Figuring Out This Training Thing

I’ve been trying to find my balance in the wake of South Beach.  When I returned to New York following the race, I had mentally recommitted to training properly and not skipping workouts.  That meant that I hit all workouts for 10 days in a row.

Knowing that we’d be spending the weekend of the Passover Seders with my parents and sisters down in Florida, I contacted City Bikes and scheduled a rental of a nice road bike for Saturday, so that I could do the 4 hour ride that was on the schedule for that weekend.  The swim was in the condo pool, doing funny looking laps, and not following a workout so much as just getting swimming in- approximately an hour or so of real swimming, and plenty more of floating around, playing with the girls and hanging out.

I got to City Bikes later in the day on Friday, following a trip to the mall for my niece’s birthday present.  Note to those renting bicycles at other locations: bring your own helmet!  Tyler was nice enough to hook me up with a helmet, and with a pretty nice road bike for the next day’s ride.   After asking him about a nice long route, he suggested that I join the group leaving from City Bikes the next morning at 7 AM – at least for the beginning of the ride until I could figure out where I should be going.  

Although I woke up bright and early, and left on time to meet the group at 7AM, I’m a little directionally challenged in Aventura (well, not so much after that weekend!), and knew I’d be late to meet the group, but managed to get onto Biscayne Blvd. going north toward Fort Lauderdale.  Once there, instead of trusting the directions, I got a little off course for a bit before rejoining the route, then turning toward the shoreline.  No big group of cyclists passed me, so I’m guessing that the City Bikes group headed out earlier.  Riding north on the shoreline, I encountered a pretty strong headwind, which was with me virtually the entire time.

While I had originally thought the nice, flat roads in Florida would be a welcome respite from the hills in Jersey and Central Park, at 20 miles into the ride I was wishing to be back home.  The thing about nice and flat is that there’s no recovery at all – no fun downhills where you can lower your heart rate and give your legs.  Add to that cycling in a wind tunnel, or close enough to it, and it was a doozy of a ride!  The only good thing about an out and back into a head wind is that the wind was at my back for the second half of the ride.

The following morning I headed out for a 1:50 run – three loops of the “fitness trail” near my parents home, with a tangent on the end of each loop so that I’d finish at the right time.  

After being so “good” all weekend, and really, putting in far more training hours than I have in at least the past few weeks (though the correct amount according to the training plan), I suppose it was only natural that both my body and my brain rebelled.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday no workouts happened.  I was dressed to go to each work out, yet somehow couldn’t get myself out the door.  Friday I finally got back on the bike again only to have my ride cut short by a mini-work crisis.  And the weekend was my opportunity to somewhat salvage the remainder of the week.

That meant a gorgeous 2 hour run in Central Park at the peak of cherry blossom season.  The weather was perfect – where you could easily be clothed or unclothed and wouldn’t be uncomfortable.  Many picnickers had spread their blankets out under the cherry trees, and plein air artists had set up easels to capture the lushness of the day.  Hills were on the menu, so I spent plenty of time running the northern loop, and stressing out my quads.   

Sunday’s ride, which threatened to be a drizzly mess, was another lovely spring day, and perfect cycling weather.  And another climb-fest was on the menu!  Repeats on River Road.  Although we were slated for about 60 miles, most of us cut it 15 miles short.  Was it the heat? Nutrition? Hills?  5 pounds I put on in the previous week?* Not sure.  I managed to salvage the day by making up Friday’s missed swim, rolling, and getting to bed early, and woke up on Monday eager to tackle another training week.