The dresses are super cute - they do have a built in shelf bra, complete with a little "gu" pocket in the front, and you can chose whatever you want to wear for bottoms - compression shorts, bike shorts - very comfy. I do wear a running bra in addition to the built in - I just like a little more support.
I found 3 at Rochester Cycling & Fitness - the best shop in town for all of your Cycling and Triathlon needs. There was a huge sale on Skirtsports stuff and I lucked out. 2 of them are the "Wondergirl". I have a teal and black and this one:
The 3rd is a bright turquoise, has some seaming the other 2 don't have and does not have the little pocket in front. Anyway, I wore them riding my bike and all about town and out to dinner while on vacation. They are comfortable and stylish.
Still having a little trouble with the Achilles, I thought that racing - even if I try to just go easy - was likely to be detrimental to what little healing I felt was happening. I talked to my friend Betsy Friday evening and we decided to head for Douglas and the bike trail Saturday morning for a long slow distance workout instead.
Achilles was a little tight when we started. I had taped it with Kinesio tape just to give a little extra support. We walked briskly for about 5 minutes, then went into a run walk pattern - 3 on 2 off. That worked well and we made good progress. We covered 3 miles from the trail head to CR3 where Betsy's husband Ran met us with water and Gatorade. It was getting really hot even though it was only 8am or so. We headed out for 2 more miles, then turned around and headed back to CR3. Ran was there again with water and Gatorade and - this was a first for me - birthday cake! He had brought a small piece of birthday cake - leftover from a party Friday night. I didn't even hesitate for a moment. Carbs are your friend when you are out pounding the pavement and when they come in the form of yellow cake and chocolate frosting - bonus! We got going again and headed back on the trail - which by now were like a sauna. Hot, not a breeze and oh so humid.
3 more miles back to the trail head. 10 Miles done. Achilles actually held up really well. I think switching back to shoes and focusing on keeping my feet right under my body and just landing naturally mid to forefoot was the right choice. This puts less strain on the calf and Achilles. I still strongly believe that running barefoot, or in the 5 Fingers etc, is the way to go - but have learned that it is a very slow transition. You have to build up some strength in the calf as well as your feet. I will try again, but a quarter mile at a time - not going like a madwoman for 3 miles right off the bat.
We walked for a bit to cool down (relatively speaking), grabbed water from our cars and sat on the curb for a few minutes.
This is what the end of a long sweaty run looks like....
I was pretty punky after I got home. I felt like I wanted to nap. Very unlike me. I finally drank some cold water with Nuun electrolyte tabs - perked right up.
This morning Tom and I decided to take the bikes out. Much preferred to the indoor training ride I had planned for myself. We decided on Douglas Trail - starting in Rochester and heading out to Pine Island. Tom rides a sporty Trek 7.3FX. I ride a Bianchi Boardwalk. I think it is a 1990 something - original Bianchi color. It is a really nice bike. My Father in Law used to ride it. When Tom got his Trek last year, Dad asked me if I needed a bike. I told him that I had a great road bike but not a bike that I could ride on dirt or gravel real well - so he gave me the Bianchi, which had been sitting for many many years. I took it to Rochester Cycling & Fitness for a once over and new tires - the old ones looked brittle to me. It is a hybrid like the Trek - so a much more upright bike than my road bike. I do feel that I have to work pretty hard to squeeze 13 mph out of it and its fatter tires - but that is ok. It gives me the opportunity to ride with my husband - no matter if we stay on paved or head out on dirt and gravel. The road bike is on my trainer right now - but I have ordered a second rear wheel for it so that I can have a rear wheel for outside riding (the one that came with the bike) and one for just the trainer - with a trainer tire. That will allow for a quick change of wheels to get my bike outside and /or back on the trainer. Changing the tire is not an option - those trainer tires are a bear to get on and off the rims - I will gladly pay a professional to do that for me!
Kwik Trip and a snack. While there a group of riders came in - for the same, a break and snack. they were on road bikes and discussing whether they should ride back on the road or the trail. I told them that the trail was fairly busy, runners, cyclists, some of them just tooling along at a slow pace - probably not what this bunch had in mind. They opted for the road. Tom and I decided to abandon the trail for a bit as well and took CR3 back from PI to Douglas. This road offers a super wide shoulder - a nice safe ride. It also has a little more contour than the trail. We pedaled up the hills and bombed down the other side - pure bliss. We ended up back on the trail just outside of Douglas where it crosses CR3 and finished our ride back to Rochester. 26 miles - just under 2 hours. Not shabby what with all the stop signs and gravel roads along the way on the trail. The road miles included bodacious 19 and 20 mph miles - yeehaw - gotta love the downhills!
The weekend by the numbers:
Weight is down 1lb. Not a ton but something.
Run 10 miles - that was huge - my confidence needed that long run.
Bike 26 miles - good workout - not racing but solid work.
Achilles - pretty darn good even after the bike ride
This coming week will be a busy one and I will have to have patience and be flexible with my training.
I have a crazy week with travel, Chamber Golf (we sponsor a hole) and a customer appreciation event at the Honkers, day to day work, (who knows what that will bring), TCM 10 Mile training clinic on Thursday (I help coach) and getting ready for a trip out to the Black Hills - yep - Sturgis - where we will be camping for a few days.
Beats riding the recliner I guess.
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