Can run slow now. This is an improvement. Srsly.

Used to be if I tried to stay below the aerobic threshold, steep hills meant having to walk. Now I can actually jog up hills (slowly) and keep a relatively low heart rate. Presumably this means I can build more aerobic base now. The dog likes it. He can sniff around more and still keep up.

Still doing the swim bike run.

For no apparent end other than self amusement. Haven't signed up for a race this year yet. Weird weather is making it seem like it is still winter and not already past the start of the season. Found another steep downhill trail and ran a 7:08 mile last week. Woo. Was holding back too since I had to turn around and run back up the same hill to get home.

Turning potential energy into kinetic energy.

All it takes for me to be able to run a sub 7:30 mile is a trail with 350 ft of descent.

First concern was not to trip and fall. Second was not to go out too hard and be dead on my legs when the trail turned uphill again.

Everything went as well as could be expected.

Need a race to sign up for

Looking for something in latter half of April. Preferably offroad sprint tri. Having a race on the calendar is the best motivation and I need it right now. Nothing appealing has turned up so far.

Mountain biking turns out to be good for your running performance.

Just took the dog out for a run on a 4 mile route. Thought we were just cruising along but it looks like it was about 10 seconds off a PR, and you can be sure I was trying hard on any PR that was set a few years ago.

These 2, 3, 4 and 5 hour rides that are becoming fixtures of the weekend are definitely bringing up the overall volume per week and it is no surprise that is a benefit. They are very un-boring too, which is a plus.

Like so:

Mountain Bike Video at Wilder Ranch

Zone five beats rule five after a while.

That's what I came up with after today's ride.

That climb in the middle of the elevation graph was a heck of a thing. Sloppy dirt, wet from heavy fog.

What is this thing you call "swi ming?"

First time back in the pool in the new year. Had been avoiding it fearing it would be full of resolution folks but at 8:30PM it was not bad.

Not bad! The theme for the night.

Holiday travel is not kind to a workout schedule.

Two weeks off and one week of it was cheesesteak-a-day diet and oh is that another glass of red wine?

Still swimming yes, but photos at the Y pool.... yeah, not so much.

Now mountain biking, yeah, that's photogenic.

Obligatory shot passing one of Tamarancho's famous signs.

Starting to like that place quite a bit.

What has 5 toes and is black and blue?

My left foot.

No workouts this week. The foot was so bad I didn't even want to be pushing off a wall with it at the pool. Worked on some home projects instead. Got some circular saw skills going!

Thoughts of broken bones faded this morning so it was on with the scheduled weekly ride.

Saratoga Gap. Like so:

The ride is an out and back with a big loop at the far end. We did the loop clockwise and felt like that was the right choice, but you could do it counterclockwise if you are willing to hike a bike about 2 tenths of a mile where the trail climbs over 20% grade. It was a real brake-burner in the downhill direction.

If you are old enough to remember Carvel ice cream cakes you might think like me that the loop is shaped like Fudgie the Whale

You think?

Nice place to ride for a couple of hours on a fine December day. Not too hard, but not unrelentingly easy either. And the price of failure in the tricky bits is pretty low, so it just encourages you to have a go and see if you can get around that rocky switchback or climb up that root staircase.