Another Good Weekend

Does a good Friday count as the start of a good weekend? I got up Friday wanting to run. Decided to add some distance to my usual runs. To put this in perspective I have been running a little over a year so for me a long run has been 5 miles. Friday I planned out a 10K route and figured if I needed to I could walk a bit. I not only ran it but did it at a good pace for me - just around a 8:30 mile. I felt great.

Saturday when I got up I was wondering if my run the day before would affect my ride. I was about 22 miles into my ride and pulled up to a stop light. A fellow biker who I had passed some time before came up breathing hard. The only words he said were "Man you keep a wicked pace". I smiled. We rode for a couple of miles and he broke off, I went to Purcellville then turned around and completed the full 50 miles. A good encouraging ride.

Then to top off this weekend my girls were in Detroit at the AAU Junior Olympics. Sam brought home medals in Kata (bronze) and Kumite (silver); Kris brought home silvers in Kobudo and Kata and; Tika brought home three bronze medals. I was very proud of all of them. It has been a great competitive year for them.

... cu

Sunday in DC ....

This Sunday myself and the girls (Sam, Kris and Tika) headed into DC to check out an exhibit at the National Gallery and drop into some other places. Sam was a trooper since galleries are not her thing. The exhibit was one of Martin Puryear's work. The picture is of one of his well known pieces that myself and Tika had seen at the MOMA in NYC last December. The exhibit was one that Tika really wanted to see and since Kris is a big art person she enjoyed it as well. There were some new pieces that we had not seen so it was a good visit at NGA.

The exhibit was spread across both buildings so we also went and visited the Afghan Treasures exhibit in the East Building. I guess I never realized how developed the Afghan culture was - never imagining the cities that existed there rivaled Greek and Italian cities of the time. It was enlightening. By then we were getting hungry so we decided to let Sam choose where to eat. As we walked out of NGA we stopped into the Natural History museum to see their "Crystal Skull" since the girls had seen the movie.

We ended up at Gordon Biersch for lunch - I made a mess, Tika teased me about it and then realized she did as well - that apple did not fall far from the tree :-). After lunch we headed into Georgetown - the girls wanted to see first hand the "Exorcist Stairs". Was kind of nice since it gave Tika a bit of insight into Georgetown University.

It was a fun day ....

.... cu

VA Cyclists are great .....

I know I will sometimes complain about cyclists not obeying traffic laws but when it comes to other stuff they are great. I went out to Purcellville today for a quick 50 mile ride. When I got to Purcellville I noticed that my front tire was feeling a bit low but nothing too dramatic. As I was riding back I came onto Charles Town Pike and noticed that the tire was done. Not sure if it was a pinch flat from the low pressure but there I was a good 16-17 miles from home with a flat. I pulled over and pulled out the spare tube I carry. I had at least 6 people stop and offer aid. I said I should be ok - I did not have a pump but I had cartridges that I thought were fine. One guy stayed as I changed the tube. When the time came to fill it ---- well both cartridges were empty. Another guy had stopped at this point and we used his pump. The whole time we were working on it, maybe 2 or 3 minutes, everyone that passed offered aid. Needless to say I was grateful. Not sure what I would have done without the extra help.

The other bit of good news was that Tika got her AP History grade back. She received a 4, highest possible is a 5. The 4 means she receives a college credit for the course. Woo hoo for Tika. This must be the summer of Tika :-)

.... cu

What a weekend ...

It was an interesting weekend ...

Saturday I went on a nice long bike ride - just about 70 miles. On my way back I came upon an accident scene on the trail I ride. Turns out an inattentive cyclist hit a pedestrian. No one there seemed to be trained in Emergency Management or first aid so I stepped in. The woman that was hit had a pretty serious injury to her arm but outside of that seemed mostly ok. The situation made it easy to keep her calm while calling for an EMT who eventually took her to the hospital. Her boyfriend seemed to appreciate the help - and of course I was glad I was able to make things a bit easier for her.

I had promised to post the video of Tika's win at Nationals - excuse the jumping at the end - I was just a little bit excited


Have a GREAT week ahead.

.... cu

Great day .....

Today was one of those days that was just overly pleasant. Got up early as always did some work, I had a nice bike ride in the morning for an hour, then headed into the office. Cleared off a few things before I headed to lunch with a friend who is now working in one of the agencies that we work with so it was a bit of work and a lot of good personal time. KJ (we will use that) is a great person to have as a friend. She is open and honest and is sincere in wanting the best for people. She is great for boosting my self confidence, and that always puts a smile on my face - a definite friend. So we had a great lunch in DC and then I headed back to Vienna on the metro and it did not breakdown (as opposed to my last metro trip from a lunch in DC). When I got home a bit more work and then an hour reading by the pool. How could a day get better :-)

In case you are wondering - reading a book on Buddhism. An introductory book. I just finished Dan Brown's Angels & Demons so I needed something a bit more substantive. And no Mom I am not converting to Buddhism (even though the hair cut fits)

.... cu

AAU Karate Championships - Final Report

Saturday was a big day for Martika. She competed at the finals event in Kumite and SHE WON. See the an article on her win at Loudoun Extra.

Finals is a big deal for the competitors. Everyone comes to finals to see the top athletes compete as well as to see the "event" of finals which includes demonstrations and special awards. Rather than 10 rings with action in all of them they create four rings and put them center stage (as it were).

Tika was very excited going in and she knew she could win - she just had to go in and compete like she had been all week. She was quickly up 2-1 when Emily, her competition came back with two quick scores to tie it 2-2. Tika responded right away - she was not losing - and won 3-2. Jerry, one of her coaches looked into the stands and said he could see how high I had jumped - he never thought I had that sort of vertical leap. When Jerry asked Tika if she saw how high I jumped she had said she did not but wished she had, but she did hear me throughout the entire match, even with all of the noise in the arena. I like to think she heard "Dad" through everything else :-)

Of course this is a big thing for Tika, in her 7th National Championship. This was one of her goals. It does not diminish how well her sisters did this week as well with Sam's first Silver in Team Kumite and her first time on Television. Then of course Kristen making it into the top 4 in her division for the first time ever. I was so proud of all of them.

I will post pics as soon as I get some from some of the folks that had good cameras and had good access.

Next up for them --- a couple of days in Canada with their Mom and then they are off to Junior Olympics in Detroit the end of the month.

.... cu

Sam made the news ....

I guess some parents would not be proud of that - I am sure Jeffery Dahlmer's parents were less than excited to hear he made the news - but in my case - I am excited. Sam was competing yesterday in a team sparring event at the AAU US National Karate Championships. Turns out the local media was there and this morning they showed a short bit of Sammy sparring. It is about 8 or 9 seconds into the video that is on the right.

And yes I was very excited to see her on the news. In case you are wondering, she won the match and her team took home Silver for the tournament.

--- cu