I recently talked about three great trail running books I read. My favorite of the three was Trailhead: The Dirt on All Things Trail Running by Lisa Jhung. I really enjoy how she shares so much valuable information about trail running in a witty and comical way. One great example of this is her list of 10 Commandments of Trail Running. The list is hers, the explanations and photos are mine.

I. Honor thy trail signs.

Trail signs are there to guide you, keep you from getting lost, and to preserve the area you’re running in. Sometimes they can be a bit sketchy, but you should still follow them.

II. Thou shalt remain on designated trails.

When you stray from designated trails, you can damage the natural area around you. Not to mention you put yourself in danger.

III. If thou must stray, stray wisely.

Sometimes nature calls, and none of us can avoid that. If you need to take care of business, or if you have to go off trail for any other reason, do so carefully. Try not to step on fragile flora or fauna. Stick to harder surfaces like rocks or dry grass.

IV. Thou shalt pack out what thou hast packed in.

Don’t litter, obviously. That includes toilet paper – I’ll leave it at that.

V. Thou shalt pack out what thy neighbor hast packed in.

If you do come across something that has been dropped by someone else (hopefully it’s just something like the small top of a gel packet or the corner of an energy bar wrapper), do your due diligence and pick it up.

VI. Thou shalt not feed wildlife.

Feeding wild animals can have a lot of negative consequences. It lessens an animals fear of humans, making them hang out near trails more. It can also lead to animals fighting amongst themselves. Smaller animals congregating near trails may attract larger predators as well. Basically, you’re messing with the balance of nature by interfering. So don’t.

VII. Thou shalt not rearrange nature.

Trails are usually set up a certain way for a reason (like having logs spaced out down a steep hill to prevent erosion). Leave it to the ones in charge of trail maintenance to make changes, like moving rocks, logs, etc.

VIII. Thou shalt not take nature with you.

You know the saying… take only pictures, leave only footprints. Those wildflowers are pretty to look at, and you may be tempted to take a bouquet home. Instead, you should leave them there for everyone else to enjoy too.

IX. Thou shalt avoid mud.

This may seem counterintuitive to trail running. Aren’t we supposed to get muddy? Yes. But when the trails get extremely muddy, running on them can do a lot of damage. If it’s really rainy or wet out, you should stick to trails that have good drainage or are fairly dry. If conditions are bad enough, you should leave the trail running to another day and hit up a paved bike path or the treadmill instead.

X. If thou encounterest mud, thou shalt run smack through it.

When you are running in a muddy area, you should not try and skirt around the mud puddles. Doing so widens the trail and can cause damage around it. It is actually best to run straight through them. Plus, it’s more fun, right?

What would you add to the ten commandments of trail running?

It’s time for another Wednesday Word linkup, hosted by Debbie! Be sure to click on the button below to join in and see who else is linking up.

Each week Deb provides a word prompt for us to write about, and this week’s word is triumphant.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the word triumphant is crossing the finish line of a race. You’ve put in weeks to months of training, weathered the ups and downs, and have probably had lots of personal victories along the way. Getting to run the race truly is the cherry on top, and that feeling of crossing the finish line is like no other.

But, there are also lots of moments of triumph during training. On the outside you may not celebrate them as much as that finish on race day, but on the inside they often feel just as big. I’m going to share one of those moments from my training for the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon.

The Marine Corps Marathon was my second full marathon, and I chose to take a completely different approach to training by following the Hansons Marathon Method. It was more running than I had ever done in my life. Often, I had to figure out how to balance training with life. One of those cases was during my peak week of training. I got an invite for a friend’s baby shower in Virginia Beach (roughly a 6 hour drive) the same weekend I had an 8 miler and 16 miler back to back. I decided I could do both.

Saturday wasn’t too bad. I had driven to my friends house the day before, and I got up and ran my 8 miles like normal. It was fun to run in a new place and do some exploring.

That afternoon we had the baby shower. Then in the evening Virginia Tech took on Ohio State in football. We ended up having a huge win over them! However, I stayed up until nearly 2 AM watching that game. For my 16 miler I had plans to stop halfway through my 6 hour drive home to run on a state park trail I was familiar with. I knew I needed to get an early start because it was only going to get hotter as the day went on. So after a bedtime of 2 AM, I was up at 5 AM and on my way that Sunday morning. Three hours into my drive I arrived in Farmville. Time to take a break from driving and run 16 miles. I still couldn’t believe I was about to do this.

The only way to get it done is just start putting one foot in front of the other, and that’s exactly what I did. It turned out to be a fantastic run. It was a gorgeous day, not too hot, and there were lots of people out on the trail. Plus, it’s always neat to run across the high bridge, which is over half a mile long and 125 feet above the Appomattox River.

There were a few rough spots during the run, of course, but overall it was one of the best long runs I’ve ever had. I had my mind set to do it. But there was still some self doubt about whether I could really accomplish this by myself, in the middle of a long drive, after very little sleep the night before. But I did it, and the triumph I felt when my watch beeped 16 miles was incredible. I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face.

After my run I changed clothes, grabbed a quick lunch at the nearby Sheetz gas station, and then drove the final 3 hours home. I think I was on some kind of endorphin high for most of the way. As soon as I got home, I was ready to crash. I took a long shower and then a nice long nap. Overall, it was a great experience, as I proved to myself I was stronger than I thought. Little victories like that are part of what makes a long training process so enriching.

Tell me about a time when you have felt triumphant or had a moment of victory during a long training cycle.

I’m almost halfway though my training for my first ultramarathon – The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K! I don’t think I’ve had a week, yet, where I followed my training plan as written. This week was no different. But I still got all of my workouts in. I’ve done a lot of traveling so far this year, but hopefully I’ll have a normal week where I just do my training as planned. Maybe that will be this coming week? 🙂

Here is a recap of last week’s workouts, as part of the Weekly Wrap link up hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’.

Monday – Rest.

Tuesday – Cross training: 30 Day Shred level 2 workout. With this DVD there are three levels, which go from ‘easy’ to ‘hard’. However, I think each one is a good workout and they all work slightly different muscle groups. That’s why I like to rotate through the levels each week.

Wednesday – 5 mile hill workout after work with Sven (the treadmill). I was feeling a bit sluggish during this run, so it was a tough one. I got in seven quarter mile hill repeats for 533 feet in elevation gain.

Thursday – 4 mile easy run with Sven in the evening, then 10 minutes of abs/core work.

Friday – 6 mile easy run. This run started out at a nearby park, and it was my intention to run the entire run at the park. Despite the wind, it was a pretty day to be outside.

However, there were too many loose dogs at the park. So I ended up heading home after just three miles and finished the final three on the treadmill.

Saturday – 13 mile long run while at my dad’s for the weekend (I was in town for my cousin’s baby shower). My friend Jackie – remember her? The one who ran 16 miles last weekend with her longest run before that being 6 miles – joined me again. She also lives in the area. I had 12 miles planned, but she texted me the day before and asked if I wanted to do 13 instead. Direct quote from her: “I mean what’s one more mile lol.” I think I have created a monster 🙂

So we met up just before sunrise at a nearby park for our run. Watching the sun come up over the lake was gorgeous and the time flew by during our run. There were lots of other people out, too!

The trail was icy in several spots. There were a few times where we would be tip toeing across the ice and the ice would break, causing my foot to plunge ankle-deep in ice cold muddy water. That will wake you up!

We did two full laps around the lake and a few extra out and backs to round out the distance. After our run, Jackie snapped a quick post-run selfie. I take lots of pictures when I run, but I seldom think to take one of myself. Plus I always manage to look super awkward in post-run photos 🙂

Sunday – 4 miles easy in the neighborhood before I hit the road to head home. My lower back felt a bit sore from Saturday’s long run, but other than that and some general fatigue I felt fine. It continues to surprise me how good I feel the day after my long run.

Total Miles: 32 miles

By the time Sunday night rolled around, I was definitely feeling tired, a little sore, and ready for a rest day. Good thing that’s exactly what’s on tap for today! I’ll be ready to get back at it tomorrow.

Did you watch the Super Bowl? What did you think of the game and the halftime show?
How was your week last week? Are you looking forward to anything this week? I’m running a 10 mile race on Saturday and it’s going to be fun!

This winter is the first time I have officially trained for a spring race, with a formal training plan. I have run plenty of spring races in the past, but my goal races that require ‘serious’ training have always been in the fall. To me, it was just easier to deal with a training plan through the summer. Sure, there’s the heat and humidity to contend with. But you also get the promise of those cooler fall days. Up to this point, I had always avoided training for a spring race because I just didn’t want to deal with committing to a training plan through the winter. But as I train for the North Face DC 50K in April, I’m finding there are both pros and cons to winter training.

Pros

• You stay accountable – Having a race to train for keeps helps you maintain a good running and workout routine
• You stay happier – This one can probably be argued, but I think it’s easy to feel sad in January when the excitement of the holidays have passed and it’s still winter. But in the words of Elle/Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde “endorphins make you happy.”
• It makes you tougher – Getting out there, even when it’s freezing cold, certainly makes me feel bad ass 😉
• You get rewarded with perfect spring weather (hopefully) – the beginning of spring often has beautiful running weather, but if you do face unfavorable conditions on race day at least you’re trained for them!

Cons

• There’s limited daylight in the winter – This definitely makes it tougher to get out there if you don’t want to run in the dark. For me, it means more time spent on the treadmill.
• Unfavorable weather – Things like blizzards can make it tough or impossible to get outside and get your training done, which leads me to my next point…
• It’s harder to follow a training plan – Various factors in the winter can keep you from following your training plan to a T. But remember, it’s always better to show up at the start line slightly undertrained than overtrained, anyway.

As you can see, the pros outweigh the cons. I may get to the end of this thing and vow to never train for another big spring race. Time will tell!

What are your pros and cons to winter training?

I’m linking up today with Debbie over at DebRuns for her Wednesday Word link up. Click on the button below to join in or to see who else is linking up!

This week’s word is heart and I decided to share with you something I wrote from the heart. My love for trail running has grown over the past couple of years, and I decided to write about it in a way I don’t normally do. I’m not much of a poet, but I’ve been working on a sort of ode to trails, written in haiku. Anne inspired me 🙂 I hope you enjoy!

Ditch the asphalt road
And embrace the challenges
Found on a dirt trail.

While out on your run
Go for as long as you like
Fast or slow as wished.

But don’t be surprised
If you find yourself wanting
To explore further.

It can be quite the
Exhilarating feeling
Running down the trail.

If you lose focus
Future stories will tell of
Cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

Trail running can be
Grounding, quite literally
If you’re not careful.

Feel like a child
As you splash through mud puddles
Pure, honest running.

With your heart pumping
You catch a glimpse of that view
And feel more alive.

The mountains teach us
To notice the little things
That make life special.

You realize it’s not
So much about the miles,
but time in nature.

Driving home, post-run
Feeling tired but happy
At peace with the world.

Final words before
I head out for my run are
Happy trails to you.

Do you enjoy running/hiking/biking on trails?
Where does your heart lie? Although I love our annual beach vacation, my heart will always belong to the mountains.