Better than Nothing...

So summer is finally upon us here in Germany. For awhile I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to put my fleece and hoodies away.  We've had a solid week of nice weather now.  Workouts are still few and far between because of family visiting.  I know, bad excuse, right? Taking an hour or more to do what I want to do is just really not an option right now,  but I did the last two days!

Sunday morning was just glorious. Chip was taking care of the yard and I took the opportunity to find my bike clothes and hit the trail heading east along the river towards Bamberg.  It's been months since I've been on my bike...not because I don't want to ride, its just been so cold and wet.  Biking on wet trails is not a  good idea and I don't have winter/cold weather bike gear.  More excuses!  The ride along the river was amazing. It was flat and fast, partly shaded.  The sun was hot on my shoulders and the breeze warm, with the slight hint of a chill remaining, whooshing through my helmet.  My thoughts drifted as I dropped to the bottom bars and found the sweet spot in the saddle. Chip, DC, work, crossfit, friends, health.  I wished Chip was drafting behind me, enjoying the feeling of being so alive.  Today was the day we'd dreamed of--perfect weather, and a whole day to ride along the Main to Bamberg (60k away) and beyond.  I thought of my old life back in DC and accepted the fact that I'm still homesick and it might just not go away.  All in all, I covered 30k (18-19 miles) in about 1:20.  Not speedy, but who cares. It was a great morning.

 Monday morning brought more warm weather and sunshine.  Time for a trail run in the woods.  Chip was at therapy with his Mom, leaving me and his Dad at home.  Ray and I headed out into the woods. Ray does a run/walk program so I took him out on a looped trail and when we got to the point where he could head back and not loose his way,  I let him head home and I took off deep into the woods.  The run/walk for about 15 minutes was a great way to loosen up the legs from Sunday's ride.  After Ray turned back, I took off into the woods for another 45 minutes.  Just me and my music.  My legs felt better than my last attempt at running which is a plus, but while my body just wanted to unleash stress and anger and lots of emotion, my legs couldn't keep up.  They feel a bit weak--time to hit some squats and deadlifts regularly.

I'm hoping to hit the pool this week for a swim and start July off on the right foot next week with some solid crossfit programming.