I am wiped.

I did a hard 16 on Saturday. 10 miles of hills followed by another 6 out on another trail. I had to take a break in between because I ran with one group for the first 10 and then ran the other 6 by myself. I needed to get 16 in on Saturday. Sunday might have been a tad harder. I did an 8 mile pace run at 7:00 min/mile. I stopped a few times but made up for it by running sub-7s for the times I stopped. Combine all that with yoga and I am pretty much demolished. I didn't do anything yesterday, and I am still tired. Needless to say, but I am going to say it anyway, my track workout this morning was a wash. I was struggling just to do a fast mile. Oh well.

Today is Fat Tuesday or in England, Shrove Tuesday. There is however one other name for today and that is pancake day! Why pancakes? Well according to this site, "[p]ancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent. I love pancake day. As a kid in England back in primary school, every pancake day we would make pancakes in class over tin cans and candles." We'd make the batter in class and add our own little touches here and there to the batter; I think this is where my love for cooking started. We'd make holes in the sides of the cans so hot air wouldn't build up too much underneath when the candles were lit. A little bit of butter on top of the can and then just enough batter so that the lip of the can contained all the pancakey goodness. A few minutes of cooking and off popped a perfectly round albeit somewhat small pancake. However to this day, those are still the best pancakes I have ever had.

That's the way I felt last night after yoga. 48 people in a small, hot, and humid room does not a good time make. It was just abnormally hot last night and I'm feeling particularly wiped today. I'm probably not going to run because I'm so tired. If I wasn't sitting in a chair, I'd be collapsed on the floor.

One of the biggest reasons I love Bikram Yoga. The heat. It's about the only time where I'm relatively warm.

Did more repeats at the track this morning. We did 6 halfs followed by 4 quarters. I had to skip out on part of one of the halfs because...well...I had to drop the kids off at the pool. That always seems to happen to me about midway through a workout. I'm feeling fine and then there's an almost imperceptible twinge around my abdomen. At first it's hard to pinpoint, but as the workout progresses the twinge becomes more intense and focused. Right about then is when I have the overwhelming urge to release the hostages.

Good workout this morning though. Trying to keep up with this one fast guy(on the right) for the halfs is always interesting. For the quarters I was able to finish the last one reasonably strong, although I felt my form break a bit in the last 80 meters or so. I can keep pace with said fast guy for the shorter distances but anything above a half and there's no way. I'm getting close though. I'd really like to be able to run a ~5:45 mile in the next couple of weeks. I can feel it happening soon...

The launch that was originally scheduled for Tuesday was postponed by Arianespace(Ahh-ree-ahhn-es-spas, it's French) until Friday due to technical problems with the launch vehicle. I was all prepared for a Tuesday launch and had my next two weeks planned out in terms of runs and training. I got a bit miffed when I heard about the delay. I'm really hoping the launch goes off tomorrow without any problems. I don't think I could handle any more delays.

I really don't get to cook enough, so it was nice last weekend to have some friends over and cook a big meal for them. I made a shark meat seviche(which in hindsight was a bad choice), a vegetarian chili, and a dessert made from avocados. Everyone enjoyed the food and the wine that everyone brought wasn't too bad either. I think I had about 5 glasses while I was cooking. I went for a 10 mile run the next day and it wasn't the fastest I've done.

I made this odd sandwich last night. I was a bit peckish, so I made the following. An egg salad sandwich with halved grape tomatoes, sauteed brussel sprout leaves, and cream cheese. I made the egg salad with wasabi mayonnaise and relish, while the brussel sprout leaves were tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. I then sauteed them until they were lightly caramelized. I spread a layer of the egg salad on some fresh toasted whole wheat bread. On top of this I lay a bed of the sprout leaves, which was then topped by the grape tomatoes. I then put another thin layer of egg salad on top of that and then topped it off with another slice of toast with a nice coating of cream cheese. It was an interesting sandwich with lots of different textures. The sandwich itself was an odd confluence of different ingredients, so I don't know if I'll make it again any time soon. The sandwich tasted great though!

4 days and counting...

Two cupcakes and tea with honey makes Jay hypreactive.

I decided to spell hypre the English way, much the same way as centre, litre, calibre, and fibre. If enough people start spelling hypre this way, then eventually it will become commonplace. So I ask you, take a stand, make a difference, go hypre.

is getting up at 4:50 in the morning to run at temperatures below freezing in shorts.

Heck, at least I got some cupcakes afterwards!

For the buddy run yesterday I was hoping to spread a little St. Valentine's Day cheer by bringing some chocolate before the run, so I went to target and picked some Reese's hearts and a little pink bunny basket in which to put the hearts. I was pretty excited about all this. I even envisioned myself stepping out of my Jeep and happily skipping towards all the participants handing each one a little chocolate heart. Well plans went a bit awry yesterday. First traffic was an ass yesterday. It took me way longer than I anticipated to get down to the start location of the run and when I arrived there were only three people, only one of whom wanted any chocolate. Poop. So now I have a lot of chocolate leftover, but I do have plans for it. Hopefully I can stay away from the chocolate long enough that I don't devour all of it before I can give the chocolate away.

After the track workout this morning I was abnormally happy. How is one abnormally happy you may ask? Well you may not be asking, but I'm happy to do the asking anyway. So how was I abnormally happy? Actually the more appropriate question is what symptoms was I displaying that showed an abnormal case of happiness?

I skipped to my car.

Skipped, like a little girl. I may have even let out a tiny giggle.

This maybe the first instance this year where I skipped and it wasn't part of some sort of workout or training exercise. So with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step, I abnormally made my way to my Jeep and then to the gym to lift some weights, happy muscles and all.

There's this one guy at the gym, probably mid 40s, bald, hairy, really well built, and probably an asshole. So I ask the question again for you, why is he an asshole? Well one time I tried to work in between sets on a machine he was using and he very reluctantly agreed. Noticing his reluctance I tried to speed through my set so as not to take up too much of his time. I said "thanks" after finishing and he sort of mumbled something under his breath. From that moment on he took a spot on my asshole list, which I just thought of right now. Everytime I see him, all I can think is asshole. This makes lifting just a tad more hard when you're trying to lift and all you see in your mind is asshole. I mean not literally an asshole, that's sort of odd. Meh, I have no idea why I sort of pick him out everytime I go to the gym because he probably doesn't remember me at all. Time to compartmentalize my thoughts again and stash this one away in the "couldn't give a shit" vault.

You know I never knew goat cheese tasted so damn good until I had it the other night when I made a baby mixed green salad. I made a vinaigrette with sherry vinegar, a spiffy extra virgin olive oil I picked up from Whole Foods, some honey, mustard and a little pepper. I tossed this in with the aforementioned greens, some grape tomatoes, goat cheese, and pine nuts. Good stuff! I think I might toast the pine nuts the next time though.

Damn, I love chocolate.

Well I've officially lost over 100 pounds. I weighed myself this morning, and I tipped the scales at 168.4 lbs. I'm really hoping to get down to 160 before my next marathon. I think I'll have enough time to accomplish that goal. Yay for losing weight!

There is an explanation for why I look like the guy on the right. I frequently run with this guy along with a few other people Tuesdays and Thursday mornings doing track workouts. I along with another guy dyed our hair "blond" in Hawaii in a show of support for him when he ran the Honolulu marathon. This guy also happens to own a running store hence why we wear almost the same exact running stuff. I bought my sunglasses, top, socks, and shoes from his store. I can't quite explain how the photographer managed to capture us both in the same running pose though.

A couple of pictures from the Kaiser half marathon I ran over the weekend. My legs are too damn skinny. I sort of look like a runner too!

I can't believe how tired I am right now. For the last hour I've been fighting off a nasty case of the droopy eyelids. Luckily I found a bottle of Trader Joe's green tea, which is gradually perking me up. Just imagine if I had had a cup of coffee, not only would my ass have been dragging but also angry. An angry dragging ass is not something for the kids.

I like the word sinuey. It's like sinus but less essy.

I went to a Bikram Yoga class night. I don't think I've ever sweated so much before, and I was literally swimming in my own sweat. At one point during the class I was face down in a sweat pool, but I was so tired/relaxed that I didn't give a damn. One thing that became more apparent to me last night was that I have the flexibility of a steel rod. If the temperature gets a bit warmer I tend to give just a little but not that much. At one point in the class I felt a tad lightheaded, so I just kneeled there trying to regain my composure. It took me a couple of minutes to find myself as I almost passed out in the process.

I picked up a mild hamstring twinge from Sunday, so I took it easy this morning at the track workout. The yoga class also left me feeling more tired than I thought as I was really dragging ass this morning. I think I might switch to yoga on Sundays so I don't feel so wiped out the next day. I'm actually still dragging as I type, but no coffee for me because I'd rather not have an angry stomach, which of course leads to angry ass. You know what happens when you have an angry ass? Yep, anal tourette's. I'm going to run nice and easy this afternoon for our first TNT buddy run.

Apparently I have a good head for going totally shaven.

After a morning pace run, 3 mile cooldown, then hanging out with some new TNT participants I went to the hairstylist to get my hair colored and cut professionally. I scheduled my appointment for 2pm and arrived promptly at the appropriate time. As soon I as talked to the receptionist however, she told it would probably a few minutes before Rachel, the woman doing my hair, would be ready. About a half hour and a few Wired articles later Rachel's assistant, a very cute girl named Sarah, told me to go sit in a saddle seat. I waited there for another ten minutes when I was asked to move to another seat in front of a "station." After another few minutes of waiting, Rachel told Sarah to start putting bleach in my hair.

The first application process took on and off probably a half-hour just because Sarah would have to periodically check-in with Rachel to make sure my hair was coming out just right. So after the first bleaching and rinse Rachel said that my hair was a bit too yellow and needed one more application. I said "okay" unknowing of the forthcoming pain that will forever be literally seared into my mind. Rachel started to apply bleach to my head again but I began to feel a new sensation, not a good one either. Initially it was a slight tingle but as time passsed the tingle developed into a stinging which finally broke out into a full on burn. From time to time Sarah would ask "how's that feel?" I would reply it's okay, a bit of tingle but nothing more. I'm a guy I can't reveal any inner pain or suffering. To speed up the development process they stuck me under the hair dryer. I don't think I've ever felt a pain more intense on my head. The burning from the solution combined with the heat from the hairdryer was a bit too much. I was starting to zone out from the pain. I was ecstatic when the hairdryer inadvertantly turned off while I was under it. I didn't say a thing hoping no one would notice.

Finally Sarah rinsed my hair out again with the best cold water ever. Then Rachel got to work on my hair. I told her to do whatever she wanted with my hair, and the results were awesome. Even though it took 3.5 hours and some excrutiatingly intense scalp pain, my hair looked great! By the time we were done I was the last person in the salon. I went to go pay and Rachel rattled off some stuff about coloring and all that, and then she told me the cost.

$165.

Now I know where women come from. Holy shit. She said next time it would cost about $100 for cut and color. Holy shit. I've never in my entire life paid that much for a haircut. That's like taking an entire year's haircut budget and blowing it all in one day. Holy shit. It looks cool though.

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I ran the Kaiser Half Marathon yesterday. This was a great training run! I had no intention of racing so there wasn't any pressure. Consequently I had a really good day out there. I think I averaged about a 7:40-7:50 min/mile and aerobically I was barely working at all. I picked it up the last mile and ran a pace of about 6:50 just for kicks. I even sprinted at the finish. The terrain was a bit annoying in places but overall the course was great. Even the out and back on the great highway wasn't too bad because I got to say hi to everyone I knew that was running, which was apparently quite a few people. One girl came up behind me at around mile 10 and said "you know everyone here!" After the run I had some beers and cookies with some runners with whom I had ridden in a bus to get up to the race. You can't beat beer after a run, that's why I love the Big Sur half so much. Beer & Soup!

I stuffed myself yesterday. I ate tons of food after the half and then didn't stop eating until after the superbowl party that one of my running friends hosted. I still feel bloated. I want to beach myself somewhere and hopefully some kind environmental organization will take me in and care for me while I recover. Where's the closest beach?

Running the Kaiser half up in the city tomorrow. It'll be a nice training run.

Coffee makes my stomach hurt! My tummy has been churning and grumbling all day.

Oh well, it was great while it lasted.

For the first time ever, I bought coffee from a coffee shop. Peet's Coffee and Tea to be precise. Being that I had never ordered a coffee before, I intently listened to those in front of me to determine what I should get. I eventually settled on a small nonfat latte. I don't know what that is but it tastes pretty good. Now all of this wouldn't have happened if I didn't drink two half cups of coffee recently while I was in the Mission Control Center rehearsing for our next satellite launch. I had been getting up early and working out/running before coming to work, so I was sleepy and needed a pick me up. The green tea just wasn't doing it for me, so I hesitantly poured myself a cup of black coffee. I mixed in some half-and-half and copious amounts of sugar and the seed was planted or bean in this case. I don't know how I'm going to handle the caffeine because I usually get really hyper but we'll see how today goes. I'm already a bit jittery.

I can't keep my eyes straight either.

Edited Pete's to Peet's. What the heck do I know about coffee shop names?!