Is That A Grenade In Your Coffee?

these here are times of retardedness

Gazoo Gone

RIP Harvey Korman

Climate Change

what a difference a day makes with the weather!

after a tropical run Tuesday, today featured a sunny, breezy, cool day...much easier to run five miles in 68 degree temps...ran an out and back on the scenic road across the bridge with a couple of side trails thrown in...

I needed a flat course today as I'm a little fatigued staying up late watching NBA playoff action and didn't want to deal with any hills this time...felt good...

In the News...

file this under "No Shit Sherlock"...

Tropical Hot Dog Night

a tropical, humid afternoon run...I was sweating buckets just changing into my runing gear...a bit sluggish...after a long weekend of living the High Life, that's to be expected...I was breathing through my mouth most of the way, but ran steady...finished 5 miles in 47:57...maybe, just maybe, I heard the buzzing sound of a lone deer fly during my cool down...drats!

Memorial Day

in remembrance of all those who have sacrificed for our country...

the annual May birthday parties were terrific...many hot dogs, burgers, and beers were consumed...fun in the pool, moon bounce and barn...I forgot to take pictures, D'Oh!

Season 3

Yesterday signaled the end of my 2nd ten week training cycle...the Runner's World 10 mile Beginner program...and this week kicks off Season 3 (out of 5 planned training blocks)...this go round I am moving up to the 10 mile Intermediate training also from Runner's World...

although it's a program for 10 miles, I am trying to adapt it so that I can run a half-marathon...the distances start at 20 miles per week and peak at 33 miles...the first long run is only 6 miles, but I've been doing 10-12 recently...maybe I'll just play it by ear and see how I feel...maybe go longer, maybe not...

during this block of training I'll have to compensate for some vacation time...trip to New Hampshire and two weeks at the beach...in June I'm hoping to do my first couple of races of the year...a 5K and 15K...

Summer Holiday 5K Challenge

ordinarily , I would be up early and off to Jug Bay for my early morning Sunday long run...but this being the party weekend and lots of work to do...I ran 3.1 miles in my neighborhood...a little groggy to start...late night with the Baysox and fireworks Saturday night dontcha know...but easily found my stride and finished in good condition 28:57 later...

and like I do sometimes during a run, I had a brainstorm and came up with the idea to run a 5K on each of the three summer holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day -- for those of you scoring at home) up and down Howard Drive and see what kind of times I can achieve...personally I think 4th o'July will be my best time...

i was able to shave some more mileage off the pace bunny's lead, which now stands at 68.1 miles...i've moved up a few notches to #113...start the next ten weeks of training tomorrow...

Just Breezin' Thru

another cool May afternoon with a stiff breeze to boot...not showing too many effects from yesterday's long run...just had to overcome a general fatigued feeling...ran pretty steady...scenic road to merkle fork and back with the usual side trails...felt good...

The Road Less Traveled

I ran a Jug Bay route I haven't run in quite some time this afternoon after work...an almost all-road run...I ran up croom airport road to the bus depot...about 2.9 miles with some good sized hills to navigate...saw some folks walking their dogs on the way out...big ass dogs too...at the entrance to the bus lot I ran the trail back down to the park road and from there went to the park HQ...took the private driveway as a diversion...the gate was open anyway...looped around at HQ and saw some more big ass dogs on leashes...took the trail at the park road's sharp turn and looped around to the park round further down...from there I decided to head back on roads rather than stay on the trail...this meant climbing some big ass hills near the park entrance...I was able to make it up without stopping or cursing myself for taking this route back...from there it was smooth sailing back to base...total mileage 8.4 in an hour eighteen minutes and some change...felt a little weird getting in a long run mid-week, but I was up to the challenge today...felt good...

Huff-N-Puff

followed up Sunday's 12 miles with a 3.5 mile run at Jug Bay...mostly on trails, but not the sloppy ones...took a route up to the observation tower and back...started with a hill at the camp grounds and felt like I was out of breath soon after reaching the top...experienced open-mouth breathing most of the way...my legs felt fine, but had a sense of fatigue...looking to do some longer distances later this week after work...won't be able to do my regular Sunday long run because it's party time!

Go Long

slacked off from my running schedule this week…weather conditions (torrential rains/floods) and general busy-ness are my excuses…so to make up for some of the missed miles I ran over 12 miles today…another overcast Sunday morning with some periods of rain…although there was a brief sun sighting as well…started sluggishly as I am wont to do, especially since I had a 7-hour day Saturday gardening and landscaping…oh my back!

A mile or two into the run I was warmed up and picked up steam to roll through the rest of the run…average pace was 9:34 or so…ran the scenic road out to Merkle HQ and the Merkle Loop with many side trails along the way to stretch out the mileage…

wildlife sighting: not much today, but saw a tiny turtle crossing the farm road at Merkle…
top tune: The Stones’ “Little T&A”…

I did a lot of see-sawing this week regarding the 10 mile race in Chestertown on the 24th…that’s the big party weekend for us and although the race is on Saturday and the party Sunday, I just fell like there is too much going on to fit the race in this time…maybe next year…so I’ve done a little readjusting to my race schedule and added a 5K and maybe two more trail half-marathons…we’ll see if it can be done!

1000 miles to go check-up

Place: Up four spots to 115
Bunny Miles: -69.7 (lost two miles)

Garden 2008

Some early-season garden pictures...

birdhouse view from the back porch walkway



outside sharon & sandy's sunroom

BJ's Mother's Day Flower Basket

shells from the outer banks

wildflower walkway

new rose bush

garden sunset

Pig Slop

today's run was a bit of a treat...I decided to do a Jug Bay trail run 48 hours after the floods hit...the parking area still had a large puddle of water settled in the grass...I ran out to the wooden bridge to see what the water level was like...nothing out of the ordinary considering the amount of rain we had...but the trails were sloppy to say the least...ankle deep mud in some places, and one section that was filled in with dirt not too long ago had washed away...I ran 5 miles of trails at a slow pace...mostly because of the conditions...I was happy at the end to have to wipe all that dried mud off my legs...I hear more rain is coming soon and that means more mud to run in...good times!

Flooded

The deluge of rain Sunday and into Monday caused some local flooding...we even had a two-hour late arrival Monday morning...yippee! I saw a picture on washingtonpost.com of the PG County courthouse under flood conditions, and after school I drove up Route 4 to inspect what was going on...lots of water in some familiar places...I decided to drive over to Jug Bay to see what it was like there...no dice...the police had croom road blocked off...but as I later found out it wasn't because of flooding but for a "police incident" where a car theft suspect was shot...so I had to turn around and head home back on Route 4...by that time Route 301 had been closed, news choppers were hovering in the air, and it was pretty surreal...made it home safe!

Slow Start

another overcast early Sunday morning run...cool this time too, 50 degrees...struggled early...body sore from too much landscaping yesterday...but somewhere along the way I found my stride and kept it going...longest run since obx half-marathon in November...saw some beavers splash in the water as I approached their den under a pier...ran the scenic road to Merkle HQ and then the Merkle Loop...along with lots of side trails...saw another runner, a biker, and some hikers along the way...top tune "Sunny Sunday Mill Valley Groove Day" by Frank Black...after three weeks of gaining ground, I am now 67.8 miles behind my goal of 1000m for the year...felt good...

Tropical Jug Bay

the library was a steambath all day...had a grimy feeling...so what better way to get over that than to head out in the tropical afternoon climate and hit the trails...storms moving in and out of the area...it rained briefly, was sunny briefly, mostly overcast and quite humid...actually the temp was only 69 degrees so it wasn't that stressful and I was able to get to 7 miles easy...I took a leisurely 1:08:40 to finish...stayed on trails which were slick and muddy...I was soaked by the end and just sat shirtless for a cooldown on the bed of my truck for 10 minutes...nice feeling...felt good on this run...

new tunes

I've just used up the last of my Christmas iTunes gift cards...I think it was $150 in all...here's what is now in rotation...

mudcrutch (tom petty's band before the heartbreakers) -- scare easy

bang on - the breeders

more news from nowhere - nick cave

(who discovered) america? - ozomatli

you win again - hank williams

live it up, part 1 & 2 - the isley brothers

fucking boyfriend - the bird and the bee

al otro lado del rio - jorge drexler

ice cream man - van halen

corona - the minutemen

plastic - portishead

incredible - madonna

it's too late - bob mould

hopscotch willie - stephen malkmus

tye-die - tindersticks

cancion protesta - aterciopelados

live and let die - wings

learning the game - buddy holly

his kind of money - eric church

real gone - sheryl crow

goodbye blue sky - pink floyd

respect (live at the whiskey) - otis redding

politik kills - manu chao

rising up - the roots

dirty city - steve winwood

forever in blue jeans - neil diamond

skid row joe - porter wagoner

not sure which of these will make it on to my iClip run mix...but I'm digging them!

caught skipping

I bailed on today's run...three straight days and 17 miles has me feeling beat...felt a little guilty about skipping because it was such a nice day...went home and did dome more work in my garden instead...the garden is coming along with much more to do...I'll make up today's run on Thursday and try to do 8 miles...tomorrow I have an evening session of the book fair!

Up Hill Down Hill

my legs must be angry at me for making them a run a day after doing ten miles...they felt sore and heavy for today's run...a 3.2 mile run up croom airport road to the fork and back...I struggled on the out...up hill mostly and then hit it hard coming back...despite the legs bitchin' I felt pretty good and kept a 9 minute/mile pace...I must've been energized by this run because I went home and did an hour's worth of gardening...

BlueCrabs & Beer

took in the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs second ever game at their home park, Regency Furniture Stadium...this is an independent league team that features former major and minor league ballplayers...Brooks Robinson has a stake in the team...

anyway, we were there in honor of a friend's birthday bash...and although it was a kiddie party in name...you can't watch a ballgame without a brew...and I had a few...the game wore on thru extra innings and I was nodding off...the guest of honor left after nine, and we made an exit soon after...

the beer and late hours made today's long run something of a struggle...

it was an early morning sunny day with a nice breeze blowing...ran the scenic road out to Merkle HQ and back for a loop...took lots of side trails...startled a deer, spied a bunny (right next to me off the trail)...a dog walker...and a gang of cub scouts riding bikes...

I had a dehydrated and dry feelingmost of the way...sluggish and hungover to start...improved some but not much as the run progressed...felt OK not great by the end...

but I had my best mileage week since the fall...25 miles and change...I'll reach for 12 miles next weekend and then taper for the two weeks leading up to Chestertown...

Cobwebs and Strange

well, I didn't make it over to the park yesterday afternoon as planned for a trail run...I ended up working late setting the library up for book fair...or at least partially setting up...also helped some colleagues with a project they were working on...so I made my way home for some gardening...

this morning I was up early, groggy from beer and the Wizards losing...made it outside for a run up and down Howard Drive...a nice breeze woke me up after I got started and I ran it well...looking forward to tomorrow's long run of 10 miles...

Time Trial 5K Style

another fine spring day for a run...although it looked like a shower had passed through the area within an hour of my run...



...wasn't sure exactly what route I would run until I started...I ran the scenic road for a mile out to the boat ramp parking lot with three loops around the ramp camp side trail...two loops on the way out and one loop coming back...this amounted to three point one miles (5K)...ran hard, but not my fastest, I believe...



...legs were a bit sore from yesterday's long run...my last 5K time trial was nearly two months ago (March 5)..although today was a different course, it should be noted I shaved 28 seconds off my time...felt good...

today I'm looking to do 45 minutes of trail running with a lot of hills thrown in the mix...but ut's a lot warmer today than it's been all week...

tonight the Wiz are gonna take it to the Cavaliers forcing Game 7...it's got to be!

One-Third

yep, 2008 is 33 and 1/3 percent done...my running stats after four months:

January: 61.4 miles

February: 45.1 miles

March: 64.8 miles

April: 82.7 miles

Total: 254 miles on the nose...746 miles to go...

I had an enjoyable Jug Bay run yesterday...the temperature was cool and conditions were pleasant...started up croom airport road to the fork and back into the main section of the park...found my way to the HQ and looped back for some trail running...the lower sections of which feature some giant puddles from the recent rains we've had...totalled 8.8 miles in 1:22:08...felt good the whole way!