Biking and Sunsets

The goal is to ride ten miles per day with a 25 mile weekend trip to equal 75 miles a week.

For now, I've upped my game from two miles/day to almost 3.5 miles/day.  So this week, my goal is 3.5 miles/day or a total of 20 miles for the week.

It certainly helps having beautiful sunsets to watch during the evening ride.

Four Years?

Shame on US.  It seems like we've been very busy.  OK busy but not necessarily ACTIVE.

I've been reading through previous posts and most of this blog was centered around our hikes, especially the Grand Canyon.  Those hikes were motivated by a friend of mine who shared tantalizing  tales of her annual hikes.

This friend also did something year round which has got me challenged.  She rode her bicycle ten miles each day after work and an additional 25 miles on Saturday, getting 75 miles logged each and every week, without fail.  Challenge accepted.

OK, I'm not going to start at that level but I have been riding two miles a day.  I think I could up that a bit and certainly work towards the goal of 75 miles a week.

Time to get back active again.  Time to focus on my health and getting life in balance.  Let's go.

NYC Marathon

Today was the New York City Marathon. A friend is running in this and I'm anxiously awaiting news of how it went.

Wish I could report that Papa and I are on track with training but, alas, we are not. We have been struggling with health related issues that are sidelining our efforts.  At least mentally we're aware of the need.

We did errands today on bike. Not exactly the amount of activity we need. Will this week be the week that we find the relief we need in other areas of life that we can finally focus on training? Hopefully!!

Fireworks!

Last week was the closest I've come to the "100 miles" goal for biking in a week. In eight days I made it 103 miles.
   Sat - 41.5;  Mon - 22.5;  Fri - 19.5;  Sat =  19.5

This week I was really hoping to get that 100 miles in seven days, but the bike went into the shop. Unless they get the maintenance done quickly for me, it'll be hard to get that 100 miles. Currently I have 36 miles in for the week with four days left.  We'll see.

At the same time, we are biking a lot but we are not walking/running much. That is a problem. We need to get into training for the half marathon. Reality is we're doing the marathon to say we did it...once. Our favorite activity is biking. When the weather is as perfect as it is now, it's hard not to get on the bike and explore.

Explore is what we did last weekend. Last Saturday evening, a neighboring town hosted an outdoor concert ending with fireworks. We biked over to the park, enjoyed a picnic supper and the entertainment. Then we biked home. We have fantastic bikes that are equipped for night riding and have the ability to pack our supplies. It really made for a great outing.

The added plus is that we saw fireworks. Living in the Valley of the Sun, we don't typically enjoy fireworks over the Fourth of July. It's just too hot to get out and enjoy them. When we have the opportunity to see fireworks at other times of the year, we take advantage of it.

Bike Ride Weather

When the summer heat breaks and double digits return, neighborhoods come alive again. People in the Valley are out walking, running, biking, hiking, blading, just having fun. It's the same in the Midwest after a long winter. Everyone's breaking out.

Yesterday Papa and I went on a 41.5 mile bike ride.  Destination was our son's house and a little help on a backyard project there. The twist to the normal bike ride was to take our 50 pound black lab mix 'child' with us.

Star is a runner.  She runs two-three miles every day alongside the bike. She normally keeps between and 8-12 mph pace. Yesterday was a challenge because the distance was too great for her to run the entire way. She would need to be compliant to ride in the trailer a good amount of the trip. (see video below)

Well, Star did pretty well. She only tried to escape from the trailer a few times. She did whine most of the time in the trailer, however. She ended up running about 12 miles at various times during the trip in short spurts.

Today, Star is a very tired dog.  She slept all night and this morning she's not under our feet begging for her morning run. We think it'll be a quiet Sunday at our house.

For Papa and I, we're not experiencing any residual aches or tiredness. If anything, maybe a slight headache, sign of a little dehydration which is understandable. It was definitely a fun thing to do!

Preview

Last week we made it official and completed our registration for the P.F. Chang Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Yesterday, we decided to get a better idea of what we got ourselves into by riding the course on our bikes.

Course map for marathon
from the web site:
http://arizona.competitor.com/
CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW

We drove to the light rail station at Sycamore/Main and unloaded the bikes from the car and boarded the train for downtown. The race starts near the state capitol on Jefferson Street between 15th and 13th Avenues. The closest station to the race start was Central/Washington so we had a little over a mile to bike to the start of the race.

It was interesting biking through downtown Phoenix. We've done a couple rides through the uptown area but the downtown area seems to have more historical buildings. There certainly are more government offices. With the nice weather ahead, we'll spend more time biking downtown and getting familiar with all it has to offer.

The marathon route itself is pretty easy.  It's relatively flat and has a limited number of turns.  We kept the average speed very low, around 9mph, so we could take in all the sites and register some landmarks.

The race seems to be well organized with details of the route, schedule and expectations clearly spelled out.  The 1/2 marathon starts at 8:30 with all participants expected over the start line by 9:10am. If that happens, it'll be much better than Pat's Run this past April that had us waiting nearly an hour to start.

The race has to be complete by 1 pm, four hours after the last to the participants should have started according to the schedule.  That means we have to maintain at least a 3.25 mph speed in order to complete the race within the required four hours.  If we want to finish in three hours, that average speed goes up to 4.33mph.  Hum.  Something to think about.

NOTE: The Twitter updates aren't getting posted. Technical hiccup that I'll try to get fixed soon. We are getting back into the training mode so updates should be happening more often.

Summer's Over: Back on Bikes

Over a month since we've tweeted any activity.
Nearly a month since we've posted any activity.
OK, we've had our rest (and then some) after completing our last big adventure: hiking R2R at the Grand Canyon twice in five weeks. We are proud of that accomplishment, but it's done.

Now we face a more daunting task: training for a half, or mini, marathon. That happens in a little over 21 weeks. Since we are NOT runners, we need a little extra training time.

There are several sources for training information:
  -   http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-258-12006-0,00.html
  -   http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/half_marathon.html
  -   http://www.1stplacesports.com/obtrain.htm
  -   http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/index.htm

Recent rains created pools of water
along the bike trail. Didn't get a good
shot of this crane enjoying the water.

Most of these references suggest 10-12 weeks to prepare for a half marathon. Those references also assume that the individual has been working out, maybe even participated in 5k or 10k runs.
One resource (http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html)
suggests training shouldn't begin until you can run 30 minutes,
never mind the distance. Neither Papa or Nana have ever run 30 minutes in our lives. Getting to the point of running even 15 minutes without stopping will be a big accomplishment. Guess that's where we start.

Bike riding resumed this week. Papa rode home a couple days this week and Nana did her first ride today. Not going for time at this point with temperatures still triple digits. Just have to get started!

Back to weekly blog updates starting this coming Sunday. This week the goal is to have our training schedule mapped out and give you an update of just how far we've fallen behind during our summer training break.

May!

After years of longing and months of planning, it's here.  May 2010. The month that we will descend into the Grand Canyon and see for ourselves the beauty, experience the adventure, achieve a goal.

How are we doing in preparation? Guess the answer comes after we complete the hike. Hindsight will be much clearer. For now, we're trying to prepare the best we can.

This week Papa biked 38 miles and Nana, 63 miles. It was one of our last beautiful weeks with perfect biking temps so we had to bike! The strong wind at his back on Thursday gave Papa his record time commuting home from work, 8.5 miles in 29 minutes.

Saturday we opted for a bike day rather than hike. It was beautiful.  We headed about nine miles to a Cinco de Mayo festival hoping to catch Chihuahua races. When we got there it seemed the festival was geared more toward children with crafts and games (the more grown-up stuff happened later in the day but we didn't want to spend the entire day) so we pedaled on to one of our favorites spots, Kokopelli Bistro.

The downtown area, where the Kokopelli Bistro is located, is charming and historic. It was relaxing to sit on the front patio and enjoy a scrumptious lunch while people watching. It could not have been a more picturesque day, with a light breeze that seemed to enhance the peaceful feeling.

After lunch we strolled with our bikes through the downtown and then headed a health foods store a friend had recommended. Yes, after the doctor's visit, Nana felt the need (more later).

Nature's Health is the name of the store. As I mentioned, it was recommended and we would recommend too! They were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Now it'll be interesting to see if these natural, much more cost effective, remedies work vs. the expensive prescription medication.

We headed back home, completing about 20.5 miles in our loop. Most of the trip I couldn't get the song, "Take a Vacation a Day" by Brad Paisley out of my mind.  Papa and I talked about it and we really need to have a vacation a week. Taking a little time one day a week to explore, experience, renew is so good for overall health.


Back at home Papa started on yard work, so I got back on my bike and headed to the grocery store. It occurred to me as I was riding that over half the miles I rode on the bike this week were on beautiful trails like those pictured. My commute home from work is 10 of the 16.5 miles on trails. It could be up to 14 miles if I opted to continue on the trail closer to home rather than taking to the street. The four miles to the grocery store/farmer's market is all trail but the last half mile. Wow! That sure helps make biking enjoyable.

Good week, wonderful weekend and we're down to a few short weeks before the Canyon.

Now, the doctor. New doctor, new ideas. He seems to think that I have asthma due to the occasional struggle with the ascents while hiking and the low levels on the peak flow breathing test at his office. Not sure about that but we're testing a medication this week and I'll go back later this week to see. That's when I'll get the results on all the other tests, too.

Hate to admit it but I might be getting a little older and maybe need to watch things more. The good news is this awakening that I may not have the continued perfect health I've always enjoyed has made me focus more. Result: more attention to exercise and diet has me back to shedding a few pounds. This week reached the halfway mark on the weight loss with 20 lbs. off. With the help of the great health food store and attention on my part, things will be just fine.

Guilty Pleasures

With only five weeks until we hike the Canyon, you would think that we are training in high gear, right? Not this week. We biked, probably about 25 miles (each of us) for the week, but certainly not high level training.

This week we took an unconscious break to recharge in other ways. Nana got in more reading and caught up on a few things around home and work. Papa also played catch up on projects. It felt good, in a guilty sort of way.

Resources note that the hike is as much mental, as physical. This week we recharged mentally, or maybe healed mentally. This is a big "bucket list" item for Papa and me. We've talked to people in the past few weeks who do this frequently or decide on a whim to hike R2R or hike rim-to-rim-to-rim in a day. Mentally we were a little bruised. Are we making too much of this? 

At the end of the week, we decided that it comes down to this: It is a big deal for us because it's the first time...because we love the beauty of the nature...because we're doing something that is a test of our physical abilities.  So, doesn't matter how easy it is for anyone else, it's a big deal for us until we learn differently.

This week we relaxed, we pushed aside bruised egos and doubts and enjoyed a break to focus on immediate day-to-day life experiences and fully appreciate those.

It's an absolutely beautiful time of year here when landscaping grows at a rapid pace.  We have six rose bushes and they are each covered with large flowers. This is the best month of the year for roses.  They will continue to bloom throughout the year but the flowers get smaller and fewer as the heat stresses the plants. This month we're thoroughly enjoying them!

The other excitement this week was getting our anniversary clock working. This clock has been in Nana's family since the late 1800's/early 1900's. It's been decades since the clock has worked. This year, we decided to see if it could be repaired. There are limited craftsman who work on these antique anniversary clocks.  Disappointed that it would take two months to repair but determined to get this family heirloom working, we left the clock at the shop.

It was just over two months before we got it back and, darn, it didn't stay working. Back to the shop. Again we brought the clock home a couple weeks later, got it in position on the shelf, started it up, and 30 minutes later, the clock would stop.

In frustration we called the clockman yesterday and you'll never believe it...house call!  Yes, for no additional charge he stopped by our house and got that old clock working, keeping time beautifully. Thank you clockman for restoring a little of my family history!  We keep staring at it, watching the silent pendulum spin, thrilled that the clock is working.

After a relaxing week and a gorgeous, refreshing weekend of reading and getting the house in order, it's time to get back to it physically in order to be ready for the trip, now just five weeks away. The week starts with a long-overdue physical for Nana (Papa's had his) to assure that the body can handle the adventure. Then back to an aggressive biking/training schedule from now until the big...yes BIG...event.

Beautiful Sunday

Another picture perfect weekend; another chance for Papa and I to enjoy being outside and active.  This weekend's bike ride was about 21 miles. (Total activity for the week: biked about 55 miles and walked about 10 miles.)

This weekend we opted to visit the Greenbelt Trail along Hayden Road in Scottsdale. Our fondest memory of this trail was riding a section of it several years ago with our daughter and her family when our grandson was probably three-years-old. It was fun reminiscing about that ride as we pedaled along.

The start to this week's adventure was Tempe Town Lake (a popular area for activity) where we parked the car, unloaded the bikes and rode to the Tempe Transportation Center.  At the Center, we loaded our bikes on the bus (Scottsdale/Rural - 72 North) to what we thought was the northern most point of the Greenbelt Trail.  More on that later.  We got off the bus about 12 miles later at the Shea stop and biked east along Shea Blvd. about three miles, passed the 101, to the trail.

Immediately after coasting down a wide sidewalk to the trail with the dashed dividing line, a mini-roadway, we noticed activity.  Walk, roller blade, bike, run...all modes of activity populated the trail. At times we had some distance between us and others on the trail as  pictured to the right. Other times we slowed to almost a stop on our bikes as the "traffic" on the two-lane activity highway was congested enough we didn't have room to pass.

It didn't take long to understand why the highway markings on the trail where useful for everyone in helping manage the traffic. Leisurely walkers to the avid cyclists enjoy this beautiful, peaceful oasis. By staying on the right side of the trail, though, those wishing to go faster can pass without frustration spoiling either your or their experience.

Along this active trail is a mixture of residential and retail, parks, playgrounds, water, golf, Frisbee golf, and gently rolling hills. In some places the trail briefly follows streets and requires crossing at stoplights. Most of the distance, however, the trail is isolated from the urban scene providing a peaceful, relaxed, undisturbed pathway oblivious to the  traffic above the tunnel or under the bridge you just crossed.

The trail winds around several lakes, yes lakes in the desert. The lakes have their own activities with people fishing, ducks/geese swimming, remote boats, and fountains as just a few of the activities we noticed. Picnics and gatherings filled tables and pavilions along the trail.

The trail continues to the south and connects with the trail along Tempe Town Lake that we enjoyed about a month ago.  We rode the reverse of that trail today, ending back at our car.

The weather is getting warmer and the time getting closer to the Grand Canyon R2R hike, so we won't have many opportunities to get back to the Greenbelt soon. We will be concentrating on hiking for the next few weeks. We have it on our calendar for this fall, though, to bike from home to the northern part of this trail and return.  As I mentioned earlier, when we got onto the trail at Shea and 91st Street, we looked to the north and saw the trail continues. Not sure how far it goes, but maybe this fall we'll learn for ourselves. We anticipate it could be a 60 mile or more bike ride and we're looking forward to it!

We have lived in the Valley over seven years now. When we moved here, I made a promise to myself never to loose the awe I felt when looking up and seeing the beauty of the palm trees against the the blue sky with wispy white clouds.  The picture to the right is just such a sight noticed when we stopped beside a lake along the trail for a water break.  I looked up and still felt the awe of such beauty. We are blessed to live here, to be active and to love life.

Next week is Pat's Run on Saturday and hopefully more adventure after the run/walk as we continue to enjoy a beautiful spring and being active together.

Beautiful Easter Weekend

Perfect. Paradise. Beautiful. That only starts to describe Easter weekend 2010. To celebrate the holiday weekend, Papa and I decided to enjoy the gorgeous weather Saturday by spending the entire day on a bike trip around the East Valley. The highlights: enjoying brunch with our son and his fiancee and soaking up the beautiful flowers at the Desert Botanical Garden.

Training? Yes, we took a break from hiking but still stayed active. This week we biked approximately 75 miles and walked 13 miles. The next couple weeks we will be focusing on the 4.2 mile Pat's Run training. Then it's back to training for the Grand Canyon for the remaining six weeks.

Back to Saturday. The Desert Botanical Garden is always a beautiful place to visit, but in the spring it's exceptional. The wildflowers are breathtaking, the birds are chirping, the butterflies fluttering, nature is exploding with beauty. Words can't adequately describe but hopefully these pictures and the video below capture some of the wonder we were blessed to experience.

Saturday summary:

• 16 miles (bike)
  
• Brunch with son/fiancee
  
• 9 miles (bus)
  
• 2.5 miles (bike)
  
• 2 miles (walk-we covered all trails @ Garden)
  
• 2.5 miles (bike)
  
• 3 miles (light rail)
  
• 16 miles (bike)

I Like To Ride My Bicycle

This week we were on our bikes.  Each of us commuted to work two days this week plus our Saturday adventure was a bike ride around Tempe Town Lake (more below).  Nana rode a total of 46 miles, walked 13 miles and 30 minutes of weight training. Papa rode about 49 miles, walked 10 miles and 30 minutes of weight training.

Weather was inspirational this week with temps in the 70's and sunny skies. People are walking, running, biking, roller blading on the trails. It's contagious to see all the activity.

Saturday we explored Tempe Town Lake on bike. All the winter rains have the lake, which is the Salt River dammed to create the lake, over capacity. This means that water is being released at the end of the lake allowing the Salt River to flow.

We started by biking the route for Pat's Run. This 4.2 mile is near Tempe Town Lake and the Arizona State University campus/football stadium. Easy bike ride. Will be a more challenging run/walk in six weeks though.

We continued our ride back to Tempe Beach Park to enjoy a picnic under the railroad bridges. One bridge for the train; the second for the light rail. Between trains, airplanes from Sky Harbor, military jets and helicopters, car traffic we got the full "planes, trains and automobiles" sensory experience.

After the lunch we rode the path around the Lake (video below-about 7 min. long). The trail was busy. The Marina was busy with a Rowing event. It was a fun day just feeling alive with all the activity outdoors in the perfect weather.

Next week: Hiking for Saturday's adventure. As green as the mountains are turning, the desert has to be exploding with color.  Can't wait!