Alright folks, 11 Days left until I hit the pavement for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 2012 Ride & Run to Remember! I'll be doing the full 54 mile ride this year, thanks in part to J&L Bicycle Company (now closed, sadly) who helped me acquire a very nice Jamis road bike for the event. My fundraising is now at 76% of my goal, so I still need help. I'll be publishing a practice ride this weekend if all goes well weather wise. Thanks again for all the support, and don't forget donations are still needed at http://support.nleomf.org/goto/cplrahenderson

I have been thoroughly lazy in posting to my blog this year...mostly because I've been anything but lazy in the rest of my life. Right now I'm juggling a full-time rotating patrol schedule, being a full-time student in my final semester of undergrad work at Guilford College, being a field training officer, finishing my clinical evaluations for Drug Recognition Expert certification, maintaining a new house and keeping my lovely wife happy. Add in trying to train for the upcoming Ride & Run to Remember and fundraise for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, and I've got quite the full plate.

But, just to catch everyone up...I've been doing a bit of indoor cycling to keep up my stamina while it's been so hot outside, and I've been trying to hit the gym to get some swimming time in at the lap pool. I also just bought a new Jamis 8 speed performance road bike for this years ride...hopefully I'll be a little faster and have a little less trouble with the hills this year compared to last when I rode my Trek mountain bike.

I plan on hitting the pavement this upcoming weekend for a nice long ride and I'll post some stuff more regularly heading into the ride in DC.

Don't forget to support the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by heading over to http://support.nleomf.org/goto/cplrahenderson today!

I'm officially registered for the 2012 Ride & Run to Remember in Washington, D.C.!!!

This year I'll be doing a full 54 mile Metric Century ride, so I've got my work cut out for me...got to get back on a more routine biking schedule for the next few months. If there is anyone who wants to make a small donation to the NLEOMF I'd greatly appreciate it, and you can click on the link to the right to do so.

Did a gym workout today because of the rain and the fact I had to work most of the day. I ran a mile at a nice steady pace and then hopped on a stationary bike for a 5.75 mile ride. Then I did some pool time and a nice relax in the hot tub and the sauna. Hoping to hit the real pavement tomorrow afternoon for some serious mileage in the great outdoors if the weather breaks.

Hit the gym today for a 1.5 mile run on the treadmill, a 500 yard swim, and some work on the machines concentrating on my abs. Then a nice relaxing dip in the hot tub and a little relief in the steam room. At minimum, I sweated off about 5 pounds.

Did a half-hour in the pool late last night...did about 1000 yards of crawl. Then hit the steam room for a bit. Tomorrow I plan on doing some indoor running and weight training if all goes well. I'm really enjoying access to this 24 hour indoor gym...

Indoor Gym Day!

Hit the indoor gym today, seeing as how it was hot as crap outside. Did a nice workout including a 2 mile run/walk in 30 sec intervals, an 8.22 mile bike ride, a couple of sets each of leg extensions and shoulder presses. All in all it was quite nice, though I believe I might regret the shoulder presses tomorrow morning when I go to work.

Well, it's been a rough few weeks at work and the weather here has been awful...hot, cold, dry, wet...I don't think mother nature can quite make up her mind. I haven't hit the pavement in a few weeks and I'm feeling very bad about that. But, my wife and I joined a nice indoor gym yesterday which has a dedicated cycling area and an indoor lap pool, so I feel like my odds of 3 times a week training sessions are improving...if it's nasty outside, I can head indoors for a solid workout.

Still waiting for official registration to open for the 2012 Ride & Run to Remember in DC...looking forward to starting my official push and begin my fundraising!

2012 Ride & Run to Remember

That date has been announced for the 2012 Ride & Run to Remember. Looks like October 14th this year will be the day, and I'll be registering soon to participate. Got to start getting ready now, planning to get the weekend off, determining whether any of my friends or family will be participating with me, and setting up my fundraising plan for this year. This year's goal is going to be $1,000 for me...let's see if I can hit it!

It's a long road, to the top...

Rough weather this past week...it's been nice, sunny and warm; then bam...cold and rainy. Haven't had a lot of time to do much outside, so I've contented myself to do a lot of indoor stretching and some cardio workouts. Not having a gym close by the house cuts down on what activities I can do on a rainy day. But enough excuses. I didn't hit the bike today, the roads are a little muddy and I didn't want to get too far from the house in case the storms came back for an encore. So, I hit the neighborhood sidewalks on foot...I'm off and running again!

Cami, my wife, has decided she wants to run a half-marathon. So, in order to help keep her motivated I'm putting back on my running shoes and doing some running in addition to my biking. We're planning on running a Law Enforcement 5k to support Special Olympics on May 19th in Greensboro, NC...so I'll be mixing up my training days between riding and running for the next few months.

Today I did 1.17 miles using the Galloway method. I ran 1 minute, then walked 1 minute in a continuous cycle for a solid 15 minutes. Tomorrow will hopefully be a biking day, and then Tuesday will be a gym day. Wednesday I'll pound pavement again with an approximately 10% increase in time and distance on my run. 

Falling off the wagon.

Well, it's been a pretty rough week. Between work and school, I feel like I've had little time to do anything I want to do. And the weather certainly is NOT cooperating with my plans to ride. While it has been perfectly lovely every day for the last week while I'm at work or in school, the minute I get home the bottom drops out and the sky fills with lightning. Yay! But, if all goes well I should get some biking time in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week..keeping my fingers crossed!

The Wheel Goes Round...

...and round we go. Got out around lunchtime today and hit the pavement for a somewhat abbreviated ride in Whitsett. It was only about 54 degrees outside, but with the wind it was more like 45. And much like my last ride in Whitsett, the wind was not on my side...but this time it was working against me as I climbed some of the major hills on my route. I managed to suffer through a little over 6 miles before I called it a day. That put me just shy of 24 miles in the last 24 hours, which I'm happy with. I have to work 12 hours tomorrow and Tuesday, and of course there is school on Tuesday night, but I'm hoping I can squeeze in at least 5-10 miles before my Wednesday. If all goes well with the weather, I may head back to Greensboro or even somewhere more adventurous for my mid-week ride.

The Atlantic & Yadkin Railroad Greenway

Got a slight break in the weather today and managed to get out for a ride. Since I had nothing else to do today, I decided to get a little change of scenery and headed to Greensboro for my ride. I started out at my favorite park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, and navigated my way along the newly completed leg of the Atlantic & Yadkin Railroad Greenway. It was quite nice, although it abruptly ended with no signage in a shopping center. I feel like it probably continued on from there, but with no signs I wasn't going to get adventurous today...I still remember my last 'sign-less' greenway adventure. So I turned around and re-traced my route back to Guilford Courthouse and then continued on along the older stretch of the greenway down to Bur-Mil Park. It was really nice out, though a bit chilly, with bright sunshine...I needed to recharge my solar batteries after the last few days of gloomy mess. There were a lot of bikers and runners out today, which was nice to see. After swinging around near the dead end of the greenway, I again re-traced my steps back to Guilford Courthouse for a final loop through the park along the tour road. All in all I managed to get in 16.5 miles today. I feel good about that, considering it's been a week since my last trek...here's hoping the weather continues to be nice from here on out, so I can keep up my pace and keep upping my mileage.

Windy Whitsett

Rode a fairly nice 10-miler on Thursday. Did a road course through several neighborhoods in Whitsett, the temperature outside was fantastic. It was perfect biking temperature. But the wind...well, the wind was another story all together. It was blowing so hard that it almost took me over a few times At times it was harder to ride down-hill than it was to ride up-hill the wind was so strong. But, it made me work my legs a little harder and that was good for me. I worked all weekend and didn't get a chance to go out at all, and here I am on a much needed day off and I am avoiding going out because the wind and temperature outside are far worse right now than they were on Thursday. Hopefully it will calm down some before dinner and I can get a few miles in...if not, there is always tomorrow.

Back in the saddle again...

Got back on the bike yesterday and took a nice leisurely ride around Whitsett...5.06 miles in around 26 minutes. Not too bad considering I haven't been riding since October. It was raining this morning when I woke up, so we'll see what it looks like after lunch...maybe I can log a few more miles today if the weather holds out.

A Long, Cold Winter...

It's been a long, cold winter. I've not been cycling in months and I hate myself for it. I've not maintained the level of fitness in these past few months that I'd like to have, and I think it's time to start gearing up for a new season. If the weather holds, I'm going to ride today. If it doesn't, I'm going to do an indoor workout. Either way, the road back to fitness starts today.