Mixing It Up...

As you know, it is my intention to transition to a minimalist running shoe, and back in early September I chose the Nike Free Run's but haven't had the confidence to run in them while I have been gradually increasing my mileage back up following my injury. So, after completing a 4 mile run in my New Balances (with Orthotics) on Thursday, I decided that it was about time that I tried running in my Nike Free's.

On Friday morning, I put on my Nike Free's and attached the collars and leashes to Scout and Molly and we all set out for a brisk 1.25 mile run along the Greenway. While I was running, I found it hard to relax, partly because I was being herded by Molly (who was on her first run with me and liked to get in front of me and then stop) and partly because I was constantly doing internal checks on how my calf, knee and Achilles felt as I really didn't want to hurt myself again. The Nike Free's felt light and comfortable and I finished the run with no pain or discomfort. Overall a good run, and when I got through the rest of the day without any discomfort I felt comfortable declaring my experiment a success. After running a 5K on Saturday, I repeated the 1.25 mile run in my Nike Frees (with Dogs) on Sunday and then increased the distance to 2 miles today.

After completing runs of 4 miles, 1.25 miles, 3.1 miles and 1.25 miles on consecutive days I wanted to do a 5 mile run on Monday morning. A 5 mile run from the old house wouldn't have been a problem and I would have had a few options that wouldn't involve running the same route more than once, however, the new house has less options and the Greenway trail is only 1.5 miles end to end. I really didn't want to run the same piece of the trail three times and I didn't fancy running on the sidewalks or roads, so I decided to try running on the trails in Durant Nature Park. I knew there was a trail called "Border Trail" which goes around the outside of the park, and is approximately 2.2 miles in length, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I haven't ever run on hiking trails and was a little nervous about the exposed tree roots and uneven ground, but it turned out to be a fun change from running on flat surfaces. My Garmin Connect map shows my 5 mile run on the Greenway and the Border Trail but it doesn't really do justice to the trail which was full of twists and turns and ups and downs. For the most part the route was easy to follow as the ground was well worn and packed down and the tree limbs were well pruned. I did make one wrong turn towards the end but realized quickly when I had to duck under a few low tree branches and then lost the packed ground completely. I simply back tracked about 50 yards and found where I had gone wrong.

Obviously, I wasn't running as quickly as I would on the road, but I did wear my heart rate monitor and I was able to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 for a perfect workout.

It was nice to have something to think about (not getting lost, and where to place my feet) and the time flew by. I doubt I will be able to run the trail if the ground is wet or if we have had significant recent rain as the lake level was only inches from the trail in some areas. Also, I am not sure whether I will be able to find and follow the trail when the leaves fall soon, but when the conditions are right, it will be nice to go and run in the nature park!