In reply to yesterday’s “I don’t give a damn” post, twitter friend @M1CW said I should try to make it fun. Excellent advice! So, I decided to head to the Duke Forest trail for my long run. It’s a scenic and hilly 4 mile loop off Whitfield Road in Durham, NC. I haven’t gone there since last summer.
I had quite an adventure on my run. I nearly drowned in the water rushing over the fjord, became entangled in barbed wire, and was attacked by a wild beast. Well, okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little! Makes a good story, tho, right? Here’s how it really played out:
The first lap lap felt like hard work. I was trying to focus on good running form and trying to relax and have fun and be free. But I wasn’t having luck and I was not having any fun! At the half way point, you get to this place I call ”No Man’s land’. It’s a part of the forest that they have burned away to study how a forest grows back. It is barren and mostly uphill for about a mile. On a sunny day in August, it is also very hot. This sunny day in January, it wasn’t hot, but I was definitely not having fun!
After ‘No Man’s Land’, you turn a corner and it’s down, down, down. I really started to enjoy myself then…I always love running down hills. It makes me feel powerful and fast and happy that I am able to run at my age.
Then I got to the fjord over New Hope Creek, which was overflowing. The headline “Ironman athlete trips on fjord and drowns in two inches of water” crossed my mind. Not wanting that to happen, I carefully tip-toed through the water to get to the other side. Then there is this nasty climb beyond the fjord that takes you up out of the valley and back to the main road. I was tired and wanted to stop and had to pee. I used the ‘need to pee’ to stop for a little rest and trudged into the woods where I tripped over some barbed wire. Damn, I didn’t even see it!
I set out on my second lap determined to make it feel easier by making it fun. A little way into the woods I approached a couple walking their dog without a leash. It was a big dog, too. It was fluffy like a Border Collie and had a muzzle that looked like a St. Bernard. It was bounding playfully ahead of it’s owners. I ran past the two people then past this big playful dog. The dog chased after me and kept putting it’s muzzle on my knee. I think it was trying to herd me back toward the other humans.
If I had been on my first lap, I would have been very annoyed by this uncontrolled dog. But since I was on my second lap – full of endorphins and wanting to have fun – I thought it was just great. I ran a few strides alongside the dog, trying to get past it’s playful herding behavior. No such luck, so I stopped to wait for the owners to catch up. As soon as I stopped, the dog put it’s paws on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. Oh my, what a big doggie. I told it to get down. Again, no luck! The owners were shouting commands at the dog and he finally retreated back with them. I took the opportunity to escape and continue on my run. The people shouted that they were very sorry, and I waved a thumbs up to them. It was all good.
I thought about the big bounding dog for quite a while, and tried to mimic it’s playful powerful strides. The dog was just out there running for fun. That’s what I should be doing, too. This mantra worked and I enjoyed the entire second lap of the run. I even enjoyed ‘No Man’s Land’. 🙂
Here is a link to my Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/23099060
Looks like such a beautiful place to run!!