Thanks to JKRunning for pointing out this online pedometer. So, today's run didn't quite make it to 6 miles. I underestimated the couse length. In any case, is sucked rocks - my legs were rusty and stiff again. If you're curious though, here's the course I took. And if the elevation chart thing is working, check out the hill around mile two. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=155291.
Also, a nice 5 mile round trip down to the river and back. Takes you along the edge of Arlington Cemetary and around the side of the Pentagon. I like it because it starts with a nice downhill part in the first mile, and kicks your ass back up the hill for the last mile. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=155302
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Quick updates
I have been remiss in keeping all of you fine people up to date. So, in the spirit of at least somewhat keeping you in the loop, here it is...
- I have a roommate moving in at the end of the week - May 5th or 6th. He's a 44 year old Navy guy relocating from CA, and needs a place for about 2 months before his family relocates out with him sometime in July. Which is good, since I'm not too sure on this whole roommate thing. 2 months will be a good trial period.
- I start teaching a few dance workshops soon - Cha-Cha May 20th and Waltz June 17th. It's too early to be nervous yet, but that will come.
- Only a few weeks until the 1/2 marathon (Memorial Day weekend) - I'm finally (perhaps) getting my butt in gear - infact when I'm done with this I'm off for a 6 mile "long" run.
- I have mulch! Arlington County delivers a 1/2 dumptruck load on my front doorstep for $15. Can't beat it with a spoon :) Of course, this means I need to start/finish defining garden type areas around the house for where it will all go. Started yesterday with a corner in the back yard that gets no sun, and so does not have grass. It will become a shade garden.
- I finished painting trim downstairs two weeks ago - what a pain. Only have the upstairs to go now.
- I'm jumping back into tech work for a musical (Stop the World, I Want to Get Off) - working on the lighting design with another guy I've worked with in the past. Will be at the Alden Theater in McLean - tech week starts May 8th. The theater has a new lighting board - much more computerized, which should be fun.
- The parents are off to close on their new house in Portland, ME. Their current house goes on the market this week. I have mixed emotions about being the last family member in the area. On one hand I'm looking forward to visiting them in Maine. On the other hand I'm feeling vaguely abandoned, with the "family house" not being in the family anymore.
- YAY SPRING! Having energy again is a wonderful thing.
And now, off to run.
- I have a roommate moving in at the end of the week - May 5th or 6th. He's a 44 year old Navy guy relocating from CA, and needs a place for about 2 months before his family relocates out with him sometime in July. Which is good, since I'm not too sure on this whole roommate thing. 2 months will be a good trial period.
- I start teaching a few dance workshops soon - Cha-Cha May 20th and Waltz June 17th. It's too early to be nervous yet, but that will come.
- Only a few weeks until the 1/2 marathon (Memorial Day weekend) - I'm finally (perhaps) getting my butt in gear - infact when I'm done with this I'm off for a 6 mile "long" run.
- I have mulch! Arlington County delivers a 1/2 dumptruck load on my front doorstep for $15. Can't beat it with a spoon :) Of course, this means I need to start/finish defining garden type areas around the house for where it will all go. Started yesterday with a corner in the back yard that gets no sun, and so does not have grass. It will become a shade garden.
- I finished painting trim downstairs two weeks ago - what a pain. Only have the upstairs to go now.
- I'm jumping back into tech work for a musical (Stop the World, I Want to Get Off) - working on the lighting design with another guy I've worked with in the past. Will be at the Alden Theater in McLean - tech week starts May 8th. The theater has a new lighting board - much more computerized, which should be fun.
- The parents are off to close on their new house in Portland, ME. Their current house goes on the market this week. I have mixed emotions about being the last family member in the area. On one hand I'm looking forward to visiting them in Maine. On the other hand I'm feeling vaguely abandoned, with the "family house" not being in the family anymore.
- YAY SPRING! Having energy again is a wonderful thing.
And now, off to run.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Innocent words
"...We wondered if you could and would like to come over and be with us all. If Chris and K are not busy they are invited also. Beginning time about 6:30."
Holy fuck that second sentance messed me up. Context... cousins of my parents invited them over for dinner tomorrow, and extended the invite to K and I, not knowing we're divorced. Which my dad explained to them, so now they know. But man - the words themselves just threw me off in a way that I did not expect.
Holy fuck that second sentance messed me up. Context... cousins of my parents invited them over for dinner tomorrow, and extended the invite to K and I, not knowing we're divorced. Which my dad explained to them, so now they know. But man - the words themselves just threw me off in a way that I did not expect.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Childhood memories, section B
3 - I must have been seven or eight... it was summer camp, and we had reached the overnight stay portion. My best friend Kurt was at camp with me, so he can vouch for what happened next. The scene was traditional kick-ball, with a mixture of kids and counselors playing. I was on third base, heading for home. I'm running just as fast as I can, home plate in sight. Except, it's not a plate, per-say. Home base in this game was a telephone pole. Whose bright idea was that? Anyway, I'm running as fast as I can, and the pitcher (one of the counselors...) gets the ball, and throws it at me to tag me out. Except he throws it hard, and it hits me square in the back, just before I get to home. And propells me headlong into the telephone pole.
Kurt will tell you that everyone ran over to see if I was alright, and that one of the counselors picked me up and carried me to the infirmary. All I remember is waking up in my tent some time later. I'm convinced that is why my nose is crooked to this day.
4 - Have you ever challenged mother nature to a race? If you have, it's a game you can't possibly win. Growing up I was practically glued to my bike - I rode everyplace. Down to the park to make dams in the stream (yes, I did grow up to be a civil engineer), out to my friends houses, off to school (middle and high school that is), around the block, wherever. It was my way of having freedom to go wherever, whenever.
One summer afternoon I was returning from an outing down the street when a sudden rain storm came upon me. Now, this was no ordinary rainstorm that was quickly all encompassing. This time there was a clear line where it was raining, and where it was not. Very weird. All I remember is looking behind me as I'm biking... it's sunny where I am, but here is this _wall_ of rain rapidly approaching me. So I take off - the race is on! I'm peddling just as fast as my legs will go, and the rain is right behind me, nipping at my rear wheel. I must have made it a block or two before the rain overtook me and drenched me to the bone. But what exhilaration! To be connected to the world in such a viceral way - boy and machine, against the elements.
Memory 5 to come...
Kurt will tell you that everyone ran over to see if I was alright, and that one of the counselors picked me up and carried me to the infirmary. All I remember is waking up in my tent some time later. I'm convinced that is why my nose is crooked to this day.
4 - Have you ever challenged mother nature to a race? If you have, it's a game you can't possibly win. Growing up I was practically glued to my bike - I rode everyplace. Down to the park to make dams in the stream (yes, I did grow up to be a civil engineer), out to my friends houses, off to school (middle and high school that is), around the block, wherever. It was my way of having freedom to go wherever, whenever.
One summer afternoon I was returning from an outing down the street when a sudden rain storm came upon me. Now, this was no ordinary rainstorm that was quickly all encompassing. This time there was a clear line where it was raining, and where it was not. Very weird. All I remember is looking behind me as I'm biking... it's sunny where I am, but here is this _wall_ of rain rapidly approaching me. So I take off - the race is on! I'm peddling just as fast as my legs will go, and the rain is right behind me, nipping at my rear wheel. I must have made it a block or two before the rain overtook me and drenched me to the bone. But what exhilaration! To be connected to the world in such a viceral way - boy and machine, against the elements.
Memory 5 to come...
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Childhood memories
I've been tagged by raine of CrazyMokes to post 5 childhood memories. While I've already shared them over poker, I'll post a few here as well for the general fun and amusment of the rest of youses. For some reason they all seem to involve injury... read into that what you will.
1 - Fifth grade... I sprouted early, and for most of my adolecent years was taller than my contemporaries. Which is kinda funny, because now, at 6'2", I'm the shortest person in my immediate group of guy friends (though only by half an inch). But back in elementary school I was the tall, gangly kid. And with white hair and weird movements, I tended to stand out from the others, no pun intended. Of course, standing out, as a child, was not something that I aspired to do.
My favorite activity in PE was dodge ball, but my second favorite was the high jump. Boy did I excel at jumping (more on this later). For those of you who have not had the distinct pleasure, the high jump consists of two vertical poles with pegs marked out every inch and a horizontal pole that spans the distance. Each person in class takes a running leap over the pole - if you make it, you go on to the next round. If you knock the pole down, you get two more chances, and then you're out. Each round the pole is raised by an inch until there is only one person standing. I was _always_ the last person standing. And boy did it make me feel good to be the last person left. This was one time where standing out what what I really wanted to do.
Growing up, my family was never into team sports. We didn't watch them on TV, and we certainly didn't play them. Which isn't to say we didn't get out and do things - we went hiking, canoeing, biking - but never team sports. Somewhere along the line my dad figured out I was good at the high jump. And so one Sunday in early spring, we decided to construct our very own high jump in the back yard. Boy was I excited - not only to have this thing that I was so great at, and so I could play whenever I wanted, but also to show my dad just how good I was at it. I remember that the trees and bushes were just beginning to bloom, and the grass was lush and green. The air was warm and the sun was shining. The perfect afternoon for a father/son activity. We spent what seemed like hours, digging post holes, getting the vertical beams planted, with nails marked off every inch up the pole. After much work, the contraption was complete.
I pause here to go over the mechanics of how the high jump works. One runs at top speed towards the jump, and at the last minute you plant your foot and push off to hurl yourself over the bar. Then you land, preferably on your feet, on the _mat_ on the other side.
So, we return to the backyard, where we rejoin the games, already in progress. I'm running as fast as I can towards the high jump, and plant my foot. But, it's early spring, and the grass is damp. My foot slides out from under me, and I fall back, onto my right arm. Something dosen't feel right. My wrist feels like it's... Broken.
I never did actually complete a jump on our freshly constructed back yard high jump. I never really did well on the high jump after that at school. And I never really got to show off to my dad just how good I was at jumping over high objects.
2 - But that wasn't the first time I had broken a wrist. Flash back a year or two prior, to Columbus Day weekend. We had a swing set in the backyard, situated under a tall tree. I had this game I would play with myself where I would jump _through_ the swing - that's over the seat and between the chains of the swing. I was very good at it too. But I always had this awful vision in my head that I would trip over the swing seat and fall on my face. At least _that_ never happened.
So, it's Columbus Day weekend, and my friend Stephen is over to play. We're in the backyard, running around, being crazy, as kids are known to do. And I decide to do my jump through the swing thing. So I run, and launch myself into the air (jumping seems to be a childhood theme), and I'm sailing through the swing... but this time I put my foot down too early. It lands _on_ the seat of the swing, and I swing waayyyy out, standing on the swing seat, and then flip around and fall backwards to the ground, landing on my back. My left arm is flung to the ground... Remember the tall tree I mentioned earlier? It had a bunch of roots that stuck out above ground, under the swing set. So when my left arm came hurtling back to terra firma, my wrist cracks itself down onto a root. _PAIN_ becomes the word of the day. Stephen, as young males are known to do, is laughing hysterically at me. Until he realizes how much pain I'm in. We run inside, but my parents only had one car back then, and my dad had it for some reason. So my mom, my friend, and myself all pile into my neighbor's car and race over to the hospital.
I pause here to go on a tangent - broken bones seem to be a thing in my family. My mother enjoyed figure skating in her younger years. Around third grade, my mom decides to really get back into figure skating, and it taking lessons, and getting pretty good. So she's preparing for some competition, doing one of those jump and spin type jumps. But the ice is a little soft, and when she comes down, her skate digs in and sticks in the ice. But her body keep spinning. What resulted was a spiral fracture of all the bones in her leg from the ankle up to the hip. She was in a full leg cast for six months and a brace for another six months. The point of all this is that we, as a family, had our own "bone setting" doctor.
So we arrive at the hospital, and since we have our own doctor, the decision is made to have him come in and set my wrist and put the cast on. The problem, however, is that Columbus Day is just before Halloween, and our doctor was out picking pumpkins. This was before cell phones, and he was unreachable. So I had to wait, several hours, in the ER, until he got back and could come in to set my wrist.
The funny part, in retrospect, is that I was _terrified_ of getting a shot. And right at the end of my hospital bed was a post with a whiteboard on the other side of the post. But I didn't know that - all I knew was that every time a nurse or doctor came over to the post at the end of my bed, and I saw them pick up one of those fat white board markers, I thought it was a needle and I was going to get a shot. What a day.
Memories 3 - 5 to come...
1 - Fifth grade... I sprouted early, and for most of my adolecent years was taller than my contemporaries. Which is kinda funny, because now, at 6'2", I'm the shortest person in my immediate group of guy friends (though only by half an inch). But back in elementary school I was the tall, gangly kid. And with white hair and weird movements, I tended to stand out from the others, no pun intended. Of course, standing out, as a child, was not something that I aspired to do.
My favorite activity in PE was dodge ball, but my second favorite was the high jump. Boy did I excel at jumping (more on this later). For those of you who have not had the distinct pleasure, the high jump consists of two vertical poles with pegs marked out every inch and a horizontal pole that spans the distance. Each person in class takes a running leap over the pole - if you make it, you go on to the next round. If you knock the pole down, you get two more chances, and then you're out. Each round the pole is raised by an inch until there is only one person standing. I was _always_ the last person standing. And boy did it make me feel good to be the last person left. This was one time where standing out what what I really wanted to do.
Growing up, my family was never into team sports. We didn't watch them on TV, and we certainly didn't play them. Which isn't to say we didn't get out and do things - we went hiking, canoeing, biking - but never team sports. Somewhere along the line my dad figured out I was good at the high jump. And so one Sunday in early spring, we decided to construct our very own high jump in the back yard. Boy was I excited - not only to have this thing that I was so great at, and so I could play whenever I wanted, but also to show my dad just how good I was at it. I remember that the trees and bushes were just beginning to bloom, and the grass was lush and green. The air was warm and the sun was shining. The perfect afternoon for a father/son activity. We spent what seemed like hours, digging post holes, getting the vertical beams planted, with nails marked off every inch up the pole. After much work, the contraption was complete.
I pause here to go over the mechanics of how the high jump works. One runs at top speed towards the jump, and at the last minute you plant your foot and push off to hurl yourself over the bar. Then you land, preferably on your feet, on the _mat_ on the other side.
So, we return to the backyard, where we rejoin the games, already in progress. I'm running as fast as I can towards the high jump, and plant my foot. But, it's early spring, and the grass is damp. My foot slides out from under me, and I fall back, onto my right arm. Something dosen't feel right. My wrist feels like it's... Broken.
I never did actually complete a jump on our freshly constructed back yard high jump. I never really did well on the high jump after that at school. And I never really got to show off to my dad just how good I was at jumping over high objects.
2 - But that wasn't the first time I had broken a wrist. Flash back a year or two prior, to Columbus Day weekend. We had a swing set in the backyard, situated under a tall tree. I had this game I would play with myself where I would jump _through_ the swing - that's over the seat and between the chains of the swing. I was very good at it too. But I always had this awful vision in my head that I would trip over the swing seat and fall on my face. At least _that_ never happened.
So, it's Columbus Day weekend, and my friend Stephen is over to play. We're in the backyard, running around, being crazy, as kids are known to do. And I decide to do my jump through the swing thing. So I run, and launch myself into the air (jumping seems to be a childhood theme), and I'm sailing through the swing... but this time I put my foot down too early. It lands _on_ the seat of the swing, and I swing waayyyy out, standing on the swing seat, and then flip around and fall backwards to the ground, landing on my back. My left arm is flung to the ground... Remember the tall tree I mentioned earlier? It had a bunch of roots that stuck out above ground, under the swing set. So when my left arm came hurtling back to terra firma, my wrist cracks itself down onto a root. _PAIN_ becomes the word of the day. Stephen, as young males are known to do, is laughing hysterically at me. Until he realizes how much pain I'm in. We run inside, but my parents only had one car back then, and my dad had it for some reason. So my mom, my friend, and myself all pile into my neighbor's car and race over to the hospital.
I pause here to go on a tangent - broken bones seem to be a thing in my family. My mother enjoyed figure skating in her younger years. Around third grade, my mom decides to really get back into figure skating, and it taking lessons, and getting pretty good. So she's preparing for some competition, doing one of those jump and spin type jumps. But the ice is a little soft, and when she comes down, her skate digs in and sticks in the ice. But her body keep spinning. What resulted was a spiral fracture of all the bones in her leg from the ankle up to the hip. She was in a full leg cast for six months and a brace for another six months. The point of all this is that we, as a family, had our own "bone setting" doctor.
So we arrive at the hospital, and since we have our own doctor, the decision is made to have him come in and set my wrist and put the cast on. The problem, however, is that Columbus Day is just before Halloween, and our doctor was out picking pumpkins. This was before cell phones, and he was unreachable. So I had to wait, several hours, in the ER, until he got back and could come in to set my wrist.
The funny part, in retrospect, is that I was _terrified_ of getting a shot. And right at the end of my hospital bed was a post with a whiteboard on the other side of the post. But I didn't know that - all I knew was that every time a nurse or doctor came over to the post at the end of my bed, and I saw them pick up one of those fat white board markers, I thought it was a needle and I was going to get a shot. What a day.
Memories 3 - 5 to come...
Friday, April 07, 2006
running, part deux
Ok, so last night's 2 miler was significantly better. Ran outside, with Baxter, down to the Pentagon and back. That's one mile downhill, one mile uphill. Baxter, the trooper that he is, actually heeled the entire way. He wouldn't take water out of my hand though. We'll need to work on that.
But it wasn't the pure hell that Tuesday's run was, so that is good.
But it wasn't the pure hell that Tuesday's run was, so that is good.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
pain and rust
oy yesterday's run _sucked ass_. All sorts of rusty body parts just _not_ wanting to move. in fact, i had to stop running after 1.5 miles (2 miles was the goal) and walk the last half mile. which has not been an issue for years. I'm hanging my hat on allergies this time, because i can't possibly suck that much.
oh, and my throat hurts. *whine*
oh, and my throat hurts. *whine*
Monday, April 03, 2006
_MY_ house, my car, my body, me me me
I started mentally referring to the house this weekend as "my house". Totally unconcious, and it surprised me when I realized that I was doing it. I didn't realize until then that I had not reclaimed the house as "mine".
So, this rain today? You can thank me. I washed my car yesterday. I must say, I have the art of car washing down to an exact science. Total time to wash, dry, detail, vacuum, shine, spit polish the car? 45 minutes. Damn I'm good :)
I also realized that this car is not really made for off roading. Last week there was a spectacular backup on the GW parkway, so (after watching many other cars do this), I decided to cross the grass median and go back the other way so I could actually get to work. Except I decided to do this where there was a drainage ditch going down the middle of the median - I nose planted the front of the car in the hill going up the other side of the ditch. Made a fantastic noise and everything, but I made it across. It was not until last night that I realized I popped all the little plastic rivets out that hold the bumper to the wheel well sheeting, so things are floating a little free right now. Fortunately it's an easy fix - just need to get more pop rivets.
My sister (llamawrangler) has talked me into running a 1/2 marathon with her over Memorial Day weekend, out on the west coast - the "Coeur d'Alene Half Marathon". And so my "training" officially begins today, using the runnersworld.com virtual online trainer. All you runners out there - how much of a fool am I? I'm starting from a place of periodic, light, casual running - 2 - 5 miles, mostly treadmill. I've been fitted for running shoes, with the right arch support. And 13 miles does not, conceptually, scare me.
I think my biggest challenge over the next 2 months will be to gather the mental/physical energy to stick to this training - my weekends continue to be struggles with finding the will to remain vertical. I have all these things I'm excited about doing at home, but when it comes time to actually do them, the momentum seems to be lost. grrrr...
So, this rain today? You can thank me. I washed my car yesterday. I must say, I have the art of car washing down to an exact science. Total time to wash, dry, detail, vacuum, shine, spit polish the car? 45 minutes. Damn I'm good :)
I also realized that this car is not really made for off roading. Last week there was a spectacular backup on the GW parkway, so (after watching many other cars do this), I decided to cross the grass median and go back the other way so I could actually get to work. Except I decided to do this where there was a drainage ditch going down the middle of the median - I nose planted the front of the car in the hill going up the other side of the ditch. Made a fantastic noise and everything, but I made it across. It was not until last night that I realized I popped all the little plastic rivets out that hold the bumper to the wheel well sheeting, so things are floating a little free right now. Fortunately it's an easy fix - just need to get more pop rivets.
My sister (llamawrangler) has talked me into running a 1/2 marathon with her over Memorial Day weekend, out on the west coast - the "Coeur d'Alene Half Marathon". And so my "training" officially begins today, using the runnersworld.com virtual online trainer. All you runners out there - how much of a fool am I? I'm starting from a place of periodic, light, casual running - 2 - 5 miles, mostly treadmill. I've been fitted for running shoes, with the right arch support. And 13 miles does not, conceptually, scare me.
I think my biggest challenge over the next 2 months will be to gather the mental/physical energy to stick to this training - my weekends continue to be struggles with finding the will to remain vertical. I have all these things I'm excited about doing at home, but when it comes time to actually do them, the momentum seems to be lost. grrrr...
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