I awoke at 6am this morning to the sound of rain pelting the tin roof. This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite sounds. I reached over to the window overlooking my couch (yes, I sleep on a couch) and pulled it up several inches, hoping to magnify the sound.

I knew Huntsville State Park would be soaked by the time I actually got my ass up a few hours later. Oh well..I went out anyway. I ran a quick two miles and finished with a very pleasing time – 14:46. This gave me a nice average of 7:23/mile. I think I could have kept up a sub-7:30 pace for another mile, but who knows. My calves were hurtin’ by the end of this one, but I’m just glad I didn’t eat shit – I was slipping all over the place. I seriously considered running this barefoot, but decided to give my Five Fingers a shot in this muddy madness and they performed pretty well.

I’ve got a deload workout tomorrow and then a 6 mile run on Tuesday. I’m going to make that run with my Talon 22, a full 3L bladder, and my hammock. The weight should be around 12 pounds.

Weekly Mileage – 18 (+3 from last week)

I made a trip into Houston yesterday, as is typical of my Friday’s. After a quick stop at the house, I ventured over to REI where I managed to slam my door into some guy’s car. Technically, the wind did it. And of course this happened as he was walking out of the store – perfect. Luckily, he saw what had happened and wasn’t too concerned about the faint red line decorating the driver’s side door. Sweet.

I ended up spending an hour and a half inside this candy land of a store. I walked out with the Osprey Talon 22, Black Diamond Orbit (coolest little lantern ever), two Platypus 17oz collapsible water bottles, some gels (jet blackberry and mint chocolate), and a pack of electrolyte tabs. Successful trip.

Unfortunately, I awoke this morning to the pitter-patter of rain on our tin roof. I do love rain, but I was looking forward to spending the day outside. I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to test out the Talon 22. Speaking of…this pack fits wonderfully. I was primarily focused on the Osprey Talon 22 and Camelbak Rim Runner. The Talon won the ‘pack loaded with a 10-pound pillow while sprinting down the backpack aisle’ test by a landslide.

It feels pretty good, to be honest. Pre-run, I felt good. Mid-run, I felt good. and Post-run, I feel pretty damn good.

Before last week, I had never run on a trail in my life. Nor had I ever run a distance greater than 5 miles. Considering that, I’ve gotta admit that I’m pretty impressed with myself right now.

The first couple of miles were a pain, but eventually I hit my stride and started feeling decent. Early on, I decided to try something I had previously read – cruise the flats, walk the uphills, and blaze the downhills. This strategy worked perfectly. Before mile 10, that is. During mile 9, I felt wonderful. I was planning to push on and tackle the half-marathon distance of 13 miles. As soon as I began on my 10th mile, however, I quickly decided against that.

Regardless, it was a good run – I averaged right around 9 minutes and 10 seconds per mile. My heart rate was 145 within a minute of finishing the last mile. And as I’m looking through the open windows of my living room right at this moment, it seems I beat the rain by a very short amount of time. Lucky me.

As a side note, I carried a Camelbak weighing around 8 pounds. I finished most of the 3L of water that I had packed, and one of the gels. Lemon Sublime, yummy.

Out into the woods, on a whim.

There’s something so, primal, about the idea of packing my bag and suddenly taking off into the woods. I’ve recently grown quite fond of day hiking, and currently trail running. Looking for a way to combine these two interests, I found fastpacking.

To make sure I’m ready for my first trip, a few things need to happen. These may seem like arbitrary numbers, but they make sense in my head. I need to be capable of running 12 miles on two back to back days. This feat will give me confidence in my body’s ability to recover. Next, I need to be able to run 16 miles in one go. Both of these tasks should be performed comfortably before I make my first trip.

Gearwise, I’ve got a bit of work to do. I need a pack – I’m looking at the Osprey Talon 22, Camelbak Rim Runner, Camelbak Alpine Explorer, and REI Trail 25. They’re all fairly light and very affordable. I’m about to pick up the MSR Pocket Rocket, a small 3oz stove, and a little LED flashlight. I’m currently using a Hennessy Hammock as my sleeping system.

And where the hell am I planning to go? I want my first trip to be a single overnight, covering at least 40 miles total. That leads me to the 4C Trail in the Davy Crockett National Forest, which comes out to exactly 20 miles each way. Considering that I have hiked just under 20 miles in a day before, I feel that with a mix of running, this distance won’t be as challenging as I’d like. That being said, my other option is the Huntsville to Richards section of the Lonestar Trail, and back – a total distance of 70 miles. Bumping up from 20 miles to 35 miles a day, however, seems a bit daunting.

I’ve hated distance running my entire life. I was a sprinter in track for several years and loathed our “Friday Fun Runs”. After quitting track, I ran on the road occasionally, mainly to help keep myself in shape. I despised it.

Fast forward about four years. My mom pulls out a book she wants me to read titled Born to Run. Considering I recently purchased a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO and completely love them, I was excited to start flipping the pages. Halfway through the book, I suddenly became motivated to run – on the trails, out in Huntsville State Park. Last Tuesday morning, I ran 3.5 miles, easily. I didn’t want to stop.

Last Thursday, I ran 7 miles. I finished with a smile on my face and a strong desire to keep pushing. Why, when I’ve hated running, even the idea of running, for as long as I can remember, did I suddenly enjoy it?

Beats me, but I signed up for a trail half-marathon on May 22nd in Waco. I’m going with the flow.