Motivated to Succeed

9:00 AM - Temp about 62 and sunny (at least when I decided to go biking that is); Quickly decided to change to overcast and windy 12-15mph as soon as I started. This was definitely what I feel is the hardest ride of the season. Though I only logged 13.7 miles a significant portion of it was uphill. Max elevation of 2172'. Phew! Basically sums that one up. Though I think it's good to get another ride in. I really should aim for about 3 more of these hour rides, and maybe one other of about 1.5 hours this week. Hopefully this is helping! I have already noticed my weight is going back down. This morning I weighed 174 before my ride. That's six pounds I've lost in the last three weeks. Woot! I just hope this is going to keep me in shape aerobically too, which I think it will to a degree, though it certainly felt like I ran a lot farther than 4.57 miles!

Total Time: 57:30 Total Distance: 13.7 mi Average Speed: 14.3 mph

Interview @ 1:00 for a Graduate Assistantship Program for school. Butterflies in my estomacho! eek! Hopefully a walk later this evening to enjoy the weather though!

4:00 PM - Went walking with Emma today in Pittsfield. It was so much fun! Sunny and a little breezy. Temperature was about 75 or so. We went walking on a back road and walked up Dean Hill Road in Richmond, Massachusetts and then came across this marker from 1898 that marked the MA/NY border which was cool. Emma gave me a little kiss and it was funny because then we concluded we were kissing each other in two places at the same time :-*. All in all a nice walk. We went 4.5 miles in 70 minutes. Wish we could live there! 

8:40 AM - Overcast and temperatures in the low 60s. Weather forecast was for rain, but I wanted to take a chance. All in all an okay day. Actually didn't start misting on me until I hit 30 miles. Just made it hard to see the last few miles. This was the best ride I've had all season. Went on the normal roads for my long rides, the really hilly Jockey Street and then hung a left and went through Charlton and into Ballston Spa. Actually went a few miles longer than I usually do, and went all the way to Route 50. Couldn't believe how great I did. Only downfall was that the last 3.63 miles really kicked my butt and I only averaged 12mph for those miles, but there are a ton of uphills and it was raining. Other than that I was flying! (Weight: 173 - holding steady)

• 10 mile split: 34:35 (17.4mph)
• 20 mile split: 34:29 (17.4mph)
• 30 mile split: 35:33 (16.9mph)
• 33.64 : 18:09 (12.0 mph)
• Max Sustained Speed: 33.7 mph

Total Time: 2:02:47 Total Mileage: 33.64 mi Average Speed:16.4mph (fastest average speed for a long ride so far this year! Alright!)

10:00 AM - Cloudy and Temps around 65-68 degrees. Sun came out towards end of the ride. So I was undecided if I was going to go biking today but was kind of leaning towards a short ride since it is overcast and threats of showers, but the next four days are projected to be humid, hot and miserable (85-93 degrees according to latest meteorology reports!). Well my mom and Su (sister) asked me if I wanted to go so of course I said yes, since one of my rules is never turn down a run or ride if another person offers! It was funny because we were all wearing yellow shirts, different styles but all yellow. People honked their horns a few times (I like to think it's because they were congratulating us for taking the initiative and riding for our own mayo de journe.) Ended up having a great time. We rode down Jockey St. to Charlton by way of Parkis and Old Mill Roads. Ended up taking a break at the little country store in Charlton and I bought a gatorade and pineapple coconut muffin! Delicious! At the end of the ride, my mom was having trouble on a few of the hills because her muscle disorder was starting to flare, so she asked if I could ride on ahead and get the car for her. So I pushed it hard the last couple miles, jumped into the car and swapped with her and then rode her bike home with my sister. Had a great time. Probably tomorrow will be a rest day.

Total Time: 1:50:58 Total Mileage: 24.3 miles Average Speed: 13.1 mph

 PM: Core work - crunches and situps, pushups on the exercise ball, plank exercise. arm bicep curls and tricep raises. Really trying hard to get in shape!

8:30 AM - Man if I could sum up today so far in one word it would be UGH! So the night was good. I got home from work, caught an episode of Man vs. Wild and got dinner and then passed out. Slept from 10:30pm to about 8:00 AM this morning! But I was like Oh I need to get my ride in early, so I laced up and headed out because I knew it was going to be a scorcher. There was a bunch of fog for about the first half hour, but then that burned off and it was game on with the sun. Ended up biking into Charlton and then Ballston via Jockey St. like normal, though right about at the turnaround at mile 15 I was like , "Wait, why are there so many people out?" I saw about 10 bikers in a pack going the other way. .. They gave me some looks with me in a tshirt and corduroy shorts haha. Well so I came to the conclusion that today was Saturday the 7th which meant I had a workshop in Albany at 9AM to 1PM I was supposed to be at. I came to this realization at approximately 9:51AM. Needless to say I didn't go as I wouldn't get there until about 12, but the rest of the bike ride became a kind of tempo ride because I think I was a little angry. Problem solved though. I reregistered today for one in October. This was just a hectic week with the interview, another workshop, and 5 days of work. Oh well. What's another 50 bucks I guess :-. Temperature when I finished at about 10:30 was 80 degrees; sunny. High today expected to be 92. Eek! Perhaps 95 or 96 by Monday they said.

Total Time: 1:48:38 Total Mileage: 29.67 mi Average Speed: 16.4 mph