Born to Run

This week E is attending a camp in the mornings at Kings Gap. (For those of you not from the area, it is an environmental education center on top of our South Mountain.) Since Em had preschool today (she goes to a year-round school), I decided to spend the time while Ethan was at camp going for a trail run up the mountain. I was excited to run and explore. I haven't been on a real trail run since we did the Hyner in April. I took the nearest trail labeled "scenic" and figured I'd be heading straight up to some good views. I was correct. The trail was rough.
As I was struggling up the mountain, all I could think about was the group of runners described in the book Born to Run. The whole premise of the book is that we are "born to run" obviously. It follows many famous ultra-runners but primarily focuses on a unique and amazing tribe in Mexico, the Tarahumara, who are probably the greatest runners ever. They run barefoot through treacherous terrain everyday, and they do it incredibly quickly and efficiently. If you are a runner and haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do. It is very interesting and has made me think about my own running in a different light.
Maybe it was because I was sore from yesterday's workout or maybe it was because it was later in the day than I usually run. Regardless of the excuses, as I started out, nothing about my climb up that mountain felt at all natural. My feet were stumbling and my eyes could only focus of the trail immediately ahead of me. I was sweating and panting. Eventually I made it up to the "scenic" overlook but that wasn't even the end of the trail. I stopped and stretched a bit at the lookout, then headed on. As I continued, the trail evened out a bit, so luckily there were some flat and down portions too. Finally as I neared the end of the trail to turn around, all of a sudden, I felt good. I mean really good, like I wasn't laboring up the mountain but bounding. For those few minutes, my feet left light. I was grinning. This is what I should feel like if I was in fact born to run. But the moment was fleeting as I almost tripped over a rock and again had to use extreme concentration to stay upright and moving. I got to the end of the trail and turned around to do it all again. I finished soaked with sweat, sore and smiling.
Now I just have to capture that moment for 26 more miles and I'll be ready for the marathon!