The BoormanBlog

Rest Today

chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:18:00 +0000

I’m taking a rest day today. Last night, my legs were killing me. My knees were in especially bad shape. Moreover, I was just dog gone tired. Today calls for an “Easy 5 miles”. Sorry, but I think if I tried it, I’d be overtaxing my body and risking injury. So after 3 straight days of training, I’m resting.

Thursday calls for a “Tempo” run (whatever that is) of 8.5 miles. I’ll rest again on Friday and try to get back on my regular schedule with a long run on Saturday.

Cool runnings. Stay tuned…

Speed Work Today

chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:16:47 +0000

Today was my first ever speed work session. I guess it is also called “interval training”. Today’s workout consisted of the following.

1) Ran at a 10K pace (not easy since I had never run a 10K before)
2) Run for 800 meters (I hate the metric system. Call it 1/2 mile)
3) Walk/jog for 90 seconds (I chose to walk )
4) Do this set 8 times.

Boy, that was a workout. I was wheezing like I was back in February training for a measly 5K. Thankfully, I’ve made progress since then, or I wouldn’t have been able to do this workout.

All told, I covered 4.x miles in XX minutes, including 7 walking breaks of..oh..let’s say..95 seconds each. Not too shabby.

Admittedly, I held back a little, which I assume one would do in a 10K. After all, it’s not a sprint. My running schedule actually calls for doing the long runs on Saturday. Since I did mine on Sunday, I only had one
light cross training day between my long run (my longest run since October) and today’s speed workout instead of two. That may have affected my performance this morning.

At any rate, I’m glad to have worked in some of the finer points of training into my running at least once in my life

I’ll stick with the speed work as long as I can. I’m told it also helps you on longer endurance runs.

Stay tuned.

Cross Training Today

chris — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:15:28 +0000

Spent 45 minutes swimming today after work. Whew! I’m planning on trying a triathlon next year, and an Ironman the year after that, and I can say without a doubt that the swimming part is going to be the most difficult. I’ve never been a great swimmer. My legs have a lot of muscle and always sink instead of float. I can never quite seem to breathe in without also getting some water up my nose

But I’ll have a wet suit for the triathlon, so that might help a little. May help me look better too.

Bank of America Pimp Slaps Earnings Estimates!!

chris — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:43:21 +0000

Bank of America came out with Q2 profit of $0.72 vs. $0.53 estimates. Booyaa!!

I may unload some today and buy it back on a pullback.

Stay tuned…

14 Miles, 2 Hours, 34 Minutes

chris — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:11:10 +0000

I made sure to get up very early this morning so I could go running. Had a bit of a run in with some large flying insects at mile 3 who just kept buzzing around my head and would not stop, even as a flailed my arms around my head as I ran. I knew I couldn’t keep that up on the way out, let alone on my way back, so I doubled back and changed my route to an open road. Much better than the paved trails deep in the woods.

This long run called for “Pace Plus” which means running 20 to 50 seconds slower per mile than your planned marathon pace. I chose the 50. As it turned out, my 10 minute mile pace is much more of a challenge this year than last thanks to the extra weight from the off season. Plus I was carrying another 5 pounds of water on my back. As a result, I didn’t have to struggle to run at a 10:50 pace. Well, actually I did, but I was struggling to keep up!

In the end, I ran at an 11 minute mile. Not too bad for a long run. This was my longest run of the year, beating out the half marathon I did on June 1. This time I made sure to walk a bit after the run and do a little stretching as part of a cool down. After a nice hot shower, I made myself a protein shake. Much better for recovery than my usual Red Bull or a Starbucks (although I admit I’m drinking some Starbucks right now)

I’m slowly but surely coming back. Hopefully the protein shake will help me recover and I can do some cross training tomorrow.

Stay tuned folks. I’ll keep you posted. Cool runnings!

No Running Today

chris — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:47:34 +0000

After the 8.5 miles yesterday, my legs were too tired to do a long run today. I’ve got a little discomfort in my hips too. That was the source of my last two bad injuries, so I definitely want to take it easy.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’m going to get up extra early to do my run because we are officially in a heat wave these days and I don’t want to get caught outside trying to run in 90+ degree heat. I’m also carrying at least 10 extra pounds on me, plus another 5 pounds for the water pack.

Say a prayer for me and stay tuned…

Jimmy Justice Is Full Of Himself

chris — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:19:18 +0000

So there’s this “activist” in New York City who calls himself Jimmy Justice who videotapes police officers breaking the law (mostly parking violations) and posts them on Youtube.

According to Wikipedia: “He is known for becoming verbally violent on camera, often loosing [sic] his temper, screaming at the police.”

Nice! It’s good know that the September 11th attacks, in which many New York City police officers lost their lives, has not been lost on this guy

Being verbally abusive to police officers who are not doing anything to you? For what? Parking near a fire hydrant? Just an aside, why post them Youtube? Why not write your congressman? Why not write the mayor? Maybe it’s because you wouldn’t get nearly as much attention.

Admit it, Jimmy, this is 25% about police officers breaking the law, and 75% about you and your internet fame.

Your worse than a blogger

P.S. A true sign of a loser is one who gives himself a nickname.

8.5 Miles, 1 Hour, 32 Minutes

chris — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:30:39 +0000

Well, not exactly a land speed record, but respectable, especially considering I had to wait for the light to change during my run…twice. It’s amazing how tired I am from pushing it two days ago.

My schedule calls for a long tomorrow of 20 miles. There’s no way I’m going to be able to that. In fact, my knees are giving me trouble today after that run. I may put off the long run until Sunday. We’ll see.

Take care and stay tuned…

No Running Today…

chris — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:50:42 +0000

Still hurting from kicking it up a notch yesterday. Of course, my friend Scott can just turn it on like it ain’t no thing

I’ll try tomorrow morning for 8.5 miles, which I’m supposed to run at “Tempo”, whatever that is…

Bank of America - Dead Cat Bounce?

chris — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:24:55 +0000

Did I speak too soon? Ho-Lee COW we had a good day yesterday. Bank of America roared back with the rest of the financial sector over 4 points to $22.67!!! Woo Hoo! Talk about skyrocketing. Of course, this is the 3rd week of the month, so I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that this is a classic short squeeze. We may see BAC fall again by early next week after options have expired.

Then again, maybe this is “the bottom” and a recovery is on the way? Future oil demand is falling, along with the price of oil. The government (rightly or wrongly) is bailing out Fannie and Freddie. This may be the tipping point toward a new bull market!!

Time will tell.

6 Miles, 58 Minutes, 57 Seconds

chris — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:16:55 +0000

Man, I really had to kick it up a notch to make this. I was on my usual pace of about 10:20/mile or so, and then about halfway I decided that it had been too long since I completed a workout at my usual pace of 10 minute miles.

So at mile 3.5 I really kicked it up. I had about 0.2 miles to before I got to my condo complex. My condo sits about half way up a VERY steep hill. By the time 6 miles clicked off on my Garmin, I was wheezing like a guy that smoked a carton a day for 30 years. But man it felt good to come in under an hour

I’m going to pay for this later though.

OK SERIOUSLY NOW!!!

chris — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:00:59 +0000

BAC closed down AGAIN today at $18.72. Oh. My. Goodness. This is madness. Dividend yield is over 13% now. Looks like everyone is pricing in a dividend cut. This is messed up. Big time. I’ve already lost my shirt. Now I’m losing my lunch.

Cry Baby Cry…

chris — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:04:49 +0000

So the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine published a political cartoon on the cover of Obama as a muslim and his wife as a terrorist. The Obama campaign called the cartoon “tasteless and offensive”. Maybe those are his words and maybe they are the words of someone from his campaign, but by golly this pearl-clutching is getting out of hand.

If you’re going to be the President of the United States, whatever party you’re affilitated with, you are guaranteed to be criticized; often harshly, often unfairly, for at least four years.
I couldn’t handle that, so I don’t run for president. If you’re going to run, you better be up to it.

Somehow, I think Obama was only peripherally aware of the cartoon, and probably just shrugged it off. Of course, why let an opportunity go by? Let’s pretend to be offended and elicit sympathy from the public!

Of course, I could be totally wrong and Obama may very well have been offended by the whole thing. If it really got to him though, he may want to rethink a career in politics.

As a side note, conservatives are exposed to this type of redicule, usually worse, on a daily basis. The media doesn’t wait for an election year to compare Republicans to Hitler.

All in all, just another tempest in a teapot. Much ado about nothing. Another blip in an otherwise boring election in the eyes of an increasingly jaded public

10 Miles, 1 Hour, 45 Minutes, 39 Seconds

chris — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:47:23 +0000

Well, this went pretty well despite the circumstances. I set my alarm for 6AM to get an early start today, but I forgot to arm it. Sooooooooooooooooo I just woke up when I wasn’t tired anymore. At least I was well rested!!

As a result of my extended early morning nap, I didn’t get started running until a little after 9AM. My training regimen called for 18 miles today, but after skipping too many days, and injuring my hip, I knew I wasn’t going to make that. At the 6 mile mark, I thought I would split the difference and try for 13 miles, at least that would be a half marathon. As the miles wore on, though, the heat from the July morning in New England got to me and I settled for 10 miles.

Although I didn’t make it to 18 miles, or even 13 miles, I felt good about reaching 10. It was double digits. It was the most I had run since the half marathon on June 1. At least I’m making some progress. The new stretching exercise I added, as well as the cool down walk and cool down stretching appear to be helping.

Stay tuned and cool runnings.

Tony Snow 1955 - 2008

chris — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:53:05 +0000

Former White House Press Secretary and Fox News anchorman Tony Snow passed away of colon cancer today at age 53. I loved watching Tony on Fox News Sunday. He had great “stage presence” that made him a perfect choice for Press Secretary.

There’s a good summary of Snow’s career on Yahoo! News here. I didn’t know that he was director of speech writing and media affairs for Bush 41.

Two Tony Snow moments stand out for me as I’m writing this. The first is Tony’s wrap up of the first Fox News Sunday broadcast after the September 11th attacks. I looked for it on Youtube, but couldn’t find it. All I could find were videos mocking Bush, Cheyney et. al. Yawn. Tony’s speech at the end of the broadcast brought a tear to my eye. Partly because it was an emotional time for everyone, but mostly because it was true. Americans are a resilient people. We’ve encountered challenge and tragedy before, and we always come through.

The other moment was another Fox News Sunday wrap up. At the time various politicians and embedded reporters were throwing around charges about our men in uniform committing terrible crimes and terrorizing the locals in Iraq. I distinctly remember Tony’s words “I’m not saying give them a pass, but at least give them a break!” I couldn’t have said it better. These soldiers are busting their behinds to protect our freedom and our lives in working conditions that are inhospitable and extremely dangerous. They don’t punch out on Friday at 5:00. They are on call 24/7. I’m pretty sure the pay isn’t that great either. But they do it all willingly. Were you or a loved one killed in a terrorist attack recently? No? Thank a soldier, not an embedded reporter.

As I write this, I’m sure (but have no proof), that there are many who are literally celebrating Tony Snow’s death on sites like dailykos and moveon.org. All I can say is that you guys are some sick people.

God bless Tony Snow, and God bless our men and women in uniform, past and present.

BAC? OMG!! WTF!!!

chris — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:33:19 +0000

OK, seriously. Is Bank of America going out of business or what? This is nuts. BAC is now at a 10 YEAR LOW!!!! This is just nuts.

Vonage is performing better than this dog. Lucent is performing better. Sheesh.

8.5 Miles, 1 hour, 30 minutes, 45 seconds

chris — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:40:20 +0000

Back to running again this morning. Took me a little longer to do 8.5 miles, but for having to wait for a traffic light for quite awhile, not to mention carrying some weight around, it’s not that bad. Looks like the new stretching exercise I added is working. No shooting pain in my hip, although I did have some discomfort.

After my running, I was tired, but not in pain. After a full day at work, I’m in a little more pain.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I’ve got my first long run in over a month on Saturday. My training scheduled calls for 18.5 miles, but I think that’s way too much for having just gotten back in the game.

Stay tuned and cool runnings.

The Start of the Terrible Two’s

chris — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:28:01 +0000

Congratulations to me!! This blog is 2 years old today!! Woo-hoo! Can’t wait to see what the next year will bring!! Stay tuned….

In the meantime, have a piece of cake on me.

Out of the Blue…

chris — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:05:02 +0000

Well, not quite into black. Let’s just call it….a little less in the red . BAC had a good day today, rocketing up more than 9% on heavy volume with no real news. Does this signal a bottom? Only time will tell. As for me, I’m not asking too many questions. It’s the first significant update that Bank of America has had in a looooooooooooooooooong time. I’ll take it, and about 10 more just like it, then I should about break even!

Seriously, this has got to be one of the dogs of the Dow. Woof! Can’t wait to just break even on this pile of garbage

Duck Hunting Season

chris — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:12:18 +0000

Seriously, if there was ever a reason to hold on to guns, this is it. I hate these AFLAC commercials with the duck. Gilbert Gottfried has what is probably the most annoying voice in the world today, and I’m a Bob Dylan fan!!

Besides, how many in this series are there now? Fifty? One Hundred? Seriously, give it a break. The duck isn’t cute. The duck is annoying. Kill it.

Here’s another blog post that, like all intelligent people, agrees with me

Defending Starbucks

chris — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:10:01 +0000

Starbucks announced this week that 600 underperforming stores would be closed. There’s a story on Yahoo! news here that describes the schadenfreude (read: happiness about others misfortunes) that many feel about thousands of people losing their jobs in a time of declining home prices, a bear market, and skyrocketing food and fuel costs.

Seriously folks, how messed up do you have to be to be happy over someone losing their job in this economic environment? Do you really hate Starbucks that much? Look, it’s safe to say that Starbucks is probably the most expensive coffee in town. I personally funded the 401k’s of I don’t know how many baristas. So yeah, I know it’s expensive. I can only wonder how your precious quirky/funky/eclectic/community/whatever coffee shop couldn’t compete with Starbucks when they were probably selling coffee a whole lot cheaper. It’s a free market folks. That’s how it goes. If a competitor beats you with higher prices, you’re probably doing something wrong. Someone will come along and displace Starbucks someday, just like some other company will displace Wal-Mart and Best Buy and McDonalds.

Say, did you know that Starbucks was one of the first companies to offer health benefits to their part time employees? Does your funky/quirky/eclectic coffeehouse do that? Didn’t think so.

Long story short, people losing their job is nothing to celebrate. Here’s hoping Starbucks makes a comeback, but like the Yahoo! story says, it’s just coffee. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to bleed black and green.

On the Road Again…

chris — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:59:38 +0000

Well, after almost 2 weeks, I’m back to running again. I managed 5 miles today, huffing and puffing. I added another stretching exercise to flex my hip joint. Here’s how it goes:

1) Sit on the floor with your legs together, sticking out in front of you.
2) Take your left leg and cross it over your right.
3) Bring your left foot as close to your right hip as you can. Your left knee should be at about chin level.
4) Grasp your bended left knee and bring it in as close to you as you can. You should feel the stretching in your left hip
5) Do the same thing with your right leg.

We’ll see if this helps me avoid any further injury. Keep me in your thoughts!

MadTV Celebrates 300th Episode

chris — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:14:37 +0000

Congratulations to MadTV for being unfunny for 300 episodes. Good grief this show is awful. Seriously, does anyone watch this show anymore?

Disgusting Politician Hits Rock Bottom, Starts Digging

chris — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:08:40 +0000

Low life Massachusetts state representative James Fagan, is upset about Massachussetts considering passing “Jessica’s Law”. This legislation requires a 20-year sentence for rape of a child under 12. Sounds reasonable, no? Aparantly, James Fagan considers these penalties for child rapists “draconian”. His reason for his position against “Megan’s Law” is that it would force the lawyers defending these scumbags to be more forceful in their cross examination of the child victims. He’re what Fagan had to say:

“”Let me tell you why it’s so wrong, It’s so wrong because in these situations . . . that 6-year-old is going to sit in front of me, or somebody far worse than me and I’m going to rip them apart. I’m going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined. That when they’re 8 years old they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep. When they’re 19 years old they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody. And that’s not because I’m a nice guy. That’s because when you’re in court, and you’re defending somebody’s liberty, and you’re facing a mandatory sentence of those draconian proportions, you have to do every single thing you can do on behalf of your client. That is your obligation as a trial lawyer.”

What a thing to say. Does this person mean to imply that he would defend his client LESS vigorously if the potential penalty were less severe? Does he mean to imply that the only acceptable defense of a client is to brutalize the victims?

I have heard that many abuse cases of this nature go unreported. After reading this, is it any wonder?

This man is a disgrace.

Jesse Helms 1921 - 2008

chris — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:08:41 +0000

Oh, I know there are many that will be celebrating this man’s death. Let them celebrate if they like. I won’t be.

Jesse Helms earned the name “Senator No”, after he blocked so many bills and nominations. He was a staunch defender of family values and refused to comprimise on his believes. Not a bad thing if you ask me.

I love this quote of his from 1959: “”Compromise, hell! … If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?”

I think it’s fitting that someone who so ferverently believed in freedom should die on the 4th of July.

Here’s to ya Jesse.