This morning Husbando went to a local sports shop to spend a voucher he'd been given for his birthday, while he was there he found out that the shop was having a 'try on evening' for Hoka trail shoes and Silva head torches. They were planning a trail run in a local wood that I've wanted to explore for some time now - so it was a no brainer really.
We pitched up at the shop and got ourselves kitted out. Husbando had brand new Hoka's that he got this morning, and I had a pair already, so really we were just road (trail?) testing the head torches and getting to try out a new route. It was evident that we were, er, quite a bit older than any of the other runners! Husbando's sweat shirt was older than any of the other runners! And at 31 years old I think that the sweat shirt had at least 5 years on most of them.
Once kitted up off we set in the rain. About a kilometre on the road and then into the woods. It was very muddy. I do like a muddy run (but please don't tell anyone that) but I like to take it steady and this was not an option. The pace was much faster than I would normally attempt in the dark on a trail. We averaged 9.14min/mile including stopping to regroup, cross roads etc. etc. And it was tough - I didn't love the Silva head torch, it was very light weight but it wasn't as bright as my current torch. I couldn't help thinking that if one of these youngsters fell we'd be talking green stick fracture whereas if Husbando or I fell we'd probably need an air ambulance and months of rehab! There was no chatting this evening - just concentrating on keeping up and keeping upright and we really felt as though we'd worked hard when we got back onto the road. What was interesting was that, back on the road Husbando and I automatically picked up the pace overtaking much of the rest of the group.
We enjoyed our run, it is good to do something different from time to time, and trail running at this pace is different enough for me, but I think I'll be back on the slopes of Queen Elizabeth Country Park next Wednesday - I like to be able to chat while running!
We pitched up at the shop and got ourselves kitted out. Husbando had brand new Hoka's that he got this morning, and I had a pair already, so really we were just road (trail?) testing the head torches and getting to try out a new route. It was evident that we were, er, quite a bit older than any of the other runners! Husbando's sweat shirt was older than any of the other runners! And at 31 years old I think that the sweat shirt had at least 5 years on most of them.
Once kitted up off we set in the rain. About a kilometre on the road and then into the woods. It was very muddy. I do like a muddy run (but please don't tell anyone that) but I like to take it steady and this was not an option. The pace was much faster than I would normally attempt in the dark on a trail. We averaged 9.14min/mile including stopping to regroup, cross roads etc. etc. And it was tough - I didn't love the Silva head torch, it was very light weight but it wasn't as bright as my current torch. I couldn't help thinking that if one of these youngsters fell we'd be talking green stick fracture whereas if Husbando or I fell we'd probably need an air ambulance and months of rehab! There was no chatting this evening - just concentrating on keeping up and keeping upright and we really felt as though we'd worked hard when we got back onto the road. What was interesting was that, back on the road Husbando and I automatically picked up the pace overtaking much of the rest of the group.
We enjoyed our run, it is good to do something different from time to time, and trail running at this pace is different enough for me, but I think I'll be back on the slopes of Queen Elizabeth Country Park next Wednesday - I like to be able to chat while running!
