I am so thankful for crazy, wonderful friends here in Geneva who are willing to wake up at 7am on a Saturday and drive 45 minutes to Chamonix for 10 miles of trails, sunshine, running, gorgeous views, and après run beers! Feeling quite blessed and am in a far better physical and mental state than last time we were hiking in Chamonix!
As I mentioned in my post earlier this week, since moving to Geneva Bo and I are inspired daily to be more active. Everyone in our life seems to be so fit! When we left New York my one true love in the fitness world was running.
Now I find myself wanting to dabble in more and more sports each month that passes. This winter I learned how to ski and found myself looking forward to the sun, energy and excitement of being up in the mountains surrounded by fresh snow, good friends and beautiful views.
Since Spring’s arrival in Geneva our friends have urged us to spend more time outside with them exploring trails, biking along the lake, and swimming. While Bo and I already owned trail shoes, running gear and swim suits we did not have road bikes. We rented bikes while living in New York City because at the time there was nothing tempting us to ride more than one to two times per summer. While riding up the Palisades was an amazing experience it never became a part of our daily routine.
Here in Geneva however, biking is very much part of the culture not only for exercise but also for transportation. Many people swap out their tram pass for cycling shoes as soon as warmer weather arrives as biking is often a more efficient way of getting to work.
So after a long weekend of renting road bikes and testing out the Geneva biking scene, Bo and I made the leap and purchased entry level road bikes. While there was a bit of a language barrier during the shopping process, at 7:35pm we exited Culture Velo the owners of two new bikes: a La Pierre women’s road bike for me and a Trek for Bo!
![IMG_1040[1]](http://www.healthyhappierbear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_10401.jpg "IMG_1040[1]")
![IMG_1042[1]](http://www.healthyhappierbear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_10421.jpg "IMG_1042[1]")
![IMG_1043[1]](http://www.healthyhappierbear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_10431.jpg "IMG_1043[1]")
I know what we’ll be doing on Sunday!
Have a great weekend guys!
Even though I was able to squeeze in two rest days, last week was still a perfect training week! I kept up my yoga practice, logged 17 quality miles of running, tested my endurance in the pool, and overcame a huge fear that has loomed over me for three years. While I wish that every week of training was like this I’m a realist and know that over the next few weeks I’ll hit some rough patches. But, one thing is for sure – the rough weeks make the good ones so much sweeter and the good weeks make me feel better during the bad weeks.
Monday: Rest day!
Tuesday: Another awesome Tuesday double workout including a tough morning swim followed by an evening of yoga. The AM swim was made a bit easier due to the awesome views from the pool but it was the hardest to date due to more than 1,000 of my 1,700 meters being endurance laps. We had a substitute for yoga and the class wasn’t as solid as normal but an hour of power yoga is always good for the soul.
Wednesday: I celebrated National Running day with a three solo, rainy miles on the trail. It wasn’t a great run but I still left the office and enjoyed the river views and tranquil trail atmosphere.
Thursday: Rest day!
Friday: The biggest thing I’ve missed since marathon training are my long runs with Emily. Our early morning, pre-work long runs are the perfect venue to catch up, vent about work and talk about our weekend plans all while enjoying beautiful views. This 7 mile long run was humbling and reminded me that one day a week, marathon training is about going long and slow. Yes, I know that’s what she said but that is also what I did not do on Friday. Pace was 9:32 which was 20 seconds faster than prescribed pace. Better luck next time?
Saturday: In preparation for next month’s triathlon Bo and I enjoyed our first long ride together along the lake. The views were gorgeous, the weather was perfect and I only have one huge bruise on my leg as a result of my first attempt to ride clipped. Theodora has a post coming that will talk about her tips for clipping in but let’s just say it helps to practice with only one foot clipped in, especially if you’re riding in a busy area. The heat and hills made us feel as if we’d gone further but in the end our ride was 15 miles, not as far as we hoped but still a great first ride.
Sunday: After spending 12 hours enjoying a bit too much wine on Saturday, I discovered that cycling is the perfect hangover workout! I sweat out all the wine while we pushed through a 20 mile bike ride up the lake to Hermance, a nearby tiny lake town. By the end of our ride it was 90 degrees but knowing we had the lake to jump into following the ride helped me push through the last hill. We kept a good for us pace and I was fully clipped for 15 of the miles! Talk about an endorphin high – accomplishing this goal and overcoming my fear of falling was such a huge win for me in the world of triathlon training! I am thankful for Bo’s patience as he helped me practice on Saturday and Sunday!
What was your favorite workout last week? Mine was definitely our bike ride to Hermance!