Fitness trails? Of course, parcours.

In training for obstacle courses like the Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash there are little fitness trails at some parks that have stations to stop at and do exercises along your run. I like these as it mimics a small mud/obstacle run. This is not to be confused with a parkour course which is like a type of extreme walking. Rolling over tables and two stepping up a wall probably won't get you 12 miles into a race.

I ran with ActiveOutside blogger Jeremy Roberts. He took me to the parcour fitness trail at a park near his house in Cincinnati. We not only did the course of 20 obstacles, and a 21st one that I added when we found a log, but we ran a little further and found a couple good hills to add to the run. It was a good workout for the day after a scheduled long run. Or you could double up the course for more distance and more challenges.

If you know of any courses in your area please share so we can spread the word. Especially if you know of any near Columbus. Driving to Cincy to do a fitness trail just doesn't seem to be justifiable. If you have one in your area I hope you put it to good use. If not, stop at benches along the park trails and do push ups, crunches, dips, or anything else you can add to your workout. Most of all, get out and GET SOME!

Chin ups are a good workout for being able to pull yourself up and over obstacles. 

We used the log as a weight to do overhead presses. Don't laugh at the ghost seen in these pictures.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Saturday July 7th was hot. Just in case you didn't know that. It was 101 degrees in central Ohio. I failed and didn't get up early enough to beat the heat and it slowly beat me down. I did run at Slate Ridge State Park located just out side Lithopolis. Where the heck is Lithopolis? Its south of Canal Winchester on the SE corner of Columbus. Its a nice place to get away and see some good scenery. The have places for the kids including play grounds and activities like archery. There is also a working farm that is around 100 years old. I hit the trails where it takes off to a place that looks like the Serengeti. That's where the sun beat me down. I was hydrated, ran with a fuel belt, which I highly recommend, and took a couple gel packs with me. Still, after 4 miles I was wiped out, that's not normal.

Did you get out and get some in the heat? Some people say "its too hot to run." What happens on race day when its hot? When its too cold? When its raining or other just not quite perfect weather? You are going to run anyway so that isn't an excuse to not run. Its a reason to run. Hot weather training, cold weather training. Make your excuse your reason. Get out and GET SOME!

One of the ponds at Slate Run. 

What a mess.

July 3rd Bioreserve Post Storm by onecooldaddio at Garmin Connect - Details

I ran on the third of July through the Denison Bioreserve, which I have previously mentioned on here. Its a decently challenging course but even more so with full grown trees down every 100 yards or so. The trails were blocked to the point where I thought, at first, this will be fun jumping over tree trunks and climbing through the tree tops as they lay across the trails. I quickly learned this will tire you out fast. In heat that has been near 100 degrees, stopping to detour over, around and through was not as fun as I had hoped.

To be honest I did kind of like the challenge but eventually bush-whacking to get around a tree through poison ivy and thorns made the challenge less enjoyable. I even got lost once as I couldn't find the trail on the other side of the 50 yards of fallen trees. Somehow I took the left at Albuquerque and came out on another part of the trail I knew. Usually I can cover 6 miles in a little over an hour, I got through 4 on this day. It was worth it to experience it but I will hope they get it cleared soon. And if they have a tree cutting party I will join to help clear the paths.

If you get a chance don't forget to give back to the trails and parks you love. When they have a maintenance day go and volunteer. Pick up trash, clear trails, take the kids and teach them a valuable lesson. You'll feel great after and when you run you'll see the hard work you put into it.

So go out and GET SOME.

World's Toughest Mudder, you can too.

It is official. I have signed up to run the World's Toughest Mudder. One of my highlights in sports was finishing the Ohio Tough Mudder within the time goal that I set for myself. I didn't know it would qualify me for their year end, you-have-to-be-crazy-to-try-this race.

Check this out to learn more about it:

http://toughmudder.com/events/worlds-toughest-mudder-series-finals/

I realize this is a crazy race but if I can do something like this, you can do something crazy also. Just get up off the couch and get some! If you are out being active, sign up for something bigger and take that extra step. Jump out of a plane, sign up for a mud run, a boot camp class, try something new. Get it. You'll feel incredible, just like I do. 

I want to share that with everyone. Even my little boy is on his way to doing the crazy, fun stuff and he loves it. He keeps asking when he'll be old enough for this race, how about this one, what about that one. 

You can too. If you are scared or need help figuring out how, let me know. We'll get you headed in the right direction. Come be one of us. You can do it. Your new journey can start with just one step...take it. Get some!

Over the river and off the trail

Alum Creek I two laps by onecooldaddio at Garmin Connect - Details

After a business trip to Florida threw me off track, I got back on the trails Sunday. The Alum Creek bike trails are a great place to get some trail running. The terrain changes quickly, up and down, switchbacks, and fallen trees after the major storms that hit the area. I needed to get a good run so I went for 10 miles, conveniently that is two laps on the trail, unless you get lost. I did take some extra routes where the technical trails are, gives you more obstacles to run and jump over. Good training.

The old trail went right so I jumped the trees and headed that way. 

Which led to this missing bridge, not good for bikers, but excellent for mud runners.

It was very hot and I lost a lot of fluids. As I mentioned in previous posts, hydration is extremely important. I kept my fuel belt bottles full and kept on keeping on. It was a great run. I highly suggest trails like this if you are a trail runner, mud runner, or obstacle racer as they keep you on your toes.

Be aware, you might have uneven ground on mountain bike trails. Keep an eye out for roots, turns, drop offs, and mud as you can easily twist an ankle. There isn't a log of access out there for vehicles so you might end up walking a ways.

Guess which was I went.

Have fun though. Its a great place to run, be courteous to other runners and bikers. I did hear one of my favorite phrases, "I hate when a runner passes me." Hopefully you'll hear that too.

Get out and GET SOME!