The Half & The 5K

Two weekends ago the wife and her sister ran a Half Marathon in Dallas. That's 13.1 miles! Both of them only got about halfway through their training because they both got sick. Going into the race the most they had run was about 6 miles. They decided to wing it (and because I told her that she had already paid so she had to run) and just see how far they could go. They ended up running the whole thing and finished without any problems. I told the wife her goals were: 1. finish, 2. beat someone, anyone. She accomplished both! I held up my end of the deal and bought her a 13.1 mile sticker to put on her car (the real reason why she wanted to run in the first place :))


Last weekend for the second year in a row I let her talk me into running the OCU Race With the Stars 5K. Last year we had been playing soccer a bit so we were in a little bit of running shape. This time around, the last time I ran was at last year's 5k. On Tuesday before the race I went on the elliptical for a bit, and on Wednesday I actually ran around the neighborhood. Thursday and Friday were spent praying that my legs would stop hurting. By race day I was feeling ok. The wife and I started off running together but her feet were hurting from running the Half the weekend before so we were going pretty slow. About 1.5k into the run she made me leave her alone and run off as fast as I wanted (usually I let her set the pace so that I don't pass out). I've come to realize that starting slow is an awesome strategy. For the rest of the race I was passing all the other slow people! That makes you feel like you are actually doing/accomplishing something. If I was going a normal pace, I would of been ahead of all those people to begin with and would of never of gotten to pass them. Another thing I learned, on your ipod, listen to live versions of songs. It sounds like everyone is cheering for you! I finished the race right at 29 minutes (I passed a chubby guy about 10 yards from the finish line, no way I was gonna let him beat me) the wife got frustrated with her feet hurting and the pace she was going, so she toughed it out and finished around 30 minutes. Last year we ran it at 29:06 and she finished in the top 5 of her age group. This time 3 of the top 5 in my age were in the top 5 for the whole race and the 5th place of hers ran in 28:11. No trophies for us this year. Seeing how I improved my time, I'm going to stick to the same training regime and take the rest of the year off.

The Door Handles

When we moved into the house about a year ago, I was given a two-door, three-shelf cabinet that I have since hung in the garage. The cabinet didn't have door handles. I had some thumb tacks stuck in it so I could open the doors, but no real handles. Last week, for some reason, I think because I was just surfing around ebay (a dangerous habit to get into) I had an idea. I'd buy some Mustang emblems that were supposed to go on the front fenders of old Mustangs and make handles out of them. Here is the result, looks pretty decent I think.

The Nike Swoosh

The Swoosh, that's all I'm seeing as I watch Game 2. I don't remember seeing the Swoosh so much during Game 1, but this game, it's hard to find a player that doesn't have the Swoosh peeking out from his undershirt. That's got to be better than buying a commercial any day. What did Nike give up, 50-100 shirts? And what did they get in return? Free advertising for the duration of the game and any video or photos of this game will have the Swoosh predominately displayed for the rest of time. Nicely done, Nike Marketing People, nicely done.





Sidenote: I was going to ask how greasy is Chase Utley's hair but that was already covered here

The Tacos

Went to one of my new favorites places today, Big Truck Tacos. Pretty good tacos! They also have a trailer that they take out, you know, like a street vendor. I like any restaurant that has a street vendor truck. Anyways, Big Truck Tacos is good stuff, a little pricey but not too terrible. Luckily, I had a free taco and drink that Rumble gave me last time I was there. If you are a hipster/indie type you'll really like this place, you'll see many of your fellow brethren there.

The NBA started last night! And the Celtics won! And the Thunder are up 17 at halftime... wow, good things this year. Watch and see.

And go Yanks

The Big Store

Today, October 27, 2009 I went to the store, and they had CHRISTMAS stuff out already! Are you kidding me?!

The TShirt, Race for the Cure

The front:


The back:

The Way They Get You Vol. 3

My Father-in-law sent this in.

I have been waiting all summer for chlorine tablets for the pool to go on sale. They’re crazy expensive for what you get, so I’ve waited patiently for a sale. But because they are a staple that you have to have, they never put them on sale. But finally, end of season, recession, etc., etc., I see a coupon for 40% off chlorine tablets. I rush to the store to stock up and the store manager points out that the 40% off is only good on the 7# buckets; it does not work for the usual 35# buckets most people get. So I say OK, what’s the discounted price for the 7# buckets? If it makes sense I’ll just buy a few of those instead of one big bucket. The price per pound of chlorine you were actually getting AFTER the 40% off on the 7# buckets was $3.46/lb. The REGULAR (ie. exorbitant) price on the 35# bucket is $2.63/lb. Say it with me…………….”And that’s how they get you!” 40% off and it’s still 32% higher than “regular” price!