Sick kids

So yeah...it's their fault that I haven't posted. They've been incredibly sick...so sick, in fact, that my three-year-old son took his second nap in about a year and a half. I did, however, manage to sneak out of the house for a ride Wednesday morning:

a 5 mile (3 of which were a tempo run) run on Thursday:

and today I finished the most enjoyable run that I've done in about 2 1/2 years. It was a slow 6 miler that I did on some mountain bike trails in West Rock Ridge State Park. It was fantastic. Up and down. Over fallen trees. Across planks and bridges. Over/through mud puddles. From rock to rock. It's why/how I originally fell in love with running and it was brilliant. Anyway...enough of my raving. I couldn't put together a map on map-my-run, because the trails are under too dense of tree cover, but if you check the trail map, you can follow my route south from the beginning of the red trail. I took the white trail when it broke off to the west from the red. When the white rejoins the red, I turned back and retraced my steps. Again...awsome.

Reminder: if you haven't joined my ride...please do. Let's help ALS TDI get some real work done on ALS this year!

'till next time, ride safely!

Back at it

I went out of town (to Pittsburgh) last weekend. Since I was driving home on Sunday, I didn't get to do last week's long run (5miles). I did, however, play Vikingball before leaving the 'burgh. Awesome.

Anyway...so I got a bit of a, non-traditional, workout on Sunday and was back to running today(it would have been a 5k had I not gotten lost):

4.5 Miles

Foot soreness rears itself once again. Ugh. It wasn't bad, though, and by the end of the run the soreness was gone. Hopefully it was nothing. We shall see, I guess.

Today's route around Lake Wintergreen:

3-mile Tuesday

Today I started the fourth week of a 10k running regime. My general workout plan for the trek is to continue to focus on this running regime for the next few weeks (provided that my foot/ankle/achilles holds up), continue to add bike rides on a couple of my rest/x-training days every week, watch some initial pounds drop off, and then switch more fully to cycling in June . My reasoning might not be completely sound, but I really think that the whole body workout that running gives is more effective (especially when I take into consideration the time I need to put into both) and although I really need to get some miles in on the bike, past riding/running experience tells me that I am able to ramp up the riding miles fairly quickly if I'm in good cardio/muscular shape. So...that's how I've rationalized sticking to the running program for a bit longer (I'm also quite happy that I've been running for over 3 weeks and my foot still feels pretty good...first time that's happened in over 2 1/2 years).

Anyway...today's run:

Thanks for checking in on me. Cheers!

Moo!

Minicards, that is. I just ordered some to pass out for fundraising purposes. Image (thanks to doodleandhoob!):

On the back it says:

Become a part of my ride by donating:
http://www.active.com/donate/Trek2009/PGavin
More information on ALS TDI and the Tri-State Trek:
http://www.als.net/
http://www.tristatetrek.com/
Follow my training:

http://bikemeback.blogspot.com

Pretty snazzy, in my opinion. Now I just need to get out and hand them to people who are interested in helping.

4.5 miles at Lake Wintergreen

Today's workout was a long, slow run. I'm up to 4 miles for my long run. When I got to the turn around, I was certain that I'd made a mistake when I planned the route. The "two miles" had gone by too easily and fast...so I continued on. Finally, when I reached the confluence of a couple of trails, I decided that I'd turn back, check the time at the car, and continue on, if necessary.

The run back seemed a bit longer than the out and I was certain before getting home and checking that I had indeed run 4 miles (4.5 to be more precise). It was fantastic, though. The picture to the left doesn't do the trail justice. Next time we take a walk there, I'll get some better shots. This pic, though, will have to do for the time being.

Check the route below, if you're interested. Bike ride tomorrow perhaps. I don't have anything scheduled, though, until my run on Tuesday. Cheers!

into shape, that is

Welcome! 

I've started this blog for a couple of reasons. The first, and most immediate, reason is that I wanted a place online to collect my thoughts, experiences, and documents relating to my participation in this year's Tri-State Trek. Secondly, I wanted a visual, easily-accessible method to track my journey back into shape. I once told Jill that I was going to be in the best shape of my life by age 35. From about September, 2005-August, 2006, at age 30-31, I was running about 30 miles/week, had gotten to the lightest I'd been since 10th grade, was generally happy with the shape I had gotten back into, and was excited about the prospect of spending the next 4 years tinkering with my running routine and coasting into 35 easily in the best shape of my life. August, 2006, though, brought an achiles/arch injury that dearailed my running regime. I'm just back up to 10 miles/week (a slow, slow, slow 10 miles/week), but I worry about my right foot every time it strikes the ground (and I'm still 40 lbs heavier than I was in 2005/2006). So, although I'll post my running workouts, this blog is about biking back into shape. It's happening, damnit!

Today's ride: