So my follow up from Day 1 and 2 of the bike block. Saturday (Day 3) was the Pedal Paddle Pole here in Bend. I was up early to head up the mountain to watch and take some photos. Was a good race and Matt friend ended up winning. Just crushed it on the Skate Ski and Bike ride. I’ll post up some pictures later.

So after running around the course lugging my camera around I headed home to psych myself up for the last day of my bike block. I decided to change things up a bit and headed out for a 4 hour mountain bike ride. I figured it would be fun and I’d be less tempted to cut it short if the time was going by faster and I was really enjoying and pushing myself. The ride was awesome. Lots of climbing, up to the snow level, and some fun descents. Though the 1st mile down I ran into several snow drifts and had a hard time tracking the trail. Luckily someone else had riden the trail before I so I followed their tracks hoping they knew the trail better than I. After that 1st mile the snow subsided and it was a fun 15-20 minute zig zag down the mountain. It was a tough ride, some really steep sections that I ended up having to walk but for the most part it was a really good session. Definitely pushed the legs but I didn’t get as sore or fatigued in the saddle due to I think being in and out of the saddle more and focusing on just 20 or 30 yards in fornt of me the whole time. It made the time go by fairly quickly and was pumped by the end of the ride.

Yesterday was my scheduled long run. I was a bit worried going into the bike block that my run would be scrapped or not at least not as long as I would have liked. Sunday morning my legs were very heavy and a bit sore and it was raining out. I was very tempted to scrap the day as I almost convinced I’d done enough for the week. But at around 10 the rain subsided and I willed myself out the door.

Just go out and do what you can. At least get some running in.

I told myself.

So I headed out and the legs were heavy. I just focused on my heart rate and tried to keep it low. The first 10 minutes were tough but then I felt surprising good. I took a trail I hadn’t down before and the scenery was awesome. It dumped on my for about 20 minutes in the middle of the run, and I picked up a stray dog that ended up running 40 minutes wiht me before I decided to find his home. i think he would have followed me all the way home.

The trail was well packed dirt so it was a soft run. I didn’t really start feeling the fatigue and strain in the legs until I got back on the pavement for the last 15 minutes. Ended up getting in 2 hours at average heart rate of 139. Really good for me. My speed on my long runs hasn’t really improved yet, but my average heart is really coming down over the last 3-4 weeks.

Today is a needed rest day and catch up on work.