Get Off the Road

Yesterday's long run was on a variety of surfaces: asphalt, woodchips, dirt, and grass. It was through the Hyland Lake Park Reserve along the same route as next weeks race--the Trail Mix. I'm not running that race but I've heard of it and now I know how it got its name.

The park contains over 1,000 acres of to run, and a nice selection of bathrooms. Two miles into the run, we ran up a hill to the base of the ski jump. Actually, I'm not sure how many people ran. I brought up the rear and walked it. It was pretty steep and I got plenty winded just from walking. There we had a pep talk from the national running director, Dan Finanger.

My running partner and I weren't too familiar with the park and as we continued on our way, we had to look at our maps and guess which route to take. I think we may have taken a few wrong turns, but we eventually caught up with the group, and more importantly, the water and cookie station. Dan was doing double duty, hauling the water and refreshments, as well as running with the group.

I've read that it's a good idea to run on soft surfaces, but until Saturday the only alternate surface I ever ran on was the track. I really enjoyed the different trails, being out in nature and not hammering my legs. I never minded asphalt, but I really noticed a difference after running on dirt. I may have to go back to that park.

I was planning to run 16 miles but when we got near the end of the run I was still a few miles short. So I ran around a two-mile lake--twice--to bring up the mileage. By the time I was finished I had only run 15 miles, but I didn't have another mile in me. Fifteen was the longest I've run in my training so far, so it was good enough.