Recovery Week - For the Mind

I've decided that my mind needs a small break from blogging. You know, 3-4 weeks heavy then a recovery week, it's called periodization.

So I leave you with my training recap from the weekend.

Saturday I had to stay close to home in the morning due to work committments. I finally made it to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to get in my 3:35 brick. The CVNP is the best area in northeastern Ohio for hills. There is a ride route called the 14 hill ride; aka the Death Ride. Granted it's nothing like the mountains that Bolder has been riding in Colorado, but it's what we have available.

I did the northern portion of that route which allowed me to swing by the car and top off my water bottle. It was a glorious day. About 65 degrees F, slight wind, blue skies, plenty of sun.

I mapped the route and I have to do some final calculations for vertical gain but these climbs are short and steep. All said and done I rode for 3:10 and 56 miles. Not bad for a hilly route. After the ride I had a 35 minute run. I wasn't sure how I would feel with the hip. It took about 1 mile for the hamstrings to realize I was running. I pulled in 4 miles at 9:00 minute/mile pace. I was happy with my run as well. Things are feeling good and my confidence is returning in regards to my run.

Sunday morning I had a long run of 1:15. This is the longest I have run in a long time. My route put me at 8 miles. Before that I was up to around 7 miles. Slowly but surely I will get my run volume back up to speed. Easter dinner was at my parents house where we feasted like royalty. Later in the evening Aimee rode her bike while I got in another 4 miles.

Monday morning I swam 4000 yards. This was supposed to be a steady pace. Pace was around 3:25 per 200 yards. I was tired from the weekend and wasn't sure how I would fare. The last 600 yards were supposed to be race pace effort. I used some psych up techniques from my mental training book. It must have worked. I was surprised how I was able to increase my intensity. May last three 200's were 3:17 / 3:20 / 3:06. I couldn't believe the final 200 was that fast. I was happy to finish like that.

I finally saw my first sign of spring. No not the birds, bees, or flowers. Nor the short skirts or bare legs running. I'm talking about tan lines. My biker tan line is starting. I tried to take a picture but the line still isn't dark enough. I'll get a picture when it shows up better.

Have a good week everyone, I'll get my Game Back On this Friday.