What a weekend!

(John, Amy and me -thanks for the pic Jules)

(Amy, Jill, Jen and me - all smiles after 8 miles!)

What a great weekend of outdoor exercise! Early Saturday morning, John, Jules, Amy & I hooked up for a ride. I was supposed to ride to Amy's, but, OOoo the idea of bears lurking in the dark got to me - too scary! So I drove. Soon it will be light before I even open my eyes, the time of the year I love! You can be out at 4:30 in the morning, the first light of the summer day and it's so quiet and warm! It's the perfect time of day, as far as I'm concerned!

We started out for a 33+ mile ride and picked up several other peddlers along the way. I think there was a total of 11 of us, all different riding levels, all with great spirits and attitude. I am happy to say, everyone steered clear of my nasal spray, whether it was my effort or theirs, doesn't matter.... it was a "clean" ride. It felt so good to be back out on the road-so much different than spin class. And the bike makes a world of difference!

This morning Amy, Jill, Jen and I went for an 8 mile flat run. Jen's goal this year is a half marathon and I've commited myself to running it with her. Running is my favorite thing and the idea of being able to run 13 miles and feel good, is very exciting to me. So every month until the half, we'll be upping our milage. It's a new month, so 8 miles it was today. Kudos to Jill for running that distance - it has been years for her, 20 I think she said. Quite an accomplishment this morning! I had mapped out a route on map my run and at one point, the turn to continue on wasn't clear, and I think....well, I know, we went too far and had to cut through a few backyards to get back on track. Luckily, they were summer homes, so I don't think we disturbed anyone's coffee hour!

On the way back home, towards the end of the run, the bright sun was just warm shining down on us through the bare trees and I got a little jolt of that yummy runner's high that I love so much. I looked over at Jen, the one who could "never run more than 3 miles" and gave her a little arm squeeze and a tushie smack and said to her, "You're on your 8th mile!!"

This summer is a big one for athletic events for me and those I train with. We have several Sprint Triathlons we're going to be doing as a prelude and as training to a big triathlon, a 70.3 Half Ironman in Rhode Island. I have not signed up for this event.......yet...... I am being urged on to do so, but I don't know that I'm mentally there yet. It's a biggie... 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and then a 13.1 mile run - that's right, a half marathon after all that!!! I have to really think about that. I'm going along with all the training for it with Amy, who is signed up and commited, so I might as well, right? Hmmm.....

And then, of course, at the end of August is the 105 mile bike ride for Betsey in Vermont. That will be the final 'hurrah' to the season for me. I'm hoping all the cross training will benefit me on the long bike ride. Either that or extra Dairy Queen will help me out!