Ride of the century

This past weekend I partook in this 100-mile adventure with four good 'ol pals of mine. The weather was great and the ride itself went pretty well, with three out of five of us finishing the trek around in and around Acadia National Park. Even with a slight misdirection - and more idling along than I would have liked - the full 103 miles took Bergs, Reino and I just under 6 hours. To be honest, I felt great, and still do two days later. The effort was long, but none too exhausting. I effectively managed to stay on top of my fluid and fuel intake and I think that played a huge part in the success of my longest ride to date.

Saturday I raced my two-wheeler in the Greenway Challenge relay as part of a corporate team for my primary employer. We finished 6th of 8 in our divison, a bit disappointing, but a fun time nonetheless. Above and to the right is a shot of me starting my leg, courtesy of team captain, Jackie Reis. I finished the 14-mile segment in 40:01 for a 21 mph average on a fairly hilly course. I managed to pick us up 22 spots in the process, which was a huge adrenaline rush.

These two big days on the bike were likely my last cycling hurrahs of the summer/early fall now that I'm successfully running on a somewhat consistent basis. I'm in Week 5 of my return and up to 5 miles, 5 times a week. The plan is to mix these few fairly easy miles of running with equally un-outrageous - but slightly more intense - miles of biking until the first week of November, at which point I will hopefully be covering up to around 45-50 miles a week by foot. If all goes well, maybe a Turkey Day race to see where my fitness is at, but right now, that's nothing more than a very distant thought.

While I'm touching on the idea of races, however, be sure to check out the primative version of my club's new Web site, found here. Same club, same coach, but a new name, some new energy and new life. I'm pumped to be a part of it.

Lastly, I got me some new wheels a week ago today in the form of a 2007 Toyota Corolla S with Sports Plus package, color: phantom gray. A pretty significant upgrade from the greenish-blue Escort, for sure, and it didn't even totally break my bank. However, it's easily the nicest thing I'll likely own - ever - unless I hit it big, that is. Pictures to follow.

That'll do it for tonight. Sorry for the infrequent updates, but in case anyone was concerned, I am indeed alive and well. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Wearing number 7, the man nicknamed “Ritz cracker” had never been considered a favourite for the race, just the latest bright prospect of American distance running gearing up for his marathon debut in New York City on 5th November.
- IAAF report on Dathan Ritzenhein at the Great North Run