Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fresh Start

i can't believe how long it took me to finally get my shit together and go for a trail run. it's been at least 5 months since i've run on a proper dirt trail!

i took Brandy with and we headed over to Strawberry Canyon. My garmin wasn't charged and i purposely left my watch at home. with only 9 weeks to go before my 20k i'm still very much in "base building" mode which needless to say isn't where i should be. but it is what it is. PCTR events are as hard as they fun and beautiful. i'll have good time regardless of how under trained i am on race day. still, today up at Strawberry my run assured me that while i'm not at the level of fitness i was this time last year i haven't gone totally to pot.

i shuffled up Big Bertha without much ado but i fatigued as i approached the second climb to the lookout bench and walked until it flattened out. Brandy was her usual curious self and leaped and bounded most of the way up, though her enthusiasm eventually gave way to her lack of fitness and she was lagging behind towards the end. more than once i had to double back and coax her along.

last weekend i went to REI to buy a new pair of Montrails and learned they no longer carry them. My Hurricanes still have some miles left on them, but hey since I'm basically starting trail running all over again I felt justified in getting some new shoes. I went to Transport on Solano. i asked the sales guy to measure my foot and it appears to have shrunk ....and no, it wasn't first thing in the morning when i shopped . it was noon and AFTER my Strawberry run when you'd expect feet to be their most swollen.

so i tell him i usually wear 9 and he says "really, looks here like your a 7.5 - 8" and i say "yeah, but i go up a size for running shoes" and so to appease me he brings out an 8.5 W because not only is my foot short it's now wide...which is news to me. i confess that i'm a pronator and he redirects me from some svelte looking Montrail i'm eyeballing to a more orthopedic looking Brooks which i dismiss immediately in favor the bulkier Montrail Hardrock. 8.5 and it feels good on...in the store...but i've been happy with Montrails thus far so i got them along with a new camelback waist hydration pack.

it was good to hit the trails again, it's been way too long. it does require extra effort to gear up for a trail run and after such a long hiatus i feel like a roookie fumbling with basic logistics and gear issues as i try to get out the door.

what i know about trail running has basically come from just doing it and reading blogs or articles. i've been looking for a book specifically about training for trail races. i half suspect i already know what i need to know. i just wonder if there's a book out there that emphasizes the unique training aspects of trail running.