My in-laws are very active people. They both run and bike several times a week. So it was kind of cool when they asked to go mountain biking with us this weekend. They don't do much trail riding, so we chose to take them to Luton Park, since it is a great trail for beginner mountain bikers. Fun, but not too hilly and not too scary.
My mother-in-law, Helen, had a really bad crash on her road bike last year when her rear tire blew on a fast decent and threw her over the bike onto the pavement. She's still recovering from that scare psychologically, and I can't blame her! It took me a while to regain my confidence after getting hit by the car a couple summers ago. I even have a day here and there where I'm just not feeling brave. So Helen took her time and just rode at her pace, which was great. She was out there doing it. Go her.
My father-in-law, Eric, is a pretty good athlete. He does several running races and a triathlon every year. His goal pace is about 7 minutes per mile running on the road, which is a pretty good run for a guy in his fifties. So at Luton yesterday, Eric was right on top of things. I'm sure he could have ridden faster than me, but he chose to follow me to see what lines I chose on the trail. Whatever I did, he did - no matter the obstacle. It was great for me, because I felt flattered by his confidence in me, and it pushed me to ride a little more aggressively than usual. I actually slid out a couple of times and when down, but I got dusty - nothing more.
After a while, we lost Helen on one of the trails and assumed that she had made her way back to the parking lot, which she had. Next time we all go riding, we'll have to bring some walky-talkies so we can communicate.
It was fun having the parents go for a ride with us!
After mountain biking, he hubby and I rode motorcycles with our friend, Jair, to the Muskegon Bike Week festival. I've never been to a motorcycle rally before. It was cool to see it! It was also great riding passenger with Jair on his sport bike. What a blast! I love the motorcycle that I have, but there is still a part of me that just feels right on a true crotch rocket. Maybe I'll upgrade someday.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Short run - 3.1 miles
Fast run at about 8:20 mile pace
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Fartleks with the hubby - 3.5 miles
A short warmup plus 30 minutes of Fartleks with the hubby. Three minutes fast plus two minutes slow for a total of about 33 minutes. Also...it was freakin' hot out!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Mountain Biking - 9.5 miles
Riding at Luton with the in-laws, the hubby, and Jair
She's still recovering from that scare psychologically, and I can't blame her! It took me a while to regain my confidence after getting hit by the car a couple summers ago.
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