Life of Riley

Pine Bush 2009

This past weekend I once again competed in the Pine Bush Triathlon. The Pine Bush is quite a bit shorter than the other races that I have completed since the last one, so I was pretty excited that I would be able to do really well and improve significantly over last year's time (about 1 hour 27 minutes). The course included a 325 yard swim, an 11.5 mile bike ride, and finished with a 3.25 mile run.

I randomly chose a goal of one hour and fifteen minutes in which to complete the race. But once I set the goal I started to think realistically about what I would need to do in order to meet this...I would have to work my ass off throughout in order to have any shot. Long story short...one hour, fifteen minutes, and 26 seconds. Yep...I missed the mark by 26 measly seconds.

I am pretty stoked that I was able to take 12 minutes off of my time from last year, but I am also bummed that I came so close to what I thought was an unrealistic goal without reaching it. Oh well, there's always next year...and I will be there again next year...shooting for an hour ten (small steps this time)!!

Big congrats to Caroline too for not only giving this a go, but finishing strong (and only walking once)! I am very impressed at the time she was able to post.

Next up...King's Grant in Northern Jersey somewhere on the 9th of August then the Crystal Lake on Travers' Day up near Albany. If those two go well I am thinking that the Lake George Triathlon may come into the picture. Only time will tell...

SBR Tri Series: Race #1

SBR Triathlon Series: Race #1
0.5 mi swim, 16.0 mi bike, 3.1 mi run

It was nice to get back at it...though I was pretty nervous pulling into the parking lot and seeing all of the tri-bikes. There were so many people that looked so much more serious than me. And those were just the people in the parking lot...doesn't count those that decided that the race wasn't enough and actually rode their bikes to the park!

The overall course was fairly difficult. The bike course started with a slow incline that gradually led to an awesome 2-3 mile twisty, downhill that ultimately would be my favorite part of the course. I started out pretty hesitant on the downhill, afraid to get too fast for fear of flying off the front again. Once I got my nerves under control I let as loose as I could as was hitting 30-35 around the twists and turns...I forgot how great that feels. I was a little nervous about the amount of wobble in my front tire though...something I'll need to get checked out soon.

The run course was a mile and a half out and back trail run which was nice as well. It was wooded and the trails were maintained fairly well. I enjoyed being in the shade of the woods, which definitely kept things cool. And the trail definitely made my knees a little happier than the pavement would've.

I was disappointed that I didn't get a t-shirt (though I did get a bag that I'll probably never use) and feel the $80 entry fee was a little high with lack of any entertainment or anything to keep folks around after the race. The after race refreshments were pretty standard...bagels, bananas, and energy bars...with nothing special to talk about. In the end I'm glad that I did it and I met my goal of finishing under 2 hours (barely, but it still counts).

I'm starting to see why people say that these things are so addictive...I'm already looking at bumping the scheduled 3 races to 6...maybe more, hopefully with an Olympic at the end of the summer. And I even think that I'm going to fit in a 4 mile run on July 4th. The next couple tris that I am doing are a bit shorter, so I'm trying to decide what my goals will be for them.

Facebook Photos

A thought crossed my mind the other day...weird, I know. I have no idea how I started to think about Facebook and it's ability to make money, but I did. I am curious as to why Facebook has not attempted to monetize the photo sharing aspect of its site. There are a few of reasons that quickly ran through my mind...either no one has thought of this, the upside is too little when compared to the investment, or Facebook has been unable to find a suitable partner to manage this.

I am not envisioning anything crazy...just a simple 'click here' button to purchase prints of photos that have been posted. Of course there would need to be safe guards...a user can only purchase their own photos or only those in which they are tagged or those albums that they are given permission to order...so that not just anyone could order prints of anyone's photos. I know that there are photos that either I've posted to Facebook or have been tagged in that are posted that I would purchase.

Is there something that I am missing here that would prevent FB from offering such a service?

Validation?

I came across this article this morning on my way into work. Is this validation of Social Media as a mainstream form of advertising?

smart man

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. " Thomas Jefferson

I came across this quote this afternoon while making my way into the city. To me, this quote probably has never before held so much weight. In the past 8+ years we have been engaged militarily within Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have been tough on America as a country and as an economy. These wars, however, have not brought this country or its economy to its knees in a way that the near-failures of many of the nations financial institutions have. There have been many a discussion on the skirting of laws (and impact on personal civil liberties) within the framework of these wars...it will be interesting how our freedoms will be touched as the government continues to "save" those institutions that put us into this mess to begin with...

it's been awhile...quick updates

It's been a bit since I last managed to log in and share some thoughts with the world...

Since my last posting I have been keeping quite busy. At work I have been spending much time working with Darren to build out a search group from the ground up. It's been a lot of work, but also a great learning experience. After a couple months of research and many iterations of my recommendation I was finally able to present it yesterday. I am doubtful we'll be fully up and running for April, but I have my fingers crossed that we can get everything implemented by May.

I am also busy trying to plan out my summer months with travel, fun, and tris, My bike is still all screwed up, so I need to get it into the shop before I try anything too serious. A few weeks back, however, I did take it around Riverdale and the riding here sucks! I miss the open roads and views in and around TogaTown. I have been told that there is a nice bike path around me, but I couldn't find it. Darren also filled me in that the Bronx Parkway is closed on Sundays for biking...I'll have to figure out how to get over there. I am sick of riding in my apartment.

And now the randoms...I am excited to get down to Raleigh one of these days to see Mom & Dad...it has been awesome having the pups with me this week and I am very much looking forward to next week; I miss them so much...going to Detroit for the NCAA finals...house is finally on the market (fingers crossed it goes quickly!!)...Islander's on Thursday...not much else going on...

birthday challenge...done and done!

While surfing some fitness websites back in July I came across the B-Fit B-Day Challenge. At that time I decided that if I could find a place to swim, I would go for it and complete the challenge for my birthday. Well, a few weeks back, I made a plan to come back to Saratoga for the weekend, get a day pass to the new YMCA and get this done...2000 yard swim, 8 mile run, & 28 mile bike.

The last week has been hell! I came down with a nasty head cold on Tuesday, felt like death by Thursday and thought that I was just about over this thing last night. But I woke up again this morning just as congested as any other morning this week and feeling like crap. I was, however, too stubborn to give up my plans to get this challenge complete.

Once I got my butt out of bed shortly after 8 I stepped outside really quickly to assess the possibility of actually doing the run & bike outside. I actually considered it...although it was 7 degrees outside. After about an hour of humming and hawing, I decided that it'd probably be best to just get everything done at the Y.

I got things going at just about 11am on the treadmill. After 6 miles I decided that I needed to switch things up a bit, so I got on the bike. I knocked out the first 14 miles and decided that I needed a little rest, so I headed back to the locker room for a little snack and some rest. After a 15 minute hiatus I was back on the bike to complete the last 14 miles and then came the final 2 miles of the run.

Having only my swim left I headed back to the locker room and suited up. My legs were pretty tired at this point, but I was determined to get this thing done. Less than half way through I started to get nasty charlie-horses in my legs each time I pushed off the wall. I managed to get through them and get through the swim in pretty good time.

I was at the gym for a total of 5 hours and 10 minutes, but that includes my breaks here and there. My times for each part were: run (8 mis) 1:25:36, bike (28 mis) 1:34:58, swim (2000 yds) 51:06. I'm happy that I managed to complete this and am even happier that I was able to do it at the "gold" level. I probably would have gone for the platinum if it wasn't for this GD head cold...there's always next year!

if i could be...

any character in the movies...

Today was such hell and I have so much reading to do that I thought that I would  take a breather and put together a list of the top movie characters that I'd like to live one day in the life of:

1. Billy Madison, Billy Madison
2. Lt. Pete Mitchell (Maverick), Top Gun
3. Capt. Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather
5. Happy Gilmore, Happy Gilmore
6. Mike Lowry, Bad Boys
7. Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump
8. Roger 'Verbal' Kint, The Usual Suspects
9. Mickey O'Neil, Snatch
10. Phil Connors, Groundhog Day
11. Tony Montana, Scarface
12. Henry Hill, Goodfellas
13. John Milton, The Devil's Advocate
14. Kevin Lomax, The Devil's Advocate
15. Tony Stark, Iron Man
16. Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction
17. Frank 'The Tank' Ricard, Old School
18. Chris Varick, Boiler Room
19. Jim Young, Boiler Room
20. Sonny Koufax, Big Daddy
21. Danny Ocean, Ocean's Eleven
22. Joel Goodsen, Risky Business
23. Lt. Daniel Kaffee, A Few Good Men
24. George Jung, Blow
25. Gordon Gekko, Wall Street

They're not necessarily in any particular order and I certainly have my reasons for each one. Now...back to work.

sad but true...

Peter King, writer for SI and analyst for NBC, is probably one of my favorite football writers and I look forward to his weekly column "Monday Morning Quarterback" each week. To follow is an excerpt from this week's column. I have to be bitterly honest with myself on this one...it's so sad and so true. I hope Jerry heeds someone's advice this off season so that we can end this 12 year drought...

Sunday was one of the five worst days in the 49-year history of the Dallas Cowboys. A buddy visiting some Cowboys friends at the team hotel Saturday night came away thinking how divided the team is, and how bad team chemistry is. End result: Philadelphia 44, Dallas 6. And it was every bit as bad, or worse.

I came to this conclusion: The Cowboys are the Yankees, in so many ways. New York has spent more money than every other team in baseball for the past eight years and not won a World Series. Dallas has acquired the most famous talent in all of football since 1997 and not won a playoff game. Twelve years, and counting.

The Cowboys do none of the very basics of football well. It's because they've concentrated on buying players like Terrell Owens, thinking this is fantasy football. Terrell Owens and Roy Williams at receiver and Jason Witten at tight end? Best in football! We'll crush everyone! But that isn't how football works. Dallas should have known when it acquired Williams in midseason that he takes a lot of care and feeding; as one Lions official who worked with Williams for several years told me Sunday, if you ignore Williams, he's going to give up. He takes after Owens in that way. Looked like Williams gave up on a route that resulted in a Tony Romo interception Sunday.

The larger lesson: In football, you can have a few stars, but they'd better be selfless on Sundays. Dallas' stars are consistently stroked by Jones, when sometimes he needs to either stay the heck out of the player-relation business or give the doggish player a boot in the rear.

Let's fix this team. One: Jerry's got to stop taking draft picks and throwing them at stars. First- and third-round picks seemed a bargain to get Williams, but now Dallas has a massive need at left tackle (Flozell Adams looks 53, not 33), guard, safety (Roy Williams was utterly invisible in 2008) and wide receiver. (We'll get to that in a minute.) Jones had a very good personnel man in Jeff Ireland, who left to go with Parcells. He's got another one now in Tom Ciskowski. Let the talent-miners mine for talent instead of hamstringing them.

Two: Cut the 34-year-old baby, Terrell Owens. With T.O. gone, Romo could drop back to pass and look for an open receiver -- not an open receiver with the number 81. You simply can't play football that way, and no matter what Romo says, I know he does it often enough so he makes sure Owens doesn't freak out on the sidelines or during the week. Build a receiving corps around Williams, Witten and Patrick Crayton (who's a decent player if he accepts being a third receiver). The cancerous Owens simply must go for the team to heal.

Three: Order the players to please, please stop saying they're the most talented team in football. Terence Newman, who played like a Bowling Green walk-on trying to cover LeBron James in Philadelphia, said it again Sunday.

Says who? Says the idiotic process of "voting'' for the Pro Bowl? It's an illusion. The most talented team in football doesn't lose a playoff-type game at home to Baltimore, then lose a playoff-type game by 38 to anyone. Perpetuating this myth only drags a team down. Tell the team: "If we were the most talented team in football, we'd be better than 0-6 in the playoffs in the last 10 years.''

Four: Jones is simply being stubborn in not firing Wade Phillips, or at least not hiring someone else and making Phillips the defensive coordinator. "Are we going to change coaches? The answer is no,'' Jones said Sunday night after this debacle. Suit yourself. How, Jerry, can you possibly ask your fans to have confidence in your staff going forward if you bring back a coach who let this team go to seed so quickly?

It won't be easy to fix this team, but Jones is the only one who can make it happen.

You can read his full piece here.

old school

I was lucky enough to receive a Wii for Christmas. I'm not much of a video game guy, so I wasn't sure how much use it would really get. I found my way online and bought some old school NES games...Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Punch Out. I could care less about Wii Golf or Bowling anymore...I am all about old school warp zones (I still remember where they are!), saving Princess from Donkey Kong, and beating up on Piston Honda. The best part...Nintendo didn't mess with any of the titles, so everything is still pixelated with some really bad background beats. Technology progression is pretty phenomenal, but nothing beats the old school, real deal stuff.

Happy Holidays to all and Wishes for a safe & healthy New Year!!