Running challenge

I'm trying to find a way to get my running kickstarted again and make things more interesting. There was a time last year when I really got into the flow of running and started to enjoy it a lot. I'd like to get back there! One of the really fun events I did last year was the Colchester 1/2 marathon in February despite the brutal cold. I'm thinking there's a way to wrap these two items together.

There are 75 days between now and the 1/2 marathon on February 23... perhaps another challenge to set say 60 as a target number of days to run. That's quite a bit, but it would force me into consistency which would ultimately be my goal. I should probably set a number of miles too in order to add a bit of spice. I need to find a way to get it back into my daily schedule, probably by starting to run during the day at work again.

The best case scenario is that someone else, either a friend or relative, would join me in this challenge. Perhaps someone could pick a different activity, or even a few different folks? Anyone interested? It would be nice to have a bit of competition to keep me going... we could even put a small wager on it. Or not.

Drop me a note in email or a comment below if you're interested...

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Volleyball Week 6

Very good games last night, the results could have been better but we played the top team in the league and played them well. The first game was a tight affair, and we played very well together with a very good rotation of 8 players. It was a very enjoyable game and I played pretty well, making some nice plays both on the front line and the back line. We won the game and were feeling very good about our play.

The second game was a bit tougher, we fell behind but still played okay. The other team definitely had a bit more talent than us. We had a very nice run to come back and tie it up and stayed neck and neck but ultimately lost by one point, 24 to 25. The final game was also a well played game but we could not put them away as they pulled away and won the final to take the tiebreaker.

I stayed to play pickup and did okay as I again tried to focus on aggressive play and better passing from the back line. My net play is improving, I got a couple blocks during pickup and even a few during the games. I still net to improve my bumping, I'm very inconsistent and a bit of a liability when I'm in the middle in the back.

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Link Happy

I'm clearly link-happy today, but I couldn't resist this one. It makes me feel a bit better, and allows me to claim I'm better off than some of my skinny relatives.

There's a study out that suggests that being Fat and Fit is better than being skinny but sedentary!

"Men and women who were fit, as judged by a treadmill test, but were overweight
or obese had a lower mortality risk than those of normal weight but low fitness
levels, the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed."

Clearly I'm better off than most of you silly, skinny people! Long live the Clydesdale!

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Another very cool link

It's amazing what is possible on a bike...

This video starts a bit slow with some commentary on a new movie coming out called "Crux", but once the bike shots start it's incredible. The stunts are amazing and the control these guys have over their bikes is pretty wild.

Enjoy.
http://bikemag.com/av/flash/crux_trailer/

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It's nearing that time of year...

Here's a very cool link to a Happy Holidays message from Specialized Bikes.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/microsite/holiday/index.html

And some people say I'm obsessed with my bike!

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Volleyball Week 5

Ugly... very ugly! We got swept all three games and did not play well at all. We had some stretches where we played okay, but would have a bad couple points and then tighten up and things would get away from us. We have one player who tends to overreact negatively and I think it makes us all press a bit and stop playing. We then try to force things instead of just playing our game.

I played okay, a few good hits and some nice digs. I also got to play 2 hours of pickup since the games before ours were forfeited when a bunch of players from 1 team didn't show up. Ultimately I was able to work on my passing which is improving and more aggressive net play. My blocking is improving a bit as well, but still needs a lot of work. I think I'm going to invest in some kneepads, since I tend to dive around a bit and my knees are getting pretty banged up.

On the plus side, I got in the pool again this morning and had a really good workout. We did a backstroke set which went much better than last week as I have a better feel for the stroke. Looking forward to swimming again on Thursday, I may even get to do some more new strokes.

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New trails

While I haven't gotten bored riding on the same old trails, I've been looking forward to trying a new mountain biking area lately. This weekend, during our "holiday party weekend" with my family I managed to get out for a ride in Niantic on what turned out to be a great set of trails.

For the past couple of years, instead of having a Christmas party, my immediate family spends a weekend together at a hotel. We spend time swimming in the pool, hanging out and having dinner together. It's been a wonderful tradition in that it allows us to have fun with each other, eliminates some of the materialistic parts of Christmas, and we spend more time together as a family. This year we headed down to New London, planning a train ride, ice skating and some time at Old Mistick Village. I was unable to get out of work until later than I wanted and so we headed down Friday evening and just met my family at the hotel. Matt and I had planned a mountain biking trip Saturday morning early to let us get a few hours in without being away from the family too much.

We headed out at 6 A.M to a trail I located on Bikerag.com in Niantic which sounded like a lot of fun. It turned out to be a great spot, even though it was difficult because of all the leaves on the ground. Leaves tend to cover holes and other obstacles, and they make traction a bit more dicey. We had a few extra falls, but the trails were great fun. The only negative during the day was an issue I experience with my hub in the back wheel. I whacked a rock pretty good, and must have damaged it a bit because it wouldn't allow the bike to coast. It would catch on every revolution and stick until enough pressure forced the wheel around. Ultimately this meant that I needed to keep pedaling constantly other wise the chain would snap around and put a lot of stress on the derailleur. It made for an interesting trip back out, but ironically gave me some interesting training as I was forced to keep pedaling and had to be more aggressive through obstacles. I can see the attraction of a "fixie" or fixed gear bicycle and would probably be more receptive to the idea now.

The trail was enough fun that I'm considering getting a group to go back down for the day. It's over an hour drive, so it would have to be planned ahead, but I think the trail would be worth the trip. The only question is now, or in the spring when it's a bit warmer!

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