STOP! Hammock Time!

It was a fantastic weekend here in Northern England of New and the hammock is our new favorite hangout spot. Friday was warm and sunny and every bit as much like JUNE as June is!! I had shorts on all day - even when I rode Amelia!! We went for about 1:15 and averaged a little over 15 mph except we finished off the loop on the backside of the Monster Hill - the much shorter side which is just as steep. And I didn't walk!! It was a tough, grinding climb with only two chainrings on Amelia but I suspect that repeats will improve that situation. Felt GREAT...I'm getting my cycling legs back. Then, despite the miserable forecast from the Eye on the Sky Guy, Saturday turned out to be beautiful and warm too!! Bliss... Things cooled off on Sunday and clouds and a stiff wind called for another go at the lake loop...it went something like this (sorry Bold, I'm pretty chart challenged so you'll have to either make one for me or use your imagination...):

Warmup to start line - 8:56 @ avg. HR 136
Mile 1 - 11:23 @ avg. HR 143
Mile 2 - 11:45 @ avg. HR 144
Mile 3 - 11:52 @ avg. HR 148
Mile 4 - 11:37 @ avg. HR 152 (a negative split!!)
Mile 5 - 10:37 @ avg. HR 153 (now I'm convinced that mile 5 is short...)
Warmdown to home: 6:15 @ avg. HR 155
Total distance: 6.15 mi. (mapped here)
Total time: 1:12:26 - 0:01:26 faster than the last loop!

COOL!! This run around the lake is the Great Fairlee Tri course so the mile markers are spray painted on the road...so I felt pretty confident that it was measured correctly...but now I'm sure the last mile is short. Oh well. I'll have to clock it with my bike computer to find out where mile 5 ends. I felt really good the whole time and am less sore than I was after the same run last Wednesday. Progress is so motivating. And there was no bonking or stealing bananas this time... a bite of a power bar each mile seemed to do the trick. I'm gonna try out the new Cliff Blocks and see what all the rukus is about. Oh, and I'd love it if someone could point me toward a good source for ordering Gatorade Endurance powder (Flat?? any bargains??).

And the big news of the day is that I signed up for Weight Watchers On-Line. I'm feeling motivated and strong about it today and I'm off to a good start. I especially like the whole points system and will be a huge fan of the extra points that I'll get to add on in exchange for the exercise... I feel calm and focused. But stick around because I'm sure I'll need donut interventions and exorcisms of the Pizza Whispers... I did manage only a few jelly beans that the Easter Bunny brought... but they're out of the house now so I'm safe.

Taking it easy today and going shopping for healthy, nutritious fuel...back to the pool and core tomorrow.

A big shout out to Elizabeth and Okolo for running the Boston Marathon!! I haven't checked their times yet but I'm sure they both did great!!!

OK, until tomorrow - train hard!!