Monday in D.C.

Monday morning started with a sleep in to catch up from traveling. Some of the clothes and jackets from the night before were dry, and we dressed for more rain on this day. We had only one commitment and that was our Capitol tour at 2 pm. Breakfast was still on the table downstairs. One nice thing about the hotel we stayed at was the food. We had full breakfasts provided with many varied choices and featured items each morning. We also had three evenings of Manager Dinners. These were full meals provided Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening, the days we happened to be there. It was nice to not have to worry about meals except for lunch and snacks. There was still discussion of the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies from the Wyoming Inn last summer, but we can't have everything.

After breakfast we decided to go shopping before heading to conquer the Metro. We needed umbrellas, and we looked up the location of the nearest REI and headed there. I had one umbrella in the car but we each needed one to avoid a soaking similar to the previous night. I also discovered that I ended up carrying lots of stuff in a shoulder bag the night before. Extra coats, hats, maps, snacks, park passports, souvenirs, and more. But my bag was too big for the dimension requirements to go inside the Capitol, so I picked up a smaller, waterproof bag at REI as well. With all of our needed items we headed for the Metro.

Chad had directions to the parking ramp and had no trouble finding it. We parked and walked across the sky walk to stare again at the machine before us. We had also looked at the Metro website for the best form to purchase fare for the week. With a quick instruction from a Metro worker milling around, we each had a fare card and were ready to go. The train routing was easy to understand and we had a downtown detail map that showed the station locations as well so it was easy to pick our stopping point. The Metro was handy through our entire trip, but especially on this day to avoid walking long distances in the rain.
We went to the White House Visitors Center, which was not real exciting. Then we walked towards the White House and peered at it through the fence in the rain. The most interesting thing was watching the guards inspect vehicles going into the area with mirrors and dogs, then flipping down a huge reinforced metal gate to let them through. We jumped on train to Union Station for lunch before our scheduled tour of the Capitol.

I have to say the most impressive thing of the trip was the Capitol tour, and we have Senator Feingold and his office to thank for it. The Capitol was an impressive, history filled building. Our tour was a private tour for the four of us led by one of Senator Feingold's interns, Jihan. We requested the tour months before along with a tour of the White House which was not approved.(Not by any poor history in our background checks, the White House tour is just very limited.) We met in the office in the Hart Senate Building then after getting our hands and bags checked for explosives, we headed to the Capitol via an underground tram. We went past all the visitors waiting in line at the Capitol Visitors Center to the side door of the theater for the next introductory movie. First dibs on seats, along with another guided tour from a different Senator's office. After the movie we headed to the public area of the Capitol for a tour. Jihan was very informative and we learned a lot about the construction and artwork in the Capitol as well as tales of past government figures. Here is the center of designed Washington D.C. where for luck we all rubbed with our foot. Here is the rotunda dome design.
After this tour we hiked to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Then down the mall to walk past the National Archives after we saw the huge line wrapped around the building. We headed to a nearby Metro station to head back to the hotel.

D.C. Tour of Monuments

The tour we took on Sunday evening was Tourmobile Sightseeing's Twilight Tour. It had four planned stops for the evening but took us past many more Washington landmarks. Melvin, our tour guide was amazing. We learned a lot of interesting information about the D.C. area. It was dusk when we headed out of Union Station, itself an amazing building. We passed by the Capitol, which Melvin pointed out does stand out with an "o" in the name instead of all the other capitals.We passed by some more landmarks and museums and then headed for our first stop at the Jefferson Memorial. It was just starting to rain when we were walking around the area. The gift shop was still open so we bought Kevin and Zack a National Parks Passport book. Kevin had one from the trip to Wyoming last year, but we forgot it at home. So they were also able to get their first stamp at the Jefferson Memorial. It was sometimes hard to figure out which D.C. landmarks were National Parks and which were not. The kids did get a lot of stamps while we were there.

We boarded the bus for a quick trip to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. It was a steady shower by the time we got to the beginning of the Memorial. Melvin came with the group on this stop to give us lots of information about FDR and the Memorial. The kids really liked Melvin's light up umbrella. This was an amazing place in the dark with the accent lighting. There is a lot of symbolism in the different areas of the monument symbolizing different landmarks of FDR's presidency. The monuments were all still packed with groups and tours despite the rain. The cherry blossoms were blooming and were pretty within the FDR Memorial but raindrops clouded my camera lens and I wasn't able to get any good shots.

Next stop was the Lincoln Memorial. This was bright and impressive in the night. The kids were reluctant to get off the bus for this one, but Chad and I encouraged them to run to the stairs. I stopped to take a picture on the way in the downpour.The building and statue were impressive. Also on this stop was the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial. Melvin suggested that if we were considering not walking in the rain to one to leave the Vietnam War Memorial for another day. He suggested the Korean War Memorial statues would be even more impressive in the night and rain, as rain drips off the faces of the statues. He was right, it was very powerful and impressive. Couldn't take any pictures with the rain and darkness. The kids stayed in the bus for this walk, but Chad and I were glad we went.

Our last stop was to be the WWII Memorial, but this was skipped because of the rain. They drove us past this and many more Memorials and attractions before dropping us again at Union Station. This tour helped us form an idea of the layout of D.C. and the Mall area so we could find our way easier the rest of the week. We did revisit some of the areas during the daytime and made an attempt to revisit the area at night again during the week but were hampered by weather again. More on that later.

Spring Break Vacation Recap, Intro & Day 1

It's Thursday, and we are headed back home from Washington DC after spending spring break vacation there for five days. We are on Interstate 68 in Maryland, which is marked the National Freeway. I figured it couldn't be any worse than our drive out on Interstate 70 which was quite boring So far it is nice, lots of mountains, and the road is good. That still leaves plain, dull Ohio to drive through. So I will begin my recap of the week. I had hoped to post along the way, but we have been busy running around, seeing things, and by the time night rolled around we were exhausted. I feel like I need a vacation from the vacation.

It all started out on Saturday, when we were supposed to leave at 10 to 10:30 pm. Chad was supposed to nap most of the day so he could start out driving. Well a structure fire consumed the entire day, and I don't think we got home until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Chad had no extra sleep and I still hadn't packed anything. The kids were antsy to go, and Chad couldn't sleep so everyone was waiting around for me to pack. Talk about pressure. By the time we were leaving the Madison area after stopping to eat, we were just ahead of time. We stopped at the Illinois line to get an Ipass module for the car, and discovered that setting it up sucked. The phone line was closed and the internet set up made you wait 30 minutes before proceeding to the next steps. Needless to say we went through the manual lanes. Chad had to call the phone line later after it opened and we still couldn't get the thing to work. Might have been positional on the dash, but we'll see if it works on the way home.

We drove through the night, stopping only for gas and breakfast. We came into Pittsburgh just before lunch. I planned a stop at the Oliver Miller Homestead, which was closed for the season but I just wanted some pictures. Doing family genealogy research a few years ago I discovered Chad's family traces back to Oliver Miller, who's family was involved in the Whiskey Rebellion. So we stopped to get pictures of Chad in front of his house. Then on for some more boring road, and a new problem. Exits off the highway do not necessarily have on ramps, and they don't bother to tell you. It became quite frustrating while trying to look for lunch when we wanted something quick and some restaurants were off the highway miles.

We got to DC, with more crazy roads and got our stuff up to the room. It was a very nice room at the Residence Inn in Springfield. There were two separate bedrooms since we wanted space to relax and we were staying for 4 nights. After experiencing DC it would have been nicer to have been a little closer in to the city. Unfortunately we needed to get to downtown for an evening tour of the monuments. Since I was rushed when we left, I had no time to print instructions on how to get anywhere by driving or train. We headed to the Metro, but had trouble finding the station, then when we got there we had no idea how to use the pass system. With no time before the train we needed left, we headed back to the car. Chad was angry and said he would just drive there, so he stopped and got a map and that's what we did. The traffic was good so we made it down there with plenty of time. Luckily it was Sunday night so there was no workday traffic to contend with and free parking at the meters.

We cruised around at Union Station while we waited for our tour with Tourmobile to begin. It started raining of course after our tour began. We had a great tour guide, Melvin, who was funny and informative. It was dusk when we started and the monuments we toured were best seen at night. The rain kept coming heavier and heavier, but we still had a great time. The tour lasted about 3 and a half hours, and was well worth it. We were soaked by the time the tour was done, and we quickly made it back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Next post I'll share some pictures of the tour and more of D.C.

How did this happen?

I knew my running had cut my riding a bunch but finding my rear tire flat on my road bike was a shock. I knew it was leaking, bad patch job last spring, but how long ago was my last roller session?

Last Friday I did get a ride in on my Tricross. The weather was turning cold so grabbed the chance when I could. The bike is still in it's winter gear ratio of 42X18 so I spun like mad to keep the speed up. I'll be getting my bikes back in shape next week and plan at least two one hour rides a week going forward. No big events until late summer so running and riding with the kids trumps solo riding for now.

My marathon training is taking about four hours right now and keeps getting longer. A 13 mike run a year and a half ago left me sore for days, yesterday I did 13 then went to work. That said I'm not sure how far I can push it but doubt the 20 milers will be doable before work. My coworkers think I'm crazy and I'm not sure they are far off.

Where is everyone else? The boys won't ride until it is warm and neither is interested in running at the moment. Ice free lakes or dry hiking trails and time to get to either should draw them away from the TV. Jen is very busy at work (understatement of century) but we did sneak in a night run Saturday which went well.

Now before I head out for coffee I'm signing up for the Madison marathon.

Only 12 miles

Monday morning when I opened my email I was surprised to see my run was not the 13 miles I expected, unfortunately it turned out 12 was plenty.

As with most Mondays I'm ready to go at 7 when I get up but by the time I get the boys to school my brain says I should sleep more. Sleep won since waiting also meant warmer temps for the run. By 9 I was up and out the door with no route in mind.

I have loops out of town of 5 and 7 miles that I run frequently. I wasn't feeling great and figured if I looped by the house I'd be tempted to stop. Trouble was I only had 12oz of water, a Gu gel and a pack of Sport Beans which meant would need to find water at some point. I headed to the rail trail with the idea of running 5 on it then refill and do my 7 mile loop. As I ran west on the trail I talked myself into doing all 12 by going out 6 before turning for home. I wasn't sure I would make it to Blue Mounds by mile 6 or where I would get water without any money on me. The trail was snow free but a bit soft but i wasn't sinking in much compared to the track others had made. The number of footprints in the trail dropped off quickly after leaving town and reappeared as I approached Blue Mounds. In between towns the trail parallels a four lane highway so it isn't all that scenic until close to Blue Mounds which is where I started to see deer and other smaller animal tracks in the trail. Mile 6 came right at the village park, no water or bathroom open this early in the season. On my way to the only gas station in town I lucked out and found the municipal building was open. That was a relief since I hate going into a business and not buying something. A quick bottle fill and I was back on the trail headed home.

I made it just east of town before my stomach turned on me, great 5 miles home or a mile back to the municipal building. Figuring I didn't want to do 14 miles I kept heading for home and once I took a break from drinking I felt better. The rest of the run home felt fine except, a sore left heel during the run has my hip sore today so I'll bike or stretch to loosen it up I guess.

13 miles coming up Sunday or Monday

Spring already?

Spring seems to have come to Wisconsin earlier than I expected. All plans for last weekend got canceled due to warm weather or kids laziness. Now three days of fog and rain have me convinced snowboarding is over for the season anywhere near us.

This weekend is Canoecopia in Madison which I might attend with the boys while Jenny is on command duty. I don't need anything but is fun to look around plus there is a bike sale with a trials rider doing shows for free. Free unless you give in to the boys asking for a DVD which they watch once. I'll need to check which one we have to avoid buying a duplicate.

Running just keeps going with a 13 mile long run coming up Monday. I figure after I do that one I'll sign up for the Madison Marathon before it fills up or I chicken out. Today I did 6 miles in shorts, 47 degrees and on off rain why not?

In a slump?

Another weekend went by without much outdoor activity, starting to think we have had enough winter. Bring on spring and maybe I'll have more to write about. We did attempt to go snowshoeing but ended up with just a short hike since the snow was well packed from lots of use.

Governor Dodge State Park was the destination of choice for the hike. We had been to see Stephens Falls in the winter before but not this late in the year. The Falls itself is a small stream but the walls of the canyon it flows into get lined with ice, enough people go ice climbing there. Kevin had his camera as well so here are some shots of the falls area, no one seems to have shot the group of ice climbers. It didn't look like much fun but whatever makes you happy I guess.




The next couple weekends are boys only if we leave town, EMT refresher and Fire Command for Jen. I'm thinking the lake ride is this Saturday or not at all this year. Maybe some boarding with at least Kevin before the snow gets really bad.

On the marathon front I ran a 10 miler in 1:31:47 or a 9:09 pace and felt fine so on I go into the teens after a step back week. Running out of town is much more fun than the 3-5 mile runs I do in town so that helps. I'll start getting pictures on the long runs soon, gloves limit my ability to run the camera on my phone but won't need them much longer.