2.51mi, 23:56, 9 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond, "Can't Sleep"

WX at 0600: 71.1 (21.7) DP 66.0 (18.9) BP 29.61 (1002) SSE 13 RH 84

Odometer 11A: 41.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 151/167

OHJESUSTITTYFUCKINGCHRIST did today suck giant hairy monkey balls. I know it's going to be bad when I'm killing myself to run 9:00/mi.

On the other hand, pushups and situps are now at acceptable standards (80 and 80). I also ran today after doing aforementioned pushups and situps. I reap what I sow.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:45 09:45 09:45 09:45 1.00
1.00 19:12 09:27 09:27 09:36 2.00
0.51 23:56 04:44 09:17 09:32 2.51

An essential truth

I direct your attention to the penultimate frame: that "...you don't become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process."

(shout out to XKCD.)

p.s. I also realized that I hardcoded this link, and that as a graduate historian, that I shouldn't be able to remember the A HREF and IMG SRC tags in HTML from memory. Looooooooooooooooooser....

3.29mi, 29:28, 8 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
David Bowie, "Life on Mars"
The Cure, "One Hundred Years"

WX at 0800: 64.9 (18.3) DP 50.0 (10.0) BP 29.85 (1010) ESE 9 RH 58

Odometer 3: 217.3mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 152/174

The iThink had some peculiar tunes for Mother's Day. Oh well. It is what it is.

The average heart rate was deceptively slow - my legs were still tired from Friday's slug-a-thon. I was working very, very hard to maintain speed going uphill for a run I knew was going to be short. On the bright side, I could feel things starting to loosen up by mile 2, a little earlier than usual.

Or I could be deluding myself also.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:50 08:50 08:50 08:50 1.00
1.00 17:46 08:56 08:56 08:53 2.00
1.00 26:53 09:07 09:07 08:58 3.00
0.29 29:28 02:35 08:54 08:57 3.29

The best take on French philosophy ever

Having read Sartre's Huis Clos in my sophomore year of high school, I really appreciated the line at the end. Fucking awesome.

Heretics 'R Us

In Afghanistan, three years ago:
"You want my crucifix?" - a Marine, talking about his stand to hang his body armor and helmet
"Oh, fuck yeah." - me
"Isn‘t that contradictory, that combination?" - another one of my coworkers

SMBC strikes again!


Oh, fuck yeah.

7.78mi, 76:25 aggregate (13:56 ingress, 49:22 run, 13:07 return), 6 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Marilyn Manson, "The Beautiful People"

WX at 0700: 44.1 (6.7) DP 43.0 (6.1) BP 30 (1015) SSW 7 RH 95

Odometer 11A: 38.9mi

Z3 ingress, Z2 formation run, Z4 return.
Average/max heart rate = 147/176

Today was a Fort Leavenworth-wide formation run. It was of pedestrian pace, so I wasn't really concerned. I didn't want to try to find parking, nor did I want to screw with dodging pedestrian traffic on the way in, so I ran as a warmup to the slowest run I've done all year.

I'll credit today's iThink to one of my students, as we were discussing the same tired old tropes that get played every formation run, which include, but are not limited to:

Bill Conti's theme from Rocky
Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger"
AC/DC, "Thunderstruck"
2 Unlimited, "Are You Ready for This?"

So my student was mentioning Marilyn Manson, and he mentioned that song, which I found curiously apropos to my decidedly non-corporate Army mindset this morning. Gargantuan formation runs do that to me.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.56 13:56 13:56 08:56 08:56 1.56
1.00 24:48 10:52 10:52 09:41 2.56
1.00 34:52 10:04 10:04 09:48 3.56
1.00 45:22 10:30 10:30 09:57 4.56
1.00 56:03 10:41 10:41 10:05 5.56
0.71 63:18 07:15 10:13 10:06 6.27
1.51 76:25 13:07 08:41 09:49 7.78

3.54mi, 31:40, 5 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Michael Nyman, "The Heart Asks Pleasure First"

WX at 0700: 54.0 (12.2) DP 48.0 (8.9) BP 30.15 (1020) SW 8 light rain RH 80

Odometer 3: 214.0mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 158/171

I am somewhat dismayed at my lack of speed going uphill, but I think some of it is just the usual toughening that happens when a fatbody starts getting back into some kind of disciplined workout routine.

I was thinking about how much faster I used to be just five years ago, but I think some of that will come back when I have more time to devote to exercise rather than the fucking incessant grind that working on my doctorate sometimes is.

Pushups are ready. Situps need some work. Still, I guess I'm glad I can get back into sometime resembling form in a week or so.

Tomorrow will be a big-ass formation run of over 4 miles. It promises to be craptacular in a Keystone Kops kind of way.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:31 08:31 08:31 08:31 1.00
1.00 17:55 09:24 09:24 08:58 2.00
1.00 26:50 08:55 08:55 08:57 3.00
0.54 31:40 04:50 08:57 08:57 3.54

4.3mi, 39:05, 3 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: various sundry running cadences

WX at 0700: 36.0 (2.2) DP 28.9 (-1.7) BP 30.32 (1026) N 5 RH 75

Odometer 11A: 32.1mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/171

Pushups and situps are improving. Glad to know it takes about two weeks to get back into fighting trim - at least enough to get what I want out of the first two events of the PT test whenever I take it.

Run started out gritty as usual, but the weather was picture perfect. It doesn't get much better than this. I think I was warmed up just after the 3-mile mark, although the uphills seem more painful than usual lately.

My occasional syndrome of dead legs, particularly on uphills, seems to be at hand, although it is the first sustained period I've been back to exercising again.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:45 08:45 08:45 08:45 1.00
1.00 17:59 09:14 09:14 09:00 2.00
1.00 27:16 09:17 09:17 09:05 3.00
1.00 36:20 09:04 09:04 09:05 4.00
0.30 39:05 02:45 09:10 09:05 4.30

Yet another Downfall spoof

But all those variations on this scene from Downfall always make for good grist. This is about all I will comment on current events here, I suspect.

3.45mi, 33:03, 2 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Rush, "The Analog Kid"

WX at 0700: 39.9 (4.4) DP 28.0 (-2.2) BP 30.22 (1023) NE 3 RH 62

Odometer 3: 210.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 155/168.

Today was slow and shitty. I also woke up tired, after a curiously lucid dream that was about being back at Fort Hood, a place I thought I'd never return.

My sentiments of the royal wedding and of children's sleep habits are emblematic of an incipient Case of the Ass that seems to be flaring up periodically. Kind of like hemorrhoids, but much less painful. For me, at least.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:16 09:16 09:16 09:16 1.00
1.00 19:21 10:05 10:05 09:41 2.00
1.00 28:39 09:18 09:18 09:33 3.00
0.45 33:03 04:24 09:47 09:35 3.45

My Anglophilia has reasonable limits...

When asked on a scale of 1 to 10 how much interest I had in the royal wedding, my answer was always "zero."

The Coolest Thing Ever

I am so totally buying this book. I guess my inner Knight In Sour Armor is going in overdrive lately.

4.84mi, 43:03, 1 MAY 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Hüsker Dü, "New Day Rising" (from The Living End)

WX at 0900: 50.0 (10.0) 23.0 (-5.0) 30.11 (1019) N 14 RH 34

Odometer 11A: 27.8mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 158/180

Faster than usual, but I had a day off yesterday. Weather conditions were pretty good.

I was in an early Husker Du kind of mood. The live cut of "New Day Rising" off The Living End has a particularly evocative quality to it.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:05 09:05 09:05 09:05 1.00
1.00 18:48 09:43 09:43 09:24 2.00
1.00 27:18 08:30 08:30 09:06 3.00
1.00 35:50 08:32 08:32 08:58 4.00
0.84 43:03 07:13 08:35 08:54 4.84

4.78mi, 42:48, 29 APR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Husker Du, "New Day Rising"

WX at 0700: 50.0 (10.0) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 29.91 (1012) E 13 RH 68

Odometer 11A: 22.9mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 162/179

I decided on a less punishing course today, but didn't count on my warmup being slower than usual. I didn't feel fully warmed up until about the 3.5mi mark, a little late by my standards. I felt fine afterwards, but I was working a lot harder to hold 9:00/mi going downhill until then, and on the way back, was closer to 8:30/mi on rolling hills afterwards. Slow day.

My pushups and situps are returning to what I consider acceptable levels. Got in 75 of each this morning, but I need to get up to at least 100 in each before I lay off. Should take about a week.

Snippets of Matthew Sweet's "We're The Same" sneaked in this morning, but I was in a Bob Mould kind of mood, so I ruthlessly suppressed it in favor of one of my favorite Husker Du songs EVER. Nothing warms my heart like a little controlled screaming.

Either that, or I needed an antidote to the royal wedding this morning. I still stand by my assertion that romance novels and porn are responsible for more heartbreak than anything else in the world.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:09 09:09 09:09 09:09 1.00
1.00 17:43 08:34 08:34 08:51 2.00
1.00 26:59 09:16 09:16 09:00 3.00
1.00 36:07 09:08 09:08 09:02 4.00
0.78 42:48 06:41 08:34 08:57 4.78

4.29mi, 39:11, 28 APR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Killers, "When You Were Young"
Anberlin, "Cold War Transmissions"

WX at 0700: 44.1 (6.7) DP 39.9 (4.4) BP 29.89 (1012) WSW 8 RH 85

Odometer 3: 206.9mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 163/180

The road to recovery continues. Today's run felt easier than others. I can chalk that up to my failure to set my alarm yesterday (resulting in a day of no workout), but also to the weather today, which is about as perfect running weather as it gets.

My other pair of shoes (Asics GT-2060 trail) is not quite broken in, I suspect - they sound markedly different than the ones I wore today (Asics GT-2040 trail)

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:18 09:18 09:18 09:18 1.00
1.00 19:24 10:06 10:06 09:42 2.00
1.00 27:59 08:35 08:35 09:20 3.00
1.00 36:40 08:41 08:41 09:10 4.00
0.29 39:11 02:31 08:41 09:08 4.29

My new dream house

On my signal, one , two, three, TURN.

4.89mi, 46:04, 26 APR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
FEAR, "Gimme Some Action"
Tiesto vs. Fannypack, "The So Stylistic Century"
Killing Zone, "All Along the Watchtower"

WX at 0600: 46.9 (8.3) DP 46.9 (8.3) BP 29.46 (997) W 13 light rain; mist RH 100

Odometer 11A: 18.1mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 164/181

Situps to start. No problem. Pushups, on the other hand, were abysmal. Out of gas from the start, so I think I might have gotten in about 20-25, and the rest were on the knees, sucking it out.

Today's run was supposed to be shorter, but wasn't. No matter, it was lots of hill work, which explains the massively elevated heartrate and the slower mile paces. I am assuming that this will have some benefit to run times since if I run speedwork in my current state I'll break myself first due to utter and complete lack of mileage base.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:34 09:34 09:34 09:34 1.00
1.00 19:57 10:23 10:23 09:58 2.00
1.00 28:56 08:59 08:59 09:39 3.00
1.00 37:54 08:58 08:58 09:28 4.00
0.89 46:04 08:10 09:11 09:25 4.89

Admit it. You know it's true.

another shout-out to SMBC.

4.72mi, 42:41, 25 APR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Legion of Doom, "Dangerous Business Since 1979"
Belle and Sebastian, "Like Dylan at the Movies"

WX at 0600: 51.1 (10.6) DP 46.9 (8.3) BP 29.79 (1008) NE 8 RH 85

Odometer 3: 202.6mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 163/180

First run in over two weeks. I suck so bad. The alternative is to suck worse later when it counts, so it's time to suck now later and take the pain.

I took a different route for no particularly good reason, but it was clear enough where I wanted to see a different perspective from the high ground. I paid for that ascent and actually stopped once, which is not encouraging.

Neither was my generalized lack of pushups and situps this morning. Time to work on it again.

The iThink reflected a war between two influences, emo, and Britpop respectively. When I was not sucking monkey balls, it was Britpop. When I was not feeling well and wanted to kill something, it was emo. Whee.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:41 08:41 08:41 08:41 1.00
1.00 18:19 09:38 09:38 09:09 2.00
1.00 27:18 08:59 08:59 09:06 3.00
1.00 36:23 09:05 09:05 09:06 4.00
0.72 42:41 06:18 08:45 09:03 4.72

Some thoughts on my birthday

That's why they were giving most of their commands orally. They were being transmitted to real crews of real ships who followed their orders and fought real battles. 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.

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Shadow

6.44mi, 59:16, 10 APR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
"Johnny Hopkins" (traditional fight song of the Johns Hopkins University)
Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day"
Cheap Trick, "Mighty Wings"

WX at 0900: 75.0 (23.9) DP 64.0 (17.8) BP 29.56 (1001) SSW 23G31

Odometer 3: 197.9mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 164/182

I didn't run the last two days, mostly due to lack of time.

I got in a long one today that went down hard. Some of it was the temperature, which is much warmer than I'm used to; some of it is just being out of shape.

On the bright side, at least I burned some lard. I didn't walk the parts that I was really sucking going uphill, which I was tempted.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:59 08:59 08:59 08:59 1.00
1.00 17:59 09:00 09:00 09:00 2.00
1.00 27:02 09:03 09:03 09:01 3.00
1.00 36:25 09:23 09:23 09:06 4.00
1.00 45:55 09:30 09:30 09:11 5.00
1.00 55:17 09:22 09:22 09:13 6.00
0.44 59:16 03:59 09:03 09:12 6.44

Nuke the whales

You gotta nuke something.

For my combat engineer friends, always remember, P is for plenty. It's been a while since I've worked with MDI, but that rule works like a champ.

Some eternal truth

Another gem from the folks at SMBC. Right up there with a basic observation from the guys at XKCD.

4.32mi, 36:25, 6 APR 11, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

iThink: New Model Army, "Lurhstaap"

WX at 1800: 55.9 (13.3) DP 36.0 (2.2) BP 29.87 (1011) Variable 3 RH 46

Odometer 3: 191.5mi

Z4 high.
Average/max heart rate = 167/183

I didn't wake up early enough today, although I have to admit sleep has been somewhat hit or miss. Dare I say I think I miss my memory foam mattress. No kidding.

I got at it knowing I was going to have to move out smartly, so this turned into a hard start and by about 30 minutes in, it was time for a burner of a finish. I was fully warmed up or something like it because I was fully fired up on the last mile.

I went markedly faster today, but I think I attribute that to running in the afternoon, which I rarely do, but feel better when I do. Still, it was something I needed to do.

There's a certain aggression I associate with "Lurhstaap," one of the darker songs in NMA's repertoire, although I haven't been keeping up with their discography. I was quite the partisan NMA fan 20 years ago. The song still retains its vigor for me. Of course, I could say that same thing about The Cure's "A Forest" and I've been listening to that song since, oh, well, 1988. Yes, really.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:09 08:09 08:09 08:09 1.00
1.00 16:45 08:36 08:36 08:22 2.00
1.00 25:21 08:36 08:36 08:27 3.00
1.00 33:46 08:25 08:25 08:26 4.00
0.32 36:25 02:39 08:17 08:26 4.32

4.66mi, 40:55, 5 APR 11, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

iThink:
New Model Army, "Lurhstaap"
R.E.M., "Pretty Persuasion"
Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day" (Daniel Kandi remix)

WX at 0600: 60.1 (15.6) DP 55.9 (13.3) BP 29.22 (989) Variable 3 light rain RH 86

Odometer 3: 187.1mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 166/184

At the Army War College for a conference, and this is the first run in a week. Literally. It was warm, and I sucked. Still, it's always nice to be back in Carlisle, where I've visited (professionally) on several occasions.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:24 08:24 08:24 08:24 1.00
1.00 17:19 08:55 08:55 08:39 2.00
1.00 26:13 08:54 08:54 08:44 3.00
1.00 35:06 08:53 08:53 08:47 4.00
0.66 40:55 05:49 08:49 08:47 4.66

A uniquely American military headgear!

As a lifetime member of the 7th Cavalry Association and 1st Cavalry Division Association, woot.

Too bad the implementation day is a small hint.

4.19mi, 35:39, 27 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond, "Can't Sleep"

WX at 0900: 32.0 (0.0) DP 21.9 (-5.6) BP 30.13 (1020) NE 14 RH 65

Odometer 11A: 13.2mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 168/182

Today wasn't going to be a hard run, but it became one because I had enough energy (and perhaps enough generalized ire) that I decided to go out there and hit it.

My general rule of thumb was not to average less than 9:00/mi, which is harder than it sounds, at least these days. When I look at some of the listings from 6-7 years ago, I realize I was a lot faster then, but I wasn't working on a doctorate then either. Maybe I'll practice better time management skills later.

I will carve out time on the weekends to watch lacrosse. Big kudos to my Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for upsetting Virginia - a game that I didn't expect them to win but have to give a hat tip after a tough third quarter and gritting it out for a win in the 4th quarter. We want more!

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:02 08:02 08:02 08:02 1.00
1.00 16:37 08:35 08:35 08:18 2.00
1.00 25:36 08:59 08:59 08:32 3.00
1.00 34:05 08:29 08:29 08:31 4.00
0.19 35:39 01:34 08:15 08:31 4.19

4.47mi, 38:27, 26 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day" (Daniel Kandi remix)
The Cure, "Disintegration"

WX at 0900: 36.0 (2.2) DP 28.0 (-2.2) BP 29.94 (1013) E 15 RH 72

Odometer 3: 182.5mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 154/178

First run in about a week or so. It's too long, but I have been too tired during the week to run and still try to get graduate school homework done.

I have almost culminated, midway through the semester. I know this is happening because I have to put away almost a liter of coffee any given day at work to keep going, and there are no release valves anywhere else. Bad indicator, but the campaign (so to speak) is not over until early May. It will be a long, shitty spring.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:01 08:01 08:01 08:01 1.00
1.00 16:40 08:39 08:39 08:20 2.00
1.00 25:46 09:06 09:06 08:35 3.00
1.00 34:29 08:43 08:43 08:37 4.00
0.47 38:27 03:58 08:26 08:36 4.47

Some thoughts on my anniversary

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 life was going to be until you died.

- David Drake, Redliners

2.41mi + 2,000m on Concept2 Model D, time, 22 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Journey, "Remember Me"
Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"

WX at 0600: 62.1 (16.7) DP 55.9 (13.3) BP 29.68 (1005) S 18 overcast RH 80

Odometer 3: 178.0mi equivalency

Z3 run, Z4-5 erg.
Average/max heart rate on run = 153/173
Max heart rate on erg = 180

I went to sleep earlier than most nights so I could get up and get something in.

I have lard to lose. I also saw an opportunity to get back on the Concept2 since I was back in a place that had several. Nothing long, just my 2,000 to get my physical therapy licks in, plus cable work.

I felt slow, though.

I have no mitigation for this morning's iThink.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.20 10:44 10:44 08:57 08:57 1.20
1.22 21:50 11:06 09:06 09:01 2.42

4.75mi, 44:11, 20 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Replacements, "Alex Chilton"
AC/DC, "Hell's Bells" (perfectly appropriate for a Sunday morning!)

WX at 0900: 57.0 (13.9) DP 53.1 (11.7) BP 29.95 (1014) S 21 RH 86

Odometer 3: 174.8

Z2-Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 147/171

I was rediscovering the joys of running slowly, and concentrating on keeping training heart rate down to a reasonable level, rather than going purely for time. This is probably prudent given how little training I've actually done and my notion of easy day has too recently been "do nothing but eat." Hard days turn into "kill self until end of workout."

I was also a little circumspect about going hard because my right ankle has been driving me bat shit crazy the last two days.

First 1.23 was prior to going to the gym and getting in some somewhat overdue cable work for physical therapy as well.

The AC/DC was triggered by hearing bells this morning. Church bells. Yay.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.23 10:43 10:43 08:43 08:43 1.23
1.00 19:57 09:14 09:14 08:57 2.23
1.00 29:49 09:52 09:52 09:14 3.23
1.00 39:25 09:36 09:36 09:19 4.23
0.52 44:11 04:46 09:10 09:18 4.75

3.88mi, 48:12, 15 MAR 11, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

iThink:
Chicane, "Autumn Tactics" (End of Summer remix)
Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day"

WX at 2000: 46.9 (8.3) DP 37.9 (3.3) BP 30.32 (1026) SE 13 RH 71

Odometer 11A: 9.0mi

Z3 high/Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 156/180

I won't get around to this tomorrow, so getting my licks in while I still can.

I deliberately didn't run this hard, but all the uphills were still pretty hard. I walked when I thought I was going to redline. I felt fine, though, otherwise.

Hell no, there won't be any splits on this listing either.

4.66mi, 54:54, 14 MAR 11, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

iThink: Chicane, "Autumn Tactics" (End of Summer remix)

WX at 1900: 48.9 (9.4) DP 28.0 (-2.2) BP 30.36 (1028) Calm RH 44

Odometer 11A: 5.0mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 159/179

I got new ASICS GT-2160 trail shoes, which certainly feel nice and I'm sure my knees won't hurt like hell like my previous shoes which were going on two years old. I was loath to replace them, but I also realize I don't run anywhere near as much as I used to, so maybe alternating shoes maybe isn't such a great idea until I start running more.

Still, I wanted to run trails, and there's a great trail network at Quantico, which completely ran me ragged. I was running by myself and realized two things:

1 - I miss trail running - few opportunities to do it and it is a reminder of when I was younger, faster, and leaner.
2 - I'm not so proud as to kill myself trying to get uphill in some places. When I feel like I'm redlining, it's time to walk. Maybe I'll feel froggier, but not today, not the first time exercising in literally an ENTIRE WEEK.

Discrepancy is guesstimate since I ran most of one of the trail segments with the timer off. I don't know how long it was, but I know I was out for more than an hour.

That said, I can feel my ankle throbbing, so it's time for the nightly constitutional, otherwise known as Celebrex.

Arthritis at the advanced age of 37, awesome. Better living through chemicals, hoorah, kill.

Hell no, I'm not recording splits from this one. Not with over a total of 3,000 feet in elevation change in this run.

4.0mi, 37:01, 7 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Bats, "Courage"
The Cure, "In Between Days"

WX at 0600: 35.1 (1.7) DP 30.0 (-1.1) BP 30.01 (1016) ESE 8 RH 81

Odometer 3: 170.0mi equivalency

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 160/177

I guess I haven't worn these pair of shoes for a run since December, not counting the 50 minutes of elliptimiles last week.

My legs were beat hard after yesterday's run - to go from 0 to over 5 miles at a stretch is doable but I suspected I was going to feel it - and today was the feeling it part.

It wasn't going to be easy.

I also have no idea what made me think of that song by the Cure - not one I have beat to death (unlike "A Forest," "Primary," or "Disintegration"), and not on an album I consider one of my favorites. Strange.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:51 08:51 08:51 08:51 1.00
1.00 18:21 09:30 09:30 09:11 2.00
1.00 27:41 09:20 09:20 09:14 3.00
1.00 37:01 09:20 09:20 09:15 4.00

5.78mi, 50:30, 6 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day" (Daniel Kandi remix)

WX at 0900: 28.0 (-2.2) DP 24.1 (-4.4) BP 30.26 (1024) ESE 9 RH 85

Odometer 2: 311.8mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 166/179

Time to retire a pair of shoes. These are so squashed that I could feel the knee pain that was going to follow. I was still going to get in a long run, so I did.

That might have something to do with the nagging knee pain lately. Duh.

Slow, not fast, but I needed it.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:19 08:19 08:19 08:19 1.00
1.00 17:04 08:45 08:45 08:32 2.00
1.00 25:46 08:42 08:42 08:35 3.00
1.00 34:41 08:55 08:55 08:40 4.00
1.00 43:46 09:05 09:05 08:45 5.00
0.78 50:30 06:44 08:38 08:44 5.78

Woot

One of my unrepentant musical pleasures in my younger days was disappear fear, a folk band from Baltimore. Sonia Rutstein, with whom I had a brief correspondence whilst in college, mentioned Phil Ochs as one of her influences, certainly musically, and I'd warrant socially as well.

While most people don't associate Phil Ochs with a former armored cavalryman and paratrooper, I guess that's a side I don't indulge much.

So...I gotta go see the movie.

3.55mi, 31:45, 1 MAR 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond feat. Oceanlab, "On A Good Day" (Daniel Kandi remix)

WX at 0700: 33.1 (0.6) DP 24.1 (-4.4) BP 30.12 (1019) S 16 RH 69

Odometer 2: 306.0mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 154/180

Back to my old bad habits of working out once every 4 or 5 days. This will not abide...

1.22mi in, cable work, and extended run back. The longer run helps, especially since I've been taking on extra lard lately that I need to burn off.

That means I need to do more exercise than I have lately, which has been almost none.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.22 10:55 10:55 08:57 08:57 1.22
1.00 19:43 08:48 08:48 08:53 2.22
1.00 28:54 09:11 09:11 08:59 3.22
0.33 31:45 02:51 08:38 08:57 3.55

Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law.

Awesome.

2.41mi, 20:43, 24 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Gunther and Samantha Fox, "Touch Me"
The Bee Gees, "How Deep is Your Love" (yes.)

WX at 0700: 33.1 (0.6) DP 30.0 (-1.1) BP 29.98 (1015) NE 15 RH 88

Odometer 2: 302.4mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 162/176

Before I draw the inevitable face shot for having the Bee Gees in my head, I need to preface it by saying it was because of a death metal cover of "How Deep Is your Love" in the back of my mind as I was running back from the gym. Death metal makes disco far more palatable. Really.

Got a later start, but I was up late revising a manuscript. I need to force myself to go to sleep earlier.

I am getting faster to and from the gym, but part of that is because I didn't get on the erg this morning.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.20 10:23 10:23 08:39 08:39 1.20
1.21 20:43 10:20 08:32 08:36 2.41

2.38mi + 2,000m on Concept2 Model D, 21:47 + 8:27, 23 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond, "On A Good Day" (Daniel Kandi remix)

WX at 0700: 39.0 (3.9) DP 28.0 (-2.2) BP 29.95 (1014) SE 14 RH 64

Odometer 2: 300.0mi equivalency

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I had to force myself to get out there this morning. It was rewarding but it still sucks monkey balls to try to wake up on five hours of sleep.

Still, I need to get out there. So there.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.17 10:10 10:10 08:41 08:41 1.17
1.21 21:47 11:37 09:36 09:09 2.38

Distance: 2000
Time: 00:08:27
Avg/500m: 02:07
Drag Factor: 112
Per Mile: 00:06:48

4.4mi, 39:10, 20 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Killers, "When You Were Young"

WX at 1000: 61.0 (16.1) DP 54.0 (12.2) BP 29.63 (1003) S 23 RH 78

Odometer 2: 288.4mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 158/185

I slept in, then went later. No erg as the building housing the Concepts is closed until Monday.

First 1.18 was to get to the gym, get cable work in and some mid-rows, and then back out to the road.

The wind was breezy, though. Great when tail wind, not so great when headwind.

I was looking at listings from 5 years ago and realize I was a lot faster when I was younger. Blinding Flash of the Obvious.

Heart rate was ridiculously high today. Not sure why.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.18 10:08 10:08 08:35 08:35 1.18
1.00 19:04 08:56 08:56 08:45 2.18
1.00 28:19 09:15 09:15 08:54 3.18
1.00 37:13 08:54 08:54 08:54 4.18
0.23 39:10 01:57 08:29 08:53 4.41

Big titanium alloy balls

Landing a Viper with no engine. Note the deadpan delivery throughout. This is a textbook case of a Crowning Moment of Awesome, to include the timing of when the Viper driver dropped his external tanks - ensuring it landed in an empty backyard.

Credit to Fighter Pilot University for this one.

2.38mi + 2,000m on Concept2 Model D, 19:41 + 8:31.4, 18 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, "The Girl from Ipanema"

WX at 0900: 43.0 (6.1) DP 30.0 (-1.1) BP 30.24 (1024) NNE 10 RH 60

Odometer 2: 284.0mi equivalency

Z4 ingress, Z4 erg, Z3 egress.
Average/max heart rate = 166/180 run only

First workout in about two weeks. I slept in because I am tired, all the time. Not for any good reason.

I also needed to get back on my physical therapy exercises because it's been too long and my upper back was flaring up this past week. Erg first, then cable work.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.20 09:53 09:53 08:14 08:14 1.20
1.18 19:41 09:48 08:18 08:16 2.38

Distance: 2000
Time: 00:08:31
Avg/500m: 02:08
Drag Factor: 115
Per Mile: 00:06:51

How I feel about St. Valentine's Day

Just about says it all.

The Coolest Thing Ever

Zach Weiner draws one of my favorite web comics in the form of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. (As you may guess, I also read XKCD too.) Weiner also has one hell of a snarky sense of humor.

Also see Phil Plait's take on it.

Oh, and by the way, NOM NOM NOM...

2.4mi, time indeterminate, 4 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"

WX at 0700: 5.0 (-15.0) -2.9 (-19.4) 30.22 (1023) SSW 10 RH 69 WC -9 (-23)

Odometer 2: 280.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

I SO almost slept in. Then I found out there'll be flurries tonight. I'll sleep in tomorrow. Short run, then physical therapy work. Yay.

I am embarrassed to think I had a Ke$ha song stuck in my head. Before that, I was thinking of Jeremiah Weed, and realized that "wake up in the morning with a bottle of Weed" doesn't quite work.

No Splits. I'm wearing so much snivel gear (for a -9 wind chill) that clocking the run in is kind of irrelevant.

Feel the Force.

I'll never buy a VW again after my experience with my Passat years ago, but I gotta admit this commercial is catchy.

2.4mi + 30min elliptical, no time reading, 3 FEB 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Tiesto vs. Fannypack - The So Stylistic Century (dig it.)

WX at 0700: -9.0 (-22.8) DP -11.9 (-24.4) BP 30.57 (1035) SSW 8 RH 86 WC -25(-31)

Odometer 2: 278.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

To reiterate my previous post this morning: Frak. It's. Cold.

I needed to get at it, so I did. After putting a few layers on.

Timing the run in would be meaningless given how much snivel gear I was carrying - although I was hoofing it on the way back. Of course, it was cold as hell. The Ninth Layer of Hell.

No Splits.

Frak. It's. Cold.

2.42mi, 21:18, 28 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Gunther and Samantha Fox, "Touch Me"

WX at 0700: 26 (-3) DP 24 (-4) BP 29.92 (1013) SW 7 patches of fog RH 92 WC 17 (-8)

Odometer 2: 273.0mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 150/175

Short run, but I realize I probably need to forcibly get at doing the physical therapy I was supposed to be doing for the last year, so the in-out is punctuated by a session on the cable machine.

So I'm doing it.

I guess I'll see if it holds for the semester.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.20 10:07 10:07 08:26 08:26 1.20
1.22 21:18 11:11 09:10 08:48 2.42

2.38mi + 2,000m on Concept2 Model E, 22:16 + 8:28, 26 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Wendy Carlos, "Anthem" from the Original Soundtrack album to Tron
AC/DC, "Thunderstruck"

WX at 0600: 17 (-8) DP 15 (-9) BP 30.03 (1016) NNW 8 freezing fog RH 92

Odometer 2: 270.5mi equivalency

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

It didn't feel like 17F out there today until I started running against the wind. When it's cold enough to blister my right arm, it's a sign.

I was going to erg for more than 2,000, but I had to get back in time to get to work at a reasonable hour. Or something like that. Today also marked some cable work since I need to get at the physical therapy for my upper back that I've been meaning to do for almost a year and have frankly been dissolute in following.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.17 10:56 10:56 09:21 09:21 1.17
1.21 22:16 11:20 09:22 09:21 2.38

Distance: 2000
Time: 00:08:28
Avg/500m: 02:07
Drag Factor: 115
Per Mile: 00:06:49

5.46mi, 50:44, 25 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me" (Metal Version)
Motorhead, "The Ace of Spades" (Broadway Musical Version)
Motley Crue, "Kickstart My Heart"

WX at 0600: 25.0 (-3.9) DP 21.0 (-6.1) BP 30.15 (1020) Calm RH 84

Odometer 2: 268.5mi

Z3-Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 160/177

Almost slept in but decided to get at it while the roads were mostly clear. This wasn't fast, but it didn't need to be. Seems like every run lately is a recovery run because I'm just not that consistent anymore.

That said, I ran mostly negative splits today and was most definitely warmed up by mile four, which is pretty consistent.

That a Taylor Swift song was stuck in my head is very disturbing. Motorhead and Motley Crue are infinitely more preferable.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:06 09:06 09:06 09:06 1.00
1.00 18:36 09:30 09:30 09:18 2.00
1.00 28:03 09:27 09:27 09:21 3.00
1.00 37:40 09:37 09:37 09:25 4.00
1.00 46:44 09:04 09:04 09:21 5.00
0.46 50:44 04:00 08:42 09:18 5.46

Beat me harder

So says the National Weather Service:

Overnight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wind chill values between -3 and 2. North northwest wind around 8 mph.

Wednesday: Snow after noon. High near 19. Wind chill values between -3 and 7. Calm wind becoming east northeast between 8 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Snow. Low around 13. Wind chill values between -1 and 6. Northeast wind between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Thursday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 18. Wind chill values between -1 and 5. North northwest wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -2. North northwest wind between 3 and 10 mph.

2.3mi + 6,000m on Concept2 Model D, 23:23 + 26:07.1, 18 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Kinks, "Come Dancing"
Soft Cell, "Tainted Love"
Adam Ant, "Goody Two Shoes"
The Police, "Synchronicity I"

WX at 0600: 24 (-4) DP 19 (-7) BP 29.9 (1012) NNW 17 mist RH 79 WC 10 (-12)

Odometer 2: 263.0mi equivalency

Z3 run, Z3 high erg.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

It's been a while since I got on the Concept - it was useful, but I need to be more consistent with it. I started at reasonable speed for the first 2000, had a fast 2000, and finished at a more moderate pace at the end - with my usual crusher of a finish.

Strangely, my ingress run was slower than my egress run. That's unusual since my legs are usually so beat from the erg.

I have no idea why there was a massive onslaught of 80s music this morning in my head.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.17 11:52 11:52 10:09 10:09 1.17
1.21 23:23 11:31 09:31 09:49 2.38

5.31mi, 47:06, 17 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Taio Cruz, "Dynamite" (yes, I am very embarrassed)
Some mostly unsuccessful attempts to dislodge that earwig included
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns" and Mary Lou Lord, "Salem '76"

WX at 0900: 37.0 (2.8) DP 32.0 (0.0) BP 29.64 (1003) S 21 haze RH 81

Odometer 2: 259.4mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 166/x (I'm not taking a 224 MHR as reasonable since the HRM wasn't fully engaged)

Today felt slow. After seeing the forecasts, I thought it was going to be colder than it was. I went out wearing too much snivel gear, but the amount I worked was probably productive. I worked much harder than I thought I would, but my legs were tired for some inexplicable reason.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:44 08:44 08:44 08:44 1.00
1.00 17:48 09:04 09:04 08:54 2.00
1.00 26:42 08:54 08:54 08:54 3.00
1.00 35:40 08:58 08:58 08:55 4.00
1.00 44:28 08:48 08:48 08:54 5.00
0.31 47:06 02:38 08:30 08:52 5.31

A little piece of my professional heritage

As a former member of the First Squadron, Seventh Cavalry, I had no idea I passed weekly past the preserved remains of the only U.S. survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn until tonight.

I need to visit.

4.83mi, 46:41, 15 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: a variety of sundry running cadences in the back of my head

WX at 1000: 24.1 (-4.4) DP 17.1 (-8.3) BP 30.26 (1024) N 8 RH 74 WC 15 (-9)

Odometer X: N/A

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 160/175

Probably the last day I'll wear the sheet metal screw shoes. The roads are clear enough where running on them with sheet metal screws is counterproductive and there's not enough ice to warrant using them.

Slow but I needed to get out there.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:11 09:11 09:11 09:11 1.00
1.00 18:44 09:33 09:33 09:22 2.00
1.00 28:53 10:09 10:09 09:38 3.00
1.00 38:45 09:52 09:52 09:41 4.00
0.83 46:41 07:56 09:33 09:40 4.83

4.4mi, 41:35, 14 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Dmitri Shostakovitch, Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Op. 102

WX at 0700: 15.1 (-9.4) DP 12.0 (-11.1) BP 30.21 (1023) S 5 RH 87 WC 6 (-14)

Odometer X: N/A (old shoes)

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 159/180

First run in a week. Good god this snow sucks ass.
I would've gone yesterday were it not for the fact that it was -1F yesterday with a wind chill of -10. So, no.

The roads are still iced over, so my old sheet metal screw shoes got use this morning.

Back to work.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:51 08:51 08:51 08:51 1.00
1.00 18:24 09:33 09:33 09:12 2.00
1.00 28:08 09:44 09:44 09:23 3.00
1.00 37:59 09:51 09:51 09:30 4.00
0.39 41:35 03:36 09:14 09:28 4.39

4.4mi, 40:45, 7 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: The Smiths, "Paint A Vulgar Picture"

WX at 0600: 39.9 (4.4) DP 30.9 (-0.6) BP 29.59 (1002) NNW 20G26 RH 69

Odometer 2: 284.1mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 156/171

I needed to get out there after the last few days of sleeping in. So I ran. Not fast, but not particularly slowly either.

I realized I had slightly overestimated snivel gear right after I started. Knowing how much heat I kick out on a run, I know if I'm not chilly at the start of a run, that I am overdressed. The considerable wind this morning was the offsetting factor.

From today's iThink and, not coincidentally, Song of the Day:

What makes most people feel happy
Leads them headlong into harm

Those words have nagged in my mind the last few weeks, months, or years. Something to think about on my older daughter's birthday, which is today.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:59 08:59 08:59 08:59 1.00
1.00 18:13 09:14 09:14 09:07 2.00
1.00 27:35 09:22 09:22 09:12 3.00
1.00 37:08 09:33 09:33 09:17 4.00
0.40 40:45 03:37 09:02 09:16 4.40

4.36mi, 39:44, 4 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Michael Kamen, Band of Brothers Suite No. 2
Dmitri Shostakovitch, Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102

WX at : 16.0 (-8.9) DP 12.9 (-10.6) BP 30.16 (1021) WNW 7 RH 87 WC 6 (-14)

Odometer 2: 279.7mi.

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 163/181

The Steadfast Tin Soldier rides again (iThink no. 2 today). Today was chilly but not ridiculously bad, something I attribute to the lack of wind. I almost slept in today, but went for a good moderate pace run. Neither fast nor recovery. Some might argue this constitutes junk miles, but I run so little that for me, there is no such thing as junk mileage.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:53 08:53 08:53 08:53 1.00
1.00 18:10 09:17 09:17 09:05 2.00
1.00 27:21 09:11 09:11 09:07 3.00
1.00 36:31 09:10 09:10 09:08 4.00
0.36 39:44 03:13 08:56 09:07 4.36

6,000m on Concept2 Model D, 26:12.7, 3 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: none, strangely enough during erg. AC/DC, "Hells Bells" on cycle back.

WX at 0600: 18.0 (-7.8) DP 12.0 (-11.1) BP 30.08 (1018) S 9 RH 77 WC 6 (-14)

Odometer 2: 275.3mi equivalency.

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

First 500m or so started out entirely too fast (averaging under 2:05/500m) and I settled into something more sustainable. First 2000m was rough, but after about 20 minutes, I had fully warmed up and felt better. I need to erg more often.

What made this morning different was cycling to the erg rather than running.

Splits
Distance: 6000
Time: 00:26:13
Avg/500m: 02:11
Drag Factor: 115
Per Mile: 00:07:02

Kenny Loggins. Is. Serious. Business.

OMFG I laughed so goddamn hard after reading this story.

The Coolest Thing Ever

Football (for all you non-Americans out there), polar bear style.

3.16mi, 29:29, 1 JAN 11, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: "Cart Surfer" from the MMORPG Club Penguin (my kids have accounts on it.)

WX at 1600: 26.1 (-3.3) DP 7.0 (-13.9) BP 30.15 (1020) W 15 RH 43 WC 14 (-10)

Odometer 2: 273.5mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 151/167

Short run, but my legs were tired going uphill. I needed this, but probably should have gone easier.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:14 09:14 09:14 09:14 1.00
1.00 18:24 09:10 09:10 09:12 2.00
1.00 28:01 09:37 09:37 09:20 3.00
0.16 29:29 01:28 09:10 09:20 3.16

7.6mi, 72:42, 31 DEC 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"
James Horner, "Battle in the Mutara Nebula"
James Horner, "Futile Escape"
John Williams, "Adventures on Earth"
Gunther and the Sunshine Girls, "Touch Me"

WX at 1000: 33 (1) 32 (0) 29.59 (1002) SSW 9 fog RH 93 WC 24 (-4)

Odometer X: N/A (old pair of shoes, last run almost a year ago...)

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 162/174

I slept in yesterday but I needed to get out and get a run in, and I did. What I didn't count on was the streets being iced over because of a layer of sleet that landed last night. I vaguely heard it coming down but it would have been high adventure in anything not spiked, so I dusted off my shoes that have sheet metal screws in it.

I didn't concentrate on pace as much as I did relative effort. For going 7.6mi, I felt okay, but the proof will be in tomorrow's recovery run that I will need to do.

The problem in today's run was a suitable iThink. Almost no one else was out there, which was fine. I'm not sure what made me think of John Williams' "Adventures on Earth" (from his soundtrack to the film E.T.) but I hadn't thought of it in almost 25 years. Literally. I think I was in 8th grade when I first heard it on the 1983 album Out of This World, which Williams conducted with the Boston Pops Orchestra. I think the opening motif in that mirrored the sound of the sheet metal screws on wet pavement, actually.

I saw Restrepo not long ago (and now own it on disk) but this particular scene made me laugh my ass off. Hence the Gunther song. Awesome. And now I have the Song of the Day...

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:36 08:36 08:36 08:36 1.00
1.00 18:00 09:24 09:24 09:00 2.00
1.00 27:43 09:43 09:43 09:14 3.00
1.00 37:21 09:38 09:38 09:20 4.00
1.00 47:12 09:51 09:51 09:26 5.00
1.00 56:57 09:45 09:45 09:30 6.00
1.00 07:38 10:41 10:41 09:40 7.00
0.60 12:42 05:04 08:27 09:34 7.60

2.33mi + 4,000m on Concept2 Model D, 22:23 + 17:07, 29 DEC 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: "The model of a modern university" (thank you, Johns Hopkins alumni spam!)

WX at 0700: 37 (3) DP 35 (2) BP 29.77 (1008) S 12 mist RH 93

Odometer 2: 270.3mi equivalency

Z3 ingress, Z4 row/Z5 finish, Z4 egress.
Average/max heart rate = 155/172 run only

Today's iThink was a true earwig that would not dislodge. I guess if I'd really tried, I'd have dug out Dos Gringos' "Going in For Guns" or "The Legend of Shaved Dog's Ass" which are old faithfuls when I wanted to forcibly eject children's music from my mind.

I was thinking about trying to hit the gym for a session on the erg as I've been trying to get back into physical therapy in earnest. It's getting there, but I don't think I've ever had a leisurely session on the erg. Today was no exception; I was holding zone 4 in the last 1500m just to hang on, and went for my usual zone 5 effort at the finish, which inevitably creates enough lactic acid (or whatever) that I feel like I want to woof. Yay.

But not as yay as the run back. I tried really hard not to look at the clock on the runs, because I know those times suck monkey balls.

Is it bad when it's over freezing and I realize sweatpants and a sweatshirt are too much snivel gear for the temperature? Sad, sad, sad.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.17 10:51 10:51 09:16 09:16 1.17
1.21 22:23 11:32 09:32 09:24 2.38

Distance: 4000
Time: 00:17:07
Avg/500m: 02:08
Drag Factor: 115
Per Mile: 00:06:53

the next thing I want to see on the big screen

I really want to see Blue Valentine, but I'm not sure if I will want to see it for the right reasons. Probably the same reason I want to see Everyone Else, as much as I probably don't need to see that either. And so it goes.

3.35mi, 32:12, 28 DEC 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
The Bats, "Courage"
Mr. Mister, "Kyrie" (I have no idea why.)

WX at 0700: 23.0 (-5.0) 21.0 (-6.1) 30.12 (1019) WSW 6 RH 91 WC 15 (-9)

Odometer 2: 266.5mi

Z3 low.
Average/max heart rate = 159/180

Good god did this day suck. I was tired from yesterday's long run, so I decided to go for distance, not pace or speed. Whee.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 09:23 09:23 09:23 09:23 1.00
1.00 18:55 09:32 09:32 09:28 2.00
1.00 28:48 09:53 09:53 09:36 3.00
0.35 32:42 03:54 11:09 09:46 3.35

6.51mi, 58:58, 27 DEC 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Michael Kamen, Band of Brothers Theme No. 2

WX at 0900: 21.9 (-5.6) 19.9 (-6.7) 30.29 (1025) S 12 mist RH 91 WC 10

Odometer 2: 263.1mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 158/172

It's good to be back from vacation and the insanity that characterizes it. Today was not going to be fast, but I wanted at least six miles of wogging. I got it.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:22 08:22 08:22 08:22 1.00
1.00 17:24 09:02 09:02 08:42 2.00
1.00 26:25 09:01 09:01 08:48 3.00
1.00 35:43 09:18 09:18 08:56 4.00
1.00 45:13 09:30 09:30 09:03 5.00
1.00 54:21 09:08 09:08 09:03 6.00
0.51 58:58 04:37 09:03 09:03 6.51

The Coolest Thing Ever

This'll get you in the holiday spirit!

So wrong, but so, so, right

Caprica + Futurama = Capricarama.

5.24mi, 44:38, 24 DEC 10, Kissimmee, Florida

iThink:
The Bats, "Courage"
Above and Beyond, "A Good Day"
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 "Eroica," Scherzo-Vivace

WX at 0800: 43.0 (6.1) DP 36.0 (2.2) BP 30.17 (1021) N 8 RH 76

Odometer 3: 157.75mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = no reading.

Perhaps it is appropriate for x-moose that I had the T.C. McQueen Workout Video stuck in my head this morning.

I ended up running generally negative splits. Rock on.

Sometimes it's good to indulge a little schadenfreude. My legs hurt this morning but I was ready to go. Sometimes it's good to indulge the desire to just whip somebody's ass. Of course, if I'm really in that mood, this applies instead.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:41 08:41 08:41 08:41 1.00
1.00 17:34 08:53 08:53 08:47 2.00
1.00 25:56 08:22 08:22 08:39 3.00
1.00 34:06 08:10 08:10 08:31 4.00
1.00 42:41 08:35 08:35 08:32 5.00
0.24 44:38 01:57 08:08 08:31 5.24

4.2mi, 36:45, 22 DEC 10, Kissimmee, Florida

iThink: Dos Gringos, "Going In For Guns"

WX at 0700: 45.0 (7.2) DP 44.1 (6.7) BP 30.13 (1020) SW 6 mist RH 96

Odometer 3: (factoring in a lot of walking on Monday and Tuesday...) 152.5mi equivalency

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading (this is what I get for leaving my HRM strap at home)

Yesterday was a walk through Disney's Animal Kingdom. Whee. Last time I'd been to the WDW complex of theme parks, it was 1987 and Animal Kingdom didn't exist.

I realize why my spidey-sense goes bat shit motherfucking crazy when I go to to a theme park. It's the whole fake authenticity of it all. People want to delude themselves into having a supposedly authentic experience of going on a safari, or participating in some dig or even the rampant Harry Potter fanboying that I saw the other night.

I guess I jettisoned my childhood very, very early. I don't recall gravitating on all this when I was their age. I think by that time I was already caught up on wanting to fly jets and blow shit up under official government imprimatur.

That may explain this morning's iThink. I guess it's probably preferable to "World War III," which is the other song that comes to mind when I'm around small children for a long time.

At least if I don't run, I'm getting some substantial exercise walking from place to place all day long and being the pack mule for kids who don't want to carry stuff.

Today's agenda is a trip to Disney's Magic Kingdom. I really want to try the suggestion of riding "It's A Small World" completely plowed, but alas, there are no suds in the Magic Kingdom. Booze and fairytale dreams don't mix. Except in my universe.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:28 08:28 08:28 08:28 1.00
1.00 17:21 08:53 08:53 08:41 2.00
1.00 26:21 09:00 09:00 08:47 3.00
1.00 35:02 08:41 08:41 08:45 4.00
0.20 36:45 01:43 08:35 08:45 4.20

4.14mi, 35:21, 20 DEC 10, Kissimmee, Florida

iThink:
Bear McCreary, "The Olympic Carrier"
The Smiths, "The Queen is Dead"

WX at 0600: 41.0 (5.0) DP 37.0 (2.8) BP 30.08 (1018) NW 13 RH 85

Odometer 3: 142.5mi equivalency

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

First run in almost a whole goddamn month. Unsurprisingly, today felt okay. I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow, but right now, it's good to be back on the wagon.

I will be spending the entire week with my nieces and nephews, who range in degrees of hyper from reasonable to Thorazine. It may be a good thing that I got that bottle of Glenlivet before we left. I might hit it like it's going out of style when I get back to Kansas. I need to give it a more critical look, although I think I might prefer Glenfiddich instead. But I'm cheap, and don't feel like going in for more potent shit. Yet.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:02 08:02 08:02 08:02 1.00
1.00 16:37 08:35 08:35 08:18 2.00
1.00 25:35 08:58 08:58 08:32 3.00
1.00 34:09 08:34 08:34 08:32 4.00
0.14 35:21 01:12 08:34 08:32 4.14

Seconds

I thought about this film for the first time in ages. I remember the first time I heard Mark Isham's "When Things Dream" (off the 1983 Vapor Drawings album) I was reminded of Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack for this haunting film.

Stuck in my head

Bauhaus, "Stigmata Martyr."

I guess it's an improvement over The Smiths, "A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours" which was yesterday's.

The Coolest Thing Ever

An icon of my childhood lives again...and because it was made by the Tokyo Broadcasting System, it won't be intellectually prostituted the way an American movie house would fuck it up. Oh. Hell. Yeah.



Of course, I have no expectations whatsoever of actually being able to see this in the United States unless I get it as a Region 2 disk.

Skankify!

So say we all.

Orange Whip?

There's a first time for everything, but I think this is the first time that some part of my life has made it into, of all places, Wikipedia.

"The term orange whip is also used by the military in Afghanistan as a slang term to ask if someone would like to go to the mess hall to eat or is at the mess hall eating. Used in a sentence: "The CJ5 FUPLANS section is out orange-whipping."

The part it left out was my adding "TWO MINUTE STRIKEWARN" to let people know we were heading out in two minutes, but that's completely separate from the "orange whip" warning order.

Awesome.

6.42mi, 53:59, 25 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond feat. OceanLab, "On A Good Day"

WX at 0900: 19.9 (-6.7) DP 10.0 (-12.2) BP 30.02 (1016) NNW 12 RH 65

Odometer 3: 137.9mi

Z4.
Average/max heart rate = 169/187

First run in a while. Today wasn't a workday and I got enough sleep to warrant a run. I don't have much else to do other than eat and entertain family.

Today was fast going downhill, slow going uphill. It was cold, but that contributed to the speed. Winter's coming. I can feel it. The OceanLab song remains a useful mantra when I'm sucking and I want to slow down. Then I take the pain and work through it.

I'm not sure if it's disillusionment or just malaise I feel this year, but I've been really feeling fucking crotchety lately. Fortunately, I have a can of Four Loko (pre-reformulation) to fix that shit in case I'm in a Home for the Holidays kind of mood.

Yes, I've seen that movie on the big screen.

No, I won't mix Four Loko with Glenfiddich, which is the special munition of choice lately, since Jeremiah Weed goes down hard and I can afford to drink for quality.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 07:58 07:58 07:58 07:58 1.00
1.00 16:18 08:20 08:20 08:09 2.00
1.00 24:32 08:14 08:14 08:11 3.00
1.00 33:19 08:47 08:47 08:20 4.00
1.00 42:13 08:54 08:54 08:27 5.00
1.00 50:49 08:36 08:36 08:28 6.00
0.42 53:59 03:10 07:32 08:25 6.42

The Coolest Thing Ever

"A guy who came to Fight Club for the first time, his ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, he was carved out of wood."

So you want to be a historian?

Oh jesus fucking airborne christ, I laughed so goddamn hard I almost pissed myself. Yes, I am a doctoral student, in history.



Since history is a humanities discipline, I'm adding the other screed about being a humanities graduate student while I laugh my ass off.



A huge shout-out to Dr. Nick Sarantakes of the US Naval War College for these videos.

My guilty pleasure

Although I eschew stereotypes, certain ethnic stereotypes conflate people who look like me with techno music. I'll admit when I stop listening to classical, metal, hardcore, new age, and some occasional power-pop that I listen to some trance.

I get a bizarre sense of equanimity from watching this video. The fact that the lyrics are a statement of refusal to give into the demons that one faces are perhaps more apropos than they should be.

5.56mi, 50:07, 21 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Above and Beyond, "Alone Tonight"

WX at 0800: 61.0 (16.1) DP 55.0 (12.8) BP 29.78 (1008) SSW 21 RH 81

Odometer 2: 256.6mi

Z3 start, Z4-Z5 finish.
Average/max heart rate = 156/183

What started as a fairly steady state run (albeit over extremely hilly terrain) turned into a chance to get in some max VO2 work. The last major downhill had me going 7:00/mi at the downhill, so I decided to see how long I could hold the pace. I held close to that for another half mile and then hung on for just under 8:00/min in the remainder half mile. That was hard but rewarding.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:52 08:52 08:52 08:52 1.00
1.00 18:35 09:43 09:43 09:17 2.00
1.00 28:42 10:07 10:07 09:34 3.00
1.00 37:48 09:06 09:06 09:27 4.00
1.00 45:41 07:53 07:53 09:08 5.00
0.56 50:07 04:26 07:55 09:01 5.56

2.38mi + 4,000m on Concept2 Model E, 20:41 + 17:00.5, 19 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, opening credits music to Caprica

WX at 0600: 39.9 (4.4) DP 32.0 (0.0) BP 29.99 (1015) S 22 RH 73

Odometer 2: 251.0mi equivalency

Z3 run, Z4 high erg.
Average/max heart rate = 158/181

For some reason I woke up earlier and easier than I thought. I don't think it was just because I decided to move up from Hamm's to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale either.

Today was productive. Yay. But chilly and breezy as shit.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.17 11:02 11:02 09:26 09:26 1.17
1.21 20:41 09:39 07:59 08:41 2.38

Distance: 4000
Time: 00:17:00
Avg/500m: 02:07
Drag Factor: 114
Per Mile: 00:06:50

3.88mi, 34:02, 18 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Bear McCreary, Theme from Dark Void (Main Finger remix)

WX at 0700: 32.0 (0.0) DP 30.9 (-0.6) BP 30.38 (1028) Calm RH 95

Odometer 2: 247.3mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = 156/171

I need to run more. At least this morning went well, in spite of my temptation to sleep in.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:42 08:42 08:42 08:42 1.00
1.00 17:26 08:44 08:44 08:43 2.00
1.00 26:32 09:06 09:06 08:51 3.00
0.88 34:02 07:30 08:31 08:46 3.88

We do not fire people out of embarrassment...

As I read today:

Way back in the long ago when the Internet was new, at DISA they created a team of reservists and tasked them to find threats within the DoD "web presence". After about a week the O-5 assigned as the team lead discovered how to remotely find porn on the hard drives of the networked desk tops. He developed a smile that far surpassed any smile that could be smiled by any crocodile or even several crocodiles smiling together. Before the month was out the team project was shelved, the LTC got a Legion of Merit and was given a long tour in a capacity where he was freed from having to review the networked systems.

Awesome. Makes me wonder whether the pr0n he found was on the computers of senior leaders...just saying.

Awesome. Only Awesomer.

ONLY in response to a Defense Technical Information Center does a query for the TRADOC monograph From Active Defense to AirLand Battle get turned into From Active Defense to fairyland Battle.

I chortled. A lot.

5.0mi, 43:32, 13 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Oceanlab, "Satellite"

WX at 0900: 39 DP 34 BP 30.08 (1018.9) 13G22 RH 82

Odometer 2: 243.5mi

Z3 high.
Average/max heart rate = 159/179

Today was okay, but better after warming up. I've slept in because of being out of gas in the mornings, not for any particularly good reason. Looking forward for graduate school to wrap up since I'm also combining that with the crush of teaching in the fall.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:28 08:28 08:28 08:28 1.00
1.00 17:07 08:39 08:39 08:33 2.00
1.00 25:57 08:50 08:50 08:39 3.00
1.00 35:09 09:12 09:12 08:47 4.00
1.00 43:32 08:23 08:23 08:42 5.00

4.25mi, 37:02, 10 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Oceanlab, "Satellite"

WX at 0600: 57.9 (14.4) DP 48.9 (9.4) BP 29.81 (1009) S 21G29 RH 71

Odometer 2: 238.5mi

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

Today's iThink was a consequence of the general confusion resulting from watching this before running today. Then I indulged my basic schadenfreude and thought about misadventure. It took my mind off the general friction of trying to start on a morning when I wanted to sleep in.

For as warm as it was, I was too cold at the outset (owing to the wind) and only after a mile and a half had fully warmed up where I took off the sweatshirt with which I'd started.

By mile 3 I was fully geared up so today was productive. That, and I had to compensate for the Hamm's beer and Cape Cod piss n' vinegar chips I had last night.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 08:31 08:31 08:31 08:31 1.00
1.00 17:11 08:40 08:40 08:35 2.00
1.00 26:07 08:56 08:56 08:42 3.00
1.00 34:55 08:48 08:48 08:44 4.00
0.25 37:02 02:07 08:28 08:43 4.25

2.4mi + 3,000m on Concept2 Model D, 21:34 + 12:37, 8 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink: Saxon Shore, "Amber, Ember, Glow"

WX at 0600: 51.1 (10.6) DP 34.0 (1.1) BP 29.88 (1011) SSW 14 RH 51

Odometer 2: 234.2mi equivalency

Z4/Z5.
Average/max heart rate = 167/178 run only. Average HR for row probably closer to about 170.

The road to recovery is on, I think. I didn't work out yesterday and was a little sore but not too much. Today marked the first time on the Concept in a while, and it was rough going, even as low a drag factor as I had today.

Everything was okay for the first 1500m. The remainder turned into a grit festival as my upper back, deltoids, and trapezius were all having to work unexpectedly hard after getting a month and a half of unwarranted rest time.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.19 10:30 10:30 08:49 08:49 1.19
1.19 21:34 11:04 09:18 09:04 2.38

Distance: 3000
Time: 00:12:37
Avg/500m: 02:06
Drag Factor: 100
Per Mile: 00:06:46

5.1mi, 42:51, 6 NOV 10, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

iThink:
Bear McCreary, "Capricoperatica"
Bear McCreary, "The Collapse of Saint Francis"

WX at 0900: 35.1 (1.7) DP 25.0 (-3.9) BP 30.3 (1026) S 7 RH 66

Odometer 3: 131.4mi

Z3.
Average/max heart rate = no reading

First premeditated workout since going to Quantico almost a month ago. Goddamn it's been a while.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would, but running 8:30ish/mi for 5 miles was okay. The truth will be tomorrow to see how it feels.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
5.10 42:51 42:51 08:24 08:24 5.10