Ah, recovery...when I chose to end this tri season at the beginning of August, I didn't even remember that the Olympics would be starting this week...how very cool to be done and watching the real deal on TV. But what the hell is a "water cube?" I just hope they show some of the open water swimming...and that maybe, just maybe, triathlon will get a little air time in between the vaulting, bars, and floor exercise...
So I basked in lazy recovery for approximately one day after last week's race before I started doing things again...but...to give myself a little credit, I have not been killing myself. There were a couple of great lake swims last week including a stellar sunrise swim on Friday... and a couple of short bike rides including one during which a water bottle cage completely broke off my bike and went tumbling with the bottle into the road near Leschi (as I was thinking, "thank god, that didn't happen in Spokane...").
The highlight of my recovery activities, however, was my first mountain bike lesson yesterday. As usual, it takes a village to put me together...Tatyana loaned me her mountain bike and Jenny P. took me to St. Edward's yesterday and very patiently launched me up my learning cliff. The first activity was Jenny making me bounce around in the parking lot on the bike to feel the shocks...when I got a little too excited and pogo-sticked the bike around and started yelling, she reeled me in and took me out on the trails where I promptly shut the hell up and hung on for dear life. As soon as we started, a little kid about 2 feet tall busted down the trail toward us with his dad...he had a cute little T-shirt on with a "95" on the back and clearly, he was about 95 times as confident as I was on a mountain bike...for godsake, this is a sport that could kill someone. I kept catching myself white-knuckling the handlebars and tried to relax a little...and I think I actually improved a little during the hour or 2 we spent out there. Here's what I like about mountain biking...it requires complete focus and attention. I am psyched about the possibility of an activity that can really provide a mental vacation. Although I love long road rides & runs, and swimming in the lake, they facilitate my tendency toward over-processing. If my mind had wandered yesterday, I'd have wrapped myself around a tree upside down (me being upside down, not the trees). I also like going over logs and roots on the bike, way fun. 180 degree turns...not so big on those (humbled, out of my pedals, several times...). Jenny asked me if I'd fallen in love with mountain biking and I said that I'm not sure about that quite yet, but I certainly want a second date. Lucky for me, HH will be back in town soon and I think there will be a group ride on Wednesday where I can embarrass myself in front of a whole bunch of people...She can get her paybacks --and then some-- for me calling her ZigZag in the lake a few weeks ago, that's for sure. Jenny and HH have both threatened to leave me at home if I try to bring a heart rate monitor or any gadgets...another new chapter begins...
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