OPINION - The Newest Stoplight To Avoid

Welcome to your newest form of torture, the stoplight at Dahlgren Road and Caledon Road (Routes 206 and 218 respectively). Before you yell at me and tell me that the light is a necessary evil, I will forewarn you that I only agree that some improvement was necessary there. However, I feel a traffic light is not one of them.

Traffic circles get a lot of negative press, and even more than normal here in King George. But before you shove those fingers in your ears and start yelling "LA! LA! LA!" let me remind you that the science is there to prove traffic circles work at not only moving traffic faster through the intersection but also doing it more safely than a typical stoplight.

Before we continue debating the pros and cons of lights and signs and circles, let's take a moment to look at a potential solution. VDOT has installed the stoplight and we all know they’re not likely to remove it anytime soon. Maybe we can find a solution that will make some of you happy. Or at least less upset at driving through yet another stoplight on your daily commute. With nearly 10,000 employees, Dahlgren is the host to our area’s primary employers. Factor in Potomac Elementary School during the school year, limited capacity on local roads, and it's a recipe for a commuter's nightmare.

What I propose is an alternative route to Dahlgren. My proposal is based on a few assumptions so let's get those out of the way first. I'm assuming that most of the traffic comes from the Fredericksburg area. I'm assuming that most of the traffic is going to Dahlgren's Main Gate. I'm assuming that we are all driving the speed limit because, well, we all know that’s the right thing to do.

To measure my distances, I used two points; Sealston Elementary School and the Dahlgren Post Office. I measured various routes using main roads and secondary roads, counted the stoplights, and even compare distances that are two lanes versus four lanes. Below is the end result of what I found.

#	Route Used	Total Distance	Number of Stoplights	2 Lanes vs. 4 Lanes
1	Route 3 to Route 206	19.6 miles	7 (Sealston, Hopyard, Post Office, KGMS, St. Paul's, WaWa, PES)	11.0 miles vs. 8.6 miles
2	Route 3 to 603 to Route 218 to Route 206	20.7 miles	4 (Sealston, St. Paul's, WaWa, PES)	20.7 miles vs. 0 miles
3	Route 3 to Route 205 to Highway 301 to Route 206	20.7 miles	10 (Sealston, Hopyard, Post Office, KGMS, KGHS, KGES, Rankins, Hillcrest, WaWa, PES)	4.2 miles* vs. 16.5 miles
4	Route 3 to Route 206 to 611 to Highway 301 to Route 206	21.8 miles	7 (Sealston, Hopyard, Post Office, KGMS, Hillcrest, WaWa, PES)	7.4 miles vs. 14.4 miles
5	Route 3 to Route 301 to Route 206	22.8 miles	11 (Sealston, Hopyard, Post Office, KGMS, KGHS, KGES, Tractor Supply, Rankins, Hillcrest, WaWa, PES)	2.9 miles* vs. 19.9 miles
6	Route 3 to 694 to Route 218 to Route 206	23.2 miles	4 (Sealston, St. Paul's, WaWa, PES)	18.4 miles vs. 4.8 miles

*The distance from St. Anthony’s Road to Tinsbloom Lane, where Route 3 goes to two lanes, is approximately 1.1 miles.

It’s pretty easy to see that the shortest distance is the tried and true Route 206 (#1). But when you look at #2 and #3, you’ll see the distance is only another mile further. For the fewest traffic lights, you’ll need to use #2 or #6. For the longest distance on four lane roads, #3 and #5 are your best bet while #2 has only two lane roads.

After crunching way more numbers and datasets than I expected, after learning more about the differences between geometric mean and harmonic mean, I finally stopped my circular calculations and decided to arrive at a ground-breaking opinion.

I say ground-breaking because I’m going to disagree with my own data as well as my own attempt at weighting the different routes based on these factors. In other words, I’m going to go with my gut. And my gut says, use option #3 (Route 3 to Route 205 to Highway 301 to Route 206). I feel like this gives you the best option to drop off your kids at all the different schools, it allows you to safely make left-hand turns, and it gives you the best combination of faster roads and shorter distances.

#	Distance (miles)	4 Lane %	Stoplight Time (seconds)	TOTAL
1	19.6	43.88%	245	308.48
2	20.7	0.00%	140	160.70
3	20.7	79.71%	350	450.41
4	21.8	66.06%	245	332.86
5	22.8	87.28%	385	495.08
6	23.2	79.31%	140	242.51

*To determine the best 2 vs. 4 Ratio, I subtracted the 4 lane distance in miles from the 2 lane distance in miles. This would give the routes with more 4 lane mileage a lower number, which would better align them with the other scores.

** The Stoplight Time is based on an average of 70 seconds per cycle. I then divided each cycle in half (35 seconds) and multiplied by the number of lights on the route.

***The Mean and the Average only differed by a small amount in the Distance and the Total columns. Because the difference was so small, I felt it wasn’t important enough to include this math in the chart.

Home Alone - A Classic

The family and I recently went to a limited showing of Home Alone in the theaters. It was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the movie. But for us, it was a celebration of family time as we enjoyed one of our favorite Christmas movies.

We weren't the only ones in the theater but it was surprisingly empty. The small theater was maybe 25% full and most of the viewers were older, like my wife and I, putting them in the age-range of having seen it in the theaters as children when it was first released. Our favorite fans in the screening with us were the family of four that wore matching shirts that read "Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal," but in different colors of course.

As we sat down to enjoy the show, there were no previews. I really wish they had shown something like Rocky V, Look Who's Talking Too, or even Kindergarten Cop. Something from that era of the early 90s that would have set the tone for a great movie.

I think the lack of media coverage was due to everyone focusing on Back to the Future Day. Or maybe they were hungover or overdosed with nostalgia to think of another classic having an anniversary. Thankfully, I read the USA Today article, found a local theater, and bought tickets. THe rest, as they say, was history.

The most I got out of the showing, besides the family time, was catching some of the scenes and dialog that I missed after all these years. So let's walk through them.

The man at the desk.
In a great camera shot, we see Joe Pesci ask for the parents of the house by seemingly talking to every kid that walks by him. But did you notice the guy at the desk in the background? In the same window where we see the lamp move near the end of the movie, there's a man, sitting in a chair, at what looks like a desk. Who is it? Uncle Frank is my guess. He looks a little bald and is wearing a sweater vest.

"You probably have the kind of traveler's checks that don't work in France."
I remember the scene distinctly, it's when Buzz chokes on the pizza in the kitchen. And I remember them trying to get money to pay the pizza boy. And I remember Uncle Frank claiming he had no cash, just traveler's checks. But I've never heard this line before. It's in there, but it's in the background, hard to hear, and I think Peter, the dad, says it under his breath a bit.

Was Kevin's mom a seamstress?
Check out the basement. Notice all the mannequins? You may remember Kevin using them in his first attempt to deter Harry and Marv from breaking into the house by hosting a fake party. But I never really paid attention to where they came from. Then my wife mentioned that the sewing machine in the Master Bedroom was older than the sewing machine in the basement. Which got me to thinking, was Kevin's mom a seamstress? There are mannequins, sewing machines, and even a dressmaker's mannequin in the house.

Marv swears.
Again, I knew this. But in the theater, it was much easier to hear. Sure, Harry says some stuff that sounds like swearing, but it actually isn't. And Kevin says "ass" at least once. But it's the Marv scene that stood out. If you're not sure of the scene I'm talking about, it's when Marv checks out the kitchen door by himself, sticks his foot in the dog door, then looses his shoe. He says "shit" but you can't hear it clearly on the DVD. It's pretty clear in the theater.


The deeper link between Kevin and his neighbor.
It never dawned on me before, but there's a deeper link between Kevin and his neighbor, Old Man Marley (aka The South Bend Shovel Slayer). It hit me when they were in the church talking before Kevin heads home to defend his house. Kevin admits to saying things he shouldn't have and thinks that it has driven his family away. Mr. Marley then goes on to admit essentially the same thing. They have the same family issue and I never noticed it before. I always glossed over this scene because it was light on action and only had a few good jokes.

Old people as friends.
About the same time I caught on to the link between Kevin and Mr. Marley, I realized that in the second movie he befriends an older woman. Not much else to say here but thatjordangirl has a nice image to share.

The lamp moves.
I knew about this one. So did my kids. But did you? Check out the last scene or two from the movie where Kevin greets his mom and the rest of his family. In the background you see the lamp in front of the window. Then as he goes to the window to look at his neighbor, The South Bend Shovel Slayer, the lamp has moved.

Classic.
This wasn't really a scene from the movie itself, but a scene in the theater. The audience was laughing at something, there was that lull in the laughter, and my son says, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Classic!" Indeed it was son, indeed it was.

Not only was the movie a classic, but his reaction and the experience is classic. I can only hope your holiday season brings about positive memories and scenes to remember for years to come.

Let's talk basements, standing water, and mold

This is a novel, so skip to the end if you want to see what my question is. Otherwise, grab a coffee and delight in the fact that you got to enjoy your Labor Day weekend.


So our new-to-us-for-2-months house, aka Fort Max, experienced a flooded basement this weekend. We used an exterior faucet to do some cleaning and an hour or two later realized that said faucet had burst due to freezing. Seeing as it's September in Virginia, it had to have happened some time ago. Which means our home inspector didn't catch the busted pipe.

Lesson 1 - Home inspectors don't catch every single thing that's wrong with the house you want to buy.


As soon as we discovered the leak, we shut off the faucet, shut off the water in the house, and shut off the water to the house at the water meter.


Lesson 2 - Know where and how to shut your utilities off. Thankfully the house shut off was in the same wall as the leak and we could easily access it. Thankfully we also know where the water meter shut off was located as well as the special wrench to use (although a crescent wrench works fine too).


We immediately began tossing rags down and moving things that were still dry out of the way. Anything that was wet that could be dried off and saved, we did that too. And we started running the wet/dry shop vac to get as much water up as we could. It was laundry day so most of the dirty clothes caught some of the leaks. Not everything but it did help contain some of the flood.


Lesson 3 - Keep rags handy (ideally large towels) in case of a leak.
Lesson 4 - Store all your important stuff in your basement in plastic totes.
Lesson 5 - If you store items in cardboard boxes, wrap all the contents in a garbage bag.
Lesson 6 - Be prepared to lose anything that's on the floor.
Lesson 7 - Install a leak alarm of some sort.
Lesson 8 - Test all your utilities, like you faucets, right away when you buy a new house.


We were lucky to have two shop vacs on hand. My dad was on his way home so that added some extra help. William, age 7, could help a little but not a lot. Thankfully he could clean up the tools outside that we had been using to clean. Elizabeth, age 10, and my father were more help.


Lesson 9 - Have a clear chain of command when you encounter scenarios like this. The incident leader needs to delegate and communicate with all parties involved.


Once we got a break, we called the home warranty folks and they said a local plumber could come by. The next day. The same plumber we've dealt with before for a leaky toilet who was an ass. We tried to get a different plumber but no dice. The home insurance folks were more helpful and had a tech here in hours to help clean up. He sucked up some water, then set up fans and dehumidifiers. I'm glad I kept checking his work because one of the dehumidifiers had a drain line that fell out of  another drain line and would have just added water to the floor. We also had to run extension cords upstairs because the circuits kept popping from all the fans running.


Lesson 10 - Have fans and dehumidifiers on hand to help remediation start as soon as possible. These should already be a part of your standard issue basement supply list.
Lesson 11 - Check behind everyone's work, especially contractors, to make sure they're doing it right.


The jack-ass plumber came the next day and cut the supply line to the faucet and removed the faucet. He glued a shut-off valve to the supply line so we could still have water in the house. But he did a crappy job of everything. I'm no plumber but I at least know that when you cut a copper pipe, you need to de-burr the end. He didn't. You also need to clean the ends with sandpaper. He didn't. Instead it was a quick glue. Since the home warranty folks didn't want to pay for a pipe that had frozen, we said good bye to the plumber. We weren't going to pay him to do a shitty job. And as far as I'm concerned, he can join my blacklist.


Lesson 12 - Don't be afraid to tell a contractor no. It's easy to just say fix it but if they don't fix it right the first time, you'll be paying for it again later.


With the plumber gone and quick-fix in place, we're now waiting for the insurance adjuster to arrive, the clean-up people to come check on their work, and the HVAC service tech to ensure the equipment is still good. We already got the all-clear from the washer/dryer manufacturer to use the units. The "brains" of them are up high and they're built to be in an inch or two of water. But we still kept an eye on them just to stay safe.

Lesson 13 - After an incident like this, pay attention to any anomalies. This could be the pre-cursor to a new incident.

I know there will be more lessons in the future. But until the final outcome has been reached and everything has been repaired, who knows.

This Week Flu By

As I sit here recovering from my  bout with the flu, I thought I'd give a timeline of what happened and when.

Wednesday
Training Plan - 1:20 run with surges
Training Completed - 1:07 with surges

After a normal day of work and school, we continued on with our normal routine at night. Dinner, showers, homework, and bedtime. We had one minor outlier with my son William who suddenly had a fever. I say suddenly because we (my wife and I) didn't notice anything out of the ordinary earlier in the day. It wasn't until getting him ready for bed that we knew something was up.

So we took his temp and sure enough, a fever. With that in mind, I planned on taking him to the doctor in the morning. It wouldn't be that big of a deal since I was working late for the week and had already gotten my run in and was feeling okay if I missed my upper body workout the next day.

Thursday
Training Plan - Upper body workout
Training Completed - Nothing

With an even higher fever, it was a trip to the doctor for sure. After dosing him up with meds to bring the fever down some, my son and I headed to the local urgent care center in the morning. We stopped for some breakfast and coffee (for me) and then got checked out (for him). His strep and flu tests came back negative but we got an anti-biotic since one ear looked slightly inflamed. We came home and chilled out. I got some work done but nothing terribly major since I was constantly checking on him.

After having kids for a bit, you start to know them better than they know themselves. So when William didn't want to eat much, still had a fever through the day, and wanted to take naps instead of watching cartoons, I knew things weren't getting better. So it wasn't too much of a surprise that my wife took him to the pediatrician that night to get him checked out again. His flu test came back positive almost immediately so we stopped the anti-biotic and started the Tamiflu.

Friday
Training Plan - 2:15 run
Training Completed - Nothing

Friday was pretty much a repeat of Thursday but with fewer naps, a little more food, and a lower temperature. These were all good signs but he still wasn't fever free so that meant no school. Which meant I was again on nurse duty instead of getting a lot of work done. I was happy to see his fever come down and that he was eating a little more. I wasn't so happy to miss my workout but knew it the right thing to do. Not like I can just leave him home alone watching cartoons.

Another casualty of William getting sick was our planned couple's massage on Saturday. We knew he needed to be fever free for a day before being non-contagious so we knew that would likely come on Saturday. Which meant that my dad didn't really want to expose himself to the flu and we didn't blame him. So with us being out a sitter and still having a sick kid, we rescheduled the massage to a later date.

Saturday
Training Plan - 3:00 run
Training Completed - Nothing

With Friday's run in the toilet, I knew Saturday's would be too. So I asked my coach if I could shift some of the missed running time to Sunday to make up for it. I don't like to "make up" for missed runs because things usually go wrong and it sets the wrong mentality that I can make up for it. Thankfully he's on board with that too but agreed that I could change my Sunday run to 5:00 hours. With that being the plan and with getting approval from my wife, I was good to go with that.

The rest of the day was spent doing our usual errands and chores like getting groceries. William was feeling better and I had no symptoms other than I woke up with a tiny tickle in the back of my throat. That tickle would turn out to be more but I just thought I slept funny and my sinuses drained awkwardly enough to make me cough a bit more than normal. I went to bed Saturday night feeling just fine. Things were going great until about 2200. I took a pill that has a side-effect of giving you a mild headache unless you hydrate a little more than normal. I didn't so I thought the headache was normal.

It wasn't. The headache went away but came back at 2200 ten times worse. I tossed and turned until about 0100 and took my temperature. Yep, I had a fever. So I tossed and turned the rest of the night worrying about missing my run in the morning but feeling pretty certain that I had the flu.

Sunday
Training Plan - 1:30 run 5:00 run
Training Completed - Nothing

Sunday morning I woke up feeling much worse than the night before. I checked again and sure enough, I still had a fever. This along with a massive headache led me to believe I had the flu. I've learned to listen to my body and understand it enough to know when something is wrong and I'm generally right in diagnosing myself. So after suffering through a long morning trying to get my fever down I finally relented and let my wife take me to the same urgent care center I was at Thursday.

My flu test came back negative but I saw the same doctor and when he heard my son tested positive for the flu later in the day he decided I needed to be on Tamiflu too. So instead of aiming for 5 hours of running and about 20 miles on the trail, I ended up spending an extra 5 hours in bed and having somebody drive me 20+ miles to the doctor because I was too woozy to drive myself. I spent the rest of the day and night trying to rest and watch the playoff games.

Monday
Training Plan - Recovery
Training Completed - Sort of recovered

I was happy to see Denver going to the SuperBowl but not so happy to see the 49ers lose. Since the Steelers didn't make I had to pick somebody, right? Anyway, I felt a little better but got almost no sleep. I stayed up late watching a movie and trying to read but ended up with only a few hours of sleep sitting up in the recliner in the living room. Better than nothing but not as good as I needed. The day was spent resting more and making a trip for coffee. I was well enough to drive but still wasn't feeling too wonderful. My fever was down a bit but not where it needed to be.

Tuesday
Training Plan - 1:30 run
Training Completed - Nothing

I slept fairly well last night but woke up feeling exhausted. So even though I have a ton of work to do at work, I knew I needed another day to recover well enough to actually work coherently. So I called in sick with the intent to go back to work Wednesday. The kids have a snow day so it'll be a loud and busy house but I'm sure I can at least squeeze in a nap at some point.

With my son feeling better and on his last day of Tamiflu and with me feeling a little better and halfway through my Tamiflu, I'm hoping, really really hoping, that nobody else in the house gets sick. It sucks. It always sucks but this is worse than my usual man-cold that I get once a year or so. What really sealed the deal for me was the larger than normal headache and the fever. Usually I get more of a sinus headache when I get sinus infections or some bronchitis. This headache was much worse. And I never get a fever. So yes doctor, I'm pretty sure your test was wrong and I do/did have the flu.

Conclusion
I missed nearly eight hours of training and I'm okay with that. Even though I was really looking forward to a long run on Sunday I knew I had a valid reason to miss it. And I must be making progress in my training because I don't even feel bad about it. Maybe it was because I knew I was really sick and maybe it was because I knew I shouldn't feel guilty about it. And even though I had a brief moment of panic that my next race is a short two weeks away and that I probably wouldn't meet my goal, I'm okay with that too. Okay, not entirely okay, but at least 80% to 90% okay with it. Much more okay with it than I would under different circumstances.

Night Runner Rant

As I drove to and from our local pizzeria last night, I spotted a runner out. This usually makes me feel pretty happy to see a peer out there getting their jog on. It makes me even happier when I see a runner on my turf. Despite this happy feeling I get most of the time, I also get a little upset when runners don't adhere to the rules of the road. Now, there are rules and laws that the state and local governments put out there for pedestrians but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the common sense rules about running on the road.

Rule #1 - Run against traffic
This should be the first rule any runner learns when running on the road. Here in the US, we drive on the right, ride our bikes on the right, and run on the left. This is so that oncoming traffic can see you and you can see them. I've always done this and the only exception I make is when I'm running a race and I run the tangent. Outside of that, I'm on the far left side of the road.

Rule #2 - Be visible
This is where the night runner from last night pissed me off. He was moving along at a great clip and his form looked good. But his outfit was deadly. He wore all black. Black pants, black shirt, and black hat. He had all of three tiny reflective dots on him. I swear if those dots were on his hat he would have looked like a black deer. Completely suicidal. Compare this to the runner I saw the other day out for a run. He was running during the day and had on a florescent green long sleeve shirt and a brightly colored hat. I could very easily see him, even in the sunlight. When I run outside, I try to clash as much as possible. Not only do I try to clash with the environment I run in (bright colors) but I also try to clash with the colors I'm wearing (bright green with bright orange with bright yellow). I try to go by the motto: "If you can't see me running, then you're blind and shouldn't be driving." So even though it's a bit of a jerky thing to do, I will shine my headlamp in a driver's eyes just to make sure they can see me at night.

Rule #3 - Prepare to bail out
This is one of those things I learned when I learned how to drive. My father taught me to look for places to wreck the car should something unavoidable happen. Sounds goofy as all get-out but I've found that it works great when running on the road. I only use this when I see a car coming but all it means is to look for a semi-comfortable place to jump should the oncoming car decide to swerve in your direction. I have had to bail a few times but every time has been because of cars coming from both directions and they'd need to pass each other right where I'm running. In other words, the cars barely have enough room to pass each other so I damn well better get off the road. I've also used this once (the planning part, not the actual jumping part) when I had a driver slow way down just to watch me run. She creeped me out so I was actively looking for escape routes.

Rule #4 - Pay the fuck attention
I know, I know, so many of us go out for a run to lose ourselves and to get away from the stresses of life. We want to tune out and just float on the runner's high. But we can't. At least not too much. We need to keep a waking eye open for anything that may be a problem. When I run on the road, I usually ditch the headphones. This allows me to hear cars coming around a blind curve or even coming from behind. It also lets me hear barking dogs (and nails on pavement means the dog is chasing you too). I also wave to passing drivers. If they wave back, I know they're polite and they see me. If they don't wave, then I watch them close because they may not see me. Usually they just don't like runners and ignore me.

Rule #5 - Protect yourself
Usually this means just wearing what's appropriate for the weather outside. But it also means knowing where you're going and telling someone. Or running in a group. Or not running right at sunrise or sunset because of sun glare. Or wearing a headlamp during the day because you're running in the rain. It can also mean carrying a cell phone, pepper spray, or some other self defense tool.

How ever you boil it down, you need to be proactive and reactive when it comes to protecting yourself on the run. All of these rules (and many more tidbits of advice) can save your life. So don't be an idiot and run at night in all black. You aren't a fucking ninja.

Top 5 Under Appreciated Christmas Movies

I thought I'd take a turn for the bizarre here today and talk about a few Christmas movies that are seriously under appreciated. That's right, those movies that people have only vaguely heard of but have only seen once or twice or maybe even never. Oh, and yes, I know it's the day AFTER Christmas. This just means you have plenty of time to either go shopping at the sales this weekend or to get an early start on next year's list. So here goes.

5 - Die Hard
Seriously, this is a Christmas movie for me. At least #1 and #2 are. I'll continue to argue this point until everyone agrees with me so forget about trying to change my mind.

4 - Unaccompanied Minors
Yet another classic that comes across as campy and cheesy but still deserves more appreciation.Lewis Black and Tyler James Williams are stellar in this show. And while Wilmer Valderramma does a good job acting, all I hear is Handy Manny. On top of this, we have Brett Kelly, the pickle kid from Bad Santa. Hilarious! And of course, it's very much like Home Alone, just set in an airport with five kids instead of one.

3 - I'll Be Home For Christmas
Another classic that doesn't get the airtime it deserves. Sure, it's campy and sure it's cheesy. But there's a 5k race with people running dressed as Santa, classic! And for those 7th Heaven fans out there, you get to see Adam LaVorgna (Robbie) and Jessica Biel (Mary) before they got together on the show!

2 - Scrooged
Many fans of Bill Murray are well aware of this 80's classic but it still exists on the fringes of the mainstream media. Besides, it has Mary Lou Retton, Jamie Farr, a very young Wendie Malick, Buddy Hackett, and Bobcat Goldthwait. It is a bit scarier than I remember but those are just the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Future. It's like Caddyshack for Christmas.

1 - The Man Who Came To Dinner
This is by far, the most under appreciated Christmas movie out there. I'd even venture to say that this is the most under appreciated movie of all time. The comedic writing, timing, and acting are by far the best you will find anywhere. If you want to write, act, do stand-up, or even spend two hours laughing, then you need to watch this movie. I've watched it every Christmas for a few years now and it gets better every time.

Medical Update

So I went for my annual physical last week and had positive results from my tests. Not positive like I had a disease, but positive like things were good. I will tell you that I'm not disclosing everything but I will share some of the more important stuff. If it will help inspire people to live a healthier life, then I'm okay sharing. I'll also tell you that my doctor's visits were physical, not mental. I already know I have issue upstairs, I just don't feel ready to ask for help with that. Yet. One thing at a time.

Anyway, my results. First up, my weight, blood pressure, and heart rate. In late December 2009 I went for my regular physical. My weight was 239 pounds. Last week I was down to 231 pounds. I'm not too concerned about that since I was wearing clothes and I don't really consider it my "true" weight. At least that's what I tell myself. My blood pressure back in 2009 was 130/82 and my heart rate was 68 bpm. Last week was 112/74 and my heart rate was 56 bpm. To give you a better view, here's the break down between 2010, 2011, and 2012.

2010
- Weight = 239
- Blood Pressure = 130/82
- Heart Rate = 68

2011
- Weight = 234
- Blood Pressure = 134/80
- Heart Rate = 60

2012
- Weight = 231
- Blood Pressure = 112/74
- Heart Rate = 56

As you can see, slow but steady progress. And it's progress that I'm very happy with. Moving on to the lab results, you'll see the same thing. Progress.

2010
- Bilirubin = 1.6 MG/DL
- Cholesterol = 217 MG/DL
- Triglycerides = 199 MG/DL
- HDL Cholesterol = 33 MG/DL
- LDL Cholesterol = 144 MG/DL

2011
- Bilirubin = 1.2 MG/DL
- Cholesterol = 191 MG/DL
- Triglycerides = 114 MG/DL
- HDL Cholesterol = 41 MG/DL
- LDL Cholesterol = 127 MG/DL

2012
- Bilirubin = 1.2 MG/DL
- Cholesterol = 164 MG/DL
- Triglycerides = 95 MG/DL
- HDL Cholesterol = 41 MG/DL
- LDL Cholesterol = 104 MG/DL

Wow. Look at that Cholesterol. From 217 to 164. The normal range is 125 to 200. Nice. My Triglycerides went from 199 to 95 (normal is under 150). Again, very nice. HDL Cholesterol (that's the healthy one, just remember the "H" is for "H"ealthy) went from 33 to 41. Not a big job but still moving in the right direction (the normal range is 40 or higher). My LDL Cholesterol (normal is under 130) went from 144 to 104. Sweet. Oh, and that Bilirubin number went from 1.6 to 1.2 (normal is 0.2 to 1.2).

Now. None of this was easy. And as you can see, it took me two solid years to get here. I'm sure my numbers were worse prior to late 2009/early 2010 but I don't have those results handy. Now, there are three main factors in how I made such great progress. Diet, exercise, and Mega Red. The diet and exercise are so simple yet so hard. You have to work every day at the exercise and three times a day (often more) at the great diet. It sucks. It's hard. You constantly want to quit and go back to the easy life you had of eating a bag of chips on the couch. But once you see progress, you want to see more. You love seeing the weight drop. You love it more than that bag of chips.

Oh, and the Mega Red? I firmly believe it's responsible for at least half of my improved cholesterol numbers. I didn't start taking it until late 2010/early 2011. And I feel that it works. It's easy to take, it's a small pill, and it doesn't taste or smell like fish. You can read more about it here. Oh, and you can get it at Costco.

So there you have it. Progress made. If at least one of you reads this and is inspired to make progress of your own, I'll be happy. Beyond happy.

Follow up on my 2011 Goals

As you can see from my original posting here, I had some pretty damn ambitious goals coming into 2011. I will make no such goals for this year. In fact, I have no goals for this year. At all. Yes, I do have races on my schedule and some waiting in the wings. If I run them, great. If not, I'll survive.

Why no goals for 2012? I don't know. I think I'm tired of them right now. I need to focus on running, family, reading, what I eat, and a few other things that are also important like work, family time, and not stressing out. I was stressed and pressured by my goals in 2011. Some of that pressure was good. Some wasn't. So no goal list for this year. I already know it'll be busy enough without trying to get everything checked off before December rolls around again.

So how did I do with my goals last year?

• run 1 marathon - COMPLETE - Richmond Marathon in November.
  
• run 2 half marathons - COMPLETE++ - DRHT Trail (Feb.), MCHH and Run for the Dream Half (both in May), and VA Runner Half (Dec.).
• run 1 sprint triathlon - INCOMPLETE - I opted out of triathlons altogether.
  
• run 1 50k ultra marathon - COMPLETE - DRHT 50k in August.
• run 35 miles by my 35th birthday - INCOMPLETE - Totally bailed on the project and the idea.
  
• raise money for the Friends of the DRHT (Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail) - INCOMPLETE - Again, totally bailed.
  
• run on the DRHT (or any trail) once a week - PARTIAL - I'd say I kept to this about 80% of the time.
  
• set a half marathon PR (2:35:06 set on 12/12/2010) - COMPLETE - VA Runner Half in December with a time of 2:19:03.
• set a 50k PR (8:42:52 set on 8/8/2010) - COMPLETE - DRHT 50k in August with a time of 7:47:32.
• lose 5 pounds (231 pounds on 12/22/2010) - ONGOING - I'm steady at 222 pounds but I peaked at 220 before Thanksgiving.

As for my other goals, I achieved all of them except for buying a road bike since I'm not doing triathlons and sticking with my cross-training plan. I did okay but it was just too easy to focus on running instead. And those 2012 goals I mentioned in the post? Scratch them all. I'm just going to do what the hell I want to do and not stress out about it.

Thank You

I'd like to take a few lines here and send out a thank you to all the sponsors of my recent 50k. But keep in mind that these are not sponsors that pay me to speak on their behalf. In fact, most of these have gotten money from me. That's right, I get no monetary gain from their support and often have less money because of them. Not that I'm faulting them for anything, I'm just telling you that I support these individuals and companies freely.

Family
I wouldn't have been able to do this race with out my family. My wife, my kids, my father, even my mother who was miles away. Everyone helped push me, cheer for me, and love me. It was a long race but without them I would have had nobody to share it with.

Friends
I have very few friends in the real world. It's sad but true. Most of my friends are virtual and I remember them mostly by their avatar pictures or their online handles. Even those I've met in real life I still struggle to use their real name (I'm talking about you Melli and KL). But there are a few friends I'd like to call out specifically. Not because I like them more than somebody else but because they helped me during this race. Logan, thank you for inspiring me to do epic shit. I don't think I'd have continued down the dark path of ultras without you and your adventures. Andrea, thank you for the gift. Rarely do I get real mail and even more rare are gifts from the heart. Because of you I will know it is always inside me.

FIT for This World
Stephanie was my personal trainer leading up to this insane adventure. Without her I would have been a weak blob of fat. But thanks to her I'm a strong blob of fat and muscle. I've had 24 sessions with her (23 were before the race) and I can honestly say that her contribution to my performance has been immense. I can feel core muscles work when I run, I can feel the legs flex and power through tough trails, and I can move logs like they were twigs with my upper body.

Saucony
I'm a self-labeled Saucony Snob. I love their shoes and their gear. So my shoe of choice during my race was the Saucony Exodus 2.0 (in black and orange). I also wore my Saucony calf sleeves. Both helped me survive the long run by saving my feet and my calves.

The North Face
I debated long and hard about what shorts to wear during my race before I finally settled on my North Face Cardiac shorts. They don't chafe and they have pockets. Two key points for me during long runs. I loved how they performed and would choose them in a minute if I had the choice. Unfortunately I only have two pair.

Drymax
I've long been skeptical of any company that guarantees anything. So when I read that this sock company could prevent blisters, I wasn't buying it. Even after reading reports from many other runners, I still wasn't willing to buy them. But I eventually caved in and got a few pair. They feel funny with their odd texture but sure enough, I have had no blisters. Even when my feet felt horrible and I was sure I had blisters, I had nothing but some chafing. No blisters at all and I loved it.

BodyGlide
BodyGlide is one of the best tools you need in your gym bag. It works for so much it's scary. I've used it in some pretty dark places and it has saved my ass many times (literally and figuratively). I've even used it on my hands when I work outside. Simply the best. If you don't have it, get it.

Crank Sports
Like everything else, I had to be patient and find the right gel for my long runs. I've used GU in the past and like many of their flavors. Even recently discovered 2nd Surge from PacificHealth Labs has been great. But so far, nothing quite tops the e-Gel by Crank Sports. Not even the Hammer Perpeteum could keep me going quite the same.

Mission Skincare and King of Shaves
Like BodyGlide, my Mission products save my skin. From their sun block to their muscle rub, I love it. And while Mission saves my skin, King of Shaves makes me look good while I run. Well, as good as possible with this ugly mug. But their razors and after shave at least make me feel like I look good.

Shear Elegance Hair Studio
Pam was nice enough to dye my hair. And even though I was hoping for an orange so bright it would peel paint, the ginger color I ended up with is just as much fun. I got a few stair from my mohawk before the race but with the red mohawk I got even more. I loved that my family could eaisly keep tabs on my through the race as I was the only fool out there with a gingerhawk. Thanks to Pam for making it so easy.

2011 DRHT 50k - Take Two

This time last year, I was gearing up for my first ultra marathon ever. And like most virgins, I had no idea what I was in for. There was much pain, fear, emotional lows and highs, and in the end tears of joy. I was seriously under-trained, under-prepared, and under-informed. But I learned.

This year I go into things with more training. Still not as much as I want but certainly more than last year. I even ramped things up a bit and got a personal trainer to beat me into shape. I've trained on the course at least twice a month all year long as well as logged a few miles on other trails on the In the end, I'm going into this year's race feeling much better about my training and my overall knowledge of the course and distance.

There are certain things I'll be doing differently for this year's race in an effort to keep my head in the game and to keep my load light. First among them, I'm going to try to keep things brief so you can go about your merry way.

- Last week I got a mohawk. This afternoon I get it dyed orange. As in Saucony ViZi-PRO orange. Or DailyMile orange.
- Tonight I go to packet pick-up at VA Runner.
- Tomorrow I may run a mile or two at the most. My training plan has me down for a rest day but I think I'm going to be very jittery.
- Tomorrow night, I'll be attending a DailyMile meetup for dinner at the local Vinny's. I doubt anyone will show so it'll likely be my family and myself.
- After dinner tomorrow night, it's off to the trail meeting. As in the volunteers that take care of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT). Bedtime will be whenever I can convince my brain to shut up enough to go to sleep.
- Race day, Saturday, will be me driving by myself to the race. There will be NO live updates from the race. I might get a tweet out (http://twitter.com/#!/thetk42one) but nothing is certain. I will NOT have my phone with me on the course. If I need music, I'll listen to my iPod. I will be running shirtless and will only feel slightly sorry for those running slower than me (my back is pretty hairy). My shoes, shorts, and socks have already been picked out. My drop bag and gear is nearly ready to go.
- I will NOT have a crew. The race is two out-and-back sections and has plenty of aid stations (about every 4 miles). This should meet my water needs and I'll have plenty of gels and other stuff to choose from. I'll be able to go past my drop bag twice so I'll be able to take/leave what I need.
- My cheering section will be my wife and two kids. I specifically asked for them to be at this race since they weren't there last year. They'll try to catch me a few times on the course then at the finish. The course isn't terribly safe or easy for two young kids to watch the runners.
- My father will play the role of my official race photographer. He was there for me last year and did a great job.
- If you want to come cheer for me (or the other runners), go to the race website for details on where and when to be (http://www.racetimingunlimited.org/raceinfo/DU11Info.aspx).

Goals - This list is mostly for me, but feel free to keep reading.

1. Finish.
2. Set a PR (faster than 8:52:42 - set last year).
3. Run under 8 hours (15:30 pace).
4. Run under 7:30 hours (14:30 pace).
5. Run under 7 hours (13:30 pace).
6. Fly through the aid stations and don't waste time.
7. Keep steady, consistent pace.
8. Keep hydrated and fueled (don't bonk).
9. Have fun.
10. Finish.