Fried Heels

DC Style Back Country Skiing

2010-02-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

Steep. Gladed. Waist deep. Virgin. Untouched (perhaps ever?). Open. Epic. Powder.

And all within view of the Potomac and DC.

Hot damn That was some good early morning skiing!!

Is There Anybody Out There?

2008-03-03T15:28:00.001-08:00

Hey There

2007-08-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hey There!

Fitness Blogging Day ????

2005-12-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

Haven't gone Fitness Blogging in a while.

Here's some pictures from from today's hike down Difficult Run, right along the edge of Great Fall's National Park here in McLean, VA.

It was a gorgeous day. My dog thought it was so nice, he'd go swimming.

It wasn't that warm.

But the sun was shinning.

This is just before Difficult Run drops through the gorge (which i don't have a good picture of).

Here's the view of the Potomac at Difficult Run. Difficult comes in along the lower right. The Potomac heads downstream past the cliff's about 1/3 in from the right and comes in from just under Great Falls on the left hand side.

As you can see, there was snow in places along the trail.

Total Time: 00:51:58:82

Time above zone (>170 bpm) 0:00:00
Time in zone (110-170 bpm) 0:49:12
Time below zone (<110 bpm) 0:02:46

Average Heart Rate 128 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 165 bpm
Total calories burned 394

DC's First Snow of the Year

2005-12-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

Hey, I looked out my window today and saw this.

Cool. It snowed today and I had a meeting 15 blocks away in 40 minutes. What's a guy gonna do.

I know, I'll take a nice leisurely walk over and check the sights out.

Like the White House

And some Christmas decorations

And some of the local color (D.C. still is a unique town)

I've always loved this church and its gorgeous courtyard.

And, I've always liked the beer at Gordon Biersch.

Following the meeting, the sun had set and it was even prettier and I walked back by way of the White House.

This is a great statute - commemorating the Battle of Chattanooga and the fight for Georgia and Tennessee, right by the Treasury Department.

Old Town Alexandria Christmas Walk

2005-12-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Did something pretty cool this weekend. I was in the Old Town Alexandria, Virginia Christmas Walk - an annual parade here in DC to start the Christmas season. In years past we've always been spectators (or at least, I have been - my wife and her father have walked in it with the Lindsey Clan) but this year was different . . . . this year I really didn't get to see the parade . . . . . this year I rode in the firetruck at the end of the parade with Santa Clause.

Figured I might as well Photoblog the parade from this unique perspective, but be forewarned, I didn't see much of the parade.

Like i said, pretty cool, huh?

Postings

2005-11-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of postings here, just haven't had the time.

I have been maintaining my walking routine - following it around the neighbor hood as well as walking up stairs at work and getting out to walk to meetings during the day. Haven't seen a significant (or any) weight loss yet, but its worth noting that my waist line has trimmed down an inch or two (I was a 38 and they fall down now. I can fit in a 36, but its close).

Anyway, went out hunting this weekend in the George Washington National Forest and was invited to stay in some friendly folk's (including a reader of my other blog) camp.

Spent some time Friday scouting around and on Saturday woke up at 5:00 and started climbing the side of the mountain at 6:00. I had a headlamp, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky (it was 20 degrees) and the moon was full. Gorgeous. By 6:45 I was at my spot - 600 feet up the side of the mountain at 2013 feet elevation hidden in a stone wall overlooking a ravine.

Here's the view as the sun came up though the gap (didn't want to use a flash for fear of scaring what apparently wasn't around)

Here's my equipment, including my Marlin 336 in .30-30.

It was a buck day and all I saw were 4 lesbian does. Oh well, those are the breaks. Still had a wonderful time.

Here's a skull from years past.

Day 14 - Happy Veterans Day

2005-11-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

Things have been quite here the last couple of days. Sorry, just didn't get a chance to post anything.

Drove into work with my sister in law (she works down the street from me). Had an einstein brothers bagel (and cream cheese) for breakfast - it sucked and wasn't worth it. Basically, outside the New York metro area its impossible to get a good bagel. Don't try to convince me otherwise because if you do 1) you will be wrong and 2) you will prove that you don't know what the fuck your talking about.

Anyway, its Veterans Day and everything in DC is closed (except my office) so I decided to go for a nice walk around town and thank some Vets. I'll post pictures later tonight.

Total Time: 01:26:25:17

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:01:13 (which I don't believe)
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:36:51
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:48:21

Average Heart Rate 119 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 210 bpm (see why I don't believe that time above number. I suspect I walked by something security related that screwed up the HRM signal)
Total calories burned 375

Day 11 - Evening

2005-11-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Dinner was swedish meatballs, collard greens, corn and potatoes.

After gladly watching the worst candidate (well, maybe Mark Early was worse) the Republican's have run in a generation go down in defeat I decided to take a nice little extended walk around the neighborhood.

Here's the specifics.

Total Time: 00:50:51:27

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:00:00
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:21:27
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:29:24

Average Heart Rate 118 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 138 bpm
Total calories burned 221

Day 11

2005-11-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing this morning.

I woke up and worked the polls.

Just got back from a visit with a pulmonologist - I was referred to her by my doctor - who is going to do a sleep study on me. Turns out I have some of the signs of sleep apnea. Yikes.

Anyway, at the Doctors appointment they weighed me and recorded my weight as 210. I protested and asked for a do over - saying thats not accurate - and the second time I weighed 204 with my clothes on. Didnt get to weigh myself this morning, but my guess is the weight is somewhere are 200.

Had a bowl of ceral this morning for breakfast and a cup of tea. Also had one Twix bar.

Day 10 - Nada

2005-11-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Nothing really happened today. I woke, had a bowl of cereal, met a friend for lunch at the all you can eat Indian Buffet at the Ascot Restaurant (only had 1 large plate though, which I fully passed later this evening), and had some Pumpkin Roasted Chicken that the wife made with a salad and carrots for dinner and splenda apple pie for desert.

No excercise - and none occurred yesterday.

Waking up early tomorrow to sit at the polls in McLean, VA. Will be out walking again at lunch.

Welcome Alphecca Readers

2005-11-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

I'm honored that Jeff, one of the finest bloggers around, would think highly enough of this page to put up a full link to it. WOW!

Yes, you can find (or rather, you will begin to find) lots of pictures here it is mostly a personal diary of my training and fitness, as I try to shed pounds that initially occurred during the dreadful winter of 1997-1998 and have only added up since then.

It was that winter, when Vermont had its worst ice storm in a generation, that I was prevented from skiing as much as I had in the past. The result, along with a job at Catamount Brewing which paid me partially in beer and the bread machine I recieved as a gift, was that I began to gain weight.

After I got married that spring, moved to DC, and started working insane hours as a lawyer, it became increasingly more difficult to keep the pounds off.

Well, I am sick of weighing 200 lbs and have dedicated myself to shedding the weight as quickly as possible. Hence, this page.

Of course, while I am out exercising, I also try to bring along a camera with me everywhere and will be posting lots of pictures here (pictures that otherwise would have ended up at the Countertop Chronicles).

Enjoy.

Day 8 - Evening

2005-11-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

We hit Ikea this afternoon, and while I didn't get the beloved Managers Special, I did get a hot dog and a Sprite. When i got home, I ate what was left of my son's McDonald's Cheeseburger and had one for myself (the small cheeseburgers - the 89 cent ones). Had some fries, not a lot since I don't really like them - and a Reeses peanut butter cup. We watched Batman Begins (***** - what a great movie) and had a cup of chair tea (90 calories). Afterward, I went for a walk around the neighborhood (three laps at each oval).

Here's the specifics.

Total Time: 00:34:49:85

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:00:00
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:26:31
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:08:19

Average Heart Rate 125 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 143 bpm
Total calories burned 151

DAY 8

2005-11-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

Breakfast was two bowls of safeway corn flakes with strawberry's (dehydrated). Pretty good stuff. Had it with whole milk.

Ran some errands and then hit the trails. Wanted to head out west to Skyland Meadows but because of the time - and the fact my wife was sick - I returned to Scott's Run with my son.

It was a gorgeous day and we started at the top parking lot, hiked out to the lookout - turning onto the primitive trail to the right at the first guide sign - then went to the left trail down to the river and followed the river up to the waterfall. Returned up the gravel path, to the stairs and back by the ruins until we got to the house.

Took this photomerge, which didn't turn out as well as last weeks. Still its interesting to see how much the leaves changed in 7 days.

Last week's view:

Here's the specifics.

Total Time: 1:06:39

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:01:30
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:31:50
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:33:20

Average Heart Rate 121 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 153 bpm
Total calories Burned 290

Day 7 - Mid Day

2005-11-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Breakfast was a cup of earl grey tea with a splash of milk and a tablespoon of sugar (I needed sugar). Had it along with a cup of oatmeal and cold whole milk.

We had our legislative strategy meeting this morning and as usual they served real bad coffee. Poured a cup, only took a swig or two. At the same HRs's benefits fair was going on so I also grabbed a plate of fruit (passed on the delicious cookies and cakes and pies).

At lunch I went for a walk - first over to the White House and then up to and around Dupont Circle. Afterward, revisited the benefits fair and grabbed a plate of cheese, some water, and a banana.

Here's the 411 on the walk.

Total Time: 40:51:91

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:00:04
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:30:54
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:09:54

Average Heart Rate 125 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 150 bpm
Total calories Burned 177

I've got a base of info up here. Tonight I am going to try and plug it into an excel spreadsheet. Not really enough to chart (and show anything) but worth putting in anyway.

Day 7 - Morning

2005-11-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

Yippeee, this blog is a week old as of midnight tonight and I've already had 139 visitors (140 of which are probably myself)

Today at work we have HR's annual benefits fair. I'm looking forward to it, lots of cool prizes and I get to renegotiate my benefits.

Stayed up last night to finish Revenge of the Sith. Excellent movie, but its pretty long and I didn't get to sleep till 12:30 or so.

Alarm went off at 6:00 am, I snoozed till 7:00 and then rode into work on the Masi. It was a gorgeous morning and I stopped along the way for a second to take pictures of the foliage.

Weight when I woke - 202lbs

Total Time: 59:03:19

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:40:32
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:17:43
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:00:49

Average Heart Rate 150 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 176 bpm
Total calories Burned 540

Day 6 - Morning

2005-11-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Think I came down with whatever my son has and so I again didn't sleep real well last night. Ended up, once again, waking up too late to ride the bike in. Drove to the metro station and took the train in.

For breakfast had a cup of oatmeal with cold whole milk and a cup of Earl Gray tea with splash of milk and 1 tsp of sugar. Also (bad bad bad) had 2 reeses penaut butter cups (110 calories each) and a mini kit kat bar (100 calories).

~~I am going for a walk at lunch - its going to need to be a full hour walk to burn this all off.~~

Eeer, I didn't.

I ended up walking over to the Art Gallery Grill to meet the sister in law for lunch. Had spanikopita and a glass of water with lemon. Also had 10 candy corns for desert.

Got a meeting at EPA this afternoon - its a 15 minute walk - and I will be taking it both ways.

Day 5

2005-11-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

Nothing much happened.

Had a horrible night's sleep as my son was sick. Ended up, after finally getting him asleep around 2:00 am, to get to sleep. Ended up sleeping late and as a result drove in instead of riding the bike.

Walked 15 minutes to my morning meeting and walked 15 minutes back. Didn't track fitness. Had a cup of coffee, some cream, and half a bag of splenda for breakfast. Had Pad Thai and a spring roll for lunch. Felt like shit that night so I didn't go for a walk then either.

Day Four - Evening

2005-11-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ended up throwing the Masi in the back of the Isuzu Rodeo and driving it home this evening. Had spaghetti with marinara sauce for dinner (who knows HOW MANY calories) and a glass of water. I had one sugar cookie my son made for desert.

After driving around so he would fall to sleep, I went and did my nightly walk.

Total Time: 29:57:82

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:00:00
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:25:27
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:04:30

Average Heart Rate 126 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 142 bpm
Total calories burned 130

I've got an 8:30 meeting in the morning and will leave here at 6:00 am to ride in. Its a good 15-20 minute walk over to the meeting location in the morning, and I will report the results afterward.

Day 4

2005-11-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

No bike ride in this morning. I left my bike at the office yesterday 'cause I needed to get home early for Halloween.

Ended up driving the Isuzu Rodeo in, so that I could take the bike home tonight and ride it again tomorrow.

Breakfast - 2 slices of cherry bread (a quick bread with the consistency of banana nut bread, not what I need to be eating) and a cup of earl gray tea with a splash of whole mile and a tsp of sugar. Plus I had 6 candy corns.

Ended up eating 4 packs of smarties too (25 calories in each pack) and for lunch went to the Old Ebbit Grill and had 3 tall glasses of ice water (with lemon slice) a bowl of southwestern chicken soup and a green salad with duck and weird little nuts on it. It was excellent.

Going to have another cup of tea with splash of milk and splenda this afternoon. Will walk extra far when I return home in the evening.

Day Three - Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

We will just avoid altogether the subject of how much candy I consumed at work today and while trick or treating this evening. While its much less than in the past, suffice it to say that any caloric reductions achieved by way of my morning bike ride were well surpassed. Of course, I didn't eat lunch (other than a Carmel covered apple and a cup of cider) and only had a chicken caesar salad and some chili for dinner.

Anyway, took the son trick or treating - but that was pretty slow and leisurely. Afterwards, when everyone had gone to sleep, at 11:00 pm this evening I did the same local neighbor hood route my wife does and which I essentially followed while trick or treating with the boy.

Total Time: 30:22:37

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:00:00
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:17:36
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:12:46

Average Heart Rate 123 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 144 bpm
Total calories burned 132

Day 3 Commute

2005-10-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

Road the bike in this morning. Woke up at 6:20, took the trash out, got dressed and hopped on my road bike, a late 70s Masi built in Milan. It is like riding butter.

Headed down Great Falls St., turned onto the W&OD Trail, cut a left onto the Nelly Custis Trail along I-66 and followed it into Rosslyn, Virginia. Crossed the Key Bridge, down M Street through Georgetown, around Washington Circle (and GWU Hospital), down Pennsylvania Ave. to H Street.

Total Time Door to Door 59:58:53

Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:46:12
Time in zone (120-145 bpm) 0:13:22
Time below zone (<120 bpm) 0:00:25

Average Heart Rate 154 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 180 bpm
Total calories burned 548

Impressions: Just looking at the numbers above I was initially scared I put in too much of a workout (and was REALLY out of shape) however as my usual target on a bike is between 150-160 bpm and I had forgotten to adjust the heart rate monitor, I presume I did a lot better than I would have hoped with an Avg HR of 154 bpm.

I use a db500 Heart Rate Monitor that I picked up at Performance Bike Shops cheap. It seems to work fine, but the one annoyance I have with it is the difficulty in setting target zones (or setting any number, you can ONLY scroll up which means if you missed your mark you need to cycle through the entire thing again). Its not a fatal flaw, but it does become an annoyance when switching activities and target zones (I should point out that its programmed to record the workout for a variety of activities differently, so perhaps the need to adjust target zones isn't really needed. Still . . . . )

Haven't had breakfast yet, but I plan on a bowl of oatmeal, cold and raw, with whole milk. Mmm Mmm Mmm. Also, drank a bottle of Ice Water while riding in.

Day 2 - Scott's Run

2005-10-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't do Great Falls. I decided to hit Scott's Run once more and got what seemed at the time to be a better workout in, though in reality, it was just as good as yesterday's (though it did involve some more upper body use).

Total time: 1:08:58
Time above zone (>145 bpm) 0:23:42
Time in zone (120-145 bpm): 0:38:25
Time below zone (<120 bpm): 0:06:51
Average Heart Rate: 139 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 180 bpm
Total calories burned: 522

This time, I parked at the lower lot and followed the stream down to the river.

Near the end, the Run turns into a mini cavern with a small waterfall while the trail climbs a hill. I did that and scrambled down the rocks.

This is the view at the stream, above the water fall. I cross just below it.

This was the view of the waterfall as I cross it.

I then had to scramble up the rock face on the other side, which was both pretty steep and just a little slippery.

Once over, I headed down to the river.

I've never really played with the photomerge feature in photoshop, but really like how this one turned out.

I followed the trail besides the Potomac to the Lookout trail I came down yesterday.

I checked out the weird man made dam I saw yesterday (I had been on the lookout up high before, but had never come down to the river) and then climbed back up the ledge and took that out and then around on the red trail to my car.

Here's a picture of the dam I was talking about. If anyone knows anything about it, I'd appreciate you sending a note my way.

When I got back home I had a big glass of whole milk afterward and dinner tonight was 3 pieces of pepperoni pizza and a diet root beer. I am drinking a diet cream soda right now.

Day 2 - Breakfast

2005-10-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 9:30 this morning (my wife was out the door to early church at 7;30) and then hit McLean Family Restaurant for breakfast. Got an order of French Toast, 2 sunny side up eggs, and bacon which I split with my son (1 egg and 1 piece of toast each) and washed it down with 2 cups of Java. Also had an orange juice. We then drove around a bit - its a gorgeous day - and went to the Navy & Marine Memorial in Lady Bird Johnson Park to take pictures for our Christmas Card.

I've got to run into the office to finish a couple of things this afternoon (had hoped to ride my bike, but I don't have enough time) and will then hit Great Falls Park to do a short hike.

Evening Activity

2005-10-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Dinner: Hit Mickey Ds and got the grilled chicken caesar salad. Had a glass of ice water with it (and also munch on my son's french fries). For desert, I was bad. Had a sugar cookie that my son and his aunt had baked this morning and then my wife took out the Chocolate cake. It was simply irresistible. I have no idea how many calories it had, but it was good.

Got back home and took a walk around the neighborhood. The wife says its a 2 mile loop - she knows it much better than I do - but I don't know if that distance is correct. In any case, here's the numbers

Time: 27:14:24
Time above the zone (> 150 bpm): 0:00:54
Time in the zone (100-150 bpm): 0:26:14
Time below the zone (>100 bpm): 0:00:07
Average Heart Rate 134 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 156 bpm
Calories Burned 119

Scott's Run

2005-10-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I Managed to hit Scott's Run this afternoon. Started at the upper parking lot, walked down along the trail next to Georgetown Pike to the lower parking lot and followed the stream down to the pool where the dogs play. I didn't continue on to the river, instead, I went over the stream and up the path and stairs, following the trail to the ruins. From there, I hiked back along the main path and then took a left over to the old flag pole and continued to the overlook.

There was a girl and her dog up on the overlook, so I scrambling down to the river and climbed along the rocks there, admiring the old rock dam that was built in the river (wonder when and by whom) before making the tough climb back up the hill and heading to the car.

Total Time: 1:02:00

Time above zone (>150 bpm) 0:17:12
Time in zone (100-150 bpm) 0:44:29
Time below zone (<100 bpm) 0:00:13

Average Heart Rate: 138 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 174 bpm (after scrambling up the cliff from the river)

Calories burned: 469

Not bad for a quick afternoon trek.

Lunch

2005-10-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Had a bowl of Tortellini Chicken Soup and 3 squares of cheddar cheese for lunch. Heading out to Scott's Run in a couple of minutes.

Winter Is Close

2005-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

I threw up a post on the the recent weather events in the Mid Atlantic and how well they bode for three pinning this winter.

Check it out.

Day One - Breakfast

2005-10-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I hit the sack late last night after starting this blog. As a result, I didn't really wake until my wife called and woke our son up at 10:00 am. He threw a temper tantrum about playing Thomas Train on the computer but eventually calmed down once he saw he could watch Saturday morning cartoons.

I then took a shower, got dressed and finally ate breakfast at 11:00 am. Had a bowl of Rice Krispies (90 Calories) and a bowl of Corn Pops (100 calories) plus 1 cup of whole milk (100 calories) with them.

Total Calories In - 290.
Weight - 201 lbs.

Activities planned for the day - I hope to walk at least 4 miles, though I am still recovering from a foot injury so we will have to see how that goes. It may only be 2 miles. If I am lucky, I can do a circuit at Scott Run Park this afternoon and then a trip around the neighborhood this evening. I will also be taking my son to the park to play. I'm always hoping for sex, but thats ultimately the wife's call.

Some background

2005-10-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

I ought to give you some background.

I run another blog somewhere, where I blog under another name. That blog has become marginally successful. By that, I mean I have a regular readership far greater than I could ever imagine or that my writing should ever support. Its not enough to make any money off of, certainly not in the Glenn Reynolds sphere, but I get a decent enough amount of traffic there. The problem is, I have both lost the passion for blogging, and while I still blog at a prolific rate, I am not happy with the results.

This blog is an offshoot of some fitness blogging I began at my other blog. It failed there, cause I wasn't motivated, but I hope to succeed here. I am currently 34 years old (just turned it two weeks ago). I am 5'8" and currently weigh 200 lbs. This to me is unacceptable and I've watched as each year goes by my ability to do the things I like has slipped by more and more. Its hurt my self esteem and has probably impacted my health as well.

For many years, and still to this day, telemarking has been a passion. However, I am simply not in the shape to do it with the style, class or skill I could when I lived in Vermont and went 3-4 times a week.

What I hope to record here is a record of both my weight loss regiment (I am going to blog each meal and all my exercise) and eventually, when I am in shape enough - I will begin to blog each ski trip I take.

Well, thats enough for now. Its off to bed.