Week 4: Lagging Post

I am lagging a little as time has become a rare commodity.

On Monday, Matt and I met up with Tony, Bill, and Russel for a ride at Wakefield. I was supposed to run 3 miles, but instead rode 10+ miles at a hurried pace. Russel and Tony were hammering. The ride was broken into multiple loops on a couple different trails, the second loop took my onto new territory and we all lost each other for a while. I wish I could find more time to sneak riding in so I could be a little more confident on obstacles and turns.

Yesterday was a 6 mile run. It was mostly uneventful, but by trying to blaze new trail I ended up on a 4-lane road with a narrow shoulder for a short stint. The drivers weren't very careful, but I survived.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
6.03	47:41	7:54	144	186

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Week 3: Day 1 Night Ride

Tonight Mead brought me out on a night ride on Difficult Run, and I made a mess of myself. Mountain biking is one of those things that I never get very comfortable with and when I take time off I become very shaky. Tonight all seemed fine until a creek crossing. My attempt to ford the river failed leaving me covered in mud and blood (not bad, on the knee). I think I also lost an oxen, 225 lbs of food, some ammo, and Timmy.

There were tons of critters, especially deer, on the trail and Matt almost ran into one.

Somehow I failed to start my GPS at the beginning of the ride. The ride took about 45-55 minutes and cover roughly 9 miles of trail. The second half of the route which tends to be sloppy after rain was a bit muddy, but not too bad.

Another product endorsement tonight, my Light in Motion Seca 400 produces excellent, bright light and is extremely light-weight. The battery pack was completely unnoticeable after I got riding. The only complaint I had was that it was constantly shaking due to a poor mount. Now that's partly my fault, and I can probably shim it to make it sturdy, but I was definitely disoriented by it. Also, the white light produced by the L.E.D.s might have caused a loss in definition of some obstacles, but I need to take it for another spin to be certain.

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Week 2: Day 3 - Plan altered; Cycling

Today I broke ranks with the Hal Higdon school of thought and spent the day cross training. I went out with Mead for a Mountain Bike ride on Difficult Run today. It was my first time on the bike in a while, and only my second ride since the Greenhorn Adventure Race in late April.

Every time I get back on the bike after a break from riding it takes me time to get the feel for it again, whether it's shifting on inclines or going over obstacles. Matt took me on some parts of the trail that were new to me, one spot which totally psyched me out, but I'll get there soon enough. It was a incredibly steep decline with a creek crossing and a barrier to hop.

I was feeling some knee pain during the ride when pedaling hard. Mead suggested I keep my heel down which not only helped eliminate the knee pains, but also seemed to provide more powerful strokes.

distance	time	Avg. Speed	HR Avg.	HR Max
6.88	50:36	8.2	138	168

Jays watch:
Scotty Richmond tossed a good 7 innings today allowing 2 runs. The offense scored early and often getting a nice cushion for the rest of the game. Vernon Wells, whom deserves much scrutiny due to his excessive salary hit a solo bomb and a RBI double. I got to take this all in over a few good brews and some excellent chicken tacos with home grown jalepeños curtousy of Mr. Mead. It was a good day.

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