Tri Trails
Regular running starting to bore you?.
You’ve hit the pavement running. Focused on your speed. You might have entered into many races, or added some new track and location to your workout.
Are you ready for trail running?.
As rewarding as trail running might be there are added difficulties to your running Routes and routines
When trail running the goal is to work harder to maintain your effort and your pace longer and consistently on uphill slopes and grades of 10% or more which is different than you would have to do on a flat road
The problem with trail running is simple: there’s a greater opportunity to hurt yourself.
Pace Is Going To Be The Key.
If you start off too fast then you set yourself up to burn out quickly. There is always the possibility you could even fall or trip, maybe even hurt yourself.
Word of wisdom it is very easy to hurt yourself.
This is very easy to do on a trail since you maneuver, duck. Jump, whip around sharp corners, and run under trees
There’s a lot of hidden dangers to be aware of
I’m here to help you. I’m far from a novice.
Stuck somewhere in between beginner and experienced.
The joy and peace that I find in trail running it’s enough for me to recommend it to those health enthusiasts or people who are just tired of the mundane straight paths, small inclined, and regular routes that you get with your everyday jogging.
So if trail running is something that you feel that you want to look into follow along.
My word of advice,
“start to incorporate into your normal training the opportunity to run on softer Pavements”
this will help your bodies muscle and Joints to get acclimated to running on soft surfaces
For anyone looking for places to prep yourselves for trail running, i would recommend your:
- state and local parks.
- Lakes
- Even some running tracks at your colleges and universities might provide you with some even soft dirt to run.
- All you really need is a nice and even track
The hardest part might be finding the time to do Sprint Sprint exercises.
Before i moved to mountain ranges and off road trails i started running passes in grassy fields or by running up inclines in car garages
Then I moved to my local small mountain range.
So contact local and state parks in your area and start there. The goal is to get your body used to run on uneven surfaces and slopes before you move onto running trails.
Having problems finding your local trails. You can always call one of your local specialty shops in Ask about local locations and even some running groups in areas.
Running Shops will always be able to guide you to the best places to get started and are even able to show you some of the Top Gear that professional use.
Raising The Bar
Trail running is a different experience. You will be using a totally different set of muscles than you would on some paths.
Running in a straight path becomes a thing of the past .
You will get accustomed to constantly having to Dart to the left, or to the right just to dodge different things in your path.
It must be stated that running up and down the hill will put tremendous strain on your legs.
You must prepare yourself for this by just adding a few exercises into your daily routine.
Side Bends:
Find yourself a pair of twin 15 or 20lb dumbbells.
Whatever your preference is
With your back straight hold them straight to your side while tighten your core
“as if you were preparing to take impact to your stomach for some reason”
Without turning just slowly bend to your right, as far as possible.
Slowly lowering the weight towards your knee, hold it there, then return to your straight up position .
Then just repeat it on your opposite side.
“Do that 15 times daily” “5 Reps”
Resisting Band Walk:
One of my favorite weapons in my exercise Arsenal is my resistance band.
Find yourself a small resistance band ,
Then position it slightly above your knee .
Now bend your knees as if you were going into the squatting position,
and take small steps to your left .
continue that for a minimum 20ft .
Then return back to your original position on the right.
That’s one set “I recommend doing this at least 6 to 8 times”
Box Squats:
While Standing on the edge of the knee height bench or box, or whatever is available.
Keep one of your feet on the box while letting the other foot dangle over the Box at least an inch in the air.
Tighten your right ankle so that your toes are slightly higher than the heel of your opposite foot.
While keeping your posture as upright as possible bend your knees
slowly position your body into your right heel softly touches the floor beneath you
hold it there for one second
Then return to your starting position
that’s one rep.
It is recommended to do these at least 8 to 10 times “rotating from left to right leg”
Beginners Hill:
In order to get yourself mentally and physically prepared for the trails, you intend to run, find yourself some hills locally. Do a few hill repeats, whenever you get the opportunity. Tri running Hill circuits on a treadmill at your Park on an unpaved road whenever possible.
6% to 10% grades in elevation is what I always recommend.
“If you can find yourself on a hill with that percent you onto the right track”
The hill only needs to take about 60 to 90 seconds to climb and complete.
After you allow yourself a brief warm
Then your goal is to run up it as hard and as fast as you can without stopping till you reach the top.
Then pick up light jog for 20 seconds or more
When you are mentally prepared head back down towards the bottom of the hill.
That will be your first set .
“You should be preparing yourself to complete at least 6 to 8 rep”
As always I remind you that warming up and stretching are not the same and must be performed in order to prevent unnecessary strains and tares