been this pace for the 4 years I've been running long distances on and off. It's just where I'm at. I probably should join a group that you pay so you can run with a group of people who are your pace but they all run roads. I'm so not into that anymore.
Frustrating.
Going home tonight I just felt really let down by myself.
There's one other group I thought I'd try: the Lawrence, Kansas Trail Hawks. It'd be a long drive and they are all in super long distances right now. But it seems some of them go at a 12 minute pace so maybe I could tag along some weekend runs. Right now I want to crawl under a rock with SUCK inscribed on it.

Hunting vs Trail Running

I had heard from some online sources that Fort Leavenworth has some hidden trails. After getting confirmation on this from a guy on the Kansas City Trail Nerds message board I decided to try to find the trail. My Dad said he would go with me so we took off to Post and parked near the skeet range. The guy had given us the best directions that you possibly could for finding a trail that never really reaches a road. You basically have a couple land markers (water tower, skeet range, fence, etc) and have to suss it out as you go into the woods.
Once we finally found the trail we were off at a pretty slow pace. It's basically a deer/hunting trail - single track - and at this time of year it's covered in leaves. Deceiving. You can't see any ruts, rocks or other debris under the fallen foliage, so stepping down and off each time is quite a gamble. The trail was sometimes easy to lose as well.
As we were going, and having fun we kept hearing gun shots. But, it didn't really register too much because the skeet range was at the top of the hill. They were aiming at the targets flying above us.
We go a little further and find a geocache! My Dad had never heard of these so I explained it to him and we took an item and left an item. Fun!
Going a little further on to the trail we see deer right ahead of us! There were only a couple and they were so huge and majestic! We stood still, a little in awe, watching them watch us. Then they took off and I took off after them. After they quickly out ran us I looked down and pointed out some shot gun shells on the trail. A little further, we smell gun smoke but again, just assumed maybe it was still the skeet range "perfume." :)
We decided to head off the trail and try to find the road. After coming out of the woods we see hunters hanging around at the forest edge! We also see the sign "WARNING - Hunting Area."

The shells, the smoke, the sounds - not just the skeet range. We were literally running with the hunted. WE were the hunted!

Lesson learned. For Xmas I'm getting my Dad this bright blaze orange cap from Cabelas! haha.

New Trails

This week, we are finally moved and settled. I have moved from the deep South to Midwestern Suburbia.

5 years ago I trained for a marathon on the local county trail system which spans a lot of different cities. I live in a different part of the city now but was still able to pick up the part of the trail. The trail head is close to my house (but I have to drive to get there) which is nice since I'm not sure that my neighborhood is conducive to running.

Today I headed out to this new-to-me part of the trail system. It looks a lot like the other paved trails: paved, dense trees, well maintained, and weaves through city parks, soccer fields and baseball fields along the way.

It was Saturday so all the fields were being used and the trail felt really safe with so many people. The air was cool for summer - maybe in the 70s!
It isn't as exciting or interesting as my Alabama trails. It isn't as natural (unpaved) or unexpected (dirt bike paths). But, it's clean and wide and I still have a chance to run in nature.

Springfield, Missouri

I'm currently staying at La Casa del Marcy. ...err... otherwise known as my friend, Marcy's, apartment. I am currently a transient, moving from Alabama to Kansas. My friend has graciously offered to let me stay with her before pressing on towards my new home. Besides opening her home, she has accommodated all my crazy food allergies with an eager willingness, helped me make TONS of delicious allergy-free foods AND to top it off, took me on a few runs this week.
Springfield, Mo has a short city trail called the Galloway Greenway which is part of the Ozark Greenway Trail System. It weaves around a macob pet cemetery, a (busy) Sequiota Park, very cute (busy) bars and stores, a (chilly) cave, waterfalls over quartz rocks at the Nature Center, and fruiting elderberry bushes (which we ate mid-run).
The first two runs were both 4 miles in length. It rained a little one run and as we turned around to come back through the old iron James River Bridge, it had flooded out where it had been perfectly dry before! We ended up having to veer off the trail cross the street on top the bridge. Then picked up the trail up again on the other side. -It surprised us how fast water can change course like that!
We are about to go out for another run tonight. How awesome is that? A true friend, a good cook, a wonderful host, and a running partner all in one little gal.

Eventful 4 miler

Tonight the plan was to run by the Chinook heliport and see the guys take off in their helicopters. Sounded like some good scenery! Furthermore, the weather was awesome at a "cool" -80 degrees!
I arrived at Knox ARMY heliport around 7pm. When I arrived, I saw all the Chinook heli's, maintenance crews, soldiers ...AND firetrucks, ambulances and MP cars!?
My first thought was that either someone had a bad takeoff or there was a electrical fire during their start up.... or something... I debated over my run in case they tried to reach me... Then figured I might as well and just take my phone. Also if I didn't get on the road, I wouldn't make it back in time to see them off. I grabbed my small bottle and phone and took off for the Hanchey ARMY Heliport. The intersection at that field makes 2 miles, for an out-and-back total of 4 miles.
I felt great this run! I had been drinking my sample of (Clif) Luna Sport Electrolyte Splash electrolyte drink. Zero corn syurp and gluten free! I had also had one blueberry luna moon with a lot of water. I had great energy the entire run and no cramping at all.
Half way through they called to see where I was but we had a bad connection since they were in a running helicopter and I was on a country back road. *sigh* I said I was 2 miles down the road at Hanchey which would take at least 20 minutes to get back. Since I could hear the rotor blades turning loudly in the background I figured they were starting up... if so, I didn't know how long I had before they left, especially since they were having to wait on maintanence.
After getting off the phone, I started to run back faster. I was somewhere in the 10 minute mile range. It was starting to get dark and cars were a little more frequent today than on Sunday when I ran the same stretch (but shorter loops). I really wanted to try to see them off and snap a few photos so I pushed it hard. My legs and lungs pretty much max and I'd have to walk here and there, but within seconds I'd remind myself of my goal and run again. No true cramping ever felt in my legs... just a feeling of overwhelming... something... and I'd have to slow down.
By the time I hit the forest before the airfield, all the Chinooks were on full power. The sound was like constant thunder vibrating through the trees. For probably a half mile or more it sounded like the huge helicopter was hovering over my head. I kept thinking I was closer than I really was because the sound was already so loud. Just as I was nearing the edge of the forest two Chinooks took off in front of me. I reached the airfield and saw two more go to a hover before taking off. Then, walking the last bit to my car, another hovered for awhile and took off.
Signs warn passerbys of high wind and I've heard that the breeze from a Chinook can push over motorcycles and cars! They are really powerful with double rotor blades and engines. There were a lot more helicopters on the tarmac and a lot of noise but it was dark, so I couldn't tell if there were anymore helicopters leaving.
Turns out I had finished 4 miles in 52 minutes. The first two miles were a lot more casual than the last two for sure! I can tell by my Garmin stats I was really booking it as well - my heart rate for the last 15 minutes went from the 180 range to 196! My max heart rate is estimated at 185. lol. Yeah,... well, like I said, I was workin it!

Note: I found out later that the emergency vechicles were there because someone fell out or off of a Chinook.

Change Up

I wasn't planning on running until I put on my shoes and headed out the door. My knee had been tender, especially on stairs lately so I haven't pushed myself at all. The most I had done for the last 4 days was the daily one mile dog walk. So, by now, I had enough of sitting around.

Driving around post, I was thinking of changing things up. Firstly, I put on my older Brooks Adrenaline 8 shoes, the predecessor to it's upgrade that I usually wear. I thought that maybe I needed to get back to switching off between two shoes to avoid overuse injuries. Then, I added coconut water to my powerade zero to try out the natural carbs and extra potassium for avoiding leg cramps and soreness. I also decided to get out of the forest and run some open road. Maybe running the technical trail every time was wearing out my knee... I thought a smoother surface might be in order. Smooth, but it was not flat I should add. Lastly, I had received my Clif Bar samples and wanted to try something. I opened up the Blueberry Luna Moons and popped one in with a couple big swigs of my mixed brew. It was much better than the Clif Shot Bloks. Much better. It tasted a lot more natural and it was a smaller serving. Another change in this run - no iPod. I had forgotten my headphones and anyway it's against Fort Rucker rules to wear headphones while running near roads.
I decided to start my run near the beginning/ending of my last 8 mile run on Hatch road. This 3 mile section spreads from the Engineer/Hatch road intersection, past the Chinook helicopters at Knox ARMY Heliport to the Hanche Heliport turn where the Apache and Kiowa pilots train. It would be just a few hills, some new scenery and low traffic. My first concern though was where to park. I pulled into Knox AHP, where an MP was staked out and asked him for suggestions. He was super helpful and said parking on the side of the road is fine but recommended a hidden parking lot just behind the tarmac. So this way I would start my run at the Chinook AHP and use my GPS watch to just mark out when to turn around.
I take off and in the 1st mile I decided to run 6 that day, as long as my knee felt good. I also realized I had left my Powerade/Coconut brew on top my car. Great, it'll boil there until I returned. The sun was blazing at about 92 degrees. The southern sunlight is totally different than back home in Kansas too. The only way I can explain it is that it's just really intense.
Pretty quickly my run deteriorated. Although there was a storm coming and thunder in the distance, shady spots of road seemed far and few between. Energy just seemed to leak out of my body. The missing hydration was a little bit of a mental blow as well as physical. I decided the best thing to do was shorten my loop. Not total distance, just shorten my out-and-back to 1.5 miles so I can return to my car halfway and reassess the situation.
I noticed after peeing in the woods that I had these black specks all over my legs. Looking closer, they were just bits of plant debris. Whew, thought they could be small bugs.
And at 3 miles, I reached my car, grabbed my warm water and chugged a good bit. My stomach had been cramping and my sweat was really cool on my body which I read is a sign of heat exhaustion. It was obviously really hot outside and I felt really hot, but there's also a chill close to my skin. My body was workin hard to bring down the internal temps. I sat for a bit in my car, which I don't normally do. My thoughts were pretty negative...
"You just did 10 last weekend and you can't even do 3 now?"
"You're walking waaaay too much, you should be going faster."
"People are totally watching you from the heliport and stressing you're a bomber...quit looking at the gate guards so much."
"My knee is gonna give out..."
"Wow, my shirt is soaked."
"Maybe peeing again would help my stomach cramps... or throwing up."
"Maybe I ate too soon to running, ...too much sugar... too much new stuff...."
"Why can't I look like the Runners World covers all tan, sweat gleaming, and effortless form.."

*sigh*
As if the run isn't hard enough.
I decided I felt a little better. I grabbed a water bottle and headed back out to double my mileage. Within the first mile I was considering turning around. My body just felt exhausted.
I looked down at my legs with the specks still on them and they seemed to be moving individually. Maybe they were bugs after all! I bent down to look closer.. Naw, they're not moving. I picked one on my hand - definitely plant parts. Geesh.
Okay, now it's time for my own mental tricks. I invited tiredness to jump on my back and I accepted how I felt. I kept telling myself something a civil war soldier in The Blue and The Gray would tell himself: the body can go farther than the mind. My running friend texted and I put her on speaker and told her how I felt. She encouraged me and it helped. Laughing and smiling I got off the phone. A mile or two down the road a cyclist that had whizzed past me before, waving, now slowed down to almost a stop and asked me if I had enough water. Awe. Damn, that was nice. I assured him I did and after commiserating about the heat he started grinding up the hill that was in front of us, hooping and hollering. I was smiling again and soon enough I saw the Chinook, monstrous on a runway, before me and that meant my car was near. I finished 6 miles. Not the longest run I've done my any means, but it wasn't the easiest to lay down either.

Alligators and other hazzards

As soon as I pull up to my new favorite dirt road near the blackhawk heliport, a car pulls up behind me. A gray, unmarked car. At first, I think that I may have running company on the road and I'm disappointed. Well, I became even more disappointed because they were actually military police. Damn.

There were two of them and they were really nice. They asked me if I was okay (probably assuming I might be having car problems). I answered that I was going out for a run on this dirt road.

They let me know that it was unauthorized and I would need to run in a designated area. *sigh* He broke it down for me that this road is a bow hunting ground and for my safety, I couldn't do it. *true*

We talked for a little bit about where the designated areas on base are located. One being the Beaver Lake Trail that is nice, but so short and paved. The other as Parcours Lake trail. I exclaim, "The one with alligators?!" "Yeap."

See, now to me, being an accidental bow hunting target seems less likely than running around alligator territory. But what does a civilian know?

He also noted that I could run along any road, but that I'd need to remove my headphones. *ugh!*

After they took off I decided to drive around a bit and think about it. Running along any road is going to be bad idea because it's already really sunny and really hot.

I decided to go to Parcours Lake. I ran this one time last year and just remember it being really short and really technical. Technical where it goes to single track and even then, half of the path has fallen down a ravine 35 feet. Or the path is broken up and caved due to tree roots that are actually probably still holding the other half of the path in place. The path winds so much its difficult to know which way to go. Even though it's used as an ARMY obstacle course, and signs are everywhere, unless you find the start they are useless. You'll run past Obstacle 3A to just run into Obstacle 16A seconds later. The other challenge is the rolling hills which wind down to the lake area and raise my blood pressure thinking about alligators.

After starting off with the blocked staircase that pretty much takes you to the top of the "hill" you then go into the forest area. This section which I think might be called "B Trail" is really short but winds quite a bit. I have no idea how long it is but guessing I would say a mile. It's a mile that kicks your glutes into high gear as you use your stabilizing muscles and push off uneven ground and climb tons of short hills.

Coming out of the forest I ran into another runner across the street coming out of the woods. I found out from him that the trail actually continues on another mile or more. SWEET! I had no idea when I ran it last time that there was so much more trail. This section which I think is "A Trail" was much flatter and the dirt path compacted and easier to traverse. I really flew this part of the trail.

Something interesting about this trail are the 1950s physical fitness signs. "Exercises" like the "toe touch" just seem so silly now. But there were harder ones like the swinging rings and the pull up bar. I tried to do a pull up and ... yeah,.... nope.

Anyway, it turned out to be a really fun run. Really different and technical - kept my mind busy. It was also fun getting a little lost and not really knowing how far it would be or where it would end. I just really had to go on how I felt and turn around when I started to feel tired.

I got back to my car and saw that I'd been gone almost an hour. So, based on my running I would guess I ran 4 miles of very technical trail. I felt tired, but mostly due to the heat as it was about noon. My legs were shot though. After 8 miles on Saturday, they weren't completely recovered. I went out on tired legs and had only planned on an easy jog on the dirt road when I came out today. So, doing 4 hard miles was unexpected but really great.

Small Victories

About 6:00 this morning, I get up, get dressed and peered outside. Rain, but slowly stopping. Next, I drove around my usual running spots to figure out where I was gonna lay down 8 miles.
I checked out the dirt road near the blackhawk heliport. Verdict: too muddy. I need to run today and minimize issues.
Next, I went over to where I had done my off-road runs near the grenade qualifying area. On the way there, I was eyeing Hatch Road. It runs from Andrews, the main road, to the Apache and Chinook heliports. I mark out 4 miles from Andrews to Engineer Road. Going out-and-back twice makes 8 total. This way I'll have access to my car halfway through.
Right away someone stops to ask if I need help. Nice! I guess you know you're a distance (vs sprint) runner when you're running by yourself, in the middle of nowhere, so that any reasoning person would think you're stranded.
I set out in the grass along the road at 6:50 a.m. Within a few steps, I realize, my shoes are getting soaked. Now, I've just mentioned getting wet/dirty twice, so before I start sounding like I can't deal with that I should note that I've run in mud, ice, rain, snow and temps so cold that my hair froze and sweat froze outside my clothing. My real worry is that wet = blisters. Especially if you don't have the right socks and I was wearing a target lycra-cotton mix that I didn't know if I could trust.
Runners, like animals in the wild, are constantly mindful of any and all factors that will take you out. For most, blisters are one of those and they freaking take forever to heal.
After quickly mind scanning alternative locations I decided firstly that my shoes AND socks were already completely soaked. So relocating won't change that circumstance. Secondly, any other location besides the Beaver Lake paved trail would also pose wet feet/sock issues. Short trail loops? Sidewalk? I'm already bored just thinking about it - no way.
I press on, sloshing. For being mostly a country road surrounded in forests, the grass was mostly short to medium length. I got whippings across my legs often, but it wasn't bad. The hills were tolerable - mostly long and I walked when I needed to. After 4 miles I was back at my car and ate an organic fruit roll up in loo of an energy gel. I've never loved gels and now that I have food sensitivities, I want to experiment with other sources of natural sugar/energy. I think it worked with only a little stomach upset right after consuming it, then going away quickly. I also carried my baby gatorade (powerade zero) bottle, drinking all of it over the course of 8 miles. My run ended at 8:20 on the mark for a total of 1 hr 30 min.
I ended with walking a lot of the last mile probably. My legs felt full of lactic acid and soreness was setting in. The energy blast from any stores were running out. But, ending, I felt really good. I couldn't have gone another mile with any decent effort but 8 miles was exactly where I needed to be and took pushing but not too much.
I'm ALMOST back to half-marathon distance!! It also felt like a small victory knowing I can definately knock out a 10k. That is one thing that I do love about running.. it's a series of small victories. A negative thought, pushed through. A twinge of soreness, worked out. Basic necessities felt, like thirst, and satisfied. Fatigue sets in, and then restoration.
I thought of a lot of very other elloquent sounding philosophies about running and how it's life in miniature, but most thoughts were lost among the miles. *sigh*
Next week I will probably drop down to 6 miles again before upping the next week to 8 or 10 miles. I should probably repeat my 8 miler and keep building slowly and patiently.
P.S. I ended up with only one blister; left foot, pinky toe. Popped it and spread antibacterial on to hopefully speed healing!

Another Dirt Road, Another Heliport, Another Run

I woke up this morning with stiff calves, not feeling well, and feeling tired. I chatted with a friend on Instant Messenger and fully believed it was going to be a day in bed watching a movie.

I was wrong.

After laying around I thought cleaning the house might be enough moving around to loosen my legs. I wiped, vacuumed, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the floors, two bathrooms, dusted.... felt a little more energized. Then, I ate my gluten free Envirokids Rice cereal. More energy. I ran two errands. Then decided, I needed a run. I figured I'd stay slow and if my calves hurt too much I'd turn around.

I was anxious to try out a dirt road North of a Heliport on base. I parked in the grass, got out my ipod and took off around 2:19pm. It was hot but with forests on both sides of the deeply rutted road, I hit shade on/off. My calves were still tight in the beginning but started to loosen up. Unfortunately, around a half mile in my foot hit a tire rut and my ankle turned quite a bit. Scary. It felt a little achy and immediately sore but I could walk on it right away. I decided to run and found out that it actually felt better running, but was noticeably sore when I walked. So I ran.

I got to where the road splits right and left, took the right because I had driven it before and knew finishing it and turning around would give me 3 miles total. This leg of the road had quite a bit more shade and ended at the heliport. Blackhawks roared overhead and I stopped to watch them take off and land for a minute or so.

On the way back, it was really starting to feel hot and I was needing a drink. A lizard sprinted in front of me: show off. The darkened woods around me looked cool and deep but like a mirage, pretty inaccessible as they are really overgrown and thick. It's a shame the military can't make more dirt paths with the mileage of forest on this base. - Especially since PT is a really big deal to the Army.

I started to walk on/off. My calves had completely worked out the tightness but my ankle was starting to stiffen. I walked a good portion of the last 1/2 mile and returned to my car at almost 3pm. Wow that was almost a 40 min run and might have only been 3 miles. I either really took my time walking and staring at the helicopters as they flew overhead or maybe it's a little farther than I thought. I didn't get a good mileage check in my car when I drove it a few days back.

This is a PERFECT run for midweek. I will definitely use it again and learned my first off-road lesson: watch the ground or twist an ankle. Noted. Duly.

When I hit that fork in the road I was really missing my Timex Ironman Speed + Distance watch that died. I'm hoping to purchase the Garmin Forerunner 405cx. It doesn't seem to need an arm unit, looks more like a normal watch (hated the previous forerunner options), and seems to get good reviews. Need to read a little bit more about it first however, so I'm off to do that now!

Run 'til the road is closed..strategy

Since we PCS'd here last year I've been wanting to find a new place to run. Last year I only ran a couple times a week but never-the-less the same paved trail gets boring. The old path is off-road & surrounded by tight woods but very limited in milage & you still usually run into people every few minutes.

To avoid sounding anti-social I'll note that I used to run in a running group regularly. Even after becoming a veteran runner & could make my own training decisions, I kept showing up for the o'dark thirty runs to see my friends. I loved the bonding and friendliness of runners. I loved meeting for coffee & breakfast after a run. BUT, I was also slow... and usually wound up running alone while everyone else jabbered and gosspiped and laughed miles ahead. I felt like I was missing out. A little mental blow threatening my willpower. However, running paired up I noticed a pattern of eventually wanting to concentrate in a zoned out way. A point where I'd plug into my ipod and harness energy within.

At some point in true long runs, it comes down to the solo anyway. Although your body is churning the output, the battle usually ends up in your head. In addition, I felt pressured to run at my partners' pace. Even when people offered to run "with" me, naturally being faster, they usually ended up always pushing the miles per minute. It can be good to do this when training to PR, but mostly I knew where I needed to be min per mile and my body wanted to be there. I could care less about time improvement and more consumed by time/energy management. Maybe somehow training alone was training me to be alone. When you run alone, you might also be training mentally to push past signals of tiredness, to endure some boredome, & to rely on self motivation. Maybe its a way to whittle down superficial reasonings for running and find out why you're truely there. If you're running for any reason other than what's personal, how many miles over how much time does it take to work that to the surface & become a reason to quit?

Driving me is the extra-ordinary, going beyond a self image that I can't because I'm slow or injury-prone or inheriantly lazy. Whittling down to my center puts me in touch with my center. Who I am and how I'm responding to my environment & hightening all my senses to where I know exactly how I feel physically. It's so easy to get caught up in life, ignoring how much our bodies speak to us.


I regress however...

Finally, using the Runners World Run Finder, someone had posted the idea of running off a road (no path) that rarely sees cars. YES, please! I got in my car the next day to check it out, driving the route first. Basically it starts behind the golf course on base and ends at "Road Closed to Unauthorized Personnel." Sweet. Military secrecy. I spent part of the run dreaming up what could be going on down that dirty road - until I ran into another sign: "Hand grenade qualifying." - Really glad I ignored the anti-authority teenager still residing in me & didn't take the path less (or never, unless authorized) traveled.

The road was pretty short but perfect for where I'm at milage-wise. It's 3 miles with 4 rolling hills. While I only had one car pass me, a sky highway happened to be right overhead and Apache helicopters ROARED past. They were loud and vertically close because the heliport was just over the trees and down another closed road.


I'll be able to almost double the milage using another 2.5 mile road that intersects with this run. My strategy is to do both for my "long" run towards the end of the week.

Running without Motivational Drill Sergeants

Today I ran two of the three loops at Beaver Lake Trail on post. The "trail" is a mostly paved path (there are a few dirt roads) through the woods and loops around a lake. It has been rainy and humid lately in Southern Alabama but the rain had just stopped, so the start of my run was slightly cool. I felt really good the first loop (2.3 miles) with rolling hills and stopped to walk here and there as needed. The second loop (1.1 mile) was mostly uphill (counter-clockwise) and I sputtered out pretty good on each hill. I almost never look at the time anymore so I can't tell you how "fast" I ran it.

(Begin rant) On runnersworld.com I started using their training log again and wanted to use their public trail finder where other runners post trails. I've always found their Web site to be sub-parr. From a usability stand point and also, their servers just seem to be always overloaded. I remember this from years ago trying to use the same service. Every time I try to look at public running routes or make my own, it times out and I get errors on the page. Each time, I still look at my own connection thinking, maybe it's me, but it's not. It's not my browser and not my computer, it's runners world who for a big operation, still can't create a professional Web site. argh. (End rant)

Anyway, I've seen runners weave out of the woods on post but it's kinda complicated finding places to run (besides the street) because a lot of dirt roads/paths are for Authorized Personnel or are training grounds for soliders. Once I was running on a dirt road off the usual trail and out of no where (mostly because I had headphones on) a HUGE troop of soldiers, carrying guns, appeared out of the woods and headed for me. The first thing I thought was "they look scary" the second thing was "dang, they have guns" the third was wondering how long they've been in the woods and lastly was, "this is going to be akward running by them (same path) while they are training." They were probably Warrant Officer Candidates and I was wondering if drill sargents yell at civillians too. In my head it's going something like this: (with the huge hat of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman hitting my head), "WHAT ARE YOU DOING NUMBSKULL RUNNER. DON'T YOU KNOW THESE ARE MY F'ING WOODS? CAN'T YOU READ SIGNS?! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU START LOOKING LIKE THE ENEMY!"

Whew! See? Scary. Especially the playout in my head. lol.

But, hopefully if I can get the RW appplication to work so I can figure out some new running locations. I think there is also a run finder on USATF and the Rails to Trails program site (none in my area though). Something to look forward to!