TIME TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THINGS going on in the Fitness at 50 world that haven’t warranted a full post by themselves. So here we go:

Running: Back up to double-digit mile running after three weeks of post-marathon recovery. It’s been a bit frustrating because I expected to recover faster. Coach Marie told me not to worry. “I felt the same after Boston this year,” she said. “We don’t realize how much 26.2 miles takes out of us.” Yesterday I was again struggling up to the 10-mile mark, and then a second wind kicked in for the final three. Boy, did that feel good. I’ll stop worrying now.

Aikido: I committed to test for pre-1st Kyu on July 30. Should I pass, the Rec & Ed club will have three students at the 1st Kyu level, meaning we could be testing for black belt within the next year or two. Our instructor is fired up because Rec & Ed has not yet had one of its students progress all the way from beginner to black belt. “I am really looking forward to 2013 and 2014,” he said, “because I would really like to give that gift [of black belt students] to Sensei.”

And the day after that…

Biking: On the morning of July 31 I begin my “500 at 50” bike trip, the roundtrip from Ann Arbor to our campground and back – the goal that started this whole thing about four years ago. What started as one big event to mark turning 50 evolved into everything I’m doing this year. It’s amazing what happens if you just start doing stuff, isn’t it.

I also have some feedback and such from my blog reading last month. I did read well over 50 blogs, but I found surprisingly few that I felt I wanted to keep reading or meaningfully comment on. Details to follow.