Trail Running Update

I now have a better sense of what to expect after a long trail run. If its a rough run the exhaustion hits you immediately after you stop. After smoother runs, you ride the endorphin wave for an hour or so before exhaustion sets in, usually after you are showered and fed. This week's 10 mile run felt much easier than last week's slightly shorter but faster run. At first, I thought it was because one member of the group (not me!) was slowing us down. But, when I looked at Strava after the run, we were just 10 seconds/km off last week's pace, which the leader said was pacier-than-usual because we followed a shorter route. So, it turns out I just had fresher legs. Or, that I am slowly getting used to trail running. Talking to others, I realised how ridiculous my expectations were. It turns out everyone struggles to improve their times, and recovery time is something you build into your trail running routine. On this week's run, I spoke toa guy who had run a 50km race in the Alps, and he said this was the first time in nearly four weeks that he was feeling like himself again. He said it is better to do shorter runs more frequently than longer runs that knock you out for a few days. All in all, I feel much better about trail running now. I suppose its a combination of me having gotten stronger and learning to take it a bit easy. In the past couple of runs, I have managed to hit the Zone--the near-meditative state where you feel completely at ease with your mind and your body. I feel similarly when I do a yoga with Adrienne session. One can't stay in the Zone for long--something always happens to bring you out of the trance. But, the afterglow of the Zone lingers.