Rest Day

I hate rest days. Nothing to do makes me nuts. Sure there's work and "real life" stuff to get done, but not exercising in some way makes me crazy-like a caged animal....So I rode my mtb for an hour to get out and do something:).

Just an easy one today, probably around an hour, but it was nice to get out in the trails for a bit. I put together a couple days of good work, with a great swim session yesterday, so this was my "active" recovery session for the week.

It amazes me (and probably one of the biggest reasons I love to ride mountain bikes) how different the same trail can be from one day to the next. Today was only my second time riding the particular trail I rode, and it was just completely different than what I remembered it to be. Sure getting to know the trail intimately takes a bit of time, but with the leaves on the ground and the sunlight in a different way, it was a completely different riding experience. Good times.:)

Tomorrow I'm on the schedule for a trail run and a road ride. If the weather is nice, I might replace the road ride with a trail ride either on the mtb or the 'cross bike. We'll see. Actually, since there's rain in the forecast for later this week, it might be better to save the 'cross bike until then. Nothing like REAL 'cross conditions to practice in!

Speaking of 'cross, I've got some fun races coming up. On the 13th of this month, I'll have my first 'cross race ever! Looking forward to the experience and trying not to make a fool of myself. Got the 'cross bike dialed in (as of yesterday-still waiting for some new rubber though) and can't wait to get it dirty. The week after that is the Something Wicked Events 6 Hours of Cathedral Pines 6 hour mtb race. This will be my first ever stand alone mtb race. I can't say that I don't have high expectations, but I'll take it as it comes. It's not going to be all about speed (though that will certainly help), so it'll be interesting. Also, it's on a rather non-techy course. I'm very good on the technical stuff but I think that my road riding background will help here. Most importantly, I want my nutrition to be spot on. Coming from long distance tri gives me a leg up on a lot of the other "newbies" that will be there so I'll have that card to play. No matter what I'm sure it'll be a great experience and I'll learn a ton in 6 hours. After that there are some more 'cross races, as well as the local 'cross series here that I'm really looking forward to. All in all a lot of time on the bike this winter and I'm looking forward to it! Nothing like strengthening your strength!:)