ATL aka Hotlanta

Last week was supposed to be my first week to start consistent training again and it didn't go so well. My knee was killing me during/after rides and runs- this is not supposed to be happening after 3 weeks off. And with XMas coming up and a snow storm hitting Boston for 3 straight days, my training log looks pretty threadbare. I knew I'd be heading down to Atlanta to see the fam for the holidays on Tuesday (so couldn't train that day) and I was hoping to get my mojo back with the warmer weather.

I remember in high school, we'd be so excited for the first 50 degree day in the spring that everyone would wear t-shirts and shorts even though it really wasn't that warm. Well that's how its going coming back to Atlanta from Boston. All the locals are freezing and I'm just so excited to run in the summer gear. On Wednesday, I went for a run and finally felt awesome. I've been eating complete crap for the holidays and missed workouts made me just want to go hard. I needed to hurt a little. So I picked an "uphill" course and pounded out the miles with more effort than I should have but I didn't care b/c I'm feeling good again. I woke up this morning for Christmas before everyone else, downed some 53x11 coffee and got in a short an' easy jog just to get the blood flowing. As for the 53x11, I've heard Hirsch talk about it a lot so I ordered my first two bags and had them sent down South- I really like the breakfast beans and am waiting to try the chainbreaker stuff.

Since its Christmas, I figured a short run would be an accomplishment for the day so I planned on chillin' out for the rest of the day. Luckily, the weather hit almost 70 degrees today- really crappy weather for xmas but great for training- so I needed to do a little mountain biking. Surprisingly my dad wanted to join (he's the guy in the pic and pretty sure he just wanted to get away from his mother for a little bit) so we dusted off the old bikes and hit up a series of easy, medium, and advanced trails. It was a blast and got me completely stoked to bring the bike back to Boston for some cold weather ridin'. But for the time being, I'll take full advantage of the warm weather in Atlanta.

Next time you hear from us, we'll be training in Mexico...