For body and soul
On The Trail
The magic of the trail is that it’s a place that it’s a both a place of pleasure and punishment. The more you can take, the more you see and the sense of earning makes what you see more special. It’s an environment where you can breathe easy even though your lungs are working harder than ever. The trail is definitely not for everyone and the most attractive parts of it for some are the least appealing for others. It usually entails a big physical challenge and that is only overshadowed by the mental one, yet if pitch it right you can come back feeling more focused and alive than when you headed out. And this is why, for me, I am at home here …
Running the Trail:
Philosophy
The mental and physical state go hand in hand and when one of them starts going in one direction, the other generally starts to follow soon after. They both drive each other but when you are stuck in a rut, the mind somehow has to take the reins to get things started up again. For me, getting out of the door can be the hardest part of the exercise (thankfully not physically so), but once you are out, the endorphins and adrenaline start pumping and you are back in the fast lane of the ever improving cycle. Before leaving on this trip, I made the conscious decision that this time around I was going to keep more active abroad. I would be spending a sizeable amount of time in each place, so I wanted to do as I would at home, away from home and I now try to manage this in a number of ways. I spend the most time trail running because it’s great for nature exploring and all that you need are your running shoes and a trail and when trails are low, you can make some reluctant asphalt exceptions.
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Secondly, if I’m near a nice open body of water I’ll be reaching a bit further down in my bag for my goggles and duck gloves and bang for your buck wise, thirty minutes swimming in cold lake or sea water really does work wonders on both the body and soul fronts. However apart from looking at fish (assuming the water is clear and there are fish), the downside is that the exploring element ranks pretty low. When you do want to explore further afield, the last of the triathlon trio will help and that is by hitting the wheels and going cycling. It is the most difficult of the activities to do when travelling as obviously you need access to an acceptably functioning and adequately sized bike but when you can get your hands (or legs)(or arse) on one, it makes for a great way to keep fit and to explore at the same time. Those middle distances away from base will become in reach and you can enjoy that free-wheeling feeling of a downhill descent, where you just have to avoid a catastrophic collision because you don’t have your helmet with you. Finally, in addition to the triathlon sports but not quite as exciting, I also travel with a yoga mat to help keep the body conditioned and ticking over during the times when you are stuck inside somewhere with little other options available. All in all, when I can, I try and do a mix but usually due to the practicalities of the others, I’ll be found on the trail, running....
Running the Trail:
Practicalities
My favourite trails are undoubtedly in the mountains, with steep ups and downs whilst looking at views left, right and centre that inspire you along. Mountains next to the sea, even better and a volcano run ain’t bad either. I like the feeling of being isolated in nature but of course most will tell you that you shouldn’t do it alone but somehow I feel in my most comfortable moments on top of a mountain with a sub-zero gale force wind blowing in my face or whilst making my way through the thick under (and over) growth in the bush having to secure a two meter stick in front of my face to clear the way. On the trail one bad step could always be your last (whether you are alone or not) yet this one bad step could also be said about crossing a busy road, so therefore I don't treat is as more dangerous by default. I’d class anything taking over 5-6 hours as a long run and not being the fastest runner maybe this is 30km and maybe its 40km but measuring a trail run in terms of just distance never makes any sense anyway. 2km on your route can soon turn into an hour on very tricky terrain; when footing requires another limb, flora is in your face and the navigation is not so obvious.
I’d say every time I go out on a “long un” I come back physically pretty worse for wear as I don’t like giving up. When you are on the verge of throwing up or actually are throwing up, it’s been a long day in the office, but that day in the office was probably a day to remember, unlike the regular office. A shorter run of a few hours leaves my brain highly stimulated and focused and it seems to be the only thing that seems to be able to do that. Having to be constantly on the ball looking three steps ahead to see which rock you are going to land on is pretty fun and when the mind is busy, you are not “consciously running” and therefore km’s pass faster. Whilst you are looking at the third step ahead your feet take care of the first and second as the order has already been sent to them from the brain and you trust they do their job independently from this point on. Hopefully your eyes made a good choice three steps back, because if you made a bad call, it’s difficult to convince your feet to now land somewhere else at the last minute and usually ending up on the floor may well be the result of the ensuing indecisiveness. But maybe where you just landed on your face was better than where your body was destined for originally before you changed your mind..
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My craziest routes usually end up being abroad, either in terms of distance or terrain. This is usually because everything is new and you want to make the most of your time and see as much of possible. Maybe also it’s just the fact that you have an obstacle in front of you that you didn’t expect and you simply have to get past it as you don’t want to turn back. Regrettably, I have an issue with heights and I can quite easily get ruffled on sharp edges and convincing myself to turn back on these becomes significantly easier. It’s pretty ironic but I’d say the mountains can be both my best friend and biggest foe. But apart from not knowing your terrain, the other main difference trail running whilst on the road is definitely nutrition. Long gone are your faithful energy gels, tablets, isotonic drinks and for my drink refills, that crystal clear water from the familiar streams of my own Lake District National Park. The more you end up having to go without, the more you can go without next time and an apple and a bag of peanuts gets me far these days. I generally look out for anything fat loaded too, like croissants from a local bakery. Water-wise for the drink refills, well, you get what you come across and the lack of a known watering hole is probably the hardest part when really out in the sticks. This is especially so in the hot and dry sticks and it’s also in these conditions that I find it the hardest to run in and get drained much faster. But at the end of the day, any water becomes good enough when you are thirsty enough...
Now that you are in an unfamiliar place and country, you can either spend A LOT of time doing research or just take the leap of faith and take it as it comes. I usually just do the second one and just eye up a potential route that looks interesting on my Mapy.Cz app and hope for the best. Truth being told you never really know what that dotted line is going to bring you and I guess that’s the main appeal...
Hiking the Trail
It maybe doesn’t make you feel as high on adrenaline nor work the cardio as much, but the hiking the trail over a few days or even weeks can help build you a deeper connection with nature and leave you with a completely different experience. The multi-day environment helps you to become more resilient, independent and self-sufficient and your decisions have to be smarter both before and during. I don’t really do day hikes unless I’m with other people but after hiking over a number of days, you can really reflect and realise there are few more rewarding experiences than camping (and existing well) in the wilderness. You have to immerse yourself in an environment, open up and then rely on your human instincts, after-which all that remains it to just pull out the camping gas! After having spent up to 12 hours carrying your bag and yourself, you shouldn’t need much help sleeping in the tent and if you do, just make yourself more tired the next day and after a few days your back (and hips and shoulders) will be nicely broken in. If you’ve just spent weeks on the trail, returning to a bed will become your next challenge! The extra bit of space and spare Kgs I reserve in my rucksack are mostly for trekking, for when you need to pack as much food in as you can or want to for the journey. My trekking preference is definitely carry more and eat well at the end of the day. Powdered soup after all that, shove it.
In some ways the physical challenge is harder when hiking the trail as opposed to running it. You can have a backbreaking load to carry (Yes, another hit on the spinal front) and in addition you feel the hunger more without your stomach bouncing around as much. In most moments during a trek, your mind is much less occupied which allows you time to take in more views, chat with others and get lost in thought. But being less stimulated you'll probably end up stumbling and falling over more at this slow pace than when running as you are not paying as much attention to the ground and just following your nose. Usually the trickiest points on the mountains for me have come when trekking and not running. Trying to manoeuvre with 20kg on your back with an unfamiliar centre of gravity is much more difficult and dangerous, especially when on snow or a scree-slope and certainly with that always eventful river crossing. Holding that weight when you are neck deep and potentially fighting the current is not so envious. The Hiking Trail is a completely different experience to the Running Trail and over a few days with all the right gear, food and spectacular scenery, it could be that deep detox you were looking for and indeed a lot of my best memories comes from here. That being said, if you hit four days of straight rain then for sure, you will thinking you should have stayed at home!
