Stretch!

I need to stretch. I am really really bad about stretching. I do a quick leg lift forward leg lift back before I hop on the bike or head out for a run. I stretch for a good 20 seconds before I jump in the water. Why am I so bad about this? I just don't' want to take extra time I guess. There's really no good reason. My body is tight though. I am feeling pretty strong but also pretty restricted. It's hard to explain. I've had a few kinks and pulls here and there and I know stretching would do wonders. This is one of my goals for next week. It'll be a recovery week so I'll have some extra minutes to devote to stretching and hopefully form a habit.

I've enjoyed some good hard workouts this week. I have had to dig deep inside and fight the burning fatigue in my legs. Two days ago I battled the 10 x 2 minutes uphill again. I did alright. I ran a little further than the day I did it after a long bike but by #8 I was really suffering. Yesterday I had a good swim and then a tough bike. The main set on the bike was 10x 3" of POE-that is parcelled out effort. My coach has me do this a lot. I have to make each 3 minute interval harder/faster than the one before. It's a trick not to start too hard or fast! This is a trick for me in nearly every race I've ever been in so it's a great drill for me. I was able to really push through this set and do it the way it was meant to be done. My HR rose quite high and I fought every single urge to slow down. I felt great about finishing that workout. I didn't leave anything behind on that one. Today, I did a 10 mile run. It is a beautiful sunny and rather warm day here in Maine. I was super lucky because my father in-law watched my son so I could run mid-day. What a treat! My route for 10 miles is beautiful because it overlooks the mountains but it is super hilly. I had to dig deep for this one too. I also had to work hard to keep my HR in check on those hills. The next few days are hard too. I have a long ride, a big swim of 6x500, a long brick and another interval bike ride. Yikes. I look forward to Monday and the beginning of a recovery week. I need to catch up on a little sleep I think.

Last night I went down to Portland (an hour drive for me) to try yet another bike saddle and to hang out for our Team's social night. It was a nice little Mommy's night out. There's one man that has been helping me through my bike purchase and now with this issue. Can I just say that I do not find discussing bike saddle discomfort terribly easy. Especially with men. I'm just not that open about that sort of thing. But, I overcame that and had my little conversation about "why" the last one wasn't going to work. I was finally all set up with the new one and now it was time to ride for a few minutes and get the fit readjusted. At first, I was riding along with just my friend helping me. Then, a hot shot coach/triathlete in these parts mozied over to watch and talk. Before I knew it, seven, yes seven, men were standing there discussing my fit. Uh, hello! I felt so uncomfortable!! I was already feeling gross in my bike shorts with winter white legs in front of this big giant mirror but with all those guys standing there I just felt totally awkward. I could hardly stand it. Thankfully, there wasn't any more detailed discussion about the saddle. I was so happy when that moment passed.

Something exciting happened at our home today! Some snow melted under out Forsythia bush and there is a batch of daffodils starting to pop out of the ground!!! We are all ecstatic. My boys are now shovelling snow off the lawn onto the driveway to hasten the melting process and hopefully allow more flowers to bloom.