Monday, November 12, 2012

Adventures!

A tree recently downed by Sandy
I am thoroughly enjoying my little off-season break from any scheduled training. I have a general idea of WHAT I am doing on a certain day but there are no scheduled workouts, no yardage to hit in the pool, no HR intervals on the bike and no track-tasticness to tackle. That will be here soon enough!

I've been hitting up the weight and I am pleased with how quickly my body is responding to getting back into the gym. I really did miss weight training this past season and definitely feel that this needs to stay in my training regime this season.

I'm now teaching another group exercise class and the Y on Thursdays (awesome!) so I had a killer set planned for Thursday and then I have my normal bootcamp class on Friday morning. I have been actually DOING my classes (wow! work!!) so between Thursday, Friday, running and some additional workouts I was doing, my lower body was WORKED. My shoulders and core were that sublime sore that is a gentle reminder of how hard you worked.

I have been loving running and have been getting in at least 3 miles every day for the last week or so...Saturday morning, I hit up the TM at the house early for a quick run. It was one of those runs where the first 10 mins was a little rough and sore but then my body responded and I felt fantastic. Happy. I could feel every muscle in my body and I was just enjoying the feeling of the run.

Then I got for out a "naked" bike ride for a couple hours. It was a bit chilly but it was so nice to out and just riding with no plan, no agenda, no destination and no Garmin. JUST GO and enjoy the day.

Sunday I hit up some trails and just ran, had fun and was my dorky self--Enjoying every minute of it. I don't know why I don't do this more!!



I was seriously contemplating taking a swim...there was this little waterfall then lead into a somewhat shallow pool at the bottom. Maybe in warmer temps...



There were all kinds of trails all color coded so it made it pretty easy to follow. I never once thought about getting lost-except the HOPE of getting lost! I could have stayed out there all day, running around and playing.

This was the "pink trail" and we had a lively conversation about what the colors stood for. Was the "black trail" black like a black diamond trail skiing? My running buddy has his own idea of what the pink trail was for...PANSIES! (not his exact words for the pink trail...lol)

Showing that tree some of my sweet moves!

It has been my intention all along heading into the off season to get onto the trails running and to get some mountain biking in. I tend to avoid these kinds of activities during big training cycles and near races since I fear injury (my middle name is NOT Grace).



Rev 3 has an adventure race series and this year they are doing this pretty epic race in Wyoming. The Cowboy Tough Expedition Race in July. It is a four day race covering 320 to 485 miles.
*drool*
So.Want.To.Do.THIS.

So maybe I have a tiny bit of motivation to get out there and get a little more adventure into my life. Now to learn orienteering...



8 comments:

Teamarcia said...

Your off season sounds fantastic! I am enjoying mine so far as well--much needed!

jdbadger said...

Of course a naked bike ride is going to be chilly..duh. Remember to put paddling, mountain biking and rock climbing on the list of things to learn for your adventure race..

Jamie said...

Woohoo! I love cold off season running.

Some cozy tights and you can be out there getting lost in the trees for hours, not care, and still be nice and warm.

ajh said...

I'm wondering what the coldest temp you ride in is? Today was warm warm here and my friend and I got a ride in but we needed to leave school immediately to get one in before dark!

Suz and Allan said...

Glad you've been enjoying your "down" time!

TriMOEngr said...

Funny - around here, that light purple/pink on the trees means "No Trespassing" and you would absolutely want to have on blaze orange during firearms (deer) season. Adventure racing is tempting, but I can barely manage running and bike handling without all the rocks and sticks. Never mind trying to follow a compass!

Unknown said...

@AJH: I'll ride whenever as long as the roads are safe--I'll even get out there this winter on my mtn bike for fun, just dress appropriately.

@JAMIE: LOVE winter running. One of my most memorable runs ever was during a giant snow storm. Not a soul out there on the road...just me and the silence and the snow falling. It was magical!!

Frickin' Fabulous at 40 said...

You're still an animal in your "off" season!