No rest for the weary

As much as I enjoy the challenge of the marathon, the amount of training required and the recovery time needed can make it very disruptive if you like to race frequently. Spring marathons especially. There are several May/June races that I like to run, and if I am to run them again this year, I need to get right back to training following Boston. Fortunately, other than some sore muscles, I was feeling ok, but my body was tired, and I needed rest. And the day after Boston, I returned to work to start a new job. So, there was no time to relax. I treated myself to a single day off after Boston, I enjoyed the runners' high, and was right back at it the following day. An easy two miles on Wednesday, three on Thursday, five on Friday, and by Saturday I was focused on my next race: the Ten Penny Ale Shamrock Duathlon, organized by The Hartford Harathon Foundation.

This race takes place on Sunday May 18th, so after a short week of recovery trying to get my legs back, I have three weeks to prepare. Usually adequate time, but this is a duathlon - 5k run, 26k bike, then another 5k run. And I haven't been on my bike once since last July. While I enjoy cycling, I have limited time to train, and I spend most of that time running. I typically would train on my bike for a couple months prior to the duathlon, but there was no time for cycling in my training for Boston. I started doing this duathlon a few years ago, looking for a new challenge. I hold my own in the runs, and do ok on the bike, but there are some hardcore riders that log serious miles. With only three weeks to prepare, I'm just hoping to get comfortable on the bike, and get through the ride with enough left in my legs to make up some time on the final 5k run.

I rode on my trainer a handful of times the last week, and finally got out on the road this weekend to get in a solid brick (run-bike-run). But time is running out. I'll see what kind of riding shape I can get myself in by race time, but regardless, I'll be there on race day.