smrties

Me sing

2007-10-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

what would we do without wiki?

2007-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Crazy Wolfie!

Test

2007-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

13 mile PA Route
Find more Runs in Palo Alto, California

Who took my sun?

2007-09-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Is it too early to be affected by SAD? It's not that early in the morning, but I'm looking outside and the weather seems quite drab on the verge of depressing. I sure hope a little sun comes out for my midday run today. I'm not a big fan of running in the gloom.

Super Awesome Fantastic Run!

2007-09-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

We went for a 11.25 mile run yesterday, and I had the best run I've had in a while. As always I started off slow, per usual though at around mile 3 I warmed up and then just took off. I got into a nice little groove, where I was cruising along at a decent clip but I wasn't taxing my cardio at all. I felt like I could hold the pace I was running forever. My good running performance yesterday was probably due to the caffeine infused nuun I drank beforehand. Each day I fall more in love with those tablets. Is it wrong to love an inanimate edible object?

I like getting fast. Although I've realized that track does help somewhat, it's the tempo and interval runs I do outside of track that help me a lot more. This could be because when I do tempo or interval I'm off a track, which mimics real racing than running on track. Although, real racing is all relative since I'm not running the 1500m or 5000m as an event.

On Saturday I baked this sweet pastry thing called a Beirut Tahini Swirl. It's a very simple recipe, but it seemed to turn out okay. The first batch was better than the second though since I let the first batch cook longer so the crust cook crisp up a bit more.

I'd like to get into baking, especially breads. Yesterday, I went out with a woman I've been seeing and we had a picnic of sorts in a coffee shop. It would have been nice to eat outside, but by the time we were ready to eat the sun was saying it's final goodbyes for the day. It was still awesome eating inside because we got to talk a lot. I really like talking with her. We have some interesting conversations, and I always love a good mentally stimulating conversation. Anyway, she baked this absolutely awesome(love alliteration) tomato bread. I seriously could have eaten the entire loaf right there, it was that good. She also brought some sweet potato fries which were equally excellent. I brought some prosciutto, smoked turkey breast along with the tahini swirls and some dried figs. I couldn't stop smiling I was so happy. Good food and great company, you really can't beat that save for some great music.

Crack

2007-08-30T13:54:00.001-07:00

So Russell was drinking an electrolyte drinking called nuun the other day before his triathlon. It's really a tablet you throw into water and it dissolves just like alka seltzer or airborne. Well I happened to get a package of the cola flavored nuun for my birthday from a friend and now I'm addicted. The thing tastes just like coke it's freaky. I can't stop drinking it, and I think I have a problem. I don't think anyone else can help, but maybe if I can find them. I can hire...The A-Team...

Random.

I am still a man!

2007-08-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've been quiet for a while I know. I could say that I was on a mission for MI-6, British Secret Intelligence, trying to stop an international nuclear terrorist arms trading syndicate. In truth, I've been lazy and haven't had much inspiration to type anything here in the past couple of months. I actually don't have much to talk about right now, so I'll just type a bunch of random things that I've been doing.

I'm in a band. We're called Herd of Fleas. I'm rhythm guitarist and one of the lead singers. We have a female vocalist too. She's really good.

I made the best tri-tip chili a few weeks ago. I brought it to a friend's house and there was nothing left after. Yep, that good.

My second batch of beer, a porter, is ready to go into bottles. My third batch will be a high gravity beer, specifically an Imperial Stout. It'll take at least half a year for that one to be ready.

I was training for a triathlon, but I got injured and stopped. I've just started running again. I did 5k yesterday and did okay for my current level of fitness. I'm trying to do some maintenance running and building up my base again, so I can start training for Cal next month.

I've gotten back into boxing. I like punching bags.

That's all I've got now. If I have a more profound thought, and don't forget it, I'll post it here.

I am man!

2007-05-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I ran a small 5k and happened to win it. Thing is though, this was the "Girls on the Run 5k." I, being the manly man that I am, destroyed all the little girls and some boys with my awe inspiring time of 18:33. All my running friends made fun of me for winning the race, but I took it in stride. I mean I get to say I won a race. I'm pretty proud of that even though the second place person was a 16 year old high school kid who hadn't run for 6 months. Yeah...

This Sunday is my big race, RNR San Diego. Last year wasn't too good for me. Although I ended up running a 3:36, I had a horrible time with the weather and going out way too fast. This year feels different though because I feel strong and confident of something really good. There's just this overwhelming sense of positivity about this race that I can't kick. For some reason I think I'm going to run a 3:06, which sounds like a good number to me even though it's sort of random. I really hope I can live up to my own expectations.

In other news, I signed up for a triathlon a couple of weeks ago even though I don't know how to ride a bike, something I took a big step of fixing tonight, and I don't really swim all that well. At least I can run. Thankfully I'll have a few months to train since my first tri won't be until September. I still can't decide whether I want to do an olympic distance or half ironman. I want to push myself but to what limit I have no clue.

Santa Cruz Half

2007-04-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Results

Chiptime: 01:26:59.8

Avg Split: 6:38 min/mile

I finished 8th in my age group and 23 overall. I'm pretty happy. I'm actually really happy that I squeezed in under 1:27.

Good Friday

2007-04-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Good Friday!

There's a tradition in England of eating these little buns called hot cross buns on Good Friday.
I loved Good Friday just because I could eat hot cross buns! Although I ate them weird because I put ketchup on them. Yeah, I had weird tastes as a kid, and I still do now.

Going to school in England was great, especially going to a Church Of England school, because we'd get all sorts of holidays for the religious days. For Easter we'd get 3 weeks off, and the same for Christmas. We'd also get random weeks off for other religious occasions which I don't remember. All I do remember is that I loved having all the time off, except for Summer where we only got 5 weeks instead of 2 months like here in the US.

I ran track for the first time in a few weeks yesterday. We did 4x1200m and I felt amazingly good considering I haven't been on a track in so long. The first repeat I did slow at 4:33, but then I did the next three in 4:22, 4:20, and then 4:22 again. I zoned out during the workout and ended up playing random music in my head. Who needs an iPod?

I'm running 11-14 tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to throw in some nice fast miles unlike last week where I was dying because I inadvertently ran two consecutive hill workouts. Sunday I might try to do some fast stuff. Who knows.

Happy Easter!

A thought

2007-03-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm in SoCal right now for a procedure my mum had today for her heart. My mum has atrial fibrillation, which according to the American Heart Assocation:

the heart's two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead of beating effectively. Blood isn't pumped completely out of them, so it may pool and clot. If a piece of a blood clot in the atria leaves the heart and becomes lodged in an artery in the brain, a stroke results. About 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation.

My mum's been taking medication for her afib(medical lingo) but today underwent a procedure which reset her heart. The procedure is called an electrical cardioversion where an electric shock is applied to the heart in the hopes of resetting the electrical impulses which causes the chambers of the heart to pump.

Thankfully the procedure went perfectly and my mum's heart beat is back to normal, however she's still on medication for the time being. She'll also be monitored for the next few weeks just in case her heart reverts back to it's afib state. The doctor applied the full energy capable by the defibrilator, yep a similar machine they use to revive heart attack patients like the one unsuccessfully used on my dad. Normally a 50 Joule shock is applied but the doctor went in full force and well, it worked.

I really hope my mum learns from this whole thing. She's overweight, has diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure. My dad died of a heart attack, and I don't know what I'd do if my mum went too, much less if she went in the same way. My mum's stubborn though, and no matter how many times I say to her "you have to eat better and exercise", but she barely registers what I say. She's tried a few times to eat better and exercise but all her efforts have been half hearted. I don't know what I can do to make her change her life for the better", and I just don't want to lose my mum. I just hope that this event inspires my mum to change her life.

Although I have many friends, I've never been really close to my family. I grew up in England with only my mum and my dad and had minimal contact with my extended family. I've been to the Phillipines twice, once in 1986 for vacation and once in 1992 after my dad died. When we went for the first time in '86, the time was around Christmas. My mum's family has a tradition of having a huge family reunion. When we showed up at the party, I was amazed by all the people. I never knew I had so much family! Although initially I clung to my mum, I eventually ended up talking to an Aunt an Uncle for what seemed like hours. It might have been only a half-hour, since at my age 30 minutes was an eternity. However, the conversation and the whole reunion was just one of the coolest things ever. I mean still recall it fondly to this very day, even though I was just 7 at the time.

Anyway, I have my Lola(grandmother) and a few Aunt's here in Southern California but I'm not really close with them. I've never been able to develop that bond that other people have with their families either due to the aforementioned geographical influences, my mum's relationship with her family(tenuous at best except with the next youngest sister after her), or the way my mum's extended family develop relationships. My mum's brothers and sisters all seem to live in their own separate worlds. It's really strange. I don't mention my dad's family because we sort of lost touch with them after my dad died and my mum had a falling out with my dad's sister after he died.

I've always been jealous of those who've had that tightness and familiarity with their extended family and it's something I want my kids to have, whether it be my own or my wife's. I'd love for my mum to live long enough to see her grandchildren and just be there for them. I want for them what I didn't have myself.

Wow, this turned into a post I didn't expect.

Back Home

2007-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well Jenn, Russell, Liz, Dave, Glos, Mason, and I all got home yesterday around 4pm. The flight was good and went by quick due to some relatively good movies, The Prestige, Night at The Museum, and Deja Vu, and having a bunch friends I could walk around and talk to. I was up probably 26 hours yesterday and am feeling rather jetlagged right now, and I know I'll be dragging later this afternoon when it's around midnight in Italy.

Rome was busy but mostly what I expected from a big European city, and it reminded me a lot of London and Paris. I don't know if I'd go back there, but I would make a brief stop in Rome again.

Florence was by far my favorite portion of the trip. The atmosphere was so much more relaxed than Rome, and I finally felt like I was on vacation when we got to Florence. The city, the surrounding area, everything about Florence and the Tuscan area I liked. Next time I go, and there will most definitely be a next time, I'd like to visit around the October/November or May/June timeframe. Late fall early winter because it's just after harvest and the food is good and you can taste some of the newly bottled vintages. May/June just for the weather and the famous Tuscan sun.

Venice I would again make a brief stopover like Rome. It's a nice city but a little too touristy for my liking. I did love exploring all the alleyways though but in the day and not at night. It's very freaky and disconcerting walking around Venice at night with the long dark secluded alleyways.

Overall a great trip. I loved the food, the wine, the sights, but most of all the people with whom I went. No way would this trip been half has fun if it were not for the people. If you're going to travel some place, then go with some good friends or your significant other, or in some cases both. I really can't think of a better way.

I'm working on a Venice post right now and should have it up later...

Siena Slumber

2007-03-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a lazy day. Jenn, Russell, Liz and I went to Siena by bus. We walked around for about five minutes but then found the main square and sat around for a couple of hours doing nothing but enjoying sun. Russell and I did get a frappe(milkshake) while the women got cappucinos. They drink so much coffee that I swear they have caffeine coming out of their pores. Well after the two hours in the sun, we managed to pry ourselves from the seats we had made our homes and made our way over to Il Duomo. I think I'm becoming numb to all the religious iconography and imagery because all the churches look the same. I'll tell ya one thing though, Italians sure like their religion and displaying it to everyone who can see.

Well after the short trip to the religious place aka Il Duomo, we headed back to the square for lunch(~2pm) and bumped into our friends David, Glosselle, and their son Mason. We then headed over to one of the many little restaurants on the perimeter of the square and had some pizza. Yesterday was actually the first time I ate a pepperoni pizza. The pepperoni here is a little different from back home in that the pepperoni is much more spicy but still very good. The crust here is also very thin, but I'm a fan of very thick crust pizza.

We meandered back to the bus station and on the way bumped into Dave and Glosselle again. They joined us back on the bus ride back to Firenze of which I don't remember much because I was half asleep.

We didn't spend much time back at home because we all went out to grab stuff for dinner that night. We were supposed to make dinner for Dave, Glosselle, Mason, and the tour guide who took us around the Chianti region on Wednesday. However it ended up only being the six of us staying here in the apartment, which was still awesome. I had a great time cooking, drinking wine, and eating. My idea of a perfect evening is having a few people over for some good food, drinks, and music while we enjoy each other's company. I know it sounds a bit cheesy but damn it's hard to think of a better way to spend time. If I'm cooking too, then all the more better.

Post Wine Tasting Daze

2007-03-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

The next day after wine tasting, we were all pretty tired so most of us decided to sleep in. After some breakfast. Jenn, Liz, and I went out for a run. We took a kind of circuitous route not really knowing where we were going, which consequently led us up some rather steep inclines, a number of steps, and a run along the old city wall as well but we eventually made it up to Il Piazzale di Michelangiolo. A little piazza dedicated to Michelangelo. All our climbing paid off in the form of some awesome views of the city.

We ate our lunch relatively fast because we had to make our way back down into the city to see the David. We had made an appointment through Liz's contact who took us on the wine tour to see the David but only had 15 minutes to make the appointment on time. We couldn't find a single taxi any, so being that we're runners, well, we ran.

We did eventually find a cab and made our appointment with a minute to spare. The David was pretty cool if not a little intimidating since he's got that huge penis. It'd make Ron Jeremy proud. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the David sinece photography was not allowed, so here's a stock photo:

I know, you can feel the immensity and grandeur of the statue just from looking at the picture...

Anyway after the David we walked around town, did a bit of shopping and called it a day.

Firenze from Afar

2007-03-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Wine Tasting Part Dué

2007-03-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

This wine tasting was only sampler to whet our palettes for the winery we were headed to called Casa Emma. Casa Emma produced Chianti Classico and a Supertuscan Merlot. We got a brief tour of the facilities, where one of the winemakers Paolo gave us a little talk about the wine making process and the history of Casa Emma.

After the tour we were served lunch and the best food I've had in Italy so far. For Antipasti we ate bruschetta, homemade prosciutto, salame with figs, roasted eggplant slices, beans mixed with parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, served on small bread slices, and roasted yellow peppers with garlic, parsley, olive, salt, pepper, served on top of bread as well. Now that was only appetizers. For the main course we ate a penne with a pine nut, tomato, basil, olive oil sauce that almost tasted like a meat sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and is the best pasta I've had so far in Italy. For dessert we had a vin santo served with cantuccini, what Americans call biscotti. The cantuccini is meant to be dipped in the vin santo, of which the latter was very reminiscent of port. I was pretty much a beached whale after lunch.

Oooh, I totally forgot that we were served wine with each of our courses. Our first wine was a recent harvest Chianti Classico with our antipasti. We were next served a Chianti Classico Riserva and then a Supertuscan merlot with our primi patti, and then with dessert we had the vin santo whicn I mentioned earlier. I ended up buying a bottle of the vin santo I liked it so much.

After another short drive, we headed to the hamlet of San Gimignano. The hamlet is supposedly the best preserved medieval town in the Chianti region. It was literally like stepping back in time again.

I would really recommend a wine tour if you make your way to the Chianti region. You get to see so much it's awesome.

Wine Tasting Part I

2007-03-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

It's a nice Spring morning here in Florence. The sun is just peaking out over our apartment villa. People are making their wake to work and the aroma of coffee and freshly baked sweet pastries is wafting through the air enticing the senses.

I might have used a bit of poetic license, the smell of maple syrup oatmeal is permeating the air rather than sweet pastries, but that's basically the entire picture. We're all enjoying a rather lazy morning. I got up about a half-hour ago at 9:30 and most of the others staying here got up pretty late as well. We all had a rather long day of wine tasting in the Chianti region in Florence.

We first went to this tiny little medieval village that's been around for hundreds of years. It was awesome walking around the village because it was almost like stepping back in time. There were a few reminders that the village wasn't actually still in medieval times but there were very few.

We next went to the town of Greve which is just down the road from the little village. The town was interesting but it seemed like it was populated with shops geared towards tourists. Although I've realized that all these towns and villages since their inception have been geared towards commerce in one form or another, but now the shops are now a tad more civilized. However, shops like macellerias(meat shops), textile shops, and bakeries still exist.

After a brief walk around town we went down to a wine tasting cellar where we tried a few different wines from the region. We sampled some new harvest chiantis, reserves, and a few supertuscans. The wine tasting process was a little different than most because to taste the wine we first put money on a debit card, we then inserted the card into a slot where the wines were and pushed a button to pour out the wine. I've seen these types of wine tasting places in and around the bay area but apparently I'm the only one.

Vagina Rings

2007-03-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here right now surrounded by a sea of estrogen with an islet of testosterone in my vicinity.

One estrogenite was quoted as saying "The wine finished me off nicely"

To which the islet of testosterone replied "That's what she said."

Drunk blogging is awesome.

Important note about vaginal smells:

Accoriding to estrogenite numero uno, a bread like smell is bad indicating a possible yeast infection. A sweet musky aroma however, is normal and aphrodisiac for most men, i.e. it's time to make babies. Awww yeah!!!
Men are genetically engineered to spread their seed. We like spawning. I know that's not related to vaginal smells, but it felt good to put in here.
Estrogenite number four purportedly states that women release oxytocin during intercourse, copulation, fornication, gettin-it-awn, which stimulates feelings of cuddling, nurturing, and all that touchy feely crap.
Europeans don't believe in dryers.

I don't have any pictures of vaginas, but here's a picture of a covered penis:

Firenze is not fiery

2007-03-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

So I guess I really like running because Sunday I initially intended to only do an 18 mile training run, but ended up running the "entire" Rome Marathon instead. Probably the most fun I've had in a marathon ever. The first 13 miles or so we ran at a relatively slow pace but then a group of us picked up for the next 7 or so. The final 6 miles we took easy and a friend of mine and myself eventually finished in 4:30. My slowest marathon ever by more than an hour but easily the most fun.

During the race, aid stations handed out sponges, from which we made a game. Whoever could kick a sponge over a person's head would get a drink. I got a few good kicks with some nice air and managed to kick a sponge directly at someone's ass which garnered a funny touch to the bum of said kickee. I don't think he knew what hit him.

I can't believe how much manfunk there was in the race. It made me cry.

Even though I didn't officially enter the race I still snagged a medal at the end. Two race officials almost caught me but I just tucked in behind the guy I with whom I was running, and we crossed the finish line together. He told me to take off my shirt to hide the face that I didn't have a bib and walked bare-chested, hairless, and shiny up to the medal givers. A nice little Italian lady put a medal and walked off proudly with my first ever banditted medal. I think I might try to do my long runs in race just because the atmosphere is so cool and makes running the long miles much easier.

Oooh! At the beginning of the race music was playing in the background and initially there were a few random songs playing, but then the Olympic theme music came over speakers, which was a bit cool. The next piece of music that came over the speaker system was just awesome. They played the finale music from the first Star Wars movie. I had a total geek moment and giggled like a little school girl. It's been a dream of mine to receive a medal with that music playing in the background. Just to even hear the music at a race was awesome. Yeah, I totally geeked out.

Here's a couple of random pictures I took, more to come later:

I have a lot more to type but I'm sleepy and my fingers won't allow me to type anym

It's Alive!

2007-03-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well I've got some time on the internet and I've found a place where I can put some of my thoughts down. Blogger wasn't working properly on the computer I'm using, but Facebook seems to work.

Had a long day they other day. I really can't say yesterday because Wednesday and Thursday sort of just bleneded into one extremely long day. Vivek an I traveled for at least 26 hours from the time we left my aparment until the time we got to the hotel. A few things of note.

The Frankfurt airport sucks. All the signs are horribly misleading and there isn't a good map in the entire place. the maps that were available were bare bones and didn't give you any point of reference. Basically Vivek and I had to ask periodically which way to go. At one point we were told "There is no possibility of going down here" when we really wanted to go down.
The "restaurants" in the Frankfurt airport suck too. Vivek and I ended up going to a grocery store in the airport and buying food there instead. At least I got a beer though.
I tend to devolve into a bumbling idiot when I only get a couple of hours sleep within a 24 hour period. Couple that with a different language and you might as well just write me off. I sort just mumble incoherently and walk around aimlessly. It was awesome.

Apart from the sleep deprived travel ordeal everything else has been great here. A bunch of friend and myself went to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, which was a lot more touristy than I thought it would be. We had some great pizza for lunch(4:30pm) at this tiny hole in the wall. My favorite type of place to eat, we then followed lunch with dinner(9pm), after a brief stop at the Spanish steps, at a really fantastic restaurant where I had home made maccheroncini, like long skinny rigatoni, with porcini mushrooms accompanied by an excellent chianti. I can't say enough about how good the food is here. After a bit of walking and a delicious creme-de-caramel gelato, we hit up the Trevi fountain and finally went back to our hotel rooms.

The Vatican reminded me very much of The Louvre, and much like The Louvre I was overwhlemed by sensory overload. There's just way many things to see and absorb that my brain just turned off. i'd really need much more time in the Vatican so I could admire all the art fully. However, much like The Louvre I'd need at least a week to do that.

I'm already itching for Florence because Rome seems like all the other European cities I've been to. Too many people, too many cars, and just too much city. Florence should be a lot more laid back, so I can relax better. Venice should be awesome too.

I've taken about a 150 photos already and i've only been here a day. I like photography.

My Italian is improving. My friends think I sound Italian. Now if I can get an Italian person to agree with them, then I'll be set.

I'm going to try and sign up for the Rome marathon. I'm not going to run it all, but I'd like to say that I've run it.

There are tons of Irish people here for the 6 nations rugby tournament. We were at a wine bar tonight, and a bunch of Irish folk just burst out in song outside. It was cool. Saint Patricks's day is going to kick ass.

My brain is tired and so am I. I'm headed off to sleep. I'll probably be on a computer again soon with another update for anyone who is reading. Is there anyone out there?

I also must apologize for any typos or spelling mistakes. The keyboard I'm using is horrible and seems to only pick up every other letter I type, so if you see the word fck or sht, you know what I mean.

Getlatos are awesome. Crapp internet sucks. I have to type everything in the subject line.

2007-03-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

There was a great post here, but the internet ate it.

2007-03-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

1200s

2007-03-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

I did 4x1200m this morning. The rest of the crew did 10x400m, but I had done 8x400m on Tuesday and really didn't want to do them again. I felt pretty good on them and averaged around 4:35 min/mile pace, which is equivalent to about a 6:08 mile. Much like my 400s, I'd like to bring my mile average to around 5:45. The weather was a bit chilly this morning but still great for running.

The weather was absolutely perfect on Wednesday however. I did a little under 6 miles and finished in a time that completely surprised me because I didn't think I was running that fast. I had an awesome run. The weather was actually good enough that I ran without my shirt. Unfortunately I scared a few children and some small animals, however most people prudently averted their eyes. One old guy did sort of wink at me funny too...hmmm.

I'm supposed to do 6 again tomorrow and then 15 Saturday. I'm running with someone on Saturday, so I'm going to run to where we're meeting up. I should be able to get 15 in easy on Saturday. Sunday is supposed to be an off day but I have soccer, so I might take it easy on soccer. Although that might be a bit hard to do since I really get into it.

I've been playing defense lately, usually right or left back, something I used to do when I was a kid. I actually forgot how much fun it was to defend. Being the last line before the goalie is cool. Although I need to work on my positioning more, but that'll come quick.

back to training

2007-03-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well I'm officially back on the training wagon.

The race: San Diego.
The date: June 3, 2007
The goal: To qualify for Boston and also erase all the bad memories from last year.

I did 8 x 400 last night. I was only able to do them at around 80 seconds with the penultimate 400 clocking in at 75. I've never been able to run my quarters fast, but I'd like to get my average down to somewhere between 70 and 75. I'm pretty tired from a boxing class I took on Monday and also from fighting off this pseudo-cold. I'm not exactly sick but I feel just a little off to know that I'm not exactly one hundred percent well. Today I'm running 6 miles. I'm going to train with a variation on this program:

http://runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=5997&c=36

I'll probably only run 5 days a week instead of 6, but I was very strong last year when I did run 6 days. Consequently, I might be running a lot again, but I don't want to feel run down or tired. I'm also only going to run track once a week as opposed to twice since I always seem to get little injuries when I run on the track too much. I hope to get down to around 160 before race day, so I need to strike a balance between fueling correctly and not starving myself.

Training can be very scientific, but I never really meticulously monitor my training as a scientist would monitor their experiment. I'm more of a run how you feel type, so if I'm having a good day I'll run hard and vice-versa. I sort of have the same approach to running as I do with cooking. I'll take a recipe, or in this case a training program, and modify the ingredients to suit my needs. At least I have one thing in common with a scientist. I do like to experiment.

Bubbly

2007-03-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

So I'm in the process of brewing beer, and every morning I wake up and check how my beer is doing in its primary fermenter. Well I was adjusting the blanket I had put around when the thing started bubbling...a lot. Every couple of seconds my bucket would burp. I'm thinking to myself, shit, what the hell did I do? The past few days not even a whimper, but now suddenly after adjusting the blanket it starts burping like a soda drinking baby. Water is literally gurgling out of the airlock, so I jump online to track down any information about this bubbling. I finally some blurb that says it's okay. I would have called the beer place that sold me my stuff, but it was 6:00am and they're closed on a Tuesday. I'm just happy nothing's wrong with my baby. At least I hope.

Surfacing

2007-02-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...I suppose it's been a while since I've typed anything here. I'm still running like a fool. I did the Rock 'N Roll marathon down in Arizona and PR'ed by a few minutes, which surprised me because I hadn't really put in any serious training for this race. I learned a lot though. I'm gearing up again for RNR SD, where I will own that sucker. I'm going to beat that race into submission and qualify for Boston in the process.

I officially became a Senior R&D Engineer at work last week. This doesn't really mean anything in terms of changing responsibilities in my job, but I do get a little bit more change to play around with.

I must say that HDTV is a marvel to watch. I love watching Heroes, Supernatural, and well, that's about it since I don't watch much TV with which to begin. DVDs are awesome though.

Eggplants are awesome vegetables.

Yay!

2006-12-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

So all us guys in the photo below placed second in the running club relay competition at the California International Marathon a couple of weeks ago. We placed 12th overall. For our trouble we received a nice little wooden plaque. Pretty nifty.

Big Sur 1:28 group

2006-11-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

That would be the guy on the left, the back-middle, and me on the right. The guy up front in the middle ran a 1:26.

sexaversary

2006-11-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

I've been at my company six years now. I get an extra week of vacation. Sweet!

I could have used hexaversary, but sexaversary is more provocative.

Surprising

2006-11-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

I did my first track workout in a couple of weeks last Tuesday and was quite surprised by the results. The first mile I ran in 5:58, which happens to be the fastest I've run in a bit. However, I subsequently followed it up by a 5:53 mile, all the while my stomach still feeling like it was in England. I had run a total of 4 times in England so to come back and knock out some relatively fast mile repeats was interesting. This performance doesn't really give me any indication as to how I'll do for my marathon in January, although I am looking for some metric because I feel like I'm just running for the heck of it currently. I'm not sure where I am in my training, and I'm consequently in a state of limbo. It's strange. Well don't look a gift horse and wot.

What's to come...

2006-11-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

Midnight Tea Time

2006-11-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

Typically tea time is at 4pm in the afternoon, but England is eight hours ahead so it's really midnight over there right now. I'm back in the U.S. in body but not in mind. I think my mind is somewhere over the Atlantic trying to figure out a way down to the Caribbean. The flight back was long, long enough that I watched 3 movies and the end of one movie 3 times. I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Monster House, which is a surprisingly good movie, and Fast and the Furious 2. I have to say though that I watched half of FF2 without any sound, but it didn't seem to make any difference. It was also more fun making up dialogue in my mind and made for a much better movie.

The last few days my mum and I were in England we met up with some old family friends. Thursday we spent a day with my mum's old boss when she worked account payable. It was nice seeing him again as I haven't seen him since I was 9 or 10. He's still basically the same, like much of London, but just a bit different. He and his partner are off to Saint Vincent for 5 months to live there while England goes through Winter. I have an open invitation to Saint Vincent if ever I want to go. Thursday evening we had dinner with some old family friends and their children. I used to hang out with the kids quite frequently when I was young, so it was cool hanging with them again. Well just one actually because the other was off working, so we drowned our sorrows in a bottle of wine, which was promptly proceded by a bottle of Jack. I was a bit buzzed and on teetering on being drunk when my mum asked me if I was in fact drunk. I replied, "if you can't tell, then I'm not going to tell you." I might have stuck out my tongue as an added retort but can't remember due to my old friend Jack.

Friday, my mum and I had an invitation to dinner from one of her old coworkers when she was a nurse. The dinner was actually for her son who was celebrating his 24 birthday. Coincidentally Friday was also the six year anniversary of when I started my job, so I get an extra week of vacation! Interestingly at the celebration I met a guy who recently graduated who will be working for BAE systems on the F-35. My company is working with BAE systems on the next generation of our satellites. Small world.

Saturday I went for my last long run in the city. I hadn't done much running in London, so I wanted to make the most of my last run. I ran through Hyde Park down past Buckingham Palace, then behind Downing Street which took me, after a sharp left, past the houses of parliament and Big Ben. I ran across Westminster Bridge and then alongside the Thames and ran by the Eye of London, a huge ferris wheel, The Tate, Saint Paul's Church. I also ran over the Millennium Bridge and Tower Bridge. All this took about an hour and fortyfive minutes, so after showering and stretching, not necessarily in that order my mum and I had a "traditional" English breakfast of sausages, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, eggs, and toast. We went down to Oxford Circus again to pick up a thank you gift for my Godmother who got the Spamalot tickets for us and then went to another friend's house for lunch, where I stuffed myself. The rest of the afternoon I spent packing and relaxing in preparation for departure the next day.

I had a bit of trouble with my big yellow duffel bag at the airport on Sunday. I didn't check my bad in because there were a few delicate items I wanted to keep safe. When I checked my other bags in, the fellow at the counter asked me to put my bag in one of the sizing cages they had for carry-on luggage. I squeezed it in there after which my mum and I went to security check. Right before security check there was another bag size check which I was again asked to put my bag. I was getting a bit irritated at this point. Now after taking 20 steps there was yet another bag size check in clear view of the other one just behind me. The rocket scientist there again asked me to put my bag in the cage at which point I sort of lost it and went off on the guy. I was seriously pissed off that I was being asked to put my bag in the sizer again when I had just done it not 20 feet in front of him. I have never been so angry at another person before like that.

Well after getting through that guy and making a little scene, my mum and I passed through security, of which there were only two lines and another fine example of British efficiency, and another bag sizer we finally made it to the promised land of duty free shopping. I call it the promised land because there weren't any more bag size checks after security. We sat around a bit. I bought lots of chocolate and then we finally boarded our plane. I slept twice, for about 30 minutes each time, and then spent the rest of the day awake. I think spent about 22 hours awake yesterday, so I could go to sleep at a normal time here rather than over there. I'm currently sort of spacy after a lack of sleep and some beer at lunch, although that has made the day go by rather quick. I'm hoping to get some pictures up soon, so you'll see pictures of the Eiffel Tower and some French and English stuff up there in a bit.

And now for something completely different...

Say Fay Com-Byun?

2006-11-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Paris on Monday. What a nice city and definitely a welcome change from London. I don't know if it's an ingrained sense that's been instilled in me by our culture but there's an aire of sohpistication and worldliness about Paris that London doesn't just seem to have. I could probably attribute that difference though to a number of aspects one being language. Without language most of my view of Paris was through what I saw, consequently what I saw seemed much more sophisticated than London. Although that was a little different last night. My mum and I saw Spamalot at the Palace Theatre. The same theatre that Les Miserables played for almost two decades.

Spamalot, based on Monty Python and The Holy Grail, was a riot but didn't directly follow the plotline of the movie. There were a few interludes and new scenes that definitely added to the musical. I don't think I ever stopped laughing the entire show, except perhaps for intermission. Well anyway, why did London seem more sophisticated last night? Casino Royale. The world premiere was just down the street from the Palace and as we left the theatre we saw myriad people dressed to the nines in gowns and tuxedos for the event. Pretty neat. I sort of wished we could have gone but wouldn't have had any idea as to how to attend.

I sort of miss living in a city. The convenience of going around the corner and having a great restaurant at your doorstep. The ease of travelling around a city with great public transportation. It makes San Francisco seem a bit backwards when comparing it to London, at least from a transporation point of view. There's a tiny sliver of me that would love to move back to a big city, but then there's the other overwhelmingly large part of me that likes my semi-suburban life. I do like however the way some people dress in the city. I'll definitely make an effort to dress more smart as I like the look a lot more than my current engineer's wardrobe. I noticed many a people in France particularly were very well dressed, even casually, as compared to what I normally see.

My mum and I saw a great exhibition of Rembrandt and Hogarth at the Louvre. Rembrandt is an amazing artist, which I didn't actually realize until I saw some of his drawings up close. The ability with which he was able to capture human emotion with but the simplest of pencil strokes was amazing. Hogarth did some funny stuff, more politically and morally motivated than anything else, but he certainly brought British art into its own.

Well I could spend another hour typing, but my time is almost up, so I'll type more when I have the money and the time.

The Circus that is Oxford

2006-11-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

For the past 5 days now, we've somehow managed to make our way back to Oxford Circus. At first it was okay, now it's just annoying. I don't mind coming here maybe once a week, but 5 days straight of it is just driving me batty.

We saw The Tower of London yesterday. I've discovered that I'm a bigger history nut than I once thought. Going through all the displays and walking through the ramparts alone got me all historically flustered. When I get back I need to get cable so I can watch more history channel. The amazement I feel seeing all the old relics from past kings and queens is quite, well, amazing. Although walking through some of the towers at the Tower of London gave me an odd sense of morbidness because they onced house prisoners and the lot. This was especially prevalent when viewing some of the engravings left in the walls by past prisoners...

We went down to Neal's Yard yesterday and had the best food I've had so far, which isn't saying much. You don't come to England for the food. Well I had a Turkish Meze that featured a tabouleh salad, hummus with pita bread, a mashed carrot salad with olives, and sauteed eggplant with tomatoes, onions, and seasoning. All of it tasted fantastic. Along with my meal I drank a banana lassi and for dessert a french flourless chocolate cake with fresh fruits and cream. I could basically eat there everyday.

A couple of nights ago I watched the Carling Cup game between Liverpool and Birmingham. There were a few tense moments, mostly me worrying about my next beer, but Liverpool managed to prevail. Speaking of beer, I've had a couple of good ones so far. My second night, my mum and I went to a pub and had fish chips. I washed it down with a couple of pints of something called John Smith's, a very good beer. I've also had Young's bitter ale, a bit watery, and "Extra Cold" Guinness, which just the Guinness most Americans are familiar with. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted the "normal" Guinness, but alas the tap was broken.

I picked up a book called "Secret Walks of London." I'm going to try one next week after we get back from Paris. All the places we've gone so far have been familiar, so I'd like to try something different, something I didn't see when I was living here. I know there's much more of London I need to see. Hopefully that'll put me more in the vacation mood and not in this weird emotional limbo between feeling like on vacation/and being back home. I'm pretty sure that Paris will do that however.

I must apologize for my haphazard writing. You think, or at least I would think, that being born in England would imbue me with some sort of inherent literary prowess. Alas it has yet to manifest. I did notice however that I have used "alas" twice in this posting already.

Back to the subject at hand. I did a tempo run around Hyde Park last night and so ran by Kensington Palace and The Royal Albert Hall. Pretty neat although it was a bit dark, so I really only saw sillohuettes rather than actual objects.

Well, I'm headed off to Niketown and then back to the hotel to prepare for Paris tomorrow. Be back Monday.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

2006-11-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

Well after a long 10 hour flight out from SFO. I'm finally in England. I thought I would be more excited to be here, but I feel just a bit off. I don't feel like I'm on holiday but I also don't feel like I'm back home. Lots of things have changed back here, but it's still all the same. I suppose you could say that for a town as old as London. At a purely superficial level things will vary but the underlying core of the city remains the same. My mum and I have decided that we're going to do things we didn't do while we were in London just to make it different.

Things here are also bloody expensive too! Last night my mum and I had dinner at pub. We had fish & chips plus she got a soda and I got a beer, which all amounted to about $40. I forgot how expensive it is here. Consequently we're seeking out all the hole in the wall eateries. I think I'm going to get sick of eating out pretty soon.

After we got in Monday and dropped our bags off at our "very" questionable hotel, my mum and I went around the West End a bit and then visited some old friends of my mum. We saw a bit of Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court road, which are shopping meccas. We also made a trip to Picadilly Circus and the adjacent Chinatown. All of which looked the same to me, but smaller. Everything seems much closer and smaller just because I was a kid back then so proportionally it all makes sense.

Tuesday we went to the British Museum and hit many of the same places as we did on Monday but spent a bit more time in Oxford Circus, specifically Selfridges(Macy's Equivalent), and in Picadilly Circus at Lillywhites(former high end sporting good store). I picked up a Liverpool baseball cap from Lillywhites. Tuesday was also my first visit to running club I found on the internet, the Serpentine Running Club. They're a very well organized running group with a lot of members. I ended up doing a 400-800-1200-1600-1200-800-400 pyramid. I had to skip out on part of the second 1200 due to gastrointestinal issues, but made it through the rest. The workout was great and so were all the people. There seem to be some very dedicated runners with this club. Hopefully I'll run again with them tonight, if my legs aren't too tired from walking. What was weird though was I met a woman who just moved from San Francisco to London for work. Small world.

Today we went to Waterloo to book a short weekend excursion to Paris. We'll be leaving Saturday and returning Monday. I'm quite excited about that little trip since I've never been. After Waterloo we went to Trafalgar Square, home of Nelson's Column, and the National Portrait Gallery. We then walked down to Downing Street home of the Prime Minister and then made our way down to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We saw the big Millennium wheel, and I was going to get on but the weather is so dreary that I wouldn't have been able to take any good pictures. Speaking of pictures, I have a load of them but no place I can upload them. I'll have to that when I get back. Well I'm off to go catch up with my mum. We might see a show sometime this week or next. I'm hoping for Spamalot.

The Vitruvian Man

2006-11-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Why am I becoming busier the closer I get to leaving for London? I seriously feel like that guy above me. Appendages in all directions flailing about wildly as I try to get a grasp on all the things try to occupy my attention. I suppose being busy is good since I'll feel more relieved once I'm actually on vacation, but I'm becoming increasingly anxious about my vacation. I'm trying not to let the holiday mindset take over yet, so I can get my work done. However, I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, and it's not really a battle I want to fight.

I was talking to some other runners the other day about their upcoming events and future goals. A couple of runners with whom I spoke, who also ran Boston, said they don't have any real plans other than to run some halves and a few other short races. I'm sort of worried that after I qualify for Boston a complacency might set in which I don't want to continue to improve myself in the context of running. I'd like to qualify for Boston and then perhaps run a sub-3 hour marathon, but will I become burned out? I have to find a way to keep my running interesting and fun yet still improve myself.

I'm sort of in an introspective mood today. Perhaps I'll type more later.

Big Sur

2006-10-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

Big Sur is the best race I have ever run. I PRed last year and surprisingly again this year. I ran in 1:28:30 which is a 6:45 min/mile pace. I had no idea I could run that. Since I'm an engineer, here's a little statistical break down of each mile

Mile	Split	Difference	Running Difference
1	6:41.11	--	--
2	6:46.46	+05.35	05.35
3	6:49.44	+02.98	08.33
4	6:57.20	+07.76	16.09
5	6:53.41	-03.79	12.30
6	6:49.48	-03.93	08.37
7	6:53.37	+03.89	12.26
8	6:45.21	-08.16	04.10
9	6:45.50	+00.29	04.39
10	6:42.10	-03.40	00.99
11	6:45.11	+03.01	04.00
12	6:41.14	-03.97	00.03
13.1	7:00.13	+18.99	19.02

Final Stats:

Total Time: 1:28:29.66

Split Avg: 6:45 min/mi

Avg Split Diff: 04.65 s

Comparing to last year's splits, I halved my average split difference from 9.46 seconds. I've become more consistent my running it seems.

I had low expectations for this race and was hoping just to beat my time from last year. The week before I had run an extremely hard 10K at only a ~6:56 pace, so my hopes for Big Sur weren't that high. Me and a couple of other friends before the race said we were going to run this race stupid, meaning we would start out hard and see how far we could go. So we started out hard and I was with my two buddies for about the first mile. However, I dropped back soon after and got into my own rhythm while still trying to keep them in sight. I basically ran the entire race by myself, which was a tad hard mentally because there were a few times where I almost gave up. For a while I felt I was barely hanging on to my friends in front of me.

At the turn-around between mile 8 and 9 though, I was surprised that I was keeping my pace but still wary of blowing up. Although as my friends passed me at the turn-around I jokingly said "YOU'RE MINE!" I eventually caught up to them with a little under a mile to go though and didn't look back. I was a bit afraid that they were right behind me. I was running so hard the last couple of miles that I almost threw up crossing the finish line. There's probably a great picture of me crossing the finish line doubled over clutching my stomach about to vomit.

Never in a million years did I expect to PR this race, by 2 minutes at that, and run with the pace and intensity I ran. This gives me really high hopes for qualifying for Boston at Arizona in January. All I need to do is stay on track with my training and I should be good to go.

I'm heading to London for a couple weeks this Sunday. I haven't developed any excitement yet, but I'm sure as soon as I get off the plane I'll be all smiles. It'll be weird going back to a place that I once called home. There will be a certain familiarity mixed with the unknown since so much has changed since I left a tad over 15 years ago.

I found a running club with whom I can run in London. I know, I'm obsessed with running.

Halfway there...

2006-10-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Big Sur here I come!

Goal!

2006-09-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

I joined a soccer league over the summer and our first game was last Sunday. I ended up scoring two goals, with each foot, in our 4-1 victory. I played center midfield, and I got the number I wanted too, "8." Maybe I'll take after my numbersake on the Liverpool squad, Steven Gerrard.

A bit dusty

2006-08-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm trying a different way of running, but it makes my calves burn!

Twixt the lines

2006-06-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

I was flipping through radio stations this morning and happened upon a station talking about a "new" artist called KT Tunstall. She has a song called Black Horse And The Cherry Tree that's been playing on KFOG here for what seems like ages, and she just recently hit the national scene. Well anyway, there's one line they were talking about:

when the big black horse that looked this way,
said hey lady, will you marry me?

The announcer and a caller were discussing this lyric commenting on oddity of the line. Then after much discussion the DJ finally says, "maybe it's metaphoric." A bit thick of the DJ and the caller to take this line literally, but it takes them a good 5-10 minutes to figure that this lyric may not be all that literal?! No one said you had to be smart to be on the radio.

A bit disappointed in England. They had a good first half showing against Sweden but lost the plan in the second half. Luckily they managed to scrape by with a draw and come out on top of the group. They really need to pull together for Ecuador though or we could see England on the coattails of the unlucky Michael Owen who tore his cruciate ligament early in yesterday's game. He'll unfortunately be out for 5 months, which leaves England with only 3 strikers, one of whom is barely match fit, another who hasn't even featured for his club team, and the last who doesn't really fit the bill of an out and out forward. Yeah, England is going to win the World Cup.

Finding My English

2006-06-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

I went to a local grocery store over the weekend that almost exclusively sells British food. Everything from Spotted Dick to Steak & Kidney Pie. Nummy! I picked up the savory nectar of the gods,

I remember hating this as a kid, but for some reason I knew I would like it almost two decades later. I sort of gorged myself on buttered toast with marmite over the weekend. I also bought some malteasers and a steak & kidney pie, although I much prefer steak & kidney pudding. I'm more than halfway through my little jar of marmite, so I might have to go back to the store to get some more.

France was shafted yesterday. They should have been credited for a goal that clearly went over the line, but none of the linesmen saw it. How blind can they be? FIFA is saying that they won't introduce a review process unless it's 100% reliable. Being an engineer, I can safely say there's nothing that's 100% reliable, so in essence they're never going to introduce a review process since they're trying to achieve the unattainable.

Too damn skinny

2006-06-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

My legs look too damn skinny. I used to have soccer legs, but now I have skinny runner legs. I miss my larger legs, now I look I'm on twigs. I don't want to be one of those typical skinny runner guys. I was at the gym yesterday doing some upper body work, which I haven't done in ages. Looking at my legs, I just noticed how thin they look. It just doesn't look right!

I'm really wired on caffeine right now.

England need to pull it together for the world cup. They've had two mediocre performances so far against two mediocre teams. Hopefully they'll have better performances against the better teams.

Ing-guh-lund! Ing-guh-lund! Ing-guh-lund!

Another day another marathon

2006-06-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well it was a humid one last Sunday at first I didn't think it was going to affect me much. However as the race progressed I felt myself slowly being drained of energy, even moreso than usual. When I stepped into corral 1 I saw one pace group but soonafter another pace leader stepped in saying that he was going to run the race at a variable pace according to the terrain of the course whereas the other guy was just going to run a straight 7:15 pace throughout the entire race. For the first 14-15 miles I was just a little bit behind the pace group but I felt myself petering out quite early due to the humidity and heat. I can run in heat but not so much in humidity, so I slowly began to slow down. I stopped for a bit at around mile 21 because I was overheated. Around when I started to lose the pace group I started reassessing my goals and I just wanted to PR, but that went out the window when I felt these weird chest pains a little after mile 22. I had no idea what was going on so I reluctantly stopped in a medical tent. After a few minutes the doctor said I was having muscle cramps in my chest. He then proceded to poke my chest in all the places it hurt. Lovely. I was stuck in the medical tent for about 10 minutes. I was laid out for a bit, then I stood up and a volunteer gave me a chest massage. Not long after the doctor gave me the go ahead to start running again. He said start off slow and work my way into it. At this point I just wanted to finish the race, so as soon as I was out of sight of the medical tent I took off.

It's really hard to start running again after you've barely moved for 10 minutes. My leg muscles had started to seize up, so I was sort of run-hobbling. I did manage however to run all the last few miles despite the cramping and pain and finish in a little under 3:36. Strangely I wasn't really disappointed in my performance because I felt great after the race. After Cal in December I was a wreck, after RNR I felt like I could go a few more. So I made the rounds in the finishing area and wound up at the TNT tent. I was there for about a half-hour or so stretching and socializing when I went back out to run my girlfriend into the finish. I made it, very slowly, to where the last band was playing waited and cheered. About an hour later my girlfriend showed up with her mentor and I joined them to the last quarter mile to the finish. A little bit after starting up again my entire chest seized up. I don't think I've ever felt a pain quite like that before, but I kept on running trying to keep up with my girlfriend who was speeding up with the finish near. After I ran her in, we again made our way back to the TNT tent where we all relaxed out in the sun.

I felt oddly happy about this run even though I didn't PR or qualify for anything. I'm in really good shape, so I might try and give San Francisco a try. Hills I can handle just not the humidity.

Oh well

2006-06-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

So I didn't qualify for Boston, nor did I PR. Too humid! However, I felt really great after the race and looked like a badass during the first part. I even did a little bit extra to run in my gf. Awww yeah.

So now I'm thinking, maybe I want to run the full at San Francisco.

Smooth

2006-05-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Left Hand Suzuki Method

2006-05-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

I finally received my race RNR race confirmation and corall info. My number is 1802 and I'll be in corral 1. Ooh.

Poop

2006-05-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

I had a shitty run yesterday. I mean literally. I wanted to do an extended tempo run yesterday and was about 2 miles into it when I felt a tingling in my stomach. Apparently the carnitas burrito I had last night was coming back to haunt me. I trired running through it, but it was running through me. I stopped. I walked. I tried to run again. I stopped...again. I was desperately looking for a source of relief but none was in sight. I'm thankful that Palo Alto is so rife with people that have exhoribtant amounts of disposable income that you count on at least every block having a house being remodled. Why I am thankful for all the remodling? The portapotties that come part and parcel with the construction sites. Hallelujah for Acme Sons and Co.!

I hurt my foot. It hurts when I walk but not when I run. Huh?

Tied House Maibock is some good damn beer.

Less than three weeks until San Diego. I am nervous.

Match Report

2006-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

I ran the Avenue of the Giants half marathon up in Humboldt this weekend. I didn't run as well as I could because of an injury, but I didn't do too bad. I finished in a time of 1:30:40. I came in 18th overall, and 3rd in my age group. I had injured my right leg on Tuesday and was trying to get my leg back into good enough condition to run. I had my leg to about 70% on raceday and just ran through pain the entire race. This is a good sign for San Diego. Hopefully I can get my leg back to 100% and I'll be ready to tear up Rock 'N Roll.

Strive

2006-05-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Okay I was going to type a post about a list I found, but I'm going to do something else. First strive is a very odd word. It isn't necessarily odd when you say it but when typed/written out, there's something that just doesn't look right. It's akin to "road." There are just some words that are really strange. Strive is the politically correct version of strike. It's a forceful word but doesn't have that awful, hard, and abrupt sounding ending like strike does. Strive just rolls off your lips.

Strive.

Road.

Also this isn't a Kaiser Permanente ad. I will not strive.

Anyway back to what I was originally going to write about. I found this list, with it I will become the greatest spacecraft designer on da urf.

Laws of S/C Design

Got a race this weekend. Another half, but a tester to see how I might do for SD. Here's hoping.

Cautiously Optimistic

2006-04-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

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:

Event	4 Mile	1/2 Marathon	Marathon
Time	24:57	1:28:10	3:05:57
Pace/Mile	6:15	6:44	7:06
Pace/Km	3:53	4:11	4:25

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.

The great coffee experiment redux

2006-04-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

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.

I want it

2006-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Going to Boston just makes me want it more now.

Yay Sun!

2006-04-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

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.

Lookit!

2006-04-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Race

2006-04-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Boston Bound

2006-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

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.

I love

2006-03-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

singing and playing "Gone" by Jack Johnson on my guitar. I don't actually sing on my guitar. I sing while playing the song. You get it.

and oooh!

2006-03-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

As I warming up before the track workout this morning I was talking to a guy about qualifying for the NY Marathon. Apparently I can qualify with a half marathon time! I'd have to run a 1:21 half, but damn I think that's possible by the end of the year. It's easier than running a 2:50 full!

Oh

2006-03-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

I love port!

Dateline...I never did like that show.

2006-03-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

So I've been sort of spotty on my posting lately, and the main reason is I've been working on a satellite launch. I've been working crazy shifts, everything from grave to swing, to WTF shifts. It didn't help that last week we had an anomaly which threw our schedule completely out of whack. I'm hoping that I can return to some sort of normal work hours soon because I'm starting to get worn thin by all the weird hours I'm working.

I have been running though, although I didn't run this past weekend. I sort of used this last weekend as a reset for my San Diego training. 9 weeks left! I have to do some more 20 milers! I'm back on track this week and am raring to go. I actually did mile repeats last week and inadvertently PR'ed on my last mile. I actually have a race this weekend, albeit a short one, that's really close to my house. I'm just going to run down to the start line as a warmup, run the race, and then run back home. Running is awesome.

All in all though, life is good and I guess so am I.

Oooh and I got haircut, a much cheaper one this time. I look like I have highlights. Funny thing happened immediately after I got my haircut. I was waiting in line to pay and a woman looks at my hair and said "your hair looks really good! Did you just get it cut?" I replied, in my ever verbose manner, "yes" to which she said "I really like your hair!" I've actually received a number of compliments on my hair. I guess it looks good, although I do look a little bit like a boy band "singer."

A sign?

2006-03-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I did some Yasso repeats on Thursday. I ran them all pretty consistently at around 3:00 min/800m. This gives me some hope that I can run that 3 hour marathon!

Reevaluation

2006-03-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

I was talking with one of my running buddies the other week, one with whom I frequently run, and we had a discussion over my next marathon. Currently I'm planning to do a marathon up in Eureka, CA called the Avenue of The Giants marathon. However in talking with my friend he suggested that I should run San Diego as it is a better course to run. I'm currently running really well and he thought it might be better for me to run San Diego so I don't squander any opportunity to run a kick ass marathon. I mentioned earlier how I had an awesome 19 mile run, which we did in 2:20.

My current goal for this next marathon is to run a 7:00 min/mile pace. However, now that I have more time to train I might just aim for a straight up 3:00:00 marathon pace, which is about 6:53 min/mile. I think it's doable because I did a 9 mile pace run on Saturday that felt relatively easy. I should be able to increase my speed and endurance just a bit more so I can reach that goal. San Diego here I come!

mmm...running

2006-03-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

I ran the best 19 miles ever on Sunday. I felt super fresh after and felt like I could go on for 19 more. Damn.

Pardon me but your pecorino is perspiring profusely

2006-03-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

You know cheese has been out too long when it starts to sweat grease.

5 miles

2006-03-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

Doesn't sound so bad does it?

What if they're broken up into 20 quarters?

Yeah, not so good.

I feel like a newly cleaned glass table

2006-02-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

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.

Fully Baked

2006-02-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Half-Baked

2006-02-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

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

Catsup

2006-02-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

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!

Prepare for liftoff

2006-02-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

4 days and counting...

Hypre

2006-02-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

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.

Dedication...

2006-02-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

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!

Deflated

2006-02-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

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.

I am happy!

2006-02-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

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.

There it is.

2006-02-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

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!

Mirror Universe

2006-02-10T15:52:00.003-08:00

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.

Kaiser

2006-02-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

must.continue.to.stay.awake.

2006-02-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

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.

Splish Splash

2006-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

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.

Picard

2006-02-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Apparently I have a good head for going totally shaven.

Toehead

2006-02-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

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.

======

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?

mmm...running

2006-02-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

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

The addiction is over

2006-02-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

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

Oh well, it was great while it lasted.

I've become a follower

2006-02-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

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?!

Socks

2006-01-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I've needed some socks that weren't white and didn't have the words crew/athletic/moisture wicking in front of them, so I went to Target yesterday and picked up a few pairs of dress socks. I bought two brown pair and two black pair. I figure that should last me a week since Fridays I go super casual. I say super casual because most of the time I'm in a t-shirt/shirt and jeans anyway; I'm an engineer not a businessman. Well I was all happy with my purchase until I put on my socks this morning. The first thing I notice is the foot portion of the sock is abnormally long. In my mind I'm hoping my foot is also that long, so I put on the first sock with a little hesitation. I'm not even halfway to putting the sock on and the heel is up past my calf already. I continue pulling up the sock which eventually stops just below my knee. For a microsecond, yes I was counting, and yes my brain does that have that type of chronometric resolution, I didn't like it but my entire lower leg felt really warm and cozy. I've been having a problem lately where all my extremities are really cold so having a nice warm leg was a definite and welcome change to the norm. So I was happy with my sock apart from the heel which left a bit of fabric hanging from the back of my leg like that thing that hangs from the throat of a turkey. Once in a while my hand unconsciously slides behind my leg and fondles the fabric...not really.

So I have rehearsals all this week for a launch we're preparing for in February. We've had our initial rehearsals and our nominal rehearsals and now it's time for the down and dirty contingency rehearsals where all sorts of shit can go wrong. Ahhh yes, 3 days of scrutinizing and analyzing myriad bits of data trying to determine if that glitch in telemetry is really an anomaly or a problem with the sim. I am so not prepared.

I love lightly salted crunchy peanut butter. All others who disagree with me obviously have malformed or mutated taste buds. Yeah I'm talking to you. Punk.

Why must I covet that which I cannot have? The alure of the unobtainable and the chase that go hand in hand are intoxicatingly tantalizing.

I like to whee!

2006-01-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

mmm...fast running.

Did a track workout this morning and ran my first sub-6 minute mile! I ran it in 5:55.30! It felt relatively easy too and it's just the start of the season! I can only get faster from here. I love my Nike Air Max 360s. I did pick up a pair of GT-2110s this weekend as well, so I don't wear out my 360s too quickly.

My weekend was super busy! I ran 6 on Saturday around my new neighborhood. I live in a really cool neighborhood by the way because it's a great place to run. Well since I was running a new route I didn't know what to expect, so about a 2.5 miles into it I encounter this hill. For the next mile and a half or so, there was hill after hill until I finally reached the apex and started making my way downhill, all of this was through a light rain. I finished just in time to put some pants on and a sweater so I could head downtown to volunteer at an information table for Team In Training; We were trying to recruit people for the new season. I, along with a few others, stood in the now terrential rain for a couple hours trying to get people to sign up for the Spring season. We managed to snag a few, so hopefully they'll show up at the kickoff meeting this coming Saturday.

After volunteering and some food I relaxed for the rest of the day and watched my new addiction, Battlestar Galactica. A runner friend of mine lent me the first season and I burned through 13 episodes in less than a week. Saturday I powered through 3 episodes of season 2. Battlestar is a really good show. At times I don't even feel like I'm watching a Science Fiction show rather a drama show that just happens to be set in space. I haven't been addicted to a show like this since Alias first came out.

Later that night I had dinner and drinks with some friends. We ate, we drank, and we were merry. Although the womenfolk were somewhat perturbed by the men babbling on about Battlestar Galactica. Who knew geek talk and women didn't mix?

Sunday I did an 8 mile run replete with more hills, but not as bad as Saturday's unexpected climbs. Knowing that you have hills to run is much easier than not knowing since you can prepare yourself mentally for the challenge. At least on Sunday it wasn't raining. After the run I again, along with some others, manned a information table for a couple of hours. We managed to get a lot more people this time! We should have a big team for this upcoming season. I can't wait!

I've run almost a 100 miles this year already. Holy crap that seems like a lot.

I'm an Encouraging Leader!

2006-01-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

My Personal Dna Report

It's not where but who you're with that really matters

2006-01-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

Did a speed workout this morning. We did 8 quarters including a 2 mile warmup beforehand and a mile cooldown. Like I've said before I love running fast. I booked on the second to last quarter. This was probably due to me wearing my running tights and under armour top. I just cut through the wind like a hot knife through something that melts when a hot knife when is put through it. I went to the gym after to work on arms. I was thinking after that I run with some very interesting if not very influential people.

This morning there I ran with a CFO/Executive VP of one company and the VP of another company. I also frequently run with one of the original people who worked on the Mac. It's weird enough working in the heart of the Silicon Valley where companies like Apple ,eBay and Google are literally in my backyard, but it's weirder still the company I keep considering who they are and what they do.

I have a gripe. What's with people wearing headphones while driving? Newer cars are very acoustically isolated from the outside already but compounding that by wearing headphones and listening to your iPod. WTF. Do you want to cause and accident? Asshats.

I am a leaf on the wind

2006-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Come to think of it, I felt more like a peregrine falcon flying through the air on my way to who knows where. I always liked peregrine falcons as a kid. I did a 30 minute tempo run yesterday. Started off nice and slow, although my breathing belied the ease with which I was running. I rounded one corner and then the next, finally I reached my mark and set off like a bullet being shot from a sniper rifle. I love to run, but I love to run fast even more. It's like being a kid again without any inhibitions or worries because you just run. So I ran, for 12 minutes 17.49 seconds. I covered a little under 2 miles, not exactly the fastest run I've ever done but decent enough for recently getting back on the training wagon.

Today is another easy one, some leg strength training, 3 easy miles, and then stretching my ass off. Tonight I work out some aggression on the punching bag.

Sleep would be good

2006-01-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

For some reason I'm a bit pissed off. I have no idea why, but I was in a bad mood this morning. Hopefully it'll wear off pretty soon.

I had a pretty hectic weekend. I did a 5 mile marathon pace run on Saturday. I was a bit reluctant to head out though because rain was coming down in buckets. I went out anyway and ran in the rain. The pace I'm hoping to run in the marathon is 7:00 min/mile. I managed to keep that pace on the track for 2 miles, but then I went out on the trail for 3. I don't think I was able to keep that pace for the time I was out on the trail but my workout intensity sure seemed like I was working at the same rate as I was on the track. Oh well it's only the first week, so no biggie.

Later that day I bought a new pair of running shoes. I was originally going to buy a pair of Asics GT-2110s, but I was persuaded to buy a pair of new Nike Air Max 360s. The two shoes don't compare at all. The Nikes are so much better than the 2110s that they're basically in another class. However, I paid for that class because the shoes are $160. I'm going to pick up a pair of 2110s next week so I don't wear out my Nikes. While I was at the running store I also picked up a pair of running tights and underwear. More on that later. Saturday evening I went to a friend's house where she made this absolutely delicious hot pot dinner. There was so much food it made my head hurt and my stomach too. I ate a lot.

Sunday I went for a 11 mile run. Since I had picked up new running gear the day before, I of course had to wear them that day. So I was decked out in my new Nikes, running underwear and of course my brand new, leave nothing to the imagination, form-fitting running pants. These tights made me feel like a superhero. I left a lot of room in the crotch so as not leave a visible bulge around the crotchal area. It's either show a bulge or don't show anything at all. I went for the no bulge look. This had the effect of making me look like a eunuch or, as one of my running buddies pointed out, a ken doll. The pants are great for running but not so much for normal walking about, which I ended up doing after the run. I forgot to bring a pair of regular pants, so I was stuck in my tights. For some strange reason I felt oddly exposed. I wonder why. Later that day my friends and I ended up going to our local running store again, where the owner promptly put me in a pair of looser fitting pants to make me decent. We also persuaded another guy to buy a pair of 360s.

And now for some brain farts.

I only have a few boxes left to unpack!

Never make tuna sandwiches in the presence of cats.

Rold Gold Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks are evil.

Battlestar Galactica is a really good show.

Audioslave's second CD rocks.

I ain't doin' nuthin' toda'

2006-01-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I did a nice short recovery run of 3 miles after doing some strength training on my legs. The strength training I've been doing has really helped to ease some this sciatic pain I've been feeling. After running I spent 20 minutes stretching. Stretching almost invariably helps with aches and pains I'm feeling. I've become almost religious about it the past few weeks.

Thursday did another track workout. We did the same thing as last Thursday where we did 6 quarters, although this week was much easier than last. Today I do nothing but sit on my ass. Mmm...I love rest days. Tomorrow I'm doing a pace run. I'm hoping I can keep up a 7:00 min/mile pace for 5 miles. Sunday I'm doing a relatively long run of 10-11 miles.

Saturday night I'm going to a friend's house for a hot pot dinner thing she's cooking. I haven't seen this friend in a while so it will be nice to catch up again.

I love Friday.

Nice legs

2006-01-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

I forgot my pants today.

How could I forget this?!?

2006-01-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

One huge highlight forgot to mention in a previous post.

Liverpool winning The European Champions League! I cried because of a sport!

Have a nice trip?

2006-01-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Before running on the track this morning, we did a short little warmup. Just as we were getting back to the track I tripped over this speedbump and took a tumble. Somehow I managed to do a pseudo tuck-and-roll and not hurt my legs. I just landed on my left hand and right shoulder, nothing too bad. The track workout this morning though, that was killer. I was sucking ass! I have lost a lot of my speed over the last month, and feeling really tired this morning. It probably didn't help that I worked out twice yesterday. I'm reconsidering doing these double workouts on Monday because I want to be able to get a decent Tuesday morning run.

I'm geeking out putting my training schedule together.

Odds & Ends

2006-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

Moved in this weekend. Much easier than previous times I've moved because I had a lot more people helping this time. Hopefully I can stay at this place for longer than 15 months, which is a record for me!

I was wearing a red shirt I got from honolulu the yesterday along with a black zippered running vest. I got asked twice yesterday at two seperate stores if I could help a "customer." I was asked first in Bed, Bath & Beyond, which sort of confused me. I think it was the black vest, but when I walked into Target with a blazingly red shirt and that vest I knew I was in for something. Oh well. It made me laugh.

I went for a 10 mile run yesterday. I felt amazingly good and was able to finish with some fuel left in the tank. I was worried that I had lost some of my endurance, but I was back out there, albeit a bit slower than normal, running like I had always been. I officially start training today. I'm doing some strength training, running 3 miles, then some stretching. Tonight I'll probably head to my boxing class for some core and upper body. I'm hoping to lose at least 4 pounds by the end of this month.

I'm almost done unpacking. I've become an expert at packing and unpacking quickly. I'm not sure if that's good or not.

Don't open your mouth

2006-01-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

I just farted in the men's room while was I washing my hands and some guy walked through my fart wake. I hate it when I do that. It's worse when you get a mouth full of fart. This is why mouthbreathers will always lose.

On the move again

2006-01-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Well I'm moving again this weekend. I'm moving to a place called Saratoga, which is just a few miles from where I am now. I'll only have one roommate and her boyfriend, plus cats and maybe a dog. Almost everywhere I've lived in California has had repeating numbers in the address, be it in the zip code or street number. The place I'm moving to now is no different. In fact the street number and zip code have repeating numbers. This makes me sound superstitious doesn't it?

On the road again

2006-01-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

I got up at 4:45, a tad too early, yesterday morning to go do quarters at a track. I showed up a half-hour early, so I spent the time waiting restlessly trying to take a nap in my car. Well the other people I was waiting for showed up and most of us did quarters. I ended up doing 6 quarters which was plenty enough for me to get the engine going again. It felt great to be out there running again, especially running fast. I officially start training next week for my next marathon, so I needed a little kick to get me going.

Random thought. When and how did bombs become so complicated in movies? This doesn't seem to be a case of art imitating life because you hardly ever hear of bombs needing to be diffused, especially bombs with countdown timers and elaborate multiple failsafes. Unless the clandestine organizations out there are exceptionally good at covering up things like this, but I'm not so sure of they're that good at what they do. I still wonder though are bombs fictional bombs becoming more elaborate because of writers minds or because of realy life. I told you it was a random thought.