Two months ago I started a 10-week run focus block with the great Sergio “focus on extension! more arms less shoulders!” Borges. After building my mileage steadily since that eager first week, I topped out at 42 miles last week. That’s a lot of running—including a lot of intensity—for this 4-hour marathoner.
The result? My long runs have felt stronger and flown by more quickly than ever (thanks partly to fitness and partly to rediscovering the Social Long Run). Hills are no longer mountains and I’ve settled into a healthy relationship with the formerly dread-worthy Treadmill. Thanks to that and a lot of yardage in the pool, I’ve kept injury a stranger. I have a spring in my step I haven’t felt since setting my last open half-marathon PR. Running fitness feels like summer.
Hello, new best friend.
But tomorrow is a new day, marking the reintroduction of my favorite triathlon weapon. With only two bike workouts a week over the last two months, I’ve missed my saddle time. Solution? Road trip! Early tomorrow morning, I leave for San Francisco with three of my best bike mates, and on Saturday morning we’ll depart for a three-day, 377-mile trek back to Santa Barbara. Why ease back into something when you can jump in with both quads, right? (The routes, if you’re interested: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.)
Swimming for recovery has helped too. And thanks to the new 50 m pool in my ‘hood, it just got even better.
More rides to Rainbow.
While part of me will miss the focus, persistence and progress of the past few weeks, I welcome back the variety—just one of the reasons I love this sport. Hello to long, scenic rides with friends, like last Saturday’s (oops I rode 5.5 hard instead of 4 easy) ride through the town of Rainbow. Hello to more MJ trainer Suffer Fests on the patio of RIDE Cyclery. But this weekend, it’s hello California coast, in all its winding roads and burnt-orange cliffs and shimmering indigo Pacific glory. There’s a stretch I haven’t seen between Carmel and Cambria that beckons me still.
Hopefully I’ll have the legs. See you on the other side!
More RIDE Suffer Fests.
2 thoughts on “shoes for tires”