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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 28 August 2008 03:13 am |
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Hey Zen :)
So, Stanger in a Strange Land, huh? Amazing how you read / listen to music stuff that I read when I was much younger. If you like SIASL, you will *love* Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
Back to work. I'm doing this proposal which involves some research into some technical stuff, so it's a change from the development / configuration that I was working on for so long. Change of pace.
Yesterday a broke down and ate a bag of Cheeze-it party mix, and it cost me 650 calories for that one bag. I was up to 168 today, so I'm trending in the wrong direction.
Hmmm, other than a few pushups / situps, I haven't excercised in days. But a took a walk around the the main street today and I was loving how I was looking in the windows. I was wearing a polo pullover and darned of I didn't look in shape and *strong*. I need to hang onto that!
I'm toying with the idea of bailing on the math and going for the management option. It will still be a masters in information technology. Plus, I would be done sooner.
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 28 August 2008 06:19 am |
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so, between your reading list, music knowledge and technical skills I'm guessing you're like, uh, really smart huh?  Seriously the only stuff on your list I've read is Jane Austin...who (sorry Zen) I really enjoy. For some reason some of the stuff you come up with reminds me sooooo much of one of my exes (in a good way though). And I think it's adorable when I catch men checking themselves out in window reflections...I've always imagined they're thinking "yeah, looking good there bud" ... and you've just confirmed it for me!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 29 August 2008 03:05 am |
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Hey Suenos,
Thanks - I would say I'm smarter than the average bear - but I've been around enough really smart people to not have any illusions of grandeur. And my memory - forget it. Prematurely senile.
Isn't Jane Austin great? I had no idea she was that funny.
Yeah, I'm all about checking myself out these days. This diet turned out pretty well. I still have to take off another five to get rid of the little pot-belly that's stubbornly hanging in there.
At least I got in my jog this morning. After my 16 mile jog, this is nothing, was my attitude. So, I was moving pretty fast, I thought. But I don't think I shaved much off my time. Saw the sunrise, as I was up early. Got by on 5 hours last night - I think I'm usually around 6, 6 1/2. Every once in a while I get a short night.
I got the Hanoi Towers game earlier this week, and fooled around with it. I already knew the trick from my discrete math course, but it took me an hour or two to really get it nailed down. By the end I could 7 pretty quickly.
Tonight, I got the new discrete math book on proofs. It starts out comparing proofs to computer programs. Now you're talking a language I understand - later on the overly mathy proof book!
Tommorrow, my daughter is off to college. Wow. What a change. If you can keep from getting annoyed by her teenage snarkiness, you get a wonderful, funny pretty cute smart entertaining sensitive kid. Did I mention she got an 800 in her English on the SAT?
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 29 August 2008 06:41 am |
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lol- i had a feeling you had read SISL before. it seems to be the one book all teen-aged to mid 20s guys read. i just had to pick it up! it sort of reminds me of Vonnegut and that Huxley novel... the title eludes me now and i don't feel like looking for it....
if it were me, i would ditch math, but math and i don't play well together. do whatever is going to benefit you the most without causing too much stress. i know you'll make the right decision
I will look into Moon is a Harsh MIstress (the title alone sounds interesting!)
wow- that is going to be a huge change. i hope you have a great day with her! don't get too sad, but it's ok to cry a little 
eh, you're brilliant- just admit it 
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 30 August 2008 01:27 pm |
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Zen  Was the Huxly book "Brave New World"? I've never read it - I dunno, it sounds depressing. For example, I found 1984 depressing, and for some reason I think that book sounds the same. I'm amazed at the staying power of Heinlein, but he was a pretty good writer.
I tried to get my daughter, L, to read me my "how to prove it" book on the drive down to her new school yesterday, but she would have nothing to do with it, holding up crossed forefingers as if tying to stave off a vampire. My wife is no help, either, saying math makes her dizzy. They are both slackers though, because I know my daughter was in all advanced math courses and if you believe her test scores was around top 10%, and when I spoke to my wife's high school math teacher, he swore up and down she was outstanding at it.
Speaking of L, dropping her off was pretty uneventful, but between the move and the drive, the whole day was pretty much taken up. Her roomate seems pretty cool, though. They both have similar interests, Engish majors, quiet, thoughtful types, although my daughter as actually is pretty outgoing and funny these days, she had those tendencies growing up.
Fess up time - I've been starting to eat regularly late-night. I has a *box* of breakfast cereal the other night, and popcorn last night. The feared shift into the fattening fall has already begun. At the very least I could do is shift it to breakfast. Yesterday, I was up to 169 lbs. Not only that, but I've spent all week watching tv - mostly the Democratic convention. You have to admit, it makes for good theatre. But, this is really not the best use of my time. I've got to just say no to TV.
I signed up for a 5k on september 20. I decided to check out my time on this mornings run, and for about 2.7 miles, I ran it in 26 minutes and change. So I figure that's about 10 minutes a mile. I was trying to figure out how that fits in, and I ran into post that says the average is 8 to 9 minutes a mile, 25 to 30 minutes. If I do 10 minutes a mile, that would be 32 minutes, and I think for me 10 minutes is about the best I'll be able to do. As far as I can tell, I'm going to finish near the end of the pack.
Actually most of the posts said "your time doesn't matter, it's how you *feel*", then go onto say "my time without training was for my first 5k 17 minutes, but that's just me". Ouch.
This weekend, basically, I'm trying to decide if it's better to spend time reading my new proofs book, or spend time getting background for this proposal I'm supposed to write. Work does pay ye olde bills, after all...
Last edited on 30 August 2008 01:41 pm by jackbenimble
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 August 2008 03:22 am |
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Dear Diary,
Ok, so after jogging this am., M. gave me a call - he was looking for revenge on the tennis court. I came out, but beat him 3 set in a row, the last one a tie-breaker. He's a former college tennis coach, but his wheels are gone so, despite his vastly superior tennis skills, I can get him on hustle and a medium tennis game. He said I was improved, which from him is high praise, trust me.
Then I came home and tried to study technical stuff, but kept nodding off. After that, went over to my sister's for dinner and Red Sox. Just got home now. So much for a day of research.
I'll try again tomorrow, but I've got a tennis match in the morning. Hopefully the afternoon will be productive.
The last couple of days, I've been getting up after 5 hours sleep. How cool would it be if this was a trend which continued. An extra hour a day! I don't see it continuing.
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 August 2008 08:17 am |
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way to kick a$$ on the courts! oh, is the DC pretty interesting?> i haven't been following it at all. a good friend of mine lives in Denver, i hope she's getting to it.
here, wanna make a pact? i will keep the morning munching to a minimum if you keep the night munching to a minimum. see how long we can go?oh, and here's the kicker- if one of us munches at the time we shouldn't, the other one has to munch at thier prone time (i.e.- if i munch in the morning, you have to munch at night- see, it keeps me being good for both of our sakes. same is true vice versa. i certainly don't wanna let you down! and you don't wanna let me down (i hope!).. see how it works?!) if your up for it, let me know! wanna try for like monday through friday, just to see how well it works? let me know if not, its cool
eh, it's the weekend, you can take a break from the research!
Last edited on 31 August 2008 06:07 pm by zenobia
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 August 2008 12:18 pm |
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Great idea, Zen. I'm counting on you! I won't eat anything after dinner.
This challenge will help - I've been slacking and have been eating stuff like chips, doritos, cake, pizza, in addition to having an extra meal yesterday. I am considering 170 to be my new "redline" where I go into full dieting mode, and I'm already up to 169.
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CrimsonAnimus
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 August 2008 04:34 pm |
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I've been finding myself munching again at night...not really hungry, just doing it because...well, I really don't know.
Good luck to both of you! You can do it, Jack! You can jump over this candlestick!!!
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 August 2008 06:11 pm |
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sweet! it's on! we officially start monday morning! it's going to be a huge challange!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 September 2008 02:46 am |
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Hey Nick! Yeah, I'm going to jump over that candlestick alright. Either that or trip over it.
Zen, I'm not waiting till tomorrow - I'm starting tonight! Btw, I don't count gum as eating - sorry, I can't give up the old gum, it's my crutch.
Speaking of crutches, I think I will need them after today. I had a tennis match this morning, this after jogging and two hours of tennis yesterday. I won, too, 6-1, 7-6. Thank God it didn't go to a third set because I could barely stand up after the second.
I goofed off all afternoon, finally took a nap, and then went into town to walk around with my wife "K" after dinner. We went to the tourist area; it was kind of in between the day part and the night part - all the stores were closing and the night crowd wasn't there yet. Next time we'll go earlier. We did see a saxophonist playing; he was pretty good, too. Very fluent, and his phrasing was impeccable. I think one of the songs he played was an improvised version of "A kiss is just a kiss", but I'm not sure. Anyway, it sounded really good.
Tomorrow I'm going to wash my car and mow the lawn. Then a cookout where I will avoid all chips, sweets and other assorted junk.
Last edited on 1 September 2008 02:48 am by jackbenimble
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 September 2008 06:25 am |
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| hey jack, sounds like a fun day and hope your cook-out is fun! Zen's challange has me laughing...I just picture you sitting there with the late night munchies checking the computer every five mins. going "come on Zen, please post that I HAVE to go for the slice of cake...please post that I HAVE to go for the slice of cake" Actually it's a neat idea cause sometimes it's way easier to slip up just for ourselves, but not so easy if our slip means someone else slips up too (that sounds convoluted so hopefully ya know what I mean!)
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 September 2008 12:10 pm |
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Suenos! Uhf, you're right - the competition has already had an impact. We went for a walk last night, and in the back of my mind, I was thinking, maybe I would try one of those sugar-free ice-creams - I had one down the cape and in was pretty good. But it turns out they still have 2/3 the calories of a regular serving of ice cream, so it was no-go. It also barred out the possibility of a frozen-banana snack, which has fuled my evenings on many an occassion. So I was reduced to drinking water and sugar-free gum.
But, it paid off - I was 165 this morning, a full 15 pounds off my starting weight and two lbs less than my previous low. Nice.
Outside of that, I'm getting stressed out by this research project at work. I'm having trouble getting traction into it. In addition, I haven't been dedicated to reading my new proof book. It seems pretty good, but I just don't have the right attitude about the whole math thing right now. Plus, I'm like, should I spend time on A or B, and I end up doing neither. Plus other stuff like mowing the lawn, washing the car, cookouts - the whole weekend turned out to be pretty much of a non-starter when it comes to the A and B.
Ok, well what I will do is B, this morning, from now till say 10. I will do the excercises, with solutions, too. I need to give math a chance. "A" can wait until I'm getting paid to do it.
Last edited on 1 September 2008 12:12 pm by jackbenimble
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 2 September 2008 12:15 am |
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Dear Diary,
Ok, I'm back from the cookout. I didn't do to badly - but I did have a piece of cake and several handfuls of party mix. On the plus side, I mowed the lawn, washed my car and even got a jog / walk in down at the beach. There were plenty of people there considering it's kind of a city beach, including some sweeties.
The How To Prove It study session this morning was the first good one I've had for a while. I finally nailed down exactly what DeMorgans laws are. Basically, if you say something like, it's not true that both the yankees and the red sox won tonight, you can express it like "not (P ^ Q)", where P is Yanks win, Q is Red Sox win, and the "^" means "and". It turns out this is the same thing as saying, either the yankees didn't win or the red sox didn't win, which you say like "not P V not Q" where the "V" means "or". So "not (P ^ Q) = not P V not Q" is Demorgan's law 1.
Conversely, you can also say, "Its' not true that either the Yankees won or the Red Sox won", which you would express as "not (P V Q)". Or you could say "The Yankees didn't win AND the Red Sox didn't win", which you would express as "not P ^ not Q". So, "not (P V Q) = not P ^ not Q" is DeMorgan's law number 2.
Ok, ugh, work tomorrow. Oh well, it's short week.
Last edited on 2 September 2008 11:54 am by jackbenimble
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 2 September 2008 10:11 am |
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hey! happy to see that it's making a difference! i did well this morning, too! even after a night of drinking! the rest of the day wasn't a big hit, but little steps!
heh- hope ya had fun chatting with the cutie! bet you were a real playa, huh?
i remember that theory from symbolic logic. neat.
so here's to day two and a short work week!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 2 September 2008 11:52 am |
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Zen, wow a night of drinking and up at 5 a.m.? You are relentless!
I was up to 166 this morning, due to the cookout yesterday...just had gum last night - tonic last night. I think I'm going to try to cut down on the gum, too, since the supply is running short and I don't want to pay for more. My wife had got a bunch on sale.
Yeah, short week coming up!
Last edited on 2 September 2008 11:53 am by jackbenimble
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 September 2008 10:32 am |
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jack- are are baiscally on the other side of the world! heh- not quite 5 am- i think it was closer to 2 or 3 my time (funny, people in AZ don't do the day light savings time thing... leave it to a red state to be difficult(yeah, you know, i'm kidding... sort of!). now i don't get home till around 1 am (later closing time, bigger store to clean, longer drive time... reasons 835, 836, and 837 of the " reasons why i want to leave this store" list).
quesiton- it your gum SF? just curious.... i'll explain why later...
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 September 2008 11:42 am |
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Ah, I get it - you were still up - after getting home at 1? Reason 52345 to find a new job - sounds like the neighborhood isn't the nicest. Do you carry mace?
Yes, the gum is sugar-free. I guess it's still not calorie free...I know it has a *few* calories...but it 's kind of like a nicotine patch. Am I cheating? Yes. Ok, tonight, no gum. That will hep me preserve my dwindling supply for work. If I can do it. I will try. Zen, you are killing me?
So, today I weighed 168 again. I know why - I had a nice pasta w/ tuna for dinner PLUS a frozen banana for desert. Between the two and no excercise, it was enough to push me up a pound. But, I didn't eat anything after that - except gum...By all rights, I should be out there jogging right now, but I'm not :/
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 September 2008 08:00 pm |
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eh, sf gum is fine. even regular gum is if you keep it to a piece or two. i was just wondering because anything sf makes me bloated almost immediately.
lol- no i'm not trying to kill you! lol
ever hear of the comedian Mitch Hedberg? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8R7opS-VBU
(it starts right away so make sure your volume is up). this guy just slays me. he has a very dry sense of humor.
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 September 2008 09:36 pm |
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| just popped in to say "hello there!"...I tried to follow your proof along - but I freely admit I'm just not that clever - plus math (beyond 2+2) makes my head hurt!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 3 September 2008 10:23 pm |
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Zen, thanks for letting me off the hook. I really should try to stop that incessant gum-chewing. I'm going to go for it anyway, despite your graceful noncholance. I'll check the video when I get home - I don't want to laugh-track the comic to the office.
Suenos - sorry about that. I was really just putting it down so I would have a reference to it online. It gives *me* a headache, and I actually get it, sorta. If you think that's bad, you should read the paper I just tried to read - all this set theory applied to network flows - no clue. I'm only reading it so I can justify why we can't use it, without actually coming out and saying "I'm too dumb to follow this".
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 September 2008 10:02 am |
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heh, i actually think i have to get back to my gum habit. it helps keep the eating in check. for real.
you know, i've always wondered how people just seem to "get" stuff like that. i try to wrap my mind around it and i think i think too hard. there must be some pattern that leads to that "aha!" moment. really, isn't it all about finding patterns? lol, i can find patterns in people, in poems, in pictures no prob, but throw numbers in the mix and i'm screwed. mix numbers and letters and that's when i just have to walk away...  shake my head, and shout Rimbaud poems from the roof tops while drinking a glass of wine!
Last edited on 4 September 2008 10:03 am by zenobia
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 September 2008 02:40 pm |
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Zen, you're right - I think the gum helps out with that. But I'm kind of burning out on the gum - it's like caffiene, it unsettles my stomach. I need a break!
Went jogging last night - timed myself at a 5k distance, maybe whisker more - 32 min 15 secs - almost exactly ten minutes a mile. Hopefully, I won't finish dead last in the 5k! But if I do, so be it. For me, it's a good time.
Uggh...I really want to get the proposal done. Enough research. I just want to put together a coherent, rational paper - one that makes sense. I'm going to try to break it up into use cases. I really don't care, there some programming that's waiting after this - it will be my reward.
It seems like I always end up doing anything but programming. Actually, if I was cooler, I'd be happy to do meetings all day. Makes the time go by.
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CrimsonAnimus
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 5 September 2008 01:38 am |
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I'm sure you will do great on your 5K. It really doesn't matter who gets what place - everybody is a winner! (Sorry if that sounded corny, but it's true.)
It's amazing how gum can act as such an effective appetite suppressant. My sister said it really works for her, too.
Fun fact: Do you know who first held the patent for bubble gum? A dentist! Pretty funky. Of course, I've always thought it was interesting how they give out lollipops at the dentist. LOL
They give out lollipops at the bank, too. If I was a teller, I'd probably be tempted to give every customer a lollipop. I'd smile at them, and say, "Thank you for visiting us today. Here's a lollipop to remind you of how much a dollar is worth. Have a nice day." 
G'job, mate! Keep it up.
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 5 September 2008 06:05 am |
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Thanks, Nick. They probably give at lollipops at the dentist to get repeat business - start the kids early. Everyone's a winner! I love that saying. Seriously, jogging has been very very good to me. Not only am I leaner and meaner, but it's helped out my tennis game - I'm getting to balls I never used to.
But, I've got to solve the t.v. problem. Really, for a long time I wasn't watching it, then I started again. Hopefully, the start of classes will alleviate that.
Well, I work from home tomorrow. I also am going to get a check up. I hope to get the main part of this research paper written. I just started writing this afternoon and got up to about a page and 1/2. I'm shooting for five pages of text and diagrams. I think I have enough material to fill that up. Class starts the 15th.
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 5 September 2008 09:12 pm |
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Bad news:
1. The boss is putting a little pressure on me about this proposal.
2. I just found a company willing to partner with us on it.
3. #2 above means I'll take even longer because I'll have to incorporate their changes.
4. #2 above means all the work I do on this paper will probably have to be redone.
Good news:
1. had a checkup today, I'm in good health, so far.
2. Weekend coming up.
3. Tennis tomorrow
4. I'm overweight, but not by much (26.39 bmi, normal ends at 25)
5. The doctor told me just lose a pound per month until Christmas.
6. Blood pressure - 102/64, pulse 52.
7. The doctor thought the pulse was too low, but I've been through that before.
8. We're going out to eat tonight
Why does all the bad news come from work? Actually, there is good news from work - I'll at least learn something from this new company.
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 6 September 2008 01:46 am |
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great to hear you are in good health! i am curious though, how tall are you?
hey, isn't a slow pulse better than a fast one?
that sucks about stuff that's going on at work and with the proposal, but way to find good things in it! as long as you keep learning, that's all that matters.
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 6 September 2008 02:57 am |
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Zen - you would ask - I'm 5 foot 6.5 inches - and I'm happy about the .5, which I just found out about today. I was trying to stand up straight when the measured my height. It's not as bad as it sounds, though - I'm kind of stockily built. But it's true that I still have a little bit of the pot belly, my stomach isn't nice and flat like I want it to be. Still got to shed those pounds.
As far as the slow pulse, I guess they don't like it too slow - I mean if it gets too slow, your basically dead. But when I explained to her that I had been doing a lot of excercices recently, she said that it was normal for athletes to have a heart rate in the 50s. My last doctor actually tried to call an ambulance on me, when an ekg showed I had a heart rate of 42. But, I think I was kind of sleeping, at the time, because it took so long to get the ekg set up.
Yeah, I guess it's good to learn new stuff. This is actually a pretty interesting area of research, so it's not too bad. Thanks for the encouraging words!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 6 September 2008 09:23 pm |
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Dear Diary,
The day got off to a good enough start. I got into my work paper for a couple of hours and was kind of rolling. But M called to play tennis, and I couldn't say no. Almost immediately after hitting, I was soaked with sweat, it was so humid out there. M lost the first set in a tie-breaker, so he insisted on another one. He beat me this time, but it was two hours into it, and I had forgotten my water bottle, so I was totally wilted by the time all was said and done.
I got home and took a shower and passed out. I got up and had lunch, and read a magazine, and it's raining outside right now, but I still feel grumpy and not ready for work. How about by 5? 5 to 7, two more hours. I did make *some* progress this morning.
Now to the main reason for this post - I weighed myself after coming home and the scale showed 160! I know, it's all water loss and I'll be back up to 165 or 166 in a flash, but to even see that number. Sweet.
Once I get this paper done, I'll be happy. Next Friday. Then school starts the week after and I'm off to the races.
Last edited on 6 September 2008 09:23 pm by jackbenimble
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 September 2008 05:36 am |
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Dear Diary,
Insomnia. I think it's from the afternoon nap. Anyway, I got another section more or less finished on this paper. I took me like three hours to get half a page done. But, it was important that I figure out this piece, which was really more letting them what they already should know than anything new. But, I'm glad I took the trouble to figure it out; it's in a section called "background", so it's justified on that basis.
I have a headache. Too much gum chewing, I think. I suppose I could take an aspirin. The doctor said I should take one a day. Aspirin upsets my stomach, though. Anyway, the sheet said you should take an aspirin if you have at least one of five major heart risks, and I have one, but it's due to the fact that my brother and sister have heart trouble. My brother is just morbidly overweight, so I discount that. My sister, I don't know what the heck is wrong with her.
So, I'm trying to leverage the big weight drop today into a permanent loss by not having a third meal today; in fact I usually only have two anyway, but the lunch was a little bit small (had it at 4 pm), Chiles leftovers. Grilled strips of steak, chicken and shrimp along with fried onions and peppers and a tortilla. Yummm Let's do that again, real soon.
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 September 2008 07:46 am |
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| You usually only eat twice a day? Good Grief man...I would start gnawing my own arm off between the first and last meal!! But I have a girlfriend who's teeny tiny (4'11 & about 100 lbs) who only eats once a day...usually a ginormous (like at least two heaping plates) dinner meal.....and btw, I still can't figure out exactly what you do at work
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 September 2008 02:28 pm |
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Hey Suenos!
I've found the twice a day works for me, since if I have three meals, it's really tough to lose and easy to gain. I know it's not recommended, but the way my life is structured, three is the max anyway, unless I eat after dinner or something. And with Zen's help, I've managed to limit that to chewing sugar-free gum and diet cokes.
So, my strategy from yesterday to leverage the tennis wieght-loss into a net loss has paid off, at least for now. I weighed in this morning at 163 . I went back and reviewed my initial post, where I was 180 and was hoping to get into the 172-175 range. Ok, so I set the bar low. But still, I'm looking at 15+ pound loss, at least for now, and staring 160 in the face, which would be a 20 lb loss and only 5 lbs off from my college weight - something I thought I had left behend forever. But that may be unrealistic - I'm heading into a heavy duty work and class section and my not have the time to do the excercising I've been doing.
What I'd really like to do is change my lifestyle so I have a job with reasonable hours that doesn't intefere with my ability to keep my body in the shape it needs to be heading into the autumn of my years. This sitting in a car 3 hours a day, really has to go. I need to get a job where I can put my time in and at work and be done. The problem with this whole scenario is that I'm kind of maxing out where I'm at in terms of salary right now, especially if I want to get a job I can basically leave at the work place. I've got to make a priority of figuring this thing out.
Still, I have to admit, blogging here has really helped me. This diet has been more successful than basically any diet I've ever been on. The daily reporting on my weight and eating habit helps me to keep focused on it, and sharing my progress with a group of folks who are friendly, supportive, non-judgmental and positive help me keep it going. You guys rock!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 September 2008 08:04 pm |
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Dear Diary,
The bad news is I lost in tennis today. I got down in the first set 3 love, and fought back but ended up losing 7-5. I changed my strategy in the second set, trying to take the net more, but the kid had good wheels and kept catching up to the ball and passing me with little overheads. I really have to work on my net game. It seems all I can do is just pop it back at the guy, instead of getting an angle on it. Frustrating.
Anyway, it was a good workout, and when I weighed myself when I got home I was, check it out, 159. So, I'm chewing gum instead of eating, just to see how long I can put it off. I was 163 this morning, so what I really want to do is officially enter the range of 160-165. If I can lose 5 more pounds, the little remaining gut will maybe disappear. So now you're talking about maybe even getting a six pack going on.
I'm trying to skip watching the patriots. I hate wasting a Sunday afternoon on the weekends in front of a TV. There's only an hour to go, and I will have skipped the whole thing.
Ok, I'm going to try to do some more work on this paper. I want to get it up to say, 5-7 pages when all is said and done. I've been focusing on more background stuff, because when we talk to the company, I think things will probably change around quite a bit.
I'm also thinking about catching a movie are taking a walk around town tonight.
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 8 September 2008 06:53 am |
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Dear Diary,
Ok, I got more work on my paper today. Put in a couple of (3 actually) diagrams off the internet. It's up to about 7 pages. It still needs a lot of work, and I still need to talk to this company to find out how to partner.
So, check it out - I'm at 162 right now, will probably be that tomorrow, when I wake up. dude, that means I'm only 7 lbs off my college weight.
Talked to my daughter on the phone last night. It was nice to hear her voice - like music. She's doing fine, as I new she would.
Must sleep...
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 September 2008 06:07 am |
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I'm watching too much t.v. again,. What I have to do is find something that is the equivalent of gum for watching t.v. - something that is *not* watching tv, but is something so easy and simple and normal that I will do it automatically. Browsing the internet is the closest thing, but that's also kind of wasting time. Hmmm.....play guitar? I haven't picked it up for months. Nahhh; Hanoi Towers? No, way to simple. Blog? That's about as close as easy without watching t.v. as I could get. But, I can't just sit around blogging all night. Anyway, next week school starts, and then my time will be pretty much taken up anyway. So, I won't worry about it.
So, back to basics. I had a couple of meals today, as usual. My ongoing, but cheating bet with Zen, where I have SF gum, still effectively limits my night time munching.
Must..go...to...sleep
Last edited on 9 September 2008 06:08 am by jackbenimble
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 September 2008 04:56 am |
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Before I forget, I'm still at 165, although it drops below that after excercise. I'm really mad at this night school I go to because they have a track, but apparently the night school students aren't eligible for it. If I found out the let the day students do it, but not the night, I'll be pretty po'd about it.
This will be about as low as I get, because school starts next week, and it's going to suck up a lot of my time, less time for excercise. Plus, no place to run when the weather gets cold. I could go to my old college, but it's in a different town, inconvenient. I told my wife, let's move to Florida, why not, but, she's not interested. So we're getting a new furnace instead. Sigh.
Oh, yeah, and I'm still sticking with two meals a day, but man I am hungry by the time I get home. I'm going to crack at some point, and the weight will start climbing again. I really can't let that happen. Not after I worked so hard to get down to where I am. I mean, you know, I actually have a waistline now, I like it. I've got to just keep it going, somehow, over the long winter months.
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 September 2008 05:27 am |
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| raquetball?? turn your daughters room into a little in-home gym?
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 September 2008 10:22 am |
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why not just cut your meals into smaller ones, but eat more frequently? if you are feeling hungry when you get home, you probably should eat soemthing. maybe just keep it low on carbs and fat? stick to high protein things?
and i agree with suenos- a home gym! and raquette ball! lots of good ideas!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 September 2008 02:56 am |
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Raquetball - hmm, not a bad idea. I wonder if I could find some free courts at the university? I'll have to check it out. Then find someone who plays it.
soo...spent most of the day working in this paper. We got a guy who is a specialist to team with us, he'll be making his contributions this week. It's better than before, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with the work plan.
Played tennis yesterday with M, a little bit, then we played doubles with an older couple. Their son is an awesome player, awesome, I saw him playing in the center court. Four guys rifling the ball at each other. Man, how do they do that? Anyway, M also gave me a little bit of a lesson, on how to volley, which should help. I was supposed to play yesterday, but it got rained out.
I went jogging today, and was really hustling. I cut about 1.5 minutes off my regular time, so I was down to about 30 minutes, 45 seconds for a 5k distance. I'm trying to keep my breath at a high rate. I felt good afterwards.
Then, I came home, watched the game while working on the paper. Pats won. They are better than I thought they'd be. The defense was impressive. They've got some new guys who help them out. Gerard Mayo is a star, and Adelius Thomas looks more dominant than he did all last year. Richard Seymour is playing like his old self. And the defensive backs seemed to get it together. Ellis Hobbs played well, although I can't stand his obnoxious celebrating after ever decent play. Deltha O'Niel looks really solid - a former pro-bowler - how was he put on waivers?
Heard a good old tune I liked today, "Papa was a rolling stone". I love horns on that song - they shimmer. It's got a kind of a suspicious tone to it. I think they play bongoes in the backgound. It's kind of dramatic - not a wall of sound, but you just hear a fading of notes in the background, like a feint that doesn't follow through. Whatever it is, it works.
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 September 2008 06:24 am |
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ohhh..."papa was a rolling stone...wherever he laid his hat was his home...and when he died...all he left us was alone" (ha!... I know every old r&b song in the universe courtesy of kareoke
here's a question for ya, (it's got nothing to do with diet/exercise)....what is it about men and football? I mean, I've known one or two women to get into it pretty hardcore, and known some men that are indifferent to it...but 90% of men I've ever known just get so intensely into the game itself and all the stats and info - even guys who've never played the game in their entire lives.....and I've never understood what it is about that particular sport that seems to "speak" to something in males of all ages, economic/education backgrounds, races, etc. - like you could put two guys with all the differences in the world in a room with a game on and poof, instant common ground and male bonding.
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trimB
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 September 2008 11:01 pm |
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My opinion (not that anyone asked) is that it's trained into guys when they grew up. It was baseball in my family, but it was trained into me and sisters as well as my brother. So I'm still crazy about it and love tracking all the stats and stuff! So did you have a football upbringing, Jack?
I wonder what the female equivalent universal-bonder is?
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 16 September 2008 04:10 am |
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Suenos Isn't karaoke great? When I was in Japan, I was out all the time singing. Back in the states, I've only done it a couple of times! I was less inhibited over there - maybe I should go back. I have got to go out singing again, at least!
TrimB - thanks for visiting!
About football - I always liked it. We played touch football a lot growing up. I played pop-warner and high-school, although I didn't crack the starting lineup in high school? I was raised in a football friendly household, although it was by no means forced on us. My niece really got into the Patriots, although I think as a rule women become more Red Sox fans than Pats fans. Totally unscientific sample, though.
Last edited on 16 September 2008 04:19 am by jackbenimble
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mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 5732 |
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Posted: 17 September 2008 08:28 pm |
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Heya Jack!! Long time no see. Wow that was a lot to catch up on...books and proofs and sugar free gum and tennis and football and 163 (with a 160 in there) and not to mention, a 5K! I am so excited that you are doing a 5K! Hoping for nice cool weather for ya, and have fun!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 18 September 2008 03:03 am |
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MM! you really did catch up on my thread - impressive - how do you find the time? Thanks for the well-wishes!
I'm afraid I'm going to be a little bit challenged in terms of keep up, since I signed up for 2 classes this semester, which twice my usual quota. I'm only auditing Discrete Math, so if that gets to heavy, I can skip a homework or two. But, I want to do them all - just so I get my money's worth. Plus, so I will have that much less catching up to do for computer theory next year at this time.
After this, I'm going to run tonight. Last time I ran, which was during an afternoon, last Friday, I think, I came in under 31 minutes, like 30:45, which is my fastest measured time at 5k (ok, so I've timed myself 4 times anyway, small sample) I don't imagine I'll hit that tonight, it's getting late.
Hmmm, I've been 162 for the past few days on the scale - I'll ring in up as official. But, I did snack tonight - I saw some raisin oatmeal and just had to have a packet. Hopefully, I'll be back on track tomorrow.
Heard from my daughter last Sunday. She has such a nice voice. She is really a sweetheart. I have her picture on my desk at work, it puts me into a better mood,, makes me feel more human. She's doing fine, she's happy.
Argghh, I've been goofing off all night. At least I finally finished the research paper. I did a good job on it, too. Learned some stuff. It's a proposal - I'd like if we won it - it's a chance to work on security in the next generation internet.
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 19 September 2008 03:49 am |
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Dear Diary,
so...I called my sister, who is really smart, and asked her what she thought I oughta do, go with the math, or go with the business. She was all about going with the business, because, first of all, I get out of school a year sooner, and secondly, it's a lot less work, thirdly, it's less expensive, and fourthly, I don't like math, anyway.
Sooo, I'm thinking I go that route. Is that my final decision...errr, hmm I'll sleep on it.
I'm really falling off the truck - I had three of those oatmeal packets tonight.
I'm reading a self-help book, called "Think and Grow Rich". It seems like the basic premise is, just decide on he ONE THING you want in your life (grow rich) and you'll get it, if you have an overwhleming desire to do so. I believe it. I do.
I noticed in a mirror the other day that my black jeans were way baggier than I thought. I looked like one of those bums, who hold up some old pair of too-loose pants with a rope. So, I fished out a pair of jeans I got last spring, which I never ended up wearing because they were too tight after getting washed. They look way better, so I'll wear those regularly. Most of my jeans are too big now.
Ran the my 3.2 miles last night in 31:30, not too bad.
I'm going to practice my serve tomorrow. I've got a match Sunday, then the following saturday.
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 19 September 2008 10:01 pm |
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hey jack!
ok, we both have to get back on track!
that's awesome about your jeans, though you should probably invest in some new ones.... yeah, looking like a bum probably isn't a great idea.
i'm all of you doing business, but i hate math myself, so i'm prejudice
that book sounds a bit like "the secret". (it's cool that your are reading a self-help book, too. makes me feel a bit better about reading mine).
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mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 5732 |
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Posted: 20 September 2008 03:32 am |
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Your sister is so smart? Gee I am so surprised.
Anyway, listen to your heart. Jack, if you are not that into math, why force it?
Good luck with the 5K. Have fun and tell us all about it!
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jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 21 September 2008 02:32 am |
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Zen & MM - thanks for checking in - I love you guys!
So, the 5k - here's the story. Novice that I am, I hustled to get there (it was run near the hatch shell, beside the charles river) and was one of the first ones there, probably like 9:30, and the race turned out to start at 11. So, since I went out last night and was vaguely hung over, I found a free bench and laid out under the morning sun. They had hired a singer / guitarist, he was singing nice, mellow tunes, so I was soon fast asleep.
After a while, I got up, and went over and chatted with a few of the students. Finally we lined up for the race, and with the blow of a horn, off we dashed. There was a cutie running a few feet ahead of me, she had a nice, running style, so I figured I'd let her pace me. She was moving along faster than she looked (I can never tell how fast joggers are really going) and I was actually hard put to keep up with her. At the 1 mile point, I was at 8:04, which is way faster than my usual 10 minutes. But I hung in there, and I was still with her at the 2 mile checkpoint, where the time was split was 8:10. How do they figure that out? Maybe they said 16:10?
Anyway, my breath was starting to come harder and my arms felt heavy and sore. I wasn't even able to face the prospect of using one to scoop up a cup of water. I finally had to let the sweetie pull away. I was running more or less by myself now, despite the fact that there were 400 or so people in the race. We took a u turn and headed back toward the hatch-shell. Up over small bridge - those get big when you're gassed - and I settled in for the final stretch. I told myself to pick it up, not long to go. Finally, I passed the 3 mile mark, the time was 25 minutes and something. I crossed the finish line just a tad over 26 minutes, which was almost 5 minutes better than my best time practicing (I also realized that 5k is 3.1, not 3.2 miles, which I've been practicing at).
I remembered watching the Romanian lady who won the olympics this year, how she just kept running around the stadium, even after 26 miles and change. None of that for Jack. I wasn't about to run another step.
Anyway, I hung out for a bit longer, watched the runners come in and stuff. It turns out they put up a list of the runners; I was 159 out of 215 runners listed. They stopped listing people after times of about 28:15. I know there were tons of people who came in after that, because I watched the finish line for a while. Anyway, the paper said my average was 8.24 seconds per mile.
All in all, a morning well spent. I hope I didn't catch a cold, though - I've been sneezing all day. I knew I should've worn my sweat jacket - it was pretty cool compared to a nice summer day.
Last edited on 21 September 2008 11:10 am by jackbenimble
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mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 5732 |
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Posted: 21 September 2008 03:35 am |
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| Jack, that's brilliant! Congratulations!!! Nice!!!!
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 21 September 2008 05:00 am |
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you. are. awesome.
'nuff said! 
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