Wow, I did NOT have 'IT' today.

Got going for a bike ride upon getting home, hitting the road around 5 PM. Figured I would head down to Indian Head, turn down 225 and head back via Bumpy Oak, for what I figured would be a nice 20 mile ride. Of course I now find out that this is actually a bit over 24 miles, making me get home a bit later than I (or more importantly Betsy) anticipated, making for a difficult night. Anyway, I felt like I was riding into a head wind the way down to Indian Head, but upon turning onto 225, I QUICKLY realized I hadn't seen what a headwind was! The wind was quite strong, and with my legs already tired, I quickly realized that I probably should have taken today for rest. Of course with the gorgeous weather, how could I resist!? Anyway, once I finally turned onto Bumpy Oak, things started to pick up, even with the big hill toughening the ride a bit. Overall it was a pretty mediocre ride, but glad I got out for something...

Evening run with Colvin!

Didn't get to get in a track workout at work today, so I rushed home to get in a run with Cole before bedtime. It was great fun, with Cole gabbin' the whole way, but really picking it up and starting to 'cheer' for daddy when I started asking him to! It would go something like 'gagaga-dadaaaaada!!!' then I would say 'keep cheerin' little man, I need your help to get to the top of the hill!' and there he would go, gabbin' more than before! SO MUCH FUN! It got to the point that when I hit the top of the hill Cole was just gigglin' away! Got in a good run, getting in miles in 8:00, 8:09, 8:05, and 7:54 min/mile.

Group lunchtime run in Oxon Hill Farm.

Got a break in the rain long enough to get out for a run with the NRL group. Mike and I got there right before 11 and there was actually a big group ready to go. We took off with six of us, Mike P, the other Mike, Bill, Ronan, Mark and myself, with the first mile being spent chatting with Bill about his 1/2 marathon this past weekend. After a 9:27 min first mile, we got in gear and started picking up the pace, with Mike, Ronan, Mark and myself heading out together for the rest of the 10k loop. We knocked out the second mile in 8:20, then picked up the pace a bit more, getting in mile three, including the hill, in 8:10. It was shortly after this that we kicked it up another notch, finishing the next mile in 7:45 down the hill before kicking it up one final gear for a 7:16 mile. Just after this I fell off the back a bit and I made it my goal to catch back up with them before finishing at NRL. I am quite proud to say that I finishing the final 1.12 miles at a 7:17 min/mile pace, catching the guys just before the guard shack at NRL. Great run, a bit harder than I was anticipating, but with the nice cool weather I couldn't complain!

Saturday morning run with Betsy and Cole!!!

It was a bit cooler this morning so Betsy and I got out for a 6 mile run this morning around 8am. It was a good run overall, didn't feel great, had to stop a couple times to save three turtles from certain death as they crossed the road, for Betsy to drink a couple times, but overall it was still a decent run. I was of course pushing the stroller and was trying out my new Mizuno shoes! They were ok, they probably still need to be broken in a bit more, but they felt good none-the-less. Anyway, finished with miles in 8:25, 8:29, 8:31, 8;26, 8:23 and then finishing with an 8:09 min mile.

Tough run with Mike.

So it was the first real hot day of the year (at least it felt really hot and humid) and it certainly played out in my run. Mike and I got going from the gym at around 12PM and started off feeling pretty crappy. Neither Mike or I was really feeling great for the run and once started it didn't get better. I had to stop to get my bearings on three separate occassions, the final one after I started to get dizzy. Not good times. Overall, the pace was ok, just the run itself sucked. Six miles overall, with miles in 8:34, 7:53, 8:53, 8:07, 8:15 and 8:21 min. Am I just missing sleep? Well Cole is crying, so it doesn't sound like I will be getting any of that tonight.

Who thought so much could happen on the bike trainer?

I forgot my gym bag at home this morning, so after trying to plan to meet up with Betsy to get my bag but failing, I left work to get home early so Betsy and I could go for a quick run. But unfortunately the rain and thunder/lightning kept that from happening, at least not with Cole. So Betsy went out for a short run, while I took Cole into the basement with me and set him up in the pack n' play while I did the Muscle Breakdown Spinervals workout on my bike. Was having a great workout and Cole was enjoying himself so I thought this was going to be a great workout. However, with Betsy in the shower, the dogs started barking like crazy! This of course flustered Cole and it was all downhill, forcing me to grab the little guy, while dripping with sweat to see that one of my former neighbors daughters needed to use our phone. Did I mention she was drunk? How about that her husband (?) and granddaughter were there? How about that the grand daughter had a baby goose that she found on the side of the road? Or that they were all barefoot? How about that she made 20 phone calls and then after not being able to reach her sister asked if I could drive them up the street to her brother in law's. Sure, anything to get back to my workout. Well I drove them down to her brother-in-law's only to find her eating chips and dip on his porch, while her husband and granddaughter sat in my car. Yeah, fun... 10 min later, after telling them that I had to leave, she asked to borrow $20 to pay her brother-in-law for letting them stay there while they waited for her sister... Uhhhh... do you see I am in bike shorts? Ok, sorry, but had to get that down on paper... just too weird...

Anyway, it was too late to get back on the bike at that point as I needed to feed and bathe Cole and then get him to bed, so it was another 30 min before I got to get back downstairs and finish my workout... Anyway, really good workout, leaving me quite tired. Looking forward to finally getting out for a run with Mike P tomorrow at lunch.

Muddy Buddy Photos!!!

Colvin Kisses post race make everything more fun!!!

Post-race photos of Shannon and Steve... they are DEFINITELY bringin' sexy back!!!

Steve and Shannon fighting through the infamous mud pit!!! ON YOUR BELLIES LOSERS!!!

The six of us post race... Shannon, Dana, me, Betsy, Jon and Steve... yes Jon is a stickler for the rules... "Helmets must be on and buckled at ALL times...."

Betsy and I finishing... yeah, I know, we aren't on our bellies, but my dad didn't get a picture of us at that point!

Treadmill Track...

Well the rain got me again and after a really busy day, I had to run to the gym to get my workout in. Betsy actually had to head out to her Mom's in Charlottesville, so she couldn't even join me and I have a long Cole-less night ahead of me. Anyway, had a workout planned for five 800's, planning to drop time on each successive interval. I started out with a 1 mile warmup at about 9 min/mile pace and then hopped off the treadmill to stretch before getting into the meat of the workout. After finishing with stretching, I got back on and started with a 400 jog at 9 min/mile pace, then diving right in. I finished the 800's in 3:25, 3:20, 3:15, 3:10, and finally 3:05 min, before cooling down with 3/4 of a mile at about 9-9:30 min/mile. Overall, felt pretty good and am quite happy with the outcome.

Muddy Buddy!!! Race Report

Well it was quite the weekend! My dad and grandpa had been in town since Wednesday night so they decided to join us for the trip down to Richmond for Muddy Buddy, figuring they would head on back to Georgia following the race. In past years, Betsy and I had always just planned on waking up around 3:30am to get our stuff together and drive on down to Richmond the day of to check in and race, but this year, our Trigator friends, Shannon, Steve, Jon and Dana were all joining us as well. Shannon, upon hearing about the time we were planning on leaving our house, decided that they would just drive down to Richmond and get a hotel the night before so they didn't have to wake up so early. Of course that got us thinking and we realized there was no good reason to stay home either! So it was decided. We got down to Richmond late afternoon, got our packets, checked into the hotel, had a couple beers watching the Kentucky Derby and then went back and hung out for the night.
This morning started bright and early at 5:30am with all of us dragging a bit, but still excited to get going. Of course it is always fun to break in some Muddy Buddy virgins!!! Dana and Jon were in wave 2, so they got started quite early, however, Betsy and I were in 8 and Shannon and Steve were in Wave 9, so we had a while to wait. It had rained really hard for the past three days or so, so despite the rain holding off for the race start, we knew we were in for a MUDDY RACE!!! And did it EVER live up to its name!!! There were tons of slippery areas and I almost lost my footing running a couple times! Anyway, we eventually got started with Betsy biking (she therefore started a min before me), and I was running. Starting off I didn't feel so hot, quickly realizing that I had forgotten to take my allergy medicine. However, I worked through it and I finished the first leg, a 1.32 mile stretch, in 9:54 min (7:30 min/mile), and then completed the first obstacle, a rock climbing wall with a cargo net on the other side! At this point, I picked up the mountain bike, which Betsy left for me after her first leg and I took off for my first biking leg, a 1.48 mile piece with some reasonable hills, finishing in 6:58 min (12.7 mph), passing Betsy along the way. Of course when I passed, Betsy had to give me her best support, yelling (you can bike harder than that! Get your butt in gear!!!)... yup fellas, hands off, she is ALLLLLLL MINE!!! Upon reaching the end of the 2nd leg, I dropped the bike for Betsy and then did the obstacle, this time the balance beam, before hitting the trail for the next running leg for me.
I got going on leg 3 quite well, hitting the biggest hill of the course without having seen Betsy, but about 1/2 up the hill, I heard "GO TEAM CALDWELL" to which I answered "CALDWELL RULES" in my best Billy Madison voice, before Betsy came back again with her more typical cheer saying "Why are you running so SLOW???". I could only smile when two seconds later the guy biking in front of Betsy stopped short, causing Betsy to have to stop and walk her bike up the hill the rest of the way. Life's little ironies make me chuckle!!! Anyway, I finished the 0.91 mile leg 7:21 min after subtracting the time I stopped for a nature call (8:05 min/mile), after which I dropped on all fours and climbed under the military net for obstacle number 3! Having found the bike in short order (it was much easier to find the bikes this year for some reason), I got going for lap 4 on the bike, a fairly hilly 1.29 mile stretch, finishing in 5:20 min (14.5 mph). I saw Betsy fairly quickly after starting, so I knew if I put in a solid effort on the bike and the subsequent run, that I could hopefully get to the mud pit near the finish (which we have to do together) without making her wait too long. So that got me pushing a bit more, hence the faster paced ride! Anyway, got to the next stop and did the final obstacle before the mud pit, climbing the cargo net and sliding down the slide on the other side! SO MUCH FUN!!! Got right up and started running again for the final 1.45 mile, very hilly, stretch. I was keeping great pace when I hit the creek crossing, where we had to wade through knee deep water to the other side, before immediately starting to run, in now wet sneakers up the hill on the other side! Anway, the majority of the leg was like this, up and down hills on the dirt, however, right near the end the course drops you off onto the road. It was around this final stretch that I kept expecting Betsy to swing right by me, but it wasn't to happen. I got to the finish and after waiting a couple mins, saw Betsy come in! With a huge smile on our faces, we dropped to all fours, and crawled the 100 feet through the mud getting thoroughly covered!
Overall we finished in 53:38, good for 11th place in our coed age group! Afterward, we got to watch Shannon and Steve come in (Dana and Jon finished well before us and weren't to be seen again until we got back to the car!). Everyone had a great time, and Dana and Jon actually came in 4th place in their All Male age group! Fantastic! Really love this race and can't WAIT to give it another go next year! Pictures and results to follow early this week!

Afternoon run with the boy!

So the last few days have been a whirlwind, with Monday spent trying to finish a great deal of paperwork (writing abstracts for conferences, finishing reports on my grant and such) before Tuesday, which led me to the start of Congressional Visits Day with the Materials Research Society. This included talks and a working dinner in the city, getting me home well after 11pm, so no running that day. Wednesday on the other hand required me getting up at 5:30 AM to start CVD, spending the day up on Capital Hill, visiting with staffers of Senators and Representatives from Maryland and Oregon asking for continued and sustained support for Basic Science Research. Everything went well, but I didn't get home until almost 7 PM and by that time my dad and grandfather arrived for their long weekend with us! So running or biking was out of the question again. Anyway, Thursday was spent catching up at work, and I got home around 5PM, only to be whisked away for a trip to Costco and then dinner at Red Robin. Therefore, today I made a note to get out for a run and get back on track. I got home following the rain and grabbed Cole and hit the road. Tried to keep the pace down for a good recovery (Muddy Buddy is this weekend) and did a reasonable job, keeping the pace around 8:10 min/mile for the 4 mile run. Despite being fairly consistent in pace, there was a significant drop in how I felt as the sun started coming out and the humidity increased dramatically. By the time I got home I felt pretty crappy and was dying to take a rest. Unfortunately, with the little guy, I am pretty sure I won't get it! Anyway, finished my miles in 8:03, 8:10, 8:09 and 8:18 min/mile.