American Odyssey (AOR) - Chapter 3 - Into the Night

It was good to see our Van 2 team mates. This was the first we had seen them since we headed off at the start.

As for our van, we were having a blast. Everyone knew at least one other person before they arrived in person, but we quickly became fast friends. As we drove along, we cheered for all of the runners that we passed, even gave a few a hard time, like the guy that passed Taryn half way up her climb on leg 6.

Now we've got 6 hours to kill.

From the end of leg 6, we headed out to the town of Rouzerville, PA, where we were told that the townspeople were very excited we were coming. They had a little reception set up in the Lowe's/Wal Mart parking lot. When we arrived, we went through their little set up and the off to the Subway at Wal Mart for lunch.

While we were in Rouzerville, the local paper was crawling all over the place. They interviewed a bunch of us and Natalie and I even got a mention. Check out the article by clicking here.

We hung out in Rouzerville until the team caught up with us and then we headed down to the next transition point for leg 13 in Smithsburg, MD. On the way, we continued to shout out to the runners. There were three legs starting or ending in Smithsburg, so it was a welcome transition point where we could hang for an hour or two until we were back on the clock. For the first time, we emptied the van of blankets and chairs and just chilled on the school grounds.

As the afternoon wore on, it would soon be Karen's turn to run. Dusk was approaching, so we got her outfitted in a safety vest and red blinky lights for her run. This run was fairly hilly and she struggled. When she arrived at her transition, she was in obvious pain from a cramp in her butt. Actually, what she screamed was: "I have a mixer in my ass!" Yeah, it's funny now, but it wasn't then. Actually, I must admit it was funny then, but I've got a sick sense of humor.

Karen trying to stretch the mixer out of her butt.

Ann Marie was the first to don a headlight, as we would all do until daybreak. She ran her leg and then I was back up.

This was my first night run ever. Though I thought it would be a cool experience, I'm not sure I'll voluntarily do it again. It's kinda freaky being out there on the strange roads. You hear dogs barking and have no idea if they're chained up or not. Then there are the locals: we're in farming community and the locals are most certainly not expecting to see us. They're also not used to seeing runners on their roads. You could tell when they were forced to stop or slow that they didn't like us one bit. Even the runner's waive didn't help. Okay, screw 'em! Enough on the locals.

My leg included a 1 mile incline at a reported 5%. The damned road seemed to go on forever. My speed had slowed and I was sweating like a pig in the high humidity of the night. As I slowed, the sweat was leaking right into my eyes and I could barely see. Just then, my team van pulls up and I'm able to wash out my eyes and get on with the run. As I reach the summit of the hill, I can see the lights of Boonsboro. Kinda like an oasis. Well, that's what they were calling it anyway. I finished the 4.6 mile leg in about 47 minutes. Not too bad. Now, where's Matt. Oh Matt? Where the hell are you, Matt. Seems ole Matt was delayed in the men's room. Oy! About 5 minutes later, Matt is found and he's off into the night.

The Boonsboro Oasis was a pretty cool setup. 5 legs started and/or ended at Boonsboro, including the next transition to Van 2. The setup was at the Boonsboro school complex, with a high, middle and elementary all sharing the same property. There was a live band, shower facilities and some of the high school clubs were selling hot food and snacks. I got a couple of slices of not-so-hot pizza and then signed up for a massage. Both vans were now here. Van 2 struggled to sleep in the close quarters, but they'd be on the clock before too long to run through the night. It was also pretty loud with the live band playing outside.

It was nice to hang out with some of the Van 2 folks. Nat and I had a quiet couple of moments before she went for her massage. When my turn was up, I took 15 minutes on nothing but my feet. Wow, what a great 15 minutes that was. I didn't even want to walk on them they felt so good. Suddenly the blister that had formed on my right big toe was no longer a factor.

Matt finished his leg, then he ran with Dan on his leg. Taryn then went out for a short 3.3 miler. At last, we were done leg 2. It was pushing 2 am now and we were starting to feel the effects of a very long day. Next stop, Antietam Battlefield for our next transition.

Antietam was the bloodiest one day battle of the civil war with 23,000 soldiers losing their lives. Question was, how would 100 vans full of runners fare in the darkness of the battlefield.

When we arrived, we found some parking but the place was very dark. In front of us were civil war cannons and some kind of building, but we saw no restroom facilities. Apparently, neither did anyone else. I can only imagine what that place looked like in the daylight. Sleep was gonna be tough. Dan decided he'd go sleep on a cannon. Yes, you read that correctly, Dan slept on a cannon. He said that he knew his opportunity to ever sleep on a cannon again might never come. Well, no shit! Taryn went out and found some real estate and sacked out on the battle field somewhere. That left Karen and I in the two front seats, Ann Marie sacked out on the middle bench and Matt out on the back bench. Somehow I think Karen and I got the short end. We figure we each got a good half hour of sleep. The others, maybe an hour or two.

By 5 am, we were all starting to wake. Time to find some coffee. I felt drunk, having not had nearly enough sleep for four nights now. We were all a bit punchy. Getting out of the parking lot with more transitions going on around us was the first order of business. I proceeded slowly, very slowly, so as not to hit anyone or anything.

We drove 10 miles toward Hagerstown and found a beautiful sight -- an Exxon station opened all night with indoor plumbing and hot food and coffee. Perfect! As I'm sitting on the commode, my phone rings -- it's Natalie from Van 2. Katie's running, better get back. Oy, she's ahead of where we thought she'd be. I finish my business, grab some food and head back.

As Katie heads back in, daylight is breaking and we're suddenly back on the clock for the last time, about an hour behind schedule.

L'Chaim!

American Odyssey (AOR) - Chapter 4 - The Last Frontier

We're now 24 hours into the event and it's crunch time. The forecast for Saturday was hot and humid -- expected to be into the mid-80's. Seems like we were getting paid back for the lack of warmth through the early part of spring. Prior to the week before, there was only one day when the locals could run on Saturday without tights. Well, this would change, for sure.

Even during Karen's last leg, we could feel the day warming up as the sun continued to rise over the horizon. Without a doubt the heat would take it's toll on us.

Karen finished her leg and was officially our first cheerleader. No more running for her. Ann Marie followed with a leg that also seemed to defy the elevation chart. As she finished, we moved to the C & O Canal towpath, a flat, crushed gravel, partially shady run. The relay would stay the towpath for most of the remaining legs.

I took the team for my last run for 6.9 miles on the towpath. I had high expectations for myself, given the terrain and the shade. Dressed in my usual Saturday Team In Training duds, I started strong, feeling very good, considering the lack of sleep and miles already run. At the start, there was another runner at about 200 yards and I was slowly closing the gap over the first couple of miles. Then things started to go a bit haywire.

I slowed down a bit and gave back the distance I had made up. At 3.5, I started to feel some pain in my right foot. I slowed again and eventually stopped to take off my shoe. Only thing I could see was that my shoe might have been too tight. I retied it loosely and began a slow jog, but my mind was telling me to walk. I was cursing myself for slacking. 7 miles is not a big run, but my body was arguing back. I walked/ran the rest of the way, intermittently running from one tree to the next to singing 100 bottles of beer on the wall to myself, just to get through the finale. When I finally saw the transition, I was able to kick it into a higher gear, but I was thrilled to be done. On average, this leg was closer to 11 minutes per mile. It certainly felt much slower.

Now around 10 am, you could cut the air with a knife. At each of the next few transitions, there were millions of little gnatty bugs. Almost like mosquito's, but since they weren't biting, I'm sure they weren't. They were just everywhere. You couldn't feel them when you were running, just standing still. Strangely, everyone had their hands straight up in the air. One of the other runners said that this would keep the bugs higher since they go for the highest thing around. I'm sure that there were lots of locals around who got a kick out of this little urban legend. Looked pretty funny to me. And it also didn't work.

Matt handed off to Dan, who handed off to Taryn. In addition to having the monster hills, she was also blessed to have the single longest leg at 8.8 miles. She started running at noon in the heat of the day. Tough leg. She did it though. Amazing.

As we awaited Taryn's arrival, we discussed with Van 2 the need to skip a leg or two. We needed to complete the run no later than 8 pm and, given the temps, now in the 90's, we'd likely be pushing 9 pm. The race official told us that there was only one team behind us at this point. She informed us that everyone must run 3 legs, so runners skipping a leg needed to run a leg with another. Jeff L. gladly gave up his 8.2 miles to run 4.6 with Natalie. Soon after, Cheryl gave up 8.3 to run 6.8 with Juliet.

At least one of us got more sleep than the rest.

Once Jeff and Nat were off, Van 1 headed into DC to shower off our three layers of stink.

The plan was to meet Van 2 at the finish line. Unfortunately, the park was more difficult to find than we expected. It had no address so we were trying to get there by feel in between DC traffic and construction. Juliet called me every minute or two as Jaqualin was due in any moment. We finally arrived at 7 pm and we ran through the finish as a team!

Team Four Score -- We're All Winners!

Once the results were posted, it was official: time wise, we finished dead last. Enthusiasm, no doubt we were first.

I'll be back with one more post -- dinner, brunch and some final thoughts.

L'Chaim!

American Odyssey (AOR) - Chapter 5 - Epilogue

It's entirely possible that I've spent more time writing my little AOR report than I did in the actual running. It's just that there is so very much to say and I promise to wrap it up in this last post.

Once we finished the run, we were off to the hotel for showers and then dinner. We had a fabulous dinner at Lebanese Taverna in DC. It was an amazing meal in an unusual place. We arrived and it was amazing how much better we all felt once showered and in a more relaxed atmosphere. Deb joined us, but Ann Marie couldn't.

After dinner, it was finally off to sleep. Dan and Matt drove back to NJ, Deb and I back home, Juliet and Jaqualin back to Virginia. Sleep never felt so good.

On Sunday, most of the group met at my house for brunch. Deb put on an incredible spread and NO ONE was counting calories! We cleaned up the vans and everyone was off to home, where ever that was.

And that was that.

It's hard to put into words how incredible this weekend was. We had so much fun and we learned a lot about ourselves and each other.

• We had no expectations. The fact that we had to skip a couple of legs was not a big deal. We really had no choice. You'd never consider that with an individual race. You keep going and you're racing yourself. Dan said it best, this was one of the most fun things I've ever done, except for the running. The running part really was secondary. I looked forward to getting back into the van.
• It's all about camaraderie. With a group like ours, were so few people had more than one or two known connections, anything could happen. Here it did -- we had a blast.
• A hot shower cures all ills. No doubt, as the race was coming to an end, we were all suffering from our last legs and the heat was brutal. Tensions were high as Saturday wore on, but everyone was in great spirits by dinner. By Monday, we were all looking to do it again.
• Speed doesn't matter, but. . . we should have had a couple of ringers. If we had two or three seven to eight minute per mile runners, we'd have made the finish line on time with all the legs completed and time to spare.
• We couldn't go it alone. There's no way most of us could do something like this without the support of family and friends. For most of the team, this was a four or five day event. We relied on spouses, parents, in-laws and friends for child support and encouragement. (Not to mention awesome chocolate chip and peanut butter oatmeal cookies provided by Deb.) It would be almost impossible to take the time away without them.
• Finally. . .

Beware of other teams being a bit too competitive! Enough said.

THE END.

L'Chaim!

Press

Meant to add in the press clippings to whet your appetite. Check this out:

From the local paper in Southern PA -- check out the section on the "Eclectic Group" here.

And even The Washington Post mentioned our team name here .

L'Chaim!

What an Adventure

Well, we did it. 12 of us completed the American Odyssey Relay this weekend -- 200 miles from Gettysburg to DC.

So much to tell, just not right now.

I'll be back in a few days with reports and pictures.

For now, I'll just tell you that it was a truly amazing and incredible experience.

L'Chaim!

The Perfect Run

Yes, I proclaimed that I wouldn't be running on Sunday, I just couldn't resist. The weather was damn near perfect for a run -- low 50's, sun high in the sky -- a day just begging for a run, despite Saturday's 10 miles and leftover wet shoes.

Turns out the shoes were still too wet to wear so I pulled out my old pair, dry as a bone of course, put on a long sleeve "t" and shorts, grabbed my ipod and set out for a run. The day was perfect and so was the run.

I wasn't looking for the big hills to my east, just the rollers to the west. As I set out, I settled in to a pace well below 10:00 and just kept going. And going. Often, my brain turns to thinking about how short I can run or I keep checking the Garmin to see how fast I was going. Not this day. I don't think I checked once until 2 miles in. At 4 miles, I had an option of heading home, but kept going. The perfect run continued.

Every glance at Garmie showed a 9 something pace. It was all going too well.

Making the last turn back into my neighborhood, I was ready to come home, but totally enjoying it all. Turning into the driveway, Garmie turned 6 miles on the nose. The time? 58:08. A 9:41 pace.

Now, I've had sub-10 minute miles and I've averaged just under 10 minute miles for long distances, but primarily on a treadmill.

This run blew me away. It was fast (for me.) It was consistent -- every mile was within 10 seconds of the average. And, most importantly, it was fun! Can they all be like that? Well, no, but the fact that any run can be like Sunday's is what's important.

Aside from the enjoyment of the day, I continue to be intrigued by the speed improvements. I truly expected that I'd only see significant improvements with added weight loss and I've been stagnant in that department for a good 4-6 months. What I have changed, however, is the rest of my workout routing, now centered around weights, with twice a week Body Pump and 2-3 times a week boot camp.

Can't wait to get back out there again.

P.S. Happy Birthday, mom!

L'Chaim!

The Forecast -- Weather and Etc.

What a shocker, it's Saturday and it rained today. By last count, we've had exactly one nice Saturday running day for the Team In Training group. By nice, I'm talking about a day that was both dry AND warm enough to wear shorts. As usual, we seem to be able to get one out of two. Shorts today, but a nice steady rain the whole ten miles. Good news is it'll take my running shoes at least two days to dry out, so I think I'm done running for the week.

It wasn't that long ago that I'd avoid weather like today like I'd avoid the plague. Not any more. Now I kinda look forward to the crappy weather. There is something about the weather that I'm really enjoying, hot or cold, wet or dry, like a change in landscape. Mentally, it helps with so many events on the schedule, though honestly, I'm hoping that the price has been paid so the AOR relay weather will be just about perfect! (Certainly don't want to listen to my Arizonan team mates whining if they've got to run in a sub-60 chill.)

Today I got to run with a couple of TnTers that I hadn't run with before. I'm always bummed when I do my long run on my own. Not trying to set any records on the long slow run, just enjoy it, and with some new friends, it's all the better.

This week, with the kids on break, they got to their first ever Orioles Opening Day against the Yankess, no less, AND the O's delivered a win. Thursday's beautiful weather took us back to Camden Yards to see the O's and Yanks duel again and Monday, we'll head to the Nationals Park to see their home opener against the World Champion Phillies. (It will be my 46th Major League park, but who's counting?)

With break coming to an end and spring in full swing (giving advance credit for weather improvement), lots of running events on the horizon. Just two weeks until AOR, Frederick is a week after that and the Maryland Half is at the end of May. Just about then, it's time to start ramping up for Marine Corps. Wondering if I'll ever feel the saddle of my bike.

As for that pesky little job search, finally getting some responses this week. None that are terribly positive, but at least some of the resumes I've filed into the abyss are generating a response. Looking forward to more positive response very soon!

That's about it for now. I'm way behind on reading other blogs (and blogging too), concentrating my computer time instead on the job search. If you're one that I follow, I'm thinkin' about ya, just not reading.

That's it for now. Happy Passover and Easter to all. Thanks for checking in.

L'Chaim!

Next on the Menu: American Odyssey Relay

Less than four weeks until the American Odyssey Relay (AOR) and planning has taken on a fevered pitch.

The relay is a 200 mile run from Gettysburg to Washington, DC. Thankfully, I get 11 friends to run this with. Our team is comprised mostly of blogger friends from Ottawa (yes, Canadians are allowed!), Arizona, New Jersey, Arkansas, North Carolina and, of course, right here in Maryland.
Over the past few months, we've needed to replace seven or eight original members. Logistically, getting everyone from where they live to the start line, and then back, has been a challenge, but if everything works out right (like it always does, right?), we'll all make it to the starting line just in time.

The route is not exactly level. For some reason, they didn't build battlefields like Gettysburg or Antietam into the lowlands. Some of my teammates, being from, shall we say vertically challenged geographies (read: flat), are a bit nervous about the task ahead.

This week's training plan was to try to replicate the feeling of running three times in about a 24 hour period. The challenge for all of us was to get three runs in representing 60-70% of their AOR mileage total. Build in hills, if possible, too.

I think I've only done a multi-run day once, and that was years ago. I started Friday morning with boot camp. Just a mile and a half in the hour, but that goes to the total. At 8:30, after the kids were off to school, I met up with my neighbor Brian and we headed out for a hill run. My street is pretty hilly. The hills are steep, both up and down, but short. After we left my street, the main event is Tollhouse Road -- about 2/3 mile mostly uphill with a short breather in the middle. From there, some moderate hills, but nothing like the first half of the run. Brian is a much stronger runner, normally averaging about 8-9 minute miles. I struggle to keep up with him, but it's good to have him pushing me. Friday, not so much, we kept a 10 minute pace which we both felt good about for 4 1/4 miles.

At 2:30, I headed back out for another loop on my own. This wound up being the best of the three runs, breaking under 10 minutes average.

On Saturday, I planned to do 6 miles on the regular Team In Training course. We woke up to a torrential rain storm and I was having serious treadmill thoughts. Unfortunately, I had made comments to the team that I mentor not to skip a run in the rain. You can't control race day, so don't skip out on a long run. By the time I walked out the door, the rain had stopped. Attendance was understandably sparse. My team was a no-show. (Guess I need to do a better job emphasising my point.) Oh well, all of the mentors showed (and most even ran!) and a few hardy participants were there, too.

In short, this run sucked. I struggled the whole way and spent the first three miles of the out and back thinking about cutting the run short. Once I hit three miles, I was pretty well all-in. Only way back was three more miles by foot. I even walked the last third of a mile or so.

Not sure if it was the third run, the big mileage coming off the half a week before, the weather, or what, but it was mostly misery. Except, of course, that a bad run is better than no run at all.

So, 16 miles for my triple run. Not bad at all. Will do it again next weekend, trying to up the mileage a bit, too.

A good part of the AOR team took the challenge. We'll all be ready to hit the starting line on April 24. Can't hardly wait!

L'Chaim!

Cold and Cupless in the Capital

As you, my frequent visitor well know, I am semi-obsessed about the weather. Particularly as it relates to any outdoor activity. A week out, Dave saw rain in the forecast. By Tuesday it was gone, but in it's place, the temps were getting lower and lower, well down into the thirties by week's end.

Dave and I headed to the expo on Friday. I didn't have much of an expectation as Dave had warned me that last year's expo was no great shakes. This year was equally unimpressive. Maybe 20 booths selling their wares. We did meet Runner's World Chief Running Officer Bart Yasso. (I couldn't resist an autographed copy of his current book, of course.) Then it was back home to continue the carb load.

Friday night was a pasta dinner at home followed by the usual prep and a slight build up in stress that always accompanies race day. All the attire decisions were set and everything was laid out for a quick getaway in the morning.

The run was scheduled for 7 on Saturday. 4:30 came way too soon, but I was up and at 'em to meet Dave and be on site at about 6.

The Pre-Run Happies -- Was It Really 34 Degrees Warm?

After a couple of bathroom breaks and even a late wardrobe change by one of us (hint: not me!), we were off to the start line as the sun finally arrived. Dave took his place in his corral and I went to mine. A few minutes later, Bart Yasso started the race and we were off. Well, some of us were off. Took more than seven minutes to cross the start line.

Finally, I was really off. Unfortunately, the pace was very slow at the start, trying to bob and weave through the crowd, especially for the first half mile or so.

As we turned the first corner, there was the Capital straight ahead. What a view to see a few thousand runners ahead, popping up and down with the US Capital right ahead. As I got moving, I could really feel the cold, dry air burning through my lungs.

The view at the 2 mile marker, Capital behind.

The course was fairly flat for the first six miles or so and I was keeping time at or below 10 minutes each. It was a comfortable pace, but was it too fast? Probably, but I was enjoying the run. At mile six, the lone hill of significance had arrived and it took it's toll. Between the just a bit too fast of a pace and the cold air, I slowed significantly getting up that hill.

Once the hill was past, I couldn't get back to the 10 minute pace. It was time to enjoy what little there was on the course once we left the historic stuff.

At the mile 6 water stop, something was missing: cups. Okay, somebody screwed up. I can get to the next one, no problem. At the next one, more of the same. "We ran out of cups, but feel free to drink from the bottle, just don't lip it." Gee thanks. Is it too much to ask for water and Gatorade IN A FRIGGIN CUP? Apparently so!

Along the way, there were some very nice folks that set up their own little water stop. I think it had nothing to do with the lack of cups, just some folks being neighborly. First table said "G2 Only", next was "Water". Finally, "Beer -- Really!" I took from the first only. Really! The rest of the way was more cupless water stops. You've got to be kidding me? How does this happen? Oh yeah, and there's still 2000 thirsty people behind me!

Along the way, there was a live band at DuPont Circle around mile 7 and a big group of high-fiving Howard U kids -- that was great. I even saw one of the Baltimore Team In Training Mentors on the course. Beth and I talked for a half mile or so and then I turned and had inadvertently dropper her. (Sorry, Beth, hope you had a great finish!)

As for the run, I was holding my own, running all the way, maintaining mostly 11 minute mile paces. At 11 miles, I started talking to myself -- just two to go. I've never made it that far without walking (other than water stops.) Today I was going to do it. I kept talking to myself and it was working.

Finally, the finish was in sight. The marathoners went left and the halfers went right. A decent crowd at the finish and it was done.

Official time: 2:18:04, bettering my Tampa personal best just three weeks ago by 4:43. Running all the way!

Next up, the hour wait for Dave. In the cold. Suddenly, the couple of hours worth of schvitz was now working against me as I hung out. In the mean time, it was great to watch the speedy marathon finishers and the back end of the half. It was great to watch the joy of those running their first marathon cross the finish line. Dave came in at 3:23, a personal best for this event.

Way to go, buddy!

Dave and I, marathon #15 and half #5 in the books!

I feel great about the day, but what I feel best about is that I know I could do better. Now, time to concentrate on the next event -- the American Odyssey Relay. Much more on that to come.

So much for this race report. Thanks for hanging in with me.

L'Chaim!

Kick Ass Wednesday

I'm feeling way way behind on so many fronts. I've deemed today to be Kick Ass Wednesday -- that's what Boot Camp Kenny calls our Wednesday workouts and I'm stealing his theme for my day today. Time to get caught up.

Perspective

A friend spent the past four months or so not feeling right. Mostly some gastrointestinal issues. He started going to the doctor and they couldn't find anything. They scheduled a colonoscopy. Even though he started to feel better, the doc wanted to do the test anyway. The result? Colon cancer.

My friend is 39 years old with a four month old baby at home.

His prognosis is good.

I can't help but to think what he and his family have gone through in the past few weeks. It really puts everything else in life into perspective . . . the job loss, the day-to-day bs that we all deal with, the bs that you're going to read below. Just can't imagine.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him.

Old Friends

A couple of weeks ago I was walking through Trader Joe's and I ran into an old friend. We'll call him Greg. (No, not protecting his anonymity, that's his actual name.) I turned a corner and there he was. Greg and I went to college for a few years together and were good friends after college. In the last few years, we haven't seen each other or spoken, but I've always considered him a friend, even though our paths had diverged a bit.

Anyway, back to the story, "Hi, Greg" I said. I get this stare back. . . "I know you but I don't know who you are," I'm sure he's thinking. He throws out a name -- not mine. "Nope, it's Jeff," I said. Don't think Greg's chin could have dropped any lower.

Through this whole body changing adventure, this is the first reaction I've had like this. In the past year I haven't lost a whole lot, so I'm starting to accept what I look like and forget what I used to look like. This was a great reminder of how things have changed. I don't ever want to forget where I've been.

About the Bike

Okay, let me talk about my love/hate relationship with my bike. I love riding my bike, really I do. Unfortunately, I had no clue how much maintenance might be required. I was up for some maintenance, but I'm a low maintenance kinda guy. (I've thought about paving my lawn to avoid lawn work, to give you an idea what I'm talking about.)


The weather two weekend's ago was absolutely perfect, so I finally got around to truing up my wheels. My neighbor's truing stand had been in my garage for four months. An hour later, it was done. Sunday I went to ride.


Apparently, with the wheel issues, my gears were out of alignment. I was stuck in the middle front chain ring, which gives me nine gears. That's okay, though, I can handle the hills on the easier gears. That is, until I go into the easier gears -- bike is not happy about either the easiest or toughest gears. Oy! I'm down to just 5 or 6 working ears out of 27.


I get through the ride and head over to Kirk's Bike Shop. Never heard of Kirk's? Well, he's my neighbor and between Kirk and George, next door, they've got just about every tool made and have been invaluable in keeping me on the road. In about 5 minutes, Kirk has my gears working -- all 27 of them. Then he spend 10 minutes explaining the 4 hour overhaul I ought to do to clean the bike up. Needless to say, my head was spinning. Nobody told me about all the maintenance required. Guess I'll just have to get a new bike every six months or so.

Half to Go

Just three days until the National Half Marathon. Weather report is darn near perfect -- in the 40's, light winds and DRY! Goal for the day is to break 2:15. Will be tough, but using the Tampa barometer from a few weeks ago, I think it's there for the taking.

Speaking of Tampa -- got confirmation of my time from the race and apparently, I got 27 seconds faster in my sleep. The confirmation was 2:22:48 vs the initial 2:23:15. I knew I was getting faster, but I sure do like getting faster this way!

That's it for now. Next post will be after Saturday's half. It's back to Kick Ass Wednesday.

L'Chaim!

Race Report, With Extra Goodies!

Have we really been home from Florida for four days? Where has the week gone?

Last Tuesday, I headed to the chiropractor to address the calf issue, still not feeling better and a bit concerned with a half marathon scheduled for the trip. The doc got me right in and massaged the spot. Diagnosis was a micro tear in the muscle. Doesn't sound good, but you know already that things worked out. Glad I took the time to visit.

We picked the kids up from school early Tuesday afternoon. Amazingly, we were able to keep the trip a secret to them up to the point when we pulled into the parking lot at the airport. It certainly seemed like we'd spilled the beans on a few occasions, but the boys clearly aren't suspicious enough, though I'm sure that will change over time.

Once they figured out the secret destination, plenty of hoot'n and holler'n ensued.

Our Southwest flight was full but landed early in Tampa. From the airport, we headed out to Clearwater Beach for some fun in the sun.

We spent Wednesday locally at the pool and riding on a pirate ship. And we ate. And ate. And ate some more.

Thursday, I woke early and headed out for my first run since the prior weekend's triathlon. Though my chiropractor suggested waiting as long as possible to run -- Friday evening or Saturday morning -- I really was anxious to get out there and enjoy the weather. Besides, my calf was feeling much better. The run didn't disappoint. I'd say the pain was about 95% gone and I felt pretty good running in the early morning "cool", such as it was.

Once I got back, it was breakfast and on to a day of coasters and games at Busch Gardens Tampa. We could not have picked a better day weather wise. Just perfect. The only thing better were the light crowds at the park. My family has had a longstanding love affair with roller coasters. One of my disappointments as a fat guy was not being able to partake, but I've been making up for lost time, not skipping a ride at any park. My kids seem to have taken to the family love.

Zach was fearless at the park, riding every coaster at least once, and some several times. He even handled my favorite, SheiKra, a coaster that goes up 200 feet, does a straight 90 degree downward turn and the holds you at the apex for 4-5 seconds. Then, free fall. Matty rode most of the coasters as well.

Friday was beach day. We spent the whole day at the beach. Kids were in and out of the water. I sat and read a book. (My mom had lent me The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva months ago. Once I read page one, I couldn't put it down. ) That afternoon, I went for a pain free three mile run.

Saturday was moving day. From Clearwater Beach, we went to Tampa to the run expo, then off to watch the Yankees lose to the Twins (Yeah!)

Throughout the day Saturday, I spent more time worrying about weather than the actual run for the next day. Not just the weather in Tampa either. We had a 3pm flight home scheduled Sunday afternoon and Baltimore weather was calling for 4-7 inches of white stuff to start falling at 2 pm. Might we get stuck for an extra day? I could think of worse places to get stuck, for sure.

Deb had scouted out a Spaghetti Warehouse for Saturday night dinner in Ybor City. She called and asked about reservations. No problem to get in at 5-5:30. She mentioned all the runners carbing up. No clue. Off we went. We arrived at 5:30 to a one hour wait. Are you kidding me? No dice. We wandered Ybor City and found a nice little Italian place. Perfect. Food was great, timing was better. We finished eating about the time we would have been seated at the Warehouse.

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get some sleep for the 4:30 wake up call. As it is, it's tough to get a good night's sleep before an event. Add to it a hotel in a strange town, a blackberry alarm backed up by an iffy hotel alarm clock and there just isn't a good way to sleep well. I started tossing and turning at about 3, never really falling back to sleep. By 5, I was on my way to the lobby. Hot Starbucks waiting, great start!

The forecast was questionable. Upper 60's and 90% humidity at race time. Wind and a good chance of rain. It is what it is. Just go and enjoy.

I was at the starting line 45 minutes early, just wandering, using the port-a-pot and just people watching. Even did some stretching.

The course was pretty flat and based on my recent long runs, I was hoping to maintain a 10 minute pace for as long as possible. If I could hang on, that would be 2:11 or so, but I thought 2:20 would be a great finish. I hooked up with the 4:20 marathon pace group. The full and half ran together for the first 7 miles. If I could hang with them, I'd be in great shape.

At 6, we were off and running. I didn't expect to feel the humidity so quickly. By a mile in, I was a bit behind the pace group, but struggling. I lost the pace group at about 2 1/2 miles. The humidity just didn't let up. Seemed to be getting worse. As we went past 5 miles, the skies started to turn black. At mile 8, black was upon us, but just 5 to go. At this point, the course is a 2 1/2 mile out and back to the finish. It felt like the run was into the teeth of hurricane winds. (According to the almanac, 20 mph sustained winds with 30 mph gusts. Go ahead, you try it!) I'm thinking after the turnaround the tailwind will be great. Yeah, good thought. Just doesn't work quite that way.

For the last 2 miles, the rain picked up a bit, but the end was near. I admit asking myself what the hell I was doing out there. I couldn't wait for it to be over. And soon it was. I blew through the finish in 2:23:15, a personal record by 13 minutes. I didn't see Deb and the boys immediately, but I heard them yell out for me and they were there. It was a great run. I walked the water stops, but ran the rest. Given the conditions, I couldn't be more happy with the finish. Oh, and the medal. . . sweet!

After some well deserved food, we wrapped up the trip and headed to the airport. Nothing exciting here. Flight on time and we arrived in Baltimore just as the first of many flakes were falling.

Thanks for reading this extra long report. Less than three weeks until the next race report!

L'Chaim!

Home Again!

Just a quickie. Got back from Florida this afternoon to a nice 4-7" promised snowfall. We had a blast at Clearwater.

This morning was the Tampa Gasparilla Half Marathon. Weather sucked, high winds, rain for the last 4 miles, humidity of 90%+, but I finished in 2:23:15, a personal record.

Pictures and full story to come!

L'Chaim!

And the Winner Is. . .

Ray Burleson, whoever that is.

After a grueling two day wait for results, ole Ray was crowned winner of the men's triathlon. I finished 35th of 43 finishers. Swim was 41 of 43. No surprise there. Bike was 7th. Gotta be happy with that. Run was 33rd. Congrats to my buddy Bryan, finishing 25th.

In the last couple of days, I've been feeling better and better about the event. I will most definitely be in line for another helping of indoor tri.

My body is not taking quite as well. I'm sore everywhere. Today is worse than yesterday. The alarm went off for boot camp this morning and I could barely move enough to shut the thing up. Everything feels like just normal muscle usage except my right calf. Hoping I didn't pull something there, though it does feel better this afternoon than it did this morning.

Tomorrow, we're off to Tampa. The kids still don't know and I'm totally amazed that we've been able to keep it from them. We'll pick them up from school then directly to the airport for five days of sun, beach, amusements and a Yankees spring training game. Oh yeah, their dad's running a half marathon on Sunday, too.

I've finally downloaded the pictures Deb and my trip to Ocean City last week. Here are a few:

I'm not sure this picture does adequate justice to the temps and the wind. We took this at Rehobeth Beach, DE.

That would be me running on the boards. I swear, I'm really running!

Post run relaxation. Nice, huh. Thanks, Deb!

That's about it from here. Lots to talk about after Tampa, I'm sure.

L'Chaim!

Swimming Sucks. . . The Rest, Not So Much

Saturday started like most Saturday's, meeting at Centennial Park for the weekly Team In Training run. I planned on just four miles with the indoor triathlon on the schedule for later in the day. It was a chilly day, for sure with temps in the low 20's. Another great turnout for the group, especially considering the chill in the air.

After the run I headed home to get prepped for the tri. As I packed my bag, the first thing I realized is how much crap I was taking. Well, not really crap, I guess, all important stuff. My inventory: tri shorts for the swim, a rash guard shirt for the swim (you know, to help me glide through the water, Michael Phelps style,) goggles, pool sandals, cycling shorts, shoes and socks for the cycle, tech t-shirt, running shorts and shoes, a couple of sweat bands. Okay, that's a lot of crap.

Bryan picked me up at 11:30, plenty of time to get there and check out the layout for our 12:40 post time. The format of this event is a 10 minute swim, 10 minute transition, 30 minute stationary bike ride, 5 minute transition, finishing with a 20 minute treadmill run. Terry met us there a bit before the start and served as our official photographer and cheerleader.

As for the swim, well I really wasn't looking forward to it. I wouldn't say I was stressing about it, more just looking forward to it being done. I spent absolutely no time in a pool since last summer and I haven't had a lesson since summer camp. . . in 1979! I probably should have at least done some research, but I went in cold, so the sooner it would be over, the better. I was also concerned that pushing the swim could hurt the bike. Not to mention the impact of the 4 miler in the morning on the day's events.

At precisely 12:40, the head judge blew the whistle and we were off. The first two laps felt pretty good. I wouldn't say fast, but not too slow. Since I was sharing a lane, I could judge how I was doing by the other guy in my lane. We started at opposite ends of the pool and by the second time down, we seemed pretty close. That was pretty short lived. On my third lap, I was feeling my heart rate going up and struggled a bit on that breathing thing. From then on, I felt like I was swimming in quicksand. After an hour, I heard the judge yell out "4 minutes to go." Are you kidding me! Another hour passed and finally, mercifully, I had completed 14 laps and could get out of the pool. Not a second too soon. Two friggin hours to swim 10 minutes. Bryan was in one of the middle lanes and belted out 21 laps. Kicked my ass.

That's me -- not sinking!

After a quick dry off and change, we were on to the spin bikes. Bryan and I had spots in the middle of the group of seven for our wave. The official explained what to do and what not to do and we were off. It was wierd to actually see speeds on a spin bike, since they are not usually outfitted with speedometers or odometers. I quickly got into a 24-25 mph range, which was comfortable, but I didn't know how long I could sustain it. There was virtually no tension on the bike, which is pretty unusual. This was a totally different experience than a spin class where you're in and out of the saddle and tension is pretty important. At 10 minutes, I was just over 4 miles. As a group, we started sharing our progress and I was pretty well ahead of the pack. I was able to keep the pace and with a few minutes to go, pushed it even harder. When the whistle blew, the odometer read 12.58 miles. Seemed like most of the others reported 6-9 miles. Wow, after the ass kicking I felt in the pool, it was good to kick some ass on the bike.

Me, right, Bryan, left, enjoying our ride to nowhere.

5 minute transition. This is quick. Run to the locker room, shorts and shoes off, shorts and shoes on, get to the treadmill. But there's that walking part. OMG, my legs felt like Jell-O! Would I be walking for 20 minutes on the treadmill?

They were waiting for me when I got there. I pushed that transition to the limit. Put the treadmill on 1% incline and go! I was hoping to get in 2 miles. I knew the fast paced bike would hurt here, and it did. Starting out at 5.7 mph, I'd need to get strong to make up lost time in the second mile. Normally I don't have a problem pushing the last mile of a run, but this would be a test. I struggled just to get to 6.0, the pace I'd need to average to get in 2 miles, but I did and really pushed the second mile, checking my heart rate in at 160+. At the end, I was credited with 2.10 miles and was officially whooped.

How about them calves (and ass, too!)

Bryan and I got packed up and headed out to the car. . . slowly. This was the first tri for both of us and it was a great experience. The Tri to Help folks were great, the club was great and we felt like this was a good intro to multi-sport.

Has the bug bit me? Well, no, not yet at least. I really liked the indoor experience. As much as I hated the swim, reading about others talk about the open water swims, getting kicked in the face, etc, just doesn't do anything for me. For this day, though, I truly enjoyed the experience.

L'Chaim!

13 Blissful

Deb and I celebrated our 13th anniversary this week by spending four quiet days in Ocean City, MD. In season, May through September, OC is inundated by a couple hundred thousand beach goers. Mid-winter, it's more like a couple of hundred. Pure bliss!

We hung around our ocean front room watching the crappy weather out our sliding glass door, had some nice meals, watched some movies (The Visitor, W., and half of Swing Vote, if you must know) and mostly enjoyed being together. (Thanks to mom and dad for hanging with the kids.)

I got in a couple of crappy weather runs on the boardwalk -- mid-30's, high winds, rainy. I've concluded that it's far faster to run with the 15 mph wind at my back rather than in my face. (This may seem somewhat silly but since treadmills have no wind factor and I've temporarily suppressed my allergy to cold weather, this was truly a monumental moment.)

Now that we're home, it's time to prepare for tomorrow's indoor triathlon. Oh yeah, that little thing I signed up for with all intentions of getting in at least one swim. Well, no time for that. I'm getting in the water cold. Hope I won't sink! Looking forward to. . . well, finishing! Will give a report on that over the weekend. Have a great one!

L'Chaim!

The Future

Okay, peeps, no more sad guy. (But thank you all for your support and encouragement.) It's Saturday. It's Valentines Day! It's time for a run.

Team in Training group run is at 8 and I'll be there for a chilly 6. After a week of great temps, mother nature remembered that it is mid-February and we're back into the low 30's.

Deb and I are off to the beach for a few days of quiet rest and relaxation this week. Looking forward to just hanging out, running on the board walk, enjoying our anniversary and talking about the future. No laptops, no blackberrys. Will be strange. . . very strange.

Alrighty, then, time to go. Have a great Valentines Day!

L'Chaim!

The End. . .

. . . The Beginning.

When one door closes, another one opens.

After 18 years, 11 months and one day at Clean Harbors, today is my last day. I leave with heavy heart, after all, I was just 25 when I started here. The work was tough but the good times were many. Mostly, it was the friends that I made. I'll miss the people.

I'm a sentimental guy. I've held up pretty well for the past month as I've tied up loose ends, but today is tough.

The future begins tomorrow. . .

L'Chaim!

Hiatus

Not much going on this week in so many ways. It's been 6 days since my 14 miler on Sunday and I have yet to exercise. Hard to believe I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a mile, not a kilometer, not even an inch of athletic activity.

I spent a couple of days at my corporate office wrapping up business. Pretty much two days of letting people take me out for lunch and dinner, including a bang up "moving on" soiree. After 19 years, it comes down to the people. The work is okay, but it's the people I'll miss. Some I've worked with for my whole career there.

Today started out with the Team in Training breakfast. All of the participants in MD brought together for some rah rah at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore. There was plenty of rah rah. Don't know how anyone could have left that event and not start to ask people to give.

Then the day got better. . . had to be pushing 60 degrees. Just fabulous. Perfect for a run or a ride. Just not for me. Having trouble getting my mo jo-ing. Just feeling ambivalent. I'm trying to feel bad about it, but I can't even get self guilt going.

Tomorrow is the first Team in Training group run and I can't wait. Just a four miler, but I really can't wait to get out there. I need to go further, but I feel like I'm starting fresh, even though Tampa is just 3 weeks away.

Oh, and then there's the scale. I'm not even giving details here. Not hard to figure out what a week of no exercise, heavy meals and more than a couple of cocktails will do.

So there it is. . . full disclosure. Effective tomorrow, hiatus over, back on track. 5 days of work 'till "vacation", 21 days till Tampa. Lot's of work to be done. Time to get started.

L'Chaim!

Back on the Team

I couldn't have been more honored and excited to be asked to serve as a Howard County, Maryland Team in Training mentor for the Summer 2009 season.

Saturday was one of the info meetings at the library where new recruits come to check out the program. I was there with the two other local mentors and coaches for the run/walk, bike, tri and hike programs. As a mentor, I'll be helping others meet their fundraising goals. (Don't worry, I won't be asking for any money. . . yet!) Every seat was filled and the sign ups were coming in fast and furious. Can't wait to get my list of mentees. (Is that a word? Well, I'll be darned, it is a word!)

There are some great events on the calendar including the new Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. I'll be running the Frederick Half, the only local running event.

Let the running begin!

L'Chaim!

Bad News, Good News

So the Steelers won the Superbowl. I don't like the Steelers. Since they play in the same division as the Ravens, I just can't like them. I don't hate them -- they're not the Yankees. Just don't like them.

However. . .

Every year I play in one or a couple of block pools. I last won around 1986 -- true -- In 1986, I won 3 of 4 quarters in my dad's company pool. Nothing since. Usually, I'm good for 5's and 2's -- almost impossible numbers. I got a couple of those, BUT. . .there was that promising 7 and 3. The final? Steelers 27, Cardinals 23. WINNER!

So what will I do with my windfall? I'm going to the National Half Marathon! Not quite Disney, but hey, it's another event close to home. Once upon a time, it would be a big fancy fatty expensive dinner. How times have changed. Still, I don't like the Steelers.

L'Chaim!