Dirt Run

Once you fall off the training routine, why is it always so tough to get going again? This was my day Saturday. I was done my medication and had no more excuses to not get out for a ride yet it took all my willpower to roll my phat ass out the door. Eventually I brushed the cobwebs off the mountain bike and decided I would go to Hilton for some techincal rock trail, except I would take it at an easy pace. My plan was messed up as soon as I got there since there was some kind of event going on and a peice of the main loop trail was closed for wagon rides. This meant I had to take the back entrance and go by the trailhead of Bent Rim trail which is arguably one of THE most technical trails around. It wasn't part of my plan to attempt that trail as I hadn't rode in awhile and its a serious upper body workout that I wasn't prepared for but since I'm passing the entrance to it, I just can't resist. What a crazy workout, my heartrate was maxed for the entirety of that trail. No falling or crashing which is an indication of a good ride. I did break my pedal though, the spindle and bearings on my old pedals have finally gave out. It's about time, I've been using these same pedals for 15 years! Overall it was just over an hour long, but I didn't want to push any harder as I just wanted a fun ride to get back into it so I cut it short.
On Sunday, I knew I wanted to get a run in. I've been meaning to do a trail run, not our typical railtrail but an actual offroad trail. We went to Dundas Valley and plotted out a short 5km loop. I thought that was short at the time, but the hills were relentless and again this was another day of max heartrate for an hour straight. Running on trails is very tough, namely the crazy hills. One thing that got real annoying was the crowded trails. Every 100 feet was a group of people blocking the entire trail. Even when they seen you, they didn't make room for a pass, and most of them cut you off. It was ridiculous. The horses didn't help either. In the future, I plan to run the upper trails on weekends. There is usually less people over that way. I'm sure it'll clear up once it gets cold out. Regardless, I really enjoyed the challenge of trail running, this should help make me a stronger runnner on flat road. I look forward to hitting trail again.
On Saturday I weighed in at the lowest I've been in over 10 years. Of course, the chineese food 2 nights in a row, pumpkin pie, buttered popcorn and chocolate almonds have erased that all time low already. I may have to do something about those less than stellar nutritional choices. I think the last 5lbs of weight loss was just me losing muscle. Everything has gone soft and flabby, but I don't think I mind - at least I know I'm 'well' rested.