Running a Half Marathon

This Sunday I ran the ING Distance run, which was a half marathon. Running was something completely new for 2008; I was never very good at it—awful, in fact—and I decided it was high time to do something about it. So over the course of the year, I built up my stamina from barely being able to run a full mile, to doing a 5k, to doing the Broad Street run (10 miles) in May. Still high off completing the broad street run, I decided to sign up for a half marathon. Afterall, how much worse could an extra three miles be?

A lot worse, as it turns out. The Broad Street run is about the easiest 10 miles one could possibly run; perfectly straight, no hills, and a slight downhill grade from start to finish. This, on the other hand, was 13 "real" miles, with elevation changes, corners to turn, and so on. Also, whereas the Broad Street Run had the novelty factor of my first ever "long" run going for it, this one didn't.

I had put together a playlist on my phone that ran 2.5 hours; a little bit longer than I figured I needed, but better too many songs than to run out five minutes from the finish line. I must say, the playlist was absolute key to my being able to finish. I set it up with relaxing songs up front so I didn't overdo it on the first few miles, and then "power" songs towards the end to get me over the finish line.

Before I talk about the actual race, let me just say that one of my favorite parts of these running events is that it really does show that there's still a good side left to humanity. The fact that all these people volunteer to help make the event go smoothly, and that everyone encourages one another, really does warm your heart a little bit. So, if you have ever volunteered at a race and you're reading this, thanks. You rule.

Anyway. Once I got away from the start line (10 minutes after the gun went off), I kept a nice steady pace, not concerned with all the folks who were passing me. I knew that if I exerted myself too much in the first three miles, I'd run out of gas way before the 13 mile mark.

The first three miles were nice and easy, which in retrospect is an accomplishment for me in and of itself. It's important to remember that this time last year, I couldn't even dream of running three miles, let alone not even getting out of breath doing so. Anyway, I was keeping an easy 11 minute/mile pace and wasn't remotely out of breath. In fact, things stayed pretty easy until I hit West River Drive, which was about the 6 mile mark. 6 miles was the farthest I had gone on any of my practice runs, so anything from there out was uncharted territory. My legs were starting to get a little tired, but nothing I couldn't handle. I made my first stop for some sports drink around the 7 mile mark, and slowed to a walk as I drank it. Walking felt really good, but as soon as I threw the cup away, I went back to my steady jog.

They were also giving out Powerbar Gel at the water station. Knowing that I was starting to get tired, I figured I'd take one and eat it, even though I had never tried one before. Well, now I know why they say never try new things on race day. I took a nice big squeeze of the gel into my mouth, and holy shit, I almost choked. I looked down and the package said "vanilla", but it honestly tasted like what I imagine a big mouthful of spooge would taste like. Tried both? Feel free to leave a comment letting me know if I'm near the mark. Anyway, since it was a thick gel, I couldn't easily spit it out, so I had to work it all down over the next few hundred feet. Gross.

By the time I hit the Falls Bridge--about 8.5 miles--things started to get difficult. I was still keeping my head above water, but the temptation to treat myself to walking a little was getting stronger and stronger. Nonetheless, I pressed on. Also, at this point, I noticed that many of the other runners I had found myself with were skewing older and not in the best of shape. Great.

The last leg of the run was from the Falls River Bridge all the way up Kelly Drive, which is a run I've made tens of times this year with no problem. However, I had never done it after already running nine miles beforehand. My body was starting to register some soreness in both knees, my feet were starting to hurt, and my legs were feeling tired in general. My cardio was holding up OK; I wasn't breathing that heavy and my heart rate seemed stable enough, but around mile 9, keeping up a steady jog went from kinda hard to genuinely hard.

I made another sports drink stop somewhere around mile 10, and again walked as I drank it. This time though, walking felt blissful, like little angels were massaging my legs. Knowing I'd never start up again if I got used to it, I didn't even finish the sports drink, and put myself back into the now tiresome jog.

Around mile 11, as exhaustion set in, I credit three things with keeping me going along Kelly Drive. One, of course, was sheer willpower, and just forcing myself to keep going. Two was that I was now into the hard rock / metal portion of my playlist; I defy anyone to give up when Welcome to the Jungle is blasting at full volume. And third was some blonde chick, probably about 5'10" with an ass that could have been sculpted by Jesus himself, who was just ahead of me and keeping a pace that I could sustain. I ultimately passed her, but the distraction proved enough to keep my mind off how miserable I was getting.

Since my runs usually end at the boathouses, I had forgotten just how nasty the hill going up to the art museum is, and it really kicks your ass when you're struggling to keep going. By that point, I was literally running on empty. I remember getting to the top of the hill and almost panicking when I couldn't see the finish line. As it turns out, I still had a little ways to go down the parkway, then do a 180 and head back to the art museum. At that point, I think the only thing that kept me going was knowing what a complete and utter zero I'd be if I had run for 13 miles, then petered out for the last tenth. Having the course lined with spectators probably helped too.

I didn't even see the clock when I crossed the finish line; it literally took all my effort just to stay upright. I finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes. That's not a great time, but I literally gave it everything I had just to finish without stopping. At very least, I can say that I finished a half marathon. And that, unlike my sore knees and hips, is something I'll have for the rest of my life.

Review: iPhone 3g

It's no secret, I'm totally addicted to my iPhone. Couldn't live without it, really. So when the new 3g version came out and I didn't immediately line up to get one, a lot of people were surprised.

Truth be told, the major upgrade wasn't actually to the phone itself, but rather to the software that the phone could run; the new "2.0" iPhone software was a major step forward in what the phone could be used for. And because the original phone ran this new software just fine, you could enjoy this major upgrade without buying the new phone.

There were two things that pushed me over the edge: The first is that the 3g phone has actual GPS built in, and there is an application that tracks you while you jog or run, and tells you how far you went. As I am training for a half marathon, this was of particular interest to me. Second, you can get $400 for an original phone in good condition on Ebay, which would pay for the new phone plus a few month's worth of more expensive service. So early this week, I lined up at the Apple store at 8am, and about an hour later walked out with a white 16 gig iPhone 3g.

Basically, the new phone is exactly what I expected. Several "nice to have" but not totally groundbreaking features. It's nice to have 3x faster web browsing; it's nice to have real GPS, it's nice to have a real headphone jack, it's nice to have the phone not buzz when placed next to speakers. But I would have gotten by just fine without those things. So, if you can get a good price for your old phone and don't mind paying $15 extra per month, then go ahead and upgrade. Otherwise, if you're happy with your current iPhone, stay put- you're really not missing that much.

Someone go start this web site!

So I am a regular reader of two "News Voting" sites, Digg and Reddit. In case you're not familiar with the concept, the way they work is as follows: the site displays a list of web links (usually to news articles) that people have posted, and if you find that story interesting, you cast an "up" vote for it, or if you don't like the story, you can give it a "down" vote. The sites keep tabs of these votes, and the running vote tally determines which stories are displayed on the first page. This is cool because it guarantees that unlike CNN or Fox News, the bias of a few editors will not be able to shade your view of the news. This ends up exposing you to a lot of news stories or articles that you might not have seen otherwise. The underlying concept is cool, however there are three glaring faults that both Digg and Reddit suffer from.

First off, despite the promise of the general populace determining the balance of news stories, these sites end up leaning about as far left as you possibly can. This suggests that the average internet news reader is exceptionally liberal, as there are more Bush Impeachment stories on these sites than you can shake a stick at. Secondly, often times, things that get voted as popular aren't totally new things; sometimes they're just new to the voters on the site. So an item with a generic title of "hilarious pic!" often times turns out to be something from a two-year old email forward that enough people found novel to get it sufficient votes for front page.

My third complaint is by far the biggest, and it really takes a lot away from the potential that these sites have. Both sites allow users to post messages in a comments section for each article. This sounds like a good thing, because it should provide the ability to do some point/counterpoint discussions on various articles. However, in practice, the majority of comments you read on these sites are written by incredibly stupid people who usually haven't even bothered to read the article they are writing about. And while there are indeed a few thoughtful, intelligent comments here and there, they are far outweighed by the aforementioned morons who post un-thought out garbage with sub-8th grade grammar.

A different favorite website of mine, Fark.com, completely solves the third problem; its user community is one of the most sharp and witty of any I've encountered. However, Fark.com lacks the democratic voting systems that underpin Digg and Reddit; the articles available on the site are chosen by a handful of editors.

So what I propose somebody start is a vote-based news site like Digg or Reddit, but with some sort of IQ test required to vote or post in the comments section. Someone wanna get on that for me?

One Year Later Car Review- 2007 Acura TSX

A little over a year ago, I went against my better judgment and waltzed over to West Chester Acura with Grace to look at a 2007 TSX. However, after a 30 minute test drive, we were both in love with the car, and ended up driving home with it.

So after a year and change worth of time, are we still in love with the little black four door with the squared off trunk?

Absolutely.

The TSX makes a perfectly competent commuting car, returning decent fuel economy from its four cylinder engine. It also makes a perfectly competent highway cruiser; noise levels are good, and the seats are plenty comfortable for extended stays. But put it onto a twisty road, and the TSX comes alive. Throw the TSX into a curve, and it responds with reflexes that could easily trick you into thinking the car is a thousand pounds lighter than it really is. No fuss, no drama, the car just goes exactly where you point it, and then chides you to give it a little more on the next run.

Between the motor that stays silky smooth all the way to its 7000 rpm redline, the perfectly dialed-in chassis, and great interior comfort, the car is just plain fun to drive. It's a car that you're happy to get into, day after day. Add to that the decent fuel economy and classic Honda reliability, and you have a formula that pretty much can't lose.

Go Fags!!! Go Dykes!!!

This morning I was listening to my CNN news update as I was getting dressed, and they had a little blurb about how the first gay couples were getting married in California. And you know what, it's about time!

People who are against gay marriage always amuse me for one of two reasons. Because when it comes down to it, there are really only two possibilities of why someone would be against gay marriage.

The first is the obvious one, and that's because Jesus tells them that gay marriage is wrong. I can immediately dismiss these people, because sure, they have Jesus' opinion on the matter, but did they bother to go around and get the opinion of the other major deities? Do you really think they went through the trouble of also polling Buddha, Shiva, Allah, Zeus, Waaq, etc? What if those other guys have a majority opinion that Jesus just wasn't on the right side of? So clearly, just because Jesus says so isn't a good enough reason.

This leaves a group of people that don't mention Jesus in their arguments, but will say that gay marriage is wrong because there is social damage by allowing two people of the same sex to raise a child. That a man and a woman is just the natural order of things. We'll ignore the obvious fact that this is just another way of expressing the Jesus point while sounding more rational. But even if they were completely omitting religion from the argument, it's not that hard to see that the "natural order" of things hasn't done that well lately. Have you looked at the fucked up marriages we have out there today, and the kids that are a result of them?

I admit, in a perfect world, you'd have a dad around to provide the model of strength that kids expect, and a mom around to provide the model of nurturing that kids expect. Not that these two are mutually exclusive, but you know what I mean. But let's face it, the world is a far from perfect place, and the odds of a kid spending his entire childhood in that utopian environment are slimmer than ever. Statistically speaking, it's just not realistic for the average kid anymore.

Just about everybody knows that if you walk into the apartment of two gay guys, it's probably going to be cleaner and nicer than the apartment that an equivalent heterosexual couple would have. And if you look in the gay couple's closets, you can bet they will each have far nicer clothes than the equivalent hetero couple. So if they're that far ahead on their apartments and their wardrobes, isn't it rational to think that the same would apply to them raising a kid?

So if they're not hurting anyone by getting married, and the odds are in their favor of them turning out good kids, then what's the problem? Also, on a tangential note, recent news stories have demonstrated a clear pattern that the harder someone lobbies against gay marriage, the more likely they are to be hiding from a homosexual experience that they're deathly terrified of. Just sayin.

So go ahead, homosexuals! Have your lavish weddings**, be happy growing old together, and if the two of you have enough love to share with a child, make it happen. Thankfully, the Jesus people can't have their way forever.


**What, did you think they wouldn't be lavish?

Wonder where it all goes?

So on the way to work this morning, the Lukoil station had premium at $3.99, the highest I've ever seen it. It cost me over $60 to fill up the Maxima's gas tank. Those fill-ups sure add up don't they! So, just in case you were curious as to where your $3.99/gallon is ending up, here are the most recent quarterly profits for the four major oil companies that do business in the US: Note, these are quarterly numbers, not annual, and these are profit numbers, meaning after all expenses:

Chevron- $5.1Billion
BP- $7.6B
Shell- $9B
ExxonMobil- $11.6B!!!!!

ExxonMobil made $11.6 billion dollars in the past three months! Holy fuck! In fact, it actually set the record for largest quarterly profit for any company ever! This broke the record set last year by- are you ready?- themselves!

So next time you're filling up your tank, realize that the oil companies are growing ever fatter on your dime. Realize that it's just going to get worse as they keep raising prices to make more money. And then think of what you may be able to do to change that.

Anyone (Epecially a Presidential Candidate) who Supports the Gas Tax Holiday is Stupid

It immediately reeked of shortsightedness and pandering to middle class voters: "Lets suspend some of the federal gas tax to give consumers a break this summer!" Afterall, gas sure got 'spensive didn't it!

Just a few minutes worth of thought about this plan will reveal two practical problems, and one fundamental one:

Practical issue 1: The rebate would knock 18 cents off the price of a gallon of gas. However, oil companies would surely swoop in and just raise their prices a bit. Not the full 18 cents, but a bit- to capture some of that slack. So for all intents and purposes, part of it would be a direct subsidy to the oil companies.

Practical issue 2: The government doesn't really have the money to do this! The national debt is the highest it's ever been; what room do we have to spend any more money on a program like this? The money would be added directly to the national debt, which would just have to be paid back later anyway. If it was phrased as a "loan to consumers to buy gas this summer, which they'd later have to pay back with interest", do you think it'd be as popular?

Furthermore, the money collected from the gas tax goes directly to maintaining highways and bridges. Am I the only one who's read countless articles about how tons of bridges are unsafe from needing urgent maintenence?

And finally:
Fundamental problem: It's completely economically backwards! This would merely encourage us to keep using more oil, and higher demand with the same supply leads to one thing: higher prices!

So, if you know someone (especially a presidential candidate) who supports this sort of thing, you at least know that their grasp of economics is tenuous at best, and damaging at worst.