I've been coming up to our cabin for 17 yrs now but this time I'm staying in a condo that we were lucky enough to buy into this winter.
And we couldn't have picked a better time, weather wise. It's absolutely beautiful here right now. Sunny, dry, and in the low 80's. I just want to be outside all day!
Kurt took the kids to the cabin yesterday so I had one glorious evening, morning, and half-day to myself. Any parent of young children will understand how incredibly therapeautic that can be!
I was too tired yesterday to do any training (although I hiked for 3 hrs with the kids) but after having a good night's sleep, I felt like a new person this morning. I enjoyed coffee on the deck watching the sun come up over Lake Dillon, then went for a run.
Since I'm still having heel and hip pain, I knew I had to run on a soft surface. I started off in the woods near the condo and ran on a trail. The air was cool and crisp and I had the trail to myself. I can't even describe how good that felt.
I ran 50 mins up and around the condo (slow and easy), including 4 long ascents on a dirt road that leads up to a hiking trail. At 9000 feet, that aint easy! I'm doing Lake 2 Lake triathlon on Saturday so I didn't want to go too hard anyway.
I thought about a lot of things that have been on my mind during this run. Like, how often I train alone and how lonely it gets sometimes. Sarah and Brenda do almost all of their training together and I will admit I've been a bit jealous. They both work full-time and their schedules jive really well. I have to work my training around the kids schedule and what works for me physically (like not doing track to prevent injuries from getting worse. Katerina has softball on Weds nights so I can't do track anyway).
I just hope we can do our long rides together. I'm fine training along during the week and can even handle long runs on my own (if necessary) but I don't want to do long bike rides alone. Its not safe and I don't enjoy them. I know I'll have conflicts this fall with soccer and church so I'm just hoping I'll have someone to ride with on the really long ones.
The one good thing about training alone is that I think it does make you mentally tougher. Its just you against the clock anyway during a triathlon and if you're used to cheering yourself on during long training runs, etc, then its easier to do that when you're struggling to get to the finish line.
Training alone also gives you time to think. I've had some pretty amazing conversations with myself during long runs (and swim bouts) and feel that I've conquered a few personal issues that have been nagging me for years. There's a certain zen to training alone that I can't get from anything else and although I'd rather have company on long runs and rides, at least I gain something other than fitness from going solo.
Hoping to ride around Green Mountain Reservoir and possibly swim in it too - brrrr! TTFN!
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