Thursday was the hottest, most humid day yet. Hovering around 80 degrees, I took Dakota and headed out for our hike. She was not exactly thrilled and lagged consistently behind me by about 50 yards…but she did keep moving. We did our long hike, climbing out of the valley on Everett Road and she perked up as we made the half-way point and turned for home. With another day of more than 30,000 steps though, I was beginning to feel it and thinking about doing this and more day after day with a pack on my back on the North Country Trail. Ah well…I’ll be ready when the time comes and if I’m not, I’ll die.
Friday was nicer and the hike went more smoothly, but my right hip was hurting enough to keep me awake at night. I worked on it all day Saturday at Mimi’s, but decided against a hike afterwards and instead made some dinner and watched the inspirational true story of Boston Marathon bombing victim, Jeff Bauman, as he dealt with the physical and emotional pain of having lost both his legs. Jake Gyllenhaal is amazing in the role as Jeff Bauman, but when isn’t he amazing?
By Sunday, I was determined to ride…and long. I was on the bike on a somewhat chilly morning by 10 a.m. with the intention of going at least forty miles. I picked a course I’ve been riding with the intent of adding a couple of loops to make up the difference. As I rode up and out of the valley on Everett Road, I could tell I was going to have an excellent ride. I climbed in a harder gear with no real effort and continued attacking hills throughout the course. I dropped back into the valley, but then decided to climb up and out again near the end of the ride for the extra miles…and punishment. But with the excellent climbing gearing on ‘Locke’ and my conditioning and decreased weight, it went easily. As I crested the hill for another descent, I felt like I could keep doing this all day.
I arrived back home after two and a half hours in the saddle feeling fantastic. Perfect way to end a ride, too. I still needed to get out with Dakota for a hike, which didn’t concern me as the hip felt fine once again.
I’m holding my weight at 190 with some cheating. I went out Saturday and scored a pint of Maple Nut ice cream, eating it all while watching the movie. I had walked a record 188,000 steps for the week, crushing my old record of 168,000 easily and thought I deserved it.
Jack did call late Saturday night to announce the outcome of game three between the CAVS and the Toronto Raptors. When I saw who the call was from, I knew they’d won. He’d never call to discuss a loss.
“Did you see LeBron’s final shot, dad?” he asked excitedly.
“Did he miss it?” I asked.
“He…what…no! He’s the most clutch player in the history of playoff basketball!” he said.
Well…sure. He’s LBJ. He was in The Land.
He coaxed me to get out of bed, Google the last shot on YouTube and watch it with him on the phone. I did and it was amazing, but it’s LBJ and so should we be too surprised?
Bike Ride: Two hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120-135 bpm.
Calories Burned: 1,875.
Bonus: 188,000 steps in one week.
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