The Days Drag But The Weeks Fly By

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 12.5% BF

Well here it is Friday again... a quick recap: Tuesday I worked extra late, then had dinner at Which Brew... Wednesday was the Chain Gang meeting... yesterday I rode the towpath, where I met Doug. We then ran into Judy M & her friend, who were hanging out at Sand Island after leading that "First Strides" women's running clinic. Judy was showing her vacation pics from the Islands, which was way cool -- I'd told Greg I'd go crazy on a trip like that, but it looked really fun in the pictures -- but that broke my time budget and I really had to haul ass to get back to Easton before dark. Dinner was a bowl of chili at Which Brew, and a snifter of Legacy Euphoria.

Tonight I'll be meeting a bunch of people at Jacobsburg, for a road ride with Janna. She's moving to Hawaii soon (poor thing), and I think this is the start of the farewell. They're all going to Cannon's for dinner, then to see some band (the Joes?), but tonight is the Mugger's Ball at -- you guessed it -- Which Brew. Mug Club & investors only, closed to the public, should be good.

I think I'm detecting a pattern to my life.

Heading for an Inevitable Crash

Morning weigh-in: 177#, 11.5% BF

I'm running out of things to say again, so I think things'll quiet down here (again) for a while...

Rode last night at the 'Burg with Curt, and Greg & Judy. Luckily everyone was agreeable to the idea of "easy, social ride" -- I was hurting! -- but then G&J just got back from a sailing vacation, and Curt was on a singlespeed and also on his second ride of the year, or so he claimed.

I'll have to remember this, dinner was excellent, and really quick/easy: lemon-poppy baked tofu (pre-baked of course!), rice, and saurkraut, and a salad. I grated some ginger onto canned peaches, and sprinkled it with cinnamon & sage, then put it in the fridge to save for dessert but forgot about it. Oh well, it'll be there tonight.

Ran this morning, but just got in one mile before peristalsis reared its ugly head and I cut things short ... went in to work an hour early, will probably stay 2 hours late. Sigh.

UPDATE: This is my 100th post.

Not very manic, but just another Monday

Morning weigh-in: 177#, 14% BF

The weekend: Friday was dinner at Which Brew ("Meet the Brewer Night" with Legacy Brewing), Saturday was drycleaning/coffeeshop/run/gym/work, then bike prep and finally Which Brew again for dinner; I wasn't feeling up to snuff, so I split early.

Yesterday we (me, Doug, Brian, Rich B, Joe C, and Bob) went up to Fell Mountain (aka Merli-Sarnoski Park) outside Carbondale. That place is just awesome, and even though we all agreed it really isn't that far away (no worse than French Creek or Blue Marsh), I'm kind of glad it's too far to get regular visits: it's a small park, and I don't want to see it become boring from overuse. Hard technical riding too, it's good to have some recovery between trips...

I'm not sure who can make it tonight, but I'm going to Jacobsburg for the Monday night "recovery ride," hopefully it'll live up to its name and be easy.

ummmm...

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 12.5% BF

Not much to say.

Yesterday I worked until 7:00, then went home & played with the computer (first non-thunderstorm day this week); dinner was tuna & wilted greens over fettucine after 10:00 PM. Today I came in at 7:00 AM, tomorrow I'll be working a half day. I could say "CHA-CHING!" but in reality it's just starting to piss me off...

Tonight I'll be riding the towpath, then probably hitting the WB or best offer if anything else turns up. Tomorrow some friends and I may get together for dinner somewhere in Hackettstown.

A Mighty Road

Morning weigh-in: 175.0#, 14.5% BF

I left work "early" (ie at the proper time) yesterday, and finally hooked up with the Wednesday night road ride crew (Joe & Cindy C, Brian, Doug, and Scott S) despite threatening thunderstorms. They start/finish at Joe & Cindy's house, and wind all around the backroads just south of Blue Mountain (Jacobsburg to Point Phillip, rolling terrain). Many of these guys spent the winter hammering this ride on their fixed-gear bikes, and use it as a hard training ride; they also sprint to township line signs for points, and push each other pretty hard generally.

Needless to say, it was a fast ride. We did about 33 miles or so in about two hours; Doug & Brian both got average speeds of 17.3 MPH, which for this course was fast. I held my own, though I didn't bother even trying to win the sprints (just grabbed the last wheel & held on until things slowed down again), but by the end I was totally used up -- I felt like death for about a half hour after we finished.

J & C had an impromptu barbeque after the ride, dogs, burgers, beans, beer and chips.

No running this morning, and tonight I'll be working late.

A Busy Evening

Morning weigh-in: 177#, 14% BF

I went to the Democratic Meetup last night, but first I worked late, then swung by the ATM & the drycleaner, then grabbed a mini-dinner at Wegmans Cafe (where the meetup was held). I only got to eat part of it before the meeting, & finished the rest afterward before doing my grocery shopping. Wegmans is an amazing place.

The meetup was OK, if nothing spectacular. It was equal parts boring (when people vented on various issues, or engaged in Bush-bashing), unnerving (when they started soliciting for volunteers for the phone banks or whatever), and interesting when party officials or candidates' aides spoke about various things. There were a few flakeballs there too: one independent looking for Democratic support for his state senate run (so OK, be a Democrat), and one independent who was actually running for President.

When I left for work yesterday morning, I put some laundry on, and when I got home from the meeting I did another load, then took them both to the laundromat to dry (I still haven't fixed my dryer). I stopped by Which Brew while the clothes were drying, but it was pretty quiet.

(One of the couples at the Meetup are also Which Brew regulars; the husband was actually a "guest chef" there one Friday night. They are hosting a fund-raiser party for MoveOn.org, I think I'll probably go.)

I left WB, retreived my laundry, and then hit Taco Hell on the way home, oh well. No running this morning, but tonight is a group road ride.

and now for a Tuesday fly-by...

Morning weigh-in: 175#, 15% BF

Rode last night at Jacobsburg, supposedly a "recovery ride" (in other words, slow pace, active rest), but it quickly degenerated into the usual "pissing contest" speedfest. Of course, the usual suspects were involved: myself, Brian H, Bryan K, Doug, Rich Butz, and Joe C on a single-speed. We were flying, but only had about 14 miles total because we stopped so much. (By contrast, Brian and I rode up there a few weeks ago, with less available time and a much more sedate pace, and we managed the same distance. "Fast & steady" beats everything, but "slow and steady" beats everything else, especially "sprint-rest-sprint-rest.")

Ran two miles this morning, took 23 minutes to do it. Sunday's ride hurt me last night -- it was supposed to be easy!! -- and the two conspired against me this morning. After the run and my morning constitutional, I weighed myself again and got 173.5#. It's not an official weight, but -- woo hoo!

UPDATE: I checked the results for that 5K, and gained 26 seconds for an official finish of 25:32. Not bad!

Tonight I'm working late, then going to the Democratic Meetup in Bethlehem, see what's up with that.

Monday Morning Fly-By

Morning Weigh-in: 179.0#, 14.0% BF (bleagh)

The weekend, hmmmm...

Went to Which Brew for dinner on Friday night, then drifted across the street to Porters Pub. Very punkish drum/bass duo, "Sudden Death," actually very good. Two beers there, plus two beers earlier, and in the morning I'd be running...

Saturday morning was kind of tough, but I only ran a 2 mile warmup then hit the gym. After that I went in to work, for a half day of OT, then got home to find an invite to a BBQ at Brian's, w/ the Pinkertons & Claasens, and a screening of "The Triplets of Belleville" DVD that Brian just bought.

Sunday I was moving slow, ate a huge brunch at the Quadrant, then worked on the bike & went riding at Round Valley Reservoir. I haven't been there in over a year -- more like two years, & this after averaging more than one visit a week for probably the preceding seven years. It was as fun (and stinking hard) as I remembered/expected, but I'd forgotten how beautiful Round Valley is. The best trails are still closed, while the bald eagles nest along the lake; they should be open by August.

Sunday night I ate at Porters (yeah I guess I do like the place after all), another huge meal followed immediately by a trip to Taco Bell. Sigh.

Books: the gifts that really do keep giving

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 14% BF

Reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (which is mainly about the history of scientific discovery), and just got to a section about leaded/unleaded gasoline, CFC's and the age of the Earth. Bill Bryson rules.

Rode Tuesday at J'burg, fast fun ride where I met Rick Hauser riding w/ some friends of his, including Curt Miller's son Matt. Friggin fast kid... Last night was 2.5 hours OT, ditto tonite. I may run tomorrow morning, and will ride the towpath tomorrow nite.

What A Difference a Day Makes

Morning Weigh-in (Tuesday): 178#, 14% body fat
Morning Weigh-in (Wednesday): 175#, 13.5% body fat

I can live it, or blog about it, but not both

Busy weekend, but now I'm a little tired so this'll just be a quick recap:

Friday night I rode the towpath (duh).

Saturday I ran my first 5K race. My goal was 25 minutes, but I got 25:58. I was still happy: it was a hilly course and I was satisfied with my effort. Saturday evening was a picnic at Mike and Carole's place, a couple I know from Which Brew who live in my neighborhood. Nice people, good time.

Today was the NYC 5-Boro Bike Tour. Up at 3:00 AM, on the road with Brian H by 4:00 to catch the first ferry into Manhattan, and then 42 miles of riding through the city with 30,000 people.

I might write more about this stuff some other time, but for now I just want to crash.

Here Comes The Weekend

Morning weigh-in (Thursday): 178#, 14% body fat
Morning weigh-in (Friday): 178#, 13% body fat

The weather has been beautiful the last few days. Wednesday night was a road ride, and last night I went running along the Lehigh; I also cleaned/lubed the mountain bike, still dirty from last Sunday's Michaux race. I got up early this morning, but didn't run: did an hour of overtime instead. Tonight I'm riding the towpath, tomorrow is that running race (also Mike & Carole's party), and Sunday is Bike New York. Looks like the 'puter work is getting saved for a rainy day...

Tonight is also Beltane (aka Walpurgisnacht), so I may drop by Which Brew to see what's cooking -- probably something Mexican, in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

My Linux Voyage: Heading for Rough Water

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 14% body fat

Worked overtime (2 hrs) last night because it was supposed to rain -- it didn't -- then went to gym but was too tired to get in a good workout. Instead, I went home and decided to actually pay attention and figure out my sound problem. And of course, I found out, and it's fairly simple: there is a sound card on the motherboard, and there are kernel driver modules for it but they (& the kernel) are too old, incompatible with the new hardware. So, I have to upgrade my kernel. No big deal I suppose, it's just a bit of a pain, and more than a little scary if I screw up.

I've been trying to get up at 5:00 lately, but no dice. I remember trying to adjust to 6:00 and running, but this may be just too hard. This morning I also felt extra-tired, calves/achilles tendons felt tight so I didn't run. Got an email from Greg saying I probably made a mistake going for that confidence builder yesterday. Oh well.

I'll probably do a road ride tonight, then work on the mountain bike.

Uh-oh

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 8% body fat

Ran this morning, my normal route (approx two miles) for time. Last time I did this I got 16:44, which was good but not a fast enough pace to break 25 minutes in a 5k. Today I tried harder, and ended up with 17:15, not quite the progress I was hoping for... Judging by my body fat, I think I'm dehydrated, and I'm still feeling the effects of Michaux, so I don't think I really have grounds for worry yet -- except that this is it, tomorrow and Thursday are easy runs and the race is Saturday, so this morning was the last chance for a confidence boost.

The Dave situation continues, building towards its climax. Doug called me last night, said he talked to Bob who eventually said the same thing as most other club members: "I don't want him in my home." Doug will now talk to Joe C, and the two of them will have to talk Dave out of being a member. Despite the fact that I don't like being around the guy, I didn't want to have any rejection be this hurtful to him. A little more graceful method might have been found, but that's all water under the bridge.

But that leaves Joe G. I still think this was a hostile (or rather, militant) act on his part, but I also think that it was a lot like Tim S from Englishtown. That guy used to bring up uncomfortable subjects all the time: if there was something you didn't want mentioned in front of a particular person, and that person showed up, you could be sure Tim would ask you about that thing. Coincidence? Maybe he could claim that, the first 1000 times it happened, but I think it was more like he enjoyed getting his covert digs in, fomenting trouble between people, and watching them squirm... Anyway, I think Joe (strangely enough, he, like Tim, was "the different one" in a large Catholic family) might have done the same thing here, deliberately foisting Dave on a bunch of people who don't like having him around -- but here's the cruel part: he may also be doing this to mess with Dave.

Weekend Update

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 13% body fat.

Friday Night: I worked on the bike, then continued reading Maus; I didn't go out. I've been screening my calls to avoid Joe; got a few rings (no message, and I don't have caller ID) on the house phone, then one on the cell that was from him. (Didn't return the calls & haven't heard back from him since.) I did get a call from Doug though, where he said he found out from Cindy, that Dave has joined the Chain Gang...

Saturday: I went to my nephew's 1st Communion luncheon (didn't go to the church ceremony). The luncheon was held at the same place as my brother's wedding reception. Kind of low key, but pretty cool. One interesting thing: my dad mentioned that we were right up the block from where he and my mom met, in 1960 I think, when he and his friends rented a bungalow on the Jersey shore, and my mom and her friends happened to rent the bungalow next door... Just before I left we walked up the block to take a look. My mom's bungalow was gone, but I got a photo of them in front of the one my dad rented.

Saturday Night: More bike work & reading (finished Maus, picked up Persepolis), then I went out for a bite & some company, ended up at Which Brew (surprise) where I had an extremely pleasant and interesting conversation with Virtual Pubbsters Mike and Carole -- mostly Carole, she's the talker of the two. They recently moved into a fixer-upper a few blocks from me, so they've been pretty busy lately.

Sunday: I raced at Michaux. Conditions were tough (a cold rain started just before the race) but I actually had a great time. I was the only one of my friends to go, though Chain Gang junior member Matt Miler was there (he took first in Junior Expert), and I saw Dona (3rd place Expert Women) and Rob Lichtenwalner (1st place, extra-long "monster course" race). My time was 3:00:45, which was good for me but nowhere near podium speed for the Sport Vet class. Still, a fun day.

Early to bed last night, no run this morning.

Tonight: Busy, Busy, Busy

Morning weigh-in: 178#, 11.5% body fat

It was rainy last night, so I blew off riding & worked a little late, then played with the computer. Two miles running this morning, easy pace.

Computer: I started playing with Perl again, turning the little program, that I copied from Learning Perl, into a more useful tool. The program basically takes a bunch of files and renames them -- say, all the "*.new" files into "original_filename.old". This isn't too hard; the code snippet they provide uses regular expressions and string substitution on the filenames. Their example is hardcoded though, so you have to rewrite it for every new use; what I did was set it up to take the "old" and "new" patterns, and the files to change, from the invocation arguments. My next step I think is to add some switches to control behavior (more or less verbose output, confirm filename changes or not, copy rather than rename), plus more effective error handling.

In other news, I think I just need to get some kernel modules and I'll be able to get sound again. I still can't get the mouse wheel to work, messing constantly with XF86Config but no dice. Maybe I'll just buy a new mouse; the mouse I have is some cheap Chinese no-name brand, and that may be the cause of the problem.

Tonight I have to burn two CDs: one of my vacation photos for the parents, and one of my Mike photos for Joann. I will probably stop by her house & drop it off tomorrow. It'll be nice to see her, but I'm still not looking forward to this visit.

Bike: rear tire had a slow leak so I replaced the tube last night, which is when I noticed that the brake pads are pretty worn & need replacing. That plus generic Michaux prepping is tonight.

Not A Happy Camper

Morning weigh-in: 179.5#, 12.5% body fat (doh!)

Looks like my buddy Joe "jumped the shark" last night, bringing Creepy Dave to the meeting.

Dave is a wierd-looking guy with a reputation as a stalker, and he has said things to me -- and other people I know -- that creeped me/us out, basically involving what he'd like to do to some of our (married, female) friends. He also has a habit of finding out what you're doing and inviting himself, or showing up various places (mostly Bethlehem) and insinuating himself into whatever's going on, and he's expressed an interest in joining the Chain Gang... He also smells. I avoid him, and if I see him somewhere I'm pretty evasive about any future plans (also, I do not talk about any women I know, & especially don't mention their names, in his presence).

But Joe seems to think he's an OK guy, hangs out with him and, if Joe knows what I'm doing, may bring him along or even tell him so ol' Dave can show up on his own. Joe knows how I feel about Dave, and how others feel about him (the nickname "Creepy Guy" didn't come from me). I have to think at this point that bringing Dave along last night was, consciously or unconsciously, a hostile act on Joe's part. Looks like the best way to keep Creepy Guy out of the picture is to avoid Joe, and all of a sudden I don't seem to have a problem with that.

Except... last night was also the night where we distributed hard copies of our membership roster, which is more like a phone tree. (As an aside, we don't have membership info -- phone numbers, home & email addresses etc -- on the web, because several [female] members have expressed strong opinions on privacy issues.) Last thing I saw last nite, I could have sworn Dave had a copy of one of our membership rosters in his hands...

Other than that, the meeting was really cool: we had dinner, a few beers, looked at pictures from the trip, & just had a lot of fun though the meeting itself wasn't all that productive.

In other news: ran this morning, 2 miles slow pace.

Moving Forward While Backsliding

Morning weigh-in: 174.5#, 11% body fat (woo hoo!)

I felt like I was on fire last night at the 'burg, riding really well and fast, though I was with Brian and he doesn't ever really open the throttle (he lost quite a bit of weight lately, but he's still a big guy, and he doesn't get competitive on "pleasure rides"), so it's hard to make a judgement. Still, we rode almost every trail there, 14 miles in just under 1:30. Bike needs a little TLC: a few creaks & squeaks have developed and the bushings on the rear shock need to be replaced. I think I'll also get that brake lever replaced soon.

Some old faces: we ran into ex-Chain Gang member Dave Jones (in a team jersey!), riding with Rick Hauser last night. We exchanged pleasantries, then went our separate ways. They both looked like they're doing pretty good, though Dave said he's just getting over a bad sprained ankle (screwing around while coaching boy's wrestling).

As for backsliding: when I got home, I burned a CD of my Moab photos, then did a whole lot of other fooling around (backslide #1: didn't eat dinner during the "glycogen window") before realizing it was getting late (backslide #2) and I had to take my wet laundry to the laundromat -- dryer is still not fixed. So at 10:30 I head out, then decide to check out Which Brew (backslide #3) while the dryers did their thing. Before picking up my laundry I stopped and ordered a pizza, ate half of that for dinner (backslide #4), while staying up late reading (backslide #5). I was a little afraid to get on the scale this morning...

Between the late bedtime, the speedy ride and yesterday's run, I was feeling pretty tired this morning, so I only ran a mile, at an easy pace. It was drizzling, but still pretty pleasant. Right now it's beautiful out; my plan was to stay a little later here tonight, then go to the Chain Gang meeting (at Which Brew), but I think now I might do a quick road ride after work.

Finished Uncle Sam, now reading Maus: My Father Bleeds History and Persepolis. I have a feeling Maus is going to mess with my head.

Time's Running Out

Morning weigh-in: 175.5#, 14% body fat

Ran "for time" this morning: 16:44 for a little over 2 miles (I think). Not bad for my somewhat hilly route, but I still have to get the speed up -- and I was pretty spent afterward, overheated too. Two weeks to go until the race...

Tonight is Jacobsburg, probably with Brian, maybe others; for me it's a dry run (equipment-wise, anyway) for Michaux this weekend.

Back to Reality

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 9.5% body fat

Nothing much to report. Skipped running this morning (way too tired, got up early but body really needed a recovery day), picked up & built bike this afternoon. I'll hit Jacobsburg tomorrow after work.

Got home tonight and found a pleasant surprise: a package from Mom & Dad, full of Amazon wishlist goodies for my birthday. The new Bill Bryson book, plus a whole bunch of comics er, graphic novels... Maus, Persepolis, a whole bunch of others I wanted. Thanks Mom & Dad! Already finished one, no big words to slow me down...