Friday Ramble 11/04/22

This week: A tale of two runs. Plus, hip mobility exercises, and preparing for a big day. 

During the past week, I went out for two 8-mile trail runs in the same state park with very different goals. One run was easy and the other was hard, yet they both averaged roughly the same pace (about 10:45 per mile.) 

It’s funny that distance and pace are the first things runners think about when there can be dozens of factors influencing the nature of their outings. In this case, the discrepancy was in the terrain, the elevation gain (aka, ‘the climb’), and the effort required to complete each run.

All of those elements resulted in conscious choices made throughout each run that were polar opposite from one day to the next. While the easy outing followed the literal path of least resistance, the harder one looked for opportunities that would present challenges, such as steeper hills and more technical trails. 

One of the things that makes trail running so interesting is its variety and ever-changing nature. No matter how many times you complete the same loop, no two runs on trail are ever exactly the same. 

A similar statement can be made about road running since each foot fall is unique to a specific time and place. Even on a familiar well-paved path, your run is still dependent on influences ranging from goals to weather to how you feel. 

That’s not to say one discipline is inherently better, or more demanding, than the other. I will go to my grave believing a road marathon is tougher on the body than a 50-mile ultra. The point is, running lessons tend to be universal when it comes to generating positive outcomes. 

Given the similar-yet-different nature of the two outings I experienced this week, this feels like an opportunity to examine each run and see what there is to learn.