Trails and More Trails

With Jared's tri coming up in less than 6 weeks, we've agreed its time to hunker down and start killing some trail runs. My beloved's figured out the ranges he needs to be in for each event of the tri to be competitive with the other participants. Here are the ranges for each:

Swim (0.6 mi): 19-32 minutes
Bike (12 mi): 1 hour to 1:50
Run (6 mi): 30-60 minutes

After a week of swimming, he's already going the distance in 22 minutes, so has no worries there. The mountain biking could be tough as his bike isn't really equipped for the kind of pounding it's taking on the trails. That leaves the run.

While we both enjoy trail running, the philosophy behind it has always been that we just run--ignore any attempts at speed, and travel the distance. Because trail terrain is so much more varied than streets, it's tough to map out what a comparable speed would be from one to the other. On top of that, trail running tends to require a lot more side-to-side, as rocks and roots necessitate occasional shifts and leaps--and frankly, a lot more effort per mile. In the past, I've tended to think anything around or below a 10:00/mile was a solid trail run. A 10:00/mile, however, would put Jared in the back of the pack at his tri.

Tuesday was our first attempt at increasing our speed on the trails. I met Jared at the Fells after work, and we were off like a shot, shooting for an 8:30/mile pace. Well, we ended up right around there for our approximately 2.25-mile loop, but we also stopped for three gasping breaks (all my doing, I admit it), where I (naturally) stopped the clock. Not bad for a first try (tri, har de har har).

Thursday was another planned running day, but a late offer to join a hoops game ultimately took precedence. Sorry, running, for the stand-up.

Saturday morning we headed back over to the Fells, this time planning to run strong, but not at a pace that would force breaks. Copley, recently cleared by the vet, and in dire need of some exercise, joined us on the 2.15-mile jaunt. We ran a crisp, cool pace through already muggy woods, with her gently herding us the first mile. I careened around her loping hindquarters at first, before figuring out how to watch her, and anticipate her capering turns along the path. At a mile, we paused for a minute for her to drink, and again at just past 2. The miles, at an 8:45/mile pace, were still a lot faster than what we typically run, but were comfortable. It felt like a pace we could hold for longer, and one we could improve on for that distance.

After arriving back at the car, Jared unloaded his bike and headed out for some more miles, while I loaded the dog and headed for the park. An hour later, a tired dog, a tired JRod, and a tired Abby headed home...full of plans for the next attempt.