Thinking About Running. For Fun. Probably. Maybe. Or Not. We’ll See.

It’s finally happening…I’m thinking about running. It’s not just the “hey, look at that person running, I used to do that!” type of thinking that has been floating around in my head since I discovered running shoes. Nope. It is more serious than that. I’ve actually been thinking about the possibility of going running on the regular.

When I look outside + see a sunny morning I think about frolicking around in the sunshine. If I’m hiking a steep decline I imagine skidding down it in as I attempt to run downhill. Along a mountain ridge mid-trek my mind is pondering the rush of scampering among the rocks + cliffs. When Max was sprinting ahead of me I briefly consider chasing after him for more than 12 seconds. Running…for the sake of running.

A few weeks ago in Iceland, after hours upon hours of driving, we stopped to trek out to some ruins. Roughly 10 steps from the car I was sprinting across the meadow, dodging puddles + hopping rocks. Something about my pent-up body + the crisp it-is-going-to-snow-soon air made me want to run, run, run. I made it to the coast then hunched over panting. So, that’s what running feels like, eh?

In the moment, it felt great + I was getting excited about the prospect of running on the regular. I figured the Swiss Alps would have no problem talking me into taking up trail running again. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it isn’t quite that simple either.

Turns out the Swiss Alps are still stupid steep. Still. Silly Alps. The kind of steep where even running *down* isn’t much fun because your toes are hexing you with all of the death curses. Somewhere along the way I forgot all about that…until I headed out for my first venture onto the trails near Gryon. Whoa. Hi there, sweepness! [Sweepness = Swiss + steepness, because I’m brilliant].

While I’m not quite back on the training band wagon I am still thinking about jumping aboard. My hikes have been sprinkled with bouts of running + I even ventured out for the sole purpose of running…twice. TWICE. Which puts me at about 6 intentional runs since October.

I still consider myself a runner + the idea of running 50+ miles along mountain trails appeals to me. That said, the concept of running those miles with a goal time or cut off time or anything resembling a time does not appeal to me in any capacity. Which is unfortunate, because the Bear 100 has a bib with my name on it + that starting gun is going off on September 29th. We’ll see…maybe I’ll don that bib, maybe I’ll pull on a volunteer t-shirt. I’m sure a few months in the Alps will help me make that decision.


0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0