1. Prohibition
Quick/interesting summary of the Prohibition era:


The spirit of prohibition, the religion and fanaticism of it, can be seen now in cigarette bans and global warming fanaticism, for example.

2. Run!
Guy who recommends running/exercising even more:


I agree. But the problem is injury. If you run 5+ miles a day, you're talking replacing body parts (knee, hip, etc) in 20 years. Not good.

Also, a little padding (cough) is good in this cold weather.

3. Japan
I hope we're not Japan.

That's the picture. The stats are:

• Japan peaked 20 years ago at about 39K
• Today Japan is about 10K

Dop.
I don't think we're Japan.

4. Daddy

QOTD

"When faced with economic uncertainty, people don't want freedom. When they can't see their economic future, they want the nanny state."
- John McLaughlin, source

I hope McLaughlin is wrong.
I suspect he's not.
People want a Daddy... and if you've got a Daddy (e.g. a government check) you'll do anything and everything to keep them checks a-coming.
no daddy... yow, bill

Labels: marathon, politics, qotd

I heart my new t-shirt.

QOTD

"We are not joggers"
- motto at www.runlikeananimal.com/home

Book: "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Stout
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... worth it

See that shiny gold circle on the book over there to the right. "Pulitzer Prize". That caught my eye. I read the back cover, and it seemed interesting enough, so I snarfed it up.

I got it home and then read the front cover... a testimonial from Oprah Magazine. Dop.

Anyway, it was OK. Definitely girlie in parts. It was an easy read because of the author's pleasant writing style. I cracked up when Olive goes berserk because the guy she's having dinner with voted for W. That's happened to me more than once. He he.

But the book's true strength is its treatment of how hard it is to get old. Specifically, how hard it is to get old and to maintain relationships with family and friends and lovers. It did this really well.

QOTD

"And so, if this man next to her now was not a man she would have chosen before this time, what did it matter? He most likely wouldn't have chosen her either. But here they were, and Olive pictured two slices of Swiss cheese pressed together, such holes they brought to this union - what pieces life took out of you."
- "Olive Kitteridge" on having a boyfriend late in life

Funny one right here.
I'm censoring myself.

I'm censoring like two different things about my "Olive" book. I don't remember doing that before. I mean obviously there's personal details censorship all the time, but I don't remember censoring my opinion before. You can ask me about it in person, but I won't post it here. Interesting. Funny.
censor this... yow, bill

PS - The "I voted for W" test is an excellent one. A test of tolerance. If you can't tolerate someone of a different political view than yours, then you got issues... more issues than I can handle. If Marilyn Manson can rape the rapers, then I can not tolerate the intolerant. Cha.

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, marathon

I did the Indy Half Marathon yesterday.
I did her pretty good, actually. He he.

QOTD

"24 hour day care and preschool available!"
- billboard in Indy (dang, I wish I had my camera!)

Indy is a nice city, but it's pretty far south down there.
I'm not sure what 24 hour day care is, but whatever.
I got a whole floor of the Hilton for $200 a night, so I can't complain.
I had an outstanding breakfast at the Indy version of Le Peep: www.lepeepindy.com

Fashion faux pas of the event... the marathon sleeves. See goofus to the right over there.

Yeah, you wear a short sleeve shirt, and then buy extra (gay) sleeves to wear with it. I hadn't seen that one before. Um, dude. Just get the long-sleeved shirt on, OK?

Funny comment of the run... we're huddled waiting for the start. It's pretty cold, so everyone is ready to get on with it. The PA says the race will start in 30 seconds, and the guy next to me says, "I gotta pee now" and we all cracked up.

Results... I was very happy with my halfsie results and it, for the most part, felt goooood:

1. 1 hour, 39 minute, 36 seconds... 100 minutes minus 24 seconds
   
2. That's a 7 minute, 36 second pace... I was shooting for 8's
   
3. I ranked #133/2890 overall and #8 in the old white guy category

I definitely went out hot. I got a little panicky and pissed off at the start because it was so congested, and I was afraid of getting behind. The other motivator I had... there were no official times given on the course at all. I don't carry a watch, so I was flying blind.

There was one "big" hill, and I'm not used to hills. I had read about it in the stuff they sent out before the race... "beware the hill in mile 10". Well, mile 9 was the tip-off that mile 10 was trouble... in mile 9, we started going downhill fast. I cranked the tempo, hoping to offset being slowed down on the way up. It was about as steep as I have run in a "real" race. Nice burn too. He he.

The race was great. It was really well-organized and setup. Lots of nice people too.

Anyway... no 40-something moral victory. A real victory. Rare these days.
A nice Bill beat-down. I like it.
run faster... yow, bill

PS - Next? Turkey Trot? 3 6's? Or maybe find a nice 10K?

Labels: fun, marathon, qotd

Less photo-snarfing in my immediate future. I have some nice vacation photos to post for a while... like the Seattle sunset above. Click on it for the full-sized goodness.
Smile.

QOTD

“I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but never the madness of crowds”
- Sir Isaac Newton

Dang. 100,000 houses built in the US over the past couple years with defective Chinese drywall: The Prisoners of Drywall.

I think back to when we designed and built The Castle. We were so naive about the things that could have gone (horribly) wrong. Fortunately, our architect and builder were both awesome.

Man, that drywall story is real hardship and stress. It's hard to resolve stuff like that with what I read on Facebook. The percentage of negative, whining posts on Facebook seems really high. It's either the weather or the kids or going to work or whatever. I don't get it; it's so hard to relate to.

QOTD2

"You will make a change for the better."
- Fortune cookie from Chinese two nights ago

I've signed up for the Indy Half Marathon: www.indianapolismarathon.com
Man, the half marathon is a sweet roll. It's a wimpy training schedule, especially compared to the marathon (www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/index.htm). Plus, you don't have all the marathon shenanigans with eating during the race, and friction woes everywhere and all. I hope to run 13 8's (hour, 45 minutes) and then hit a bar stool to celebrate.
We shall see.

Aug 6.
And I still haven't turned my sprinklers on.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: marathon, politics, qotd

Click on the nice chart below to see how many calories are burned during one hour at each exercise/activity:


Source: www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109

Of course, I'm smiling at that #1 calorie-burning activity... 986 calories for 1 hour of running at an 8 min/mile clip.
Smile!
run faster... yow, bill

Labels: marathon

QOTD

"I think you're crazy. This whole thing doesn't make any sense."
- Old man on the sidewalk hassling some poor runner schlub who cramped up during the marathon

Hey, fuck that old man. Here's a better one.

QOTD2

"RUN BILL RUN!"
- I saw this sign 3-4 times while running, but I never saw their Bill

My marathon result today: a B (see previous post for grading scale... he he)
I ran the thing in 3 hour, 44 minute, 42 second.
That's an 8 minute, 35 second pace for the run. Huzzah!

Here's the "official" tally: Lakefront Marathon 2008 Results (you have to search for me)
If you don't want to search for me, here's some of my favorite stats:

• I placed 489 out of 2009 runners
• I finished 66th out of the 160 45-50 males
• My splits: Halfway 1:49:57, 20 mile 2:48:38
  

It was a bit weird because the conditions were dang near ideal (and 10x better than last year)... and yet I never really got comfortable or found my groove. I've had much better feeling training runs. In fact, my halfway split last year in the heat and humidity was faster than this year.

What else?

• I'm happy that I didn't cramp up or break down. My legs were twitchy, but they never gave out.
  
• I'm really happy that I had a kick at the end. I wanted to beat 3:45, and I kicked pretty hard the last half mile to make sure of that.
• I'm even happier that I'm now retiring from the marathon business. I'm a sprinter baby. Maybe I'll try and run some fast 10K's next year or something.
• So, I figger... at 3:45... I'm not a marathon tourist, but I'm not a "real" marathoner either. I'll take "rank amateur" or maybe "marathon hack"... yeah, I like that. I was a marathon hack for a couple-a years.
  

I was philosophical while running. It occurred to me, when I realized that a Boston-qualifying 3:30 was not going to happen... it occurred to me that this is a typical 40-something victory... bittersweet. God, it was a sweet feeling to have that kick at the end, and to run under 3:45. It was great to not limp in to the finish. It was bitter to not do better and to not have felt really comfortable in the race.

It appears that the world-dominating victories of my 20's and 30's will not be repeated. 40-something victory is a good time, but not a great time. It's thyroid cancer, but you probably got rid of it. It's learning something new, even though you're never going to plant a flag anywhere doing it. It's a rubber band around your wrist to remind you of your kids, and that they mean you have it all. 40-something victory is less sharp, a little more rounded around the edges. Like my 3:45 time... hey, it's pretty good.

Oh well. I tip my cap to Mr. Marathon. Crusty old man. There's no faking it with that guy. That's kind of nice, I think.
peace... yow, bill

PS - Happy 39th birthday Kim39.
PPS - It's 4 years since Gram died today too. Gram's stubbornness continues on... at least in the half-assed, diluted form that is Bill 40-something Krieger.

QOTD3

"With Gram, you always knew there was somebody who would be happy to see you."
- Brian Krieger

Labels: marathon, qotd

2 miles. Done.
Jeez, it was beautiful out there.

This morning is a wrap on marathon training. Huzzah!
Here are the happy, crappy totals:

• Jul: 18+14+25+22+0 (Ty vacation, he he) = 79
• Aug: 32+27+20+34 = 113
• Sep: 39+27+44+25+6= 141

So, the tally is 333 miles training this summer.
I like Kim39's quote: "It's like you're a car." He he.

I am a slave to the weather, which sucks. Today is just awesome. The forecast for Sunday is almost as good. We shall see.

It's pretty much the same old, same old this year. The small tweaks are:

• I've only lost 3-4 pounds, so I'm running maybe 6-8 pounds heavier than last year. I'm on the wagon, but I think last year I watched my diet a lot more.
• Eat more before the run... my longest training run was 3 hours, 15 minutes. I ate a lot before it, and I think it helped. I think I was just plain running out of energy. So, before the marathon, I'll fuel up on oatmeal, banana, OJ, and a power bar or two. I'm also going to snarf as much gu during the run as I can.
  
• Medicate... I'm going to snarf a couple Advil at the halfway point. I also am going to slap a couple of those Salon Paas (?) pain patches to my calves because they're barking lately.

My pace dream/hope: hit 15 miles in about 2 hours... and then see what's left in the tank for the last 11. Of course, I pretty much did that last year and then gacked.

I'm cranky. The guy in DC calling me a marathon tourist... losing last year to the weather and cramping up from head to toe... having to do this crap again... I'm cranky to win.
Here's the fucking kitty:

• A+... 3 1/2 hours (Boston)
  
• A... 3 hours, 38 minutes (better than someone)
  
• B... 3 hours, 45 minutes (8 1/2 minute miles)
  
• C... 4 hours (9 minute miles)
  
• D/F... fuck it (dop)
  

QOTD

"Bet it all. Win it all."
- Brian Krieger

run old man... yow, bill

PS - This is what I'm cranky about... here's a photo of me getting my ass beat last year:


PPS - Tourist. Old man. We'll fucking see this year.
PPPS - Yes, I'm certifiable. So what.

Labels: marathon, qotd

QOTD
"It's nice to have a lot of money, but you know, you don't want to keep it around forever. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it's a little like saving sex for your old age."
- Warren Buffet on his $5B investment in Goldman

Buffet is right and wrong: Buffett Buys Goldman Stake in `Economic Pearl Harbor'

He's right that he should buy. He's a zillionaire and he can absorb a $5B loss if it comes to that. He can also absorb 5 years of underperformance on the investment if it comes to that as well. Plus, it was a total sweetheart deal for him as Goldman wanted Buffet's name on their shingle.

He's wrong in that, even if Congress pens this $700B bailout deal, that doesn't mean the world is right as rain. What if the bill passes, huzzah, and then that doesn't solve the credit crunch? Or the dollar tanks? Or whatever?

All this and now global warming rears its ugly head once more: Solar wind weakest since beginning of space age. Now, I'm not sure about the science on how American SUV's cause a decrease in solar winds, but I'm sure I can find a nobel laureate out there the explain it.


That said, I am already pre-bumming... the anticipation of bumming. The termperatures this weekend are low in the 50's and high in the 80's. I'm crossing my tired fingers (and legs) that the weather is cooler for the marathon in Milwaukee next weekend. I'd love a brisk 40-something start at 8:00 am with a cushy breeze off the lake and high 50's by 11:30 when I cross the finish line. Pinch me!

If the forecast is ridiculous in 10 days, I'll find a better run. I hope not though.
cross this... yow, bill

Labels: globalwarming, marathon, politics, qotd

Hurricane Ike moved north from Texas to visit us here in the Great Midwest. It was a rain forest for, like, three days. Dang this global warming... when will we learn! He he.

The coolest thing was that Ike maintained it's comma shape as it traveled up the continent. Pretty cool. See?


Hurricane Ike moved the Cub-Astro game to Milwaukee Sunday night. Ty, me, the Poap and Poap, Jr. were in attendance as Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter Yes, it was glorious. It was the first Cub no-hitter since Milt Pappas' near-perfect game in 1972. Huzzah!

Boxscore: sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=280914118

Yeah, we were there:

glorious... yow, bill

PS - Naperville Planet. LetsPlay3 2008 Fantasy Baseball Champion. Woot!
PPS - Just finished my last long, long run before the marathon. I did 23-24 miles in 3 hours, 13 minutes. I feel good, but I gotta get the hell out of here and eat. I don't want to, but I gotta... gotta run! The Lakefront Marathon is 3 weeks from yesterday. Huzzah!

Labels: marathon, sports

QOTD

"I think I bit off more than I could chew, I thought the marathon would be easier."
- Lance Armstrong after the 2006 NY marathon

I did about 18 miles yesterday in about 2 hours, 40 minutes... didn't really push it, so it was good.
I think I was about an hour away from 26.2.
Now, could I run another hour or so?
I think so.

But jeez, it was pretty hot and sunny out there by 10:00-ish when I was done. I sure sure sure hope that Milwaukee is cooler in 5 weeks. Gulp.
I'm torquing up the training a little bit more than the schedule calls for and going 20 miles each of the next 2 weekends. I'm on the wagon after today's (Labor Day) blowout. Huzzah!

QOTD2

"You're all worthless and weak."
- Niedermeyer, "Animal House"

It's actually a little fun to have a real, uncompromising answer to the question: are you a little faker tourist weener or not? We shall see, Mr. Marathon.
run bill run... yow, bill

PS - Can't resist...
QOTD3

"I logged a lot of miles training for that day, and I downed a lot of donuts. Little chocolate donuts."
- John Belushi, Saturday Night Live skit

PPS - I just found this... Sarah Palin, McCain's VP choice, ran the Humpy's Classic Marathon in 2005. She ran it in just under 4 hours... smoking yours truly (4 hours, 44 seconds) from last year. He he. You can check it out at this site... click on 2005 and enter last name "Palin":

Labels: marathon, politics, qotd

QOTD

"That was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done."
- Lance Armstrong, in 2006 on running his first marathon

I just finished running 15 miles in about 2 hours... my "long run" for marathon training this weekend.
The weather this morning was beautiful: sunny, maybe 60, pretty low humidity.
I felt strong after 15 miles. Shoot, I feel great.

The problem: I think I might still be "weak".
I may not be strong enough to do well on the last 6 miles of the marathon.

I ran into a marathon guy on vacation in DC. He saw my "training for Lakefront" t-shirt. Anyway, I told him my "it was hot last year" sob story and about how I was going to run right through the last 6 miles of the marathon this year... weather (and global warming, cough) willing.
The guy was nice, but you could tell he thought I was a delusional mope. "The last 6 miles are completely different," he said. In other words, I am fooling myself.

Well, we shall see. I am very motivated to do well... so that I don't do this again next year. Ha!
I came up with this (bogus) grading system while running:

• less than 3 1/2 hours... A (shit, A+ actually cause then I get to do Boston)
• <= 3 hour 45 minutes... B
• <= 4 hours... C
• > 4 hours... D
• Don't finish for some reason... F
  

Strong. Or weak?
run faster... yow, bill

Labels: marathon, qotd