27 days and $0 to go!

The Pittsburgh skyline as seen from Mount Washington. The bridge that is visible spans the Allegheny River. The Ohio River is in the lower left. The Monongahela River comes in from the upper right but is not visible in this picture.

My daughter with the biggest owl I've ever seen.

Yoga and running. That comprised much of my training this week. Tuesday and Wednesday, I did my joga routine and ran about 3 miles. No real problems with the calf cramping. That's a good thing. Hopefully, I am past that. I definitely need to start gearing up for the big race, which is less than a month away. I decided to step up the distance on Thursday, covering 5-6 miles on my morning run.

Thursday evening, I was in Pittsburgh to visit my youngest daughter who was interning for the summer at the National Aviary. She is staying on Mount Washington on the shores of the Monongahela River, which joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River at the base of Mount Washington. Two blocks from where she was staying is a stunning view of downtown Pittsburgh. Friday and Saturday morning, I ran the length of the aptly named Grandview Avenue along the crest of Mount Washington. It was indeed a "grand view". It was also quite a workout! The crest of Mount Washington is actually quite hilly!

I finished the week by biking about 10 miles on Sunday, after doing my joga routine, of course.

118 days and $921 to go!

All Bicycles weigh 50 pounds; A 30 pound bicycle needs a 20 pound lock. A 40 pound bicycle needs a 10 pound lock. A 50 pound bicycle doesn't need a lock.
-Bicycle Law

A little Yoga, a little bicycling, a little recouperation. That was my week.

I have fully revcovered from my bout with the virus that seemed to be roaming around my body for the last week. It started in my head, then settled in my muscles for awhile, finally it spent a little time in my stomach before finally leaving for good sometime this week. I think that while the Holidays are a great time to get together with family and friends, they are also a perfect opportunity to swap germs. But hey, I won't let that stop me from enjoying the festivities!

So, between being "under the weather" inside and having less than ideal weather outside - it's not the cold so much as the ice and snow that will keep me from riding - I wasn't able to do too much training. I managed two days outside on the bike and 3 days indoors doing some yoga. The most interesting thing that happened this week was the squirrel in our basement. But that has nothing whatsoever to do with training. :-)

My running shoes are almost totally worn out. So, I ordered a pair of New Balance size 8 4Es at J.C. Penny. I'll pick them up next weekend. Until then, I hope to get in a full week of running in florida - as long as my current shoes hold out. :-)