Posts by gilt

Long Run Pace:  Get a heart rate monitor... I use a combination of heart rate and time to determine my "pace"... also on the day of the race the heart rate monitor allows you to gauge better how you're doing with the temp/humidity/anxiety/excitement/how much sleep you got/how you hydrated the two days before/ how much you ate the day before etc...

First Few Miles:  Run them at your race pace... too often newbies run too fast to keep up with the crowd and later on in the race when they need that energy for the last 3 miles... IT.AIN'T.THERE.  Again... heart rate monitors will keep you at from going off the rails.

Peeing:  I agree that if you can wait until the half marathon people turn off then do so... and then the lines aren't that long at all... pee when you need to... if you pass a port a pot and you gotta go... go!  Don't hold it!  You can lose those few hundred ml and be lighter (lol).

Walking:  I run 10 and I walk 1... always have and always will...  My endurance is greater and I can maintain a faster pace overall with the little walk.  It also allows me to work out stiffness from running.

Caffine:  If you haven't been drinking caffinated beverages/eating foods with caffine in them... DO NOT START THE DAY OF YOUR RACE!!!!  If you want to try caffine out do so earlier in your training.  Introducing caffine on race day may or may not be a recipe for disaster but why risk it after months of training.

Ipod:  As long as you know the consequences of having your Ipod and you are aware of your surroundings AND MOST IMPORTANTLY you can still observe proper race etiquette... fill your boots.

Race belt:  Do you train with your belt?  Do you know how many water stations are along the way?  Do you have other pockets to carry your stuff?  I run with the my belt because I use a lot of water on the course but it is up to you... I would for your first race... and most importantly carry your cell because if you run into trouble 911 isn't far away.

Time Goal:  While using your average pace on the 20 miler training run may be a good indicator of your performance I wouldn't worry too much about finishing time.  Think of it this way... first race is a personal best.  Aim for something realistic and if you can beat it... AWESOME!  If you meet it... AWESOME!  If you take longer... AWESOME!  Just getting your butt to the start line and then over the finish line is challenge enough.  Worry about your second marathon time!

Talking:  Some people hit it off while running... I always make running friends... even without trying.  You fall into step with someone and if they are interested in chatting they will.  If not... I have been known to talk to myself :-)

After:  Eat... Chocolate milk... Eat again... stretch...watch people cross finish line... clap... cheer... eat...stretch... water... water...water... pee... eat... look at my medal/shirt/hat... ice bath (actually more uncomfortable than it sounds)...shower... sit on butt for rest of day and demand that people wait on me hand and foot because I ran a marathon that day...eat... sleep like a demon...  I usually get a massage 3-4 days later after my muscles have stopped being tender.  And I stretch as often as I can... trust me you will feel better.

I have had some bad neighbours evicted...

When I was in grad school I lived in a one bedroom basement suite apartment.  These 3 boys moved in above me and decided that their apartment is going to be party central.

They held parties every weekend (friday, saturday and sunday night) and during the week they held parties as well.  I would go up and ask them to keep it down and they told me they wouldn't... flat out!  I then would call the security people and the police every weekend... more than once an evening (and I wasn't the only one other people in our complex called the cops on them regularly). 

They tried to break into our apartment one night but were too drunk to actually do it.  They would pee off their deck into our sunken patio and their underage drunken females would puke and pass out in the grass outside my bedroom window.

Finally I had enough and told the rental company (not the landlord but the people who actually owned the property) if they didn't evict them I would sue (for the attempted breakin) and for not living up to their end of the rental agreement (no loud noises after 11 etc.)  Within a week the landlady (cow that she was) called me telling me that the "boys" were in her office and asking for a second chance after getting their eviction notice... I said "hell no" and she then told me that I was a bad person for not forgiving them and letting them start again... I then told her that if they acted in any way against me (retribution) I would sue them, the rental agency, her personally for exposing me to danger by letting the "boys" know that it was me who said no to their staying.

After they left it was discovered they had done so much damage to the apartment that the rental agency was sueing them to recoup the costs.

And anyone who would "teach me a lesson" for having gone to the cops to complain about their behaviour whether I spoke to you or not about your noise... it would be the last  time you afforded anything. I would make your life hellish and expensive world of litigation (I personally know 12 lawyers...) and police harassment ( half dozen cops are personal friends).  I do not owe you a personal confrontation to deal with your noise or poor civic behaviour... that's why I pay taxes... so armed police can deal with (generally... though girls are by no means not pains in the butt either) drunk assed boys who weren't raised properly, by bad parents.

I participated and finished in 2006... yay me!  I didn't finish in 2007... boo me! and I didn't participate in 2008... boo me!

I love it... I have 2009 all plotted out and I'm doing character development and I'm even buying a new laptop.  It is going to rock.  My fav is going to a coffee shop and writing for 8 h and then going home and reading all the terrible dialogue... sooooo much fun.

I highly recommend it and I also highly recommend having a daily word minimum... it helps you... trust me!

Good luck and write on!

Ludz... I'm not a parent but I was in your son's position many years ago.  I too lived in the moment and loved all those moments a little too much.  I got carried away at university and allowed my bad habits to override my limited common sense.

I was smart, but I was impulsive and didn't think things through well enough.  Ultimately... I was a bit young for university even though all my friends were the same age and doing well.  Part of my problem was that I never learned to study because I cruised through high school with good grades and never cracking a book...

I got what we in Canada call a "dean's vacation"!  I was crushed, but wouldn't let on to anyone that it bothered me.  But that september when all my friends went back to university I was miserable and cried and decided that I was going to do everything that I could to get back into school.  So I took the necessary credits elsewhere and got my butt back into university.  It took me 18 months but I did it.

Today I have a B.Sc and a M.Sc and I have a very, VERY good job.  After I got my M.Sc. I  turned down 2 offers for a Ph.D. because I wanted to get out in the world and work for a while.  Now after working for a number of years I am considering going back part-time to get a Ph.D. 

It took getting kicked out of university for me to grow up.  While I know that this information doesn't make you feel any better about your son's choices... hopefully it will relieve some of your concern about his future.  Some of us learn the hard way... but the lesson's we learn are valuable and when my friends compare me to them now they say that I'm much more competent at dealing with life than they are... I learned how to fail and how to recover from failure... many of them never did.

Don't get to upset... this may be the way he learns to rebound from defeat.

the cat's carol... kills me!

My country's national anthem... I get all teary eyed and if there is a flag raising at the same time I cry.

Duran Duran:  Hungry like the wolf

The lyrics say it all... "I smell like I sound"

I am actually the opposite... I have a 2 bedroom bungalow and I hate it. 

While we don't have kids yet, when we have house guests it is awkward and if you or they go to bed early you (or your guest) have to tip toe around your house (I have an old house with squeaky hardwood) so as not to disturb. 

If you have kids then you would be constantly trying to "keep quiet" so as to not wake them up or get them to go to sleep. 

There is no barrier between your living space and your sleeping space... in retrospect I wouldn't buy my house again almost entirely for this issue.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese*

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper*
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O*
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel*
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut*
50. Sea urchin*
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores*
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake*
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho*
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie*
78. Snail*
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky*
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.*
85. Kobe beef*
86. Hare*
87. Goulash
88. Flowers*
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab*
93. Rose harissa*
94. Catfish*
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee*
100. Snake

80/100... not bad.

In many countries in the world, you are correct there are meat dishes.  And yes, Western nations (Americans are not alone in this... in fact the Danes eat an astonishing amount of meat.  In 2002 they ate 145 kg/person... more than the U.S per capita intake of 125 kg/person... but this number is tough to nail down depending upon your survey questions and the year you conduct the survery) consume protein heavy diets.

However, in most regions where there are starving children there is conflict.  It is rare (note that I didn't say unheard of only rare) for stable countries to have children dying of starvation.  Overpopulation and violence generally leads to starvation...  In many countries where NGO aid is delivered, many of the food parcels are "redirected at gunpoint" to the various factions who are feuding and the general population gets caught in the cross fire and left to go hungry.

Modern farming takes a beating from the popular press and from individuals who take the weakest links in the production chain and then hold them up to scrutiny as though they (the worst of the worst) are the standard operators in an industry. 

The beef industry isn't "evil" neither is poultry or pork.  If you have issues with whomever is producing your generic meat (all product not labeled as Angus or Berkshire etc. is considered generic) then find a producer who raises product locally, inspect their conditions and the way they raise their stock and custom purchase from them.  That way you support local industry and can feel better... but when you purchase generic meat from your regular grocery store, depending upon where you live, the likelihood is the product will be just as good... perhaps better from a food safety perspective because large chain grocery stores demand traceability that smaller producers cannot provide easily. 

Currently the U.S has huge exports of pork, record levels, leaving the country to help feed the world.  Why?  Because the various groups that feed into the U.S slaughter system are very efficient at producing hogs that turn into pork.  While that pork may not be getting to starving populations... it is feeding populations efficiently... regardless of whether those populations "need" protein dense diets.  Also a large number of these countries, i.e. China, have a huge (and I mean HUGE...) local production and they still import to meet their own domestic needs.  And the question that begs to be asked is: do we inflict our morals/ethics/cultural mores on others who view protein intake via meat in an entirely different cultural fashion.

Are there countries that are in desperate situations?  Absolutely!  Is not raising beef using corn going to change that?  NOPE!  Those populations have bigger long term fish to fry.  Unstable governments, tribalism/cronyism, abject poverty (brought about by unstable governments), whole scale corruption... these are all longer term issues that these "at risk" populations need to address.  Poverty and starvation is a symptom of these greater ills and unfortunately allow a circle of behaviours to occur i.e. poverty leads to starvation which leads to violence which leads to unstable governments in the form of coups which leads to tribalism (or cronyism) which leads to corruption which leads to poverty etc..  (It is important to note here that when I say tribalism I mean like minded groups not necessarily "tribes" per se.)

The recent tightening of food stocks in the world didn't come from feeding cows grain... it came from 5 yrs of drought in Australia, drought across the bread baskets of the U.S and Canada (1-2 yrs depending on the crop being grown), and a reluctance on the part of countries like the Ukraine who had bumper crops, from exporting and then the sudden desire, on the part of a large number of countries to turn food into fuel, plus a myriad of other issues.  No one issue is responsible but when you view them all together with various weights (i.e. various degrees of importance) on each issue then a picture forms. 

In short (sorry for the essay... but this is what I do... food policy/food security analysis is part of my job) anyone who tells you that the world is going to collapse if we feed everyone meat because of all the grain it takes... is selling you something... be it an ideology or a way of living etc.  No issue is ever one sided... all issues are (sorry for the buzzword) nuanced.  Being myoptic in "telling the story" allows those who need to generate hysteria and fear the fodder with which to do it. 

Being informed as a consumer is always best.  And that just doesn't mean knowing what is in the package that you're buying.  It also requires you to be informed as to what the world situation is and how, what you are purchasing, affects that situation.  I know that this last statement seems to be in contrast with the above paragraphs but there is a difference between being informed/engaged/aware of what your purchase means and running around saying "the world is going to end if you don't put the fork down and stop eating rib eyes".  One operates in a rational fashion and the other is hysteria and is counter productive.

Again sorry for the long post and sorry too if I didn't really answer your question. 

somewhere down the crazy river - Robbie Robertson... holy hotness I get sweaty just thinking about it.

how often do you brush per day?  2x's unless I have eaten a lot of sweets or have had a pop... soda makes my teeth feel nasty.

-At what times of the day do you brush? AM after breakies and PM just before bed

-How long do you brush for? Til they feel clean

-How often do you floss?  I'm an inconsistent flosser... a couple times a week

-Do you use mouthwash?  No

-How often, if ever, do you go to the dentist?  As rarely as humanly possible  I've had the worst luck with dentists... as a kid I had a dentist that thought that Novacaine was unnecessary and only for "hysterics". 

-How old were you when you got your wisdom teeth out (if you have)?  And how bad did it suck?

I was 33... and I cannot explain how horrible it was.  When I was 11 I had to have all of my baby teeth between my eye teeth and my 12 year molars chiseled out of my jaw because they had fused to my jawbone and my grown up teeth couldn't get through (intense pain)... my wisdom teeth were worse than that oral surgery.  My top two I have to say weren't too bad.  The bottom two were impacted and I now have permanent nerve damage to my lower left side of my tongue and jaw... It was horrible and my dentist was a bit of a butcher. 

my dear... they never go away... even at my thinnest my chipmunk cheeks stayed. 

But the benefit of them is that you always look younger than you are and trust me that becomes almost more important than being healthy .

I run a lot and I wear sunglasses.  Mine are prescription and aren't fancy but they keep the UV's out of my eyes (can be damaging) and keeps me from squinting so the bonus is no crows feet.

Actually there is a lot of research that shows that women who miss more of their periods get fewer reproductive cancers.

Researchers compare women who never miss a period i.e. nuns to women who do miss their periods i.e. women who have babies.  The more babies you have (and the more you breastfeed) the lower your risk of reproductive cancers.

So it's actually not that unhealthy a situation.

Shuber, I totally suffer from the same problem.  All summer I was fine, eating right, exercising enough and I was looking forward to eating and exercising.

Now... I have a hard time getting motivated to work out and I have brutal cravings for food.  Meals that have completely sustained me a month to 6 weeks ago I now find don't fill me up and I go searching for "snacks".

I eat well balanced and tasty meals... I just made a roasted butternut squash soup with spices and roasted garlic that was to die for (made with 1% milk not cream to keep calories low) so a boring diet isn't the problem.

I think it's photoperiod.  I think that I don't get enough hours of natural light to keep me stimulated and I'm not exactly sure what to do...other than to purchase lightbulbs that mimic natural light that people use to fight off SAD... and after just outfitting my entire house in energy efficient lights I just don't have the money for another set of light bulbs.