Finally, back on the trails

Yes, I am running. The wind, the sun, the birds, how I have missed you. It’s so good to be back on the trails again.

Yes, I am running. The wind, the sun, the birds, the trees, the muddy tracks, the ditches, the lakes. How I have missed you. It’s so good to see you again. It’s so good to be back on the trails again.

Could I have run in the last couple of days? Maybe. Maybe Thursday evening or Friday evening or Saturday morning, early. But me and streets are not a good combination. I’ve learned my lessons in the past. In the even not so recent past. My ankles don’t like streets.

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Milan center

To be fair, I don’t like streets as well. The center of Milan is just concrete. For sure people love running there, so I leave those streets to them. I run for fun. Fun for is mountains, forest. Something green. Not grey. The smell of flowers, trees, not of dog-shit and exhaust gases.

 

I need this

My head needs this; being back on the trails. I need this. The last couple of days were beautiful. The last couple of days were draining. Now it’s just me, the birds and the sun. And my legs, although they are still protesting a bit. Or maybe it’s not my legs. Maybe it’s my whole body. For some reason it doesn’t want to run. I keep on wondering if I should start walking. Yet, I keep on pushing.

Not pushing to run hard. Just to run. I think it’s just my mind being tired of all the impressions. Being tired of coming home, and having a shitload of emails waiting. Tons of things to arrange. My heartbeat is just below 150 beats per minute, which is good. Yet, it doesn’t feel good. It feels heavy.

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Hello rhythm

Three kilometers later all is fine. I remember this feeling from my first running life. As soon as the distances I’m running are becoming longer, it takes more time to find my rhythm. It’s the diesel in me. I warm-up slowly, but I can keep on going as soon as I’m warm. The question for the next coming weeks is how long I can keep on going.

What helps is being back on the trails I love so much. Back on the loop around my house. First part is great, the second part – through the agricultural fields a bit boring, the last part is great again. Trees, a little river, single track, fish jumping in the water, birds chirping. It makes my head happy and if my head is happy, my legs always feel lighter.

 

Amerongse Berg Trail

Back home. I have one more thing to arrange, before I call it a day. But this is something I really want to arrange; my registration for the Amerongse Berg Trail. Coming Sunday we don’t do a live class, we do a La Scimmia Yoga premiere on YouTube. Sara will cover for me, so I can sneak out and run. Isn’t she the greatest?

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Today's training

Morning
Easy run
12.16 kilometers in 1 hour and 20 minutes

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John Kraijenbrink

The Running Dutchman

I run. Trails mostly. I am Dutch. That makes me The Running Dutchman.

I am also a massage therapist, yogi, sports science nerd, and journalist/writer. Everything I learn and research about trail running, I share here, on this website, with you.

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