The rail-trail ride and goals

What a great weekend the boy and I had.

Saturday we rode our bikes for 20 miles on a chain of rail-trails that start in Trumbull and end in Monroe, CT.  Most of the of the trails were either paved or well packed dirt.

The last mile was on a very undeveloped section of trail but it was David's favorite part.  He got to use his mountain bike for what it was designed for, rough terrain. I, on the other hand, had to be a bit more cautious maneuvering around the tree roots, rocks and railroad tracks.

Rail-trails are great for families because you don't have to worry about cars except when you cross from one section to the other.  The trails I have encountered are at least 1 mile in length so you can enjoy a nice ride before dealing with crossing a road. You can find your local trail by visiting the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy website.

We almost let a beautiful Sunday slip by.   Our original plan was to drive an hour to a beach that is closer to the open ocean.  We heard we were going to have showers all day so we decided to hang out at home.  By 10am the sun was still shining brightly so I told the boy that if it was still beautiful by 12pm we were going to the local beach.  Thank goodness we did! It was a beautiful, relaxing day.  I relaxed and read on the beach while he rode his bike on the trails around the park.  Win-win!

We packed it up around 4 with black skies creeping up behind us. We made it home just before some of the loudest thunder I had heard in a long time.  Rocky was going nuts!


It seems like all I do lately is set new goals.  I guess we need them in our lives to keeps us going...I know I do.  Here are my recent ones:

1. Pick an official training plan...and stick to it.

I chose Runner's World Intermediate Half Marathon Training Plan(Specific to their Half Marathon course in October). 

2. Reduce and eliminate any type of sweeteners from my beverages.  

I have been gradually reducing it for about 2 weeks now.  It's hard to get use to it.

3. I had become reliant on Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies as my nightly snack.  I would leave enough calories for the end of the day so I could enjoy 2 of them.  The calories were my issue.  It was that I felt I NEEDED them to be satisfied at the end of the day.  I didn't like being dependent on them. They are so processed and I felt that I could find a fruit or recipe I could make for myself with whole foods.

I ate my last brownie about a week ago.  I REALLY miss that chocolate taste.  I have been eating fruit instead but I think I need to find a chocolate recipe.

4. Run back to back races

I am training for the Runner's World 10k & Half Marathon that they are holding in the same weekend.  I know it will be a challenge but I have my training plan in place.  I think the key to the piggy back races is to run smart races.  I will not be running to PR.

5. Work on realizing my self-worth.  

This will be an on going goal for a while.  This is something I really need to fix.

What are some of your goals?

Happy Running!!!