Day 9

Yeah - I followed the program for the 9th day in a row. Big props to Annie who had to get up at 6am w/ the kids this morning while I was still at the gym. When I accomplish any of my goals, it will be in large part thanks to her efforts & support.

It was a tough run today - (3 minute run, 1 minute walk) x 7 followed by a 2 minute run for a total of 30 minutes. I can't even remember the last time I ran three full minutes without stopping. It felt good to be doing it, but it also left me a bit drained. I may have run harder than I should have because I actually put on 2 lbs between yesterday & this morning. Could it be the 1/16th piece of mint pie I had on Monday night? Maybe it was the spaghetti or the Wheat Thins from yesterday. At any rate, it was a bummer and I just have to keep plugging away. I have been very good w/ my eating lately - no eating out, no sugar (except for that little piece of pie), and lots of fruit and celery so I expect my efforts will yield results as my running intensity increases. Tomorrow is a walk and then on Friday & Saturday I do 30 minutes of 4min run + 1 min walk. Should be fun!

Initial Entry - My First Blog

Yeah! Day 2 of week 2 of the Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381-386-9397-0,00.html). It seems sort of silly given that I've been running on & off since I joined the Army in 1992. But given my recent weight gain (230 lbs!) and my ankle injury, I'm thinking it's best to take it slow. The baby has been good about sleeping well (finally!) and my wife has been a cheer leader even though it interferes with her sleep sometimes (I run in the morning). At this point, everything is going better than I expected. I'm still getting shin splints a bit, but hopefully stretching and the rest days will take care of that. My ankle bugged me last night for the first time in quite a while - maybe because I sprinted a bit on the track?

MSL w/ the MI Co

Up at the lean-to w/ Poss, Power, Carmon, Bieling, Gardiner, Perry, and Sherrick.

Learned for the first time up here that there are snapping turtles and leeches in the lake. The turtles are about 2-feet long. We hiked in w/ rucksacks. We will be hiking out soon as Sherrick hurt his ankle. Not was SFC Power wants to do, but figure we have to drive back to Syracuse, get everyone home safely, and then he's got to possibly see a Dr. Better to have some leeway in our schedule in case of anything else going wrong.

We walked to Middle Branch lean-to which has a fantastic view. It was a long & hilly hike. No lean-to at the trail junction. Dragonflies & flies are bad today. I was great in my hammock last night. Need to remember to put one side higher than the other. New stove was great. Water filter was awesome - need to keep it clean.

MSL with Lotar

Did NOT bring: sleep mat, stools, slippers. Really need slippers!

Fell into water just before lean-to. Feet, shoes, socks, and underwear are soaked. Can't do anything to help Lotar because I can't walk around. Saw is working well. Gaiters are priceless! Terramar works great on feet and body. Will find out tonight about sleeping on poncho & liner. Good thing the lean-to was open or I'd be screwed (didn't bring a tent to save weight). Lotar is getting good use of the saw.

Rain fly on backpack worked great until I got dunked. Then had a pool in it but I didn't notice.

I brought extra trash bags as an afterthought and it was a good call since my boots probably won't be dry in time. Thank God I've got extra long johns for the top & bottom. Should have brought extra underwear. Waterproof bags for inside the backpack - in case of dunking - are now required.

PS - I removed all my wet clothing to avoid lowering my body temp, but nothing dried, it just froze, event my boots. What I should have done is keep everything on and work to help the moisture evaporate.

Orienteering w/ NYARNG folks

Rogaine Orienteering event w/ PFC Pavone, SPC Rodriguez, SPC McConnell, Cadet Perry, and McConnell's wife who's name is pronounced "show me".
Lightning and thunder just as we started at noon. Found 7 points and stayed together. Very wet. Should have brought another set of BDU's and boots, but I hadn't really intended to go in uniform.

Bring Chair!!!
Bring Sweater
Headlight for night Land Nav

Swain again

Today I got an 8-hour pass for only $36. Started skiing at 2:30 and stayed until 7:45. I even went to the expert side a bit. Very few skiers and very glad I came early. It's so cold I'm leaving before I wanted. Got A LOT of skiing in. Went down a jump and took a small jump. Didn't fall, but must learn to lean into it.

Back to Swain solo

Temp w/ wind chill = -19. Not so fun because the ground was hard. Wore undershirt, sweater, fleece, & jacket. Fingers & toes got cold. Good thing I had goggles! Wore long underpants under my pumori's. Nice combo. Only skied 2.5 hours. Hope to go somewhere this weekend, too.

Skiing Solo at Swain

Chilly today - high of 26, low of 11. Went to Swain for the first time. I wasn't jazzed about it, but had an awesome time. They were making snow AND it was sprinkling snow. Had to but goggles because the man-made stuff hurt my face & kept me from seeing. Skied for about 4 hours. Lots of pee breaks at first - I wanted to stay hydrated because I have to work tomorrow. Only took 1 hour to get here! I was very tired today and almost didn't go. Very friendly atmosphere as well.

Greek Peak - free pass

Went skiing at Greek Peak in Cortland, NY. I had a free pass I won from an online contest. Man I was tired when I was done. Seemed like I was always turning left so my R leg was exhausted when the day ended. It was warm out and most of the snow was fake, but it was SKIING!!!

Takeaways:

• Bring quarters for the lockers
• Drink water
• Bring food
• Thin sock liners were a must
• Goggles would be a good purchase. Not a requirement, but it would have helped me have a better time next time.

Brook -n- Wood for Nordman Apple Picking

Brook -n- Wood
1947 Route 8
Elizaville, NY

Here camping with Annie, Jeffrey, and Velicity. Met up w/ Uncle Rudi, Uncle Eb, and Carlos. Others too, but don't know them all. Pot-luck dinner had a lot of stuff, but we didn't bring anything. We already ate our hot dog

Lessons Learned:

• Always put rain-fly on tent, or at least make it quick to put on
• Good call on Tarp
• Bring saw to cut firewood for ourselves & to leave for next campers
• Leave firewood for the morning
• Always bring foots & liners for tents. Kids were cold because tent was so big.
• Radio next time! Kurt go you one for his wedding that is really nice.
• Shovel!!!

Road trip: NJ Lax, Wilkes-Barre, Binghamton, Corning, Drill, Rome, back to MA

At Annie's in Corning, NY. She flew into Bedford, MA on Friday using the Corning shuttle (5/25/01). She slept at the apartment and I ended up getting out of work early because Janet & Julie left early. We drove to NJ Friday night and stayed at a Holiday Inn near Voorhees State Park because it was late (11pm) and raining. On Saturday we met up w/ Kurt and want to Rutgers to see SU vs Notre Dame and also a bit of Princeton vs Towson. It rained the whole game. Definitely needed REAL wet-weather gear for Annie. Plus need padding for the seats. We stayed @ a Super 8 in Raritan, NJ because it was still raining. Saturday we visited Aunt Judy & Uncle Eb and met up w/ Katie & Mark for breakfast. Then we went to Harold's which is right near Uncle Eb's. Then we went to Mark & Katie's and stayed there for the night. That was awesome, but we got ticks on us just from walking outside. Katie made some GREAT dinner from a cookbook by HP Books called Mediterranean Cooking. On Monday we drove to Rutgers to see SU lose in OT to Princeton. Then drove to Wilkes-Barre to have dinner w/ Ann's Aunt Cathy, then went to Binghamton to stay w/ the Dibble's. Then in Corning the last two nights.

Annie got really mad when we stopped at a mall because she wanted to look for a CD that I had already bought for her birthday, but hadn't yet given her. That was in NJ after Harolds. I knew she was looking for the CD I got her & told her Kurt was waiting for us & we didn't have the time. She was mad and thought I was saying Kurts feeling were more important than hers. But once I pulled out the CD from under the seat, she understood. Not happy, but she understood :-)

Tuesday night in Corning we slept outside in the tent which was cool. We also had dinner at the Outback with the Wexell's and Mary. Dale sure reminds me of Gumps in some ways. On Thursday I stayed & packed up while Annie went to work. We got together for lunch with a bunch of people from her work. Then I went to Snelling and got onto their system. Then I had NYARNG drill Thursday - Sunday. I did so much lifting that I overexerted. I had a bad headache all the next day. The poncho set-up I had was great!! I have to get 2 of my own ponchos & bungy cords. Sunday I stopped to see Mom for a couple hours. She made me cookies! I had to stop on the drive home and take a nap. I was still really tired and shouldn't have driven, but I made it back safely.

Billerica walking

Here at the apartment in Billerica. A couple weeks ago I went hiking / walking around the area. Ended up doing about 6 miles I would guess. Mostly on roads though. I've walked to the grocery store a couple times. My #2 toe on right foot gets sore. I also have rubbed skin just underneath both #2 toes. Almost a blister, but never filled with puss. Should get the car back in a couple days. I ordered a new tent, gaiters, and a sleeping pad. Can't wait to test them.