After a couple of days without working out, I wanted to do something reasonably challenging today.  Whenever I feel like this, I usually default to running. As I looked outside at all the snow, I got the idea of doing a trail run in the snow.

I have never run on trails in the snow before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew that it would be quite challenging, but I had no idea how the footing would be.  Would I be able to actually run, or would I find myself slipping all over the place?  Surprisingly, I found the footing to be quite good.  I did slip slightly on occasion, but nothing that caused any alarms or risked injury.

The trail that I chose, had been used by a few people ahead of me, which made the trail very easy to follow.  In places, the snow was quite packed down and in others, the snow had drifted and was quite deep.  Those deep spots were great; running through 12 inch deep powder snow, was a great feeling.

It was very quiet on the trails.  The snow everywhere dampened most sounds. I only saw the occasional bird and at one point, I disturbed four deer, who instantly bounded away in the snow.  During my two hour run, I did pass three other people who were out walking in the trail, but aside from that it was very peaceful out in the woods.

Trail running is very different to road running.  You end up using different muscles while managing lateral movement on the trail.  This is good for overall fitness and my legs are feeling a little tired this evening.  Tomorrow, I will recover on the bike, and then get ready for the last training week, of what has been, a challenging year!