Where to train?

[Moonie]

Hey gang! I've been wondering - does it make much difference where/how you get your miles in? I have been thinking ahead to the long runs that are needed the closer and closer to the marathon that we get, and where I am going to practice them. There are a few forest-y trails around I have heard are quite long, but as a young female who will be running alone, I don't know that I feel comfortable with going out that far of a distance, just in case something were to happen.
There's a 1.5 mile trail near here that I usually do my running on because it's always well-populated and since it's fairly short and close to my home, I never feel in danger of being too far away from anything if things were to go awry. Will it be okay to just do back-and-forths over the same trail however many times I need to in order to accumulate the milage, or could that negatively impact me by the time I get to the race and have to travel on a completely new and different course? Is it that much different practicing over long stretches versus loops/laps?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Disneefun]

I have a 2 mile loop through my neighborhood that I use because I could die going out on the main road it's so busy. Doing this short loop has never impacted my performance come race day. I'm fortunate b/c it has 2 large hills, some flats and some gentle grades so I get a lot of different strides in (and the hills make Florida's flat land look easy.

I would say you would be fine just going back and forth on your trail (particularly if it varies a bit in hills, flats, etc., although the only negative to doing short hops like this is it gets kind of boring. I can tell you every crack in the pavement, every dog, every dented mailbox, etc. along my loop!! The only thing I've noticed when I do get the chance to LR somewhere else is that the time seems to go faster, just because it's something new to see. But I've never had a problem otherwise. The most important thing is to just get those miles in and get the time on your legs. Race day will take care of itself from there.

 

[andromedaslove]

I do almost ALL of my runs either in my neighborhood or on one of the local trails around here. (I say around here but the closest trail is 30 minutes and the farthest is 1 hour away). You might be surprised how crowded some of these trails can be especially on the weekends (mine are packed on Saturdays). I never spend more than a minute or so without being able to see someone who is out there like me running, or bicycling, some on roller blades and even some on horseback. I time my runs to start as the sun starts coming up, because I am just not comfortable running anywhere in the dark. My DH, MIL, FIL, and my Mom call me on my cell about a hundred times during my run though, because they are worried about me!! At least I know they love me!! I like running these two trails though because of hoe long they are. One is 8 miles one way, the other is 13. So I can get in ALL of my long runs without having to go out and back more than once. If I had to run too close to my car or house I would probably just keep going until I got to my car or house. I don't have the motivation to do that multiple times!!

Dana

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Do what you feel most comfortable doing. I know there are some that primarily train on TM and manage just fine.

I use a trail and it is quite populated especially weekends early a.m. when the majority of runners/walkers are out putting in their steps. I always take my cell and actually get a good signal.

Nothing wrong with your close to home route as you go. You might look into joining up with the local running store. Ours here have folks at several ability levels going out on certain evenings and weekend times. Those participating kind of keep an eye out for each other and you may make some new friends.

 

[Moonie]

Thanks guys! I am relieved to hear that repeating the same area or using the TM will work just as well

Disneefun, I hear you when it comes to the boredom factor! Luckily my ipod shuffle helps keep me from wanting to just give up whenever I get too tired of the scenery...I just change to a song I love and try to pick some new trees to look at

Dana, wow, you're so lucky to have those long trails near you! That's a good idea, I might check out one of the longer trails one morning just to see how populated they are...maybe there will be a crowd after all.

Lily, thanks for the tip about the running group! I actually did look some of them up in my area not too long ago, but all of them that I found listed a faster pace than I feel ready for, even in their slowest paced groups, so I don't think I'm quite ready for those leagues yet...but maybe someday!

 

[cdn_gal_eeyore]

Moon - It definitely never hurts to find new spots to run in, just because I know I tend to get bored really easily if I run the same place all the time. I'm pretty lucky since Calgary has an excellent network of paved bike paths here, so there are plenty of routes to choose from.

You can check out mapmyrun.com for ideas to see if people near you have uploaded any routes in your area. Also look check with local running stores because sometimes they have maps of routes nearby they can recommend.

 

[Disneefun]

Moonie -- I see you're in NC. Where in NC are you? If you're near me, maybe we could buddy up. If you don't want to post publicly, you can PM me.