Lots of time in the mountains yesterday–> top reasons that I love trail running.

In my opinion the best kind of days are the ones spent outside.  Adding in a lot of mountain time makes the day that much better.

My lungs/legs/brain/soul/everything reminded me on the way up the mountain yesterday morning that it had been far too long since the last time I went on a trail run.

This is my happy place.

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Top 5 reasons I love trail running:

1.  The views—>  HOW DO YOU BEAT THESE VIEWS!?

2.  You are far far away from cars/stoplights/noise/all of the people.

3.  You get in a ton of hill work and for some reason it is way more fun for me to climb trail hills than road hills.

4.  It strengthens your legs like nothing else (those stabilizer muscles get some good work in on all of the uneven surfaces) and the soft dirt makes my joints very happy.

5.  I finish and feel hardcore.

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We finished up with 12 miles total for the day and I used my running partner’s Garmin Vivoactive for the second half of the run.  I loved it… it was so light and I love how much info is displayed on the screen… BUT I’m not a huge fan of the heart rate straps and my garmin has the heart rate monitor built right into the watch.  Anyone else love to try out different running gadgets and gizmos?!  Also, I was pretty happy that the temperatures yesterday were a lot better than what I was expecting!

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Raspberries waiting in the car to be eaten once the run was finished.  They tasted SO GOOD.

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Wheat grass and a jamba a few minutes later…. maybe a new Saturday tradition?

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Because some of the miles that we did were on the street, I wore my PureCadences instead of trail shoes.   Muddy shoes are a sign of a good/adventurous run.

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We did a whole lot of errands together and that lamb below was the FIRST toy Brooke ever received when she was born (my aunt brought it to the hospital) and it is still one of her favorites.

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Family dinner (I try to pretend we are all sisters)

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and some skipping around The Riverwoods.

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Bring on the rest day!  Less than a week until my next race!

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Who has the Vivoactive?  What are your thoughts?  What watch are you currently using?

Trail running peeps—>  What are your top reasons for loving trail running?

Ever go to Jamba Juice?  What do you get?  Wheatgrass?

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50 comments

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I have my own running trail that my husband and I made on our property. It’s in the middle of nowhere and it’s in Florida and it’s ridiculously humid and hot but guess what? Yep, I love it. More than any other place, it’s my favorite place to run.

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You’re OWN running trail?! That is awesome!!

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Wheatgrass goes stuRAIT to my bowels. I’m not even kidding you. Like, within seconds, and I’m a pretty regular errrrr person otherwise so having this happen to me out of the blue in the middle of the day was a bit of a shocker. I figured it was a fluke, so I did it again and voila! Same thing. Just putting that out there in case anyone like, you know, needs to know. ;)

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WAIT REALLY!?!? Okay, I didn’t have that experience. INTERESTING!!! No more wheatgrass for you:)

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Craving raspberries now – and yes your views seriously cannot be beat Janae!

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Come out and run with me and I’ll bring your raspberries and the views!

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I’ve been using a TomTom Runner for a couple years. It’s pretty user friendly and doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles (including no HRM on the model I have). It has more than met my needs from a watch perspective.

I found a recipe online yesterday for Swig Copycat Sugar Cookies. It’s in the plans to try them out this afternoon. As a Midwestern girl I won’t have a frame of reference. After hearing you dig their praises I figured it was worth a shot!

Happy Sunday!

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Your views make me missing running in my Arizona mountains. I can’t run ever again due to a hip problem so I guess you’ll have to keep doing it for those of us who can’t!

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I used to always get wheatgrass shots ! Never really liked them but always felt like I was doing good for my body :)

Quick question – Do you 100% rest on Sundays for your rest day? I usually try to swim or go to a yoga class on my rest day but I’m starting to feel worn out mentally. When I’ve tried to take full rest days, I usually make it till about noon and then get antsy and feel like I need to go to do something. How do you cope?!

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HEY GIRL!!! Yep, I 100%. Usually the most I will do is a little walk with Brooke or some stretching on my own. That’s it… by Sunday my body is shot. It just feels like it needs a complete break and when I feel like I do want to workout I remind myself how amazing my Monday workout will feel if I do take the break! Plus, I get injured less when I take a full rest day so that is extra motivation. Each person is so different so you do what is best for you!!!

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Awesome! Thank you for sharing that!!

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I LOVE my Garmin Vivoactive! I like all the stats it gives me. Since I am a triathlete, I love how easy it transitions from swim, bike and run. I am not a trail runner, but I love running hills. The steeper the better! It’s a great feeling of accomplishment when you get to the top.

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Teach me to love running hills:) Okay, that is so cool to know about how great it is for triathletes!

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I can totally understand why it’s your happy place – bliss!!

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I really want to try trail running! Traffic is too crazy where I live to drive to the trails on weekdays, so some weekend I hope to start on easier trails. Many of the reasons you love trail running are the same reasons I love hiking!

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Wheat grass, no. I can’t get it down. But I love thier smoothies, my favorite smoothie is mango ago-go. We make smoothies a lot at home right now, but sometimes it’s just not the same as going to get one.

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If you don’t like the heart rate strap, but like the accuracy that something like that affords, I (on DC Rainmaker’s suggestion) got the Scosche Rhythm Plus which is an optical heart rate monitor that you wear on your upper arm. It is fantastically accurate (I’ve heard mixed reviews about the watch based heart rate monitoring) and it is not uncomfortable at all (like the chest varieties).

It is Ant+ and Bluetooth so you could connect it to the VivoActive if you want to go that route.

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Really!?!?! Okay, that sounds amazing. I’m going to have to look into the Scosche. Thank you so much Bradley… I’ve never heard of the hrm on the upper arm!

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I have the Scosche and love it! I hate chest straps.

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I’ve never tried the wheatgrass from Jamba before. What did you think – good/worth it??

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Oh I DO NOT like the taste one bit but I think the benefits of it are completely worth it! I drink it so fast to get it over with but I’m a wuss with strong tastes like that!

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I love trail running too! It is really relaxing but a fun adventure at the same time. I may have fallen a few times on the trails but the battle scars are totally worth it :P

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I’m right there with you… I am amazed I didn’t fall yesterday! Worth it for the falls though ha!

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Those raspberries look so good! I heard something that made me think of you yesterday….thirsty, hungry and angry = thangry!!

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Okay, that is AMAZING! Hahahaha I’ve never heard of that but that is the absolute worst feeling ha. I have to share this! Thanks Lindsey!!! Hope you are having a beautiful Sunday and get some raspberries soon:)

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Happy Sunday!

My running shoes work fine on trails too. I love running on trails and seeing new scenery. I go a little slower watching out for terrain but trail running feels like a full body workout.

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Trail running is the BEST! I don’t know why, but it’s so much more fun. I love it and try to hit the trails at least once a week.

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2 questions:

If you had to choose one: Do you prefer those mountain views or those beach/ocean views from SF?! Also, do you worry about wildlife while trail-running during the spring/summer months?

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I have been doing a lot of trails this spring but this late Colorado snow is killing me! Enough already! I think I like trails the best because you have to pay attention to each foot placement (so you don’t biff it) and the time goes by faster. But on the other hand it’s a lot harder so there are less miles so you think “I just ran 90 minutes but only ran X amount of miles. “

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That view is amazing! I live in NYC but can easily run across the GW Bridge for a quick run in the NJ Palisades, so I run trails to escape the city. Also it fills in a bit of my homesickness for my more rural MN.

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What is your next race?? I really like trail running, but it is always crazy to me how much slower you end up running on a trail versus the road. I have to force myself not to panic when I see those slower splits!

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Hey! Next one is the Provo Half Marathon! YEP, I’m the same way! A few minutes per mile slower on the trails but I remember that is totally normal!

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Those views are beautiful!

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I love my VivoActive. I’ve had mine about a year and I don’t care about heart rate monitors so it’s a good fit for me. It is a step tracker so I wear mine all the time. I love that I can get my texts so I can see if it’s important without pulling out my phone.

I took up trails this year because I signed up for a holy moly mountain 50k in September. I will wear my trail shoes on the road before I would wear road shoes on the trail. Trails are now my favorite. I don’t even need my music.

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I love that running shirt you’re wearing!

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There is a new vivoactive that will be released tomorrow that does have the wrist heart rate monitor (Vivoactive HR) I am excited to get it, to train for sprint triathlons! My first Garmin!

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WAIT WHAT!?!?!?! Okay… I’m sold now. Thanks Jenni and good luck with all of the training!

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Trail running makes me feel like a kid again. Can’t wait to be running again!

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Same here. How much longer until you can run again?

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I’m not really sure. I will be taking baby steps toward running next week. And I mean BABY steps — 30 seconds running, and 2 minutes walking. We’ll see how it goes. At least I can walk on the trails for now :)

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You’ve got this Steve and keep me updated with how it goes!

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I was actually considering getting either the Garmin Vivoactive or the Apple Watch and couldn’t make a decision…so still don’t have either!

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Tough call… I feel like the Apple Watch is better if you do lots of different activities at the gym plus running but the Vivoactive seems like a great option if you are a runner/triathlete and want the smart phone capabilities. Let me know what you decide on!

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I’ve never tried Jamba Juice however it looks soooo good. I love health shakes. In Hillsdale Michigan we have Nutrition Solutions which have really good health shakes. Yum. My favorite flavor is birthday cake.

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Off the subject from this post but what were some of your stomach symptoms when you were having those issues? I’m trying to figure some things out with my stomach.

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Wow, great timing on the Vivoactive plug – LOL. I have spent the last two weeks deciding on a new GPS watch, and was thinking I wanted HR, but eventually just decided on the vivoactive instead – going for the smart capabilities, plus the fact that I like the thought that I might actually wear it every day as my activity counter too. Its in the mail, so I hope i like it as much you did!

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Love my Vivoactive. Just as an FYI it’s available with the built in optical heart rate sensor now. Of course I bought mine before that came out so I’m stuck using the strap. :-(

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I have the Vivoactive and LOVE IT! I use a MIO heart rate monitor that has the optical heart rate monitor on my opposite wrist and it works perfect for me!

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I have the Vivoactive and i LOVE it!!! The heart rate chest strap is a little bit of a pain but once i get going on a long run i forget all about it. I love that it is waterproof and i can use it for everything. I only take it off to charge it.

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I used to go to Jamba Juice when I lived in SLC. soo yummy!!

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