A Muddy Mess

My trail run today was a muddy mess, and I LOVED every minute of it! Due to a storm that came through last night, the trail was covered in puddles, and I made a point to hit EVERY last one of them! I'm not sure what was so different today, but the experience made me feel like a kid again! I haven't had so much fun in a long time!

My training plan called for a 3 mile trail run. I picked a portion of the Northshore Trail that I know to be just over 3 miles and set out about 9 am this morning. The storm also brought a nice cold front (or the front brought the storm). Instead of the typical 90+ degree temperature that I've run over the last couple of months, today was about 75 at the start of my run. It was AWESOME!

Northshore Trail--a creek crossing about 3 weeks ago

Northshore Trail--the same creek crossing this morning.

I felt like running faster today than usual. Maybe it was because of the cooler weather, or maybe just because I was having so much fun running through the puddles and jumping over fallen tree limbs. For once I did not remember struggling with my lungs like I normally do for the first couple of miles. I don't recall having to cough, again, maybe due to the cooler weather. Not sure, but I like it.

Fresh critter marks in the sand by the creek.

I had to force myself to stop running once I completed my planned loop. I thought about doing another part of the trail and maybe just tacking on another mile or two (or ten). But I don't want to push myself like I did previously and cause an injury or other problems. I set some rules that I continue to follow, one of which is to make sure I do not exceed my training mileage plan. I am OK with dropping miles if I am not feeling well or shifting days around as needed, but I want to make sure that I am slowly building my endurance so that I do not experience the same symptoms of overtraining.

With that said, we are supposed to get another storm tonight. We need the rain here in North Texas, so I am OK with that. However, I think more rain will create a different problem. My training plan calls for a recovery day tomorrow. I had so much fun out there today that I'm not sure I can resist the temptation to go play on the trails again tomorrow! I guess like everything else, some rules are made to be broken!