Today’s couple of posts are going to be short – I’ve got a lot to pack into my day off. An average distance, slow ride, cutting some grass and getting in a swim (it’s going to be a hot one – 94 today – close to a record) in some exceptionally cold water to help heal up the muscles for tomorrow’s group ride.
Last year I struggled to fit in 100 miles a week. I usually came in around 90 – 95 with an occasional 105 or 106.
What a difference a year makes. Starting on March 12th-19th (the beginning of the season in Lower Michigan) my weekly average started at 105, then jumped to 115 in April and then again to 120 in May – and last week was my best week ever at 149 miles. Now there are certainly plenty of folks out there who are putting in more miles than I do, but I’m doing the best I possibly can with the time I’ve got… I simply don’t have any more time to drop into training without neglecting work or my family (and I’m not about to do either). This week will be more of the same, and with a cooling trend on the horizon this week will be a touch more comfortable.
There are a lot of really good things happening as a result – I’m very much used to the additional 9 miles that I added on to my daily ride two weeks ago. I’ll pass 30,000 calories burned for the month today and I’ve figured out my diet so that I can eat enough to support the effort – reversing an alarming weight loss trend (I had a tough time eating enough to support all of the miles).
My running is progressing fantastically and I’ll be in prime shape for my July Olympic Triathlons.
In maintenance notes, Mrs. BgddyJim and I took the time to take her mountain bike apart and give it a good cleaning yesterday – it was really neat taking the time together to work on her bike. I changed her tires to street tires while she handled the full cleaning. I helped out with the chain degreasing and after about an hour’s work we’ve got her steed sparkling clean. I can’t wait to see what happens to her average speed with the street tires on there. Mine jumped 1-1/2 mph when I used them last year.
It’s been a great weekend with a much needed rest from the daily grind…while we’ve been able to attend to some things around the house that really needed attention.
Fit Recovery 