Back on the saddle

After yesterday's supposed easy recovery run that spontaneously turned into fartlek, J and I went for an 11-km walk in the woods. And when I say in the woods, I mean IN the woods. J had seen some strange blue markings on some trees on one of his walks, which seemed to indicate a trail, and he wanted to find out where the trail led to. It was almost comedic how we ended up losing the (almost invisible) trail in the middle of nowhere, and having to cross a marsh and climb over rocks to get back. As you can imagine, my legs were quickly getting fed up with trails and were longing for nice and preferably even forest paths.

So after covering a total of 38 km within two days, you'd think I'd take today off running. You'd be right. I did take the day off running. But here's how you do the rest day thing right. First of all, you rest. Let your tired muscles recuperate. Put your feet up and read a book instead, or watch TV. Whatever rocks your boat.

Second of all, do not go for a 40-km bike ride.

Tempting as it may be to spend this bank holiday outdoors doing fun things like destroying muscle tissue, it is probably not a good idea. Less so, if you try to push for speed. Which I did and paid for on the way back, when my legs were so tired that I started wondering if I should try and find a cave or a room to spend the night, as I was obviously too tired to make it home.

It was such a warm, beautiful day. Everyone was enjoying the sunshine. Some people were sitting by the sea, some brave kids were jumping into the sea from cliffs, some were cycling. We made our way towards Särö on bumpy tarmac. The cycle path was like an obstacle course because of all the people and potholes out there. There was a hint of summer in the air, though. It made everything ok. Well, it was less of a hint and more like someone shouting in your ear with a megaphone that it is summer.

On the way back, we chose to leave the seaside and avoid the crowds. It was much more peaceful to cycle inland, but it still treated us to some small treasures.

Tomorrow it's back to work. It is not a thought I want to entertain right now, much less dwell on it. The long weekend has been so beneficial to my tired brain in so many ways, and having time off was not the only reason. The combination of amazing weather and exercising outdoors triggers an indescribable happiness in me. Let's hope that this coming summer has a lot of sunny days in store.