The difference I've seen for my interactions when hiking is when discussing how many of the 46 I have left, those who are already 46ers ask "which will be the last one," and among non-46ers I'm at the high end. It wasn't that long ago when I was on the bottom end and was (rightfully) treated as a newbie. Congratulations on your 40 mile week! It's feeling good? My summer plan is to run 20-25 per week and maybe hike another ten or so.
Yeah, except I've developed a new hopefully not cardiac issue which is scaring the bajeezus out of me but not stopping me from running so...there's that. Do you do any trail running? I've found running parts of hikes is really a lot of fun!
I haven't tried any trail running yet. It's been sort of wet here, and I want to try it in more like ideal conditions. I can see how a trail run could be a great alternative. Do you do much steep stuff as runs? The trail I hiked last week would be a great run, I think. It isn't steep, but it is a constant up hill. I've been conducting an informal poll: are specific trail running shoes necessary?
Define "steep". Typically my trail runs will be in the 600 - 1,200 ft of elevation gain range, depending on how long the run is and where I go. Did one that was a run/hike that was 2,500 of gain and that was kind of awful but felt amazing by the end. A constant mild grade sounds like it would be a great workout and will probably kill your quads. Which is the best, right? NO. At least I don't think they are, I run in hiking shoes or in running shoes depending on the grade and how comfortable I am with traction on the trail.