My wife and I will begin our journey back to Pittsburgh this weekend, so I chose to do my weekly long run today. With SwimRun NC in mind, I decided to make it a trail run.

To do the trail run, I went back to the Garden Of The Gods.  For my run on Tuesday, I covered a lot of the most popular trails. Today, I ran on the more remote trails of the park and I had a very different experience.

The trails I chose today turned out to be very technical.  They were technical, because there were very few areas that were flat and smooth.  I spent most of my run either ascending or descending, and the trail itself was very rocky.

This kind of trail running is tough because you have to focus on almost every step. With so many rocks, it would be very easy to roll an ankle or experience a fall.  I had to make lots of stutter steps to accommodate the rough terrain, and this made the run a real workout.

Spending so much time watching my footing meant that it was difficult to take in the beautiful surroundings.  To make sure I did see at least some of the amazing beauty of this park, I took a few breaks.  I used the breaks to take in water and nutrition, while admiring the view.

This was my longest trail run in quite a while, and it was a tough workout. My legs are definitely feeling the after effects this evening. That is a good thing however, because it will prepare me better for SwimRun NC, where the trails are also very technical.