Graduation Day - Ann Arbor!

Official Graduation Day for Katie!  While she "walked" with her graduation class during the Spring Commencement, yesterday was her official graduation from the University of Michigan! We are so incredibly proud of her accomplishment!

Peekskill Brewery Mile: Race Photos & Results

 

What a great night (late afternoon) to run a mile!  The Peekskill Brewery Mile went off just after 5 PM and the best part of it (aside from the net downhill) was getting to run it with Katie.  We haven't run an official race together in years - since she was in middle school.  Instead of road races, she spent her middle and high school years playing field hockey and lacrosse :D

And what better way to finish a mile (or any race/run for that matter) than to rehydrate with some excellent beer!  In fact, I'd venture to say it was the prospect of a cold beer that got me to the finish in 6:44 - haha.  I was a little dubious of running fast after the Westport Summer Series 8.4 Miler yesterday, the post-run miles after that race, and the trail miles I ran this morning.  But where there is cold beer, there is always a way :D

Here are the official results from the Taconic Road Runners.
and here are more race photos from the Taconic Road Runners.

 

Thanks Bette for the great photos of me in action (during the race and post-race with Hiroshi)!

Greetings from Ann Arbor - Senior Year!

Greetings from Ann Arbor!  Another summer winds down with a drive to Ann Arbor... and another year kicks off for Katie.  This time it's her senior year!

Hard to believe it's been 3 summers worth of packing up the car/unpacking the car (not to mention the spring trips to bring her home)!  The only difference this time around is that we left on Sunday, going back on Tuesday.  Normally it's a Saturday-Monday trip.  It'll be interesting if the drive back is any different, time-wise, on a Tuesday.  Probably not - but there's always hope :D

Here's to a great Senior Year for Katie!!

Greetings from Ann Arbor - Junior Year :D

Another summer comes to a close with a drive to Ann Arbor to deposit Katie back at school.  This time it's for the start of her Junior year.  It's a cliché, I know, but it's amazing how time flies.  I can remember like it was yesterday, driving up here to check out the campus before she formally accepted.  Similarly, the trip here for her first year - and moving Katie into her freshman dorm hardly seems that long ago!  The list visits here can go on, and on...

Well I guess at this point Ann Arbor has become our adopted second home - Go Blue! :D

trip to ann arbor, via clarion :O

it was an interesting 72 hour road trip to ann arbor this weekend.  in what typically is a 10 hour drive, the weather conditions driving out to michigan on saturday were so lousy that we had to stop over in clarion, pa (with 4+ of hours driving to go).  in a rambling succession of snow, sleet, rain, fog and dreary darkness, we opted to finish the drive sunday morning.

sunday afternoon in ann arbor (after an easy drive) was spent moving katie into her new apartment for the spring semester.  the first two trips from her old place were pretty straightforward - then the snow arrived.  the third and final trip to get her settled into the new place was a bit challenging given the single degree weather and snow.  but when it was all said and done, we went over to the blue tractor for dinner :D

on downside to the trip was having to miss the kick-off 2015 boston build-up, the 10k in norwalk.  last year it turned into an icy adventure race - this year it would revert back to a regular road race.  but a 10k is on deck for this weekend, in central park.  the joe kleinerman 10k will be my first nyrr race of the year. 

the drive back home, sans katie, was uneventful (mostly sunny and dry!) - and less than 10 hours after we left her, we pulled back into our driveway - home!  hard to believe that the winter break went by so quickly.  katie probably won't be back home again until the summer :(

greetings from ann arbor - sophomore year :D

greetings from ann arbor!  after i ran the summer series 11 miler yesterday, we finished packing the car and drove - with a 45+ minute traffic jam inching through the delaware water gap and getting pulled over in ohio for speeding (but the officer let us off w/just a warning) - katie to ann arbor for the start of her sophomore year at michigan!  the big difference this time around is moving into her sorority house instead of the freshman dorm last year.

not sure how much sightseeing i'll get in this time around - but hopefully at least on visit to a brewpub :D

stay tuned!

greetings from michigan... versus indiana!

this is my 4th trip to michigan this year!  pat and i drove up on friday to visit katie during parents & family weekend here at the university of michigan. one of the highlights was this afternoon's football game - i was my first big 10 college football game (and 1st time i've ever been in such a huge stadium).  it was a fantastic experience - which even grey skies and occasional rain couldn't dampen.  the 63-46 michigan win may have also contributed to that mood!

tomorrow we drive back home (and won't see katie again until thanksgiving).  on a related note, now that the giants season has been relegated to the scrapheap of history - even if they manage a win on monday night, they'll sport a fantastic 1-6 record - the wolverines have picked up the slack!  go blue!!

katie's high school graduation!

i was a very proud and happy dad today.  on a beautiful sunny day, the summer solstice actually, she graduated from high school.  of all the various posts of her activities over the years, this one is a real landmark. she has one more summer as a camp counselor, then off to michigan for her freshman year of college.  a big step for her in so many wonderful ways.  and for pat and me, we become "empty nesters" - at least until school breaks, holidays, and summers :D

congratulations katie!

greetings from ann arbor... redux :D

we arrived here last night, after a 10 hour drive (door to door, w/about a half dozen stops along the way), for katie's freshman orientation.  it's hard to believe that we were here less than 3 months ago, for the accepted students visit.  and, we'll be back here again in late august to move katie and her stuff into the dorm for the start of the fall semester.

seems as if michigan will be a much visited state over the course of the next 4 years!  now all i need to do is find some races to round out the visits :D

green day concert at the barclays center

katie and i went to see green day at the barclays center in brooklyn sunday night.  it was our first trip to the barclay's center (pat had gone there to see barbra streisand last year) and katie's first green day concert.  in a word - the show was terrific.  billie joe seemed no worse for the wear from his sting in rehab (which forced a major cut back for the group's promotional effort for uno! dos! tre! trio of albums).  he poured out almost 2 and a half hours of non-stop energy - and had a crowd that was as equally animated. 

i had seen green day perform in central park in 2009 as part of the good morning america summer concert series.  they put on a great show there, in somewhat cramped quarters (rumsey playfield) and given the constraints of fitting the performance into a morning t.v. show format.  in that brief performance they managed to pull a spectator out of the audience and up on stage.  at barclays, billie joe had three fans up on stage over the course of the show.

the first, a kid who came up during the second song - "know your enemy" - and, after a few lines made a successful jump back into the audience!  the second, brought up and handed a guitar to strum the 3 chords for "knowledge," exited stage left after the song.  the third and final one came up to sing the 3rd verse of "longview."  she really took over the stage - to the astonishment of all!  but her jump back into the arms of the audience was less successful... oops!

in what could only be viewed as camping it up, billie joe sprayed water on the audience, fired tee shirts into the crowd and even wielded a toilet paper gun to boot.  the slowest moment of the night came when the band took down the volume for "shout" - and morphed into some stone and beatles - before bringing it back to life.  earlier they had teased out the intro to "highway the hell," before going into "brain stew."

they saved "american idiot" and jesus of suburbia" for the encore.

here is the setlist:

99 revolutions
know your enemy
stay the night
stop when the red lights flash
letterbomb
oh love
holiday
boulevard of broken dreams
burnout
welcome to paradise
geek stink breath
knowledge (operation ivy cover)
when i come around
going to pasalacqua
highway to hell > brain stew
st. jimmy
longview
basket case
she
king for a day
shout > (i can't get no) satisfaction > hey jude > shout
x-kid
minority

encore:

american idiot
jesus of suburbia
brutal love

greetings from ann arbor :D

greetings from ann arbor!  we arrived here late this afternoon to grey skies and snow flurries.  tomorrow is campus day at university of michigan and we're here to see if Katie is a potential wolverine :D  right now it's her first choice... but we have a couple more colleges to see :D

in any event, looking forward to seeing ann arbor!

katie's girl scout gold award presentation!

this afternoon katie, together with 8 girls from her troop, were presented with their gold awards.  among all the girls who participate in scouting, only 5% achieve its highest accolade - the gold award (which is, for the boy scouts out there, is the equivalent of achieving eagle scout)!  needless to say, pat and i are extremely proud of her - and all the other girls in her troop (most of whom we've known since the first grade)!

katie's field hockey tournament at hartwick college - redux :D

that could also read, "a year later." it's amazing how time can fly. we were here for the very same tournament a year ago this weekend. this time around katie played in both sessions: four games, with the first at 9:30 and the last began at 5:00 - a full day of field hockey.

we had lunch in downtown oneonta, at a fantastic place called the autumn cafe. which contrasted the so-so place for dinner last night - and the fast food for dinner on the ride home.

here are a couple of photos of the girls in action:

greetings from oneonta :D

greetings from oneonta, new york. we drove up this afternoon, in just over three hours, for katie's field hockey tournament at hartwick college tomorrow. she participated in this tournament last year, so the surroundings are a bit familiar. like our trip last year, we passed by the escarpment trail head along the way. but this time around we didn't stop for a picture.

unlike last year, when we couldn't make the morning session because of a prior commitment, it's an overnight trip and katie plays in both sessions. i brought along my running gear, so i can get in a few miles in the morning, before the first game :D

a birthday dinner at malatesta trattoria :D

katie celebrated her birthday with a group of her friends at a great italian restaurant in the west village, malatesta trattoria. malatesta sometimes translates into "crazy" - which may or may not be appropriate :D

it was her second celebration of turning 16 - pat and i took her out to dinner at the cheesecake factory on her actual birthday. and katie has one more to go, on easter, when her family joins us in celebrating her :D

oh, and then start the dreaded driving lessons :O

happy sweet 16 katie :D

we just got back from the cheesecake factory - where we celebrated katie's birthday with some cheesecake. it's a big day for katie - her 16th birthday! all the talk around here has been about a learner's permit, driving lessons, and driving the car!

life is going to get a lot more stressful for me :D

katie's team wins semi-final field hockey game, 1-0, in sudden death overtime!!

the girls won their third straight playoff game this afternoon. it doesn't get more dramatic than a 0-0 score in regulation, followed by a 1-0 win a minute and a half into sudden death overtime!! it was an amazing game!

next up is the sectional final game sunday afternoon. i'm bummed at having to miss it because i'll be running the nyc marathon and won't make it back in time to see the game :(

katie's team wins quarter final field hockey game 1-0 :D

it's playoff time for field hockey. i missed the first playoff game on monday afternoon, the girls won that game 4-2 and moved on to the quarter finals today. this game was a real nail-biter, and they won it 1-0! the semi-final game is this friday - team and location still to be determined. if the girls win that one, the move on to the sectional finals this sunday!

field hockey team's "last game" and pot luck dinner

today was nominally the last game of the season, and the girls celebrate with a pot-luck dinner at the high school. but given a weather related postponements this month, there are still 2 more games left to play :D

the girls won today's game, 6-0, and the pot-luck dinner went on as planned! but they're back on the field tomorrow - and again on monday - before the regular season comes to a close. then on to the playoffs :D

mid-week field hockey game

this afternoon i got to see katie play field hockey. most of the team's games have been away, so i couldn't pass up watching them play over at the middle school. i ran an easy 6 miles when i got home from the office and got over to the field in plenty of time for the 4:40 start. a bit warm (in the 80's), but otherwise fantastic weather to be outside. the girls won, 6-0, and improved their record to 4-0-1 - an awesome start to the season!