Finally Mastered the Cross Training

As the weekend is coming to a close, I am getting excited for a new and exciting week ahead.


Today I finally addressed the big nagging hole on my training schedule that is Sundays. It is listed as a rest day or cross-training day, but with everything that has been going on I have only managed to get in minimal activity on the last few Sundays.

John and I made it out to my favorite trail for a long bike ride this morning. It was a little warmer than I had expected but biking creates such a bigger breeze than running, so as long as we were moving, it was bearable. Despite the fact that my legs were a little tired from yesterday, but we managed to keep a steady pace for the whole ride. We stopped once at mile 16.5 for a snack and then got moving again before it got any warmer. The trail was quite crowded today, so I spent much of my ride drafting behing John and saving my legs for the big hills at the end.

We rode 29 miles total in 2:01:58. I actually felt like going through the long bike ride was really good mental preparation for my long runs, using the same strategies of breaking it into pieces and counting passers-by. Using a different muscle combination loosened up my legs after yesterdays run and left me feeling accomplished today. I think I have mastered the art of cross-training and the benefits of both recoving and preparing for the next workout, I hope to make early Sunday bike rides as instilled in my schedule as my Saturday morning long runs.