Downtime

I didn't ride the bike for five days in a row, and on purpose. I had to look way back in my training log to see when the last time was that I had taken that much time off in a row. My legs were fatigued from the early season racing and training and not responding the way they should. I was going to take more time off but this weekend's weather was just too hard to ignore the bike.

I am easing back into the training, having rode for a short and easy ride on Saturday and a little longer today. I don't want to push hard as I can still feel a little fatigue in on of the quads. Saturday's ride made me feel like I had lost all my fitness but today was about back to normal. The first day after a down day is always the hardest, after five it was even worse. That is why the Tour de France riders get out and ride on their rest days; they want to keep their legs relatively active.

Work is supposed to be taking some downtime as well. A few months ago they announced that the company would be having a two week shutdown in July. As it turns out a lot of people are working anyway, including my me. A good indication of the number that will continue to come to work is that the fitness center will remain open along with one of the cafeterias. I'm glad I don't have to take a forced vacation as I'm saving mine for when Jason and family come back for a three week visit in August.

Speaking of the Montana (soon to be Washington) family, Greg has been out there visiting since last Sunday. I guess they have been having a good time enjoying the outdoors by hiking and rafting. They had a close encounter with a bear on one hike. Greg has also bee beating up on his brother while playing roller hockey.

The house has been pretty quiet with Greg gone. In fact the whole neighborhood has been strangely silent given that it was a holiday weekend. We didn't hear many kids around or even a lot of fireworks this year. Speaking of fireworks, Sandy and I parked the van at the rail trail and rode our bikes up into town to watch the fireworks. It is only about a mile and a half ride each way and it eliminates any traffic problems.

Hopefully I can get back into decent shape for the next couple of races as there are a couple of them in a row starting in two weeks. And then the kids come in to town and we will be busy with other things.