Thursday, August 18, 2011

[cyclo]cross training

Today I began my cyclocross-specific training with a morning run.

To be more specific, it was a morning run punctuated by little intervals of walking. Per instructions from friends and teammates, it lasted exactly twenty minutes (not including stretching -- very important!). I hadn't done any running since high school. While I remembered to stretch before and afterwards, I did NOT remember how much I'd bounce around, even in a sports bra (to be honest, I was smaller back then). And then there's the running-while-asthmatic thing; I'm going to need to carry an inhaler with me to do this (I forgot this morning and simply took longer walkng intervals than recommended to get my breath back). I was not asthmatic in high school. And whether or not I have the "right" shoes is anybody's guess. Running shoes weren't quite as technical in 1979 and there were fewer models to choose from. (My current running shoes, a nine-dollar special from ebay, are lightweight, hideously ugly, and fit well. They'll do.)

Still, it felt surprisingly good to jog, to swing my legs and arms back and forth and feel my feet pound the paths in the cool morning air and to feel the sweat under my shirt when I finished. I'll do it again on Saturday.

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