W12D7

Saturday's bike ride on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail was a very laid back way to spend the day. We road about 25 miles beginning about a mile off the path in Redondo Beach and then riding from here to here (the Marina Del Rey Marina). *thanks to cshellls photostream on flickr for the great shots. Check it out here for some more shots of typical views for the day.

The ride was a bit different from out usual ones with this group. We are usually teens to grandparents, but this time we were childless. There were 5 couples, all whose children have reached the age of "Independence." It was really a nice weekend. Without the kids we were able to enjoy a special dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the end of the day. With fewer mouths to feed we upgraded our dining choices a little. We spent the night at the Crown Plaza hotel thanks to some really deep discounts from priceline.com.

The hotel was right on the MB Bike Trail so, I got up in the morning and put in 7 easy miles on the trail. I ran from the hotel back to the 0.00 mark and then turned around, ran back past the hotel onto The Strand, really part of the Marvin Braude, to just past the pier at Hermosa and back to the hotel. While I was out running, Lisa got up and out as well and walked 3 miles to the past the pier and back. I ran past a gym that was full of folks running on treadmills in full view of the bike path. I can't quite understand that. I'd much rather be outside. The Strand is home to some really outrageous beach mansions and some great beach views. The only drawback is much of it is concrete.

We had breakfast at a little hole in the wall at the end of the Redondo Beach Pier and then hung out at the hotel pool until the early afternoon and then headed back to reality.

I ended the week with 44 miles. The legs feel good. The hips are a little tight so I've got to be more diligent about stretching and rolling this coming week (Haven't I said that before?). Just over two weeks to race day!!