Nothing quite like a trail run to make me feel out of shape

I took Monday and Tuesday off this week because I was tired, and just didn't feel like running.  I decided it wasn't important enough to drag myself out there when I wasn't in the mood.  I had hoped to take Tuesday off of school to recover from the previous rough week, but nobody could sub for me.  We were able to rearrange my schedule so that I could take Wednesday afternoon off instead.  Not the perfect solution, but it was better than nothing!  I was able to have lunch with a friend and spend some time relaxing, and then I decided I should probably get some exercise sometime this week, so I went for a run.  I thought I would do a long run on Thursday because it was gorgeous out at lunchtime, but by 3:00 it was raining and I had a sudden burst of productivity, so I stayed at work until 4:45 instead, and then just went for a quick run before dark.  I didn't have time for a decent run on Friday in between school and babysitting, so I just took it off.  I finally got a long-ish run on Saturday, though still not the 10-miler I had hoped to get this week.

Today it was gorgeous out, and I decided it was past time I headed to the Greenbrier State Forest for a good trail run.  Some new trails have been built in the last year or two, and I hadn't gotten around to running them.  It has something to do with the fact that I was always training for races and afraid to sprain an ankle.  And then there was the fact that I couldn't run all summer.  Now, I'm running again, and don't have any upcoming races that I expect to be competitive in, so I decided there were no more excuses.

I ran a familiar trail first.  1.8 miles up a mountain, then I turned around and ran back down.  Running up that mountain made me feel like I am not at all in shape.  I'm pretty sure I could have walked up it faster, but I didn't quit.   I "only" twisted my ankles 3 or 4 times on the way down.  Then I found one of the new trails and followed it until it looped back around to where I had parked.  Despite the pain in my ankles/legs from having to use muscles I haven't used in forever, I loved it.  It was nice to get out in the woods and just jog around.  I'm sure it was good for strengthening a lot of muscles in my feet as well.

check out that elevation profile...

Runs this Week

W: 5.3 miles 38:24/7:14 

R: 4 miles 28:12/7:01

Sa: 7.1 miles 54:02/7:38

Su: 5.5 miles 58:41/10:38