Another run on the trail

Ran another 9.5 trail run yesterday.  Didn't run it hard, though.  I remember how tight my right leg was last week during the middle of the run.  I thought I had pulled that muscle.  So, I laid off running for a few days with some stretching and rolling my leg muscles out with The Stick.  It felt OK today.

Neighborhood running, dodging cars

This week was a neighborhood running kind of week.  There's an art to neighborhood running.  Run on the left, of course, facing traffic.  Wear plenty of reflective, high visibility clothes.

All the visibility in the world doesn't mean that drivers of cars and trucks will necessarily see you.  Here's the way to tell.  If the car or truck has not pulled over at least to the middle of the road at least 25 yards away from you, and there's no traffic behind you, they're texting or on the phone.  Step off into the yard and get out of the way.  Don't even try to play chicken with a car or truck.  You'll lose every time.

However, most of the time, cars do pull over.  Sometimes, they'll pull over all the way into the right lane just to give you extra room.  To these kind and respectful drivers, I always give them a "thank you wave."  That's good running karma!

If you run early in the mornings in the dark, not many folks are out on the streets in the neighborhood.  Except for.... newspaper carriers.  Here you have a driver that doesn't think anything else exists outside their front seat.  You know that they're definitely pre-occupied with rolling papers and trying to drive at the same time.  They-are-not-to-be-trusted!  Just go ahead and step off the street into a yard when you see car lights weaving to various sides of the street and throwing papers!

The best thing about running in the neighborhood is that at the end of the course is probably your own driveway.  Waiting for you is a great shower, a hot cup of coffee and the newspaper to relax while reading, knowing that you've done your exercise job for the day!

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

Back on the trail

Two days ago, John and I met once again to run the trail.  Dirt trail.  The trail that I've grown to love.  I wondered why do I like running that awful trail with exposed roots, mud puddles and hills and switchbacks that rip your lungs out.

The rewards of a trail well run.  Now, I'll just take the 

garden hose to shoes to wash them off, then an air

dry. Easy enough.

Then it dawned on me.  In my boyhood days in Greenwood (Mississippi), my family lived on a street that ran along the Yazoo River.  Our house faced a levee with a quarter mile of land stretching out to the river banks.  On this land was a wooded area right by the river where we would play for hours on end.  When we were old enough, we rode our bikes through the woods and created wonderful bike trails with jumps and dips that would rival today's BMX competitions.

We would call it over the levee.

Similarly, the dirt trail I run today is a little smaller than my the trails of my youth but they are just like over the levee.  I think that's why I like the trail so much.

And, there's always something new to see out there on the trail.  This week's run was full of mud, pine cone needles and water puddles.  Just the right thing to run through and be a boy again.

And that's why I run... especially on dirt trails.... to be a boy again.

Gotta run,
Chuck
The Vagabond Runner

Happy Heart Day!

Earlier this month, my wife and I attended a cardiovascular screening at our local Baptist Health Systems Clinic.  This was just a screening, so I was curious what would go on.  After the requisite blood pressure and pulse taking, the nurse hooked me up to an EKG.

After a minute she looked at the print out, looked at me, and then looked back at the page.  She asked if I was some kind of athlete.  Of course, I said that I was a runner.  She said, "Well, that figures.  You have a resting hear rate of 42 beats per minute!"

42 bpm!

Thank you MS Blues Marathon Training!

No other abnormalities were found.

Gotta Run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

Running in the rain

Yesterday, I ran a five mile maintenance run in the cold rain. It was simply a wonderful experience. I find running in the rain to be an air conditioner when it could be a warm run. Throw a cold temperature in there and you have yourself running in a refrigerator.

Also, there is the water running off into the drains as you dodge cars every now and then. It's really not that dangerous if you wear a high visibility top and are watchful. Plus, it's just one more experience of running that you usually don't have the opportunity to do. It's an adventure.

If you're the kind of runner that only runs in good sunshine weather, that's ok, too! At least you're outside running. I just like the over all experience of all that running has to offer. I guess that's why I like running dirt trails every chance I can because it always has new experiences for me in different kinds of weather.

Now that I think about it, it's the experience of the unknown. Something like, "what will happen if I ran in this weather or that weather. What will it feel like?" I'm always looking for a new experience in running.

This week, I'll cross train, run the streets and run my favorite dirt trail. Good maintenance stuff!

Gotta run,

Chuck

The Vagabond Runner

The Vagabond Runner makes a move

Welcome to The Vagabond Runner new website and look! I've been working on this new site ... and running! I'm still working out some design issues with the template, but we'll go with this template for now. I hope you like the new look as we continue running!

Since the MS Blues Marathon, I have been cross training, swimming and doing strength training. I've still got that trail running bug in me, so I've run the dirt trail several times, once in the rain.

You never know what to expect when you're running in different weather conditions. During my trail running in the rain, the path became a stream of water as it ran downhill. Up at the top of the hill, the water drains off quickly so it isn't too muddy. But at the bottom of the hill, in the flat area, the water collects in pools. I had to be careful that day so as not to slip like I did two weeks before the marathon.


Running in all types of terrain is just fun!