Thursday, 9/13

Well, I guess I have an answer to my question.

You may recall that I was wondering last month about whether or not my two week jaunt to Europe would do anything to my overall fitness level. Aside from a day-long hike (which was canceled by day four of six straight days of rain) I wasn't planning on doing anything strenuous, and I wondered if that would allow all the various aches & pains I've been carrying around to heal while, at the same, not cutting down what I'd built up over a summer of working out more than I usually do.

I'm happy to say the answer appears to be “yes”.

When I went running Monday morning I wasn't quite sure what to expect; after all, I was dead tired from landing back in Marquette the night before, and I hadn't run at all for two weeks. But I had no trouble at all; in fact, both Monday and yesterday I tackled some pretty hilly courses and flew right up & down them. And my Tuesday morning workout proved no problem, either. So I guess I've figured out the perfect formula for letting your body recover from a summer of doing everything under the sun.

Go on vacation.

Of course, I should mention that it's not totally correct to say we didn't do “anything” while in Germany. Even though the day-long hike was canceled we did a massive amount of walking, and did try to hike up two fair-sized (& wet) hills. Plus, unless we had luggage, we always took the stairs at our hotels, and we spent quite a few nights in hotels where our rooms were on the fourth or fifth floors. So we did get some exercise while over there, just not the “usual” workouts we attempt.

Now that I seem to be at a good strength level without the usual aches & pains, I'll curious to see what comes next. Will I continue this week's trend (at least so far) of cruising through runs & workouts, or will our usual weekend routines of long runs followed by long bike rides & long sessions of playing soccer cause those aches & pains I've built up over the summer to slowly creep back? I don't know, and I guess in the end it really doesn't matter. Except, perhaps, for those mornings when I'm lying in bed and one or more of my extremities refuses to follow the rest of my body when I try to get up. If nothing else, it just shows that I'm working hard.

But I do have to admit. It IS nice running with everything working at 100%. I don't think many people get to do that very often in their athletic life, and I don't expect that I'll have many chances to do it myself. So I'll take advantage of it while I can.

(jim@wmqt.com)