At the Giants-Eagles game, 9-17-06!
What a freakin’ awful loss by the Eagles…ugh. They kick the livin’ crap out of the Giants for 3 1/2 quarters and lose the game…and Jevon Kearse for the season. A freakin’ disaster. As I often say, it was like escaping the Titanic by climbing up onto the Hidenburg.
The basics of the audio post above:
1) Survived my first-ever 5K run.
2) Finished the run in 27 minutes, 50-something seconds (I think I found the site that will have the official results…will update all of you later).
3) Realized I didn’t get my Heart Walk/Run shirt from the American Heart Association. I guess it will get mailed once the donation amounts are confirmed. All I know is I better not get screwed out of that shirt.
4) I do have a nifty Rider-oriented Heart Walk shirt I wore during the race.
Again, thank you to those that donated. Your support for me and the fight against heart disease was very much appreciated.
Tomorrow, I’m going to the Giants-Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field. So I will leave you with…
E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!
Photo: Rider’s University Advancement team 5K runners — (L to R) Mike Scott, graphic designer for publications; The Bronc, mascot; Jacyln Levi, assistant director of annual giving; and me.
From minorleaguebaseball.com (MiLB.com):
The Lakewood BlueClaws won the first South Atlantic League championship in their six-year history Friday, riding the pitching of Matt Maloney to a 5-0 blanking of the Augusta GreenJackets.
Maloney (2-0) recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts en route to his first complete game of the season. He scattered seven hits and two walks in lowering his postseason ERA to 1.13.
The 22-year-old left-hander fanned 11 over seven innings against Lexington in the clincher of the Northern Division Finals on Sept. 8. He was named SAL Pitcher of the Year after going 16-9 with a 2.03 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 27 regular-season starts…
Photo: Matt Mullen/MLB.com
It’s a bit overdue, but I finally reached my summer cycling goal of 200 miles when I (barely) completed a 41-mile ride earlier today in 2 hours, 52 minutes for an average speed of 14.3 miles per hour.
I basically did my 36-mile route and tacked on a five-mile loop along Route 35 south of the Mantoloking Bridge (basically from Herbert St. to 6th Ave. in the Normandy Beach section of Brick Twp. and back to the bridge).
Now, keep in mind, I have been using Google Maps to figure out my mileage so I’m sure there have been errors and I probably only did 195-198 miles, or something like that. But you know what? Since Google controls all the information on the planet, whatever Google says, is official in my book!
And the post title means what it says…I’m done with cycling for the year. I think my bike is shot. It just felt like it was about to fall apart on me today, so I think it was telling me something.
So I’ll just concentrate on running for the immediate future…get a new bike for next summer and set some new cycling goals for Tour de BK 2007!
OK…I know I haven’t posted as frequently as usual. Things are just crazy at work and…well…believe it or not, I now have a ladyfriend (and that is all I will say about that…don’t want to get too personal here)…so my blogging time has been limited.
Unfortunately, I fell short of my cycling goal of 200 miles during July and August…the weather during the final week just didn’t cooperate with me. I still plan on getting the last 40 miles in, though.
My running was sidetracked this week, too. But I did get back to it Saturday with a two-mile run…and I followed that up yesterday with a three-mile run that I finished in 27 minutes, 11 seconds. I’ll probably go on another three-mile run shortly after I finish up this post.
After my run yesterday, I decided to head down to Citizens Bank Park to take in the doubleheader between the Phillies and Braves. The Phillies split the two games, winning the first game 8-7 by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Atlanta closer Bob Wickman. I was able to see Phillies starting pitcher Jamie Moyer—son-in-law of Rider alumnus and ESPN college basketball analyst Digger Phelps—turn in a solid outing in the opener, but the real star of the day was Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who hit three home runs (No. 50, 51 and 52 on the season) in the game-one victory.
Well, I should start heading to the track for my run. I have a busy day ahead of me.
A BiKathlon is the BK version of a biathlon, which I plan on completing today. My BiKathlon consists of a three-mile run and a 50-mile bike ride. The three-mile run has already been completed this morning in 28:00:14.
I am about to hop in my car and head to my parents’ place in Toms River to get my bike and complete the second part of the BiKathlon. Of course, I have to get my bike’s rear, flat tire fixed first. I just hope the bad weather expected in Ocean County this afternoon holds off until I’m done with the ride.
I just have to find a way to add 14 miles to my 36-mile route (which I’m going to work out now). If I can ride the 50 miles, that will put me at 202 miles during the months of July and August, eclipsing my 200-mile goal. Of course, when I set that goal, I didn’t think I would have accumulated another 20 miles running during the month of August.
But it’s all part of my fitness initiative…and my training for the Mercer County 5K Heart Run I am participating in Sept. 16…and for which I still need donors! Hint, hint!
UPDATED 4:00 p.m., 8/26/06
Well, I probably could have completed a 50-mile trek today. My legs felt good…the bike felt good (with the rear tire repaired). Unfortunately, the ominous clouds in the sky forced me to cut the cycling portion of my BiKathlon to only 10 miles (I have to check on this, but I think that’s about right). Of course, no storm ever came and it has only drizzled off and on since I started–and ended–my ride. But I chose to be cautious…and this means I’m still at least 40 or so miles short of my 200-mile goal by the end of August. So I have decided to bring my bike back to Bucks County and try to get in as much riding as possible before the end of the month and hope I can make up the 40 miles.
Well, my friend Jason wanted to know if I was still alive based on my lack of recent activity on the ol’ blog, so I figured I would post this YouTube video of a great 1987 Peter Gabriel peformance of his “Lay Your Hands on Me” (which should not in any way be confused with the immensely craptacular song of the same name by Bon Jovi).
Back in PG’s younger days, he would do a little crowd surfing during this song. Of course, as he got older, he stopped doing it. But the energy of the performance lives on in this video.
This is just so freakin’ awesome…
…I have officially registered for the 15th Annual Mercer County (NJ) Heart Walk and 5K Heart Run on Saturday, Sept. 16…as a runner.
Yeah…I never thought I’d be doing that either…but I am. It’s for a good cause and, since I’m participating with my colleagues, I will be scoring brownie points at work.
But here’s the deal…I need to raise some funds for this, so I could use your help. If you go to my Heart Run page, you can make a modest donation to the American Heart Association to support my endeavor…which would be awfully nice of you.
My personal goal is to raise $200, although I really didn’t choose that. It was a default setting when I registered. I would love to raise $200 or more, but I’d settle for $100…that way, I can get the official Heart Walk t-shirt!
Here’s an added incentive…should I raise the $100 t-shirt minimum and ironically drop dead of a heart attack during the Heart Run, my largest donor will get the shirt! If I survive? Well, I’ll e-mail you a photo of me wearing the shirt.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Thought I would use a Todd Rundgren song title for the purpose of this post…
…so I recently started running regularly each day. About two weeks ago, I missed a weekend of bike riding so I decided to hit the track at the middle school next to my apartment complex in Fairless Hills, Pa. I have been trying to do a mile a day ever since.
However, this morning, because of an opportunity to participate in a 5K run/walk on Sept. 16, I decided to try a 3-mile run. I am happy to say that I made it…and completed it in 30:29:40. Not great, but I’m going to try to cut a few minutes off of that between now and 9/16.
My mile times started out at 9 1/2 minutes and quickly improved to about 8 1/2 minutes. My last two mile runs have been completed in 7:59 and 7:58, respectively. So my goal is to complete the 5K run within 26 minutes.
Anyway, all this running—along with my usual cycling routine—has become a primary component of a personal weight-loss initiative. When I had my heart disease scare last December, I tipped the cardiologist’s scale at 208 pounds (with heavy shoes on, I might add).
Although my heart checked out OK, I went for a follow-up visit in mid-July. That time, I weighed 195 pounds (again, with shoes on).
Well, since then, I have kept a closer eye on not what I am eating, but how much I am eating. I’m trying to eat portions closer to the listed serving size and limiting my daily caloric intake based on my basic metabolic rate (generally, this is my current weight multiplied by 10).
As a result, I’m down to 179 pounds right now…I don’t remember the last time a “7” occupied the middle column of my weight. My target weight is 168 pounds, which would put my body mass index number at 24.8 and within the realm of normal weight…so I have 11 pounds to go.
Based on the rule that 3,500 calories equals approximately one pound of body fat, I need to shed 38,500 calories. I am trying to cut out at least 3,500 calories each week. If I can hold to that, I will reach my target weight in roughtly 11 weeks.
But I have set a goal of reaching 168 pounds by Nov. 12.
That date is also my friend’s wedding anniversary so this will also help me remember to send a card.
😉
Well, I did it. I just completed the 36-mile, Toms River-to-Manasquan Inlet bike ride (see route on map below) in 2 hours, 17 minutes for an average speed of 15.7 miles per hour.
The ride put me at a total of 152 miles for the summer, leaving me 48 miles shy of my goal of 200 miles by the end of August.
I actually plan on going on an 11-mile ride later this afternoon to see a friend of mine, so look for an update later today if that happens.
UPDATE 10:04 PM ET – 8/13/06
Well, I couldn’t go on the 11-mile ride because my rear tire got another flat and there was no place open to get it fixed.
Once again, I didn’t stop to rest. The best part of the ride was that it took me 1 hour, 3 minutes to complete the first half of the ride, which was done in nearly ideal conditions. Plus, I got real close to breaking the speed limit on that bayside road with the “your speed is…” radar sign. It read 24 mph as I rode by…so close to reaching the 25 mph speed limit. I need to go over the speed limit at some point this summer…I just HAVE to.
Coming over the Mantoloking Bridge on the way back was a dream. With the wind at my back, I shifted into high gear and got real low. I went flying down the descent and for about a mile down the road. I must have reached at least 45 mph during that stretch…it felt like the fastest I have ever gone on a bike.
OK…here’s the route:
Brian Kelley 