Took the day off again yesterday and went to Laurel to do my big(ger) long run. Same as last week, parked at Ohiopyle and ran all the way up to the top of the big hill at ~mile 8. Went back down to the bottom at mile 6, and back to the top again. Then, I did it again (down, and back up). I reckon that's a total of 3 hill repeats of the "big" hill. Then I ran back to the car at Ohiopyle. Took me a little over 6 hours. That's almost 30 minutes faster than I did it last week. Except, it was nearly 20 degrees F cooler, and I took 3 extra bottles with me, in addition to the Nathan, which holds 2 liters. Needless to say, it was a MUCH more pleasant experience than last week.
Remember that David Lee Roth video for the song "California Girls," with the babes in bikinis everywhere? That's pretty much what Ohiopyle is like on a Friday afternoon in July. Yowza!! Hopefully my wife does not see this. I'm sure nobody reads this stupid thing anyway.
Today, I did the typical Mingo loop, took me 3 hours. I am still about an hour short of where I need to be for the week. Last week, the exact same routine took me 10 hours flat. I did it 45 minutes faster this week, which is hopefully a testament to my increased fitness, but probably has a lot to do with the weather. To make up the time, tomorrow I will probably do some pushups and abs, and ride the bike a little as well.
As I write this, the Burning River 100 is in full swing. Best of luck to everyone running it, I think there are probably at least 5 or 6 people I know who are out there right now, slugging it out. Today was also supposed to be the day that I ran the Speedgoat 50k in Utah, but ultimately decided against. It was the right decision in the end for me to not go.
August is here tomorrow, this is going to be a critical month for my Wasatch training. I am already coming up with ideas to really kick it into high gear. By the time I get on that plane for Salt Lake City, I want there to be absolutely no doubt in my mind. I'm on my way, but I think August will provide that last little push I need mentally to clinch it for me.
On the baby prep front, I put two coats on the ceiling, painted the closet door, and bought, trimmed, and painted a new bedroom door. My wife is dragging her feet on choosing a color for the walls. That is actually fine with me. All I need to do is hang the two doors, paint the trim, and hopefully when I'm done with that, she still will not have made up her mind. If that is the case, I can jump back on the utility tub installation. Tonight we showed my wife's parents the DVD of the sonogram we had a couple weeks ago. They watched it 3 times (it's only 3 minutes long). It's so cute, you can see the little heart pumping, and see her swallowing the amniotic fluid, as well as a couple of hiccups! You can even see the spine, and the little feet. My wife's dad gave me the "fist bump."
Luckily I was able to procure another case of the coveted Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster. It is seasonal, you know, so I wanted to make sure I got some more before it went out of production. Did I really drink the rest of that case (as well as the remainder of the Dogfish Head???)? I suppose I did. Anyway, 3 Lake Erie Monsters later tonight, I am, as they say, "Crosseyed and Painless!"
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
ABB
Last night while painting my daughter's room I was listening to The Fillmore Concerts, one of the live double albums by The Allman Brothers. What a great record.
I remember I got this one sometime in 2001 because I can remember listening to Stormy Monday over and over after work right around 9/11. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is another great song I listened to both last night and today.
I remember (vaguely) seeing the Allman Brothers at Star Lake during the summer of 1998. That was the first summer that I opted to not move back in with my parents, but instead stayed in the Burgh. Summers in Oakland while you were an undergrad was a wonderful time. I think there was a special at some bar or another every night of the week. At the time, we did not discriminate against weeknights or weekends, they all sort of ran together. I don't remember too much about the concert other than consuming a few spirituous beverages (I was actually of age, too), and my friend Craig drove us home in his Taurus. Afterwards I know we went to a party too. Man what a great summer that was.
A lot has changed in 12 years. At that time, the priority was mostly about having fun, going to parties, hitting the bars, picking up girls, and seeing as much live music as I could (that summer we also saw the Dead, as well as Phish numerous times). Now the priorities are getting ready for the arrival of our daughter, spending time with my wife, home improvements, gardening, ultrarunning, and waiting for my dismal 401k to bounce back (no double-dip recession my butt!). I'm cool with that though, I definitely had all the experiences a young person in their 20's should have and am perfectly fine with sliding into everything the 30's and 40's have to offer: baldness, fatness, strange lumps, and new aches and pains every day. I will never, ever golf though, and the Allman Brothers are awesome no matter how old I get.
I remember I got this one sometime in 2001 because I can remember listening to Stormy Monday over and over after work right around 9/11. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is another great song I listened to both last night and today.
I remember (vaguely) seeing the Allman Brothers at Star Lake during the summer of 1998. That was the first summer that I opted to not move back in with my parents, but instead stayed in the Burgh. Summers in Oakland while you were an undergrad was a wonderful time. I think there was a special at some bar or another every night of the week. At the time, we did not discriminate against weeknights or weekends, they all sort of ran together. I don't remember too much about the concert other than consuming a few spirituous beverages (I was actually of age, too), and my friend Craig drove us home in his Taurus. Afterwards I know we went to a party too. Man what a great summer that was.
A lot has changed in 12 years. At that time, the priority was mostly about having fun, going to parties, hitting the bars, picking up girls, and seeing as much live music as I could (that summer we also saw the Dead, as well as Phish numerous times). Now the priorities are getting ready for the arrival of our daughter, spending time with my wife, home improvements, gardening, ultrarunning, and waiting for my dismal 401k to bounce back (no double-dip recession my butt!). I'm cool with that though, I definitely had all the experiences a young person in their 20's should have and am perfectly fine with sliding into everything the 30's and 40's have to offer: baldness, fatness, strange lumps, and new aches and pains every day. I will never, ever golf though, and the Allman Brothers are awesome no matter how old I get.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Long run/runs
This weekend's long run was one for the ages. I took the day off Friday to go to the Laurel Highlands to try to hit the big hills. They are pretty much the biggest ones I have access to. Also wanted to get a long run in while carrying the new poles to see how I liked them. Here's the skinny:
Ran from Ohiopyle all the way up to the top of the big hill at mile 8 or 9 (obviously I did not run the entire way, I walked the hills). Had no less than 5 gnats fly directly into my right eye. They seemed to be leaving the left one alone. I say no less than 5 because to be honest, at 5, I lost count. The bugs were killing me out there. I tried the technique of a fellow 2010 Laurel Highlands Ultra finisher (also a fellow dad who gives me lots of advice, and a nice guy) who told me that before a long run, he does not use soap in the shower the night before, also he does not brush his teeth or use deoderant. Makes sense, but did not work for me. Not only did I smell terrible, but the bugs seemed to be attracted to me.
As an aside, the temperature was WELL into the 90's, humidity was probably just as high, and heat index had to be 100 if not more. It was just sweltering with little breeze. Anyway, I got to the top of the big hill and turned around for some good, steep dowhnill running. I could tell that I was nearly out of Gatorade in the Nathan so the plan was to stop at the Ohiopyle Shelter at mile 6, and get some water out of the pump. NO DICE! The pump had been dismantled, obviously the water table was low and there was no water available. This presented a serious dilemma. Not only was I almost 2 hours away from the car, and stranded without water, I was nowhere near accomplishing what I took the day off, and drove an hour and a half to do.
The obvious solution seemed to be to refill at one of the many stream crossings. I would probably not drink from any random stream, I'm sure the water is teeming with bacteria, but I was high up in the mountains, far from civilization. My rationale was that while I wouldn't drink water downstream (much lower elevation), I had to be very near the source (presumably an underground spring), and since I was so near the source, there was little opportunity to pick up anything nasty. Sounded reasonable to me!
I filled up my bladder with stream water, dumped some on my head from the handheld I was also carrying, and headed back up the big hill for another round. This time I decided to break out the trekking poles, to see how much they helped the climbing. Turns out they worked a little too well, my heart rate was higher than what I would have liked, forcing me to slow down. Back up to mile 8, then down to the bottom again (mile 6).
At this point I planned to just go back to the car at Ohiopyle, but something in me decided to turn around and hit the big hill again, so before the "little man" had the opportunity to talk me out of it, I decided to do a third hill repeat. This time, it seemed a little bit harder. Drinking ice cold gatorade, or ice cold anything, will do wonders to cool down your "core." When you are limited to lukewarm stream water, not only does it not refresh, it also sits in your gut. I guess your body has trouble absorbing lukewarm stream water. The humidity was also very high, so sweat was not evaporating from the skin very readily, which only added to the fun. I have to admit, I started to get a little concerned. However I thought that it probably would not be much better in Utah, so I sucked it up and kept going.
By this time, the 5 dead gnats in my right eye must have slowly been decomposing, because I noticed that my vision out of that eye was very blurry. In addition, it seemed to be tearing significantly. I finally made it to the top of the hill again, overheated, belly full of lukewarm stream water, and a bad eye that was playing host to the decomposition of at least 5 gnats. I decided that it was a good time to have a seat on the overlook, take my shirt off, and cool down, which is what I did.
After 5 (alright, 10) minutes I felt good enough to keep going, so I labored back to the car. I'm not even going to say how long it took me to get back to Ohiopyle. Those hills the first 6 miles never seem as bad when you're first starting out. On the way back, they're tough. I was trying to limit my intake of stream water to no more than a liter or two, so I was probably not drinking enough the entire way back. It was brutal.
I drank: 2 liters of Gatorade, about a liter of streamwater from the Nathan, a couple more bottles of stream water, 3 bottles of Gatorade I bought from the whitewater rafting outfitter at Ohiopyle, a Snapple when I stopped to get gas on the way home, 2 Dogfish head 60 minute IPA's, and more Gatorade at home. I only peed twice last night. That's how hot it was.
Today, I did a loop at Mingo very, very slowly. I have been convinced that the run the day after a long run is perhaps as important as the long run itself, because it teaches you to run on tired legs. I'll buy that, late in any race, it really takes some motivation to keep moving when the legs are dead, you've been up almost 24 hours, and you're just tired of being alone in the woods all day.
I am very, very happy that tomorrow my only form of exercise will be splashing around in the Whitehall pool.
Ran from Ohiopyle all the way up to the top of the big hill at mile 8 or 9 (obviously I did not run the entire way, I walked the hills). Had no less than 5 gnats fly directly into my right eye. They seemed to be leaving the left one alone. I say no less than 5 because to be honest, at 5, I lost count. The bugs were killing me out there. I tried the technique of a fellow 2010 Laurel Highlands Ultra finisher (also a fellow dad who gives me lots of advice, and a nice guy) who told me that before a long run, he does not use soap in the shower the night before, also he does not brush his teeth or use deoderant. Makes sense, but did not work for me. Not only did I smell terrible, but the bugs seemed to be attracted to me.
As an aside, the temperature was WELL into the 90's, humidity was probably just as high, and heat index had to be 100 if not more. It was just sweltering with little breeze. Anyway, I got to the top of the big hill and turned around for some good, steep dowhnill running. I could tell that I was nearly out of Gatorade in the Nathan so the plan was to stop at the Ohiopyle Shelter at mile 6, and get some water out of the pump. NO DICE! The pump had been dismantled, obviously the water table was low and there was no water available. This presented a serious dilemma. Not only was I almost 2 hours away from the car, and stranded without water, I was nowhere near accomplishing what I took the day off, and drove an hour and a half to do.
The obvious solution seemed to be to refill at one of the many stream crossings. I would probably not drink from any random stream, I'm sure the water is teeming with bacteria, but I was high up in the mountains, far from civilization. My rationale was that while I wouldn't drink water downstream (much lower elevation), I had to be very near the source (presumably an underground spring), and since I was so near the source, there was little opportunity to pick up anything nasty. Sounded reasonable to me!
I filled up my bladder with stream water, dumped some on my head from the handheld I was also carrying, and headed back up the big hill for another round. This time I decided to break out the trekking poles, to see how much they helped the climbing. Turns out they worked a little too well, my heart rate was higher than what I would have liked, forcing me to slow down. Back up to mile 8, then down to the bottom again (mile 6).
At this point I planned to just go back to the car at Ohiopyle, but something in me decided to turn around and hit the big hill again, so before the "little man" had the opportunity to talk me out of it, I decided to do a third hill repeat. This time, it seemed a little bit harder. Drinking ice cold gatorade, or ice cold anything, will do wonders to cool down your "core." When you are limited to lukewarm stream water, not only does it not refresh, it also sits in your gut. I guess your body has trouble absorbing lukewarm stream water. The humidity was also very high, so sweat was not evaporating from the skin very readily, which only added to the fun. I have to admit, I started to get a little concerned. However I thought that it probably would not be much better in Utah, so I sucked it up and kept going.
By this time, the 5 dead gnats in my right eye must have slowly been decomposing, because I noticed that my vision out of that eye was very blurry. In addition, it seemed to be tearing significantly. I finally made it to the top of the hill again, overheated, belly full of lukewarm stream water, and a bad eye that was playing host to the decomposition of at least 5 gnats. I decided that it was a good time to have a seat on the overlook, take my shirt off, and cool down, which is what I did.
After 5 (alright, 10) minutes I felt good enough to keep going, so I labored back to the car. I'm not even going to say how long it took me to get back to Ohiopyle. Those hills the first 6 miles never seem as bad when you're first starting out. On the way back, they're tough. I was trying to limit my intake of stream water to no more than a liter or two, so I was probably not drinking enough the entire way back. It was brutal.
I drank: 2 liters of Gatorade, about a liter of streamwater from the Nathan, a couple more bottles of stream water, 3 bottles of Gatorade I bought from the whitewater rafting outfitter at Ohiopyle, a Snapple when I stopped to get gas on the way home, 2 Dogfish head 60 minute IPA's, and more Gatorade at home. I only peed twice last night. That's how hot it was.
Today, I did a loop at Mingo very, very slowly. I have been convinced that the run the day after a long run is perhaps as important as the long run itself, because it teaches you to run on tired legs. I'll buy that, late in any race, it really takes some motivation to keep moving when the legs are dead, you've been up almost 24 hours, and you're just tired of being alone in the woods all day.
I am very, very happy that tomorrow my only form of exercise will be splashing around in the Whitehall pool.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The little man
You know the little man in your head that tries to reason with you? I'm not mental here, everybody's got that voice. When you are trying to push yourself past a reasonable limit, the little man is that voice that keeps telling you to stop. Frequent lines of reasoning include "I'm tired," "I can't continue," "I think I'm injured," "I'll never make the cutoff," and on and on.
Part of the goal of my Wasatch training is to DESTROY THAT LITTLE MAN! That little sh!t is standing in the way of me achieving my goals. I reckon that once I have a mastery over that annoying little voice inside my head, I will be ready to finish Wasatch. I think I am well on my way to eliminating the little voice. He is a resilient little guy though, you've got to completely finish him off, because if you don't, he'll find a way to keep coming back.
Part of the goal of my Wasatch training is to DESTROY THAT LITTLE MAN! That little sh!t is standing in the way of me achieving my goals. I reckon that once I have a mastery over that annoying little voice inside my head, I will be ready to finish Wasatch. I think I am well on my way to eliminating the little voice. He is a resilient little guy though, you've got to completely finish him off, because if you don't, he'll find a way to keep coming back.
Van Halen's 1984
Time for another installment of Eric's record reviews, although again, not like anybody pays attention to what I say here, which is cool with me!
I have been listening to Van Halen's 1984 a lot recently. Somehow the cd found its way into my garage, and my daily routine usually consists of:
1. Letting the dog out in the backyard
2. Drinking a Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Imperial Pale Ale (that stuff is fantastic)
3. Playing whatever cd happens to be in the cd player on my workbench (Van Halen's 1984)
I love every song on this record. Jump and Panama both had music videos during the infancy of MTV. So did Hot for Teacher, which is an amazing song. The drums in the beginning of the song always sounded to me like a drag racer idling its engines, followed by a typical Eddie Van Halen guitar solo (typical for EVH leaves you wondering how on earth anybody could possibly play something like that). The video was classic for this one too: the nerdy kid Waldo (voice provided by Phil Hartman), and the teenage members of Van Halen who got sentenced to detention.
Top Jimmy was actually a real person, the frontman for a late 70's/early 80's L.A. band called Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs. I also love the song Drop Dead Legs, and when they played it on Family Guy as Meg's theme music in the alternate universe, it was a very fitting tribute.
The cover art is great on this one too, a winged cherub smoking cigarettes.
The cd is probably the perfect length for me to wind down on my patio while the dog chases the ball in the yard. It gives me just enough time to blast the stereo and raise a little hell before "mom" comes home!
On a more personal note, I can remember listening to this tape when I was 8 years old (1985) with a friend. I got hit in the head with a rock and received 29 stitches (would probably explain a lot), I can remember listening to this tape on his couch while he made me laugh so hard my stitches started to pull. I begged him to stop making me laugh because my stitches hurt. To this day I don't think I have ever laughed so hard as I used to when I was 7 or 8 and playing with that kid.
Monday, July 19, 2010
coupla tings
This weekend I went to the one horse town where I grew up, to visit with my family. I needed to get in a couple of hours and only had access to roads, so I decided to make it a Magical Mystery Tour, of sorts. Decided to just run around for a while to different spots that at some point in my youth, had some level of significance.
Completely unintentionally I found that I was right down the street from the pool where I used to work. It was the first job I ever had. I thought it was odd that the sign was gone, and as I got closer I realized that there were no cars in the parking lot. Since it was probably well into the 90's the place normally would have been packed. It quickly became obvious the place was no longer in business. I took a stroll down the long parking lot to where the entrance gate was. The place still smelled exactly the same, sort of a mixture of pine trees and some other smell I have always for some reason associated with Sugar Babies candy. It smelled like summer when you are a young kid, and have nothing to do all day long except loaf at the pool. The place looked like it hadn't been closed that long, maybe only a year or two. It was very sad, it kind of looked like the circus had left town. On that type of a day -- very hot, with clear blue skies -- it would have been busy with people.
To this day I still don't like walking over any bridge that I can see through to the water, and I think it is because of a very small, short bridge at that pool.
Upon returning to work today I learned that the owner died in 2007 or 2008. It is a shame this pool is no longer in business, it has been around forever in the area.
Completely unintentionally I found that I was right down the street from the pool where I used to work. It was the first job I ever had. I thought it was odd that the sign was gone, and as I got closer I realized that there were no cars in the parking lot. Since it was probably well into the 90's the place normally would have been packed. It quickly became obvious the place was no longer in business. I took a stroll down the long parking lot to where the entrance gate was. The place still smelled exactly the same, sort of a mixture of pine trees and some other smell I have always for some reason associated with Sugar Babies candy. It smelled like summer when you are a young kid, and have nothing to do all day long except loaf at the pool. The place looked like it hadn't been closed that long, maybe only a year or two. It was very sad, it kind of looked like the circus had left town. On that type of a day -- very hot, with clear blue skies -- it would have been busy with people.
To this day I still don't like walking over any bridge that I can see through to the water, and I think it is because of a very small, short bridge at that pool.
Upon returning to work today I learned that the owner died in 2007 or 2008. It is a shame this pool is no longer in business, it has been around forever in the area.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
updates
Well the Wasatch training is back on, in full force. Tuesday, did hill repeats (5 of them, with sets of 50 Hindu squats at the end of the even-numbered sets). Yesterday, did the Mingo loop. Using the heart rate monitor is the best thing ever, as long as your heart rate is in the desired zone, it takes the guess work out of the "should I be running or walking right now" decisions. I can feel my efficiency running up hills really improving, and at the end of a particularly long or steep hill, I seem to be getting my wind back very quickly. I can really open up the pace on the flat parts or even the slight uphill grades. Despite this, I don't seem to be able to run this loop any faster at all which is kind of frustrating.
In any event, I had a great day in the woods, it was one of those days where the running just seems effortless. Hopefully this kind of effortless running, on tired legs (from hill repeats the day before) indicates that I am improving. Things were cool until I heard what sounded like 15 or 20 "dogs" baying in the woods. There was no indication that there was a person walking a lot of dogs, so my guess was coyotes or wolves. I don't know if we have either of those around here, I would guess we probably do, although I don't know if they would ever attack a person. All the howling just abruptly stopped (after I had been standing frozen for about two minutes, trying to identify the nearest tree to climb in the event I got rushed by the pack), and that was pretty much the end of it, although until I crossed the water a couple miles later, I kept looking back to see if I was getting stalked.
Rode the bike to work today (an "active recovery" day, not sure if I believe in that yet but I need to get the hours in), tomorrow taking the day off to do a long run, then another semi-long one Saturday which will have to be all on roads due to travel this weekend.
All this running, biking, working out, getting ready for a baby, one would expect that I would be exhausted, right? Wrong! Unfortunately right now I am in the midst of a recurring problem that I have had off and on for as long as I can remember (5 years old and younger). Exhausted all day, can't think straight due to tiredness, then when its time to go to sleep, WIDE AWAKE!!! The longer you lay there, the more frustrated you become, and the more awake you are. It is a horrible cycle. I have been through bouts of this that have lasted literally for months. Once during a bout of this when I was probably 19 or 20, I ended up ACCIDENTALLY putting my hand through that glass reinforced with mesh wire (the stuff you aren't supposed to be able to break). I ended up almost cutting my left thumb off, it was pretty much just dangling there. I still don't have 100% mobility with it and probably never will. I don't think my parents believed for a second that it was an accident, but even I am not that crazy/stupid to purposely put my hand through glass. Anyway, I have literally laid there for sometimes 4 or 5 hours before, getting more and more frustrated at not being able to sleep.
By this point I have developed the habit (through no fault of my own) of laying in bed, and NOT falling asleep. I lay on the couch at night and fall asleep in 2 minutes, then when I go up to get in bed, wide awake. I have tried everything: hot "sleepytime" tea, warm shower, read a boring book, count sheep, you name it. At this point, I am going to pull out the big guns: melatonin "supplements" available at GNC. I really, really, REALLY hate for it to come to this. But I am not willing to let this thing run its course, which could take months. I am going to take a melatonin every night for a week and lay on the couch and read, then go upstairs and get in bed, at which point I should fall right asleep. Hopefully this will get me back into the habit of associating my bed with actually sleeping. I talked to a doctor one time who suggested this to me, and was even willing to prescribe sleeping pills to me in order to re-establish my routine.
In any event, I had a great day in the woods, it was one of those days where the running just seems effortless. Hopefully this kind of effortless running, on tired legs (from hill repeats the day before) indicates that I am improving. Things were cool until I heard what sounded like 15 or 20 "dogs" baying in the woods. There was no indication that there was a person walking a lot of dogs, so my guess was coyotes or wolves. I don't know if we have either of those around here, I would guess we probably do, although I don't know if they would ever attack a person. All the howling just abruptly stopped (after I had been standing frozen for about two minutes, trying to identify the nearest tree to climb in the event I got rushed by the pack), and that was pretty much the end of it, although until I crossed the water a couple miles later, I kept looking back to see if I was getting stalked.
Rode the bike to work today (an "active recovery" day, not sure if I believe in that yet but I need to get the hours in), tomorrow taking the day off to do a long run, then another semi-long one Saturday which will have to be all on roads due to travel this weekend.
All this running, biking, working out, getting ready for a baby, one would expect that I would be exhausted, right? Wrong! Unfortunately right now I am in the midst of a recurring problem that I have had off and on for as long as I can remember (5 years old and younger). Exhausted all day, can't think straight due to tiredness, then when its time to go to sleep, WIDE AWAKE!!! The longer you lay there, the more frustrated you become, and the more awake you are. It is a horrible cycle. I have been through bouts of this that have lasted literally for months. Once during a bout of this when I was probably 19 or 20, I ended up ACCIDENTALLY putting my hand through that glass reinforced with mesh wire (the stuff you aren't supposed to be able to break). I ended up almost cutting my left thumb off, it was pretty much just dangling there. I still don't have 100% mobility with it and probably never will. I don't think my parents believed for a second that it was an accident, but even I am not that crazy/stupid to purposely put my hand through glass. Anyway, I have literally laid there for sometimes 4 or 5 hours before, getting more and more frustrated at not being able to sleep.
By this point I have developed the habit (through no fault of my own) of laying in bed, and NOT falling asleep. I lay on the couch at night and fall asleep in 2 minutes, then when I go up to get in bed, wide awake. I have tried everything: hot "sleepytime" tea, warm shower, read a boring book, count sheep, you name it. At this point, I am going to pull out the big guns: melatonin "supplements" available at GNC. I really, really, REALLY hate for it to come to this. But I am not willing to let this thing run its course, which could take months. I am going to take a melatonin every night for a week and lay on the couch and read, then go upstairs and get in bed, at which point I should fall right asleep. Hopefully this will get me back into the habit of associating my bed with actually sleeping. I talked to a doctor one time who suggested this to me, and was even willing to prescribe sleeping pills to me in order to re-establish my routine.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
more developments on the racing front
Well, the notion of Grindstone on Oct 2 went over like a fart in church with the wife. Apparently, it is absolutely *critical* that I "make an appearance" (not my words) and help move some boxes at the end of the baby shower on that day. So, Wasatch it is!
I can't sit around and do nothing (in terms of training for some type of insanely hard endurance event) all summer. I figure as long as I can still fit this around getting ready for all the baby stuff, fine.
I can't sit around and do nothing (in terms of training for some type of insanely hard endurance event) all summer. I figure as long as I can still fit this around getting ready for all the baby stuff, fine.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
hundred milers
Wasatch: probably not. Grindstone: maybe? Man, my wife is going to be pissed. I'll sleep on it and see how I feel in a day or so. This race looks to be maybe a little more doable due to the proximity issue, which is a biggie. I think it may be a Horton joint though, and I've heard about those races. I don't deal well when somebody is forcing their ideaology on me.
In the meantime, the trap for my laundry basin is leaking at the rate of about 2 drops of water per hour. It is still a leak though, albeit a very small one. The bad part is that I am going to eventually have to dismantle it all again once I do the water supply lines. It is also becoming apparent that I am going to have to anchor the entire tub to the wall. I'm thinking small blocks of 2 x 4 mounted directly into the block via Tapcons, then screwing the tub right into the blocks with drywall screws, washers, and those little rubber gaskets you get from Lowe's.
It is pretty amazing what a major commitment it is just to prepare for the arrival of this little 10 pound creature that won't even be able to talk yet. Sometimes we wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, but that conversation is invariably cut short by loud proclamations of "Too late!"
In the meantime, the trap for my laundry basin is leaking at the rate of about 2 drops of water per hour. It is still a leak though, albeit a very small one. The bad part is that I am going to eventually have to dismantle it all again once I do the water supply lines. It is also becoming apparent that I am going to have to anchor the entire tub to the wall. I'm thinking small blocks of 2 x 4 mounted directly into the block via Tapcons, then screwing the tub right into the blocks with drywall screws, washers, and those little rubber gaskets you get from Lowe's.
It is pretty amazing what a major commitment it is just to prepare for the arrival of this little 10 pound creature that won't even be able to talk yet. Sometimes we wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, but that conversation is invariably cut short by loud proclamations of "Too late!"
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Update
Fairly busy week.
For starters, pretty much decided against running Wasatch. Probably the most difficult decision I have made in a long time. Certainly one I did not take lightly. With our daughter only 4.5 months away, I simply cannot justify the amount of time I would need to dedicate to pull off a successful finish.
It feels kind of like when Mike Tomlin benched Rashad Mendenhall that one week for "not being on his details." I feel like if I did what I needed to do to get ready for Wasatch, I would not be on my details as far as preparations for a new baby. That is not a tradeoff I am willing to make at this time. It was a very, very difficult decision. I am still not 100%, but I'm getting there. Yesterday I was at about 80-85%. Today I'm well in the 90's.
Had a lot of other interesting stuff happen that I will elaborate on later. For the time being, listening to Insecticide by Nirvana (lovingly copied by my BFF Josh, "the only man I've every loved" ---> a shiny silver dollar to anybody who can tell me what movie that is from. I don't really love him, but I kind of do, because he is a fantastic person). I installed the drainage system for a laundry tub this afternoon (which I reckon we will need to clean up baby clothing that has been vomited, urinated, and defecated on). So far I have had a Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster, and a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Also made my first visit ever to Babies R Us, can I just say that I flocking hate that place. It is very surreal. I can already feel it, I will be the odd man out in the group of parents. However, saw somebody in the store who I haven't seen in at least 10 years and actually was happy about it.
Also of note, while in that evil store, stopped in the aisle with all the big letters for sale, presumably to spell out your baby's name on the wall. I could not resist, I rearranged the letters so they spelled out the word "faggot." I'm not a homophobe, it was just the first dirty word that came to mind.
Like I said, I can already tell that I am not going to fit in with the other parents. I'm cool with that though, I happen to dig Eric.
More later.
For starters, pretty much decided against running Wasatch. Probably the most difficult decision I have made in a long time. Certainly one I did not take lightly. With our daughter only 4.5 months away, I simply cannot justify the amount of time I would need to dedicate to pull off a successful finish.
It feels kind of like when Mike Tomlin benched Rashad Mendenhall that one week for "not being on his details." I feel like if I did what I needed to do to get ready for Wasatch, I would not be on my details as far as preparations for a new baby. That is not a tradeoff I am willing to make at this time. It was a very, very difficult decision. I am still not 100%, but I'm getting there. Yesterday I was at about 80-85%. Today I'm well in the 90's.
Had a lot of other interesting stuff happen that I will elaborate on later. For the time being, listening to Insecticide by Nirvana (lovingly copied by my BFF Josh, "the only man I've every loved" ---> a shiny silver dollar to anybody who can tell me what movie that is from. I don't really love him, but I kind of do, because he is a fantastic person). I installed the drainage system for a laundry tub this afternoon (which I reckon we will need to clean up baby clothing that has been vomited, urinated, and defecated on). So far I have had a Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster, and a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Also made my first visit ever to Babies R Us, can I just say that I flocking hate that place. It is very surreal. I can already feel it, I will be the odd man out in the group of parents. However, saw somebody in the store who I haven't seen in at least 10 years and actually was happy about it.
Also of note, while in that evil store, stopped in the aisle with all the big letters for sale, presumably to spell out your baby's name on the wall. I could not resist, I rearranged the letters so they spelled out the word "faggot." I'm not a homophobe, it was just the first dirty word that came to mind.
Like I said, I can already tell that I am not going to fit in with the other parents. I'm cool with that though, I happen to dig Eric.
More later.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
More chess tidbits
Everything I Need to Know About Life, I Learned from Playing Chess
1. Brute force is almost never the best way to achieve a goal. The risk and price paid are usually high and the success rate usually low.
2. Always be aware of your vulnerabilities. Evaluate the degree of each weakness: if the threat is severe, respond accordingly.
3. Always be aware of your opponent’s weaknesses. Identify them early and plan your moves to exploit them.
4. Make each move count. Don’t “waste” a move by stalling just to see what your opponent will do. This lets the opposition control the tempo of the game.
5. The most efficient way to defeat your opponent is to create a “no way out” situation. This minimizes the hunt/chase factor around the board.
6. Taking a strong position, or firmly planting your flag in the ground, can sometimes be a good offensive strategy. It also lets your opponent know exactly what your intentions are, and can potentially make you a sitting duck.
7. Always be aware of the relative value of each piece. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice pieces if you are getting a more valuable piece in return.
8. Don’t underestimate the value of pawns. They frequently form the basis of strong defenses, and can also cause severe structural deficiencies in your opponent’s game (such as doubled pawns).
9. It ain’t over till it’s over. When your opponent is up against the ropes, plan your moves strategically and finish him quickly. Likewise when your own back is up against the wall, don’t give up. Make each move count.
10. Know when to develop your game, and when to strike. Waiting too long (or being afraid) to begin the real battle can sometimes give your opponent the upper hand by letting him draw first blood. It is akin to knowing there is a robber on your front porch and opening the door to let him in the house before you start to defend yourself. Chess is a game of strategy, and that includes knowing when the right time to apply pressure is.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Chess
Just a quick victory note to say that I won at chess tonight (against a computer). It wasn't pretty, but pretty doesn't count for anything.
I know that my wife was sick and throwing up, but one of the benefits of the first trimester for me was that she went to bed at 6 PM every night, which afforded me the opportunity to really read up on basic chess strategy. Once I figured out what the hell I was supposed to be doing, and not just moving pieces aimlessly about the board, I fell in love with it. I try to play as often as I can.
I love chess, to me it is the ultimate game of strategy. I hate losing at chess even more than I hate getting beaten in a race. I have a board at work sitting on my desk, in hopes that somebody will see it, and want to get a regular game going. So far I have no takers. One person did express an interest in chess, but said that since he is not 80 years old, has no interest in playing at lunch time. I tried to bait him by calling him a coward, evidently this did not entice him because he didn't respond to the challenge.
I know that my wife was sick and throwing up, but one of the benefits of the first trimester for me was that she went to bed at 6 PM every night, which afforded me the opportunity to really read up on basic chess strategy. Once I figured out what the hell I was supposed to be doing, and not just moving pieces aimlessly about the board, I fell in love with it. I try to play as often as I can.
I love chess, to me it is the ultimate game of strategy. I hate losing at chess even more than I hate getting beaten in a race. I have a board at work sitting on my desk, in hopes that somebody will see it, and want to get a regular game going. So far I have no takers. One person did express an interest in chess, but said that since he is not 80 years old, has no interest in playing at lunch time. I tried to bait him by calling him a coward, evidently this did not entice him because he didn't respond to the challenge.
Few tidbits
Verdict: girl. That's cool with me, I reckon a father's obligation to his daughter is to teach her primariliy about male/female dynamics (among other things). Seems very straightforward to me. A father's job to his son is to teach him how to be a man, and since I have no idea what I am doing myself, I certainly don't feel qualified to be instructing somebody else. Either way, I'm happy.
Perhaps I am already straying into overtrained territory, after having barely started, since I could not sleep Saturday night, Sunday night, and had very restive sleep last night (Saturday and Sunday I ran, last night I rode the bike). This, along with my heel pain in the right foot, has me a bit concerned. An ultra veteran and advisor has suggested that I may even be starting too early, so I might get a reprieve for a few days.
Sunday's "semi-long run on tired legs" outing was a huge success compared to Saturday's disaster. Heart rate stayed in the 65-75% range all day, and I was able to keep it calm and relaxed the whole time. I was even able to run partly or all the way up a lot of the hills while maintaining the heart rate. As a matter of fact, I finished the first lap only about 7 minutes slower than it took me to do the day before, and I felt a thousand times better in terms of energy level.
Perhaps I am already straying into overtrained territory, after having barely started, since I could not sleep Saturday night, Sunday night, and had very restive sleep last night (Saturday and Sunday I ran, last night I rode the bike). This, along with my heel pain in the right foot, has me a bit concerned. An ultra veteran and advisor has suggested that I may even be starting too early, so I might get a reprieve for a few days.
Sunday's "semi-long run on tired legs" outing was a huge success compared to Saturday's disaster. Heart rate stayed in the 65-75% range all day, and I was able to keep it calm and relaxed the whole time. I was even able to run partly or all the way up a lot of the hills while maintaining the heart rate. As a matter of fact, I finished the first lap only about 7 minutes slower than it took me to do the day before, and I felt a thousand times better in terms of energy level.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Long run
(the final mile of my first hundred -- I was praying for death at the time)
Today's semi-long run ended in disaster. This was supposed to be the breaking in week for my Wasatch training, with a semi-long run today. I have not had a day in the woods this bad in a long, long time.
What worked:
1. Wore the heart monitor and listened to my heart. When my heart sped up, I slowed down (walked if I needed to). When the heart slowed down, I sped up. Kind of takes the guesswork out of what I should be doing, which was cool. Tried to keep it in the range of 65-80%.
2. Took the trekking poles on the second loop, just to see how it feels running with them (carrying them). They are super, super light.
3. Once I started to get it back together (see below for details), ran a nice steady downhill while listening to an awesome "Dancing in the Streets" (Grateful Dead). Pretty enjoyable.
4. Beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and great scenery.
5. Legs fatigued from this week's load, so beneficial to do a long run on somewhat tired legs.
What did not work:
1. Nearly vomited from drinking Perpetuum. I don't know why I continue to try to use this stuff. I get sick literally every single time. It just sounds so good in theory: calories in liquid form, easier for your body to assimilate. Sounds good in theory. In reality, doesn't work for me and led to a serious crash and burn.
2. Probably kept heart rate too high on first loop, as a result it became apparent there was no way in hell I was going to negative split the thing.
3. Wasn't eating frequently enough. I like Honey Stingers and Clif shots enough, but after enough of them, it just tastes like sugar water. I need something to mix it up, I just can't stomach pb&j like I used to. Not sure what to try. Unfortunately nobody reads this stupid thing and therefore probably will not offer suggestions. On a side note, I just LOVE the seasonal, and potent, Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Imperial Indian Pale Ale. 9% ABV. This stuff will turn you on your ear, with the quickness. Good after a failed long run, while your dog licks your face.
4. For some reason, don't feel like I'm completely on board with this Wasatch thing yet. Hopefully this changes real quickly. I've never gone into a race feeling so-so about my chances of finishing. I have never had illusions that it will be easy, but I have always been willing to hang in there and slug it out to finish. For MMT, which I did not get into, I was extremely confident that 1) if I got in, it would hurt really bad, but 2) never had any doubts about finishing. I will admit that Wasatch scares me. I am starting to get familiar with the course, the different sections, what to expect on each one, what the terrain looks like, etc.... but the big unknown is how I will respond to the drastic change in elevation. I could get out there and find that I am sucking air and can barely make time. I think that once I learn how others usually train for the elevation, I will feel better about it. In the meantime, I'm a little bit tense. My guess is that once the really heavy volume weeks start (next week), I will feel a lot more comfortable about my ability to complete the task. I'm not sure that Eric today could do it, but the objective is to forge a person that can. My secret weapon is to carry a picture of my unborn son/daughter in my pocket every step of the way -- every training step, and every step of the race -- and that should provide motivation to get 'er done. I don't want to think that I failed at something that I was doing in honor of my unborn kid. Now I'm just babbling.......................
Thursday, July 1, 2010
My dog
I love my dog, unconditionally. I would take a bullet for my dog and I'm positive she would do the same for me. There are very, very few living creatures on this planet that I value more than my dog. There will never be another one like her, I'm positive of it. When I wake up and get out of bed, and I hear that tail thumping on the floor, it brings a big smile to my face, every day.
I'm not sure why I love my dog so much. This morning when I turned my yellow lab calendar over to the month of July, I think the writing on the bottom of the page pretty much nailed it. It says:
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
I think that sums it up pretty well. That kind of dedication is not to be taken lightly. It bothers me when I hear someone say "its just a dog." That dog would follow you into hell on bloody paws if that's what you told it to do and that's not something to consider casually.
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