I'm not getting any younger. I was running before yoga in the park on Saturday and realized that I hadn't taken a day off for 7 days which is a lot of consecutive training days in my typical regimen. No wonder my legs felt tired. It's easy to do when you have the glamorous career of teaching and don't have to work in the summer. Besides forgetting what day of the week it is (premature alzheimers?), I have been indulging in the best that Colorado has to offer. If my body holds up to enjoy these activities, retirement will be delightful. Recently, a friend acquired a paddle board and kiddo kayak which I have been tagging along to enjoy. I've been pedaling and doing yoga on days that I'm not running. I rarely take days completely off. I've read that recovery days can consist of running absurdly slow paces about 2 minutes slower than race pace which I sometimes do but I still think I do recovery runs too fast. I don't think the Incline and "easy" Barr Trail runs qualify as recovery workouts although some elites may beg to differ. There is some science behind taking days off on a regular basis. Muscles repair when you rest and pushing too hard all the time can lead to injury as Shelly mentioned in her latest blog. At one point in my early running career I would feel some twinges of guilt for taking days off. These days, I don't feel guilty about taking a recovery day if that's what my body is telling me. My workouts go much better and my legs feel fresh. I took yesterday off and had a great run up Barr Trail today. I attribute my Garden of the Gods 10 mile PR this year to taking 3 recovery days before the race. Yep-that is my secret. I took the advice from a good running pal and decided not even to do strides the day before which I typically do the day before a race. Every runner is different and we all recover at different rates. I will most likely be hurting at the upcoming Summer Trail Roundup as I'm planning on riding the Monarch Crest Trail and 401 in Crested Butte the days leading up to the race. However, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) takes a couple days to set in, so if I ride Monarch on Thursday the soreness will be gone by Sunday right? I'm hopeful that staying active in a multitude of activities will provide me with many years of running. If I stay fit, I may eventually attain cougar status and be dominating the masters category in a few years.