just me...

Dominion tonight at 1135 Decatur, upstairs. Come warm up with an ice cold cocktail! Or take the ice out... Whatever works. Doors at 10:15pm Come see and be scene!

Today was a glorious day for a race! And by glorious I mean snowing, 28 degrees and gray all over. I signed up for the Delphos, Ohio “Race Your Ice Off 5K.” I chose this one because it was a 1st annual race and those are always fun to take part in mostly because they always underestimate the turn out but also because they have great swag! Also, it was at 10am. Sleeping in is always a plus in my book.

I got to the race in layers and layers of clothing. I wasn’t sure I would ever be warm. I went out and did a quick warm up around the location in efforts to get my core temperature up. It only kind of worked.

The race started and there was a little speech from the race director. She promised chili and hot chocolate to the finishers. We were all motivated to run much faster. Happy thoughts were only minutes away!

I went into this race on minimal training. I haven’t been able to run nearly as much lately because after work it is dark and I am beginning to hate treadmills more and more with every passing day. Although, I have been lifting and trying to eat better. I use the word trying VERY loosely. My personal best is a flat 28 minute 5K. I wanted to at least attempt to beat it. The last time I tried to chase down my PR I missed it by 22 seconds. All or nothing baby!

( The race and some pics! )

I don't think anyone has posted this yet, but....bahahahahah

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/5684963/

Next year, registration will be$145 for both the marathon and the half. They were offering a $50 discount to the first 1000 people to register on site at the expo. So I registered. Without the discount, I would have passed on the race completely.

Good morning runners! Here's the daily training thread!

I've run four days in a row and after a too late night last night and not enough sleep the night before today is looking like a day off. Fortunately I'll be at work most of the day to pass the time and then tonight is Nebraska-Texas (GO BIG RED!).

So what is everyone else up to today, training and otherwise?



Discuss... and HAPPY RUNNING!

When: First Saturday each month
Where: Allied Waste at 804 L & A Road in Metairie
What they accept:

• Paper
• Cardboard
• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Junk Mail
• Plastic soda & water bottles
• Milk & juice bottles
• Aluminum, tin and metal cans

NO GLASS ACCEPTED

More info here:
http://events.neworleans.com/metairie-la/events/show/89306038-allied-waste-of-new-orleans-monthly-recycling-drop-off
http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/UpToTheMinute.cfm?recID=27066

I'll post this monthly if I remember and you don't mind!

Just helping out some friends and thought some people would enjoy hearing about this:
The Traveling Fates (http://www.travelingfates.com/) will be performing at the Backyard Ballroom on Sunday!

You can hear more music on their website or check out their unique cover of "Eleanor Rigby" here on youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjqzY8aLAJk

Video embedded after cut, along with more info on tickets.
Sunday December 06, 2009 — 6:00pm
The Traveling Fates' First New Orleans Show

( video and ticket and map info )

Help give them a warm welcome for their first show in New Orleans and if you haven't been to the Backyard Ballroom check out the amazing place!

been meaning to ask for a while-

has anybody seen a titanium mixte?

does it exist?

just curious.

Do you make a goal to run a certain amount of miles per year?
How many miles do you run per year?
What do you train for? Or are you just running with no plans of racing?

I've said for a while that I am looking forward to my kids being teenagers. Everyone seems to think that's crazy, I'll change my mind, whatever. But I liked working with the teens at my church. And I just thought today, since I don't like beer or football or anything else most guys like, why wouldn't I be different about that too? So there you have it: one more reason to be confident that I'll love having teenaged kids.

Sigh. I have been training for a 5K that is tomorrow. It would be my first repeat race ever. I had so much fun in it last year and posted a time that I had no idea I could run. I've done some speed training and thought I might be able to PR. It's in my small hometown (where I live now, not where I grew up) and I was just REALLY looking forward to it.

( My Sob Story )

Retro-a-go-go Tonight! 930pm - Rubyfruit Jungle - 1135 Decatur Street. Six AMAZING Bands - Six AMAZING Burlesque Performers ... auction items from Donn Davis -Tattooagogo Scott Allen - FreakiTiki Tattoos, Sharky - Black Sails Photography and more! ALL THIS FOR $10 You dont wanna miss it!! A remission celebration and medical fund raiser for Joannie.

Aside from earlier news on the road rage cop, from the @injusticenews feed:

San Francisco CA police accused of bias against cyclists after trying to cite cyclist hit by car that made illegal turn: http://is.gd/5cIwi

"And now to the very disconcerting part about the police. As I tried to get information from three SFPD police officers on the scene of the crash, two of them showered me with unadulterated disdain for bicyclists and pedestrians. One officer said she thought bicyclists and pedestrians are always at fault in crashes and that they are stupid for not watching out for drivers. She was very upset with cyclists running red lights. She told me the bicyclist was at fault in this crash without any knowledge that a witness was saying the opposite.

"Another officer complained that bicyclists should be ticketed a lot more, then he said that he thought San Francisco bicyclists should all be moved to Treasure Island, where presumably they wouldn't be in the way. Though I deplore the argument made by some that cyclists are second-class citizens or that they face bias and discrimination in a way that resembles African Americans or other people of color in the U.S., this perverse suggestion by a sworn officer of the law is despicable. When it dawned on him that his bigotry might make it into my story, given the bright pink SFPD press badge dangling around my neck, he made a slightly menacing reference to memorizing the information on my pass."

...

Quality police work, there.

(1) i'm not dead yet. :D
(2) work appears to be stable, and there's enough of it (4 hrs tonight, 2.5 tomorrow).
(3) friends, on the whole, seem to be doing well; this is a yay!
(4) i didn't run in exasperation from a theoretical second date.
(5) beautiful weather, though chilly, and some hiking.
(6) awesome karate classes, solid treadmill 'runs', and slowly losing weight again.
(7) holidays coming!
(8) birthday coming, along with a Spiritual Birthday Plan.

DRAMA UPDATE:
I just got a text from a friend and bike mechanic that says
"We just heard from a source inside City Hall that there's going to be a major effort today from 1 to 5 to ticket as many cyclists as possible. Let people know to keep an eye out."

I can't substantiate, but this is a source I trust.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post yesterday about that strange man who stopped me on my run to say some very odd things to me. The state police went to his house yesterday afternoon, and called me to let me know what happened.

Turns out this guy is a 70-year-old retiree and Coast Guard veteran whose wife died in March and has been very lonely since then. He goes into town to meet a couple friends for breakfast every morning (which is when he sees me on the road), but other than that, he doesn't really have anyone.

The cops said he has called them out to his house several times since March, always for something small that turns out to be nothing, just so he can talk to someone for a bit. So they already knew him pretty well. However, he has never been in trouble with the law himself.

The cops said this old man is so starved for physical contact, he does things for people just to get a hug. For instance, he made a car payment for someone just so that person would hug him, which kind of explains his comments about bringing me flowers so I would hug him.

So he's not a psycho, just a socially awkward, lonely old man who goes about trying to make friends in bizarrely inappropriate ways.

The cops said they explained to him why he shouldn't have said what he did. They also said he was very apologetic and wanted to tell me he's sorry he upset me, but they advised him not to talk to me anymore.

Now that I know all this, I'm relieved he's not trying to hurt me, confused that he couldn't predict saying things like "What would you do if I tried to pick you up?" would make me call the police and kind of sad it went like this. He must have been so confused when the cops told him I'd called to complain. If he had just not said the stuff about picking me up, and bringing me flowers or expecting hugs, I wouldn't have thought twice about him stopping and would not have called the police.

I know I did the right thing by calling the police. I feel so much better now that I know all this (and I'm very grateful to the Delaware State Police for actually following up on this for me.) I just hope this old man decides to join a VFW and make some more age appropriate friends.

I'm so excited,and I just can't hide it....(which makes me think of this, btw)

Anyway, so the big annual charity Santa Jog is this Sunday! We've been waiting for a year to turn the city upside down for a short time again and put a smile on grumpy faces and of course, to raise money for charity! This time the money goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I don't know anyone who suffers from that disease personally, but I know there are many and a lot of them are children, so I won't hesitate for a second before paying the - relatively high - entry fee for myself and my kid. Yes, I'm taking my five-year-old with me. I hope she will enjoy it as much as I do! She has already picked a bagful of her soft toys that she will donate. Isn't that cute?

So for those of you who haven't heard about this run, the original is organized in Boston and is called the Speedo run
A Hungarian guy was studying there a couple of years ago and so that happen and when he came home he started organizing the Budapest version. And people liked it! Even celebrities joined the event and now it's getting bigger and bigger every year. For anyone interested, here are a couple of photos of last year's run. This year, there will also be a surprise dance performance, similar to this one, just definitely much smaller scale:

( Video under the cut )


To make this post a bit more community-oriented, here's the obligatory question:

Are you planning to take part in some sort of Santa/Xmas-themed running event?
Edited to add extra Q: Is the event a regular race or some dress-up craziness like the one I mentioned? (crazy photos are always welcome!)

Good morning runners! Here's the daily training thread!

If I get home from work early enough, I'll be headed over to Druid Hill Park to do 6 miles around the lake easy with a couple 20 second pick-ups sprinkled throughout the middle miles. I'll also be doing some strength work with my medicine ball and truck tire at home.

So what is everyone else up to today, training and otherwise?

And it's Friday! What're your weekend plans? I'll be working both Saturday and Sunday. Aside from that, I'll be watching Nebraska-Texas Saturday night (GO HUSKERS!) and running.



Discuss... and HAPPY RUNNING!

Last week I asked about buying a bike trainer and what your thoughts were. Thank you to those who responded. Tonight I learned about rollers. Read reviews on a bunch of sites and seems that most people said roller instead of trainer. Does anyone here have rollers? I have about $200 to spend. Is it possible to get some for that amount? Please let me know what brand/model you have or recommend.

Again, thank you in advance.