Spring is coming in fits and starts to Montana. Last week, the ice fields finally melted off the roads, this week we got 2 feet of new snow. Last week I did my two fastest runs since I started zone training. I attribute part of my speed to not having to run on ice. I even got to wear shorts one day.
Then I headed to Zion National Park and put together three solid trail runs on consecutive days. Two runs consisted of running along the Virgin River followed by two loops of the Sand Bench Trail: lots of muck where the soil was clay, deep sand where it wasn’t. On the day between these runs, I ran the West Rim Trail from the canyon to the plateau high above as far as I could take it before avalanche debris obliterated all sign of the trail. Yes, there’s lots of deep snow on the towers and plateaus above Zion Canyon this year. The southwest's drought appears to be in remission.
Each run was about 9.5 miles with a combined total of about 5800 feet of climbing. I ran steadily each day and put in Zone 3 and 4 efforts up the hills. I was surprised to find that I was recovered and ready to go again each morning. That doesn’t usually happen. I usually need to follow hard efforts with a recovery day. In large part, I expect my quick recovery was due to being on vacation. No responsibilities. Just eat, sleep, play. But, I believe, my performance was also due in part to my vacation eating habits. I didn’t have access to a kitchen filled with food, so I tended to eat less. My body used less energy to process food and I think this helped with my recovery time. I’ve noticed this before, but I've never had stats to back up this sense that less eating = faster recovery. This time my Garmin made the connection clear: my body battery, stress levels, resting heartrate and sleep quality all were improved.
I’ve returned from more than one trip motivated to control my urge to snack. It never lasts long. But now I have data to help motivate me, and data that may help me disentangle vacation effects from eating effects. I’m going to try again. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I think the most important point is that my endurance continues to improve. With skiing frequently altering my running plans, my training has been less systematic, but it still seems to be working. On hilly Zone 1 and 2 road runs I am now moving along at the brisk pace of 11 – 12 minutes per mile. Still slow, but a vast improvement from where I began. In Zion, I felt great pushing myself through muck, sand and snow.
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