Hodgepodge of updates

1) I'm currently in Japan. This was a major last minute trip as I found out Monday evening that I would be on a Tuesday afternoon flight to Narita. But I don't mind - this trip is a breeze compared to the last one. Only two days of meetings and then I fly back on Saturday.

2) I went biking on Saturday! This is huge for me... and actually kind of amusing. The last time I regularly rode a bike was in grade school. And then I rode my friend's bike once in high school. And then there's now. I recently became the proud owner of an early 1990's mountain bike with two flat tires and one working brake. (My friend was planning to donate her old college commuter bike to Goodwill but then I claimed it instead.) I know there's that saying "just like riding a bike" but part of me worried that the rule would not actually apply to me. I made my biker (cyclist?) friend coach me through it and after swerving around the parking lot a few times, I finally got the hang of it. We took it out on the trail where I was still a bit too nervous to go faster than "coasting" speed - we even got passed by a runner... HA! But all in all, it was fun and it was neat to ride the same trail that I normally run. I'm not sure if I'm ready to shell out some $$$ for a "real" bike but I definitely see myself taking out this interim bike for another ride one of these days.

3) Half marathon training has been pretty pathetic lately. I've been doing pretty well with going to the gym for some cardio / weights and stuff but the actual running has been severely lacking. I did 3 miles last week! Yikes... I was going to pick it up this week but my Japan trip has thwarted my plans.

4) Although I haven't been training, I am still picking up more races that I am not prepared to run. I have the Disneyland half at the end of August and then the San Jose Rock n Roll one in early October. Now it looks like I will be headed to Chicago in mid September for the Chicago Half Marathon. I haven't registered yet but I think there's a good chance I'll be doing it.