Yep, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Running. Up and down hills. On trails. Very. Hilly. Trails. I’m not going to lie, my body is tired.
I think I had this mindset of “I’ve done Ironman, I can do anything” when I agreed to do TRR with Kirsten, and while I still totally believe that, recently I’ve also definitely been realizing how hard a certain 6 days in the Colorado Rockies this August are really going to be. I’m slightly scared. Excited and still optimistic about the adventure that awaits, but yeah, pretty freakin’ scared none-the-less.
I ran just shy of 60k up and down hills in about 6.5hrs this Friday, Saturday and Sunday combined and my legs pretty much felt like they were going to fall off by Sunday night. Actually, that’s a bit of a lie ~ while Friday and Saturday’s runs were on hilly terrain, I did cheat and ran on nice flat trails on Sunday (even though I should have been hitting the hills).
My defiance of my training calendar was worth it though and while my Sunday run was flat and still uber-slow, it turned out to be a pretty fun one and a nice mental break.
Why was that you ask? Well, let me tell you…
Kirsten and Shane were racing the Victoria Triathlon at Elk Lake. I once again waffled about signing up for the sprint distance, but decided I didn’t feel like paying the big bucks to go out and give a half-assed effort (as I knew I would still have to be running long through the weekend) and really, I was being a big wuss and didn’t want to race on a super tired body. So, I spectated instead!
Shane did the sprint, and Kirsten was racing the half. I happily watched all the action with my Mom & Dad and once Shane was finished his race, I headed out on my run around the lakes (heading in the opposite direction of the racers).
The first few kms were pretty lonely, but soon enough the leader of the Olympic distance passed me, then the half leader, and then more and more athletes started to stream by. I think I cheered or clapped for every person (and some cheered and clapped back at me, which was awesome) and it was simply just a wonderful, happy distraction from my own running.
One other random non-running related note:
Last Wednesday the weather gods smiled on us, and Shane and I finally got to take part in the Learn to Ride clinic we had signed up for at the Velodrome.
It was great fun and once I got over my fear of the fixed gear bikes (whatever you do, don’t stop pedaling!), it was a blast. Who knew riding in circles could be so much fun? Okay, well maybe I did already know that - but it was definitely reaffirmed.
Also, highlight of the night: when the instructor told Shane I pedaled like a roadie and not like a triathlete. This made me oddly happy, haha.
That is all for now... Happy Trails!
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