Hello from Big Bear Lake. I’ll be driving back to Vegas in a bit and I have some errands to get done, though I feel good enough to cross train in the afternoon once I return.
Incidentally, this is the first trip I’ve taken to Big Bear where I was actually able to stay overnight in Big Bear. Previously I stayed in Barstow and drove up/down each day (and recall that on my last trip I had booked lodging in Big Bear only for the place to screw up the reservation leading me to go back to Barstow anyway). With the summer season ended, lodging was easier to come by this time and I had a nice couple nights at a rustic hotel that’s usually packed and charging $150+ a night.
This also means I got to sleep at altitude (Barstow’s closer to sea level than Vegas at about 2100′) during this Big Bear trip, and my Garmin oximeter showed a difference. Like with Flagstaff, I averaged 88% oxygen overnight each night I’ve been here, even though I slept well and (while slow to get up) felt fairly good in the morning each time.
My legs are decidedly sore this morning. While they can handle an elliptical session this afternoon (I certainly need the low-impact circulation), they can certainly use Monday’s rest day.
Even having spent all summer in the desert, the 40’F outdoor temperature each morning also felt rather good, and I wasn’t wearing long sleeves at all (plus obviously I had on shorts for Saturday’s long run). I actually miss the visceral cold of Chicago and Seattle winters. But that could just be an entire summer of 110 degree days talking.
After Monday, I’ll see what I can do about getting back to morning runs. Logistics make these more complicated than they were in the past, but I usually have enough time that they can be do-able now that Vegas morning temperatures have dropped back to the 70’s and below. We’re still a way from post-work runs being do-able again, but easy intervals in the morning would be a big step forward.
In either case, knowing the hamstring issue emerged two days after a long run, I’m going to take it easy for at least the couple days after this one, and see from there.