Run the damn trail! No seriously if you are like me and you have been watching trail runners on the gram, or on Facebook reels, and you keep thinking that looks like fun! O-M-G…is it ever! I have been venturing off on to an old farm road turned trail for a few months, it is a little gravel and a little dirt, I call it my oasis because it is shaded by beautiful trees and full of wildlife. Next to it is a quiet little creek and the other side is wooded land, and at the end is a couple of farm fields. The first thing I noticed when I first decided to take this path was the difference in my feet, and how much easier it was to run on this dirt road than it was on the pavement. It was like running on marshmallows compared to the pavement I normally run on! I loved every second of it!
Hiking is not new to me at all, I have hiked a dozen times, and I do love it, but watching trail runners the way they float through the woods, and laughing, having fun… I wanted to do that! Now on my hikes I have ran little sections of time, trying to get the feel for my footing, and see how it felt. Today though, Today I committed to more running, I had two kids with me so I couldn’t run the whole thing…ha I act like I could have if I wanted to…let’s all laugh together. I could have run more of it than I did though, if I didn’t have to stop to wait for children to catch up. It was just like I imagined, everything I dreamed it would be. Bobbing and weaving the trees, and skipping over top of roots, and carefully moving across the rocky terrain in sections, it was a runner high I have never experienced before, a runners high I did not know existed! Seriously if you want the best runners high ever… RUN THE TRAILS!
Trail running was something I never considered when I started running, and definitely since I am a lollygagging runner! I definitely lollygagged today! Come on, how couldn’t I? The creek, the woods, the leaves starting to change colors and fall, the people walking dogs on the trail…I wanted to pet all the dogs! Oh and ya know…the kids kind of helped with the lollygagging! I follow @running_in_stache on Instagram and watching his trail runs, and seeing how friendly his community of trail runners appear really made me want to try this adventure, and I am so thankful that I discovered his page and had the courage to try trail running.
So I leave you with this….RUN THE TRAIL! Try it… just once, if you hate it, don’t go back, but I don’t think you will hate it! It’s peaceful, It’s exhilarating, it’s empowering! Heads up, it also works muscles you are not aware of running requires…seriously, I feel it in my sides, my thighs, my back, all of it much more than just normal pavement running. Also make sure you wear shoes that you don’t care if they get dirty…possibly even wet, their was an option today on my trail to go through the creek to extend the trail by a couple miles, I wanted to do it, the children were completely against it. They said two miles was long enough, we didn’t need to add more miles. Run the trail though, throw those old running shoes on, put a head band on, throw some sunglasses and sunscreen on and go try it out! Don’t forget to take pictures, and look at your surroundings, and take time to lollygag and take it all in!
Goodbye for now, and Happy Lollygagging!