The need for speed

As some of you know, 2010 is the year for cross training for me. After running in Phoenix, I felt my age in my knees so I am making a concerted effort to do other things besides run. It's hard.

Fisher, my new road bike, has made it a bit easier. Yesterday, I packed Fisher into the back of the car, picked up RAH and her bike, Celeste, and we went to Quad Cycles in Arlington, MA. Meeting up with KEP, Mike, Vicky and a bunch of others, we headed out at just about 10 am. Mass Ave in Arlington and into Lexington was a bit intimidating, but then hit the bike trail which was truly fun. I did see the runners, many doing 18 or 20 yesterday in preparation for April 19th, but zoomed by them. Unfortunately, my odometer had gotten knocked out of alignment when I had removed my wheel so I don't know how fast I got going, but it seemed fast.

We all stopped at various places. It was fun. On the way back from Ferns in Carlisle, we went through Hanscom Air Force base, tackling one big hill, which was great though hard. The down hills after the up were even better and I am feeling much better about clipping in and out and stopping without panicking. I do need to still anticipate changing gears before stopping so that it is easier to get going again.

So, I was thinking about running Seattle on June 26th. Many of my friends are riding the MS Ride that weekend. What should I do? I think I am going to try a duathalon first. Run, ride, run ... seems like something I would enjoy. There are a a couple of them in Hopkinton which would be a good place to start, but I have to check it out.

Who knows what's next but I think I should wait and see what strikes my fancy ... no need to commit to one thing or another quite yet. Today, I am going to run to the gym and lift some weights. Or not ...

It's 2 am and I need you now ...

I am so tired of the Lady Antebellum song though the lyrics do ring true ... google it if you don't know what I am talking about.

I don't sleep very well these days and I don't know if it's because my new job is not exactly action-packed or if because I am not running as much as I used to or if it's because I am just old or some deadly combination. It hasn't really been a problem on a daily basis, but who knows if it will catch up to me.

The new job is fine, but not too much of a challenge. The good news is, it is very cut and dried so I am hoping I won't have to get emotionally involved considering there is so much outside of work with which to become emotionally overwhelmed. My colleagues are nice people and I seem to fit in while standing out a bit. We'll see how my first one-on-one with my boss goes on Monday. She's cool and pays attention which is something I am not used to.

The running thing ... ran 1/2 of the Hyannis Marathon on Sunday with my girls Katie and Rebecca kicking the second half. I didn't run as fast as I wanted to (slightly slower than last year) but overall, we did really well and it was fun to be with the girls again. Jess came along and took some great photos and coached us to a 4:02 finish! Next runs are short ones in April and I am going to be at a mile 4 water station for the Marathon with the Thirsty Irish Running Club which I finally joined.

Fisher, my brand new road bike, is now leaning against the wall in my bedroom since my living room is being painted. A delightful, metallic, light green with white saddle and grips, he and I both yearn to hit the open road. It's supposed to be nice on Saturday so I think I will ride to Wellesley or something. I have to buy paint, weigh in (which I skipped last week for the first time in almost 3 years) as well as do some flip charts since I am covering three WW meetings next week, but Fisher and I will make our debut I am sure. I just have to adjust my thinking to know that biking is just as good, if not better, exercise than running.

It's all about cross training in 2010. In every way ... exercise, work, life. Everything in moderation. A kid told me that the summer before I went to college ... I think I have only just started to understand it.