One Workout
Stay Motivated with Natural Pacing
From the moment my foot hits the ground and I’m on the trail, I feel free and relaxed. Like an explorer discovering the quiet paths and trails that weave and wind, leaving busy roads and pavement behind. Trail running is like spending a day in a museum, it’s my chance to see our beautiful world from a different perspective. I love that each day changes the trails, a blanket of fresh snow, mud in spring, sand in summer. It’s invigorating and I love every step of it.
This is one our favourite workouts that coach Matt Clout at West Coast Endurance will have us do. Early in the season, I will do it on a rolling farm field or trail and move to the track as I get closer to big races and aim to sharpen speed.
Find a trail that’s not too rough, forget about pace and focus on your effort. With all of the twists, turns and rolling terrain, hitting pace can be unattainable. That’s the beauty of trail running, it forces you to let go of pace and time expectations and enables your body to naturally feel and sync with the appropriate pace. Listen to your body and find a good rhythm and let it roll.
The goal of this workout is to keep the three-minute efforts “comfortably difficult.” No straining, but a hard effort. Focus on steady efforts with a short and quick stride going uphill and a smooth, f lowing stride on the downhills. Use the turns to your advantage and focus on rounding them with a slight acceleration.