Sunday, September 6, 2009
5:58 pm
Daniel J. Summers
I completed my second 10K this morning, running the inaugural Dam to Dam Run to benefit Brent's Place. 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.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
10:34 pm
Daniel J. Summers
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…(Active's community is no more; so long, pictures…)
And, I feel so official - my number!
The race starts at 1900 (7pm) tomorrow evening. I'm excited, and a little nervous. :)
I've been doing a big push to improve my fitness as of late. A friend pointed me to Active.com, where you can search for things to do in your area. One of the things that came with the membership on that site is a fitness blog. I've decided to use it to chronicle my fitness activities.
I'm hoping to have the posts appear here as well - kind of a self-aggregating thing, if you will. However, if they don't, the URL for my fitness blog is was https://community.active.com/blogs/daniel-j-summers.
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.
The game was great - Fresno State got the ball first, and marched down the field and scored. CSU did the same thing on their drive. It was pretty tight throughout the first three quarters, and both teams played great ball. However, in the fourth quarter, CSU broke it open, and Fresno State wasn't able to come back. We were sitting near the 1 yard line, and had a great view of Gartrell Johnson's touchdown run late in the game, which gave CSU what proved to be a game-winning margin.
So thank you, CSU fans, for allowing me to attend the New Mexico Bowl; you have a new fan in Albuquerque. And congratulations, 2008 New Mexico Bowl Champions!
Monday, October 27, 2008
8:39 pm
Daniel J. Summers
Is it just me, or is college football officiating in general (and SEC officiating in particular) this year just atrocious? I don't know if the fact that they can review every play has made them sloppy, but the pitiful calls on the field cost Tennessee dearly in Saturday's 29-9 loss against Alabama.
As the second quarter came to a close, Tennessee was driving. They pushed themselves back with an ill-advised holding penalty. Tennessee runs a play and makes a completion that puts them close to a first down - but out comes the laundry. They call Tennessee for offensive pass interference, and the replay clearly showed no such interference. This was an additional 15-yard penalty, and the kicker missed the field goal attempt. Zebras +3.
Midway through the third quarter, Alabama was getting a drive going. As one of their players was tackled, the ball came loose, and one of Tennessee's players picked it up and hustled it back 40+ yards for a touchdown. As the celebration commenced, the referee came out and said “The ruling on the field is that the player was down when the ball came out.” The review confirmed the call. Alabama eventually scored a touchdown on that drive. Zebras +7. This drive was also a huge momentum swing for what had been a back-and-forth game up to that point.
And, a note to you ESPN announcers - when Tennessee gets called for phantom pass interference, don't keep holding it up as a way that “Tennessee just can't capitalize on these chances Alabama's giving them.” How are you supposed to capitalize when you do nothing wrong and are penalized 15 yards? (Yes, PK Daniel Lincoln is not having his best year, but still…)
So, what do you fellow college football watchers think - has there been a rash of bad officiating this year? The Tennessee/Alabama game is not the first time I've noticed it - Tennessee had a really bad call in the Georgia game too, and even the people calling the game said “Boy, I think they got away with one there.” And it's not just games involving Tennessee (though, of course, those hold a special place in my heart). And, if you've noticed this, what do you think is the cause? Too many rule changes? Instant replay? Aging referees with declining eyesight?
I don't think I've done a NASCAR post yet this season, and last night's All-Star Race gives me a perfect opportunity.
Before the big race, there was a 40-lap, 2-segment All-Star Challenge, where the top two finishers get to race their way into the big race. For the most part, it was a clean race, although pole-sitter Elliott Sadler got taken out by eventual race winner A. J. Allmendinger, who won his first-ever Cup series race (albeit a non-point event). Open-wheel veteran Sam Hornish, Jr. came in second, and showed a lot of progress since the first of the year. After the race, it was revealed that Kasey Kahne, who had finished 5th in the challenge race, had received the fan vote-in position for the big show.
The 100-lap, 4-segment All-Star Race was caution-free (the ones they throw at the end of each segment don't count), and was one of the fastest ones I had seen. Each segment was dominated by different drivers. Segment 1 was led (in its entirety) by Kyle Busch, currently the driver at the top of the standings. Halfway through segment 2, his engine dropped a cylinder, and Carl Edwards blew everyone away for the rest of that segment. During the third segment, Carl's car went away, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led part of the segment until Greg Biffle caught and passed him. In the final segment, it was Kasey Kahne who took the lead a few laps in, and held off Greg Biffle to become the first-ever fan vote to win the $1M prize.
Kyle Busch has been blowing away the competition in all three major series this year, but a couple of weeks ago, he and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were racing very hard and got into each other. “Junior Nation” seems to feel that Busch wrecked Junior on purpose; an unbiased viewing of the replay tapes shows otherwise. However, now Busch gets booed whenever he's announced, or even when he wins a race, as he did last week. But, I thought one of the poorest examples of sportsmanship was the cheering of the crowd as Busch's disabled car was being pushed from pit road to the garage. Maybe it's just my upbringing, but cheering at other's misfortune just seems petty. Carl Edwards had it right - I can't find a quote, but it was something like “Man, I hate that he lost his engine. I wanted to beat him straight-up on the racetrack.”
We have Junior fans in our house - he's #1 on my middle son's list, and he's pretty high on mine as well. This hearkens back to last year, when Jeff Gordon was getting pelted with things for passing (and saluting) Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s career win total. This is the sort of poor sportsmanship that reflects badly on NASCAR as a sport, and poorly on the South as a region of the country.
In the words of Ron Burgundy, “Stay classy, Junior Nation…”
Jeff and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, welcomed their first child into the world yesterday around 9am. The baby's name is Ella Sofia. Congratulations, Jeff and Ingrid!
The game was great - Fresno State got the ball first, and marched down the field and scored. CSU did the same thing on their drive. It was pretty tight throughout the first three quarters, and both teams played great ball. However, in the fourth quarter, CSU broke it open, and Fresno State wasn't able to come back. We were sitting near the 1 yard line, and had a great view of Gartrell Johnson's touchdown run late in the game, which gave CSU what proved to be a game-winning margin.