Practice To Suffer So Racing Becomes Easy

Afternoon:  13.09 miles - Drove over to near Kettle Morain National Forest to run the Ice Age Trail.  I decided to try the Hattori out on some technical trails - lots of rocks, switchbacks, etc...  About 3 miles in I ran up on a guy and scared him out of his shoes; he actually went stumbling backward into the bushes.  I helped him and up and apologized for the scare.  It was quite funny to watch, we were both laughing really hard!  After the scare I felt obligated to run with him, so I led us on a nice easy pace while we conversed.  I found out he's from Twin Lakes (about 40 minutes away).  He's interested in running the Ice Age 50 so, he's been making the drive to Kettle to get familiar with the trail.  I ran with him up to 5 miles thanked him and made the turn back.  I sometimes forget how enjoyable it is to run with others.  It's really a neat way to get to know someone.  On the way back my feet magically came alive!  I was flying down the trails dodging rocks, jumping roots, flying round corners, and I was loving everything about it!  The Hattori's really allow you to feel the ground and they make it so much easier to climb the steep portions.  Another shoe I learned about is the New Balance line of minimalist, which look like they'd be better for trails due to the carbon sole vs. the hattori foam sole.  The Hattori had no problem with the dry dirt and rocks though.  I don't think they would work well on a wet trail though (not enough traction).  The run was 9.93 miles, but I don't think the watch was correct.  Nonetheless, it was close to 10 at about a 9 minute pace.  The pace on those trails felt like 7:30 or faster, but the watch wasn't working well under the thick tree canopy.  I zipped home grabbed Jameson and the stroller then drove over to Dorothy Carnes West park for CC practice.  Myself, two of my runners, and their dad where late for practice.  Unfortunately, we didn't find everyone until they were starting their relay races (we like to end with these when at Dorothy).  Pushing the stroller up some of those grades was basically like walking.  Whew!  I didn't expect to get that much of workout on a 3 mile run with two of my runners and their dad!  We finished the relays and played some tag (I opted out, but Jameson tried to play with the kids).  I had a great time running today and the weather was perfect!  73/41% + Lifts