Christmas Card

Here is the Christmas Card I sent out this year of my kids. Luke just turned 3 years of age on Dec 2 2007. Reagan is 1 year old going on 2 on February 9.

Saturday Run

After and intense running schedule to train for two marathons in less than a month, the Baltimore and Harrisburg marathons. I decided to taper down so i could study for my classes in the fall. Today i am back, putting the mileage in so i am good shape for the biking season. Today I ran a 7mile run with a mix of trails and paved road. Pretty muddy conditions on some parts as you can see from the picture. I felt realy good. so good that around midnight i decided to go out running again and ran another 6 miles to the full moon light.

Sorry Saddle

It is beautiful Saturday of October 15. Sunny and windy with a high of 74 degrees today. I started my bike ride at about 10 am and it was a little cool so i decided to put on long sleeve flees jersey underneath my regular jersey. It is green as you can see from the photo. It is a jersey i purchased from Performance bikes. It is there brand of cycling clothes. I think i have had it for about 8 years and it is still in great condition and keep me warm while still allowing my body to breath. I wend out for about a 40 mile bike ride, 39 to be exact. And I really enjoyed it. This time of year I do not ride quite as hard as I do during the summer and that allows to look around a little more and enjoy the scenery. It was also nice because it was a nice break from the past 7 days of cloudy rainy weather we had. For a ride of that distance I usually take 2 water bottles and a Cliff bar. I tend to need a little extra fuel when going that distance and usually need to consume it at about the 30 mile mark. I use both Powerbar and Cliff bar, but lately I have been liking the Cliff bar a little more. It taste better and is easier to open while riding and it doesn't stick to the wrapper. As for the title of this blog "Sorry Saddle" you can see from the photo that my seat has a lot of wear. I even had to put electrical tape around the nose of my saddle. This keeped the seat from chafing my inner thigh. I think i may be able to get another 1000 miles out of it, but it is looking pretty sorry. You also notice a picture of my tires and the reason I posted them is becasue i wanted to tell you how great a tire they are. They were about 30 bucks a tire and www.bicycltiresdirect.com..see the link to your right. they are a high mileage/touring/racing tire to put it best. I have raced with them and trained with them in the same season. They are very cut resistant and I have about 2000 miles into them now and i don't need to replace them yet. GREAT TIRE and I highly recommend them. The picture of the left side of my handle bars is of the directions I taped then helped guide me to the beach. Ocean City NJ that is, a 150 plus mile all in one day bike ride i go on about every year. I will post on that and my experiences some other time. Until then take care and keep biking.

Rainy Jog with my Son

Luke and I went for a jog on this rainy afternoon of October13th. He seems to enjoy them no matter what the weather is like. I just tucked a blanket around his body then i covered him with a the yellow rain coat to keep him dry. The hood on the baby jogger is also water resistant. The baby jogger, as always, performed well. It is a must have if you are active in running or walking. My legs felt really good today as they always do in the rain. I enjoyed it even more with my son.

Night Run with iPod shuffle

Tonight I went for a short run. I ran for only 25 minutes. When I run late in the evening I try to keep them short so that I still get a good nights sleep. When I run at night I run the .6 mile loop that cirles my neighborhood. To break the monotony of the run I bring along my iPod shuffle. It is Apple computers smallest and least expensive mp3 player. It is the best for running or and activity. I use the lanyard and just tuck it under my shirt while i am running. It is so lite that I forget it is on me and it doesn't hinder my running form at all. With itunes and its huge selection of Podcasts to choose from i just drag and drop music and podcasts in seconds off my computer onto my iPod shuffle and i am out the door for my run. I highly recommend the shuffle for runners. Check them out at: http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle

My New Logo

Here is the rough draft of my new logo. I may decide to refine it later.

Hung out to dry

It was a cold rainy Saturday afternoon with a tempature of about 60 degrees. I decided to take a 6 mile run. I love running in the rain. There is a certain peacefull solitude about running in the rain. And the weather conditions make it a lot more interesting and fun. I guess that sounds kinda crazy. I have been running just as means of cross training along with my biking. I have also been using the same running shoes for about a year and half now. They are Nike Shox. I love them. The cushioning and support never seems to wear out. I used my Pearl Izumi wind breaker for the run to block the rain and keep my body heat regulated. I just used the jacket only, nothing underneath, and i was surprised how great it worked and felt. I ran with Underarmor sock which are great because the do not absorb water. Anyway it was just one of those day that i felt so good and really enjoyed the workout.

Half Ironman Petersborough Canada

The picture you see to your left was the start of the 56 mile bike leg of the Half Ironman Duathlon I entered in Petersborough Canada. The race was a 1.2 mile run followed by a 56 mile bicycle ride then you end it with a 13 mile run. My strongest tallent is the bike for sure. My time was 2:41:48 with and average speed of 20.7 mph. I was very pleased with that. Then there was the half marathon. Not pretty at all i ended up with a time of 2:26:47. I rode so well on the bike that I did not conserve enough energy to maintain good speed in the run. I suffered a little every mile. My legs felt very heavy toward the end. I have never really been a great runner. I carry a little more muscle than I should to be a more effecient runner. Although I suffered very much I loved it at the same time. It is a race I will never forget. My final time was 5:24:38.