This Furloughed Friday trail time was on the Bibbulmum Track .  The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world’s great long distance  trails, stretching 1000km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills, to Albany on the south coast, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia. ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ) We planned a  30km run on some challenging single track including some serious climbs,  with beautiful scenery.  As you can see from the image below it was a great day for a trail run.

For this adventure I was accompanied by Adam, Jeff and Rob and we happily skipped off into the wilderness, excited about the trails we had ahead of us.  The plan was to get Mundaring Dam and the infamous Golden View. This was a route I had run alone three months period and it just about destroyed me. I was hoping after 10 weeks of ‘furlough Fridays’ I would better prepared and easily ‘gobble up‘ this challenge. If nothing else it wasn’t raining which was a good start and starting earlier I wouldn’t be racing the sunset, which without a head torch is always stressful.

The video below shows some of the climb after the camel farm, it was great to run down this track but in the back of our minds we always knew it would be a different story on the way back. Funnily enough it wasn’t that bad coming back, which is unusual of course. It may have been we knew we were close to the finish and you can always find something when you can ‘smell the coffee‘ so to speak.  (with pancakes of course.)

The lads halfway through the last climb, still with a few kilometres ahead of us, joy. Rob was struggling but as he was the designated driver, and had the car keys,  he knew we’d never leave him ! He had missed a few Friday trail runs with injury and there’s no where to hide on the trail if you’re short of fitness, especially if your running buddies have been running trails weekly.  Rob certainly knew better than to give me his car keys.

Lesson to self, when you’re tired and near the end of a three hour plus run , do not try and use a Go Pro, it never ends well and this video shows why ! Please excuse the language at the end. This was my second stack of the day and something I need to wo rk on with the Irrational South  ( http://irrationalsouth200miler.com.au/ ) and Delirious West ( http://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) races coming up, both 200 Miler’s with plenty of opportunity to spend time ‘eating dirt’ ! The last time , and only time, I attempted a 200 miler earlier in the year I was eventually undone by too much time horizontal on the ground with quads seized solid.  Rookie error really with poor hydration and nutrition choices leaving me totally empty of fuel, resulting in legs that just couldn’t run or lift high enough to avoid the roots and rocks you find running trails. There was also my lack of preparation and missing mental toughness that all culminated in a DNF. No worries, I’ve learned my lesson and will be better prepared in October this year. (Assuming I can get over the border to Western Australia after the event ?)

From a Core Running article :- ( https://www.corerunning.com/trail-running-best-exercise-for-health/ )

Climbing mountains will build strength in the legs but it’s actually the downhill running that will do more for strength than uphill running. When running downhill runners can experience forces up to five times their body weight with each footstep. Running on level ground or going uphill the forces are “only” two to three times body weight.

Downhill running also involves eccentric loading of the leg muscles particularly the quads (thighs). This means the muscle is lengthening as it’s contracting. Eccentric contraction cause more muscle damage than regular contractions thus signalling the body to become stronger.

In effect, trail running provides better strength training benefits for the legs compared to road running.

Trail running also challenges coordination, agility and balance more so than running on roads, especially if running on technical trails full of rocks, roots and uneven terrain. Avoiding falls, negotiating steep slopes, cutting around sharp corners and landing on unstable surfaces all help build athleticism in trail runners.

This is the category where trail running really excels when compared to other forms of exercise. “Green” exercise or working out in the outdoors offers many benefits you can’t get in the gym. In our wired world full of electronic devices getting a run in nature is a great way to reduce the mental stress from being connected 24-7.

Here’s how trail running can help you beyond just physical fitness:

• Improve your mental health.
• Increase vitality, energy and positive engagement.
• Reduce tension, confusion, anger and depression.
• Provide greater enjoyment and satisfaction so you’re more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.
• Make you more creative.

Exercising in the outdoors also optimizes your circadian rhythm helping you sleep better. And getting a good night’s sleep on a consistent basis is a cornerstone of good health. Poor sleep habits can lead to a host of problems both physical and mental. (Not to mention that running up and down hills will tire you out enough to sleep well.)

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