Frozen Foot 5K Race Report

Kyler and I ran the Frozen Foot 5K in Elizabethtown this afternoon. Kyler was hoping for a PR, but the course was tough with a lot of hills. He finished in around 35:00. I'm proud of him, because he hung tough on the hills while fighting a side stitch. Tristan also ran today. He gave it his all in the fun run, and finished strong despite losing his shoe 100 meters from the finish. He completed the race with one shoe on and one off. Hemingway wrote that Paris was a movable feast; I think the same can be said about local road races. They're so much fun, and you see so many great people from race to race.

Odonata

Yesterday morning Kyler and I performed the field work stage of his gifted challenge project for school. Kyler is doing research on dragonflies, so we spent some time looking for dragonfly nymphs in various aquatic settings. We started at a friend's pond, then went to a creek and finished at a spring. We were successful, and captured several nymphs which he examined, sketched and compared to other organisms we collected. It was a great morning to be out, and it was a joy to see Kyler so wrapped up in his project. I should add that Tristan was with us also. At first, he decided to stay in the car, but eventually he got out and was as involved with the project as the rest of us. In fact, he now has a new pet in our aquarium, a salamander.

Still Around

I'm sure that most people who read this are also facebook users, so you know I'm alive and well. Nonetheless, here is a little recap of the last few weeks.

I have two triathlons coming up and to those ends I have been training consistently. I have been getting in at least two runs, two rides and two swims a week. I can tell that I don't have the running miles under me like I did when I was training for Boston as I feel a little slow out on the road. Biking and swimming though are going well. I feel most happy about my improved swimming ability. Still not Michael Phelps, but I can hold my own in the pool, well at least in the middle of the pack. I'm relaxed, however, in the water, and that makes a difference when you are transitioning to the bike.

I'm looking forward to spring, and want to do a little more trout fishing. Guess I better get some flies tied, or another season will come and go and I won't be ready. I'm really looking forward to the annual trout fishing/backpacking trip into the Shenandoah National Park. I missed it last year, and still regret it. This year, if all goes according to plan, Kyler will be joining me for his first sojourn into the Park.

Work is going well, and today is the first day of Spring, so I have no complaints. I'm looking forward to getting outdoors with the boys and Tina, and I'm also looking forward to watching Kyler play spring soccer. He was moved up to U-10, so we'll see how he does with the older boys. Tomorrow is his last indoor game of the season, then we're back outside.

Here's a recent picture of the boys: