Motivated to Succeed

11:00 AM - Blustery and cold. Temperature was only 5 degrees above zero when I started my jog. This was the first run I've done in my new orthotics and I like them already. I didn't have any pains in my feet when I was jogging with them, although I was out of breath by the end and my quads hurt a bit right now. I went running from my dad's school on the back roads and back. Felt pretty good.

Got to thinking on my run about the year ahead. As it is now 2009 and a new year is upon us I have mixed feelings about the last year. I feel like I lost a year of running, but I gained much more. I gained a new perspective about what it means to live life. One's life is not determined nor remembered by what awards he or she earns, or how many races he or she runs, but my one's approach to each opportunity that is presented to them. As such I have only modest goals for this year. I know that I have the heart of a lion, the strength of a tiger, and the persistence of a very ornery long distance runner. Splits for today's run were:

Total Time: 26:25 Total Distance: 3.0 mi  Average Pace: 8:47/ mi

Benn's 2009 Goals:

1. Enjoy each and every run

2. Train for and complete my third marathon

3. Bike from my house in NY to Emma's in MA

4. Bike a century (100mi)

5. Enjoy our family vacation in summer of 2009 to Yellowstone and Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks

6. Lose 10 pounds

7. Run, bike, and hike every chance I have with Emmy.

I know that I have a long way to go on my way to recovery, but I think that 2009 will be a much better year than 2008 for me running wise. I'm saying upfront it's okay if I don't meet all these goals, but it's good nonetheless to have goals in mind when starting the new year, no?

 3:20 PM - I worked until 3pm today ( a short day I know!). Emmy went home after two days here for New Years. Boo :(. But I brought my jogging stuff with me to work and changed in the parking lot in my car and drove over to Spa Park. It was deserted! It was weird because usually that place is packed with people. The last week and a half we've had over 2 feet of snow though so the only people I saw were a handful of cross country skiiers and a lady walking her dog. My legs were tired. My quads are a little sore. Today's run was a pretty good run though. It was fun to go running in the snow. Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:58
• Mile 2: 9:06
• Mile 3: 8:44
• Mile 4: 8:41

Total Time: 35:46 Total Distance: 4.03 mi Average Pace: 8:53

Other good news.. Weight is down 4 pounds since the beginning of the week on Sunday!

9:25 AM - Temperature was a lot warmer than yesterday. A "balmy" 25 degrees. Sunny which was nice. Only downer was the wind @ 15-20 mph. Coming back was a workout. Really enjoyed the run though and it was funny but the soreness in my quads seemed to just melt away while I was running, though it's returned. You never realize how many muscles the human body has, nor how many you don't use on a daily basis until something like orthotics makes it so you use all your muscles. Now I feel like a couch potato out of shape lard butt :(. Came to two realizations today as I was running. The first was that I like the feel of the full orthotics as compared to my old 3/4 length ones. My feet feel meshed to the shoe and the shoe feels more connected to my foot if that makes sense. Secondly, though I am significantly heavier than this time a year ago, I feel much stronger than last year already. I think that all the biking wasn't just something to do in the meantime, but rather was an investment in my future runs. Let's hope this good luck continues! Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:46
• Mile 2: 8:22
• Mile 3: 8:12

Total Time: 25:23 Total Distance: 3 mi Average Pace: 8:26

11:20 AM - Temperature was about 22 degrees, sunny, and Caribbean blue skies today. Perfect day for a run. Today was Epiphany Sunday in church and the whole family went including my cousin Kara and her two little girls Maggie and Annika who have been up all weekend. I really enjoyed the service and thought about what our minister talked about. I am truly blessed to have everything that I have in life today. I have a wonderful family, an amazing fiancee, and so many opportunities to be thankful for. I truly am a lucky guy! Went jogging on the backroads from my dad's school to Crane Rd. and back. Quads are still sore, but feeling stronger. Just wanted to do 3 miles. Emma is at a bridal convention thing with her mom this morning in Pittsfield so I can't wait to hear all about it. I guess we are registered to win $1000 or something out of the people that go so that's neat. Splits were strong on the run today. Roads were almost clear so that was a huge factor. Stretched afterwards. Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:43
• Mile 2: 8:34
• Mile 3: 7:58!

Total Time: 25:19 Total Distance: 3.01 mi Average Pace: 8:25

9:30 AM - Rainy, sleety freezing rain this a.m. delayed almost every school district so my brothers got an extra couple of hours of their winter break. I decided to drive to Emma's hosue since it was my day off today. The normal 75 minute drive took me an extra 40 minutes today, but it was worth it. Emma and I had a jogging date in her basement, her on the elliptical machine as she is still nursing a sore right ankle from her tumble the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and me on the treadmill. I ran at 2% grade the whole time, and even though I was running 10:00+ per mile pace the entire time, I still got a workout! Felt great though :) Stretched afterwards. Happy Monday all!

Total Time: 35:00 Total Distance: 3.37 mi Average Pace: 10:23/ mi

10:00 AM - So funny thing.. it turns out that Emma was keeping a secret from me! At the wedding expo the other day she ended up winning something, which she surprised me with! It was a 1-night guest pass to the Crown Hotel and Resort in Pittsfield where her sister works! She won it (retails at about $200 a night!). And she also had a gift certificate for dessert, so we enjoyed some nice desert a la mode (well okay mainly just me because Emma only wanted an apple), and then we watched a movie upstairs in the room before passing out. This morning we had a workout date in the weight room which was really nice. I felt like a movie star because you can only get access to the workout room and pool area with a swipe card! It's cool because a lot of famous people stay out here, i.e. the dad from American Pie series was there for a couple months this past fall, and all the other "Taking Woodstock" stars were there as well. It was still sinking in this morning as we were getting ready to checkout by noon. Before we left we grabbed a dip in the swimming pool. It was so cool though to be essentially the only ones there! As it's the off season no one really goes there. I got to see Emma's Aunt Sandy and her cousin Alicia too when we got home this morning and we got caught up on a lot of stuff as I haven't seen them since the "big day". They loved the ring which is cool ;). All in all a great day. Kind of funny.. and corny at the same time, but I concluded that I am awesome as I have run "every day this year". Hope everyone's Tuesday was splendid! Note: Treadmills are funny creatures. I was trying to figure out the innerworkings and physics behind them as I jogged today, but then realized that the funny rubber smell was not the belt or motor about to fry, but my brain! I will try not to think too hard tomorrow. ;)

Total Time: 30:00 Total Distance: 3.2 mi Average Pace: 9:22

7:15 AM - Snowy and wet outside today. Almost every school district was closed today. Emma and I went and got Indian food at our favorite Indian restaurant in Pittsfield last night and then passed out and slept 8 or 9 hours until the alarm went off this morning. I wanted to get a run in before having to go back to New York and work the stupid 11-8 shift today. I like our workout dates. I think they're fun and Emma told me that I am good motivation for her, as she might otherwise want to quit before completing the alotted time/distance goal(s) we set. The soreness in my quads is mainly gone which is nice. I think I am getting stronger. The run today was steady at 2% incline again. Phew! I was sweating up a storm! Now if only I could lose some weight! I will write more later. But I have to get going to make it to work in time because the roads will be horrible. I am expecting a 2h15m drive instead of the usual 1h30m :(. Hope everyone else has a great day. And to everyone in the Pacific NW, especially Snoqualmie - Let me know if you need to borrow my canoe or dingy! I heard that you all are getting 10-20 inches of rain! Crazy! Run on friends!!

Total Time: 30:00 Total Distance: 3.10 mi Average Pace: 9:41

3:20 PM - Went over to Spa Park after work and changed in my car. It was blustery cold and had been snowing all day. It finally stopped at about 3:00 so I decided it was definitely worth a go. There were a bunch of people walking their dogs but the highlight of today's run was during mile 3 when a momma deer jumped out in front of me and was staring at me, probably because my gloves were flourescent orange just like the hunters wear. I had a moment of ESPN where I was like "Woah. Easy does it. I'm just a jogger!" Then little Bambi came hopping across the road so cute! Momma and Bambi went off in to the woods and I kept jogging. I slipped a couple times during the run, but no falls. Ran pretty even paces despite the hills.

• Mile 1: 9:04
• Mile 2: 9:06
• Mile 3: 8:55
• Mile 4: 9:01
• Mile 5: 8:59
• .6: 5:14 (8:49)

Total Time: 50:23 Total Distance: 5.6 mi Average Pace: 9:00

GOOD NEWS!: I think that I have convinced Emmy to join the blog! Hopefully we will set her up with an account tomorrow as she's coming to New York!

Today was a much welcomed day off from jogging. Emmy met me at work during my lunch break and after work today around 3pm we went to a late lunch date at Panera. I love our little lunch/dinner dates! After that we went food shopping for later. Hopefully I can get her blogging tonight!

3:15 PM - Emmy went to my work today. She's such a trooper! After I got out we drove up to Spa Park and got changed in our cars. I laughed because imagine what some nonrunner would think of two cars next to each other each with a weirdo changing their clothes in the middle of a Siberian tundra winter! Crazy kids! We went jogging and had a blast. We both laughed at the icicles that formed in my beard. We were going to get a picture but forgot. A very fun run despite really icey roads. Took it slow because we are both a little sore and don't want to injure ourselves! I love running dates! =D

Total Time: 26:07 Total Distance: 2.32 mi Average Pace: 11:14

Tonight was the start of semester #3 of grad school. I can't believe that I'm that close to graduating :). Was nice to see a lot of the old faces from some of my other classes. I just hope I don't "burn out". Emmy went home today :(, but I'm going to her house this weekend so that's awesome :)! Hope everyone had a great Monday!

8:10 AM - This week in the northeast is going to be cold. And colder. And then even colder at night. Not cool. I decided after a successful class last night I would celebrate with my long run for the week this morning before my two classes tonight. I woke up around 7 and had a cup of coffee and a piece of toast and drove to the school. Temperature was between 15 and 20 I'd say with a slight 5-10 mph wind. Went out and back on Parkis and Crane, two roads I do a lot of my runs on primarily because I like the lack of traffic on them! Funny thing was when I got back to my car I actually got to laugh at how funny I looked. I was bundled in 3 layers on my legs, 3 on my torso, mittens and a hat. But the funny part was that I had icicles hanging from my glasses and all in my beard. I looked worse than Snoqualmie Ridge Runner's picture I think it was. I had neglected to keep my camera in my car last night because I didn't want the cold to zap the batteries, so the best I could do was take a photo with my camera, though I am technologically slow and don't have any text messages or anything so don't know if I can actually transfer the picture to my computer? All in all a really fun run. Splits were:

• Mile 1: 9:10
• Mile 2: 8:57
• Mile 3: 8:41
• Mile 4: 9:06 (big hill)
• Mile 5: 8:43
• Mile 6: 8:35
• .6: 4:55 (8:11)

Total Time: 58:09 Total Distance: 6.6 mi Average Pace: 8:48

11:00 PM - Found a fortune cookie on the oven when I got home just now from school. I opened it and read it. I will try to live up to this "fortune" in 2009: "Ambition has no obstacles." - Wise Chinese He/She

8:20 AM - Woke up and the basement was freezing! No wonder why my parents were so willing back in the day to let me essentially take it over as my bachelor pad! Brrr! After a cup of coffee I layered up with 2 pairs of socks (wouldn't fit in my shoes, so I had to cut it to 1), a pair of short spandex, pair of long spandex and a pair of running pants, and then hats, gloves, and an a-shirt, long sleeve cotton shirt, long sleeve thermal shirt, and long sleeve sport shirt, oh and a sweatshirt! After all that I got in the car which didn't want to start. Finally turned over and drove to the school to do a quick run. Air temperature at the start of the run was -5 degrees !!! (Yes, NEGATIVE!)[wind chill factor of between: minus 15 and minus 20!]. It was sunny though so that was nice. Couldn't do much more than 30 minutes, else my eyelids might have entirely frozen shut. As it was I had to take my hand out of the glove and melt the ice away from my eyelashes every half mile or so. It was a fun run though. But I did get some strange looks. I am attaching a picture of me after the run and 2 pictures of the sunrise the other day which was spectacular from my house. Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:58
• Mile 2: 8:50
• Mile 3: 8:22
• .57: 4:28 (7:52 pace)

Total Time: 30:40 Total Distance: 3.57 mi Average Pace: 8:35

View looking Southeast from my Garage.

Another shot before I headed to work, ~7:20 AM

And now, for the moment I'm sure everyone's been waiting for... what I have titled "THE ICEMAN RUNNETH":

7:20 PM - Did about 20 minutes of core exercises, freeweights, pushups, and crunches. Felt good.

Doh! I hate when I have "blonde" moments (no offense to any FRB friends that are truly blonde haired). Got up at 6am an drove to work only to find out that I don't work until 12pm today. urgh. It's too cold to run outside with temps at -19 below so I guess I'm going to just do some free weights, crunches, and pushups. I won't be able to run tomorrow either, as I actually work 8am to 3pm tomorrow and then have to drive to Pittsfield for Emma and my friend's 23rd birthday party. Oh well. Will just have to remember that next week is a new week and I can try to get in a couple more runs when it is hopefully less cold out. I am also hoping to make use of Emma's treadmill while I'm there!

9:30 AM - Question of the Day: What do Howling Commandos do when weather and time constraints keep them from getting outside to do a run? .. They improvise!

KILLER COMMANDO WORKOUT #1 >> I stretched and changed into running attire with an added sweatshirt to hopefully lead to a better sweat. (Boy did it work!). I started doing stairs, the first time I've actually ever done them, going from the basement up to the middle floor, and back down again. The basement flight is 13 stairs and is very steep. Then my sister and mom who first thought I was crazy for wanting to run inside suggested that I add the second flight of stairs, a "Double Decker" approach. I did, but found it wasn't the same, and seemed disjointed in a way, especially as I had to dodge our not-so-little St. Bernard puppy Aggie who is now about 80 lbs and thought I was playing a game rather than working out. I kept up the crazy stair climbing for an agonizing 20 minutes until my legs burned fire. Then I did 7 minutes of jogging around the basement floor through the four rooms, followed by 5 minutes of jogging in place which made me feel like 1000 pounds! Finished with stretching, free weights, crunches, and pushups (sadly I missed 100) I will try for more pushups tonight.

Total Time: 32:00 Total Distance: *3.2 mi (xtraining equivalent)

4:45 PM - A snowy Sunday today :). Missy's birthday party was fun. I am in Pittsfield at Emma's house today, and I hopped on the treadmill. My legs have been sore and tired since my stair workout the other day. I guess it goes to show you don't know how out of shape you are until you try something you haven't done in a while. Just did 2.1 miles easy and a lot of stretching. It was nice.

Total Time: 22:00 Total Distance: 2.1 mi Average Pace: 10:28

12:20 PM - I usually don't use the elliptical machine, because in the past I have had bad experiences with it. However Emmy wanted to get in a run on the treadmill and I like working out with her so I hopped on the elliptical and did a run at 5/10 resistance. All I can say is wow. That was a humbling experience. I don't think I've ever been so pooped in my life after such a short jaunt! Did 35:00 minutes. Tonight we are going to dinner with the Momma Croshier (Emmy's mom), and one of her sisters, Liana. I can't wait! It should be fun. Then it will be family movie night back here! Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Total Time: 35:00 Total Distance: *3.5 mi

Something to think about as we look forward to a new leader in office and the turning of a new page in history:

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

10:00 AM - Today I have class at night from 4pm to 10pm down in Albany, yuck! Emma had to be on a conference call with the lawyer's office so I went downstairs and hopped on the treadmill. About 10 minutes later she came down and hopped on the elliptical so we had another exercise date while we watched "House"! I'm going to miss exercise dates this week. I have to leave in a couple of hours to go to class and then home. Man it was hotter than Dante's inferno downstairs today! I don't think I've ever sweat so much on just a short treadmill run like that! Incline was @ 2%.

Total Time: 32:30 Total Distance: 3.25 mi Average Pace: 10:00

8:00 AM - A little exhausted after the long evening of classes and only about six hours of sleep last night. I wanted to see if our treadmill is "fixed" after my mom and sister said they worked on it while I was gone. I jumped on and did a slow jog and everything seems to be in order. I don't think any fast runner could use it as the belt might slip a bit, but for my humble 5-6mph jogging it works! Read while I ran. Almost done with Cormac O'Brien's The Forgotten History of America. Only about 1 chapter left! It is fun to run on the treadmill "jamming out" to James Taylor and Jim Croce. Man I am such a rebel! :-P

Total Time: 25:07 Total Distance: 2.27 mi Average Pace: 11:04

8:30 AM - Very nasty cold and windy outside. Also, our Pyrenees, "Libby" isn't doing well. She tore a ligament in her back right leg a year or two ago, but fell on the ice and reinjured it. She's almost 8 I think now, which is an average old age for a dog her size. I am just hoping she doesn't get put down. It will really suck to lose both of our dogs in less than a year. Wanting to stay close to home in case my mom needed help with Libby, I hit the dreadmill. Just really slow and read a book while I ran, aptly named The Totally Useless History of the World  by Ian Crofton. Surprisingly it was a very interesting book. You think that we are screwed up now, and then you read about what people did a thousand years ago or even a couple hundred and you realize we actually are a lot more civil! Did a lot of stretching. Finally a day off tomorrow from jogging. Just have work. Going to go work on homework for the majority of the day now. I hope everyone else has a good day.

Total Time: 1:10:00 Total Distance: 7.0 mi Average Pace: 10:00

Running late for work. Snooze buttons should NOT exist! (haha!) Funny thing, though a bit weird because I live in the East.. but one of my dreams last night was of me running with Kory and Bill Mandler on one of their "easy" runs. I almost died in the dream, but they taught me a lot about running and life. Only reason I saw it's "weird" is because I've never met them in real life, though it feels like I've known you all forever! After 5 days in a row, I think today is a day off! Happy Friday! 

PM - Free weights, crunches, pushups. 1.5 miles in 16:00 and lots of stretching afterwards. Legs feel pretty good after yesterday's run. The only thing is a little tenderness in the left knee. Going to ice it later and get a good night's sleep!

9:00 AM - Very cold today. Emmy went running on the treadmill and I went to the school and went for a jog. Cut it short because my left knee is sore; It has hurt the last couple days since the treadmill run. I think I have learned that Treadmills and Benn do NOT get along. Grr. Probably going to do more biking this week than jogging.

Total Time: 18:06 Total Distance: 2.01 Average Pace: 9:00

Definitely feel like crap right now. Yeah my knee still hurts, but more importantly I went with my Mom to the vet today with our dog Libby. She's been having problems putting any weight on her back leg, just like Geri and her front leg this summer... well the xray confirmed it. She has bone cancer, a tumor the size of a baseball that has grown on her knee joint and actually fractured the bone. Great. I lose another dog :(. She will probably be put down sometimes this week or next. I really hate it. Stressed with school and work, and now this. Oh and even better.. we're getting about a foot to 16" of snow tonight which will make tomorrow horrible as I work 8-2, have to drive down to Albany (usually a 45 min drive) for a meeting 3pm-4:30, and then back up to Saratoga Springs for work 6pm to 9pm. *sigh. I need some caffeine!

Run down. Feeling blah. Something that a good run would fix. Haha. But knee still hurts like a mother. I don't know what's up but Emmy said I should make a dr.'s appointment. I loathe doctors :(.

5:00 PM - Went for a ride before dinner to test out the knee. It didn't hurt as much at work today. I told myself that I would stop as soon as the pain got noticeably worse. The pain didn't get worse though. Just stayed constant. Felt good to be on the bike.. Reminisced about the summer rides as I read from Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado. Read 82 pages before I called it quits and went and got dinner. Maybe I am truly a runner that just does better at biking than running. It's like I have the heart of a runner, the mind of a runner, and the legs of a biker? I don't know.

Total Time: 45:19 Total Distance: 15 miles

4:00 PM - Biking after work today. Knee didn't hurt that much both at work and on the bike. Definitely feeling better than earlier in the week. Read another 80 pages of Miracle in the Andes. About 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through it. Talk about an amazing test of endurance that tested every human faculty imagineable. It's crazy what these men and women went through at 12,000 foot elevation after crashing in an airplane. They waited 72 days before finally being rescued!

Total Time: 45:00 Total Distance: 15 mi

12:30 PM - Went biking. Finished reading Nando Parrado's Miracle in the Andes. What a fabulous account of heroism, survival, and gut-wrenching heartache! Knee felt pretty good. Only downer I have another ingrown toenail :(

Total Time: 1:00:10 Total Distance: 20 mi

OPERATION BENN'S FIRST CENTURY : SUMMER, 2009

Got excited so I mapped out my proposed route to Emma's house.  I'm excited. Check it out

If you want to see what I am up against elevation wise though, click on "show elevation"... It's a doozy!

8:00 AM - Got up, got dressed, and away on the bike. Have so much to do that I wanted to get a ride in. Got a lot done while I was on the bike actually. Read a chapter from my textbook for tomorrow, went over the 17 major themes/concepts that will be on my state test in 3 weeks and then read the first twelve pages of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. My knee felt a little stiff when I first started but this went away after about 10 minutes. I stretched a bunch and everything is doing much better than a week ago, that's for sure! Going to do free weights tonight after class. Happy Groundhog's Day! I wish he hadn't seen his shadow, but we all knew Phil was going to stiff us with another six weeks of winter, didn't we!?!

Total Time: 1:00:15 Total Distance: 20 mi

7:30 AM - There just isn't enough time in the day to get everything in! Did a bike ride, and now rushing for a shower, 4 hours of observations, then zipping home, changing and off to class down in Albany from 4:30 to 10:00 tonight. Yuck! Had a nice bike ride though this a.m. and surprising phone call from Emmy which made my morning!

Total Time: 1:00:10 Total Distance: 20 mi

No ride today.. Bummer. One of the girls that is leaving work as of Friday called out today. Go figure. So I got asked to work 8am to 7pm.. of course I said yes because I am a reliable, good worker. :-. Finally got home and was too exhausted to do anything since I didn't get home from class last night until 11 something. Grr. Frustrated that there aren't more hours in the day. I learned a lot about my writing last night though. I learned that I am often too verbose and tend to write in the passive voice. I am going to work on changing this for my next paper due for my class. Just wish I had more time to get everything done. I need to take a minute and just chill and tell myself it will be okay. Going to get a quick nap and then try to get a bike ride in before I have to go observe tomorrow for a couple hours. I feel bummed though because 1. I know I'm stressed out, 2. I miss Emmy, 3. I feel like I just pass my stressfulness onto her when I already know she has enough to worry about. I have to stop being a slacker and get my butt in gear!

7:30 AM - Temperatures plummeted all day yesterday. This morning was -10 or -15. Yuck. But somehow by Saturday and Sunday it will be in the mid 40s and rainy. Go figure. Went biking. Felt good. The knee didn't hurt. The only bad thing was I couldn't stop itching my legs for the first 20 minutes. I don't know if it was the dry skin or what, but it was downright annoying! Have to go get a shower and then go do observations and then homework all day. I might do another bike ride as a study break later today.

Total Time: 1:00:15 Total Distance: 20 miles

Really getting into The Secret Life of Bees. I'm up to about page 60 now. Sue Monk Kidd's writing is engaging I think because she uses vernacular language. Almost has a To-Kill-A-Mockingbird-esqueness to it. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes good literature.

7:45 PM - After more than six hours working on a stupid paper (Stupid not because of the content, but the failure of my teacher to ever give clear, concise directions) I decided it was time for a destressing ride. Only did 30 minutes. Felt strong though. Read another 25 pages of The Secret Life of Bees

Total Time: 30:45 Total Distance: 10 miles

3:20 PM - After work hopped on the bike and did 30 minutes hard effort. Was a little tired from just everything. Going to try to get a good nights sleep tonight! :) Missing Emma something fierce :( yuck. Touching moment today: on the way to work I was listening to NPR's local station and their fund drive.  A homeless man called in and pledged $5 and stated that he hoped that he could pick up enough bottles and cans today to meet that pledge. Well all the way to work I was listening to people call in and pledge an extra $5 to cover his donation. It actually made the head guy from our station, Alan Chartok cry (and he's a pretty hard/conservative guy of about 65). I was really moved. Too bad that moment was ruined with the first snobby Saratogians of the day. At least I know that there are good people out there. I only wish more people from Saratoga would listen to NPR. Maybe they would stop always thinking about themselves.  Oh, and tomorrow Harry (my youngest brother) turns 15!!! Exciting! I told my mom "I bet you feel old." She laughed and said "What? Me. No I'm 29!" haha Young at heart trumps Age in a heartbeat. Carry on friends.

Total Time: 30:05 Total Distance: 10 miles

Am I the only one that is not having a baby on the running blog? I feel left out! :(

11:45 AM - My youngest brother is now 15. He and his friends stayed up really late last night. A couple of them brought over an XBox 360 and a Playstation 3 so they were playing that. Also, my sister Su and her boyfriend Rocco are up for the weekend. It's really awesome to have everyone around. So cool to hang out with my parents too. The only one missing is Miss Emma! :( Nuts! Hopped on the bike before attempting mounds of homework. It's really tough to hang strong for a full hour. I don't know if I could do any more on the stationary bike at one time. So did an hour on the wind trainer while I read The Secret Life of Bees. I am now more than halfway through! Might try to do a second ride later tonight for 30 mins or something if I can muster up the strength!

Total Time: 1:00:15 Total Distance: 20 miles

6:30 PM - After taking a test and getting dinner, went on the wind trainer for 30 minutes to get a quick ride in while I studied for another test tomorrow and a presentation on Tuesday. Felt good. Feel bad though if Brent started to read Secret Life of Bees because I recommended it. haha.

Total Time: 30:10 Total Distance: 10 miles

So I want to try to build a base with running and biking. I think what I am going to do is try to do what Sasha suggests at the homepage of the running blog. I'm going to try to see if I can do 3 days of jogging a week. See what that distance is, and then add a 4th day for a few weeks, and then work up to the 5x 6 miles before thinking about any long runs. I just really want to give a 1/2 or that 15k in November a good crack and shatter a PR. I hope I can! I think I can.. I KNOW I CAN! :)

8:05 AM - Sunny; Temp around 20. Went to the school to go jogging. Started off good, but then my knee started to tighten up and hurt again. The left knee on the outside started to hurt around the 2 mile mark. I wasn't tired, but the knee kept me from running :(. Thankfully made it back to the car in one piece.

• Mile 1: 9:29
• Mile 2: 9:14
• Mile 3: 9:20
• Mile 4: 9:05

Total Time: 38:00 Total Distance: 4.09 mi Average Pace: 9:17

*Going to try to get more sleep, eliminate caffeine starting today (only drinking decaf coffee might be rough but I'm going to give it a go), and try to eat more healthfully, maybe not as strict as the Paleo Diet, but going to try to eat my fruits, veggies, and whole grains!

9:30 PM - Long day of classes. I was discouraged with the pain in my knee, but Emmy suggested I do some arm exercises and crunches. I did 20 mins of arms and 200 crunches, followed by Marion's IT Band suggestions. I really hope it helps!

10:00 AM - Super windy outside today (wind gusts projected to be 50mph+). Hopefully we don't lose power because I have a TON of work to do. Today was a good ride. I did 1h30mins of solid riding, drained a 24 oz bottle of water and finished the last 150 pages of  Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. I know it's been called a "chick flick" and such, but the book itself touches on a lot of moral issues that we still face today, even though it is set in the historical backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement of 1964. I really got a lot out of it, and I feel that it touched me in a way. Was a necessary break from all the school work. Thinking about it I must look like a goofball biking and balancing a book on the handlebars. haha.

Also another plus (+) from today was that I finished the fourth revision of a reflection paper I've been working on for two weeks. Kind of funny that a two page opinion paper would give me so much trouble. We had a 3 hour writing seminar though two weeks ago in my methods class, and it's "unleashed a fire" to try to shore up my writing which was called by my professor to be a bit "passive and verbose" at times. Now on to the endless stream of other papers and projecs. Yuck.

Total Time: 1:30:20 Total Distance: 30 miles

6:30 PM - Work was done with, so I zipped home and proceeded to rewrite the demographics section of a paper (about 4 pages single spaced); had to reread about 30 pages of demographics and redo it from a Middle School perspective rather than a High School one. Grr, for the one Middle School class I actually have to take for my degree. Figures. Then called one of my group mates and talked a bit about where we are at and where we need to go with it before Tuesday. Group projects in grad school are stupid. One of the group members lives 20 miles east of me, one 40 miles south of me. hmm.. And I think we all have jobs. I swear professors are oblivious to real life.

The bike ride was what I needed. Hopped on the bike and was reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. It's such a moving book (especially for a history buff like me). Right now I am still early on in it, as I've had school books and Sue Monk Kidd's book to read. So I am still in the election of 1860. Just reading about the four men all vying for the Republican nomination in 1860 is mind boggling. It's amazing to think how far the country has come and how much it has changed in just 149 years. It got me thinking how much it might change in just another decade or two. I hope to see the day when all people are accepted as the people they are, not what society sees them as. A person should be self-defined, not socially constrained in the parameters of mainstream policy.

Total Time: 1:00:20 Total Distance: 20 miles

2:00 PM - I am at Emmy's in Pittsfield, MA today still. She wanted me to do the Power 90 workout with her, and I tried, but it's just not my thing. I have to get over my self-conscious issues doing weird yoga poses and such. I will give it another shot some other time though. It looked like a good workout because Emma was sweating at the end. I did 23 minutes on the elliptical at 5 resistance. Was sweating like crazy. Emma's sister Liana was on the treadmill next to me. Afterwards I did 200 crunches and some other ab work. Phew! I am hoping to cycle 100-120 miles this week. I've noticed that my legs compared to last year are HUGE. So much more muscles from cycling. I don't know if this bodes well or not to my future ambitions of running again. (First off I'll be heavier because of muscle mass, but secondly and more IMPORTANTLY, I think I'm just too darn sexy as a biker ..) ... BAHAHHA Okay. I tried to stop myself from laughing but couldn't. No, seriously though, cycling gives you sick leg muscles!

Total Time: 23:00 Total Distance: 2.3 mi Average  Pace: 10:00

9:00 AM - Puppysat Libby and Aggie last night on the living room couch. Aggie is still a "puppy" despite being probably about 80 lbs and the size of a full grown labrador. Woke up at 6am, coffee and talked with the Daddio, and then hopped on the bike and cycled 2 hours hard. Got some reading for today's classes done. Felt good to get a nice ride in like that.

Total Time: 2:00:40 Total Distance: 40 miles

8:20 AM - Hopped on the bike after morning coffee with my dad. Did a 1-hour hard ride. Really got sweating during it. Read from Goodwin's Team of Rivals again.

Total Time: 1:00:43 Total Distance: 20 mi

2:15 PM - Had a very long night/day so far. I've had a "crick" in my neck for the last couple weeks, and it has gone away and come back several times. I woke up at about 6am this morning and it just hurt too much to go back to sleep. We got 7" of wet snow last night which made our driveway a mess and I got called into work earlier in the week to cover since they still have not hired someone to fill the void another bookseller left when she quit. Ended up being 20 mins late for work because I had to dig my car out when it got stuck (that should count for some kind of cardio, shouldn't it?). Got home after shopping for stuff for dinner. Hopped on the bike and was elated to find I can still bike with a messed up neck (as long as it is inside and I don't have to look over my shoulder for traffic behind me!). Got to thinking a lot while I was on the bike today:

We don't really realize everything life has to offer until it is often times too late. Reading Team of Rivals I got to look at the harsh reality that life in the states at the turn of the 19th century was. Something to note was three of four of the major candidates for the 1860 Republican nomination had all lost at least their father, and in Lincoln's case his mother as well, before they were in their teens. I read from my methods book by Jack Zevin as well about ways through which to approach history in a secondary setting to students.  The biggest idea I took away from those two chapters of Zevin's work is an idea we would do well to remember in our daily lives.. to view things in a "frame of reference". Remember there are always other sides to a story. Remember that often it is the victors that write history, and not the subjugated. We would do well to think of the "other side" of things. I think we as a people and a nation would be a more Christian society if we would morally consider others.

Total Time: 1:00:11 Total Distance: 20 miles

3:00 PM - Good day at work. Really felt good making so many people's day. It's days like today that make me really appreciate my job. Had the cutest old guy (~85 or so) that came up and said hi to me before I had a chance to say "How are you today?". He goes: "A very good morning to you, young chap!" Read from my prep guide for my test tomorrow. I hope I do well on the ATS-W. We will see though.

Total Time: 1:03:15 Total Distance: 21 miles

12:00 PM - My test went okay. Some girl finished in 50 minutes or something, but I took about 3 hours for the 80 m/c questions and essay. I have never been good at m/c questions. That's my excuse for why I went into history where all you do is write essays. I did great on the essay from my own standpoint on things, but the m/c were really rough. It didn't help that 2 or 3 of the answers on every question were actually "correct", BUT they asked for me to choose the "most correct" grrrr. and those stupid roman numeral ones where the answers are like a. I, and III, b. I, II, and III, c. II and III only, etc. etc. I just pray to God I passed. Read another 25 pages of Goodwin's Team of Rivals. It's going to take a month or two to get through as I'm only on page 80!

Total Time: 1:00:13 Total Distance: 20 miles

9:30 AM - Snowy, snowy, snowy. "I love that you chose me." That's how I started my morning. Last year I gave Emmy a candle in a bowl with 365 reasons why I loved her typed out on little fortune cookie like slips of paper. This year she returned the favor and each morning I wake up and read one to myself. I think the joke's on her. What she failed to realize is that 1. I am way too lucky that she said "yes"! and 2. It was all too easy to come up with 365 reasons why I love her because there's a million more where they came from! Hopped on the bike this morning as the snow came down. Read the first 130 pages of Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka's The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling. There really are a lot of similarities in preparation and execution of long distance cycling and running. One line that stuck out to me:

"Your goals should align with endeavors that satisfy you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Never lose sight of the fact that the journey toward any goal is just as important as the rewards." (Burke & Pavelka, 2000, pg. 113)

Ride, run, and carry on, friends.

Total Time: 1:00:20 Total Distance: 20 miles

8:00 AM - Biking early. Wish I had more sleep last night. Was going to do 2 hours, but just don't want to overdo it with a long week of work and school and all. Finished The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling by Edmund R. Burke & Ed Pavelka. You really learn a lot from reading books written by people that have actually experienced everything there is under the sun, and I love reading books about endurance events. They write, "even though it's effective, indoor cycling produces too much physical and mental discomfort for many people. Their enthusiasm flows away like the swat dripping from every pore." Is it bad that I actually seem to like indoor training? I get a lot of reading done!

Total Time: 1:00:11 Total Distance: 20 miles

8:20 AM - Got up early and on the bike before homework all morning and working the closing shift 3pm to 11:30pm. I really don't understand why we're still open so late. Who in their right mind goes to a bookstore at 10 or 11 at night and on a weekday no less! Read from Team of Rivals. Was listening yesterday to Doris Kearns Goodwin talking about it and her new book on Teddy Roosevelt which should be coming out in two years. I really like ToR, but it's long and time consuming. I'm still only at page 110 or so. Eek! During my ride I did 5 x 2 minute Hard "on"s with :30 second breaks in between. Was really working up a sweat. I thought the wind trainer was going to launch off the floor because it was certainly as loud as a jet engine! Super happy =) because my friend Julian in my classes lives in Saratoga Springs and is also an avid biker (mainly Mt. biking). He is going to give me my first ever biking jersey!! And hopefully I am joining a cycling club to get the "scoop" on how to become a better biker.

Total Time: 1:00:30 Total Distance: 22.5 miles

8:40 AM - Went for a recovery ride this morning. Started with some of ToR but wasn't up for reading history that early in the a.m. Instead read the last 70 pages of Michael Connelly's 26 Miles to Boston. I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to learn about the history of such an amazing race (even if you're a slowpoke like myself and have no shot at every qualifying for it). During his own quest for the marathon Connelly reflects on joining the "cream of the crop" when you complete a marathon:

"The goal is met. The satisfaction is eternal.... A ribbon with its attached pendant provides teh runner validation for the blood, sweat, and tears that have been shed in order to participate in this event. After receiving his medal, [each runner] ponders how a fifty-cent medal could be worth a million dollars." (p. 241)

It's funny when you think about it. Of all the things I have accomplished in life, of all the things I hold on to, it is the memories from putting myself through the pain on the roads. It's pushing my body to its limit and then asking for more, and I take pride in being a marathoner. I guess even as I think back to the last time I ran pain free, I can take pride in knowing that (not to do injustice to John L. Parker or anything) "Once a runner", always a runner.

Total Time: 1:01:30 Total Distance: 20 miles

5:15 PM - Went to buy some clothes for observation hours / student teaching. It's werid every time I go to the store because 1. I don't like buying clothes, and 2. I hardly (if ever) where pants and button up shirts. I blame this on my active runneresque lifestyle which is naturally the polar opposite of slicked up, docked out professionalism :-P. Worked in my favor though. I bought a pair of dress shoes, 3 Oxford shirts and socks which would have retailed at 180 bucks, all for 94 dollars. JCPenney's is truly a great store :). Now if only I could make myself comfortable and look halfway decent in the dress clothes! That'll be the next mission!

Hopped on the bike and read from Race to the Pole by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Read the first 40 pages. You really learn to appreciate advances when you read just about the basic struggle for existence, much less for adventurers and Royal Navy expeditions like Scott's. In an age of instantcy, that is to say you can "Google" anything under the sun, hop on the internet and text message someone a world away and satellites beam down television signals, it is hard to imagine the world during 1901 and 1902 when Robert Scott was selected to be the Commander of the Antarctic Expedition. "Technology's cutting edge" was the 83,000 miles (yes miles) of telegraph cord that Britain had dropped off the boat as an underwater cable. Simply amazing.

I met my goal of 400 miles of biking for the month of February!

Total Time: 1:00:34 Total Distance: 20 miles

1:00 PM - We had a fun time going to Mass MoCa last night with Mary and Brian. It was "quite the show". Put on by Netherlands choreographer Anukevandyck or something of that nature. Was bizarre, but quite the experience. I'm glad I went. I feel "cultured" now. Haha! Started the month off right 21:00 on the elliptical, including 4 mins at 10 resistance. I wanted to cry, but I toughed it out like a "real man" :)

Total Time: 21:00 Total Disance: 2.1 mi

After work yesterday I drove the planned 100 miler route to Emma's house. I was taken aback by just how gorgeous some of the views are. There are a lot of small rolling hills in the first forty miles, but then it is more gradual and flat for the next forty or fifty, before the last mountain of doom which reminds me of when we biked up the Kankamagaus Pass. I am excited to complete my first 100 miler! Now I just have to get my gear and bike fitted out so I can be ready to ride outside!

8:00 AM - Early ride before homework and school all evening. Hopped on the bike wearing a new bike jersey that my friend from school Julian brought in for me. It fits perfectly! Read some school stuff then read about sixty more pages of Sir Ranulph Fiennes'  Race to the Pole. A really great book about Scott's Antarctic Expedition in the early 1900s. I found one line in particular most compelling. Written by the expedition's chief scientist and zoologist Edward A. Wilson, he stated:

"Men don't improve when they live together alone." (p. 70)

How such a short line can embody the essence of human emotion and desire to be part of a larger group. I think Wilson captures the bare essentials of human existence. It's not merely being part of a group - a family, community, congregation, etc. - it is getting to know each and every person of that group and learning how to share experiences to make it better for the whole. I think marriage is a lot like that. It doesn't just magically happen with "I do's". You have to constantly work at it, change, and advocate for your partner. As in any relationship, it's not about you. If you fail to care about the people around you, you will live alone.

Felt really strong and confident on the bike today. Drank 2 x 24 oz waterbottles, 48 oz total for you math people. Maybe I should consider substituting 1 gatorade bottle now for the longer rides like this. Also, I realized how useful those pockets on the bike jersey will be. I will be able to stow granola bars, GUs, what have you right there :) So can eat as I tear up the roads! All I have to say is watch out NY bikers! Benn is on the prowl!

Total Time: 2:07:00 Total Distance: 42 miles

8:00 AM - Hopped on the bike and read another 60 pages in Race to the Pole. Got to thinking: it's amazing to think how fast and how far we've come since Scott and Shackleton's duking it out to be the first to the South Pole. If you think about it, it hasn't even been a hundred years since we "discovered" that pole. And to read about Scott's first and now second expedition to the pole, you realize how much their experiences were a conglomerate of daring, exploring, and sheer guessing.

What I took away from today's reading is that you can either accept what you are given as it is at face value and accomplish what is expected, or you can take what is given  you and use it as a starting point for your own ambitions. History is written by the face value types; however it is usually made with those willing to go the extra mile, into uncharted territory, willing to put life, limb, and one's livelihood on the line. You don't have to do something amazing (or crazy) like racing to the South Pole. But it can start with something as simple as holding the door for someone. Holding someone's groceries for them while they open their car door. It seems in the hustle and bustle of today's world manners have gone down the drain, replaced with tunnel-vision egocentrism.  Reminds me of that commercial I think Coca Cola put on about a smile can go a long way. I think the same is true with simple random acts of kindness. They have exponential benefits.

Keep on truckin' FRBloggers

Total Time: 1:00:34  Total Distance: 20 miles

4:40 PM - I wish I had better news. Yesterday stunk. I spent the whole day in the ER. My mom fell on the ice when she was trying to load up our garbage can to put in the car to drive to the end of the driveway. If you recall my dad fell a couple weeks ago doing the same thing and he ended up suffering nerve damage in one of his fingers. Well my mom comes in and is yelling "Benn I'm hurt!" so I ran upstairs and she is holding her eye and blood pouring from her hands. I was freaked out. Luckily it was a gash above and to the side of her eye. We put ice on it and I drove her to the hospital and we had to wait more than four hours for her to get seen and discharged despite no one else being in the ER. Figures . Good old doctors for you. And you wonder why men hate going to see those in the medical profession! LOL. She got six stitches and is feeling better today.

Then I go to work today to find out two of many managers got the ax. Borders cut 3% of managerial positions nationwide and it just happened 2 of our managers were on the list :(. Really sucks. Work just isnt the same. And there are too many new rules. It used to be fun working at Borders. Now it's just a chore. Actually am hoping I get let go. Then I could get unemployment!

A little pain on the left knee still. I wish it'd go away.

Total Time: 30:10  Total Distance: 10 miles

9:00 AM - Knee feeling a bit better. Went on the bike and read another 100 pages from Race to the Pole. It's getting really good now :) Going to continue to take it easy this month. My stuff from nashbar.com should be here soon, and then I'll outfit the bike for the road and hopefully be able to start getting rides out there. Wind trainer is great, but just not something you should do for hours at a time I think I've learned.  Since you constantly pedal it's not like riding outside and makes you prone to overuse injuries.

Total Time: 1:00:25 Total Distance: 20 miles

3:00 PM - Was a little bit annoyed today when I found out that my order I placed with www.nashbar.com was not only not here 8 days after I ordered it but was both NOT showing up in THEIR records AND also showing up on MY credit card statement. I don't know what to do as the credit card company said it can take as long as a month for it to go away. I don't want to go to another vendor and end up with 2 sets of everything because that wouldn't be good. Didn't help that I went to google and found some very similar horror stories with this website. Grr. A lot on my mind today. Libbi wasn't doing well. She threw up a few times. We're not sure when we might be having to get the vet to come here to put her to sleep yet :(. I'm just happy she's still here with us. Finished the Scott Expedition book today though. That's a plus.

Total Time: 37:35 Total Distance: 12.5 miles

12:45 PM - Sunny, Temperature of 48 degrees. Windy though! Brrr!~ It was nice in the sun but boy cold to ride! After meeting Julian in Saratoga at Borders to go over some school stuff, I zipped home, pumped up the tires and headed out on the roads. Didn't know what to expect seeing as how this is my first outdoor ride of the year. Boy was it chilly! Felt like a Freezer out there! Despite wearing a sweatshirt, I still got a little cold in the fingers and toes. Next time will wear thermal socks. Wore my new sunglasses. I look hot. Haha. Zapped the energy from me though having to battle the wind the whole way. So hard to ride strong when you are riding into a huge wind tunnel! Next ride will be better. Enjoyed the scenery. So cool to be out riding when everything around you is white with snow! Walked down the road with Suz afterwards and Aggie the Menace!

Total Time: 1:44:32  Total Distance: 27.25 miles  Average Speed: 15.6 mph   Maximum Sustained Speed: 37.4 mph

6:00 PM -  10 miles in 30:35; has been long week of class and work. Can't wait for the end of the semester to get out on the roads! Will be a good time indeed! My stuff came today from Nashbar so that's good.... waiting for the credit card statement though.. *CRINGE! Two big setbacks this wee: $300 car insurance payment needs to be paid by April 3rd and then I had to buy new tires for the car which was $300 . Doh! haha At least these ones are the 70,000 mile ones. That will get my car to about 215k or so :) "Pre" the Prizm is a TANK!

Total Time: 30:35  Total Distance: 10 miles

12:20 PM - Hopped on the bike after some homework and studied for my midterm tomorrow while I was on the bike. I hate tests! Felt good to get a ride in. Have felt really "blah" because I feel so fat and lazy. Wanted to go outside but while i was on the bike, I saw snowflakes out there! A bit too cold.

Total Time: 1:00:34  Total Distance: 20 miles

11:15 AM - Drove down to Albany early for Advisement Day. My advisor is going to be my professor this summer for my summer course and also in the fall when I do Student Teaching. Crazy to think I'm this close to my Master's Degree! Really meaningful meeting today. We actually talked for close to forty minutes, not about my coursework, but my teaching pedagogy and philosophy which is driven a lot by social and educational justice. He played songs from Tupac Shakur which seemed to throw some of his colleagues in the building for a loop at 9:00 in the morning. One that he gave me a printout of the lyrics to and which really hits home since I have been doing the Sponsor a Scholar program in Albany is "The Rose that Grew from Concrete". Talk about some powerful lyrics. It's not about how beat up and torn the rose is.. it's the fact it came from that. When I look at the kids I work with I realize their potential and they are truly amazing kids.. and to think of the backgrounds that many of them come from, the adversity they've overcome, and to think how far they might go in life. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Total Time: 1:00:30 Total Distance: 20 miles

You try to plant somethin in the conrete, y'knowhatImean?
If it GROW, and the and the rose petal got all kind of
scratches and marks, you not gon' say, "Damn, look at
all the scratches and marks on the rose that grew from concrete"
You gon' be like, "Damn! A rose grew from the concrete?!"
Same thing with me, y'knahmean? I grew out of all of this
Instead of sayin, "Damn, he did this, he did this,"
just be like, "DAMN! He grew out of that? He came out of that?"
That's what they should see, y'knowhatImean?
All the trouble to survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty
y'knowhahatImean unbelievable lifestyle they gave me
I'm just tryin to make somethin..


When no one even cared
The rose it grew from concrete
Keepin all these dreams
Provin nature's laws wrong
It learned how to walk without havin feet
It came from concrete


Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?
Provin nature's laws wrong it learned how to walk without havin feet
Funny it seems but, by keepin its dreams
it, learned to breathe FRESH air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared
No one else even cared..
The rose that grew from concrete


Did you hear..
Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?
Provin nature's laws wrong
It learned to walk without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned to breathe FRESH air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else, even cared


Keepin all these dreams
Provin nature's laws wrong
It learned how to walk without havin feet (to breathe the fresh air)
It came from concrete (to breathe the fresh air)
(to breathe the fresh air, to breathe the fresh air)


You see you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete
had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its
tenacity. We would all love it's will to reach the sun.
Well, we are the rose - this is the concrete - and these are
my damaged petals. Don't ask me why, thank God nigga, ask me how!
Hahahaha..

9:10 AM - Didn't sleep much. Spent 10 hours yesterday working on a project. Got it done though (or as much as I can do by myself) so that was good. Exhausted. Only got six hours of sleep and woke up to my dad singing country music to the dog at 6am. I don't know which sung better my dad or Aggie! Haha.  Hopped on the biked and read more from my review book for my huge Content Specialty Test coming up in a week and a bit. Not too much pressure, just 4 hours and 90 m/c and an essay question about the history of the world since the beginning of time until about a year ago? Hmm no pressure! Eeek! I'm about 1/5th of the way through the reviewing portion. I will aim to take one of the review tests sometime this week too to see where I stand as far as m/c questions. I hate those kind. I had a midterm earlier this week with those type of questions on it and I completely bombed it. I am just a much better writer and I like to justify my answers rather than just circle a correct one or one I kind of think is correct.

Total Time: 1:00:28  Total Distance: 20 miles

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try. - Mother Theresa

9:00 AM - Got up early before observation hours and went on the bike. Ended up doing an hour and read my review book for my huge test next week for 45 minutes, and then last 15 minutes read from Team of Rivals. The start of Chapter 5 was particularly interesting. From page 140,

"The America of 1850 was a largely rural nation of about 23 million people in which politics and public issues - at every level of government - were of consuming interest. Citizen participation in public life far exceeded that of later years. Nearly three fourths of those eligibile to vote participated in the two presidential elections of the decade."

Reading Goodwin's work, it makes me wonder about where our country evolved from and where it is headed. The history books are filled with stories like she recounts here of radicalism, energy, and raw desire. It just seems like a lot of what was once important has been cast aside. Instead of taking a direct stance in deciding how and who should run this country, it is almost as if people don't care aside from complaining when politicians that turn out to be 'bad eggs' are elected. e.g. When Bush was not only elected, but reelected, many Democrats and Liberals/Independents were quick to bash Republicans for electing such a moron to office. But while I voted for Kerry in 2004 and for Obama in 2008, I feel like there are a lot of people that are all talk and no bite. What happened to the fervent energy that surrounded Vietnam and the oil crisis of the 70s? It's as if the potency of Americans' political voice has been lost in an age of technology and fashion. It is almost sickening to see at work how many of today's young generation feels as if the hottest trends for clothes and hairstyles and/or the next edition of the iPod or MacBook is of higher concern than the poltical, economic, and social issues that are bringing the country to the brink of failure. I am a Liberal and I guess I cannot criticize too harshly, but I find that the more I read, and the more I learn, the more I begin to take a conservative approach to some ideas. I feel there needs to be blanket reforms in health care, education, and social justice, and yet I feel alone. As my peers spend the nights boozing it away and dancing to riskay music at night clubs and texting their "BFFs", I feel like I more closely identify with the 30 and 40 something crowds. Am I just growing up too fast? Are my fears coming true?  I only hope that in the near future steps are taken so that we can remember the founding ideals of this nation and we can better embrace the multiculutural gifts that being American entails. As much as I hate to say it the American public seems to be "dumbing down" and has lost the gutsy doggedness that characterized our forefathers.

Total Time: 1:00:34  Total Distance: 20 miles

3:00 PM - Cloudy, wind of 12-15 mph. Brisk and cold. Temperature around 40 degrees. Wanted to get another ride in for my higher mileage day since I work late until 5 or 5:30 tomorrow and Saturday and won't have a chance for a long ride. Headed out on the back roads. Was surprised to see I was biking pedal to the metal and averaging only about 15 mph! Oh well. It was still fun. Good to get out on the roads. Just like in running, you have to be prepared for anything, so it was probably good to get another ride in less than favorable conditions because it will help me in the long run when I get ready to do the century ride. My toes were frozen by the end of the ride!!

Total Time: 1:23:00 Total Distance: 21.25 miles  Average Speed: 15.4 mph

5:30 PM - Worked all day. Zipped home as soon as I could and went out in the nice weather for a ride. Somewhat windy again, but sunny and temps in the low to mid 50s. Wore two shirts, including the one Emma's mom bought me. Glad I did because the last 30 mins the sun was gone and it was downright chilly!!!! Side note, you would have never known we are in a recession based on the sales at work. Though with free drink coupons and 40% off an item, that will make people spend. So it's not like we are even making a profit, but it's the "total sales" that count. Weird. I will never understand the business world. Went out into Charlton and Milton and back via Jockey Street. What a good ride. Legs were a little tired though from yesterday!

Total Time: 1:38:02 Total Distance: 26.25 miles  Average Speed: 16.1 mph

10:00 AM - Long night doing homework until about 1am and then up at 6am to continue. ugh! Am going to be tired from this one! Hopped on the bike and did a nice ride while I studied for my huge test on Saturday. Am just a bit frazzled with everything going on! I am hoping that Sunday I can get down to Massachusetts and go for a bike ride with Emmy though!

Total Time: 1:00:35 Total Distance: 20 miles

9:00 AM - Feeling the cumulative effects of too much work, schoolwork, and too little sleep. Hopped on the bike and did a ride while I crammed more for my Content Specialty Test on Saturday. The only good thing is once I take that it is my third and final certification exam so if I pass it I am done with tests! (aside from my Comprehensive Exams which I need to pass in July for my Master's Degree). Really looking forward to Sunday because Emma and I have a biking date on the Ashwillticook Trail from Pittsfield up into North Adams and back. Now if only Fro' Yo Soft Serve places were open!

Total Time: 1:00:20 Total Distance: 20 miles

Spent two hours before work mounting my new tires Continental Ultra Gatorskins to my bike. Phew that was a chore! didn't think it was going to be much work, but that's what I get for never having done that before. Thankfully I've never had a flat tire before *knock on wood*. Put on my bike rack too. I am all set now for my UltraCycling debut! Am hoping to go for a long bikeride tomorrow after I get out of observations at 2:30. If I get on the roads around 3, then I can get a few hours in on the bike. Supposed to finally be sunny and gorgeous here tomorrow too :)

50 MILE PR!! 2:48:50!

3:15 PM - After doing homework this morning i had to go observe at my brothers high school for a few periods. Zipped home and got changed and was anxious to head out on the roads with my new tires!! Was unsure of the weather at the start of the day. It was still rainy, foggy and mid 40s when I went to observe at 1 today. But by the time I got out it was 60 and sunny! You really couldnt ask for a better day!

Hopped on the bike and followed a somewhat normal route down Jockey St into Charlton, and then east into Ballston, down into Burnt Hills - Ballston Lake, Scotia, and back. I was all over the place. Some things I saw today that were memorable and/or I am not soon to forget:

1. 3 dogs tried to kill me before mile 5. Fortunately for me two were fenced in and one decided he/she was too old and fat to chase me as I sped past.

2. There were flocks of black birds in the trees making a horrifying screech (I think they might have been Starlings?). Reminded me of eerie Hitchcockesque "Birds". Made me go faster (around mile 14-15).

3. Rode past the YMCA where Harry (youngest brother) swims and look down and see I already have gone about as far as I normally go in a ride (22 miles). Contemplated jumping off and running in from the street to the gym and hopping on the treadmill and really freaking some old ladies out, but I figured a cyclist is crazy enough.

4. Got yelled at by a bunch of kids because they were riding their BMX bikes on the wrong side of the street mind you without helmets and they thought it would make them look smarter when I took a left hand turn on a green light without signaling because I was shifting and going way too fast when they yelled : "Hey dude! That's illegal!" I love kids. ~mile 30

5. Nice little lady was out gardening. I waved. She waved back. We shared a moment and for a split second the earth stood still. (Mile 32)

6. Went past a real smelly farm. It smelled of cows, but not the sweet smell of manure, the nasty smelling kind! (Mile 35)

7. Sign of the time: Saw first road sign by a school that said "WARNING This is a text free zone - $150 fine". Dang! ( I put my super duper text master machine away )

8. Stopped by the Charlton General Store for refuel because I drained both of my 24 oz. bottles and didn't want to experience the "Bonk" factor. The lady was real nice, so I left her two dollars and told her to have a very nice day. Jokes on her though. It wasn't a two dollar tip, but she accidentally charged me 1.49 for a Gatorade that I read on the sign said 2.10. Didn't want her getting in trouble though at the end of the night. Still left her a tip though. :) (Mile 37)

9. Cute little girl that reminded me of Baby Jane. I can't wait until I'm officially her Uncle Benn! (Mile 40)

10. Goats! (Mile 52) Not really memorable but I wanted to round out the number of cool things at ten.

Total Distance: 55.2 miles  Total Time: 3:10:08 Average Speed: 17.4 mph!

1:00 PM - My test went well this morning down in Schenectady. Was a little taken aback though. Out of 90 m/c questions about 30 were on micro/macro economics and related concepts which is about my worst sub-subject in Social Studies. Doh! The essay was good though. Was comparing and contrasting two opposing views written by women in the 1960s and 1970s. You know how I love my second wave feminism! haha.

Hopped on the wind trainer before long night at work. Couldn't get today off, so instead I have to work 4pm to 1130 pm. *Insert scowl here*. I get to see Emmy tomorrow though! Yay!

Total Time: 30:10 Total Distance: 10 miles

1:45 PM - Woke up early and drove to Emma's house today. We'd orginally planned for a bike trip on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, but it was low to mid 40s and windy. Actually encountered snow on the hour and a half drive to her house too coming over the mountains into Massachusetts. We ended up chilling at her house for a while. I got to see Rose and little baby Beaner Jane and Rose's dad whom I'd only met once before. Was nice to just sit with a coffee and forget about the hectic stuff that is all coming due this week or next week. Actually spent the better part of an hour talking about the New York and American Education Systems as well as North Korea's recent firing of a missile that morning, part of which fell into the ocean to the west of Japan. They claimed they were launching a satellite, but the U.S. had been monitoring it and no satellite appears to have actually been launched into orbit.

Around lunch time the sun was just starting to peak out of the clouds so we jumped in Emma's car and drove to Monument Mountain. This was the first time since "the Big Day" that we'd been back, and by the time we got there a bunch of other people must have had the same idea, because there were a half dozen cars at the bottom of the trail. We got out and started hiking, and it was simply gorgeous. Could hear the birds chirping, the chipmunks and squirrels chatting, and the wind rustling through the treetops. When we got up to the top we just sat there on the rocks looking out over everything. We watched a group of hawks for what seemed like forever - watching them float effortlessly in the wind, swooping around the precipices and overlooks, coming almost within reach. Emma sunned herself on the rock like a lizard. There was another couple up at the top with a dog and he kept running off.

Afterwards, we hiked back down the other side of the mountain. I was actually kind of sad that we had to leave the mountain, though on our way down we raced each other to "our spot" where I proposed in October. I think Emmy won! When we got there, we just sat on the rocks looking down the cliff, and just took it all in. We noticed the hawks were back, and I actually got the hawks on camcorder. Maybe it's just me but I consider this a meaningful vision: was videotaping two hawks swooping in circles in the cavern, and the two of them flew by each other and then came together, landing next to each other on a tall promitory in the middle of the cliff. It was truly an awesome site :)!

We hiked back to the car and then drove to Great Barrington and stopped at Uncommon Grounds coffee shop, only it wasn't the run of the mill Uncommon Grounds like the corporate one with the same name across from Borders in Saratoga. This one was awesome. It was totally organic, totally hippie, and totally cool! My dream coffee shop! Whenever I'm in Great Barrington again I'm stopping in there! They even have a cool yard for kids to play out back next to the river! After getting a coffee Emmy and I went to our favorite Indian restaurant in Pittsfield, House of India!

Total Time: ~2 hours  Total Distance: 3.0 miles

Looking off of Monument almost at the Summit. The pond looks like a map of the USA!

Rocks at the summit in the sunshine.

I found a mountain goat! Though this one was surprisingly much cuter than most you encounter at this elevation!

1:00 PM -  I was selected to participate in a NCATE interview today from 1:00-2:00 before my Sponsor - A - Scholar Program. Our college is in the process of getting reaccredited, and I was one of about a dozen people selected to go and represent the college. So that made me feel pretty good :). Afterwards I went right to Sponsor-A-Scholar and I had one of those moments.. where you feel like everything is worth it, that all your struggles and all the time you've put in to come up with workshops/lessons and everything was worth it.

Today's topic was GENOCIDE THROUGHOUT HISTORY and when we explained it to our teachers they were a bit removed and wary as to how we would interest the inner city kids at Albany High. There are three of us that work together for Social Studies. Well I was in charge of talking about the Armenian Genocide which occurred between 1915-1923 in which 75% of the Armenian population living in Turkey were exterminated and first world countries did little to step in, and have since still been reluctant to punish the Turkish Government. Well it worked out perfectly because Obama actually stopped in Turkey earlier this week and he has pledged to get the Armenian Genocide recognized globally, even as today Turkish youth are still taught in their schools that it did not happen and that it was more the product of a civil war and was the Armenians fault for uprising against them. From there we went to the Holocaust, showing pictures and maps of concentration camps (there were actually over 10,000 camps!). One of the eeriest handouts we passed around were three postcards that you could purchase from Auschwitz death camp that showed the crematoriums. What would write on them? "Uh, wish you were here? Not really?". From here we progressed and talked about Rwandan Genocide in the 1990s and then the recent ongoing genocide in Darfur. Well about halfway through I look up after finding a picture to show the workshop and I realize that not only did we have the biggest turnout of all four groups presenting.. with nearly 10 kids at our workshop instead of the normal 3 or 4, but each kid was mesmorized! They were asking questions and just sitting there stunned. They were so involved and active. It was truly an empowering moment. I just felt bad because two other groups had no one that attended their workshops!

As we were cleaning up and rearranging the room one of the other guys, DJ made a comment about Boy Scouts being "prepared". And I told him how I am a merit badge counselor right now and was an Eagle Scout since 2002. He told me that he was too! How cool is that I thought, then John our third partner came over because he heard us and he told us that he was an Eagle scout as well! Does that say something or what?! Eagle Scouts (only 1% of Boy Scouts ever reach that rank) as future Social Studies Teachers of America! I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I went to my class tonight with huge grin on my face. Everything went well today.

My day started with having breakfast with an angel in Pittsfield, and ended with a smile on my face. Kind of funny because my note that I read from Emmy before bed tonight said "I love it that when I think of you I get a big goofy grin on my face." She's so perfect. :D

9:15 AM - Got up early because my dad woke me up at about 6am since he was singing to Aggie, the St. Bernard puppy. Haha he's so crazy! It was snowing outside this morning! No thank you, Madam Weather! Hopped on the bike and started reading James Rollins's Excavation. It's a quick read. I'm already on page 80! Moves really fast. Historical fiction mystery set in the Peruvian Mountains regarding the discovery of a Dominican Friar and ancient Incan ruins. So much like Scott Smith's The Ruins, though it predated it. I'll be done with this one before the week's end probably! Much faster read than Oliver Twist was!

Total Time: 1:00:30  Total Distance: 20 miles

9:00 AM - Hopped on the bike this morning and read from James Rollins's Excavation. Really quick, engaging thriller with historical twist about the Incan Empire and a hidden pyramid. Read another 95 pages so I'm up to page 175 or so. Almost halfway through it already! Emma called about 5 mins into the ride but man is it hard to talk on the phone and bike at the same time, even when you're biking to nowhere! I am going to call her back shortly after a shower to destinkify. Then long day at work tonight 2pm to 1030pm. Gag! Oh and I saw more snowflakes today. Grrr it's April dangit!

Total Time: 1:14:00 Total Distance: 24 miles

10:40 AM - After nearly an hour and a half trying to get Aggie inside I ended up locking her in the garage through an ingenious trail of American Cheese. Just like Hansel and Gretel. Today's forecast was highs in the upper 40s, but windy. Winds were between 15 and 20mph, but today was my only chance to get in a ride, so I layered up with two bottoms, then put on a long sleeve sport shirt, the bike jersey Julian gave me and a purple fleece and headed out on a ride. I was taken aback by just how powerful the wind really is. As I went through Galway, Ballston, Charlton, Burnt Hills, Scotia, and Providence, I got to see a lot of the countryside that I love about this part of NY. Only downer was rude / unaware drivers. I would need about five hands to count the number of times people gunned their trucks past me without leaving adequate room and at least a set of toes for the numer of semis that I almost careened into. I think drivers are just unaware that if you drive too close to a biker, especially when there is a severe cross wind, you risk sucking him and his bike into your car! At least I made it back in one piece. My aunt Jane is up here for Easter. She just flew in from Tennessee. Time to go help my mom go Easter shopping and then back to do loads of homework! This was by far the hardest ride I've ever done, but also the most rewarding. I think that century better watch out! The Howling Commando's ready to slice and dice baby!

Total Time: 3:56:40  Total Distance: 60.5 miles  Average Speed: 15.4 mph

1:15 PM - It was a bit nippy out there; Temps in the mid 40s. Sunny and blue skies though. We had a lovely Easter with Rocco, Su, Emma, my Aunts Mary, Jane, Debbie, and a lot of their families up here. Probably abou 15-20 people in all. Needed to go work off some turkey. Emmy had to go to work today, so I saw her off and then went for a bike ride while they all went to the mall to go shopping. Had a good ride. Went down Jockey Street into Charlton, then over into West Charlton. All in all a nice ride. No other bikers out there because of the wind I suspect. But I had a blast :).  I feel like I am going to be able to do the century next month!! I'm just glad I didn't get carried away like Dorothy today! Phew! Time for a shower and tea and then mucho homework!

Total Time: 1:49:00 Total Distance: 31 miles  Average Speed: 17.1 mph

8:40 AM - Sunny and temps in the low 40s when I started, warming up though and it is now about 62 or so. Gorgeous day today for sure! Started off solo ride 53 miles in about 3:03, hit the 50 mile mark in 2:49, ten seconds off my PR I believe. A lot of farmers out getting the fields ready today as I cruised through Galway, Charlton, Burt Hills, Ballston, Scotia, Glenville and back. Then swung by home. Told my mom to expect me home at 12:00 and I pulled in at 11:57 right when she was in the middle of leaving a message on my phone about where I was. Funny!  Went riding with her and my youngest brother Harry to the Pizza Etc. place in Saratoga, about 13-14 miles each way. Stopped there and met our friend Kyle and my other brother Jonny and we had lunch, then biked home. I'm pooped! Still struggling to get all of my final unit plan stuff together. Going to get a shower and a quick nap and then try to do 1-2 more lessons. Ick. So blah. But at the same time I'm anxiously looking forward to my century ride which I am doing on May 2nd!! On a special note, today is six months since I proposed to Emmy and she said yes! Happiest day of my life! So lucky to have her as mine! :)

Total Time: 4:48:43  Total Distance : 78.56 miles Average Speed: 16.3 mph

Notes: next time remember sunscreen. Some sunburning on knees, calves, hands, and face. Total bottles drained 4: 96 oz plus a cup of coffee and cup of iced tea at lunch. Foods on the ride; 2 granola bars and a pack of gummies.

9:00 AM - A little bit of soreness this morning still. My legs were fatigued after the long ride last week. All this weekend I felt surprisingly tired walking up hills, stairs, etc. But I fet a bit better today. Hopped on the windtrainer and read about 120 pages from James Rollins's EXCAVATION. Almost done with it. I really like his style of writing! So happy today too because I am handing in my Unit Plan which is 40% of my grade for a class. It was 190 pages typed and fills up a 2" binder!

On a sad note, one of the professors at the college in the education department passed away suddenly last night. He was too young. His son is the same age as me and in a Master's program there. :(. Everyone at school is really sad and just lost about it because the school is so small everyone knows everyone.

Saw the weather reports for the weekend coming up and supposedly Saturday is projected to be 85!! Sunday 82!! I am going to hold off on the last long ride before the century until Sunday.

Total Time: 1:00:10 Total Distance: 20 miles

**Countdown : 11 DAYS

9:00 AM - Hopped on the bike after coffee this morning. Felt good. Finished reading Excavation by James Rollins as I rode. Something about the jet engine-esque sounds of the trainer make it easier to concentrate on the book. Today is bittersweet. My mom told me that she thinks we need to put Libby to sleep today. I guess I should be happy we got the extra few months with her since the vet said she had bad bone cancer. And I just got called into work early but I guess it's better that I won't be here when the vet comes to put her down. Last time with Geri was just too much for me.

Total Time: 1:16:30  Total Distance: 25 miles

**Countdown : 10 DAYS

9:00 AM - Got up and hopped on the bike after chatting with Emmy on the phone. Semester is quickly coming to a close and I still have a lot of projects and finals coming up. Eek! Read the first 60 pages of Iain Pears's AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST. I really like it already. It's a historical mystery set in 1663 England right after the English Civil War about a murder that is misconstrued and misinterpreted by four witnesses in four different ways. It's a longer book though so I will be reading it for a few weeks as it is nearly 750 pages!

It is sunny out now but really windy, hence the reason I did not go riding outside today. I am hoping to get in a recovery ride after work tomorrow though. I heard that this weekend there are 3 or 4 days of 80+ degree temps on the way!

Total Time: 1:04:00 Total Distance: 21.15 miles

** COUNTDOWN :  9 DAYS!!

 I GOT ACCEPTED AS A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER AND APPROVED BY THE B.O.E. @ the SCHOOL DISTRICT ON TUESDAY! I HOPE I GET A CALL SOON! :)

10:00 AM - Up early. A bit windy and already hot and humid out. Plus I wanted to hang out with Emmy since she's up here for today. So I hopped on the wind trainer and read until about page 130 in Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost. It's really getting good! Did one hour reasonably hard effort. Emmy went on the treadmill at the other side of the room. No matter how hard I tried to bike over there to her my wind trainer seemed to make zero progress! Doh! Maybe next time :-D. I must admit she is an enticing target.

Total Time: 1:00:20  Total Distance: 20 miles

**Countdown: 6 DAYS!!!

7:40 PM - Long day of school work and hot day. Temperature was 88 degrees and crazy sunny. Emmy went home and Su went back to school. Got home and hopped on the trainer and did a quick half hour. Feeling good about Saturday. Just hoping that the weather holds up. They are talking about showers Friday lingering possibly into Saturday.

Total Time: 30:10 Total Distance: 10 miles

**Countdown: 5 DAYS!!

8:30 AM - Finally the temperature has cooled off some. Weather is looking a bit more promising for Saturday. Holding out hopes that any rain will come early on in the morning and that the majority of my ride is dry! Got back my huge unit plan yesterday that took 80+ hours to make and constitutes 40% of my grade. The professor said that we all did fine and almost everyone got 3.0 out of 4.0 which is professional, but he said that he would probably curve the grades .5 to .7, leaning towards .7 because he wanted us to get the grades we deserved. So he said to look at our grades and add those points to it. My grade BEFORE the curve was 3.8 out of 4.0!! Is it possible to get a 4.5 out of 4.0? HAHA! I was ecstatic! Also my huge presentation/project I handed in yesterday for another class went well, though we were still finishing it 20 mins before class. I think this contributed to feelings of guilt because I had a nightmare about getting a 0% because the teacher caught us finishing it right before class! Did a shakeout on the wind trainer. Anxious to get my final studying underway and also finish the last two papers for the semester. Have a final on Monday and another on Tuesday, but then I'll be done until the 18th. Going to look at Burke and Pavelka's book today at work and start getting a list compiled of what I need for Saturday! This is going to be exciting!

Total Time: 15:15 Total Distance: 5 miles

TOMORROW IS CENTURY DAY!!!!

Work 8am to 5pm today, and then packing up my stuff for tomorrow! I'm excited! I can't wait for CENTURY DAY 2009! :)

 FIRST EVER CENTURY RIDE!  Mission : SUCCESS!

7:00 AM - Rain stopped and it was cloudy with a bit of sun. Roads were still wet but I went out there and did it. My mom and Harry were supposed to meet me for lunch, but stupid mapquest directions they got lost. They finally found me when I was at mile 83. Thankfully because I was out of liquids and out of money! :( But I refueled and tackled the mountain of doom into Massachusetts. It was pretty windy today. Only downer was that at mile 50ish a car of high school hooligans drove by and yelled and I almost fell off my bike. I hate jerks. Funny thing. I had to tack on like 3 miles at the end of the ride to make the full century distance. So I go onto a side street by Emma's house and I go to pull out and theres a little girl on a bike with crazy curly hair so I go out in front of her and speed away.. 1.5 miles later I turn around and come back, and the girl is there again. Only this time I see it's Emmy!! She met me at mile 99 and road the last mile with me :). She is such a cutie! She even gave my sweaty face a kiss! I'm on cloud nine!  More details to come later after I have a chance to recover. We're going to go out for ice cream now!

Total Distance: 100.5 miles  Total Time: 6:31:00 Average Speed: 15.4 mph

BENN'S FIRST CENTURY RIDE

EXPANDED NOTES:

So I woke up and the roads were wet with rain from the previous night. Jonn had SATs so he was up too and he was nice enough to snap a photo of me before I embarked on the century ride. The plan was for my mom and Harry to go in the van and meet me about halfway or slightly after for lunch. The ride was basically on three main roads: Route 29, Route 372 and Route 22. I was a little unnerved at the amount of traffic on the roads so early in the morning, but I decided to take it in stride (or pedal stroke?) and just kept plugging away. There was a slight west wind at 10-12 mph and it was in the low 40s at the start. I was glad to have my long sleeve shirt on underneath my jersey!

MILES 1-20: Riding on the back roads of Galway, Milton and Saratoga. Road to Spa Park and detoured to go into the park to use the restroom. Climbed the hill back out of there and back onto Lake Ave/Rte 29 going east towards Vermont.

MILES 21-40: After biking past the Saratoga National Monument I got a stunning view of the Green Mountains to the east by Bennington area and merged to Rte 372.  Rolling hills through Greenwich and Argyle.

MILES 41-60: Biked through Cambridge and turned south onto Route 22. Felt like hitting a bit of a wall because the westward wind went from a tailwind to a cross wind. I think cross winds are almost as hard if not worse than headwinds! Somewhere in here I had a group of teenagers speed past and yell at me. Shook me from my trance and I bobbled on the bike and ran into the sandy shoulder on the side of the road but managed to keep the bike upright and kept plugging away. At mile 57 I stopped at a Stewarts because I was completely out of liquids in Hoosick Falls. I felt good but needed to refuel. Called Mom and they were lost. They had somehow kept going on 29 to Rte 346 following the MapMyRide.com directions and ended up in Vermont! Oopsies! I grabbed a water, Gatorade and bought a cinnamon chip muffin which I quickly downed and was back on the road in about four or five minutes.

MILES 61-80: Still biking south, through Stillham, Petersburg, and Berlin. Had a low point about mile 75 where I started to doubt if I would make it. Maybe I was just cranky about not having lunch yet. My trail mix/GORP was running low and I was starting to feel the effects of fatigue. Plus it didn’t help that I kept having all those cars and trucks speeding past me. Little hills started to grow into monstrosities before my eyes. I reverted back to my long distance runs and broke the larger goal of finishing the century into smaller more manageable ones. “Just get to that light or telephone pole” I’d tell myself. Then, once there, I’d say “just to that next road”. It helped.

MILES 81-90: At mile 83 there was a gas station and Dunkin’ Donuts. I was now about 5-6 miles from New Lebanon where my dad used to work and also where I would turn east and go over the Berkshire Mountains. By now the wind was starting to cool me off a bit too much. The sun was actually not out much after the initial hour or so. I pulled off at mile 83.5 with a cumulative time of I think about 5hr17m. I took out my phone and was talking to my mom when she saw me! They were only a minute or so behind me. So finally I had my support crew, albeit after I had expected them. Mom bought me a coffee and I shared part of a bagel and used the restroom before suiting back up and heading out. I won’t lie. Seeing them drive into view was a welcoming sight. It is so hard when you do endurance rides to be out there by yourself because even though you know you can do it, you start to doubt yourself and your mood can change instantly like a lightswitch from optimist to pessimist. I felt reinvigorated and full of energy again and the next few hills weren’t all that bad, knowing that in twenty minutes or so I’d come up to them again.

MILES 91-100.5: As I pulled into New Lebanon I made out the form of the Chevy Express LT van my mom and Harry were in. I put my head down and pushed to meet them. My left quad was starting to cramp, so I felt my right leg trying to compensate and take some of the pressure off of it. My mom asked, “Do you need anything? Do you want to stop?”. I shook my head no and turned left on Old Route 20 and began “The Ascension”. Ascension to what I did not know. I’d driven this road countless hundreds of times to Emma’s house. I knew how long it was (somewhere between 2.75 and 3.0 miles), but I had never tried biking up it before. Sure I’d biked in the Green Mountains and the White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire in 2005 but I was about thirty pounds lighter then and the most I did in a day was maybe half the distance  I was covering today. I won’t lie. After biking 89.5 miles, a little dip in the road seems like a hill; now imagine having to scale a mountain range! It was do or die time. I’d gone this far. In a way I felt like Forrest Gump. I thought to myself, “Well, Benn.. you’re here. You’ve biked 5.5 hours and 90 miles. You can taste the century. Emma is waiting on the other side of the mountain. You can’t go under it. Can’t go around it. Have to go OVER it!”

So we all know I’m not Lance or Daniel Rasmussen. Yet when I turned onto Route 20 and began the climb, I felt like a Tour rider. I put the bike in the lowest gear on the second chain ring. (I rarely if ever switch out of the 2^nd chain ring), and put my head down. “Slow and steady. Get to the top.” Is what I kept repeating to myself. Slow and steady. Get to the top. My mom and Harry drove ahead and kept pulling over every .5 miles or so, expecting me to stop. But I didn’t. Maybe I secretly knew that if I stopped I risked not being able to get back on the bike and finish this thing. Maybe it was my pride and that I thought I’d be a failure if I stopped. Maybe it was my hotheaded determination to scale this beast of a hill as fast as possible. In any event I plugged away. I rounded corners as cars sped past me, hearing their engines switch over to super drive and knowing I didn’t have such luck. I was scaling the Berkshire Mountains on sheer grit, guts, and manpower.

Cresting the top of the hill, I began my favorite part of any climb, the descending. I got down in the tuck position, said a prayer, and started pedaling. Ten… Twenty… Thirty miles an hour.  I looked over to my Garmin watch and saw 36mph before it got too hard to look at my watch. I am pretty sure I passed 40 mph. My aerodynamic position made me probably look like a speeding bullet.. a white lightning rocketing down the mountain. I saw the van at the bottom of the hill pulled over at Hancock Shaker village. I rocketed past, and even when Mom and Harry pulled out and pulled ahead of me, I kept even with them for .25 or .3 miles. I was doing 26 mph on the flat. I had found a new gear and could taste the finish!

I crested the few little hills riding into Emma’s house, but saw I was going to be short by a couple miles. I turned onto a side street and started heading back towards the Shaker village. As I turned off a side street back onto Rte. 20 I saw a little girl with flowing curly hair and a blue helmet coming up the sidewalk on a bike. I decided to show her how a real biker biked and sped off. I climbed the hills I had just biked down, glancing at my watch. 97 miles…. 97.4 miles… 98  miles.. Almost there!

At mile 99 I turned around and started to bike back towards Emma’s street. There was the girl in her blue helmet with jeans rolled up like capris and flip flops on. As I got closer I realized it wasn’t just a girl… IT WAS EMMY! Mom and Harry had driven up Essex St. and told her I was right there almost to the house and to go ride ride ride and catch me! I guess she’d been trailing me since mile 97 and even yelled , “Hey dummy stop!!” haha. Oops! I guess I was so high on my cycling high that I didn’t hear her! Anyways she road the last mile with me, and holy cow she is fast on a bike! She wasn’t even wearing biking gear and was actually pulling away from me! I finally got to Essex Street and turned left and stared up the mountain. Emma’s street is a very steep hill and the last .5 miles of my century were going to be up it.

I got out of the saddle and put on my working cap. Do or die time. Everything else I’d gone through in the last six plus hours was worthless if I didn’t get up this hill and to Emmy’s house.  Pedal stroke by pedal stroke I struggled. Every pedal stroke my left quad got a little tighter. I think I can. I think I can. I hope I can I hope I can… After what seemed like forever, I finally saw it, Emma’s house. I got to her front yard, nearly fell off my bike and sprawled out in the lawn. I had done it. I had actually done it! I had ridden through two states, scaled a mountain range, and had ridden straight to Emmy’s house!

AFTER THE RIDE I walked back down the hill after a few minutes and thanked Harry, Mom and Emmy for everything. We took some pictures and then I just wanted to get a shower. Afterwards we drove to Northhampton, Mass. We checked out a possible wedding location, though we weren’t that impressed with it. Then we went into town and had a great time walking around to all the shops and went out to eat at Fitzwilly’s Restaurant. Mom and Dad had said I could have a beer. I’d earned it! We ended up getting icecream on Sunday the day after because we were too tired and full after Northhampton. I saw Emmy’s mom before she headed off to California to see Emma’s brother and sisterinlaw.  Thinking back on the ride now, after driving home on Sunday night, I realized I’d ridden a bike 30 miles MORE than the distance I drove home. Wow.

And now… as any endurance athlete wonders… what is my next goal?!

8:30 AM - Rainy and overcast. My final last night went better than expected. It was 25 multiple choice questions on alternavtive assessment and evaluation. I also had a take home essay and a project I handed in as well which will make up part of the grade. Hopped on the wind trainer this morning and did an easy recovery ride. Read more from Pears's An Instance at the Fingerpost. I am up to page 185 or so now. Wish it wasn't a 700 page book. It's good but it's taking me a while to get through it and theres a few other books I want to read at the same time! This week is supposed to be crappy weather wise, but I'm hoping on Thursday to drive to Massachusetts and help Emmy get the ground ready for a veggie garden! Also today I have my last final of my graduate degree. I still have my summer class and then student teaching, but hopefully NO MORE FINALS :).

Total Time: 34:00 Total Distance: 11 miles

9:00 AM - Well the Spring Semester is officially over. I took my last finals yesterday, though they did not start off smoothly. In my haste to go to Albany yesterday I grabbed the wrong blue folder and forgot all my articles that I needed for my first final. I quickly called my mom and we drove towards each other and met halfway about 25 mins from school. It was like a drug drop, and the Dunkin' Donuts gal that was taking a smoke break definitely gave me a weird look as I took the parcel and sped off into the sunset. There were a bunch of accidents and of course I hit every red light on the way back AND got stuck behind a tourist from New Mexico that spent 5 mins looking for his stupid ticket to pay the toll. I hate tourists sometimes. :) At least I'm a smart tourist when I go places I would like to think. Now we all know I wouldn't even have minded if I wasn't late to a final exam! Aggh! So I finally got there and our final was all on computers. Our teacher got every student a laptop to take the test on. So we had to write our essay on them and then email them to her. Kind of cool actually.  So now I am 12 days until my next semester starts. Twelve days is not enough I tell you!

Got on the bike this morning and read to page 235 in Iain Pears's An Instance at the Fingerpost. It's really getting interesting. Set in post-Cromwell England in 1663. It is a murder mystery where a young servant girl is convicted and hung for poisoning a former employer with arsenic. However, after her death, there are suspicions that she was not, after all, the killer. The book is written from four different perspectives in the first person. Really interesting. I just got into the second narrator's story today, and am on chapter five of that. It is a long book though. I have to get through this before the next semester starts!

Rode easy for an hour as I read. Am getting eager to come up with my next cycling goal. Was thinking maybe a circuit century could be fun.. plan out a 20 mile loop and do that 5 times? I don't know though.

Total Time: 1:01:00 Total Distance: 20 miles

2:45 PM - It was supposed to be rainy today, but it actually turned into a pretty nice day. Overcast and such but then the sun started to come out after lunch. I ran errands with Emmy this morning. We got stuff for the vegetable garden and then I got my Mom her Mom's Day gift that she mentioned she wanted. Had a cute lunch date at Panera Bread after we went to Charland Jeweler's for Emmy's 6 month ring checkup! While we were there we put a down payment and put our wedding bands on layaway! Exciting stuff! Then after stopping by her house quickly, we headed to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail and stretched and went running! YES, RUNNING! According to my records the last time I went running was February 9th. And on that day I went 4.09 miles. I ran the exact same distance today, though part of the last mile was spent walking. I ran nonstop to the 5k mark though so that was good! Emma is so amazing to put up with me because 1) I was slower than heck and 2) I have a dorky cyclist tan on my legs and I am sure that was a bit embarrassing to be caught dead with this "newbie" It was really fun though! Then we came home and had dinner and am looking forward to a movie date before having to go to work tomorrow morning! Feels like forever since I blogged a run! Hit the 5k mark in 30:55 Splits were:

• Mile 1: 10:10
• Mile 2: 9:51
• Mile 3: 9:51
• Mile 4:13:55 (with walking)
  

3:45 PM - Partly sunny with light rain. Jonn was going out for a ride, and I offered to go with him, but I am a sucky partner. About 1 mile in he pointed out something was wrong with my wheel. I tried to continue riding, but my back wheel was messed up. Took it to the bike shop 15 miles away in Saratoga and sure enough when I heard the sharp "twang" at mile 80ish of the century it was me busting a spoke :(. I wanted to yell when I heard the estimate though. He goes: "yeah it will be 1.5 for the spoke, and 25 for labor." Figures!

Total Time: 8:15 Total Distance: 2.5 miles

Happy Mother's Day to all FRB moms out there! You are all amazing and truly the best! Moms make the world that much more survivable in my opinion. Was glad to get my bike back from the shop yesterday. Kind of funny that labor for a $1.50 spoke ended up being $27.00 but what are you going to do, you know? Went down to Albany yesterday with Emmy and Jonn and looked for pants at a Big and Tall store. Only thing was it was just big AND tall, not big OR tall. I usually just have difficulty finding the right length pants. So then I tried the big mall down there and I had a lot of luck :). I now know where to get my pants!

After church today I read a really fantastic read about Abraham Lincoln. By Pultizer Prize winner David Herbert Donald, Lincoln at Home is a compilation of letters and correspondence and also a biography of Lincoln's life while in the White House. He truly was an amazing man and Donald's work in here is a fresh voice of reason. I know there have been a lot of Lincoln biographies especially with his bicentennial birthday this year, but I have always liked Donald's biography on Lincoln. Now I think I want to reread Donald's biography. 

I hope everyone else enjoyed Mother's Day and gave their Moms and sisters and wives and hunnies some hugs and kisses. We truly are blessed to have amazing women in our lives! You stay classy, FRB!

Survived my first ever day of substitute teaching! Man I forgot just how much energy fifth graders had! Luckily the teacher I am subbing for is one of the best and the best that a sub could hope for. She has everything laid out for me to teach and is so organized! I had to teach Social Studies, Math, Science, English, Grammar, ELA, and Spelling to fifth graders! I forgot just how many subjects there really are! Anyone that said subbing was easy is definitely mistaken. After 4:00 when I finished I sat down in the teacher's chair and didn't want to get up because I was so tired. The only downer was that there was a fire drill and the kids walked so fast I couldn't keep up (my ankle is acting up and in a brace). Save yourselves I guess! Forget the teacher! Burn him! Haha! And I only had one written referral today: at about 3:10 one boy bit his buddy in the hand over a stupid argument and I had to document it :(. Oii oh and they already had me fill out paperwork for retirement. I go: "Oh is it that close already?!" with a smile. The lady laughed. I am back in the same fifth grade Tuesday. I hope it goes well!

8:15 AM - Sunny outside today, but I didn't want to go out on the roads as I am not sure how far I could go. Also mom had a flare up yesterday so wanted to stay close to home in case she needed anything. Hopped on the wind trainer and read a chapter from Team of Rivals. Up to about page 170, but still only about 1/3 of the way through the book if I'm lucky. I guess they liked me as a substitute teacher because got a call to substitute again today but I had to turn them down because I have to work the bookstore from 1pm to 10pm tonight. However, also had a call from the same school last night after I had just got home from subbing and I am signed up to sub next Tuesday for fifth grade again! :-D. I just hope I do a good job! Scary that I already filled out retirement papers and am depositing money into a retirement system! And I'm only 22!

Total Time: 1:00:20  Total Distance: 20 miles

12:30 PM - Rainy and windy morning. Temperatures in the 50s. Very blustery though. My mom hasn't been feeling well the last few days. Harry has been having heel problems so I drove him down to Schenectady to the orthopedist. Found out he has floating plates in his heels from growing I guess. The doc had never seen something like it. Only remedy is 600 mg of tylenol 3x a day and find some comfy shoes. I told Harry he should get those cool Old Man Shoes that all the 90+ year olds wear. Bring them in style for the younger generation, you know?

Read from Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. Read about 40 pages today including the infamous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 during which both men traversed some 4,000 miles through the Illinois countryside, engaging in great townhall meeting style debates lasting three or four hours. I am struck by both the eloquence of Lincoln's speeches as well as the dutifulness. Much of Douglas's argument lay in convincing the Illinois populace that Lincoln sought full emancipation and equality of the black man with the white man. And while much of the Republican platform of 1858 did rest on equality of all men, Lincoln was able to sway support in outlining the founding fathers's beliefs: "When the white man governs himself that is self government; but when he governs himself, and also governs another man, that is more than self-government - that is despotism. If the negro is a man, why then my ancient faith teaches me that 'all men are created equal'; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man's making a slave of another. The difference between the Republican and the Democratic parties on the leading issue of this contest is that the former consider slavery a moral, social and political wrong, while the latter do not consider it either a moral, social or political wrong; and the action of each...is squared to meet these views." (pp. 202-204)

Total Time: 1:00:30  Total Distance: 20 miles

5:42 AM - Temp was in the mid 50s I'd say. Woke up at 4:40 to go get Jonny from prom. Saw pictures of him and his date. They were a cute couple :-D. I'll try to post a picture soon on here. No wonder why all the ladies like him! ;) Decided to get a bike ride in. Laced up, threw on a sweatshirt and hit the roads. Just did one of the usual routes into Charlton and back. My lower back started to tighten up a bit. Probably still a bit strained from the century ride. Being cramped up and hunched over for 6.5 hours on a bike probably isn't exactly what God intended our backs for! Felt really good though. And now the best part.. I get to go drive to see my sister's graduation! :-D. She is graduating college today! And double good news: She got a 4.0 this past semester and I too earned my third straight 4.0 semester! Who said grad school was hard?! pshaw!! Haha! I think I have started to try harder in grad school than I did in undergrad and perhaps that's why I am more likely to get a 4.0? Or maybe they mistyped my grade. Shh don't tell anyone! ;)

And now for a short poem about my ride: (I'm a regular Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson, hahaha NOT!)

Early morning, quiet and alone.

Before the birds chirp,

Before the cars zoom,

Before the sun shines.

Howling Commandos ride

For their job is never done

Spinning the world in circles

In a cadence fit for champions.

Blackbird why you fly so high?

Lilacs fill my nostrils

As do the blackflies and gnats.

Is that the sweet smell of nostalgia,

No. I was mistaken. It was sweet, sweet

Victory.

Total Time: 1:32:03  Total Distance: 26 miles  Average Speed: 16.9 mph

10:30 AM - Cloudy and windy after last night's whopper storm we experienced at Su's graduation and then reexperienced driving home. Got called into work tonight so I wanted to get a ride in but it was really windy out so I started inside on the trainer for 30 mins and then moved outside to the garage and finished the ride there. Played pingpong with Harry afterwards. Now time for a quick shower, lunch and off to work all day while the family goes to my cousin's graduation party. :( Stupid work.

Total Time: 1:00:30  Total Distance: 20 miles

WHY DO PEOPLE SUCK?!?! This question has gone through my mind a lot lately, but especially tonight. I was just talking to Emmy who was visiting a friend in Cape Cod, MA this weekend and she just got home. She had been selling a tv entertainment hutch on craigslist.com and this guy had seemed legit and wanted to pay for it and was going to give her extra money to keep it off of craigslist. So Emmy took the listing down and he said his 'secretary' was sending a check. Well lo and behold the check was written for 1,850 bucks instead of 185. He said rather than write a new check to cash it and then western union him the money.. well Emm checked the account and the check had posted to the account before she left for Boston and she went and western unioned the money to the guy. Then she came back today and the check had bounced! aka She had been robbed of two thousand dollars. Now I know money isn't the end all, though I know how hard she works for her money. Why do good people always get f*cking screwed? I know it's not the Christian thing to do but I want to beat him up. Really badly. Can Christians believe in Karma? Because from what I've heard Karma's a beeotch and hopefully he'll get what he deserves. I might not be blogging much. I am going to call work tomorrow and see if I can get extra hours if not I have to find a second job. 

5:00 PM - Overcast, windy. Temp around 53 degrees. Needed to get a workout in, so I went out to the garage and cycled 31 mins on the wind trainer. Was a bummer because the neighbors at the bottom of the hill were burning garbage which always flows up into our property and hence into the open garage. Hopefully I didn't get some weird disease breathing in some weird burning plastic. First day of class was okay. Getting anxious about Emma's and My yard sale at her house this weekend! I hope we make a lot of money. Any profits we get are going into our wedding account!

Total Time: 31:00 Total Distance: 10 miles

9:10 AM - Sunny, blue skies and temperature in the low 40s. What does that spell? Perfect weather for a hill workout! Rode north from my house, a change as the majority of my runs go south with hills at the ends as I ride north again to my house. This was a reversal. I forgot how hilly it is in Providence and Middle Grove north of Route 29. I wore a fleece jacket as I knew it would be chilly in the shade. I think I am going to try to do this workout at least once a week to start building strength. Rode on Barkersville and then Fayville and then back over to Antioch Rd. Saw a hawk and I raced him. I blew him out of the water. Highlight was the last complete 'lap' which is 5 mile increments. From miles 15-20mph I averaged 20mph or 3:00/mile. I rode this workout hard, perhaps the hardest I've gone so far this season. I think that riding a similar route each week will build strength, confidence, and stamina. Finished and now it's time for a shower and homework before getting stuff ready for the yard sale this weekend!! Oh yeah, another highlight today.. SET A NEW PR FOR FASTEST SPEED I'VE EVER RIDDEN ON MY ROADIE!  43 MPH and I wasn't even maxed out! However, this was by far the most taxing shorter ride I've done this year!

Total Time: 1:21:27  Total Distance: 21.7 miles  Average Speed: 16 mph

7:30 AM - Sunny, blue skies and temperature around 62. Projected high of 88 or 89 today, so I wanted to get a ride in early. I started off on the same route I went on Tuesday, albeit a bit sorer than earlier in the week. My legs are adjusting nicely to biking though I feel. Today was a mix of ups and downs. One of the good things was that Emma got her interview for her job. It is between her and another social mentor at the same place. I hope Emmy gets it. Though I am biased towards her because she is absolutely amazing! We are getting psyched about the garage sale this weekend at Emma's. Su and my mom drove a load of stuff down to Emma's today while I was at work. Had a great ride, including yet another FASTEST SUSTAINED SPEED PR!!  45.7 MPH!! Maybe I was pushing too hard, but yet another spoke busted, this time right after the 30 mile mark. So I called and took my bike into Saratoga the 15 miles to the bike shop. It was just in there 2 weeks ago to get fixed... well to make a long story short, I ended up with two new rims.. 430 dollars later! Luckily since my birthday is next Thursday, my mom offered to go in halfway, so I only have to pay 215 bucks. I am anxiously anticipating getting a ride in after work tomorrow before I drive to Emma's for the yard sale weekend! The ride today was tough though, with a ton of hills. I went north into Barkersville towards Northville, then back up to Antioch Road by way of Lake Nancy Road, then down into Middle Grove by the Stewart's gas station. Finished on Rte. 29 where I busted the spoke.

Total Time: 1:50:43  Total Distance: 30.01 miles Average Speed: 16.3 mph

7:25 AM - Sunny and blue skies temperature of about 44 degrees at the start and 75 at the end. Went biking before the Memorial Day parade in Galway this morning. Did about 31 miles followed by another 20 after the parade was done. The parade is always good because you see just how many people there are in this small town. It seems that every person in the town shows up for the festivities. Sometimes a bit weird though when you run into half the people you graduated high school with. Kind of like a mini reunion.

Funny thing at about mile 6 this morning, going up a hill and two deer jump out of the woods onto the road and just freeze. This was my maiden voyage with my new rims that I bought last week so I wanted to test them out. They are really quiet though and smooth riding. I had to scare the deer off the road so they wouldn't charge me by clearing my throat really loudly. Saw a couple other bikers out there. None waved back when I greeted them.. humbugs!

Biked into Charlton and back for the first half, then up around Galway Lake (big mistake. The roads up there are so bumpy and uneven!). Coming down into the village, I was speeding, going 38 in a 30 oops! Then I was drafting off a Ford Ranger pickup and look over on the left, and theres four police officers chatting probably about doughnuts and coffee. Luckily for me they didn't pull me over! Biked to my house, and then went around the block for the last 5.5 miles. Kind of funny that in the country to go around the block you have to drive that far!

Emma and I had a yard sale at her house on Friday and Saturday and sold a lot of stuff. All the profits are going into the wedding fund. We're going to try to sell more stuff next weekend too! So far total profits to date: $892.20!!!

Total Time: 2:51:43  Total Distance: 51.12 miles  Average Speed: 17.9mph

8:15 AM - Sunny and blue skies, a bit breezy. Temperature at the start was cold and only about 38 degrees. I biked to Saratoga and met my mom and Su at Borders for coffee and a bagel. Su had to bring her car into the shop to get a tire fixed an an oil change. I hung out there for a bit and then biked home, via Ballston-Galway Road which goes by Pizza Etc. I felt really strong today for some reason and there was no soreness from yesterday's ride. I think I'll take that as a sign that I am definitely getting stronger!

Total Time: 1:59:30  Total Distance: 35.01 miles Average Speed: 17.6 mph

 4:00 PM - Cloudy and breezy. Temperature in the high 50s or low 60s. Decided to go biking with my sister Su to the track. She was going to go jogging with a friend but we wanted to go sooner rather than later as it looked like rain. Plus I had just finished a paper I have to hand in tomorrow so I suited back up and went on a recovery ride with her. It was really nice, though she didn't get to run as the track team was using the whole track when we got there. Biked home afterwards.

Total Time: 41:46 Total Distance: 9.09 miles  Average Speed: 13.0 mph

*Another two miles (10:00) around the house after the second ride, chasing Aggie and then went around the property and down onto the road and pulled Harry albeit slowly on his skateboard. He really likes "boarding" as he calls it.

8:00 AM - Very chilly, in the mid 40s and rain, rain, rain. As I sat on my bike on the windtrainer in the garage this morning watching the rain pour down onto the hood of my car and pool in puddles around the basketball hoop, I started thinking about how much I've done in my short-ish life. In the last 22+ years I have done a lot: Eagle Scout, 13 years of perfect attendance, rode my bike from Ticonderoga, NY to Old Orchard Beach, ME, earned my BA in History, nearly earned my MS in Adolescent Education, completed 2 marathons and most recently 1 century ride. Oh yeah... and gotten engaged to my best friend!!! So as I was sitting there on the bike I was pondering where I am going in life, how much lies ahead of me, and everything that came before today. I feel like life is getting increasingly complex, and I truly am starting to understand the argument that there are not enough hours in the day.

Today's book of choice was Stewart Lee Allen's The Devil's Cup: Coffee, the Driving Force in History. I read the first 68 pages in Allen's work, and boy was it interesting! Perhaps one of the most interesting passages was towards the end of the ride when I was reading about the first known suppression of coffee drinking which began June 20, 1511 by Mecca's religious police. They testified that coffee caused mental alterations in the drinker and was therefore a type of 'wine' outlawed by Islamic law and the Koran. It's interestig to look at historical interpretations and how much society has chagned over the centuries. To think that people viewed coffee as an intoxicant is mind boggling. While I know it is a stimulant, I hardly think you can put it in the realm of drugs such as marijuana, opium, alcohol, etc etc. I will try to read more of this book tomorrow!

On a sadder note, today is my last bike ride as a 22 year old. Tomorrow I will be an old man of 23. :(

Total Time: 1:00:30  Total Distance: 20 miles