Trail Running

My husband used to be a big-time cross country runner.  He was super fast until a couple of injuries (neither caused from running) took him out of running.  (The final straw was an ankle surgery that will keep him from ever running the way he did back in the day.)  Since I started running in January, I've been trying to convince him to train with me.  I feel like I'm slow enough that he should be able to do what I do with no problems, if he were to train with me.  I think it wasn't my begging, but just my complete and total obsession with running (that rekindled his own addiction), and a couple of hikes he's done recently, that finally convinced him to get some new trail shoes and join me for a run! Well, truthfully, he was going to hike/run with or without me, it was my begging and pleading that convinced him to let me set the pace and distance.


I have to say, I think (other than the fact I was completely disappointed in my performance), the trail run with DH (darling husband) has been my favorite run so far.  I loved every single minute.  If I hadn't been in a hurry to get to a race my buddies were going to run in, we could have stayed out there for hours longer.

We live within walking distance to some spectacular hiking trails, but the climb up to the ridge, where it's good running, is more than I care to do before a run, so we drove up to the top of the mountain planning to run a loop around the plateau.

The weather was PERFECT, a tad bit chilly in fact (perfect for a run).  We had a little bit of a warm up (about a third of a mile) and then took off at a quick-for-me pace of about 10:31.  We did a few run/walk intervals and then did some short sprint intervals (the fastest pace was 5:14--but that was only a few seconds!).  I can say that running with DH would certainly make me faster!!  Well, that is IF I can figure out what's going on with my left calf.  I did pretty good the whole time we were out there...but I had a hard time walking that night.  Today (Monday), it's feeling better than it usually does on a Monday--but I also barely ran five miles last week, so it certainly should feel better!!


Anyway...

The thing I loved the most was being able to run with my husband.  The fact that we were out in that beautiful setting made it that much better.  I stopped a few times to take some pictures....really it was an excuse to catch my breath, but taking pictures sounded better!!  They were taken with my phone, so they aren't the best quality...but there's not a camera out there than could capture what we were seeing.

And, the truth is, there just aren't words to capture just how I felt running with my husband.  I love that man with a love I never thought possible.  ...Okay, I'll stop gushing....

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D