Blog Detail

img_20161110_105953

Back To Running. Sort of.

15 Nov 16
Heidi Kumm
, , , ,
4 comments

Getting Back to Running. Sort of.

The last time I headed out on a non-injury-tester, non-race related run was…early September? Yea, that long ago. Since then I’ve run two time-based races with rather respectable finishes + wandered out onto mountain trails just for funsies, but nothing with any goal beyond “find happy” + survive. It feels a bit like my legs have forgotten how to run; they have definitely forgotten how to yearn for a sweaty, gasping run.

Is that bad? I doubt it.
Am I still a trail runner? Eh, sometimes.
Should I feel guilty? Probably not.
Or…should I feel fat + unfit? Nope, not at all.

As I’m settling into my winter season in Colorado my lungs are adjusting to the mountain air + my legs are regaining their ability to climb one hike at a time. There is no agenda, no “must do” + no pressure to push it. I have spent a tiny sliver of time conversing with this little voice in my head that is trying to convince me to sign up for a race to get my “rear in gear”. Lucky for my wallet, sanity + calendar I’ve managed to talk that lil’ voice down. In the past a race on the calendar has been my motivation to pump a little fiery purpose into my runs. But not this time…

…tank top weather at 11,000 feet in November. #whereiswinter

After last year’s failed attempt to have take on the Pittsburgh Marathon with gusto I have accidentally talked myself into taking on the winter season without any semblance of an agenda in the running department. Guess what…I’m actually pretty jazzed about that.

This isn’t to say I won’t be running. Oh, no. One incredible thing about the high country in the winter is the awesome trails to run on. I have miles upon miles of trails right outside my door + within a few hours of each snowfall the skiers + snowshoers have packed them down quite nicely. So nice, in fact, I rarely need any traction. It’s quite fantastic. After years of battling ice + mud on the Front Range trails all winter I was prepared to hate winter running up in the mountains, boy was I wrong!

…he’s never patient enough for a 10 second timer, especially when my phone is propped up on a bag of M&M’s.

With my lungs re-acclimating to the lack of oxygen + my legs remembering how to handle trails scattered with steep climbs it’s safe to say running will be back in my life on the regular, soon. It’ll be casual + fun, but it’ll happen. I mean, Max has clearly taken a liking to me as his trail-mate so I can’t let him down!

I’ve even managed to talk myself into putting a watch back on after Big’s Backyard. Ironically my simple Timex watch is 100% dead + my Suunto GPS is only spitting out metric stats at the moment. Big’s beat up more than just my brain! Granted, I’ll probably leave the GPS set up to metric — it does feel good to look down + see the fat numbers whispering 6:25 as my current pace! #mindgames

 

4 Comments

  1. Roland November 16, 2016 at 8:58 am Reply

    Okay I am tired or seeing all those incredible pictures and most of the time I see CO. I am serious: would you mind sending me a few places I could go with Cindy in CO. Your favorite places. Maybe a road trip. You know what we like. CO has to be on our vacation agenda. Hiking, relaxing ….. and can we be there without bears? We were so disappointed in Grand Teton. No Salami sandwich, no Swiss Chocolate in your rucksack.
    Thanks a lot.
    Montana is another state I need to see.
    Hiking, pictures, good food 🙂
    Thank you Heidi.

    • Heidi Kumm November 16, 2016 at 2:02 pm Reply

      Ooh, yes! You’ve got me thinking…I’ll whip up something for you. We do have bears, but they’re not nearly as aggressive or abundant as in Wyoming/Grand Tetons. We also have the 10th Mountain Division Huts [like the SAC huts but without guardians] + some awesome yurts that are worth every step of the hike!

      I’m going to think on this + shoot you an email! 🙂

      • Roland November 16, 2016 at 3:31 pm Reply

        Oh great - thank you BUT take your time. We are not traveling tomorrow 🙂

  2. Buffalo's Boulders - Heidi Kumm // Oversharing Life November 30, 2016 at 7:37 pm Reply

    […] trees + hopping over rocks. My legs missed the easy freedom of running. As we cruised downhill I rediscovered my happy place, almost on accident. It felt good to run, to pump my arms + gasp for thin mountain air….to be […]

Leave a Reply