August 28, 2010

Alumni

Back in May I ran the Danville Memorial Day 5K. While there I had a chance to catch up a little with Todd Orvis, a former standout Danville High School cross country runner and the current DHS XC coach. A few weeks ago I heard back from him about plans to host a DHS XC alumni meet in August. I was really excited about this, as I hadn't run a really short (2 mile) cross country or trail race since, well, since I was in high school.

The timing of the race didn't work out so well, since it took place the evening before Melissa's first day of work in St. Louis. Fortunately, Melissa was understanding and we worked out a way to make it happen (i.e. we left from the race and drove straight to St. Louis).

I recognized a handful of faces, mostly of a few runners a few years older than me. The current DHS, DACC, & Schlarman(?) teams were there as well as the alumni. The course was a bit more challenging (slow) than I was expecting. We would run two 1-mile loops. The first 1/3 mile was gradually uphill with a bit of a headwind to add insult to injury. The second 1/3 mile was fairly easy, though it did have a 180˚ turn. The final 1/3 mile of each loop was mostly downhill, but it was on a somewhat twisty trail through the woods where it wasn't really possible to open up and run all out.

First lap

The race started fast, which means I started fast. I gradually moved past some of the fast-starting youngsters and settled into a good pack heading into the woods for the first time. The two guys immediately in front of me slowed down a lot and let a gap open up. I couldn't get around them in the woods, so I had to wait until the meadow at the end of the lap.

First lap

End of first lap

Once around them I struggled back up the hill. I tried to catch a DACC runner just in front of me while trying to outrun the guy breathing down my neck. I managed to stay in the same position, finishing the race in 8th, with a time somewhere around 11:54. I was hoping to run under 11:00 for two miles, but as I mentioned the course was harder than I expected (also the temperature was 85˚F). I finished just ahead of Jared Anderson (who could absolutely destroy me in a marathon or half marathon). According to the very unofficial placekeeping of my dad at the finish line we may have been the first two DHS alumni to finish. Woo. Todd Orvis finished in 10th a short ways behind Jared. I'd like to see some official results posted Todd!

Finish line

Just holding off Jared Anderson at the finish

It was fun to be back in Danville, with some familiar faces, running this type of race again. It's my understanding Todd wants to make this race a yearly event, so hopefully I can work it into my schedule in the future.

August 4, 2010

July 2010 Stats

Washington University in St. Louis

I guess the big news is that we're moving to St. Louis. We've been traveling back and forth a lot. We found a house nice and close to the Washington University campus, Forest Park, and The Loop.

Garage sale

We had a fairly successful garage sale early in the month. We're gradually getting organized, packed up, and ready to move. I won't lie, it's pretty stressful. On top of that I'm once again busier at work than ever before. Let's hope we all keep our sanity in the coming weeks.

Photo of the Day

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Running

Are we having fun yet?

Photo by Melissa

It's too hot to run, though somehow I wound up with more mileage in than last month.

MonthDistance# WorkoutsAvg per Workout
January109.05 Mile1010.905 Mile
February76.18 Mile89.5225 Mile
March84.86 Mile108.486 Mile
April83.15 Mile99.23889 Mile
May57.95 Mile78.27857 Mile
June17.98 Mile35.99333 Mile
July54.62 Mile86.8275 Mile
Total483.79 Mile558.79618 Mile

Cycling

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Photo by epon

It's almost too hot for cycling. I think the people I ride with are getting tired of the steady stream of sweat dripping off my face and flying back onto them.

August 2010 Cycling by bike

BikeDistance# RidesAvg per Ride
Bianchi21.6 Mile63.6 Mile
Big Red22.9 Mile37.63333 Mile
Pocket Rocket51.36 Mile412.84 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird294.73 Mile649.1217 Mile
Total390.59 Mile1920.5574 Mile

January-August 2010 Cycling by bike

BikeDistance# RidesAvg per Ride
Bianchi278.6 Mile436.47907 Mile
Big Red49.4 Mile86.175 Mile
El Fuego40.9 Mile113.71818 Mile
Lynskey31.8 Mile215.9 Mile
Pocket Rocket266.1 Mile1320.4692 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird1672.38 Mile4735.5826 Mile
Total2339.18 Mile12418.8644 Mile

January-August 2010 Cycling by month

MonthDistance# WorkoutsAvg per Workout
January166.25 Mile208.3125 Mile
February140.67 Mile1211.7225 Mile
March508.83 Mile1828.2683 Mile
April318.98 Mile1324.5369 Mile
May365.89 Mile2018.2945 Mile
June447.97 Mile2220.3623 Mile
July390.59 Mile1920.5574 Mile
Total2339.18 Mile12418.8644 Mile

Walking

Walking around campus

It seemed like I walked more than usual, as I frequently walked to work last month whilst listening to live Tour de France coverage on my phone. I guess the previous month's trip to San Francisco added more miles than the Tour.

MonthDistance# WorkoutsAvg per Workout
January28.66 Mile93.18444 Mile
February51.45 Mile163.21563 Mile
March34.7 Mile103.47 Mile
April44.35 Mile114.03182 Mile
May48.75 Mile143.48214 Mile
June64.2 Mile164.0125 Mile
July56.3 Mile153.75333 Mile
Total328.41 Mile913.6089 Mile