Terrible Analogies

Having Monday off from work I decided to hit up Ellie Lane for a quick run up, over, and around the mountain.  Feeling a bit “off” today, I found it to be a bit of a struggle to keep my form up and over the third mountain.  On the run down the far side and roughly three miles from the car my mind began to wander, and I started to ask myself, “why do I run?”  When sitting at home, surfing the ‘net, reading a book, or working on my next blog post would me so much more fun, why do I continue to torture myself on these trail runs?

I guess that’s akin to asking a smoker why s/he smokes.  It’s just something that I do.  I find it a source of entertainment to see how much pain I can endure and keep on going, and accept with a sense of pride that I’m part of a minority that enjoys pushing themselves just to discover what the body is capable of.  I also get a kick passing struggling hikers as they stumble up narrow trails, and even waving at them with a smile and returning their “hellos”.  After all, we share a sort of brotherhood out there on those desolate trails, each making his way in his own time.

And I love the natural rhythm the body falls into when everything is grooving along without effort or strain.  When running without making a sound I often sneak up on wildlife, and have seen my share of hawks, mountain lions, snakes, and deer.  My favorite moment was when running though Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve when, crashing though the thick brush emerged a large deer, and he paced along with me for a good 200 feet before disappearing back into the foliage.  There I was, running at a decent clip on the trail with a deer along alongside me, studying me before apparently having his fill and vanishing as quickly as he appeared.

Oh, and I can’t forget the most enjoyable aspect of trail running;  I get to run though and interact with amazing scenery such as this:

And so, to make a long story stuffy, that’s why I enjoy trail running.  It’s the solitude, the environment, the wildlife, and pushing myself until I can’t see straight that I find oddly engrossing.  Strange?  Perhaps, but no more strange than wasting away hours on a gaming console, shooting up dope, cosplay, or collecting electrical insulators.  But then again, everyone has a habit…