I have recently decided to take my running off road. I know, what took me so long, right?

Well, I was scared to! Running up hills and down hills in gravel and dirt = scary for accident prone girls!
It did sound like fun though. Plus I was looking forward to a new challenge and a change in scenery.

Speaking of new challenges, my boyfriend and I are planning on doing an adventure race together next month (if we can both get our obnoxious injuries healed up by then!) which consists of a 15-17 mile trail run, a 35 mile mountain bike and a 5 mile canoe/kayak. The race takes place over a 12 hour time span and you are only give certain coordinates so you have to plot your own course using a map and compass. That’s where the boyfriend will really come in handy! I figure I can be in charge of making snacks and telling jokes and he can be in charge of getting us to the correct check points.

So, 15-17 mile trail run…I better start trail running!

Runners World magazine just published a trail running issue with a big write-up on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail here in Salt Lake and how great it is. The magazine also said trail running is one of the few level playing fields between men and women. So that’s encouraging considering I run a 9 minute mile and boyfriend runs a … 7? Gulp.

Last week I decided to go out for my first real trail run. Exciting! I had a goal to just do 2-3 miles because I read you should take it easy your first time out. Well, I started running and I just couldn’t stop! The scenery was beautiful, the trail was full of runners and mountain bikers and the air was fresh! I felt like a big dog running wild with my tongue hanging out my mouth. Or maybe more like a small, perky dog just taken off leash. 🙂

I ran all the way up here…

And then I kept on going! I felt so great I ended up running 6 miles total. Oops!

These pictures were both taken from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Salt Lake, behind the University of Utah.

I hope you all are enjoying spring time!