Recovery Week into Race Week.

For the first time since the volumes started climbing heavily in early June, the weekend training load backed way down, for a recovery week.  Boy, did that come just in time.  90 minute run on Saturday, followed by a 3 hour bike ride and 30 minute run on Sunday.  For the run, I started at Tri Beach and ran toward the Key and back, a total of 8.25 miles at a nice easy clip.  I actually felt really good by a few miles into it.  At its best, my run feels like my body is being propelled forward by a force being generated from within, like gliding or flying, and my feet are hardly touching the ground.  And I had moments like that on my 8+ miler.  Honestly, I had not felt that way in a while.  My longer runs, the 18 and 20 milers I did recently, felt like painful plod fests, pounding the pavement until the watch said "20.0" and being glad it was over.  

I don't read too much into workouts like that.  The show must go on, they say in show business.  That means you have to show up and do your best regardless of how you feel.  Sometimes you will feel it, the energy and the motivation, and sometimes you won't. As an aside, I think that is one abiding Iron Lesson, if you will - with apologies to Nike and 100 motivational slogans - just suit up, show up, and do the work.  Just do it.  Keep moving forward.  As my friend Gema shared with me, "train first, find the motivation later."

BUT, all that said, at the root of things, I don't do this for a PR, to watch the numbers get better - though that is fun and it does honor to the fact that the sport involves a "race," not a jog or Sunday ride.  The best way I can say it is I do it almost as a physical form of Zen meditation - for example - in my second half marathon ever, March 2010, in Sarasota, I had reached about Mile 8, coming back into the city over the bridge from the beach, I was feeling good, in touch with my body, and I could see the sun rising over the city skyline as I felt the cool breezes blowing off the water.  Right at that moment I felt that my mind and body were one, that I could fully and thoroughly enjoy the beautiful day around me, and I felt united with the procession of runners all around me in both directions, grateful that I and they were healthy and active and able to do this together.   Those moments don't last, but they are the "price of the ticket"  and anyway, after three and a half months of hard buildup, I had lost touch with that feeling entirely, and it was so nice to feel hints of it again, as I flew over Bear Cut Bridge onto the Key.

Then, on my Sunday ride, I was by myself, riding a route I've ridden with others dozens of times.  I was alone with my thoughts as I pedaled through the palm tree farms in Homestead, watching the sun break over treeline and the wind rushing in my face.  I felt very light on the pedals coasting along for good stretches at 20-21 mph in my lowest heart rate zone, shades of how I'd felt on the run the day before.

So after a nice recovery weekend, I get one more reprieve - instead of another slogfest high volume weekend, I get to race on Sunday - Escape to Miami.  I think with two weeks off from the slog, I will be ready to slog for a couple more weeks, because I'll have 1) had a break and 2) the "taper" will be in sight.  Starting to see the end game here.


I needed this!