Not Your Typical Taco Tuesday

Shells. Meat. Cheese. Ah yes, the blessing of Taco Tuesday. But, on this warm night, it was shells, meat, cheese, hills and trails. Not your typical Taco Tuesday. This was Taco Tuesday at Cannonsburg Ski Lodge in Belmont, Michigan.

On select Tuesday nights, Cannonsburg offers runners, walkers, hikers and bikers the opportunity to use their trails for FREE! And, at the end you can treat yourself to tacos!

I had heard about Taco Tuesday at Cannonsburg for a very long time. But, it wasn’t until my friends Dan ad Nate invited me, that I finally decided to take the challenge. (The power of an invite!)

So, I grabbed my Oakley sunglasses, Adidas visor, Brooks Adrenaline running shoes, and made it happen.

The first challenge was this hill. Yep. It’s actually a ski hill if that tells you anything.

How did it go? Take a look.

After coming down the hill, which was quite challenging in its own way, it was time to tackle the trail. Now, I have run literally thousands of miles, but they all have been on the road. So, this was a completely new experience.

When I got into the trail, after just a few strides, I immediately knew I was about to use muscles I had not used in a long time. Whew!

Dan and Nate set the pace. I followed quite a bit behind. Those bros are experienced, and won’t get lost. Me? The trees all look the same. (Insert deep breath)

When running Cannonsburg, no step is the same. Some are short. Some are long. Sometimes you jump over roots. Sometimes, you dodge craters and rocks. But, I learned right away, core strength makes a big difference! The ability to tighten your core helps with lateral movement. There is a lot of back and forth movement. A lot!

Also, when running trails, it’s a completely different pace than running the roads. I average about 8:25 per mile on the road. Trails dropped me to about 10:00-10:30 per mile. It’s a much slower, tougher, tactical pace. (Sidenote: proper trail shoes would’ve helped, too)

We climbed. We climbed more. Ok, we climbed a lot! We zigged, zagged, and I almost zonked. Wow! What a workout. And yes, you have permission to walk if you need too. There is no shame!

After this video, we headed back to the finish. Oh baby! Tacos are calling my name! Roughly one mile to go! Suddenly, it occurred to me. A memory from Mrs. Ashley from 4th grade. “What goes up, must come down.” So, if I spent time climbing up all of these hills, I get go run down them, too. Boom!

So, Dan and Nate took the lead to head back toward “taco land”. They took off like a bottle rocket on the 4th of July. I followed a bit behind, watching my footing carefully. I knew the equation: Gravity+roots+sand=potential fail!

Again, different terrain. Except this time, I’m moving much faster. (Thank you gravity) Dodging roots. Avoiding twigs. Singing 80’s rock songs a little louder to pass the time. Yes, I was excited for tacos!

And, in what seemed like only moments, when in reality was about a mile, we shot out of the woods, saw clearing, heard voices, and smelled victory cooking!

What a great experience! And those tacos? Legit! This taco was only $3. How good does this look? And yes, adult beverages are also available for consumption.

Here are the lessons I learned.

1. Trails are tough.
2. Hills make you stronger.
3. Tacos are from God!

Thank you, Cannonsburg, for thinking outside “the shell”, and creating a “not your typical” Taco Tuesday .