Jon's Jibber-jabber

This is also known as the Hell of Frederick....I just made that up myself but it's astonishingly accurate.  I wanted a challenge and that is what I got.  I registered for this after moving back north.  I spend many days in Frederick during my college years and after, working at two theatre companies located downtown.  I would be nice to be in familiar territory for such a challenge.  It is only an hour from me.  That close, I decided to drive up in the morning.  I think that was a good idea, sleeping in my own bed the night before.  The ride starts in Frederick's beautiful downtown.  Frederick is such a quintessential northeastern American town with red brick houses and church spires everywhere.  Small tree lined streets flow in a grid that lead from quaint crossing to crossing of a small stream.  From there, the route headed west toward the Catoctin Mountains.  This is where it lost the charm.  Within the first five mil...

Opening up this year's triathlon season (and closing out said season) was the Baltimore Triathlon.  Due to my move, some health issues, and loads of other factors, I focused mainly on cycling and base building this year.  No time for triathlon...until now.  As they say, better late than never.  This is my second time participating in this race.  Last time, I easily won my age group in the Olympic division, mostly due to my ability to adapt to pouring rain, floating driftwood, and cold temperatures.  I always perform better in adverse conditions.  That year it was an inaugural event and I was just off of an Ironman training cycle.  This time would be different, but I felt confident that I could put in a good race.  I only needed to get through the swim, which is nearly absent from my training this year.  And so began my first and last triathlon of the season. Race Week Race week was pretty chill as I didn't have to prepare much fo...

The Clermont Clay 5k and 15k take place on the Clermont Clay Loop, a roughly 10-plus mile series of clay roads through some central Florida groves and fields.  This is likely the last time that the race will include the full 15k of clay since some of it is slated to be paved for development.  I wasn't feeling up to the 15k so I decided to sign up for the 5k. It is a long way to Clermont from Tampa.  A small group of us carpooled up for almost hour and a half drive.  There was race day packet pickup so we wanted to leave enough time for that, parking, and warming up.  It was in the upper 50s with very low humidity.  Overall a chilly day for central Florida.  I was able to do a quick warm up and went out to run my own race. The race went pretty well.  It was a small field but the weather was perfect.  The route is just out and back along the clay road.  There are several rolling hills.  I found myself in the top 10 all race, finis...

Over the past few months, I've done a some spur-of-the-moment running races.  I enjoy running short races.  First off, they do not break the bank.  I can't really afford the veritable "marathon" of marathons since many have entry fees at the top end of my budget.  Second, local races are great for racing with friends.  You can decide to just go do it and visit with friends.  It is how we used to run when we first started out.  So over the last few months, I did some local racing.  Here is a little recap. Fort Hamer Bridge 5K/10K (Parrish, FL) This event is in the 2nd year and literally runs across a bridge and back (for the 5K).  There is a 10K option but I opted for the 5K.  The race originally started at 7:30a but due to some parking issues it was delayed to 8a.  The bridge is not a high bridge but it does have elevation (for Florida).  The Ft Hamer park is a rowing center so it has space and organizers had a fair a...

I decided to do the race since I was going to be there anyway.  My wife was doing the Olympic distance race and it was her goal race for the season.  The sprint was a day before the Olympic/Half courses so I participated that day so I could be Sherpa on race day for her. Race Week This was a two-fold trip.  On one hand, we were heading up to do the race.  On the other, we visited family in Maryland.  Family visits are pretty full so it was a pretty busy time checking all of the visit boxes while in the area.  Also, driving from Florida is much worse as I get older.  Even broken up, it is still such a drain on your body and mind.  We met two friends there and stayed at the historic Powhatan Resort.  This is a very nice place with town-home style rentals available.  It reminded me of a colonial DVC, complete with salespeople trying to sell us vacation shares.  It was nice to have a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a full living ro...

This season my approach has been a renewed focus on short distances, in triathlon and road running.  I'm still doing a 70.3 near the end of the year, but I've selected several key short course races leading up.  This month is the Dunedin Rotary Sprint Triathlon.  This is my second time doing the event on Honeymoon Island.  Two years ago it was not a USA Triathlon sanctioned race, which lead to a lot of disappointment when I realized it would not count in the USAT rankings.  Last year, new race management took over and it was a sanctioned event.  I skipped last year but returned when they moved the race a month earlier, from June to May. My wife called this "Dunedin Sprint, or I didn't get bit by a rattlesnake".  This is due to the large sign as you enter that says "Caution, rattlesnakes common on the island".  Great.   I am glad we missed the purple flag on the beach when we entered, indicating dangerous marine life present.  ...

Celsius, Inc. is a Boca Raton, Florida-based maker of the energy drink, Celsius.  My wife got a case of them from somewhere and I was interested in trying it out.  It is labeled as a no sugar, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO energy drink that claims also no high fructose corn syrup, no aspartame, no preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavors.  The marketing seems to be to a body-building and fitness market, which is probably why I never heard of it before.  The company was founded by a GNC executive so it follows the path of GNC nutritional products. Celsius comes in a few different flavors and varieties.  Celsius Originals flavors are Orange, Grape Rush, Watermelon, Wild Berry, Cola, Peach Mango Green Tea (non-carbonated), and Rasberry Acai (non-carbonated).   So far, I sampled Peach Mango Green Tea, Cola, and Grape.  Celsius also has a Naturals line, that is naturally sweetened and caffeinated.  The company just introduced ...