2009 - We Hardly Knew Ya

Before we turn the calendar for the first time in Twenty-Ten, I figured that I better get out a quick-hitter year-in-review post. I thought about writing in complete sentences but then I decided to just do this:

Miles run - approx. 1370
Married miles on the "runningmoon" - approx. 24

Ironmans - 1
Porto-potty shuffle Ironmans - also 1

times splashed - 1
times dashed - 5
times dashed masquerading as Chuck Norris - 1
times splashed 'n' dashed - 3
PR races - 1 (half marathon)

sports hernia surgeries - 0!
"bad coughs" - 1

Notre Dame basketball losses attended - 1
Notre Dame football losses attended - 3
Notre Dame football wins attended - 0
Notre Dame losses responsible for - probably 4
Gallons of KoolAid drank upon Coach Kelly's hiring - several

wives qualified for the Boston marathon - 1
best buds qualified for the Boston marathon - 1
my jealousy - increasing

hill repeats up Lovers' Lane in the Presidio - 60
Chartered trolley repeats up Lovers' Lane in the Presidio with my brand new wife and our families - 1

skirmishes with mounted policewomen - 1
vehicles commandeered for wedding related purposes - 1
times I married my best friend and love of my life - 1

2010 is shaping up quite nicely already. Jeffro Miami nuptials, Boston Marathon, Hawaii 70.3, UM@ND, ND@SC, plus some surprises along the way. Stay tuned!

Roundhouse Kicks for Everyone

On a crisp winter day in San Francisco, Chuck Norris delivered roundhouse kicks to the field of the Kaiser Half Marathon. Although he finished within one second of Andrea, she swears that she never saw him.

Of course, Andrea knows that if you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

I consider her very lucky.

Smell ya later, 2:50!

That's right, friends. 40 years after Bob Beamon shattered the belief that a human couldn't long jump over 29 feet, I have done the same with the mythical 2 hour and 50 minute barrier for the Cow Hollow-SF-to-somewhere-kinda-near-Google-HQ route. These are both hallowed marks to be sure. I mean, 2:50 stood up for weeks, people. Weeks.

Sure it was an incredible feat but was it as incredible as this? Of course not. Would breaking 2:40 be? Probably. Are you not entertained?

See ya in hell, two-hour commute

I'm upgrading my bi-weekly commute. That's right, the bus to the train to the shuttle to the office is no longer the fantastic voyage that it once was. Plus, it takes two hours. Not going to cut it in Ought Nine. Thanks to the good folks at sf2g I have come up with a new commute, a THREE-HOUR TOUR!

It's 50 miles of fun. Not only do I ride right past the airport and TWO of Andrea's old offices, I ride by the famous workplaces of the following Bay Area legends:

Barry Bonds' AT&T Park

Joe Montana's Candlestick

Easy E and Rapper 4-Tay's Players Club on the corner of Third and Newcomb right in the heart of H.P.

More champagne Mr. 4-Tay'?

And what exactly houses their Players Club at that intersection? Any guesses? A library, perhaps? A Gap? A What's Up Dog? An art museum? All good guesses, but no.


Why hello there, Bayview Liquors



"Hey Charlie, did you race for the ND Cycling team?" I don't know why people keep asking me that. Everyone should know that I was captain of both the drinking and making-out-with-chicks team (**high fives himself**). No, no, I didn't ride at ND. I was too busy eating large Papa Johns pizzas. By myself. As a post-dinner snack. Anyway, check these guys for the gear.

I'm sorta a dork for data.

Chronicles of Hernia

Yesterday was the 9-week anniversary of my bilateral sports hernia surgery. That's right, folks, it's been 9 long sad tearful weeks since they put me under at Sequoia Hospital and sliced me up. So I visited the good Doctor Brown, he kinda felt around a bit, and said I was good to go. I have not been in love with how I've been healing down there, but he assured me that I would need to "fall out of a plane" to rip one of those sutures. So I got that going for me.

After the surgery I was completely inactive for the first three weeks. The next three weeks I was running 2-3 miles every other day, at a snails 9-10 minute/mile pace. The final three weeks I've been ramping up the mileage a bit, I was running 5-6 miles every other day until I got the go ahead. Today will be my third run in a row, and I'm finally starting to see some paces that start with a 7. I've got a lot of work to do, but at least I'm cleared to do it.

With this experience officially in my rear-view mirror, I can look back on the last 9 weeks fondly. I think my favorite part was gaining weight. But I also liked "working out" by walking up and down Marina Green stooped over like an old man. I was like a mall-walker. Oh, and how could I forget navigating the icy sidewalks back at Notre Dame trying not to re-tear anything. It was so snowy and icy there I thought there was only one lake! Fool.

You know what you use your core for, folks? Everything. It was eye-opening.

So now it's time to start working on my next athletic injury. Any suggestions?