Trail Run Tuesday

  
Run, run, run, as fast as you can!  Today we hit the trail in a big, bad way for running streak, day four.  I set no fewer than four mileage trackers as I headed toward the trailhead at St. Edward Park.  I swear, I’m turning more and more into one of those annoying gearhead people, but I love data so much and each app does something a little bit different, so I have to, right?  That said, at the end of today’s run I was able to see a bit more clearly which ones I like.  Mostly, I like a fairly accurate GPS.  So far, Map My Run and Strava are way better than Nike.  Nike showed that I ran only two miles today while the other apps were within .1 of a mile from one another, reading between 3.1-3.2.  Nike, no matter how much I love some of the features, isn’t going to make the cut.  Phew.  One less button to push before I begin the run!  LOL!

Today was a lot of fun.  Usually when we hit the trail we have little kids trailing behind us and have to pace along with them.  When we don’t have kids I like to go as fast as possible!  Trail running is more like cross training, in my opinion.  I’m climbing hills, ducking branches, scrambling up and down stairs, jumping over puddles, logs and stumps…  You get the idea.  It’s way different than running down the street.  So when I PR on the St. Ed’s trail I get really excited, and today I did exactly that- I got a personal record!  The trail is steep, muddy, it has lots of twists, turns and roots sticking out of the ground.  I’m astounded at that 11:19 mileage!  Furthermore, when I looked at my times compared to other women runners on that trail, I’m number 14 out of 32 women- I’m in the top 50% of ALL the women on Strava who have run that trial, regardless of age!  That made me feel pretty good- I’ve come a long way since the first time I went on that trail.  By the end of that first hike I was having an anxious reaction, hysterical and almost crying because the trail was so steep, my knees were so weak, my stamina so low and my weight so high that it was terrifying.  I thought I would fall, twist an ankle and break off at the knee.  It didn’t happen, thankfully, and I’ve only continued to improve.  Today was a glorious one! 

If you’re wondering about how my body is feeling after four days in a row of running, so far so good.  My streak hasn’t impacted me negatively.  I haven’t run more than four miles in one day and I think that had a lot to do with it- keeping lower miles.  I’ve only run 12 miles over the past four days and I’m feeling good.  I’m planning on doing a six on Thursday or Friday and a nine on Sunday, right before I head back to school for my last 50 days of the year.  I like the running streak.  It’s a lot like making my 10,000 steps per day- making it just a ‘thing I do’ makes it a lot more accessible and non negotiable.  So far I’m totally loving it.  🙂 

I celebrated by registering for my favorite race ever: Beat the Blerch!  It’s happening on Saturday 9/17 of this year and I signed both Gigi and I up for the half marathon!  I am so excited!  If you want in and want to run with me, I’m running on Saturday.  The race sells out quick, so get in and get registered before it’s too late!!!  To be clear, there are races both on Saturday, 9/17 & Sunday, 9/18.  I am doing the Saturday race because, guess what is that Monday?  ZUMBA CERTIFICATION!  LOL!  Isn’t that how I roll?  Yeah.  I’ll do a half marathon on Saturday and nine hours of Zumba on Monday.  It reminds me of my biathalon last year with the 5k and Space Needle climb within four hours of one another!😂