Hodgepodge: aka out of season

After my mile race last week, Sarah told me to take a few days off from running and just do what I wanted - no running schedule, no plan at all.  I took 4 days off from running, which at this point, it has been over a year since I've had that much of a break.  I found some other good ways to get out and about:
Biking - biking is my favorite summertime cross-training.  It is hard for me to do more than 30 minutes of it on a machine, but if I can go on the open road, it is a lot of fun.  So, each of my off-days from running I biked between 10-13 miles.  Nothing to brag about, but a good way to go burn off some energy.  Plus, the thing that is nice about biking during the summer is that I don't get as hot doing it as running.  Biking in 90 degree weather doesn't feel like the Bataan Death March like running.  On a related note, my dad completed a 62 mile bike ride as part of the Tour de Cure!  Very impressive - I could not bike that far.

Ye Olde Golf

Golf - I am not a good golfer, but last year I asked my dad to teach me how to play.  I feel like it's one of those sports that knowing how to play, at least a little, can be beneficial down the road.  Granted, it's not like medievalists get together on the green as part of business ventures, but you never know...this is what "medieval golf" on Google comes up with.  Anyways, we went on Saturday and had a lot of fun, and I had some of my best holes yet.  Granted, they were double bogies, but that was an improvement.  We also went to the driving range Monday night, which was more fun than my first time doing that last year.  I had better success with the driver and am finally starting to hit a bit more consistently.  I think the ultimate challenge for me is that with golfing, each time it comes down to about 3 seconds.  That's a lot of precision!  There's just so much more room for adjustment in running!
I also got in a few good session as the gym.  I've been meaning to write a blog about weight/strength/core training, but I think it's going to have to wait till next week.

Talk about a view!

I started running again on Tuesday.  Just did an easy 3.4, which felt like enough for a first day back.  Then on Wednesday, drove out to Canandaigua to catch up with my old triathlete buddy, Mark.  We did a lot of summer running together a few seasons, but haven't seen each other since he moved.  His house's view is incredible, by the way.  So, we did a 5.5 mile run around his house, which was super hilly.  The final hill on the way back had a 17% grade to it - felt just like a step above walking.  But it was super fun, and I was so happy to have a running buddy for a day.
But on Thursday, I was fortunate enough to get another running buddy - two days in a row?  I had gone over a month without running with anyone, so this was exciting.  I ran with one of my oldest friends, Jen.  We go all the way back to 7th grade cross country.  She went on to run in high school and college, so there was definitely an 8-10 year gap period when we didn't run together.  While we've done some running since then, this was the first time in a while.  I met up with her and another running friend of hers, and we ran through downtown Rochester, which was a lot of fun.  While I've lived outside of Rochester my entire life, I've only done a couple of runs through the city (including the Rochester Marathon in 2010).  We had a great time!  7.5 miles flew by - just chatting and taking in the scenery.
In a nutshell (not sure if that was sort enough for a nutshell - maybe coconut), that's been the past week without a running schedule!  It is nice not to have the pressure of getting every single run in and just have fun.  Speaking of fun, I am off to DC in the afternoon for a long weekend visit.  Going to be fun!