Update

Well, since my last post I...

rode 15 miles at the picnic loop at a PR 22.5 mph pace...

and then went on vacation for a week in NC, where I ran only twice, not fast, swam once in the ocean (enough to get massive armpit chafing and to not want to do it again), and did basically nothing else (training-related). No long run, nothing.

On Sunday, back in Houston, I rode 56 miles in hills, and had some weird quad soreness and felt generally fatigued. I was pretty disappointed with how slow I was until the last 15 miles of the ride, when I somehow found another gear and actually attacked the hills. I finished up the ride actually pretty happy with myself for persevering and managing to eke out some speed.

This week I've been trying to get back into some sort of routine, lest my fitness go spiraling down the drain. I managed to go to a masters swim practice on Tuesday for the first time in a long time, and I ran 6 hard miles at the park yesterday. It had been a tough week at the office, and I was running angry- I'm pretty sure I ran a 5K PR on the last half of that run. This morning I (barely) resisted the urge to sleep in and did a brick at the park, at which my legs were generally pretty fatigued and uncooperative. I'm looking forward to getting back that sense of satisfaction that comes with pushing hard and being fast...