In the years before my husband and I moved to Chapel Hill, I had run on trails when they presented themselves to me and when my work/life schedule allowed me to indulge in tracking down trails for an afternoon or morning run. Otherwise, we were busy with school, work, travel, living overseas, etc. and my choice of running terrain was often secondary to all the other busy events and changes in our lives. Although I enjoyed cross country running in college, I didn’t necessarily seek out trail running during my initial years after collegiate running.
Moving to Chapel Hill, however, has brought about many changes in my life - not the least of which is a metamorphosis within my perceptions about running terrains. I used to only think about when I would fit a run into my day; the where was an afterthought. But after three years of joyous running in this trail friendly locale, not a day goes by when I don’t also think about which trail loops will provide the physical space for my daily run. As a result, no matter how busy and/or stressful a full day of teaching is for me, trail running most afternoons has now become a necessary and meditative act.
Trails also bring out the childlike adventurer in me. These leafy pathways are both places to run alone, and also avenues to new friendships and experiences. I now have new friends who I share this love with, as well as an ever increasingly athletic golden retriever who enjoys going for an 8 mile trail run (almost) as much as I do!
This past Saturday I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at The Little River Trail Run. This 9 mile jaunt alongside a river and through the golden woods was both peaceful and energizing all at once. There is a calmness within a trail run, and even in a race, that can leave me more sure of myself than when I started. Yes, it can hurt in places (particular on the uphills!) but overall these experiences leave me feeling more in touch with the natural world and more certain of my love for this genre (for lack of a better word!) of running.
Here is a little video that The Trailheads forwarded my way. Enjoy!
Okay, folks, it’s GO time on this blog. I know everyone is tired of reading posts from the same few runners, so here is an opportunity for all CAC members … and FOC’s (Friends of CAC) to chime in. I came across this article on speed work … as I was looking for “justification” for why I do all-out 100’s in the middle of January. I know they work, but I wanted to find an expert to corroborate my theories. Some might scoff at the notion of Runner’s World being an “expert” publication, but I do think this article is worth reading: Speed Thrills.
and commenting on!!!!
These are the paragraphs that I found especially provocative:
According to Harvard researcher Peter Weyand, Ph.D., short-but-fast workouts help maintain the function of your spinal cord’s “motor nerve” cells, the ones that control fast running. Without high-quality speedwork, these cells deteriorate as you get older, slowing you down. And researchers at the Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland recently found that for average runners, “there is much to be gained from running sprint intervals of 50 meters to 200 meters once a week.”
What’s that? Worried this will get you injured? You think it’s only a matter of time until you hear a loud, odious “Boiiinnnng!”–the sound of a snapped hamstring rolling up like a window blind? Not true. “In fact,” writes training expert Owen Anderson, Ph.D., editor of Running Research News, “the best predictors of injury are high mileage, a previous history of injury, and a failure to include enough rest in your training.” Not speed training.
Which brings us to our program of very speedy (but doable) workouts. Do only one session per week, which will dramatically increase leg turnover, and increase your speed in all race distances. Just be careful, says Ft. Collins-based coach Jon Sinclair. “The important thing is progression,” he says.
skink: a skink’s taleI was using a sharp, pointed shovel to really turn the earth and on one fierce downward thrust, I unintentionally chopped off the tail of a blue skink (lizard). The tail-less lizard skittered off, while - to my utter surprise and …
