Allie got me a book for my birthday called The How of Happiness. It had some good information in there about ruminating and overthinking. These are two things that I do often and they tend to make me unhappy. This book had some good suggestions about how to stop doing this. I got so into the whole concept that I tracked down a book by the leading scholar on the issue and bought it, despite the title.
Work is a real challenge for me in this area. Seems there's always something for my mind to chew on, usually a resentment against somebody who's working against us in some way or another. Lately I've had intense resentments against the local paper. It's absolutely astonishing how biased they are. I mean, I always knew it. As a reporter at the Pitch their particular slant annoyed me to no end. But now that I'm working for a concern that is on the unfavorable end of their bias, it really boils my blood sometimes.
So, yeah. Overthinking. I often think that the reason why I'm in this job is to overcome my hangups.
Haven't been able to run for most of the last week because I came down with a cold. I finally emerged from it today, and set out to spend the whole day in the yard. Got a lot done until I was yanking on a vine and I felt a sudden sharp stab in my back. The pain was so intense that I couldn't really move, so I sort of crumpled down on the ground, rolled into a sort of crawl position and then after a while managed to find an angle for my back to where I could stand up. I can move around a bit more now but it's still pretty bad. Not sure what to do. I've been seeing a sports chiropractor, so I might go see him. I don't have any doctor that I like or trust. Besides the pain it sucks because I really wanted to knock off a long list of yard stuff. Oh well. I guess I have reached the stage in manhood when my back bill is due. It happens to most of us, don't it?
This week I'm going to join a running group. It costs more than I thought it would, but I think it'll be worth it.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
faster
I'm definitely getting faster. I ran four miles last night, doing a run/walk plan of 30 seconds per half mile. Over all I came in under ten minutes a mile, and for the running sections, I ranged from 9:45 to 9:05, according to my Garmin.
At work, I interviewed a prospective employee who ran middle distances in college. His PR for the marathon is 2:32. He said he could get me down to a 3:30.
Of course, folks will say anything for a good job, won't they?
At work, I interviewed a prospective employee who ran middle distances in college. His PR for the marathon is 2:32. He said he could get me down to a 3:30.
Of course, folks will say anything for a good job, won't they?
super mayor
I was in Washington D.C. this week with the mayor for an event hosted by the Brookings Institution. While there, the mayor appear appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal and testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
The Senate affair was a trip. He testified on a panel of mayors that included Michael Bloomberg of New York.
Before the meeting, we waited in an ante room outside the committee chambers. The mayor chatted with Shirley Franklin, mayor of Atlanta, and John Peyton, mayor of Jacksonville. Then a few senators showed up, and finally Bloomberg arrived with his entourage of six or seven staffers. As soon as he appeared, it was time to go.
They opened the door to the chambers, and there was a wall of photographers clicking away -- all of them there for Bloomberg. They kept their cameras trained on the super mayor as he made his was around the room to his seat and while he testified their shutters fired nonstop.
Mayor Franklin spoke after him and about three of the photographers took some pictures of her. Then for Mayor Peyton I think one took a couple shots. Mayor Funkhouser was last, and I was focused on what he was saying so I couldn't tell if anyone took a picture. But if one had, I'm sure it would've been just one or two.
All this was very interesting, because just two days earlier we had been informed by a reporter at our hometown paper that no one would be covering the event. Upon hearing this, my colleague Kendrick called an editor to complain.
Afterward we got a Lexis-Nexis tally of coverage for the event. There was a nice big story from the Atlanta paper, and an even longer one from AP, in which Funk got the top quote and the kicker quote. But when we got home and opened our hometown paper the next day we found a six-inch story buried in the B section -- not even a quote in it.
The whole trip was surreal. In DC, he was highly revered. At this Brookings event, for instance, he was asked to give the closing thoughts. And this was no small thing. It was the largest event in the history of the institution. After his testimony before Senate he got tons of praise from the senate aides and the lobbyists who were all hustling around the scene.
What's more, everyone out there was saying the same stuff the mayor's been saying in KC. They were all talking about the need for regional cooperation on transit, the need for increased investment in infrastructure, the need to start acting strategically and to stop playing politics.
But back home, he's considered a loser by the political insiders -- which includes the folks at the paper. So frustrating. So strange.\
Funny thing, though. Bloomberg was widely detested his first year or so in office. He joked about this while testifying. Referring to how tough it is to be a mayor, he said something like, "If you want to ban smoking, close fire stations, take over the school district and have a parade on Staten Island. All of which turned out to be very popular. So what do I know?"
So maybe our trials are all just par for the course.
The Senate affair was a trip. He testified on a panel of mayors that included Michael Bloomberg of New York.
Before the meeting, we waited in an ante room outside the committee chambers. The mayor chatted with Shirley Franklin, mayor of Atlanta, and John Peyton, mayor of Jacksonville. Then a few senators showed up, and finally Bloomberg arrived with his entourage of six or seven staffers. As soon as he appeared, it was time to go.
They opened the door to the chambers, and there was a wall of photographers clicking away -- all of them there for Bloomberg. They kept their cameras trained on the super mayor as he made his was around the room to his seat and while he testified their shutters fired nonstop.
Mayor Franklin spoke after him and about three of the photographers took some pictures of her. Then for Mayor Peyton I think one took a couple shots. Mayor Funkhouser was last, and I was focused on what he was saying so I couldn't tell if anyone took a picture. But if one had, I'm sure it would've been just one or two.
All this was very interesting, because just two days earlier we had been informed by a reporter at our hometown paper that no one would be covering the event. Upon hearing this, my colleague Kendrick called an editor to complain.
Afterward we got a Lexis-Nexis tally of coverage for the event. There was a nice big story from the Atlanta paper, and an even longer one from AP, in which Funk got the top quote and the kicker quote. But when we got home and opened our hometown paper the next day we found a six-inch story buried in the B section -- not even a quote in it.
The whole trip was surreal. In DC, he was highly revered. At this Brookings event, for instance, he was asked to give the closing thoughts. And this was no small thing. It was the largest event in the history of the institution. After his testimony before Senate he got tons of praise from the senate aides and the lobbyists who were all hustling around the scene.
What's more, everyone out there was saying the same stuff the mayor's been saying in KC. They were all talking about the need for regional cooperation on transit, the need for increased investment in infrastructure, the need to start acting strategically and to stop playing politics.
But back home, he's considered a loser by the political insiders -- which includes the folks at the paper. So frustrating. So strange.\
Funny thing, though. Bloomberg was widely detested his first year or so in office. He joked about this while testifying. Referring to how tough it is to be a mayor, he said something like, "If you want to ban smoking, close fire stations, take over the school district and have a parade on Staten Island. All of which turned out to be very popular. So what do I know?"
So maybe our trials are all just par for the course.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
40
I turned 40 today.
I got up at 5:30, let the dogs out, fed them, made coffee, took a cup to Allie, stretched and ran three miles with some sprints mixed in. It's a nice day and I wish I could spend it in the garden rather than at work.
I got up at 5:30, let the dogs out, fed them, made coffee, took a cup to Allie, stretched and ran three miles with some sprints mixed in. It's a nice day and I wish I could spend it in the garden rather than at work.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
kansas
For my birthday, Allie treated me to a weekend trip in Kansas. We headed out Friday night and stopped at the AmericInn in Russell where we'd hole up for the night before going to Lucas the next day.
I first visited Lucas 14 years ago, right after I graduated from college. Back then, the only thing in town was the Garden of Eden. There was a storefront with a sign promising the future home of the Grassroots Arts Center. Now, for my 40th birthday, I was finally getting an opportunity to see it.
As we drove west on Friday night, we passed a wind farm. It didn't exist the last time I drove through, in 2005. It was so beautiful in the late evening light, with the sun setting behind the windmills.
The next day I went for a five mile run on a very windy morning. Then we drove the 30 miles to Lucas. We first went to the Garden of Eden. It was just as cool as ever, though Dinsmoor's body has really decomposed.
Behind Dinsmoor's Cabin home was The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Very cool.
Then it was off to the Grassroots Arts Center for a full tour. It was quite a good museum. We bought T-shirts and a little tin sculpture of an elephant.
The museum was hosting an toilet seat art contest. They're trying to raise money for a public restroom for Lucas. For five dollars, you could enter your own decorated toilet seat. Allie and I decided to give it a shot. We bought a toilet seat and some Sharpees and covered it with a retelling of the Bible story about the original sin in which it isn't Eve eating the apple but Adam leaving the toilet seat up. We laid out the story in big blocky letters and simple drawings just like a folk art piece. We're going to drop it off at the museum today.
All in all a very fun birthday weekend.
I first visited Lucas 14 years ago, right after I graduated from college. Back then, the only thing in town was the Garden of Eden. There was a storefront with a sign promising the future home of the Grassroots Arts Center. Now, for my 40th birthday, I was finally getting an opportunity to see it.
As we drove west on Friday night, we passed a wind farm. It didn't exist the last time I drove through, in 2005. It was so beautiful in the late evening light, with the sun setting behind the windmills.
The next day I went for a five mile run on a very windy morning. Then we drove the 30 miles to Lucas. We first went to the Garden of Eden. It was just as cool as ever, though Dinsmoor's body has really decomposed.
Behind Dinsmoor's Cabin home was The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Very cool.
Then it was off to the Grassroots Arts Center for a full tour. It was quite a good museum. We bought T-shirts and a little tin sculpture of an elephant.
The museum was hosting an toilet seat art contest. They're trying to raise money for a public restroom for Lucas. For five dollars, you could enter your own decorated toilet seat. Allie and I decided to give it a shot. We bought a toilet seat and some Sharpees and covered it with a retelling of the Bible story about the original sin in which it isn't Eve eating the apple but Adam leaving the toilet seat up. We laid out the story in big blocky letters and simple drawings just like a folk art piece. We're going to drop it off at the museum today.
All in all a very fun birthday weekend.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
changes
As per my uncle's request, I've reactivated the site feed function. I also kicked a couple of people off who I don't know and one person who is a newspaper editor. I've left on the wife of a newspaper writer, but I'm friends with her and her husband and I trust them.
This is all a sort of backwards way of saying I'm hoping to post more, and post more about work.
Today the mayor got sued. On second thought, I must edit here.
This is all a sort of backwards way of saying I'm hoping to post more, and post more about work.
Today the mayor got sued. On second thought, I must edit here.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
update
Everyone has been complaining about the lack of posts. Sorry about that. I've been busy with marriage, gardening, marathon training and the mayor's office. I think we should all come to grips with the fact that I'm going to be one of these post-every-couple-weeks-with-a-laundry-list-post kind of bloggers. Much as that sucks.
First, marriage. Allie and I are doing great. Very much in love. Which is all too vast and personal and wonderful to express in this forum. We're slowly remodeling the kitchen.
Second, gardening. We've been eating lettuce and radishes for weeks now. Got some chard that's ready to pick. In early spring we had some nice over-winter spinach that was fabulous. Now all the hot weather plants are in the ground -- tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, eggplant, ground cherries, various herbs. And the asparagus I planted a while back has come up and now we've got some wispy little trees here and there. Over Memorial Day weekend I spent many hours out in the yard, listening to audiobooks and just loving every minute of it.
With the running, I'm still technically in my recovery period after the Flying Pig. Official training for Chicago doesn't start for a couple of weeks. But I've pretty much already started laying the foundation. My plan for Chicago is to run three days a week, and bike and do strength training the other three. For the three running days, I'll do two with some sort of speed or agility/stride training and one long run. I've been doing this schedule for about two weeks now and I'm actually feeling myself get stronger. I also seem to have bumped up a notch on the speed meter. I'm now clicking along at less than 10 minutes a mile, once I get warmed up. That's pretty encouraging.
In the mayor's office, it's been very exciting. As a candidate, Mark campaigned for a regional transit system built around light rail. Once in office, he started really pushing it. Soon it became his number one priority. All along the way the newspaper and political smart people have been basically calling him a fool saying there's no way you can get a regional, multi-county system approved by voters all at once. They've all been saying you have to start with a "starter line" -- a short showpiece running from downtown to some of the tourist attractions. "Every other city has done it that way," they say.
Well, they think he's nuts, and we think they're out of touch with the mood of the public. And we finally got to prove it. We were able to have a poll conducted which showed overwhelming support for the concept of a regional system and better-than-50-percent support for a sales tax for that concept. Light rail has never polled that well in KC (except once when it was on the ballot as an impossible plan to span the whole city with no tax increase, which was later repealed). What's more, the "starter line" concept polled miserably.
So we had a chance to gloat around the office knowing all the political wisdom was wrong and we were right. Of course, the know-it-alls haven't admitted this. They've either continue insisting that a starter line is the best way to go, even though all evidence suggests it'll lose, or they act like they agreed with us all along.
Kind of fun, kind of infuriating.
So now the push is to try to get it on the November ballot. To do that, we have to convince three county legislatures to go for it which remains a pretty daunting task at the time of this writing. But yesterday we hosted a summit of local elected officials and about half of them agreed that November's the best time to do it. Others want to wait until next year.
Either way, the mayor is big winner. Let's say he "fails" to get it on this year's ballot, and it's delayed a year. That's still years and years ahead of how conventional political wisdom had things going. They said that we'd only get a regional system after KCMO approves, builds and gets up and running a small starter line. Once the outlying communities see how cool it is, the wisdom goes, they'll want it for themselves. Considering that it'll take at least 7 years to get the first segment up and running, you're looking at well over a decade before the region is on board.
But now, thanks to the skyrocketing cost of gas and the frenzy for "green" solutions, and the mayor's dogged determination, the entire debate has shifted and the timeline has accelerated.
So consider this. The two previous mayors each served two terms. They both had "legacy" projects -- big ticket developments like an arena, downtown entertainment district, improvements to Brush Creek, etc. All of these things happened in their second terms and they were Kansas City-only projects in the hundreds of millions. Now it's looking highly likely that this mayor will have pushed for and won a $1.2 billion, possibly $1.8 billion project done in collaboration with three counties and nearly 50 municipalities -- barely halfway through his first term.
And there will be no disputing that this is his initiative. In the early stages it was only him pushing it -- driving in his Toyota to distant suburbs to meet with mayors to sell the idea, taking constant hits from the newspaper and those in the political know. They all came out on the record, saying loudly and clearly that it was a bad idea, that it would fail, yadda yadda yadda.
During our first year, when things were rocky, all the people "in the know" were saying this mayor's a failure, a one-termer. There was talk of a recall effort, then a silly ill-fated one, and a lot of these folks -- including newspaper columnists -- thought it was plausible. I think a lot these folks still think he's a bumbling mayor, that his chances of reelection are slim. But I'm telling you, they are drunk on conformity. By the end of his first term, this mayor will have so many accomplishments, will have such enormous name recognition, that there will be no way any of these tired old power players will have a chance to beat him.
There. How's that for a rant. Good thing this blog is by invitation only, huh?
First, marriage. Allie and I are doing great. Very much in love. Which is all too vast and personal and wonderful to express in this forum. We're slowly remodeling the kitchen.
Second, gardening. We've been eating lettuce and radishes for weeks now. Got some chard that's ready to pick. In early spring we had some nice over-winter spinach that was fabulous. Now all the hot weather plants are in the ground -- tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, eggplant, ground cherries, various herbs. And the asparagus I planted a while back has come up and now we've got some wispy little trees here and there. Over Memorial Day weekend I spent many hours out in the yard, listening to audiobooks and just loving every minute of it.
With the running, I'm still technically in my recovery period after the Flying Pig. Official training for Chicago doesn't start for a couple of weeks. But I've pretty much already started laying the foundation. My plan for Chicago is to run three days a week, and bike and do strength training the other three. For the three running days, I'll do two with some sort of speed or agility/stride training and one long run. I've been doing this schedule for about two weeks now and I'm actually feeling myself get stronger. I also seem to have bumped up a notch on the speed meter. I'm now clicking along at less than 10 minutes a mile, once I get warmed up. That's pretty encouraging.
In the mayor's office, it's been very exciting. As a candidate, Mark campaigned for a regional transit system built around light rail. Once in office, he started really pushing it. Soon it became his number one priority. All along the way the newspaper and political smart people have been basically calling him a fool saying there's no way you can get a regional, multi-county system approved by voters all at once. They've all been saying you have to start with a "starter line" -- a short showpiece running from downtown to some of the tourist attractions. "Every other city has done it that way," they say.
Well, they think he's nuts, and we think they're out of touch with the mood of the public. And we finally got to prove it. We were able to have a poll conducted which showed overwhelming support for the concept of a regional system and better-than-50-percent support for a sales tax for that concept. Light rail has never polled that well in KC (except once when it was on the ballot as an impossible plan to span the whole city with no tax increase, which was later repealed). What's more, the "starter line" concept polled miserably.
So we had a chance to gloat around the office knowing all the political wisdom was wrong and we were right. Of course, the know-it-alls haven't admitted this. They've either continue insisting that a starter line is the best way to go, even though all evidence suggests it'll lose, or they act like they agreed with us all along.
Kind of fun, kind of infuriating.
So now the push is to try to get it on the November ballot. To do that, we have to convince three county legislatures to go for it which remains a pretty daunting task at the time of this writing. But yesterday we hosted a summit of local elected officials and about half of them agreed that November's the best time to do it. Others want to wait until next year.
Either way, the mayor is big winner. Let's say he "fails" to get it on this year's ballot, and it's delayed a year. That's still years and years ahead of how conventional political wisdom had things going. They said that we'd only get a regional system after KCMO approves, builds and gets up and running a small starter line. Once the outlying communities see how cool it is, the wisdom goes, they'll want it for themselves. Considering that it'll take at least 7 years to get the first segment up and running, you're looking at well over a decade before the region is on board.
But now, thanks to the skyrocketing cost of gas and the frenzy for "green" solutions, and the mayor's dogged determination, the entire debate has shifted and the timeline has accelerated.
So consider this. The two previous mayors each served two terms. They both had "legacy" projects -- big ticket developments like an arena, downtown entertainment district, improvements to Brush Creek, etc. All of these things happened in their second terms and they were Kansas City-only projects in the hundreds of millions. Now it's looking highly likely that this mayor will have pushed for and won a $1.2 billion, possibly $1.8 billion project done in collaboration with three counties and nearly 50 municipalities -- barely halfway through his first term.
And there will be no disputing that this is his initiative. In the early stages it was only him pushing it -- driving in his Toyota to distant suburbs to meet with mayors to sell the idea, taking constant hits from the newspaper and those in the political know. They all came out on the record, saying loudly and clearly that it was a bad idea, that it would fail, yadda yadda yadda.
During our first year, when things were rocky, all the people "in the know" were saying this mayor's a failure, a one-termer. There was talk of a recall effort, then a silly ill-fated one, and a lot of these folks -- including newspaper columnists -- thought it was plausible. I think a lot these folks still think he's a bumbling mayor, that his chances of reelection are slim. But I'm telling you, they are drunk on conformity. By the end of his first term, this mayor will have so many accomplishments, will have such enormous name recognition, that there will be no way any of these tired old power players will have a chance to beat him.
There. How's that for a rant. Good thing this blog is by invitation only, huh?
Monday, May 05, 2008
the pig has flown
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I finished my second marathon of the year on Sunday. It was fun, but the last two miles were pure agony.
Allie and I drove to the Cincinnati area on Friday. We stayed with her friend Amy.
On Saturday we went to the new Ikea. It was overwhelming. Afterward we drove into Cincinnati. I went to the race expo, and then they dropped me off at a hotel so I could get to the race more easily in the morning. There was a Narcotics Anonymous convention at the hotel, and they were partying in the pool area, right below my window. But I put in earplugs, turned the TV on static and slept with a pillow over my head. That did the trick.
The next morning, on my way to the race, I bought a Sharpee. After I parked my car near the race, I wrote on my running singlet "JOE from K.C. MO." This turned out to be a very wise move.
We started by Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals play. The start was delayed 15 minutes. None of us knew why.
With a gun blast, the race began. We crossed a beautiful bridge just as the sun was rising. Then, a couple miles later, we crossed back on another bridge with a beautiful view of downtown. By the time we got to the skyscrapers, the crowd had spread out a bit. There were a lot of people lining the streets. With the crowd thinned somewhat, spectators could see my shirt and they started to cheer for me. It was surreal. We were running into the morning sun and the people on the sidewalks were silhouetted but they were all calling my name as if they knew me or I were the most popular person in south Ohio.
We climbed a long hill into a lovely park overlooking the city and the Ohio River. Then we passed through a trendy area where Allie and Amy were waiting for me to pass.
A little ways later, I saw several runners huddled by the side of the road. As I approached, I noticed they were surrounding someone who was laying on the ground. A few more steps and I made out a couple people kneeling over him pumping his chest and blowing into his mouth. As I passed, I saw that his face was purple.
This was an unsettling sight, to say the least, especially at such a fun, silly event. There were all kinds of people out cheering the runners on (me in particular, by name). A lot of them wore flying pig paraphernalia. I high-fived a human-sized pig and an equally tall chicken. There were pirates serving water and Gatorade in one spot, and beach bums in another.
I did the run-walk thing for the first 8 miles, then I decided to run between the aid stations. My goal was to break 5 hours.
I had to pee three times in the first half, so I was pretty far behind schedule. But as I ran, I seemed to be gaining ground. At mile 20, I passed the five-hour pace group. I thought for sure I had it in the bag.
At mile 22, I passed the guy in the full-body shark costume.
Then, at 23 or 24, I hit the wall big time.
By the time I got to the 25.2 mile mark, where the guy said, "Just one more mile to go," I exclaimed, "Fuck it!" and started to whttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifalk. Just then, a woman who was passing me turned and said, "Come on, Joe! I've been hearing your name the whole way. You can't give up now."
So I willed my body into a pathetic, painful shuffle and forced myself toward the finish line. At first, it looked really close, and I felt relieved. Then it telescoped away, like a dream sequence in a bad 70s tv show. At the 26 mile mark, I suddenly heard Allie and Amy. I looked over at them just as I was passing. They would later say that they were worried I was angry at them. That's how bad I looked.
When we got home, I looked up my official time. 5:02:56.
I was dumbfounded. How could I run all that way and make up so little time over Austin?
The next morning, on our way home, we picked up a local newspaper. On the front page was about the man I saw fallen on the side of the road. Allie read it to me as I drove. I was happy to learn that he survived.
Allie also read the news that the race had been delayed because of a house fire on the course. This caused a last-minute change in the route which added at least a quarter mile. My face brightened.
"That means I probably broke five hours!"
We'll see. It's going to be close.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
8:11 mile
Today I ran the Trolley Run. It's a four-mile point-to-point with a lot of gentle downhills. I finished in 32:43, an 8:11 pace. It felt pretty darned good, like I was running right at the edge of my ability. Maybe I could've gone a little faster, but not much.
I'm pleased with my performance. Six weeks ago, I ran 4 miles in 36, a 9-minute pace. That was a hillier course, and it was colder. But still, I propelled my body through space and time at a much faster rate than before.
According to an online pace prediction calculator, this means that I ought to be able to run a marathon in 4:03. Of course I can't do that right now. I will not do this in Cincinnatti. But given my current fitness level, if I were to do more training at higher pace for longer distances, I should be able to do it. In fact, it's more likely that if I embark on a training program like that I will wind up running a 4 mile faster, kicking the whole prediction model up a notch or two.
Which is all a longwinded way of saying that maybe, just maybe this "qualifying for Boston when I'm 45" thing could work after all.
Still, I have a ways to go. If I were to run as fast as I did today for 26.2 miles, I would still miss qualifying by almost five minutes. To make it, I would have to maintain 8-minute miles the whole way.
But while I still have a ways to go, I also have plenty of time. I haven't even really begun speed training yet. In fact, I haven't really done a sustained time-goal training program yet. My first will be for Chicago, which will be the culmination of an 18-week training program developed by Matt Fitzgerald, in conjunction with participation in a running club. I have a hunch that I met well make a good run at the four-hour barrier in that race, if training goes well.
In other news: I'm going to be on The Walt Bodine Show tomorrow, talking about speech writing. It is at 10 a.m. Central time. You can listen online if your like.
I'm pleased with my performance. Six weeks ago, I ran 4 miles in 36, a 9-minute pace. That was a hillier course, and it was colder. But still, I propelled my body through space and time at a much faster rate than before.
According to an online pace prediction calculator, this means that I ought to be able to run a marathon in 4:03. Of course I can't do that right now. I will not do this in Cincinnatti. But given my current fitness level, if I were to do more training at higher pace for longer distances, I should be able to do it. In fact, it's more likely that if I embark on a training program like that I will wind up running a 4 mile faster, kicking the whole prediction model up a notch or two.
Which is all a longwinded way of saying that maybe, just maybe this "qualifying for Boston when I'm 45" thing could work after all.
Still, I have a ways to go. If I were to run as fast as I did today for 26.2 miles, I would still miss qualifying by almost five minutes. To make it, I would have to maintain 8-minute miles the whole way.
But while I still have a ways to go, I also have plenty of time. I haven't even really begun speed training yet. In fact, I haven't really done a sustained time-goal training program yet. My first will be for Chicago, which will be the culmination of an 18-week training program developed by Matt Fitzgerald, in conjunction with participation in a running club. I have a hunch that I met well make a good run at the four-hour barrier in that race, if training goes well.
In other news: I'm going to be on The Walt Bodine Show tomorrow, talking about speech writing. It is at 10 a.m. Central time. You can listen online if your like.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
speech writing
Today, I pretty much finished writing the state of the city address. Between now and Thursday, all we'll be doing is tweaking it as the mayor practices reading.
This has been a terrific writing challenge. I've learned a lot, and I think my writing has taken a major step forward.
Early in the process, Funk loaned me On Speaking Well, by Peggy Noonan. It quickly became one of the most influential books I've ever read.
Her guiding principles for speech writing are really simple. They're almost obvious, except they never would've occurred to me if I hadn't read them. They're basically this:
The strength of a speech lies in the logic of its argument and the policy at its core. Everything else is just bullshit.
In other words, don't set out to write a moving speech, or a funny speech, or a speech that'll inspire or anger. Just write a logical argument as clearly as possible. And make it about something real. And let all that other stuff -- humor, inspiration, anger, the full range of emotions -- emerge naturally.
I think this is something I've stumbled into accidentally, through the course of being a writer and trying to improve. But now that I have it before me as a basic formula I feel like a karate student who has finally mastered an advanced move.
This has been a terrific writing challenge. I've learned a lot, and I think my writing has taken a major step forward.
Early in the process, Funk loaned me On Speaking Well, by Peggy Noonan. It quickly became one of the most influential books I've ever read.
Her guiding principles for speech writing are really simple. They're almost obvious, except they never would've occurred to me if I hadn't read them. They're basically this:
The strength of a speech lies in the logic of its argument and the policy at its core. Everything else is just bullshit.
In other words, don't set out to write a moving speech, or a funny speech, or a speech that'll inspire or anger. Just write a logical argument as clearly as possible. And make it about something real. And let all that other stuff -- humor, inspiration, anger, the full range of emotions -- emerge naturally.
I think this is something I've stumbled into accidentally, through the course of being a writer and trying to improve. But now that I have it before me as a basic formula I feel like a karate student who has finally mastered an advanced move.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
world records
One of the exciting stories going into the London Marathon was a 101-year-old man's attempt to run it. He would be the oldest man to have ever run the distance. Now it appears the record is in doubt. Still, there were a number of records set on Sunday. From the London Times:
A number of world records were set at yesterday’s marathon, including the fastest time for those dressed as a film character, Santa, fireman and clown. However, four men attempting to break the world record for fastest marathon dressed as a superhero were not so super. None bettered the record of 3 hours, 4 minutes and five seconds.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Carlsbad and Austin
I finally uploaded my GPS data from the Carlsbad and Austin races. Check out the maps. Austin has "street view" available for every inch of it, so you can actually do a virtual tour of the course. Carlsbad only has street view for some.
Austin
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Carlsbad
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Austin
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Carlsbad
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london to kansas city
I woke up about 4 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I logged on to the live coverage of the London Marathon and caught the tail end. I was hoping I might see Ryan Hall in the lead pack, but he had fallen off by then.
Still, he wasn't that far behind. He finished a mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifinute back from the winner, Martin Lel, who set a course record. He came in fifth in what was one of the fastest marathons of all times. Never before have three runners in a race finished under 2:06. Hall almost made it under, with 2:06:16.
Hall is definitely going to be a contender in Beijing.
Looks like a super cool race. Beautiful course, of course, with spectators lining the street several deep. Check out this with all the crazy characters out running.
Though I was tired from lack of sleep, I decided to jump right into my weekend long run. Turned out to be a great idea.
We're having another cold snap. It was about 34 when I started, but I was appropriately dressed and my mind was in an acceptance mode, so it actually felt pretty good.
I figured it might be a good idea to shake things up, so I left Cliff Drive about two miles in and took a detour through the East Bottoms up to River Market. Once I got there I felt so good, and the scenery was so interesting, I just kept going, picking up pieces of the Riverfront Heritage Trail (which is a pathetic joke), until I wound up down in the West Bottoms.
From there, the only way home is back through Downtown. But instead of heading straight back, I did an extra loop around the park overlooking Cliff Drive to boost the mileage up to 16 for the day.
Good run!
I think I'm definitely ready for the Flying Pig.
Still, he wasn't that far behind. He finished a mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifinute back from the winner, Martin Lel, who set a course record. He came in fifth in what was one of the fastest marathons of all times. Never before have three runners in a race finished under 2:06. Hall almost made it under, with 2:06:16.
Hall is definitely going to be a contender in Beijing.
Looks like a super cool race. Beautiful course, of course, with spectators lining the street several deep. Check out this with all the crazy characters out running.
Though I was tired from lack of sleep, I decided to jump right into my weekend long run. Turned out to be a great idea.
We're having another cold snap. It was about 34 when I started, but I was appropriately dressed and my mind was in an acceptance mode, so it actually felt pretty good.
I figured it might be a good idea to shake things up, so I left Cliff Drive about two miles in and took a detour through the East Bottoms up to River Market. Once I got there I felt so good, and the scenery was so interesting, I just kept going, picking up pieces of the Riverfront Heritage Trail (which is a pathetic joke), until I wound up down in the West Bottoms.
From there, the only way home is back through Downtown. But instead of heading straight back, I did an extra loop around the park overlooking Cliff Drive to boost the mileage up to 16 for the day.
Good run!
I think I'm definitely ready for the Flying Pig.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
20
Today I did a 20 mile run with a local running club.
We met at 6:30 at Olathe North High School, and did an out-and-back on the lovely Mill Creek Streamway.
I don't feel too bad, considering.
I've been really working on my form lately. I've gone back and reread Brain Training For Runners, and I'm trying to the proprioceptive cues he suggests. I think it's working. That plus the strength training and cross-training I've been doing (though I've fallen out of my strength training routine a little bit). I've definitely been avoiding some of the more serious injury type pains I've felt in the past (knock wood). All I feel is sore. Which is probably what I ought to be feeling after a 20 miler.
At the end of the run, I talked for a while with the guy who runs it. He's a coach, and he helps folks in the group who are at all levels.
I asked him if it's possible for someone to go from a five-hour marathon to 3:30 in five years or so.
He asked me how fast I was when I was younger.
Fast, I said. I ran about 36 or 37 for a 10k.
At that, he said I could probably do it. Or that it would be a 50/50 shot. The important thing is that I have the genes to go fast. I've just got to relearn what my body knew when I was 15.
This was all very encouraging. I've been worrying lately that I've lost my speed forever.
So for now, here's the plan. After running the Flying Pig, I'll come back and regroup and join this running club when they start back up in late June. I'll go through a regular marathon training program to get ready for the Chicago Marathon in October (which I just registered for yesterday). But a month or so before that race, I'll do an all-out 5k race, just to see how fast I can go. Then we'll take the time for that one and come up with a prediction time for Chicago. Then we'll see how it goes.
From there, it'll be new time goals each year until, hopefully, I'll be hitting 3:30 about the time I'm 45.
Allie and I are going out for pizza tonight.
We met at 6:30 at Olathe North High School, and did an out-and-back on the lovely Mill Creek Streamway.
I don't feel too bad, considering.
I've been really working on my form lately. I've gone back and reread Brain Training For Runners, and I'm trying to the proprioceptive cues he suggests. I think it's working. That plus the strength training and cross-training I've been doing (though I've fallen out of my strength training routine a little bit). I've definitely been avoiding some of the more serious injury type pains I've felt in the past (knock wood). All I feel is sore. Which is probably what I ought to be feeling after a 20 miler.
At the end of the run, I talked for a while with the guy who runs it. He's a coach, and he helps folks in the group who are at all levels.
I asked him if it's possible for someone to go from a five-hour marathon to 3:30 in five years or so.
He asked me how fast I was when I was younger.
Fast, I said. I ran about 36 or 37 for a 10k.
At that, he said I could probably do it. Or that it would be a 50/50 shot. The important thing is that I have the genes to go fast. I've just got to relearn what my body knew when I was 15.
This was all very encouraging. I've been worrying lately that I've lost my speed forever.
So for now, here's the plan. After running the Flying Pig, I'll come back and regroup and join this running club when they start back up in late June. I'll go through a regular marathon training program to get ready for the Chicago Marathon in October (which I just registered for yesterday). But a month or so before that race, I'll do an all-out 5k race, just to see how fast I can go. Then we'll take the time for that one and come up with a prediction time for Chicago. Then we'll see how it goes.
From there, it'll be new time goals each year until, hopefully, I'll be hitting 3:30 about the time I'm 45.
Allie and I are going out for pizza tonight.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
goin' hog wild
I went ahead and registered for the Flying Pig today. I ran 10 miles yesterday and it felt great. All day today I've been itching to go running again. Can't do that, because it's a rest day. But it's a good sign.
It's fun to have a big goal looming on the horizon. I'm really looking forward to this one. I have a hunch it'll be more fun than Austin, weather permitting. They really do up the pig theme. There are people in pig costumes and every pig pun you can imagine (all the way to the end at the "Finish Swine").
Planted peas this afternoon. Might be a week or so late, but I'm sure I'll be fine.
Heard some new jokes this week:
What do you call a row of rabbits holding hands and hopping backward?
A receding hare line.
Why did they hang the man who was dressed in paper clothes?
We was rustling.
And finally, a dirty one:
A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel in his pants. Bartender asks, "Why do you have a steering wheel in your pants?" Pirate replies, "Arr! It's driving me nuts!!"
It's fun to have a big goal looming on the horizon. I'm really looking forward to this one. I have a hunch it'll be more fun than Austin, weather permitting. They really do up the pig theme. There are people in pig costumes and every pig pun you can imagine (all the way to the end at the "Finish Swine").
Planted peas this afternoon. Might be a week or so late, but I'm sure I'll be fine.
Heard some new jokes this week:
What do you call a row of rabbits holding hands and hopping backward?
A receding hare line.
Why did they hang the man who was dressed in paper clothes?
We was rustling.
And finally, a dirty one:
A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel in his pants. Bartender asks, "Why do you have a steering wheel in your pants?" Pirate replies, "Arr! It's driving me nuts!!"
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
bad news and back on the pig
First, the bad news: The movie deal is dead. There'll be no Cross-X on Lifetime Network. Not sure why it fell through, but it did, so there you go.
On the good side of things, I'm feeling better in the leg region and back to running. And now I'm thinking I might well do the Flying Pig. I saw my sports med guy and he said it should be alright. Plus I've been talking with some folks at running groups around town and I think I should be able to find running partners who do the walk/run thing at my pace. Some are actually training for the Pig. So that's making me excited.
Still deep into the budget at City Hall. We're down to the wire, and anything could happen in the last week. The City Manager is trying everything he can to get the council to not make cuts and to dig instead into the fund balance. This despite the city getting a serious warning from Moody's, which downgraded our credit outlook from "stable" to "negative." If we wind up actually get a rating downgrade, we'll have a hard time issuing bonds and then we'll really be fucked (pardon my French, Grandma, but it's the most succinct word). All that just to score a win. It's just plain goofy. I mean, it's bad enough that we're not going to add any money to street maintenance, nor fund the 20 new cops that folks were promised when they voted in a public safety sales tax, now the dark forces are pushing for us to keep skating on very thin ice.
All that's probably a little too insidery for you, I know. Suffice it to say we're in bad shape financially, and we've got an unfireable City Manager who's working double time to make it worse. Typical KC, I suppose.
Looks as if spring might be back. For two days in a row now I've forgotten to take my jacket home from work. That's a good sign.
I planted asparagus last weekend. I told grandma and she said, wisely, "So you're planning to stay there a while, huh?"
HBO is running a miniseries on John Adams and it's great! Allie and I are totally into it. (Well, I am; Allie fell asleep last night, which is weird, because I'm usually the one who konks).
What else?
I'm going to get a ball chair for work. Some of my coworkers are a little hinky about the idea, but I believe it just might be the solution to many of my problems.
This weekend I plant peas. Next weekend lettuce, and the inside starters.
Random news. There you go.
On the good side of things, I'm feeling better in the leg region and back to running. And now I'm thinking I might well do the Flying Pig. I saw my sports med guy and he said it should be alright. Plus I've been talking with some folks at running groups around town and I think I should be able to find running partners who do the walk/run thing at my pace. Some are actually training for the Pig. So that's making me excited.
Still deep into the budget at City Hall. We're down to the wire, and anything could happen in the last week. The City Manager is trying everything he can to get the council to not make cuts and to dig instead into the fund balance. This despite the city getting a serious warning from Moody's, which downgraded our credit outlook from "stable" to "negative." If we wind up actually get a rating downgrade, we'll have a hard time issuing bonds and then we'll really be fucked (pardon my French, Grandma, but it's the most succinct word). All that just to score a win. It's just plain goofy. I mean, it's bad enough that we're not going to add any money to street maintenance, nor fund the 20 new cops that folks were promised when they voted in a public safety sales tax, now the dark forces are pushing for us to keep skating on very thin ice.
All that's probably a little too insidery for you, I know. Suffice it to say we're in bad shape financially, and we've got an unfireable City Manager who's working double time to make it worse. Typical KC, I suppose.
Looks as if spring might be back. For two days in a row now I've forgotten to take my jacket home from work. That's a good sign.
I planted asparagus last weekend. I told grandma and she said, wisely, "So you're planning to stay there a while, huh?"
HBO is running a miniseries on John Adams and it's great! Allie and I are totally into it. (Well, I am; Allie fell asleep last night, which is weird, because I'm usually the one who konks).
What else?
I'm going to get a ball chair for work. Some of my coworkers are a little hinky about the idea, but I believe it just might be the solution to many of my problems.
This weekend I plant peas. Next weekend lettuce, and the inside starters.
Random news. There you go.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
update
I know. I need to get more in the habit of posting. It's just I'm so busy with work, when I get home all I want to do is rest.
Allie and I are feverishly planning all sorts of remodeling, with our kitchen being the top priority. A lot of you have seen our kitchen, so you know this is much needed. For those of you who haven't, our kitchen has been half gutted for the last several years after one of our cats climbed up into the drop ceiling and made a home there. We were fine with it until we started to smell the piss she was leaving on top of the cabinets above the sink. So we yanked those out, along with the drop ceiling. Since then, we've been existing with cheap wire shelving and no overhead lighting. Meantime, the crappy old cabinetry that remains is starting to fall apart.
So it's time.
Our current plan is to order hip and affordable cabinets from Ikea and then pay some handyman to install them.
In other news, I am getting ready to try indoor propagation for the first time. No, Allie and I are not backing down on our pact not to have kids. I've ordered tomato and pepper seeds, and I've bought some flourescent light boxes, and I'm going to start the seeds indoors, rather than buy transplants at the nursery come May.
I got bit by the seed catalog fever, though. I wanted pretty much every exotic varietal they had, so I wound up dropping $110 on what is likely way more seeds than I need. Any of you close-by friends want tomato plants? I should have some in a couple months.
Work is going pretty darn good. It's budget time, and this is where pretty much everyone in the city would agree that Funk has what it takes to do the job right. Only problem is we have a council that's nervous about making the tough choices, and a city manager who is actively campaigning them to not make the tough choices. On the other hand, we've got pretty much the entire business community, the neighborhood groups and the chief of police on our side. So we're thinking our odds aren't bad.
But here's the deal. If we don't prevail, and the current budget proposal goes through, the city's going to start running out of money by summer's end. And then we're going to make damn sure the council and city manager own the mess. Again, we'll have all the community powers that be chiming in with us as we say "We told you so."
But, hopefully it won't come down to that.
Lastly, running. I've had some pain in my achilles and have had to back off. I did some research online and found that tendinitis can be quite debilitating. Some folks on forums I've read claim to have been out of commission for many months. Hopefully I will avoid that by stopping running early, and by doing exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles around the achilles. I've also been doing a lot of other strengthening exercises, which are supposed to lessen my chances at injury.
Meantime, I'm going to get a good bike, which I've needed for some time. And it's looking like things might finally warm up around here, so that I can ride fairly regularly.
As a result, the Flying Pig is off. I'd like to run a marathon in the fall, probably New York or Minneapolis, but I'm going to wait and see how this tendon thing plays out. I'm also considering holding off on doing another marathon until next year, and instead building myself up toward one even more slowly, by training for a 5k, then 10k, then half marathon first.
I'll keep you posted, obviously. And I'll try to post more regularly.
Allie and I are feverishly planning all sorts of remodeling, with our kitchen being the top priority. A lot of you have seen our kitchen, so you know this is much needed. For those of you who haven't, our kitchen has been half gutted for the last several years after one of our cats climbed up into the drop ceiling and made a home there. We were fine with it until we started to smell the piss she was leaving on top of the cabinets above the sink. So we yanked those out, along with the drop ceiling. Since then, we've been existing with cheap wire shelving and no overhead lighting. Meantime, the crappy old cabinetry that remains is starting to fall apart.
So it's time.
Our current plan is to order hip and affordable cabinets from Ikea and then pay some handyman to install them.
In other news, I am getting ready to try indoor propagation for the first time. No, Allie and I are not backing down on our pact not to have kids. I've ordered tomato and pepper seeds, and I've bought some flourescent light boxes, and I'm going to start the seeds indoors, rather than buy transplants at the nursery come May.
I got bit by the seed catalog fever, though. I wanted pretty much every exotic varietal they had, so I wound up dropping $110 on what is likely way more seeds than I need. Any of you close-by friends want tomato plants? I should have some in a couple months.
Work is going pretty darn good. It's budget time, and this is where pretty much everyone in the city would agree that Funk has what it takes to do the job right. Only problem is we have a council that's nervous about making the tough choices, and a city manager who is actively campaigning them to not make the tough choices. On the other hand, we've got pretty much the entire business community, the neighborhood groups and the chief of police on our side. So we're thinking our odds aren't bad.
But here's the deal. If we don't prevail, and the current budget proposal goes through, the city's going to start running out of money by summer's end. And then we're going to make damn sure the council and city manager own the mess. Again, we'll have all the community powers that be chiming in with us as we say "We told you so."
But, hopefully it won't come down to that.
Lastly, running. I've had some pain in my achilles and have had to back off. I did some research online and found that tendinitis can be quite debilitating. Some folks on forums I've read claim to have been out of commission for many months. Hopefully I will avoid that by stopping running early, and by doing exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles around the achilles. I've also been doing a lot of other strengthening exercises, which are supposed to lessen my chances at injury.
Meantime, I'm going to get a good bike, which I've needed for some time. And it's looking like things might finally warm up around here, so that I can ride fairly regularly.
As a result, the Flying Pig is off. I'd like to run a marathon in the fall, probably New York or Minneapolis, but I'm going to wait and see how this tendon thing plays out. I'm also considering holding off on doing another marathon until next year, and instead building myself up toward one even more slowly, by training for a 5k, then 10k, then half marathon first.
I'll keep you posted, obviously. And I'll try to post more regularly.
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