Trail Running vs. the Clutz

As a part of my marathon training, Wednesdays are supposed to be hilly runs. Conveniently I live a half mile from a state forest so I decided to start running my hill runs on the trails! So for the past three Wednesdays I ventured into the woods! They were all going along well until this past week I tripped and fell over a tree root and scrapped my leg, knee and hands. I also have a few random bruises all over my limbs. Not fun! Here is a lovely picture of my leg:

After seeing the damage over the holiday weekend, my family got really worried about me running alone in the woods and just alone in general. While I appreciate their concern, I refuse to sit inside or run on the treadmill everyday out of fear. So to ease their minds, I invested in the Jogger Pepper Spray. At first I wasn't sure if I would go back to the trails, but I think I may keep adding just a bit to my weekly mileage. It's a fun way to mix it up a bit and just because I'm a clutz, doesn't mean I can't conquer the trails! :o)