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Cautiously Optimistic

4.26.2006
So I was doing some analysis and data interpolation based upon my 4 mile race a couple of weeks ago and used an online pace calculator to come up with the following:








Event4 Mile1/2 MarathonMarathon
Time24:571:28:103:05:57
Pace/Mile6:156:447:06
Pace/Km3:534:114:25



This is a good sign for San Diego, but I remain as ever, cautiously optimistic. I'm trying to keep my expectations grounded in reality, so I don't overhype myself for the marathon. I'm becoming increasingly nervous for San Diego and the half coming up in a couple of weeks because of the expectations I'm putting on myself. I'm hoping I can clear my head and just run when the time comes.
Posted at 10:38

The great coffee experiment redux

4.25.2006
A month or so ago I tried to start drinking coffee. I started off with some normal black coffee with non-dairy creamer, which killed my stomach. I then tried a latte, which once again killed my stomach. Consequently I laid off the black and no tan because I thought the coffee was destroying my stomach. Well apparently it's the dairy that's killing my stomach. I tried a straight up black as night coffee and my tummy felt no ill effects. I even had two double espresso shots yesterday and nothing. For whatever reason I'm lactose intolerant when I drink coffee with dairy or even non-dairy. Weird.

Coffee makes me happy and wired.
Posted at 10:04

I want it

4.20.2006
Going to Boston just makes me want it more now.
Posted at 08:29

Yay Sun!

4.13.2006
Thank your local deity because the sun finally came out today, so I went out for a run of course! I did a 4 mile pace run, which for a 7 min/mile pace is 28 minutes. Somehow I got 30 minutes stuck in my head, and so started to slow down a bit because I thought I was running too hard. I ended up running the 4 miles in 28:32. Close enough to want I wanted. I don't want to jinx myself, but there's a slim possibility, with the way I'm running now and looking at past results from the race, that I could place in the top 20 overall at The Avenue of the Giants half that I'm running next month. I might try to run a 6:30 - 6:50 pace. I'm giving myself a wide margin just to be safe. I'm hoping for something good though.

After my run today I was stretching outside one of our office buildings and had my shirt off. A coworker of mine walked out and we started chatting for a bit. He jokingly mentioned that I didn't have a six pack, but that I had nice "breasts." English is his adopted first language, so it wasn't an unexpected gaffe but a funny one.

I tried my first attempt at baking over the weekend and made a flourless chocolate cake. I was trying to mix to recipes I had found but too much butter for my first cake, so I spent a few hours trying to salvage my mess. I spent at least a half-hour trying to leach out the exces butter from the cake with paper towels and then trying to reform the leftover goop/cake in the cake pan. Luckily my mistake came out really really well. The end result was something similar to fudge brownies in consistency but richer. I brought it over for a little get together one of my friends had and it was half gone before I knew it. My second attempt at the cake was more successful, at least in terms of what my final goal was supposed to be. I adjusted all the ingredients and the cake came out almost perfect. I think I should have left it in the oven just a tad longer to let the mixture set a bit more. The cake was still good though, and the intended recipient liked it too! So yeah, now I'm a baker too.

I love cooking. It's just one big science experiment for me.

I also made French Toast for the first time this morning as well, which came out surprisingly well. I also made some caramelized granny smith apples in maple syrup to go with the toast. Damn if it didn't taste good!

I'm so happy that I've been getting to cook more lately. I love it.

I found this chocolate made by a company called Vosges. It's amazingly good. I'm recently bought this bar, and it's also quite tasty but not as good as the fire bar.

I have a new running jacket that makes me look like an extra from an episode of TNG(Star Trek: The Next Generation for the non-geek inclined). It's red, it's black and it kicks ass. Along with my brand new pair of racers, I'm ready to pose my ass off.
Posted at 14:35

Lookit!

4.12.2006
I got in the newspaper:

Paper

Top Finishers By Age Group

Mens' 19-29

1--Nick Fill (San Jose), 21:35.6; 2--Martino Poggio (San Jose), 22:41; 3--Golden Krishna (Sunnyvale), 23:12.3; 4--Christian Degen (Los Gatos), 23:14.6; 5--Jay Jacinto (Saratoga), 24:57.5.


Teehee. I might have to pick up a copy for posterity.
Posted at 08:33

Race

4.05.2006
I did a short 4 mile race yesterday and finished around 25 minutes flat. It was a fast course so that helped. I could have run faster though because I didn't feel like I ran as hard I could. My breathing was pretty easy for most of the race until I reach the last couple of hundred meters where I sprinted to the finish. I finished 46th overall and I might have place 5th in my age group(19-29). I'm not sure about the age group placing though. Overall, I was happy with my time and my performance.

Update: 4/4/06
So I apparently finished with a time of 24:58 and placed 43rd overall!

Update: 4/5/06
Official results

So I did place 5th in my age group. Although the first 4 guys in my age group ran sub-6 minute pace, and there's me dragging ass behind them. haha.
Posted at 10:26

Boston Bound

4.04.2006
No I'm not inextricably linked to a certain preparation of beans.

I'm actually going to Boston support some friends who qualified for that race people seem to be all in a hullabaloo about. I'm really looking forward to the trip since I've never been to Boston before. It'll also be my first trip back East since I went back to NY in 2002. Wow, I haven't been East of the Mississippi for a while! I'm hoping to squeeze in a 10 - 12 mile run while I'm there too.

I love cooking. I've been cooking more than usual lately and I love it! I've been looking up recipes and experimenting with differents sorts of stuff. I've been mainly fiddling around with pasta, but I'm going to cook some Arroz con Pollo pretty soon. I can't wait to experiment with this recipe I found in Food & Wine.
Posted at 10:17