A break in New Mexico

It has been 4 or 5 years since I have been in Albuquerque so when I found out I had to be here this week I planned a half day just to go hike in the Sandias which is something I have done every trip out here. Usually I hike to the peak but this time I decided to get adventurous and it paid off. I pushed myself a bit and tried some new routes that I never would have tried before. So rather than just hiking I ended up doing a bit of hiking, some scrambling and a good bit of bouldering. The bouldering was the most heart racing as it meant pushing (well in this case pulling) myself. I tried some 20 and 30 foot boulders and had a blast. A few scratches etc but nothing major.

For some perspective Sandia Peak is over 5300 ft above Albuquerque which puts it at over 10,600 feet elevation. Normally I would do the peak but this time I stopped somewhere just shy of 10,000 ft and then scrambled back down through one of the canyons - which was as hair raising as some of the bouldering. The picture on the left was one of the routes I came down.

There is a lot of cool stuff that you can see - some of the other pics are self explanatory - well the eagle got way too close for comfort. I suspect I was near a nest. The cactus above was one I found on the lower trail.

It was a fun 3 hours. Looking forward to a productive week as well.

.... cu

Race Day ...... updated

It has been a good week ..... I had very productive meetings in Miami with one of our partners and I look forward to working more with them. They were also very hospitable and we had a couple of good nights of Italian and Spanish food - with a couple of drinks ;-)

After the meetings I stayed in Miami for an extra night to see a good friend and had a fabulous time. Good company, good food, a nice exhibit at a local art center and a Duck Boat ride around the South Beach area that was a blast. It was a busy weekend as I flew back late Saturday knowing that I had the Leesburg 10K that I was running at 7:30 Sunday. A half hour delay meant I did not get to sleep until almost 1 AM.

The race itself was good - picked up my registration stuff in the AM and then had like 30 minutes to warm up and hydrate before the race. The weather was nice - high 60's - low 70's. It was a good crowd - over 1600 runners. This being my first running race I did not know where to start in the pack so I tried around the center. Slow getting started because of the crowd but eventually I was passing people left and right and very few passing me on the outbound leg. After the 1/2 way turn around no one passed me and I even had a couple of guys comment on my pace - which was nice :-) Not real fast - ran the 10K in 51:00 (at least I think that is what the clock said) Official time - 50:13 so a 8:05 pace. Ended up finishing 198/670 that ran the 10K; 25/102 in my age group and they also did a first timers group where I was 3rd of 42. Kris and Sam were at the finish line to hear the announcer say how I kicked it on at the end - a guy tried to pass me in the last 20m and I was having no part of that - so I sprinted to the end and got in just ahead :-) After the race myself and the girls grabbed some breakfast.

Now I get to play catch-up until later this afternoon when myself and the girls go to see Batman in I-MAX with the Barnes' men. Looking forward to seeing that movie :-)

cu ......

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