The purpose of this blog is to provide information and perhaps entertainment about running in the area located to the west of Nashville, Tennessee. The emphasis will be on trail running in Cheatham, Dickson and Williamson counties. What follows is an attempt to get the "Who am I?" and "Why am I writing this?" answered.
I'm a 28 year-old man who ran on and off growing up, but rarely more than a couple miles. In 2003 I began working for a program in Florida called Outward Bound Discovery. The program basically consisted of taking at-risk youth on canoeing trips that lasted about three weeks. We tried to teach the kids life management skills, expose them to nature and make them miss air conditioning. Before I started work I carefully read my job description and noticed that I would be required to complete an 8 mile run, something I knew would be difficult in my physical state. I had about three months before I was scheduled to start work so I started training. It turned out that I only had to run eight miles once during the year I spent working for them, but the somewhat consistent training runs I had done in preparation had become something of a habit.
After I left Outward Bound I left the flatlands of Florida I'd known all my life and moved to Reno, Nevada. Right before I left Florida I did a really nice 10 mile run I can still remember. It was the farthest I'd run at the time and after I finished I was surprised how good I felt. My first run I Nevada at 5000 ft. left me gasping for air and coughing my lungs out after three miles. Hills and altitude were not something I was prepared for. I got a little intimidated and slowed down my training. Until I found some nice trails and I was hooked once again. I had two main trails I'd run near Reno. The most frequent trail I'd use was at Rancho San Rafael Park. My roommate at the time was a former marathoner and took me there one day to show me a spot to run. I can pretty much still run that trail in my head step for step. It was about a 7 mile loop I believe. It started out in typical park area with people feeding ducks and playing frisbee and climbed a decent little hill through a garden. Pretty soon you crossed under the road through a tunnel and into little river gorge. There were a fair amount of bike riders on the single track trails but hardly any runners. It was a decent trail with some nice hills for a Florida boy and it definitely got me running regularly for a good chunk of time.
While the runs in the park were convenient when I had the Time I'd make the drive up to Stampede Reservoir near Tahoe. The Emigrant Trail there was amazing. It was isolated. There was beautiful high Sierra scenery and it was a tough run for me. The first few runs I did there were pretty miserable. It was hot and dry I was not ready for it. I got my first pair of trail shoes, quit running in 3/4 dress shoe socks and buzzed my head. I decided to do my first organized run, a half trail marathon at Big Sur, in California, somewhere along the way. My longest run at Stampede was about 16 miles.
When the time came for the run at Big Sur I thought I was prepared. I was not. I could have run 13 miles no problem on the hills I was accustomed to around Reno. I got excited and went out a little too hard. Then I tried to keep up a decent pace through the first big hill. The hill however refused to stop before I did. I almost threw up. I walked a few miles and finished up eventually running fairly well.
After the run I quit running for a while. I guess I got a little burnt out and felt like I deserved a break since I'd reached a goal. It took me about six months to get running regularly again. Soon after that I got a new job and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. For the first year or so I lived here my running suffered in exchange for time spent wading in creeks for small mouth bass. I don't really regret that break from running. Around the summer of '08 I started running again and haven't stopped since.
I started out on some paved trails and short loops at the parks in my new home, Kingston Springs. Looking back I'm kind of surprised how long I was able to run 3/4 of a mile circles day after day without going nuts. At some point though I started exploring the area west of Nashville and have discovered some pretty cool spots.
I think that gets the intro out of the way.
When I started writing this I was in good health. July 5th I injured my knee pretty badly while jumping into the river. I was canoeing with my wife and got out of the boat on a steep slope. When I went to get back in I thought it would be easier to jump in the water and swim to the boat instead of getting straight into the boat.
I was wrong.
I slammed into a boulder inches below the surface and ripped my knee open. It needed five stitches. The worst part has been the swelling. I couldn't walk for five days. I've been able to limp around the last couple days but I can't bend my knee very far still. I'm really hoping to be able to run next Monday. It seems possible, but I'm really stressing out about missing two weeks. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
