Friday, April 18, 2008

Trail Running

Over the last year or so, I've done a lot of races (cycling, triathlon, running, rolling around in mud), so much that my wardrobe is full of participant t-shirts. It's not like I'm kicking ass in these races, rather they've allowed met to stay down around my scientifically determined air force approved weight. The best by-product was finally getting max score on my pt test, thus giving me a couple days off work and an offer to have my photo placed up in the gym...thought that was too cheesy, but part of me regrets not getting a mustached photo up in the gym.

Now that I'm going away for 6 months, I'll need a target to train for. I'll miss the cycling racing season, but will be back to hit a few running races before winter sets on in Hawaii. I've been eyeing the inaugural XTerra Trail Running World Championships for awhile. For the first year, you don't have to qualify for entry...perfect for an underachiever such as myself.

I went out for a run Tuesday on the Aiea Loop Trail to see if this is an attainable goal. I'd planned on doing 1 trip around the 4.5 mile trail, but decided to go back for another. It was pretty tough, since it's been awhile since I've ran on a trail, or hills for that matter, but it was a lot of fun. 3 days later, I'm still pretty damn sore. I look forward to hitting more trails when I return. In the mean time, I can balloon up on chow hall food for a few months...then start running in August.

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