An October Wrap

So, yes, back at this blog thing.

I can't claim the cool factor of kayaking, or (nor?) that of heading off into the wilds of WVA every so often, a la cool kid no. 6. I'll work on that. Getting a blog post up once a week would pass for an exciting achievement in my world. Gotta have pics to spice it up, so I've taken a few lately.



On to the new material...
Starting with the intro/teaser. Since the last episode...

The cat lover has carried on her duties sans solids, including dog walking and 10K as the marathon sherpa-spouse.
Her young man/in-house chef ran 26.2, I say 26.2 MILES, all in one shot. Again.
The left coaster recently kicked off her weekend morning by crawling through mud and running through water, all of it somehow uphill for 6 miles.

Me? I've caught up on TV time and achieved personal bests in both latenight carb consumption and rapid weight gain. That, my friends, is synchronicty. Sink...row...nissittee. It's hard work discovering the inner couch 'tater, but I am well on my way.

Picking up roughly at the end of September...

I headed down to RFK stadium on the first weekend in October, where I met M&D on a gorgeous sunny day, high 70's.



The Nat's were out of the running but could impact the playoffs by beating the Phillies in the final game of the season.



I arrived early and broke out the camera. A deep throng of fans gathered around the home dugout and another swarmed the home bullpen and outfield as the players went through warm ups. The season opening baseball is back in DC! glow was still burning. Folks looking around trying to somehow take in an entire season with their eyes, absorb it all, and goofily admiring the presence of one another. As in - hey, look at us, we've got a team and that team has us, an honest to goodness loyal following! Floating through the isles relishing completion of a full season, including some time at the top of the division. A .500 season and no playoffs was just fine, enough for a bit of a we-are-faaaam-illeee vibe. (Where is Willie Stargell these days? Parker? Tekulve?)

There were quite a few Phillies fans in attendance, and they were a loud presence, reacting to the play on the field and the out of town scoreboard. The Nationals lost. The Astros won, knocking Philly out of the playoffs. Not much joy for anyone. Nevertheless, the final out was followed by a prolonged standing O from all the Nats fans, appreciative of an unexpectedly exciting and competitive season.


Baseball has sucked me back in. I'll be following things through the off season.

Despite being less active than usual, I've got a new round of injurries that hit me early this month. It's apparently the year of injurries and humility for me, or something. Hip/glute and knee stuff has limited me to minimal biking, no running. But, lots of swimming. As I write, the weeks off have helped and it feels like I will be running again in the next week or two, and back on the bike regularly as well. My stomach is playing nice, to the tune of 7-8 lbs added in the last few weeks. So, I've got that going for me, which is nice... right.

Mom had some tooth work done and has been getting by on yogurt and other mushy stuff. Hasn't stopped her from sticking with her walking routine, which now includes a young dog from the 'hood. Didn't seem to slow her down as we covered 7miles on foot at the Marine Corps Marathon.

B continues to stay active and seems to be enjoying it. She recently took on a "Muddy Buddy" event. She and a teamate ran, biked, scaled walls, crossed through water, crawled through mud and generally had a blast over an uphill and literally bruising course of about 6 miles and 90minutes. Those crazy Cali folks.

The big recent event was the annual Marine Corps Marathon.

Walking around for a few hours taking in the Marathon Saturday (10-30) was a welcome chance to actually spend time on my feet moving around and to hang with Mom and watch Dad take on another 26.2mile day. Sunshine and temps into the high 60's made for easy spectating. I managed to avoid injury and hopefully so has Dad.

The "people's marathon" (no prize money) is a huge race. 30,000 strong. Marines in abundance, wearing their camo uni's they kept the course clear, gear secure, runners hydrated, etc.

Mom and I connected at the Lincoln Memorial just after the 8:15 start.






Lots of runners to watch, and some other interesting sights and sounds as well.







Chickens apparently can run. Miles the Bear got paid not to run.


Note: It is strongly suspected that the chicken, or at least the chicken outfit, did not cover the entire 26.2.



Dad went off in the first wave, wearing his phone and a small waist pack with some fluids and calories. Some hamstring tweaks nagged him over the weeks leading up the race day, so expectations were nil. No attempt at a personal best marathon time. With the forced taper in effect, it was very much a take it on the fly kind of day. The brains v ego war was won before the gun. Take what the day gives, and come out injury free, that was the goal.

He checked in via phone now and then. We spied him a few times.

First, just after the 10 mile mark, and then at about 14.5 still smiling and moving at a pleasing pace.
And finally, after he finished a loooong 25th mile on consistent up grade and hit the brutal hill at mile 26 as he headed for the finish (he's in there somewhere).

Even without pushing for a time goal he covered the distance in about 4hrs 32min.


I'm hoping the whole family will be 100% when we get together in Gatheirsburg for turkey and maybe a 5 miler in a few weeks.

I believe I heard Mark get a question in at Fitzgerald on Fri. as I listened to the Libby indictment press conference. Ol' Fitz would have none of it, refusing to clarify some of the vague language in his opening statement.

Paid $2.44 for gas today.

C.