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Since there is an extra day in 2004 (leap year), I plan to spend it taking the Polar Bear Plunge on February 29, 2004. This event helps raise money to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey.

Dow Jones has a fitness center on their campus in Monmouth Junction, NJ where I work. I joined back in 2001 when I started working on physical fitness because I was so out of shape. One of the trainers there, Darryl Shepherd, has studied martial arts. He begain teaching a combat conditioning class and I signed up. We pair up with a partner and do three-minute drills of focus mitt punching. This includes jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts and kicks. He’ll call out the combinations by number. One is a jab, two is a jab then cross, three is a jab, cross then hook. Or he’ll call out something like 10 left crosses. You get the idea. In between rounds, he’ll have us do push-ups or static holds, or jump-rope, or various other challenging exercises. It’s an all-around great class. Thanks Darryl. And thanks to Phil LaVoie too, who pushed for the class.

I completed my first full marathon (26.2 miles) at the 26th annual SunTrust Richmond Marathon November 15th, 2003. You can read about my experience here: myfirstmarathon.html Map and photo are at the bottom of the page.

I practice Shotokan Karate under Katsuya Kisaka at JKA in Trenton, NJ. I recently passed my Ni-dan black belt test.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday, October 19, 2003 at BMS in Princeton was a welcome relief among all my marathon training. Time: 23:50.

I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run again (13.1 mile run) on September 21, 2003. My time was 1 hour, 56 minutes, 43 seconds.

I competed in the Runner’s World Half Marathon on May 4, 2003 in Allentown, PA Time: 1:57:14

I did the Hamilton Hangover 5 Mile Run on January 1, 2003 in the pouring rain. 41:09

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure October 20, 2002 at BMS in Princeton. Time: 24:53

I completed 175 Miles from Cherry Hill to Ocean City and back doing the City to Shore Multiple Sclerosis Bike Tour September 28th and 29th, 2002. This event raises money for the fight against multiple sclerosis.