danielgohlke.com

I am a marathoner!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I never thought I'd say this: I finished a marathon!

I really don't know what to say in this email. People keeping asking me "how does it feel?" My only reply is, "great, though painful." I started yesterday's marathon really strong, keeping the exact 10 min/mile pace I expected. I successfully fought the urge to start out too fast--apparently a common rookie mistake. After all of the big hills, thankfully placed at the start of the race, the miles steadily ticked by. Before I knew it, I was at mile 10 and fast approaching the half-way mark. As I hit the half-way mark at mile 13.1, my watch read 2:17.12, perfectly on par for my expected finishing time. Things were looking good! I received quite a bit of cheers, from both familiar faces (Thanks Amanda, Julia, Jessah, Wendy, Lauren) and strangers--thanks to my name written on my jersey. This turned out to help immensely and was an integral part later in the race.

Somewhere around mile 16, I felt burning in my lower inner quads, right above the knees. After about a half mile, the pain became much more familiar; I was starting to cramp. It started in my left quad, then dissipated as it flared up in my right quad. After a quick stretch it felt better, but I knew the stretch bought me little time. Now my mind began to race. I was only at mile 16, why were my legs beginning to rebel? I had hydrated and carbo-loaded plenty the days leading up to the race, I kept my pace and didn't start too fast. I had an appropriate breakfast and even ate energy packs throughout the race. My lungs and heart had plenty of gas, why didn't my legs? I didn't run (pun intended) into this problem in my 20-mile training run, so why today? Why this early in the race? Perhaps I didn't have enough salt, but I had just taken a salt packet the mile previous. I ran the next 3 miles wondering what lay ahead.

At mile 19 my legs were cramping so severely that I had to employ a jog/walk strategy. I jogged until my legs were just about to cramp, then walked it out, rinse, repeat. To make it across the 14th St Bridge, I developed a game: jog the distance of two light poles, then walk one. After the bridge, the next few miles were the worst. There were tons of people there cheering, many of them yelling "C'mon Daniel," but there just wasn't anymore power in my legs. I created a new game: if anytime during the "walk phase" of my walk/jog tactic I receive a personal cheer, I had to jog again, even if I were grimacing in pain. After mustering those few miles through Crystal City, it was on to the Pentagon.

Near the Pentagon, I encountered a unique moment in the race. The entire race course was marshaled by US Marines, a few stationed every fifth mile or so. One of them, an older guy, perhaps even an officer, yelled "Lets go Daniel." As per the rules of my game, I trotted up to a jog upon hearing his cheer. Seeing he was the fuel behind my step, he continued cheering me until I could no longer hear him. His dedication to a total stranger's success was overwhelmingly motivating.

I have a comment on spectators and participants that like to dress up. Your effort is awesome and really adds some flare to the race. Thank you for dressing up, thank you for ringing cow-bells, thank you for the noise makers. That said, if you're going to dress up, you really should act the part, like the guy in the Miami Dolphins jersey, #5 Ray Finkle. When I said to him, "Laces out!" He caught the reference to Ace Ventura and acknowledged me. However, I saw a guy ringing a cowbell dressed like Will Ferrell. When I said to him, "I have a fever..." he did NOT reply "and the only prescription for it, is MORE COWBELL." Instead, he said "hang in there buddy!" Clearly he missed the reference to his own outfit. Play your part, people!

After the pentagon, I was back near the starting corrals, just 1.2 miles from the finish! As I glanced at the timing display at mile marker 25, I realized I was well past my expected finishing time, and just 14-16 minutes away from the end of the 4th hour. Since onset of the leg cramps over 6 miles previous, I set forth dividing and conquering mini-goals--run to the next light pole, run for people that cheered me. At this point, however, there was one simple goal--finish strong. If I managed a 12-13 minute minute/mile for the last 1.2 miles, I would finish with a sub-5 hour time. I picked up the pace. I saw a Marine running in full gear with a pack weighing at least 60 lbs. I could tell he was enduring similar pains. In fact, as I looked around I saw folks that stopped to stretch out cramps and others that were walk/jogging alongside of me. I realized I was in good company; we were all fighting our guts and bodies to run 26.2 miles. Before I knew it, I was making the uphill turn to the finish. The previous night at the TNT Inspiration Dinner, I learned that there will be a point in the race where I realize I WILL finish. For me, it occurred 0.2 miles from the finish as I trekked up that hill to the finishing area. I even felt confident that I was going to succeed in my final, single goal of finishing strong. I did it! I finished in 4:58.43.

While I was originally disappointed that I didn't finish in my expected time, I'm happy to have finished at all. And I raised over $2200 to fight cancer to boot! In the end, I'm glad to have fought through such pain and agony. I didn't recount the difficulties of the race as a demonstration of my failure, but rather as how difficult it was to succeed. I somehow feel even more accomplished because of the pain. While my 4:58 finishing time wasn't exactly my expected finishing time, it was still a personal record (it was my first marathon, after all). Besides, it'll be that much easier to beat next time, and there WILL be a next time. And I hope to do a half-ironman by 2011.

Check out the data of my run: Marathon GPS mapping, tracking

Thanks for all of your support! Thanks to those who made donations to my 10K and/or marathon, trained with me, asked about my training, endured my constant jabber about running, and especially those that supported me "off the field".

Marathon!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:07:00 +0000

So my marathon is finally here. I'll be starting Sunday at 8 am. You can see my location during the event by clicking here.

Also, you can sign up for alerts based upon my progress by clicking here.

See you at the finish line!

Where am I?

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Ever wonder where in the world I am? I know I sure do. Like that time I woke up in a dirty dingy basement with a single flickering light, handcuffed to a tub or toilet and a dead guy lying next to me and a note....er wait, maybe that was the movie Saw. While that might be an exaggeration, I certainly do a great deal of city-hopping between DC and RVA, especially during my move. So I introduce to you the newest feature of my blog, Google Latitude. ---------------> If you're not familiar, Latitude can track where one are based up what is input to the widget, or it can use one's mobile phone either by cell tower triangulation or GPS. Luckily my mobile device has GPS and therefore can determine where I am within 4 meters usually. Scary isn't it?

This remind me of a ~~fight~~ discussion I had with my neighbors after they discovered of my blog. They are private people, and I respect that, but I'm much less of a ~~paranoid~~ private person. They were concerned that I published my where about, that I (at the time) published when I visit DC, that I autocross, that I have a girlfriend, etc. I assured them that I don't publish anything I don't want anyone in the world to know, or anything that I wouldn't voluntarily tell a friend or even a stranger for that matter. I take precautions. Hell, I even code-named my girlfriend, mainly at her wish. Somehow though we couldn't just agree to disagree. Ha, I wonder what they'll say about my latest addition, that is if they still read this. And if they do, then they now understand why I blog--to keep friends/family abreast of my activities, and now my whereabouts. If I could make followers out of them, then perhaps I successfully ~~won the fight~~ made my point.

I don't like the whole world seeing exactly where I am within 4 meters, so eventually I will restrict it to only publishing my current city. However, in just a week I will begin epic motorcycle journey from the hot Phoenix, AZ, to the adventurous Las Vegas, to the even hotter Death Valley, through the beautiful mountains of California, through the city of San Francisco and its enormous bridge, and finally to the legendary Laguna Seca racetrack in Monterey, CA. I want everyone that wants to know where I am to know exactly, within 4 meters, of where I am. Just imagine how useful this will become should something bad happen to us.

I've been using Latitude privately with some friends for a few weeks and have discovered a few things. First, its not perfect. The cell tower triangulation will usually locate within several hundred meters, which is good, but not useful when trying to find someone. Second, the GPS obviously only works when there is LOS (line of sight) to the GPS satellites, much like a car's GPS unit. For example, when I'm in work, it shows that I'm somewhere downtown, but not exactly where. Third, its quite useful when people are expecting one another, especially if travel gets delayed due to traffic. I'm guessing that Google will eventually tie it into Google Maps in such a way that it will give Latitude friends an ETA and even a planned route.

I intend to occasionally toggle between city-level and best available publishing depending upon what's going on. For instance, I'll likely publish best available location during my marathon so people may track my progress exactly. Stay tuned!

Freak out

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:47:00 +0000

I'm starting to panic. I move the majority of my belongings to DC this weekend, in less than 24 hours. There is so much to pack and I've procrastinated horribly. Here's an excerpt of an email sent to Adrian yesterday to make plans, thereby furthering my procrastination:

I keep telling myself I need to go home and pack. I even left work early yesterday to do that, among other things. I went to Merchants to trash 5 old race tires, stopped by two different banks, dumped over 60 beers from the keg and then returned it, rotated my tires, and wire-wheeled off the ugly-ass red caliper paint from my front calipers that was chipped anyway. After that, I went for a run, ate dinner, watched jeopardy, and went to the Byrd to see Duplicity. I didn't pack a single thing, a procrastination I'll surely regret tomorrow night and/or Saturday Morning. I could have at least disassembled my computer desk and moved it to the shed. I could have also boxed up some of my bedroom. Saturday Morning I am supposed to log a 10-mile run, which I hope to wake up super early for or try to do Friday night. Yeah right.

I'm starting to freak out now that its T-24 hours (I never understood the "t minus" until I took college physics). On top of that, I had a near HVAC emergency last night that kept me up until nearly 4 AM, which in turn got me to work super late. My attic AC unit does not have a proper drain for the drip-pan, so when it overflows it shuts off the AC and blanks out the thermostat. Luckily the home inspector warned me of this upon the purchase inspection. After I painstakingly scooped roughly 15-gallons out of the drip pan with a small paper coffee cup, the AC started back up. Thankfully it happened now and not when I'm on vacation in two weeks, else the tenants would have had to call a service man, for which I would have had to pay. Dodged a bullet!

Now I must resume my panic.

Moving on up, to DC

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Its been a while, a month and a half to be exact. Since then, lots of things have happened as you may have guessed. In my usual catch-up format, I'll list the items below. Where to begin...

1. I finished 7th in my age group at the Twisted Tire mountain bike race on 5/19, 5th in age group at the Urban Assault race on 5/16, and 9th at the Devil's Backbone Challenge on 5/23.

2. Attended the Greek Festival (twice), a Guster Concert, a few outings to Commercial Taphouse, some "driver training" at casa ahamos, and a few good movies lately.

3. I've had three autocross events since my last post. My RAW and PAX (Indexed) placements are as follows:

4/26: of 61 racers
5th RAW
2nd PAX

5/10: of 56 racers
10th RAW
6th PAX

5/31: of 66 racers
10th RAW
9th PAX

4. Miss Two and I did the Great Urban Race in DC. A time penalty put us past the 4 hour mark, giving us a "did not finish", but we finished in spirit and had a bunch of fun.

5. Marathon training started. Here is my fund raising website, which links to my personal training calendar, which contains information about each of my training activities including a links to a GPS mapping of each of my runs (or bike rides) (example 1, 2). Yes, I'm that tech savvy!

6. The shoulder doctor has determined there are no chips in my shoulder socket, which is excellent news. This means he can go in and just tighten up the ligaments via an arthroscopic procedure. Recurrence rate after this procedure, just 10%. I'm looking to have this done in Nov or Dec. I'll be in a sling for 4 weeks and not allowed any activities for 4 months.

7. I signed a lease on a row house in Capitol Hill in DC! In related news, I signed a lease to the future tenants of my house. I'm now a renter and a landlord.

8. Most of my moving plans are all laid out. My weekends are as follows:
May 24: clean garage. Check!
May 30: purge clothes. Check!
June 6-7: paint/prep new apt, paint/fix current house
June 13: going away party!
June 14: pack
June 20-21, 24: pack, move
June 27: leave for vacation
July 10: Start living in DC

9. One of my little brothers graduates high school this year. Shit! I feel like I just graduated high school, but sadly that was 8 years ago, nearly a decade. This getting old stuff isn't so hot. I hear it only gets worse.

Spring has arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Its time for a batch update seeing as how I've not updated since the 10K race.

1. I participated in the Fredericksburg Off-road Duathlon (FORD). The FORD is a 2.8 mile trail run, then a 10 mile mountain bike, then another 2.5 mile trail run. It was extremely challenging, so I didn't do so well. I injured my knee a few days prior while doing some trail running, and it seemed to have impacted my performance. Lets just hope it heals by the time I start my marathon training.

2. I've worked from the DC office all week. I'm dead set on moving up here, see the next few items for related details.

3. I've put my house on CL (craigslist) for rent. I've had multiple hits and have already scheduled two people to come by and look at the place.

4. My boss told me she was going to put in the paper-work to see what is involved from an administrative standpoint on the move.
(end move related items)

5. I recently spent a week and a half in Phoenix for work. I got to visit my uncle's family while out there, and he even gave me his Ninja 1100 for a few days! The trip was a good break from the monotony, but also served was a warm-weather tease.

6. Earlier this week, I taught my gf more geek-speak than she ever cared to know. She's picked it up quite well and her usage has been spot-on thus far.

7. I dislocated my shoulder a couple days ago while putting on my jacket. WTF. I blame the late arrival of Spring. As usual, it reduced me to a sobbing lump on the floor until I got it back in the socket. And when I did, it popped right back out. WTFx2! I suppose I shouldn't have moved it immediately after.

8. I'm signed up for a mountain bike race this Sunday, the Twisted Tire @ Poor Farm Park. Lets see if the shoulder (and knee) will cooperate.

9. I'm excited to get back on my motorcycle after having fixed a few oil-leaks that developed very late last riding season. Riding that Ninja was such a tease. It got me thinking I need to sell my bike and a bunch of other useless crap lying about my house and buy a real motorcycle. Then I come back to reality and realize I need to pay-off debt.

10. Muddy Buddy is fast approaching (May 2). I'm ready, shoulder AND knee willing. I'm guessing my Buddy (brother) is equally ready, less the gimp.

11. Next weekend I had the following on my calendar: Guster concert, dinner with my gf's parents, National Duathlon Festival (read: bike races), and finally my first Autocross of the season. Now my calendar reads "work :( FML". [edited: I removed a ton of text that was basically just me complaining. I don't want to get fired for blogging, so the text has been removed]

12. In the past week, I received two parking tickets in DC. One for $100 and one for $30. Sucks, but oh well, shit happens.

13. I went to the Washington Nationals game last night with my gf and her co-workers. It was the Nat's 1st win of the season. I guess since I'll be moving up here, I'm going to be a fan. I already found myself wanting to spit at the Phillies fans that were at the game. Perhaps it was just my hate toward Pennsylvania athletic teams.

14. After work today, I'm going to go for a run and waste the evening hours away on a patio somewhere drinking a few cold ones and enjoying the terrific weather. Saturday will consist of copious amounts of sun-soaking also.

Monument Ave 10K

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:50:00 +0000

Last year, I ran my first ever 10K. My only goal was to run the entire 10 kilometers. I was shooting for 1-hour finishing time, but ended up finishing 1:08. This year, after 10 weeks of training with Team in Training and raising money for LLS in honor and memory of Amanda A., I finished the 10K in 53:55! At the start of my training, I set a 60-minute goal. The Saturday before the race, I decided to up my goal to 55 minutes, a time I hovered around during my hard training sessions. I did it!

A special thanks to all those that supported me with donations and moral support!

I was so moved by the support, had so much fun, lost so much weight, and feel so good about myself that I've decided to run a marathon! I'm signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on October 25th! 26.2 miles is more than 4 times the distance of a 10K, so I have my work cut out for me! I have various other races lined up to help prepare for the marathon, a half-marathon sometime this summer, and the Army 10-miler on Oct 4. Again, I'm running with Team in Training. Again raising money for LLS. Again, in memory of Amanda.

Amanda A., you are missed

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:15:00 +0000

My good friend and racing companion, Adrian, suffered a one of the most terrible losses imaginable--his wife, Amanda, recently lost her battle with Leukemia. Amanda was such a wonderful person, she is already missed.

When I had a house-warming party, Adrian and Amanda brought a present with a hand-made "welcome home" card. I only noticed the lack of bar-code and branding after a few days. That is my favorite memory of her!

She had impeccable taste in movies, too. She loved to talk about movies and I quickly learned to take movie recommendations from her seriously. When her facebook page demanded people to see Slumdog, I told myself it would be the next movie I saw in the theater, and it was. Later that night, it stole all the Oscars.

It was evident that Amanda and Adrian were really, really happy together. They had a very healthy respect for one another as spouses-- I learned a lot from watching them. I mean, how many husbands are allowed to buy a car and turn it into a racecar!? Her response, "Psh... its HIS money; I don't care." During one of my visits to her while she was in the hospital, she asked me to simply keep Adrian occupied with car-stuff. She was that self-less.

Adrian blogged that Amanda didn't think she mattered to this world and thought she was destined to be forgotten. Well, I will certainly never forget her. My direct interactions with here, while limited (most of my time was spent with her husband), made long-lasting memories. She touched many lives. She mattered.

Week 1 in the District

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Last week was my first full work-week in the District, though having Monday off might disqualify it as a "full work week." I went up early on Friday for concert-date with Miss Two, to see Jason Mraz and Ben Folds. I've seen Mraz 4-5 times and Folds twice--both are spectacular performers. Folds stole the show from John Mayer the first time I saw him. Its a fact--I almost left, but decided it would be better to stay for a free Mayer show.

Saturday I went on a 5-mile run down and around the Washington Monument. Later Saturday, we attended a wedding of one of her ex-coworkers. It was really nice and must have cost a fortune. The reception was in a country club; open bar--enough said. I'm 100% certain that I drank too much. No hang-over, but definitely too much alcohol consumption had occurred. One noteworthy thing about the wedding was the beautiful library just outside the restrooms. I poked my head in and browsed about some of the books. Oh, and for some reason there was a conference room just off of the library. I thought it was odd to see a conference room in a country club's dining hall. Strange IMO. The cake was good, but had a berry glaze between the layers of cake--not my favorite. All in all, I had lots and lots of fun!

It was Restaurant Week in DC, which means a set 3-course meals for $20/$35 for lunch/dinner. Since we were both off of work on Monday, we enjoyed lunch at Poste. Poste "makes its home in the original sorting room of the 1841 General Post Office." It is now a part of Hotel Monaco. We both had the excellent crispy skin wild striped bass. DELICIOUS! I won't go into detail, even though I really like food, because I'd feel like any number of the other foodies in RVA. Yuck. After lunch we ventured across the street to the National Portrait Gallery to see the presidential portraits, a fitting way to spend President's Day. Miss Two discovered that her two favorite presidents had their first ladies' portraits hanging alongside their own. They were two of only three or four first lady portraits. On our way out, we stopped in the gift-shop of the museum where I discovered a book about the photography of Frank Gohlke. It turns out there was an exhibit of his work on display on the third floor. Hes not related, at least not to my grandfather's knowledge. I loved the exhibit because it had "Gohlke" all over it, Miss Two loved it because there was lots of photographs of the mid-west, a far-away land she calls home.

Tuesday morning I hopped on the metro and set off for work. I loved commuting via public transport! Tuesday night, we were so inspired by Restaurant Week that we made a delicious dinner for ourselves. Again, I won't go into deep detail, but it involved risotto and fish.

-Wednesday night, Miss Two joined me as I took my boss out to Cafe Promenade for more Restaurant Week goodness. For comparison, I ordered fish and risotto, the same pairing as the night prior. I'd hate (OK, I'd love) to say it, my risotto was better. Go figure.

-Our final restaurant week outing was Friday at The Monocle. It was with Miss Two and three of her friends. The host remarked that I had four dates while he he struggled to ever get a single date. The food, delicious obviously. The company, even better!

-Saturday and part of Sunday was occupied by painting. We finished the second coat in her bedroom and painted the hall and half of the living room (the only half that was to be painted). Saturday night, after she had given up, I stayed up until nearly 3 AM to get the job done. I absolutely hate painting, but once I get started, it seems my perfectionism kicks in and I force myself to do a good job which actually makes me like it. I'm dreading the day I paint my house, regardless of how badly I need some color, that is, until the day I actually paint my house at which point I'll love it.

-Sunday afternoon we went to see Slumdog Millionaire per a friend's recommendation. When this friend recommends movies, I go see them--no questions about it. Later that night, Slumdog (which I thought was AWESOME, BTW) won a ton of Oscars.

For my first week "living" in the District, I loved it. I'll be back the 3rd week of March. Can't wait!

Federal Taxes, received

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:36:00 +0000

I got my federal tax return today, the exact day the IRS predicted. Yummy.

Birthdays, DC next week.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to my friend M. I welcomed her to the quarter century club this morning as I dropper her off at the airport to go back to Wisconsin, AT 6 AM!

Another hbd! goes out to Abraham Lincoln. I'll give his monument a hbd! wave as I pass it on one of my 10k training runs in DC next week. That's right, the boss gave me the go-ahead to work from the DC office one week/month, like a trial period. I'll see how I like it for a whole week at a time decide, after a few months, if I really want to move up there.

Joaquin Poenix was either high out of his mind or just in character

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:39:00 +0000

You decide:

Am I on American Idol? No, Danny Gokey is.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:45:00 +0000

So there's a Danny Gokey that made it to Hollywood on the latest season of American Idol. Its not me, but you can find him; be sure to check out his late wife's foundation, Sophia's Heart Foundation. I'd love to take the bait and make an Office Space reference, but I'll refrain considering he is not a "no talent ass clown," the names are actually different, and he's yet to win a Grammy. While he may or may not be an ass clown, he certainly is talented and doesn't "suck."

My last name is obviously Gohlke. If you have a hard-to-pronounce last name, you know how often it gets butchered. These are the most popular mispronunciation: Golk, Go-hike, Go-lick, Go-licky, and occasionally Gokey. The American version is pronounced "Gol-key" while the German (proper?) version is "Golk-ah." I mostly tell people to either put a 'y' on the end or say it like "gold-key" without the 'd' to remember my name.

I wish the best of luck for Danny Gokey, especially with Sophia's Heart Foundation.

10k training, house-mates, last weekend update, this weekend plans

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:51:00 +0000

10k training:

My 10k training is going quite well. I've logged several runs keeping my goal pace.
1/31: 2.9 mi - 25:45
2/2: 5k - 28:50
2/3: 1 mi - 9:30 / weight lifting
2/5: 5k - under 30:00
2/7: 5 mi - 47:00
2/9: weight lifting

My run on 2/7 gave me two rather large blisters on my feet. Its clearly time to buy some proper non-cotton socks and some body glide stuff. I'm pretty sure I'm going to meet my goal this year and as the event nears, I may up my goal.

house-mates:
My 2.5 new house-mates have moved in. C is in the 2nd bedroom, A is in the tiny room, and J is part-time and stays on the futon in the bonus room on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. J commutes 2 hours for school and just needs a place to call home away from home. A is from the desert; he's kinda shy, so I don't know much about him. C has migrated to the river city from a town to the east for a job at our area's finest hospital.

last weekend:
Friday. Miss Two visited, so it was obviously a fun weekend--kicked off with pasta dinner at Robin Inn. House-mate C (HM-C) had a couple friends over. Me, Miss Two, ex-housemate (xHM-S), HM-C+2 all went to what seems to be the only bar that would let us in with a 20-year old in-tow. I thought this guy was in his late 20s, but apparently not. We drank a few, celebrating the gaining of employment by two of the participants and got the boot at 11 since the kid was with us. Then, all but the kid and his friend, went to New York Deli where we continued our celebrations. xHM-S drank too much and we all stumbled home around 1 AM.

Saturday. At about 6 AM, I rolled over in bed and somehow dislocated my shoulder. If you know me at all, or at least read my post about my last dislocation, you'll know that this happens 1-2 times a year, and usually in my sleep. I moaned and groaned for a little bit until I calmed myself, grabbed the headboard, guided with other hand's thumb, and gave a good tug/push. As it slipped back in, I cried with relief. An hour and ha half later, my alarm went off--it was time to get up for 10k training. I thought I snoozed the alarm, but I actually dismissed it. Thirty-minutes later, when I was supposed to be present at the training, I woke up again, terribly confused as my wall clock still read 7:30. After I remembered it had been running slow I checked my phone. I was late. I jumped out of bed, tossed on some running-wear, grabbed my car key as riding my bike was going to take too long, chugged a red-bull, and set off. I stepped out of my house and couldn't find my car. A few moments went by before I recalled having left it at New York Deli; I was in no shape to drive. I walked the 2.5 blocks, got in, and drove the other way 3 blocks. I did quite well running (see results above) which had led me to a new theory--I perform well after a bad night of drinking or illness. This remind me of one of my dad's stories. One morning he woke up with either a really bad hang-over or some flu-like symptoms, but crawled out of bed and decided to participate in his adult-league baseball game. Long story short: he ended up hitting a homerun, or a grand-slam, can't remember. It also reminds me of the time I won an autocross (that is TOP PAX time of ALL competitors). I woke up that morning on very little sleep, hung-over, sick, or any combination thereof and didn't want to go. I gathered what little energy I had and went anyway. In the end, it was very very well worth it! Based upon these experiences, I should get hammered and stay up all night before the 10k. Maybe I'll test my new theory during a 5k first ;). Later Saturday, I headed over to ahamos' for a few hours of productive Miata work, though I cut our wrenching short as Miss Two and I had a date to VCU's basketball homecoming game. They beat the snot out of William & Mary. Afterward, we had plans to go downtown and going dancing. As the day progressed and we grew tired, the plans slowly evolved into a night in with a movie, but we arrived home to a house-load of people. HM-C had 3 friends over, and they were all getting ready for a night on the town. Miss Two and I were easily persuaded. Unfortunately, we ended up back at New York Deli, which lacks good dancing. They'd need to remove the tables near the DJ booth and maybe get a new DJ before that place will be fun enough to have good dancing.

Sunday. The day of rest was exactly that. After a lazy morning, Miss Two and I had lunch outside at Coppola's. Then it was back to the house for some sun-basking for her while I de-winterized the motorcycle. This involved charging the battery, inflating the tires, lubing the chain, cleaning a bit, and getting the bike started. My oil leak is a bad as I remembered. I've got an attack plan for it. I'm going to first re-torque all the bolts around the leak before buying new gaskets and seals. If that doesn't resolve it, replace the gaskets and seals. After I finished with that work, I joined Miss Two for book club on the porch. Then we watched Burn After Reading while eating home-made risotto. She left shortly after.

this weekend:
I'm visiting her this weekend. Friday we've got a Jason Mraz and Ben Folds show. Saturday we're attending a wedding. Monday we both have off of work. I'm hoping my boss will let me work Tues-Fri from our DC office, but that's yet to be determined.

va taxes, received!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:18:00 +0000

I just received my VA tax refund directly deposited into my bank account, the fourth business day after filing them.

Super Bowl ringholder James Harrison should give up his ring!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Check out this video of that ass-hat James Harrison punching and shoving Aaron Francisco during the Super Bowl. That idiot should have been ejected from the game, and perhaps his super bowl ring forfeited and a hefty fine assessed, too. I agree with Madden, "He ought to be thrown out for that." As the above website points out, he clearly didn't learn anything from his anger management classes back in March '08 that he was required to attend for assaulting his girlfriend. 'Roid rage, I'm guessing.

On a related note, this year's super bowl was good, but I don't think it was as good as last year's! C'mon! The Giants came from a wild-card spot and beat the otherwise-undefeated Patriots! Do you remember David Tyree's 1.5-handed-catch against the helmet? In my opinion, it was superior to Santonio Holmes' end-zone catch. And last year's game wasn't plagued with yellow flags either (*nor Steelers' terrible towels for that matter).

Tax Time, 10k, weekend plans

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:06:00 +0000

I filed my taxes yesterday. Uncle Sam expects to direct deposit my return (yes, owning a home can have its benefits--even in this economy) by 2/13. The worst part is that I don't get to touch any of the money, thanks to my recent get out of debt efforts. The debt is not much, but its enough to be a bother.

My house-mate is moving out this weekend; two more are moving in. Thank God--it sure makes paying the mortgage easier. I might even have a third, part-time house-mate coming Tuesday. This person goes to school in the city, but lives about 2 hours away and needs a place to crash two days of the week.

Miss Two is visiting this weekend! Nothing special is planned, so I am guessing its going to be a nice, lazy weekend. Super Bowl is Sunday. Not that thrilled, but I hope the Cards win.

My 10k training is going extremely well. Last weekend I had my first Team in Training training. I ran for just over 2 miles, at which point my shins were killing me. I kept a very good pace, almost 40 seconds ahead of my goal. Sunday, I went for a very strenuous mountain bike ride. I did the full loop, Northbank (I even discovered an additional part I'd never done previously) -> Belle Isle (the foot-bridge on the south side of the island has been deemed unsafe to cross, so my only option was to go back along Northbank or carry the bike over all the rocks--so I hopped across) -> Buttermilk. I wimped out of wearing the clipless shoes and opted for toe-traps instead. It was a really good run, really cold, but really good! Wednesday, I ran on the treadmill at work, 5 whole kilometers in 29:47, a perfect pace for my 10k goal (sub-60 min). I currently weight 180.8, a total of 3 lbs lost since I started training. I likely ruined any previous progress by eating a monster piece of pizza at work, total gutbomb.

I lost my **** ipod. I think maybe someone stole it. I'm not one to lose or misplace things, unlike my brother who loses his keys daily. I had it Thursday on the way home from the Inauguration and Thursday or Friday at work. That's my last memory of it. I've checked all my jackets, my car, my entire house, and my entire office. Nada. Luckily, my Blackberry has awesome mp3 playing capabilities and a headphone jack. I don't have the coin to drop on another ipod currently, but it looks like I may have to soon. Oh well--its just music.

I really enjoy my job, my boss and coworkers, and my career in genera. I don't appreciate it as much as I should.

I went to the last two VCU basketball home games. Both of them were incredibly exciting. I plan to attend the rest of the home games, provided I too, am home.

Swearing-in Ceremony, got screwed!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:06:00 +0000

I didn’t get into the swearing-in ceremony, despite having a ticket!

Disappointed! My ticket was for the Blue (south) section. I waited for 4.5 hours, in line that moved inches at a time, with less than 3 hours of sleep, only to be turned away just before 12 noon. If only I hadn’t given away my 4 parade tickets, I could have skipped out of line and attended the parade. I ended up listening to a portion of the address in a coffee house a few blocks away.

I won't rant too much and I really don't want to give a minute by minute account, but I will say the a few things, namely about ways this could have been prevented--mostly if it were better managed. This is making news all around, too. Apparently 4000-5000 were in the same boat as me.

I’m terribly disappointed that:
1. people were breaking the line
2. there was no structure to the line, which allowed #1
3. there were no authorities monitoring the line to prevent #1
4. there were no TV monitors or speakers at the line--they clearly didn't expect people to be stuck outside of the gate
5. we didn’t get redirected to the vacant security checkpoint at the Orange gate when it was obvious the few thousand people in the Blue line weren’t going to get in
6. authorities later claimed that all tickets were honored, a comment they later rescinded

I’m happy that:
1. I was there!
2. I didn’t pay anything for the tickets
3. I had a weekend packed with other inaugural awesome activities (party, luncheon, concert, and ball)

Inaugural Activities (except swearing-in)

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Friday: I went home right after work to pack, hung out with house-mate and neighbor for a bit, drove to my parents' house to pickup the digital SLR camera, then headed up to DC to spend the Inauguration with Miss Two. I found a really good piece bear-bait (car traveling much faster, should get the ticket instead of me) in the form of an E36 BMW 3-series and made extremely good timing. Meanwhile, Miss Two picked up TWO (get it?) Inaugural Swearing-in tickets.

Saturday: Jogged 1 mile. Exchanged two parade tickets for two EMILY's List Luncheon tickets. Went out shoe shopping (haha!) for several hours. Returned back to get ready for a party, an event was put on by Planned Parenthood. "What!?", you ask. Yes, PP put on a party, why does this come as a surprise to so many people? In any event, it was at the Women's National Democratic Club. Open bar and light-fare, need I say more? Clubs were charging $30 cover, so this was a deal!

Sunday: Attended the EMILY's List Luncheon. Heard quite a few powerful women speak (Pelosi, Solis, Napolitano, Clinton).

Attended the Inaugural Concert at the National Mall. Saw and heard too many famous people to name them all, but my favorites were: Samuel L. Jackson, U2, Beyonce, oh and Barack Obama!

Walked for miles and miles to and from these events.

Monday: Had a nice, relaxing day. Jogged two miles around the Capitol and back. Got ready for and attended the Black Tie & Boots Ball hosted by the Texas State Society. Danced (poorly, I might add) to some good country music. The ball was a very high-end event and was a lot of a fun, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. We spent 2 hours getting there, over 1 hour in coat check lines, and 2 hours returning home to Capitol Hill. All in all, it was lots and lots of fun, but I'm just not sure I'd do it again.

Tuesday: see my next blog post, but it basically goes like this: I attended the swearing-in ceremony of the 44th President of America, Barack Obama. I won't go into detail as to not ruin the tone of this email :)

new year blog catch-up / GOING TO THE INAUGURATION!

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:01:00 +0000

The holidays are over. Is this a good thing or bad thing? I had an excellent Christmas vacation that all started with at Giants game. Miss Two's friend scored Miss Two and me two tickets to the Giants/Panthers game. It was literally freezing cold (25 F), but we had a blast--especially because THE GIANTS WON THE GAME IN OVERTIME to secure home-field throughout the playoffs. Too bad their playoff journey ended when the Eagles beat them last weekend! I have two Eagle-fan brothers and 1 Eagle-fan nephew. I distinctly remember making the remark to my 7-year old nephew, "The Eagles are not as good as the Giants because they didn't even make the playoffs." They ended up beating the Giants in the playoffs, which they weren't even supposed to make. Fuck me! I love when wild-card teams do well in the playoffs (Giants last year), but I just can't get behind the Eagles on this one, sorry.

From the period of Thanksgiving to New Years, I spent 5 weekends in NJ, all while working in Richmond during the week. The reasons are as follows: 1. Thanksgiving 2. Giants Game (vs Eagles) 3. Rockettes Show 4. Giants Game/Christmas 5. (stayed until) Weekend before New Year's.

I am training for the Monument Ave 10k. I signed up with Team in Training through work. Team in Training benefits Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have a web-page setup to take donations and so far, I've raised more than my $500 goal. A special thanks to all that donated!

My 10k goal this year is under 60 minutes. Last year, my first year participating, I completed the 6.2 miles in 1:08. That means I have to shave off 8 minutes, more than 10%! So needless to say, my training should be difficult--I'm just not a runnter. I am going to log my weight, my training, and blood pressure semi-daily (what a geek!) on the site.

Things to look for in '09... I'm thinking of moving out of Richmond. This is something I've wanted to do ever since actually moving into Richmond. Once I got a taste of the city life-style, I've wanted to live in a bigger city. Since I'm single and young, I figure now's the time! So don't be surprised if this blog is written from a different city in one year's time. I'd like to think that like a salmon, I'd come back to RVA spawn. I really like the River City, but I just want out for a bit. Also in '09 I'll be taking part in some athletic events (see next section). I also hope to take at least 2 vacations, funds permitting.

I setup a Google calendar the other day to keep track of the automotive and athletic events I'd like to do this year. The following items are on it:
3/28 - Monument Ave 10k (10k run race)
4/11 - Fredericksburg Off-Road Duathlon #1 (F.O.R.D.) (8 or 17 mi bike/run)
5/03 - Muddy Buddy (6-7 mi bike/run, with a buddy-- c'mon GLENN!)
7/19 - Battle at Burke Farm MTB Race (6, 12, or 18-mi bike race)
9/12 - Fredericksburg Off-Road Duathlon #1 (F.O.R.D.) (8 or 17 mi bike/run)
(no autocross events have been released yet)
Should be exciting. I'm praying for an injury-free season!

Vacations. I have confirmed my July motorcycle trip from Phoenix, AZ to Laguna SECA in July. Now I just need to get used to riding again, and I need to buy air-fare. I'd love to travel out of the country this year, but that might have to wait until '10.

Looking ahead to the next several days, I'll be in Washington DC for the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama! Miss Two thinks she has a lock on some swearing-in ceremony tickets. If that's the case, I'll be selling or giving away my Inaugural parade tickets. Monday night, we'll be attending the Black Tie and Boots Ball! I seriously can't wait!

I've also got two vacant rooms in my house. Want to rent?

The Day Richmond's blogs went dark

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:27:00 +0000

The only problem with a couple of guys starting up all the cool local blogs/news sites is that when something happens with the hosting, it all goes to shit and the Richmond online community goes dark.

rvanews.com
rvablogs.com
wotbn.net
pharrout.com

Get with it guys! Now I have to read Jack, which one shouldn't do first thing in the morning.

Update: all is back to normal. /golfclap

Pre-Birthday Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:45:00 +0000

My Birthday weekend started with a major party at my house. I had prepared for it all week cleaning and straightening bit by bit. Finally, this is what my back room looked like at showtime:

Based on my final count 35 invited guests showed up, and the real headcount was over 50 once my neighbor's party came to crash mine. I don't think at any point more than 25 were there. It was great to catch up with those I've not seen for so long (Ricky, Chris K) This was by far, the largest shin-dig I've hosted. There was lots of drinking, lots of dancing, and lots of warmth coming from the fire-pit out back. My favorite part was when my brother showed up, as I hadn't seen him in what felt like months, but was probably just a few weeks. Oh, and by then I had stopped playing host and started playing birthday boy. I think I got to bed around 5 AM!

Naturally, our departure to NYC was delayed considerably. I think Miss Two and I hit the road at 1 PM. It took us three hours to get to the top of DC, a journey that should take no more than two hours. I-95 was grid-locked North of F-berg, so I detoured off to Rt. 1, which was also grid-locked as a tractor trailer had broken down in the right lane. Fudge! Finally, I got back to 95 and it was gridlocked again (still?). Now, I'm not particularly proud of what I have to say next, but here goes: I ended up following some fools (geniuses?) a mile or two on the shoulder. This saved at least 20 minutes of what would've been total grid-lock in NoVA. I was actually awaiting an HOV emergency entrance as they had opened the HOV lane as we were sitting in the mess, but we got through the traffic before hitting an opening. "Everyone else was doing it". Then as luck would have it, DC-295 was entirely shut down. WTF!? After battling what turned out to be traffic for the shut-down highway, we had to detour along surface streets about 10 miles in DC to get to the next entrance. Shesh! After those four 20-minute delays, it was smooth sailing.

Its a good thing I crept up the shoulder during that traffic because we had just enough time to get to NJ, get ready, drive in the city, park, and walk a few blocks, get inside, Radio City Music Hall, take a few pictures, get a drink, and sit down before the show began. The show was absolutely amazing! My favorite part is when the cannon shoots the Rockette's and they all fall down.

After the show, we checked out Rockefeller Center for the tree and ice rink, Time Sq, and had a brew in a bar around those parts.

Sunday we woke up as early as possible and spent the entire day in the City. We stopped by Liberty Park to see the Statue of Liberty, rode a horse carriage ride through Central park, went window shopping down 5th Ave, went back to Rockefeller Center, and took a bike taxi to Grand Central Station. The City is really cool during the holiday season.

And if that weren't enough, I'm headed back to NJ tomorrow for a week! Giants game Sunday, work from "home" Monday-Wednesday, lots of Christmas Wed-Thur, possible Snowboarding Fri or Sat, and home Sat or Sun! That would mark the 4th and 5th Saturday in NJ. I wonder if my grandma is going to start charging me rent.

hbd! to me

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:28:00 +0000

Its my birthday and I will be in a conference for work if I want to, and even if I don't!

Warranty: done

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Exactly 3 years 6 months and 12 days after picking up my car I ticked 50,000 miles and my warranty has expired.

I averaged 14k miles per year total.
I put 15k mi on the car 6 months, leaving 11.5k mi/yr. in the last 3 years.
I put 26k mi on the car 12 months, leaving 9.6k mi/yr. in the last 2.5 years.
I'd have to look back at service records to get the rest of the data as I stopped keeping track. I suppose moving into the city really helped.

Non-ironic post filled with irony

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:21:00 +0000

I find that my blog postings, or lack thereof, are particularly ironic. I've mentioned before that I don't blog whenever my life is filled with blog-worthy events or feelings. Perhaps because of the time required, but I think its more because I can't do the experience justice with my words. Others excel really well at this, but not me. Maybe I could better keep tabs on my life with a series of audio clips of me yelling in excitement, or laughing relentlessly, or maybe even photo blog.

So that said, here is yet another super update.

I believe I left off with the new roommate, yes. We'll call him housemate #2, or just #2 for short; the first once is obviously housemate #1. I use housemate because the term roommate is not quite accurate. #2 is a good guy. His style can best be described by my first interaction with him. When I picked him up from the airport, he was standing there waiting for me with just a messenger bag and a box of bike parts. It was all he had as he left everything else behind in Washington (state, that is). I admire how thrifty he can be. Sometimes its too much for me, but its showing me just how far someone can stretch some cash. And in this economy, that's not a bad tip to know. Perhaps the funniest interaction we've had is when I was packing my car for a trip to Jersey for Thanksgiving he looked at me and asked if I planned on returning, noting that he showed up to live for several months with fewer items.

I worked remotely the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in the comfort of my grandmother's living room. I think I may have been more productive in that environment than in my office, oddly. Thursday, I enjoyed good family times and a remarkably delicious turkey dinner. I regret not helping in the preparation of the feast--I feel that I missed a perfect opportunity to learn a cooking tip or two from my mother and grandmother. I've been considering taking cooking classes recently, for I like cooking but just suck at it.

On Black Friday, I took my brothers into the city (NYC) for some walking about. I had fun, but I can't say I'd do it again. I would've rather gone into the city for the parade the day prior.

Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was to go out fishing with two of my uncles on their boat. It was an awkward morning laced with several set backs, all of which turned out to just foreshadow the boat actually breaking down (steering column linkage broke) before leaving the slip. It was probably for the better because my uncle and I could then spend the day preparing for the next day's activities.

Sunday morning, at the crack of dawn, my uncle and I set off for Landover, MD, home of the Washington Redskins, for their bout with the New York Giants. I purchased two tickets off of a coworker who had season tickets. They turned out to be excellent seats, 10th row! We left NJ around 6 AM and arrived to our tailgating location by 9:30 AM ON THE SUNDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING! I was surprised at the lack of traffic, especially the lack of stupid traffic since it rained the entire journey and the entire day for that matter. Allow me to list the content of my car for the trip: Me, Uncle, my luggage for a week, winter clothes for the game, a folding table, a folding chair, a small tailgate-grill, a medium size cooler, and a weekender tent. All the items picture below fit with me in my MINI!

Giants won! I can tell you that I was cold, wet, and miserably having the time of my life! See the bold text in introduction for an brief explanation of the game itself.

Introducing Miss Two. This is the nickname for a person I've been seeing. I may have previously used "we" or "us". I use the nickname Miss Two for a variety of reasons including birth date relative to mine, her address, her job, her telephone number, and a variety of other reasons. I do not use this nickname to represent placement, position, or order of any kind.

Monday I spent the most amazing day with Miss Two in Washington DC. We went to the National Museum of American History, saw a rare planetary clustering, and toured the monuments. Again, please refer to the bold text in the introduction. It was all rather romantic, inspiring, cold, and fun!

Fast forward nearly a week and I get invited to New Jersey for another Giants game! This time against the Philadelphia Eagles. We (the Giants) lost the game. The boys in Blue just didn't show up to play. The last time I was in Giants Stadium, the game was against the Eagles several years ago--maybe '04. We lost then, too. Ironically, Plaxico Burress was the players pictured on the ticket for this game, yet was suspended from play due to a nightclub (self-) shooting incident. He has been the center of media attention for the past week. Hilarious! I thank my uncle for the tickets! All in all, it sucks that the G-men lost, but it was still worth the trip. And I got to stop by and have dinner with Miss Two to boot.

I've been invited to what sounds like an awesome way to spend a July 4th. My Uncle invited me to fly out to Phoenix, hop on a motorcycle, and bike/camp a 900+ mile ride to Laguna Seca, a famous racetrack near Monterey, CA. I'm about 80% sure I'll do it. My options are to ride his Ninja 1100 or rent a BMW. Hmm... I hope this trip feeds two deep desires--to drive a motorcycle cross country, and to bicycle/camp or hike/camp a weekend-long trip!

Next week I take to the highway again, NJ bound. It will mark the third Saturday in a row sleeping in NJ. Miss Two and I are seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular show. I'm excited!

Thats all for now. Stay tuned next week for my post explaining nothing about the Rockette's show!