For the second day I woke up to rain and a chill that only comes with the moisture of fall weather.  So on these cool wet mornings I am forced to either rest and do things around my house that I have neglected due to a busy training schedule, or “cross train”.

  This morning I chose the rest option and made pear jam with a case of hard winter pears a neighbor gave me.  Definitely a workout for the hands, pealing and cutting rock hard pears isn’t exactly easy.  But at least I have the yummy smell of cinnamon in my kitchen and some jam to look forward to in the mornings.  Usually when I’m constrained to indoor activities because of weather… which aren’t my favorite days since I’d rather be outside, I end up cooking.  Never really sure what, but most times a cake of some sort, rice or pasta for lunch over the following days, or jam (in the summer) with extra fruit I’ve been given or picked from my uncles tree.  So far this summer I’ve made apricot, plum (both so sour since I don’t add sugar), cherry, lots of fig, apple and pear.  I guess I’ve inherited my Grandma Ruth’s nack for making jam, I used to spend summers with her while she jarred away in the kitchen.

  Aside from my not so little cooking hobby, yesterdays rainy day was spent with a sort of cross training.  I geared myself up with rain jacket, running tights and running shoes and headed up to a trail (sentiero n.10) that I used to run at.  Since I’ve been focused on cycling I haven’t been up there in a couple months and really enjoyed getting back on the trail.  Even with pouring rain, mud, and a trail turned to river I had fun walking and jogging a bit (mostly to stay warm) through the forest.  My uncle is all about breathing exercises and walking in the forest to get clean air, so I embraced this dreary weather day as a cleansing, so to speak.

  After about 2 months of not running or even jogging more than 100m it felt like rewatching an old movie that you’ve seen a million times as a kid.  The good feeling of nothing but you and the trail, just one foot in front of the other.  No cars, roads, pedals or even people.  But just because that old movie is being shown on tv to watch for the evening doesn’t mean you want to go out and buy it… just enough to keep alive that feeling of another time.

  It was a great hike/run the got the body moving and exercise when it was too cold, wet and dangerous to bike.  After my nature walk I went to the swimming pool for cross training part 2.  I swam and did exercises for about an hour.  I get pretty bored swimming, but break it up with stretching and random exercises.  I like going to the pool to get some exercise while giving my legs and back a rest.  While swimming I can feel my lower back stretching out and spine extending away from the bunched up position it molds to on the bike.  I just wish I had taken more advantage this summer of the lakes I have in my area to do open water swimming and just hanging out in the water.

  I can’t stand swimming laps, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, aaaahhhh!!!  Especially when your stuck in lanes with creepy older men that think the entire pool is theirs, and every few laps you get kicked in the face, smacked in the arm or splashed right when your getting air.  I guess I could call this training for if I were ever to do triathlons though.

  Despite the down weather and being forced to stay off my bike for the day, it’s always good to take a step away and give the body and mind a rest.  It’s these kinds of days that make sunny warm days all the better.  So in some sense I can actually be grateful for the cold and rain… just not sure I want to say the same about the cold and snow of winter though.