Colchester Half Marathon 2009 / Lent

I ran this over the weekend with a bunch of guys from the church.

Missy ran it last year, and had been warning me about how tough it was. I was kind of skeptical – our first stretch living up in Connecticut, we lived just off of the course, and I didn’t recall it being that hilly of an area.

Thing is, I wasn’t a runner then.

This is one of the toughest races I’ve run – up and down all over the place. TRCWTOH has said she wasn’t crazy enough to run it (though I’m guessing she could run anything. But won’t press it, as she volunteered to bring beer and chips to the finish next year). And we ran it this year in completely benign weather – mid to upper 30’s, not terribly windy. Missy keeps reminding me that there was a bizzard the day before last year’s running, and she still finished.

Anyway, I felt pretty good throughout the whole race. Set a pace and mostly stuck to it. I walked a bit of the last mile, just because I didn’t want to go all-in, as this was a training run and not a flagship race. I’d set a goal of finishing in 2 hours with gas left in the tank to keep training this week, and think I hit that goal well.

Almost too well – I finished at just over 1:54, which is within spitting distance of my 1:53 PR from the OKC half last April. Considering the degree of difficulty for the course, I’m over the moon with the performance. I’m still carrying at least 10-15 lbs more than I should be (probably closer to 20-25 lbs over optimal), but it’s a sign that the motor is working well.

And look at that effective transition to talking about Lent!

Since I’ve put on a few pounds since the New Year, I’m giving up (in order of priority):

  1. Drive-Thrus
  2. Deep-Fried Stuff
  3. Soda

Drive-thrus make sure that I’m going places with good food choices, and providing the ability to eat well. Deep-fried stuff eliminates french fries and onion rings, which, while especially delicious, are nothing but empty calories, and lots of them. And while I drink just diet soda, I’m beginning to buy the argument that it just doesn’t matter. Between the artificial sweetener and carbonation, there’s got to be lots of bad stuff going on in soda that the body doesn’t like.

I broke down and had a soda on Sunday, but that’s only one in an entire week, which isn’t so bad.

General Venting. I’m getting old.

This is a really interesting interview with the guy who wrote this book

There’s another view of Web 2.0 evangelists which I call ‘Why not?’ For example, ‘Why not turn up at Grand Central Station wearing underpants in a big Flash Mob?’

But I don’t think ‘Why Not?’ is good enough. Things need to have a purpose. If you have a project or a purpose, you can use the medium to achieve that. With no ideas, no project, you have nothing. The evangelists simply believe can use this metaphysical glow of this medium to woo people.

People forget the world’s first Flash Mob in 2003, organised by Bill Wasik, was a joke. It was a joke on the gullibility of New York hipsters who would react to any kind of electronic information, and do anything you told them. [From ‘Like pedos in a playground’ – the media and Web 2.0 • The Register]

I’m not really down on Web 2.0; moreso I’m down on technology for technology’s sake. There’s a difference between doing something that’s cool, and doing something that everyone ought to do.

In some cases, experience and limiting access to channels isn’t a bad thing. The most difficult part of any kind of freedom is self-control

Google Sync

Hmm – google book search works with the iPod Touch, but not Google Sync. I’m kind of bummed about it.

Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events to your phone. Once you set up Sync on your phone, it will automatically begin synchronizing your address book and calendar in the background, over-the-air, so you can attend to other tasks. Sync uses push technology so any changes or additions to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device in minutes.

Official Google Mac Blog: What’s New for iPhone

Train in Vain.

Why on earth can’t I print out Amtrak tickets from my computer? This is just absolutely and completely unacceptable.

I’m trying to take a day trip from Mystic, CT to Boston, MA on short notice. It’d be exceptionally convenient for me to take the 6:05AM train from Mystic.

BUT I CAN’T.

Why? Because I can’t print a ticket from the online reservation system.

And I can’t buy one at the station, because there isn’t a ticket counter, and the ticketing machine is inside the station, which is only open from 10AM to 4 PM.

And, apparently, I can’t pick up the ticket on the train, because they apparently don’t do that anymore.

Grrrf.

I’m trying to keep a car off the road, but Amtrak is trying to stifle me at every opportunity.

Postscript

I broke down and called the Amtrak customer service line (1-800-USA-RAIL). After wading through the phone voice menu, I finally asked to speak to an agent, who was able to give me a Reservation Number and a Boarding Number with which I can purchase my ticket on the train. So, I am taking the train.

But, were it not for a real will not to drive, I wouldn’t be.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if We (as a nation) really want to encourage alternate modes of transportation, We really need to design out the obstacles. ESPECIALLY when trying to change thought among users.

Postscript 2 (Thanks, Deene, for spurring another rant):

I’ve got one better –
There’s a toll bridge going from the mainland into Newport. Since it opened in 1960something, it was tokens. For the last 20 years or so, it’s been $2 cash toll, or you can buy tokens at 11/$10 at the toolbooth (~91 cents/crossing) or for 60/$50 (~83 cents/crossing) if you go into the office. No proof of Rhode Island residency required.
They converted to EZPass this winter. For RI residents, it’s a bargain – 81 cents per crossing. For EZ Pass holders, it’s $1.75/crossing. But, they’ve got a commuter program, whereby if you do 30 crossings in 30 days (working say 3 out of 4 weeks), the toll is only 91 cents/crossing. Here’s the problem, though (I live in Connecticut)- I take a commuter van about 3 days per week, and travel a fair amount. Which means that I get screwed on days that I drive to the office now – paying $3.50 instead of $1.80 each roundtrip. Driving 2 days/week (8 days/month), it’d be cheaper for me to cross the bridge twice (2 roundtrips) every day I drive and hit the 30 crossings wicket.
For carpoolers, it’d be even worse – two folks sharing a ride would have to use the same car every day instead of splitting up wear and tear, as Rhode Island has cameras to bust people using illegal transponders (compare transponder to license plate). It’d be impossible to share the rides, unless you did it on a monthly basis.
Grrr. Why stick it to part-time car-poolers, van-poolers, and public transit riders?

999

So, I’m all kinds of freaked out. Next post is 1000 posts to the blog. Granted, some of them were from my experiment with del.icio.us, but I’m willing to bet that most of them are real posts, the kind that I actually put some thought into. And MAN – they go back almost 5 years. Crazy. Wonder what I could have done with all that lost productivity? Probably something worthwhile. 5 years time and tens of thousands of words – isn’t that what they call a PhD?

Anyway, the navel gazing will be the next post. Today, I’d like to talk about 10. Specifically yesterday’s 10.

I’d had a rough week running. The cold finally got to me, so I managed exactly no (zero, zip, zilch, nada) runs the last week of January. It was cold, there was ice, I was busy, and generally just a big fat hairy wimp. (I swam and rode the darn trainer), but didn’t run.

Yesterday, though, was just too good to pass up. Temps were well up into the 40’s, the sun was shining, and there were no excuses. So, after a little bowling with the littlest Jank while the bigger baby Jank was at a birthday party, I strapped ’em on, grabbed the camera, and headed out to do Missy’s 10 mile loop.

I generally do my longer runs focused on a lap of River Road and Rt 27 in Stonington – nice and flat, plenty scenic. Missy, however, isn’t content with the flat, easy route – she’s all about running the little hill we’ve got near the house.

So, I decided that since I’d been a pansy (man, I cannot wait for spring) all week, I went out with every intention of doing the tough route. And I did. Pictures follow:

The cemetery on River Road fascinates me.

RiverRoad

The river’s all iced up. Folks were playing hockey. I’d never seen anyone out on the river during the winter before this cold snap.

RiverRoad

These next three are down in Noank at the geographic low point in the run. If someone wants to stitch these together into a banner for my website, I think it’d be pretty darn sweet.

LowPointofRun
LowPointofRun
LowPointofRun

Now that I post them, I realize I left out the railroad tracks between the middle and last picture. Rats, guess I ought to go run it again

The high point of the run was about mile 9. Up until I stopped for these pictures, I felt fine. Then, the last mile really, really blew.

HighPointofRun

But, I gutted it out. If I can survive this week, I ought to be fine. My pastor almost ran me over between the low and high points; called me and chewed me out for not wearing bright enough clothes.

Now, what to write about for another 1,000 posts?

January Psalm

God; I thank you for the air in my lungs and the road at my
The sweat on my head, the sore in my legs is a treat.
When stress gets to me
I feel the need to flee
When I feel antsy
Your blue skies I see.

Gracious Father, You rule the calls and e-mail
Help me stick to Budgets without fail
Your grace is upon my PowerPoints
When my code won’t compile,
As my belly fills with bile
Your peace my mind anoints

God, as you are a father to me, I try to be
a strong dad to my boys.
In Strength and in love, like my Father above
My kids add to my joys.

Links 20090127

an experimental Humvee, equipped with a laser. The real-life ray gun then took aim at the drone, and began blasting. Soon, the drone had a hole burnt through it — and was crashing down to the desert. [From Laser 1, Drone 0 in Boeing Test]

An old glass jar inside a beaten up old safe at the bottom of a waste pit may seem an unlikely place to find a pivotal piece of 20th century history. But that’s just where the first bulk batch of weapons-grade plutonium ever made has been found – abandoned at the world’s oldest nuclear processing site [From Earliest weapons-grade plutonium found in US dump

Pie is good

want to learn about pie or killing stuff? - Pie is good.

For what it’s worth, I did break down and actually bought a hunting license this year, got both my federal and state duck stamps, and spent exactly NO days waist deep in freezing water. My belly wishes I had; the fact that I haven’t yet had the flu makes me think it’s a smart decision. Didn’t help I was gone most of November.

Training for Mooseman is going well. I spent a little bit of my discretionary income on an Apple TV and Cheap Monitor instead of beer and wings for the basement. Now, I’ve got the whole of the internet on video staring me in the face while I ride. So, it’s not much different from sitting on the couch, other than the sweating and the wondering if I ought to spend more time in the drops.

Running is good – Honestly, I head out and just keep wanting to go. I’ve been running with some fast guys from church on the weekends. They kill me, but go easy for their long runs – I suppose it will make me a better man in the long run.

I also cannot say enough about the swim class at the Y. I’ve got the same instructor, Jen, that my younger kid has for swimming, and she rocks. She’s not a triathlete – came to teach swimming, and it’s absolutely great to get feedback on the actual right way to do things. I am actually beginning to feel somewhat comfortable in the water, which is more than worth the price of admission.

let’s see: We wrote psalms in Sunday school this week – I managed to rhyme “PowerPoint” with “Anoint”, causing David to start spinning in his grave.

So, that’s about it. I suppose next month’s discretionary income will go towards bike parts. But that’ll mean that I might be on the road and not on the stupid trainer.

Before we go, I’d like to leave you with a half hour on the scientific method. Honestly, I think this is exceptionally important – the intellectual discipline that brought us into the Enlightenment and out of the Dark Ages needs to be celebrated. This is why I love my job, and why I relish even a tiny chance to be a research engineer. There’s a tiny bit of profanity, but not so much.

Morning in America

Yep, I’m ripping off Reagan. Somehow, I don’t think he’d mind much.

Tomorrow (it’s not yet midnight, here) will be one of most significant days in the history of the United States. And I, to my own amazement, have had no idea of the relief my heart would feel. [From I DISCOVERED SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINES IN THIS GREYHOUND STATION]

I am aghast at the deep-seated legacy of segregation in the United States. Astounded that it could be tolerated for so long; curious as to how children of the ’70s could end up little effected by something so ingrained in the national culture just 10 years before our birth; and buoyant for my own children’s future where there are even fewer barriers to success in these United States.

The first president that my four-year-old son will remember will be a black man, son of an immigrant.