The Glasses Half Full

This morning Troy and I went on our weekly 40 miler and the morning couldn't have been more beautiful. It was almost as if the Lord said, "here, have an incredible morning on me." That's exactly what we did. We had an incredible morning! As usual, we talked about a plethora of topics that was stimulating and spiritual all at the same time. It was great.

As Troy mentioned in the video, there's some good news hovering in the camp but we're not ready to divulge it just yet. It's certainly news that's powerful enough to help me out of my somewhat desperate situation. Let's just say, God is good and faithful. I'm feeling empowered. Troy's feeling strong and empowered and I'm sure the devil is feeling threatened. That's when we've got to be the most on the lookout.

It's a new day and a new beginning. Thank you to a dear friend for helping me realize that.

Thank you to Shelby for the accidental "borrowing" of the fashion glasses. :-)

Newly "Cranked" Up!

Yesterday started out as a pretty dreary day so therefore we couldn't ride early in the morning due to rain. Troy and I decided that we'd wait out the weather and hope that it would clear up enough that we could do our 22 mile Saturday ride. It did clear up and we got it in an absolutely wonderful ride.

On a related note, Troy finally got his bike fixed by replacing the cranks and the deraileur. His ride is now much smoother and efficient. I'm not sure if Troy noticed it, but I could tell that his riding is even much better than it was.

We didn't have any video for this post because I forgot the camera, so the picture of Troy and his 26 lbs weight loss will have to suffice.

The New 20. . . for Troy

With it being Friday, Troy and I really wanted to get in a good but comfortable ride this afternoon before we trek out on our 22 miler early in the morning. Even though we had to battle the afternoon rain, we managed to squeeze it in and got our easy 20 accomplished. Troy ended up enjoying the new route that I had charted and liked the fact that it's not too hilly. This is the 20 mile loop that I frequently do on my own that's so cathartic for me. It's got everything. It has a few hills, it's got good paved roads, and best of all, it's got amazing scenery! This is one of my all-time favorite rides outside of the Harpeth rides and hopefully Troy will end up feeling the same. He did extremely well on the ride and seemed quite comfortable - to the tune of averaging over 17 mph. Not bad for the first time.

With it being Labor Day weekend, I intend to go out on a 63 mile ride on Monday morning. I've got to start mentally preparing for that NOW! We'll see how it goes.

The Deuce Deuce!

Today may have been one of the most enjoyable rides I've had to date. The weather was absolutely perfect, we didn't push it too hard, and I had my brother by my side to talk to and to help to push me. It was what I consider a slice of heaven.

I'm still a bit bummed about the fact that I can't run, but I'm going to stick to that so to not cause permanent damage to the achilles tendon. My target date is September 20th to be able to begin to start to run again. Until then, . . . I've mandated no running at all for myself! Troy is helping me to stick to that. Thanks T.

Other than the slight setback, Troy and I are still really enjoying our training and pursuing the goals that we set for ourselves. In fact, Troy signed us up to be USA Triathlon members. Now we've got some incentive to really work to get into some serious races beginning in '09. I love it!

22 Miles: 17.5 mph!

Today, Troy and I didn't wake up at our normal early Saturday hour because we were both very tired from the previous day. Our schedule called for only a 60 minute run, but we both decided to do our 22 mile Harpeth ride late in the afternoon. In addition to the ride, I felt compelled to get a run in as well, so I went out and put in a 20 minute run. I felt pretty good overall today and both Troy and I are really getting excited about the race next weekend. I'm starting to feel the pressure that I've seemed to put upon myself, but it's something that I welcome and it drives me.

Tomorrow we have a 30 minute swim and a 60 minute run and I'm supposed to meet Troy early in the morning (Sunday) to get our swim out of the way. HOWEVER, as you can tell by the time of this entry, it's extremely late and I'm sitting here doing this because I'm having one of those nights that I can't go to sleep even though I'm extremely tired from the days training activities. These are those frustrating nights that I seem to get about once a month. Hopefully, Troy will give me some grace and allow me meet him later in the day to swim. I don't think I'll make it.

Troy's really doing extremely well with his training especially the bike. He's truly a natural on the bike and once he gets his weight down to where he wants it, he will be unbelievable as a cyclist. He's already to the point where he can push me on a ride and he's only getting better. We averaged 17.5 on our 22 mile ride and that, for him, is another personal best!

We're coming down the home stretch!

The Saturday Ride

This morning was the beginning of (hopefully) our weekly Saturday ritual. We're targeting every Saturday morning to ride the Harpeth 22 mile ride and then do the 42 miler one a month. We'll see how that goes.

Troy did well this morning, especially considering the fact that he had an injured hamstring. We did the 22 mile ride in 01:18:00 and averaged almost 17.0 mph. Not bad! Troy continues to get better at every discipline and continues to get more fit and lose weight. He's doing great!

Editor's Update: It IS July 12th Troy!

The 42 Miler

This morning Troy and I woke up early to tackle a 42 mile bike trek that was plotted out during the recent ride that we took during the Harpeth River Ride. Not much to report other than we made it and even Troy did pretty well considering he hadn't ridden his bike in over a week and a half. He was definitely struggling at times, but he made it nonetheless at an average speed of 15.2 mph. Not bad considering we had to conquer some tough hills and deal with the heat.

I was proud of big Troy. He's hanging in there and he certainly didn't want to quit on the ride. He was obviously determined to not only finish, but also to eclipse (by a long shot) his longest ride he's ever done.

It wasn't at all tough for me, but it was quite enjoyable going at a moderate pace and getting to chat with someone while riding the beautiful country roads of Williamson County. I'm looking forward to doing that ride again and possibly going on my own to see how hard I can push it. Maybe next weekend.

Harpeth River Ride

Today Troy, Daniel Brake, Jeff Willett, and myself got up this morning and signed up to ride in the 2008 Harpeth River Ride. It's a bicycle ride that has 4 different distance legs to it. There's 22, 42, 62, & 100 mile legs to choose from. Daniel and I did the 62, while Troy and Jeff did the 22. It was extremely challenging but rewarding nonetheless. I'm extremely glad I did it considering I've never done a ride longer than 41 miles previous to today. I'm looking forward to doing it next year and may work up to trying the 100.

The Harpeth Bike Club put on the event and it was first class all the way. The ride was fully supported, there were ample rest stops for re-fueling, and the lunch afterward was phenomenal. They provided Blue Coast Burrito for all the riders and family. There must've been more than 1000 riders out there as it was a packed scene at the start.

This was unlike anything I've ever done athletically and I'm excited that I did it and am anxious to do another one soon. Enjoy the video blog from when we were out there.