Trails

Old post from August 2016

This past Sunday I ran a trail "5k",my Garmin said it was 2.7 and I think it was not accurately working in the trails because some fellow runners said the race is 3 miles. If I hadn't worn my watch I would have been pumped with my 22:30 finish. Because I would have remained ignorant to my mile pace and ignorant to the shortness of the race, and just less in my head about 'pace' according to an outside source.

Its one of those times that running with a GPS watch is such a bad idea. I knew the park well, I had run there many times but I never really knew my pace inside the trails, I don't think I have ever run there with GPS. I assumed maybe they were 30 seconds or so slower per mile because of the dirt/hills. So knowing those mile splits really hurt during the race and made me come away feeling unfit and disappointed.

Then I went home and my coach correctly reminded me that trails are a whole different beast. Running on flat roads/paths around my house and using my GPS watch all the time has made me annoyingly tied to pace. Recovery pace 8:45-9:30, steady pace 8ish, tempo/GHMP 7:30-7:40. Not always tied to effort or true feeling. I sometimes do easy runs with just a time watch and enjoy the break from knowing too much. I wistfully think of the old days in HS and College where every mile was an estimate.

Anyways, today I went back to those same trails to do a run that I would normally go around 8:15-8:25 pace on. And guess what my pace was? 10+min per mile. So that made me feel better about the race. I'm sure my effort was equivalent to under 7min mile pace in the race and it was good to get some soft surface hills in for strength. Who knows what the distance really is in there, and who really cares. I am a bit proud of myself for not being so bummed that I just said F-U to trails/hills, instead it makes me want to get stronger and run them more. Maybe more trail races are in my future? Next time I will go watchless and really enjoy the hard effort for what it is.

Anyone have trail race tips? Any favorite races? Anyone have strong feelings about always knowing your pace?