Today's Workouts

11 miles running with some hill repeats thrown in for fun.

GOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!

Eric isn't allowed outside by himself. So he plays soccer in the bathroom.

Yeah, and no the toilet hadn't been flushed for awhile.

If it's the 20th of the Month

It must be date night. 19 year and 5 month anniversary today. Dinner at a local owned 'regular guy' restaurant. I had wings and an Italian salad. Hunny had cream of crab soup and a crab melt sandwich. Dessert later at home.

Today's Workouts

5.5 mile run at lunch time.

Talk About Killer Boobs

FOUNTAIN, Colorado (AP) -- A Colorado teenager hired men to kill his mother so he could use her money to get breast implants for his girlfriend, police said.
Nikita Lee Weis, 18, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, said Fountain Deputy Police Chief Mike Barnett.
Weis' mother, Hyun Weis, was attacked Thursday with a small wooden baseball bat at her home but escaped, authorities said. She was released Friday from a hospital.
His girlfriend, Sophia Nicole Alsept, and two men police said he hired, Juan Antonio Velez Gonzalez, 18, and Brandon Michael Soroka, 19, were also arrested on the charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Barnett said Weis wanted to sell his mother's car and use money in her bank accounts to pay for breast implants for Alsept, 21.

Batting for Breasts. I've heard of batathons for different charities but this is taking it to the extreme.

Most guys like their women to have a nice figure. But killing someone for it?! Is it really worth facing life in prison? Couldn't they have dealt drugs like any other self-respecting scum-bag would have?

How does this conversation between boyfriend and girlfriend go?

GF – I wish I had a bigger chest

BF – Yeah me too. I mean I wish yours was bigger too, mines fine. Those 5 push-ups I do each morning are really helping out.

GF – But new boobs cost so much. It’s not like I’m Christine Applegate and have lots of money.

BF – I’ve got enough dough that I could pay for one, but then you’d be lopsided. Maybe we could wait for a buy one get one free sale like the grocery stores have.

GF – I don’t want to wait, I want them now. Hey my mom has a little bit of money saved and she’s got that ’97 Dodge Neon that’s pretty cool.

BF – So what. You want to steal her money and her car and sell it? We might get in trouble if she reported us.

GF – you’re right, let’s kill her instead and then I’ll inherit everything.

BF – cool that’s a much better plan. I know these guys I used to play baseball with who are looking for work….


And don’t worry about my MIL, she’s safe. I’m not going to go all ‘Babe Ruth’ on her with a bat. Sam is perfect just the way she is….

Silly Sunday

For Sam

Long Live Duckie


It's not as bad in Spanish

Today's Workouts

A 30 miles long run (very long run). My longest run ever. Let me just say that 30 miles is a pretty long way to run. First 5 miles my legs were sore and tight then they loosened up. The next 20 miles were good. The last 5 miles were a bit tough as I was getting that beat-up tired feeling. Nice cool weather for the run...no over-heating issues.

When Black Friday Comes

"When Black Friday comes

I'll stand down by the door

And catch the grey men when they

Dive from the fourteenth floor

When Black Friday comes

I'll collect everything I'm owed

And before my friends find out

I'll be on the road

When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be

Don't let it fall on me."

Stuff Catholics Like - Votive Candles

Lighting votive candles in front of an altar or statue is a long standing Catholic tradition.

Most Catholics have lit a votive candle at some point in their life. It may have been when they were young and just used it as an excuse to play with matches (not that my kids would ever do that) or maybe when they were older at a funeral or wedding.

They are lit for many different reasons; for the dead, the living, a sick pet, for a son to get a job and move out of the basement, to get rid of a daughters creepy Goth boyfriend, and that oldie but goodie - a special intention held in the silence of my heart.

The standard procedure is to make a small suggestion donation, light the candle, and then kneel down and say a prayer for the intention desired.

I have know idea what all the colors are for...maybe San Francisco churches

A good picture of Votive Candles in action

From Newadvent.org

Candles were, and are, commonly used to burn before shrines towards which the faithful wish to show special devotion. The candle burning its life out before a statue is no doubt felt in some ill-defined way to be symbolical of prayer and sacrifice. A curious medieval practice was that of offering at any favored shrine a candle or a number of candles equaling in measurement the height of the persons for whom some favor was asked. This was called "measuring to" such or such a saint. The practice can be traced back to the time of St. Radegund (d.587) and later right through the Middle Ages. It was especially common in England and the North of France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Oil Hits a 15 Month Low

Time to fill up the 15 passenger van and Suburban. Might actually be able to fill them up now for less than $200 total. Never thought I'd be excited about sub-$3.00 gas. It's down to $2.85 here.

Today's Workouts

10.5 mile run

Foxy and Smart - You Got it All Babe

We already knew you were healthier from a previous post

But now this new study just came out...

Curvy women are cleverer too

It was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too.

The study found that women with large hips and small waists are more intelligent than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies.


So not only are you totally hot, you are also brilliant, and because of you so are the kids.

I guess Alexandria should call you and thank you for the 1400 she got on her SAT. She owes it all to your hips. If I had married some scrawny Ally McBeal type who looks like they haven't had a good meal since the stock market was doing well, Alex would be practicing saying: "would you like fries with that order?" or "would you like a smiley-face sticker" instead of being in her 3rd year of college at age 18.

I'm just glad all that Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch that I've bought you over the years wasn't a waste of money. I'd hate to think I was keeping those Spotted-Owl-Kissers in business just for the yummy factor of their products.

I'm not sure how this all correlates with all the people that seem to have their brains in their hind parts. Does it just apply to us regular folks who have their brains up top in their melon? Obviously we will need a government funded study to figure this one out.




There are always exceptions

Today's Workouts

10 miles running yesterday and 4 miles today. Legs are starting to come around from the race.

It's Hard Being a Little Kid

9:30 PM - Big kids downstairs watching TV - Falling asleep on the stairs while trying to see what's going on - Don't grow up to fast Mary

It's Got to be the In-Laws' Irish Showing Through Again

Sam and I went to the grocery store together the other morning and left Barbara (12) in charge. Here is the text message (typo's and all) she sent us about Joey (10).

"Jo keeps callin me weener and wouldn't let me in the playroom"

Politics Test

Found this over at Faith and Family

My results are listed below and they actually came out about how I expected. It explains my man-crush on Ron Paul

You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (75% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

26.2 Miles of Fun

Baltimore Marathon – October 11, 2008

This race is only around 30 minutes from my house and a well run race. They also cap the marathon field at a reasonable amount (4,000). I refuse to do any race that has over 5,000 runners. I really don’t like crowds. UA is the sponsor so you get a nice long-sleeve tech shirt and a cool medal with a Maryland Blue Crab on it. There is also a 4-person relay-team option for the marathon, a ½ marathon, a 5k and a kids fun run going on the same morning. A very inclusive bunch is in charge of this race. All told there are around 20,000 runners doing the various runs. I did this run in ’05. I was well trained for that race but got sick the day before. I did the race anyway. I loaded up on Advil and went for it. I finished it but my time was a sucktacular 4:05:55. About 20-25 minutes off what I had hoped. I felt miserable from about mile 15 on.

The race starts and finishes around the Orioles and Ravens stadiums. The Ravens stadium is opened up before the race so people can use the restrooms. The day was beautiful, around 55 at the 8am start and 70 by noon. Sunny, no clouds and a slight breeze. The family had stuff going on that morning, hometown 5k. 3 of the kids ran the 5k and 2 ran the 1 mile fun run. So I went up there by myself. Which is no big deal since my plan was to do this race as a training run for the JFK 50 miler next month. I used this race as a dress rehearsal for the big race next month. I tested out a new fanny-pack water bottle holder thingy. And I tested out my nutrition plan. Both worked well. But basically I just wanted to run it and enjoy the day. I was worried that if I raced it my legs would be trashed for a few weeks. So I did not take it easy this week so my legs would be tired for the race. I also have a 12 mile run on the schedule for tomorrow so I really needed to behave myself. I’m guessing I’m in around 3:35-3:40 marathon shape right now. So I figured I’d try and run it somewhere around 3:50 (8:37 per mile pace) or so. That would be a personal best by a few minutes for me and not wipe me out.

Lined up like cattle with the rest of the runners around 7:45. It was a little brisk but nothing bad. I wore shorts and a sleeve-less top and was fine. Lots of overdressed people at the start; long-sleeves, running tights, hats, gloves etc…some of these people were going to be hot later on. The race started on time and we inched our way towards the start line like a bunch of lemmings heading off a cliff. I didn’t record my mile splits but I did check the first few to make sure I was going at the right pace. My first mile was 9:20. A little slow but excepted since I had to weave my way through slower people who lined up way too far in front for their ability. Here’s a guideline to know if you lined up correctly: if you are planning to walk most of the race and finish in 6+ hours and you see Kenyans all around you, you are probably too far up front. Scoot back a bit. The second mile was also slow cause I had to go tinkle. Coffee, water and sports drink before the race will do that to you. Towards the end of mile two I finally saw a tree (finding trees is an issue in the city). Made a dash for it, along with about a dozen other guys. It was a large pine tree so there was room for all. Guys were coming and going, I imagine that poor tree will be dead soon. Note: ladies if you are going to go to the bathroom in the trees too, wearing tights that have to be pulled down might not be the most modest option.

The rest of the miles were pretty uneventful. I never felt bad during the race which was nice for a change. Lots of spectators cheering on the course. A few bands playing. Ran through some rough neighborhoods with their crack-houses (no I didn’t stop, although some meth might have improved my time). We ran around Fort McHenry and also had a 1.5 mile lap around a beautiful lake. The last mile was my fastest. I blame that on the crowds. Coming back down into the finish area I was feeling pretty good. The crowds were thick and rowdy and music was blasting so I picked up the pace. Plus I like passing people. I crossed the finishing line, grabbed my finishers medal and a few snacks and water and then jogged to my car. I was home 30 minutes later.

Things I saw: old dude running in a Tux, Ravens Cheerleaders relay team, guy running while juggling 6 balls, dude running while skipping rope, tall very pale and skinny guy wearing nothing but a blue Speedo with HOT written on his rear-end. For the record, I beat all but weirdo Speedo guy.

So I’m pleased with the results especially considering the following: I didn’t taper for the race, I just did my normal workouts. The first 2 miles were slow. I stopped every 4 miles to refill my water bottle.
No stress leading up to the race, I didn’t start checking the 10-day forecast 15 days in advance and I actually slept well the night before. Plus all my training as been slow miles, granted lots of those slow miles, but slow none the less. I figure with some faster training and some rest before the race, I can take off even more time next year.

Final results: 3:46:56. 6 minutes faster than my previous best marathon time back in ‘03.
574th out of 3,114 finishers
91st out of 287 in my age group (40-44)
2nd out of 11 from my home town. I knew if I kept narrowing down the results I’d get a podium spot.

For you running stat geeks here are my times and heart rate averages for this year’s race and the disaster 3 years ago.

2005 – time 4:05:55 average heart rate 166 bpm
2008 – time 3:46:56 average heart rate 155 bpm

So 19 minutes faster this year and avg hr down 11 beats per minute. Even taking in to the account that I’m 3 years older, it’s nice to go faster and work less.

Silly Sunday

Today's Workouts

26.2 mile trot at the Baltimore Marathon. Longer boring race report to be posted in the next few days...consider yourself warned.

Investment Strategy

If you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have
$42 left.
With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left.
With Fannie or Freddie, you would have less than $5 left.
But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of
the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you
would have had $214.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink
heavily and recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg.....


Ok even with the increase in the price of aluminum, I'm sure the $214 figure is high, but you get the point.