Well, if you do anything Once in a Blue Moon, today is the day! At least for some of us. You see, not everyone in the world is going to have a Full Moon this month. Some of you are going to have it next month and some even in July.
Here’s a Calendar to find out when your Blue Moon is going to happen.
And here to read up more about the history of Blue Moons,
My Desk is a mess… it really is right now. Perhaps I should move away from the keyboard and straighten my workspace up like a good little drone. Eh, maybe not.
Gluten (for punishment)
I don’t know all the specific details other than this little ingredient could be a factor in some of the sensory issues that we are having with our (almost) 4yo. It could actually be a factor in some of the (mental) things that affect me, who knows. But we are going to modify our diet on a non scientific experiment in the near future.
Step One: Identify all Gluten containing commodities in our kitchen and line them up for the firing squad removal.
Step Two: Find products here in the U.S. that are naturally Gluten Free.
[Soapbox] Here in America, we are slaves to the marketeers. We are given food that is just so processed, it’s not really even food anymore. Sure it might “technically” still have Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Arsenic, but the chemical combination is so long that you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidous 5 times before you even got to the second word. So, if you want something Chemical Free, Gluten Free, (Cane) Sugar Free… it’s going to not be FREE, but cost you. Let’s take Macaroni & Cheese, a child staple meal… you feel okay buying Kraft, but when find that the store brand (Kroger) is half the price and just as good or better you get all excited because the “Rich & Creamy” is only 39cents regular price but right now it’s on sale for 34cents! But you want to be all earth conscious and love your kids, so you go for the Organic M&C, well, that’s a kick in crotch… sure you don’t like it but the 99cents to save the Earth you can take one for the team from time to time, you just won’t buy that $1.29 Diet Coke today and it will even out the cost some. But if you want an Organic, Gluten Free, Wheat Free M&C… you just need to hand over the first born who is going to be eating it anyway because at $1.99, you are going “No Way!” Just like when you saw the 5 lb bag of M&Ms for the first time at Sam’s Club… it’s inconceivable. Luckily, we don’t have acute allergies to anything, so this is something we are choosing to do, but those whose kids are allergic… even with some cross-contamination, like the warning on my 100 Grand candy bar “Made in a plant that processes Wheat Gluten”… this is just sad, sad, sad that you have to take a second mortgage just to go to the grocery store. [/soapbox]
So here are some of the items that are going on “a little vacation” from our kitchen.
We will transition to Gluten free and then see how we feel and if it really is something that we need to be conscious of or if we can go back to eating stuff like bread and (regular) pasta. But for now, we’ll be investing in products like these to satisfy our craving for bread, cakes and chocolate chip cookies…
Adult Swim
No, not the Cartoon Network programming… although they have some great shows on there that I enjoy when I am up that late.
No, I swam today without 100 kids swimming and gunking up the pool. I couldn’t decide what type of workout to do, so I just did about 800 meters (18 laps) and called it a day. I think that tomorrow I am going to run and Friday try a brick workout (if you don’t know what that is, I will explain it when I do it).
I’m still trying to figure out the best way to calculate my Heart Rate ranges from what I collected on yesterday’s run. There are a few different ways and I think I might just go with MarathonGuide.com’s online version because it’s really easy!
But the swim went fine today, no real problems.
Q: What was created in 1937, is not healthy for you but tastes really really good?
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Hint: It was created in 1937
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Another Hint: If you have some dough, you can buy their Stock on the NYSE
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Another Hint: You can use them to raise some Dough
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.Another Hint: On June 1st you don’t need any dough to get one
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.Ready for the Answer?
A: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - There is a logo on the website, but the only article that I could easily find was at a Battle Creek Newspaper (so I will link their story here). On Friday June 1st, you can get a free doughnut!!
It looks like I am not going to get everything done before I leave for work. So this will have to be a digest blog entry, else it won’t be posted until it’s boring and irrevalant.
Today’s workout was new attempt at finding my Maximum heartrate (MHR). Your MHR, is one tool that you can use to maximize training. There are a few methodologies that use the heart rate as the barometer of your fitness and the guide for your workout intensity. [DIGEST VERSION] My max heart rate from today’s workout was 187 bpm. I know that a few years ago it was 192bpm, so I am thinking that it’s about 188-190bpm or so. I am going to use this as ONE tool for the fall training cycle.
I witness a cool battle of nature. My University Office window has a wire mesh to the window to prevent people from breaking and stealing stuff. But it makes a perfect place for spiders to set up shop and “hangout”. Today a shiny iridescent wasp-like creature came in and bumped into a spider’s web. The spider went down and a battle ensued. It looked like the wasp had stung the spider, but the spider looked like it was getting the wasp’s face tangled in a web. I sat mesmerized thinking, “Oh, this will be great to blog.” No, I don’t have pictures, I was on the phone. [DIGEST VERSION] The wasp made it’s way out of the wire mesh and flew away with the spider. No APBs have come through on the scanner on the wasp.
Had a picture taken of me in the river with my kids this past Sunday… let’s just say that I need some work on the ole belly. I could not believe how yucky-icky it looked. I think that half of the problem was my freaking posture. If I stood with my back straight that would help. So, I think that it’s time to get some more stomach exercises going. No, I’m not looking to get the six pack abs like Mark Wahlburg, where you could do your laundry on his abs… although I think some of you might volunteer for that chore, where it ever made available. I’ll upload the picture so that I can either embarrass myself even more, motivate me for a wonderful “after” picture… now I know that I am not a “big boned” person and we can get into the whole psychology of it later… let’s just leave it that the picture made a statement.
I know there is more, but it will just have to wait…
No Wasp Sightings yet, but there is this great Web for sale, slightly used with a great view…
It’s been a while since I have done a meme but Silent One has tagged me and so here are 8 random facts about me:
For those of you who weren’t around in April of 2006, my biological father passed away from heart failure that was worsened by pneumonia about a week before. He had been battling MS (which is why the link to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society link is on the side) for a number of years prior. When I met him in 1991 for the first time (that I remember) he could still walk around but with help with a cane. When we (Jen and I) went to visit him in 2001, he was in a wheel chair… one of those fancy speedy wheelchairs with the machine gun attachment, no… wait, he had the rocket launcher attachment. I once emailed that I wanted to run the Quad Cities Marathon so that he could see me run, but he said that he nor the wheelchair would last for a whole marathon (goofball).
This memorial day, Me and my brothers, Chris and Jeff, are having flowers put on his grave, I will post a picture when Grandma sends me the picture AND we are making a donation to the NMSS in his honor.
I would love to be running the Expo 10k, like I do for those on my memorial list (Hunter Biddle, Bernice Varney, Robert Tripp) but I am not and you all know why. You can read my about why I run for these people here, if you are curious.
My Dad was a SSGT in the US Air Force and was stationed in Rantoul IL, where he met my mom. He was smart, funny and one of those guys that was sickening optimistic. Although he never was in armed combat (medical clearance), he was an instructor during the Vietnam War and is one of the proud veterans that are resting in our nation’s veteran’s cemeteries. He is buried on Rock Island Arsenal, and one day I will run the Quad Cities Marathon that at Mile 20 (how ironic), runs right past the cemetery.
God Bless you Robert Tripp and God Bless all the veterans who have served our country giving their time and their lives so that we can live in the Greatest Country.
This Week’s Theme: Colorful
This mural is located in the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN. The picture doesn’t really capture it, but the fish themselves have a sparkling effect to them.
Seeing that Destination Imagination (DI) had been here for a week and that most events should be wrapping up, I thought that today would be a good day to get to the pool and do some laps. Uh, think again.
When I crested the hill that leads to the Aquatic Center, I could see that the DI minions were swarming around. The sand volleyball court was having a great game going on. The water slide had a line of 10 or 12 individuals waiting to propel themselves on slick wet plastic only to land in a pool of water to avoid smashing their head on the concrete. The water slide is like a Super-Sized SlipNSlide on Steroids.
The pool area has lots of kids and adults enjoying the water and the companionship of the other one billion people in the pool area. Despite the fact that there were a bunch of people out there, it did look like the area designated for laps had a few empty lanes. So, I decided that I would explore the possible opportunity of swimming today.
I proceeded to the pool with book in hand. I was either going to spend the entire reading the book and basking out in the sun or I was going to swim some and then read a little.
Sure enough, there were 3 lanes to chose from to swim laps. Given the fact that I planned on swimming 800 meters, I knew that I wouldn’t need the entire time to swim, so I sat down and broke open the book. After reading for a few minutes, it was time to do my laps.
The pool can be configured into 2 configurations. There is the short course, this is where the lanes for laps are strung across the width of the pool. This configurations provide a greater number of lanes, but the length of a lap is 25 yards. The other configuration is what I call the Long Course. Since the pool is Olympic sized, the length of the pool lengthwise is [ed: Thanks to ShirleyPerly for pointing out that the correct distance is 50 meters, not 100 meters like I stated] 100 meters. However, there are only 8 lanes that are available for laps. However, the math of distance by laps is much easier and the Long Course simulates swimming in open water better because of the longer distance before a wall.
So, my plan was to swim 18 laps, and keep splits times in groups of 3 laps. This way 3 groups would be 9 laps or 411 meters, which is my baseline for how I am doing in the pool. The First group of laps, I took a break between the groups… so 3 laps, break, 3 laps, break, 3 laps, break. The second group I didn’t take any breaks, so I swam the 9 laps without break.
When I got back to my desk and recorded the split times, it was rather odd… check it out:
Group 1:
3 laps: 2:40
3 laps: 3:02
3 laps: 3:02
Total: 8:44
Group 2:
3 laps: 2:55
3 laps: 3:06
3 laps: 3:06
Total: 9:07
If the numbers scare you or if you are allergic to numbers, the 2 and 3 set of laps are identical to each other in both Groups! Very strange! So my workout went pretty well today… I am very pleased with it.
Looking forward to the 3 day weekend. We don’t have anything planned yet and the weather looks like it will be pretty nice for the next few days. Everyone have a great Memorial Day, well, those of you who are in the United States and celebrating the date. For everyone else, have a happy Monday May 28th!
“I Just Found the Pace I was Looking For “I have climbed highest mountain
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with youI have run
I have crawled
I have hit the proverbial walls
These proverbial walls
Only to be with youAnd I just found the pace I’m looking for
And I just found the pace I’m looking for
Bono might just be a runner for all I know. It’s a busy schedule to help save the children of Africa and to set the trend for the upcoming sunglasses season, but you never know about those celebrity types…
But what I am excited about is that I found my pace for today and I found it early too… I think I was 10 steps into my run when I said, “This is it.” (And that’s no Huey Lewis and The News either). I marked my first quarter mile to see what the pace was (as I don’t have a omnipotent Garmin) and to see if I could keep it during my run this afternoon.
The pace was 2:13 for a quarter mile or about a 8:52 mile. Hmmmm… a little fast, but that was about right. I didn’t think that I would be able to keep it up because I was still sore from Monday and Tuesday.
I was actually slated to swim this morning but UT is overtaken by Destination Imagination kids, who are here for their Global Awards week. So, the pool was packed and there was no way that I would be able to get anything productive done in the pool. I had planned on swimming 800 meters and then reading some Jack Daniels. No, that’s not drinking Jack, it’s reading Jack Daniels… the running coach…
I hit the first mile in 8:55, BOO YAH! That was it, right on the money. It even felt right because I still felt strong and that I would be able to keep that pace up for at least another mile. Not only had the DI kids taken over UT, but there was alot more vehicular traffic and people traffic around downtown and in areas were it’s usually void of human presence.
When I felt that I was speeding up, I could slow back down to the pace. Well, that’s until I ran into the populous downtown/Market Square area. I always run faster for the crowds, must be my desire to be in the spot light or my “hey, look at me but don’t point and laugh”. Mile 2: 8:36.
So, I wasn’t expecting much in my Mile 3 run with Mile 2 being alot faster. But what do I know… Mile 3: 8:42. Now, I was definitely going to make the last mile a recovery mile. So, I stopped and walked. My plan was to stop and walk for a small section then run for a bit and walk again. I did this for the entire mile and the overall time reflects this with a 10:41 average. However, I ran the last 0.3 of a mile and the time of the last 1/4 mile was 2:08, which is about the same as the first quarter mile! Score!
So, I had a great tempo run today and that makes tomorrow a rest day. I doubt that I will be able to swim with the DI kids and I don’t want to run 4 days in a week, at least not yet. I may have an opportunity to run some mileage on Saturday if all goes well as planned. So we will see.
Look for a new episode of Gravity tomorrow. I only have to record two small sections and it will be ready.
I posted yesterday that I was getting a replacement table for the cracked one that we unknowingly bought. Well, it went really really well! We have a new table without any cracks.
David: I tried much harder to run an easier, slower pace during yesterday’s run.
Tuesday’s run was a jump back into the running bandwagon. Not only was I getting out on the road, but I was also doing some runcasting of material for the next installment of Gravity@1053. After all was said and done, I recorded about 25 minutes worth of stuff and am in the editing process right now. Goal for the episode is a Friday release date. So we will see.
It seems that everytime I go out to record some audio for my podcast, there are so many background noises that “seem” to appear only when I record. Yesterday I ran the 3rd Creek Greenway which run through a wooded park area. Thinking that I would have some “peace and quiet” I started recording. Nooooooooooo… trains, trains and more trains. Seems like yesterday was shunting cars day and blowing the whistle. *sigh*
The run itself went well. I ran a 3.6 mile out and back course, each leg being 1.8 miles, the first split at 18:09 (10:05 pace) and the second split 19:00 (10: 34 pace), so I was much slower. But man o man, am I feeling all the muscles that I haven’t used in 30 days. Wow! I need to go put some of our Menthol/Sore Muscle compound and walk up some stairs.
I did take today (Wednesday) off and will probably swim tomorrow since it’s supposed to be hot tomorrow as well. Then Friday, I will run again. I need to make a makeshift plan of what to do, so that I am not wondering what to do during the week.
In my non running life, I am schedule to talk about the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) at our Sunday School class on Sunday. It’s been a very interesting research project for me. Despite the fact that my Parochial school, staffed with ruler wielding nuns, had mandatory Religion class as part of the Curriculum, I have no recollection of anything about the Religion of Islam. We had a Muslim in our class, but she never was asked to share much of her faith, so, it’s been interesting to research all this stuff.
Well, I need to go exchange a table we bought yesterday that had a crack in it (it was a “some assembly required” set) and better get that done.