Cross-training is my friend

I love running.  That is no secret (clearly).  But sometimes I like to do other activities to avoid burn-out.  Namely, I love to ride my bicycle (or any bicycle for that matter).  I especially love to mountain bike.  It is thrilling and gritty, and muddy and bloody.  Boise's weather has been shit lately, but the other day it was actually DRY and 70 degrees.  What a perfect day for a ride!  I rode out to Lucky Peak Reservoir with Chuck and Danny to ride what Chuck called a "fairly easy trail".  Chuck lied.

 Please note the mud and loose rocks.  This was actually a semi-rideable section of the trail.  Much of it was a 'stream' of run-off with huge ruts.  I fell off my bike 6 times.  I was bleeding.  I was muddy.  I worked my ass off to keep up with Danny and Chuck.  Sweat was dripping in my eyes, and my hamstrings were on FIRE.

See?  I'm smiling.  This was after crash-and-burn #3, I believe.  It felt soooo good to have the sun on my skin.  I was completely elated, despite my bleeding legs.  I was so high on endophins, I couldn't feel pain anyway.  We reached the top of the trail and relished in the view of the Owyhee Mountains and the miles and miles of the Oregon Trail.

Ahhh, the descent.  I'm a huge weeny, and I squeezed my brakes the majority of the way down.  But I don't think I stopped smiling once.  We rode through puddles and flew around bushes.  I was so exhilarated, I never wanted to stop!

In the end, I think we ended up riding over 30 miles for 3 hours.  I was exhausted.  The endorphins wore off, and my legs began to scream at me.  But I stifled them with a veggie burger and an enormous pile of baked beans. Best. Day. Ever.