Trails…of destruction?

I’ve decided to take up trail running.

Well I haven’t really, not for definite. But I have now bought some (expensive for me but still the cheapest ones in the shop) shoes for trail runs.

I know you can get much cheaper ones online, but I do have a thing about trying to support a real, local, running shop because they’re so useful about giving you proper advice on what type of shoe you should go for. Also the online sites didn’t have my size.

Actually the shoes I’ve bought are several sizes bigger than my foot size which is 3.5. In running shoes I regularly get between a 4.5 and a 5 because there is so much internal padding and you need to allow space for ‘spread’. These ones are a 6 (!) and a very dark pink so in my head I look like a circus clown (Anne assures me that I don’t).

So why have I spent all this crazy money? It’s in the hope that I actually do some trail running. Even though I’m not mad keen on getting down and dirty, especially in the winter months, I’ve read, and been told, about the many wonderful things about trail running and I feel like I should dip a muddy toe in.

Wonderful thing No 1 – It’s very mindful

I had a go at breaking in these deep magenta bad boys on Sunday in Storeton Woods and I could kind of see what they mean. Because you’re busy trying not to twist your ankles on the tree roots and hidden dips that plague your way, you are definitely not thinking about anything else. Plus, as I’m still averse to dirt, I’m trying to skip over or around the many bogs and mud patches that have developed with the unceasing rain. So, if mindfulness means paying attention then, yes, most definitely, I was that.

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Wonderful thing No 2 – It slows you down

This is apparently wonderful because we’re all just too busy trying to be faster and we should just chill with nature – or something like that.

As regular readers may know, I am not the fastest kid on the block, nor even anywhere near the middle. However, based on this little trip, my normal sloth speed was indeed further diminished by aforementioned obstacles and dodgy uneven ground so that I had to walk (or rather scramble) in places. Walking is apparently a crucial part of trail running, and while serious road runners would never dream of having one foot permanently on the ground during a run, trail runners embrace it as part of the experience of getting across the terrain – or something like that.

Wonderful thing No 3 – It works more of your muscles

Well, yes. To say I was ker-nackered after that short and slow three and a bit miler maybe gives credence to that idea. I felt that, because my feet were landing at different angles, my motion was sometimes side to side, and my arms were flailing about to keep my balance, parts of my body were definitely being woken up that otherwise wouldn’t have been active.

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I am a bit clumsy with my running or any physical activity, and my right ankle has sometimes got nearly or, occasionally, fully twisted when I’ve fallen. So this whole idea of trail running feels a bit counter-intuitive. However, I’m thinking that, if I do it slowly (which has never been a problem) I could actually build up the tendons and muscles around my ankles a little bit more by having a go at these crazy runs.

There is a season of local trail races coming up this winter, and I’m bobbing along for at least the first one this Sunday. I have verified that my presence will not be detrimental to any team positions so I’ll give it a go and let you know.