Home Coming

Well, the kids were supposed to come home last night but given the state of today's airline service, it wasn't surprising that they didn't make it. It seems that their United Flight was canceled due to so called "bad weather". This actually turned out to be a good thing because even though their THY flight from Istanbul arrived 30 minutes early, they sat on the runway for over an hour. Because of this they wouldn't have made their connection anyway. United did do a good thing by putting them up in a hotel and scheduling them on a direct Delta Flight at 0835 this morning.

I woke them up this morning at 0545 to make sure they made the hotel shuttle to the airport at 0630. They should have had plenty of time to make their flight but because their cell phones are dead, I'm unable to confirm it. I'm now tracking the flight but as of now (0900) it isn't showing that it has taken off.

Update at 0906: I just checked the Delta website and it shows that it took off at 0832 and is expected to arrive 15 minutes early at 1011. Time to go to the airport. Don't want to be late.

Update at 1114: Picked them up and got them home. Both of them glad to be home. Alis says she's not going to leave the house for three days. It is good to finally have them home. Now we just got one more to get home.

Indian Summer

Today is a beautiful day. The temperature is in the mid 70's and the sun is out. It was a perfect day to put in 10 miles at my favorite place for running - Raccoon Creek State Park. It was a little chilly when I started out so I had on a long sleeve running shirt and a pair of running shorts. I quickly regretted the long sleeves as I climbed the first big hill. It was my first real trail run in quite awhile and it felt great. The Spring and the Fall is the best time to run out there. In the summer briers and weeds start growing over the trail but in the Spring and Fall they go to ground.

With such a beautiful place and with such great trails, I'm really surprised that not more runners take advantage of the park. I've been running there for four years and can count on one hand the number of other runners that I've seen running there. Good for me, bad for them

Fall Ride

Today I rode my motorcycle up to Raccoon Creek State Park to see the fall colors and to get some photos. The sun was out but it was quite windy - still it was a good ride. I rode Old Steubenville Pike up to Florence and then took HWY 18 to the park. I went down the western side of the park and saw a bunch of horse trailers. I followed the horse shit up the road to where the rode split off to the left onto a dirt road. I was hoping that they went left because I had planned to follow the dirt road for awhile. I got almost a quarter of a mile down the road when I saw the horses. I didn't want to pass them on a motorcycle so I turned around. I crossed HWY 18 and entered the eastern part of the park. I took it slow and easy to the lake where I took some photos. The colors are just starting to come out but I think I got a few good shots.

APFT

I took the Army Physical Fitness Test today. I had not planned on trying to run it very fast, just to have a nice comfortable run and come in around 14:30 or so. When I arrived to do the push-ups and sit-ups, I found out that this young Sergeant (28) was also going to be doing his test. During the last test he made it known that he wanted to beat me. He didn't but said he would next time. He also ran in the Army Ten Miler on our team (which placed third in our catagory) and beat me by 40 seconds. This time is was pay back.

We started out pretty fast, faster then I wanted to but I stayed behind him through out the first two laps. As we started the third lap he slowed down and I was able to past him. I stayed ahead of him for the rest of the two miles and I managed to come in at 13:16 and he came in at 13:46. That 30 seconds is going to cost him a lot of grief for the next six months until the next test. It feels good to beat someone 13 years younger then you.

My time had slowed down some since the last time I took it in April. I managed a 12:54 then, but I didn't do too bad because I didn't get to run as much this year as I wanted. I was out for two months with drop foot and had only recently got back to running. It is really hard to start back when you have been out for so long. The problem is now fixed and I'm looking forward to planning my races for next year.

Highway 33

This weekend we held an Officer Direct Commission Board for enlisted Soldiers to become Officers. We held it in Richmond VA and had a great turnout. On my way back to Pittsburgh on Sunday I decided to take what my dad always called "a wise old Indian shortcut". Leaving Richmond I followed Highway 33 all the way to Interstate 79 in West Virginia.


I was blessed with beautiful weather and beautiful scenery. Stupid me had left my camera at home. I had it in my hand before I left and then put it back thinking I wouldn't need it - never again. I had often drove parallel to the Shenandoah Skyline but had never crossed it. Highway 33 cuts right across the top of it. I didn't know what I was missing. It is a great drive and the leaves were just starting to turn. The view of the valley from the top was awesome.


As good as the drive was in Virginia it was especially good once I got into West Virginia. The rock formations at Judy Gap and Seneca Rocks were strange. I had never seen rock formations like that in the Appalachian Mountains but had seen similar ones in the Alps. I am putting both of these places on my list of places to visit again. This time I'll make sure I have my camera and plenty of time to hike some of the trails.


The wise old Indian shortcut from Richmond to Pittsburgh took me 8 hours but it was 8 hours well spent.

Army Ten Miler

Today our team placed third in the Army Ten Miler under the category of Army Reserve Mixed. I didn't do as well as I would like but given the fact that I was unable to do any running for two months and very limited running in August I didn't lose too much time from last year. Last year I ran a 1:13 and this year I managed a 1:20:55. Not a bad race but the heat and humidity was high. I found out later that one runner died 200 yards from the finish line and that they ran out of water at the Aid Stations at Miles 4 and 6. There were reports that some runners were looking for water from discarded water cups.

This was a new kind of race for me because it was the first race where I was fully funded. The team captain who is an SJA Officer, figured out how to get MWR funding from FT Dix, NJ. They paid for everything to include: travel, rooms, entry fee, and even the pasta dinner. I could definitely get used to this. I'm trying to get him to see if he can get funding for the Marine Corps Marathon next year. I really don't like doing the ATM. If I'm going to go to DC, then I want to make it worth my time. A ten mile race is almost like a sprint. You don't really have a lot of time to enjoy it. With a marathon you can take your time and enjoy yourself more...at least during the first 15 miles.

Enroute to Istanbul

This morning I took my wife and kids to the airport. They are going to Istanbul to visit my in-laws. This will be the first time my wife has visited in five years. It was sad to see them go and coming back from the airport I wished I was going with them. The kids will be coming back on October 23 but my wife will not be coming back until November the 5th. Because of the time they will be getting into JFK, I will have to pick them up. Either that, or they will have to spend the night and fly out the next day. My Dad will be coming up to go with me to pick them up.

The above photo is one that I took in 2002. The sky has been changed with Photoshop