Yesterday I "Biked"

Course: Tour de New York Sports Club (Stationary Bike)
Duration: 55 minutes
Realization: “stationary bike saddles hurt“

In an effort to give my poor shins a break before my weekly track workout beat down tomorrow, yesterday I hopped on to a stationary bike at the gym and pedaled furiously while watching the Heat/Bulls game. I discovered two things. 1) I can’t maintain as a high a heart rate on a stationary bike as I can on the treadmill.. I think because it uses very different muscles, and 2) stationary bike saddles aren’t anything like my bike saddle, and they hurt after a while. I felt a really deep achy pain right at the top of my hamstrings, where my leg/butt kept striking the edges of the saddle on the down-push. Maybe I’ll try the recumbent stationary bike next time.

Or – here’s an idea – maybe I can just get on my real bike and go for a ride. What a novel idea! Looking back on how many treadmill workouts I have, I seem to have an aversion to outdoor activity in New York City. I’ll have to work on that.

Yesterday I Ran

Course: Treadmill HR Zone Intervals
Distance: 5 miles
Biggest Source of Anxiety: Shin Splints?!

Did a treadmill run after lifting weights yesterday. I was supposed to do a 4-mile on Thursday, but my schedule didn’t really permit, so I thought I’d do a five yesterday. Started out okay, but I noticed some soreness in my shins, so now I’m really worried about shin splints. Gotta ease up a little on the mileage I think.

My Life Post-Treo – First BlackBerry Impressions

I made the switch from a Treo 650 to a BlackBerry Pearl this week. So far, my suspicions have proven to be true: the BlackBerry is a much more functional communications device than the Treo, but the Treo is more flexible in how it does things, and has a lot more software available to it.

What I Like About the BlackBerry

• Email and web access is solid, stable and intuitive. My Treo was always crashing when I was trying to use it as an email device or surf the web.
• The device itself is super small and light. It’s so light and small, I’d even consider taking it on runs with me. The Treo is a brick compared to this thing. Now if only I could find a good running log for the BlackBerry…
• Battery life is great compared to the Treo.
• I use BlackBerry Enterprise Server with a hosted Microsoft Exchange service, so basically my setup is the same as the set up most big corporations that deploy BlackBerries use. This means that all my calendars, todos, contacts and notes are synchronized wirelessly and regularly, without me having to initiate the sync process.

What I miss about the Treo

• A nice selection of third-party programs, like a good journaling application with a desktop component, a good eBook reader with a much better selection of books, a handheld version of Quicken that synced seamlessly, a good running log… the list is endless
• My implementation of Getting Things Done seemed to flow much better on the Treo, but maybe that’s just a function of how new the user interface of the BlackBerry is to me. The basic PIM apps on the BlackBerry (calendar, todo list, notes, contacts) have always seemed to be somewhat of an afterthought, and are much less polished than the Palm offering, not to mention all the third party PIMs available for Palm devices. On the BlackBerry, there’s almost nothing available except what comes on the BlackBerry.
• In general, I find that I have to work around the limitations of the BlackBerry operating system and software, whereas Treo software generally was much more customizable and flexible.
• One email minor hiccup: I have this borderline-OCD thing about having a complete record of all my emails received and sent. On the Treo, I could set my email client of choice, Chattermail, to automatically blind carbon copy (bcc:) an email address I have set up as a receptacle for all the emails I send. On the BlackBerry, there is an inexplicable lack of an option to automatically bcc a particular email address on every email I send, so I have to remember to manually enter my sent-mail address in the bcc field when I send an email from the BlackBerry.

All in all, I’m pretty happy so far. I’m much more connected with the BlackBerry, and reliable mobile email access is great. Hopefully it won’t become an addiction as it seems to have become for so many.

Turtle Race!

No, I haven’t run a race yet. But since this blog is called Run, Turtle, Run!, and even though it really doesn’t have anything to do with turtles other than the fact that I somehow picked up that nickname (and used to have two turtles), I thought it would be appropriate to relay this cool website and conservation effort that Eric wrote about the other day. (Hope you don’t mind, Eric, I assume your readership and my readership – stop laughing – are very different). It’s called The Great Turtle Race. Please click on over, check it out. Cheer a turtle on as s/he races to find food. Maybe make a donation or vow to stop engaging in environmentally destructive consumption. Do it. The Turtle commands you.

Today I Ran… and got worked (Track Workout)

Course: East River Park 6th Street Track
Distance: 4.5 miles (speed work)
Pain: Yes.
Mantra during the run: jel-ly-legs

Today, I was taken down a couple notches when I participated in my first track workout since high school. This ass-kicking, ego-bruising reality check was courtesy of the Central Park Track Club and a coach named Tony Ruiz. The weather being as nice as it was, the track was pretty crowded, but that didn’t stop us from tearing around the track while completing the following workout: (400m = 1 full lap around the track)
- 300m, 100m recovery jog
- 300m, 100m recovery jog
- 300m, 100m recovery jog
- 800m, 400m recovery jog
- 600m, 200m recovery jog
- 400m, 200m recovery jog
- 400m, 200m recovery jog
- 600m, 200m recovery jog
- 800m, 200m recovery jog
- 300m, 100m recovery jog
- 300m, 100m recovery jog
- 300m, 100m recovery jog

Now, you might be thinking to yourself “Big deal, 800m is only two laps around the track, I can do that.” Try doing each of those runs at about 70-80% of your full sprint speed, all the while dodging soccer balls, kids messing around, and walkers and joggers who’ve never learned that common track courtesy is to stay in the outer lanes if you’re not the fastest one on the track. And those recovery jogs… they don’t really help you recover all the way.

I was in Group D, which is the um… “least fast” of four groups. One of the guys training in the fast group had recently just won a 5k race with a time of under 17 minutes. That’s 3.1 miles. That’s sub-six minute miles (well under six minutes, actually). That’s faster over the course of over three miles than I was running today, and the longest leg I ran today without stopping was only 1/2 a mile. And those half mile runs nearly killed me.

So it goes without saying I have a lot of improving to do if I want to get out of the least fast group. I’ll have to take it slow, though. For now, I’ll be happy if I can walk normally tomorrow.

Cats and Dogs

I wish I knew who to credit this to; it’s one of the more entertaining things I’ve seen in a while. I think you really have to be a pet owner (and especially a cat owner) to appreciate it. -thanks, Jee!-

DOG DIARY

8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm – Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

CAT DIARY
Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a “good little hunter” I am. Bastards! There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of “allergies.” I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow — but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.
For now…

Today I Ran

Course: Treadmill HR Zone Intervals
Distance: 3.1

I can definitely sense some progress in my aerobic fitness. It’s probably time to ramp up the mileage and work some speed-work and tempo runs into my regimen. I’m going to check out a running club and see if I’m tough enough to hang with the badass runners.

Today I Ran

Course: Streets of Woodside – Cavalry Cemetery Loop
Distance: 4.6 miles

Nothing special about today, except that it was one of the most beautiful days yet this year. Sunny and pleasant. I’m still really concerned about running so near two major freeways, but all told, running through exhaust is probably better for me than not running. I hope.

RSS Readers – Feed Me!

I’m not sure how many of you guys read a bunch of different blogs, newspapers, and other sites with regularly updated content, but if you’ve tried you know that you can spend a huge amount of time just checking the sites to see if they’ve been updated.

I just wanted to suggest that everyone use an RSS reader to aggregate all the different media sources you check, so that you can have all your content in one place, regularly updated, for easy reading. Conceptually, think of how you can subscribe to Podcasts in iTunes, only instead of audio (and now I guess video) content, you do it with text. It’s basically the same thing, and I think most aggregators also handle media files.

I personally use Google Reader to keep up with all the different blogs and news sites I try to follow. It saves me a ton of time. A lot of people like to use Bloglines. I believe Firefox even has an aggregator built into it, though I don’t use it. If you want one that isn’t web-based… well, there are just so many. I used to use Mozilla Thunderbird, which is also a pretty good email client. There are ton of different RSS feed aggregators out there, and I haven’t really done much experimenting. Google Reader works for me, and it’s nice because I can access it at any online computer, just like my beloved Gmail. So, sniff around for a good reader that you like. Start subscribing to content, and see how much time you save if you’re already surfing around to several of the same sites regularly to check for updated news, sales, deals, gossip, reviews, essays… etc.

(Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, subscribe to my blog, too. The feed link is at the bottom of the page.)

Today I Ran, and I Ran Angry

Course: Treadmill Heart Rate Zone Intervals
Distance: 2.9 miles
Mood: aggravated

Completed this run after lifting weights, so I wasn’t 100%. I was aggravated because I was watching CNN as I ran and they had an Asian journalist and an Asian Virginia Tech student talking about how the Asian community in general and the Korean American community in particular all feel a collective sense of shame over what happened. “All my Korean friends, they all seem to be very unified and do lots of things together and are really tight with each other, so, yeah, they feel, like, ashamed that this happened.”

Bravo guys. Way to go. Way to reduce this horrible incident to identity politics, and thank you so much for feeding the flames of ignorance and bigotry. I applaud you Mr. I’m Asian and a Journalist So Therefore I’m An Authority and Speak for All Asians, and you, Mr. I’m Asian and a Virginia Tech Student and I Know Lots of Other Asians Including Some Koreans (But I’m Not Korean) So Therefore I’m An Authority and Speak for All Asians (including the Koreans).

I can’t even begin to understand what goes into making someone do what Cho did. I don’t think anyone ever will, especially now that he’s gone. All we’re left with is a lot of pain and grief and “what if’s” and disturbing writings and recordings by someone who clearly needed some help. I understand that our country grieves collectively through the media (we seem to do a lot through the media). For the most part, I’ve been very surprised by the integrity of the reporting – I haven’t seen anything reported that gives undue focus to the fact that Cho was an Asian or an immigrant. Most of the coverage has been focused on trying to understand what happened and has rightfully given respectful air-time to the grieving students and families.

But then these two yahoos got their airtime.

/rant.