Seattle Half-Marathon

Unofficial Time: 1:59:20

I ran my first 1/2 marathon Sunday with Chad and Melia. IT was a very cold morning, and I agonized right until start time about what to wear. Luckily it wasn't raining, and it turned out to be a beautiful day. The starting area was packed as close to 10,000 people began the 13.1 mile course. My goal was a finish time of 1:45 , which would put me at 8 minute miles. Unfortunately, the crowd was so dense and we started so far back, that I spent the first 3 miles just trying to find an open space to get moving in. Some of the hills were tough, but not to bad. The couse went through Leschi and and some other beautiful neighborhoods along Lake Washington. One cool part was running through the I-90 tunnel. I ran hard the whole race, trying to make up for the first 2 miles, which were 11 minutes apiece. As I neared Memorial Stadium, I realized that I would just barely make it under 2 hours. I pushed it really hard, and crossed the finish line at 1:59:20, according to my watch. Not so bad for my first half-marathon. Maybe I'll be back next year!

Frustrating Discrepancy

I've been using a Nike+ system to help me keep tack of my running. It is a little sensor that is on my shoe, and a receiver on my ipod. The sensor senses each stride taken, and sends the data to the ipod. Nike has a pretty great web site where I have all my run data logged. Today I went for a long run. I was planning on 10 miles, but when I got close to home, the Nike+ system said that I still had two to go. I was feeling pretty good, so I went for another 2 miles. I got home and compared the Nike+ data to the route I actually ran. A big difference. Nike+ says 10.25, Mapmyrun.com says 12.02. I'm not sure which is correct. My pace for 12.02 miles would've been 7:30/mile. I don't think that is right - too fast. So - I ran somewhere between 10 and 12 miles. Sometimes technology is great, sometimes not so much.

John Cornish

John Cornish is a local geologist/paleontologist who gives an inspiring presentation to the 6th graders at outdoor ed. each year. His message is that you can find treasures all around you - just look down. I got in touch with John recently because we are teaching a new science unit on rocks and minerals. he put together a great sample collection for my class, and I drove up to Port Angeles this morning to pick it up. John invited to me have a look at his personal collection too. He has a true passion for his hobby and livelihood that is impossible to miss. He has samples on loan to the Burke Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Carnegie Collection in New York. He and his wife have discovered several new species of prehistoric whale and crab, and have one named after them. He gets out into the field and gets his hands dirty to find natural treasure, and best of all, loves sharing his passion with others.

Nice Box

Today at Target we found a great looking box for sale - Perfect size, color, everything! As far as boxes go, this one is the best. We decided that even though it was a little pricey, it would certainly be appreciated by our cat, Mr. Sophie. Your welcome Mr. Sophie, I hope you have a more restful sleep.

Tube of Rot

As part of my ongoing Masters in Education, K-8 Science Instruction program, I am now taking a course on ecology. As part of the course I need to study decomposition. This "Tube of Rot" will be with me for weeks. Inside these cut apart pop bottles are pieces of tomato, banana, lettuce, spinach, potato, oatmeal, pumpkin (from the jack-o-lantern featured previously), soil, and a starter mixture of bacteria. Yum! This may make a nice centerpiece around Thanksgiving (just kidding honey!).