Why I am a Dumb Runner.

I guess this being my first blog I should probably explain why I call it "The Dumb Runner". I am a soldier and as a soldier I am known for doing things that aren't too bright. I'm not a bad soldier, just I don't worry about my health and welfare all too much. When it comes to running I have the same attitude. I like to push myself in directions that are all too often the wrong ones. I like danger I guess. My dad has told me many times that I'm going to end up killing myself with some of the crap that I do, to which I always answer, " If I die doing something that I love than it will be worth it." He doesn't like that answer, neither does anyone else I know.

Alot of the guys I work with like to ask me how I train for running. This is another reason I called this blog "The Dumb Runner", I don't really know. I get up in the morning go run 6 miles before P.T. (physical training, it's a military thing) and then I run what ever we run when the rest of my group shows up. It usually rounds out to about 10 miles in the morning. in the afternoon I usually go run on a track or do some stairs or sprints or what ever feels right for that particular day. No real rhyme or reason to it at all, if I like something I keep doing it, if not I stop it. Simple as that. Some people like to over think it but, I really don't have the mental capacity for all of that. I like things simple and easy.

I have a log on Runner's World.com but this is mostly just so that I can see how many miles I run in a day, week, or month. I don't know my VO2 Max, I don't even understand how that stuff works. I don't know how to do heart rate training but, I can tell you that my heart soemtimes beats out of my chest when I go on a really good run. I can sometimes feel it beating in my ears and, down in my toes. That's how I know I have had a really good run. It's not science but it works for me.

Anyway, today I went to one of my favorite, if not my favorite, running spots. The Smith Lake Mountain Bike Trails. The main reason I run these trails is because you hardly ever see any MTN Bikes on them and I figure they need someone to use them. So why not me. When I started off I had the plan to run for about an hour to an hour and a half however, I wasn't a quarter of a mile into the run before I started having a terrible cramp in my abdomin just below my rib cage. It lasted for most of the first mile and then subsided shortly into the second. It was slow going but, with the cramp gone I started to pick up my pace and was soon cruising along the trail at a comfortable pace.

Tragedy struck at about mile 2 when I looked down and discovered that my Garmin Forerunner had been stopped. I checked my watch, did a bit of math and figured that it had been stopped for somewhere around 10 - 15 minutes. I know I said that I don't really use much of a method to training but, I do like to keep track of the miles I run. It would have been a day ruining event but, I had read something today that made me see this a bit different. An article in the August issue of Trailrunner was talking about how some runners get so obssessed with their numbers (race finishes, VO2 Max, Splits, etc) that they forget that running is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to make you happy and relieve stress. Runners run because they love it. Because it makes them feel good.

I stood there on the trail cursing my Garmin, and myself, when I thought about that article. Almost immediately I turned off the Garmin, took a quick swig of water and headed down the trail. I found some hills and started climbing them. Up one side and down the other. I ran through mud puddles, splashing water and muck all over myself like a little kid. Every thing was a challenge to be beaten. I jumped over fallen trees and rocks, climbed hills and sped down the other side. This is what trail running is for me. It means happiness but , most of all it means having fun. If my heart wasn't in this I would stop tomorrow but, this is what I love to do. I'm a Dumb Runner.