I set alarms to help me remember to do stretches and strength training a little bit at the time throughout the day. I’ve been doing it for about 2 weeks. It’s not perfect, but I’m getting more of the anti-injury PT in my day than I was before and it’s getting better over time. I’m having limited pain. That’s probably related. I rode 80 miles last week and I’ll make it 100 next week. That’s a little bit more than a 10% increase from the week before, which is above recommended increase, but I’ll level it out a little the following week.

What all that means is that this week I’ll be doing as many miles in a week as the project requires at top level and the pain is limited because I’m doing my stretches and strength training. I reached this point before I started planning my rides by looking at high temperatures instead of looking at low temperatures, so my self-confidence in meeting the physical challenges as soon as the other parts of the project are ready is strong. In fact, I may be able to ride those hundred miles in a day before that. I still have to build to meet my personal goals, but I’ll be ready to meet the project goals when I need to and it feels good.

The rides have been beautiful this week. The Dogwoods have started to bloom, but the pollen still isn’t bad by Atlanta standards, partly due to a few days of high winds. One ride was ultra windy. I was nervous watching the trees sway and listening them squeak. Just after I turned to cut the ride short I heard a tree fall and could tell by the sound that it was across the stream from the trail. A woman screamed just after I passed her. She had been looking toward where I heard the tree fall. As I peddled away I could still hear her excitedly OMGing to the man she was with.

Life is still moving along at breakneck speed and there have been significant challenges in our personal lives, but it’s all small stuff, right?

Have a glorious day and we’ll see you on the trail!