Hope you had a great weekend and that your week is off to a great start!
My weekend included lots of fun activities, such as spending time with some friends:
Liberty hotel post several rounds of Cards against Humanity at la casa. That game never gets old.
Relaxing at home, finishing Master of None. Aziz, I give you two thumbs up.
Exploring my city.
And running.
I headed out to the Wild West (i.e.- 30 minutes west of Boston- the area has a completely different vibe than the city, which is sometimes necessary) for this weekend’s 18 mile long run. Sunday was a beautiful day – mid 50s, little wind, and hardly a cloud in the sky. My sister joined me for the first 10 miles, and then I branched off for 8 additional on my own. We ran on some gorgeous trails, and I was reminded again how fun it is to run in new places!
En route to run!
I needed a change from my typical running path in the city, and the trails did the trick! There are many benefits to trail running, including:
- Trail running offers lower impact compared to running on hard, paved surfaces. They say that training on a variety of surfaces helps avoid injury. You just have to pay more attention to the path ahead and your footing, as uneven surfaces can lead to foot injuries!
- Mental benefits of being in a more natural setting are significant too. I felt more adventurous and even a little more hard core than running on my typical running path in the city. It was difficult to avoid stopping every mile or so for scenic pictures! I always feel great being exposed to nature, and this is exactly what I needed on Sunday.
I will try to vary up my runs and run on more trails in the coming months (depending on the amount of snowfall!).
Trail running in the real American west- Olympic Park, Washington!
For the first time in a long time, I felt great throughout my entire long run, and was even able to get in some faster miles at the end. Two GUs were also helpful, and I carried those in my spibelt. I turned on a podcast in my last 8 miles as I needed a distraction without my sister beside me!
My new favorite place to run in MA!
Besides the positive effects of being on the trail, I think that taking Saturday off from running also impacted my Sunday run. I was feeling a bit run down and my legs were sore after last week’s sprint and tempo workouts. They say that recovery time helps you adapt to your training, and I fully support this. My legs were fresh and ready to go on Sunday. Sometimes you just need a day off!
Enjoy your Tuesday! I have some fun runs and plans this week (hello wine night!) as well as a half marathon this coming weekend.
What are your plans this week?
Anyone running a race this weekend?
Do you prefer trail or pavement running?
Jane Runs Wild 
not sure yet what I am doing. I have to look at my schedule. and it depends on weather and time of year for trails or pavement question.
have a great week!
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Love the beautiful photos! It’s nice to do trail running for a change and it makes you a stronger runner on the road too!
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Thanks Jess, I agree!
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I’ve never really done trail running, even though I live in a place with some great trails. I can never motivate myself to drive somewhere to start my run. The trails you ran look lovely, though!
Good luck on your race this weekend! :)
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That’s nice you live in an area with some great trails! It does take a little more effort to get out there, but once you do it’s SO worth it! Thanks for your note! Looking forward to hearing about your next race!
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It looks like you had a great weekend. That trail area looks beautiful! I’ll be racing in Orlando this weekend and I can’t wait. Good luck this weekend!
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Thank you so much! What are you running this weekend? Best of luck!! I am sure the weather is super nice down there these days!
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I’m running a 5K – I wanted to do a half but couldn’t find one. I’m so excited to bust out a tank for it!
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So exciting! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!
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I love the trails and the pavement! Beautiful views on your run! Have a great week!
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Nice, I’ve visited Boston once but never got the chance to run any trails. We went to Portugal this weekend and had a great time exploring some trails. :-)
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That’s awesome! Where in Portugal? I love Lisbon!
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For me, the northern weather will mean no races until the spring. It seems the marshals don’t want to stand in the cold officiating the runners while they are sliding around on the ice.
I love trail running and did a lot of it when I lived in Pennsylvania. a few years back I sprained my ankle and the doctor told me to stick to the pavement until my ankles are stronger. I think I am really looking forward to that. Not sure if I prefer one over the other.
On a side note, I love your questions at the end of your blogs. They are very thoughtful and I like how you interact with your audience.
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Thank you so much for your feedback! I love reading all of the comments. Too bad about your injury, but hope your ankle is feeling better now! There aren’t many races in New England over the next couple of months either– and I can see why! Good luck :)
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I’ve always loved running cross country; I lettered in Cross Country in High School. I stopped running, for fun at least while in the service, Stopped altogether after I got out. I run some short flat trails here off and on and thought I was back into trail running then I signed up for my first half marathon, a trail run and found out the hard way exactly how hard trail running can be LOL. BUT! I got addicted so i’m pretty sure 2016 is going to be dominated by trail run races,
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I haven’t checked out Aziz yet but I’m deep into Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me and loving it.
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Thanks for the rec! You’ll love Aziz!
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Your Wild West run looks awesome!
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I would definitely do a lot more trail running if I didn’t have to drive to get to them. It sure can be nice to run without worrying any about cars and drivers, and based upon what I’ve been reading and thinking about lately, it’s maybe really good at some deep core level of being human for us to run in natural settings like on trails.
And it always seems such a shame when a trail run is done and you get in the car to leave.
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I have a 5k this coming weekend. My first race post surger and being sick. Can’t wait to get out there.
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