Donation Totals

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Afternoon lunchtime run with Mike P.

First run post 1/2 marathon and was still feeling pretty sore, but wanted to get a run in to loosen up if nothing else. Felt pretty good considering and Mike and I kept it easy, putting in a 8:30 min/mile pace for the run.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Woodrow Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon

Great race, great morning. Started off really strong, putting in several 8 min or better miles. Felt good, legs were tight, but that is to be expected one week removed from another 1/2 marathon race! Got to the bridge and had a great pace going, but then got to the National Harbor and the hill to the back was really pretty steep and just enough to sap some energy out of me, until we then hit the path which is alternating between dirt and gravel (both suck to run fast on since your feet slip out from under you). So, pace stayed pretty decent, but had to work really hard to keep it that way, before finally getting to kick it in for the home stretch and was greeted by a cheering Cole, Betsy, Elana and Ronna! Even better, got to hang out in the sand with the Awakening statue afterwards! Now on to the Redskins vs. Texans Game!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Morning run with Cole

Got out for an easy run with Cole this morning, figured on going 4 or 5 miles to loosen up for the race tomorrow. Felt pretty tight to start and had an issue with the front wheel alignment on the jogging stroller being a bit off, but got going into a rhythm and kept a nice easy pace. Had a couple direction changes due to the fact that I couldn't avoid all the dogs, but that was ok, ended up getting me out for a 5 miler, keeping a 8:23 min/mile pace.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Mtn Bike Ride that Almost wasn't

I woke up feeling pretty rough with a really bad side stitch and figured running this morning wasn't in the cards, so I got my stuff together to go mountain biking after work. Of course, as the day progressed it became quite apparent that the weather was turning sour. I had a decision to make, go anyway, or call it off; I decided to go anyway. Good decision, never got more than an easy drizzle, and had my best mountain bike ride ever! Finished just under 11 mph for the course, with my previous best being 10.7 mph. Felt strong the whole way, losing just a bit of what I had the final mile or so...

9/14-Late Run with Mike P.

Ugh... rough run. Felt ok, but never great. Once again this stupid heart rate monitor started jumping all over the place, don't know what is going on with it. Either way, had an ok run, kept a nice easy pace, right around 8:20, finishing in 50:51 before getting back to stretch out in the shower and head back to work. Looking forward to the next 1/2 marathon this weekend.

9/11 - Abebe Bikili 1/2 Marathon.

Planned on putting in an an 8 min/mile effort to start and then after the turn around if I felt up for it push a bit. Felt pretty good initially, starting off running with Mike P, then off on my own and settled into a nice rhythm. Did feel good at the turn around and then put in a bit more effort, however, that effort only kept my time where it was... Apparently pushing was all that kept me on my easy pace. Never quite felt wonderful, but overall a good race considering I didn't get enough training in. Afterwards, enjoyed a great breakfast with Nabil and Carol at Clyde's...

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Biking with Josh in Northern VA!

Well after Josh has made a number of trips out to my place to go for rides, I finally made the trip out to his place for the start. Got going early, around 7 and headed out on Telegraph road west. The first 9 miles or so were pretty rough, roads in moderate shape at best, pretty heavy traffic, but then we hit Gunston Rd and wow was it worth it. Had next to no traffic, smooth roads and beautiful weather. Traded off on pulling and kept up a pretty nice pace, keeping about an 18 mph avg over the full ride, with sections hitting well over 20 mph. Absolutely wonderful ride. Of course, that was the extent of the fun as I got home and had to start painting Cole's new bedroom. UGH... Just a quick note, I started painting the ceiling, got the first coat completed before the textured coating that was on previously started to peel off... UGH... looks like I am in for a long Honey-doo weekend!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Ever race a turkey?

Wow, what a great ride and just in time to beat the rain... I was originally planning to ride with my buddy Josh and his friend up in Arlington, but the latter wasn't up for starting before 10am, which for me would mean I wouldn't get to see Cole until after his nap, yeah, that wasn't going to fly. Further, it was scheduled to be in the 90's and raining in the afternoon, so starting late did not strike me as the smartest move, so I decided to ride on my own. I was really looking forward to testing my legs out in my aero bars and seeing if I could finally break that 20 mph mark that had been eluding me for a while. So, while I was intending to do the 28 mile Mt. Carmel ride and with the extension out 225 to 210, I quickly realized it would be a great day to shorten the ride and see about doing a time trial. So I skipped Turkey Hill, Mitchell, and the beginning of 225 instead heading straight out to 225 from 227, spending as much time in my aerobars as possible while limiting the hills. Wow, good decision, had 15 straight miles avg > 20 mph, one 5 mile section I avg'd 23.1! Felt ok, not really all that great, but the idea of a breaking the 20.0 mark kept me motivated and I successfully finishied with a 20.3 mph avg! What a great ride. To add to the fun, on the final section up Rt 210, there was a Turkey in the median who apparently I spooked a bit, it immediately started running up the median and the race was on! I actually caught the little guy and kept rolling, hearing him give a loud gobble and frustrated by my amazing speed (hehehehe) took off and flew in the other direction. I continued to press the whole way home, setting the lap upon passing our house and then doing a quick cool down loop before heading back home. Good thing I shortened too, it wasn't another 30 min before the rain started to fall (wasn't expected until 1PM!). Plus I got home in time to hang with the little guy!

Monday, August 2, 2010

First morning in San Diego.

Yesterday was a long day. After having a wonderful morning hanging out with my son, wife, nephews and parents at the pool, I returned to get packed and then nothing went right. Between getting caught behind a school group which kept me from getting checked in in time to have my luggage checked (even though I paid for it the night before!), then had to throw away my toiletries so that I could make it through security, to then have my flight delayed due to a mechanical issue, to then having to be rerouted so that I could make it to San Diego that night, to then having a 30 min delay on the runway, to not getting to my hotel until almost 11:30 PM PST, 2:30 my time! It was a day. So I decided to skip the morning session (plenary talks) so I could get some sleep and get a run in. It was an overcast morning, so I had some trouble getting GPS signal at first, had some delays with lights initially, but once I got going it was a great run. Felt really well, despite my back hurting when I walk (not when I run though... wierd). I headed down around Petco Park, Marina Park, got to see the USS Midway (think I will need to eat on the restaurant there later!) and ran up Harbor drive. This is truly a beautiful city! Overall, I finished just over 5.5 miles in 41:16 for a 7:27 min/mile pace!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Morning long run!

Got up early this morning because of the impending heat (Heat index predicted to be over 105!), so we could get out for a long run. I wanted to get in 8 miles, with the plan being that I would start with Betsy and Cole, push off on my own, then meet up half way. However, on the way up, we heard about traffic on the beltway, so Betsy dropped me off at the National Harbor and I started running what we thought was a 2.5 mile run over to the bathrooms and parking lot on the Mt Vernon Trail then continue past until I caught up with Betsy and Cole. Well, it turned out to be almost 4 miles! So, it took forever for me to catch Betsy and the lack of cover really took its toll. I had to stop and get some water and soak my head before getting going again and then went a 1.5 miles more before I found Betsy and Cole. At that point, we walked for a minute and then I started running with the little guy, stopping every 1/2 mile or so to wait for Betsy so Cole could cheer her on! We would let her pass then I would hear Cole "Dada... Catch... Mama!... Ready... Set... Go!!!" So cute! Well despite the heat, lack of cover early, the climb over the bridge, etc... it was a pretty decent run, with me finishing with an 8:05 min/mile pace (the mile I ran with Betsy I had an 8:43 min/mile).

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Morning run

Got out first thing this morning to get a run in. It was already pretty warm and the humidity was in full bore, but got a pretty good run in. Started off trying to determine if I wanted to run 6 easy or 4 tempo and after getting started decided on the latter. Started off with a 7:41 min mile, only to see my second drop to 7:34, then down to 7:19 and finishing with a 7:06 min mile! Overall I finished in 29:49, just about 10 seconds slower than my fastest time on that course, which I recorded back in March! Maybe I am not so far off my best as I thought. Still debating about the triathlon in Luray... We will see.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Morning run to beat the heat...

UGh... wow hot hot... and it was only 6:30am! Never quite felt great, had to stop a couple times and had all sorts of fun with the black flies, but overall not too bad... THAT IS UNTIL I WAS ATTACKED BY A DOG!!! Yup, came up a hill and had a huge white and gray German Shepherd lunge at me to take a bite! Luckily I jumped out of the way, but still spent 10 min fending off the attack before finally the owner came out and got the dog. Well I then got going and finished the run, felt pretty tight the whole way, but still maintained about 7:50 min/mile pace. Need to start picking that up if I want to look to get some PRs in this year. Of course, I need to sign up for some races if I want to do that!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Riding with Cole... Bike Trouble.

I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed and the day did not want to make it any easier for me! Got started in a bad mood and being a bit overtired, so I didn't get going right away, of course this meant we rode in extreme heat (>100 degrees today). Betsy wanted to go swim, so she left and then as I was attempting to put the bike rack on the car, realized that the bolts to hold the arms in place had disappeared! Betsy then came home as I was scrounging through my screw collection looking for a match because the pool wasn't open! Cole and I finally got going using Betsy's car, but as I was getting the bike ready, Cole played in the car, locking the doors so that when I opened the car again the alarm went off! Whats more, I couldn't find the keys! After a hectic moment or two and getting screamed at by an angry neighbor, I finally found the keys and turned the alarm off, finished getting ready and hit the trail. It didn't take long to realize that something wasn't right. Couldn't put my finger on it, but something felt wrong with my bike. So we turned around early at the 10 mile mark and headed back. By about 1/2 way back I could hear a grinding sound from my bottom bracket that got bad enough that by the time I got back to the car my speed had dropped by almost 2 mph, and I had been doing so well! Oh well, luckily I had prescheduled a tune up for my bikes and had to drop them off at bike doctor today anyway, so hopefully they will get fixed soon!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Morning Hill Run with Dexter and Cole!

Met up with Dexter first thing this morning down at the IHRT, but decided to do some hills along a route crossing over the IHRT. It was a surprise to see the hills back that way, with a couple climbs in excess of 10% grade along the way. Felt pretty good, but pushing Cole certainly took a bit more effort. After putting in the hills, did a bit of an out and back on the rail trail before heading back to the parking lot. Overall, had a pretty good pace for most of the run, did have a bit of a slow down in miles 4 and 5, but did salvage a sub 8 min pace for the final 0.9 miles. To add to this, the TOUR De France started TODAY!!! SPOILER.... Lance beat Contador! What a great start! Can't wait to get out for my next ride!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

New Running Partner!

One of the participants from our race last weekend, Dexter, lives in Indian Head and works next to NRL, so through email we made plans for a run this morning out on the Indian Head Rail Trail. Got going early, around 7AM, but there was a bit of a mixup between us so we didn't meet up until around 7:15 or so. Anyway, got going pretty early, starting off at a pretty reasonable pace. However, neither of us felt too hot, so we slowed up pretty heavily, dropping the pace into the 9 min to 10 min range. No worries though, it was a bit rough going, but still got out with a new running partner... Well afterwards I got home and Betsy was still out for her run with Coley, so I ran out a bit over a mile to meet up with them, putting in another 2.3 miles at an 8:37 pace.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

WOW what a day...

started off with me attempting to get to my flight to Notre Dame and having all sorts of confusion and issues, but it was all made worthwhile on my flight from Chicago to South Bend, when who was sitting one row in front of me? JOE F'N MONTANA, THATS WHO!!! So of course I got an autograph for Cole! Well we then landed and after waiting for bags longer than the previous flight took, we got a taxi and checked into the hotel with enough time to spare before heading out for dinner to get a run in. So I took off around campus, circling first Saint Mary's then Saint Joseph's Lakes, before heading back to the center of campus to run the heart path in front of the admissions building on Notre Dame and starting back to the hotel. It was fairly warm, but still better than DC! Anyway, finished 5 miles in just over 38 min for a 7:41 min/mile pace. Hopefully I can get another run in tomorrow to!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Running with Mike P at Bolling.

Much cooler today so it led to a much better run. Mike and I kept a pretty good pace, finishing the 6 1/4 mile run in just at 7:57 min/mile. Not much else to report.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

What a great morning ride!

Got up early this morning in the hopes of getting a bike in before the day got into full gear. Started off feeling a bit tight and rough, putting in 18.1-19.9 mph avgs for the first four 5 mile segments, kept pushing, but just couldn't get out of low gear. However, once I climbed up the hill on Rt 225, I dropped down and started using my aerobars... been awhile! I forgot what a difference that makes! Just look at my avgs as I went along; 18.1, 19.9, 18.6, 19.9, 21.3, 21.4, and 21.7 for the final 2 miles, can YOU tell when I started using them!? Anyway, thank you to Triathlete magazine for putting the idea back in my head for using them, for too long they were just a hood ornament! Anyway, great ride and start to a great day since we went over to Bolling to use the pool shortly thereafter and are getting some kittens this evening to foster!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Running with Mike P at Bolling... Followed by a Dip in the Pool.

Got going after I met up with Betsy and Cole to get them onto the base so they could go swimming while Mike and I went running. We got started and with the heat kept it easier, me hoping that it wouldn't happen to turn out like the last run. Well it didn't, we kept the pace between 8:15 and 8:30 min/mile and cardio-wise felt pretty good. However, today the tummy acted up, repeatedly telling me how much it hated me. Kept releasing a few prisoners (gas) while I was running in hopes it would make my stomach feel better, but it was at the risk of having a complete prison break with each time I opened the gates... Ugh... Anyway, right about mile 5 I had to stop at the restaurant and take care of business before getting started again. It was really hot again and there was a road closure that changed our route (again), but overall it was a reasonable run. What really made it was the dip in the pool afterwards, wow it made it feel so much better!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Biking with the little man!

Got up kind of early... well slept in until 6:45, and after some breakfast and a cup of coffee, got everything in the car and took off to the Indian Head Rail Trail with the little dude. We got going and I quickly noticed that Cole was in direct sun and probably would be the entire trip out (13 miles). Anyway, we ended up having to take a short trip off the trail to the local country store to get some sunscreen for him. But even with the hill, it wasn't too bad of an offcut, especially since it made sure Cole wouldn't get a sunburn. We continued on the rest of the trail and had a great ride, with Cole spending his time saying "go dada goooo dada" and "Yea Dada" when he wasn't playing music on his electronic piano. Stopped a couple times to give him some sports beans and water or for a quick peepee. Had a rough last mile or so, but otherwise had a really great ride.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Morning 'Long' run with Betsy and Cole.

Initially Cole and I were going to go for a bike ride on the Indian Head Rail Trail, but with the weather being fairly cool and a bit less humid than the last few days, we decided to get in a run after all. Betsy, being pregnant and all, needed to keep a slower pace, so I kept the first four miles as a recovery run, although there were a couple times when Cole and I would do an extra out and back and we would need to run to catch up to Betsy, which Cole LOVED! Later we also saw a poor turtle that had been run over, but was still alive. Poor thing must have been suffering terribly. We waited around trying to find a rock so we could put it out of its suffering, but a truck came by and agreed to do it for us. It was a heartwrenching episode. Poor thing. Anyway, we continued on our run and luckily Cole decided he wanted to stay running with dada, so Betsy got a bit of a break while we finished the last 3.25 miles. Overall, 8:30-9:00 min/mile pace with Betsy, but then dropped it down to the 7:50 min/mile range, finishing up at Al's where Cole got to see the goats and chat with Al!

Lunchtime run at Bolling with Mike P and Josh A.

Took off after a meeting over to Bolling to get in a lunchtime 10k run while the weather was still 'cool', at least in comparison to the last few days. Got started and felt ok, not great, but ok and once again construction slightly changed our running path. Not too terrible, but we took it realy easy at the start, only putting in 8:30 min/mile for the four miles before picking up the pace to about 8:05 or so. None of us really felt too fantastic, but still finished strong, with the final quarter mile at an 8:03 min/mile pace. Glad to get in a run period with how things went earlier this week. Am starting to figure out my race schedule... more to come soon.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Crappy, crappy, crappy run...

Too much to drink Sat night, donated blood Mon afternoon, felt feverish and sick to my stomach Tues morning and then when I finally got to run on Wed evening it was a sweaty/humid 90 degree night, doesn't really add up to the best conditions for a run, especially since I haven't been out since last Sat and that was biking. Anyway, led me to have a few walks sprinkled in there and just general lethargy. Ugh... need to get used to this with the summer coming...

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Biking with Cole!

Wow, I forgot what a difference that bike trailer makes in the effort level required! We started off at the Pavilion (where our race will start) and took the Indian Head Rail Trail all the way to the end in White Plains. Great ride and lots of fun. Cole and I sung some songs, stopped a couple times for pee pee breaks, waved hi hi to all the people we passed and just generally had a great time together! Funny, but I forgot to pump up the tires on the bike trailer so it led to some really tough riding until I realized and pumped the tires up! Of course once I did that my avg jumped from 15 mph or so to 17.5 mph! EIther way it was a great ride and we got to stop by one of our sponsors, Up the Creek Rentals right after too! Beautiful site!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Running with the Boy on Mt Vernon

Betsy has been in dire need of a massage for awhile now, and with her now pregnant, she knew that pretty soon she wouldn't be able to lay on her stomach to get one. So we planned to meet at Mt Vernon so Cole and I could go running while Betsy went and got her massage. Had a reasonable run, Cole eating lunch while I ran, but had to stop a couple times to make sure he ate and then stopped to stretch at the half way mark since I was so tight. Did get to enjoy a fun 20 min or so watching the ducks with Cole afterwards though!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Saturday Morning Ride

Saturday Ride with Josh A! After planning a couple times for a weekend ride that fell apart, Josh A and I finally got together for a morning ride. I got started with a flat tire on my front wheel that I had to fix before we got going, but other than that things went pretty well. Headed down and did Mitchell Rd, Rose Hill, Bumpy Oak and then the Indian Head Rail Trail before heading home. Felt really good the whole way, despite a pretty stiff breeze. Great ride.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Lunchtime Run with Mike P at Bolling.

Two days in a row for Bolling, and with the showers closed I believe this is going to become a new trend! So I have officially added it as a favorite route and today was a PR. Overall, we set a good pace in the light rain, finishing in 49:18 for the 6.33 miles, finishing with a 7:47 min/mile pace. Good run, great company and good fun...

Monday, May 10, 2010

Lunchtime run with Mike P at Bolling

Well NRL officially has closed the shower room in the gym, so no more running from NRL until it reopens. Still wanting to get a run in, Mike and I went over to Bolling for our lunchtime run. We did the six mile loop that I have been doing the last few times I went to Bolling and it went pretty well, finishing the 6 1/3 mile loop in 50:43 for a 8 min/mile average. Super windy and fairly chilly, but otherwise great weather for running!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Trying out the new trail!

Last time I went mountain biking over at Rosaryville State Park I found a flier lying on the ground that outlined a connection between Chapman's Landing's Marsh Trail over by Mt Aventine Mansion, the Indian Head Rail Trail and Power Line Rd over by Rt 224. It looked really interesting and it was supposed to be 8 miles, but it wasn't the most ideal trail for running, with lots of trenches missing from the trail due to erosion, tons of gravel and then 1/3 of the course being on paved roads, but it wasn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination either! Throughout the run I came across a turkey, 3 deer and two hawks as well! Had to dip out of the way a number of times to avoid tree limbs, but not too shabby... Overall I ran an 8:20 min/mile pace.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Family Morning Run!


Well as the first installment of Betsy's mother's day present, I was taking Cole for the day while Betsy was going out with friends. But before starting we all went out together for a family run for the first time in months. We took it pretty easy, having to stop a couple times for Betsy to catch her breath (pregnancy takes a bit out of you I hear!), but overall finished keeping the pace in the vicinity of 8:20 or so. At one point I ran out a side street while Betsy took a breather and walked, but for the most part we were together the whole way. After finishing the 4.25 miles together, Cole decided he was done, so I kept on going by myself finishing with a total of 6 miles, speeding up a bit so that I finished with an average of 8:10 min/mile. Afterwards Cole and I took the metro to the Mall and he got to sit in a bunch of military vehicles, from helicopters to humvees and I found out that a picture of me is being used for promotional purposes by NRL! How cool!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Lunchtime run with the Mikes.

Got off to an easy start, and the after Mike #2 turned around after the bridge, we only picked it up slightly, despite it feeling like much faster. It was really hot, much hotter than it seemed or I thought it was supposed to be, which certainly added to the issue. Overall it was a good recovery run, nothing to complain about.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Mountain biking at Rosaryville

Got up early this morning and drove over to Rosaryville to find I had the park to myself! Had a great ride, getting in the extension and having a surge of confidence on a great deal of the technical section too, even setting a new PR for the course. Don't have much to write, but it sure is great to have a park to yourself! After I finished, I explored a bit over by where the Bike Doctor Customer Appreciation ride started too, getting in an extra 2 miles too.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Easy run on the treadmill.

I didn't get out at lunch time today (won't get to tomorrow either) so I planned on running with the doodlebug when I got home from work. Unfortunately, Cole decided tht wasn't in his itinerary for the afternoon and therefore I had to reschedule. The treadmill would have to do! Considering the intense humidity and 80 degree weather outside in comparison to the cool basement, it actually wasn't as bad as I anticipated, plus it forced me to maintain an easy pace for the recovery run, rather than my typical over effort in spite of myself. Overall I finished 4 miles at an 8:18 min/mile pace, keeping a pace of 8:20 most of the way before kicking in at 7:30 for the final quarter mile. Good run. Hopefully I can get back outside tomorrow!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Josh + Bike + Sun + Wind = Ugh...

I went out for a long ride, planning on putting in 46 miles overall, although that plan didn't even last until the start of the ride! I felt pretty rough and I was heading directly into a stiff head wind, so I reworked the route to get rid of some extra mileage, figuring that heading straight south would cut the distance down to about 40. By the time I got to Indian Head I had to take a breather and stretch out before getting going again. At least once I started back up I had a tail or cross wind most of the way! However, it was soooo hot! The bank sign actually read 92 in the sun and there was very little shade on the ride. So rather than feeling pretty good most of the way (I did avg 18.2 mph), instead I felt overheated and really rough. Based on the conditions I decided to cut short again, or at least I attempted to. I actually ran out of fluids with about 10 miles to go, so I had to stop and get a couple bottles of water before getting going again. It was amazing what a difference water made! Either way, I got home really late since the ride still worked out to 40 miles, despite the modifications made. Glad to get out, but man do I need to remember to get out in the morning before it gets too hot!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Lunchtime run with Mike.

Ok, so my thought process was that I had my rough run yesterday so my legs would be loose for a nice easy run today... errrr..... not so much. I felt TERRIBLE! My legs were so tight and I couldn't get into a rythm. So tough that I actually asked Mike to turn around at for a 5 miler to skip the hill. Wow that was a rough run. Guess my body was just telling me to take tomorrow off....

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Morning Ride before Graphene Week

Well today I had a conference up at the University of Maryland and with the weather supposed to turn sour later in the day, I decided to hop out for a quick bike ride before heading up to UMd. Of course I didn't get half way down to Indian Head before the rain started, but at that point I was wet, so why turn around right? So I kept going putting in about 19 miles, which was put down in an easy 18.4 mph. Nice to get a ride in, definitely nice since I don't get the opportunity as often.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

St. Charles Half Marathon! Wow, in a last min decision I signed up for the Inaugural St. Charles 1/2 Marathon (just signed up last Friday!) over in Waldorf, MD! The race director was kind enough to include our fliers in the race packets, and I voluteered yesterday as well. I got up this morning and headed over following two days of Betsy being sick, three nights with a complete lack of sleep and very little training, and stretched out to get ready. I felt pretty rough, but finally got myself together and got going. Started off at about a 7:30 min/mile pace, then settled into a pace just under 8:00 min/mile. IT WAS COLD!!! IT WAS WINDY!!! Miles 4-7 and 9-11 were straight into the wind, making it really cold and really rough going, but my pace never slowed to below an 8:09 min/mile. The course was great, relatively flat with a few deceptively long grades and hills, with a nice detour through a park on a dirt single track which gave a great change of scenery. Turning back onto Piney Church Lane, I could see a runner in front of me that I had been gaining on for a while steadily. In one of my first triathlons ever I didn't give that last ditch effort towards the end, only to find out that the guy that I could have caught was third in my age group, leaving me out of the awards, I always remember that that is what happens when you don't give every ouce you have, so I wasn't going to do that this time. I steadily caught up on him bit by bit over the last two miles, but never quite caught him. A cool side note though, the race actually finished at Home Plate of the Blue Crabs Stadium! However, I did give everything I had left, so I was quite pleased with the result. Overall I finished in 1:44:05 for a 7:57 min/mile pace, coming in 21st place (out of 251) and 2nd in my age group (out of 20)! Not too bad all things considered! I think I might try to work on my half marathon time this season, I have been trying to figure out what to focus on this year and this seems like a good choice. Either that or getting my 5k time down below 20 min. Maybe both!


Friday, April 16, 2010

Quick afternoon run

Got out of my massage and knew getting run in would be tight, so I decided to head over to the Mt Vernon Trail to get the run in. I started off thinking I would go 5 miles, but quickly realized that recovering from the massage was not going to let that happen. So after hurting through 2 miles, I decided to turn around and head back. I still finished with sub 8 min miles, dropping pace each mile, starting at an 8:03 and finishing at a 7:49 min/mile.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Afternoon run with the little guy

I got home from work today and grabbed the little guy and the stroller and set off for an easy 4 miler. Had to take a couple min throughout the run to help Cole figure out how to open his Easter egg, but otherwise had a good solid run! In fact even got the benefit of Cole cheering me on the whole way! GOO DADA GO GO GO GO GOOOOO! So fun! Overall, finished with a 7:42 min/mile pace pushing the stroller, not too bad since I was pushing the little guy!!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

A bit of a bipolar ride!

A bit of a bipolar ride! Well the day for my climb of Mt. Tamalpais came and when I woke up, the weather was actually not too bad! I checked online and it said the rain would be holding off until around 1PM, so despite waking up WAY too early considering how late I got to sleep last night, I got going right away, packing my bag and walking over to the bike shop. I got there a bit before they opened, but after a short wait, I got the bike fitted and I was ready to go. WOW, they rented me a Specialized Roubaix 52cm dream machine! Full carbon fiber, weighs 17 pounds! I felt like I wasn't pushing anything! Responded well, was extremely comfortable and with the compact chain rings and the 11-28 cassette, I was ready to go. The guy at the shop told me that approaching Mt Tam from Shoreline Dr wasn't too safe and suggested an alternative route approaching from the west. Effectively it should have caused me to do the route in reverse. Whatever. I started out skipping Lombard street, deciding hitting a big hill right out of the gates before getting used to the bike was a bad idea, so I took off for the shore and out to the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, since I had officially paid, the rain no longer had to hold off, so I got soaked and with the winds and the 40 degree weather, by the time I hit the bridge I was freezing and it only got worse from the car splash as I crossed the bridge. The only thing that kept me rolling was the fact that I could see the clouds were open and it was sunny on the other side. Once I got across, the weather turned nice, but there was a ton of construction and I got lost, requiring me to take a couple wrong turns, retrace my steps, and then do it all again, before I finally found where I was supposed to go. The road took me through Salsalito, what a gorgeous area, then out Miller Road to the Mill Hill area. This was the start of my ascent, which now without the GPS course loaded due to the rental guys modifications, I was flying a bit blind and it showed... I found my way initially, then way overshot a turn, back tracked, tried to find the turn, couldn't, tried again, then said screw it and used the GPS to at least find out how to continue on. GOD BLESS the Garmin 705, I would have never gotten anywhere without it since the map the rental company gave was a freaking cartoon! So after about 4 additional wrong turns and a few additional miles, I finally got up and onto Panoramic Hwy. The climbing was really nice, but I started to realize that the slow was heading down. So I stopped again, looked at the GPS and realized, SHIT off course AGAIN!!! THAT MAP SUCKED! So I backtracked and took the road it said, which brought me to a fire station and a ton of gravel and dirt covered trails. I asked one of the guys there how to proceed to Mt Tam, and he said that I had to head back down the mountain for about 5 miles, cut a right and then restart the ascent! WTF!?!?!?! In addition, it started to rain once again! I quickly (ok so 'quickly' is arguable), got the hint and punted on the climb. I headed back down via Panoramic to Rt 1 when I came out to a T intersection. I discovered that I could take a left and head out to Tiburon, another area the rental guy recommended. So since his previous recommendations went so swimmingly, why WOULDN'T I listen to him. Did I go out to Tiburon? You betcha! I paid $70 to rent that effin' bike and despite tired legs, bruised pschi, a boiling temper and a grumbling tummy, I was GOING TO GET MY MONEY'S WORTH! It turned out to be a good choice, as the rain stopped, the sun came out and the ride was gorgeous, taking me along the river, giving me a view of Angel Island and throwing in a bit more easy climbing. Seeing the storm clouds a bit later on made me realize that I had clearly pushed my luck enough, so I took off back towards the bridge, which around that time apparently becomes a home for lunatics. I was almost hit multiple times, no not by cars, but by ra-tahds on bikes texting and talking on their cell phones! To the point that the daughter of one family after she almost knocked me off into the road required me to stop and 'politely discuss' the issue with her and her father. I am sure that my tact and debating skills got her to NEVER do that again :-) ! The bridge was also packed with pedestrians who felt it was necessary to walk 5 people wide, effectively taking up the entire walk/bikeway, and I didn't realize it, but "On your left" and "excuse me" apparently mean FU in San Francisco-ease. So I again called upon my tactfulness to ensure that I asked people to move appropriately in the future! I finally got back to the bike shop and famished as I was, decided to just walk back to the hotel take a shower, take in a couple talks (which I was a zombie for), then walk down to Whole Foods to get some stuff for breakfast and dinner tonight. Of course, keeping my lucky streak intact, the paper bag broke on the way back to the hotel, breaking 3 of the beers in my six pack, popping open my bag of Terra chips (I WAS SOOO Looking forward to those) and spilling chips and beer all over the street. To make matters worse, I didn't have another bag, so I had to carry all the beer soaked food and bottles in my arms as I finished the last three blocks to the hotel. I did enjoy the stares in the lobby as the onlookers seemed to believe my new cologne to be quite intriguing! Eu de la HOBO? Of course this sounds like I had a terrible time, which in fact I did not. I had a wonderful ride, it was quite a bit trying at times, but the riding itself was fantastic and now I know how I would go about climbing Mt Tam, so next time I come to the MRS I will be sure to do so! My average speed was terrible due to all the tracking, backtracking, stopping and fretting, but oh well, it was fun and I would do it again. However, the hot shower after the ride to warm me up, quite possibly beat out the ride for my favorite part of the day, although when I finally dip into one of those beers tonight, that may outshine even that!
Just getting started... Golden Gate Bridge, and the Rain in the background!
View of Angel Island from Salsalito
View of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge from Golden Gate
Before heading back near Golden Gate

I think I have a crush on that Bike... Do I have a spare two grand? Sure....

Friday, April 2, 2010

Finally, Mountain Biking!

Alright! The weather was gorgeous, had a stretch of several dry days in a row, how could I resist? I couldn't! So I packed up the mtn bike last night and after work took off for Rosaryville and knocked out a solid loop without any stops setting a new PR for the course! Overall I averaged 10.7 mph, a new record by far! Does appear that I need to get the bike in for a tuneup though! It really is amazing what a stress relief it is to get out on the trails, just takes your mind off everything else and you just focus on taking the turns, hoppin' the logs and making the climbs. Need to get back in the habit! Anyway, got home and played with the Cole-man and taught him to hit a baseball! Have I mentioned how much I love being a daddy?

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Lunchtime run with Mike P, Bill and Steve

Got out for a lunchtime run with the guys, kept it easy finishing with a pace of 8:14, with Bill and Steve turning around at mile 2, while we continued on for the full 10k loop. Felt ok, started laboring a bit towards the end, but overall felt ok. It was an absolutely perfect day, couldn't possibly hope for a nicer day to run.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Recovery and Technique Spinervals Workout

Morning of my proposal review, so I wanted to burn off some excess energy but was still tired from the long run Sat, so I decided on the Recovery and Technique Spinervals effort. Felt ok, good workout, started off the day well. Also planned out my ride for San Fran next week, can't wait!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Long run before volunteering

Betsy was babysitting today, so I got going this afternoon for my long run. Got out for the 7 1/2 mile loop down by Piscataway Park, felt pretty good and maintained about 8 min/mile, although I did have a bit of a, errr... GI issue around mile 4 while climbing the big hill of the route. Got back in time to play with Cole for a few min before heading out to volunteer at a race in NOVA. Beautiful day, great run, no complaints!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Track workout with Mike

Wow... has it been awhile since I was on the track. Decided to do 4x1200 and just deciding to see what pace we fell into. Got going with a jog from the gym to the track followed by a couple laps on the track to warmup. Got going, knocking out the 1200's in 5:07, 5:19 and 5:13, before having to call it a workout after 800 at 3:35. Felt ok, but got side-stiches towards the last effort, hence the shortened last effort. Good to get back on the track again though.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Trainer workout - CTS Climbing

I had a presentation review this afternoon, so knowing I wouldn't get out for a run, I got on the bike for a trainer workout. With the climbing that I want to do in San Fran a few weeks from now, I decided to try out the CTS Climbing workout. Felt pretty good, lots of really heavy gear work at low cadence for long sets (5-10 min). Legs were rough towards the end, but overall, felt really good. Putting in the reservation for the bike rental in San Fran today! Can't wait!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Running in Chicago... dammit... I got lost?

So I had a route planned out, but as is always the case when I go out for a run in a new area, I had to modify on the fly when I realized certain roads weren't really great for running. No big deal, and in fact I had cut off a considerable amount of the planned route when I came up upon a dirt path through that looked like it cut through a pretty big park, so I hopped on that and ran out and turned around in a loop, because it looked like it would have put me around 3.5 miles total, a bit less than I wanted. Seems that might have been a mistake. Got back on the road and ran a bit further, but quickly realized that there wasn't going to be any further sidewalks, so I took the next trail and figured I would just cut back to that original path and then head on over to the hotel. Well, after running all the way up to where the hotel was, I found out that apparently there is a river in the way that I just couldn't get across without taking a swim. Started to get a bit nervous at this point and turned around and ran straight down the path in the hopes that it would eventually dump me back onto a cross road, 1 mile later, it did... only where it dumped me I was then an additional 1.5 miles from the hotel! All in all, I turned what I wanted to be a 5 mile run into 7.5 with multiple stops filled with bewilderment, chatting with a few women walking with their kids or dogs to get directions, even had one ask for my number (she said so she could be sure I made it back safely). Anyway, still was a good run, finishing in well under an hour (57:24) for a 7:39 min/mile pace. Good times!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A gorgeous day for Bumpy Oak Hill!

On the way to work this morning, quickly realized how gorgeous it was going to be. Originally I was going to go for a run at lunch, but I got held over in the NSI and couldn't make it out in time, so I quickly realized if I could get out at a reasonable hour then I could get out for a bike ride! Ironically, my decision to put off some work last night to get home by 5 to hang out with Cole and Betsy, actually set my schedule so that I was done around 4 today, plenty of time to get out for my ride! Anyway, got home and took off for my bike ride. i originally debated about going for the 28 mile Mt Carmel ride (my favorite loop), but quickly realized that I was still getting some of my bike legs back, so I opted to cut it short and go for a 20 miler. IT turned out to be a pretty good decision, especially considering the wind. Overall it was a pretty nice ride, great to get out again. I averaged 19 mph and felt really strong out of the saddle on the climbs. Looking forward to getting my legs completely back!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Evening trainer workout... Suffer-O-Rama.

Wow that was rough, got home after a pretty good day and hopped on the bike while Cole played downstairs with me. I needed a hard workout, so I did Suffer-O-Rama, wow rough work. Felt really strong through the tempo efforts, standup-sitdowns, sprints and then the repeat. Great workout, just what I needed with a day off almost definite tomorrow.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

PR on Accokeek Access.

We are having a weekend of heavy rains, but before heading over to the Labrie's St Patrick's Day Dance party, I was able to sneak out for a 4 miler. Doing the Accokeek Access Loop, I started just seeing how I felt, but knocked down mile 1 at 7:18, then decided to keep it going as long as I could, finishing at 7:03 and 7:05 before finishing at a 6:47 min/mile pace for a total time of 28:29, beating my best time on that route by over a minute! Felt pretty good, had a quick breath at 3.8 miles, but quickly got it going again for the finish. Felt really good and was really happy with effort...

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Early morning run.

Had a meeting at 11am and I knew it would be a late night, so I decided to get in a run this morning before work. So I got started, just thinking I wanted to maintain an steady pace, maybe just under 8 min/mile, but once again at the first mile mark I found I had put in a 7:28 mile, then I made a concious effort to slow up some, but I had to stop briefly to stretch out some, so the effort was lost and I ended up finishing the next miles in 7:20 before finally succeeding in pulling it back some, finishing the next mile in 7:39 min/mile. After another bit, I got chased down by what turned out to be a friendly male pitbull that forced me to stop and try to ward off his many advances, before finally getting free to finish the final mile, which I finished in about 7:19 for an overall time of 29:47 for the 4 miles, just short of PR time, albeit with some stops.

Monday, March 8, 2010

YAY I got to bike outside!

Spring must be coming because I finally got out for a bike ride... yup OUTSIDE for a bike ride! It was somewhere in the 50's. Was a pretty frustrating day, so I gave up around 4 and came home to burn off some irritation. My neck/shoulders have been really sore, so I almost didn't go, but manned up to get it in. Went out only for about 20 since I didn't have all that much sunlight, but still got home in time to get out for a family walk with the pups too! Felt pretty good, wore the legs out more than I anticipated, but managed to average 19.1 mph, not bad for the first time out this spring.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Evening Tempo Run with the little guy!

I am way behind on work and have an MRS Committee meeting all day tomorrow, so after the birthday party of our friends son, I needed to get out for a run. (side note, they had the birthday party at the House of Bounce... HELL YEAH!!! A full room of inflatable slides and bounce rooms! Awesome time! But I digress). Anyway, Cole and I got outside and got started, I felt really out of sync, so as I approached the 1 mile mark I was expecting to see my split well above 8 min/mile, but was happily surprised to see a 7:44! As I felt all out of sorts, I decided to pull it back a bit, well tried, only to find that I put down a 7:29, followed by a 7:19 and a 7:02! Overall I finished in personal record time of 29:33, despite pushing the jogging stroller! Great run!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Muscle Breakdown... brought to you by Spinervals!

Got up early, ok, I woke up early and wasted about 30 min trying to convince myself to actually get up, but then went downstairs and started the Spinervals workout. Felt pretty good, got in a nice workout filled with acceleration sets (4 sec on/off at high gear/cadence), isometric squats, super sprints and 2 min tempo intervals. Betsy came down about 20 min in to do a run, so I did the rest from memory, so I don't know for sure if I did the workout to a T, but at least the sets were correct. Glad to get something in, since I knew today would be busy one.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Morning run with Coley...

I wanted to do a long run with the little guy, planning on 8 miles, so we got started on what I thought would be a new route, but instead I got to the point where I was supposed to cross 210, only to find out that there was no way across! So we stepped back onto a more familiar route, planning on doing both of the two four mile routes that we typically make. Cole was kept entertained by pointing out all the different colored cars and trucks while I kept busy by... well running! Kept it nice and steady, putting in an 8:06 min/mile pace, until about the 4 mile mark when Cole told me he was cold and wanted to go see mama. So we took a side trip and dropped him off at home and then I headed out for the final 4 mile effort. The second four mile effort I decided to push it a bit harder and maintained a strong 7:35 min/mile pace, finishing the four miles in 30:23. Felt pretty good and it was great to finally get out for a nice long run, especially with the tempo effort at the end! Now to go out and see if I can't get some corporate sponsors!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Spinervals Zoot Suit Challenge

This weather is getting old. It was supposed to snow again last night, and while we were spared of that, we were hammered with cold weather and high winds, which all but assured that I would be indoors for training once again. HOW do those who live in the north train in the winter? Is there some secret super enjoyable treadmill/bike trainer game available that they greedily keep to themselves? UGH... Well, it was a good workout, with efforts in both high cadence and high gears, along with some sit down/stand up efforts and some build sprints. Really felt pretty good. Nice way to wake up... ok that last part was bullshit.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Running through the snow and puddles.

Well Mike and I decided to head out to the trail, which Mike said wasn't too bad. However, it wasn't too great either. For the first time in a long time had a couple miles in surplus of 9 min/mile, basically because of the poor footing on the snow and ice. Of course by the end my feet were SOAKED! In fact my sneakers are still soaked wet at 8:00 PM! Either way it was good to get out for a run!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

FINALLY!!!

Gorgeous weather today, well, gorgeous considering the recent string we have been having! Mid 40's a bit breezy, but really sunny. Great day to get outside and run! I know, amazing idea, running outside! Anyway, Cole and I hit the road and went out. I was originally planning on a six mile run, but Cole fell asleep by mile marker 2. Knowing if I let him sleep for the rest of a six miler that there was no way he would take a nap later on, I decided to cut out an out and back portion to get back in a more reasonable time. I kept the pace at or below 8 min/mile the whole way, even pushing the stroller, so felt pretty good. Got home and Cole woke up and decided he wasn't ready to go in, so Betsy and I went for a walk around the 'P' loop with Cole and the pups. Been a nice morning!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Another morning trainer ride.

After a late night following working at NIST and dinner out at a delicious mediterrean restaurant, Cava, on 8th St with Betsy and Cole, forced myself to get up early with Betsy this morning to get in a bike ride after two days off. It was a bit rough getting back on, felt tight and tired, but overall got in a good workout. Started off with the typical 3x30s 53-39 with 30s rest, followed by 5 min of stand up -sit downs in 10s intervals in a 53-14/53-15. I then moved into the long set, a 5min-4-3-2-1 ladder, all in 53 chain ring and dropping the rear cog from 21, 19, 17, 15, 14 with each successive interval. I finally finished off with a repeat of the stand up-sit downs in 15 s intervals for 5 min, this time dropping the rear cog from 13-12 while maintaining the 53 chain ring. Felt strong by the end and now feel tired. Good workout, but I am DEFINITELY looking forward to being able to safely get out on the roads again!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Ugh, more time on the treadmill

Got up before work to hop on the treadmill for a quick 4 miler. Of course it was during that run that I found out that East Capitol St was closed, so traffic was going to be terrible. Thus, my morning was modified to a telecommute morning! Anyway, just wanted to take the run nice anad easy, so I put in a mile at 8:34 min/mile and then the second 3 at 8:00 min/mile. Really didn't feel motivated, so I was happy to finish that!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Dodging snow at Bolling.

Went for a run just after lunch today and decided on going at Bolling so I could get a full 5 miles or so in without having to resort to doing loops (like at NRL). Unlike everywhere in the city, Bolling actually has done a half way decent job of plowing streets and sidewalks, but the path along the water was still under 3 feet of snow. So I modified my typical route, cutting down to 5 miles around the base. Took it easy, keeping the pace to an average of 8:12 min/mile. Felt ok, pace dropped a bit because of avoiding snow and ice on the sidewalk, but overall it was great to be back outside for a run!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Treadmill recovery run

I put Cole down for his nap and went for a quick jog on the treadmill (our street still has ice and no open shoulder, so running outside isn't happening). I was waiting for a call back from someone who is providing assistance with the running race Betsy and I were putting on, so I had my cell at the ready. In the end, he called at the perfect time... right after I finished and stretched out! Anyway, started with a 0.5 mile warmup at 7.0 mph (8:34 min/mile) then jumped to 7.5 mph (8:00 min/mile) and bumped up 0.1 mph every half mile thereafter, finishing at 8.0 mph (7:30 pace) before 0.5 mile cool down. Felt pretty good, nice to get another run in, even if it was just an easy recovery run. Conversation about the race went well, looks like we are going to be a go for it. More details will be forthcoming...

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Combined Run/Bike with Betsy.

Well Betsy and I decided to make use of the treadmill and trainer again this morning, with Betsy getting in a run workout and I did a bike workout. Once again this means that I didn't get to use the Spinervals tapes so I was on my own to determine a workout. As typical, I started off with an easy warmup with a few min in 39-15, then 3x30s at 53-15, with 30s break between back in 39-15. I then hopped into a long high speed spinning set, doing 30 min of 30s high spin, 20s recovery. For the first 10 min, I used 53-23, then switched to 39-15 for 10 min and then the final 10 min I alternated between 53-15 and 39-15. Finally after recovering for 2 min, I did a 3 min set alternating between 53-15 seated and 53-13 standing every 15s. Finally did a 3 min cool down before joining Cole upstairs to do pushups, crunches, leglifts and dips. Good workout again, but looking forward to getting some running and biking in outside again!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

More snow... ugh... treadmill here I come.

Needed to get a run in and despite my best efforts, Mother Nature was just making sure I couldn't delay until the weather cleared. More snow today (another cancelled day of work) led me to get a 5 mile run in on the treadmill. I started off with an easy 0.5 mile warmup at 8:34 min/mile pace, before moving into 4 miles at 8 min/mile. I then finished with another 0.5 mile at 8:34 min/mile again. All of it was done at a 2.0% grade. Did have some trouble with the belt slipping initially, so I learned how to fix that. To entertain myself, I watch footage from WWII island hopping invasions by the US. Really interesting to see the real soldiers in action and the heroic actions they took...

Monday, February 8, 2010

Trainer work... of my own design.

Well Federal workers got the day off due to the "Snowpocolypse" so when Betsy and I got up this morning, she decided to do a treadmill run while I did a bike workout on the trainer. However, because we were doing it together, I wasn't able to watch a video, so it was up to me to decide on a workout to do. Thus, I decided it all on the fly, starting with a easy warmup, then the standard Spinervals 3x30s 53-15 sprint warmup, before moving into one legged drills. For the latter I switched legs every min, doing 3 mins on each leg, pushing a 53-23 gear. Following that and the subsequent rest, I pushed into a 5 min set alternating between seated pushing a 53-14 and standing in 53-13 every 15 sec, then taking another rest. I then hopped into the main set, a ladder workout, starting with 5 min in 53-23, 4 min in 53-21, 3 min in 53-19, 2 min in 53-17 and then finally 1 min in 53-15, with a 1 min rest between sets. After the next rest, I finished up with a 3x30s build sprint; pushing in 53-15, and building effort every 10s for the full 30s effort before taking a 30s rest between. Finally took a nice 3 min cool down before stretching and situps and pushups... this day off from work stuff isn't so bad!!!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Biking in the blizzard... you guessed it! Trainer workout!

Well that kicked my ass. I popped in the Big Gear Strength Video, 50 mins of standing, 53-12 gear ratio work, one-legged drills, and high gear tempos. Pain and more pain, then you hop off your bike for lunges, then hop back up and do it again. I toughed it out though, finished all the efforts and feel that great leg exhaustion that comes after a great hard workout. This one will pay off when I am attempting those climbs later this year!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Run on the new treadmill

Betsy found a person who wanted to trade a treadmill for our elliptical machine, so after the switcheroo on Monday, I decided to give it a whirl tonight. I put out an easy 4 mile run at a 7:30 min/mile pace. Felt pretty good and like the new addition, pretty comfortable, simple display, only wish it had a speed work button, but hey, who'se complainin'!?

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2010 Donation Request Letter

Hey Everyone!

I hope 2010 is treating you all well. As it is a new year, that means another yearly effort for Caldwell Cause! Last year we raised over $3500 together for Mary Payton's Miracle! Thank you so much for your support. For the first time since I started doing this, I have decided to continue working for the same charity this year. The story of Mary Payton and her family and the struggles and triumphs they are going through has really touched me and I am dedicated to doing whatever I can to get MP and other children afflicted with Batten's disease a chance at the experimental gene replacement therapy she needs. This therapy is currently in the clinical trial stage under the principle investigators at Cornell University, however, based on MP's age, she does not qualify as she is beyond the target window. However, Cornell is willing to provide the treatment for her and several other children in a parallel study! This is wonderful news! The catch is that the treatment for all of these kids is approximately $2.5 million dollars. Thus, raising funds for the down payment for this treatment is desperately needed so they can get underway in an effort to save the lives of these kids. Of course all funds donated are fully tax deductible.

As in past years, if you are willing to support me in this endeavor, just respond to this email. There are many ways to help out.

1) You can make a flat donation

2) You can make a pledge donation, where you pledge so many dollars per mile. As last year, I anticipate putting in a combined 5000 miles this year. As always, feel free to put a cap or max donation amount.

3) You can make If you would like to get involved, you can join me by challenging me to see who can complete more miles (or some prorated comparison) for the year, the 'loser' donating a higher portion of a predetermined donation level.

4) Or if their story has touched you like it has me, and/or you are even more dedicated, join me in this endeavor and help me raise money directly! I can provide assistance in getting you in getting setup. It is super easy to get going and you will know that we are working together for such a great cause and doubling our efforts, all while we are working to stay in great shape together!

5) Betsy and I are trying to put together a running race to raise additional funds this Fall. Not sure if all the logistics will come together yet, but if so and you are local and would like to volunteer a Sunday morning to help, let me know!

6) Tell as many people as you can about the fight that the Vigil family, along with many others, are currently fighting. The more people who know, the better the chance that Mary Payton's Miracle will happen!

I have attached a letter from Mary Payton's father that does a much better job of describing the current situation and needs. If you are interested in supporting Caldwell Cause this year any of the methods listed above, or some other way I haven't thought of yet, just reply and let me know how you want to help out! As always, these yearly efforts have been such a success because of the support of all of you, my family and friends. Hopefully we can have another successful year together!

Best Wishes for a Wonderful 2010!

Josh

More Snow, Another Busy Workday... Must Mean More Time on the Trainer!

Thats right, another trainer workout. Since my legs are were really stiff and I am still exhausted from the 2 hours of sleep I got Sunday night, I decided to just do the recovery and technique workout. This again focuses on one leg drills and high cadence work. Enough to get the heart rate going for 45 min or so, but not enough to beat you into submission. Overall a good workout, especially since I had so little motivation when I got home. On another note, my baby boy went pee pee on the potty FOUR times today! Who would of thought that that would be the highlight of my day? I am so proud of that little guy!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snow, Snow, Why Can't I Ride in the Snow?

Well even if I don't understand why, I still can't so I had to do a trainer workout during Cole's nap. I chose Time Trial 10.0 and did it ever kick my ass. Super spins, ladder time trial efforts (>100 cadence at 5 different gear ratios for 5,4,3,2,1 and then again for 3,2,1), throw in a few one-legged drills and this was the hardest workout of the new year. Really exhausted by the end! Felt pretty good and really feel like I got a good workout in. Great effort, but need to remember to take it easy tomorrow. Of course with 5-6 inches of snow, that shouldn't be too difficult!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Quick run between experiments

Had an hour to wait for an experiment to finish, so I decided to hop over to the gym for a quick run around base in the interim. Felt pretty good, but had to do two laps around to get in >4 miles and also had an issue with the GPS not recording for the first 0.45 miles. However, finished with a pace of about 7:49 min/mile overall, this despite the insane winds along the waterfront.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Treadmill Track Workout.

I forgot my running pants today, so I decided to try to do the track workout at the gym on the treadmill instead. I guess I overestimated my abilities, because I started off trying to do a 6 min/mile and had to quit after 2x800s. Teach me to shoot for the stars eh? Crap workout for a crap day.

Monday, January 25, 2010

First trainer workout of the new year.

Wow... hard to imagine, but this is actually my first trainer workout this year! Lack of motivation is a bad thing. Anyway, in an effort to punish myself for being so lazy with the bike, I decided to do the hardest workout I have, Suffer-O-Rama. Of course the pessimist in me would now say that this will ensure that I won't do another trainer workout for a long while, but we won't listen to him. I actually felt really good, lots of sprint work, a couple TT efforts and a decent amount of time out of the saddle. Legs are toast now, but it is good being tired. I finally broke down and ordered a new heart rate monitor so hopefully I can start getting that data again soon.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Family 'long' run.

Yesterday there was a model train convention up at the Dulles Expo center and with Cole in LOVE with trains right now, we decided to take him up to see it. Unfortunately, this meant that despite it being sunny and in the 50's, we didn't get to go for a run. However, we had a great time, got to hang out with the Labries and Adairs and then went to the silent auction our church put on. So overall it was really nice. Because we missed our run yesterday and the rain today was for the most part holding off, we got out for a 6 miler around 10 with the little guy. The weather held and we kept the pace around 8 min/mile, finishing in 48:19 overall. Felt pretty good and I wore my toe socks today and they worked really well, so my fears that they were causing blisters appears to be unfounded. Good run overall.

Friday, January 22, 2010

5K Time Trial BABEEE!

I missed running yesterday because I was in the clean room all day, so rather than take the risk that another full day of experiments would keep me from getting exercise in, I decided to go to the gym before work and do a treadmill 5K time trial. I started off with a 1 mile warmup in 8:30 or so and then hit the restroom, stretched and set the speed to 9.0 mph and ran a 5K, picking it up to 9.1 a couple times, finishing with a time of 20:36, my fastest 5K ever! Felt pretty decent, a bit drained at the end, but I did just set a 5K PR by almost an entire minute!!! Started off what turned out to be a pretty darn good day!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Run at Bolling.

Had a pretty crappy day and needed to get out for a run. Hopped over to the base after work and got going, felt ok, not great, but ok. Got the 6 2/3 miles in in 52:30. It was pretty insane how much goose poop was on the trail.... UGH... Tired and not much more to write.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Hangover and running… NOT FUN.

So we had a bar day for my buddy Nabil yesterday as his last free day preparenthood. After much drinking, some petron and lots of football, Betsy drove me home. This of course led to a really terrible nights sleep and a twisted stomach. I now remember why I don't go out drinking anymore. Anyway, we went for a short 4 mile run this morning, not worry about the pace at all. Pushing Cole added an extra level of difficulty and I did have to stop to take off my long sleeve jersey at one point and then my running pants at another. However, I definitely feel much better now that I went and got shower in, so all in all it was still a good idea.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Hilly weekend run.

Got out for a 'long' run, only 7 miles, but with the hills felt like a bit more! Got out on a new course, this one out Farmington Rd, which drops down a steep hill. I did two out and backs on side roads, seeing some nice scenery and heading out to the Potomac. Of course when you run down a steep hill, you have to climb back out, and this of course was no exception, with three separate hills with grades of 13, 12 and 16%, ugh... Anyway, I averaged just under 8 min/mile for the 7 miles and felt relatively good. Unfortunately, with Betsy's back hurting her, she couldn't get out for a run today, despite the nice weather.

Family Run... Finally decent weather!

Well the cold spell finally broke. With temps stretching up to the 50's and me taking an early afternoon after a long week, Betsy and I decided to take Cole on a short 4 mile recovery run. Felt a bit rough, tightness in my back and legs, and shoulder soreness, but overall it wasn't too bad. Betsy appears to have hurt her back somehow though... We kept the pace to about 8:10 min/mile, getting progressively quicker in miles 3 and 4. Not the greatest run ever, but it was wonderful to get out for a run with my baby boy again!!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Frigid run with Mike...

Well I did it, I finally forced myself to get out for a run in this crappy weather. It was about 20 degrees today with pretty strong winds, but we got out for the 10k loop. Felt ok throughout, put in the run at a 8:07 min/mile pace. The heat in the locker room wasn't working though, so we got back to a freezing change... at least we have hot water. But how could I expect anything more, this is the same gym with a 6 lane lap pool filled with water that we aren't allowed to swim in...

Friday, January 1, 2010

Birthday Run with Betsy!

So we made a deal with Greg and Heather that they would watch Cole for us and we would watch their three girls so we could each go for a nice afternoon run. It was really nice with Betsy and I getting out for about 5 miles, keeping a really nice 7:51 min/mile pace despite neither of us having gotten a good nights sleep since before we left. Apparently sleeping in the same room with Cole is not conducive to a sound nights sleep. Oh well. It was a decent run to end the year. For the year I got in over a 1000 miles running and biking, alot of hiking, broke 4 hours in a marathon (3:46 in Atlanta), set a PR and won my age group in an olympic triathlon and raised a good bit of money for MaryPaytonsMiracle with help from all my sponsors! I am looking forward to raising money for them again next year, hopefully doing better than this year! Hope 2009 was a good year for all and 2010 is even better! Best wishes!

2010 Efforts!

This year, like last year, I will be riding for Mary Payton's Miracle - My friend Steve Kogos from Trigators informed me that his friend Joe's daughter, Mary Payton, was diagnosed a number of years back with Late Infantile Batten Disease. This is a disease with no cure, however, there are special experimental (and extremely expensive) treatments which have shown some significant signs of success! In order to assist with the costly treatments and research, Mary Payton's Miracle was created to raise money to find a cure, hopefully in time to save little Mary Payton as well as the many others affected by this terrible disease!

Total Mileage

Current Challenges

Valid 2/1-12/1/2009