New bike.

Earlier I mentioned the new bike I have that I am super excited about and can't wait to ride it more often. Well, I though I would talk a little about said bike.

It is a Mercier Kilo OS. Not a super well known brand. I got it online from Bikes Direct. Bikes Direct is an online store that offers super discounted fully built bikes. This is the first bike I have purchased from them, and so far I am impressed. Lots of people ask if I regret buying online rather than at a local bike store. Not yet. Of course, on down the road when I might need some work done to it, I might have wished I had bought one from an LBS.

More about the bike. It is styled like an older styled British or European bike. Two top tubes, fat tires. It is a fixed gear. If you aren't familiar with fixed gear bikes, check out this Wikipedia article. Long story short, there's no coasting on a fixed gear. A huge change from every other bike I have owned. I keep wanting to stop pedaling and coast, and she tells me NO! It's a great feeling though. This bike feels a lot like driving a sporty little car with a manual transmission. Compared to my Schwinn 5 speed, or other bikes I have owned, which feel like driving a four door sedan with an automatic transmission. If that makes sense. Well, enough with this babbling, here are a few pictures. (Not taken with my Nikon)

Lack of motivation

So, assuming anyone still actually reads this poor little blog, I am having problems with motivation. For running anyways. I just got a new bike, and have been itching to ride, but the weather has been getting increasingly more worse as the days roll on. I know I need to be running, I just don't have that same drive that I did last year. I'm not sure what the difference is.

I think I will start talking about my bike(s) more now on here. Rather than just concentrating on running and fishing, both of which, I have not been doing much of lately.

Be looking for more posts soon, hopefully.

Some news

So, as most of you may have noticed, I have taken a bit of a sabbatical from posting. Coming home, getting back into the swing of things, and going back to work have all delayed me. I know, I know, excuses are like assholes; everyone's got them, and they stink. Really though, it's been tough to find time to post anything. Mostly because I haven't ran since I got back. For some reason, it was easier to run in 15 degree weather when I wasn't home. I find it extremely hard to get motivated to run in the cold here at home. Oh well, I will get back into it soon enough. The main reason for this post is to mention my new photo gear. I recently picked up a Nikon D3000 package deal on Amazon. So far, I love it. I am just getting used to it, but so far I enjoy it more so than the Canon Rebel XTi that I also have. Enough with the jaw-jackin', on to the pictures.

These are in no particular order. Just let me know what you think! Thanks.








Enjoy,

Parker

Ringin' It In.

Today I hadn't planned on running. It's my buddy's day off and he doesn't normally come and get me to go run. Well, today he did. So I suited up and we went out. I asked how far he intended on going, he said he didn't care. I said what about 7. He said that was fine with him. Then, I started thinking about how this was my first run of 2010, and I needed to make it a good one. I then asked him if he was in for running 10. He said sure thing. Why not? A 10 miler for our first run in 2010. That is what we did. My ankle that has been bothering me, didn't act up today, it probably will tomorrow though. My right hamstring, however, started to hurt with every strike of my foot. That started around mile 4 or 5, and kept hurting until we stopped and I popped a couple ibuprofen. One thing that happened to me that hasn't happened in a while is side stitches. I haven't has those in a long time, but today I must have been talking more than normal. I was able to get them to go away, which is a first. Normally I have to stop running to get them to go away. This time I just concentrated on my breathing, and before long, they were gone. On another note. Tony Burch keeps trying to get me to run 20 miles with him. He wanted to do it tomorrow, but since we did 10 today, he wants to do it at the end of next week before he leaves for home. I am not so sure I am ready for that. That 15 mile run we did a coupe of weeks ago took a lot out of me. We will see about that. I guess it depends a lot on the weather next week also. Anyhow, on to the stats from today's run.


Saturday, January 2, 2010

Location: Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan
Start Time: 7:10am
Start Temp: Above Freezing! Around 36-37f
Finish Temp: 38-39f
Mood: Still kind of out of it. Looking for motivation.
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 01:31:29
Average Pace: 9:08 min/mile
Tony Burch's prediction of my mood for tomorrow - Indifferent, slightly agitated at having a new roommate on the opposite shift.

Thanks for reading. See you in a few.

Get out there and run!