Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Challenging but not punishing

One of these days I am going to say something profound. Adding that to the bucket list right now.


I was out on the trail and because of my blistering speed, came up to another runner. He really wanted to talk, which in retrospect made me wonder if he slowed down so I could catch him. We fell into conversation very easily, even if it was a mostly a one way conversation.

He was out in my part of Wisconsin to enjoy a spring day on the trails of Kettle Moraine State Forest. His plan was to run for two hours. My plan get done with my 5.5 miles as soon as possible. He told me about his children, his days working in a Milwaukee machine shop, soccer coaching at Brookfield East and how he met his wife. We covered quite a bit of his 73 year life story in 20 minutes of running together. About all I got in was that I lived very close to the park, which he was jealous of.

We were talking, I mean I was listening, as he described early days as a Wisconsin trail runner. By early, I mean in the 1980’s. I asked him what he liked about trail running, and his reply was that trail running is challenging, but not punishing. It was at this point that I had to make a left turn as was going right.

Obviously, he is so right. The trails can seem like an easy workout, because they are nice and soft, and no traffic means fresher air. You can enjoy the quiet or you can enjoy your iPod. I always feel great and de-stressed after a trail run and prefer running on the trails to any other surface. Where is the challenge? Hills for one and the soft surface that absorbs each step. Here’s to hoping that all my challenging trail running will translate to an injury-free, successful summer of running.

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posted by UncleRick @ 2:11 PM   0 Comments