Advice From a Tree

I saw a photo on Facebook this morning. This is what it said:

ADVICE FROM A TREE



 

Stand tall and proud

Go out on a limb

Remember your roots

Drink plenty of water

Be content with your natural beauty

Enjoy the view

 

Seeing as how my brain is in training mode right now my first reaction to this was from that point of view.

 

Stand tall and proud - good posture and a strong core maintains your energy level during the run so you can run farther.

Go out on a limb - challenging yourself and venturing into the unknown is what gets you in to the marathon mess to begin with but it's also what gets your through the increasing miles

Remember your roots - for me that's walking. And my walk breaks are what keep me sane and moving during long runs.

Drink plenty of water - duh

Be content with your natural beauty - I am not a gazelle runner. I'm more a snuffleupagus. I am what I am and on training and race days I AM A RUNNER it doesn't matter how fast I am or what I look like as long as I try.

Enjoy the view - and I'll add to that... enjoy the company of the friends that run and walk with you.

Week 11; February 16-February 24

Monday - I did a lot of stretching and balance work today - through the morning mostly. I had the day off work and didn't have the motivation for much more than that. I paid a lot of attention to my calves and hamstrings as tightness there is a likely cause of my achilles strain.

Tuesday - Cold and rainy. I bailed. Yes, I know this doesn't jive with the designated theme of the training - No Excuses - but it is what it is. I have my limits. I'll run in rain and I'll run in cold but cold and rain together makes me cranky.

Wednesday - I met my friend Caroline B for 4 miles along the Chester Valley Trail. It was very cold but dry! :) A nice run. Caroline is very patient with me. I keep saying I want to go easy and then I push the pace without realizing it. She really should scold me but she's too nice to do so. BTW, you can follow her training at "The Running Optimist". She recently ran the Krispy Kreme challenge in North Carolina. Garmin

Thursday - Another nice run tonight. I've had some crazy days at work this week and these runs have really helped keep my mind clear out of the funk that comes from that. Tonight I ran with Julius and John T. I was a little anxious because they are typically ahead of me on most runs. So I spent most of the first mile waiting to collapse - but I didn't. I finally relaxed and before I knew it we were done and I felt great. And we were under 11 minute miles! I feel confident now going into my 16 mile run this weekend. Garmin

Saturday - Actually it's only Friday as I begin this. I'm very nervous about tomorrow's run. One of my running buddies suggested it's because I really want it. I think she's right and having a reason makes me feel a little better already. Thanks, Jeannie!

Still I've been stressing a lot today about running at a new place - Pennypack Park. On the one hand it would be good distraction to run somewhere new but then it could also be a pain if I got lost or didn't like the trail. Plus it's supposed to rain but no one seems to know how much or how hard. It's almost an hour away too. So I decided to bail on PennyPack and go to Oaks/Valley Forge. If I start from the Gravel Parking lot at Oaks I can be at the Valley Forge Visitor Center by 9 where others are meeting to do the loop. The weather may play a factor in attendance but I can run the loop alone without worry so it's ok. Again, having made the decision I'll sleep better now.

Famous last words! You can read about that and the run here. And here is the Garmin for Saturday

I am very glad to have the 16 miles completed successfully. From here on out I alternate big drop back weeks with increasing miles to the marathon. I hope to make the drop back weeks true fun runs and dig in for the longer ones. Next week it's 8 followed by 18 and then I have a week off having completed stage 2 of the the training.

Sunday - 90 minutes cross training today. I woke up to another dreary wet morning. So much for biking outside. I ran in that yesterday and the winds are higher today so I decided to stay indoors.

I started with 30 minutes of yoga. First I set up the bike so I went from the yoga mat to 30 minutes on the bike. I took a break and then another 30 minutes. Is taking the break cheating? Well it doesn't matter it's the way that worked for me this morning. I wore the heart rate monitor and tried to keep it in my zone 2: 111-130. Of course the sun came out when I was finished.

Nerves and Nightmares

Jump to the end. I finished 16 miles this morning. My longest run in well over a year.

At mile 12 I started to lose focus. I quickly realized that was because for the first 10.5 miles I had friends with me and now I was on my own. Time to suck it up and face the final miles just as I will have to do in the marathon.

Rewind to the start of my run at 8:00 a.m. at the gravel parking lot at Lower Perk Park, Oaks. I arrived about 7:50 and I was getting myself together Sherry pulled in. What an awesomely pleasant surprise! It was wonderful to catch up with her as we ran the 4+ miles over to the Valley Forge Loop. She turned around here to go back as she had a spa date at 10 a.m. I was so happy to spend that time with her.

At the visitor center I met up with Caroline B and Kristi Y. John T pulled in shortly after. We said our goodbyes to Kristi who was going to walk the loop and the three of us headed off. Sherry and I did 2 mile run; 1 minute walk on the way over. For the loop we did 3 minute run; 1 minute walk off Caroline's  phone. I admit I was kind of hoping that's what we would do. I haven't run the loop since John T and I did it 3 times  for our 15 mile run last September. Most of my runs for this training have been flat unless I'm around Media but none of those compare to the contiued up and down of the VF Loop. 3 and 1 was just fine with me. As we approached the bathrooms at Wayne's Woods John suggested we take the long way around which adds a hill but also added mileage which we all needed. We also ran up the hill and around the visitor center to return to the parking lot rather than cutting off down County Line road so by the time we were finished I was just under 10.5 miles. I only stayed there a few minutes because I didn't want to lose momentum. I thanked them for the run and went out County Line road to head back to the 422 bridge. It was great to see Kristi coming back from her loop then :)

So about the bridge. Last night I had a nightmare about the bridge. Actually I need to back up a bit. I was a bundle of nerves most of the day yesterday. Thankfully I was pretty busy at work or it would have been worse. I was worried about this run and about going to a new place to do it. The original plan was to go to Penny Pack Park. It meant driving almost an hour to run alone and likely in the rain. The trail runners would be there but really I can't keep up with them. Finally, last night I decided to bag the idea of going to Penny Pack and stick with familiar territory. I knew there was a group meeting at VF at 9 so I knew I could do 4 or 5 before that and meet up with them. That calmed the nerves considerably. Until I went to sleep last night. I had a dream that I fell through the wood planks on the bridge and into the Schuylkill River below. Great :(. I tried to shake it off because it was just a dream. However, when Sherry and I approached the bridge there was caution tape flapping in the breeze of the traffic on 422. This is what it was marking:

I had to take the photo so you would beleieve me!

Ok so back to my final 5.5 miles. I headed back to the SRT - over the bridge stopping to take that photo - and turned right toward Norristown. I realized that if I went left I was probably going to get to my car before 16 miles. I decided I couldn't deal with that. So I headed right and ran a little more than a mile until the watch beeped off mile number 12. I turned around and headed back. I was back on 2 miles and 1 minute walk break now.

At mile 14 I took a little extra time to strecth out my back which was starting to get wonky. I thought about stopping again at mile 15 but by the time 15 arrived I was starting to pick up momentum. Not a lot mind you but enough that I convinced myself that I could finish this without another stop. I ended up with about 3/4 mile to walk to the car. That was fine too I needed the cool down and stretch of my legs before the drive home.

I'm pretty excited about this run. I know it was slower in the end than the beginning. I finished 3:12:51 which is just over 12 minutes miles but I'm sure I was well into 12 minutes miles in the last couple. And I know I went too fast with Sherry. Not her fault. She's a great buddy and will run slow with me but she'll also pick up speed if I do. So it was up to me to keep the pace under control and I'm pretty sure I didn't. We'll see Sunday when I upload my Garmin. But none of that is as important right now as having finished it. My longest run in a very long time and I feel good. My legs are used but not abused. I don't feel like I have to take a nap either.

Thanks for reading! :)

I'm a Dreamer

Reading was one of my favorite things to do as kid and still is now. Even when my own kids were growing up - although the volume of reading was greatly reduced - great pleasure and a sense of control can be found in a few minutes of reading. Having time to stop the "real" world and get lost in another is very empowering.

I'm not a big fan of the "classics". I guess I'm not sophisticated enough for them. I've recently challenged myself to read "Pride and Prejudice" after hearing that it is 100 years old this year. It is slow going though. I downloaded it to the Kindle app on my IPad and when the mood strikes I slog through a few more chapters. It may be 101 years old before I finish.

As a child my favorite books were "A Wrinkle in Time", "My Side of the Mountain", and books like "The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". Today the most used card in my wallet is my library card. "Pride and Prejudice" notwithstanding I am not afraid to return a book I don't like without finishing. And I usually have at least two going at once.

I've been blessed with a vivid imagination and reading fuels that fire. For as long as I can remember my imagination has been an integral part of my life. As a kid, before falling asleep or on long car rides - things like that- I would imagine all kinds of adventure for myself. Some were an extension of what I was reading; some were an extension of the day's events and some were completely new and made up. I still do this but not while driving. :)

Reading is like an imagination assist. It allows me to drift off into imagination with a little less stress on my brain.

My love of reading and daydreaming is probably the reason why I try things like marathons and 100 mile bike rides. Being able to see myself doing it makes it seem less crazy --- to me anyway. It gives me the encouragement to try ......and stick with it. Fortunately, I'm married to a very good sport and supportive person. He never says ( at least out loud ) " You want to do what?". Thank you, Dave. Love you.

The adventures I worked out as a kid have been replaced with visualizing myself pushing through a tough part of a race or getting through a weekend training run, walk or ride. Or getting through a challenging presentation at work. In the last few weeks, I've crossed the Bob Potts finish line at least a dozen times. Awake, I analyze training schedules and advice on how to do this and that; Daydreaming, I just do it. I'm sure it's the latter that makes a difference in reality but I need the analysis part to satisfy my type A evil twin.

Here is part of my current bucket list - in no particular order

Complete a century bike ride
A relay event
A multi day walking adventure
Go on a deep sea fishing excursion
Learn to wind surf
Run in a trail event
Overnight Backpacking trip
Navigate a river from beginning to end
Run a marathon or half marathon that crosses the US-Canadian border
Pace someone in a race (that's PACE not PASS)
Achieve an ultra marathon distance in running
Go snow shoeing
Write a book

Interestingly (is that even a word?) the one thing that I have difficulty imagining is being able to write a book. So for now I'll just imagine and do other stuff.

What's on your bucket list?
What were your favorite books as a kid (or now)?
Are you in tune with your imagination?

Week 10: Feb 11 - Feb 17

Monday - Feeling yesterday's trail run in my quads today. Makes me smile remembering what a fun run it was. Today is a YAYOG day. I chose to do a 36 minute Tabata session. 4 exercises. 20 seconds on; 10 second rest.

The program chose squats, good mornings, arm rotations and crunches. I substituted planks for crunches because I felt like doing planks. The squats were not going to happen with the effects if the trail run still felt in my quads so I swapped those for bent over lateral arm raises.

Tuesday - Legs were still sore from Sunday's trail run. Definitely improved but still sore and stiff after any prolonged sitting. But as I'm only running three days a week there was no reason to bail tonight. I went to the river trail and parked at the Pawlings Road end in case it got darker faster than expected ( or more likely I was slower than expected ). I didn't want to get locked in the parking lot at the other end. My plan was to go 3.5 out and back.

In the first mile my legs loosened up but after the walk break at 2 miles I realized how tired they really were. I made myself keep going and work to keep up my pace figuring this is a good test for the marathon. After mile 20 my legs are going to be tired and likely sore so pushing through is good practice.

I got to the end of the trail and as far as the restroom at that end and was only at 3.15 miles. I turned around anyway because - although I wouldn't get locked in - I didn't want to be out there after dark. The trail has no lights and there were only a handful of others out tonight.

So my total was only 6.3 not the planned 7 but it I'm fine with that. I was careful to stretch when I was done and worked the foam roller when I got home.

Note to self - next time you plan to run a muddy trail after a heavy rain day, bring back up shoes. I drove home in my socks ( which I think is illegal) because my shoes were so caked with mud I put them in a bag to being them home. My car is not the fanciest by a long shot but I really didn't want to have to clean the mud after getting home.

Garmin - Well the numbers support my feeling that I was pushing the pace most of the time. I wish I had been wearing the HRM so I could compare that. The goofy drop offs at the beginning are me trying to figure out the best way to get around the huge puddles.

Wednesday - My legs feel pretty good today. Not perfect but good. Somewhere through the day my shoulders and neck stiffened up. I decided to do yoga anyway - slowly and carefully - if my shoulders or neck were bothered I'd back off. I worked for half and hour and my neck and shoulders feel much looser. Not exactly sure what did it although I suppose it helped to focus on breathing and moving slowly through the movements. I didn't even think about my neck or shoulders until I was done.

Thursday - Planned an hour or at least 5 miles. I managed 3 and walked most of the last mile. Why the breakdown?

- Did I do too much on tired legs Tuesday? Maybe I should have done less or slower?
- Is it because today was a big teaching day at work? I did much better hydrating today but my food intake was not so good.
- Is it because today I ran all on pavement and my previous two runs were on trails?
- Or is because my shoes really are done?

My best guess - and that's all it is - is that it's a combination of all of the above. For now I'm going to shake it off, take my rest day and set my sights on the Frostbite 5 miler on Saturday. I'm thinking about wearing new shoes on Saturday. It's only 5 miles.

Saturday - I ran the Frostbite 5 miler. You can read about it here. I don't wear my watch for races so no stats for this run. I did not wear new shoes as I was expecting yukky weather and figured I'd should at least try to break in the new ones on a clean day.

Sunday - Today it is near freezing with winds about 10-20 mph and gusts higher. So I set up the trainer in the living room and did 120 minutes total. 60 minutes at a time with a 45 minute break in between. Otherwise I would probably die of boredom. But I did it :) One of these days I get the cadence gadget hooked up for these indoor rides. For now it's all about staying in motion.

I am feeling some pain in my left achilles. Not pain exactly but strain when I walk. I felt it slightly after the race yesterday. It went away and now it's back after finishing on the bike. I will baby it this week. I don't think it's serious right now and I intend to keep it that way. Stay tuned.

Frostbite 5 Mile Race

Thanks to Kristi for allowing me to add this photo to my
collection and thanks to the random stranger who took it for us.

Today I had 7 on the schedule and I decided 5 with friends would reap much more benefit.

The race began at 9:00 a.m. which is quite nice for this time of year. I was really hoping for a snow run. Instead it was somewhere between 35-38 and just wet. No rain which was good but heavy moisture in the air. I met up with some running and walking buddies before the race started. The race is sponsored by the Ambler Area Running Club and starts and finishes at Wissahickon High School. The course had some ups and downs but none of them were awful. There is a portion of it the could have been run on a trail - maybe 3/4 mile - but the trail was not in good shape so we ran the entire course on the streets.

I just tried to keep moving for this one. I don't wear my watch for races but there were markers on the street. So I took my walk break at mile 2, another shorter one at the water stop at mile 2.5 and then another shorter one at mile 4. I probably could have skipped the last one but it's sort of automatic now.

Things that made me smile today (in order that I remember them)
- Seeing my friend Michelle in her tutu
- Seeing John C before the race started. John is a new grandpa and life has kept him off the trails for awhile.
- Seeing lots of other fitness buddies before, during and after the race: Sue, Mark, John T. Helen, Brian, Kristi Y., and Julius
- The dog chained up in his front yard who really wanted to be running with us
- The small child - maybe 2 years old if that - standing in the bay window of his house waving at everyone.
- The funeral director watching everyone going by as the hearse waited in the driveway. I'm not sure if they were ready to roll or not but sad as it is to have a funeral I have to say it's funny to think they had to wait for us
- The woman who was a few steps behind me with about a half mile to go. She started saying.."Pregnant going into labor...." which made me and a few others turn around to see if she needed help. Then she says " I survived that I can do this.." . Everyone has their own mantras I guess.
- The guy in the Eagles sweatshirt who I deduced was with the Back on My Feet group encouraging different ones along, He ran backward for a time. He was very peppy. I saw him at the finish too running various of his group in.
- The gooey brownies back at the gym after the race.

My results can be found here. As far as races go 52:47 is a PR. My previous best in a five mile race was the Media 5 miler in 2009 at 53:05. I once did 5 miles on the Valley Forge loop in under 50. Only once. I'm not sure how that happened. I'm pretty sure that the Earth was rotating funny though.

Today was fun. I'm thankful for my friends who talked up the race effectively peer pressuring me into it.

Week 9: February 6 - 10

I just realized I never posted Week 9. Here it is.

Monday - I wasn't up to YAYOG tonight but I didn't want to do nothing. So I found a 30 minutes yoga routine on youtube and did that. I followed that with slowly moving through all three warrior poses on each side. Then feeling just a tad guilty that I didn't do any YAYOG I tried to do as many knee on the floor push ups as I could. That amounted to only 8 but they were all done with a focus on form. It's no secret I need more upper body strength.

Tuesday - 7 miles tonight. This is the most miles I've ever done after work. I knew it would be dark before I finished so I combined some shorter routes that I've done before. I didn't want any surprises. The traffic lights made it difficult to stick to 2 mile intervals but it worked out more or less ok. There was sleety snow coming down at the start and the end but for mile 6 there were big puffy snowflakes falling. It was awesome!

When I got home I did some yoga stretches before showering. I wish I had discovered yoga years ago. Slow movements, focus on breathing and being in the moment made for some very effective stretches. I feel like I was able to get deeper into them and held them longer because my focus wasn't all on the pain or tug of the stretch.

Tonight I'm most proud of not allowing myself to consider skipping it. No excuses is really paying off.

I'm thinking I may have to start breaking in new shoes earlier than planned. I originally thought the end of February. But tonight I had to tighten the laces twice. I so rarely have to do that. Also I have hot spots on the inside of my right foot after Saturday and today. I chalked that up to moisture ( snow and puddles ) but with the looseness tonight I'm not sure now. I'll finish this week and see how they feel.

Wednesday - Tired tonight. I spent 45 minutes stretching. I feel better after that but still not energetic enough to do any YAYOG.

Thursday - I skipped today.

Saturday - I did not work out today either.

Sunday - I substituted trail running for time rather than miles. You can read about it here.

It Only Looks Like I Was Lost

My training schedule called for 15 miles this weekend. A variety of issues - including a viewin :( -kept me from running on Saturday. I was feeling less than enthusiastic about running on Sunday. I couldn't decide where to go - likely alone - that would keep me smiling and moving. I had just been to Forbidden Drive for the 13 miler last week and I didn't want to go there again so soon and the Perkiomen Trail - although I do like it - wasn't doing it for me right now. I'm not sure how I got to my final decision but in the end I decided to go for time instead of miles and hit the trails at Ridley Creek State Park. 15 miles would generally take me 3 hours so I decided to spend three hours on the trails.

Click here to see my route as tracked by my Garmin.

I started on the White Trail from area #16. At area #9 I skipped over to the Blue Trail. From area #9, the Blue Trail is an out and back lollipop trail. Before finishing blue, I came to the intersection of White, Blue and Red and veered off to cover the full length of the Red Trail in both directions. Then finished the Blue Trail back to Area #9 and resumed the White Trail back to #16.

I finished the white(green on the map)
blue and red trails today.

 

I HAD A SO MUCH FUN!

 

In fact, when I got back to #16 I was actually disappointed to be finished. However, I was also tired and hungry and the trails were getting slipperier (is that a word) as the temps rose so I stopped anyway. Better to quit on a high note. :) The total time was less than 3 hours - 2:45 - but I'm very pleased.

The first hour was a bit rough. I was walking more than I had hoped but after my legs became acclimated to the up, down and bumps in the road of the trail I picked up confidence and ran more. The second hour was spent almost entirely on Blue and Red and both seemed more friendly to a newbie trail runner. This boosted my confidence a lot so in the last 45 minutes I was much better at tackling the ups and downs of the White trail better than at the beginning.

I am proud that my butt did not hit the ground once. Of course there was some pretty funny acrobatic flailing several times to make sure that didn't happen. And twice I came within inches of the ground. I will likely feel those saves in my shoudlers tomorrow. :)

There was no way to do this but turn around
and crawl down backwards.

The steps and both sides were ice on top of snow

 



Week #8: Jan 28 - Feb 3

Week #7 was a rest week.

Monday - YAYOG in my hotel room in Harrisburg, PA. Bent knee push ups, squats, russian twists, lateral bent over arm raises. I worked the push ups slowly trying to keep good form. I bailed with a minute and a half left on the timer but I did finish the rest. I did do some morning Yoga today as well but failed to follow through the rest of the week. I'm just not good at that kind of thing in the mornings. I will have to find a way to work it into my day in another fashion.

Tuesday - my REALTOR running buddy, Terry and I did 6 miles along the Susquehanna River. We stayed up on the street level as it was still dark when we headed out at 6 a.m. Terry is a bit faster than I am. We did slow down at the end at my request but I think we went out too fast for me. We took planned walk breaks every 2 miles and a few unplanned ones early on when we approached slushy spots that we thought might be icy. Fortunately they were not and as our eyes adjusted we ran through those. I stepped in one spot that turned out to be a very cold puddle. My legs held up well. The limiting factor after a week off was breathing not legs. I'll need the foam roller when I get home tonight but it's all good. Well it would be all good if I had just opted for the banana at breakfast instead of the large coffee cake muffin. *shrug* Garmin stats Interesting that we did get faster as the miles wore on. The heart rate monitor drops off at the end because I took it off. It was beeping that I as going to hard but I felt fine at that point. I have to adjust the settings.

Wednesday - Yoga. This was the last day for this session. I will have to substitute something else on Wednesdays until the next session starts on Feb 27th. This class was ok. My neck and shoulder ( left) were bothering me and it only got worse. I'm writing this on Thursday morning and I do feel better after some sleep aided by an Alleve.

Thursday - Tonight I met Maggi and Julius at Pawlings Road. I was early so ran 2 miles on my own and then 4 more with them. It was very windy and cold and dark. It snowed in the last mile or so and that was awesome! I ran the first two miles in one piece. The final 4 we followed Maggi's intervals. She is coming back from sickness time off. She is one strong lady. I'm sure I would have walked more if I had been laid up as long as she had been. Garmin Stats The heart rate monitor was yelling at me up the hill to Pawlings Road. I was pushing but not to the extent it thought I was. I really do have to adjust the settings.

Saturday - 13 miles today. I met with the Misery Loves Company (MLC) group at 7 a.m. Technically it was my turn to "host" the run. Fortunately that simply means I chose the meeting place. We met at Forbidden Drive where you can run the more or less flat crushed stone drive along the creek or head up on the more technical trails in the hills along the banks of the trail. 13 miles on a ' normal' trail would take me 2:36 on a good day so I figured I'd start with the MC group and if all went well I.'d be happy with 2:36 of running regardless of the miles. And if all didn't go well I could break off onto the drive easily enough.

Well a mile into it I broke away from the MLCers. I can't keep up with them especially on the rocky trails at Wisahicckon. the challenge got into my head and I need to stay on track for Bob Potts. It took quite awhile to shake that disappointment. I almost went home early. I didn't but it was a close call when I went back at the start after an hour to see if any others had arrived. Kristen said she might. I waited until 8:05 and the took off again down the trail. It was very cold this morning. 18 at 7:00 a.m.! I couldn't wait too long. Kristen is faster than me - significantly. I was kind of glad she wasn't there. I was still shaking the funk from bailing on the MLCers and was worried I would get caught up trying not to hold her back and break down.

I had finished close to 5 at this point so needed about 8 more. I reminded myself I was going to feel much better if I finished than if I didn't. So I tried to relax my shoulders and run at a comfortable pace regardless of how slow that might be. Today was going to be about just getting it done. The next two miles were actually pretty good. At around 7.5 I started to lose focus again and was considering turning around early when Kristen and Roxy passed me. (I told you she was faster than me) Roxy, btw, is a beautiful grey poodle. Their timing was perfect. I started running again and started to feel ok again. Kristen fell in step with me and alternated a few steps in front or behind me the rest of the way. I love my running friends. At 9 miles I turned around. 4 miles to go and about 4.25 miles of trail. Mentally, this was awesome. I knew I would finish before the trail did! :) Shortly after the turn around we caught up John T.

I ran in 2 mile intervals except for the brief stop at 5 to see if Kristen had arrived yet and an extra walk break at 7.5. I increased my fuel intake to about90 calories every 2 miles and was careful to take more water than last week. I didn't bonk. The wanting to quit was all mental. My legs and lungs felt good. I felt slow but I wasn't in danger of stopping because of lack of energy.

I continued to drink on the ride home yet still think I could have used more. I had a bit of a headache within an hour after getting home and failed the pee test. I WAS a bit distracted when I got home. There have been water problems on our street since early Friday morning. In fact as I type this - at 8:00 p.m. the water is out again and instead is gushing out a hole down the street. So after my run - once I started to cool down - I got the chills and was more concerned about getting warm than eating or drinking. Garmin stats I'm surprised that my pace was still 12 min/mile average. I tried to stay relaxed and really thought I was going slower. I didn't wear the heart monitor today. If I had stayed on the technical trails it would have been beeping too much and driving me (and my friends) insane.

Sunday - Thank goodness for the indoor trainer. We got a coating of snow last night. So I pedaled 90 minutes while watching "In Her Shoes" on TV. I enjoyed the Philly scenes and references. The trainier is almost as mind numbing as the treadmill... not quite but almost.