Miles and Miles of Trails

Back to training at nearly full capacity! Today my culminated on a 20 mile run. I decided to run this one trails. Tour de Wolf trail at Shelby Farms was the choice; a 6.08 mile loop of nature. Staying off the pavement decreases the impact felt buy muscles and joints.

I am convinced that trails are much more challenging then road running. First, It had just rained. I expected some mud but thats ok. In this heat my shoe are seeping from sweat after 6 miles anyway. The terrain undulates relentlessly. The twists and turns test your balance and strain small stabilizing muscles and ligaments. The roots and puddles enhance the need for focus.

The run was at a slower pace then on the road, plus I walked up all the large hills.

The first lap was blissful and refreshing. I have never been on this trail and there is a lot to see. The entrance to the trail was a steep, slippery, rooty decent into the forest. The trail alternated between forest and open rolling glass lands.

The second lap was just ok. At 12 miles, no matter what, the arches of my feet start to hurt but it only last for about 2 miles. There were a lot of other runner and hikers on the trail for this lap and at the end of this lap I ate my only Gu.

The third lap started out great. The blood sugar spike from the Gu was rejuvenating. At mile 15, My blood sugar crashed and burned. This was ostensibly poor planning. You never ingest sugar then stop, the human endocrine system moves slow. You start by burning glucose in your blood, after some 30 minutes, your body, in an effort to conserve energy, switches to burning glycogen. After about an hour of sustained effort, you switch to burning body fat. After 2 hour of running, to insert sugar brings the cycle back to blood glucose. When its gone, its gone. With glycogen exhausted, you have to wait (suffer) until the body gets back to burning fat for energy. The sun was blazing at this point. In the forest, I had shade, but the rain was evaporating and the dense, wind blocking foliage was filled with a thick and almost misty humidity.

Miles 15-16 were horrendous, but stabilized there after.

I made it back to the car after the 3rd lap and at 18 miles was still feeling pretty good. Very hungry, my tank was officially on E but the legs were strong. I ran out and back for the last 2 miles.

Trail running is easier on the legs and the scenery was nice change of pace. I may have to make this a more regular occurance.