Friday, May 18, 2012

Draper Canyon Trail Running with Julia

I have been intrigued with trail running recently and find a lot of peace and enjoyment running in the hills and trails close to home but feel a tiny bit unsafe out there alone.  I want to explore more places to run but just don't have the nerve to do it. When I saw a fellow blogger talk about an upcoming race in Draper Canyon I jumped at the idea because I knew there would be lots of people around and with aid stations this would be a fun opportunity.  There is a 4,7,10, and 15 mile option to sign up for.  They were all the same price regardless of miles run so I went ahead with the whole enchilada and signed up for the 15 mile distance.  Why not?  Then I realized a tiny problem.  I didn't know any trail runners and I didn't know what I was getting myself into.  I tend to jump into things sometimes without doing any research.  I do like the element of surprise though. It's just my personality.  Well, so I quickly got on Facebook and just threw the idea out there and invited anyone to come with me. It only took a few moments and this cute gal whom I've never met in real life but am Facebook friends with and read her blog regularly jumped at the invitation.  Meet Julia Hubbard.  Isn't she cute? She has a new challenge up her sleeve to run a 50 mile ultra-marathon on trails and has been looking for somewhere to run to get some good training and likewise is nervous about being out on the trails alone. She immediately signed up for the Draper Canyon Trails run and will be running with me on Saturday May 26th! 
We decided to meet up and get to know each other and do a run together before the big race.  I loved her patience with me and her trail running style.   I think (hope) we're a good match and she even wants to run with me more. (She even wears Saucony like me!)  She's going to show me some trails in her neck of the woods and we'll explore some in my area as well.  The super awesome thing is we live in the same city and so meeting often should be pretty flexible for both of us.    
When I got home I decided I needed to show off my spiffy new trail running shoes that my friend Annaleesa hooked me up with.  Yes, you can call me clown feet.  I inherited a nice BIG foot from my dad's side of the family.  But what makes it even worse is I like to wear men's shoes because of the extra space in the width and toe area. Isn't the tread on the bottom so cool though?  These were absolutely the perfect shoe for today's run.  I never lost my traction one time and the shoe seemed to grip nicely to the trail.  Heavenly, I tell you.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Very cool!!

wendy said...

Well...IF I was going to run
WHICH I won't.
But IF..........trail running sounds like it would be what I'd like.
Need some good shoes for that for sure.
Let me know how this goes for you.

Jen said...

You are so sweet! Thanks for your comment!
You are so lucky to get to run with Julia. She's one of my favorite people. I love trail running too. My brother is signing up for that race and I'd love to do it too. But I may be doing the 5K option. :) So glad you both have a partner. It's hard to feel safe on the trails sometimes.

SiameseStratCat said...

Didn't do trail running much, but used to run every day, just about, especially up hills!
I don't run anymore, cuz I cannot, but I used to run like 5 miles every other day!
No wonder I was so tiny! Good to see you've found a friend to run with.
I'm needing to start riding my bike again!

We had a bad storm and it was outside & got trapped by a huge tree limb. Managed to cut the tree limb in half the other week though, so now it's ready to be ridden again!
An old Schwinn but they're good bikes!
Have fun running! :)

Cory Reese said...

So cool that you got to run with Julia! She definitely is awesome.

And I love your new kicks! I wear my Saucony trail shoes more than any other shoe. Good choice.

Julia said...

eeeeekkkkkkkk!!! that trail run was the best ever...even though it was crazy tough:) just realized we are running together on Saturday and then will see each other at the race on Monday too!!! weeeeeee! im already loving this weekend. im getting nervous/anxious/excited for Saturday but im so grateful you posted about the race and i jumped on it, we found a love for trail running together and are saucony twinners:) cant wait!!!!!

Jen said...

I'm so excited to meet you tomorrow! I feel like I'M the lucky one!

Josh said...

I'm excited to run this race! I'm slightly anxious because this is my first trail run. But, it will be great to meet you tomorrow!