Top of the Key

Here it is…a day when I wasn’t ‘on’ and there was so much that contributed to this difficult day. Woke up at 4am, on the bike by 4:45. Didn’t feel right to start when I was drinking my coffee and eating my peanut butter 1/2 bagel. When I finally got on the bike, my legs were tired. I pushed through it thinking it would get better, and it did somewhat. Didn’t have anything to watch, so started watching Lost from the beginning. That didn’t last long because i had to stop pedaling, lean over the bike, and select ‘click to continue’ where commercials normally are. One problem with watching shows online. So started watching a movie I’ve seen a few times, not going to list the title, i’ll get some flack for it.

Got the mileage done on the bike, 41 miles. Then had a 9.5 mile run to do. I looked outside, it was sunny, a little breezy, and thought I could just go out with a few less layers than normal…not a good idea. Once i was out about a mile, couldn’t feel my fingers, my legs were cold even with pants on, and didn’t feel ‘fast’ at all. I pushed through, hoping it would warm up…it didn’t. It got colder, and the wind gusts were probably in the 30-40 mph range. I have to say it was the worst conditions i’ve run in, in a long, long time. At the turnaround, at mile 4.5, my fingers were shot. My camelbak tube froze, so no nutrition on the return trip. And the return trip is all up hill…so the wind made it especially bad. AND…then i started to cramp, which again hasn’t happened in months. It sucked. This is the first run in 14 weeks I’ve cut short, although it was only .5 miles, i’ve been really good about completing the planned mileage, or even going over a mile or two.

THINGS I LEARNED, BECAUSE AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS IS NOT ALL ABOUT WHAT WENT WRONG, BUT WHAT YOU CAN IMPROVE ON!!!

- dress warmer than you think you need to be
- double up on the leg layers
- always use the hand warmers during the months of Nov-Mar (i have very, very cold extremities)
- wear mittens, not gloves
- no clif bloks next time in between bike to run
- wind sucks the life out of you if you don’t accept the conditions
- it might not always be a good idea to do a workout first thing in the morning if you don’t feel good
- in spite of all this, I still completed 99% of the workout

And then the day kept getting better too, Jess worked on my legs for an hour, and i feel like i could go back out and run again. That’s how powerful massage is to my health and continued training efforts. Consistency is key…a massage once a week, and you can recover faster, that’s what has worked for me anyway. So if you think you may need to get some work done, stop wasting time, and go schedule yourself an appointment with a massage therapist now. It will pay off – I’m one of the biggest advocates now.