Trail trial

 The last time I went on a trail run was early November, thanks to all the snow. And because I value the Great Salt Lake, I'm not even mad. But I was really happy that all the snow finally melted from our yard, which meant I was able to do my first trail runs of the season after more than five months!

On Friday night, I headed to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which thaws out faster than the other trails. I ran from my house, five miles total. There's a part of the trail with a little valley, and I was surprised to see a pool of standing water in it. I've been going to this trail for more than eight years now, and this is the first time I've seen that before!

I know it looks like a snowpatch, but it's a reflection of the sky.

The next day, I went back for a fuller run, this time to Ensign Peak, which is a default long run in the spring and fall, since it thaws sooner, but it's so treeless that I avoid it in the summer.

Most of the trail was dry, but there were some very muddy and snowy spots. It was a beautiful day. I had put sunscreen on my arms and face, but I got sunburned on the back of my legs. Most of the run was fairly typical; I was happy that I was in good enough shape to run up the steep hill above Ensign Peak without stopping.

The view of the trail from Ensign Peak

Mark I

Louis XIV

However, it was on the way back that things started to get weird.

I saw a little family with two kids on bikes and the parents walking along. The boy, who looked around eight years old, started biking down a minor slope and immediately tipped over, and his front wheel came off, right as I was passing them on the wide trail. Should I have stopped to help and see if he was OK? But his parents were right there, and I worried if I stopped it would just be interfering and making things worse. Soon he started crying in pain and said something about his leg. I kept looking back to see how things were, but I couldn't see them behind a knoll. I feel bad that I didn't stop to help. But I also don't know anything about first aid. And honestly, I might have fainted. Simply talking about injuries makes me woozy, and I wasn't in the greatest shape at that point.

Once I got off the trail, just over 7.5 miles, I was feeling so unusually thirsty, hungry, and exhausted. I had finished my water bottle (usually it lasts me longer), and I had had to eat my snack earlier in my run than usual. I could tell that I wouldn't be able to run the last mile and a half home. I had to walk. Sometimes I walk home if my knee or my stomach start hurting, but only rarely have I had to walk out of exhaustion.

There were times when I felt like I should just stop on the sidewalk and take a break. But I knew if I did that, it would be really hard to get going again. And I wasn't far from home.

When I finally got home, I was freezing, even though it wasn't a cold day. I went into the basement and got a 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade Zero, which I chugged in one breath, even though I usually use powdered Gatorade to avoid the plastic. I ate a granola bar and dozed off under a blanket in front of a Gilligan's Island marathon until I had the energy to go upstairs and actually have lunch. It took a while for my body to warm up and my fingers to quit tingling.

I'm not sure what was so different this time. It's not like it was an unusually long or difficult run for me. Maybe it was doing the five-mile run the night before. Maybe it's because I haven't had as many carbs this week, instead eating leftover Easter eggs and ham. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I've been on a long run, especially a trail run. Maybe it was the strength training I had done earlier in the week. Maybe the sun sapped all my energy after a long winter. 

But I'm glad to learn more things about my body, and this isn't going to put a damper on the rest of trail season!