Awesome Day (5.7 miles)

Today was an awesome day...! Started off by a decent cross country practice, running a 6 mile tempo in just under 40 minutes.  After that, my girlfriend and i hung out.  We were clueless on what to do, and then we thought of buying a slip 'n' slide. Then, being my frugal self, suggested making one.  We decided to just take a big tarp i already had and soaked it in water and just kept spraying it.  We had a huge thing of water at the end of it that we spashed into, it was so fun! It was almost as good as one i would buy, and it was even better because it was FREE! Haha it was awesome, but we started to get rug burns, or whatever you want to call them.  So we jumped in the pool for an hour or so.  I then warmed up some awesome fried chicken for lunch, it was just delicious.. 

After that, we went for some ice cream.  This time to a place called Coldstone, if you haven't ever heard of it, it is amazing ice cream but very expensive.  We biked there and back, giving us 5.7 miles and it felt very easy- i can feel the difference from the beginning of the year.  The only reason we went to this place is because i had a gift card, but i found that if you buy the ice cream correctly, it isn't that expensive.  We split a large banana ice cream, and it was only $4.30.  A little more expensive than DQ, but it is a lot better... The price gets ridiculous when you want your own ice cream! Anyway, we did that and had a blast on the ride too.  After running, swimming, and biking (a triathlon) i was exhausted.  We just chilled for the night.  This bike ride was probably one of our best so far, since it was a significant distance away and i never would have thought we would bike there because of the busy roads, but it was awesome.  Just a great day today! Work tomorrow though....

Total summer mileage: 107.3 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.98 per gallon): $21.35

Bad Idea (6.6 miles)

If you read my blog regularly, the title gives it away... Rollerblading to work was a terrible idea.  Especially after running 6 miles at cross country (it was at raceway woods and i was forced to drive once again).  Rollerblading is incredibly tiring, i played a lot of hockey- but not for a few years, and i had to skate for 10 minutes straight. In hockey, it is usually 2 minutes! As soon as i got to work and began to take off my skates, i had a sudden realization.. i forgot to lock my dog in her kennel (she is a puppy still).  My parents were both at work, so i had to skate back home- already exhausted- and lock her in.  Luckily, she didn't cause too much damage while i was gone! I then made a smart decision and biked back to work haha.  I never clocked out for leaving and nobody really knew... score! 

Work was so fun today! It was just me and my buddy- and no man manager today! So we did some work for a little bit, and then played real basketball on the hoops.  Then, we played hide and seek in the warehouse for five hours.  It was the most fun i have ever had at work.  We found some amazing hiding spots! That's right, i got payed $40 for playing hide and seek...sweet haha.  We then quit and did some work for the remaining few hours, it was the best day of work ever! I biked back home after work, and it was kind of chilly...very odd.  That completed the 6.6 miles for the day, and put my over 100 miles for the summer!

Total summer mileage: 101.6 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.98 per gallon): $20.22

Back from Injury (5.0 miles)

Well, today i decided to go to cross country to see if i could run... turns out i can still run pretty well with a sprained ankle.  I ran a 4 mile tempo in 25:34- a little slower than last week.  The bike ride there hurt my ankle a little, but it was also a nice warm-up! The run was pretty much painless except for the beginning and a few hills along the way.  My favorite part of the day was biking home with my buddy.  He is a competetive byciclist, so we rode on the streets like we were cars (like you are supposed to) and it was really cool! We went on busy roads and it was weird being at intersections, surrounded by cars waiting for a green light!

After practice, my girlfriend and i swam for hours and then just chilled out for the day.  I barely drove today, probably only like 10 miles.  My tank is still on full- a very satisfying sight.  Tomorrow i work, and i may change it up a little bit by going to work on roller skates! This still counts as biking mileage, but it will be much more fun (i am a hockey player). 

Total summer mileage: 95 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.98 per gallon): $18.91

Day Off

Today i got the day off from work finally... It was an okay day.  I was not planning on running because of my ankle, but this morning there was an awful storm- so there was no practice anyway!  I had 2 doctor appointments today, and then after i hung out with my girlfriend.  We swam and then watched the movie "When in Rome" a good movie haha.  We also got ice cream, via my car...unfortunately.  However i did very minimal driving, around 10 miles today.  My ankle still hurts, but i plan on attending practice tomorrow- perhaps to run a little, or just talk to my coach.  Goodnight.

Total summer mileage: 90 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.98 per gallon): $17.91

Trucks... (3.3 miles)

Well, today all i did was work all day.  And i worked hard.  3 fully packed trucks came today with one of our most valuable stock boys out of town.  I was the only smart/ hard working one there.  I did probably 80% of the work with 3 of us there.  Needless to say, i am very tired.  I biked to and from work, once again without the speedometer...  It was a nice day out, i wish i did not have to work.

So yesterday in Chicago, my girlfriend and i walked nearly everywhere.  We went to Millennium Park, Grant Park, and Buckingham Fountain.  We then walked along the shore of Lake Michigan to the Shedd Aquarium and Planetarium.  We did not go i neither, but we just walked around them where there were some great views.  We explored Museum Campus some more and Soldier Field.  We then made the long stretch along Michigan Avenue to Navy Pier.  After that, we shopped a little on Michigan Avenue and then walked back to the train station.  It doesn't sound liek we did a lot...but we did.  It was hard walking back to the train station, we were so tired, but we had to hurry because we barely made the train!  That is all for today's post, i have work again tomorrow, goodnight!

Total summer mileage: 83.4 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $16.64

Chicago!

Well, today my girlfriend and i ventured to Chicago, Illinois (we live in a suburb called Algonquin).  We took the train in, driving 8 miles each way to the station.  We barely made it there on time for the 8:08 train.  We arrived in Chicago around 9:30 and spent until 7:00 in the evening there.  We took the 7:30 train back- just barely catching it again.  The day was awesome!! We walked EVERYWHERE. Literally, no taxi's were used because of the outragous price.  We ended up walking over 15 miles! Needless to say, i am exhausted and ready to go to sleep! We did not get home until 9:00 and i am ready for bed now. Perhaps tomorrow i will go into detail on our trip.  The trip cost $20 for each of us, not too bad for an entire day of fun! I would say we saved a lot of money walking- too bad i can't included that in my statistics, but if i did- we would have saved $3 on gas today by walking, and the view was much better on foot.  That's all i got tonight, goodnight!

Total summer mileage: 80.1 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $15.98

Run 'n' Work (3.3 miles)

As you can see by the title, i got up and ran this morning at Raceway Woods. Unfortunately, again, my mom was home so i had to drive there.  That is 6 miles of driving.  While there, i ran 7 miles.  After that, i worked all day.  I biked there of course, accumulating the same mileage as usual- 3.3 miles.  The wind was a little rough and so was the heat.  Work was hard and boring, an overall bad day.  After work i hung out with my buddies though and we are all right now. 

Tomorrow i am going downtown Chicago, so there will be no biking- but a lot of biking to save money on cabs which are ridiculously expensive.  We will take the train down for almost the whole say, it will be awesome.  We are going early, so i need to get some sleep- goodnight.

Total summer mileage: 80.1 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $15.98

Perfect Day (8.1 miles)

As you can see, today was my highest mileage day of the summer! I woke up early to go to cross country practice at my high school which is exactly 2.5 miles away.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day out, sunny and breezy, although a little hot.  We ran a four mile tempo, and i hit it in 25:10-- a 6:18 pace, not too bad for a hilly run and my first tempo of the season.  Afterward, i biked home with a friend (my house is on the way to his).  After that, i was exhausted so i relaxed for a long while.  I also blogged for yesterday since i had forgotten haha.  So that was my first 5.0 miles of the day.

Around 11, i picked up my girlfriend by car and took her back to my house.  Here i made breakfast for us, i ate three scrambled eggs, a necessary breakfast after a run like that.  We then relaxed a lot in my pool until we got hungry.  We decided to go to subway for lunch, so we biked the little over 1.5 miles there.  Adding on to the 5.0 from earlier, it added up to 8.1.  We then returned to my house and played with my dog for awhile and took her for a walk.  We also considered riding our bikes to Dairy Queen again, but my parents would not allow it. If i had, my mileage would be super high!  We just went back to her house and relaxed, planning a trip to downtown Chicago Thursday.

Tomorrow, practice is at Raceway Woods- the place my mother does not want me riding too.  Hopefully she forgets and i am able to ride there.  I also have work at 11, so my mileage may even exceed todays if all goes well.  I am tired from a long day! Goodnight.

Total summer mileage: 76.8 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $15.32

Happy Fourth of July! (3.3 miles)

Many of you probably have realized that my life is a but hectic this summer... It has finally shown through on my blog, as i forgot to blog last night! So this morning is my blog for last night:

Independence day is a great day, with swimming and BBQ and games and fun! Oh wait...that is for most people. I worked. 10-4 on July the fourth.  Not only did i work, but i am NOT receiving time and a half for working a holiday...No surprise since i didn't get overtime either.  I of course biked to work...I was supposed to ride with my friends again, but i was running late after a 7 mile run.  I left a few minutes later and eventually caught up. Work was busy and annoying all day. I got into a fight with my friends at work, and they left without my...so i biked home alone.  Without my speedometer working, i biked 3.3 miles.  I think the battery is broken on the receiving  magnet by the wheel, i will check that out.

My family and my friends family had plans to go to fireworks together, but i was so upset about work and the day before him not inviting me to go to fireworks with him, i just left to my girlfriend's house.  I thought we would go somewhere far, so i drove.  But we ended up staying at her house because 3 of her neighbors were putting on spectacular firework shows.  They were battling each other for the better fireworks, it was awesome and we were right next to them.  By far my best fireworks experience.

Total summer mileage: 68.7 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $13.71

Busy Sunday (3.3 miles)

Today i got up and ran 4 miles again in the morning.  Then, i mowed my lawn.  Then, i went to work all day! Work was a little crazy today, people getting ready for fourth of July parties.  I biked to and from work with my friends again, with my speedometer still broken.  The mileage was 3.3 miles as usual.  After work, i hung out with those same friends for about an hour, and then they decided to go hang out with other friends.  I ended up just laying around home this evening then.  Tomorrow is the fourth- i work until four, then i plan on going to see fireworks with my girlfriend.  Also, gas today has gone up in price from last week to $3.89, bringing the new average to $3.99.

Total summer mileage: 65.4 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $3.99 per gallon): $13.05

The Weekend (3.3 miles)

Today was another hot day out, but not much wind today.  I had work for the most part of the day today, i biked to and from work.  Without my speedometer again today, all i have is my mileage of 3.3 miles.  Work was boring and stressful again today, and i had to watch all the people going to swim in their pools while i was working.  I got off at 6. I had plans with a friend, but they ended up not working out.  So i just sat around for the rest of the night.  I am very tired after waking up to run 4 miles in the morning, and biking to and from work.  My summer mileage is getting up there now, i feel like i am saving a lot of money now, it is nice!  I am tired, goodnight.

Total summer mileage: 62.1 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $4.01 per gallon): $12.45

Hot and Windy (3.3 miles)

Today was an extremely hot day and i took it off from running.  I was running late to work, but i still biked there...with 15 mph wind in my face the entire way. It was absolutely brutal.  I still made it just in time though.  We had a big truck at work today- so that is what i did all day basically. After work, i biked home with the wind at my back.  My speedometer is still not functioning, so all i have is the mileage of the usual 3.3 miles.  I am going to try to get my speedometer fixed asap, but i work the next few days so it may be a little bit.  We are almost halfway through the summer, now in July... Time flew by, and it is kind of sad.  It has been a great summer though and will be continue to be great.

Total summer mileage: 58.8 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $4.01 per gallon): $11.79

Dairy Queen (5.1 miles)

Today was an unexpected very nice day.  It was supposed to be chilly and stormy all day, but it hasn't rained since the early morning and was very hot with a bright sun all day.  My girlfriend and i hung out almost all day.  We played outside for a little bit, and then it looked as if it was about to storm, so we went inside for a few hours but it never did..so we went back out and it was so hot! So we swam in my pool and had a splendid time!

Afterward, in the early evening, we went to Dairy Queen on our bikes to get some ice cream.  We decided to take our bikes, which was really nice.  We took a similar route as yesterday and went down that same huge hill, and today i coasted the whole way no brakes hitting a max speed of 32 mph (going back up that hill was not too much fun).  The ice cream was awesome, and the 5.1 mile bike ride was very fun.  We went at an average speed of 8.1 mph, giving us a round trip time of 37:24.  This was the first day of decent mileage in awhile and it will probably be even higher tomorrow with cross country practice far away!

Total summer mileage: 47.2 miles
Money saved on gas (20 mpg at $4.01 per gallon): $9.46