Hitting The Trail: McNotAgain

Hiking in McNaughton Park with our little kiddos in Fall of 2011.

I will be writing a recap of the Midwest Super Spartan so I don't want to give anything away but I will say, IT ROCKED!!!! I will fill you all in on the details later this week.

Right now I am focusing on my next race. It's a trail run through the woods of a local park here called John T. McNaughton Park. The race is called McNotAgain. It's a 10 mile loop through woods and a little bit of prairie, (no house), lots of hills, creek crossings, basically everything I love about trail running. Oh, and a pretty cool/creepy graveyard that dates back to early 1800's. It's really a pretty challenging course. You can sign up to do 10 miles or 30 miles, which is the loop 3 times.

I initially was planning to do the 30, however, with October throwing up all over my calendar, I have not followed a training schedule and therefore am not prepared to run 30 miles at this time. Fred, however, isn't going to let a little thing like lack of training stop him, he's going for the 30 with the thought that he can at least finish 20 miles. (2 loops) This craziness is catching... I was all set to just sign up for the 10 but I know I can do 10. I would like to push myself and see if I can finish 20. So, now I'm undecided. We will be signing up the morning of the race so I have a little time to figure this out.

After/during the Spartan, I was once again made to realize that I seriously LOVE trail running. I don't want to be a traitor to road running but I think I would totally kick it to the curb for a trail race any day. I love the challenge of getting up the hills, finding the right foot holds, jumping/climbing over natural obstacles. It all takes me right back to my childhood when my best friend, Mike, and I would run through the woods behind our houses all day long. We would come home with scratches, barefoot, and covered in mud. It was awesome.

Danyelle and I are already planning our race calendars for next year. I have committed to running the Chicago Marathon in October of 2013 and the Bayshore Half Marathon in May in Traverse City again. Other than that, I think I will be filling my calendar with as many trail runs as I can. Definitely another Spartan or two.

Fred and I are both doing a juice fast this week. It's day 2, kind of... I totally ate cheese-less veggie pizza yesterday at lunch but don't tell Fred. So, it's day 2 for Fred, day 1 and 1/2 for me. Shhhhh....

Peace, Love, Happiness!
~Bekah

What do you prefer, road or trail? Are you planning your race calendar for next year yet? 

Tell us about it!