This was an excellent week. I love back to school, I love upping my training load, and I love spending time with friends and training partners. Love!
Monday was a nice easy run with Kim and the Sole Sports crew. Tuesday was my first experience with Ai who teaches yoga and spin at The BAR Fitness; a 45-min aerobic endurance spin class followed by 30mins of relaxing yoga was most welcome, and I have signed up for unlimited yoga and spin at BAR through February. Wednesday as a reverse brick for me: instead of a bike-run workout common for triathletes, I did a run-bike workout. I started with my first track workout at 5:30am. OMG - I love the track, even if all that happens is that young kids and superfit adults whip past me. For the first time, on the track, I felt like a real runner, and this is despite having run umpteen 5k, 10k, 15k, and half-marathon races over the past few years. Then I joined Mark and Max for some hills in Ahwatukee on our bikes; they did hill repeats, I did hill 'peats' (one time up instead of multiple times), and it was excellent. Thursday as a very short, slow run with Majid over at Sole Sports, and Friday was an off-day prior to our long-run on Saturday. Cue a blue moon at 5am on Saturday morning, at the San Juan Trail in South Mountain Park. The whole Team Chances crew was there for either 15mi or 2h45mins. I was there for 2h45mins, not least because the San Juan Trail, though beautifully paved, is rolling hill upon rolling hill and so very demanding for a runner (and also for a cyclist; to date, all my experience with the San Juan Trail had been on the bike). I started off at a very slow pace, on Coach Loken's advice. As a result, I felt pretty strong throughout. Though I managed only 10.75mi in 2h45mins, I enjoyed the run very much. My lungs felt good, my legs felt good, and my feet felt pretty good for the whole workout. And, let's face it, there's nothing quite like being back home at 9am with that much exercise already under your belt! Sunday was a long ride with Mark through Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. As is clear from the picture, I loved it! 45mi in 3+ hours is not a great average speed, but the route was hilly and it was hot out and my feet were sore from the run and my butt was sore from the saddle; lots of excuses, I know, but we had a wonderful time!
