5k in 28:20

Found a good 8 mn/mi rhythm right away. Too bad it only stuck with me for, well, 8 min. By k 3, I was there again and ended strong with a 7.5 mn/mi after another brief rest.

Overall pace: 9 mn/mi.

Running Past

Mom sent over the times from my last season in High School XC – I mostly finished between 20:30 and 21 min. Thanks mom.

Some good motivation after last night’s failed attempt due to going out too close to finishing dinner. While I hit a 7’42” mile. I stopped there.

Working With Nature to Stop Climate Change

“Researchers at the University of Wales are looking at how introducing different grasses into cattle diets can help reduce methane emissions. Cattle and dairy cows on factory farms are typically fed a high-protein diet of corn and soybeans, which…leads to a variety of digestive problems. Scientists believe that more-digestible feed will reduce these problems and thus help curb related methane emissions. Not surprisingly, some of the grasses found commonly in pastures and meadows in the UK—including white clover, rye, and a flower called bird’s foot trefoil—are all highly digestible.” – Danielle Nierenberg

Goal: 5k, Actual: 5k, Time: 30:52

Good run for the first K and a half, held a nice 7 mn/mi pace. It was a fight to keep going after that and while I reached 7 again at the 3k mark, I finished with an average 9.75 mn/mi.

The interval runs to this point have been a barometer to see where I fall in the Couch-to-5K running plan. Based on today’s run – I’m firmly in early week 5.

Playlist wise, I’m surprised to find the The Gentle Readers, The Be Good Tanyas, and the Dixie Chicks being more helpful to my running than my normal getting-stuff-done playlists.

Finally got the route figured out as well. My previous out-n-back was half a k short, Jen confirmed the distance in the Cruiser and turns out halfway puts me on the backside of a loop. Nice. Tonight though, I made a wrong turn just after 3k and ended up lost in a cemetery – chased by directionless Joss Whedon fans.

10 July 2007 Update:
Just confirmed the running loop with Google Maps. Exactly 5k. Nice.

Goal: 5k, Actual: 5k, Time: 30:32

Pretty hard run. Thankfully, the dust was gone. Unfortunately, it was replaced by 96F heat.

iTunes isn’t remembering my Nikeplus.com account info – so none of the workout data is being sent to the Nike site. Definitely not the seamless integration advertised. Maybe I’ll look into this after I cool down.

Update: Not sure what I just did – aside from plugging in the Nano one more time – but the sync now seems to be working.

How the iPhone Unexpectedly Impressed Me

I stopped by the Roseville Apple Store this afternoon to diagnose 2 recurring problems with my year old MacBook Pro; 6 month old battery barely holds a charge, and bottom quarter of the LCD screen is all multi-colored stripes – completely unusable. It’s just a few weeks outside of it’s one-year warranty, again proving to always buy AppleCare for portables.

Finally got a chance to check out the iPhone – as the signs in the store remind you – it’s the best iPod. An iPod with 2 networks attached to it (WiFi & AT&T). Definitely not a phone with an iPod attached (my hope). As you’ve probably read before, it feels good to hold and to look at. I found the flatness of the touchscreen a little unsettling – no tactile-ness to confirm appropriate pressure.

I was also disappointed in how Apple implemented the YouTube integration – no way to browse YouTube’s tag structure – just the Most Viewed and Featured – making it feel too much like a rented walled garden.

Clicking around some more, I checked out the Notes application John Gruber eloquently called ‘a train wreck’ and started typing.

“Just type any word, don’t worry about the keyboard”, requested the Apple sales guy.

I start typing my name.

g. a. w. x. x. k. (or something just as off).

“Garrick?”, asks the spell-check.

I’ve never had a spell check guess my name from a misspelling. Even when correct, most think I’m garlic.

Well done.

08 July Update: Just found why I might end up getting an iPhone: iPhone for Web Developers

Elsewhere:

“…this thing is not Mac stable, it is maybe Windows mobile stable… ” – Brian Lam, Gizmodo