Taking the weekend off

Welcome to the weekend. It seems like it has been a long time coming. Not sure why, but this week felt like it went on forever. I guess because a lot seemed to happen. Let me recap.

The week started off promising, or so I thought. For those of you who know me, and if you are reading this I assume that you do, you know that I have worked my ass off over the past 12 weeks trying to be the Biggest Loser. Unfortunately I am not. I still managed to drop 39 pounds in that time and am very happy for that. It started out being about the money and turned into what will hopefully be a lifestyle. I have regained my love of running and don't plan on stopping any time soon.

After that the week just continued along the same path as always. Work, sleep, work, repeat. There were also all of the chauffeur duties that have come up with the kids being in activities with school, which is a great thing, just a time killer. As the week started to draw to a close, we were informed at work that we would be forced to take Monday night off as well as Sunday night. Not a big shock, but it sucks to be forced to take days off. So I decided not to bitch too much about this one and just enjoy an extra long weekend. This just means that next week will be much more leisurely than most. Works for me!

Yesterday was my wife's birthday, so we spent the day just doing whatever she wanted. We headed over to the Oxmoor area and did some shopping. We both are in need of new clothes for our upcoming Disney Land and Sea vacation in October and now is a great time to buy since all of the stores are getting all of there winter stuff out. Yes it is 90 degrees today and I just said winter. Anyway there are deals to be had. We also ate at a Red Robin restaurant. I had seen the commercials, but did not know where one was. Now I know. The food was pretty good but kinda pricey for burgers. But now I can say I have eaten there. Not sure if I will be back, but who knows.

Not sure what the rest of the weekend will hold. All I know is that it will be relaxing. After this weekend it will be back to running everyday. I think that I am ready for the Everest 5k, but my goal is to do the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon next year. So that is a whole other amount of training.

So until next time.....

Yeti Out!

23 minutes, seriously?

The title pretty much says it all. Today Chris, Double D, KG, and myself headed over to Slugger Field for the 1st annual Shirley Stufflebeam Memorial Race Against ALS 5k. Chris, Double D, and myself chose to bike over. KG had to drive, since he had a soccer coaches meeting shortly after the run.

The ride over was a pretty good warm up and fairly leisurely. As we crossed the Ohio on the 2nd Street bridge we were greeted by KG. Once we made it to Slugger Field we met up once again with KG and placed our helmets and backpacks in his mobile locker. We then locked up the bikes and made our way to the packet pick up tables. There were plenty of bagels, bananas, and power bars to be had prior to the race. Chris and I chose to try out the power bars, which actually looked like molded vomit. They were decent. More taffy like than I expected. We then made our way to the starting line for the run.

It took awhile for the run to get started. I guess that could be expected since this was the first annual run. They finally got things underway and we were off. Double D hung with Chris and I for about the first quarter of a mile then we gradually pulled away. We started out at a faster pace than I like to run but soon settled in on what I assumed was my normal pace, or close enough to it to be comfortable.

As we ran along near the river we could smell the wonderful aromas of dead fish and cat food. Made for a pleasant run. The course was pretty flat with only one small hill, which was not much worse than the hill that we run almost every night. As Chris and I made our way through the course and back towards Slugger Field we spotted the finish line. At that point we decided that this was the time to pass our target, which we had been keeping in our sites the whole way. We were able to pass him with not too much more effort, but as we did we saw the clock near the finish line. To both of our amazement the thing read just over 23 minutes. That is when we turned it on. Chris ended up finishing in front of me with a time of 23:36 I think, and mine was 23:42. Not sure on the exact times just yet, since they won't be posted until tomorrow night. I will change those if needed. I did not have what it took to catch Chris as we took off. As we sat at the finish line in disbelief we watched for Double D and KG. Double D finished with a time just over 27 and KG finished just over 29. I think that everyone finished in within the times that they had set for themselves. Great times by everyone!

After the run we headed to the site of the awards ceremony, where there were still plenty of bagels and fruit. We ate our fill and relaxed. After awhile Papa Johns Pizza was brought in. None of us were too interested in it. We pretty much knew going in to this one there would not be any awards won by any of us, since they were only giving out awards to the top finisher in each age group and ours was 30 - 39. Still had a great time. After KG departed we hung out for a bit, then decided it was time to head home. The ride home was decent except for the hills near Walnut Ridge Cemetery. Those things are pretty brutal, but the shortest route to the house.

That will more than likely be the last run before the Disney trip. We may run the Chicken Chase, which is a 4 mile run. Not sure on that one yet. We still need to find out more info. So as far as I am concerned the next run will be the Everest Challenge. Chris and I had said that if we did it in 25 minutes we would be happy. Well I guess we should be happy. I think we will easily accomplish that.

So until next time.....

Yeti out!

To The Bikes!

Hello faithful reader(s). As usual this weekend included a bike ride with my fellow Yeti's Chris and KG. Along for the ride were Double D and Scotty Z.

Double D and I left my house around 6:30 am and headed to meet KG. After a short ride over the tracks and through the woods we met up with Chris and Scotty Z.

For the first time since we have been doing the Saturday morning rides, we had absolutely no idea of where we wanted to go. Luckily for us KG had been looking online for possible routes. He had thought that it would be cool to head out to Utica and then along Utica Pike, the site of Double D's first wreck, towards the Falls of the Ohio. So that is what we did.

We made our way to Utica without a hitch. Chris and Double D said that they needed to stop and remove a layer, since they had bundled up for the morning ride. So we decided to stop near the entrance to the Quary Bluff Townhome entrance. We then thought that we would be able to get to Quary bluff from there. After doing some looking around we decided that there was no way to get there from where we were at. We then decided to head back out to Utica Pike and follow it until it ended at the Army Ammo Plant. Along the way Double D decided that he needed to leave his mark on the ground. Not sure if it was the wind from the crazy driver in the Caddy that kept flying past us or if Bambi just did not have his legs yet. But he went down again. I think that we may have to keep him off of that road.

We followed the road all of the way until it ended at a gate. We could have probably made our way either under or around the gate, but we did not think pushing our luck in a military institution would be the smartest thing to do. So we stopped for a moment to decide what to do next. KG told Chris that he wanted to take the famed Trek for a spin to see what all of the hype was about. He did and he loved it. Chris spent a few moments eating and clowning around.

After the short break we decided to head toward the Falls of the Ohio. Along the way we lost Double D once due to his chain coming off, or so he says. I think he may have went down again, but who knows. KG also had a chain malfunction, that required Scotty Z's assistance. As we headed towards the Falls we decided that due to time constraints we should probably head towards the house. The ride home was uneventful.

As far as Sunday goes, it started out with my usual morning run. I ran 6 miles in 51:45. Not bad. Chris, KG, Double D, and I will be running a 5k next weekend near Slugger Field. We plan to bike over and then run the race. Should be a good time. This may be the last official 5k that we run before the Expedition Everest Challege next month, but you never know. So until next time...

Yeti out!

The Weekend

The weekend started out the same as it has for the past couple of weeks. Chris and I had already planned to take our Saturday morning bike ride. Only this time we were graced with the presence of Double D, who joined us last week, and KG, who was making his first appearance on the weekend ride.

I was hoping that we would be able to peddle out to the old army ammo plant and gain access to what would possibly be miles of newly paved roads, since they have been converting it over to an industrial park. Unfortunately, I was wrong. So, we decided to improvise. We decided to peddle out towards Charlestown and then head along 403 towards Sellersburg.

Once in Sellersburg we headed towards Clarksville. Along the way we had the idea to head towards Covered Bridge Golf Course. Luckily we came to our senses and chose not to head that way. We then headed into Clarksville along 131. At the end of 131 we decided to head towards Old Clarksville, which meant that we got to bike across a walking bridge. After that we realized that it was getting about time to head back since Double D and Chris had planned on being home around 10 am. All in all it was a good ride. I always look forward to the weekend and the rides with good friends.

As for Sunday, I have decided to make that my long distance run day. I had planned a route that would take me from my house to the house I grew up in, which is about 6.8 miles. I set out this morning and completed that route. I would say that it took a little over an hour. I had planned to time it, but forgot. Maybe next time. Below is a map of our bike ride for all those interested, and those not.





Until next time,
Yeti out!

Bike ride to work

Well, we finally did it. Chris and I decided that since he would be able to go into work early a couple of days this week that we would make this the week to ride to work. All thing went well. I realized rather quickly that carrying a back pack meant that I would have a very sweaty back. So I immediately changed into my running shirt so I would have a dry shirt when I got to work.

It took us about 40 minutes, which is the same as when we did a test ride a couple of weeks ago. We decided to take a different route home that had less hills. I think that we actually got home faster than we got to work.

Unfortunately the weather is calling for rain, so I will not be riding today. I don't want to get stuck in a storm. So hopefully tomorrow. That way I can try out my new helmet, which arrived today.

Yeti out!

Yeti to Yeti 6 miler

Not sure if it was insanity or guilt, but when I woke up this morning around 5:30 am I immediately thought that I needed to go run. As I set out I wondered if I had it in me, and yes that is what she said, to make it to Chris's house and back. So I ran to Chris's house, which is approximately 2.5 miles from my house touched his mailbox and headed back. As I got closer to my neighborhood I felt pretty good and decided to try and make it to the stop sign at the end of Kevin's street, which would add another mile to my run.

Well, I did it! As far as the guilt part, I had a couple of pieces of pizza from my son's birthday party last night.

So, you make the call.

Yeti out!

The Weekly Saturday Ride

The day started off pretty good. Double D showed up at the house around 6:15 am. We then unloaded his new Schwinn out of the rear of the "Rondizovous". We then set out to meet Chris at the credit union.

Chris showed up and we set off. Today we were going to take a ride to Slugger Field in order to determine just how long it would take to get there, since we are planning on riding to a 5k that starts and ends there later this month. The ride to Slugger Field was pretty uneventful. It took us about 35 minutes to get there. We had to cross the Ohio River via the Second Street bridge, which has bike share lanes. All went well. After reaching our destination we just kind of winged it. We headed to the Cherokee triangle area. It is a nice area to do some peddling. We then decided we would head back across the river.

Once back in our home state we decided to ride along the river towards Utica, which is a small town along the river. Along the way Chris showed us the house that he grew up in, which was kind of cool since it was right on the water.

After leaving Chris's homestead we continued our way towards Utica. This is where things got interesting. As we were riding Double D had sped up. Upon doing this his foot came off of the pedal and he began to lean. As all of this was happening a truck was passing us. Double D's front tire hit my back tire, and all I can say is Mountain Bike 1, Rode Bike 0. Double D went down! Chris was behind Double D and saw the whole thing happen. I see the guy in the truck hit his brakes and start to back up. He gets to me and it completely freaked out thinking that he had caused Double D to go down. I told him that it was not his fault, but he still seemed shook up as he drove away. Double D scraped his knee, his elbow, and his hand. But like a trooper he got back on the bike. He had to get back right back off and put his chain back on, but after that we were on our way. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.

Chris had the oportunity to borrow a very nice Trek mountian bike from his brother in law. That thing is sweet. I was able to take it for a quick spin while we were stopped for Double D to plant a fence post. Trek bikes will make you hate any bike that you have been on before.

All in all we traveled approximatley 27 miles. Not bad for our second ride. Here is a map of the ride.


Anyway, that was todays adventure. We plan on making this a regular ride, so you never know what will happen.

Yeti out!