White Blazes And A Tiny Bit Of Running

   This past Wednesday, I decided to go for a bit of a hike and, because I had not run in about two months, a short run as well.
   For the past while, my problematic right knee has kept me from running and, just when I thought I might be able to run again, I've aggravated the injury so...no running. Wednesday, however, seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a bit of a go.
   Instead of my hiking boots, I wore my trail-running shoes and headed into the woods right near our house. From here it was a short hop into Warbler Woods and, once out of Warbler, I was headed for Kains Woods, less than a kilometer away.
   My plan was to take the tunnel under Commissioners Road and then on to Oxford Street, down toward the Oxford Street bridge and then on to the Kains Woods entrance near the bridge.
   As I left Warbler and headed up the street toward the tunnel entry I noticed, for the very first time, the white blazes which mark the Thames Valley Trail (TVT). The TVT is a system of trails which you can follow from just southwest of London, through London, and then on north to St Mary's. There is already a system of trails here in London's environmentally significant areas (ESAs) and, as it passes through London, the TVT overlaps many of those systems. Because of this, I am quite familiar with the portions of the TVT inside London. 
   The ESA trails are marked with yellow blazes so, in the forested areas which also house the TVT, the white and yellow blazes are posted together on the same trees. This I'm used to. What I was noticing (somehow or other for the first time) on Wednesday, though, were all the TVT white blazes along the urban streets and pathways. Although I already knew where I was going, I decided to follow the blazes, almost as if I didn't, as if I were seeing them for the first time.

The first trail marker as you leave Warbler Woods. The top blaze
being offset to the left indicates you need to head left.

The next marker you come to has the top blaze offset to the right,
indicating a right turn up at the end of that row of houses.

That right turn takes you into the tunnel, also marked by a white
blaze, which then takes you past a collection pond and up to...

...Oxford Street, headed east toward the bridge.

Down by the bridge is another slightly offset blaze
which directs you down and...

...under the Oxford Street bridge. Note the white
blaze on the bridge's under-structure.

After passing under the bridge, you scramble up the other
side and come across another marker. This marker is for
hikers going in either direction. For me, it
        meant a turn to the right and up the hill and into Kains Woods    

   Once into Kains Woods, I decided I would wait for a less technical part of the trail in order to test out the actual running. I went up and down some gullies and ravines and then I decided to try a slow trot. The right knee had been feeling pretty strong lately and I had actually tested it a few times by running across rooms and things and it had given me no problems. Occasionally, though, just walking around, I would get it into a funny position and it would give me a good jolt. I also knew that trail-running gets your legs and knees into "funny positions" sometimes, so I had a little trepidation. 
   Well, I guess I shouldn't have been worried. The knee held up just fine and didn't feel really any different than the last time I was able to run regularly. My plan was to run for only a kilometer and I stuck to that, feeling good about how the little experiment had gone. All in all, I hiked 11K and ran 1K.
   I think I did, however, overdo it. My knee for the next few days was toast, and any little misstep caused great pain. I believe that this was as much from all the extra walking as the little bit of running so I may do things differently the next time. After four days of rest it is only now starting to feel good once more. Lesson learned I guess!
   But, man, it felt good to run through the forest again....