I did it ! - My first trail run

[paraganek]

I have been running BF exclusively on asphalt/concrete for the last 6 months and really liked it but after reading so much about the beauty of the BFR trails I finally decided to give a trail run a shot.

I picked an old forest road, mostly muddy in the current rainy weather witch stretches of sharp gravel and rock. I put my brand new VFF in backpack just in case. It was cold (35F) and wet so it took me some time to warm up my feet and then I felt quite comfortable. I was constantly scanning the road avoiding "the big stuff", didn't mind "the small stuff". I ran for 40 minutes (4.4 miles) and turned back. I was trying relaxing the feet and the soft landing as much as I could fighting the pain from stepping on the rocks. I was able to run back for 20 more minutes than gave up and put VFF on and finished the last 20 minutes.

Total was 8.8 miles in 1 hour 25 minutes and my feet were burning. After checking I found about 4 small bruises from the sharp rocks (all in the soft arch areas) but that was it. I felt great overall.

Now I am really looking forward to my next concrete run because that is going to be such a piece of cake after this :smile:

But trail running is a new challenge for me which I like so I will try the same trail after a week hoping to run it more relaxed.

A couple of pictures from the trail:

 

[ajb422]

 That mud makes we want to

That mud makes we want to go find a puddle to jump in. I love being bf in the mud.

 

[stomper]

Nice job.  Forest Park?Looks

Nice job. Forest Park?

Looks like you chose some relatively difficult surfaces with that gravel road (especially the 3rd picture). Sometimes actual trails (as opposed to fire roads) are a lot softer, even springy, because there is a lot more leaf litter and a lot less gravel.

 

[nature runner]

  Man, bf trail running is

Man, bf trail running is the bomb, that's all I do here in N.E. Tn. I am hooked on trail running. I also run on a gravel trail, the one in my avatar. It is like getting a foot massage while I run, love it. Love the trail pics!

 

[paraganek]

stomper wrote:Nice job. 

Nice job. Forest Park? Looks like you chose some relatively difficult surfaces with that gravel road (especially the 3rd picture).

Yes, this is the section I picked




View Forest park 14k in a larger map

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Looks like a nice place

Looks like a nice place to run.

 

[sloutre]

I also did my first "non

I also did my first "non asphalt" short runs this weekend at my in-laws place. I bruised my arches on gravel too but the worst was running/waking on chesnuts burrs. I have dozens of little holes in my feet. I loved the mud. It made me love concrete/asphalt. I need to find a proper trail for my next off-road experience.

Your pictures are realy nice.

 

[miker]

sloutre wrote:I also did my

I also did my first "non asphalt" short runs this weekend at my in-laws place. I bruised my arches on gravel too but the worst was running/waking on chesnuts burrs. I have dozens of little holes in my feet. I loved the mud. It made me love concrete/asphalt. I need to find a proper trail for my next off-road experience.

Your pictures are realy nice.

Yeah, the arch bruises are nasty lil' buggers. But I bet those chestnut burrs are a freakin' nightmare (along with broken acorns)! Those chestnut burrs would be like big sand burrs, and those are NASTY!!

Cheers!

 

[JosephTree]

If the Chestnuts at issue are

If the Chestnuts at issue are Chinese Chestnuts, then you're lucky you didn't end up in the hospital. THey can be as viscious as sea urchins and horribly well camoflaged. I have taken trees down happily just to lower their chances of getting my feet. Argh!



Stomper is truly on the mark when he distinguishes trails from roads. Look for the footpath kind and you might find your joy even grander.

Good for you and Sloutre, too, for treating your feet to a richer experience.

 

[migangelo]

Paragenek, Good job. that's

Paragenek,



Good job. that's a greater distance than Josh, Stomper, and i have put in on our trail runs. We should be going again this weekend and hopefully everyone after if you want to join us.



Mike

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Paragenet, that looks

Paragenet, that looks beautiful, I am soooo jealous. Glad you had fun.



Sloutre, nice! I have yet to have a bf trail run although I have done some bf hiking.

 

[Joshh]

Alright!  That's what I'm

Alright! That's what I'm talkin' about! Great photos too. I hope we can all get together for another run soon. Welcome to the light side!

 

[EricsLearning]

That trail looks awesome. We

That trail looks awesome. We have Gum trees here in Virginia and every fall the trails are covered in small dirt colored spiky balls. They sucked in shoes last year and Bikila's dont help much. I havent braved them barefoot yet.

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 the more you run on them,

the more you run on them, the more your feet condition up, the less you'll get any sort of bruise on that "soft spot" of the arch....but, as you've already noticed, in everyday life or smooth surface running, those bruises don't give you any trouble, it's only when you go back out on trails and hit them again that they hurt ;-)....but the more you do, the more you won't get them either!!

 

[Joshh]

What Nate said!

What Nate said!

 

[paraganek]

NakedSoleNate wrote: as

as you've already noticed, in everyday life or smooth surface running, those bruises don't give you any trouble, it's only when you go back out on trails and hit them again that they hurt ;-)....but the more you do, the more you won't get them either!!

Thanks Nate, makes sense to me. Time to go trail running.