The last couple of weeks. Running, Cycling, Still Injured and getting Muddy!

It feels like it's been a tough couple of weeks. Marathon training, sore feet, sore sit bones from my new found love of cycling, illness, hosting a huge Super Bowl party this coming weekend and the list goes on and on. I have not been able to even sit down and write a blog post!

As far as my injury goes (Plantar Fasciitis in both feet) - things seem to be improving. I've been able to stay on top of my endurance levels with taking away two days of base training and replacing it with cycling. That seems to be working well.

Here's how the last couple of weeks have gone...

MOUNTAIN BIKING:

Tire meet dirt, dirt meet tire... My MTB's first ride...

Took the mountain bike out for it's very first ride. It was fun to get it dirty! We've since been out sliding around in the mud 3 or 4 more times! The picture below on the right is a place where my husband hit a rock and totally wiped out. I turned around and he was on the ground and the bike was in the rocks. Geesh! Bottom left is my son going over the planks of wood to avoid the mud below. He doesn't like getting dirty, that's going to change the more we ride...

Mountain biking is something that my husband, son and I can do together. It's been very fun. We live in an area with lots of trails and hills! Because of the weather, these areas are quite muddy, but still fun.

ROAD RIDING:

About to tackle this hill. Doesn't look like much here, but it's pretty good one. 

I've taken the road bike out for several fairly long rides. I had no idea how much fun this was going to be. I really love it. The road bike is smooth and fast. I've been on a 30 mile, a 25 mile (both flat) and a 20 mile hilly ride so far. What a blast! Who knew I was going to love doing this almost as much as running.... almost!

The fun part is really feeling tired and worn out after a fast, long ride and my feet don't hurt!

The only drawback is that my sit bones are still getting used to the saddle, even though I upgraded to a very nice one. Going to take some time, and all I can say about that right now is, OUCH!!

MARATHON TRAINING:

Alternating the cycling and running has been very beneficial to my feet. Who knew you could still run 10-15 miles while injured? It does set me back a little each time I do a long run, but I am able to recover and my feet are continuing to heal.

The week before I did a 12 mile run. Beautiful, crisp weather along the river. Who wouldn't want to run this trail?

This last weekend, I was able to get my 16 mile run in and although my feet were very sore, I was able to get through it very well. I ran along the same path as the 12 miler. It's just a beautiful area to run in and the trail is 25 miles long!

TRAIL RUNNING:
I really love trail running. I just love being outside, enjoying the sun and the beautiful surroundings. The trails are challenging and right now, very muddy. It makes for quite an adventure, sometimes a very slippery one. However, my feet don't really like it right now. I did a couple 5 mile runs in the last couple of weeks  and both times, it set me back quite a bit. I think it's the slippery, uneven terrain. Maybe I'll be able to get back out to the trails in a few months when my feet are better and the hard marathon training is over.

A view of the valley from the top of one of the trials I run on. 

A gorgeous view of the lake from the other trail I ran 

So, in a nutshell, that's how I spent my last couple of weeks. We have been under the weather the last few days and I haven't been able to get out and do much, but planning on a long bike ride tomorrow and my first race of the season, a superbowl sunday 10k.

I hope you have an awesome weekend!

Now, get out there and run already!!