Tried a Little Trail Running

If you know me at all, you know I'm not a fan of running on anything other than pavement. Yesterday I stepped outside of my comfort zone and joined some friends for a trail run.

This is an event put on by one of the local running stores and a few times a year they have companies come out with shoes to try.  I picked a pair of Saucony's because they matched my SparkleAthletic skirt :)  They felt good at first but my arch ended up hurting quite a bit.

Because it's Halloween week, they encouraged costumes.  I'm dressing as a Minion for school this week, so I just adapted the costume a bit for running.  It worked well, but the hat was a bit warm.

The trails at Robinette's Orchard start out winding through the woods.  The loop was supposed to be 2.5 miles long, but I ended up taking a shortcut because the people I was following took a shortcut and I only ran 2.2 miles.  Lots of up/down/up/down and wrapping around trees.  My Garmin hated the woods and kept losing the signal so my distance might be off a bit.

After about 2 miles in the woods, we ran a bit past the orchards.  At this point, people could either take a left and go on for another 2.5 miles, or turn right back to the start.  I was done.  Back to the start for me.  This was a really good workout even though my average pace was a 15 min/mile, which is about what I normally walk.  I felt like I was going so much faster and I was really trying to run.  I'd probably have liked the scenery more if I wasn't so focused on my feet and not falling.

Probably the best part was winning 1st place in the costume contest :)  I got a cool t-shirt and a $25 gift card to Gazelle Sports.

What about you?  Trails - yah or nay?