I missed my run yesterday. In one of my daily blonde moments, I forgot my student ID card at home so I couldn't get into the gym on campus and it was way too cold to run outside. But I reeeeeallyyyy wanted to ride my bike today when it warmed up to 62 degrees! So a brick workout it was! 

Literally the second I got on my bike, a huge smile broke out on my face. It's been SO long since I've been able to ride outside. My poor bike has been holed up in my laundry room barely getting to see the light of day for months. So off I went. I couldn't belive how fast I was going given my lack of riding lately. Now, I was certainly exerting more effort than I would have last summer/fall, but I could still hit the same speeds I was at when it got cold. So I'm not starting from zero again this season on the bike--I call that a WIN!

I only did 10 miles, which is super short, but I was also super time crunched and needed to get in some type of run today to semi-keep up with my half marathon training schedule. Even the hills felt good on the bike. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time. 

When I parked my bike and took off on the run, I was once again completely startled by how freaking weird my legs felt. Yes, I haven't done a brick in...6 months?....but still. It never gets any easier. My legs never feel any more "normal" when I take off on the run after the bike. They always feel like loose spaghetti noodles doing whatever they want regardless of muscle memory or what my brain is telling them to do. 

But today they were fast spaghetti noodles. I held an 8:39 avg pace, which is my 5K race pace. And I really wasn't trying too hard. I literally couldn't feel my legs the entire 2 miles I ran, other than that odd sensation that something is moving but it's competely separated from what I was telling my legs to do. I kept my cadence high on the bike and it translated into a high cadence on the run too, which I learned last season was crucial for my triathlons. 

All this to say, this was a truly fun workout. I truly loved it. I smiled the whole time. I wasn't smiling when I ran 10 miles Monday. I love running, but I don't know if I love it enough. I don't know if I love long distance running like I thought I did. It was easy to tell myself  I loved it when it was all I knew. But now that it's warm enough to start outdoor triathlon training, I know that's where my heart is. That's where the fun is.

It's like dating a hot guy that seems great until you meet a guy who's hot, smart, rich, funny, sweet, etc. Then it's hard to focus on and stay attracted to the guy who's just hot. I know that sounds weird and cheesy, but that's the best analogy I can think of. I'm going to do this half marathon and finish strong, but I REALLY can't wait to go back to bricks, and swimming, and transition training, and wearing spandex instead of tempo shorts.