http://howlingcommando.fastrunningblog.com

9:45 AM -  So part of the family reunion has begun. My aunt, uncle and two cousins from Denmark/Indonesia are up here for the week, with a lot more family expected to show up on Friday or Saturday. My youngest brother is at camp for the week, and I dropped my sister off yesterday at the airport (She was home 2 days from CA and now is headed to Las Vegas for a week! Lucky girl!). Took Jonny into work today and then zipped home for a  bike ride. My mom is hiking with our relatives up in Lake George, but I work at 3:00 so I needed to be home this morning. Worked in my favor. Longest ride of July, and longest ride on my new roadie ever!

Temperature was 68-70 degrees. Sunny for once! I couldn't resist the need to get a decent ride in. Put on my new bike spandex things and headed out. I think this is important to mention because my new bike tights I think made me look like a serious biker. Actually got three waves from riders going the other way, just the courtesy wave, but I gave it back, snickering to myself and muttering under my breath, "If only you guys knew I am a runner in disguise you might not wave with all those fingers! Muahahah". Ended up going 34.0 miles even today. The last 14 were hard only because my mom snagged almost all our waterbottles. So I only had 1 x 18 oz. waterbottle which I drained by mile 20. Got home and drank about 32 oz of Gatorade-water mix. Weight for the day was 169. Feeling strong. Feeling lean. Feeling fast. And feeling like the rest of today will be a great day!

Total Time: 1:49:55 Total Distance: 34.0 miles Average Speed: 18.6 MPH!!!*

*FASTEST SPEED FOR A LONG RIDE I'VE EVER DONE!!

9:45 AM - Part II of my split up weekend that I didn't get last week. Have today off from work, then work 8am to 5pm on both the 4th and the 5th. Pretty stinky! Weather this a.m. was overcast and high 60s with threats of rain. Actually it didn't start raining until I was about at mile 3 of my ride today. Funny. Though biking in the rain is a blast. Almost as good as puddle stomp running in the rain! Mission of the day: to have fun and get a good ride in without killing myself. Ended up doing 20 miles and felt awesome. Not too much soreness from yesterday's ride. Tomorrow tons of family arrives. We are food shopping today for the second time in one week! I suspect we will have to go buy more food after this weekend too! Man our family eats a lot!

Total Time: 1:04:19 Total Distance: 20.0 miles Average Speed: 18.7 mph

10:00 AM - Didn't really get in all the miles I wanted to last week, but I'm going to try harder this week, even though I'm scheduled for a full 40 hour week since they still haven't replaced people at work. Emma came up on Sat. night after work. It's a crazy weekend, as 28 people are expected to be here for dinner on Sunday night. I don't think I've ever seen so many people at my house! And to think this is only including about half of my mom's nine brothers and sisters! Sheesh! Went for a bike ride with Emma. Rode up to the school, did one .6 mile loop of the nature trail and then biked home. Saw two other bikers,though have to say we looked much sleeker than they did. YeOw! Great day today. Now time for barbeque!

 Total Time: 58:24 Total Distance: 12 miles Average Speed: 12.1mph

10:00 AM - The fun continued today with about 25+ people thereabouts finishing up what was left of the "fried turkey" yesterday; My uncle made a gumbo with the turkey, kielbasa, and shrimp with jalapenos, habaneros, and other spices. I think I heard Emeril yelling BAM! as my uncle was adding all the ingredients. Muggy and temp about 90 today. Before lunch Emma and I wanted to get out of the house, and as her laptop fried after 4 years of a long, healthy life, we decided to take a trip to Best Buy. In only 7 minutes we were able to locate a laptop, look at the specs and pay and get out to the car, only had to dodge the Best Buy people like 3 times as they were trying to sell us gimick $299 warranty deals. Lame! Before hand we went to Spa Park and did the 5k loop, and had a blast! So much fun, even if we were sweating before we started jogging! Ended up completing the course in a blazing 28:47. Good progress from a week or two ago when we tried to tackle the course. Didn't get a bike ride in, but plan to after work on Tuesday. Hopefully a good 25 or 30 miles. Recovery is a blessing. So happy that I am coming back. All you FRB joggers better watch out! Howling Commando Numero Dos esta aqui! Hoo ha!

Total Time: 28:47 Total Distance: 3.1 miles Average Pace:  9:17

5:45 PM - Long day at work. Very humid today. Got out of work and zipped home, and went for a bike ride to get the stress out. Temp was in the mid 80s, partly sunny but man was it humid. Almost to the point where it made me want to melt. I brought along about 45 oz. of liquid, 24 ounces of water and a 21 ounce bottle of gatorade. Ended up having a phenomenal ride. Did 30.4 miles in a time of 1:38:32. Felt really great!! Came home and ate two of the biggest sandwiches I have ever seen. Now it's time for a nap! Today turned out to be a super day. I read somewhere that the weather is no excuse for reasons you didn't get your run or bike ride in. Today was not a favorable day for biking, but I made the most of it, and I feel a lot better that I got the ride in. :)

Total Time: 1:38:32 Total Distance: 30.4 miles Average Speed: 18.54 mph

9:30 AM - Overcast with threats of rain and temps in the mid 70s. Humidity continued from last night. Surprisingly I wasn't too tired or sore from last night's ride, though I slept from about 10pm to 7am so I got my sleep in for once. Did a nice recovery ride and felt good the whole time. Went down Jockey St. and then east on Rte. 67 through Milton into Ballston. Felt good. Is it bad that I last saw Emmy like two days ago and I already miss her like crazy?! :( Blah.

Total Time: 1:31:50 Total Distance: 27 mi Average Speed: 17.6 mph

5:45 PM - Got out of work and zipped home. Overcast and temps around 70-73. Perfect coditions for a bike ride. Jonn decided to go with me and I dropped him off after 26. I did most of the pacemaking, but that was expected as he hasn't been biking as much as me. We had a fun time and it was nice to finally ride with someone else just to break up the monotony of it all. Ended up doing 32.42 miles total. Felt really great. Tired now. Time for a nap and then up for work.

Total Time: 1:50:22 Total Distance: 32.42 miles Average Speed: 17.6 mph

5:45 PM -  Had an incredibly long day at work. Really pissed off at the management. Needed to destress. Nice to know that a dude they hired three weeks ago has precedence for a promotion before me, who has been there how many YEARS? Sigh. Hot and humid. ~85 degrees and wicked humid. Yuck. Ended up doing 17 miles in 58:00 though. Now time for dinner and watchign the Tour. TGIF (for me at least).

Total Time: 58:00 Total Distance: 17 miles Average Speed: 17.6 mph

Total Miles of Biking for the week: 118.95!! Goal for next week: MORE THAN THAT and a long ride of 40-45 miles.

9:30 AM - My mom's birthday is today! I went out for a ride in the early morning before everyone woke up, and after my shower I am baking her two cakes and then I think I am going to take the whole family out for lunch/dinner.  I am excited. It's not every day your mom turns "29" :-D. My mom is truly the most amazing woman in the world. Figured that it was rainy today. First ride in the rain with my bike. It was actually kind of fun! I love the rain. Temp in the mid 60s. Wet. Felt completely relaxed during the whole ride!

Total Time: 1:14:00 Total Mileage: 21.0 miles Average Speed: 17 mph

Old blog. Check out my "new" blog I've had since 2008.