Bees

I would like to introduce you to a few new friends, Bumblebee & Honeybee.

Thanks Phil!

Remember the feeling of wanting to go to bed just so it will be tomorrow. (But I'm too excited to sleep!)

For the past few months I have felt this way every Tuesday & Friday evening, with Wednesday & Saturday being our long ride days.

Tonight I feel this way about Friday, our long run day.

I love the long run day, and with the help of Honeybee the treadmill miles will fly by.

Rest well.

Ice feels so good.

Last year while down in Tucson we started the ice cream routine.

It began with a little street soccer, which gradually transformed to rolling the ball back and fourth. Before long we found ourselves sitting on the curb reminiscing on the day's training, considering what flavor would best suit our cool down.

Mint Chocolate Chip, Moose Tracks, Cookie Dough . . .

The routine has carried through this year:

Hamstrings then quads, hamstrings then quads, hamstrings then quads. . . Moose Tracks on the legs feels so good.

Rest well.

An apple (or 2) a day. . .

Thank You for this weeks nourishment:

An apple (or 2) a day

+ A cookie (or 2) a day ;)

Today marked the official kick off to speed with an early morning PISE treadmill run, & a Jazz style eye opener set in the pool. Recovery ride + Dr. Guan caps off a great day.

Here's to a great week! Thanks for all the encouragement.

Rest well.

days

10 weeks ago I happened upon the chance to coordinate one of the Times Colonist 10K clinics, and what an awesome opportunity this has become!

Working with one of the largest clinic groups in the city has been a gift. It's been a pleasure to work with each of you.

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As always I began the day with a Sunday Sunrise Search run, this time sticking to the soft undulating cedar chip trails.

Whether you're riding out and back along the Galloping Goose, or Running around Cedar Hill, we often roll pass the same person a few times in a given session. It's amazing how much communication can happen in a passing glance. One smile on the way past . . . & next time it's passed right back to you. It's free energy, & it feels good.
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Today I was asked to do a talk on "The Bad Day."

Fortunately, part of the deal is I have pretty much free range on what angle to take with these talks.

The Bad Day . . . hmmm. What exactly are we talking about here?

The day is just a day. It's a day just as every day is a day. The day is the same day it has always been, for thousand of years past and thousands of years to come!

The day is a day, & it will always be just that, a day.

A good day? . . . A great day!

A bad day . . . eh?
Is that a day where you're just not hitting the numbers on the track, in the pool, or on the bike?

Just like the day, the numbers are just the numbers. They are the same numbers they have always been. Sometimes they are high. Sometimes they are low. They are just numbers. They can be great tools, only because they are exactly what they are.

The day is. The numbers are. So what's the difference?

We experience.

We learn to experience the day, the run, the swim, the bike, the bus, the drive, the wait in line, the wind, the rain, the birds, the waves, the sun, the clouds, the sky, the ocean, the mountains . . .

We learn to experience these things just as they are, for their own absolute perfection in being just what they are, as they are.

The joy of just running, swimming, biking, busing, driving, waiting, seeing, listing, feeling, living . . .

Just as fast as we share our experience of the day with each other, we choose what the day is.

Pass on the smile and there's free energy for a great day.

Rest well.

Favourite Part

What's your favourite part of the day?

I have two favouite parts today: Waking up this morning & going to sleep this evening.

I like waking up because I feel refreshed. There is a whole day ahead! So much to do, so much to see.

I like going to sleep because I know I will feel refreshed in the morning. Today was an awesome day.

Tomorrow will be a great day.

Rest well.

2 weeks of connections

First, a connection with the inner mallard:

I am forever grateful to have waterproof skin. I have found this inner mallard connection to be very useful during the beautiful Victoria rainy season, especially while it coincides with our bike volume. What a great friendship to have during those back to back Jordan River riding, Leechtown exploring, Jack Lake looking, Crab apple Lake finding, Malahat climbing, Shawnigan suburb discovering, Goldstream hike-a-biking rides.

Thank You inner duck. I am happy to have met you.

A connection with the inner monkey:

For the past year or so, "relax the hands" has been on my swimming list. Relax the hands on recovery. Relax the hands on the back 1/2 of your stroke. Feel the water. Every so often I feel the flexion & finish with extension.
Spend enough hours on the bike & you begin to feel the pedals. Relax the ankles. Feel the pedals. At the bottom 1/2 of your pedal stroke, relax the ankles. Now you have monkey feet. Feel the pedals, feel the stroke with your relaxed tree climbing monkey feet.

Thank You inner monkey. I am happy to have met you.

***

Last year Coach PK introduced us to the Alexander Technique. Essentially, this is where we relax the antagonist muscle group in order to maximize potential of the contracting muscle.

The other day while rolling around with Jalapeno, I was thinking about recovery & my mind wandered back to this technique. Can we apply the Alexander Technique to recovery? What exactly happens during recovery? How do we really recover?

In order to maximize recovery potential, we must relax the antagonist. We must turn off everything else. Is this active, or is this passive?

Initially there must be active thought in order to relax the antagonist. It requires effort to break the habbit.

Recovery is much the same. We must first actively turn off the work, then we become at peace with rest.

***

For rest to provide peace, we must first be at peace with rest.

Rest well.

cookie

Today a ginger molasses cookie nearly saved my life.

Bedtime comes quickly.

Rest well.