More is less is more

First off, if you Ashley Powell are reading this, you might want to stop. You will most likely start banging your head against the nearest wall.

If you are not Ashley Powell, read away!

Yesterday on the lunch ride, I was tired. I mean lead legged tired. I mean I stood up on those pedals to start to get some more power and had nothing. By nothing I mean it almost felt like my legs weren't even attached to my body.

Was I confused as to why? Not in the least. It was because on Friday I rode 60 miles with 2700 ft of climbing (one Cat 2 climb, was going to be more but we turned in early), on Thursday I rode 35 miles with some decent hills, and Sunday I ran 8.5 miles.

Monday was off.

But Tuesday I had no legs attached to my body.

Hence the More is Less. I am doing more running, more cycling in terms of climbing and being consistently epic. I am getting less stellar performances.

At the same time, though, I'm having more fun than I've had in a long long time. I remember during my training, while I was in top shape, I had to forgo the long epic weekend rides, the huge climbing escapades. And I skipped them gladly, because at the time, training was more important to me, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Now, I do not need to train, do not even want to train, I am just having fun. It is fun to run for 8.5 miles. It is fun to cram as much into a weekend as I possibly can. It is even fun commuting to work. Everything is a novelty to me here. And even if my legs are dead on the lunch ride, I'm able to do Cat 2 climbs without ever going into my red zone. Ok, so I go 4 mph and am definitely on the dark orange line...but red? Wanting to die and feeling like I'm going to explode? Nope. Only a month ago no matter how slow I went, eventually I tipped into DANGER DANGER DANGER. So there is SOME sort of benefit being reaped.

The good thing is that it's the wintertime, and even though there is no "off" season out here, this is the time to fool around if there is one. And who knows, maybe if I just keep at it my legs will get used to both riding and running. I'm never going to run to be fast or run hard. I barely eeek out a 10 minute mile and my heartrate stays safely in the greenish orange zone (I mean, come on, I am RUNNING).

Bottom line? I really like to run. And I'm going to do it because I like to do it.

I am enforcing a strict 3 days on ONE DAY OFF rule, though. I am also going to slowly up my runs and make sure I don't do 2 hard things back to back. I am not 100% reverting to my old stupid ways.

Just, like, 65%

More stuff = less performance but also = more fun.

That's an equation I can understand any day.

Rocket Rock Star

Last Sunday, I went on a long solo ride. The weather was a mix of beautiful and sketchy. Beautiful because in Morgan Hill, you can see the clouds rising up over the foothills in waves, bearing down on you, and possibly missing you due to the wind. Sketchy because the clouds contained a chilly, drizzly, just enough to make you miserable rain.

I rode along the now familiar roads, checking in every now and then with the weather, but mostly just enjoying the fact that the roads WERE not familiar, and that I finally COULD piece together a longish ride without becoming lost.

As I rode, though, the temperature started to drop, which made my nose start to run.

Ugh.

Cyclists at this point usually perform what is known as a snot rocket. It's gross and wildly effective and elusively complicated. The mechanics? Close up one nostril, lean to the side, and blow as hard as you can.

Boom. Snot rocket.

Of course, to the beginner, all that happens is you get snot all over yourself. Or you close up your throat mid blow and choke. Or you don't get enough oomph and it just sort of oozes all over your face.

So.

I had yet to perfect this cycling necessity, another Must Have to become really Pro on the bike. Failed attempts and embarrassing aftermath kept me away.

Yet here I was, completely solo, my nose dripping annoyingly, incessantly, towards the end of hour 1 of a 3+ hour ride.

It was time.

I leaned as far over to the left as I could, plugged up the right nostril, made the sign of the cross in my head, and went for it.

The result? Well, I could breath through it, so that was victory #1.

Then I looked down at my left shoulder, arm, and leg. All clean! Victory #2 had been achieved!

I repeated with the right nostril, and then kept repeating as needed throughout the ride.

Finally, I had conquered the elusive snot rocket technique.

I am now one step closer to Pro status. I've yet to show off my new skill during a group ride, but rest assured, the time will come. And I will walk away clean.

Depending upon the way the wind is blowing, you might not be so lucky.

But that's another blog post.