Juliana Moves

Have you ever wondered what goes into a successful summer trail run? Ever visited our house and wondered what we do with all the running gear littering every corner of our home? Look no further! I’m here today to break down what goes into a summer trail run. Notice I’ve left out the word ‘successful’. 

Did I have a great time yesterday and get nearly all my mileage in? Yes! Success! Did I also think I was going to live in the woods because the heat was melting my brain? Also yes! As I like to remind runners during a hard day in the summer: sometimes it do be like that.

Anyway, here’s the broken down anatomy of a summer trail run (for me, at least). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you read this and think, ah! Running in the heat seems dangerous! You’re probably right, but also, we are both pretty well heat adapted and smart about hydration and cooling. Plus I personally walked a ton when it was exposed or just really miserable. We’re good!

1. First things first, sleep in. An absolute must here. Why? You’re recovering from Saturday’s hot trail run! And you went to a Savannah Bananas game the night before and got home late. Plus, why would you wake up early and run when it’s cooler?? You’ve gotta be tough! And stupid!

2. When you do eventually get out of bed, have a breakfast with dairy in it because what could possibly go wrong?! Author’s note: Nothing went wrong this time because I had this a while before I ran, but ask me about when I had a bowl of cereal and then tried to go on a 2 mile bike ride with Sabrina in 2009. Things went very wrong then. Although Patrick did eat a yogurt parfait IN THE CAR. ON THE WAY TO THE TRAIL. It was certainly a choice.

3. Pack up your gear bags and a cooler. Start sweating profusely just as you are loading everything into the car. It’s going to be a very sweaty day for you.

4. Gather as much hydration as you can possibly fit into the front seats of your car. This may include but is not limited to: water, Nuun, LMNT, iced tea, iced coffee, sparkling water… Whatever suits your fancy!

5. Leave after 11 am or whenever the temperature goes above 90 degrees. In our case, it happened at about the same time. This is crucial. Again, wait to run until the hottest part of the day. It simply enhances the summer experience, am I right?!

6. Drive an hour to a relatively nearby trail that you don’t visit often. Variety is the spice of life! Plus you left too late to head out further to the mountains. Eat pre-run graham crackers and chug Nuun as you stand in the heat and contemplate your life decisions.

7. Actually get ready, ensure you have plenty of hydration, put on sunscreen and lots of bug spray, and start warming up. You may be hot but your muscles are not yet! Queue up an episode of Freetrail.

8. Take a photo in front of the lovely bathroom facilities at this park. You cannot take a good bathroom and working water fountain for granted on a summer trail run! Appreciate how dorky ankle socks look with these Sportivas. Oh well!

9. Take off! Run slow and steady and revel in the sheer amount of sweat your body is capable of producing. Yay, heat adaptation! Blindly follow the trail because signage is pretty terrible and the Garmin route is also not great.

10. Run into a fellow VHTRCer, learn that the berries around you are not unripe blackberries but, in fact, perfectly ripe wine berries! Eat a ton of them before you realize you took him at his word and did not Google to double check that they weren’t toxic. I’m still alive! (And these berries are safe and edible.)

11. Spend the first loop genuinely surprised you haven’t seen a snake. Almost immediately in the second loop, nearly step on an Eastern Black Rat Snake. Consider touching it because you know they’re not venomous. And because you’re only 95% sure that’s what snake it is. Resist the urge and continue on.

12. After a dozen or so miles, consider losing your mind entirely. Take selfie with duckface. Be eaten alive by mosquitoes while standing around taking this photo and texting your sisters.

13. Finish your 15 mile run so sweaty it looks like you jumped into a pool. Marvel at the sheer amount of fluid and sodium you lost (this data is from my Hdrop). Towel off, change into a cute little sundress, put on some fresh deodorant, and pretend like you don’t smell like a dead animal.

14. Gather your post-run food and beverage line up, and find a picnic table gloriously in the shade, but unfortunately swarming with mosquitoes. From left to right for the drinking vessels: LMNT, iced english breakfast tea, water, sparkling water, post-run protein/carb shake. On the bottom, Funny Story by Emily Henry, a chicken sandwich, cherries, chips.

15. Wait for Patrick to finish, lay on a bench for a bit, then come back to life, grocery shop at a Walmart on your way home, unload all your nasty running stuff from the car, and then state aloud, “I am going to feel that in the morning!”

A beautiful, hot June day on some trails? Success. 

Love,

JN