Cowboy Hazel

My running here in Colorado hasn’t gone exactly as planned. I took Thursday off, but was feeling good on Friday and wanted to see if the elevation would really hinder my running as much as everyone said it would. It did. I ran just over four miles at an appalling 7:20 pace and felt like I was about to die the whole time. My throat was so sore and dry and my body just wanted to quit. I went back to the same lake (I found a beautiful lake with a 1.02 mile path around it in Broomfield) yesterday, but the wind was fierce and I only finished three laps because I was completely out of steam. I did, however, improve my pace at least to 7:08 miles. Any thoughts that I had of breaking my P.R. at the Bolder Boulder have disappeared. I’m just hoping to be able to finish the race in a somewhat respectable time. Regardless of how I finish, though, I know the race will be fun. This is going to be the first time I’ve been back to Boulder in almost two years and it will be the fourth time I’ve ran the race (2000, 2001, and 2003 were the other years). My dad is going to jog/walk the race too, so it will be fun to see him come across the finish line.

Other than the elevation kicking my ass, the trip back home has gone very well so far. I’ve been to two Rockies games and am going to a third today. Coors Field is such a great ballpark — I love being out there. Then, after the game today, I’m meeting up with my friend Stoltz who I haven’t seen in a couple years. The rest of this week is going to be pretty much filled with work. Even though I’m out here, I’m definitely not on vacation. I have a long list of stuff to get done both for Precision and for the Flopalongs project. Next weekend, though, I’ll be able to take a break and we’re hopefully going to go up to the mountains for a bit. I should finally get a chance to play tennis with my sister too (something which never quite happened this weekend). All in all, it’s very nice to be out of the city for a bit.

I’m writing this from 30,000 feet in the air, somewhere over New Jersey, I believe. This is the first time I’ve been on a flight since I got this laptop and I have to admit, I was overly excited to be able to use it in flight. Now, as I’m doing so, however, I realize that it’s not nearly as cool as it seems. These seats are horribly small and the person in front of me is reclining, so my keyboard is pretty much two inches away from my stomach. Eh…

Anyway, I’m flying back to Colorado to spend some time at my parents’ house. It should be a good trip, even though I wasn’t really able to take any time off of work. I’m going to be working from there and the time zone difference means that I have to wake up really early every day. That sucks. My flight doesn’t get in until one o’clock tonight, then we have to drive to my parents house, and I have to be up for work at 6:30.

I was planning on doing a long run tomorrow to see how the elevation affects me, but I’m not going to be able to because of some serious soreness in my legs. I’ve run each of the last five days at a sub-seven minute pace and it’s taking its toll on my muscles. My right calf was cramping up today and I was having some troubles with my left knee too. I think I’ll take tomorrow and Friday off to give them a little recovery time and then get a long run on Saturday. Of course, the Bolder Boulder is Monday, so I’ll probably take Sunday off as well.

I had a couple beers back at the airport bar and now I have to pee, but I’m in the window seat and the guy next to me is asleep (and snoring.) I’ll have to wake him up in a bit, I’m sure.

Flying sucks. I really don’t like this whole being on a plane thing. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that this is my first flight since last October. In fact, other than a quick trip to Atlantic City on New Year’s, this is my first time leaving NYC in nine months. Crazy.

Not much else to report. My fingers hurt so I’m going to quit this nonsense. Good night.

What a great name for a race. I am, of course, referring to the Healthy Kidney 10K that I ran this morning in Central Park. If only my performance was as good as the name. I finished with a time of 42 minutes, 25 seconds (a pace of 6:50 miles), which is considerably better than what I ran the Scotland Run 10K in March but still wasn’t what I was hoping for. I hit the second mile marker at under 13 minutes, but ran out of steam going up the Great Hill. I finished the first 5K in 20:35, but slowed to 21:50 for the second. So, clearly, pacing is still something I need to work on. Another thing that’s bugging me off about this was that I was hoping to break my personal record set back at the Evergreen Town Run in August 2001. I missed it by over half a minute though. I’ll have another chance coming up in just over a week though… Bolder Boulder 2008. I cannot believe that it is already Memorial Day. Where has this year gone?

Not much else has been going on around here. I’m just working a lot. I’ve been creating tools to format, rearrange, and FTP post csv lead files for Precision, doing more preliminary layout work for the Flopalongs site (I need to get working on that in earnest in this weekend), implemented a completely new style and several new features on Fair Trade South America, and created a whole new messaging system on Plant Ink. I’m not including a link to that one yet because it’s still in beta mode. Josh and I have been testing it out and working out the bugs. I have just been really unhappy with the changes that Facebook is making lately and I’d like to have a good alternative to their messaging system. Enter my new Conversations platform. I’ll keep you posted. June and July are going to be very busy months for me on the development front. I’m going to be making some huge improvements and additions across the Lantenengo Network in an effort to achieve my goal of 1,000,000 hits a month by the end of the year. Look for a dramatically reinvented Plant Ink, some major improvements to East Coast Runners, and even a couple new sites.

Well, I should get to work for real now, so we’ll call that enough for today.  Enjoy the weekend.

I finally ran two laps of the Central Park Drive loop yesterday morning! It was something I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to do for almost a month. Crossing it off my list of things I need to accomplish definitely felt good. My body, however, did not feel good. I basically lost all of yesterday to this run. I woke up at 9:00, ate a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (my favorite pre-run meal), stretched, showered, and headed out the door to meet the guys at the top of Central Park.There were six of us doing the run (a huge turnout — 3 had been the previous record for our running group) and we made all the introductions to the new guys, stretched, and walked over to the start. We decided to get the Great Hill out of the way early, so headed counter-clockwise. My friend Justin from Boston was running with us and he and I were out in front talking and not really paying attention to pace and ended up running the whole way down the park way too fast. We both paid for it when we started coming back up the other side. Everyone passed us and he fell behind me a bit. I hung back behind everyone else for a while, seriously struggling with the hills, but finally found the energy for a big push and caught up with everyone just before getting to the straight-away by the Reservoir. So, the remaining five of us finished our first loop without any further troubles. The Great Hill the second time around was killer, though. We were all struggling at the top. Two of the guys quit there and another about a half mile past it. Antonio and I were the only ones still running and he asked me how I was doing and I said, “I’m running on fumes. I’m going to try to quit, don’t let me.” I was worrying about the long hill coming back up the park, but when we got to it, it actually wasn’t as bad as I expected. It was definitely a struggle to keep going those last couple miles, but I just focused on the the ground in front of me, repeating “left foot, right foot” in my head over and over, trying not to think about how far was left to go. We ended up finishing the 12.1 mile run in 1:25:20, which is 7 minute, 3 second miles — the same pace as my fastest ever single lap run of Central Park. I know it wasn’t a race or anything, but finishing this run was a big deal for me. It is great to know that I can go out there and set a goal and achieve it (even if not on the first attempt). I am feeling much more confident about getting myself into marathon shape. I definitely have a long way to go, though. After the run, I was dead. Antonio and I got Gatorade and walked back to East Harlem and then when I got home, I showered, stretched, and plopped down in my recliner to watch a movie. I was planning on working after that, but about a half hour in front of my computer and I realized that I had no energy at all. I went back to the recliner for another movie and then off to bed at 8:30. I didn’t wake up this morning until almost 10. That’s the first time I’ve slept 13 hours in a while — I guess I needed it. But, now, I have a ton of work to do (that I was planning on doing yesterday) and so I really should get to it.

As my monthly running approaches that elusive hundred-mile mark, I have been not-so-subtly reminded of a few of the less than pleasant side-effects of distance running. Exhibit A: Chafing. Holy crap. I went for a not-so-far run today, just 4 miles, but it was warmer than normal and I was wearing a thick, stiff cotton shirt and I had run 5+ miles each of the previous four days… wait, three days. Anyway, point is, when I got home and took my shirt off, I couldn’t believe that my nipples weren’t spraying out blood. They hurt so bad that that was what I was expecting. It was pretty much the worst pain you could imagine.

That got me thinking, why the hell do men have nipples anyway? Yes, they provided a great deal of humor in Meet the Parents — “I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?” But, other than that, why?

The ends of my toes are taking a beating too. I’ve been putting lotion on them and bought the fancy socks, but they’re still blistering and getting pretty damn sore. I hate to think of what they’re going to be like after Saturday’s run.  I am going to finally tackle the 12 miler in the Park Saturday morning.  This is the last weekend I’ll have the opportunity for a while — next week I’m doing the Healthy Kidney 10K and then the Bolder Boulder 10K the week behind that, so it would be 3 weeks before I get another chance.  So, wish me (and my toes) luck.

I can’t be all negative about these aches and pains, though.  In a way, they are somewhat comforting. They remind me that after this far too long hiatus, I am finally back on track, moving towards my first marathon. It’ll be almost seven years late, but that’s better than never.

I was craving pizza today so I decided to head up to the Patsy’s on 117th. As soon as I walked outside, I heard yelling. I didn’t think that much of it, though, because you hear a fair amount of yelling up here in el barrio. But, as soon as I got to the corner I realized this was more intense than the typical. There was a big Mexican guy standing there in front of Dunkin Donuts holding a baseball bat, looking real pissed off and about to swing the bat at this high school kid. The kid is like two inches away from the Mexican’s face and yelling, “Get the fuck outta here! Just get the fuck outta here!,” over and over. People stop and watch until finally one of the kid’s friends stepped between him and the Mexican and forced them apart from each other. The Mexican got back into his car and drove off and the kids started walking up First Avenue.

Summer has arrived.

A quandary has arisen. To keep the cell phone number or abandon it? This question is one that has been lying beneath the surface for quite some time now. You may not know this (I usually try to keep it as hushed up as possible (Oh shit, why am I posting it on my blog?)) but I lived in Brooklyn for two and a half months in early 2007. (Did I just use double parentheses? That was awesome!) And, during that time (actually a couple months before that time — I paid an extra fee to have T-Mobile switch my number while I was still in Boston), I traded in my 617 number for a 347 number because I was anxious to cut all ties with the bean town. Before moving to New York, I had an overly fond view of the boroughs (especially Brooklyn) and was happy to take an area code that implied that I was not from Manhattan. I’m the first to admit that I have been wrong in my life. The whole moving to Boston thing and liking the Red Sox thing (please can we just get over this — Sareeka, especially, it kills me when you bring this up) was obviously a huge, huge mistake. Yes, I’m embarrassed and I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. But, we’re getting side-tracked here. The point is, in the aftermath of that gargantuan folly, another smaller preposterousness occurred. I (yes, me, Robert James Reese, I am sad to admit) thought that Brooklyn was a more honorable place than Manhattan and accordingly aligned myself with the secondary borough as much as possible. As a result, my phone number is 347-853-5200. I would worry about posting that here, but it is already posted on my business site and if it hasn’t been spammed from there, it probably won’t be spammed from here. So, I have an awesome cell number that ends in double zeros, but it is from a lame area code. 347 is a secondary area code for all boroughs except Manhattan. It’s not even the 718 (which is the primary area code for those same areas). A rerun of the episode of Seinfield where Elaine gets a 646 number because of Kramer’s fax machine happened to be on last night and that made me think of this a bit. Also, my cell phone crashed on me three times today, which made me start to seriously consider getting a new carrier and/or cell phone. I was originally planning to wait for the first launch of Google’s Android platform, but I am worried that the first edition of that is not going to be that stable. And , AT&T is supposedly offering a $200 rebate on the iPhone with a two year contract and that’s better than anything that will be offered with the brand new Android Platform so I’m thinking that looks pretty good. I definitely want to get a browser capable phone so that I can expand my own network into mobile web content and test it, but I don’t want to have to lay down serious cash to do so. Maybe switching to AT&T with this new promotion is the answer? But, if so, what do I do with my mobile number? Thanks to recent legislation, I have the right to move my T-Mobile number to AT&T. But, do I want to? The pros for keeping the 347 number: It ends in double zeros — How cool is that? Also, I have a thousand businesses cards printed with that number on it. If I change the phone number, I’ll have to get new ones. Cons: I don’t want people to think I’m from the boroughs and some people don’t even know 347 is a NYC Area Code — Diana thought it was Florida. What do I do?

As expected, time has continued to march along in an orderly fashion. Saturday still follows Friday. Friday still follows Thursday. Etcera. The only difference is that time seems to be marching much quicker than it used to. I hear that cliché so often, but it really is true. What causes this?

Well, my past week (which was over in what seemed like a blink of an eye) was rather full yet uninteresting. Nathaniel was out from San Diego, so I had to go into the office three days this week. That combined with the rainy weather and the fact that I was trying to let my legs recover from a recent surge in mileage caused me to take five days off from running. I got out for only my second run of the week this morning.

It was a good run. I met up with Antonio and Michael in Central Park and we did the normal loop except we had to make a couple slight detours because of a big Revlon walk for cancer thing that was going on. I finished it feeling strong and ready to do more which is rare running with those two — they’re both much better runners than me. I didn’t even have that much trouble with the hills. I hope that this positive momentum in my running continues.

The week at the office was busy. I didn’t get a chance to work on my big multivariate testing project at all because my time was spent fixing other problems, doing small improvements here and there, and attending various meetings. It was definitely a switch from my typical routine. But, I have to say that I actually did enjoy it. This whole office job thing isn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Of course, it’s a lot better on the weeks that I get to work from home…

Nathaniel came up to my place Wednesday night and we brainstormed on the games site we’re working on. That whole thing is scaring me a little because the deadline is June 15th and I have at least 80 hours (this is totally a guess, it might end up being much more) worth of work to do on it before then. Coming up with that time is going to be tough, especially since I’m going to be back in Colorado for the last half of this month. I really need to keep working hard the whole time I’m there, but I don’t see how that’s going to happen. I’m going to see three Rockies games with my mom, I’m running the Bolder Boulder, my friend’s brother is getting married, and besides all that, this will probably be my only trip home this year so I want to see all my friends. So, yeah, I’m pretty much not going to be able to sleep if I want to fit everything in.

Thursday night, I attended the worst baseball game ever. You know those bumper stickers, “The worst day fishing is better than the best day working”? Well, that’s how I feel about baseball. I didn’t think it was possible to not enjoy a baseball game. That is, of course, until Thursday night. It started raining halfway during the first inning and never let up. With the temperature was in the mid-forties, the rain made this the coldest night I have ever experienced in my entire life. The deep, wet cold seeped into my bones and froze me to the core. I had a few beers and tried to tough it out and enjoy the game. But the Yankees made enjoying the game tough to do — they were playing dismally. Finally, at the end of the sixth inning, I moved down to the lower deck below the roof (there were plenty of empty seats by this point), and then the Yanks gave up two more runs. It was 8-4 at the end of the seventh and I couldn’t take it anymore. I left the game early — something that I never do.

Before leaving, I stopped in the bathroom. After waiting in line (dancing the I-have-to-pee-so-bad dance) for a couple minutes, I finally get to the front of the line and a urinal opens up for me. I walk over but couldn’t get my button-fly jeans undone because my fingers were so frozen. Considering that I had a few beers in me and had been holding it for a while, this looked like it could turn into a embarrassing situation quickly. I tried blowing on my fingers to unthaw them, but it wasn’t working. I still couldn’t get my fingers to unbutton my jeans. Fortunately, they were somewhat baggy jeans and so, after some creative problem-solving, I was able to just slide them down over my hips without unbuttoning them. That in itself would have been embarrassing, but I’m pretty sure that everyone else in there was even drunker than me and didn’t pay any attention. Still, note to self: Wear zipper fly jeans next time it’s cold and rainy and you’re going to be sitting outside for long periods of time.

Other than that, it’s pretty much been the typical run of the mill stuff. Nothing too interesting to report. I’ve been reading a lot, but nothing too substantial. Just fun books. (If you’re curious which ones, see the reading log.) I went on a date last night. I had a good time, but I couldn’t really tell if the girl was into me or not. Time will tell. I found a new favorite house wine — 2003 Chateau Cabezac Tradition Minervois. I bought a few bottles earlier in the week and have pretty much depleted them. While talking to Nathaniel, I came up with some new ideas and expanded upon old ideas for the Lantenengo Network. I really want to kick this whole thing up a notch because my dismal advertising revenue is just not going to cut it. After we get this games site done, I am going to make improving my network, attracting new visitors, and monetizing that traffic a top priority. I want to be at a million hits a month by the end of this year. That’s a big goal, but I think it can be done. Plus, nobody ever said go little or go home…