Trail Running

Two years ago I left the pavement. I saw the opening in the trees and stepped onto the natural surface of the trailhead and from then on I was a trail runner. Running out on the street was becoming difficult for me. I was tired of putting up with traffic, exhaust, stop-lights, sidewalks, noise and I’m not a very disciplined runner, so the thought of forcing myself to sprint around a track for speed work sessions was about as exciting as mowing the lawn.

So on the advice of my buddy, Dexter Pepperman, I joined him for a trail run one morning out at Francis Beatty Park. I didn’t have trail shoes at the time. I ran in a pair of old, spongy Asics DS Trainers. We did about 5 miles and I was hooked! I wanted to come out there everyday and run through the woods like Natty Bumppo.

The first thing people say when I encourage them to start trail running is, “Oh no, I’d probably fall and hit my head or break my ankles out there. ” While this can be true in trail running answers like that usually come from people who hardly spend any time running out on the trails. I was one of those people. As a kid who sprained his ankles every few months from playing too much basketball I knew first hand what my limitations would be when I subjected my clown ankles to the “punishments” of a North Carolina trail. I saw every root and rock as tools that the trail was using to buck me off of it like a cowboy on the back of an angry bull.

Trail running w/ my brother near our house.

Running trails is more than just buying a new trail shoe (although, it helps). It takes practice and patience. You have to slow down and, without sounding too new-agey, it’s about understanding and working with the trail. In the end, you still may catch your toe on a hidden root stub and find yourself crashing face first into a patch of red clay.

I’ve run into herds of deer, a coyote (which I’ve never seen in NC before. They were practically pets where I grew up in CA), hawks and owls. I saw a guy out on a trail dragging off a piece of an old car that had been abandoned out in the woods and a few weeks later the entire rest of the car was gone. I’ve been caught in thunderstorms. Been slightly lost a few times. I’ve been bloody and muddy.

But that’s exactly what I love about trail running and why I can’t get enough. I don’t worry about qualifying for Boston. I don’t get disappointed when my workout doesn’t go well. Leaving the asphalt for the trail is about enjoying the adventure of running out in the woods and not knowing what you’re going to find.

So, here are a few tips that have helped me and might keep the trail from buckin’ you off it’s back or least keep you holding on for the ride a little longer:

• Wear a hat with a bill. I like to do this because it gives my face (especially eyes) one more second of protection from little branches that hang down into the trail.

• Take a watch or don’t take a watch. Sometimes I need to take a watch or I’ll be out there all day. Time slips away from you. That’s the exact same reason I mention not taking a watch.

• Wear comfortable shoes with plenty of room in the toe. Your feet will be swelling. Your toes will be wanting to crash into the end of the shoe. You need room to let these things happen.

• Pepper spray. You never know who you’re going to meet out there. Although, I’ve never really had trouble with people, I did have a run in with dogs.

• If you’re going for a longer run and you can’t get back to your car until the end, bring some water and some sort of fuel.

• Cross-train. Believe me, I hate cross-training, but I’ve definitely seen its benefits come out in my trail running. I have a stronger core, better flexibility and stronger ankles.

• No headphones. First, there’s the safety issue. Sometimes there are mountain bikers on the trail and you need to be able to hear them coming. Sometimes there are other people out there and you need to be aware of your surroundings. Second, wearing headphones defeats the purpose of running out in the woods. You don’t need them. You’ve got enough media stimulus creeping into your brain all day. This is your time to get into nature and run like a wild animal.

• And finally, just get out there and try it. Experiment with your form. Practice your footing around tricky roots & rocks. Take your time and have a ball!

Trail Runners Beware!!!: Dogs at Francis Beatty Park

So I just wanted to go for a nice trail run out at Francis Beatty Park this morning. The first half of the run was just fine until I came around a bend and stopped about 20 yds. short of two guys with dogs. Two of the dogs weren't on leashes. I asked if he was going to get them on leashes and he said, "They're fine." And then at that moment the dogs cut through the trees and came up to my legs growling. I slowed down to a walk and tried to give the dogs room because I don't really like dogs coming up to my legs snarling. I told the guy he better put them on leashes. The owner of the dogs, a great big guy came around the curve trying to call the dogs back. The dogs don't hear too well I guess because they won't really let me pass and continue growling. He calls again. Nothing. So I let the big guy know that I have pepper spray and would be more than happy to use it on them to help get them under control.

The man freaks out. On me. He's still trying to call the dogs off though and I think he's watched too many mafia movies. He says, "What the f**k, man. Why you gotta be such an a$$hole?"

"I'm the a$$hole?" I said. "You're the one with dogs off the leash about to bite me."

"You know what? Just get movin', you f**king a$$hole! What is it, a**hole day?!" he said.

So of course I said, "Well, it must be if you're out here!" I finally got past them and ran a few yards up the trail to where his buddy was waiting with his dog. A rotweiler. The man held the black dog's collar and waited patiently. The rot sat there like a little kitten. Well, I guess now I know where the other dogs got their aggressiveness. As I ran up the trail I could hear him mocking me in a high pitched voice. I love it.

What is it with me and running in Charlotte? When I've tried running on the roads I've almost been hit by cars (one guy kind of chased me down in his car {see earlier FB post}). I tried running out at McAlpine greenway, but now they're gonna pave it. I got into trail running to get away from all that only to get chased by dogs and roughed up by NY walkers.

I don't tolerate people who don't have control over their dogs. I've been bitten before. I don't like it. If you want to have your dog out on the trails keep a leash on them or get out there earlier. Or go to a dog park for goodness sake.

By the way. The two dogs are white-ish with a couple of brown spots and look a little like smaller huskies. And this isn't the first time they've come at me or others I know.

(the only dogs I do like are my parents' dog, Dexter's dogs and of course Molly Jones.)

There's Coffee At The Summit

The alarm went off at ten-to-5 a.m. I got up and put my running clothes on in the dark. I hate getting up early to run especially during the last few months when it's been cold. There's nothing like stepping out the door into 19 degree air knowing you have 10 miles ahead of you. Yesterday morning wasn't that cold, thank goodness, but it was still early.

The thing that got me going this time was knowing that I had already committed and people might be waiting for me. I had been talking to my buddy Chad Randolph for weeks about heading up to Davidson to run with his group. Davidson is a small town about 25 miles north of Charlotte and one of the few places in NC that reminded me of being on the west coast again.

So, of course, I was running behind and had to speed to get up there. I didn't want to drive all the way just to get there and see the running group take off without me. I drove in the dark with no traffic. Man, Davidson is out there a ways.

I pulled up to the CVS right in downtown and saw the familiar sight of runners warming up. And there was Chad, tall as a tree, wearing shorts! Dang. I pulled up just in time to get introduced to everyone--Jeff, Todd, Jim; and then Chad hands me a headlamp. A headlamp? Where the heck were we going? I tried to be cool as I adjusted the strap like I'd worn headlamps to run all the time, but honestly I've never worn a headlamp. Back in California I almost never ran in the dark. I was a musician, so I usually got out the door in the late morning and didn't really get to running until the early afternoon.

Chad showed me how to switch the thing on and soon we were headed up the street. We cut into a greenway section, which I would have liked to see in the daylight. You could see the outline of the trees like giant matchsticks against the dark purple dawn. The guys mentioned that some kids had shoved a big log across the greenway path so that if you weren't watching carefully you could trip over it and wind up face down in the middle of the path. They joked about the delinquent youth of Davidson.

I've come to realize as I get older that everyone has their "thing". Which means that everyone has an interest that they geek out on. Some people are into Star Trek, some are into classic cars, some folks are music snobs (me), and some people are runners. We geek out on running. As we ran along the dark greenway path we talked about everything running.

I hung back with Jeff and Chad most of the time, both of whom run ultra-marathons (distances longer than 26.2 miles). Jeff is probably in his late 40's*and he and Chad talked about their ultra races. I think Jeff said that he'd run about 150 ultras! I peppered Jeff with questions about the races and the ultra-marathon "community", about his times and training. This guy is insane!

Chad, 42 (I think), runs almost exclusively in Vibram Five Fingers and is the one who got me excited about them so, of course, we geeked out on that too. Todd was maybe in his early 40's, too and Jim was about my age. They stayed up toward the front and then cut off a little early.

Chad and Jeff and I crossed a road and headed up an incline near a field just as the sky began to glow at the horizon, mixing dark with light. Our breath in the cold trailed behind us like smoke coming out of a locomotive. We dropped back into downtown Davidson to complete six miles and cooled down to where we had started. Next stop--Summit Coffee house.

This is probably one of the best parts of the run. Strong coffee in a cool coffee house. Summit definitely made me feel like I was touring again, up in the Northwest, sampling all the amazing coffee joints. It's a small, narrow place with wood paneled walls and warm light and great coffee. I liked it because it was funky. It was no Starbucks or Caribou. It's the kind of place where none of the chairs really match and the guy working behind the counter has dread-locks.

From the street we could see Todd and Jim waiting for us. Our group sat around the table with our coffee (thanks Jeff. It's on me next time) and talked about the next run. I said that I would definitely come to run with the group again. Jim asked me if I lived in Davidson and Chad told him, "No, this guy drove all the way up from South Charlotte!"

"What?" said Jim. "You came all the way up from Charlotte for this run?"

That's right. I lived in San Diego county for the last 10 years, dealing with traffic, long commutes, time on the road for hours touring and so a 45 minute drive to Davidson with no traffic was a breeze. If I hadn't driven up there I wouldn't have had such a great run with a great group. I'll definitely do it again. Anyone want to join me? We can carpool.

*So, I had originally tried to guess Jeff's age and got it wrong. Big time. Sorry Jeff. Like I said, it was dark. Hope you'll let me keep running with y'all again.

Running in Norway

Haugesund Bridge Run on Constitution Day



Me running near Arnt Ove's house. This was my warm up everyday.

As my tour of Scandinavia approached I worried that I wouldn't have the time to fit running into my music schedule. I packed my running shoes anyway, sacrificing a few more clean shirts and another pair of dress shoes to do it. I'm glad I did.

The first week overseas has been spent in Norway. Fortunately we've been staying at one house that belongs to our host/manager Arnt Ove (Andy) so it's been easy to just put my running gear on and head out the door. Our shows don't start until 9pm usually so there's still enough time to squeeze a run in and take a short nap before the gig.

The weather has been perfect for running and so has the geography. There are paved bicycle/walking paths that will lead to almost anywhere you want to go. The day we arrived I set a goal for myself--to run from Arnt Ove's house, up and over this huge bridge and back again. The first few days were shorter runs and some speed and hill work and I had to take a day off because we were playing in another town so I didn't have time to run there.

I tried to run the "course" yesterday, but after Arnt Ove showed us the sights and cooked dinner when we got back, I really wasn't in the mood. But today, I had to put up or shut up. I had been talking about running that dang bridge all week, so when Nathan mentioned it today I knew I had to.

After attending this morning's Constitution Day parade in downtown Haugesund we came home and ate breakfast. I answered some emails and uploaded photos, allowing my food to digest then I put the gear on. I had been trying to think of a way that I could prove to Arnt Ove and Nathan that I actually made it across and that's when Arnt Ove suggested I bring a napkin back from the McDonald's which is just about 100 yards on the other side of the bridge. Perfect! Except that today being a national holiday, McDonald's was actually closed along with all the other stores around it. The 7-11 nearby was the only store open, but when I started to think about the route I thought it would be a waste to only bring back a napkin from 7-11. So I decided that I would take my camera. This was probably the only time I would ever bring a camera running. I put it in the little pouch and slung it around my shoulder and hit the road. I was glad I took my camera:

On the way to the bridge


This is the point where I had to decide if I still wanted to run it.


On the way up. The head wind was INSANE! I'm a little afraid of heights and the wind gusts felt like they were going to blow me over the railing.

View from the highest point on the bridge.


McDonald's! Just about 100 yards on the other side of the bridge. Proof that I made it over.


View from the other side. Heading back over.


The view of the community coming back over the bridge.


Heading back to Arnt Ove's house.


Coming back into town.


This hill killed me. I know it doesn't look like much in the picture, but my quads sure felt it. This was within the last two miles of the run.

The route turned out to be about 10 miles round trip and took my about an hour and twenty minutes to complete. When I got back to the house Arnt Ove said, "You look so relaxed. I can't believe you ran over the bridge. You are INSANE."