Getting Back on Track

After 11 weeks and change, I broke my running streak and took a break. This week, I'm getting back on track with the running, because consistency is key. My body needed a bit of a rest from running, and I gave it that. But if I'm going to be backpacking in comfort this summer, then I need to put the work in now. 

There's something that Ambrose read a while back about trail running and hiking. That if you can do a 5 mile trail run, then you are ready for a 10 mile backpack. I should have been doing 10 mile runs easily last year before trying for 15 mile backpacking days. This year, I'm going to be prepared, dammit. Even if it's just that my legs are ready to go. 

But I'm also doing a lot more work on my food than I did last year. I'm trying to figure out and tame my IBS by trying to avoid foods that don't actually list all of their ingredients. Natural flavors? Natural colors? Considering there's no FDA definition of the word natural, I can't trust what is covered by those terms. This alone would restrict my diet quite a bit, but I'm also trying to keep things simple so that I can start legitimately testing foods. 

As the weather warms, I will probably break the running streak to get some big mile day hikes in. It will depend on the weather, because I won't hike on muddy trails - that just ruins the trails for future hikes. But I hope to get at least a couple 15 to 20 mile day hikes before June. With a day pack, not a full backpack. It's important to have some weight for training, but fully weighted backpack training will come later, on the trail.

For now, I'll work on getting my long run day up to 10 miles, though I'll probably leave the weekly goal at 10 miles even when I get there.