Pooh’s Guide to Trail Running
My race is four days away, and it’s all I can think about. Whatever I’m doing, in the back of my mind I’m saying “I can’t forget to bring extra socks” and “I need to put lube in my drop bags.” Now that I’m embracing my inner Winnie the Pooh, it occurs to me that trail running is a very Pooh-like activity. I’ll basically be wandering happily through the woods, eating honey all day- well okay, not honey. But I’ll be consuming gels and other treats that are the honey equivalent. Here are a couple Winnie the Pooh quotes that sum up my main concerns and goals for this race. “Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the forest that was left out by mistake.“ Honestly, the thing I’m most afraid of is falling. Let’s review my recent races: Dunes 50k- fell. Did not sustain an injury, but this is probably when I got the spider bite that has left a discolored spot on my leg to this day. Forgotten Florida 50 mile- FELL AND SPRAINED MY ANKLE. This is what caused me to DNF that race. Sadness. Sweat, Swat and Swear 50k- Did not fall. Wait? Is that right? Wow. How did that happen. Treasure Coast 12 hour race- fell and injured my rib. I thought it was broken, but later decided I damaged the cartilage between the sternum and ribs. Numerous falls on training runs, including the last trail run I did where I nearly face planted. My elbows took the brunt of that one, luckily escaping with some minor scrapes. In all these cases, I was taken down by a hidden root that I could not see. This is why I’m nervous- it’s not just a matter of being careful. Falls happen. I’ll be needing some good luck here. Next quote: “Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” Ah, Winnie. So much wisdom here! I definitely learned this from the Forgotten Florida attempt. If something is wrong, SLOW DOWN AND ASK FOR HELP. That’s what the aid stations are for. The cutoffs for this race are very generous, so it will be almost impossible to DNF because of going too slowly. The whole goal is to finish… eventually. Have you ever fallen over a piece of the forest that was left out by mistake? Top photo by petra gerling on Unsplash