Warm up, cool down and stretch as much as possible.  Even if you’re in a hurry, don’t skip you’re stretching due to not having time.  It isn’t as obvious as hydrating, but abusing your muscles and tendons without easing off and caring for them makes you more susceptible to soreness and possible tears.  

My achilles tendon is my achilles heel
After a few years of experiencing soreness in different parts of my legs at different times, I realized that my most common ailment was soreness in the achilles tendon.  Once it’s sore, there’s not much treatment other than rest and icing.  I incorporated more regular stretching for that particular area and am more aware of even the slightest tighness that tells me to back off or just run more carefully. 

Even though I’ve determined that my “safe” weekly mileage limit is around 45, I went over that on consecutive weeks approaching my California International Marathon in December 2009.  The achilles flared up, but I was at the height of my training, so I didn’t back off.  The soreness increased and I was just barely able to taper enough to have a pain-free race. (But maybe my reduced mileage in final couple weeks was a factor in my sub-par race day performance!)

Non-running injuries require attention too!
On a recent weekend, I did a bunch of landscaping work which involved lifting, pulling, stretching and all kinds of related physical activity the body hates.  I made the mistake of not taking a few days off to get rid of all the pain.  By running a few days and increasing the soreness, I had to take more time off than if I had originally taken a few days to recover.  Just because soreness isn’t related to running doesn’t mean that it won’t have an effect!

Know your body
Athletes are probably more aware of their bodies’ than couch potatoes.  We feel that we’re our own best doctors and usually learn what we have to do to stay healthy.  The trick is to follow our own advice and our best instincts.   For the long term (and even shorter term), cutting back on training or workout intensity, noticing early stages of soreness, and seeking real medical attention when necessary are critical to enjoying our sport.

Develop good habits
Incorporate all the usual running advice into your regular routine.  Keep track of the mileage on your shoes (and wear the right type).  Get used to hydrating, then warming up, and stretching and hydrating once your finished running or jogging.  Fuel your body as much as you are able to.  Try glucosamine for better joint health.  Wear clothes and shoes that won’t cause irritation or blisters.  Dress for the weather conditions.
…and even when you don’t take your own advice, listen when your friends have suggestions!

Caffe Gelato in Newark, DE

New adventures. New challenges.
Challenging yourself or attempting something new usually pays off with lessons learned and greater enjoyment of your sport. This 10 mile race is a hybrid with equal parts road and trail. Unfortunately, the course was wet and muddy due to rain and the fallen fall leaves. But it was fun!

Since I needed a long run for my marathon training plan, I ran 5 miles before the race, so this took pressure off going all-out for an impressive time or placing in my age group.  The course starts near University of Delaware, just a couple blocks from the restaurant and the first 2 miles are paved (before the fun begins).  Without rain, it’s a gentle, non-technical trail.  But puddles, mud, and wet leaves covering rocks made it more challenging.

It was nice to see a turnout of 200 runners and we were warned at the start that “white shoes wouldn’t stay that way”. Some road runners were having their first experience on trails (and would not be disappointed), and some who prefer trails enjoyed a bit of pavement.  Pushing ourselves to try something new can be beneficial in many ways.  Here are some that I noted:

Muddy legs – this is the dirtiest I’d ever gotten in my 8 years of running.  Now I won’t fear getting wet or muddy as much in the future.

Shared experience – runners enjoy each others’ company, but the more challenging or dirty or silly the experience, the easier it is to laugh about it with each other once it’s over.

Post-race food – conquering difficult conditions make food and drink afterwards even more enjoyable.  We each got a big waffle cone full of delicious gelato and Ryan, the owner, made sure that everyone had the opportunity to grab bagels, scrambled eggs, bananas and even oatmeal cookies. 

Good age-group prizes – instead of generic race medals for winners, awards were a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant.  Nice (even though I didn’t get one)!

A nice thing about 10 mile races is that all of the participants are “real” runners.  This also meant that I knew alot more participants than the standard 5K which includes casual runners and walkers.  The sense of community can make a dreary morning seem much brighter.

Run safely and add you runner profile at the Running My Races directory!

I don’t run nearly as many races as alot of runners, but after a few years, my dresser drawers, closet shelves, boxes and bags quickly fill up with them.  It’s great that more and more races are offering high quality tech shirts, but piles of them quickly grow as well.  With so many new ones to add to our stockpile, it gets more difficult to “wear out” the older ones.  It can be nice to finally “retire” a shirt after it’s useful life and turn it into a rag—just to make room for the next one.

My choice of what to do with them has been to give them to family members, particularly my 4 lovely nieces (I can’t wait for my little nephews to grow more to take their fair share).  Giving gifts to kids, brothers, parents, friends of friends gives me the hope that they are becoming involved (maybe even interested?) in an important aspect of my life.  Maybe they’ll become runners and enjoy the same benefits that I do.  Maybe they’ll be proud of my accomplishments.  Maybe they’ll appreciate the fact that the sport of running is so involved with fundraising for wonderful causes.

After running a bunch of races within a few weeks, I suddenly had 4 shirts to bestow on worthy recipients.  I gathered up my nieces and showed them each shirt, telling a few tidbits of each race, to personalize them a bit.  Starting with my oldest niece, they each chose a shirt.  I was happy that they immediately put them on, so I snapped this photo:

Some popular choices for dealing with surplus shirts:

• Give them to charity.  New shirts are better than “used” ones!
• Donate to a running club which collects them for a particular charity or uses gives them to kids who participate in certain races.
• Immediately turn the ugly ones into rags and wash your car.
• Sew them into a bedspread or wall hanging.
• Use them as work clothes, especially for those dirty jobs.
• Wear a different race shirt every day of the year.

Caesar Rodney Half Marathon - Wilmington, Delaware

The Double Trouble 15K Trail Run is located at French Creek State Park, near Morgantown, PA. Our club’s “Team Coordinator” personally drove 5 of us over an hour from Wilmington through the beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch country, with some bonus miles of beauty due to some detours and wrong turns. Running as a club or team makes both the trip and race more enjoyable.  4 of us won age group awards while four more rounded out our group. Most wore our classy PCVRC singlets. It was a gorgeous day for a run, even with lots of rocks, hills and mud to deal with.

Pretzel City Sports’ Ron Horn ensures that it’s a fun event, noting:

“The DT Trail Run is all about “choice”. All runners start at the same time, where all “choose” to run the demented but beautiful, rustic & shaded 15k loop (several lake vistas but no water crossings) and some “choose” to throw caution & their medical deductible to the wind and run that loop a 2nd time to get in 30k. … You can “choose” to carry water or just get hydrated at the 3 water stops per loop and you can “choose” between a short sleeve shirt or tank, “choose” to take a free shower or stain the car upholstery beyond repair on the way home, “choose” to eat the great post race refreshments or pick that day to start a new diet, etc. …You can even “choose” to stay home but that would be about the ONLY decision that is even stupider than entering this race. The DT 15k/30k is a wonderful race that celebrates our right to “choose” in life, no matter how bad a choice it is!  …If you “choose” to run off course, a course that Stevie Wonder could follow, then it is likely that we will “choose” not to look for you…”

The post-race food was good, including hot dogs fresh from the grill. This was just my second trail race and here are some personal notes:

 How to run a trail race
When you’re advised to start at the front of the pack, DO IT! I had to walk the first half mile due to 350+ runners on a narrow trail that quickly became single file to cross some narrow bridges and wind around the forest. 15K is a long distance to maintain concentration on your footing on jagged rocks and slippery mud. Towards the end of the race, a woman in front of me almost went down and I immediately thought to myself that the moment you relax your concentration, you’re in trouble. Sure enough, 2 seconds later I tripped and rolled over. A couple scrapes and a little dirt made me feel like a “real” trail runner when crossing the finish!

Stay in control
Running trails can tire your mind since you have to maintain concentration on the course, where to place your feet, and the runners around you.  On single file sections, passing can be hazardous, but essential when there are few opportunities.  Maintain some space between you and the runner you’re following – in case they go down or in anticipation of them dodging hazards that you can’t see.

Use both eyes since you may have to watch the path (and course markers)with one and watch for whipping branches with the other.  If you have a third eye, you’ll have a huge advantage.
Run carefully!
Ray

Trail runner Josh

I had been a runner for over 7 years when I finally ran my first trail race, at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.  A running buddy recruited me to be sure that Pike Creek Valley Running Club would field a complete team in this Mid-Atlantic USATF event.   As it turns out, it’s a good thing we ended up with a good turnout.

Pike Creek Valley Running Club

Nice runs by our scorers Josh (placed in age group), Tom, Chris  (just 6 days after an impressive RNR Marathon), Kelly and Jack .  Good thing we had a bunch of runners, since we also had a DNF (injury), and 2 runners who started 18 minutes late due to a wrong turn driving (I wish it was a chip race!).  Unfortunately, one of late runners was me.  But when we arrived, we figured we might as well pay the $30 and do it, even if just for pride.

The girls at the now lonely registration tent were still happy to take our money.  Very hilly, very rocky, often slippery course, most of which was single file – but a well organized and fun event!  There were no milemarkers, and since the hills made it impossible to judge pace, I had no idea where I was.  After a half mile of flat, packed dirt, I came upon the first hill.  Wow, it really was a hill.  Halfway up and I was already doing some walking.

Beautiful, but challenging course
The nicely wooded course featured 3 main hills that we’d go all the way up and all the way back to the valley.  It took me almost 2 miles to pass the last runner.  The hills were steep and those rocks were large enough to actually be used as steps.  For a while, I was being followed by two bikes, basically looking for runners in need of assistance.  I commented later that since I was behind everyone, I was surprised not to see some blood on the rocks, since the surface mud from recent rain made the path slippery.

As I passed runners, I encouraged them by saying “We can still catch them!”  Since my clock time would be ridiculous, I didn’t have the usual race pressure, so I could enjoy myself a bit.  Course was well marked, which is vital in a trail race where there are constantly forking paths and crossroads.  Only a couple times did I have to look around more than once.  Some rocks on the ground were spray painted blue, and there were orange tapes hanging from numerous branches to mark the route.

Fancy footwork
Trail races require concentration and a combination of looking ahead to see where the course turns and looking down to watch where to step.  First priority is to prevent falling or twisting ankles.  Going up was exhausting, while coming down meant scrambling over and around rocks, branches and mud to maintain the best footing possible.  Braking too hard could mean slipping.

I found out where I was for the first time when I asked what mile I was at while passing the 2nd (of 2) water stop.  I was happy to hear “5 miles”.  I then had a comfortable half mile on flat, wide trail before encountering the grand finale – the steepest of the hills.  Now there was a steady stream of runners/walkers ahead of me, so I had to choose my spots for passing.  Reaching the bottom of the hill allowed just a 100 yeard sprint to the finish, and due to resting on the way down the hill, I really did have a kick!

It was gratifying to have the timekeeper call out, “This guy started 18 and a half minutes after everyone else” as I cruised to the finish.
After the post-race bananas/bagels/pizza, 9 of us hit a restaurant just down the block for a nice late morning brunch.

Have any interesting trail running stories to share?

• Make every run a “quality run”.  Don’t waste precious time on junk runs, such as running slowly 2 days in a row.
• Include one day of distance and one day of speed work (intervals, fartleks, tempo) each week.
• Keep a log of all training runs.  Include distance, surface, weather conditions, how you felt, shoes worn, if speedwork or hills were involved, and any soreness felt.
• Rest is as important as running.  Keep your legs fresh with days off.
• Work in some crosstraining for both endurance and muscle building.
• Nutrition is critical.  Eat your fruits and veggies and consider taking multi-vitamins to get basic vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
• Avoid miserable runs by having alternate plans in case of stormy weather.  If it’s hot, run earlier in the morning or later in the evening.  If there are thunderstorms, run the next day.
• Put in some hill work.  If you don’t find it terribly enjoyable, do a different kind of hill workout each time– long & gentle grade repeats, short & steeper runs, and reversing direction to make each training run a bit different.
• … add your own recommendations below!