The best I've felt in the mountains was the year I spent the summer doing a lot of zone 2 runs. I LOVE mountain biking, but my typical ride looks like 1hr or so climbing at 170bpm or more (max HR is high 180s depending on fatigues level) followed by about 15-20 minutes of descending at a lower HR using a lot more strength. I've found this doesn't really translate to hiking for much longer times at lower HRs the way slow running does.
Having a 10 month old and 2.5 year old isn't conducive to getting out on the bikes a ton anyways, so early morning runs with the dog have started to be the go to. I have historically not been a huge fan of running, but am in my recovery week right now and find myself itching and antsy to get back into another building block.
