Running - or not - on vacation

Usually I manage to fit in running when I travel, but the past week we put 3146 miles on our motorcycle, and I only fit in three short runs. Three is better than zero, but the lack of running made me cranky and sitting in one position on the motorcycle for 6-16 hours each day led to cramps in my feet, calf muscles, and hamstrings.

I like to run outside when we travel so I can scope out the area and find neat places to visit. This trip we stayed in hotels right off the Interstate, and running on the highway is never my idea of fun. One night I used the eliptical in the hotel fitness center (I wonder why they don't call it a fitness closet, because that's what it resembled?) and forced myself to grind out 30 minutes.

Two days later, in another Insterstate hotel in a different state, I ran on the treadmill. This fitness center was a bit larger, but it had to be over 90 degrees inside. I ran one of my favorite speed drills:  5-4-3-2-1 or 5 minutes fast; 5 minutes easy; 4 minutes fast; 4 minutes easy; etc. I drank water during each easy run and managed to crank out 45 minutes total. The experience wasn't any fun at all, but at least I felt better with some type of exercise.

We stayed two nights in a hotel in Missouri that didn't even have a fitness closet. I made do with stretching, push-ups and sit-ups in our room. Some exercise is always better than no exercise, right?

The best run was outside - of course. We stayed in Valparaiso, Indiana, at my stepmother's home and I ran on the wooded path that winds through her neighborhood. Finally I enjoyed the run, even though it was hot and my legs were sore. As I ran I remembered how our boys used to love playing in the dry creekbed that snakes along part of the path, and how my father would entertain them with stories of Alex the Bear. He created Alex the Bear when we were children, and the stories continued with another generation. One year during our visit the creekbed was muddy, and of course the boys came back to the house covered in mud. Another year they joined their cousin Jackson in tieing ropes to the small footbridges on the path. My sister Diane and I run on this path when we visit, and through the town remembering each house where we lived, the schools we attended, and the park with the memorial tree and bench for our parents.

Why is it so much easier to run outside, when my thoughts skip from one topic to another, than to run inside with the noise of a TV in my head? Why do I prefer the outdoor heat and humidity to inside airconditioning? Why would I rather end up with frozen eyelashes when the temperature dips toward zero than pound out miles on the treadmill in a warm gym?

I think it's because running outside doesn't really seem like work. It's time to myself, opportunity to listen to the birds or my own breath,  a chance to once again hear my father's voice as he tells stories of Alex the Bear.

Running a 5K trail race

Dara and I traveled north to Rutland for the Pine Hill Park 5K trail race tonight. This is the 11th year of their summer trail race series, and I've participated for the past 5 years. Here's a quick trail race how-to if you're thinking about taking your running off-road:

• Bug spray is your friend
• It's sunny in the parking lot, but once you get on the trail in the woods, it's a lot darker. Sunglasses are not necessary.
• Everyone breathes really heavy, especially on the steep uphills
• If you hear someone breathing right behind you, move to the side of the trail so they can pass you. Or speed up and make them breathe even harder. Your choice.
• You never have any idea where you are or where you're going. Just run.
• Looking down at the trail is good. Looking up to take in the view is not recommended. Down is where the roots, rocks, and slippery parts are lurking, just waiting for you to trip and fall.
• Don't even think about all the tics.
• Lift your feet higher than usual to avoid roots and rocks.
• You can't avoid all the roots and rocks, and sometimes you fall.
• OK, lots of times you fall. Get back up and keep running.
• There will always be someone standing at one of the intersections, helpfully telling you 'it's not much farther'. The phrase 'not much farther' has no real meaning in trail running.
• There are no water stations or cheering volunteers. There also are no cars and no sounds - except for your heavy breathing.
• You will always run uphill longer and harder than you ever run on the road.
• You will always run on steep downhills, often over slippery rocks.
• When you catch your breath, you can sometimes hear birds.
• You can run through streams, or jump over them. Sometimes there are bridges - but not always.
• When you come off the trail and hit the pavement in the parking lot for the last few yards, your legs feel wobbly and strange. I think they're trying to tell me I'm supposed to be back in the woods and on the trail.
• After the run, everyone stands around telling stories about where they tripped and who fell in front of them.
• Someone always takes a wrong turn.
• Bloody knees are to be expected.
• Fresh watermelon tastes wonderful after a trail run, and hydrates just as well as water. Plus you can spit out the seeds.