<p>It doesn’t make me feel paltry. MOWC continues to pursue her goals. That’s what I want to do. Continue to pursue mine.</p>
<p>^^^ That’s the stuff! 17 is not recommended or necessary unless you want to race even further than that, which for some stupid reason I continue to do! </p>
<p>I wanted to add that I wore my FuelBelt for the first time. This is a new smaller size one that I hadn’t needed yet. It has the 2 smaller bottles and a zippered pouch for gels. It is Velcro closure. I loved it and it didn’t bother me at all! I wore it pretty low on my hips and it stayed put. I had both bottles filled with Nuun and carried 2 Human gels, which will be my go to gel now.</p>
<p>Spring fever tune-up hike. Absolutely spectacular weather. Low 60s, brilliant blue sky, not a cloud. Gentle breeze. Trees just starting to bud. The trail reports for the White Mountains are still ghastly with melting snow and ice, so I headed over to [Mt</a>. Major](<a href=“https://www.google.com/search?q=mt+major+nh&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eneFUYKbDcfK4APp6YGgCg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1193&bih=706]Mt”>https://www.google.com/search?q=mt+major+nh&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eneFUYKbDcfK4APp6YGgCg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1193&bih=706) overlooking the south end of Lake Winnipesaukee. I’ve hiked this one a couple of times before. It’s a short 3.1 mile loop, but with some pretty steep bits so it’s a good workout. About 1100 feet of elevation gain, most of it in the second half of the climb. Very rocky trail. Good tune-up hike for scrambling up and down rocky NH trails.</p>
<p>Half of NH was hiking this trail on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It has a huge parking lot with cars overflowing up and down the shoulder of the highway. Lots of people on the main trail I took on the way up. Dogs, kids, you name it. I took a less popular path coming down and only saw a few groups.</p>
<p>Got some fresh air. Got some sun. A little bug spray. A little sweat. A nice little workout. Sweet.</p>
<p>Lung cancer is a tough one as I’ve heard that it’s fairly aggressive. I lost a former co-worker to lung cancer many years ago. He was in his late 30s. A friend (not that close) sent out an email that his wife has cancer in one lung and that they have to decide on whether or not to do a chemo therapy fairly quickly. She has other problems too which I guess is why they aren’t deciding on just doing it. I will probably see him later this year.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that you have to go through this with a friend.</p>
<p>My week: 5 rides, 217 miles, 14,580 ft of climbing. I am beat, taking tomorrow off.</p>
<p>3 vertical miles - very impressive.</p>
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<p>Good lord, did you ride up Mt. Everest? :)</p>
<p>^^^^^^ This.</p>
<p>MOWC, is tomorrow the big day for WC?</p>
<p>Small hike this morning with some friends–lots of photography, no sweat; 3 miles brisk walking this afternoon with H.</p>
<p>Great riding, sw! </p>
<p>Sounds like a beautiful day for many; not so great if you were a derby horse. Finished Long Distance by Bill McKibben–I really liked this for his contemplation on why endurance athletes do what they do.</p>
<p>3.2 miles. I really didn’t feel like running today (Saturdays are my worst days, probably because I play tennis on Fridays) but kept going once I got started. 35.1 miles for the week.</p>
<p>Also got in some barbell squats. I’m going to try to do something with the barbell more regularly. It’s probably good to lift heavy stuff over my head - to work a bunch of muscles and joints at the same time.</p>
<p>Today is WildChild’s race and Im a wreck. The conditions are horrible- and very dangerous. Besides extremely hit and humid (even for there), it rained hard overnight and washed gravel back onto parts of the roads that had been swept and cleared for the race. Good chance of riders falling or getting flats. My husband said it is really bad. Son’s age group starts right after the pros ( so no Manatees to swim over) and son expects some of the bigger, stronger 30s bikers to pass him, but then he expects to see them dying on the run. This course is brutal, with a hill that requires special gearing. He needs to win his age group to qualify for Kona. I’m just hoping he survives. The racers that do really well in St. Croix tend to be from Puerto Rico etc. </p>
<p>I am about as un-sore and un-tired as I’ve ever been after a 3 hour run. Not sure what exactly I did right!</p>
<p>WildChild 1st in age group out of the swim. Long way to go.</p>
<p>Go WildChild!</p>
<p>Beautiful day here today.</p>
<p>Good luck WC! </p>
<p>Have any of you tried P90x and Insanity, and have a point of view?</p>
<p>To give you perspective, I am trying to lose 25 pounds (no! I will!). I currently run using Couch to 5K and will do a 5k in June (I did 2 5Ks last year so this will be my third). I’m a slow runner, though. I do Pilates 3x a week and the occasional boxing or yoga. I ride tandem bike with H when weather permits, and I track what I’m doing through FitBit and the Wt Watchers Activity Link. I really do best with structure and a plan, so that’s why I’m contemplating adding P90x or Insanity. I’ve heard good and bad things about each, and wondered what thoughts you had.</p>
<p>WC did well on the bike- no crashes or flats. 21mph. However, a guy from Qatar smoked the bike and is leading his age group by 7 minutes, so not looking good for the win unles the guy fades big time in the run.</p>
<p>I’ve done the P90x stretching video and pieces of some of the others and it is not something that I could maintain because it starts out with a lot of intensity and requires a significant time commitment and there are equipment requirements. For me, running is more amenable to my schedule and it is very easy to vary duration and intensity. I think that programs like P90x are efficient, probably much more efficient than running, but I need something that is sustainable for me.</p>
<p>Travel day yesterday, but did get in an afternoon game of Australian doubles tennis. Just fun hitting the ball in the sunshine.</p>
<p>Today will be going on a hike, which one is still tbd while the caffeine is doing its job.</p>
<p>Will be checking on updates on WildChild when possible, but so far, so good.</p>
<p>Pizzzagirl:</p>
<p>I’ve looked at some P90X videos and quickly seen that the pace is not something that I could do – or that is a very effective strength training workout. It’s cardio. Since all of your other exercise activities are cardio, it probably isn’t going to give you your best fat loss bang for the buck to add still more cardio to your routine. I would think you would benefit greatly from some slightly slower paced strength training that will build some lean muscle.</p>
<p>Rest day for me. I signed into another site today, and a Bobby Flay ad came up. Cookies, I tell you, cookies!</p>