What a difference...

... a week makes. Didn't I predict this, just last week? I came off my days of illness-induced inactivity last Saturday for perhaps my best ride yet. If you've ever looked for tips on improving your bike riding, authors love to say vaguely annoying things like "imagine that your legs are as strong as titanium pistons, moving like machines." I snicker every time I read something like that, because usually when I ride I'm comparing my leg muscles to elastic bands - those weak ones that snap as soon as you try to wrap them around anything larger than a single hair.

But on Saturday? Legs like titanium pistons, I had. Legs circling and cycling, legs that rolled me effortlessly over hills and around curves. Legs that propelled me past more and more teammates until I reached the Level 2 vanguard, and then a little bit beyond them. It was beautiful, amazing and addictive. I've never had "runner's high," but if there's a rider's high, I was in it.

And that feeling, I think, has carried through the rest of the week. Even when I didn't have that feeling that everything was right in the world, when my titanium legs had snapped back to the normal rubber ones, it didn't seem quite as bad as it would have a week or so ago. So, as I've maybe said before, I'm grateful once again for these little unexpected moments of grace that seem to come when I need them most.

I'm off on vacation next week - Pat and I are trading cherry blossoms and our regularly scheduled swim/bike/run routine for rainforests, bioluminescent bays, and a more relaxed itinerary of kayaking, hiking and ocean swims in Puerto Rico. Thanks to everyone who checked in with me when my post was late last week... don't worry about me next Friday! If I can, I'll try to drop a quick note from PR, but more likely I'll try to give you two posts when I'm back. Hasta luego!