Monday, April 23, 2007

Training – April 21-22 2007

This weekend was a busy one. We had a few birthday parties lined up and I really needed to get some training in. Just like Jen and Lauren in Texas, the weather here in NJ has been poor the last few weeks which made serious training hard. This weekend the weather finally warmed up and I was able to get out a ride.

On Saturday my friend (and Team DOWN ONE teammate) John and I took a ride along the Toms River. We rode through several towns along the way. What a great view looking across the river! The ride was not a long one, but it offered a nice mix of flat roads and some hills. We rode through Beachwood, Pine Beach, Ocean Gate and into Bayville back rodes along the Barnegat Bay. We rode back through Bayville via Route 9 and coming from the back rodes to Route 9 we hit one heck of a hill. Really took some focus and stamina to make it up the hill. I was extremely proud of both of us. We are not your everyday cyclist, but we did it.

On Sunday I did the MS Walk (5 miles) in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, NJ. It was great to be there with my wife Kristy and our daughters Caroline and Annabelle. My mother is living with MS and my grandmother passed away from MS. Our family is a proud supporter of the National MS Society. There looked to be several hundred people there. The weather was beautiful, plus it never hurts to be with family and walk along the Atlantic Ocean for a great cause.

In the afternoon we were going to my nephews 11th birthday party at a local park. I decided to ride my bike. The ride to the park was a challenging one. There are a lot of hills which made for a great test to see how I could handle them. It is surprising how steep the roads really are in my area. It will make for great training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge. I did the 7.2 mile ride and felt great. My legs felt like jello later in the afternoon so I decided to put my bike in the back of my wife’s CRV so I could rest up.

Yes, I know I should have rode home, but my body reached it’s limit for the day. As my training moves forward I am sure I will easily handle this situation in the future.

This is the most activity I have done in years (10+) and I love it. Tonight I am going home to eat some great BBQ shrimp & scallops. Later we (my wife, daughters and I) are going for a walk on the Ocean Gate boardwalk.

I have to admit – I am getting addicted to the cycling and walking.

LIVESTRONG!