How to Start Trail Running

I have been an avid runner since college. Starting with a 10k then moving on to the half marathon and eventually to the full-blown marathon. Now I run the trails. Let me just say that road running and trail running are different recreational endeavors altogether.

Yes, you use your legs to propel you forward but learning the basics at first is tricky. First of all you need to find trails to run and no, starting out at 13,000 feet with a ten percent grade for a mile is not how to get acquainted with this fun yet challenging sport.

Start with fairly smooth trails that are not littered with boulders. Look at your grade, is it so steep your calfs kill you as you're trotting up the mountain if so probably not a good idea yet.....Now I know enthusiasm because I am the queen of over extending my capabilities. I have learned the hard way. I trained for the Leadville half marathon a mere fifteen miles at 13,000 feet and ended up with a three quarter tear of my plantar fasciitis. Pain! Consequently I could not run the race and could not run for another eight weeks.

If you're on the steep incline and you are experiencing pain to the point of nausea, STOP, and walk or hike the trail. Walk this particular trail three or four times before running it and add stretching breaks. Your body will tell you when your leg muscles, ankles, and knees are ready for the new experience. Pick it as one of your mild training days and walk it. Keep your heart rate at 70% of your maximum HR. If you don't wear a heart rate monitor consider trying it. Listen to your body but do not slack. No slackers in this field. Your other training days still need to consist of milder trails to RUN at 60% to 85% maximum heart rate. You can also pick a day for hill repeats. Run the hills at 80% to 90% maximum HR then walk slowly down the hill and repeat. Work up to thirty-forty minutes of the intervals. You will get quicker or more efficient faster. Be careful with this workout, stretch before and after and warm-up for twenty minutes before intervals. Stop with any pain.

It is nice and very important to have a diverse treasure trove of trails at your disposal due to weather, fitness level, and training day. Google trails in your area. One can usually find out where, length, and difficulty of the trails in the area. There on many sites via the Internet. In order to be successful at trail running you need to practice using common sense and planning.

The logistics of where to run takes perseverance, patience, and resolve. Don't give up. It is worth it once you find some great trails. Shall I say cathartic, meditative, a one with nature, and a great way to get away from it all.

All right you have several trails that are begging for you to run. Take a spare pair of shoes that can be water drenched and mud ridden. Those are the breaks. You will have to invest in many shoes if you plan on trail running. My first time out I wore my new pair of Saucony and had so much dirt caked onto the bottom of my shoes, I gained an extra ten pounds, hurt my knees, and cursed the ground beneath me, but, I refused to quit and trotted along at a snail's pace scraping mud off my shoes every twenty feet. Be weary and be prepared. No one tells you about the basics.

Trail running training principles:

Find trails that give you a full range of difficulty from soft gravel and easy up and downs to boulder ridden and challenging ascents.

Wear a heart rate monitor if possible. This will keep you in your target heart range, its easy to run at 90% of your max HR when your huffing and puffing up the mountain, you don't want to train at this level all the time otherwise guess what, yup, injury.......

Stay hydrated when you run at a higher altitude - you lose more water much faster

Start with easy hills and trails for four to six weeks then throw in a more challenging trail and as you gain confidence, as well as muscle specific development, you can start training on the steeper stuff, narrower, and more technical......

The only way to get good at trail running is to run the trails but start out easy, don't try to conquer the mountain until your body says your ready

Your body is ready when you can run a ten percent incline at a moderate pace 80% maximum heart rate on average, your legs are not cramping and crying for you to stop, breathing is no longer the huffing and puffing and you feel as if you could run for a couple of hours without expiring at the end, and you're not tired for the next week after such a FUN run

If you are exhausted, you are stiff and climbing a flight of stairs is a chore, or you can't sleep at night you probably need to back off or try walking and running it until it becomes easier.

Run easy trails for four to six weeks, then start a challenge trail a week and an interval hill repeat, the length and difficulty of a race event or your goals will determine how often and how far you will run, make sure to rest at least one to two days a week, never follow a long and arduous run with a hill repeat and vice versa, run within your target heart ranges, and listen to your body

I will say this only once, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG or WEAK WHEN INCORPORATING BOTH WALKING and RUNNING into your regime, for some this may be the only way to keep injuries at bay and for others this may be a more enjoyable approach.

It is about the journey, the pleasure of quiet trails, and stimulating your mind and body with undulating and uneven ground in the mountains

I hope this helps for all the beginner trail runners. I would love to hear from other trail runners.