On Wednesday's I get out at 10:30a and usually head to work, but this week I have an exam in Clinical Medicine and Pharmacology (covers ALS, stroke, Guillian Barre, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's and Charcot Marie Tooth Disease) so I needed the extra study time. But I did take an hour out to go trail running with a cousin.
We went to Rocky Point and went out on one of the trails. I think we ran for ~1:15 but I lost track of time. It was ~3 miles out and back so we covered 6 miles. She did most of the talking as I was not capable of that. Most of my answers were "yep" or "absolutely" or "uh huh". Kept it short and sweet. I needed every bit of oxygen that I could take in. The course was far from hilly, but it was not flat. It was in great shape too. Except one or two patches of mud.
It was cold when we first went out, but by 15 minutes in, I was roasting. Of course I paid for it later when I got home. I had the heat blasting in the car to hold off the shivering. I did not have a change of shirt at her house so I had to drive home sweaty. And as soon as I got home I was shivering. But it's nothing that a hot shower can't cure ;-)
Trail running is harder than running on the roads, but it is so much more fun. You can actually hear your feet coming down on the pine needles and the wind blowing through the trees. There are no cars to bother you or to look out for. Worst thing is some deer passing through, and that is no problem for me. Every time I get out on the trail, I know I am becoming a stronger runner and it will make be better on the roads. Before you know it, May 9th will be upon us my trail race will be here.
