TNT - My Foray into the Alabama Wild
TNT - also known as Tuesday Night Trails - also known (by me) as Try Not to Trip. It is a weekly outing hosted here in Birmingham at Red Mountain Park by Alabama Outdoors which includes a lively frolic through the beautiful Alabama wilderness. I guess you could say I was, literally, baptized this past Tuesday when I set out to discover what trail running is really all about.
I have always loved being outside in the woods. It probably stems from childhood when there were no i-Phones, Facebook, or Amber Alerts and you - gasp! - actually had to go play outside. In the summer my mom essentially told us don't come back inside until you hear the dinner bell. Yes the dinner bell. You know, the iron triangle hanging from the front porch, can be heard for miles? What? You didn't have one? Anyway, we were schooled in what plants and what snakes to avoid and what to do if we ever encountered those things and then off we would go. I spent hours playing in the woods as a kid. I loved it. I still love it. Hence the intrigue of trail running I suppose.
There is not only a huge running community here in Birmingham, but there is also a huge trail running set of groupies. Trail running is like the new cool thing to do. Or maybe it always was - I'm not very up on those kinds of things. Regardless, I had been itching for a change of scenery and away from the monotonous and lonely road miles of late. This lead to me inquiring with my fellow Resolute Running teammate and blogger at All In Stride - Tanya - for some advice about trying out trail running. She introduced me to this little Tuesday night group and, sort of, twisted my arm into going. I told her that I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, that I didn't have the right shoes, etc. etc. (I'm really good at making excuses - if you haven't figured that out by now). She sort of pish-poshed all of that so I eventually agreed to come try it out. She promised me "No runner left behind!" and it's kind of hard to present an effective argument against that, right?
So Tuesday I, once again, found myself exiting right out of my comfort zone and into the unknown. It had sort of been raining on and off all day, but they were just pop up showers and I wasn't too worried about storms thwarting the plan. I was actually kind of hoping for some rain to quell the stifling heat and humidity we've had all summer. When I arrived and parked the bottom immediately fell out of the sky - typical of a true deep South thunderstorm. I still wasn't worried. I just waited it out for about 10 minutes until it let up and then set off for the sign in tent.
They have four groups that go out - Advanced, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, and the Fun Group. Can you guess which one I joined? Everyone signs up for their group primarily so that if you don't come back and cross your name off the list they know *roughly* where to look for your dead body, but I was still not too worried. Greg, the head of trail shenanigans, sends off the groups with a warning to get off the trail into a spot as low as possible to avoid lightning - but not so low so as to be caught in a flash flood. Even with that - I'm still not too worried.
The first 3/4 of a mile or so is on a gravel road back towards the trails. My GPS wasn't picking up and, frankly, I was not even looking at my watch. I was just trying to keep up. The pace was really too fast for me so I dropped back a bit knowing I would never hang for 4 miles at this rate. In case you were wondering when I would start to get worried, this is the point that happens. The torrential rain begins, my feet are unsteady on the gravel and I am running a 10:40 (at least that is what Tanya's Garmin said when I checked up on it later). Oh boy. I can barely keep a 10:40 on the track, much less in this nonsense. I told Tanya I was going to have to slow it down, but by the time we hit the trail we kind of had to anyway so I was grateful for that.
{By the way - I had grand plans to be documenting this whole trip in photos for you guys, but the rain made that impossible. As it was, my i-Phone was drowning in my pocket - I sure wasn't risking full on exposure to the elements. I can only present to you the less scenic (read: gross) pictures I have of the occasion - just wait}
The "trail" part of the trail is where I really started having a lot of fun. It was flooded in a lot of places and there was a lot of aqua jogging involved. We hiked the hills - well, I sort of had too so I could breathe again - and the downhills were slippery and rocky and fun (a controlled fall as the trail folk call it). I enjoyed the challenge and I really felt like I was pretty decent and steady on my feet. I'm sure an epic fall is inevitable, but miraculously it did not occur on this outing. I don't know if it is because the paced slowed or I just started having more fun, but I feel like I settled into a pretty comfortable pace and could really enjoy the experience.
And it was an experience - let me tell you. About halfway in, maybe less, we were basically smack in the middle of a crazy thunderstorm with all the rain and thunder and lightning you could ever dream up. Call me crazy, but I loved every second of it. Well, ok, there was a crack or two of lightning that kind of made my hair stand up, but the only way out is through as the saying goes!
Here is the elevation profile of the run (minus about .75 miles or so):
It only took us about 50 minutes, which I thought was pretty respectable for a first-timer. Maybe not, but let's pretend it is anyway.
I could not have done it without two fantastic trail buddies who were encouraging, energetic and cheery in the midst of a literal shit storm. Mary Ann, another Resolute Running teammate, was also a trail newbie and it was great to have someone else to talk to and experience something new with. Tanya was an AWESOME guide with tons of great advice and experience. And she was true to her word and never left me behind. Thanks ladies!
Here is what it looked like at the end of the run. Yeah. We ran in that.
Here is what your socks look like after 4 miles in the mud:
And if you don't have trail shoes that drain, here is what your feet look like after 4 miles in the mud:{*Warning* look away now if you don't like feet, blisters or TMI in general}
It was awesome. I can't wait to go again! This is not to say that I didn't wake up at 2 am and pop 4 ibuprofen for my already bad back and all those random muscles I have never used before (there are muscles in your ankles??) Worth it? Totally.
Presumably not all trail runs are this eventful, but it sure makes a good story right?
I have always loved being outside in the woods. It probably stems from childhood when there were no i-Phones, Facebook, or Amber Alerts and you - gasp! - actually had to go play outside. In the summer my mom essentially told us don't come back inside until you hear the dinner bell. Yes the dinner bell. You know, the iron triangle hanging from the front porch, can be heard for miles? What? You didn't have one? Anyway, we were schooled in what plants and what snakes to avoid and what to do if we ever encountered those things and then off we would go. I spent hours playing in the woods as a kid. I loved it. I still love it. Hence the intrigue of trail running I suppose.
There is not only a huge running community here in Birmingham, but there is also a huge trail running set of groupies. Trail running is like the new cool thing to do. Or maybe it always was - I'm not very up on those kinds of things. Regardless, I had been itching for a change of scenery and away from the monotonous and lonely road miles of late. This lead to me inquiring with my fellow Resolute Running teammate and blogger at All In Stride - Tanya - for some advice about trying out trail running. She introduced me to this little Tuesday night group and, sort of, twisted my arm into going. I told her that I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, that I didn't have the right shoes, etc. etc. (I'm really good at making excuses - if you haven't figured that out by now). She sort of pish-poshed all of that so I eventually agreed to come try it out. She promised me "No runner left behind!" and it's kind of hard to present an effective argument against that, right?
So Tuesday I, once again, found myself exiting right out of my comfort zone and into the unknown. It had sort of been raining on and off all day, but they were just pop up showers and I wasn't too worried about storms thwarting the plan. I was actually kind of hoping for some rain to quell the stifling heat and humidity we've had all summer. When I arrived and parked the bottom immediately fell out of the sky - typical of a true deep South thunderstorm. I still wasn't worried. I just waited it out for about 10 minutes until it let up and then set off for the sign in tent.
 |
| Ominous Clouds? |
They have four groups that go out - Advanced, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, and the Fun Group. Can you guess which one I joined? Everyone signs up for their group primarily so that if you don't come back and cross your name off the list they know *roughly* where to look for your dead body, but I was still not too worried. Greg, the head of trail shenanigans, sends off the groups with a warning to get off the trail into a spot as low as possible to avoid lightning - but not so low so as to be caught in a flash flood. Even with that - I'm still not too worried.
The first 3/4 of a mile or so is on a gravel road back towards the trails. My GPS wasn't picking up and, frankly, I was not even looking at my watch. I was just trying to keep up. The pace was really too fast for me so I dropped back a bit knowing I would never hang for 4 miles at this rate. In case you were wondering when I would start to get worried, this is the point that happens. The torrential rain begins, my feet are unsteady on the gravel and I am running a 10:40 (at least that is what Tanya's Garmin said when I checked up on it later). Oh boy. I can barely keep a 10:40 on the track, much less in this nonsense. I told Tanya I was going to have to slow it down, but by the time we hit the trail we kind of had to anyway so I was grateful for that.
{By the way - I had grand plans to be documenting this whole trip in photos for you guys, but the rain made that impossible. As it was, my i-Phone was drowning in my pocket - I sure wasn't risking full on exposure to the elements. I can only present to you the less scenic (read: gross) pictures I have of the occasion - just wait}
The "trail" part of the trail is where I really started having a lot of fun. It was flooded in a lot of places and there was a lot of aqua jogging involved. We hiked the hills - well, I sort of had too so I could breathe again - and the downhills were slippery and rocky and fun (a controlled fall as the trail folk call it). I enjoyed the challenge and I really felt like I was pretty decent and steady on my feet. I'm sure an epic fall is inevitable, but miraculously it did not occur on this outing. I don't know if it is because the paced slowed or I just started having more fun, but I feel like I settled into a pretty comfortable pace and could really enjoy the experience.
And it was an experience - let me tell you. About halfway in, maybe less, we were basically smack in the middle of a crazy thunderstorm with all the rain and thunder and lightning you could ever dream up. Call me crazy, but I loved every second of it. Well, ok, there was a crack or two of lightning that kind of made my hair stand up, but the only way out is through as the saying goes!
Here is the elevation profile of the run (minus about .75 miles or so):
It only took us about 50 minutes, which I thought was pretty respectable for a first-timer. Maybe not, but let's pretend it is anyway.
I could not have done it without two fantastic trail buddies who were encouraging, energetic and cheery in the midst of a literal shit storm. Mary Ann, another Resolute Running teammate, was also a trail newbie and it was great to have someone else to talk to and experience something new with. Tanya was an AWESOME guide with tons of great advice and experience. And she was true to her word and never left me behind. Thanks ladies!
 |
| Mary Ann, Tanya and I |
Here is what it looked like at the end of the run. Yeah. We ran in that.
 |
| Can you see anything? I can't. Neither could my Garmin. |
Here is what your socks look like after 4 miles in the mud:
 |
| They were white, I think. |
And if you don't have trail shoes that drain, here is what your feet look like after 4 miles in the mud:{*Warning* look away now if you don't like feet, blisters or TMI in general}
 |
| At least my toes are painted? |
It was awesome. I can't wait to go again! This is not to say that I didn't wake up at 2 am and pop 4 ibuprofen for my already bad back and all those random muscles I have never used before (there are muscles in your ankles??) Worth it? Totally.
Presumably not all trail runs are this eventful, but it sure makes a good story right?
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