I only ran 8 miles last week because I started getting sick on Friday and spent the rest of the weekend in bed. Luckily, I had the NCAA basketball tourney to keep me occupied. Normally, I am not a huge sports fan, but this is more of a gambling experience than a sporting event since I have money riding on some brackets at work. Unfortunately, I am in 106th place out of 118.
I babysat Kaleb, my nephew, for two days on Wednesday and Thursday while my sister was doing some job interviewing in Big D. He had a cough, and I think I caught an upper respiratory bug from him. I read an article about sick kids and daycares, and one study found that if a virus is introduced into the daycare in the morning, 80% of the children and 50% of the parents will be infected by day's end. No wonder it seems like children are perpetually sick. When I picked Kaleb up from daycare, we were counting tractors and other various construction equipment (which there is no shortage of due to all of the road construction) on the way home. I spotted an unusually clean, white dump truck and asked him if he saw it. He commented that it was a very clean dump truck, and I agreed. He then said, "I like nasty dump trucks." I don't know why I thought that was so funny, but I laughed. Kids say the darndest things.
I previously posted that I was going to run the Texas Roundup 10k because I thought it was for a good cause, "a statewide effort to encourage Texans of all fitness levels to incorporate daily physical activity and healthy choices into their lives." Now, I have even more reason to run the 10k and have recruited the family. I have dedicated this run to my mother. My brother, his fiancee, my sister, her fiance, and I are running the 10k in her memory; she was tragically killed in a car accident 10 years and 1 day from the date of the run, April 30th. We miss her dearly, and I find it hard to believe she has physically been gone from us for almost a decade. However, she will forever be in our hearts, minds, and prayers.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Varekai
I ran 14 miles last week which was better than the past few weeks, but short of my goal of 18. I happened to be searching the internet on Friday night and came across the Go for the Gold 10k. Since my planned long run on Saturday was 6 miles, I figured I'd run this 10k for the people watching and race encouragement instead. But as soon as I turned it into a race, I had anxiety and couldn't sleep. Since I hadn't registered, all of the logistics kept creeping into my mind. What time do I have to wake up to register before the race? Where is the race? Where do I park?
Needless to say, by the time I got to sleep it was at least 3:30 am, and I needed to leave at about 6:30 am. So, I blew it off. I did, however, run my 6 miles at Town Lake at 9:00am. I need to figure out a way to relieve the pre-race anxiety. Hopefully, that will come with experience and familiarity to racing (or drugs...drugs are good).
Saturday night I went with a group of friends to Eastside Cafe. I had never been there before so it was good to see friends, meet new people, and have a new dining experience. "The Eastside Café sits on an acre of land surrounded by dozens of pecan trees. One third of the land is home to a gorgeous organic garden. For 15 years vegetables, herbs and flowers have been organically grown and harvested for use in the Eastside Café kitchen." It was delicious.
Afterwards, we went to Cirque du Soleil's Varekai at the old Austin Bergstrom airport. I was a little apprehensive at first because it was in a tent put up in a parking lot. I wasn't necessarily bothered about being in a tent, I just had visions of freak shows, bearded-women, and a three-eyed man. You know, carnies...small hands...smell like cabbage. But once inside, I forgot that I was in a tent, and the show was on par with a Vegas Cirque production. I have seen Mystere at Treasure Island in Vegas, and I preferred the tent because the venue was more intimate and our seats were better. Some of the things that they do are truly amazing!! I highly recommend the show if you get a chance to see one, but the tickets are pretty pricey at $67 (although it is still cheaper than Vegas).
We then headed down to 219 on 4th street. Downtown was packed due to SXSW. I had never been to 219 because I don't go out downtown that often, but it was pretty fun. On the way home, I did the obligatory late night stop at Taco Cabana. When I got home, my brother and some of his friends were playing Texas Hold 'em so I had to join in. I actually doubled my money and then went to bed.
Sunday, I went to Home Depot and bought a new 22", self-propelled, key start, 6.75hp, Toro lawn mower. I am a total nerd and getting way too old; I am getting all excited about a lawn mower! But, it works well. I mowed the yard and then had a little incident with my dog (which was unrelated to the lawn mower), but that is a very long and sad story for another day. Thus, I didn't get the 4 miles in that would have gotten me to my 18 mile goal.
Needless to say, by the time I got to sleep it was at least 3:30 am, and I needed to leave at about 6:30 am. So, I blew it off. I did, however, run my 6 miles at Town Lake at 9:00am. I need to figure out a way to relieve the pre-race anxiety. Hopefully, that will come with experience and familiarity to racing (or drugs...drugs are good).
Saturday night I went with a group of friends to Eastside Cafe. I had never been there before so it was good to see friends, meet new people, and have a new dining experience. "The Eastside Café sits on an acre of land surrounded by dozens of pecan trees. One third of the land is home to a gorgeous organic garden. For 15 years vegetables, herbs and flowers have been organically grown and harvested for use in the Eastside Café kitchen." It was delicious.
Afterwards, we went to Cirque du Soleil's Varekai at the old Austin Bergstrom airport. I was a little apprehensive at first because it was in a tent put up in a parking lot. I wasn't necessarily bothered about being in a tent, I just had visions of freak shows, bearded-women, and a three-eyed man. You know, carnies...small hands...smell like cabbage. But once inside, I forgot that I was in a tent, and the show was on par with a Vegas Cirque production. I have seen Mystere at Treasure Island in Vegas, and I preferred the tent because the venue was more intimate and our seats were better. Some of the things that they do are truly amazing!! I highly recommend the show if you get a chance to see one, but the tickets are pretty pricey at $67 (although it is still cheaper than Vegas).
We then headed down to 219 on 4th street. Downtown was packed due to SXSW. I had never been to 219 because I don't go out downtown that often, but it was pretty fun. On the way home, I did the obligatory late night stop at Taco Cabana. When I got home, my brother and some of his friends were playing Texas Hold 'em so I had to join in. I actually doubled my money and then went to bed.
Sunday, I went to Home Depot and bought a new 22", self-propelled, key start, 6.75hp, Toro lawn mower. I am a total nerd and getting way too old; I am getting all excited about a lawn mower! But, it works well. I mowed the yard and then had a little incident with my dog (which was unrelated to the lawn mower), but that is a very long and sad story for another day. Thus, I didn't get the 4 miles in that would have gotten me to my 18 mile goal.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
"Recovered"
I performed Polar's OwnOptimizer this morning with a result of 1--"Your test heart rates are lower than average. This indicates that you have recovered very well." Is that what you call it, "recovered?" I call it lazy. I only ran once last week, 4 miles on Tuesday night. And, I think I must have been bitten by the dreaded African tsetse fly because I slept all day yesterday.
Well, the Polar test and yesterday's lethargy were just enough motivation to get me down to Town Lake this morning. It was drizzling so the trail was fairly sparse, no dodging people just puddles. I had originally embarked on a 4 mile run, but decided to do 5 miles while on the trail so that my weekly mileage would be a paltry 9 miles instead of 8. The last 1.5 miles were hard, and I had to use mental techniques such as "Be Your Own Hero" and "...but it doesn't matter."
I imagined another runner a few feet in front of me with the familiar Asic stripes on his shoes. He appeared to be a little unsteady and seemed to be favoring his left foot. I passed him like he was standing still, and when I turned my head, I realized it was Patrick Nolan: Man Without a Shoe. After this joyous victory, I went home and picked up the dog sh*t in the back yard.
The other mental technique that I use to keep negative thoughts at bay is "but it doesn't matter." I am really tired, my lower back aches, and my left knee is starting to hurt..."but it doesn't matter." I finished the run and felt really great.
I always feel better after a run than I do before it, and try to remember this in order to remain positive. Whenever I find myself making excuses and thinking: I am tired. I have been at work 12 hours. I am hungry. I have an early morning meeting. Then, I think to myself..."but it doesn't matter!!"
Well, the Polar test and yesterday's lethargy were just enough motivation to get me down to Town Lake this morning. It was drizzling so the trail was fairly sparse, no dodging people just puddles. I had originally embarked on a 4 mile run, but decided to do 5 miles while on the trail so that my weekly mileage would be a paltry 9 miles instead of 8. The last 1.5 miles were hard, and I had to use mental techniques such as "Be Your Own Hero" and "...but it doesn't matter."
I imagined another runner a few feet in front of me with the familiar Asic stripes on his shoes. He appeared to be a little unsteady and seemed to be favoring his left foot. I passed him like he was standing still, and when I turned my head, I realized it was Patrick Nolan: Man Without a Shoe. After this joyous victory, I went home and picked up the dog sh*t in the back yard.
The other mental technique that I use to keep negative thoughts at bay is "but it doesn't matter." I am really tired, my lower back aches, and my left knee is starting to hurt..."but it doesn't matter." I finished the run and felt really great.
I always feel better after a run than I do before it, and try to remember this in order to remain positive. Whenever I find myself making excuses and thinking: I am tired. I have been at work 12 hours. I am hungry. I have an early morning meeting. Then, I think to myself..."but it doesn't matter!!"
Friday, March 04, 2005
Tivo
Several of my friends have Tivo or DVR and have recently commented on how much they like it. I don't ever record television and don't even own a VCR. However, I am ashamed to admit that I am a big fan of American Idol. Last week I wanted to go for a run, but it was 8:00 and American Idol was just beginning; unfortunately, Idol won. I thought to myself this is ridiculous...maybe I should get Tivo.
I ordered Tivo Saturday and it arrived last night. After only one day, I found myself trying to fast forward through the news. Doh! I caught up with live TV, and can't fast forward anymore. I think I am going to watch everything a half hour after it has aired so I can fast forward through the commercials.
I went to happy hour with some work colleagues after work this evening. We were talking about some of our incompetent coworkers, and my boss mentioned that sometimes he wishes he could put this under his name in his e-mail signature: Fuck You It is F*** Y** in Webdings. I was cracking up; I wonder how long it would take for someone to figure it out.
Later at another bar, I went to the restroom and they had the Austin American Statesman on the bulletin board above the urinal. The main story was, "Lake Austin properties have long been spared city taxes." It is a story about how most of the lakefront property on prestigious Lake Austin is exempt from property taxes due to a "special status" codified by the City Council in 1986. The average appraised value of these exempt properties is over $800,000 and includes homeowners such as Lance Armstrong, Tom Meredith (former CFO of Dell Inc.), JB Goodwin, and Dennis Quaid. This is outrageous!!
I ordered Tivo Saturday and it arrived last night. After only one day, I found myself trying to fast forward through the news. Doh! I caught up with live TV, and can't fast forward anymore. I think I am going to watch everything a half hour after it has aired so I can fast forward through the commercials.
I went to happy hour with some work colleagues after work this evening. We were talking about some of our incompetent coworkers, and my boss mentioned that sometimes he wishes he could put this under his name in his e-mail signature: Fuck You It is F*** Y** in Webdings. I was cracking up; I wonder how long it would take for someone to figure it out.
Later at another bar, I went to the restroom and they had the Austin American Statesman on the bulletin board above the urinal. The main story was, "Lake Austin properties have long been spared city taxes." It is a story about how most of the lakefront property on prestigious Lake Austin is exempt from property taxes due to a "special status" codified by the City Council in 1986. The average appraised value of these exempt properties is over $800,000 and includes homeowners such as Lance Armstrong, Tom Meredith (former CFO of Dell Inc.), JB Goodwin, and Dennis Quaid. This is outrageous!!
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
20 Questions
Check this site out. Think of anything. This site will ask you questions and guess what it is. The technology is amazing; it is a neural network and actually learns the more people play. Do you want to play a game?
Need Some Motivation and Other Rants
Well, I only logged 12 miles last week, and my motivation seems to be waning. Although, I did run 4 miles tonight after work, and it felt really good. I wanted to sign up for either the Big D half-marathon in Dallas or the Capitol 10k to keep me motivated; however, both are on April 3rd which is the morning after a friend's wedding (so I'll be hungover).
Luckily, my employer is sponsoring another "train for a 10k" on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 6:00 am. It seemed to be pretty motivating for me last time, so I think I'll try it again (although they raised the price to $60). The class doesn't start until March 21 and it culminates with the Texas Roundup 10k on April 30th. I wasn't even aware of this race as I don't think it is on the RunTex website...maybe I just missed it. Anyways, it seems like it is for a good cause, "a statewide effort to encourage Texans of all fitness levels to incorporate daily physical activity and healthy choices into their lives."
Did you know that one of the top concerns of Chief Financial Officers, according to one of my Finance trade rags, is spiraling health care costs? To my employer's credit, they have really been focusing on wellness not only to promote work-life balance but also to reduce health care costs. The running classes are a result of this. Anyways, human resources showed a pretty startling graph that showed that about 4% of the chronically ill employees (or their dependents) made up about 75% of the Company's healthcare costs. The converse of that was that the healthy folks made up only a fraction of the costs. I may not have the numbers exactly right, but it is basically the ol' 80/20 rule, or something close to it.
I used to believe in the "to each his own" philosophy. If you want to smoke, go right ahead. It doesn't affect me...or does it? Now, I do care because it does affect me. I am going to have to pay for your quadruple bypass surgery in the form of increased insurance premiums, and I'll probably have to work at Wal-Mart in my golden years just for the health insurance benefits. I know that I am somewhat of a hypocrite because I have been known to overindulge in some unhealthy habits like drinking and overeating. But, at least I am trying to make healthier choices and to live each day a little healthier than the last. That's why I think the Texas Roundup is a good cause.
Luckily, my employer is sponsoring another "train for a 10k" on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 6:00 am. It seemed to be pretty motivating for me last time, so I think I'll try it again (although they raised the price to $60). The class doesn't start until March 21 and it culminates with the Texas Roundup 10k on April 30th. I wasn't even aware of this race as I don't think it is on the RunTex website...maybe I just missed it. Anyways, it seems like it is for a good cause, "a statewide effort to encourage Texans of all fitness levels to incorporate daily physical activity and healthy choices into their lives."
Did you know that one of the top concerns of Chief Financial Officers, according to one of my Finance trade rags, is spiraling health care costs? To my employer's credit, they have really been focusing on wellness not only to promote work-life balance but also to reduce health care costs. The running classes are a result of this. Anyways, human resources showed a pretty startling graph that showed that about 4% of the chronically ill employees (or their dependents) made up about 75% of the Company's healthcare costs. The converse of that was that the healthy folks made up only a fraction of the costs. I may not have the numbers exactly right, but it is basically the ol' 80/20 rule, or something close to it.
I used to believe in the "to each his own" philosophy. If you want to smoke, go right ahead. It doesn't affect me...or does it? Now, I do care because it does affect me. I am going to have to pay for your quadruple bypass surgery in the form of increased insurance premiums, and I'll probably have to work at Wal-Mart in my golden years just for the health insurance benefits. I know that I am somewhat of a hypocrite because I have been known to overindulge in some unhealthy habits like drinking and overeating. But, at least I am trying to make healthier choices and to live each day a little healthier than the last. That's why I think the Texas Roundup is a good cause.
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