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Month: August 2013

And the bass keep runnin’ runnin’, and runnin’ runnin’…

And the bass keep runnin’ runnin’, and runnin’ runnin’…

I started what I hope to be a jogging regiment during my lunch hour today.  My rational brain tells me it went better than expected, I mean I ran 2.9 miles on my first time out. My competitive brain tells me it was a terrible outing – 10 minute miles, I should be running 5 minute miles!

This is all prompted because I finally went and got my “numbers”. You know, blood pressure, sugar levels, cholesterol, BMI. I knew the BMI would be fine. I’ve always been on the thin side. I had a sneaking suspicion about that cholesterol though, and I was correct. Time to exercise.

I have jogged in the past, but it never really stuck. My Dad is a jogger. Has been since I was a kid. I always admired that. My wife and I also used to jog together, before the kids. Heck, she ran cross country in college. But I could never really motivate myself to stick with jogging. I never really had a reason, I guess.

But I think I’m ready now. I mean, I do want to have a healthy heart after all. And I like the idea of being a part of the running community. This is a thing I’ve noticed about myself. I have a thing for being a part of a group based on an activity or hobby. I have writing, and blogging, and arcade games, and comic books, and hockey. These are groups of which I’m a member. The funny thing about it, though, is while I’m a member of all of these groups I wouldn’t consider myself a regular in any of them. I have always said I’m pretty good at a lot of things, but great at nothing.

I look forward to being good at running.

Technology is on my side. My wife and I purchased smart phones for the first time this summer. I picked up a Galaxy S4. It’s a pretty cool device with a bevy of free exercise apps. One such app is My Tracks by Google. It gives me so much data during a run, including distance and how fast  (or slow) I’m running. It brings joy to this numbers geek’s heart.

Here’s the data for my first run. I plan on posting this data, for myself and anybody else interested in tracking my progress. Excelsior!

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: 1st R U N
Activity type: street running
Description: –
Total distance: 4.64 km (2.9 mi)
Total time: 28:32
Moving time: 28:20
Average speed: 9.76 km/h (6.1 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 9.84 km/h (6.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.94 km/h (6.8 mi/h)
Average pace: 6:09 min/km (9:53 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 6:06 min/km (9:49 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5:29 min/km (8:50 min/mi)
Max elevation: 316 m (1037 ft)
Min elevation: 279 m (916 ft)
Elevation gain: 66 m (216 ft)
Max grade: 9 %
Min grade: -11 %
Recorded: 8/19/2013 11:49AM

The Loveliest Short Story You Will Read Today Was Published on Craigslist – Chris Heller – The Atlantic

The Loveliest Short Story You Will Read Today Was Published on Craigslist – Chris Heller – The Atlantic

On Tuesday evening, “Missed Connection” appeared as a personal listing on Brooklyns corner of the website. It begins like most of these confessions do:I saw you on the Manhattan-bound Brooklyn Q train.I was wearing a blue-striped t-shirt and a pair of maroon pants. You were wearing a vintage red skirt and a smart white blouse.

via The Loveliest Short Story You Will Read Today Was Published on Craigslist – Chris Heller – The Atlantic.

This was bittersweet and amazing. You should check it out.