Hi All,

Sunday, February 10th to Saturday, February 16th: 31.2 miles

I ran four times this week keeping to my every other day running schedule:

Sun: 7.2 miles, 28F, a little windy, snowy, no stops, 8:32 pace
Tue: 7 miles, 20F, a little windy, no stops, 8:13 pace
Thu: 7 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:10 pace
Sat: 10 miles, 36F, a little windy, no stops, 8:31 pace

I have good news ... I have a job. I will be working at Kodak office on State Street through Adecco starting Monday. The pay is $3.75/hr less that I was making at ITT through TCN so if something else comes along I will seriously consider it.

I am getting along in the kitchen. The drawers are done. I finished painting the back of the cabinet doors. I painted the walls with the casual blue that I used in Michael's room. It looks pretty good. I will look into putting down contact paper in the drawers and cabinets.

I got out a bit tonight. I went to see the Newark girls basketball (number 3 seed) team play its opening sectional game against Brighton (number 14 seed). Newark won 75-33. Section V, Class A sectional schedule link is here. It was a joy to watch the Newark girls pick apart their opponent. They play the same style of tenacious defense that Newark has played for years. The Newark boys are 20-0 and start their sectional games on Tuesday. Section V schedule calendar link is here. I must say that I like the girl's link much better. It was updated with Newark's win within hours, the boys link doesn't even have the team names or where and when the games are!

I am getting more adventurous in the kitchen. I made scrambled eggs with turkey and cheese this morning. Those of you who are cooks may laugh, but for me ... well ... a cook I am not.

Well, it's time to head upstairs to put another coat on the front of the cabinet doors.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 3 to Saturday, February 9: 25.5 miles

I ran three days this week keeping to my usual every other day schedule.

Mon: 8.5 miles, 34F, calm, no stops, 8:10 pace
Wed: 7 miles, 32F, calm, a little freezing rain, no stops, 8:17 pace
Fri: 10 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:21 pace

Relatively good news on the job front. Thursday, I had an interview at EK office on State Street for a Desktop Support position. The interview went really well. They had a hands-on test, a laptop with network issues. I solved 3 out of the 4 problems: network card disabled, DHCP not set, network cable not connected. I couldn't set the EK proxy. But I think I passed the test. I also got a call from Ajilon about a Desktop Support position at Wegmans on Friday.

I went to a Rochester Fun Raisers Happy Hour at the Airport Holiday Inn on Thursday night with a friend, MK. We talked for a while, then mingled. It was OK and I had fun.

The kitchen is going well. The upper cabinets are 95% done and the bottom cabinets have been started. I scraped and sanded the doors at a friend's house on Tuesday. They need to be painted along with the walls (a Casual Blue, I think).

Karen is home from Houghton this weekend for a short visit. She was over to visit Blackie and Inkie.

The NY Giants pulled off the upset, 17-14, against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The game was quite good. Links from SI.com and sportsline.com. The ads were pretty good also.

I have been on a DVD watching tear lately, watching The Brave One, Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End and Ratatouille at the Redbox at Wegmans.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 27th to Saturday, February 2nd: 30.3 miles
Month of January: 126.4 miles, I ran 16 out of 31 days, 7.9 mile average

I ran four times this week keeping to my every other day schedule. I was lucky and avoided the high winds on Wednesday and the ice on Friday.

Sunday: 9.3 miles, 32F, calm, 2 stops, 8:19 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 42F, calm, tried energy gel, no stops, 8:03 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 28F, calm, no stops, 8:04 pace
Saturday: 7 miles, 32F, calm, tired, slushy, no stops, 8:22 pace

This week I painted the ceiling in the kitchen, removed the cabinet doors for sanding, and started painting the cabinets on Saturday. I quickly found out the painting the cabinets will take longer than I thought. There is a whole lot of area to paint inside the cabinets! The first coat of the upper cabinets took about 8 hours. Then I went for a slow run and shoveled the driveway. I am quite beat from all the exertion today.

No news on the job front. No word from either Cornell or Ginna. I applied online to Zotos in Geneva. I worked there for 6 months back in 1999. I also applied online to Ultralife in Newark again when the job was reposted.

I saw a post on Runner's World about Idiotic Things NON-runners say about running. It's pretty true. I don't really think it's much of anything to go out for a 7 mile run (at a minimum). It's just something that I do every other day. Non-runners think it's amazing, something they could never do, weird, etc ... depending on the person.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 20th to Saturday, January 26th: 24 miles

Monday: 9.0 miles, 15F, a little windy, no stops, around 8:30 pace
Wednesday: 7.7 miles, 22F, a little windy, no stops, 8:25 pace
Friday: 7.3 miles, 22F, windy, 1 stop, 8:20 pace

I started the kitchen on Saturday. I removed the wallpaper yesterday and today. I discovered tile under the cupboards and behind the stove and microwave. It's off white with blue streaks. Tomorrow I will start painting the ceiling and priming the walls. I will take off the cabinet doors also.

I had an interview with Constellation Energy at the Ginna Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday. I was one of three candidates so I have a good chance. I am crossing my fingers.

Right now I am converting my La Femme Nitika collection of 14 tapes to DVDs. Ahh, the joy of watching Nikita and Michael flirt! I just found another box of ST-TOS tapes.

My court date to reduce my child support was delayed because her lawyer couldn't make it ... effectively lengthening the time I give the full amount by another month. My creditors will be so pleased.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 13th to Saturday, January 19th: 30.7 miles

Sunday: 8 miles, 40F, calm, no stops, 8:14 pace
Tuesday: 7.7 miles, 32F, calm, snowy, no stops, 8:25 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 36F, a little windy, no stops, 8:11 pace
Saturday: 8 miles, 25F, pretty calm, no stops, 8:14 pace

I am still unemployed. I got flushed by Ultralife. It is really amazing that you can do Desktop Support for six years, meet all the qualifications for the job and not get either of the two positions open. Ultralife is 1.6 miles away from my house. I had an interview down at Cornell University in Ithaca on Monday and at Xerox in Webster on Thursday.

I am almost done with David's room. This week I finished scrapping the wallpaper, painted the ceiling twice, the walls twice, and pulled the rug. I just have to clean and then paint the baseboard and the inside of his door. Then I can get all the stuff that was in that room out of my bedroom. On to the bathroom and kitchen next.

I took Michael back to Ithaca College on Saturday. I did have a little fun meeting up with a MK at a house in Henrietta for a little party. I learned how to play euchre. An interesting game that I haven't played in a very long time. Then we went up to Six Pockets up in Irondequoit for a little dancing to the Time Bandits. A link to the lead guitarist's page is here. They sounded pretty good! I haven't danced in a while ... it was fun!

I got my first unemployment check last week ... minus the FULL amount that I pay for child support. So basically, I got 44.4% or $180 and child support got the rest. I have a court date next week to hopefully change my child support payment to more closely match my current income ... which isn't much. I could rant on this for a while but ... I will pass for today.

I really need to get this house done. I figure two more weeks. But, I really need to get a job. Where this job is will determine whether I move or not. If I don't get a job out of the area, then what do I do with the house? My ideas are: sell it, rent it out or get a roommate to help with expenses. If I sell or rent it out I will have to move but where? If I move, I either have to get a roommate or be a roommate. Decisions, decisions.

I gave blood today for the 62nd time at the Newark American Legion. My BP was 122/76, pulse was 48. I was in and out in 73 minutes. If you want to donate and you are in the New York / Pennsylvania region, please go to www.donatebloodnow.org. You can get swag ... I got a certificate for a free pound of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and a free ticket to the January 26th Knighthawks game versus the Minnesota Swarm.

Yes, I am still continuing to convert my VHS tapes to DVD with my Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder. I am deep in a box of ST-TNG, ST-DS9 and ST-Voyager tapes. I can convert a VHS tape of six one hour episodes to one DVD. I do about three a day.

I watched The Kingdom from the Redbox at Wegmans.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, January 6th to Saturday, January 12th: 23.75 miles

I ran third times this week keeping to an every other day schedule. I am keeping my pace somewhat constant while I slightly up my mileage.

Monday: about 7.5 miles, 56F, calm winds, no stops.
Wednesday: 7.25 miles, 50F, 20 to 40 mph west wind (which knocked me around), 8:58 pace.
Friday, 9 miles, 40F, light wind, no stops, 8:30 pace.

I have been scrapping off the wallpaper in David's room. It was a slow process which took five days of steady effort. I know how to peel wallpaper. Now it's just another room. It's just a matter of spackling, priming, painting and pulling the rug ... then this room will be done.

On the job front, I have an interview with Cornell University down in Ithaca on Monday.

I used my $5 Dunking Donuts gift certificate that I won at the Newark Turkey Day 5 Mile Race to buy a dozen donuts for Michael and myself. Yum!

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, December 30th to Saturday, January 5th: 33.6 miles

An uptick in my mileage this week due to running my long runs on Sunday and Saturday plus unemployment.

Sunday: 9 miles, 32F, calm, 1 stop, 8:31 pace.
Tuesday, New Year's Day: 8.6 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:27 pace.
Thursday: 7 miles, 15F, calm, no stops (too cold!), 8:24 pace. It wasn't really that cold ... as long as you dressed for it (3 shirts, shorts, pants, jacket, 2 mittens, hat and scarf).
Saturday: 9 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:22 pace.

The forecast is for 50s and 60s on Monday and Tuesday.

I am emptying David's room of all my computer stuff today. I will start stripping the wallpaper tomorrow. I am so looking forward to it .... NOT! But it has to be done so it will get done.

I am continuing to convert my VHS tapes to DVD with my Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder. I have done over thirty movies so far. DVDs take up a whole lot less space than VHS tapes.

Keep running, Doug

Happy New Year 2008

Hi All,

Month of December: 73.4 miles, 11 out of 31 days, 6.7 mile average

Happy New Year to everyone. I celebrated by running 8.6 miles today. I ran over to the Newark High School, ran 5 miles around the track and then ran home. The weather was around 36F , snowy at first but it quit. I did a 1:12:40, a 8:27 pace.

Here is a look back at 2007 according to my spreadsheet. I ran 801.8 miles. Here is the breakdown:

January   17 out of 31 days  86.1 miles
February  19 out of 28 days  83.3 miles
March     17 out of 31 days  86.7 miles
April     15 out of 30 days  98.9 miles
May       17 out of 31 days 119.5 miles
June       5 out of 18 days  39.6 miles
July       0 due to injury
August     8 out of 21 days  39.1 miles
September  8 out of 30 days  38.5 miles
October   10 out of 31 days  51.1 miles
November  13 out of 30 days  53.9 miles
December  11 out of 31 days  73.4 miles

I ran in 11 races, here is the breakdown:

1/13  Freezeroo #3 5K                      22:34  7:17
2/18  Polar Cat #6 5K                      23:32  7:35
3/17  Runnin' of the Green 5 Mile Run      37:34  7:31  Lifetime PR
4/1   Spring Forward 15K                 1:14:29  8:00  Lifetime PR
4/7   Leo Austin Memorial Half Marathon  1:50:43  8:27  Lifetime PR
5/18  Williamson Appleblossom 10K          45:13  7:19  Lifetime PR
5/20  Medved Liliac 10K                    46.22  7:29
6/9   Powerbar 9 Mile Trail Race         1:29:46  9:58
9/16  Palmyra Canaltown Days 5K            22:30  7:15
10/5  Fairport Scarecrow 5K                22:17  7:11  Lifetime PR
11/22 Newark Turkey Day 5 Mile Race        38:57  7:47

A really short breakdown on what happened to me in 2007.

Physically: I am doing OK, 6'3", 162 pounds, excellent health.
Mentally: I am just happy to be able to run every other day. I want to run a marathon in 2008. I will take care to slowly ramp up my mileage this time.
Job-wise: unemployed since 12/28/2007.
Marriage-wise: I have been living separately from my wife for over two years. No action on a divorce or separation due to a lack of funds on both our parts. No hope of reconcilation. Karen and David live with their mother. Karen is a freshman at Houghton. Michael lives with me. He is a junior at Ithaca College.
House-wise: I am fixing up my house and will be selling it soon most likely.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, December 23rd to Saturday, December 29th: 19 miles

I ran 7 miles around my neighborhood on the day before Christmas in 58:36, a 8:22 pace. It was 30F and windy. I ran the usual 6 mile zoo run around the pond on Wednesday and Friday. Both days were relatively mild, 35F and 40F, respectively.

Bad news on the job front. My last day at ITT was on Friday. After 6 years, ITT decided to let go all its contractors who had been there more than 18 months. My contract house, TCN, does not have a new job for me. Oh, well. I am trying to find another job. I have had an interview at Ultralife in Newark and a phone screen with Bosch Security in Fairport.

I have finished the stairwell. I found that flat white does not cover very well. I needed three coats ... each coat only took three hours. Now I need to figure out which room to tackle next ... David's room, the bathroom or the kitchen. Plus I really need to start dejunking in earnest.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, December 16th to Saturday, December 22th: 20.15 miles

I ran two lunchtime zoo runs around the pond of 6 miles each on Wednesday and Friday. The river trail was snowy covered so I ran on some streets also.

I ran 8.15 miles around my neighborhood on Saturday morning. Instead of looping back on Wood Lane I continued on Filkins Road down to Route 31, then down Whitbeck Road to West Shore Blvd and back into Newark. I kind of ran out of energy and stopped twice. My time was 1:10:48 for a 8:41 mile pace.

I finished Michael's room before he came home. I just had to pick up my tools and put some Pledge on his dresser and shelves. I helped him put his piano back in his room. Next up is the stairwell.

I have watched a couple of good movies lately with Michael. I rented Spiderman 3 and Bourne Ultimatum from the Red Box at Wegmans. It's a great deal, a one day rental for $1 plus tax. I have also converted some of my old VHS tapes to DVD using my Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder. It's really quite easy once you get the hang of it.

I used the warm weather to finally rake the leaves in my backyard. Over the course of three days I took 24 barrels of wet leaves to the backwoods.

Keep running, Doug