I got my mojo back, and took this week by the horns. I didn’t do everything on my schedule, but given the limitations of having the kids at home and my husband traveling… I am happy with what I got done.
The highlight of my week was a sixty mile ride inside the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida. Joe had a business shingding and we all went with him. Ocean Reef is a luxury community with beautiful houses, two golf courses, a small hotel, tennis center and seventeen miles of paved road.
Before coming, I asked for advice on a safe route to cycle around Key Largo as I would be riding alone and unfamiliar with the area. I got two suggestions, but as we drove in on Card Sound Road, one of the suggested routes, it was narrow with no shoulder and speeding cars – too scary for a whimp like me. The other option was road 905 but that was also narrow, with no shoulder and under construction to boot.
Then I looked around at the beautiful resort I was in. No traffic light, one stop sign, and most of traffic consists of golf carts. I had done 70 miles in a 3.5 mile loop … more than once. So I thought: pavement is pavement, I’m staying here.
It was awesome. It took me some time to find my way around, and eventually I found a great 12 mile loop. It took me over bridges, around golf courses, near a landing strip for small planes, and through lots of beautiful homes. In some areas, things were a bit curvy and I practiced handling skills, but most of it was straight with no cars in sight.
And the golf carts? I learned I could beat them when an older man rode by me and said “race you.” I smiled and we both sped up for a bit, until he waved goodbye and turned a corner. If a group of young kids were in a cart, I would ride next to them and say “come on, I’ll race you.” And so these bouts created a fun interval workout for me.
Between golf cart races, I had a lot of time to think through some issues going on in my life right now. I needed that alone time. I love my kids but since I have them at home all day during the summer, it was nice to get a little break and have some quiet.
The heat almost got to me as I got a late start and wasn’t done until after noon. But fortunately, the tennis center was in the middle of my loop and hosted ice cold water, lemonade, and towels I could wet and put over my head. I stopped a couple of times there and each time the tennis pro would ask “you are STILL riding?” Yes, I was. And I was loving it.
But the best part of it all was meeting up with Joe and the boys who were fishing at one of the docks. This ride was perfect for me.
As for the rest of the week? Here it is:
Monday: BIKE – Trainer 1h30 I hopped on Twitter and time went by a little faster than usual. Which is still slow as hell.
Tuesday: RUN & SWIM – I dropped off the boys for a one day camp and then went for a boiling hot 5 miles. It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I did follow it with a two mile open water lake swim.
Wednesday: RUN. Hill repeats. Fortunately I met with two friends who pushed me. Otherwise, the effectiveness of that workout was in peril.
Thursday: BIKE: Andreas welcomed me back to the computrainer studio with a killer 30 mile interval workout.
Friday: RUN: 7 hot miles. It was supposed to be ten followed by a ten mile bike ride, but I just started running and need to build up endurance again. And the boys were waiting for me.
Saturday: BIKE: the sixty miles above
Sunday: REST day … we travelled back to Miami, and that was a good thing as my ankle is swollen.
How about you? How was your week?
