April 30, 2009

15 Miles this week at Fitness Pointe, trying to crank up my speed today and I did finish in under 40 minutes (but just barely).

April 29, 2009

5 Miles Ellipting at Fitness Point at 5AM (Might be a day of 5s :)!

Crazy week that I hope ends on the upside. Big negotiating day today.
I decided to stay in St. Louis and skip the Marine Corp Half in Fredricksburg...will hopefully run the 10K with the Marines for the marathon. I really enjoy running with them.

April 28, 2009

Back at Fitness Pointe for 5 miles on the elliptical this morning. Quads were quietly shouting that this was not fun, but after about 3 miles they settled down and got in the groove. I've pretty much dedided to skip the MCM 1/2 In Fredricksburg and extend my visit to St. Louis to celebrate Law School graduation for Kates.

Big thanks to everyone who checked in on Sunday to see how I survived NYC.

Thought the weather would be warmer here in the Midwest so I came without a coat -- it was pretty darn chilly at 45 degrees waiting outside for the 5AM open of FP.

April 26, 2009 2:49

Race Day Morning
Up at 4AM, relaxed and now have everything together for the day. Its a beautiful morning (sunny) and sure to be stinking hot as I say out on the course. Anxious to see how bad Harlem Hill is (and we have to do it 2x!) More when its over.

2:49 (The actual clock said 2:55)...under 3 Hours! I believe I shaved an hour off my time from last June which is pretty remarkable. The ice bath is preparing right now and then a shower and quick trip back to DC.

Ended up being a "fun run" with no timing, and they cancelled the full marathon due to the heat. It was pretty brutal, but a very nice course with 2 killer hills (in Harlem). More after some nourishment.

Great trip to NYC and back in DC by 5PM. I wasn't able to ice bath anything more than my feet, which might have been a bad decision (I'll know more tomorrow). I really enjoyed the day - especially as I was ready to stop at mile 7, glad I pushed through. I have to find a way to have energy past mile 1o -- the majority of the final 3 miles was power walking (and jogging down hill). The website reports there were 7700 of us out there!

April 25, 2009

Race Day Eve :)

8AM Shuttle to NYC, where the Hilton had my room ready for me at 10AM :) Headed down to the Fitness Expo on the subway and made several pretty cool running purchases. Pretty sure my suitcase will be packed going home. It was packed! 10,000 runners and I am #6309.

Quick lunch at Applebees and then up to TKTS where I snagged an orchestra row seat to Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater. I remember wanting to go see this show when I lived in NYC eons ago. It was excellent.

From there up to Tavern on the Green for the pasta dinner. It was a gorgeous night in the crystal room (all chandeliers) and I met up with Deanna who is running her 2nd 1/2 just like me. She's from NYC but we partnered up for dinner. We were joined at the table by women from NC, Texas, and Sarasota Florida! (We talked about Siesta Key!) Rocco DiSpirito (sp?) the NYC Chef was our guest speaker and he was good, and very sociable with the group.

#1 Train from Lincoln Center back down to Times Square, picked up some water and a granola bar for tommorow morning. I think I'm in for the evening, but it might be too soon to tell.

April 24, 2009

Big Red Women's Softball keeps winning, even after claiming their division title two weeks ago. Lets hope they beat Princeton at home and Dartmouth and Harvard end up so that the division title is in Ithaca. Go Coach Blood and the ladies!

On a hurried trip home from the airport last night I was lucky enough to meet Officer Woodward of the Fairfax County police who cited me for Disregard of a Highway Sign ($92). A little bit of George McCabe was with me in that the red octagon didn't say "Positively!" Second ticket in 35+ years of driving isn't too bad.

Weather looks warm for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday in NYC. I decided to fly up and back since USAirways had weekend flights that made it economical. I've spent an hour or so making up a new playlist of old music for the journey since this race allows earphones. I've procured the gummi bears and will take my camera to see if I can capture some pictures equivalent to my San Diego experience. I'll spend all day in NYC tomorrrow enjoying the day and getting psyched.

April 23, 2009 (Take our Daughters to Work)

Watching Squak Box today on CNBC and one of the commentators had their daughter in to do a segment on "Green." Reminded me of the day, and made me think of the few times in my life I went to the Pentagon to see my Dad at work. I remember most the large offices and all the wood paneling and very much remember that women were secretary's at their desks and the men had the offices. Things certainly have changed. Hate to admit the project I have right now I wouldn't want to bring a young lady to....

Shortened my workout to 4.5 miles this morning as I had a 6AM CDT Conference Call so I had to rush through (but am glad I didn't give it up completely.) Really starting to focus my head around getting set for 13.1 miles on Sunday morning at 8AM EDT.

April 22, 2009 (Earth Day)

Earth Day!

Big Shout out of thanks to Debbie who provided support to the Susan Komen Foundation in support of the 5K I will run in early June with the GGN Ladies and others. Debbie and I participated in the TNT San Diego Marathon where she walked the full 26.2 miles and is now a mentor for the program. It was nice to hear from her, and get support of the fight. Right now, both Pat (from Maine) and Debbie are running in spirit with me in Pink!

Back in Indiana and yesterday and today I ellipted 5 miles at Fitness Pointe in the morning with a treadmill cool down. I received my email for the More 1/2 Marathon on Sunday and so far it looks like the weather in Central Park will cooperate (high of 70). Start time is 8AM and I have a reservation on the 2PM Vamoose bus back to DC, a quick turn around.

April 19, 2009

Go Rachel! While I was out doing my 9.4 miles around Burke Lake Park (2x) Rachel was competing in a 1/2 marathon in the Bay Area for Girls on the Run. She had lamented that it was a trail run and how that made it more difficult, so I picked my virtual run with her on the 4.7 mile trail around Burke Lake. I seem to be able to be pretty consistent in the 12 to 13 minutes per mile which should bode well for next Sunday in NYC (if its not too hilly).

Yesterday was errands extraordinare that ended with a haircut from *ell. I have yet to find someone that I really like to cut my hair so I continue to try new places. Anyone would have laughed at how he styled it when I left, I don't even think the cashier knew what to say/do. The good news is that the cut isn't half bad, so after I shampooed and styled again myself, I won't be embarrassed to head to the office on Monday.

Early mass this morning at St. Leo the Great and father was spot on with a good homily which I really appreciated. Getting ready now to pop 2 Aleve's and eat some lunch.

April 16, 2009

Spring is trying to make its way to Indiana -- while we still have frost on the windshield in the AM, the temps at the end of the day are creeping into the 60s! Would be nice to have better weather here to offset the "internal" weather at work :)

Five miles at Fitness Pointe this AM on the elliptical...not spending enough wall clock time working out which may not bear well for the 1/2 in less than 2 weeks. I'm in a "I will finish" mode, versus a time mode right now. I looked at the course in Central Park and am surprised how much the elevation changes throughout the course -- looks like there are a couple killer hills too.

Big Day in Sarasota today -- I'm hopeful for positive feedback.

April 15, 2009

Back in Indiana, and a 5 mile workout at Fitness Pointe this morning. It seemed a bit grueling as I was going at 8MPH, and my pace for the past couple of days has been slower down on the Key. I was able to book 6 miles yesterday on the beach before the rain hit Florida. Yesterday was a big day in terms of family decisions and I'm hopeful the rest of the week will go smoothly. Back in Indiana means back to work, so I've got a lot to do to catch up on 5 days away.

This is the prep week for two folks I know who have a 1/2 marathon coming up this weekend and my thoughts are with them in the taper week. As for me, I've booked my bus fare -- trying the vamoose bus up to NYC for $25 in two weeks. Lets hope it works out. This is my frugal 1/2 marathon.

Activities also continue up at Camp George - the dock posts went in yesterday - an early milestone for us and I heard there was kayaking around the ice on the cove!

April 12, 2009 (Easter Sunday)

5AM the beach band for the sunrise Easter Service began tuning their instruments. Lucky for me due to my proximity to the front of the house, I was up early. I left about 6AM and did the 6.2 miles walking today (a rest day). It was quite a scene watching people with flashlights walk down the beach to the public beach for the service -- I was absolutely going against the tide :) It was muggy but a good workout.

Great dinner last night cooked by Chef Rober..grilled shrimp appetizers followed by surf and turf (filets & scallops) accompanied with potatoes, beans and bread. Apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dinner. A good time was had by all.

Lets hope for another good day today here in Florida!

April 11, 2009 (Holy Saturday)

Set out with the moon on the Gulf of Mexico at 6AM this morning for my 9 miles...I should have done 12 but I just wasn't up for it. I may do another 3 later today on the Key with Robbie. The humidity was a killer today, and I almost went straight into the pool from the end of the run, but decided with all the senior eyes and the official rules, that might be a bad idea, so I skipped it.

Also decided to skip the $25 admission to the 5K on the beach and will send the registration to Emmanues Shelter in Ellsworth -- someone up there needs it more than I needed a number to go 3.2 miles this morning.

Rob and I journeyed north to Tampa last night to the Hard Rock Seminole Casino for a little bit of blackjack. Table stakes at $25 and $50 made for a quick night. I'm still glad we went and got to see it but it was a bit too steep for my taste.

April 10, 2009

Siesta Key (personal 5K) of walking this morning...just didn't have it in me to jog and walk, so I put on my "Wait Wait Don't Tell me" podcast and had a great time catching up on an old show while I watched the sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico.

Robbie (nephew) arrived at noon time and we went to the Salty Dog (which was a bummer on a meatless Friday), but I survived with the veggie burger. He's already stationed out by the pool getting rays, while I'm inside trying to finish up some work for the weekend.

Not sure where I'll do the 10/11 miles this weekend -- I'm thinking right now, I'll just do two roundtrips on the beach tomorrow (with the 5K that is being officiated) which would be about 12 Miles and call it at that. No need for transporattion and the views are great. Maybe nephew will come along for part of it to keep me company.

Found another TNT'r today through this blog. The TNT Team sure is far and wide. Now I know someone else doing a 1/2 on the same weekend when I am in NYC.

April 8, 2009

Today I made a good choice to exercise, even though I didn't have an hour to invest, so I clocked through 4 miles in about 32 minutes on the elliptical and hit the showers (early meetings at a client site a distance away).

Thought alot about "naked weight" or the weight we all state when someone asks us what we weigh, as I got on the scale by 0.2 I was in a new decade of counting pounds. Lets hope it holds through the weekend in Sarasota.

"Smart People have something to say, stupid people have to say something" A quote I heard by one of the fitness point members while waiting to get in at 5:00AM this morning.

April 7, 2009

I rationalized 2 days of rest since the C10M, and was at Fitness Pointe this morning at 5AM CDT. The bad thing was that I didn't bring my headphones so I was without any entertainment for my workout - so I set myself on an "express workout" on the elliptical -- 40 minutes and went 5 miles at 8MPH on average. It was a killer, but I was done with the workout and cooldown in less than an hour which was nice. Its still pretty chilly here in Indiana - no real sign of spring (they actually had snow on Sunday!)

Last night was a bit of a comedy of errors - I was in a hurry (tired/hungry) when I arrived at the hotel, so I pulled my suitcase out of the back of the rented SUV. Unfortunately I had forgotten that I had unzipped the bag, so ALL of my stuff came flying out of the suitcase and into puddles in the parking lot. A couple of expletives later, I threw it all back in the bag and was very happy that my suit was still in the dry cleaner bag so it didn't get wet. Gives me a small message to slow down a bit so I don't do that again.

Tip of the Cap to Coach Blood and the Big Red Women's Softball Team at Cornell - good results against Yale and Dartmouth this weekend.

Quick week here in Indiana as I head down to Florida tomorrow night.

April 5, 2009

A rest day for me after the C10M (as the bumper sticker says I got yesterday). Still a couple aches and pains in the old bod, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be back at Lifetime Fitness early before I catch the flight to Chicago.

I received three wishes today as I attended 7AM Palm Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna,VA. I'll drive pretty far away to avoid mass in Latin (at my church on the 1st Sunday of the month's 7:30AM Mass).

I got caught off guard this morning as my clock "sprung ahead" automatically thinking this was the weekend for DST, so when I jumped out of bed at 6AM it was really only 5AM. I was already chugging along before I figured it out :) Maybe I'll remember it next year and won't get caught.

Surprise visit to Sarasota at the end of the week to catch up with Mom and Dad. I hope my wishes for a good week are at least listened too... :)

April 4, 2009

I arrived in Charlottesville last night and had a wonderful time reconnecting with Wynne and Vicky who were my hosts for the evening. We went to a delicious Italian restaurant where I got some carbs, but really enjoyed the conversation the most.

Up this morning early for a 7:45AM Start to the Charlottesville 10 Miler. It was an excellent race. I completed the course in 2:05 which was a PR for me (and just about where I wanted to be). The thoughts of 3.1 more miles to complete the 1/2 at the pace I kept right now seems a bit of a challenge, but pretty sure I could walk 3 more miles to finish. Target for the 1/2 is now to finish between 2:40 and 3:00.

I called today a virtual relay race, as I finished my 10 miler, my friend Rachel was most probably departing from somewhere in the Bay Area on her long run in prep for April 19th 1/2 she will run. It was sorta neat to think she picked up where I left off.

After the race a quick stop back with Wynne and Vicki and then Bodo's to get some of the best bagels I've ever had. The warm turkey sandwich on a plain bagel was a real treat for the 10 mile distance -- I really enjoyed it. Planning on having a chicken caesar salad from Bodo's tonight for dinner to complete the day.

Great bright red shirt and medal were provided as recognition of the day.

April 1, 2009 (Happy Birthday Michael)

Who knows what today will bring...I hope mixed among the tricks of the day are some good results on the project as we are pushing through to finish something this week.

I reconnected today with 2 good friends from Charlottesville that we befriended while watching UVA Women's Hoops about 17 years ago. They have graciously volunteered to host me for an overnight in advance of the Charlottesville 10 Miler on Saturday morning. Should be fun to reconnect and catch up and then do the 10 miles which looks pretty hilly from the website. Good prep for the 1/2 -- should help me set my time for the 1/2 at the end of the month.

6 Miles this morning at Fitness Pointe in Munster Indiana -- wish I could do the 1/2 marathon on the elliptical machine and eliminate the impact of running on pavement!