Trailblazers!

Yesterday I was invited to come along to a Trailblazers Run Coaching session. This was taking place in Bunyaville park, but in a different part to the Parkrun. Today's session was a steady, relatively easy run aimed at beginners and also as a recovery run for some people who had done a 50km event the previous day!

I was hoping to meet Yvette there, but she had gotten stuck somewhere and wasn't able to make it. It was no bother though - there were several other newbies coming along, and we all ended up introducing ourselves and getting along just fine. I'm noticing that trail running includes lots of really friendly, supportive, and great people, making it an ideal activity for people wanting to make friends, or who don't have a running buddy already.

This run was led by Michelle, who runs Trailblazers. She had also done the 50kms the previous day, so it was impressive to see how fresh she seemed on the trails! Michelle led us on different sections, with lots of stops in between to regroup and give a chance to drink enough water, and for a group photo too!

Once we were thoroughly warmed up, Michelle then gave a bit of a coaching session. Today's focus was running up hills, making sure to keep good posture, cadence, and short strides, pumping the arms to help keep momentum. I am pretty terrible at inclines, let alone proper hills, so it's good for me to have this practice. I need to add more hill training in as I develop a running routine.

By the end, we had run 6.4kms. This is a measly distance compared to most of the veteran trail runners I have met, but it's my longest trail distance so far. I'm still enjoying it, I just need to get fitter and stronger!