3.8mi, 36:37, 14 JUL 10, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

iThink:
The Bats, "Courage"
Metallica, "Master of Puppets"
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"

WX at 0800: 84.0 (28.9) DP 79.0 (26.1) BP 29.99 (1015) SW 10 RH 84

Odometer 3: 60.6.mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 148/160

The heart rate is deceptively low for the amount of work I felt like I was doing, although it accurately reflects speed. There are two possible explanations for this. One could be that my legs are tired, which might be the case since I've done more sustained running the past three weeks than I have in a long, long while.

Another reason might be running on sidewalks and grass rather than pavement. I can feel some of that since my legs are tired in ways they usually aren't, which implies I'm using stabilizer muscles I don't normally use at Fort Leavenworth or on pavement.

Another could just be the heat and humidity. I don't normally run when it's above 80 if I don't have to, and the humidity was lower than usual at 84. Consequently, i just don't feel normal while running.

I still need to get at it. I know for a fact I'll pick up involuntary rest days because of an impending drive back to Kansas from here.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:31 09:31 09:31 09:31 1.00
1.00 19:26 09:55 09:55 09:43 2.00
1.00 29:05 09:39 09:39 09:42 3.00
0.80 36:37 07:32 09:25 09:38 3.80

4.2mi, 40:28, 13 JUL 10, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

iThink: Metallica, "Master of Puppets"

WX at 0700: 78.1 (25.6) DP 73.9 (23.3) BP 29.94 (1013) SW 5 RH 87

Odometer 3: 56.8mi

Z2-Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 144/162

The last few days of being around small children has really skewed the iThink in directions which I hadn't explored in a while. Although Metallica was this morning's iThink, I was instantly reminded of a somewhat disturbing but ridculously entertaining (in a pedestrian way) mashup of the Wiggles and Drowning Pool's "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor." I still laughed my ass off.

Pacing this morning was uneven this morning on what was undoubtedly a slow run, but I needed to get out there. I had no expectations of not sucking complete fucking monkey balls since the humidity was killer - and this morning was far better than what yesterday entailed.

I'll be driving back to North Carolina with four small lobsters disguised as children based on the degree of sunburn they sustained yesterday.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 1.00
1.00 19:37 09:37 09:37 09:48 2.00
1.00 29:04 09:27 09:27 09:41 3.00
1.00 38:05 09:01 09:01 09:31 4.00
0.21 40:28 02:23 11:21 09:37 4.21

6.0mi, 55:38, 11 JUL 10, Cary, North Carolina

iThink: Metallica, "Master of Puppets"

WX at 0900: 80.1 (26.7) DP 72.0 (22.2) BP 29.95 (1014) Calm RH 76

Odometer 3: 52.6mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 155/172

I had carne a la tampiqueña yesterday at Mia Casita yesterday in Fayetteville. I was feeling those jalapenos big time this morning. AWESOME.

Driving around yesterday in Fayetteville was once again, a Kafkaesque part of this vacation. We had occasion to see a few people we hadn't seen in a while.

Running the American Tobacco Trail the last few days has been good for the knees. Running on compacted dirt rather than on pavement or asphalt has been good because otherwise I'd be in the hurt box.

After dealing with kids yesterday, though, I needed something to counteract it. Metallica cranking Master of Puppets live in Nimes, France was the fucking heat.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:05 09:05 09:05 09:05 1.00
1.00 18:11 09:06 09:06 09:05 2.00
1.00 27:07 08:56 08:56 09:02 3.00
1.00 36:21 09:14 09:14 09:05 4.00
1.00 45:50 09:29 09:29 09:10 5.00
1.03 55:38 09:48 09:31 09:14 6.03

The Knight in Sour Armor

"You're surrounded by armed bastards" has more relevance to me than I thought.

That, and this is Frakking Awesome.

8.03mi, 78:34, 9 JUL 10, Cary, North Carolina

iThink: Hans Zimmer, Geoff Zanelli, Blake Neely, "Honor"

WX at 0800: 81.0 (27.2) DP 66.0 (18.9) BP 30 (1015) NNE 3 haze RH 60

Odometer 3: 46.5mi

Z2 start, Z3 low finish.
Average/max heart rate = 147/167

I've been in Cary a few days and I'm trying to figure out what about this place puts me so ill-at-ease.

Part of it is the way the place is laid out. I grew up around cities, and places that are based off old country roads but have been subject to runaway development like this place has really severely fucks with my urban feng shui. What ends up resulting is that there are small enclaves of new money by subdivision but it's like trying to fight your way from place to place to get anywhere. There's something that just doesn't feel right and I'm not sure what it is.

The other part of it is similar to the kind of disconnection I've associated with being back in Richmond, namely that it's so removed from my existence in the Army that I can't really feel at ease here. It's no accident that the past few weeks has marked David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" as one of my mantras.

I took a longer than usual run this morning, but part of it was to get a decent interval from my nephews. I love them but I can take them only in controlled doses. That's why I got in 8 miles of easy running this morning even though today promises to be a fucking ballbuster of a hot day. It's also why I can also enjoy the joys of "you're surrounded by armed bastards!" Hell yeah.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 10:06 10:06 10:06 10:06 1.00
1.00 19:46 09:40 09:40 09:53 2.00
1.00 29:40 09:54 09:54 09:53 3.00
1.00 39:36 09:56 09:56 09:54 4.00
1.00 49:17 09:41 09:41 09:51 5.00
1.00 58:55 09:38 09:38 09:49 6.00
1.00 08:53 09:58 09:58 09:50 7.00
1.03 18:34 09:41 09:24 09:47 8.03

5.0mi, 44:39, 7 JUL 10, Cary, North Carolina

iThink: The Connells,"Fun & Games"

WX at 0800: 78.1 (25.6) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.07 (1018) Calm RH 62

Odometer 3: 38.5mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 155/173

I found out this morning that I was selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel. Woot.

I had to get out a quick one as I'm sallying forth with my kids and nephew to a free movie. I wasn't going to miss out on the run, though, so it was time to get at it.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:45 08:45 08:45 08:45 1.00
1.00 17:35 08:50 08:50 08:47 2.00
1.00 26:14 08:39 08:39 08:45 3.00
1.00 35:16 09:02 09:02 08:49 4.00
1.04 44:39 09:23 09:01 08:52 5.04

5.1mi, 48:12, 6 JUL 10, Cary, North Carolina

iThink:
Bear McCreary, "Storming New Caprica"
Jan and Dean, "Little Old Lady from Pasadena"
The Cure, "Primary"

WX at 0800: 73.9 (23.3) DP 64.9 (18.3) BP 30.11 (1019) SW 3 RH 74
WX at 0900 after run: 81.0 (27.2) DP 63.0 (17.2) BP 30.12 (1019) W 6 RH 54

Odometer 3: 33.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 147/169

I was pretty intent on getting a run in this morning since today's forecast was going to be Hot as Hell. I was hoping to get in a few miles, but since the mileage just to get out to the American Tobacco Trail is 1.3mi one-way, I knew it was going to be at least 4, maybe 5.

My legs were tired after the last few days, but I think today was a good run. Most of what I'm doing on this trip is just not getting fat, anyway.

Running slowly, even at effort, was probably the reason why "Primary" stuck in my mind. Aging sucks.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:15 09:15 09:15 09:15 1.00
1.00 18:31 09:16 09:16 09:15 2.00
1.00 28:17 09:46 09:46 09:26 3.00
1.00 37:47 09:30 09:30 09:27 4.00
1.00 47:11 09:24 09:24 09:26 5.00
0.11 48:12 01:01 09:15 09:26 5.11

Indulging my dislike of many things Disney...

7 Classic Disney Movies Based On R-Rated Stories. Oh hell yeah.

6.8mi, 62:17, 5 JUL 10, Cary, North Carolina

iThink:
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"
Bear McCreary, "Storming New Caprica"

WX before run at 0700: 64.9 (18.3) DP 62.1 (16.7) BP 30.11 (1019) WSW 6 RH 91

WX at 0800: 72.0 (22.2) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.11 (1019) WSW 7 RH 76
WX at 0900: 77.0 (25.0) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.12 (1019) WSW 7 RH 64

Odometer 3: 28.3mi

Z3-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 152/176

The morning temperature was supposed to be in the 60s. What I didn't expect was the level to which the temperature had risen in only an hour. I also neglected to drink enough water, so this turned into a gut festival of "grind it out until I'm done."

I occasionally need to do those runs to remind myself of what is required to dig in and grind out a shitty experience, although I don't usually need to go out of my way to dig up shitty experiences.

Fortunately, most of this morning's run was on the American Tobacco Trail, which is well-paved and well-shaded. Otherwise today's run would really have sucked monkey balls. In the meantime, the Bowie song continues to ring true, as it's my first time in North Carolina in two years and it's strange being back near a place where I lived for seven years.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:57 08:57 08:57 08:57 1.00
1.00 18:01 09:04 09:04 09:00 2.00
1.00 27:22 09:21 09:21 09:07 3.00
1.00 36:23 09:01 09:01 09:06 4.00
1.00 45:26 09:03 09:03 09:05 5.00
1.00 54:57 09:31 09:31 09:10 6.00
0.82 62:17 07:20 08:57 09:08 6.82

3.7mi, 33:30, 4 JUL 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink:
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"
The Bats, "Courage"

WX at 0900: 73.9 (23.3) 55.9 (13.3) 30.12 (1019) W 6 RH 53

Odometer 3: 21.5mi

Z2-Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 147/160

I didn't really feel like going very far, but I figured some easy running would be in order since I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to get in tomorrow. My legs were pretty tired from yesterday, but speed was not the issue at hand today. We drive to Raleigh, North Carolina today, so thankfully, no crusher of a drive.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:10 09:10 09:10 09:10 1.00
1.00 18:21 09:11 09:11 09:11 2.00
1.00 27:32 09:11 09:11 09:11 3.00
0.68 33:30 05:58 08:46 09:06 3.68

7.0mi, 62:39, 3 JUL 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink: The Cure, "Primary"

WX at 0900: 77.0 (25.0) DP 53.1 (11.7) BP 30.25 (1024) W 7 RH 43

Odometer 3: 17.0mi

Z3-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/174

After three days on the road, and not doing anything yesterday (woke up too late) and almost nothing the day prior (two miles on the dreadmill = homicidal rage), I'm at my parents' house and put in 7 on the road. I feel better.

We've been driving three days which have been over 8 hours a day for me in the seat. I've been holding down driving duties because I can do long drives a lot better than Household6 and sometimes I have to bring out my old DC Beltway kung fu driving around large cities like St. Louis. Yesterday we left Louisville, KY; the day prior to that was Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Driving from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Leonard Wood entails some of the most painful driving on back roads I've done in a long, long while.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:41 08:41 08:41 08:41 1.00
1.00 17:23 08:42 08:42 08:41 2.00
1.00 26:24 09:01 09:01 08:48 3.00
1.00 35:20 08:56 08:56 08:50 4.00
1.00 44:36 09:16 09:16 08:55 5.00
1.00 53:35 08:59 08:59 08:56 6.00
1.00 62:39 09:04 09:04 08:57 7.00

3.5mi, 32:33, 30 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Guided by Voices, "Wormhole"

WX at 0700: 66.9 (19.4) DP 57.9 (14.4) BP 30.22 (1023) ESE 6 RH 72

Odometer 2: 188.8mi

Z2/Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 150/170

My legs were beat but I figured on the day I'm about to leave on a long driving vacation, it was probably advisable to get in a run. 3.5mi of wogging did not go down well but at least the weather was nice. I'm not surprised my legs are tired after the tremendous mileage increase of the last two weeks or so. Of course, any mileage increase is tremendous compared to nothing at all.

My neighborhood is starting to repopulate with new students about a month after all the others have gone off to their follow-on assignments. The summer exodus/influx cycle begins anew.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:09 09:09 09:09 09:09 1.00
1.00 18:30 09:21 09:21 09:15 2.00
1.00 28:01 09:31 09:31 09:20 3.00
0.48 32:33 04:32 09:27 09:21 3.48

5.9mi, 51:32, 29 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Guided by Voices, "Wormhole"
Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"

WX at 0700: 68.0 (20.0) DP 60.1 (15.6) BP 30.12 (1019) E 8 RH 75

Odometer 2: 185.3mi

Z3 mid-high.
Average/max heart rate = 157/172

After yesterday's rest day, I decided to get back out there. This is a good example of a day where I'm glad I forced myself to get out there. I felt far better after the run than I would've had I just slept in.

It's been a little over a decade since I bought Guided by Voices' Do the Collapse, which is the album from today's first iThink. I was thinking of it as I saw the remains of earthworms my wife had killed by pouring salt on them. I saw them jumping around as they died and I felt guilty.

I am an earthworm following
There is a nighthawk
Watching me crawling

La, la, la, la, it's a lonely night
I'll take the airwaves home tonight
Crawl with me into the hole
Where everyone can hide

We're in the wormhole
Seeking to be safe again
Without a single brave soul
Leaking out tonight, tonight

After the fire there's a falling rain
Washin' us free of the daily pain
Off the hook and down the drain
And out to the other side

To where the soil is rich
And muddy in the riverbed
Feed on the urgent promise
Of the dead tonight, tonight

I'm reminded of the "not great, but mostly okay, and anyway you better get used to it because that was life was going to be until you died" a lot lately.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:53 08:53 08:53 08:53 1.00
1.00 17:30 08:37 08:37 08:45 2.00
1.00 26:08 08:38 08:38 08:43 3.00
1.00 35:01 08:53 08:53 08:45 4.00
1.00 43:43 08:42 08:42 08:45 5.00
0.93 51:32 07:49 08:24 08:41 5.93

A little reflection

He didn't think about the creche much, but it wasn't that he'd had a bad time there. It was a lot like the army. Not great but mostly okay; and anyway you better get used to it because that was what life was going to be until you died.

David Drake, Redliners

6.6mi, 63:12, 27 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bear McCreary, "Wander My Friends"
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"

WX at 0900: 82.0 (27.8) DP 73.0 (22.8) BP 29.7 (1005) S 15 RH 74

Odometer 2: 179.4mi

Z3 low.
Average/max heart rate = 157/175

I woke up later than expected, but also intended to get in a long run, something which I traditionally had done on Sunday mornings.

One of the mistakes I made during the spring, and some of it may have been just the general intensity of stress I felt this past spring semester, but I didn't do any exercise on mornings that, had I thought about it more logically, I should've gotten out and gotten something in. I'll be more disciplined about it in the fall, partly because I'll actually be studying something about which I actually give a flying fuck.

It's not to say that early American history isn't important, but it has fuck-all to do with my dissertation, and I know myself well enough to know that when I don't care about something, it might as well not exist, because I really don't care.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:44 09:44 09:44 09:44 1.00
1.00 19:02 09:18 09:18 09:31 2.00
1.00 28:27 09:25 09:25 09:29 3.00
1.00 38:05 09:38 09:38 09:31 4.00
1.00 47:36 09:31 09:31 09:31 5.00
1.00 57:25 09:49 09:49 09:34 6.00
0.59 63:12 05:47 09:48 09:35 6.59

Why I loved Battlestar Galactica

If this isn't evocative, I don't know what is. Was rewatching a few old episodes of BSG this afternoon and had momentarily forgotten about this scene. Or to quote this from Television Without Pity, "Guest Starring Laura Roslin as Tisiphone, The Fury of Vengeance."

Of course, it goes without saying that I have a lot of rage. What else is new?



Yes, the video sucks. That's not the point! Go buy the disks. Season 4.5, Episode 14, "Blood on the Scales."

4.5mi, 41:04, 25 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: David Bowie, "Life on Mars"

WX at 0700: 70.0 (21.1) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.07 (1018) SSE 6 RH 81

Odometer 2: 172.8mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 152/171

I went to sleep late but needed to get my licks in for a run while the weather was still good. Maybe tomorrow will entail some real wogging, but while it's only 70F outside, I have to get out there, and for a day of what was supposed to be light wogging, it was actually kind of productive. I was going distinctly easier than yesterday, but today felt better, not the least of why because I was going easier.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:26 09:26 09:26 09:26 1.00
1.00 18:41 09:15 09:15 09:20 2.00
1.00 27:38 08:57 08:57 09:13 3.00
1.00 36:31 08:53 08:53 09:08 4.00
0.50 41:04 04:33 09:06 09:08 4.50

5.9mi, 52:25, 24 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bruce Springsteen, "The River"
The Cure, "Primary" (live)

WX at 0700: 68.0 (20.0) DP 63.0 (17.2) BP 30.16 (1021) NNE 7 RH 83

Odometer 3: 8.0mi

Z3/Z4 uphills.
Average/max heart rate = 158/176

Yesterday was a rest day because was totally beat.

Today meant I needed to go longer, and I did. It's a sad sign when I consider just shy of 6 miles a "long" run, but it is lately. That, and I had a new pair of Asics GT-2140 trail shoes that I wanted to check out.

The weather was a good break from the scorching heat of the last few days, so it was a day I could ill afford to pass up - especially since it's a good 10F cooler than it was yesterday. That makes a huge difference in speed and how I felt, but temperature differences have always killed me.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:35 08:35 08:35 08:35 1.00
1.00 17:17 08:42 08:42 08:39 2.00
1.00 26:13 08:56 08:56 08:44 3.00
1.00 35:18 09:05 09:05 08:49 4.00
1.00 44:19 09:01 09:01 08:52 5.00
0.90 52:25 08:06 09:00 08:53 5.90

The Coolest Thing Ever

From DragonCon 2009, which I'm not sure I'd attend, but...

This is not necessarily to say that "chicks with guns make me hot" but you could argue that point. Then again, I can't pass up a meta-tag like "IDF Death Babes."

Only at DragonCon will you see Firefly tied-in with English literature. I'd so party with these ladies anytime.

Against my better judgment...

Although I don't admit to being a Star Trek fan, I couldn't pass this up. This is some exceptional editing. I can only imagine the man-hours spent putting this together.

I've heard the Ke$ha song, but otherwise know nothing about her.



Embarrassing, but respectable...

3.46mi, 31:16, 22 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 0600: 78.1 (25.6) DP 73.0 (22.8) BP 29.95 (1014) SSW 8 RH 84

Odometer 2: 168.3mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 150/169

My legs are starting to hurt, which makes me wonder if I did enough concerted work while in Virginia. I think not.

It also could be that it's oppressively humid here, more than I expected and today's forecast calls for high 90s. No matter, continue to march...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:08 09:08 09:08 09:08 1.00
1.00 18:01 08:53 08:53 09:00 2.00
1.00 27:08 09:07 09:07 09:03 3.00
0.46 31:16 04:08 08:59 09:02 3.46

4.6mi, 42:22, 21 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"
The Laziest Men on Mars, "Invasion of the Gabber Robots"

WX at 0600: 69.1 (20.6) DP 66.9 (19.4) BP 29.97 (1014) SSE 3 RH 92

Odometer 2: 164.8mi

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

For not working that hard (supposedly) I didn't feel that great. Some of it could be all the hills here at Fort Leavenworth, which could contribute to what feels like dead legs.

Life on Mars was the only appropriate song for how I feel being back at home after a month away. I gets stranger every time I leave.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:19 09:19 09:19 09:19 1.00
1.00 18:50 09:31 09:31 09:25 2.00
1.00 28:12 09:22 09:22 09:24 3.00
1.00 36:57 08:45 08:45 09:14 4.00
0.59 42:22 05:25 09:11 09:14 4.59

Epic Fail

I have returned to Kansas.

Instead of my grandiose goal of losing 10 pounds, I have gained 6. This is, to put it mildly, fucking bullshit.

I know what I'm doing the rest of the summer...intensifying the rabbit food diet and running LSD until the school year starts. This has astronomical potential for suck.

Speaking the truth too freely

And the only word that comes to mind is...dude.

4.8mi, 42:52, 17 JUN 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink:
Gary Glitter, "Rock and Roll" (no shit.)
The Bats, "Courage"

WX at 0600: 72.0 (22.2) DP 69.1 (20.6) BP 29.94 (1013) NW 5 RH 90

Odometer 2: 160.2mi

Z3/Z4 uphills.
Average/max heart rate = 150/170

Last night was my mother's birthday, and we were going to head to a vaguely swanky restaurant, until we called and found out the restaurant was closed because there was a power problem at the mall where it was. We ended up heading to Angela's, an Italian restaurant that's not too far from my parents' house and has been around for about 25 years. I remember when that location was a Milton's Pizza back when I was in elementary school, but Angela's has become somewhat of an institution in the West End, or at least that part of it.

Running this morning, I stopped after the first 2.5 miles to prevent what would've been a craptactularly bad run. After a brief pit stop, I cranked out the second lap in decent order. I was rather surprised, actually, that my start was as quick (relatively) as it was. I knew mile 4 was going to be painful since it was mostly uphill - which may explain why the last .8 was so fast in comparison, since it was gentle downhill.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:13 09:13 09:13 09:13 1.00
1.00 18:13 09:00 09:00 09:07 2.00
1.00 26:50 08:37 08:37 08:57 3.00
1.00 36:04 09:14 09:14 09:01 4.00
0.80 42:52 06:48 08:30 08:56 4.80

Ghosts of Ramen past, redux

My old friend JWER has decided to reboot his blog. Fortunately, through the tabbed browsing feature of Firefox, I have retained three rows worth of tabs, one of which was still showing what I consider my future eulogy.

I seesaw between whether I'll outlive my friends or not. JWER is a good case in point; while I exercise a lot more and indulge far fewer physical vices than he does, perhaps (aside from the Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Belgian Style Golden Ale - a triple much like Delerium Nocturnum and about the same level of potency, w00t!), but he chose a much less hazardous profession. So the tossup is still out there.

That said, if I get spammed before he does, I need him to be the alternate candidate for a Speaker for the Dead at my funeral. The other candidate is the Midnight Tree Bandit, who I have known just a bit longer than JWER, but not by much.

With that said, rescued from the dead, here's my future eulogy, with apologies to JWER. I remember the official purpose of this trip - it was because of my duties for the Army's Strategic Readiness System, a part of which I had some nominal responsibility:
--
August 20, 2004: "Ghosts of Ramen Past"

Last week my friend Decrepitude was (almost*) in town for a couple of days, and in the spirit of reliving my nomadic, spartan college days, I crashed on the armchair in his hotel room two nights running. Missing was the girly power pop, the green and black BBS screen, and the ramen. Especially the ramen. Back when we were sophomores at JHU, shortly after my parents had moved an embarrassingly short distance from campus, I embarked upon a trek from house to apartment to Reading Room in search of a place to sleep and/or weather a hangover so as not to arouse the suspicions of the aforementioned parents (they tend to wonder when you're sleeping when you clearly ought to be in SOME class). I tried not to be a burden on any one friend for too long a stretch, but Decrepitude was a different story; he lived close to campus, by himself, and kept conveniently weird hours. We ran a BBS together (actually, he ran it, I just put it on my resume), we listened to a lot of College Tunez™, we watched violent movies frame-by-frame, and I spectated as he played all manner of homicidal video games. When food was imperative, it was either off to that paragon of the culinary arts, CC Carryout (which is still there, thank Bulgogi) or, more likely, his endless supply of ramen. I’m glad he wasn’t keeping track, because I’m pretty sure I ate about $700 worth of ramen that year.

The sleeping arrangements were rather austere, as befit the lodgings of a cheap-ass Army ROTC cadet, and I spent a lot of time on a spare sleeping bag on the hardwood (since I spent all of high school sleeping on a twin futon mattress that was about 3 inches thick, this was not a big deal. In fact, I think most of the back pain of the last few years has had to do with my foolish insistence on sleeping on actual mattresses). We were both more or less perennially single, and spent a lot of time bitching about that, and absolutely zero time actually attempting to change the state of affairs in any way. Of course, this was before JHU lowered their acceptance standards to let more beautiful people in, so all the remotely attractive women were already well spoken for, but it is barely possible that occasionally leaving a small dark room with no women in it might increase one’s prospects of scoring (it’s the BIG dark rooms where all the magic happens, especially if the floor is sticky). We also have something in common that I shared with pretty much none of my other friends, which is a deeply ingrained sense of honor which more or less completely embarrasses the hell out of me to even talk about, and yet is at the very core of my personality. I blame my upbringing in the shadow of the Naval Academy. Decrepitude was in the Army, so he was expected to be like this, but I met many of his classmates over the years, and very few of them even came close. He is a rare duck. I believe I am some sort of infrequent waterfowl, as well. To stave off the inevitable comments, most of you will recognize this trait in me as my complete unwillingness to ever let anything go, ever, if I believe that it is Cosmically Unjust. You may think I've let one or two things go over the years, but they're still in there somewhere. Eventually, my head will explode. I'll try to warn you if you're standing nearby.

We met up after I got off work on Tuesday, and by the time I finally figured out where in the hell his hotel was, it was too late to do much but drink, so we did just that. I am both proud and horrified that I can still out-drink most of my college friends, but it was never much of a challenge with Decrepitude, who is known the world over for highly entertaining drunken antics, usually ensuing mere moments after the alcohol was introduced (there are stories about me, too, but most of them aren’t very funny). He held his own this time; I think he’s been practicing. Either that or I was off my game. That, and I had forgotten to pack my Chartreuse. We talked and drank and drank and talked, about the state of our lives and the state of the world, and when it was starting to get late, we started back for the hotel and I had an extremely ill-advised cheese steak from Jerry’s, which I was almost certain had been banned in the mid-90’s. Alas no. I slept a fitful, and yet apparently quite snore-laden, sleep on the armchair (it was a big bed, ‘tis true, but the only friends of mine I’m willing to spoon with have always been tragically unwilling to spoon with me. Also: don’t ask, don’t tell).

He had talked about running around Arlington National Cemetery in the morning, and while he was to eventually wuss out and run a less gigantic circuit, I was still pretty damned impressed that he’s still in good enough shape to run a greater distance that I’ve run in my entire life, all at once, the morning after a small herd of beer. He did whine a little about the hills later, but they were eminently whine-worthy, and I was only walking them.

The next night, he had some Green Polyester event to attend, so I got my haircut and bought a crapload of books at KramerBooks and Olsson’s and schlepped them back to scenic Food Court, I mean Courthouse. I got a bit of a head start on the beer while waiting for him to get back, and then we went to the always excellent Brickskellar, where our need for beer was somewhat curtailed by the rather epic price of our first selection. Still, it was a good time, and I’m glad I decided to come down; we don’t get to see each other very often at all (i.e.: just like all my other good friends, including the supposedly pregnant one that lives 5 miles away). We’ve both gone through a lot since we first met, we’re still good friends, and I think our shared feeling that there’s a right way to live one’s life, even if we don’t completely agree on the particulars, is still very much intact. I just hope he never tries to collect on the ramen tab.

* good LORD does Northern Virginia suck ass

5.0mi, 45:22, 15 JUN 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: David Bowie, "Life on Mars"

WX at 0600: 73.0 (22.8) BP 70.0 (21.1) DP 29.96 (1014) NNE 7 RH 90

Odometer 2: 155.4mi

Z3/Z4 uphills.
Average/max heart rate = 158/174

I went to sleep a little later than I wanted last night, but I got up about 10 minutes before my alarm went off at 5:30am. I went back to sleep, determined to get as much as I could get.

I realized I couldn't take two rest days in a row, not while I have the wherewithal to do it, so I decided to take on a 5-miler. My legs are still pretty beat, which irritates me, but at least I'm still getting back at it. I am deliberately trying not to get too bent out of shape because I'm running so slowly. I have a few months of self-destruction to make up before I get back at the grinder again this fall.

Being around my parents as much as I have the last few weeks is part of why the Bowie song is stuck in my head.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:20 09:20 09:20 09:20 1.00
1.00 18:35 09:15 09:15 09:17 2.00
1.00 27:40 09:05 09:05 09:13 3.00
1.00 37:00 09:20 09:20 09:15 4.00
1.00 45:30 08:30 08:30 09:06 5.00

3.1mi, 29:09, 13 JUN 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink:
Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, "It Takes Two"
Dos Gringos, "Jeremiah Weed"
Edmund Butt, opening theme from Ashes to Ashes

WX at 1000: 82.0 (27.8) DP 72.0 (22.2) BP 29.92 (1013) WSW 9 RH 71

Odometer 2: 150.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 152/170

Yes, I've been binging out on British police procedurals lately. I am singularly unapologetic, but maybe it's because I enjoy seeing nontraditional characters like Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt.

Short run today. My legs were beat up from yesterday's long one; it's been a while since I've kicked out 6 miles. I kept at the run by heart rate rather than pace, but since I was going a shorter distance, it wasn't as big a deal.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:08 09:08 09:08 09:08 1.00
1.00 18:48 09:40 09:40 09:24 2.00
1.00 27:54 09:06 09:06 09:18 3.00
0.14 29:09 01:15 08:56 09:17 3.14

6.15mi, 62:41, 12 JUN 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink:
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"
82d Airborne Division, "The All-American Soldier"
Oasis, "Wonderwall"

WX at 1300: 90.0 (32.2) DP 68.0 (20.0) BP 30.08 (1018) SSW 8 RH 48

Odometer 2: 147.2mi

Z3/Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/171

Today was a late, late start. I realized that starting in the mid-day in June in Virginia I was going to run based off heart rate rather than pace. This was probably wise.

In my usual disdain for American television, I've recently started watching the BRITISH version of Life on Mars. It doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence the way that most American television incessantly does. The ending of the respective British and American series is an excellent case in point. I'd rather not watch a show that implies that viewers can't take the truth.

I realized that Life on Mars also provides a rather pointed allegory for my own life. I realize this particularly when I'm around my mother, who can't understand why I cultivate being such a fucking asshole from time to time. My mother is a sheep. I'd like to think I'm a sheepdog with some wolf-like tendencies. I am singularly unapologetic. I can't stand being around sheep for very long, though. They spark my incipient rage.

This is where I quote Thomas Paine: "If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:44 09:44 09:44 09:44 1.00
1.00 19:41 09:57 09:57 09:50 2.00
1.00 29:32 09:51 09:51 09:51 3.00
1.00 39:40 10:08 10:08 09:55 4.00
1.00 50:40 11:00 11:00 10:08 5.00
1.00 01:18 10:38 10:38 10:13 6.00
0.15 02:41 01:23 09:13 10:12 6.15

So, so true...

5.0mi, 43:29, 8 JUN 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
David Lowe, "BBC News 24 Countdown" (Megamix 2)
Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 0600: 63.0 (17.2) DP 52.0 (11.1) BP 30.08 (1018) N 8 RH 67

Odometer 2: 141.0mi

Z3 high/Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 158/170

I'd seen the BBC news theme while I was in Qatar a few years back, since there was a TV tuned to that particular news channel and I didn't feel like my brain was rotting away like it feels when I watch Fox News.

I also saw it in a dramatization of a nuclear attack on Britain (which I think I saw from a related web search of the 1983 TV movie The Day After a few months back).

As an occasional fan of trance music, David Lowe's theme, remixed, is not bad.

Today was as good a day as it'll get. I woke up late and the only thing that woke me up was the train passing by as it blew its horn. I'm okay with that, since I'd forgotten to set my alarm last night. Oops.

A little different route, and a rewarding run, although dodging traffic on Jefferson Davis Highway (US Route 1) can get occasionally dicey. I was also racing the train signal as it started to drop, and was trying to make a corner quickly so I wasn't stopping a bus from making a wide turn it needed to make. Yay, opportunities for death by misadventure!

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:53 08:53 08:53 08:53 1.00
1.00 17:50 08:57 08:57 08:55 2.00
1.00 26:10 08:20 08:20 08:43 3.00
1.00 34:46 08:36 08:36 08:41 4.00
1.00 43:29 08:43 08:43 08:42 5.00

4.6mi , 41:22, 7 JUN 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink:
Descendents, "Coolidge" (thanks, jwer.)
Los Campesinos, "The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future"

WX at 0600: 63.0 (17.2) DP 55.9 (13.3) BP 29.81 (1009) Calm RH 72

Odometer 2: 136.0mi

Z3 start, Z4 finish.
Average/max heart rate = 155/171

I was running after a sybaritic (sort of) weekend of high school reunion, on which I'll comment later.

I was tired, but didn't really have a choice. I needed to get at it, so I did, and I felt better, naturally, by about the 30-35 minute mark.

The miles were mostly consistent as I started to settle - and I started picking up more speed later as is customary...but after I hit the last mile split, I realized I'd felt a lot better and would run to appropriate intensity. I was also racing a train signal I was desperately hoping would not drop before I got there, so I was closing the gap at glimpses of 7:37/mi, which I couldn't have done at the beginning of the run.

I guess I should run in the afternoons, but I feel like too much of a wimp to do that when it was hot this past week. This week, maybe better.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:08 09:08 09:08 09:08 1.00
1.00 18:17 09:09 09:09 09:09 2.00
1.00 27:20 09:03 09:03 09:07 3.00
1.00 36:31 09:11 09:11 09:08 4.00
0.60 41:22 04:51 08:05 09:00 4.60

3.3mi, 31:46, 5 JUN 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink: none

WX at 0900: 82.0 (27.8) DP 70.0 (21.1) BP 29.84 (1010) W 10 RH 67

Odometer 2: 131.4mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/185

It absolutely did not feel like 67% relative humidity. Today was the alumni run here at St Christopher's, where I spent 12 of my formative years, three of which were on the cross-country team.

It was good to see people I hadn't seen before, and realized that some of my ire at my classmates may have been misplaced. Either that, or maybe I've gotten mellower in some of my later age and part of my burning rage I felt my senior year and after graduation has perhaps gone away. Maybe.

I certainly haven't gotten much mellower in the last few years, but two decades brings some perspective. Some people have not changed. Some people have. I know I have, and have a degree of self-confidence I never possessed when I was there.

Strange, the power of memory...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:21 09:21 09:21 09:21 1.00
1.00 18:48 09:27 09:27 09:24 2.00
1.00 28:50 10:02 10:02 09:37 3.00
0.32 35:30 06:40 20:50 10:42 3.32

Creepy as all hell

It bugs my parents that I'm such a twinkie, but this is some creepy ass shit.



I find it, in some ways, even creepier than Threads, which is downright the scariest movie I've ever seen about nuclear war.

4.57mi, 40:51, 3 JUN 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: The Bats, "Courage"

WX at 0600: 72.0 (22.2) DP 69.1 (20.6) BP 29.76 (1007) SSW 6 mist RH 90

Odometer 2: 128.0mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 152/174

Today was overcast, which meant less motivation to go out. It was also warm, and humid. I went out anyway. I need it after the last few days of sybaritic eating and drinking in Washington DC the last two days.

The only other veneer of exercise I got yesterday was walking from Main State to a parking garage a mile away. It beat paying for parking. I'm cheap, if not quite as lazy as once thought.

That sill doesn't change the fact that my Weight Loss Plan is not working the way I intended...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:05 09:05 09:05 09:05 1.00
1.00 18:07 09:02 09:02 09:03 2.00
1.00 26:58 08:51 08:51 08:59 3.00
1.00 36:10 09:12 09:12 09:02 4.00
0.57 40:51 04:41 08:13 08:56 4.57

3.0mi on elliptical, 30:00, 31 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: none

WX at 2200: 80.1 (26.7) DP 66.0 (18.9) BP 30 (1015) WSW 12 RH 62

Odometer 1: 418.0mi

Z2-Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I probably didn't need to work out, but I did, because I could, and because I had a Big Mac meal for lunch/dinner. I also walked a bit this morning at Arlington.

No Splits

The duties of memory

I had occasion to visit Arlington National Cemetery today. It was something, more or less, that I felt obligated to do. I visited four people I had known personally, and one I got into a hellacious amount of trouble for quoting in public. I hadn't realized there'd be officials present at Section 60, where I usually go, but I would've gone whether they were there or not.

It did require me to park my vehicle elsewhere and ride the Metro in, then walk from the Metro stop to Section 60. I didn't really notice it at all. My mind was elsewhere.

RIP: Tom Witt, Don Eacho, Aaron Weaver, Matt Lourey, Matt Worrell, Bill Engeman, Jon Grassbaugh, Jason Swiger, Gary Vasquez, Brian Mescall, Niall Lyons, and Dan Whitten.

So say we all.

20 minutes on the exercise cycle, 27 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: nothing.

WX at 0600: 70.0 (21.1) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 29.78 (1008) NNW 3 RH 81

Odometer 1: 415.0mi

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

I can't ride an exercise bike without something to read. Television news is too pedestrian. I didn't want this to be a "do nothing but eat" day but that might happen.

No Splits.

5.25mi, 49:57, 26 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink:
Los Campesinos, "The Sea is a Good Place To Think of the Future"
Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"

WX at 0600: 59.0 (15.0) DP 55.9 (13.3) BP 30 (1015) NNE 3 RH 89

Odometer 2: 123.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 148/165

Today was a day where I was still feeling Monday and Sunday's collective runs, but I needed to get back out there and get at it. If I didn't, I risked falling back into old bad habits of Doing Nothing But Eating, and my dad's insistence that we go to a nice restaurant last night meant that I went to an Italian place where I know I ate too much, especially for a rest day.

I expect four rest days this weekend, so it's probably in my best interest that I do something productive this week.

Still, today's pace did not feel particularly hard, and only near the end did I start running at what I consider a reasonably normal pace for the last mile and half, but not coincidentally, it was around the 45 minute point and I was fully warmed up. I could feel the shift, like I usually do into any substantial run. The weather also helped plenty.

That shift, by the way, is also the reason why I don't do CrossFit. This run was important for physically unloading. I have plenty of rage already and I don't think CrossFit would help much on that.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:57 09:57 09:57 09:57 1.00
1.00 19:30 09:33 09:33 09:45 2.00
1.00 29:18 09:48 09:48 09:46 3.00
1.00 39:01 09:43 09:43 09:45 4.00
1.00 47:53 08:52 08:52 09:35 5.00
0.25 49:57 02:04 08:16 09:31 5.25

5.25mi, 48:01, 24 MAY 2010, Richmond, Virginia

iThink:
Metallica, "Master of Puppets"
The Bats, "Courage"

WX at 1600: 79.0 (26.1) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 30.19 (1022) Variable 7 RH 60

Odometer 2: 118.1mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 165/176

For it only being 79F, it sure as hell didn't feel that way. Some of this I can attribute to dramatically increasing my mileage from nothing to about 4-5 miles a day. I can also attribute that to being under direct sunlight and running out in the open, which has traditionally kicked my butt, but far more so when I think about how out of shape I really am.

I think I can get away with that so long as I don't get too overenthusiastic about speed. I can live with that so long as I slug my way through the runs I do. This is why I am not too hung up on speed, because I need to get some weight loss in.

On the other hand, this was on a visit to St. Christopher's School, where I spent 12 years of my life. The campus has changed a lot, but I also realize, now that I'm an adult, the campus that seemed so big when I was kid (even when I was a teenager) is actually quite small. Only now, long after the fact, do I realize how tightly compacted the St. Christopher's and St. Catherine's (the sister all-girls' school 3 blocks away) campuses actually are. I also realize that all the kids there were not even twinkles in their parents' eyes when I was a student there.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:46 08:46 08:46 08:46 1.00
1.00 17:45 08:59 08:59 08:52 2.00
1.00 26:58 09:13 09:13 08:59 3.00
1.00 36:14 09:16 09:16 09:03 4.00
1.00 45:52 09:38 09:38 09:10 5.00
0.25 48:01 02:09 08:36 09:09 5.25

6.7mi, 66:25, 23 MAY 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink:
The Bats, "Courage"
Sugar, "Gift"

WX at 1200: 77.0 (25.0) BP 64.0 (17.8) DP 30.1 (1019) N 7 RH 64

Odometer 1: 414.7mi

Z2/Z3 low.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

My legs were tired, but I needed to get out there and get at it. This started out rough, as I somewhat expected, but about 45 minutes in, I felt fully warmed up. I was burning the lard I needed to burn. I need to find a scale I can trust, since I'm on one which says I've lost 8 pounds in the last week which I found exceedingly hard to believe.

Watching Army take on Cornell, Cornell is off to a fast start, but I wouldn't count Army out yet. Yet. But it's looking rough for the Black Knights, who I would desperately want to win, just on principle.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:53 09:53 09:53 09:53 1.00
1.00 19:49 09:56 09:56 09:54 2.00
1.00 29:10 09:21 09:21 09:43 3.00
1.00 38:53 09:43 09:43 09:43 4.00
1.00 49:27 10:34 10:34 09:53 5.00
1.00 59:14 09:47 09:47 09:52 6.00
0.72 66:25 07:11 09:59 09:53 6.72

3.1mi, 28:44, 22 MAY 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink: Metallica, "Master of Puppets"

WX at 2300: 73.9 (23.3) DP 57.9 (14.4) BP 30.14 (1020) S 10 RH 50

Odometer 1: 408.1mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

My legs hurt, but I needed to do some somewhat inconsistent wogging. I thought West Point was playing Cornell today, but I was wrong. This has been the season of upsets. Watching Notre Dame hang on in a nailbiter against Maryland was the highlight of this afternoon.

Now to write a plan I've been meaning to write for a while. Time to put some of that School of Advanced Military Heresy kung fu to work.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:13 09:13 09:13 09:13 1.00
1.00 18:29 09:16 09:16 09:15 2.00
1.00 28:04 09:35 09:35 09:21 3.00
0.08 28:44 00:40 08:20 09:20 3.08

5.0mi, 52:14, 21 MAY 10, Richmond, Virginia

iThink: 10,000 Maniacs, "Jezebel"

WX at 2300: 68.0 (20.0) DP 48.9 (9.4) BP 30.12 (1019) ESE 6 RH 50

Odometer 1: 405.0mi

Z4 start, Z2 return, Z1 finish.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I needed to get a run out, and I did. I didn't care how late it was. What I didn't do was make a pit stop before starting. There's a reason I walked most of the last mile and a half.

I have finally gotten around to the last episode of The Pacific and it is hard to watch. A year after leaving my job as a campaign planner it is really goddamn difficult to watch dramatizations of combat veterans who have a hard time readjusting to life back at home.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:49 08:49 08:49 08:49 1.00
1.00 17:50 09:01 09:01 08:55 2.00
1.00 26:52 09:02 09:02 08:57 3.00
1.00 36:29 09:37 09:37 09:07 4.00
1.00 52:11 15:42 15:42 10:26 5.00

3.0mi on dreadmill, ~25:00, 20 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: Metallica, "Master of Puppets"

WX at 1900: 78 (26) DP 55 (13) BP 30.04 (1017) WNW 3 RH 44

Odometer 1: 400.0mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I loathe running on dreadmills, but I had no real choice. There's no place around the hotel where I'm staying where I can run without risking Death by Misadventure (tm).

Fun. Especially in an enclosed room that's gotta be at least 80F degrees or more.

At least I was going faster than I expected. Or something like that.

Tomorrow I do some LSD in an attempt to burn lard. Maybe all weekend long, or so.

No splits.

30 min on exercise bike, 45 min on elliptical, 19 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, VA

iThink: nothing.

WX at 2100: 68 (20) BP 60 (16) DP 29.94 (1013) N 5 RH 77

Odometer 1: 397.0mi equivalence

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = underread, but sitting around 150/160.

I forced myself to self-mutilate myself in the interests of fitness, but I offset that by eating much more than usual.

Continuing to march.

No splits.

45 min on exercise bike, 18 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: nothing.

WX at 2200: 59 (15) DP 55 (13) BP 29.91 (1012) Calm RH 87

Odometer 1: 399.0mi equivalence

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 142/156

Ate dinner at my parents' house, 30 minute away. I ate a little more, then cranked out 45 minutes. It's probably not as productive as running, but it's better than nothing. Of course, the two Magic Hat beers I had tonight probably eliminated any caloric advantage I might've had.

No splits.

30 min on exercise bike, 30 min on elliptical, 17 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: nothing.

WX at 1800: 55 (13) DP 55 (13) BP 30.03 (1016) ENE 9 light rain RH 100

Odometer 1: 396.0mi equivalence

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Late shot, late splash, the elliptical is shaky, but I've been eating rabbit food for the last few days and I think I'll live.

I also hope I get thinner.

Not a chance I'll be running near this hotel. The opportunities for Death By Misadventure(tm), mostly from traffic, are astronomical.

No splits.

30min on elliptical, 17 MAY 10, Colonial Heights, Virginia

iThink: nothing, but that's because Saving Private Ryan was on TNT as I was cranking away.

WX at 2400: 64 (18) DP 60 (16) BP 30.12 (1019) E 5 RH 87

Odometer 1: 392.8mi equivalence

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I am now on temporary duty and the rebuilding begins now. Perhaps it's appropriate that SPR was on TV as I was getting back on the the wagon.

It's late, and somewhat reminscent of when I was working out late in Afghanistan. I will need to be more diligent about going to sleep early so I can get the sleep I know I'll need to get back on the wagon of fitness, as opposed to lardness.

No Splits.

Record APFT, 283 points, 14 MAY 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

WX at 0600: 48.0 (8.9) DP 46.9 (8.3) BP 30.23 (1023) Calm RH 96

Odometer 2: 112.8mi

Z4 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I have been the beneficiary, not of good genetics, but of low standards. I always think about a former boss who ripped into me for having low standards once, because, as it turns out, that particular day I did.

Today I went in with the hope that I'd get 60 in each event. I was frankly shocked that I could eke out my customary 100 points in the pushups and situps, but the margin of success was much, much lower. Normally I have plenty of time left, which was the case for the pushups, but not for situps. The run just plain sucked. I was gratified to know that I ran faster than 16:00, which is about what I was expecting, but I was amazed that what I ran was worth 83 points.

Ah well. Time to work off my sins. Now I find out just how much explosive weight loss I can pull off in the next 30 days.

Splits
Pushups: 73 in 0:50
Situps: 76 in 1:59
15:32 2 mile run:
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
0.25 01:42 01:42 06:48 06:48 0.25
0.25 03:36 01:54 07:36 07:12 0.50
0.25 05:33 01:57 07:48 07:24 0.75
0.25 07:30 01:57 07:48 07:30 1.00
0.25 09:31 02:01 08:04 07:37 1.25
0.25 11:33 02:02 08:08 07:42 1.50
0.25 13:35 02:02 08:08 07:46 1.75
0.25 15:32 01:57 07:48 07:46 2.00

Catharsis!

Done with grad school for the semester. It had about as much enjoyability as putting my hand in a running blender. Weapon of choice at some point this month is going to be Jeremiah Weed or Chartreuse, whichever I get my grubby hands on first.

Then, I found this, and laughed uncontrollably.

I am so glad I'm too old to go to Ranger School...I am definitely too old for that shit, but it sure is fun to watch.

It's not April 1, but I don't care

Ha. Ha. Ha.

So, so wrong

I will never think of Rickrolling the same way again. Ever.


But probably not as wrong as this.

The Coolest Thing Ever 1bis

As a young lieutenant in the Armor Officer Basic Course long, long ago, I adored the video for the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." As a much older captain and major I had come to adore the remake of Battlestar Galactica.

Now there is...a Hybrid.

The Coolest Thing Ever

I probably need to stay away from the milblogosphere, especially since I'm at one of the focal points of much of their grist (the inconsistent state of professional military education) in my day job.

Still, the category just about says it all. There is NO WAY WHATSOEVER I was going to pass up a tag called "IDF Death Babes." Now I'm further behind on my graduate school homework.

I SWEAR I cannot make this up.

Indicators

I wonder if there's something to the fact that the only movies I've actually wanted to see lately are really nihilistic violence festivals like Harry Brown, even if it does feature a super-bad-ass Michael Caine.

4.55mi, 38:21, 28 APR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Cure, "Disintegration"

WX at 0600: 43.0 (6.1) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 29.89 (1012) S 7 RH 88

Odometer 1: 389.8mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 168/185

First run in almost two weeks. Third run in the last month. When I think about this past semester, I think that this is the one where I lost my mileage base and learned what academic exhaustion feels like. What irritates me is that it's in my first year of graduate work, but unlike many of my classmates, I'm holding down two classes and a full-time job which amplifies the workload quite a bit.

The weather was ideal and I was frankly surprised that I ran what I did, even this morning when I've done so little. Either that, or the other reason for not completely coming apart is because I've made a concerted effort to cycle everywhere I go on Fort Leavenworth since it's a (comparatively) cyclist friendly post and vehicle parking has traditionally sucked so bad that it's easier for me to take my chances riding (even in the rain, for which I got fenders on my bike) than driving and doing the Great American Orbit-for-A-Great-Parking Spot. Instead of burning dead fossils, I'm burning lard. I can live with that.

There will be time for future penance later.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:22 08:22 08:22 08:22 1.00
1.00 16:56 08:34 08:34 08:28 2.00
1.00 25:26 08:30 08:30 08:29 3.00
1.00 33:47 08:21 08:21 08:27 4.00
0.55 38:21 04:34 08:18 08:26 4.55

3.43mi, 28:30, 16 APR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Senses Fail, "Calling All Cars"

WX at 0600: 60.1 (15.6) DP 57.9 (14.4) BP 30.2 (1022) N 18 light rain RH 92

Odometer 1: 385.3mi

Z3 high-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 161/179

I cannot believe it's been 3 weeks since I last worked out in any significant capacity. The only thing I've been doing in the meantime was cycling to work. Literally.

So, I went to sleep early enough last night that I could afford to get up early and run, so I went to the track and just ran in the outer lane for a while. It's been a while.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:10 08:10 08:10 08:10 1.00
1.00 16:29 08:19 08:19 08:15 2.00
1.00 24:47 08:18 08:18 08:16 3.00
0.43 28:30 03:43 08:39 08:19 3.43

My mantra as a campaign planner

It's been a year since I got back from Afghanistan. I say this because I started to take our combat fatalities very personally by the time I had returned back to the United States.

Our living plight, the gods cast aside
The gods allay
Our sleepless nights, our restless days
We shall obey their least command
And give our hearts, our minds, our hands unto them

Our voices lift to praise your powers
And seek, seek your help in darkest hours
O gods! We pray with plaintive cries
And trust your merciful replies.

The gods cannot a heart betray
They know not night
They know not death’s long day

They sport in splendor with our fears
And look as dewdrops on our tears

The gods forswear, all mercies past,
Each mortal heart will beat its last

Each mortal hand in stillness lie
All mortal love, condemned to die

The gods have wings, and bright ascend!
To leave us weeping in the end

Laura Kalpakian, libretto to Bear McCreary, "Capricoperatica"

In the interests of disclosure, the other bit of Bear McCreary's work that has weighed heavily on me lately was "The Collapse of Saint Francis." There's an element to penance that sticks in my mind a year after I came back. I hesitate to say that I came home, because a year after the fact, I don't really feel like I'm home.

3.5mi, 30:15, 26 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Angie Hart, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

WX at 0600: 37.9 (3.3) DP 26.1 (-3.3) BP 30.06 (1017) E 9 RH 61

Odometer 1: 381.9mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 157/174

Woke up early hoping to get in a run, and do physical therapy, but I spent too much time on the computer. Oops.

I forgot Angie Hart was the Angie Hart of Frente! That would explain the Australian accent. I still think the understated cover is nicely done because it's not a complete rehash of the original Smiths song. The other one I like is Walleye's "There is A Light," but that's because it successfully bridges two genres I'd think unbridgeable, namely BritPop and hardcore.

At least I got 3.5 up-tempo miles in. Or something that wasn't wogging.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:20 08:20 08:20 08:20 1.00
1.00 17:08 08:48 08:48 08:34 2.00
1.00 26:00 08:52 08:52 08:40 3.00
0.50 30:15 04:15 08:30 08:39 3.50

3.5mi on elliptical, 30min, 25 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Madder Rose, "Margaret"

WX at 0600: 44.1 (6.7) 42.1 (5.6) 29.88 (1011) N 14 light drizzle

Odometer 1: 378.4mi

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

425 calories, or so it says.

I didn't feel like running while it was wet outside. It wasn't raining, but I didn't feel like getting very muddy either, so I went to the gym (which is in the process of being renovated) and cranked out about 3 and a half elliptimiles.

Searching through the channels, I also realized why I don't watch TV. What passes for popular entertainment makes my brain melt. This sounds elitist, but I don't care. I find what I see on TV (with some very few exceptions such as The Pacific) intellectually vacant. If I want that, I can break out some Jeremiah Weed and achieve that state in about 30 minutes.

6.0mi, 51:58, 21 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 1300: 39.0 (3.9) DP 25.0 (-3.9) BP 30.05 (1017) N 16 RH 56

Odometer 1: 374.9mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 165/178

This is sad when this is my first run since Wednesday...and I don't think it's unusual that I've gone as long in between workouts as I have. Today was faster only because I had no snivel gear on. I was mostly done with some stuff around the house and realized I had a golden opportunity for a workout, so I took it. I need it.

This speaks volumes for low expectations. This indicative by my telling people that I know I can get a 180 on the PT test. That's about all I care about lately for goals.

I also started physical therapy for my right hand and trapezius, so I'm complaining of muscles that are sore because they're getting use and usually get none. Fun.

I have had little true motivation to do homework for graduate school this semester. Some of this is attributable to the fact that these are courses I have to take for degree requirements rather than ones I really want to take, but that's the price of doing business. The latest paper I've written is but an indicator. I have another due in two weeks that will have similar levels of suckitude.

Probably not as much suckitude as the Johns Hopkins lacrosse team, though. They play Virginia next week, which will probably continue the slide in what is turning out to be a really long season.

The fact that Kansas lost to Northern Iowa (a school where one of my good friends from my last combat tour went as an undergraduate!) was only incidental to me. Basketball is something that only dimly factors in my universe, right up there with watching paint dry. It does bother me when I read about college players having children, or debating on whether to stay at school another year rather than entering the early draft for the NBA, or comparing their loss in the NCAA tournament to losing a first son. It was the last part that really grated on me.

"Next to my son dying, this is probably the worst thing that has happened in my life." Uh-huh. There is more to life than sports.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:15 08:15 08:15 08:15 1.00
1.00 17:03 08:48 08:48 08:31 2.00
1.00 25:49 08:46 08:46 08:36 3.00
1.00 34:48 08:59 08:59 08:42 4.00
1.00 43:32 08:44 08:44 08:42 5.00
1.00 51:58 08:26 08:26 08:40 6.00

4.1mi, 37:46, 17 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Morrissey, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (live in Manchester)

WX at 0600: 39.9 (4.4) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 30.22 (1023) NNW 7 mist RH 100

Odometer 1: 368.9mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 157/174

I stepped outside thinking it was going to be 35 and realized (as I should've) that the temperature is NEVER as low as the forecast says it'll be on the NOAA forecast site.

As a result, today was going to be a slow one. I figured once I was outside, no point in belaboring the fact that I needed to get going, so I ran a moderate pace so that I'd be able to burn the lard that desperately needs to get burned (although I admit that I'm not restricting the caloric intake necessary to really do that).

I also needed to just get out there as I realize it's dangerous to get into a rut of going too long without exercise, even if I realize that this song is forever tainted by my college and ROTC classmate Kevin Carroll attempting to turn this into a marching cadence. No shit.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:07 09:07 09:07 09:07 1.00
1.00 18:32 09:25 09:25 09:16 2.00
1.00 28:04 09:32 09:32 09:21 3.00
1.00 37:02 08:58 08:58 09:15 4.00
0.08 37:46 00:44 09:10 09:15 4.08

The Coolest Thing Ever

A video game involving exactly one button. Seriously.

4.1mi, 36:47, 15 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

WX at 0600: 43.0 (6.1) DP 42.1 (5.6) BP 30.21 (1023) NNW 10 RH 96

Odometer 1: 364.8mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

Beware the fuckin' Ides of March.

Daylight savings time is no goddamn fun. I stay up until past midnight and don't even notice it until I have to tell my older daughter to go to sleep because it's past 11pm. Then I have to set my alarm for 6:00am because I gotta have six hours of sleep but I desperately need to work out.

To add insult to injury, my Garmin Forerunner 305 discharged and I need to plug it back in since I left it running when I dropped it into the cradle, which I didn't realize...so no digital mapping of this morning's run...not that this run was anything other than Really Slow, Mostly.

THe iThink is being validated by current events.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
4.08 36:47 36:47 09:01 09:01 4.08

Something I read while on R&R in 2008

A letter to ... My three children and their father

I read this with some foreboding, but this one really tugged at my heart when I read it, less than halfway through an Afghanistan tour in an R&R that I have few fond memories of.

I realized this column was one of the reasons why, of the English newspapers I read, The Guardian was by far my favorite.

(and NO, I am not thinking about 86ing myself.)

Not their finest hour

Listening to Johns Hopkins get eviscerated by Hofstra over WJFK's webcast (on www.espn1300.com) makes me wonder whether Hopkins will be at risk of even making the postseason since they don't have an automatic qualifier.

Of course, if they're playing like this against Hofstra, they're going to get beat badly by Syracuse next weekend.

This is like watching a car cash on CHiPs. It'll be bad, but you can't turn your head away.

3.4mi, 28:25, 11 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

WX at 0600: 42 (6) DP 42 (6) BP 29.39 (995) WSW 5 RH 100

Odometer 1: 360.7mi

Z3 high/Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 161/175

Today was another day of debating whether I wanted to go out. I need to start going to sleep earlier. I realize this because the first thing I want to do in the morning is go back to sleep because I'm still tired. If I'm making a choice between sleep and exercise, this is a bad sign. I made those choices when writing papers for graduate school and I made those choices as a planner in combat. Knowing what that feels like, it's not a good choice because I need both.

Today was surprisingly faster than I expected. It was also colder, so I suspect that helped.

Today's iThink was almost inevitable. There was no other choice.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:15 08:15 08:15 08:15 1.00
1.00 16:36 08:21 08:21 08:18 2.00
1.00 24:57 08:21 08:21 08:19 3.00
0.41 28:25 03:28 08:27 08:20 3.41

4.0mi, 34:16, 10 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Edison Shine, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
Loquat, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
The Smiths, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

WX at 0600: 46.0 (7.8) DP 46.0 (7.8) BP 29.5 (998) W 3 mist RH 100

Odometer 1: 359.3mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 152/171

I was listening to the iThink song as I was driving back from class in Lawrence yesterday. I will be glad when this semester is over, as it's coursework I need to do rather than something I want to do.

I felt completely dead and didn't really wake up until I was two miles into running. As a result, today was going to be nothing but wogging on the track...until I woke up and realized I was putting along at about 8:00/mi or so for some parts of it..

I'm still glad I got out there. I'm not sure if I had to make that choice whether I'd have gone out there, no matter how badly I need to run.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:28 08:28 08:28 08:28 1.00
1.00 17:09 08:41 08:41 08:34 2.00
1.00 25:34 08:25 08:25 08:31 3.00
1.04 34:16 08:42 08:22 08:29 4.04

6.0mi, 51:52, 7 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

WX at 0900: 39.9 (4.4) DP 35.1 (1.7) BP 30.15 (1020) WNW 10 RH 83

Odometer 1: 355.2mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 160/177

Two beers and four pizza slices last night before I went to sleep and I had best be running, and I was.

I had occasion last night to watch the local theater's production of Footloose (yes, a musical adaptation of the Kevin Bacon movie) and realized it was a story not only about cultural change (or fear thereof), but also reconciliation and coming of age. I'd never seen the movie, but I was talking with one of the actors (one of my coworkers in Iraq four years ago) about how good theater really puts you in the story - and in retrospect, you really don't need spectacular sets to do that - in fact, in some ways, that's not necessarily what you want because it takes you away from the actors themselves.

Good theater is a reminder of something from the episode "The Samaritan Snare" from Star Trek: The Next Generation: "There's no greater challenge than the study of philosophy. Anyone can be trained in the mechanics of piloting a starship. Open your mind to the past - art, history, philosophy. And all this may mean something."

Today was surprisingly faster than I expected, but I didn't run yesterday and today's my first day running without snivel gear - which makes (from what I can tell) a few seconds per mile difference.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:28 08:28 08:28 08:28 1.00
1.00 17:00 08:32 08:32 08:30 2.00
1.00 25:54 08:54 08:54 08:38 3.00
1.00 34:59 09:05 09:05 08:45 4.00
1.00 43:34 08:35 08:35 08:43 5.00
1.00 51:52 08:18 08:18 08:39 6.00

4.1mi, 35:44, 5 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bruce Springsteen, "The River" (live in New York City)

WX at 0600: 32.0 (0.0) DP 19.0 (-7.2) BP 30.2 (1022) ESE 9 WC 24 (-4) RH 58

Odometer 1: 349.2mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/174

There's no other song appropriate to the solitude of this morning's run.

I need to start getting more than five hours of sleep a night.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:33 08:33 08:33 08:33 1.00
1.00 17:25 08:52 08:52 08:43 2.00
1.00 26:40 09:15 09:15 08:53 3.00
1.00 35:03 08:23 08:23 08:46 4.00
0.08 35:44 00:41 08:33 08:45 4.08

4.25mi, 38:31, 3 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bruce Springsteen, "The River"
The Smiths, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

WX at 0600: 21.9 (-5.6) DP 19.9 (-6.7) BP 30.13 (1020) Calm mist RH 91

Odometer 1: 345.1mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 152/170

I ws feeling a little slow this morning and woke up tired (I'm sure the Diet Coke and two Hamm's beers didn't help much last night since I was up every two hours).

I loosened up in the end, though. The negative splits I ran are a good validation of that, so I got what I needed out of this run.

Tensions in the house are only mildly abated. There's a reason why "The River" stuck in my head first thing this morning.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:04 09:04 09:04 09:04 1.00
1.00 18:23 09:19 09:19 09:11 2.00
1.00 27:44 09:21 09:21 09:15 3.00
1.00 36:22 08:38 08:38 09:05 4.00
0.25 38:31 02:09 08:36 09:04 4.25

3.13mi, 27:58, 1 MAR 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Smiths, "I Know It's Over"

WX at 0600: 24.1 (-4.4) DP 19.0 (-7.2) BP 30.2 (1022) N 7 WC 15 (-9) RH 80

Odometer 1: 340.9mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 154/172

Household6 and the girls (the old names of Sledgehammer and Princess don't really fit anymore) brought home a puppy last week out of the blue. I certainly had no idea that we were going to get a puppy and it's my observation that you need to socialize major decisions like that before you make them. Yes, I was resentful.

We gave up the dog to my older daughter's elementary school teacher. They are resentful now. I could not in good conscience take on a pet when I had no time to take care of it, and I was frankly unwilling to change my schedule. I have to wake up early to run, and I can't help that the dog woke up when I woke up, and I could not concentrate on graduate school work with a puppy that needs attention. Competing priorities was the single greatest reason why I never got a pet. I made an honest assessment about my ability to take care of one, and judged no. I was up front. I would not say no to a pet, but I also said I wanted no part in training or taking care of a pet that I didn't think the girls were going to take care of - even if it was Household6's dog. External observers may point out that my refusal to support might seem spiteful.

So...there is much resentment and anger in the house, and while this is not necessarily a proximate cause for what may come in the future, there's a reason why this particular Smiths song stuck this morning.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:42 08:42 08:42 08:42 1.00
1.00 17:48 09:06 09:06 08:54 2.00
1.00 26:56 09:08 09:08 08:59 3.00
0.13 27:58 01:02 07:57 08:56 3.13