I know why God gave us Trail Shoes

This past weekend I resumed my quest for ultra distance by hitting the trails. I had to take a momentary hiatus from the trails because of that darn Daylight Savings Time. A few months ago it was great I would start my runs in the dark run for an hour and hit the trailhead at sunrise. Then daylight savings time comes around and BAM it’s dark for another hour. So I went long on the roads for a while, then I got sick, then I went to Boca Raton and now I’m back at it.

My new long run starts out on the roads (as do all my runs). I run for about 5 ½ miles and I hit the trailhead at Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain is the local mountain biking downhill. It has its steep moments and the overall elevation gain is about 600 to 700 feet.
Some of the areas are washout from the spring runoff. It is those areas where I now appreciate a good trail shoe not so much for the ankle support or the toe protection but the stiffer sole that allows you to cruise over rocky surfaces.

I topped out after a mile or so and decided to look around. There is a whole network of fire roads that I have to explore. I wanted to keep my miles below 12 this run as it was my first long run in awhile. On the way down all the uneven surfaces slowed me down more than normal in my road shoes. I tended to roll over a bit more in my road shoes too.

Once back on the road it was the weirdest feeling to have your very flexible sole on a flat surface. The run ended up being 15 and change, so much for keeping it under 12. But at least I discovered new ground to cover. I think I’ll break in my Salomon’s on this trail.

All I have to do figure out how to attach my Nike+ Sensor to my Kevlar Laces. Duct Tape?