Goundhog Day

Bill Murray would be proud. I had the perfect winter commute yesterday. The ice had finally melted off the road so I switched out the studded tires for my skinny tires. It felt like I was flying. It was cold but not too cold. Alas, it was bright and sunny, so the chubby woodchuck saw his/her shadow. Today-up to 18" of new lake effect snow!

Snow Commute

The aftermath of my Monday commute home in advance of several days of frigid weather. My studded tires are the difference maker when the roads are snowy and icy. Most people heeded the blizzard warning and stayed off the roads, so there was not much competition for the best line through the snow. I doubt I'll venture out again this week due to the forecast for pretty cold, windy weather.

Saturday Run

Every weekend runners young and old converge on the Wilson's Shelter Parking Lot at the Indiana Dunes State Park. During the summer they compete with picnickers who arrive early to stake out their turf (a Picnic table). In the winter there are few others, maybe a cross country skier or two, who care to brave the harsh winds and cold that settle in until the end of March. The lot fills with cars before 8:00 AM. Then it empties and fills through out the morning with waves of hardy runners. I shared a run with this group of ancient runners today. What a blast!

Resolutions-Welcome to 2009

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful experience, isn't it? So much summing up of the past year and then looking ahead over the next twelve months.


1. I resolve to post more often to my blog!

• I hope to up my readership from one to two!

2. I resolve to end 2009 in fitter health than I begin it.

• 2008 was a tough year, fitness-wise. I went almost three months without running a step. This is a personal record of sorts for me. Since I've returned to running (in about September) my running mileage has been very low but I'm injury free. I'd like to average at least five days a week running or at least 260 days running this year.
  

3. I resolve to continue to commute to work by bicycle.

• I haven't totaled up my bicycle miles yet but I had already exceeded my 2007 mileage by the end of October (I think, I need to check). I bought my commuter bike for about $300 dollars. I thought I'd paid too much at the time but it has more than paid for itself. By the way I thought about naming it Floyd in honor of Floyd Landis. Needless to say I've changed my mind. I'd like to commute at least once every week throughout the year. This will be tough during the winter as I still haven't figured out a reliable way to stay warm down into the teens. My personal record for cold is eight degrees-it was not fun!

4. I resolve to get my professional license. I won't bore you with details here. This has been a decade long process. I need to get it over, already!

What else?

Wish List (these are not goals or resolutions so much as things I think about): New bike; ride around Lake Michigan with Steve; complete Pike's Peak (ascent)-not likely this year; new job; a variety of home repairs/improvements; hike Appalachian Trail; backpack at Glacier National Park.

That's it for now. I'll be back to post my 2008 bike totals and maybe a picture from today's New Year's Day run at the dunes.


Price of a gallon of gas: $1.59

Tempus Fugit

It's been awhile since I've posted! Summer's almost gone. I spent most of August away from any running due to a recurring injury that reduced me to a walk at the trail marathon I went to at the end of July. I just returning to running now-September. I put together two record (for me) months of bike and commuting.








July bike miles =555
August bike miles=634.9
2008 bike miles =3186.85

Price of a gallon of gas=$4.25

GO CUBS!

Chicago

Arndt and his bike on the road to the Emerald City

Last year Steve and I planned to ride our bikes to Chicago from my house in Chesterton-it's about 100 miles round trip. The morning of the trip there were torrential rains and our trip was washed out. This year we tried again to give this a go and the weather couldn't have been better. Much of the route can be made via a network of bike trails that have sprung up over the last several years. Neither of us had ridden much of the second half of the route before. We were also worried because the bike path route takes us at least five miles out of our way (I know...if we're worried about five miles maybe we shouldn't think about riding 100 miles!) So we decided to take the shortest, albeit more complicated, route to Chicago. There are no bike trail until we get to the south terminus of the Lakefront Bike Trail across the Illinois-Indiana state line on this route. Much of this route is on two US highways-12 and 41. Near the state line, the road is marked with unobtrusive Dan Henrys that were very helpful and led us to the bike path proper which I think starts around the South Shore Country Club. All in all it was quite an adventure. We found the bicycle center at Millennium Park but we never found the Intelligentsia Coffee Store at Millennium Park because it's not actually in the park. It's down Randolph Street from the park! We did drink some wonderful Jamba Juice in the cool shade of the buildings along Michigan Avenue. I think we'll try this again!







May Bike miles=447.2
June Bike miles=420.15
2008 miles=1996.15
Price of a gallon of gas=$4.19

Olympics

Do you look forward to the Olympics? I know I do. My excitement has started to build already. Friday night Amy Yoder-Begley made the team in the 10,000 Meters. That's a 10K for all the road running crowd. The politics of the Olympics aside the sheer joy of an athlete like Amy making the team is wonderful to watch. Amy has a local connection too. Her mother graduated with me at Chesterton High School in 1970. She's being coached by Alberto Salazar. Alberto has a wonderful story too. It could be argued that he was the last great American marathoner, although Ryan Hall could become the next one. Alberto was a main character in the legendary Boston Marathon race captured in the book Dual in the Sun. Now he just may be the best coach of this new generation of American distance runners. NBC will televise the Olympics and also the trials, although not in real time.