Big River

The city that turns, turns protracted and slow
and I find myself toeing th'embarcadero
and I find myself knowing the things that I knew
which is all that you can know on this side of the blue
-Joanna Newson

Can't get enough of this lately. I wish I could implant the melody in your minds as you read the lyrics...

Not much running going on lately. Last week I kept pretty still. My calves were shot after racing and it took a while to recover. Not sure why, maybe it's because I didn't wear my orthotics for the race. Put on my shoes for the first time after Broad St on Saturday when I joined MM for a light jog. This happened one other time since then, and although it's pretty insignificant in terms of training, it is some of the most enjoyable running I've done in a while. Care free, no watches or other gadgetry.

This week I've returned to some resemblance of exercise, but still not running really. Just looking to maintain an aerobic base and slowly ramp up to marathon training which will start at the beginning of June. Monday a few hours at the gym, Tuesday some yoga and stretches.

Yesterday was a quick morning jaunt around the 'hood with MM (about 2 miles) followed by some core exercises. After fueling up I hopped on my bike and headed out for a long ride. At the start of the journey I intended to ride out 1.5 hours along the Schuylkill River Trail to see how far I could get, then turn around (I had to be back at noon). I took the hills through Manayunk kind of hard and eventually settled into a steady pace on the flat river trail. It was such a gorgeous morning, and I was absolutely ecstatic to be out there. I realized after a while that I could probably make it all the way to Valley Forge, so that became my focus. Spinning, not pumping really, moving along at a decent clip for me. Made it to the Visitor's Center in 1:29.

There's not much to do here, especially in the morning on a weekday, unless you're with your grandfather (more specifically, my grandfather). I filled my bottle, hit the loo, and swallowed the single gel I'd brought along. After maybe 6 or 7 minutes I was back on the saddle retracing my route. It was 10 degrees warmer at this point and the sun felt really nice. I was trying a little harder now to see if I couldn't make it back quicker than the way there.

Right around the 2:30 mark I started to feel a little funny. The gel that I'd taken gave me a lot of pep, but I started struggling on the hills coming back into Manayunk. By the time I got back on Kelly Dr I was really hurting. Not in the pain sense. Just out of juice. Fried. I've never felt like that even after running a marathon. For the last 20 minutes I pondered what would happen if I was in the last 5k of a possible BQ as opposed to the backstretch of a bike ride. Even though I slowed considerably during this part I surprisingly made it home after 2:57 riding time. I mapped it, but lost the link. It was about 49 miles.

Today was another couple hours at the gym and some evening yoga.

One thing about a break from running is that I can find time to try some new stuff. For example, tomorrow morning if the weather's not too bad, I'll be riding to the track to put in some barefoot laps. This could go into a whole other discussion about why I'm doing that, but it's time for sleep.