I played hookie today

I don't do it to often . . . but I played hookie from work. I had just sort of run out of gas on Thursday and decided that I had a lot of errands to run. More than I could do over several lunch hours. So the FAT MAN took a day of vacation. I actually slept in this morning. Of course for me, sleeping in means I get out of bed around 6:15 instead of 5:15. I can just hear all those office professionals and lawyers groaning out there. If you're not an early riser, you should try it. The mornings are the best part of the day-it's sort of like getting to start over. The air is fresher, there's less noise, little traffic. Besides, there's nothing like getting started early on your caffiene buzz!

Soooooooo . . . I ran my errands. One of which included shopping for a bike. I have a hybrid that is like a hundred years old with a steel frame and weighs 30 lbs. I mean a real bike. Several of you out there are triatheletes and duatheletes and you've inspired me. Several of my good friends bike. And I have lots of extra time on my hands. Thanks to Wayne K, Larry M, Kerry L, Dom S (one of my running compadres), Diane A, Cary W (my brother-in-law who lives in Portland and is an AVID cyclist), and many more that have been after me for a while to start biking seriously. Okay-I'm gonna give it a try. Haven't picked out a bike yet but I'm starting to narrow it down based on SIZE (does size really matter?), COMFORT, EASE OF MAINTENANCE/PARTS AVAILABILITY, and (drum roll, please) PRICE. My budget has increased as I've been shopping. I want to keep it around 2 grand. It seems that I can get a pretty decent composite or aluminum/composite frame with Shimano Ultegra components and decent saddle and wheels for this price. If you have any recommendations, please feel free to let me know.

I ran today. Did my hill work. It felt scary good. I warmed up with 2 1/2 miles at around an 8:15 pace and did 5 x 0.2 hill repeats and then finished with a 1 1/2 mile cool down. All said, about 6 miles.

Everybody needs to check out Amy's progress . . . She's scheduled to run a 10 miler this weekend. She is the the first link (30 YOF seeking marathon to run) on the right hand side. She has done a good job in quiting smoking and becomming a runner. I think she's been getting extra coaching from her beau. Be sure to stop by and congratulate her.

A taper long run (10 miles) Sunday. Have a GREAT WEEKEND!