Back in the Groove and Loving it!!!

I am alive again! I can still bike, run and swim without having a heart attack.

You really don't appreciate a long rest period until you get a couple of weeks back into training and start to feel normal again. Those first couple of workouts really hurt and make you wonder if it is all worth it. Fortunately, the body has a good memory and only makes you suffer for a couple of weeks.

I had a more methodical rest period at the end of 2008. I had a great year, lost a lot of weight and was more fit than ever. As I finished my last race in early November, an MTB race, I knew I needed to start winding down and giving my body a break. Putting and Ironman on the schedule for 2009 really changes your focus.

I put the small tire bikes on the rack and grabbed the fat tires for most of November and December. I did a lot of casual riding in the woods and some easy running. Well, as casual as MTB will let you be. A casual MTB ride is still a good workout. I finally figured out how to ride in the dirt without ending up on my back. That really made riding a lot more fun.

December arrived and I decided to do something crazy. I decided to stop exercising for two solid weeks. No swimming, running, biking, core work or weights. I was good the first few days but started to go crazy the second week. I was counting down the days until our annual club ride on New Years day. I would actually walk by my bikes and drool. I longed to be back on my bike or even run. I never thought I would miss running.

I have put in almost 100 bike miles, 21 run miles and an hour and a half of swimming in the past two weeks. I feel like a million bucks. My body is rested, injury free and I am very motivated. To my surprise, the hardest thing for me right now is to not overdo it. I am spreading out the workouts and taking it easy.

I had one of the best runs of my life last Saturday. I call it the "Marianne" run. Marianne is a super runner who will get up at 4 am to run to make sure she doesn't miss it that day. She runs because she loves it and is very good at it. I have never been good at running or loved it. I guess shedding almost 40 lbs will make you enjoy running. I did a few short runs the last two weeks and decided to do a longer run last Saturday. I decided to run in my hilly neighborhood. I was shocked at how good I felt and ended up running 10 awesome miles.

This weekend should be a great weekend. I plan to do a 14 miler on Saturday and a 40 mile bike on Sunday. This is the base period so it will be slow miles so I don't hurt myself.

If you are resting or just getting back into the workouts, don't get discouraged. Your body really needs to rest and you will get back to normal before you know it. Oh, I forgot one of the most important parts. The holiday weight gains are already starting to disappear. We have a great year to look forward to!!