Back to Earth

   Okay so I am learning. I will admit that much. I did my long swim, run and bike this weekend but fell short of all three distance goals. It went down like this.
 
Friday was supposed to be a 2 mile swim. That is almost twice as far as I have gone before but I am trying to push myself. I swam at Deep Eddy and got in over a 1.5 mile swim but actually ran out of time and had to go to work. I am glad I got out when I did because I think I was feeling some ill effects of the water temp that was pretty cold. They say the water is somewhere between 62-68 degrees and I swam for almost an hour. I felt really weird for the next couple of hours and couldn't feel my fingers or toes for quite a while.  Driving to work an hour later with the windows up and no a/c in 90 degree heat for 20 minutes and my skin still felt cool by the time I got there. Oh well. Another lesson learned...I think.

Saturday was supposed to be a long 14 mile run with Rogue but ended up a 12 mile slog fest alone. That was one of my more difficult runs in a while. My head and heart were just not in it and every step seemed like a chore and not a blessing. I got through it and rested for the remainder of the day. I love running but every once in a while a run is just plain hard. It could have been I was missing my running friends, a warmer than normal start time, or a lack of Oskar yanking my arm...who knows. But it did make me stronger mentally and physically.

Now Sundays ride was my favorite workout of my long three. I orginally wanted a long slow 50 mile ride but settled for a hilly, windy, 30 mile ride out around Decker Lake to Manor and back. It is so beautiful out there. Horses, cows and a dog that chased me for a bit. I am usually out there for the Decker 1/2 marathon in November and it is usually cold, rainy, wintery weather. This time the sun was out in the mid 80's and except for the 18 mph wind gusts it was perfect. I could hear Amy's sweet voice in my mind riding up the hills with a pretty nice headwind, "Wind only makes you stronger"

So far today Oskar and I did a casual 5 mile run on Lady Bird Lake and got quite a surprise. I passed my friend Christina on the trail whom I have known since my first Rogue Running training group Bobby Garcia's "Sole Survivors". She said she reads this blog all the time and that made me feel pretty darn good. I smiled for the whole next mile. Thank you very much Christina.

 Now off to swim then my core workout and I can call it a day.