Thankfully it seems my legs have decided to revive themselves, but the day did not start out very promising. My alarm went off at 5:30 - just what I want on a Sunday morning. I proceeded to hit snooze until 6 and finally dragged myself from bed. My resting heart rate was super low so that was a good sign, but then I put my feet on the floor and it was all downhill from there. I could barely walk, I was hobbling around like a 90-year old thanks to plantar fascias so tight I'm surprised my feet were still flat. My hips hurt, my quads hurt, everything hurt. Great. I stretched my calves while I made coffee and then stretched again before getting dressed. I ended up delaying my ride significantly while I stretched and waited to see if my legs were going to be functional. I felt a little sad and depressed and slipped back into my negative hole of "why the heck to I bother doing this???" But I pulled myself out and left, ready to tackle a 65 mile ride and 3 mile run.
I took the train to Washington Heights and started my ride on the George Washington Bridge since I vowed to never ride to or from there again after the bee swarm/Corvette/skateboard incident. The first hour went incredibly well. My legs started to loosen up and I traveled nearly 18 miles. I was feeling great. I stopped for a Gatorade and a cookie - ok, the cookie just happened, it's not like I planned it - and kept going. It got really challenging the further north I got. The traffic was getting really heavy, there was no shoulder for a long stretch and the cars didn't seem pleased by my presence. Then I saw a sign that a bridge was out so I had to take a detour. I hate riding in unfamiliar places so I lost a little steam. Plus I swear every road I traveled was uphill. My average dipped to 15 for the next hour. Yay. At my turnaround point a deer got spooked by me passing and looked like it might dart out in front of me. I let out a little yelp and had horrifying thoughts of slamming into a massive animal going 20 mph, but thankfully he froze and gave me enough time to pass by. Considering my big crash last year was caused by a dead deer it would have been terribly ironic to have another deer-related accident.
After navigating the traffic I picked up speed and held a really high average the rest of the ride. I was feeling good. I had about an hour in between the ride and my run due to the subway ride and really didn't feel like doing it. But then I got out there and realized my legs finally decided to show up for the party and the run was fantastic. I did the first mile in 8:01, the second in 7:46 and the third in 7:32. I felt strong, comfortable and happy. This morning made me question why I do this, then this run brought me back to reality and reminded me why I do.
Biking
Distance - 66.64 miles
Time - 4:11:15
Running
Distance - 3 miles
Time - 23:21
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