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A brief respite

Saturday
Miles run: 5.01
Time: 47:17
Pace: 9:26
Perceived effort: 7
HR: 153/175 (avg/max) (But that includes many, many minutes where I forgot to stop the HR monitor while I was cooling down.)
Temp: 19°

Sunday
Miles run: 7.02
Time: 1:06:51
Pace: 9:31
Perceived effort: 6
HR: 160/173
Temp: 27°

I haven’t run since Monday. That’s four days off. Lost a lot of momentum there. Saturday’s five miles was exactly what I set out to do, but just finishing that was good enough.

I’m still waiting for the Nike+ sensor clip to arrive, and in the meantime used some good ol’ electrical tape to affix the sensor to my laces. Oh, so white trashy looking. At least it wasn’t duct tape. I had to move it to the tops of my laces, since having it under the laces was creating a sore spot on the tendons on the top of my right foot. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much now.

Today’s run went better than yesterday. So much so that I have TWO bonus miles to give away. They’re not fast-finishing miles–in fact they were run through the labyrinthine roads of a local new development and felt kinda pokey, but still…

It was nice and warm today, the sun was out and brilliant like a really good idea. I had to wear sunglasses. Now one of the pairs of glasses I use for exercise is cycling specific–the pair I used today. I have a tiny mirror affixed to the upper left of the inside of the left lens. It works pretty well. But it’s oriented such that I can only see behind me when I’m down on the handlebars, not standing up straight running.

Maybe I should start stretching. Never been a big fan of it. With cycling, the range of motion is EXACTLY the same for hours on end. No chance of pulling something there. Unless you accidentally un-clip out of the pedals while trying to take a leak on an infrequently traveled road. (Not that I’ve done that mind you.) But my left foot was feeling tight today and never really loosened up during the run.

Had a delicious dinner at the in-laws tonight. Those 800 calories I burned today got packed right back in! More good grub is slated for tomorrow night as well, so I probably won’t be able to build on my momentum from this weekend’s runs.

The Mother of All Questionnaires. Or “69, Dude!”

Today is another day off the running shoes (or bike for that matter). It’s nice and warm out, so it’s hard to resist the call of the road.

Anyway, Dani hit me with a tag. I got a head start on this one…
** Start time: Tuesday, 9:08 pm **

1. Are your parents married or divorced? Divorced. (Some answers will be long, some short. Deal.)

2. Are you a vegetarian? Nope. Love a good steak. Steak, steak, steak. If I could have a sub with steak I would. But it would be too difficult to eat. :)

3. Do you believe in Heaven? Perhaps.

4. Have you ever come close to dying? Negatory.

5. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? Wedding band. Next item would be one of many watches I own.

6. Favorite time of day? The last couple years I’ve been getting up early and feeling good, not groggy… so the first hour after I wake up. Also, the last 15 minutes before falling asleep, when I’m trying to read and losing the battle with my eyelids.

7. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? No. Just like I you don’t eat the garnish that comes with your steak.

8. Do you wear makeup? Um, no. Unless you count eyeliner once in college during Halloween. Dressed up like Robert Smith of The Cure. If there had ever been a lip-synch contest in college, my roomie, Tim, and I would have sung Hot, Hot, Hot but The Cure. We never decided who would get to be Robert Smith. But I digress…

9. Ever have plastic surgery? No. But I have been know to carve the flashing off the occasional plastic figurine/game piece.

10. If you did have plastic surgery, what did you have done? Rhinoplasty?

11. What do you wear to bed? Boxers. Sometimes jammie bottoms in the winter, but I generate a lot of heat while sleeping, so jammies are infrequent. You know when else I generate a ton of heat? After a century ride. After a hundred miles my body just RADIATES the heat as I lay splayed on the bed. Draw-cartoon-wavy-lines-over-me hot. Crack-an-egg-over-my-stomach-and-cook-breakfast hot.

12. Have you ever done anything illegal? This is off the record, right? Yeah, I don’t think you can go through life and really live without breaking the rules sometime.

13. Can you roll your tongue? No.

14. Do you tweeze your eyebrows? Ok, this questionnaire is definitely gender biased. I object.

15. What kind of sneakers do you wear? ASICS and Nike running shoes when I’m not wearing my cycling shoes.

16. Do you believe in abortions? I believe in choice.

17. What is your hair color? Boring brown.

18. Future child’s name? Zeus. Though I think that’ll probably get a veto.

19. Do you snore? No, but apparently I ‘breathe’ too loudly while sleeping. Luckily our dog snores louder than all of us, so she gets the brunt of the nighttime grumbling about distracting noise.

20. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? France for The Tour. Then maybe Japan to chill after cheering my lungs out on the side of a mountain stage.

21. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No. Though there is a stuffed Wile E. Coyote on the chair in our bedroom. That little super genius has been with me since the World Wide Web started.

22. If you won the lottery, what would you do first? Pay off my debt. My mortgage. Then my family’s debt. Travel. Watch the Tour. Hopefully there’d be some leftovers to live off.

23. Gold or silver? In college it was silver. (Actually, more like a line of safety pins up the splash-bleached jean jacket sleeve.) (Ask nicely and maybe I’ll post a pic.) Now it’s more gold, though I hardly wear jewelry anyway.

24. Hamburger or hot dog? Like Kellie, I prefer my beef very well done. And dogs even more so. Lots and lots of onions, spicy mustard and a heaping side of coleslaw. Not those pathetic thimbles you get at the local diner. What the hell is up with that? You couldn’t stuff a mouse with the coleslaw they give you at a diner. I know there’s a war going on right now, but are we rationing the coleslaw?

25. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Subs. I think I’ve been pretty clear about that recently. Wait… coleslaw? No. Definitely subs.

26. City, beach or country? Beach. But each has its merits: I like to visit the city and stand in awe of the complexity and beauty of it all; I like to cycle for hours in the country; and I’ve vacationed for the last three years on the beach (and planning number four this June).

27. What was the last thing you touched? Literally, my keyboard, but in the spirit of this question, my dog. Gave her a pat on the head as she held down the couch cushions.

28. Where did you last eat? My family room with Steph. Fixed a house-sandwich with my favorite Swiss Cheese, KerryGold, turkey, pumpernickel, mustard and a sun-dried tomato spread.

29. When’s the last time you cried? I didn’t cry so much as get all verklempt. The Bridge to Terabithia was very cathartic.

30. Do you read blogs? Yes, about 25 non-tech related ones. They’re like little unending stories, some well written, some well meaning, all heartfelt. I comment on as many as time allows, which amounts to about 8 or 10 a day.

31. Would you ever go out dressed as the opposite sex? Not sober.

32. Ever been involved with the police? Not romantically. But yes, unfortunately, I have in the legal sense. I’ll leave it at that.

33. What’s your favorite shampoo, conditioner and soap? The one that smells good. Um, yeah, can’t think of what that smell is… Nothing in particular. I rather like the whimsical whistling on the Irish Spring commercials. That’s sort of related to this question. Kinda.

34. Do you talk in your sleep? If I do it’s a wasted effort seeing as nobody really listens in their sleep do they?

35. Ocean or pool? Pool edges out the ocean by the simple fact that I can’t swim worth a pair of dingo’s kidneys. I should probably work on that if I want to compete in a triathlon this year, eh? Gonna take classes at the local Y.
36. Sauna or whirlpool? Whirlpool. Although I had a very enjoyable experience with a sauna at the Star Lake campus in college one winter.

37. Starbucks or Krispy Kreme? Coffee or donuts? Is that the question? I’d go with KK donuts over coffee. Nice and light, I could eat about 30 of ‘em.

38. Aisle or window seat? Window. Love looking at the clouds from above. Clouds remind me of two bits of music: Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb (for obvious reasons), and Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass for less obvious reasons.

39. Ever met anyone famous? Jeffrey Zeldman, who is internet famous. And back in college on a week-long trip to Montreal I walked by a famous politician downtown who’s name escapes me. Lame, I know, about the politician, not Mr. Zeldman. Big fan of Jeffrey.
40. Do you feel you’ve had a truly successful life? Quite the subjective question. Yes, I’ve been successful at many of the things I’ve set out to do. And, no there are still many things I’d like to try and accomplish. I know that’s a very noncommittal answer.

41. Do you twirl or cut your spaghetti? Cut then some twirling. If you don’t cut you could be twirling until the whole damn plateful of pasta is wound up on your fork, then you’d look the fool bringing that up to your mouth.

42. Rikki Lake or Oprah? Neither, more like Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

43. Basketball or Football? Nope. Pro cycling? Yup.

44. How long do your showers last? Long enough to wash off the road salt from the winter run or the sandy road grime from the summer rain-soaked ride.

45. Do you drive automatic or stick? Automatic. Though I rest my hand on the automatic shifter willing it to turn into a standard.

46. Cake or ice cream? Tough one. If ice cream cake is not an option, then I’d go with cake if it’s one of those super delicious, hyper sensational chocolate indulgence type cakes, that’s a little warm and dripping with calories. If one of those isn’t handy, I’ll settle for Mint Chocolate Chunk from Ben & Jerry’s or Death by Chocolate from Stewarts’.

47. Are you self-conscious? Mildly but I think I hide it well. What really bugs me is how I sense my face might get flushed sometimes when in a meeting at work.

48. Have you ever drank so much you threw up? That’s a big 10-4 good buddy. Ask Ron about the bruised forearms incident (BFI for short). That’s a good story. Or the time I called Ron long distance in the middle of the night to tell him I loved him in a drunken stupor. Good times. Ron seems to be a common thread in my crazy quilt of drunk stories. Pure coincidence.

49. Have you ever given money to a beggar? I believe I have dropped a bill or two in a hat whilst in NYC.

50. Have you ever been in love? Yes.

51. Where do you wish you were? Even though the cold really isn’t bothering me too much… someplace warmer, and with more daylight.

52. Are you wearing socks? Nope. In bed now, laptop on lap. See #11.

53. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? No. Brian gave me a tour of one once. Pretty neat and orderly vehicles.

54. Can you tango? Nope. But I can dance to Pump Up the Volume kinda OK.

55. Last gift you received? Chocolate kisses for V-day.

56. Last sport you played? Softball on the company team. We sucked but had fun.

57. Things you spend a lot of money on? Eating out. Although I’m tapering way down on lunches out these last two months. Keeping the subs to a bare minimum (and a lot of running) is making an improvement on my waistline. Down to a 32 for the first time in over a decade. WooHoo!

58. Where do you live? 6 miles from work. 15 miles from my nearest cycling buddy, John. 20 miles from my in-laws. 30 miles from my niece and her Mommy and Daddy. 178 miles from my Dad. And 246 miles to my pseudo-nephew Jeffrey and his Mommy and Daddy.

59. Where were you born? Coral Gables, FL. And here I am in cold-ass upstate NY. Where’s the justice in that?
60. Last wedding attended? Crap, I don’t even remember. I really don’t enjoy going to weddings. I find them rather boring. My mind drifts like a cloud trying to dodge a plane.

61. Favorite position? Hunched over my aero bars hours and hours into a ride, trying to remember how long since I last ate or drank, how fast I’m going, how much more fuel I can pour on the fire, thinking about the next climb, thinking about the whole rest of the course and how much I need to keep in reserve to finish strong. But I digress…
62. Most hated food(s)? Not a big fan of seafood. Or sausage.

63. Most hated soda pop? Pepsi Blue. I think nearly all the variations soda makers have come up with on their main products have sucked. There are only two variations that I will admit to liking: Vanilla Coke and Code Red Mountain Dew. But I haven’t one either in over three months.
64. Can you sing? Sure, in the car with the volume so loud even *I* can’t hear myself. Actually, as a matter of fact… this week my XM radio has twice told me Depeche Mode was singing on another channel. When I changed to that channel, lo and behold my favorite song, Enjoy the Silence, was playing. Well, you wouldn’t have wanted to be in the car when I started to sing along, let me tell you.
65. Last person you instant messaged? Kellie, the cake-lovin’, Target-shoppin’, rambler herself. Though if Dani would start using IM (Hint, hint), I prob would have hit her since I happened to be online as she posted a comment to my site.

66. Last place you went on holiday? OBX, the Outer Banks, NC.

67. Favorite regular drink? Hot: tea. Cold: Stewart’s lemon seltzer. I’m just saying no to high fructose syrup drinks (and I’m dying for one…)

68. Favorite alcoholic drink? Sambuca and Seltzer. Used to be Seven & Sevens. Tequila, not so much… see #48.

69. Current favorite song? Mas by Kinky, and Remind Me by Royksopp.

** Time finished: Tuesday, 11:22 pm **

God help us if some joker comes out with a 100 question whopper.

A-Z of me

Today is a rest day, no running. I think I deserve it. Though I don’t want it. The weather is so warm that it was hard to NOT get out on the road. Even with knees that are sore.

Instead, here is another virus meme for your enjoyment/tedium.

A- Available or Single?
Married. (Obviously a single person conjured these questions)

B- Best Friend?
The best friends I made in high school are no longer. The best friends I developed in college have persisted, though we talk entirely too infrequently and have, because of this, drifted apart. I have two or three new ones since college, though, unfortunately no single, slam-dunk, sittin’-in-jail-with-you-the-morning-after best friend. That’d be nice, though (sigh). But I wouldn’t trade the ones I have now for anything—you know who you are.

C- Cake or Pie?
Cake. Black Forest Cake. Um, and baklava. Maybe pumpkin pie. But definitely cake.

D- Drink of Choice?
Tea. Hey, I grew up in Canada. But if I’m riding a century or 24 hrs or something, Red Bull.

E- Essential Item?
Something I always try and carry with me? I guess that’d be my internet-is-always-on cell phone.

F- Favorite Color?
Used to think green when I was younger. Now I think yellow for the Tour leader’s jersey.

G- Gummi Bears or Worms?
Neither. Sweet Tarts.

H- Hometown?
Groovy Gouvy. (Or Gouverneur, to be precise.)

I- Indulgence?
A Roma’s sub, followed by a tub of Death by Chocolate Stewart’s ice cream. And maybe a Red Bull to wash it all down.

J- January or February?
January. I’ve never gotten a century ride completed in February, it’s the coldest and most annoying month.

K- Kids and Names?
A dog named Jenny.

L- Life is incomplete without…?
The letter L.

M- Marriage Date?
May 26, 1997.

N- Number of Siblings?
Zero. I had a long, lonely childhood. Sure coulda used the internet back then.

O- Oranges or Apples?
Oranges are messier than apples. Apples turn brown in the blink of an eye. Could I get a sub instead?

P- Phobias/Fears?
Gettin’ hit in the face/walking into something in the dark (”If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”). I think I’m slowly developing a germ phobia. Can’t use the napkin that was touching the table in a restaurant. Or eat a chip that fell on the table, or rest my hands/fingers on said table. Actually everything about restaurant tables while I’m eating weirds me out.

Q- Favorite Quote?
“I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Douglas Adams.

R- Reasons to smile?
Finishing a long ride/run. Witnessing kindness. Seeing my dog smile.

S- Season?
Summer. Most daylight in which to get out on the road.

T- Tag 3 people?
Instead… how about T for Television Toon? Favorite is a tossup between Futurama and Samurai Jack.

U- Unknown Fact About Me?
My first dog’s name was Kazan. Someday I’ll tell you the street I grew up on and then you’ll know my porn name.

V- Vegetable You Hate?
Radishes.

W- Worst Habit?
Procrastination.

X- Xrays You’ve Had?
Teeth.

Y- Your Favorite Foods?
Subs. Ice cream with some kind of chocolate in it. Chocolate maybe with some kind of cake in it. Tea.

Z- Zodiac?
Aries. The ram. Ug, me tough. Ram tough. Yeah, whatever.

This was definitely easier than the 1-20 meme.