Happy Trails!

Yesterday and today I took my run to the hills near my work. Yesterday’s run was four miles with 558ft of gain, and I ran it in 55:39. It was a cloudy day, but also a very warm one, the temps were in the upper 70s. It felt great!

For today’s run, I opted to run on a slightly higher trail than the one I ran yesterday. It was also four miles with 543ft of gain, and I ran it in 1:00:16.

Today was a sunny day with temps again in the 70s, it was fantastic! I love running on trails, they’re so scenic. I also love trails because they are a relief from the pounding of pavement. It’s totally okay to do all my runs during this taper on the trail, right? 😉

Last year I started trail running, and I wore my street shoes. I thought street shoes were fine for trail running, but I realized late last summer that the trail really beat up my road running shoes. I opted to buy some trail running shoes late last Fall. After talking to friends and the staff at my local running store, I went with the Brooks Cascadia 9 shoe:

I LOVE trail running in these shoes!! Trail shoes have lugs on them which help with getting traction in the dirt. These shoes also have a rock plate under the forefoot area to protect your feet from rocks on the trail. I wasn’t sure how I’d like the rock plate, but after trail running all last summer in neutral cushion shoes, I can say that I really like having a rock plate in my shoes. I don’t feel all the rocks like I used to. These shoes are a winner in my book!

Yesterday was a climbing night, so we got a quick bite at Chipotle for dinner (I love burrito bowls!). Tonight we stayed in, so I made a recipe from the Meatless cookbook. It was Orzo Salad with Roasted Carrots and Dill. We grilled up some chicken and whipped the salad together in 30 minutes. The salad was awesome, and it was so easy to make! The recipe makes a lot of salad, so I have an awesome lunch and part of dinner set for tomorrow as well.

I’ve now cooked several recipes from Meatless by the editors of Martha Stewart Living, and I highly recommend it. It is packed with vegetarian recipes that feature vegetables and don’t drown them in cheese and cream. There are recipes with cheese, but as a person with a dairy allergy, I really appreciate how many of these recipes are easily dairy free. Everything I’ve made has tasted great!

I’m excited for tomorrow and not just because it’s Friday, tomorrow I’ll be mountain biking! 🙂 It’s really starting to feel like Summer, and I love it! Here’s a pic of me on the trail today, I look forward to many more days on the trail.