3 Miles on a Ghost Walk

Tonight we arrived in Kingston, Ontario and took a walking tour of the city at night. It was a "Haunted Ghost Tour". We did a 3 mile walk around the historic section of the city and listened to tales of ghosts and hauntings.

Stan and Me with our Tour Guide, Glen

More Than 40 Minutes in a Unique Setting

We began our vacation yesterday. We flew into Albany, NY and drove North to Plattsburgh New York with a short stop at Lake George. Today we went to Ausable Chasm, walked the trails and took a raft ride down the Ausable River. The walk covered just under 3 miles and included lots of steps both up and down.

Ausable Chasm (Note stairs at left)

50 Minutes of Hills

Bob,Susan and I did hills tonight for 50ish minutes (3 laps). The trips to the roof of the garage yielded coolness and great breezes, but the weather got scary.

9 Miles With FBF

This morning's training was 9 miles. Bob and I left with the espresso group at 5:20am. This route was not one of my favorite's. Several people tripped on the uneven sidewalks as we went down Austin Parkway from Velocity. I slipped, but Bob caught me just in time. We traveled down to Lexington, turned right, past the mall, crossed Highway 6 and Williams Trace and then entered the Park. I'll take a double loop of the park any day. It was hot and humid and the mosquitoes were out in full force. My trusty bug spray kept them away, but no telling what it's doing to my insides!

Steve After his Extra Mileage

James and Anngela During the Seminar

Sundar's Enjoying His First Year w/ FBF

50 Minutes of Hills

Tonight I joined my FBF friends for another night of hills.Bob, Susan, Nedra and I did 3 laps. It was really hot, but there was a welcome breeze at the garage rooftop.

Bob After our Training

9 Miles in Arizona

I kept debating about whether to do 9 or 10 miles today. I started out on the treadmill in the hotel's fitness center. I did 4 miles in the air-conditioning while watching TV. When there was nothing of interest left to watch, I decided to go out on the property and to the mall. I did another 5 miles and threw in the towel. It was sooooo hot by 8:00am, it was almost unbearable. I was glad to have at least accomplished 9 miles, especially in light of all the gourmet meals and 2 deserts a day. The serious diet begins tomorrow!

Some of the Beautiful Scenery

Bunnies were Everywhere-I think they were part of the lawn maintenance crew

40 More Minutes Walking

I decided to walk again this morning, so Brenda and I walked to the mall again, got breakfast and walked back. Breakfast probably negated any benefit from the walk, but hopefully it all evened out. I'm scheduled for 9 to 10 miles this weekend and plan to do it here at the Desert Ridge complex.

45 Mnutes is the Desert

Yes, the desert! I'm in Phoenix for a Toastmasters Convention, staying at the most beautiful desert retreat- the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Spa and Resort. There's a great trail around the property that connects with the main road. This morning, 2 ladies and I walked to the nearby mall (guess we're not too far into the desert), grabbed a light breakfast and walked back, for a total of 45 Minutes. We finished while it was still cool - only 98 degrees. But as everyone here says - it's a dry heat and a bit more tolerable.

50 Minutes of Hills

We did hills tonight in the newer Town Center garage. The ramps there are longer and steeper than the other garage. Bob did one lap before I got there,and then joined me for 3 laps. I was very hot and I was whipped when we finished.

40 Minutes of Brisk Walking

I was still tired this morning, but feeling better, having flushed my body. I decided to just walk for 40 minutes. I'll do hills tomorrow.

9 Miles

Well, I broke my cardinal rules - by eating poorly the night before my long run(spicy, salty and greasy); getting to bed late and not hydrating enough the day before. This is the first time in over 2 years that I've ever done this, so I won't beat myself up. However, I definitely paid the penalty for my actions. This morning, after only 4.5 hours sleep, I met up with the decaf group for the FBF 7 mile course. I got to meet and chat with two FBF first timers, Dustin and Kathryn. The time seemed to go faster as we all got to know one another better. When we got about halfway into the route, we (and everyone else) had to take a detour because Edgewater Blvd was blocked off due to an accident of some kind. We forged a new route, not sure how much mileage we were actually getting in. When we got the the Dulles entrance/exit of the park, I went back in a picked up another 2 miles, running intervals, to make my distance what I hoped would be 9 miles. My fingers were swollen like sausages and I was exhausted by the time I finished. I would have loved to have gone back to sleep when I got home, but since I had an 11:00am commitment, couldn't. I checked the Gmap-Pedometer, and it turnedf out that my mileage was actually 9.3 miles.
I've sworn up and down that I'm back on track today with my diet(way over an acceptable weight) and sleeping regimen. We shall see.

35 Minutes with a Little Running

It was really hot this morning. I started out walking and threw a few runs in between. The FBF long run on Saturday is 7 miles - I'm going to try to do 9 miles in preparation of my Labor Day Half marathon.

35 Minutes of Brisk Walking

I did not make it to the hill training last night, so I'm glad I did mine on Monday.
This morning I did 35 minutes of brisk walking. The sun was shining, but the humidity made for a typical summer. I'm glad we've had a break from the rain.

40 Minutes of Hills

Since I probably won't be able to make it to hill training tomorrow night, I decided to do them today. I went to Mercer stadium again and did 40 minutes up and down the "hill". The inclines were sunny, but the straights were shaded, so it worked out pretty well.

7 Miles Mostly in the Park

This morning Jacque, Corinne and I left from Velocity a few minutes before the rest of the group. We went up Dulles and into the park, walking all the way to the end and back. I broke off at about mile 5 and started running intervals, and then backtracked to add in an extra mile. I signed up to do the Oakville Half Marathon on Labor Day and need to get my mileage up a bit. Oakville is just outside of Toronto. The course runs along Lake Ontario. I'm hoping there will be a nice breeze off the water.

40 Minutes in the Heat

I didn't get out until after lunch today. It was really hot and muggy and the mosquitoes were out in full force. It started to sprinkle, but never came down enough to help. I'm hoping tomorrow's long run will be easier - 6 miles with FBF.

A Foolish Thing

I like to consider myself a level headed person, but today I did something foolish. In fact, I was almost too embarassed to post this, but decided that I should. I had so much fun doing hills Tuesday night that I decided to do them again this morning. I had an open schedule, so I headed to Town Square at 9:45am and parked on the ground level of the garage. I started up the ramp and when I got to level 4, a white pick-up truck with one man in it pulled onto the floor and parked in the middle, open space. This floor had no entrance into the building, just stairwells and the elevator. I got very nervous, pulled my phone out (my bulky pack does come in handy),and ran up to the next level. I took the elevator down to the main floor and left. I might have been over-reacting, but even if I was -it sure woke me up. I don't care how safe a neighborhood is - none of us (male or female) should ever put ourselves in potentailly dangerous situations. I drove over to Mercer stadium and did 30 minutes of hills there until the thunder and lightening started. I'm beginning to think that today is a good day to stay inside!

Mercer "Hill"

The Hills of Sugar Land

Last night I met up with what has now become a very large group from FBF. We started out in the south parking garage at Town Center. Bob and I did the first lap and then went over to the east garage. What we didn't know until we got there was how steep it was, and, there were no "flats". So the workout there was pretty intense.
We did just over 40 minutes of walking and running. I'm really feeling it this morning!
I tried out a new mini camera - Need to get the hang of it.

Some Folks Cooling Off