I asked, "Are there a lot of hills?" Hubby answered, "Not really - a few but they are pretty minor." I should have known.
I even went so far as to say, "Great. Speaking of hills, I decided that this time [my second time training for a 5K] I'm not going to avoid hills in my training. I figure I need to train on some hills so that I'm ready for anything in a 5K." I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.
I got my hills, that's for sure.
The 3.5 mile loop was absolutely beautiful. I ran through the woods in the late afternoon/early evening setting sun, and the light filtered in, making the already colorful trees glow with yellows, oranges, and red. I even saw some deer.
But...
It was NOT flat. There were hills. Lots of them. And they were steep. And my training app (which alternates between telling me to walk and run) told me to RUN each time I was at the bottom of a huge hill. Or at the top of a really steep hill strewn with rocks and littered with tree roots sticking out at all angles (I quickly discovered that this was equally as difficult).
Did I mention that I also had to ford three creeks? You know - running through water because the trail stopped at the creek and continued on the other side. And there were no bridges. Or rocks on which to teeter as I worked my way across. Which - of course - left my poor feet soaking wet and my still-new-enough-to-look-nice shoes a muddy mess.
All that said, though, it was completely exhilarating. Despite the hills, the running itself wasn't that hard. Sure, I was panting and barely breathing at points. But my mind was so focused on not wiping out - or getting run over by a mountain biker - that I didn't really notice. I kept thinking about my friend Rebecca, who is really into trail running. I understand now why she's totally hooked on it. And I understand why they make shoes specifically for trail running.
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