Motivation Monday. Get out and go for a run!

Trail Running in Vermont

So remember last week when I was talking about tips for recovering after a race? Well, I did a great job getting my rest during the weekend, with lots of walking, easy swimming and a short bike ride. However when the weekend came I dialed up my training perhaps a little bit more than my coach from the Sustainable Athlete might recommend. I got in a great 1 hour and a half endurance ride on my bike (19 miles) on Saturday (on my schedule). However on Sunday I added in a few more miles than was on my training schedule. How could I resist saying no to an invitation for a long trail run with one of my best running friends?

I haven’t seen much of my friend Bridget this summer and I miss our long running adventures. Bridget is the one who ran miles and miles with me for my Boston Marathon training even though she wasn’t running. Our adventures always leave us in giggles and in total exhaustion for completing monster miles and today was no different. We ran approximately 20 miles of trails and dirt roads which included a little bit of bush-wacking through the woods and some back tracking when we discovered that we were a little lost.

Since I am still recovering from the Timberman Ironman 70.3 this kind of mileage only a week later was a little rugged. My quads, glutes and hamstrings are tight and I could tell that I am fatigued because after a slight mishap I almost fell as my legs buckled. Thankfully today the plan was not to run at some crazy pace but rather to run and enjoy. Not only did we run but we did some berry picking (the blackberries are amazing right now) and ended our run with an extremely refreshing dip in a cold Vermont brook. It was so great to just get back out and go for a long run with Bridget and hopefully there will be many more long runs in the future. Tomorrow I”ll be resting my tired legs and enjoying the last moments of summer vacation with my kids. On Wednesday I will have a 2nd Grader and a Kindergartner so I will definitely need some extra rest to be ready for tired kids after the first day of school.

Trail Running with Bridget. Motivation Monday.

Where did your adventures take you this weekend? Did you rest and recover or get in some big training miles?