Trail Running

I have been meaning to write on here about another way to enjoy nature. Most of the time I write about passive nature enjoyment; looking out the window, birdwatching, going on a leisurely hike. But there is another way to enjoy nature- trail running. I have been running trails sporadically since I started working at Tanglewood 5 1/2 years ago. Trail running is a different way of running. I have run on roads for many years, but trails were a new challenge when I discovered them, and they still are. You can run the same distance on a trail as on the road and feel twice as tired. I wear a heart rate monitor when I run in order to track my time and my calories burned, and I burn 1/3 more calories running a good trail run as I do on the road in the same distance. It's the hills. And probably somewhat just overall uneven terrain making you have to work harder to maintain your balance and of course, it takes longer to run a shorter distance on trails. Uphills are often very challenging and painful and I dread them, downhills are fun, kind of exhilirating in a way because you are trying not to fall off a cliff or just plain down. I love the efficiency of trail running because I often don't have enough time to work out as long as I'd like, so burning more calories in a shorter amount of time is great for me.

Trail running has nature speeding by, which isn't ideal, but it does get me "out there", breathing the forest air and I often run into deer and other wildlife. I don't often run into people and I can talk to myself and get really sweaty and no one looks at me funny. My sons love trail running (probably more than I do). They usually can kick my behind running, but I think that's great. There are other "crazies" like me and my kids and my husband that love to run trails- see you all on Wednesday at 6:30pm behind the West Elmira Fire Dept!