Today I turned a corner in my running. No, I didn't reach a personal best or my longest distance ever. Nothing so obvious as that. Instead I gave someone else trail directions.
You have to understand how big a moment this was for me. When Jen and I first started trail running we got lost on almost every outing. We had a map of the area with written directions for the race course we were training for, but they weren't enough. Something would always trip us up. The worst was in winter when we turned a short run in chilly weather into a two hour trek through snow and ice. It started snowing after we left and we kept making wrong turns.
We have run the same routes for ages, but I always relied on Jen to know where we were. I'd tell her which way to turn, but back the suggestion up with the disclaimer that as long as I think it is one way we should really turn the other. Recently I went running with another friend and although we were on a course I had run countless times, I managed to make a wrong turn to take us almost 2k out of our way. Then on a 6k loop where I'd always run counter-clockwise I took us clockwise - up a huge hill - and didn't even realize my mistake until half way around.
Normally I wouldn't publicize my lack of direction, but I think I may have it beat. Today I ran across two girls on the trail who looked confused and I offered them help. They were about as far as they could get from the parking lot they were looking for. As I carefully told them how to get back I realized I really did know what I was talking about. Once I'd explained the way, I took off in the opposite direction from the girls. The trail loops and I ran into them again about 20 minutes later. They were heading in the direction that I told them to go and would soon be returning to their car.
While the run as a whole wasn't the greatest - the heat was once again kicking my a$% - I gained a little confidence from knowing that I'm at least finally past the point of getting lost.
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