Trying not to overdo it.

Things have been very busy here. My mind has finally returned to this world (and country, time zone, etc), and I am in full gear training mode. The spring weather is good for the mood, but hard on the sinuses. I seem to have a perpetual sore throat from the pollen too. But I still love springtime in central Virginia.

Wednesday was a great training ride (for the MS150 Tour), this time from Amy's house (our team leader). The route lead us past some nice houses, country churches, farms, country clubs, and the Foxfield horse race track. I am really enjoying these rides because I am seeing some parts of the area that I have never seen or appreciated before. You absorb your surrounding so much more on a bike than when you drive fast in a car. I wish I could have taken pictures along the way.

From MS 150 Rides

Thursday was me and Tom at BeerRun with Jere and the club. A spring thunderstorm made things interesting. We got an awesome bottle of Pinot Noir from Central Otago, NZ, a region we visited near Queenstown.

Friday was a great Karate practice. I spent the first hour teaching Basic One to a pair of 10-year-old white belts. The next 1-1/2 hours I spent working on my One-Steps and knife defenses with Amir (sp?), an awesome black belt whom I had not worked with much before now.

Saturday morning was another successful training ride. We rode 22 miles from Walnut Creek Park, the route of the Charlottesville Triathlon International Distance. My longest ride yet, and I managed to keep up my previous average speed. Again the scenery was beautiful with the trees in full bloom. We drove past several creeks along the side of the road that were flowing well due to the recent spring showers. The road itself was in bad shape and made for a rough ride. I felt pretty good afterward, and thought, "Maybe I can do the International Distance Triathlon," but then I would have to now run 7 miles, and that does not sound like fun.

From MS 150 Rides

Saturday night Tom and I went to wine tasting (NZ wines), a club event, and sushi afterward.

Sunday was a 10 mile hike in the Shenandoah, but those pictures will have to wait for another day.

Today was an easy swim in the pool.

A small summary of my last 5 days. I am getting tired just writing about it. Time to get some well deserved sleep.