FIRST TRAIL RUN POST BABY

Tonight I ran my first official trail run post-baby! For days Vans has been encouraging me to run this trail near our house. I think mostly he is tired of hearing me moan and groan about how hard running three miles is in and around our neighborhood. They don't call it El Dorado Hills for nothing ... there are some brutal hills here. Vans said this trail is rather flat and that he didn't think it was that long. It is also within running distance of our home which is rare in these parts.

Instead of doing my 5:30 am spin class that I normally do on Monday mornings, I decided to do this run. Mostly, being up four to five times in the middle of the night (the last being about 3:30 am) I was too exhausted to go to spin and decided to listen to the doctor and not ride a bike for at least one more week.

Vans agreed this morning that I could go for a run tonight when he got home from work since I missed out on my morning exercise. All day long I have been looking forward to this run. I am not exactly sure why since I have been running every other day or so but there is something about finding a new route that is exciting.

The first mile from our house is on roads and bike trail but soon you hit the trail head.

I look rather pained at just a mile into the run huh?

I am wearing head phones but I don't normally run with music (especially when running on trails or a place with traffic). However, earlier today I had an email exchange with Coach Nikon wherein he admitted his adoration for one of my all time favorite bands/singers ... Bon Jovi (Coach Nikon - this is for you). So I had the itch to listen to a little Bon Jovi but once I hit the trails, I took out my ear buds. I am glad that I did too because this was no ordinary trail.

New York? I felt right at home when I saw this!

It started off with an open dirt road...but things did change

Just like my old running adventures, this one did not disappoint. Here I thought Vans was sending me on an easy trail run that was basically like a fire road ... but once I got past a certain point ... the adventure started.

First I encountered a stream crossing! My first post-baby stream crossing!

Okay, more like puddle jumping ...

Mountain Lion Warnings!

I also passed quite a few men walking their dogs and some teenagers making out on a nearby bench but my all time favorite was the family out shooting their bee bee guns!

I tried to take a photo as I walked by. Not very discreet.

The trail kept going and going. Vans said it would spit me out at a school and sure enough I came across the foot bridge leading to the school.

Of course I made the wrong turn (I was intrigued by some beautiful homes that I had to see up close) and I ended up a little farther down the road than I wanted to be.

I won't lie, even though the trail was mostly flat, I didn't run the entire thing. I needed to walk at times. The longest my runs have been lately is three miles and even then, I am walking up the major hills. Tonight's adventure however, ended up being five miles! Five! I had to scold Vans a little as he told me he thought it was only 3 or so. Oops. Still, it was fun and I enjoyed having a different route to take. I had toyed with running out at Beal's this coming Saturday but after dying on this run, I think I might hold off before tackling something like Beal's. Maybe I will try this run again instead.

With the weather being so mild these past few weeks I could run with Squeaker in the BOB jogger but having done that once ... it is brutal when I hit the hills and I really need to focus on my form since my core is still rather weak.

I am working on strengthening my core and upper body during the day when I am not giggling over the gummy smiles Squeaker is giving me lately. She is truly smiling at me and had another major milestone this week ... she rolled over from back to belly! She's just a joy to be around and is such a sweet and mild baby.

Hello Smiley!

Sorry about the sideways photos ... darn iPhone pics won't rotate.