When the off season is a fractured elbow...

While the running 'season' may have begun last Saturday, December 20th, when I expressed such to Brendan, tomorrow may as well be more of a reality check.

Last week's 5.6ish mile headlamp run was essentially a bit of WD-40 on these rust ol' joints.  Tomorrow though is a true test of the past few years of rugged beating our bodies have taken.

Brendan glowing in the pre-dawn glow of my headlamp 12/20/14

The Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, Portland, Oregon should be a good jump in to the year of 2015 for running.

Wunderground.com tells me currently that at 10am there is a 96% chance of rain…I think it'll be a wet one.  I questioned Brendan's packing of what appears to be a $1 poncho but I think his head may be on a bit straighter than mine.  I've a Mountain Hardware jacket that should do the trick with light rain, but eventually the rain gets to me and I'll allow my body to pursue homeostatic conditions through its natural processes.

Prepping for our early run on 12/20/14 with a headlamp and Nuun

While the weather may provide a bit of its own fun, nutrition is always a point of contention.  Do you bring some sort of gel?  Trail mix?  Gummy bears?  Clif Bars?  Other granola bars?  Nuun is always a staple the day before, the morning before, and a diluted amount during a run to keep my electrolytes up and balanced.  Gel used to be my go to…it has become difficult to stomach it now, but in moderation I'm good to go.

It is amazing that with all of the preparation for weather and time on the feet, the excitement just builds! The trail provides so much for a mind and body to find focus.  Yes, the pounding of the soil does affect the muscles and the joints, but the mind has so much to give to the body if you let it.  Tomorrow will be the first time of the year (2015) to find myself back on the path that I strayed from when fracturing my arm in September of this year.  I have to remind myself that I took nearly 2 months off without even putting my running shoes on to heal-that wasn't supposed to be my off season but it turned in to it.  I can't explain the excitement that is inside me just thinking the that 8 hours and 14 minutes from right now I will be hopping out on to a trail to run/hike just around 30 mile, not because I have to, but because it is what my body is telling me I am to do to be me.

Preparations for Saturday, December 27th's 30ish Mile WildWood Trail run in Forest Park, Portland, Oregon