New Trails, New Adventures

Thank you for bearing with radio silence here on Fine Fit Day while I packed and moved! Moving is always one of those life experiences you know is going to suck, but your mind kind of wipes itself clear after each move so that you don’t really remember just how MUCH it sucks until you’re doing it again.

Despite feeling overwhelmed with trying to pack while also keeping my boys somewhat entertained, and after several frantic texts to friends showing the total disarray I was in the middle of and announcing I was never going to get it done, and thanks to some awesome friends helping move everything (yes, while I was still packing, oops), it got done. Now with the exception of a couple of boxes and a few still bare walls, I’m pretty much settled in.

The boys are having a great time exploring the new apartment and organizing how they want their space. I’ve actually kept this one cupboard in the kitchen empty so they have a little hideout (it’s an enormous cupboard, big enough for both of them). Unpacking was definitely improved when one of my neighbors brought me over a batch of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies – and they were still warm! Heaven. 

So – what does a runner do when she moves to a new place? Goes for a run to explore literal new trails, of course! I’m now living in the Woodstock, VT area, further south of Burlington. I did some research and found a great spot with lots of trails nearby, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park. Someone once said to me that if you don’t like the weather in Vermont, wait 5 minutes and it will change. That didn’t make sense to me until last week when I set out up Mt. Tom, in drizzling rain. By the time I reached the top, the rain had stopped, but fog had set in. I chose a new trail to run on the other side and soon found myself getting warm in bright sunshine. On my way back, I was cooled off with sun-showers, then as I finished up my run, it had turned into an overcast, grey day.

As well as the crazy, shifting weather, the views in the space of 7 miles changed considerably as well. There were several points where I would round a corner and be treated to a gorgeous view or sliver of scenery. There are quantifiable health benefits to spending time in nature and I felt the difference. It’s why I loved running in Prospect Park so much when we lived in Brooklyn…as well as running being my chance to recharge, being in a green space makes it that much more soothing to the soul.

The elevation, turns on the trail on the way up the mountain and the fact that the only thing I’d been doing for exercise for a week was shifting around boxes, kicked my butt at first. But a few downhills made it more bearable on the other side. I managed to get out for another, shorter run last week, just checking out what’s around my place and I found yet more hills. If nothing else, the hill workouts I’ll be doing just by going for a regular run should make me a stronger runner. 😉 I could always refer to the awesome hill running workouts we put together for you last year in our Workouts for Runners series!

I think I mentioned I had totally forgotten until recently that I’m signed up for the Covered Bridges Half Marathon right here in Woodstock in June. It was the first half marathon I ever ran and I’ve now run this race 7 times. I haven’t been formally training, because life has gotten in the way, but I’ve made sure at least to extend my long run every week so I know at least I’ll be able to cover the distance and hopefully not have my worst result to date! At this point, I’m almost certain I will be running it, but there are a few details with schedules to work out first. In the meantime, it’s just been lovely to get back to running long – the long run has always been my favorite workout.

So here’s to new trails and new adventures – I’m sure I’ll be sharing pictures and stories of both as I get settled in to my new place.

Do you explore new places by going for a run?

When was the last time you moved?