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Sunday, February 8, 2009

Mud Love

"You stand at the edge of your inner wilderness, and there is no reason you cannot explore it on your own..." ~ Lazarus Lake

The sun is out, the temperature has crept above freezing and that means the snow and ice has finally melted, so...hello mud!

Out for a 12-miler yesterday on the seemingly innocuous lakefront path, to enjoy the break in the weather and shake the legs out after a day off and a deep tissue massage on Thursday. About 3.5 miles into the run I encountered a glorious section of the path that was flooded by the flash-melting of ice and snow and it was nothing but mud and muck for the next mile. There was no tip toeing around it, and no 'safe route'. The only way was straight through it. I stopped at the edge of the mess and pondered for a brief second; a mass of other runners had gathered at the edge as well, likely considering turning around, but then I said, "Woohoo! Mud!" and jumped right in splashing and laughing as I pounded my way through it. It was so much fun, more than I anticipated...it's just mud, afterall. But after a long, freezing winter (which there is surely more of in the coming month) it was so nice to see gooey disgusting mud...I felt as if I were on a trail somewhere far away :)

My feet were soaked completely and I had mud up to the hem of my running skirt, and with 8.5 more miles to go (and another run through the mud pit on the way back north) most would probably have been pretty miffed, but I was just eatin' it all up! It beat the hell out of sitting at home watching crappy TV, or shopping, or doing anything that requires one to be stuck inside. There were tons of huge path-wide puddles all along the path so my legs got rinsed off pretty well, but I managed to keep some filth on so I could show my doorman. The doorman on duty when I usually head out for my long runs on the weekend is in awe of what I do (he's not a runner by any measure) and loves to hear my stories. My muddy legs were a source of endless entertainment yesterday.

It was so wonderful to get out and get some sun and fresh air on my legs and to be able to take a deep breath without feeling like my lungs are getting frost bitten. This is what I enjoy most about running. I can't wait to hit the trails next weekend in Louisville...I bet there will be plenty of mud if all the remnants of the recent ice storm there have melted.

Here's to many more miles and lots more mud as the spring slowly begins to creep in and take over.

Paige, out.

6 comments:

GTI said...

Ah, yes, nothin' better than a splash-thru! I'm often on the Des Plains River Trail up in Lake County. The DPR has been flooding so much the last few years, that I sometimes have to run thru 4" or 5" of water. I then I go back into work when I'm finished. (love it!)

Good luck next weekend at Lovin' The Hills!

Paige said...

Oooo, that is awesome :)

Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting on a f'real trail again!

denalifc said...

Who says you can't trail run on the Lakefront!!!!

Good luck at LiTH

Ian, Naperville, IL

RunBubbaRun said...

Good luck next week at the trail race. Should be alot of fun.

Mud running on the lakefront. Who would have know.

ps. Saw your web on the ultra list. Good to see another ultrarunner in the area.

Anonymous said...

Cool blog, Paige!

Yeah, mud's great! I like how you quoted the one and only Gary Cantrell.

Hope your leg is doing better...

Happy trails,

Connie :)

Paige said...

Thanks for stopping by, Connie and Bubba :)

The leg is doing better (with ice and Advil!) and will see the doc tonight about it.

To the trails!

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