Running For Coffee!

One of my favorite times of the week is Sunday morning.  It's even better when it's a beautiful morning and I'm up early.  Today was the perfect run for coffee morning.  When I worked the night news shift in San Antonio, I ran for coffee several times a week.  It's that extra incentive to get up and get moving.  So today I headed out on the Cherry Creek Bike Path for a nice 45 minute run.  Even sprinted to my finish line....the Starbucks at REI at Confluence Park.  Then it was time to relax and enjoy one of my other joys of a Sunday morning - reading the paper.  Running for coffee is a great way to start a new week!

Race Ya!

Race Ya!  Well not exactly how my brother phrased it.  He actually said "Race your a**!!!" in a email to me yesterday once I told him what I was doing.  Here's the deal - he's on a quest to loose 17 pounds by Christmas.  My brother lost over 100 pounds by watching his diet and walking while he lived in Northern Ireland.  Now that he lives in Shenyang, China, it's a little more difficult for him to do the workouts he wants.  Guess he'd better hit the gym because it's GAME ON between siblings!

So Day 2...I had hoped to get out after the AM show a little early but that didn't really work out.  I get up at 2:45am so sure I could use the it's hot and I'm tired excuse today but I thought about my friends that have crazier schedules than me with kids and still get their training done.  So in a nut shell my excuses went out the window!  I debated going to gym or hitting the bike trail.  Opted for the later.

Talk about a hot one!  It was 95-97 degrees during my ride.   So this is when the meteorologist in me comes out with reminders about working out in hot weather:

• Don't forget the sunscreen, sunglasses, and lip balm
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate - if you start feeling thirty, you're already showing signs of dehydration
• Slow the pace - no need to go gangbusters, just get the workout done
• Take breaks

I'd plan to ride for an hour or hour and a half.  As any cyclist will tell you as you're getting back in the saddle you have to build up seat time.  Your booty, back and hands need time to build up to longer rides.

So off I go on the South Platte Bike Trail - one of my favorites in Denver.  It's easy to jump on it Confluence Park and there's ample parking near REI flagship store.  Because of the heat there were very few walkers and runners but there were some folks of bikes and others resting in shady spots along the river.  And yes there were the occasional homeless folks that are always on the bike paths but they usually leave you alone.  Other than it being hot, it was a nice ride.  With the heat I decided to ride at a slower pace and get 20 miles done.  Which I did in an hour and a half riding about a 12.9/13 miles per hour pace.  Definitely not hammering it down, instead getting the distance and workout done.

I loved seeing the signs along the way Mary Carter Greenway Trail (South Platte Trail feeds into it) that say speed limit 15mph.  Yes I did hit over the speed limit a few times.

I'd noticed yesterday on my ride that my right shoe clip seemed to be sliding.  Well today it was all of the place.  When I got home I noticed two of the three screws holding the clip plate to the shoe are gone.  Glad I didn't need to clip out and make a quick stop!  Guess I'm heading to REI tomorrow to get it fixed.

Some days you race it.  Some days you just get it done.  And some days you just need to float....like the folks I saw on the Platte River.

Happy Fourth of July!