Daniel J. Summers » Charter Member of the VRWC

I completed my second 10K this morning, running the inaugural Dam to Dam Run to benefit .  Brent's Place is a set of apartments in Denver, Colorado, meticulously maintained to prevent infection, where families with children with severe medical conditions (cancer, transplants, etc.) can live together during important times in their life.  I had never heard of them before signing up for the race, and hadn't really heard about them until the start of the race.  It was nice to know that most of my registration fee goes to helping these folks do their great work.

On the performance side, I beat my Chunky Monkey (CM hereafter) time by 3:22.  This was especially exciting because the CM course was pretty much flat, and this course was more like a cross-country course.  I ran sub-12 minute miles at this distance for the first time.  It wasn't an easy run, but I was exhilarated when I turned the corner towards the finish line and saw the clock.

Starbucks, Keva Juice, and Great Harvest Bread were three of the sponsors of the event.  I felt better after this one than I did after CM, and the water, bread, 1/2 pint of chocolate milk, and bold coffee really hit the spot.  Plus, during the awards ceremony, they picked some runners at random to give a door prize.  When they called out 102, it took me a second to realize that was me!    I got a pair of sport socks that are themed from Brent's Place - a picture of them is at the end of this post.

Up next, I'm still undecided.  The next Athlete's Edge run is a trail run - not quite sure I'm ready for that, but not unsure either.  We'll have to see how that goes.

Come 1 Sep, I'm going to register for the Dam to Dam Run 2009.  This route for this run starts at Tramway and Academy, and goes north along the dams on the arroyos coming down from the Sandias.  There's a 200-foot gain throughout the run (and a 200-foot loss, as the course is an out-and-back), so this should be a bit of a challenge, especially the hill between miles 2 and 3.

I'm looking forward to this, as I had to miss the race I was going to do on August 16th due to my wisdom tooth extraction.  You Albuquerque people, come out and join me!  Registration is open until September 3rd.

I have now finished my first 10K!  It was quite warm, though a little wind and cloudcover made it not quite at hot as it could have been.

I had settled in to my place in the group, and then the 5K runners caught us.  It wasn't particularly pleasing to be passed by hundreds of people who weren't even sweating yet!  However, I told myself that my goal was to finish, and I did.  I didn't feel particularly excited or pumped when I crossed the finish line, which surprised me - this morning, though, I do feel much better about it.

My oldest 2 sons also did the Kids K - both of them ran the entire way.  I was very proud of them.

My next race will probably be the Albuquerque Cross-Country Classic 3 on 16 Aug 09, assuming my wisdom tooth surgery recovery is as quick as they've said it should be.

I got registered for the 10K I had decided to attempt first! I tried to register online yesterday, but the 10K wasn't showing available anymore. Through some research, I saw that you could register in person. I went by The Athlete's Edge, and there was room! I was able to pick up my materials right there as well. Here's the t-shirt that I got...

And, I feel so official - my number!

The race starts at 1900 (7pm) tomorrow evening. I'm excited, and a little nervous.

Welcome to my new fitness blog.  This will be a spot for me to record happenings in my continuing adventures in fitness.

I've had a love/hate relationship with fitness - I enjoy the way I feel when my fitness level is up, but I don't always feel motivated to keep myself in that shape.  It's had a negative affect on my career (I'm military), and I've decided that enough is enough.  I recently got myself within the standards that my branch of the military has set, but I'm not going to stop there.  My goal is to be able to pass their test any day they come to me and tell me that it's time.

To keep myself motivated, I'm going to register for a 5K - 10K  at least once per quarter - this will help me make sure that I always have a goal no more than 3 months away.  I'll be doing my first one before my birthday, which is September 14th.