Try, Try Again

Second real attempt with clip-less pedals went MUCH better!

One of my running buddies also enjoys biking, and after relating to her how my first attempt went with my new pedals (not good!) she insisted I needed to get out of the garage and out on the road. The act of pedaling and naturally putting the forward/downward pressure on the pedal as I rotate around would help the clip snap in. And it Worked!

There was of course a fair amount of fumbling, but I already knew the trick to KEEP PEDALING with one foot while I continued struggling with the other to keep from losing momentum and falling over. And as much as I struggled to get INTO the clips, I luckily have no problem getting OUT of the clips. So, no falling over when I come to a stop :-)

(not actually my feet here, but similar style cleat/pedal)

I managed to put on 15 miles in a little under an hour by the time my feet were getting achy. A couple small blisters but nothing major, and I will continue to practice without socks because that's how I intend to race. I think a little extra Glide around my toes should do it, and if I need to take further measures I might start putting a dot of mole-skin on the hot spots.

15 miles today, on top of a 6.5 mile run yesterday morning out with The Girls, along with the usual house chores (much going up/down stairs), mow the lawn with the push mower, wash the car by hand (it REALLY needed it!), some minor woodworking to finish up the raised vegetable beds, and getting them planted before it rains... I do believe that counts as a FULL WEEKEND!

Me, Lisa, Nancy. The Crazy Girls from 4610

Short story about my vegetables: I started them from seeds in the front bay window, from a children's "Taco Garden" kit. It had a special little watering tray, those funny little expands-to-5-times-original-size-when-wet peat pods, and seeds for cilantro, lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes. There were a couple close calls when I forgot to water them a couple days then over watered them the next day, but they all made it and got moved to nice big pots in the front window. Enter, the new kitten. It didn't take long for the kitten to make the front bay window her favorite place to play/nap. And her new favorite toy is my cilantro plant! (with the soft floppy lettuce leaves a close second!) After all that work keeping the silly stuff alive this long, I'm not about to let the kitten kill it out of simple curiosity! It's long past time for the plants to go outdoors, but I don't have a proper garden plot tilled up yet. So, I am putting together a set of raised boxes and filling them with soil for my veggies to finish growing.