Birthday Race

So yesterday was my 37th birthday and also the date for the big Blacksburg Classic. The race is a local running tradition, 23rd edition I think. They have a 5K and a 10mile. I did the 10 mile and took more than 3 minutes off my time from last year and won my age group. I was top ten overall and finished in 1:04:21 to average 6:26/mile. I was happy with that. 

The coolest part of the race is that is goes by our house, twice. So Amalia and Lisa get to hang out and watch and then walk over to the finish which is only ~1/2 mile away. Amalia had her lunch while Lisa took pictures. When the race came by Amalia got very excited and rang her bell to encourage the runners. She seemed kind of annoyed when I ran by and kept going. I think she wanted to get in her stroller and race! At the finish, coach Amalia seemed happy with my performance.

Think you are a safe driver?

Try this test. This is why so many cyclists get hit by cars and the drivers claim they never saw them. The drivers are looking for other cars, not cyclists. LOOK for cyclists!

Amalia likes clothes

So Amalia is becoming a clothes enthusiast. Whenever she gets something new she immediately drops everything and tries it on. This goes for shoes, pants, shirts, socks, whatever. Today she got a t-shirt that her Uncle David brought her fron Ecuador. I opened the package, she grabbed the shirt and immediately put it on. Here she is modeling the latest in leaf-cutter ant wear!

Running with dogs

So Lisa and I have had a Saturday morning ritual for the last few months. Lisa takes Franklin and Norton for a walk with Amalia and I take Romeo and Cohiba on a run. This plan works out pretty well because Franklin and Norton are good walkers and Amalia likes to ride in her stroller and watch them. Romeo and Cohiba like to run and we go up to 12 miles. End result is that all the dogs get some exercise and are, at least a bit, tired. The problem is that Romeo and Cohiba are horrible walking/running dogs. They just bolt and pull as hard as they can for a mile or so until the edge wears off. This pulling has done a number on a toe on my left foot (see pics). So my dogs are beat up

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Amalia's new favorite evening activity

First of all, we are much better today. Lisa and I took turns running to the bathroom last night. We had high fevers and gastro-intestinal distress. Not fun but it appears to have passed.

So Amalia has a new favorite act

ivity every evening. The VT ROTC band, the Highty Tighties, practice on our street and Amalia loves to go and watch. Today we sat there for around 45 minutes. She can't get enough. I think she likes the trombones the best. Here are some pics of Amalia, Lisa's crocuses, and the band.

Sick!

It had to happen eventually this winter, Lisa and I got sick. We both woke up this morning with what is probably the stomach flu. Not fun, we both have fevers and feel horrible. Luckily, Amalia is fine so far. She won't give us much of a break but at least she's not sick. Hopefully one of us will get better before she gets sick.

Running

So I am not a runner but I have been running a lot recently. It started when Amalia was a few weeks old. I found that Amalia was happy to walk around the neighborhood and by her being outside, Lisa could sleep. I got tired of walking and started running. Amalia seemed to like it so I just kept going. Eventually I did the Blacksburg Classic 10 mile race during February'07 and averages 6:46 miles. Then I did the Draper Mile in August'07 in 4:56. I was happy but needed a new challenge. I was thinking of doing a marathon but the thought of running 26 miles on asphalt wasn't too appealing. So I decided to try and do an ultra-marathon. I trained pretty hard (lots of 35-40 mile weeks) and did the Holiday Lake 50K++. The pluses are because its actually longer than 31 miles, it ended up being 33.5 miles, almost all off-road, and with 2000' of climbing. It took 5:25. A long day and it hurt bad. I ended up 80th out of 257 starters and 234 finishers.

I'm still not sure I actually like running. That said, I have come to the conclusion that its the most basic form of sport. Long before modern sport and civilization, man had to run to get his dinner and escape predators. So selection favored those who could run fast and long distances. 

Steve Prefontaine once said something to the effect that he ran races, not to see who was the fastest, but to see who had the most guts. I guess I run to see how tough I am.

This is funny as hell but all too true (has bad language). I think it applies to Americans!

my new blog

Welcome to my new blog. In it I hope to post events in my life.