Beaten by a girl

(Not that there’s anything wrong with that)

It’s insanely beautiful up here. Worst part about summer at the Southern New England shore? Work. Tell me that it’s OK to spend a minimum of 40 hours inside when blue skies the color turquoise, filled with puffy white skies beckon. Tell me that, and I’ll call you a liar.

Work’s busy but great. My clients are happy, my projects are making progress (slowly), and I’ve currently only got a couple of developing personnel crises. Luckily, I’ve just had my 1 year anniversary, so I’m no longer a “provisional” employee. If I can spend some quality time with the requisition system tomorrow, I’ll go into the holiday feeling pretty good about life.

I applied for the backpacking permit for a Connecticut State Park for part of the weekend – the boys and I are going to go see if they’re ready to spend the night in the woods. Actually, scratch that – we’re GOING to go spend the night in the woods, far enough from the car that we can’t bail out at midnight and go home, and see if we get any sleep. My money’s 50/50 that the youngest pretty seriously freaks out. The oldest was asking to take his own tent – I put the kaibosh on that, ’cause (a) it’s one less potential freak out to deal with; and (b) I don’t want to carry it. The campsite is less than a mile from the car, so I don’t think anyone will get too tired.

I got home from the Y tonight, and Missy said “Wow, you look terrible. Swimming must really kill you.”

The problem, my friends, started after I’d done a 250m breast set and a 250m freestyle set. A woman started swimming in the lane immediately next to me, despite an empty entire rest of the pool. Long, languid, lazy strokes of freestyle – next to no splashing when the arms went in; really, really smooth rotary breathing every third stroke.

I started another set at one of her turns, and did 250m free pretty much keeping pace with her. She was turning again just as I finished the fifth lap. I rested a lap, and then started another 250m free, this time trying the fancy breathing on BOTH sides. Didn’t drown quite so much as usual. Almost, but not quite.

She’s still going. Splish, splish, splish, breathe, splish, splish, splish…

So, I do one last 250m free, trying to be relaxed and easy, breathing to the left every fourth stroke – she’s still there.

I thought about doing a final set of 5 laps, but decided that the honorable thing was to admit defeat and move on. I think she closed the place down.

Good on her.

Terramuggus Tri kicks off 14 June. I’m going to try to be there. For the record, it’s going to flat out kill me.

Easy as Fishin’

Nothing physical on Wednesday. Had to get into the office early to support a couple of meetings, and then get home early to support Missy’s book club.

IN support of the book club, the boys and I made ourselves scarce. Quick stop at the KFC, and then on to a little pond to go fishing. Good times.

There were rocks upon which to climb, ducks to look at, and a brand-new SpiderMan fishing pole for the youngest. Getting the SpiderMan fishing pole involved a stop at walmart, where the kid then insisted upon hanging from my arm and swinging around like Peter Parker just out of pull-ups.

Jake had the task of digging worms. Our yard is crazy with them, and last year he did an admirable job in getting them out. So, no question existed in my mind when I got home, and he handed me a plastic box with some dirt in it that it was crazy full of nightcrawlers.

7-year olds need backup. The neighbor-girl, who’s going to be a nightmare for her folks when she hits about 13, dumped out the worms ’cause she didn’t want Jake to hurt them. Jake added a couple of tiny, tiny, tiny worms when she wasn’t looking, and a centipede, and that was what we went fishing with.

Or, more accurately, dumped off the dock before we pulled out the jigs.

No fish, but the boys and I had a great time watching the shadows grow long and envelop the world. We left just as the tireds started to sink in with the youngest, and he started complaining about being cold, and asking for a flashlight. Good times.

Planes, Training, and Automobiles

Spent the last couple of days out of town. Good, good trip – man, I love my job.

Monday afternoon was a run on the BWI trail. It didn’t start out as such – I had 60 minutes to clear my inbox, run, and make it to dinner, so I was just intending to head out and back on the road. But, about 10 minutes in, I spotted the trail, did some rough guestimation, and turned the out’n’back to a loop.

Good choice – I’d forgotten exactly how cool the view from the hill overlooking the civil aviation runway was. Man, I love the spring.

Last night I managed to squeeze in a swim after getting home and seeing the kids. Bleh. 750 meters and I was wiped. Could have been any one of a number of reasons – I think I may be coming down with something; or I was dehydrated from traveling, whatver.

Good sore

I slacked on Saturday, after the wonder that was the Bluff Point race. Man, I really get jazzed when I run there, and to have it be a race, and to run it with two absolutely wonderful women! F’n a.

Missy and I woke up to the traditional Saturday morning pounce by the boys. I’ve learned to hear Jake coming down the stairs, so I’m usually opening my eyes about the time our door opens and 50 pounds of 7 year old comes flying through the air. Not really awake, but my eyes are opening.

Yesterday – wow, I really could have slept another hour. Missy kind of summed it up when she said “Y’know, I feel like I’m waking up after a party back in college, ‘cept without the headache.” But, workday at the church started at 0800 sharp (what kind of idi…. wait, wait, doing the Lord’s work…). I put in an electrical outlet and a phone jack, and then rebuilt our WordPress installation. Yep, I’m a plumber for the 21st century. Only smashed my thumb once with the pliers while stripping wire, and I managed to turn my “Oh, F…” into “Our Father…”

This afternoon? Family swim and a quick run back to the house.

Nate destructed Saturday morning at swimming lessons. Didn’t want anything to do with the pool AT ALL. Not quite the wailing and rolling on the floor, but close. I finally coaxed him to the edge of the pool, and his instructor grabbed him and pulled him in before he knew what was going on. After a minute or so, he was fine. This afternoon, though, I managed to get Nate swimming with just the “bubble”, or floaty thing on a web belt. He didn’t even need to hold on to the floaty-dumbell thing. Small triumphs.

The run back through town – the best part, I think, is that I did it. I’ve still been getting discomfort in my ankle, but, since I moved to running more on my toes, I think it’s getting better, and is now just soreness. Six months of heel striking really screwed things up, I think.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure – Cow Hill beat me today, Warren. Just couldn’t quite make it up and over without walking for a couple of minutes.

So, to borrow a phrase, it’s a beautiful life. Go congratulate Mark on a smokin’ performance at the Red Moose marathon up there in Canadia.

Bluff Point Twilight Trail Race 2007

Maybe the sun will shine today – Wilco, Sky Blue Sky

Then again, maybe it won’t. Not that it needs to when running one of the best races of the year!

The Bluff Point Twilight Trail Run was tonight, and, as usual, it was the highlight of both my social life and the second best date on my annual race calendar. It’d be in the running for first, but New Haven is two beautiful Labor Days in a row, and The BPTTR is only batting .333 for nice weather.

So, proving that we’ve gotten old and boring, my lovely wife, Melissa, and I sprung for a babysitter tonight so we could go run together. And truthfully, I loved it.

April Anne made the trip down to the shore with the promise of USCGA cadets on the course, despite the mid-40’s temperature, grey clouds, and promise of more rain. The rain was made especially stinging thanks to 10 days or so of perfect weather preceding it.

There didn’t seem to be nearly as many people there tonight as there were in 2005 or even 2006, but the crowd that was there was ready to run.

Best part about rainy trail runs? It’s about a mile into the run, when there’s finally a puddle that you just can’t scoot around, and the freedom that you get once your foot completely gets soaked. Before there’s water over the top of the shoe, there’s the myth that you might be able to keep your toes dry. But once they’re wet, it just doesn’t matter any more, and somehow that makes the squishiness between the toes feel fine.

About two thirds of a mile down the trail, I said “Hey, I thought running was supposed to warm us up?” April Anne, before she kicked in the afterburners said “Wow, you’re reading my mind”. It was chilly. Warren said yesterday “As long as it’s warmer than about 40 degrees, it’s great.” Yeah. Right. Canadians…

As I’ve been a slacker, and Melissa’s new to running on trails, we took it easy over much of the course. And y’know what? I loved it. Granted, I love races where I let it all hang out and blow up about 3/4 of the way to the finish line, and cross the line on willpower alone.

But tonight was different. The woods were wet, and fresh, and chilly, and absolutely stunning, and I was running with my absolute favorite person in the world, no other distractions. It doesn’t get better than that.

We finished in a bit over an hour. (A bit being about 10 minutes). April Anne was waiting for us. She and Missy chatted for a while while I stuffed my face with steamy chowder and donuts. They sipped water.

Heh, so I guess I did get a tasty meal out of the date in addition to the run.

Here’s hoping for sun in 2008. Get your registration in early!

Oh, and the new album is all that and a bag of chips. I may have to dust off the podcasting tools and give y’all a taste.

Stroke, Stroke, Kick, Kick, Breathe, Repeat

The BLUFF POINT TWILIGHT TRAIL race is this evening (as in today, Friday), so I didn’t feel too bad about blowing off running yesterday. It was kind of a crappy day, and I just wasn’t feeling motivated to do much of anything, much less run.

But, after getting home, having a light supper, and mowing the yard, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to at least go get wet, so I headed over to the Y, and hopped in the pool.

Wish I could say that there was something transcendent about swimming last night, but there wasn’t. It was good, don’t misunderestimate, but in all it was just a swim. Though after two nights in the pool in a row, I’m greatly appreciating exactly how much a whole body exercise swimming is as opposed to running or cycling. And, I think I finally figured out how to do a flutter kick.

I wrapped up at 9 – I was the only person in the pool, which was really, really nice.

So, how do y’all feel about running in the rain?

PS – I got the new Wilco album,

    Sky Blue Sky

yesterday. It’s not the phenomena that the last two were, but it’s growing on me. Kind of like the ultimate breakup album, country and western with out the country or the western, and a good dose of organ. I recommend it.

Spring

No doubt about it, there are few things so spectacular and enduring as a New England spring. Sure, the bluebonnets in Texas are amazing, but that’s a couple of weekends. New England spring is months. The trees are finally out, and you’ve never seen so many shades of green, from the extremely pale of the sugar maple in my back yard to the deep, deep green of new pine needles.

Then, there’s the flowering trees. From the tulip tree and the other one in my yard, I pass the forsythia bush, with it’s annual warning of yellow flowers that spring is at hand, which is just now losing the last bit of brilliant yellow. There’s the apple orchard at the top of the hill, bedecked in white blossoms with the promise of apples, and the crabapple at the office, which is showering the cars in the parking lot with pink petals.

I suppose for a show like this, you need 6 months of winter as rehearsal.

Ran on Tuesday, swam last night. The run was good, but I’m having a little bit of ankle trouble again in the mornings. I hope it’s because I’m not stretching enough, but as my schedule straightens out, I may have to go see a doctor, ’cause this is just getting ridiculous now.

The swim was good. The run was good, but mostly because it was just a run.

Swing by Complete Running – they just went over a thousand RSS subscribers. Good things are happening in the internet running world. Good things.

Actually, speaking of running evangelism, I’m getting my buddy Christian back on the road this week. Now to pick back up with the Jons.

links for 2007-05-12