my trip to cooperstown, ny

Memorial Day was very low-key this year - not much went on for us. Basically tried to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Tuesday was my trip out to Cooperstown, NY (home of the baseball hall of fame). I woke up early and was able to squeeze an easy run in the neighborhood. I got back and headed to the municipal airport on the west side of town to catch the charter flight out. There I was, carrying my golf clubs and boarding a plane - like someone who golfs all the time and travels just to try different courses... yep that's me (not). It had been close to 2-1/2 years since I golfed. At that time, I wasn't bad, but I wasn't very good either.

So, and early morning flight out to Rome, NY and then about an hours drive to Cooperstown. What a beautiful little village. Postcard perfect... I had been there as a kid with my family on vacation, but I remembered very little, so it was like seeing it for the first time. The houses were gorgeous - large Victorian and First Empire styled homes - amazing. I could see myself there if there was enough work to keep me busy the rest of my life...

But on to the golf outing... we arrived just in time for lunch - good food. Then it was time for the shotgun start at 1pm sharp. Our foursome started on hole 14. The views were amazing! Tree lined fairways all with a view of the lake and historic hotel. Just being out there was an experience - I could have had just as much fun driving the golf cart just seeing those views. I imagine it is spectacular in the fall...

I did not play well at all, but had a great time. I would love to take up golfing again, but running to me is so much easier. It requires so little thinking and just doing - I like that. Golfing on the other hand is so mental. I was constantly thinking through my swing and analyzing my shots. It was mentally taxing.

I didn't arrive back in Indy until 11pm and didn't get home until almost midnight. Needless to say I slept in and was moving slowly all day. I finally got around to my run this evening at 5pm. I decided to try to hide from the heat and humidity in the woods, but the humidity found me. With the rain we had last weekend, the trails were a little muddier than before and slightly more slippery on the rocks, but it was still a good run. I looped the trail twice to get 4 miles in. The hills were still tough, but I was able to push through them this time.

Now I am trying to figure out my long run for the week. With our trip up to Detroit for a wedding this weekend, I'll need to squeeze in a 10 miler either tomorrow or very early Friday morning. My choice would be Friday, giving me a slight recovery day just before, so we'll see.

a sticky 9 miles

I just got back from running 9 miles on Fall Creek Trail this morning. It was a humid, but a cool 60 degree morning, overcast, but no rain in sight. Brooke joined me for this run and we ended up running at a good pace - surprisingly faster than I thought we would for 9 miles. We averaged a 9:00/mile pace (81:16 overall time).

Here's the breakdown - pretty even splits, and faster towards the end:

1. 9:04
2. 9:12
3. 9:10
4. 8:56
5. 9:08
6. 8:44
7. 9:05
8. 8:48
9. 8:55

Superstars in the making...

my treadmil is a-l-i-v-e!

Got it all fixed yesterday and it is back up and running.

interesting developments

My running is still not firing on all cylinders, but I did manage to get two runs in this week. I am gearing up for a 9 mile long run this weekend, so we'll see how it goes. The good thing is the weather should be nice and I have stuff to think about during my run...

Things have finally slowed down at work so I can catch my breath (though this is only temporary). I am actually taking next week off and will be heading to Detroit for a wedding next weekend.

To start my week(Tuesday), I am flying to upstate NY for the day for a golf outing - this is business, but I am hoping it will be fun as well. This is related to a client we have out there and I expressed interest in working with them since I am from New York. Interestingly enough, I was approached on Tuesday and asked if I golfed and would like to go. I usually try to get out of things like this as my golfing is so sporadic (every two years), but I was somewhat interested in getting "in" on the project. Then I received a meeting request about the project, so I accepted and will be meeting this morning to discuss... I did get a little information ahead of time. The gist of the meeting was getting me on board to manage a bunch of projects out there... but there was a twist to some of this - not a catch, just a twist. They have asked me to move out to New York to manage them... this isn't a definite thing. I could still manage it from here, with some trips out there as needed, but they thought since I was from New York I might want to move back out there...

Admittedly, if this were about three years ago, I might have jumped at the chance, but things have changed for me significantly in the last few months that this really isn't an option. So, the plot thickens. I will follow up with more details later... and this isn't even my big announcement...

talk-walk-run 5k race report

It was another beautiful day - sunny, a little cool, but all around perfect running weather. I decided to go ahead with the 5k today and my friend Jason joined me. It was held at Fort Harrison State Park, my usual running hangout, so I was familiar with the terrain.

Unfortunately, it did not prepare me as well as I had hoped. We started out at almost the front of the start line and took off with everyone only to find it was just too fast. I don't think we got in the way of too many people, but it felt like we got passed by quite a few people.

The course was a double loop - one small loop (.6 miles) and one larger loop (2.5 miles), both with some aggressive hills. As we approached the first hill, we made a good climb and passed a couple of people. This wasn't too bad, but it was already feeling like it was going to be a tough race. As we came back around to the start line area to begin the second loop I was settling into my pace and was feeling pretty good.

When we hit the first mile marker, I looked down: 7:55/mile pace... not bad I thought, but with a long grade ahead, I was not sure our pace could remain. Our talking stopped and my breathing got heavier, but we made it to the top and once on the flat ground I was able to relax a little. The back half of the course was undulating hills, none too serious. On the last hill before rounding the corner towards the finish I made one last attempt to pass a few people without expending too much energy. We got to the top and held our pace until we hit the three mile mark and then my legs went into overdrive (eventhough my lungs said, "I don't think so"). Final time: 25:01, average pace: 8:03/mile, I was 39th out of 155, and 4th in my age group - I believe this is a PR for finish place, eventhough it is not my fastest 5k time.

That is all for now. Time is quickly approaching to make my big announcement, so stayed tuned...

Happy running to all!