On a hilly course and unusually humid day in Durham, NC, I completed a holiday half marathon challenge that included finishing three races starting in early November and concluding in mid-December. While my times may not have have been stellar, the goal was to finish and get that new shiny medal that I saw in an email a few weeks ago. Continue reading
The fall race season started on November 1 with a warm weekend in Raleigh after ending Daylight Savings. Which meant most people got an extra hour of sleep, but that meant I had an extra hour of anxiety before race time.
The first race of the season was the City of Oaks half marathon. This is a hilly course with multiple races happening at once. This year, there was a 10k, half marathon, half marathon relay, full marathon, and full marathon relay. The weather was a little on the mild-to-warm side, but humid. Rain was on the way and it was hard to breathe. Continue reading
After a rainy few days in Raleigh, I escaped to the west coast. Oakland, California to be exact. I’m here for the Code for America Summit which starts on Wednesday (and includes a pre-summit for Brigade Captains on Tuesday). Since I came out a day early, I decided to have some fun and take in a ball game. Lucky for me, it was a cross-town rivalry game between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s. Continue reading
Another beautiful day in Rincon was on tap. An early morning surf session with some of the leftover swell was a great way to start the day. Then the family was all geared up for a morning sail on the Katarina and some snorkeling in the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve. This was day four of our Spring Break and our last full day on the island of Puerto Rico. Continue reading
Explore the reef at the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve in Rincon, Puerto Rico with our GoPro as we take you below the surface. The family went snorkeling with the crew from the Katarina and enjoyed viewing all the sea life that was very active on the reef, some schools of fish swimming in the warm waters, and lots of amazing fan coral. Continue reading
We took over 500 pictures from our vacation in Hawaii. And now you can enjoy all of them. We went to numerous places on the island of Oahu and even had a day trip to Kauai. These are some of the best shots using my GoPro camera while snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. What a great day all of us had! Check out all of our vacation pictures and adventures, but these pictures are amazing. Continue reading
Happy Birthday Merri Beth. It’s Saturday, December 20 and our fourth full day on the island of Oahu. Lunches were packed in the cooler, beach chairs were ready, the towels were in the beach bag, and it was still dark out. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Park opened at 6:00 am.
Merri Beth, Zander, Coco, my mom, and I left the apartment in Waikiki early and arrived at Hanauma Bay around 6:30 am, the morning dusk just starting to appear on the horizon. We loaded all of our beach gear and walked down the hill to the beach after a short safety briefing at the visitor center about dangers on the reef. Continue reading
The training paid off. Those long runs in October made a huge difference. Despite the up and down weather in central North Carolina, the running season this November turned out to be pretty good. The first race of the season was the City of Oaks half marathon. Hilly and cold. How would I fare? Continue reading
What an amazing night in Historic Reynolds Coliseum. I had the honor of being a guest coach for the NC State Wolfpack during the Alumni throwback game on October 17, 2014. Thanks to 99.9 The Fan, Adam Gold, and Joe Ovies, I was courtside with Wolfpack greats like Gugliotta, Monroe, Corchiani, Del Negro, Whittenburg, and Towe to name a few. Continue reading
A cold blast of winter arrived yesterday, making the morning temperatures for the City of Oaks marathon a bit brisk. The forecast was for the low to be in the mid 30’s. Luckily, race time starting temperatures were in the low 40’s. And the wind was just a little ca-burrrr in a few spots!
I dedicated this race to my friend Thomas Crowder, who we lost a few weeks ago to cancer. Thanks for the inspiration Thomas.
This was my eighth time running the City of Oaks half marathon and my 23rd half marathon overall. Last year, I finished in 1:43:08, and my time goal was to beat that. I wasn’t feeling that elusive 1:40 half marathon time today. Continue reading