Back to basics

I went out for a run today for the first time since my race on Saturday. I was extremely nervous because of what my body had gone through. Because I've never run that distance on trails before, I wasn't sure what I would be capable of. I took the last three days off but I wasn't sure if that was enough.

At the start of the run, my left ankle started to get a little sore. During the trail race both ankles took a pounding as the terrain switched from dirt to hard mud to grass. My ankles would turn every so often so I'm sure that's what I was feeling today. Eventually the pain went away and I was able to continue.

Whenever I run on the roads, the natural inclination for me is to speed up. However, when I'm running in the trails I purposely tell myself to slow down. I actually enjoy running at a much slower pace and I thought about how great I usually feel when I run at a slower pace. I want to be able to run for many more years, so avoiding injuries is obviously a priority. By slowing myself down I think I'm accomplishing that.

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon, or at least coming close to it, was my original goal heading into 2007. Along the way, though, I rediscovered my love of trail running. Someone asked me today what my next goal was and I said that I want to do more 50K trail races and then a 50 Miler. For me to accomplish these goals I need to shift my focus from speed to endurance training.

Today's 12KM run was an important first step for me and I'm happy to report that my legs are still working fine.