40-mile Maryland Appalachian Train hike challenge

After 2.5 months training (running + hiking 35 miles each week), I completed 41-mile (5200 ft gain) Maryland Appalachian Train hike challenge today. We cut short the last three miles because the police close a bridge to look for a missing kayaker, yet we got lost in the dark thus had extra 2 miles. So total 40 miles (64.4 kms). It was pretty scary to hike over rocks in the dark for three hours ("the Drag Age"!), and we also hiked half hour at the end on a sloop. On top of that, I woke up 1:30 am to drive to Harper's Ferry to meet the group at 3 am, and all other hikers looked much younger, athletic, and energetic than me! There were 32 people signed up, ~20 showed up, ~15 actually finished. Some had supporting groups, and some stayed the night before in Harper's Ferry. I managed to stay in the first half of the group all the time. I felt exhausted after 30 miles, but got enough energy from pizza to finish the hike. BTW, the photo with me had the original Washington Monument as background.

Big data in Reston

I attended an event hosted at comScore office today, and learned how big and difficult to extract and analyze media consumption data across platforms while complying with privacy laws.

two congressional receptions

I went in DC for congressional receptions and trapped in Metro subway over 30 minutes. I managed to attend the Unmanned Vehicle Systems International reception and the discover Connecticut reception and enjoyed both.

14 m Hawksbill - White Oaks Canyon hike

I enjoyed the 14-miles (22.5 km) 3600 ft (1100 meters) elevation gain hike with a meetup group Invitation: Hawksbill - White Oaks Canyon today. We intentionally avoided the slippery rocks alone cider run but one hiker fell on her hand so we cut short the hike. Only two stream crossings and dry the whole day, yet foggy on Hawksbill.

wolf trap education center

I enjoyed food, wine and conversation at wolf trap education center at a gov marketing forecast event organized by a private company. I visited wolf trap many times, and did not know about its center for education.

Farewell dinner for Marinel

I invited Marinel to dinner at Rockville before she moves to Peru. I wish all will happen as she plans to be a hiking nomad. I first time contacted her in July 2011 to coordinate a backpack trip in Patagonia. We did meetup and overlapped a few days in fall, 2011. Time flies. I continue travel overseas 2-3 months each year, while she quit her job this year after touring the world over one year on leave. Happy for her courage to break the gold handcuff and become a free range hiker!

15.25 miles run in Reston

I ran 15.25 miles in Reston in lieu of the cancelled 15 miles hike due to hurricane Florence. I came across the 8k fund raising crowd and they kindly shared the banana, Gatorade, and bars.