On a weekend celebrating our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the bulk of my time was spent running and riding. To me, training is one of the ways I choose to define life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So, good thing for me I had some really big workouts.

Saturday featured a big brick — a long bike ride (anything in the 2- 2.5 hour range) followed by a long run (8 to 10 miles) both done in the hills. Sunday was a three-hour bike ride. Both days featured temperatures in the 80s, brilliant blue sky and nary any cloud cover which is great for easy summer living but not as much fun when pounding out a long workout.

I ate my weight in fig newtons and consumed sports drink like it was my job, and while the challenging weekend workouts left me partially exhausted, they also left me smiling because I have the health and the freedom to pursue my passion and share it with some amazing people.

The loopy details from the weekend:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m258iQq0gyU&hl=en_US&fs=1]