Why I do my long runs on trails

I really love running on trails.

This is coming from someone who spent two months in Physical Therapy after my last trail race. Seriously. I still love running on them.

Now that Rev3 cedar point is only 3 weeks and 5 days away (who's counting?) I am in the last throws of my long long runs. I have done a ton of runs in the 8-12 range, and now a few in the 15-18 range, and I will do one 20 miler before the big day.

Now, when you live in the south, and you are putting in those miles in July and August, you have lost your mind. Kidding. Maybe. OR, you are just training for an event in September!

Now, I do most of my long runs on the trails at Kennesaw Mountain. These are not super rugged trails, but there are hills, and trees, and critters, and I just love it.

So this is why I run long on trails:

1. It is beautiful, and spending that amount of time in nature (instead of running around the city) is honesty deeply refreshing to me. It gives me energy and some amount of peace to be out there.

2. I like to see critters :-)! I have seen tons of deer, turkeys, snakes, big bugs, lizards, woodpeckers, etc while running at the mountain. If no one is around...I gobble at the turkeys. Love seeing all of them (yes, I am entertained by snakes. I saw an ity bity baby snake on my last run!)

3. I get to wear my AWESOME Avia Avi Stolz shoes thanks to the Team Trakkers sponsorship. Love wearing those shoes. I love the mix of pink and dirt. Here are my feet in my favorite trail kicks after 18 on Saturday afternoon.

4. I can go to the bathroom any time I want. And if you have ever run a long way, you know how valuable that can be....seriously.....

5. Shade. Shade. Shade. There is nothing like it in the summer time. Sun is not so cute after so many months. Don't worry everyone, it stays hot for a while longer :-)

6. Even though I have gotten hurt running on trails, I believe it makes me stronger. Slight variations in the surface I am running on strengthens all of my stabilizing muscles. My times are always way slower, but if you refer to number one...I just don't care.

Last week was a rough week for my training, but 18 beautiful miles (even if I could not start until 4:30 in August) left me feeling recharged for the last 4 weeks of training. I know this time is tough. I am not doing a long taper for this one, so I still have some seriously challenging days ahead. Hopefully some of them will be spent on my favorite trails.