I don't know if anybody on here does any kind of trail running but I recently did a trial run for the first time in years. The last time I attempted to do any kind of trail running I almost landed flat on my face due to not paying attention to what was going on around me (this doesn't include Yellowstone which we all know how that went from my post about it) and after a mile, I gave up and have stuck to concrete roads ever since. 

The downside to that is that of course it's more impact on my knees and I'm sure in another ten years or less I will have side effects of some kind from it. How bad will it be? Who knows but I signed up for it so here we are. 

In any case, I decided to switch things up and attempt to go to a state park that Lylah and I have been to a few times. It's technically a bird island state park but it's quite beautiful and it's quiet which is perfect for running with your pup. For Lylah it was a little confusing since we go there for her to run around all wild and freestyle and she couldn't do that while we were running so she was looking around and at me all confused while we ran and I have to say I think we both enjoyed the change. Not only was I a little slower due to the terrain but it was nice to be on the ground that wasn't so rough. In this particular park, I didn't find the trail running to be too terrible since they seem to maintain the park well enough that you can see the roots before you get to them which is helpful and we cruised through the park just enjoying the weather and passing people we saw with little to no problem. We even saw a park ranger and he nodded to us and didn't seem bothered by what we were doing.

But what I didn't think about was the route I took. We came to the state park in September and there is a part of the trail by the parking lot where you go uphill for quite a ways and then it levels out and can add on about a mile and a half to your trail. It's nice because it's all grasslands up there and it seems a lot of people avoid that part of the trails so it's secluded and Lylah loves romping around up there. Here's what I forgot about that part of the trail. 

I forgot that to get down to the main trail you have to take this little dirt path that has super exposed roots sticking up and it's slick. So good ol me forgot about this and turned to go up to the grasslands trying to add on the extra mileage to try to get somewhere between 4 to 5 miles in total since that was the plan. 

So we turn and were going up and Lylahs pumped up, ready to go and instantly I realize I made an error but I was slowly running up it and trying to push through and I almost died in the first 30 seconds of that decision. It was not only covered in exposed roots but slick from the fallen leaves. I decided, sadly, to walk up the little path and it killed my time. Absolutely destroyed it and once I hit the four-mile marker at the parking lot I stopped. I couldn't believe I forgot about that part. The trail run was enjoyable and I see why most people prefer it but the man did I question myself for that last mile. I do plan to go back there just to change things up and pick different routes to run on so we can explore and change it from the normal runs we do since it not only helps my recovery but is good for lylah and distractions. 

How do you guys feel about trail running? Do you hate it or prefer it? Let me know.