Lazy Heathen Days

As I've said before, everything I needed to know about being an athlete I've really learned from my greyhound. That says nothing about training, planning or racing, mind you. Just about being an athlete. Rubin has taught me the benefit of resting when I can get away with it, begging for attention, enjoying the physical comforts when they come about, and eating simple as the day approaches.

Suzanne has been working all weekend on little things, trying to catch up (of course, I've told her the chances are slim and none) on all the stuff that's piled up at the office while she was out. Yes, it's a federal holiday, which makes it a well-earned day of rest for me. Have to remember to schedule those races for the week after a three-day weekend.

We had a nice run yesterday on the Bayou (8-mile or a little more) loop, taking 10-15 minute run pieces, then walking back to let Suzanne and John (and Sheila later on...) catch up. They had the benefit of a two-minute breather every 20 minutes and we still got our eight-ish miles in a little over an hour...on a warm day. It's to the point where morning workouts are going to have to be early in order to not kill us all with the heat and humidity.

Since we're in maintenance mode right now, we really don't have to work overly hard. It's not an excuse to be a complete "lazy heathen," a term I borrowed from my father for that occasional weekend day where doing absolutely nothing productive sounds like a great idea. We've had so few of these lately, because of Suzanne's travels. It looks like the next one won't be until some time right after mid-December.

Slept in today for two and a half hours longer than my typical weekend wake-up time, and four hours longer than my typical training morning wake-up. I felt a little guilty when I saw Suzanne out on her bicycle taking a mid-morning break...as I was on my way to do my "coffee and mindless reading." However, she has her occasional "no guilt" day...while I'm mumbling vague obscenities as waves crash down on my head.