Juddmansee.com

Beej’s update:
Week 5 of tri training. Out of base period and into build period. Swim: 5150m. Bike: 55mi. Run: 13mi. Highlight: 31 mile outdoor ride today w/ Brian Hone. Gorgeous day. Lowlight: My left shoulder continues to hurt and I still don’t have a great sleep pattern yet.

Susan’s update:
week ending 2/28: holding steady. Ran the work loop with a co-worker on Tuesday then got in a medium Saturday run with Beej and long Sunday run myself. Weather was kind of icky but making up rhymes made the Saturday run go quickly despite the wet. Mileage was 24.7 miles. Good recovery week.

week ending 3/7: very social. Connected over email with a running mentor from my high school days, which was inspiring. Ran at work on Monday and then got a group of 4 of us out for 6.5 miles on Wednesday. Then it was beautiful Saturday so Beej and I ran the trails at Maudslay State Park for an hour.

I waffled between being inspired to try the May ultra, thinking about volunteering at the May event and training for the June race, and feeling like I should just enjoy spring running and explore trails without the pressure of a big race. I’m out for a business trip the next 5 days so I’m focusing on getting enough sleep and not getting sick, but it sure would be nice to get in some miles in the 60-degree temps while I’m there if my schedule allows.

Susan’s update:
2/15 (week 3): Ran 13.5 at 8:28 pace on the President’s Day holiday, so I felt ready for my race the next week. I did 6 miles with Brian at an easy 9min pace to loosen up my legs before the Half Marathon on Sunday. No yoga or strength training, and I didn’t get out on a workday at all. Best total mileage to date, though, at 32.6mi for the week.

2/22 (week 4): Ran Tuesday with a colleague despite having a crazy week at work. Got out in the drizzle yesterday for five and a half miles with Brian, then lifted afterwards. I put in 14.5 miles today. I didn’t notice blisters from the race last week but I definitely have two now, likely it’s the spike in mileage (20 miles over 2 days). Weekly mileage was 24.6.

Total mileage for February: 92.5 miles

I’m almost ready to lock down my race schedule for the remainder of the year. I missed hiking and biking last summer, so I’d like a plan that leaves the main part of the summer open without the pressure of specific training. So, I’m considering a spring race and then Reach the Beach in September and the Marine Corps Marathon in October . The big question is whether I can ramp up to 30 miles and be ready to handle elevation and trails in May or June to do an ultra.

When I signed up for this race, I had a sneaky feeling the weather would be better than my October marathon and my Disney half. While yesterday’s weather was *spectacular* for February, today was not shabby either. The clouds were blown away by mid-morning and we had sun from 11am on for the Half at the Hamptons race (after a few flurries in the morning).

I first want to give a shout out to the race organizers. From packet pickup to race sponsors to volunteers to the course itself, the race was impeccably organized. If you’re looking for a well-run race, I would definitely recommend the Loco events. Plus they have the “Will Run for Beer” series, and I know a few friends who might embrace this motivation. They also seem to have a sense of humor: check out this video of the start (we’re being “Rick Rolled” for those of you who get the pop culture reference). I also had my first experience running seeing Team Hoyt - didn’t realize they had run the Disney half!

I admit, up front, that I had a great race. It’s taken me all day to concede this fact. I am in better racing shape than I’ve been in a long time. My primary goal was to lower my race pace from being comfortable in the 9min range to sub-8:30s, and today’s 8:16 pace was right on target to where I wanted to be. Check out the race results site and search for “Woodmansee” to find me. I was in the top 20% for my age group, woot! I also had a small victory in fueling: I managed to get water at mile 4, gatorade at mile 6, gel at mile 8 and water shortly thereafter, all without inhaling the fluids. This was particularly good for plastic cups, but again I give credit to the volunteers who were careful to hand the cups/gel instead of dangle it, and clearly announced the plan for each aid stop as the racers entered.

Now for the self-flagellation. I had butterflies that required two bathroom stops before the race, including the particularly inconvenient “I need to go NOW” 10 mins before the start. I went out too fast. I didn’t properly fuel my muscles on Saturday. I was too optimistic about my pace, thinking I could knock out 8:10s and still finish with sub-8s for the last 3 miles. I knew at mile 7 I had gone out too fast, but there was nothing to be done at that point. I thought about not ever racing again. I know I can run smarter. Ok, now that’s done.

Here’s the rundown of splits. I didn’t actually get the first mile, but I know I came through Mile 2 at 16:10.

I didn’t exactly charge down the coast from miles 9-12 as I’d planned, and the tailwind ended up being a cross-wind and even a headwind in a few places as we wound down 1A. But I pulled out a fast last mile, and ended up just under 1:48, not shabby for February!

I have not signed up for any other races at this point. My goal is to get through this week at work, then evaluate the plan in March.

We *finally* went luggage shopping today! Thanks to Christmas checks from our parents, we are ready for upcoming travels:

luggage sponsored by Su's Dad and Brian's Mom

We chose a 5-piece set that included a large wheeled bag for us to take on vacations (center) and a small wheeled carry-on bag (right) that were “must-haves” plus a bonus mid-sized wheeled bag (left), small carry-on (in the center bag) and toiletry bag (in the right bag), which will also be useful. I also really wanted a small roller bag to take to DC on day trips or overnight trips to replace my thin garment bag + backpack. The brown bag in front is *perfect* – professional, convenient and just the right size to fit my laptop, one outfit (including shoes!), notebook and personal items.

Thank you! We look forward to using our new luggage on lots of fun travels this year, and many more years to come!

Brian’s update:
Week 2 of training complete. Ran 15.6 miles. Biked 27.7 miles. Swam 5100m. Long ride pushed off until tomorrow so bike miles are low. Highlights: Excellent fast 100 sets in pool and a nice long run with Su. Lowlight: Skipped Tuesday workout so had to double up some days.

Susan’s update:
Week two was a typical struggle to make time to workout, especially mid-week. Monday I lost track of time in the lab, so only had time to do a 5K at noon with a coworker before our 1pm meetings. I was disappointed to not get snow on Wednesday (no snow shoeing), plus was behind at work so I didn’t manage to get out again until Friday’s 4.8 mile run before work. I doubled up Saturday, 7.2 miles with Beej followed by core/weights to make my goal for the week, with the added bonus of two “social” runs.

My plan is to front load next week so my legs are fresh for next week’s race; we drove the course today and I’m really looking forward to it. I’d also like to get in some speed work to keep improving my pace.

Susan’s update:
4.7 miles Monday. 6.1miles Thursday, 9.2 miles Saturday = 20 mi at an average pace of 8:24. I lifted today (upper body) to complete my goal for the week. I ran solo this week, mostly due to competing travel plans, but I’ll send my workout plan again next week to seek some recruits.

Brian’s update:
Week one training done. 4650m swim, 47.2 mi bike, 14.1 mi run. Highlights: No missed workouts and biked outside twice despite windchill in teens. Lowlight: Not eating or sleeping enough Thursday and melting down while roasting chicken for dinner.

Despite the encouragement of active.com, I’ve been flailing a bit on committing to a training and racing plan for the year. It’s not that I’ve been slacking on workouts – I’ve actually run at least twice a week since mid-November with the exception of a 10-day hiatus after the Disney half marathon. For some reason I’m just hesitant to nail down a plan. One of the running forum suggestions was to write down the reasons you run, like a mission statement, to help motivate and focus you. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, so here goes.

1. Mental health
I like the way running helps me focus. I can process what’s going on at work, reflect on theology, pray, sing, or just zone out. I handle life better when I’m running regularly.

2. Physical health
I crave healthier foods, I feel better, I look better, and my systems all seem to work better when I’m exercising regularly. Running is the easiest and most natural way I have found to stay in shape. It’s also good for my long term health – blood pressure, weight and bone density in particular. And let’s not forget the elation of runner’s high – Jop Jop Jop!

3. Social
I *really* like running with friends. I’m more likely to go running in the first place and the run passes more quickly. A buddy can be a good pacer to avoid going out too fast, or to keep me going when I’m feeling slow. I also like to be a good influence by encouraging others to get out and run.

4. Mental toughness
There are plenty of times in our lives when we need to do something that we just don’t want to do. It might be cleaning a frighteningly messy space, having an honest conversation about a difficult topic, or just tackling a task in stride instead of procrastinating. When I compare an icky chore with, say, running a hilly 10K in the wind when it’s 10 degrees and dark at 6am, I feel like I am capable of almost anything, even that once daunting task.

5. Competition
I thought a lot about this one. I typically enjoy going at my own pace, using races every year or two as a deadline/motivator. Last year we raced a lot, so I got to regularly experience butterflies before the start, the rush of adrenaline in that first mile, the fun of picking off other runners, and the satisfaction of improving over past efforts. Of course I also experienced with helplessness and chagrin the results of not hydrating, eating or pacing well. I’ve been comfortable to be a pretty decent runner for someone who doesn’t train regularly. I’m a little afraid of putting in more effort and not getting much better – it’s safer to say I don’t care about my times or meeting my goals. But I think I’m ready to say that competition does matter to me, I do want to be stronger and faster, and that even when I make mistakes, I can use them to fuel my next run.

So, now that I’ve said that publicly, I’ll set a goal for myself to post at least once a month on how I’m doing.

Last week’s main accomplishment was to set a running plan for the week and invite co-workers to come along. I ended up running four times (1 by myself, 2 at work with colleagues, 1 with Beej) = 24 miles + 1 yoga session. I already sent my running plan for this week to my co-workers, focusing on days when it would be too easy to skip out due to a busy schedule. My goal for February is to get in 3 runs (or snow shoe outings) + 1 yoga or strength workout each week.

We just returned from a fabulous and somewhat surreal trip to Vegas. When asked “did you do anything fun this weekend?” most colleagues don’t expect me to say that between leaving work at 5pm on Friday and attending a division management meeting on Monday morning, I went to Vegas.

It was a bit of a whirlwind to start. Brian picked me up from work, we met Amory at Logan to catch a direct flight, met up with Armen from SF at the Vegas airport, took a cab to the Bellagio, checked in, then met up with Nate flying in from business in Orlando. Evidently the cab line was amazingly short compared to past years, a sign of the poor economy, but nice for us. [Win!] Our room looked out over the fountain – an amazing deal for $150 thanks to Amory’s email [win!]. She was even able to change the second room from a smoking or King + rollaway to a suitable 2-double bed non-smoking room [win!]. We fueled up with delicious dinner/breakfast at the Bellagio Cafe [Win!], including some much-needed coffee, and then went out to find some $5 blackjack tables. We headed to Bill’s (formerly Barbary Coast that we called Barnaby’s Toast) where I got my first lesson. I couldn’t have been more fortunate with the patience of the group (and most of the dealers) who played more slowly and answered my MANY questions even with my little “cheat sheet“. I finished up $46 [WIN!], which I felt was an appropriate level of beginner’s luck, and we managed to stay up until almost 3am (Vegas time). [Win!]

After what seemed like an insufficient time to sleep, my body thought it was time to get up and get going. Brian met Amory (who had gotten up even earlier) downstairs while I took a leisurely shower [win!]. We met Mary, who has been dealing black jack for 37 years, and was full of stories and wry humor. [Win!] After we all assembled, we decided to head out to the strip for breakfast. We happened onto the Amore Patisserie in the Mandarin Oriental, which had wonderful pastry and even better grapefruit sorbet. [Win!] We spent an rather uneventful morning in the Monte Carlo before lunch at Fatburger so I could experience the other side of the strip. The burgers and fries were tasty [win!] but perhaps not the best long term plan; Fatburgers digest about as well as you’d think they would. After an afternoon nap [win!] we decided to check out downtown.

I can’t say downtown was a win, but it felt like an essential experience of old Vegas. The lights were bright and tacky, almost blinding as we got out of the cab. The vibe at the pedestrian mall Fremont Street Experience was a lot different from the Bellagio to say the least. There were street vendors selling all kinds of gaudy items, go-go/pole dancers at most of the casinos, a Showgirl and Elvis only a few feet away from each other taking photos with tourists. We started out at the Four Queens, and took the Light Show as an excuse to escape. The light show was disappointing – what would you do with the world’s largest TV screen, the size of 12,000 normal TVs? I’m sure it’s not what we saw. We did find an empty $5 craps table at the Vegas Club with a seasoned veteran dealer who explained that particular table’s rules and coached Amory and Armen on how to improve their odds. Craps is too high variance for my taste, but I had a fantastic time as a spectator to Amory and Armen by cheering, yelling at the dice, trying to follow what was going on, and enjoying the festive atmosphere as the table filled up. [win!] We had intended to go to the Golden Nugget, but it was too expensive for a downtown casino, so we decided we’d had enough and it was time for dinner.

Nobu was a BIG win from the first bite of yellowtail to the last bite of dessert. It was hard to pick which dish was our favorite – I think each one got a vote, except perhaps the beef, which we still thought was worth trying, but felt heavy after the tasty fish dishes prior. Especially compared to Olive’s the next night, it was a good value for the top notch food. [WIN!] We thought about gambling at Hard Rock but by then Brian and I were ready to call it a night. We got a very restful night’s sleep [win!] and were ready for our final day of adventures.

Finding Amory at Mary’s table again on Sunday morning, I decided to join her. This was definitely the most fun I had all weekend – a quieter pace before noon, camaraderie at the table, fun dealers, finally feeling comfortable with the game and good cards. [Win!] The guys wandered while Amory and I camped out for the whole morning. We finally stopped when it was time for Amory’s spa appointment and I joined the guys for lunch at the Cafe (again) – yum. Unfortunately we had to check out of the hotel so no naps today – we had to power through! After lunch we returned to Bill’s for a while to watch the football game, then when Amory met us we wandered over to the Flamingo. I scoped out the bird habitat, watched the end of the Jets game, then got roped into playing Pai Gow Poker with Brian and Nate.

I had sworn I would only learn one game per trip, and this trip it was Blackjack, but it turns out Pai Gow is suitably mindless that even I could pick it up within minutes. First off, it’s perfectly acceptable to show your hand and ask a fellow player or the dealer for help. [win!] Second, it’s very likely that you’ll push any given round (since you play two hands at once) so the money leakage is slow. Third, the cards are dealt to all player positions regardless of who is playing, so it’s a slow paced game and again the money leakage is slow. Finally, the stereotypical player seems to be a middle-aged Asian woman, so the intensity is very relaxed and low pressure. [win!] I ended up enjoying this wind-down of our table gaming, if for no other reason than it was fun to be punchy with Armen (who favors craps and does NOT favor pai gow), Amory (who really wanted food at this point in the day after skipping brunch), and Nate and Beej who were having fun but were a bit tired. [win!]

I’ll skip any further mention of dinner, other than to say the wine was good. We said farewell to Armen who had an earlier return flight and returned to the Bellagio to kill a few hours until it was time to go to the airport. Nickel slot races are a tradition, so we each put $10 into a machine and started pressing buttons. It’s common to win a few bucks along the way, but it’s part of the race to quickly dispense with these “setbacks”! However, Amory’s machine kept counting… and counting… when she got to $40 we decided to stop racing and actually cash out the winnings. It kept counting! She won the max on that machine, almost $100! WIN! So of course then we went and played some ill-fated blackjack for the last half hour. I think Beej came out ahead but I did not and poor Nate did even worse. It was definitely time to go home after a wonderful weekend of delicious food, pleasant weather, great company and fun times.

Today’s weather at Disney provided deja vu to the weather we experienced on October 19. When we boarded the bus before 4am, the temperature hovered around 34. While we waited for the start, ice pellets and tiny flakes of snow fell. An inauspicious start to our day – the first time it has snowed at Disney Marathon Weekend.

We expected the hardest part of the day to be staying warm before the start of the race. Bags had to be checked by 4:30, but our wave didn’t start until 5:50, leaving a long time to try to stay warm before we started running. Brian’s sister Leslie and her running buddy Melinda opted to dress in layers of disposable sweats and jackets, which they shed at the start line or shortly thereafter. Brian and I decided to wear what we expected to run in. We figured we could vent using gloves and hats and shed a layer if needed, so pre-race we huddled low, and I ended up borrowing a disposable poncho from the gals. Bryan, Melinda’s husband, used a hybrid approach, wearing his running gear and a coat that lasted until mile 5. We all survived, and after a short hiccup where the latter 3 of us got stuck in a long line at the porta-potties and missed our starting corral, we hopped into the next corral and started the race just before 6am.

The course map had us starting near Epcot, running around the Magic Kingdom, then back to the Epcot parking lot. There was definitely some congestion at the start, not surprising given the 17,000 participants, but not nearly as bad as we feared from stories we’d heard. We started with a 10:30 mile with lots of weaving, and got to cheer Melinda and Leslie as we passed at the start. The second miles was a 9:46, still in heavy traffic. By the third mile we decided to make a move and pick up the pace, managing an 8:43, before settling into a more moderate 9:14 for the 4th mile. We approached the Magic Kingdom at mile 5 with a 9:12, then wove our way through the park in tight quarters with a 9:25 and zipping out with a 9:07 7th mile, just over halfway. Bryan stuck with us through the surges and weaving until this point when Brian and I decided to pick it up for the second half. We nailed an 8:33, 8:26 and 8:34 for the next three miles, taking us to the 10 mile point, with only a 5K to go. We ran together for one more mile at 8:44 before deciding to finish up at our own paces.

As I was cruising around the turn in mile 11, a fellow runner slid and fell down near me. No one else seemed to be checking on him, so I stopped when I saw that he wasn’t getting up. I helped him up and discovered his face was bleeding; just then another couple of runners stopped to help, fortunately. We tried to get a volunteer and a police officer to provide assistance and direct us to the nearest first aid station, but they were of no help. By then the injured runner was walking and started to jog with us, and the couple who stopped were escorting him, so I was satisfied that he would be ok, and took off again. It was a strange situation where I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I felt much better checking on him and knowing that he was at least able to continue.

Despite my detour I ran an 8:45 for my 12th mile, kicked out a 7:50 final mile with a 51.26 second last tenth of a mile to finish in 1:57:38. Brian was close behind, also finishing under 2 hours, in 1:59:46. We both met our goals of running negative splits and finishing in under 2 hours. The novices put in a good showing as well. Bryan finished in 2:08, while Melinda and Leslie finished their first half marathon in 2:43.

While we thought the pre-race waiting would be the hard part, it turned out that the post-race waiting was even worse. We found a 6×6 tent where a few runners had ducked in to escape the wind and rain, so we joined them while waiting for the rest of our group to finish. There was really no other designated area to wait that was protected from the elements. The race organizers gave us plenty of food and drink, and we all got mylar blankets, but that only staved off the chill so long when wet and tired. By the time we all met up in the tent, we were all more than ready to get on the bus and get back to the room to get dry and warm. Brian and I fared slightly better, since we hadn’t shed all our warm clothing along the course, but our bodies were all locking up and shivering. Unfortunately many other runners were trying to get to our hotel at the same time, so we had another 30+ minutes of waiting in line for the bus.

We wasted no time hurrying from the hotel lobby to our room where we shed our wet clothes. I lucked out and got the first shower while Leslie crawled into bed to keep warm. About a half hour later, our room was 80 degrees and we were all starting to feel more normal. After a nap and a pizza lunch, we almost felt normal.

I can’t say that I would choose a cold rainy day for a race, but after today I believe I’ve got the right gear and preparation to run well even in poor conditions. We still had a fun day with Leslie and her friends, and it’s always gratifying to step up to a challenge and keep a good attitude despite less than ideal circumstances.

Next up, the Hampton Beach race , which I understand will provide a warm dry site for warm up and post-race cool down. I’ll be very happy to be a 10 minute drive away from home instead of at the mercy of mass transit. Who knows, maybe New Hampshire on February 21 will be a nicer day than today proved to be in Central Florida!

For some reason Seasons of Love from Rent has been running through my head a lot this season as I think back over the year.

The first measure that comes to mind is miles. Brian has been logging his miles on the road (950 miles biked, 575 miles on foot) and meters in the pool (60km) this year. I’ve run over 370 miles since June, when I started logging miles in my new running shoes, and “miles” is the third most used word in my facebook posts in the last year. This training was motivated by 5 races each – a 12K, a half marathon and a 10 miler before Brian’s two triathlons (sprint and international distances) and my 25K and marathon. We also have driven quite a lot of miles, between our July trip to the midwest and our holiday four-state tour (about 2000 miles per trip) and my 38 mile commute each way to work (I put on about 20,000 miles a year on my car). The number of days carpooling was lower than it probably should be – a good reminder to make a better effort to share rides in 2010.

We ate local for 27 weeks this year courtesy of our farm share, with some additional support from our garden, our family’s gardens and Tendercrop farm. I’m sure I can’t count how many bunches of Chinese cabbage we ate – too many! We’ve eaten out less, have spent less money, and have eaten healthier than in many past years, plus we know where more of our food originates.

Dollars recovered comes to mind when I think about my year at work. When I took over a new project in April, it was projecting a $1M overrun by the end of this year. I’m very proud to say that we are now on budget, we’ve got some excellent results from our recent flight test, and we’re expecting our next phase to start in January. While there have been plenty of challenges, in many ways this year has seemed very easy from a work perspective. I couldn’t ask for a better team of colleagues at BAE Systems, on the government team or with our subcontractors, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and work with them despite a fairly rough business environment overall.

We could count hours volunteered. Brian has continued as a legal advocate at the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, spending a few days each month at court, and also volunteering at the office to set up a database, work on files and do legal intakes. My work at MIT continues at a lower level – I’m on the IRDF board, am serving as a Community Catalyst Leadership coach and president of the WILG corporation board. Then we’d add on hours spent by Brian as our church treasurer and by Susan on grant applications and meetings and newsletter articles… perhaps we shouldn’t count.

House guests at the Juddmansee B&B is a fun metric! Dan Sheldon is in the lead for naming rights to the guest room at this point, but Mary Obelnicki is a close second. Isaac Sheldon came to visit us for the first time for Brian’s birthday, which was great fun. Brian’s Mom and Grandma drove out and stayed with us for almost a week. These are just a few of the folks who have stopped by. We love having friends and family visit! There is no way to measure the joy and love of our friends and family.

How do you measure a year?