Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Baltimore, Hon

Posted by Will on October 17, 2011

It was the third consecutive year that a Bramlett has participated in the Baltimore Running Festival (specifically the half-marathon). Brittany knocked it out first in 2009 and last year it served as the first leg of my 7 day marathon.

This year, with Nola in tow, we trucked up to the Charm City once again so I could give Baltimore another go.

After braving the bowels of the Baltimore Convention Center to pick up my race packet, we then set out on a magical quest to uncover the coveted safety pin. First, I have to say Corrigan Sports puts on a very tight, grandiose, well-organized event. Also, the city of Baltimore is full of a bunch of sweethearts who heartily come out and support thousands of strangers running through their neck of the woods. Simply put, it is a very fun event to be a part of.

Yet, I find it really odd that such an event could run out of safety pins. If you have ever run a race, you know you normally are given four pins to hang your running bib from. It is doubly important when your chrono tracking device is a B-tag (a tracking device attached to the bib that tracks your time). Granted, Baltimore requires more pins than normal as they have additional back bibs for the full marathoners and relay runners.

But … C’mon!

The last of our Friday night was spent tracking down a CVS and coming to realize that previous participants facing our same plight had already commandeered whatever pins the store had hours ago. Thus, hotel sewing kits (a combination of safety pins and needles) worked in a pinch.

I have been training in general for quite awhile. Part of the parental adjustment included deducing how to fit in runs with a newborn. As I’ve said before, hopping off of the train home early and running the rest of the way has been the best solution. It has also allowed me to become a little bit more familiar with sections of D.C. I am not the most familiar with (e.g. Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Adams Morgan).

Once I signed up for the race about five months ago, I also ensured I ran plenty of hills (the course seems to consist mainly of grades of varying degrees), made all of my long runs to condition my legs for the heavier mileage (yes, I did run home from Bethesda one day), and kept running even when I was out of town (Florida and California). These three things heavily influenced how I was prepared for last Saturday.

The run was great, the weather was golden. I was a little amazed how much of the course I recalled — that was definitely an advantage. I had two goals going in. The first, as always, is to run the whole time. The second was to run under 2 hours.

I finished at 1:54:08 shattering my time from last year, 2:07:26. This also marked the first time I had run sub 9-minute miles in any race (8:42/m) and I also set personal bests in finish percentage (16.8% overall, 27.2% amongst males). I’m eager to see how this might be reflected in shorter runs in the future.

The icing for the weekend was having Brittany’s cousins Amanda and Amy along for the ride (primarily to spend time with Nola, natch). That also ensured a few helping hands to help keep our little girl in check (Nola, as usual, was very good).

Wherever we are next year, I think I would like to make sure we try to make another trip back to Baltimore mid-October.

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Reinventing the Will

Posted by Will on August 18, 2011

I am very image conscious. It is certainly one of my many flaws. Admittedly, the following screed is one filled with self-pity and is generally an ode to a fallen institute.

Over the years, the physical feature that has probably defined me the most has been my hair and how it was styled.

Sometime during my freshman year in high school, during the kickoff of my punk listening days, I found a CD liner photo of a bleached blond elaborately coifed bassist and took it to my middle-aged stylist, who coincidentally, also fashioned my mother’s hair, to emulate the whiz-bang cutting to the best of her ability. Thus the spiked doo was spawned to live, for a period of time, in high school notoriety.

I could probably dedicate at least 1,000 words to chronicle the literal rise of my hair but that would be more self-serving than anything.

During the summer, between Freshman Orientation at UGA and my move in to McWhorter Hall (R.I.P.), I decided, for reasons I’m still uncertain of, to grow my hair out (I still got the occasional red and blonde streaks that hade become a standard along with hirsute stalagmites). By the time that first fall semester rolled around, I had tresses almost to my shoulders. Haircuts became less frequent and my mane grew to a ungainly depth and unfortunate (the opinion of some, especially my grandmother) length. In short, it was a celebration of hair; wild, untamed, uncultivated hair. And you know what? I ate it up.

Through my collegiate years, I had the occasional trim (whether it be from a friend or a pro) but the fashion never really wavered from being “long”. Although, there was the unfortunate time I went to Great Clips and received what was later coined “The Reverse Mullet” (party in the front, business in the back). I believe that is the last time I paid a “professional” under $10 for a haircut. Never again.

It has now been four years since graduating from college but I never really progressed past the long swooping hair. Sure, I have had a lot of pressure (primarily from Brittany) to try something a little shorter and for periods I have acquiesced. Yet, I never took that direction to another level.

One thing I did discover though is that the best person to cut a man’s hair is a man. Men, if you need a good recommendation for a hair stylist in D.C., just let me know.

Two things physically occurred since I moved up to the Delmarva area. The first was I was inspired by Brittany to take up running, at least, semi-seriously.

When we spent our last few months in Athens right after we got married, we did some jogging together at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. But, it wasn’t until we moved into the concrete jungles of the District that we ran consistently. Since then, I dropped the fried chicken and PBR lunches, started to eat moderately more healthy, and got more active (thus dropping 40 – 50 pounds; yes, I weighed 235 when we moved onto 10th Street). Biking and walking to work and being carless also helped.

That coincided with a noticeable thinning of my hair in the front, the second physical change (at least, from my perspective).

Now, those of you who knew me since high school might point to the numerous hair products I used to achieve those two inch long prongs of hair. Indeed, there was a lot of chemical product used to achieve the hold required to establish my skyscrapers of mane. There is no argument there. Or you could suggest the coloration processes my hair endured (yes, my hair did change four different colors within a 72 hour period once) may be the foundation to my calamity.

But I don’t think the cause is chemical (from a man-made manufactured sense).

Or you could call it an ironic twist of fate (that would probably be a bit more accurate).

Honestly, I don’t know what the change stems from. I have no clue regarding my medical history, what my blood relatives’ hairlines look like but I would be willing to be it’s hereditary (speaking of, in a adopted sense, losing hair would fall inline with my Mom’s side of the family anyway).

Yet, that’s neither here nor there. This issue is really about acceptance. For all of the building up of my hair (and in this case, my ego), this is about coming to grips with change and accepting it.

I’m fairly comfortable with my body but this was an issue that really struck a chord with me. This was a change I was not ready for. This was a cruel destiny afforded to me which simply was not fair (right?).

It’s been a week since I took a pair of clippers to my head. It took me an hour but hey, cutting your own hair ain’t the easiest thing in the world.

Part of my doesn’t know what I was so worried about. True, it’s obvious my hair has receded and thinned in the front but at the end of the day, that’s just who I am. The other part mourns my loss when I glance at my reflection in the Metro car window in the mornings.

But really, truthfully, I’m over it. I have more important things to worry about and have greater things that define me.

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On the Go

Posted by Will on April 20, 2011

(Note: This post was originally entitled “On the Run” but after reading through it, most of the blather has little to do with running … hence the title change. Carry on.)

I have taken running back up. Not that I really dropped it. I just needed a break. Weather below 20 degrees was also a contributing factor.

The real challenge has been when to carve out time in the day to go on a fairly lengthy jaunt through the city. Mornings, normally would be ideal, just are not my best time of the day. I’m more of a late to bed, sluggish to rise type of person. I would run nights but I have wee safety concerns (Brittany’s concerns would be monolithic). Not to mention, the evenings are the time of day, when I am working on site, that I have to spend with our family.

Honestly, to go on a small notation regarding Nola, I am already having a semi-difficult time remembering her two months, even one month, ago. She is growing in size and personality so quickly that I feel like if I did miss a day or two with her, at this point, I would miss something.

But, back to running. Between my last race (the relatively easy-going, flat Jingle All the Way 10K around Hains Point) and now I think I got out and ran a total of one time.

While I wasn’t running, I was reading. For Christmas, I received, per request, Jack Daniels’ (yes, that is his name) Daniels’ Running Method, 2nd Edition. It is a very scientific yet practical approach to customizing your training regime. There are oodles of big words (lactate threshold) and mathematical equations (VO₂ max = Q(CaO₂ – CvO₂) yet, even for the arithmetically challenged, such as myself, there is enough sustenance to consume and be satisfied. Essentially, the book compelled me to reexamine how I train and some of the techniques and methods I use while training.

Yet, while a good read, I would put this in the same category as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It was a great read, I felt inspired yet I have not done much to change my person or routine. I still constantly think back to the maxims and still feel moved by them, yet, I still have not made wholesale changes.

Okay, before I get to far on this tangent … back to running and the solutions I created. I am exclusively a mass transit commuter. A year ago I was almost strictly driving to work. Gradually, the past six months, I transitioned from full-time car, to half-week car, to no car  – which is what I actually prefer. I won’t wax poetic about Metro, because Lord knows it has problems. Yet, it is still my preference. And yes, I am trying very hard not to drift off on another line on how much I miss being car-free but still feel like it is a big, comfortable necessity now.

Since I am not an FTE, I don’t get a transportation stipend. As convenient as it is to have a train station about half a mile away, it still is pretty costly, especially with the rush hour charge tacked on. So, as I was looking for a running solution, it occurred to me, finally, that I could not only solve my timing issue, I could probably save a few dollars a week as well.

You see, I take what I would call, “the long way home”. Because of the current Metro track design, I essentially make a loop from the NE quadrant (Brookland-CUA), through downtown (Chinatown-Gallery Place, Farragut North), and back up the NW quadrant to Bethesda. What would normally be a 30 minute car ride through Rock Creek Park turns into an hour long ordeal. Granted, I usually take this time to catch a few misplaced Z’s so the extra time really isn’t that big of a deal.

But what if I could cut or equal my travel time, save that extra quid, get in my running, and end one of the most long-winded, weighty tomes on this blog ever?

I started, at first, getting out at Dupont Circle, running up Meridian Hill, by the park, and cutting through Columbia Heights. Not a bad 2.5 mile tour. Yet, I wanted to go a little further. So my current route has me climbing out at Cleveland Park, navigating the tourists milling in front of the National Zoo, cutting over and through Adams Morgan, and then going in-and-out of Columbia Heights for a quick 3-miler. Note, I realize that if you don’t live in or not familiar with D.C. that the past paragraph meant absolutely nothing to you.

And, you still might live in or be familiar with D.C. and not give a scrap either.

The problem I had to solve was how do I transform from semi-professional dress to running appropriate attire … and do it with as few complications as possible? Solution – invest in a backpack that could withstand the rigors of running all the while moving less than a Queen’s Life Guardsman.

After many hours spent researching online, pouring over reviews, gnashing teeth, and hand wringing, I finally settled on a Osprey Talon 11 Liter pack.

In short, it has been the perfect pack. There is little to no movement with the waist and chest straps. The pack itself is pretty lightweight and more importantly, it has made me very aware of what I can and can not take to work everyday. Essentially, I have had to conduct an assessment on what I wear (e.g. suspenders weigh less than a leather belt) to what I take for lunch (I’m pretty much on a fruit and salad diet).

After 900+ words I really think the theme of this post has been change spurred by Nola and how we are adapting to it. Sure, it started out innocently enough as a write up on how I’m back in the running game but really, it just goes to show, in a very small sample, of how we are rolling with the punches.

I’m sure this will be a running theme (pun intended) as I continue to record this coming year.

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