Great weekend.

Saturday morning did a short 4 mile run. I was trying out some new orthotics in my running shoes since the $370 models from the podiatrist are causing me knee paid (and wallet pain). I also wanted to see if I could operate my Timex GPS devise properly in daylight. We are running in the dark in the morning now so it is not easy to mess with equipment at the regular Tuesday Thursday runs.

At 9 a.m. I attended Bodypump class at Gold’s gym for the 1st time in months. For anyone who does not know about this phenomenon, it is a group weight lifting class that is set to music. It is fun but challenging. No lie; no matter how good of shape you think you are in, this class will kick your butt if you are not used to it. I was pretty happy with how I lifted, considering I had not been to the class since last winter. I have been occasionally lifting on my own in the morning, but it is not the same. My biceps and my gluteus maximus are pretty darn sore still on Monday.

Saturday afternoon I mountain biked at Rockbridge for about 3 hours. It was totally gorgeous outside and I was riding really well. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Sunday morning (after only 5.5 hours of sleep) I arose to prepare to trek to Sedalia, MO, for a Duathlon. My team mate, Hugh Emerson picked me up right on schedule at 6 a.m. Our ride, a Honda Element, was piloted by Andy Emerson. Hugh and I entered as a team, he did the run and I did the bike. He told me he is afraid to bike. I told him I am afraid not to. (Obviously I have the bigger problem) Well, we won 1st place so I have another gold medal. My personal goal was to average at least 20 mph over the 30k course (18.5 miles). I succeeded in averaging a little over 19 mph. The wind was terrible so I am satisfied with my performance. My average was over 20 mph at the 1/2 way turn around, but the head wind on the way back was brutal.

They should not be Alive!
James & Slebos did the Berryman Adventure Race this weekend. They were in Southern MO where all the storms hit this last weekend. They won the race and each received a $300 tent and some other schwag for their efforts. I am amazed they survived; the race went something like this: 27 mile trail run, then 17 miles of canoeing, then 11 more miles of running then a 30 mile bike (all in the national forest and all requiring navigational skills). The race took them around 27.5 hours to complete during which they had to deal with rain, cold, darkness, flooding and tornadoes. James looked like he just got back from a war zone when he returned home. (So glad I did not do the race…………at one time I thought I wanted to.)