Weekend

We had a beautiful weekend here in Vermont, weather-wise. In the next few days, it will stay warm and it's possible that some of my lawn will re-appear this week.

On Saturday, I slept in and took my time heading out for my run. It was below freezing early, and I wanted to run in the warmest part of the day. I felt like I still wasn't completely recovered from the 50K the weekend before, so I wanted to do a very slow and easy 20 miler. My plan was to do the miles, but keep any damage or stress as minimal as possible. It's probably only ultra runners who talk about an "easy 20". Well, elite marathoners probably do easy 20s at an absurdly fast pace.

I figured I'd be running/walking for about 3:45-4:00, and surprised myself by doing 3:36. I ran the first 3 miles with my son on dirt roads, and then hit the pavement for the rest of the run. Temps were in the 40s with a bit of cloud cover.

After the run and a shower, I barbecued ribs on the grill Saturday night and my wife and I shared a nice bottle of white Burgundy while I was cooking dinner. It was a great day.

Yesterday, I went skiing with my family for the first time all year. Most winters, I take half a dozen or more days off work to go skiing without having to teach. This year, because I was saving my vacation time for WS, I didn't do that once. So yesterday, for the first time all year, I had a day to just ski for fun. I did see most of the kids that I teach at the mountain yesterday. They were even skiing together, but without me.

I got some new boots yesterday, so I was taking it easy early on, trying to get the feel for the boots. They are a much softer boot than my old ski boots, allowing me to flex my ankles more than my current boots allow. At first, I hated the boots, but by mid-afternoon, I was settling into them. My last three runs of the day were single and double black diamond bump runs, and I felt pretty good. My quads were a bit tired, but otherwise, the snow was great and I had a great day with my family.

We forgot to take sunscreen though, and my daughter and I are a bit sunburned today.

This week, I'm planning my first 60 mile week of the year, with a long run of 20 on Saturday. I'm also changing weight-lifting routines, so I expect to be a bit sore from some new lifts. I'll try to start the lifting at fairly light weights, until I get a feel for some of the new lifts. My wife started a new routine on Saturday and she was complaining all day yesterday about being sore. I hope to avoid some of that.

Lastly, I'm almost done with "Good Calories, Bad Calories". I'll write more about that later, but it's a very compelling read. It's kind of amazing how the author manages to make a science book so compelling, but he gives you a taste of his conclusions early on, then takes you through a tour of science and medical history, before coming back to what everyone wants to know, which is "What should I be eating?"