Run-commute

Today I went Green and used my feet to commute to work instead of guzzling gas. My place of work is only 7 miles away, traveling on suburban and city streets. In order to get some more worthwhile distance however and make the commute more scenic, I planned out an 11.25 mile route that took me through Wickham Park and along the Charter Oak Greenway bike path (which is part of the East Coast Greenway.) This route also allowed me to get off the city streets and reduce the potential of getting run over. I took some pics along the way and comfortably made it to work in 1:32:19. So I'm confident my commute won't take any longer than an hour and a half in the future, as long as I don't stop to smell the roses. Here are a couple of pics from my run-commute:

Entering Wickham Park

Looking out to Hartford

Charter Oak Greenway

Along I-84

Arriving at work

My run-commute was prompted by my company opening up a sweet new health center conveniently close to my office area. So I now have a place to shower and change. All it took was a little planning and pre-positioning of clothes and the plan fell into place perfectly. I took the shorter, less scenic route home for a total of 18.25 miles today. Not bad for a Tuesday!

Runnin' and beachin'

Nothing beats a dependable training partner. Mark was on a business trip to the West coast last week and took the red eye flight home from LA on Friday night. He landed here in CT at 6:00 AM saturday morning and then drove right from the airport to my place for a run. We knocked out a solid 22 miles with just under an 8:00 min/mile pace. Now that's dedication.

After the run, the family and I went to the Rhode Island shore for the day. My awesome sister-in-law has some sweet pics and video of our day at the beach on her blog. Check 'em out.

Vacation

Spent the past week in NH at a cabin on Lake Winnipesaukee. The family had a great time swimming, eating lots of ice cream, fishing and just hanging out at the beach. Some pics: