2.0mi+2.0mi, time indeterminate, 26 NOV 09, Fairfax, Virginia

iThink: Ice Fishing from Club Penguin (the Disney MMORPG)

WX at 2100: 50.0 (10.0) 46.9 (8.3) 29.73 (1006) N 3 light rain; mist

Odometer 1: 221.9mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I'm in the Hyatt Fair Lakes, Fairfax VA. I don't know the area and the best running trail I know is too far to get from here (the one alongside the Potomac River). As a result, I ground out two miles on the elliptical (which bores me to tears) and then two miles on the dreadmill (a feeling akin to watching paint dry).

I got in some lifting, and three sets of kipping pull-ups, but this is only maintenance for trying to prevent from completely ballooning up after eating pretty much nonstop for the last two days.

Better than nothing, but I dislike trying to work out on the road. The lifting I did, though, was therapeutic, as I did an abbreviated version of the Rehab Workout tonight.

Splits
No splits, but averaging about 8:25/mi for the last two miles on the dreadmill.

3.0mi + lift, 25:43, 22 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Boston, "Carry On My Wayward Son"
Velocity Girl, "Labrador"

WX at 0900: 52.0 (11.1) DP 44.1 (6.7) BP 30.01 (1016) SSE 14 RH 74

Odometer 1: 217.9mi

Z4 out, Z3 back.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Time to start lifting more than once a week. I've lost enough where I need to get back at it.

My fast start out was based on wanting to burn someone I saw in the distance. Just because.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 11:55 11:55 07:54 07:54 1.51
1.51 25:43 13:48 09:08 08:31 3.02

5.1mi, 42:54, 21 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Sounds of SWC, "What Ya Gonna Do PL" (previously and erroneously called the "RI Theme Song")
Sounds of SWC, "Ring of Fire" (which made the Johnny Cash song stick for reasons unknown)
The Afghan Whigs, "Debonair"

WX at 0800: 37.9 (3.3) DP 37.0 (2.8) BP 30.08 (1018) E 5 patches of fog RH 96

Odometer 2: 65.1mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 158/171

I woke up earlier than I expected, but as I've observed over the last few days, I haven't slept for shit the last few weeks.

I realized, though, that I. Need. To. Fucking. Exercise. The absence of any significant physical activity (due to trying to get momentum on a paper) is a risk that I recognize but still don't like.

The weather was pleasant running weather. After the first two miles, I was warmed up and today was not a bad run, if a little pushed.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:18 08:18 08:18 08:18 1.00
1.00 16:40 08:22 08:22 08:20 2.00
1.00 25:01 08:21 08:21 08:20 3.00
1.00 33:44 08:43 08:43 08:26 4.00
1.00 41:58 08:14 08:14 08:24 5.00
0.10 42:54 00:56 09:20 08:25 5.10

4.1mi, 33:59, 18 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Silverstein, "Sound of the Sun"

WX at 0600: 41.0 (5.0) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 29.97 (1014) N 7 overcast RH 95

Odometer 1: 214.9mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/176

I'm getting fatter and the spare tire is enlarging. Therefore, I run.

Today started iffy and turned fast, but I haven't done anything but eat (and study) over the last three days, so it shows.

For getting fatter, today was fast (relatively speaking, I have gotten noticeably slower in the last two years). It was also about as perfect running weather as it gets, aside from it being overcast and dark.

Discipline, discipline, discipline! Wish I had some.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:05 08:05 08:05 08:05 1.00
1.00 16:24 08:19 08:19 08:12 2.00
1.00 25:02 08:38 08:38 08:21 3.00
1.00 32:59 07:57 07:57 08:15 4.00
0.13 33:59 01:00 07:42 08:14 4.13

3.0mi + lift, 27:02, 15 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Rush, "Countdown"
Corrosion of Conformity, "What(?)"
R.E.M., "Driver 8"

WX at 0900: 43.0 (6.1) DP 41.0 (5.0) BP 30.04 (1017) NE 14 RH 92

Odometer 2: 60.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

First attempt to go pump aluminum in a while, and I could tell I've lost some strength. Of course, it's been over a month since I went to the gym for any significant work, so I guess I should be happy that I did what I did.

I didn't decrease weights today, but instead had to work a lot harder and took slightly longer breaks. It does validate the weights I've been using for the various exercises.

The run was somewhat disheartening since today (cold, wet, drizzly) is about perfect for running weather, for me, at least. Admittedly, I did run six yesterday, so I guess I should have something to show for it.

I woke up at 6:00am this morning, like a clock. I find that somewhat irksome since I didn't go to sleep until about midnight last night and I think I need more than six hours a day (regardless of whether I get it or not) - unless my previous observations were from other causes.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:21 13:21 08:50 08:50 1.51
1.51 27:02 13:41 09:04 08:57 3.02

5.96mi, 51:05, 14 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
William Ackerman, "The Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit"
Anberlin, "Cold War Transmissions"
Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah"
Aram Khatchaturian, Adagio from Gayane ballet suite

WX at 0700: 48.0 (8.9) DP 48.0 (8.9) BP 29.84 (1010) NNW 7 light drizzle RH 100

Odometer 1: 210.8mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 155/174

I woke up earlier than I usually do on Saturdays, but this is consistent with my not sleeping for shit lately. After waking up, I decided to read some mail, then figured it was time to go for a run since I hadn't gone on one since, well, Wednesday.

I'm not even going to try to divine the rationale for the spread of music this morning.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:22 08:22 08:22 08:22 1.00
1.00 17:16 08:54 08:54 08:38 2.00
1.00 25:45 08:29 08:29 08:35 3.00
1.00 34:18 08:33 08:33 08:34 4.00
1.00 42:59 08:41 08:41 08:36 5.00
0.96 51:05 08:06 08:26 08:34 5.96

I chortle my ass off

There's schadenfreude, and then there's Wrath.

I have not laughed this hard at a game in, well, a long, long time.

The other game I used to do well at was Bloody Day, Part I, but that's partly because I used the pistol to get headshots. One round in the incapacitating zone!

3.6mi, 31:26, 11 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Starflyer 59, "Play the 'C' Chord"

WX at 0600: 42.1 (5.6) DP 39.0 (3.9) BP 30.37 (1028) E 5 RH 88

Odometer 1: 204.9mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 152/169

I debated briefly about going out as I need to bring my copy of Jen Trynin's Everything I'm Cracked Up To Be (her retrospective to her days of rock stardom in 1995) back to the library. However, it's the library in downtown Kansas City, so I guess I'll barge through it today, somewhat like my reading for graduate school...

This morning was about as good as conditions as it gets, but I started a little later than I wanted. I'm going to try running short distances in an attempt to maintain momentum. If I do, maybe I'll actually keep to running instead of going 3 or 4 days in between workouts.

I should also go back to the gym at some point too, but I guess I'll see what the neurosurgeon has to say after my appointment today. I have the sneaking suspicion 69 parachute jumps had something to do with that. Maybe roadmarching too.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:33 08:33 08:33 08:33 1.00
1.00 17:30 08:57 08:57 08:45 2.00
1.00 26:19 08:49 08:49 08:46 3.00
0.61 31:26 05:07 08:23 08:42 3.61

The Coolest Thing Ever

The Matrix in the Silent Films Era!

3.0mi, 26:45, 10 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Morrissey, "Suedehead"

WX at 0600: 51.1 (10.6) DP 48.9 (9.4) BP 30.34 (1027) NNE 12 RH 92

Odometer 2: 57.0mi

Z2-3.
Average/max heart rate = 147/166

Today I went out only because I didn't feel too exhausted this morning - and was glad I did. I was only going out for a three miler, but stopped by the gym this morning just to see what was there.

My bench press has not decreased much, from what I can tell - and the Concept2 Model E that was at the gym has not moved when all the Crossfit stuff that had been there was moved elsewhere.

Of course, I guess I should wait until after my neurosurgeon appointment before I decide to get back into pumping aluminum.

Part of my relative restedness is getting a presentation knocked out that I had to do for one of my graduate school classes, along with the knowledge that the professor for the class I consider my hard one thinks I'm in the A-range for grades, which is some validation for the amount of work I've had to crank into that course...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:10 09:10 09:10 09:10 1.00
1.00 17:39 08:29 08:29 08:49 2.00
1.00 26:26 08:47 08:47 08:49 3.00
0.04 26:45 00:19 07:55 08:48 3.04

4.3mi, 37:14, 9 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: R.E.M., "Driver 8"

WX at 0600: 60 (16) DP 57 (14) BP 30.22 (1023) NW 6 RH 87

Odometer 1: 201.3mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 149/168

For not running in five days, I guess this isn't bad.

Graduate school homework was the killer of the weekend, as usual. It also resulted in almost missing Household6's birthday, which, I guess when I think about it, is the first one I've physically been around for in, well, three years.

I realize that when I have to plan social events, I get really fucking demotivated. Unfortunately, when those include my wife's birthday, it's problematic.

Trying to get homework done (I read over 850 pages in the last three days) is crushing me. That and my general feeling of disconnectedness from everyone - I realize when things get too crazy, I just let things drop without much care, unless it turns into a hard turn, which those birthday plans were.

I had an okay plan A that was invalidated by Household6 being sick and I did not have a plan B in place. That was FISTCONed into existence, but like most FISTCON solutions, it required ridiculous exercise of willpower.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:02 09:02 09:02 09:02 1.00
1.00 17:43 08:41 08:41 08:51 2.00
1.00 26:13 08:30 08:30 08:44 3.00
1.00 34:37 08:24 08:24 08:39 4.00
0.29 37:14 02:37 09:01 08:41 4.29

5.1mi, 43:28, 4 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 in d minor, Movement No. 4, Allegro non troppo (again)

WX at 0600: 45.0 (7.2) DP 35.1 (1.7) BP 30.24 (1024) WNW 7 RH 68

Odometer 1: 197.0mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 155/177

The forecast was calling for colder than 45F this morning but it was nippy enough. I was able to stretch out the legs some and it was pretty good.

I've been gaining weight over the last few weeks, so I need to start shaving lard again...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:33 08:33 08:33 08:33 1.00
1.00 17:16 08:43 08:43 08:38 2.00
1.00 25:45 08:29 08:29 08:35 3.00
1.00 34:28 08:43 08:43 08:37 4.00
1.00 42:31 08:03 08:03 08:30 5.00
0.11 43:28 00:57 08:38 08:30 5.11

5.25mi, 50:24, 2 NOV 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 in d minor, Movement No. 4, Allegro non troppo

WX at 0600: 48.0 (8.9) DP 44.1 (6.7) BP 30.14 (1020) N 8 RH 86

Odometer 1: 191.9mi

Z3 low.
Average/max heart rate = 151/174

The classical iThink this morning was based on listening to Shostakovich this weekend while working on some historiography - and reading the description that came with it on NPR:

"The resounding march that ends the movement represents the triumph of evil over good. The apparent optimism of the concluding pages is, as one colleague of the composer put it, no more than the forced smile of a torture victim as he is being stretched on the rack."

Oh hell yeah.

The 1959 New York Philharmonic recording of the Allegro non troppo is far faster than his 1979 recording (also with the NY Philharmonic) at Bunka Kaikan. I like speed and fury more, and it lends a sense of urgency that isn't present in the 1979 recording.

There was no speed or fury in this morning's run, although I also haven't slept for shit this weekend, and if I think I need 8 ounces of Jeremiah Weed to sufficiently gear down at night, maybe it's a problem.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:20 09:20 09:20 09:20 1.00
1.00 19:17 09:57 09:57 09:39 2.00
1.00 29:10 09:53 09:53 09:43 3.00
1.00 39:00 09:50 09:50 09:45 4.00
1.00 48:09 09:09 09:09 09:38 5.00
0.25 50:24 02:15 09:00 09:36 5.25

Record APFT, 289 points, 30 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 0600: 46 (8) DP 44 (7) BP 29.56 (1001) SSW 20 RH 93

Odometer 2: 54.0mi

Z4 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

My first PT test in almost a year. Yes, almost a year.

I was pleasantly surprised at what I did on today's PT test. After the relative lack of physical exercise over the last few months, I didn't expect to max the pushups and situps as cleanly as I did - perhaps this is the long-term benefit of pumping aluminum from time to time. Even the situps weren't that bad.

I realize, looking back at the last few APFTs, that I'm pretty happy if I score above 280. I'd really like to score 290, and almost did (missed it by two seconds this morning) but I'm really not quibbling about scoring 289 when I was afraid I wasn't even going to get 80 points on the run.

My pushups and situps remained their usual, 100 points in each event. I continue to find it curiously ironic that the events on which I spend the least amount of time, I do the best. This has been the case for APFTs since, oh, when I was in college. My norm for the first two events has been 100 points each; I can count maybe one or two times in my career (less my brief stints at Ranger School) where I didn't have 200 points going into the run.

Splits

Pushups: 75 in 0:45
Situps: 80 in 1:38
14:50 2 mile run:
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
0.25 01:39 01:39 06:36 06:36 0.25
0.25 03:31 01:52 07:28 07:02 0.50
0.25 05:23 01:52 07:28 07:11 0.75
0.25 07:18 01:55 07:40 07:18 1.00
0.25 09:12 01:54 07:36 07:22 1.25
0.50 13:03 03:51 07:42 07:27 1.75
0.25 14:50 01:47 07:08 07:25 2.00

The Coolest Thing Ever

Awesome. Totally awesome.

7.44mi, 63:11, 25 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
R.E.M., "Driver 8"
Carmine Coppola, end credits from Gardens of Stone
Philip Glass, "Hamburger Hill Theme"

WX at 1000: 52.0 (11.1) 48.0 (8.9) 29.86 (1011) SSW 7 RH 86

Odometer 1: 186.6mi

Z4 first two miles, Z3 remainder.
Average/max heart rate = 159/179

I decided to get a copy of Gardens of Stone on disk, finally, after buying it on tape in 1994. Gardens of Stone has been one of my favorite films on Vietnam because of how it captures some essential truths about life in the Army. For people with no family, it can be paternalistic (as depicted in the film) up to a point.

The Vietnam theme might explain the Philip Glass note, which is appropriate for long runs over hills, perhaps.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 07:46 07:46 07:46 07:46 1.00
1.00 15:12 07:26 07:26 07:36 2.00
1.00 24:05 08:53 08:53 08:02 3.00
1.00 32:59 08:54 08:54 08:15 4.00
1.00 41:41 08:42 08:42 08:20 5.00
1.00 50:48 09:07 09:07 08:28 6.00
1.00 59:31 08:43 08:43 08:30 7.00
0.44 03:11 03:40 08:20 08:30 7.44

5.0mi, 43:18, 23 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Chris Cornell, "You Know My Name"
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 "Eroica," Scherzo-Vivace

WX at 0600: 41 (5) 39 (4) 29.65 (1004) WNW 14 light drizzle

Odometer 2: 51.5mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 149/174

I have no idea what sparked what I've come to call the LtCol T.C. McQueen Workout Video. Until the 2003 Battlestar Galactica reboot, Space: Above and Beyond was my favorite TV show, bar none - and I tend to be picky (my average TV viewing a month is maybe 10 hours at the MOST). I was in a T.C. McQueen kind of mood. Lately, I'm in a T.C. McQueen kind of mood, a lot.

The weather this morning was breezy, cold, and damp. I might've gone a little heavy with snivel gear, but it was worth it when I was running into an 18mph headwind. The weather reading was deceptive - there was a sensor here at Fort Leavenworth that read 38F.

"This one's for you, Winslow..." Awesome.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:32 08:32 08:32 08:32 1.00
1.00 17:15 08:43 08:43 08:37 2.00
1.00 25:54 08:39 08:39 08:38 3.00
1.00 34:37 08:43 08:43 08:39 4.00
1.00 43:18 08:41 08:41 08:40 5.00

3.7mi, 34:23, 21 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Starflyer 59,"I Drive A Lot"
The Connells, "Fun & Games"

WX at 0600: 62.1 (16.7) DP 54.0 (12.2) BP 29.95 (1014) S 17 RH 74

Odometer 1: 179.2mi

Z2-Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 139/164

Not a hard run, but I wanted to get out and do some light running that wasn't so short as to be perfunctory - but it sure feels that way if I'm going less than 4 miles.

It wasn't as breezy as the report says it is, but the sensor is also out in the open at Kansas City International Airport, about 15 miles away...and, as it turns out, the sensor at my kids' elementary school (about 200m away) reads 7mph.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:36 09:36 09:36 09:36 1.00
1.00 19:05 09:29 09:29 09:32 2.00
1.00 28:17 09:12 09:12 09:26 3.00
0.70 34:23 06:06 08:43 09:18 3.70

The Coolest Thing Ever

I have to admit, I don't see too many professional academics who can also claim to have been a Syracuse lacrosse player. As someone who grew up in the 1980s, and remember seeing Bacharach Rasin helmets, STX SAM and Brine Superlight 2 sticks as a 4th grader, it's always interesting to see those memories of my childhood...and others. I didn't start learning how to play lacrosse until I was in 6th grade. At that point I largely taught myself, so I never really developed much in the way of skills. It would take a combat deployment to Iraq before I really learned how to throw left-handed.

I never would've thought that I would've ended up at Johns Hopkins when I got my first STX Laser-Lite back in 1984. How strange things are after 25 years...

4.5mi, 39:04, 19 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Starflyer 59, "I Drive A Lot"

WX at 0600: 51.1 (10.6) DP 45.0 (7.2) BP 29.94 (1013) SSW 16 RH 79

Odometer 1: 175.5mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 152/176

I woke up earlier than expected and deliberated a bit on whether I wanted to run or not today. I'm starting to taper (although there's not much to taper from) for a physical fitness test, which I expect pretty close to the lowest score of my career, if only because exercise hasn't really been one of my priorities lately. It is, but only when I think it's becoming a problem.

There's a certain regretful tone to the Starflyer 59 song that stuck in my head today that makes it apropos. That, and for it being as crystal clear this morning (Orion was clearly visible as I looked up from my front doorstep) it wasn't as cold as I would've guessed. The only reason I wore a long-sleeve shirt was the supposed wind, and I wouldn't have needed it, in retrospect.

After a grinder of a start, I think the finish went well, but this is the last hard run I do this week. Today was surprisingly brisk - but hardly fast for the standards I need to meet for the physical fitness test. I guess I should probably do some pushups and situps too while I'm at it.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:46 08:46 08:46 08:46 1.00
1.00 17:36 08:50 08:50 08:48 2.00
1.00 26:33 08:57 08:57 08:51 3.00
1.00 35:14 08:41 08:41 08:48 4.00
0.49 39:04 03:50 07:49 08:42 4.49

3.7mi, 32:57, 17 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Descendents, "'Merican"

WX at 1000: 45.0 (7.2) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 30.46 (1031) N 7 RH 82

Odometer 1: 171.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 157/178

I decided to get a short one in - not so short as to be ineffectual, but at least something other than just sitting at a desk most of the day.

Household 6 and the kids are out shopping. That's fine.

I think, as I've read through some of the less savory aspects of our national history, that the Descendents song for today's iThink is particularly appropriate.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:31 08:31 08:31 08:31 1.00
1.00 17:38 09:07 09:07 08:49 2.00
1.00 26:42 09:04 09:04 08:54 3.00
0.71 32:57 06:15 08:48 08:53 3.71

The price of freedom

I had occasion to take a break from work for about an hour today to pay my respects to Sergeant Aaron Smith, who was killed in Wardak Province, Afghanistan while serving with the 2d Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. He was buried at Fort Leavenworth today.

I was talking with Household6 about the size of the Patriot Guard Riders contingent escorting Sergeant Smith's remains and his family to the cemetery here at Fort Leavenworth and being surprised at the size of the contingent, but I had mentioned part of it was due because of Fred Phelps and his followers in picketing previous military funerals - and that Phelps is from Kansas. Household6 was unaware of Phelps, but it honestly wouldn't bother me at all if his entire congregation were struck by precision-guided lightning some day. After trying unsuccessfully to explain why Fred Phelps might have been a factor today, I didn't want to talk to Household6 anymore today. I realized that Fred Phelps doesn't figure much on someone who likes to watch the Disney Channel.

Standing on the side of Grant Avenue here at Fort Leavenworth as the group passed by, I remembered Hal Moore's basic truth, that "When your men die, and you don’t, you feel guilty. You’re the leader." I'd been talking to some of my students today prior to the group passing by, but I realized it's probably bad form to weep in front of my students, so I didn't say much after the group passed by.

Acknowledging that Sergeant Smith (who I did not know) died in the execution of the last phase of the campaign plan I wrote two years ago, I realize that while I've been physically living in my house for the last six months, there is a very significant part of me that has not returned home. I realize that I still haven't been able to disassociate myself from my last combat tour, where I spent a lot of mental and emotional energy turning myself into a razor. This is that much more ironic since I was literally walking out of a video teleconference about Afghanistan this morning on the way to pay my respects.

I guess there's a reason why David Drake's Redliners is a book that I hold particularly dear, especially after spending 14 months as a campaign planner. Another science fiction writer alludes to part of my anguish:

Any ship we lose, thought Bean, means that grown men and women have died. Any carelessness on our part takes lives. Yet they don't tell us that precisely because we can't afford to be burdened with that knowledge. In wartime, commanders have always had to learn the concept of "acceptable losses." But those who keep their humanity never really accept the idea of acceptability. Bean understood that. It gnaws at them. So they protect us child-soldiers by keeping us convinced that it's only games and tests.

Therefore I can't let on to anyone that I do know. Therefore I must accept the losses without a word, without a visible qualm. I must try to block out of my mind the people who will die from our boldness, whose sacrifice is not a mere counter in a game, but of their lives.

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Shadow

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, but there is an obligation of memory by the society for those who pay the opportunity cost of that freedom.

4.5mi, 37:55, 16 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Angst, "Die Fighting"
Husker Du, "Eight Miles High"
"Have You Heard of the 173rd Airborne Brigade" (remake)

WX at 0500: 45.0 (7.2) DP 39.0 (3.9) BP 30.11 (1019) NW 9 RH 79

Odometer 2: 46.5mi

Z3-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 151/168

Once again, another day where I briefly debated going out. The tipper this morning was thinking back to the fat Apollo from the remake Battlestar Galactica being told "You lost your war, Lee. And the truth is, you're a soldier who needs a war." Since I saw some unpleasant parallels between Fat Apollo and myself, I rolled out.

And so it was. Going light on snivel gear (and maybe going a lot easier yesterday) made for what felt like a brisk run, even if the clock doesn't say so. Certainly more so than the last few days.

The tie between Angst and Hüsker Dü was from an old SST compilation called The Blasting Concept, Volume 2, which I recall from 21 years ago. The 173rd ballad...well, that has more immediacy. That, and it has a desperate quality (reflective of the circumstances that bred it) that the earlier version doesn't have.

Another cautionary note from the same episode: "These are things you just don't do, Colonel, not even in war."

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:19 08:19 08:19 08:19 1.00
1.00 16:41 08:22 08:22 08:20 2.00
1.00 25:19 08:38 08:38 08:26 3.00
1.00 33:42 08:23 08:23 08:26 4.00
0.51 37:55 04:13 08:16 08:24 4.51

3.64mi, 33:15, 15 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Verve, "Bittersweet Symphony"

WX at 0600: 44 (7) DP 42 (6) BP 29.92 (1013) WNW 3 light drizzle RH 93

Odometer 1: 167.3mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 131/163

The morning debate is the same. Sleep or run? I woke up and wasn't so dead at 5:00am that I decided to get at it. First, though, I did some reading for grad school on some online databases. This cut into my run time.

I was also overdressed this morning. I was cold when I started, but it was apparent after a mile that I had put on too much snivel gear. I think the last segment being faster was also partly because I had two people behind me and I didn't want to get passed.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:18 09:18 09:18 09:18 1.00
1.00 18:26 09:08 09:08 09:13 2.00
1.00 27:37 09:11 09:11 09:12 3.00
0.64 33:15 05:38 08:48 09:08 3.64

3.0mi + lift, 27:03, 12 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Dirty Hands"

WX at 1200: 46.0 (7.8) DP 42.1 (5.6) BP 30.13 (1020) WNW 3 RH 85

Odometer 1: 162.6mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Easy run trying to keep up momentum, otherwise known as not sleeping in. For running as slowly as I thought I was going, it wasn't as slow as I actually thought.

I lifted as well. More weight on bench and incline bench but not nearly as much power left afterwards - less the row. It could be that the extra weight might have taken more energy from later on. Still, the increased bench and incline bench were encouraging.

More studying to do. It was warmer than yesterday, but that's not saying much for mid-October!

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:12 13:12 08:45 08:45 1.51
1.51 27:03 13:51 09:10 08:57 3.02

4.1mi, 36:51, 11 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Gaeta's Lament"

WX at 0900: 37.0 (2.8) DP 27.0 (-2.8) BP 30.37 (1028) NE 8 RH 67

Odometer 1: 159.6mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 158/180

Once again, a day I didn't really want to go out, but once I was out about two miles, it was fine.

I was thinking about whether I wanted to term this as junk miles or not but I decided any day I was doing something other than just eating was of value.

I followed it up with a 12+4 ab session and will be feeling it the rest of the day...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:46 08:46 08:46 08:46 1.00
1.00 17:54 09:08 09:08 08:57 2.00
1.00 26:56 09:02 09:02 08:59 3.00
1.00 36:07 09:11 09:11 09:02 4.00
0.09 36:51 00:44 08:19 09:01 4.09

7.4mi, 66:32, 10 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Descendents, "Cool to Be You"

WX at 0900: 37 (3) DP 32 (0) BP 30.32 (1026) N 14 RH 80 first snow!

Odometer 2: 41.0mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 156/178

I didn't really feel like going for a run this morning, but since I don't seem to get much done on Mondays and Tuesday because of graduate school, I need to get out there and hit the road.

There were some bird hunters out at the airfield, so I was hoping I wouldn't catch a slug in the head. That might hurt. I realized I was one of the few people not wearing blaze orange this morning out there, which I might want to remember as an anti-fratricide measure...

There were flecks of snow (nothing more than occasional flecks) but it's still snow. Before Halloween. It's going to be a cold winter.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:17 09:17 09:17 09:17 1.00
1.00 18:07 08:50 08:50 09:03 2.00
1.00 27:22 09:15 09:15 09:07 3.00
1.00 36:13 08:51 08:51 09:03 4.00
1.00 45:01 08:48 08:48 09:00 5.00
1.00 54:22 09:21 09:21 09:04 6.00
1.00 02:58 08:36 08:36 09:00 7.00
0.41 06:32 03:34 08:42 08:59 7.41

Memory and forgiveness

Today, I had occasion to run into an ex-girlfriend who I had not seen in 17 years. I realize that, after all this time, I still cannot forgive her for what she did to me. There's a line from the Iliad that stuck as a result:

Looking darkly upon Hector,
Swift-footed Achilles answered,
“I cannot forgive you,
As there are no trustworthy oaths between men and lions,
There can be no love between you and me.
One or the other must fall before then
To glut with his blood
Ares, the god who fights under the shield’s guard.
Remember every valor of yours,
For now the need comes hardest upon you
To be a spearman and a bold warrior.
There shall be no escape for you. You will pay in a lump
For all the sorrows of my companions you killed
In your spear’s fury.

Homer, The Iliad, book XXIII

3.5mi, 31:08, 9 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Earth"

WX at 0600: 44 (7) DP 39 (4) BP 29.98 (1015) N 16 light rain RH 81

Odometer 1: 155.5mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 157/175

Cold today, but I figured I'd try to keep some momentum from yesterday, and compensate for not working out literally all week long.

First day it's been cold enough (and the drizzle probably was a factor as well) for me to warrant wearing snivel gear.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:45 08:45 08:45 08:45 1.00
1.00 17:51 09:06 09:06 08:56 2.00
1.00 26:55 09:04 09:04 08:58 3.00
0.47 31:08 04:13 08:58 08:58 3.47

10,000m on Concept2 Model E + 3.1mi elliptical, 43:53 + 22:30, 8 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: "Have You Heard of the 173rd Airborne Brigade" (OEF 07-09 version)

WX at 1200: 55 (13) DP 53 (12) BP 29.91 (1012) NNW 3 rain; mist RH 93

Odometer 1: 152.0mi equivalency

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

It was raining outside this morning and I needed the sleep, so I slept in. I didn't have classes today, so I went to the gym and cranked away, the first time all week. I'd initially set up for 15,000 but called it quits after 10. It's been a long, long time since I've tried to row 15km. I was just too tired to stay in for another 23 minutes. I got on the elliptical and ran out the other 5km I had left.

As I was walking to the gym, I passed someone wearing a maroon beret, which is a rare sight on Fort Leavenworth. Turns out this guy had been assigned to the 173d Airborne Brigade, who had a rough tour in Afghanistan two years ago. Today's iThink, for being recorded in theater (if the pre-fab buildings, aircraft sounds in the background and the Chigo air conditioners are any indicators, I'm guessing it's FOB Fenty, which I visited once), is a haunting song. I have my own reasons; although I was never in the 173d, they had to fight parts of the campaign plan I primarily wrote.

I was reminded of something I'd heard from LTG(Ret) Hal Moore, who had commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at Ia Drang in 1965: "When your men die, and you don’t, you feel guilty. You’re the leader."

As a former member of the 7th Cavalry, those words seem fittingly apropos.

Splits
Distance: 10000
Time: 00:43:53
Avg/500m: 02:12
Drag Factor : 105
Per Mile: 00:07:04

3.0mi + lift, 28:03, 4 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Warren Zevon, "Johnny Strikes Up The Band"

WX at 0800: 44 (7) DP 42 (6) BP 30.07 (1018) NNE 6 patches of fog RH 93

Odometer 1: 145.8mi

Z2-3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

I have no idea what sparked Warren Zevon this morning, other than the possibility of feeling more mundane than usual. Or not. Warren Zevon's dead.

Today was the first day of lifting in about two weeks. I needed it. I could tell that overhead press, bicep curls, and tricep pulldowns all had deteriorated in the meantime. Not nearly so much for bench press and shoulder curl, but still a factor.

Time to go back to studying.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 14:02 14:02 09:18 09:18 1.51
1.51 28:03 14:01 09:17 09:17 3.02

8.57mi, 1:14:14, 3 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bear McCreary, "Laura Runs"
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 1500: 57.9 (14.4) DP 41.0 (5.0) BP 29.94 (1013) NW 6 RH 53

Odometer 2: 33.6mi

Z3 high-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 162/177

Today was the first run that wasn't on a third day basis in a while, or so it seems. Today was painful, partly because I haven't done a long run all week, and the weather today was excellent (although I don't much care for running under direct sunlight), good enough where I decided to push a little harder.

I also saw some people about mid-run that suckered me into attempting to reel them in. I almost did, so I ran pretty hard (sub 8:00/mi pace) trying to catch a runner who had a roughly 300m head start on me. I was within 50m when I finally turned off.

My knees hurt like hell when I finished, though. I'll be paying for this one later on...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:26 08:26 08:26 08:26 1.00
1.00 16:44 08:18 08:18 08:22 2.00
1.00 25:38 08:54 08:54 08:33 3.00
1.00 34:19 08:41 08:41 08:35 4.00
1.00 43:04 08:45 08:45 08:37 5.00
1.00 51:36 08:32 08:32 08:36 6.00
1.00 00:06 08:30 08:30 08:35 7.00
1.00 09:15 09:09 09:09 08:39 8.00
0.57 14:14 04:59 08:45 08:40 8.57

3.4mi, 29:44, 2 OCT 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Peter Langston, background music to the game Ballblazer

WX at 0600: 48.9 (9.4) DP 35.1 (1.7) BP 29.71 (1006) WSW 13 RH 58

Odometer 1: 142.8mi

Z2.
Average/max heart rate = 152/174

Today was a day that I ran not because I really wanted to run, but because I felt I had to run. I've been noticing my expanding waistline and this is about as much as I can do about it.

Today was a great day for running. If I weren't so beat (or felt like I was behind on homework) I'd run more.

The competing factor is being tired all the time. Either that or six hours is not enough, which means a pretty significant change for me. When I'm doing daily homework reading until 11:00pm though, it's a factor.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:01 09:01 09:01 09:01 1.00
1.00 17:31 08:30 08:30 08:45 2.00
1.00 26:03 08:32 08:32 08:41 3.00
0.42 29:44 03:41 08:46 08:42 3.42

4.7mi, 41:15, 30 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Journey, "Only The Young"

WX at 0600: 48.0 (8.9) 43.0 (6.1) 30.06 (1017) SE 9 RH 82

Odometer 1: 139.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 159/176

My general lack of energy has manifest itself in its old "choose between exercise and sleep" dilemma. I desperately want more sleep, but I know I'm starting to get fat and even if I were to exercise ironclad discipline at the eating table (which I know better than to trust) it'd still not be enough. My fat ass is just too efficient at storing energy.

I wanted to sleep in badly this morning, but I knew I needed to run more than I needed to sleep.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:34 08:34 08:34 08:34 1.00
1.00 17:28 08:54 08:54 08:44 2.00
1.00 26:23 08:55 08:55 08:48 3.00
1.00 34:59 08:36 08:36 08:45 4.00
0.73 41:15 06:16 08:35 08:43 4.73

8.56mi, 77:19, 27 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Go! Team, "Huddle Formation"
Journey, "Only The Young"
Bear McCreary, "Wander My Friends"

WX at 0900: 64.0 (17.8) 55.0 (12.8) 29.68 (1005) SSW 12 RH 73

Odometer 2: 25.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 159/180

Last night was strange. I woke up at 2:15am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. After trying unsuccessfully to sleep for an hour and a half, I decided to eat something and started reading about the Napoleonic Campaigns. After about 45 minutes, I was ready to go back to sleep, and then ensued some truly bizarre dreams, some about being at work and not getting breakfast before the food court closed. The others I don't remember (and didn't write down) but they were strange inasmuch as I don't remember going back to sleep but I knew it whenever I woke up because I was still beat.

Today was almost a nonstarter. After this morning's fucked-up sleep pattern I decided to force out a run and got one in. It started out as some light wogging, and then I was warmed up enough where I decided to take it up a notch. This is a slight different course than the ones that take me up Riverside Drive, which is always a killer. The uphills were more distributed, so they weren't as brutal. I might do this one again for a long run as I don't think 7.4mi is really long enough and I'm not ready to take on the hills that come with the Nine Miles of Suck yet.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:28 09:28 09:28 09:28 1.00
1.00 18:30 09:02 09:02 09:15 2.00
1.00 27:34 09:04 09:04 09:11 3.00
1.00 36:39 09:05 09:05 09:10 4.00
1.00 45:22 08:43 08:43 09:04 5.00
1.00 54:07 08:45 08:45 09:01 6.00
1.00 03:14 09:07 09:07 09:02 7.00
1.00 12:27 09:13 09:13 09:03 8.00
0.56 17:19 04:52 08:41 09:02 8.56

4.0mi + 3.2mi + 1.2mi, 75:25, 25 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
R.E.M., "Carnival of Sorts"
R.E.M., "Wolves, Lower"
The Smiths, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

WX at 0600: 53.1 (11.7) DP 51.1 (10.6) BP 30.12 (1019) SSW 3 fog RH 93

Odometer 2: 16.4mi

Z3 ingress, Z2 formation run, Z3 high return.
Average/max heart rate = 154/180

Today was a command-drected formation run. I knew better than to expect a large formation run of the same caliber I normally associate with the 82d Airborne Division, but today wasn't ridiculously bad either. There are some officers who can't run in formation at a relatively slow speed (about 9:50/mi), and I find that somewhat troubling - but none of those officers are my students. I guess I should be somewhat gratified at that.

I made sure to get in a 4 mile detour before showing up, though.

The R.E.M. attack this morning is from a YouTube video that I saw yesterday, returning me to when Nickelodeon was really a kid's network instead of a forum for pablum. I do think of the albums, it's a tossup between Chronic Town and Reckoning for which I liked the most. I didn't really much care for R.E.M.'s stuff after about 1986.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
4.00 33:43 33:43 08:26 08:26 4.00
3.20 64:54 31:11 09:45 09:01 7.20
1.21 75:25 10:31 08:41 08:58 8.41

4.5mi, 38:23, 23 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Journey, "Only The Young"

WX at 0600: 57.0 (13.9) DP 54.0 (12.2) BP 30 (1015) NNW 7 RH 89

Odometer 1: 134.7mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 152/173

First run in a few days. The amount of reading I did (for grad school) in the last few days beat me down to the point where I wasn't concerned with much other than sleep, so I didn't do anything but eat. (And read.)

Today was surprisingly quick for how little exercise I've done, but I'm sure there's a payment made somewhere that I'm going to reap (in a bad way) later this week.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:35 08:35 08:35 08:35 1.00
1.00 17:05 08:30 08:30 08:32 2.00
1.00 25:41 08:36 08:36 08:34 3.00
1.00 34:12 08:31 08:31 08:33 4.00
0.50 38:23 04:11 08:22 08:32 4.50

4.5mi, 38:53, 18 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Laura Runs"

WX at 0600: 55.0 (12.8) DP 52.0 (11.1) BP 30.16 (1021) NE 5 RH 89

Odometer 1: 130.2mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 153/172

I woke up at 3:20am this morning and was unable to sleep for another half hour, so I decided to get up in earnest and get some much-needed reading done for grad school.

I also went out for a run, the first dedicated run since this past Sunday.

The calculus of sleep vs. exercise + grad school is driving the hard fact that I need my sleep and I have a little bit of wiggle room for fitness that I can afford. I have no such wiggle room for my doctoral courses.

It's sad that I have to look up what the standards are to pass, but I routinely run those speeds even on my easy runs, so I'm ok.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:25 08:25 08:25 08:25 1.00
1.00 16:56 08:31 08:31 08:28 2.00
1.00 25:44 08:48 08:48 08:35 3.00
1.00 34:38 08:54 08:54 08:39 4.00
0.50 38:53 04:15 08:30 08:38 4.50

3.0mi + lift, 27:07, 16 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Caulfields, "The Kitchen Debate"

WX at 0600: 63.0 (17.2) 60.1 (15.6) 30.1 (1019) NNE 9 mist RH 90

Odometer 1: 125.7mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

I woke up surprisingly earlier than I thought - and it was easier, so I decided to quickly drink some water and head out while I still had some momentum.

Unfortunately, my upper back hurts for some reason, which didn't stop me from going to the gym and hitting the upper body workout, less the single arm pulldowns in the interest of time.

But there are other things weighing in on my mind right now.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:16 13:16 08:47 08:47 1.51
1.51 27:07 13:51 09:10 08:59 3.02

7.4mi, 65:00, 13 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Michael Kamen, main theme from Band of Brothers
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 0800: 64.0 (17.8) DP 60.1 (15.6) BP 30.12 (1019) NE 8 mist RH 86

Odometer 2: 7.4mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 157/181

I intended to go to sleep earlier than usual last night. Not so much. Nothing that some Pimm's No. 1 cup and Crown Royal couldn't fix...although I was up a bit last night watching some back episodes of Mad Men.

But I hadn't done a long run and I needed to do it to abate my incipient case of the ass this morning. That might be the very reason as to why I don't switch to doing CrossFit and other similar high intensity disciplines.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:39 08:39 08:39 08:39 1.00
1.00 16:58 08:19 08:19 08:29 2.00
1.00 25:54 08:56 08:56 08:38 3.00
1.00 34:43 08:49 08:49 08:41 4.00
1.00 43:30 08:47 08:47 08:42 5.00
1.00 52:36 09:06 09:06 08:46 6.00
1.00 01:18 08:42 08:42 08:45 7.00
0.42 05:00 03:42 08:49 08:46 7.42

4.23mi, 35:50, 11 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Peter Langston, background music to the game Ballblazer
Dos Gringos, "Jeremiah Weed" (thanks to all the guys out on the track in Air Force PT uniforms getting ready to take a PT test, blocking the outer lane where I was running)

WX at 0600: 64.0 (17.8) 61.0 (16.1) 30.13 (1020) E 3 mist RH 89

Odometer 1: 122.7mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 149/171

This has been a week of almost no physical activity because of the ripple effects from pulling staff duty after about two weeks of being in the classroom teaching every day. That wouldn't be bad by itself, but it's not by itself, as I grind through the reading load for my doctoral work.

It's a bad sign when you get three days of 7+ hours sleep and you're still tired. I also haven't much felt like working out, which might be a flareup of an incipient case of the fuck-its.

I briefly toyed with sleeping in, but today is September 11th, and eight years ago, I was a cavalry troop commander in the 82d Airborne Division, and wondered after the attacks, whether I'd have to actively join the Close Combat Industry.

That didn't come to pass, and I suspect my brigade combat team was being saved for something else. I don't think the planning for Iraq had happened yet, but there were other things that required the Division Ready Brigade to be in the chamber, ready to fire.

So, I didn't sleep in, although I didn't think much about the events of that fateful day, either. But I rolled out because it was the right thing to do.

I wonder what the rest of America thinks, but I'm not sure if I want to know the answer to that question since, to quote a board in Anbar Province a few years ago: "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall."

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:40 08:40 08:40 08:40 1.00
1.00 17:11 08:31 08:31 08:35 2.00
1.00 25:31 08:20 08:20 08:30 3.00
1.00 33:41 08:10 08:10 08:25 4.00
0.23 35:50 02:09 09:21 08:28 4.23

10,000m on Concept2 Model E, 43:28, 7 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: none

WX at 1000: 68 (20) DP 64 (18) BP 30.12 (1019.3) fog/mist RH 87

Odometer 1: 118.4mi

Z4/5 intervals, Z4 finish.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Today was unremarkable were it not for my initial split. I decided, after listing on Saturday, to crank much harder than usual for the Concept II, and cranked out my personal best for 2,000m, namely 8:02. This started slow (about 2:08/500m) and culminated with sizeable stretches of 1:55-1:57/500m. I think if I were really to do 2000m time trials, I could get sub 8 if I applied myself, but I also would probably be prepared to woof after doing that.

I played with some stroke combinations, but I keep settling at 25 or 26 strokes every 200m. That's less accurate at stroke rates faster than 29 or 30 and when I'm firing away at paces in excess of 2:00/500m, that rule of thumb doesn't really work, especially when paired with a stroke rate above 30 spm.

Still, that's the only substantive PT I've done in the last two days since I was the installation duty officer last night and I got a grand total of 3 hours and 25 minutes of sleep in three installments. Fucking awesome.

Splits
First Distance: 2000
Time: 00:08:02
Avg/500m: 02:00
Drag Factor : 112
Per Mile: 00:06:28

Final Distance: 10000
Time: 00:43:28
Avg/500m: 02:10
Drag Factor : 112
Per Mile: 00:07:00

How to think, not what to think

I was reminded of something I'd bookmarked a long, long time ago, about an elaborate hoax that Alan Sokal, a professor of physics at NYU, had done...and it reminds me of an ongoing debate about humanities and the sciences (and to an extent, social sciences also fall in this category), the latest discussion of which I saw on the New York Times.

Another take on the Social Text affair is here.

In the same vein, I also found the following.
The Post-Modernism Generator
The Computer Science Paper Generator

There are two things lately that have lead me to think about this.

One is that I see some field grade officers who have the technical skills in one or more disciplines, but utterly lack the intellectual underpinnings of why they do what they do. Those who can only visualize according to their own models are, from my own observations of general staffs over the last few years, not very much goddamn value added to their organizations.

The other is my coursework towards a Ph.D., which is challenging, to say the least, but makes me wonder how we can make detailed study and analysis appealing enough (or at the very least, accessible) so that its knowledge is part of the public memory. I don't care much for Tom Clancy's writing, but if it leads someone to study engineering, or military theory, or even history, then it has value as a catalyst. I find that particularly compelling after working a combat assignment where intellectual rigor came at a premium, and then returning to the American Idol universe, which I find stultifying in a really dangerous way.

3.0mi + lift, 27:07, 6 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Dust Brothers, "Stealing Fat"

WX at 0900: 64.9 (18.3) DP 62.1 (16.7) BP 30.19 (1022) ENE 5 mist RH 90

Odometer 1: 115.3mi

Z4 in, Z3 easy out.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I think I've settled into lifting once a week or so. I think that's good enough given other demands on time. On the other hand, I'm the staff duty officer, so instead of a long run today, I'll crank on the Concept 2 tomorrow.

Walking around the Sparks (Kansas) Antiques show yesterday was another reason I decided to back off the long run today. I'm continuing to use slightly heavier weights and do assisted pullups on the gravitron, and the relative difficulty of today's workout reflects.

I'm not sure why I was thinking of the music from the opening credits to Fight Club, but I was also in Qatar about this time last year and for whatever reason or another, I (somewhat) associate that with a trip I took to Al Udeid Air Base there, which, never failed to deliver on the fact that it was truly a parallel universe separate from anything else I've ever seen in the military.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 12:33 12:33 08:19 08:19 1.51
1.51 27:07 14:34 09:39 08:59 3.02

4.0mi, 32:50, 5 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Dubya Project, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
The Moog Cookbook, "Rockin' In The Free World"

WX at 0900: 64.0 (17.8) DP 63.0 (17.2) BP 30.15 (1020) NE 6 fog RH 96

Odometer 4: 376.0mi

Z4 high.
Average/max heart rate = 157/179

First run in a while. This week at work has been busy enough (and with trying to do homework for my Ph.D. classes when already mentally cooked) where I realize that of the four things in my life currently, namely work, home, school, and physical fitness, it's the latter that's starting to slide off.

Today was fast to get one in, I'll save a longer slow run for tomorrow. I was gratified at speed, but I'm not sure if that's a function of not having run in a while and feeling froggy on a first run.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 07:55 07:55 07:55 07:55 1.00
1.00 16:29 08:34 08:34 08:15 2.00
1.00 24:53 08:24 08:24 08:18 3.00
0.97 32:50 07:57 08:12 08:16 3.97

The baggage of planning

I'm glad that an outraged Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has weighed in on a photo of Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard, who was mortally wounded in an ambush in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

I'm not including the photo (if you want to see it that badly, you'll be able to find it) but this is from the memorial service for LCpl Bernard.

Seeing the photo, though, reminded me of the basic fact that in my previous work, I had a part in bringing him to where he died.

I was reminded, as an aside, of a brief passage from the the film The Lost Battalion:

CPT McMurtry: We lost over 60 men to our own fire today. We have less than 200 able troops left. I don't know how they keep doing it.
MAJ Whittlesey: Don't sell them short, Captain. Two days ago we had a Chinese working our field-phone, an American Indian for a runner; they're both dead now but that's not the point. These Italians, Irish, Jews, and Poles, they'd never hire me as an attorney; we wouldn't be seen at the same events. But we will never, in our lives, enjoy the company of finer soldiers or better men then we do tonight.

The Coolest Thing Ever

My cousin returned from Japan where he picked up some Sunshine Buddies for the Princess and the Sledgehammer.

Now I'm tempted to try to find one.



With apologies to the Verve...

5.0mi, 43:07, 1 SEP 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Smiths, "The Draize Train"

WX at 0500: 55.9 (13.3) DP 50.0 (10.0) BP 30.25 (1024) ESE 6 RH 80

Odometer 1: 112.3mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 150/170

Couldn't pass up the day - as much as I was tempted to sleep in, the temperature being what it was meant I needed to go out and step it out.

I'm not sure where the random Johnny Marr attack came from.

I was a few hundredths of a mile short, so I finished it out to make it an even five. I'm still disappointed at times, but I'm hoping this'll improve later as my knees don't hurt as much.

Also trying to get back into ab work, doing a 12+4 this morning after the run.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:43 08:43 08:43 08:43 1.00
1.00 17:14 08:31 08:31 08:37 2.00
1.00 25:49 08:35 08:35 08:36 3.00
1.00 34:30 08:41 08:41 08:37 4.00
1.00 43:07 08:37 08:37 08:37 5.00

3.0mi + lift, 27:03, 30 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Eve's Plum "Lipstuck"
FroSTed, "Amerinoid" (yes, Jane Wiedlin's band)
James Horner, "Enterprise Clears Moorings"

WX at 0800: 55.0 (12.8) DP 51.1 (10.6) BP 30.22 (1023) NNE 6 RH 87

Odometer 4: 372.0mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

Another glorious day for self-mutilation. I almost felt tempted to go find a wall and play some wall ball.

I felt some hip flexors given my decision to do the 12+4 ab work for the first time in a while.

A simple decision to add 10 pounds to the first bench press had significant ripple effects for the rest of the workout. Likewise going to the gravitron rather than doing lat pulldowns. No regrets, but I'm curious to see if my weight is going to wobble again.

I say this only inasmuch as I was 183 pounds, the lowest I've been in a while, after finishing yesterday's run. I also spent yesterday drinking a LOT of fluids relative to what I usually drink.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:10 13:10 08:43 08:43 1.51
1.51 27:03 13:53 09:12 08:57 3.02

7.43mi, 64:31, 29 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Journey, "Only The Young"
The dB's, "I Can't Look Her In The Eye"
Aram Khachaturian, Adagio from Gayane Ballet Suite

WX at 0800: 64 (18) DP 60 (16) BP 30.07 (1018) N 7 RH 87

Odometer 1: 107.3mi

Z3-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 156/181

When I saw this morning's temperature (61 when I woke up) I realized I coudn't pass up a a run today, so I decided to go for a long one to see how I felt. The right knee still hurts, but not to the same extent that it has. I'm continuing to stretch, so there's hope for a recovery, as I'm starting to run faster once again, which is good - because I need it.

The killer hill along Riverside Drive I didn't take too hard, but that uphill run is never very pleasant. On the other hand, because I didn't go too hard, my recovery wasn't as painful.

The first iThink mantra was almost "Don't Stop Believing" because I was tangentially thinking about the show Glee, of which I've only seen previews, but since watching TV is really, really low on my life priorities (the only show I have any interest in watching is Mad Men). The dB's song is a reflection of times I think of my own life, and after thinking about angular momentum of planets in a solar system (based on something I saw in the Princess's homework yesterday) I was thinking of the Khatchaturian, and the scene where Keir Dullea is running laps around the centrifuge of the Discovery in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This might be another reason why I don't do CrossFit and some other athletic disciplines - although they promise results in a short time, there is something to being able to think about random shit during a long run that I can't do anywhere else - not even on a Concept 2.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:36 08:36 08:36 08:36 1.00
1.00 16:56 08:20 08:20 08:28 2.00
1.00 25:42 08:46 08:46 08:34 3.00
1.00 34:09 08:27 08:27 08:32 4.00
1.00 42:42 08:33 08:33 08:32 5.00
1.00 51:49 09:07 09:07 08:38 6.00
1.00 00:43 08:54 08:54 08:40 7.00
0.43 04:31 03:48 08:50 08:41 7.43

3.0mi + lifting, 26:15, 26 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Aly & AJ, "On The Ride"

WX at 0600: 72.0 (22.2) DP 66.9 (19.4) BP 30 (1015) Calm RH 84

Odometer 4: 368.0mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

I woke up later than I wanted, but about when I probably needed. Today's session of lifting was abbreviated as a result.

I'm not sure what explained the sudden burst of speed this morning, but I sure didn't have it coming back as I was trying to hold to about a 30-second gap between sets on weights. I stopped short of cable pulldowns, so maybe next time.

It's not exactly what I wanted, but it's better than yesterday, which turned into a day of Do Nothing But Eat.

I find that I'm not as hung up on lifting as I was during April - but I also have a baseline of strength that I didn't have then. Of course, I also have a baseline of weight that I didn't have then either.

I have no idea where the Aly & AJ song figured from. This is a result of my kids watching the Disney Channel.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 12:44 12:44 08:26 08:26 1.51
1.51 26:15 13:31 08:57 08:42 3.02

3.0mi + about 4,500m on Concept2 Model E, time, 24 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Stu Philips, main theme from Battlestar Galactica

WX at 0600: 61.0 (16.1) DP 57.0 (13.9) BP 30.07 (1018) SSE 9 RH 86

Odometer 4: 365.0mi equivalency

Z3 run, Z4/Z5 spin.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

Weather is about as nice as it gets in August. It underscores now that it's been the coolest summer in a long, long while.

I decided to take a different take on rowing on a Concept 2 and decided on playing around with drag factor. Traditionally I've maxed out on drag factor as a function of trying to burn more energy (usually drag factors have been over 170) but as it turns out, I might have been going about it the wrong way. Although I don't subscribe to CrossFit personally, there's some good thoughts on drag factor here and they use the Concept 2 extensively.

Playing around with a drag factor of 110-120 allows for much faster speed in sprints, but I have to see how it affects my distance work. I did notice that my rowing mechanics have to change with the reduced drag factor. It places a much greater premium on the catch and drive - something which I tended to take for granted, but might be better for me in the long run as I used to muddle my way through the workouts through endurance of pain. This marked endurance of pain in a different way.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 14:22 14:22 09:31 09:31 1.51
1.51 27:49 13:27 08:54 09:13 3.02

7.4mi, 65:13, 23 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 1000: 71.1 (21.7) DP 60.1 (15.6) BP 30.12 (1019) S 6 RH 68

Odometer 1: 99.9mi

Z3 high/Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 155/185

First significant run in a long while.

I didn't realize I was going as far as I was, but part of today's loop included the airfield here at Fort Leavenworth and that guarantees at least four miles alone.

I was running just into oxygen debt to hold about 8:45-8:50/mi, but the real test was going uphill at Riverside Drive, which is traditionally the most painful part of the Nine Miles of Suck (of which this was most).

I did a lot of stretching to see if I can stave off the post-run chronic pain that I expect later today. I could feel it in my right knee as I was about midway through.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:41 08:41 08:41 08:41 1.00
1.00 17:07 08:26 08:26 08:33 2.00
1.00 26:05 08:58 08:58 08:42 3.00
1.00 34:52 08:47 08:47 08:43 4.00
1.00 43:25 08:33 08:33 08:41 5.00
1.00 52:32 09:07 09:07 08:45 6.00
1.00 61:45 09:13 09:13 08:49 7.00
0.40 65:13 03:28 08:40 08:49 7.40

4.03mi, 36:17, 20 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Suicidal Tendencies, "Join The New Army"

WX at 0600: 61.0 (16.1) DP 60.1 (15.6) BP 29.8 (1009) W 7 RH 96

Odometer 4: 360.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 139/166

I almost chickened out this morning since I didn't get to sleep until about 11:00pm last night, which is normally early for me, but when my alarm clock is set for 4:45am and I sleep through two alarms, that's an indicator.

Tomorrow's a catchup day, so tomorrow will probably entail not much, although maybe some lifting. Maybe not.

I'm not sure where Suicidal Tendencies comes in, but it's been a while since I listened to a lot of ST, which brings back memories of my teenage years when the angry streak that people seem to remember me for started to really start showing up. Twenty years after the fact, seeing ST playing "Cyco Vision" live tells me you can still stay sharp even in older age...even if my years of moshing are long past...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:45 08:45 08:45 08:45 1.00
1.00 17:44 08:59 08:59 08:52 2.00
1.00 26:56 09:12 09:12 08:59 3.00
1.00 36:02 09:06 09:06 09:00 4.00
0.03 36:17 00:15 08:20 09:00 4.03

3.0mi + 8,000m on Concept2 Model E, 27:54 + 34:18.8, 19 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The All-American Rejects, "Breakin'"

WX at 0600: 70.0 (21.1) DP 68.0 (20.0) BP 29.84 (1010) SSE 7 overcast lightning RH 93

Odometer 4: 356.0mi equivalency

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Almost time to retire this pair of shoes. I saw that Asics is reintroducing some of their old shoes (from when I started running in the late 80s) as fashion/casual shoes. I'm somewhat tempted to actually get them for real live running shoes if I can find a pair that's not too offensively colored. (My desire to look street-smart, phat, and whatever other bullshit platitudes hovers somehwere in the negative percentages.)

I didn't go to sleep until fairly late last night, so I'm going off about 4.5 hours of sleep, which I can't do for much more than a day or two lately.

I wasn't going to crank very hard today until I realized that when I started doing the 24/25 stroke repeats that I was actually holding about 2:04-2:05/500m pace. My initial warmup was about 2:08/500m, and once I'd hit the halfway mark, I backed off the 2:04/500m pace for a bit. I started speeding up near the end, and held about 2:02/500m, with a 1:59/500m finish - without wanting to woof, which is an encouraging sign. I think.

The running...now, that's not so encouraging.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:45 13:45 09:06 09:06 1.51
1.51 27:54 14:09 09:22 09:14 3.02

Distance: 8000
Time: 00:34:19
Per 500m: 02:09
Drag Factor : 187
Per Mile: 00:06:54

lifting only, 17 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: none.

WX at 0600: 68.0 (20.0) DP 66.9 (19.4) BP 29.97 (1014) E 5 heavy rain with thunder; mist RH 96

Odometer 4: 350.9mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = nor eading

As much as I like running in the rain, I decided to take a break since it'd been a week (about what I'm averaging) since I last hit the weights, so it was time. I normally would've run in but I woke up too late.

So...I drove in and lifted accordingly.

4.94mi, 44:15, 16 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Odometer 1: 92.5mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 156/173

You know you're a historian when the first thing that comes to mind when you see it's August 16 is that Japan unconditionally surrendered in 1945 on that date.

I was thinking about lifting, or maybe hitting the erg, but when I saw sheets of rain coming down, the decision to go out and run was an easy one.

My biggest exercise indulgence has traditionally been running in rainstorms. There's something bizarrely cathartic (or perhaps cleansing) about running while getting rained upon - hard. I think part of the reason I also liked it is because it's much easier to cool off in a rainstorm since there's always something coming down to conduct the heat off the skin.

I'm stretching after this one though - otherwise I'll be in the suck all day long with my runner's knee...and my illotibial band was pretty tight this morning.

I shouldn't get too bent out of shape about speed, but I remain concerned about it...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:35 08:35 08:35 08:35 1.00
1.00 17:23 08:48 08:48 08:41 2.00
1.00 26:17 08:54 08:54 08:46 3.00
1.00 35:30 09:13 09:13 08:52 4.00
0.94 44:15 08:45 09:19 08:57 4.94

4.94mi, 43:25, 15 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Diaspora Oratorio"

WX at 0900: 72.0 (22.2) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 29.96 (1014) S 12 RH 76

Odometer 4: 350.8mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 158/175

First real day of running in a what feels like a long while. I could feel my knees starting to hurt the last two miles or so today.

Normally I wouldn't have something like "Diaspora Oratorio" stuck in my head, but when that's the soundtrack to whatever Kafkaesque dream I had last night, it's going to stick.

Nothing but positive splits, but I shouldn't get hung up on it - even if I do. Then there are distant memories of when I was lighter and much, much faster. Emphasis on distant.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:31 08:31 08:31 08:31 1.00
1.00 17:14 08:43 08:43 08:37 2.00
1.00 26:04 08:50 08:50 08:41 3.00
1.00 34:58 08:54 08:54 08:45 4.00
0.94 43:25 08:27 08:59 08:47 4.94

3.0mi + lift, 25:52, 12 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Nerdy Girl, "Ice Man"

WX at 0600: 66.9 (19.4) DP 64.9 (18.3) BP 30.11 (1019) S 5 RH 93

Odometer 4: 345.8mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

So much for the notion of waking up at 4:45am and getting right out. It takes me too long to wake the hell up. I wasn't out the door until 5:15am, by which time there were some things I had to curtail at the gym.

On the other hand, running for the first time in a week and a half didn't feel too bad. I didn't go very far, though. That might skew things, but the determinant will be later today. I might try going further, but I need to avoid the temptation to break my fat ass by running too much too soon. I can totally predict that happening.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 12:39 12:39 08:23 08:23 1.51
1.51 25:52 13:13 08:45 08:34 3.02

8,000m on Concept2 Model D, 33:33.3, 11 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bear McCreary,"Elegy"
Bear McCreary,"The Signal"

WX at 0600: 66.9 (19.4) DP 64.9 (18.3) BP 30.08 (1018) N 8 RH 93

Odometer 4: 342.7mi equivalency

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Didn't feel like going 10,000 this morning, so I set it for 8,000 and looked to see where I would settle. Turns out my initial pace for the first half of today's session was about 2:03.5/500m or so, much, much faster than I normally go.

I slowed down some for the next 2500m after that, so I have some improvement to make, but I still held around 2:05/500m pace for the last 1500m or so.

This is encouraging (and I'm sure is a personal best for this distance), but doesn't mean much for my weight (which remains higher than I'd like) or my running (which I haven't done at all).

For being almost mid-August, today was pretty pleasant, actually.

I cycled in, although I realize if I'm going to continue to ride in the dark, I suppose I should dust off my headlamp.

Splits
Distance: 8000
Time: 00:33:33
Per 500m: 02:06
Drag Factor : 193
Per Mile: 00:06:45

10,000m on Concept2 Model D, 42:18.8, 9 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Paul Gross, "32 Down on the Robert Mackensie"

WX at 0900: 82.0 (27.8) DP 71.1 (21.7) BP 29.99 (1015) SSW 17 RH 69

Odometer 4: 340.0mi equivalency

Z3 high, Z4 closer, Z5 finish.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

First time doing any substantive cardio work in a few days as I've been catching up on sleep - as well as some advance reading for my newly embarked-upon doctoral work in history.

I wasn't sure how I was going to crank this one out, but I felt pretty good going at the 25-stroke/200m rhythm that I used that as a baseline and moved on.

Instead of going all out in just the last 500 meters, I figured I'd go just a little further into oxygen debt for the last 2000m (after holding 2:07-2:08/500m for the most part with some stretches of 2:05/500m and faster) and then cranked up the speed for the last 500m, finishing with a 1:48/500m in the last 150m.

Today's iThink: I'd dusted off my DVDs of Due South last night for the first time in a while, and that's what sparked the Paul Gross song. I have to admit I hooked onto Due South for two reasons, theme music (Jay Semko's) and typography (the opening credits feature two fonts, Garamond and Copperplate Gothic, that I've used often).

A dissenting view (which actually makes a hell of a lot of sense to me) of Copperplate Gothic can be found here.

Yes, I am a font geek.

Splits
Distance: 10000
Time: 00:42:18.8
Per 500m: 02:07
Drag Factor : 197
Per Mile: 00:06:49

No time to run

Lifting only instead...cycled in, quick effort, and maybe it worked better this morning since I wasn't winded from running in.

3.0mi + 10,000m on Concept2 Model D, 26:18 + 42:58.2, 5 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "Laura Runs"

WX at 0600: 68.0 (20.0) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.05 (1017) NE 6 RH 87

Odometer 4: 336.6mi equivalency

Z3-Z4 finish.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

I'm not sure if today's run felt better (although not any faster) because I simply haven't run in a while and my knees are perhaps healing.

My session on the erg this morning was actually productive, since I had no real expectations for anything substantial, but for going average effort (not easy) and being able to squeeze out something faster than 43 minutes, it was gratifying, if nothing else. I was doing this while a whole basketball court full of Crossfitters were killing themselves in front of me.

The return leg might have been slower had there not been a group running about the same speed and the same direction, so I started doing what I usually do - start zeroing in on the stragglers and picking them off.

Bear McCreary gives a great rundown of the thematics behind today's iThink in the bonus features of the Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 box set.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:05 13:05 08:40 08:40 1.51
1.51 26:18 13:13 08:45 08:43 3.02

Distance: 10000
Time: 00:42:58
Per 500m: 02:09
Drag Factor : 195
Per Mile: 00:06:55

3.0mi + lift, 27:16, 3 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dos Gringos, "The O.N.E. Song"

WX at 1000: 73.0 (22.8) DP 60.1 (15.6) BP 30.05 (1017) SSW 10 RH 63

Odometer 4: 330.5mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

I'm not sure how much life these shoes have left, but they seem to be holding up okay.

I find that being around lots of children tends to really get under my skin. My older nephew asked me why I don't have Silly Putty anymore, to which my answer was "I'm not a kid anymore."

As a kid, I was always interested in doing adult things. My eventual career choice was an early interest of mine, and I was interested in some of the esoterica of astronomy, physics, and history. I suspect I was one of the few people who actually checked out books on the Great Depression from my lower school library, but part of it was because we'd done Annie as the school musical that year (I was in third grade) and I wanted to know more about the historical background of the musical. Likewise reading about London when we'd done Mary Poppins the year prior. (The Sound of Music the next year didn't elicit that same interest in Austria, though.) I couldn't wait to grow up, and it's no accident that I need to be around adults.

There are some possibly unpleasant conclusions to be made about interests and intellect in light of that.

Speaking of interests and intellect, being around kids for a long while brings my sometimes-dormant Dos Gringos side out, and I must admit, there's something real therapeutic about lyrics that read

Well I was inverted when I realized what had happened
And I reached for the other stick just in time
But before I'd could get to Captain Winky
He'd done shot off him mouth
And a 9-G jizz hit me right between the eyes
So I raised my seat and set the autopilot
And think about Heat's mom in a t-shirt in the rain
You don't have to call me lucky, you dipshit motherfucking crank
When I tried to rub one out inside my plane

I'm not a kid any more.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.51 13:36 13:36 09:00 09:00 1.51
1.51 27:16 13:40 09:03 09:02 3.02

10,000m on Concept2 Model D, 43:37.3, 1 AUG 09, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, "An Easterly View"

WX at 1700: 77.0 (25.0) 57.9 (14.4) 30 (1015) NNW 7 RH 51

Odometer 4: 327.5mi equivalency

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

The two nephews visiting are both morning people on Eastern time. It means that even without an alarm clock, they wake up at about 7:00am.

This, combined with mind-numbing exhaustion, is what caused me to chicken out yesterday and this morning, which is why I forced out a session on the Concept this afternoon.

It is absolutely criminal that I still have the kind of knee pain I do, because I find it curiously unfathomable that it's only 77 degrees in the middle of the day in the middle of the summer. This is not normal for Kansas, not that I'm complaining at all. What I do know is that a simple, fairly consistent 5.5mi on the track left me all kinds of fucked up for a day and a half afterwards.

Today was a day where I was determined not to crank too hard - the equivalent of an easy (but not recovery) run. I may start looking at longer distances, as it's been a long, long time since I last did 15,000m on a Concept.

Splits
Distance: 10000
Time: 00:43:37
Per 500m: 02:11
Drag Factor : 196
Per Mile: 00:07:01