Did I Stutter (step)?

Ran 2 miles in 13:15 this evening.

Strikes

Dear Sir,

Perhaps you did not know this, but there are some situations where paying with exact change is awfully inconsiderate. For your edification:

• when your purchase is based on weight
• when you are unable to correctly estimate the likely cost
• when you don't know how much money and in what denominations you have
• when you are at the head of very lengthy line

Best,

Tom

Awesome

Susan's Mom gave Susan and me the gift of an evening out last night (her last here on her visit). We went to dinner and a movie. That was the first time we've gone to a movie together in 2.5 years (each of us went to a movie independently a bit more than a year ago). We saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It was outstanding.

Wheezy Gonzales

Ran intervals tonight. 8 x (60s at 8mph & 30s at 12mph). It was 2 miles in just over 13 minutes. Inordinately tough, not sure what my malfunction is.

Winded

Ran windsprints again this evening. 8x70 yards up a small slope, jogging back for recovery. Very tiring. Maybe too much, despite the fact that it was easier during the running.

Nice

A brilliant "screw you" letter here.

Perfect

I was called to play again tonight. Game was at 11pm! Yikes! Still, I played okay-notched a "perfect" hat-trick. That's where you score with each foot and the head. I also got a hat-trick of assists. Not too shabby.

Intermittent

Did 2 miles worth of intervals in 12:55, this evening. Like periodic Fartlek.

Dinner

Susan's Mom is visiting, so last night Susan and I went out to dinner at a "casual dining" restaurant. It was tasty and I have no doubt that they used shocking amounts of butter and cheese in our food. Getting away for a little time alone was nice.

The "casual dining" would be more interesting if it was "causal dining." If you eat item A, event B will happen! Guaranteed! Like Alice in Wonderland or The Matrix or something.

Fast As Fats Can Be

All of the treadmills were taken at the gym when I arrived this evening, and all the timers seemed to indicate that people had quite some time left in their slow, slow moseying. So I went outside and did sprints. 8x70 yards up a very slight grade, with slow jog back for recovery. It was tough. I can't believe I used to actually like doing windsprints.

I remember especially liking the ones during basketball season where you did lines (run from baseline to freethrow stripe, back to baseline, to half court, back to baseline, to far freethrow stripe, back to baseline, to the far baseline and back... while crouched over, pushing along the ground a 2"x4" wrapped in a slightly damp towel.

More Dental Adventures

They prepped and temporarily crowned my root-canal-ed tooth this afternoon. Also took moldings for a permanent one to be made. All in all it wasn't too bad, but they used a nasty little cautery on the gum surrounding the object tooth. That made it through the numbing agent, but it was quick.

Sore Hip

Dunno why, but my hip developed some kind of hitch yesterday evening. It isn't too bad most of the time, but uncomfortable enough that I'm anxious for it to pass. I am hopeful that it'll be over by Tuesday.

Failure!

I ran 4 miles today in 30:05. I set out to do 5, but at 3 miles changed my mind. Weaksauce.

An Important Reminder

While Burlington Coat Factory is "more than great coats," it isn't all that much more.

Odd

A man just asked me if I had shined my shoes myself. This was apropos of nothing, just out and about in the building. Told him I did, not quite following the direction of his question. Turns out there was none, he was just impressed by how shiny they are. And here I thought they'd been looking a bit dodgy, of late.

Entrance to the Labor Market. Or: the Virtue of Luck

Nobody has much control over when they are born. Still, there are a couple of big switches one can throw with regard to when you enter the job market: decide to drop out of secondary school, decide to go to college, decide to seek a professional degree, pop out some babies, etc... but you still can't do much to predict ahead of time that you'll be job-hunting in a wrecked economy.

And it turns out that matters quite a bit. The entire track of your life can be changed, as these economists see just by looking at lifetime earnings.

Agin Runny

Ran 2 miles in 13:04 today.

More Classic Blogging

You should read this post. It is hilarious.

Stinking On Ice

Pretty poor performance from the US in this friendly match with Brazil. The Brazilian JV made it look like we were playing by echolocation or scent or something. I also do not approve of mohawks. The haircuts, not the similarly named and eponymous Native American tribe.

A Journey

Ran 4 miles in 29:31, this evening.

Continued

Yeah, I was right: I'm sore. In that, "Oh, wow, really? There?" way.

Google Autosuggest

When I type "when will" into the search field I get the following results:

• when will i die
• when will strasburg pitch next
• when will the world end
• when will verizon get the iphone
• when will stasburg pitch
• when will i be mayor
• when will strasburg pitch again
• when will strasburg be called up
• when will verizon get iphone
• when will the new ipone come out

Don't you love the thought of the same person querying again and again, desperately wanting google to give them the answer to life, the universe, when Strasburg will pitch, and iphone availability schedules?

Also, "when will i be mayor" is a good one. Like some petulant city council member mistaking google for a Magic 8-Ball.

Last Minute Soccer

Got asked last night to come play (as cover for missing regulars) for an open division coed indoor team. So I went over to the nearby facility tonight for their double-header... Brutal! But fun. We won both games (25 minute halves, and we had 1-2 subs forr the men) and I played alright. No injuries but I will be sore tomorrow.

I've Got Speed. I've Got Velocity

Ran 2 miles in 13:15 today.

Flashback

Roughly one year ago I posted this item.

Flashback

Roughly six years ago I posted this item.

Flashback

Roughly two years ago I posted this item.

Flashback

About three years ago I posted this item.

Flashback

About four years ago I posted this item.

Flashback

Roughly five years ago, I posted this item.

Wow

Still tired in the legs from running last night. 9 mph appears to be my current speed limit for distances above a mile. 9.3 mph is my target rate for 5k, so it'll take a while for me to get to that, still. Boo.

Stepping Up

Ran 2 miles today, in 13:20.

More statistics

Nationmaster has 'em.

Mind the Gap

A cool site here, called "Gapminder" allows interesting visualizations of different national statistics over time.

Another Handy Rule of Thumb

Everything is always in decline. Corollary: The "Good old days" never were.

No Running Today

Because I went down to Norfolk Naval Station to tour some stuff. Pretty big ships there, I tell you what.

Delicious Dinner

Susan had the good idea to get one of those precooked chickens from the store, tonight. She also made some quinoa and brussels sprouts to go with, and I popped some biscuits in the oven. It was a tasty dinner. I'd like to do more chicken roasting, since it is such a simple and cost-effective dish, and often not even a time-consuming one. Guess we need to see if they have good roasters at the nearby groceries.

The Pitter-Patter of Smelly Feet

Ran 5k in 21:49.