On Monday, June 19th, I ran in Jackson, New Hampshire. Any direction I leave the house, I have hills to deal with. The more I understand heart rate training, the more I embrace hills.
The route has some good elevation. And, pushing the hills is a good way to let the heart rate climb to get some VO2 max impact by being anearobic. I was feeling pretty strong and had a decent pace.
Fortunately, the route is quiet and there is not much traffic. It's a priveledge to run in such a nice area.
After running the long up hill, I looked across a small pond and noticed some black amongst the green of the trees.
I also noticed some movement. A black bear stood up to look at me. We had a moment looking at each other. It was good sighting.
I kept running after I took the photo. I wanted to leave the bear alone as much as I could. I am not afraid of bears in situations like that. It is just a pleasure to see one.
The following weekend, I was back swimming with the group. If I remember correcly, it was pouring rain for part of the swim. One of the swimmers that I was following headed back towards the beach rather than where the group planned to go. I realized that she had other plans or was done with the rain. It was another situation where most people would not think to be swimming. However, for training, it was interesting to be out there and setting ourselves apart by continuing to work at our goals.
Later, I rode 6 miles. I attempted to get my speed up. However, that is easier to do over a longer distance rather than a short distance. Again, the ride was shorter than prescribed in my plan. With other things going on in life, exactly adhering to a plan is sometimes. My strategy was to keep making progress on the swim and run as much as needed. Because I love biking, I was less concerned with cutting rides short. So, getting in a short ride before dinner is better than nothing.
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