Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: Not Recorded
Course: Mercer Island 8K
Distance: 5 Miles (6 Miles with Warm-up)
Time: 35:13
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Breezy, Low 40s

Comments: I ran an 8k race this morning. Despite my poor conditioning and relatively slow time, I was happy with my effort. I dug deep trying to break thirty-five minutes, and after facing many hills, battling a strong headwind, and watching a guy vomit right in front of me, I am confident I ran as fast as possible for the conditions. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 6:40
Mile 2: 7:03
Mile 3: 7:28
Mile 4: 7:21
Mile 5: 6:40
Total: 35:13  ¶ 6:17 PM

 
Resting Pulse: 60 bpm
Weight: 171 lbs.
Course: None
Distance: Zero
Time: N/A
Other Exercises: None
Weather: N/A

Comments: Between going to a co-worker's goodbye party and visiting my brand-new nephew at the hospital, I didn't have time for a run. I had planned to take today off, but that was before I fell asleep for no reason yesterday. Now it looks like I won't make a thirty-mile week, yet again. I don't know why I have so much trouble stringing together consecutive days of running.  ¶ 5:55 PM

 
Resting Pulse: 60 bpm
Weight: 170 lbs.
Course: None
Distance: Zero
Time: N/A
Other Exercises: None
Weather: N/A

Comments: I ended up taking an unintended nap this afternoon. I woke too late to squeeze in a run. My sister finally went into labor, and I should officially be an uncle before too much longer.  ¶ 5:54 AM

 
Resting Pulse: 60 bpm
Weight: 170 lbs.
Course: The Wrecking Yard
Distance: 4 Miles
Time: 35:56
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Sprinkles, 52°

Comments: I ran an easy four miles after work.

Some unsolicited advice for teenage couples sneaking off into the woods to make out: you'll enjoy more success if you wait until the trees have some leaves.  ¶ 9:56 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: Not Recorded
Course: Pit Bull Run
Distance: 6 Miles
Time: 54:25
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Partly Sunny, 58°

Comments: I ran six miles at an easy pace after work. I struggled through the last mile, but I never really hurt. Tomorrow might be a different story though.  ¶ 8:39 PM

 

If, per Jake, you've made a bracket or five over at ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge, I've put together a private group for comparing scores. Join up if you'd like.

Group Name: Apathetic A-holes
Password: bite-me  ¶ 6:09 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: 169 lbs.
Course: None
Distance: Zero
Time: N/A
Other Exercises: None
Weather: N/A

Comments: I arrived home from work to find my neighborhood under attack from downpour of snow, sleet, and hail. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Frankly, I was a little bit scared to go for a run. Instead, I decided to run some errands with Angie. About five minutes after we headed out, the precipitation stopped, the skies cleared, the wind calmed. Boy, did I feel like a wuss.  ¶ 10:05 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: 173 lbs.
Course: Pit Bull Run
Distance: 6 Miles
Time: 55:51
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Snow, 38°

Comments: I ran six easy miles after work. Fat, wet snowflakes started falling about halfway in. I haven't run while it was snowing since . . . I can't remember when. It made a six-mile slog a little more fun than it might have been.

When I stepped on the scale this morning, it read 173 pounds, which is the most I have ever weighed. I started recording my weight to make sure I wasn't losing too much. Looks like I might need to reverse my thinking.  ¶ 8:08 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: 170 lbs.
Course: None
Distance: Zero
Time: N/A
Other Exercises: None
Weather: N/A

Comments: I had planned to run today and take tomorrow off, but I decided to switch that around when the wind started blowing. I saw downed branches along the road during my drive home from work, and I decided I'd rather not have one land on my head as I slogged along. I'll take my gear to work with me tomorrow. That way, if it's still windy I can run down by the river where there aren't any trees.  ¶ 9:43 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: 167 lbs.
Course: The Wrecking Yard
Distance: 4 Miles
Time: 36:36
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Partly Sunny, 48°

Comments: I ran an easy four miles after work. My legs felt sore, especially my hips. I ran a little slower because of it. I know that once I push through what Jake calls "the soreness threshold" things will pick up, but it's going to be a miserable couple of weeks until I get there.

Also, spring must be close—the first bug of the season flew into my eye today.  ¶ 5:46 PM

 
Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: 168 lbs.
Course: The Wrecking Yard
Distance: 4 Miles
Time: 34:40
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Light Rain, 50°

Comments: It's on like Donkey Kong. I'm running again, and this time I'm sticking with it. I ran four miles easy, but it didn't feel good. It always hurts a little to start up again after too much time off.  ¶ 9:45 PM

 
I've put together a gallery of photos that I took at the 2006 Amgen Tour of California. Please check them out:

Tour of California Photos  ¶ 10:22 PM

 

Friday: I went straight from work to the airport, where I met Angie. We hopped on a flight to Long Beach. Angie's aunt and uncle picked us up at the airport and let us stay overnight at their house.

Saturday: Another aunt and uncle arrived at the house, and we all had dinner. Afterward, Angie and I met up with Ryan and Melissa before heading over to Naja's Place for beer—they had quite the selection, it should be noted, although I found the live music deafening. We stayed overnight at Ryan and Melissa's place in Redondo Beach.

Sunday: Ryan and Melissa joined us to watch the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California. We managed to find a spot where the cops didn't hassle us to move back from the road. We were so close to the race we could have quite literally reached out and touched the racers. The breeze of their passing whipped up the road grit and blew it into our faces. It was quite thrilling.

After the stage finished, Angie and I headed over to the team busses and acted like total groupies, elbowing in for photos and trying to get autographs. The racers finally retired from sight, so we wandered over to the podium to watch the final awards. Fences kept us from getting too close, so after Floyd Landis zoomed past on his way back to the Phonak bus, we wandered off.

We were walking up one of the closed side streets when the Discovery Channel bus rumbled past. A few blocks up the road it stopped and George Hincapie got off, dressed in street clothes. I don't know where he was going, but I guess he was trying to sneak around the crowd. Angie asked him if I could take his picture with her, and he graciously agreed. I felt bad about waylaying him, so I didn't ask him to linger for an extra photo as my weak camera battery struggled to run the autofocus and charge the flash, which is why I only took one slightly blurry picture.



I have more pictures from the race, and I'll post some of the good ones once I have time to go through them.

Monday: I spent all day trying to get home. Angie got out of John Wayne Airport—in first class, no less—around 3:00, but they didn't have room for me. As I was waiting for the next flight to Seattle, I ran into Tad, an acquaintance from my college days. He was waiting for a flight to Portland, but he was planning to drive to Seattle from there. He offered me a ride. I took him up on the offer and switched over to his flight.

There were plenty of seats, but I was only checked through to Oakland (it wasn't a non-stop flight). I hopped off the plane once we landed to check-in on the OAK-PDX leg, but I asked about flights to Seattle first. There was one departing in 90 minutes with plenty of open seats, so I switched to that. (Ninety minutes in an airport are much easier to handle than two-and-a-half hours in a car.) I sent Tad a text-message to let him know.

The flight to Seattle was delayed well over an hour, so I'm not sure I came out ahead. It was nearly midnight when I landed, and I didn't get home until 12:30. It was a long day.

Tuesday: I worked a full day on about four hours of sleep, which left me feeling pretty wiped-out. I did find the energy, though, to watch the last three stages of the Tour of California on videotape.

Wednesday: I came home from work and spent the afternoon moving furniture around in the living room. I guess that whole nesting thing affects fathers-to-be too.

Thursday: Felt like a zombie most of the day. I intended to start my running program back up, but I skipped it. So long, fitness!  ¶ 6:12 PM