Reconnecting with the Trails
05/18/2012
It seems we are always looking ahead. Looking to the next PR whether it be out on the trail or in the gym. Each time we run a new distance or set a new max we look for the next level. This is what keeps us motivated and interested in our progression. We continually strive to be better. After kicking off my race season last Saturday with an ultra marathon this week has been recovery and building back up. I am happy to say I finished third for women in my race and ran for over eight hours in the process.
Today I revisited an old trail as a recovery run. This was the original trail I started to hike/run on when I decided to make a change in my life and start training again. I hadn't been on the trail since last year and as I took the first steps it was like coming home again. The winter added some new contours to the trail but really it was the same as if it had been waiting for me all winter long.
The only reason I choose this trail is today was the first day that I started to feel back to normal after my first race of the season this year. I kicked off my season with a trail ultra marathon to the tune of 31.65 miles. The course was brutal and unrelenting. The blisters on my feet tell the story of each of the over 12,500 vertical feet gained and lost. For all these reasons I wanted a nice happy run. While in the woods alone with my thoughts, I realized sometimes it's nice to just run the smaller distance, go back to an old trail or workout and do it over.
When lifting we sometimes forget how much stronger we have actually gotten until we try to redo a workout with our original weights. The same is true on the trails. Hills that seemed unrelenting less than a year ago morphed into rolling hills. Our body adapts and we continue to grow and change. It was a musing run today, one filled with thoughts about the world and beyond. It was nice reconnecting with an old friend known as the trails today.
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