A last run before the Cherry Blossom

Now I have a couple of mornings to rest before the race on Sunday. Well I guess not actually rest as Saturday I have to be in DC 9 AM to get registration things finalized ... but no running.

I am hoping that the weather holds for Sunday. Right now they are saying 15 mph winds which will slow things down. I would almost prefer a morning like this morning - grant that it was a bit damp this morning but it was not raining, and no wind. I will keep my fingers crossed.

I will post an update on race day

Go RAMS!!!!!

Anyone that knows me knows that basketball is not high on the interest list for me - or at least never was. For that matter - the big college sports - football and basketball never were. That being said I will readily admit that Laura has helped educate me on not just these but also on tennis and now I will watch and in fact have begun following college football and basketball.

This year was more meaningful for basketball since I now had a daughter in college and knowing how big athletics is, generally speaking, in US colleges I thought it would be good to be involved and aware in case she became more involved in student life. Well little did I think that her University's basketball team would tear up the NCAA National Championships.

A team that came into the championships as one of 4 "add-ons", who was soundly trashed by the press and everyone else for being brought in, has shown that you do not need to be a big name school to have a lot of heart and dedication. Coach Smart, one of the young coaches in the NCAA has created a team that has surprised just about everyone - I think except for the team themselves - who seem to go out there and put forward their best. And it is not just one player but the entire team that comes together to support each other.

Now they are in the Final Four and I do not doubt that they can make it one step further - but whether they do or not Coach Smart and the team has done Tika's school proud.

Go RAMS!!!

Last long run before the race ....

Today was my last long run before the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. I am starting to realize that I like to run longer more so than shorter - maybe that will help for the marathon training.

So this mornings run was in sharp contrast to earlier in the week when I was running in the deserts of western Las Vegas. Not that it was that much warmer in Vegas but the Vegas trip involved very long days and not normal eating habits. An example - breakfast in Vegas one day was this ....



Of course after eating that lunch and even dinner was not high on the priority. We did manage one really nice dinner at Spagos in Caesars.

My days here are much better for eating with breakfasts like this morning with waffles with fresh strawberries, a little bit of yogurt and granola with fresh blueberries, a small banana, some OJ and some milk.

The rest of the week will have a couple of medium runs and a couple of days at the gym to make sure I stay active before next Sunday. In 7 days I will have finished the race and be out having lunch. That is what I am looking forward to.

..... cu


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Quiet in DC

There are lots of time I complain about living in the DC area. The traffic is some of the worst in the country, and Laura can attest to that, and there is always a heightened sense of security. But there are also many things to love about it - open space is never too far away; lots of museums and galleries and there is wonderful architecture.

Some of my favorites are the frequently overlooked. Places like the National Building Museum and one Union Station.

Tika was coming back from Ottawa on the train and I promised to pick her up. It was 1:25 AM on Saturday and the building was almost empty but it gave me a chance to take a couple of pictures. I wished I had brought a real camera but my cell phone was all I had at this point.







What I do like is that it is such a wonderful building - for such a utilitarian function. Makes me think that we lost a bit when we moved to air transport - especially lately.


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My Saturday morning run

After having picked up Tika at Union Station at 1:30 AM and getting to sleep at a little after 3 I got up this morning to run the 19th annual Van Metre 5 miler. It was nice that they started 8:30 so I did get a little over 4 hours sleep.

The morning was nice - about 50 degrees and sunny. It was a bit Windy but that did not make it any colder - just windy running - and in this case a course that never had the wind on your back.

There is always a good crowd for this run. Lots of families and some very fast individuals. I like this run because it is early in the year and helps give an indication of fitness. That indication is made right up front as shortly after the start you begin climbing and hit a nice hill from just around mile 1 to just before the 1.4 mile mark and then you get another smaller hill from mile points 1.9 to o2.2. After that it is undulating roadways until the last half mile which is all uphill, but small.

It was nice this year to have such a great day and such a great crowd. I finished, unofficially around 39 minutes which was about 2 minutes faster than last year. I never said I was fast but I figure if I get better as I get older then that is a good thing.

Next up - Cherry Blossom 10 miler.

Another Special Day ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTEN!!!!!

Hard to believe ..... your 17th birthday. Why only last year we were .... celebrating your 16th birthday. Isn't math great :-)

All joking aside ... we hope you have a FANTASTIC day today.

You are a very wonderful person and you deserve to enjoy your special day ... and myself and Laura will extend that into tomorrow as well.

Happy Birthday ... We love you :-*

They do grow up ....

Very early this morning Tika hopped on a train at Union Station in DC and headed out for her spring break. Yes - I said the train. Some of you may say that it is an odd way to get to Florida - the traditional soring break get-away - but Tika is anything but traditional. For spring break she wanted to go to Ottawa.

Yes Ottawa - with all its snow and low temperatures in the single digits - Fahrenheit.

So this morning she caught a train just after 3 to head to New York to take the Adirondack to Montreal where she would grab a bus for the last leg to Ottawa - 21 hours later.

Laura said she must be my daughter as it sounds like a Gary trip.

I am proud of her - she decided that this was the trip she wanted to make - she figured out and booked the travel and arranged for places to stay and for tickets to two hockey games. Yeah I guess she is my daughter.

Have fun ... and stay warm ... we love you :-*

Spring?

It should not be a surprise to anyone when I say that Laura loves tulips. For those of you that have been to our house our dining room is considered the tulip room. Whenever I get a chance I buy tulips for her, sometimes cut and sometimes potted.

Last year we had a couple of versions of potted tulips so after the flowers faded I dried the bulbs and planted them and was a bit disappointed that last year I saw nothing arise from those spots.

So today I went to get the mail and as I turned back to go into the house I saw ....

I hope they make it but I guess it also shows that spring is not far away.

HAPPY PANCAKE DAY!!!!

OK - I know - technically it is not Pancake Day - it is Shrove Tuesday but to me that has always meant PANCAKE DAY!

Of course for myself and Laura that is a good thing as we both love pancakes and today I will get to make a non-traditional recipe with no dairy - so it should be fun - maybe add a berry compote and of course real Canadian Maple Syrup.

Sorry Mom - no nickels in the pancakes tonight.

Happy Pancake Day to all ..... enjoy!

Picasso in Richmond

Last Fathers Day Laura had gotten us a family membership to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It is a great membership as it also allows us access to many other museums and galleries throughout North America. On Sunday we used it to visit an exhibit we had actually been waiting to see.

Myself and Laura picked up Kris and Sam at 10 and headed down to Richmond where we picked up Tika and headed out to lunch. Laura had made reservations at a very popular restaurant in Shockoe Bottom called Cafe Gutenberg. She had picked this place because it had a great menu combination of vegan and non-vegan items. Tika was able to dine on vegan biscuits and gravy while myself and the girls were able to satisfy ourselves with beef satay, waffles, surry sausage and bratwurst. (btw - if you do get to go there - have the sweet potato fries but STAY AWAY from the pork sandwich).

After lunch we headed over to VMFA and the Picasso exhibit. The place was busy. Laura did point out that it was only the second full weekend for the exhibit and with 170 pieces from the Picasso Museum in Paris it is a large exhibit that is unique to North America let alone to Richmond. Thankfully my wife is a very smart lady and with our VMFA membership we were able to get in to the timed exhibit very quickly.

The exhibit has a great mix of his various styles and I love seeing the studies that then develop into the actual pieces so it was an entertaining exhibit to see. We actually spent an hour going through the exhibit and I know that myself and Laura will go back to revisit as it was crowded and we could have spent much more time there. None the less - it was fun.

After the exhibit we headed over to "For the Love of Chocolate" which is a great store down in the Carytown section of Richmond. We picked up some chocolate and candy and after dropping Tika back off at her dorm we made the slow ride back to NVa.

I am looking forward to myself and Laura heading down to Richmond to see the exhibit again and to also see the rest of the museum.

Bill O'Reilly - Love and Hate him

I know that my daughters will likely harass me for saying there is a reason to love Bill O'Reilly but after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church's Freedom of speech Bill O'Reilly stepped up for Albert Snyder. Albert Snyder is the father of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, USMC, who was killed in Iraq. At the funeral the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrated and were very vocal with their hate speech. This of course was very painful for the Snyder family and Albert Snyder took them to court. Multiple court dates later the issue ended up in the US Supreme Court where 8 of the 9 judges ruled in favor of WBC.

I am not here to debate the merits of the case but I will say that Justice Alito wrote a very profound piece and I encourage all to read it. I certainly agree that we have a right to our freedom of speech but I also believe that we as a society have a responsibility to respect the rights to privacy of others and when burying a son is certainly time for that.

In either case, how does Bill O'Reilly fit in? Well after the ruling it was determined that Mr Snyder would be responsible for court and legal fees totaling over $100,000. Bill O'Reilly stepped in and said he would cover the fees. A very bold thing for Mr. O'Reilly and one that made me smile. Mr. Snyder has suffered enough and Mr. O'Reilly taking this burden from him was a very giving gesture.

Well that faith in Bill O'Reilly lasted not too long. On one of his shows recently he had a reporter in Madison Wisconsin covering the legislative events there. This particular show discussed the "violence" there and proceeded to show a video from Madison.

Well if you look in the background you will see palm trees. Now I am not too sure but last time I was in Wisconsin I did not see a lot of palm trees on the streets. I wonder what Fox News was trying to do here.

Bill, you can make me proud and sad to be an American - all in a 24 hour period.