A Truck Ran My Legs Over

You know that strength training routine I started? Well the great news is that I LOVE it. It's so refreshing to do something different from the cardio overload I'm used to. The bad news is my legs feel like a truck ran them over. I feel fine when I'm not moving, but then I stand up or attempt to walk and am swiftly reminded of how out of shape I am. I'm surprised my legs are taking the biggest beating. As an endurance athlete I've always thought all of my strength was in my legs. After all, I can bike hundreds of miles and run marathons and am almost never sore. But I'm learning that strength and endurance are two very different things and I definitely have a lot of work to do.

Over the weekend I put my legs to the test in a different way with my first hike in well over a year. I have always loved hiking, but there isn't always enough time for it. We were up at 5am and on the road by 6:15 for a three-hour drive to the Catskills. The early morning wake-up was well worth it, we had the trail to ourselves all the way up. And up it most certainly was. The peaks in the Catskills aren't terribly high, but some of the trails are challenging. This was considered an easier hike, but right at the beginning it was pretty much straight up. I was feeling every Bulgarian split squat from the previous week. But for views like this, it was worth it.

Before you think I'm abandoning cardio entirely, I realized New York Marathon training has officially started if you follow the traditional 18-week schedule. I've done a fair amount of running the past couple months and feel I have a solid base. I'm doing this self-coached for once and will be putting together my training plan this week.

Do you work with a coach or coach yourself?

Do you have an activity, like hiking, outside your usual sport that you enjoy?