New things

So this past Saturday I went on the first of a series of Trail runs. It's part of a trail running clinic, each weekend we meet at different trails around the island. This one started at the Pali lookout. We met at 7AM and I was seriously questioning my sanity as I sat in my parked car looking at the howling wind and driven rain. It really was only a light misting, but at 7am things look worse than they are. Still, eventually I got out of the car and joined the group.

We headed down the road which eventually connects to Maunawili trail. I haven't been down the road in about 10 years, and the last time I saw it, it was wide open with very little overgrowth. It was unrecognizable now. You can see how civilizations become lost to history once they're abandoned. The plants had taken over, leaving little more than a narrow footpath through the growth. It's odd walking along and seeing pavement under your feet while surrounded by vegetation that's grown over your head.

Once we got into the proper trail, the wind was blocked and it was a lovely morning. Since the trail was rather muddy and slick in a number of areas, we walked more than ran, but we did about 7 miles, and I had a good time. The scenery is stunning and I find trail running to be a lot more fun than road running. Part of it is the view and lack of cars, but I think it's because your mind is so engaged on where your foot is going to land that you don't really ponder how tired you are. I don't know if I'll make a good trail runner, as so often I wanted to stop to look at the view. You just can't look up very much without risk of falling.

I ended up with some really muddy shoes and splatters all over my legs, but I just loved it. There's something about being covered in mud by 9AM that's oddly satisfying. Maybe because you know that even if you spend the rest of the day doing nothing at all, you can still consider the day a success. Still, because of the mud I went and bought a pair of trail shoes the very next day. I can't wait to get them dirty.

In other news, about two weeks ago I went for one of my favorite runs where I go from our place to the Lanikai pillbox and back (maybe about 4 miles with a short but intense off-road hike in the middle). On the way home, passing the beach park, I saw a bunch of people playing soccer. I asked if it was a pickup game, the response was in the affirmative, combined with the question "You want to play?" Sure! I wish I hadn't already done my run, because I was already tired, but I had a blast. It's been ages since I last played, but the skills come back fairly quickly. The hardest part was that I was in my running shoes and the ground was a little slick, so I slipped a lot.

I found out that they play every week. I just added another event to my calendar! I quit playing soccer when I realized I wasn't enjoying it. I wasn't getting a lot out of the practices (my fault, I'm sure), and people were taking things too seriously in the games. I just wanted to play and I was in a situation where it just wasn't any fun anymore. A pickup game is just what I needed to remember why I liked soccer in the first place.

Between soccer, trail running, hashing, and mountain biking, I think I've finally realized that exercise can be fun. It's about darn time.