Monday, Monday...

It is Monday and recovery week - after a three week build. Whew! I'm ready for it. Surprisingly my legs feel great after the running and biking of the weekend, but I am a bit tired this morning. And Sunday night I did not go to the pool...but I did soak in a hot tub for a bit instead. :)

Saturday morning I woke up and it was of course raining. I had already decided the night before that I would go meet the team so I would not have to run alone. After making a couple adjustments to the posted directions (argh!) I got there with a few minutes to spare for the 8AM start. Thanks for the company on the run, Es! It was nice to not run alone...although we felt like we were the only ones out there at the end. Anyway, according to my Garmin we ran a bit more than 12 miles, about 12.25. Not quite the required 13, but oh well. I was completely soaked and managed to get out of most of the west stuff for the ride home - thank goodness for big towels. I felt like I'd never warm up.

After I got home and cleaned up (and finally had my *daily* latte) I took my kids to the mall. We did a little Easter shopping for new spring clothes. I also picked up a new pair running shoes from the New Balance store. They are nice - same shoe I've been wearing but the newer model - and I will *test drive* them tonight. I also treated myself to a second latte at the mall (good thing, too). After the mall we went to the running store for shoe inserts and mid-distance spikes for my younger son. All in all a productive afternoon.

Actually, when we got home I tried to install my new bike computer, which is the same as my OLD one but who knows what I did wrong; it is not registering anything, besides the time of day. I finished up hoping my Garmin would cooperate on Sunday - otherwise I'd never know how far I was which can make reading the cue sheets difficult.

Sunday morning I got up nice and early to head out for the bike ride at the earlier 8AM start. I brought my Garmin and my regular heart rate monitor as back-up for my HRM in case the Garmin did not work. I made great time to the start and had plenty of time to make the last pit stop before I got there. I arrived and started getting ready. Lo and behold - my Garmin booted up! I began my ride and eventually got into a groove with some other riders. I think my new wheels/cassette make a difference - I did keep my heart rate in a better place, especially on the hills. I was a couple of beats out of my zone on average, but I definitely did better than my last ride. Anyway, surprisingly there was more wind than I expected, but it was a beautifil day. At our first stop, around 31 miles, our sagger, Marlene, was waiting with a basket of Easter candy and marshmello Peeps and Bunnies. That was so nice! Above and beyond in sagging, I think! This next part of the ride was my favorite - I'm sure because we had more downhill time. That and some smoother roads in places. Whatever, I felt great here. We got back to the start point after a total of about 55 miles to refuel - I picked up an extra bottle of Heed as I was almost out - and it was hard to get going. But I could not have made the next 18 with out the stop. This leg, an out and back, was probably the hardest thing all day. The wind, a headwind, seemed to follow us everywhere we went! I followed Carol and was thankful to be behind her. Oh well, we got to the turn around and I went in front. I'm so used to riding behind people - it was weird. I kept going. On this last 9 miles I was really feeling warm and overheated and wished I'd taken both my leggings and my top shirt off at the stop. Oh well, I certainly wasn't stopping now! Something to remember next time. The ride ended - I successfully completed my longest ride to date - 73 miles! The team had a full barbeque in process. I changed into something more comfortable and waited for my hot dog - hot off the grill. After inhaling that I sat and enjoyed the company of some of my fellow riders for the day before I dragged myself up to head home.

We were going to grill out burgers for dinner. However, I had a call while I was riding from our good friends who invited us to their place for a cookout. We had not seen them in a while, so we accepted...they grilled out chicken and had other yummy things. And more Easter candy. After dinner this was where I got to sit in the hot tub!

The reason I mentioned it was a good thing I had a second latte on Saturday was because I never had time to make one on Sunday. I did manage to do the laundry though... :)