Umstead Bottom Out: 11/20

Well I rode the wave of good runs as far as I could, and it finally bottomed out about halfway through my Saturday Run in Umstead.  It was sort of strange because I wasn't running poorly and I wasn't sore.  If anything I was running a bit too strong, but I just got to point where I felt like I had run enough.  So. I stopped.  I just walked the trail back to the parking lot and tried to enjoy the park, which I run in but don't often take time to just breathe in. 

Trail Run in Umstead

Over the course of this run, it really became apparent to me that I like running trails more than anything else.  I really enjoy the challenge of managing roots, trees, and rough surfaces of trails.  I think that trails require an amount of focus that other surfaces don't, and I can run the same trail over and over and not get bored because it will always provide me with some new challenge.  This weekend the leaves were so thick that it was really hard to see the trail in some places.  I always thought that I would be too worried about falling to enjoy my runs over a trail like this one, but I really enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that I get from being able to navigate the trail.  Recently, I have been running a lot on the street and greenway, which are fun places to run, but running on the trails really gets my mind right.  Even though this wasn't a monster run, I can't wait for my next Umstead run!  I can't even go so far as to say that this run was a bad run because it wasn't.  It was more just the end of a string of monster runs.  Basically, I just hit my mileage wall for the week.  I was on 17 miles for the week coming into this run, which is the most miles that I have ever put down in week, so there is mo shame in my game.