mickdog

I Survived

2009-10-25T20:11:08Z

Half Marathon over. Legs sore, feet blistered, but otherwise no worse the wear. I'm pretty exhausted though. So, I'm resting at home this afternoon, waiting for my official time to come up. I may ~~not~~ have gone under 10 min/miles, it'll be close. But I survived. I'll post a full report later tonight most likely for those who like the details.

Edit: Just got the results. Ran it in 9:52 min/miles. That makes me happier.

mickdog @ 2009-09-03T02:11:00

2009-09-08T07:58:48Z

I have insomnia tonight. I rarely get it, but for whatever reason, I'm not tired at all and my mind is racing with all sorts of interesting ideas. None really interesting to anyone but me most likely, but ideas nonetheless.

Maybe an hour of mindless surfing the web will get me sleepy....

Slow night for news?

2009-08-17T05:39:50Z

My local (Portland, OR) just ran a thirty-second story on this: http://wbztv.com/local/foxboro.underage.drinking.2.1130102.html

Ummm, doesn't this happen every weekend in every large city in the country? It did when I was a teen growing up in Michigan. Weird.

Fundraising Final Numbers

2009-07-14T17:29:52Z

My Reach the Bridge 8k event for the American Lung Association just reported that they raised over $36,000! My goal was $200, I raised $290.55 which put me as a top twenty fundraiser. That means most of the hundreds of entrants just raised the minimum $50 for me to be so high up. Thanks again to all those who donated and sent well wishes.

My son also thanks you to because as a high fundraiser, I got a $25 Target gift card. He is going to get a new Lego set with that money!

Here's a picture of me that someone I don't know took near the finish line. I'm the one in blue. I think my form looks good here so I'm happy with the photo. If you click on the super large size you can compare me to the others I'm passing and their "agony of defeat" faces. :) Just kidding.

This is a cool photo of the drum core working it as the bridge was being raised up after the race.

odd

2009-07-12T22:53:03Z

Went to alexa.com to look at barge.org's numbers. They are low of course but I was curious. Anyway, I clicked on search terms driving traffic, here is the list:

So I get the first six, but why are randy, mike mcclain, and warren in the top ten? I had to look John Roh up. Did he ever come to BARGE?

Remember in running, gravity is your friend

2009-06-29T19:22:16Z

So yesterday I got up early drove to the MAX station and took the train to Washington Park for my event. It was a little weird at the start line because it was a reverse timed event, meaning that you could leave when you wanted but you were trying to make it to the Burnside Bridge by 9am. At that time the bridge would raise and you'd be stuck on the other side if you were late.

As a result, people trickled out in little groups. I was going to leave at 8:15am (making it 9 min/miles which I figured I could do) but there were so few of us left I started getting nervous I was overestimating my abilities, even on a downhill course. I left at 8:12am, all alone.

Annoyingly there were no mile markers on the course, despite it being well marked in every other respect. I had a watch on to keep track of my time and I hit the 1.8 mile mark (I knew this from charting the course myself beforehand) in about 14 min, so I knew I was doing 7-8 min/miles. The next two miles were really downhill (steep at some points) and I obviously picked up speed a bit. I passed a few runners and was feeling good.

The other thing that made be smile was there were two middle aged men sitting in lawn chairs in front of their house. They were rating all the male runners that went by. They were holding up scores, a la gymnastics. I got a 9.0 and a 9.5, and gave them a wink and a smile. :)

I came out of the neighborhood and into the city and the next thing I knew I was at the 2K left water station. I was relieved that I had only 25% of the race left and I turned the corner and got onto Burnside - now just a straight shot to the bridge. The first remaining kilometer was easy, but I was slowing a bit. The final kilometer was tough, because it was the only uphill part of the course, on to the bridge and up and over the crest. It was probably only a 100 ft incline, but at this point my body was feeling it. I kept running and finally saw the finish line. I mustered up what energy I had left and "sprinted" to the end. Just before crossing, I spied my wife, son, and dog, off to side cheering me on. That was sweet.

I was pretty in shock at how fast I ran: man, gravity helps! As I mentioned earlier I ran course in 7:13 min miles which blows away my previous record. I grabbed some water, recovered a bit and then sat with my family as the final runners made it across and a drum core played as the bridge went up. It was pretty cool.

As we were leaving, I took off my "In Memory of..." sticker with my father's name on it and placed it on a rememberance wall they had created. That was very special and a fitting end to my morning.

quick running report

2009-06-28T19:26:08Z

I posted this on facebook, which seemed succinct enough:

Thanks to cool weather, a downhill course, and some adrenaline on my side, I crushed the 8K in 35:53. Thanks to everyone who supported me!

Full report later. My calves need some attention. :)

My Next Run: Raising Money for the American Lung Association

2009-06-15T21:38:57Z

On June 28th, I'm going to be participating in Reach the Bridge, an 8K run here in Portland that raises money for the American Lung Association. This organization has special meaning to me because my father died of lung cancer in 2004. I am a big advocate of basic cancer research, both to search for a cure and prolong quality of life and some of the money raised will go to these important activities. I'm going to try to set a new personal record in running the 8K in honor of my dad.

I realize that many of you already donate to a variety of causes but I'm trying to raise at least $200. Any amount, no matter how large or small can help. If you are interested in donating, just go here: http://reachthebridgerun.kintera.org/michaelpatterson and follow the simple directions. Thanks in advance. Note if you are my friend on multiple social networks you may see this in some form a few more times.

Tired of poker posts? Ok! Ballet!

2009-06-13T17:43:28Z

Since I couldn't swing the Vegas/TARGET trip this year, last night instead was a date-night with my wife. Originally were were just planning to go to dinner and a movie. However earlier in the week I heard about the benefit performance the the Oregon Ballet Theatre was putting on. They are in danger of closing their doors because of a drop not in ticket revenue but in donations, and had to raise $750,000 in one month. So they came up with a great idea: Dance United. They asked other ballet companies/dance groups across the country to send dancers to perform a special piece of their choice. The response was amazing and they lined up some amazing talent. My wife and I both love dance so we figured what a great way to have a date night and support a local institution.

Then I went to find tickets. They were $50-$300 being a fund raiser. I figured I could spend $50-$75 each but that was it. I check availability and the cheapest available are box seats for $200 apiece. Hmmm, no dance for us. Later that night I tell my wife what my plan was and say, "I was going to check craigslist, but haven't, maybe I'll do that right now." Sure enough there was one lone post, tickets originally $50 for $30. Orchestra row G but off to the side so the back left corner of the stage would be slightly blocked. But for $30 this seems like a steal. I agree to meet the guy the next day at a Lawnmower Store(!) near my neighborhood.

I go for the "pickup" and get the sense that the guy got these tickets from someone for a job he'd done (he was a handyman) and he just wanted to sell them for quick cash. All goes well, the tickets are legit and we are going to the ballet!

We get to the performance early, find free parking (!!), and wander in. There is a HUGE line for people purchasing tickets at the last minute. We find our seats (great for $50, amazing for $30, no major sightline issues) and start reading the program waiting for the program to start. They start twenty minutes late (to accomodate all the walk-up sales) and just as things are about to start who walks in and sits five seats center from us? Portland's mayor Sam Adams(!!!) Unfortunately of late his press has been occupied around a scandal regarding his personal life, and tonight he again had a good looking young man on his arm. This time his date was closer to 25. :) He was super sweet and down to earth to those around him (introducing himself as "Hi, I'm Sam!").

The performance was amazing, the pieces that the OBT did were very nice with a few standout performers but some of the best pieces were of course from the big name ballets. The New York Ballet's George Balanchine’s Tarantella with dancers Megan Fairchild and Daniel Ulbricht was show-stopping. The Houston Ballet brought Stanton Welch’s Falling Pas de Deux and dancers Melody Herrera and Ian Casady were graceful and stunning. Boston was well represented with an original piece and the San Francisco Ballet did an interesting modern set. However, two Pacific Northwest groups, BodyVox and the Trey McIntyre Project, won over the modern dance fans with two fansinating and well-chorographed pieces.

All-in all it was an incredible performance and my wife and I were glad we could go. We felt bad we didn't buy the tickets directly but I justified it in that the amount of dollars that our date spread around both helped OBT as well as the local economy. Someone bought the tickets for $100, I rebought the tickets for $60, brought $10 in drinks at the performance, and paid our babysitter $40. Plus we are going to go to a BodyVox performance for sure, and of course go back to a future ballet so easily $300 to the local economy. And anyway, they raised over $300K last night, and are very close to hitting their fundraising goal. Bravo!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

2009-06-09T20:22:06Z

BARGE registration is open. Everything is set except the speaker (still TBA but we are working on it).

I hope many of you can come, and for any newbies feel free to ask questions here or email me: mickdog at gmail dot com. Hoping this will be THE. BEST. BARGE. EVAR.

I obviously don't watch a lot of violent movies anymore....

2009-05-24T05:41:42Z

I was playing poker tonight (doing well, ty) and my wife's cousin, Pam, who is in town started watching The Kingdom. I was trying to ignore it, but got a little into it as I played. Right as I finished playing my last tourney for the night, the climatic scene in the movie started, which if you haven't seen it, is extremely tense, extremely bloody, and very realistic.

I was watching, transfixed by the action, when Pam said, "I'm tired I'm going to bed. Do you have any allergy medicine?" This meant I had to get up and find it. In doing so I finally realized how taken by the action I was. I tried to open up the medicine cabinet and found my heart racing and hands shaking. I'm still a little jumpy after 15 minutes. I had to go in and check on my sleeping son, just because that's what parents do.

I need to go watch something very sweet and benign, like tranquil videos of waterfalls or something. Jeeesh.

Hurling out some questions

2009-05-18T20:05:54Z

Just a minute ago, the cat threw up - projectile vomiting all over the mass of wires behind my Tivo. That was fun to clean up!

This begs two questions:

1) Where is the worst or most unusual place your cat (or other pet) has left some bodily fluids?

My male cat has peed on beds and suitcases in the past in response to some environmental change he doesn't like (we are out of town, kitty litter is too dirty, etc.) Those are the worst to deal with but not all that unusual. Behind the Tivo was a new one for us.

2) What is considered normal vomit frequency when you own a pet?

I have two cats, one vomits about once every two to three weeks for seemingly no reason (no hairballs, chronic diseases, etc. - I think just kitty acid reflux). The other cat, only once or twice a year. My dog, has hurled maybe four times in the 1 1/2 years we've had her.

Come on, I know you want to talk about vomit! There must be some good stories out there....

I know it is spring when...

2009-04-26T22:08:20Z

... my wife and I sit down and make a list of all the "to-do" projects in and around my 109 year-old house. The list is up to about 50, with 30 or so pretty doable with out a ton of money or maximal effort. The other 20 or so, probably will get rolled over to next year's list.

Who am I kidding, if we get 15 of them done it will be a miracle.

Question for my Jewish Friends

2009-04-07T03:41:13Z

{Whenever I say that I always think of that 1980s PSA about the little boy being prejudiced because he refers to a boy as his "Jewish friend" not just a friend. I tried to find it on the web but got shot down on one site for for terms of service violation - any help digging up that gem is appreciated.}

Anyway, our doorbell just rang. My wife made me get up (to say no to any solicitors - she's a softy). I opened the door and no one was there. However, there was a plate of cookies on the porch. I started to bend down to pick them up and called for my son who was heading for bed. Just then my neighbor, whose family is Jewish and has a daughter my son's age, pops out from behind our bush at the side of the house and says "Its a secret!" and runs off smiling.

I say, "oookay" and get my son, show him and tell him it came from someone in the neighborhood, but it is a secret. He of course loves this and while he eats a cookie, he tries to pump me for more information as does my wife. I am stoic. Later I tell my wife and we both wonder if this has something to do with Passover, but a quick persual of the web turns up no gift giving traditions. So the theories at my house are:

1) Passover related gift giving
2) Had to get the "leavened" chametz out of the house before Passover and we were the lucky reciepients.
3) They just like us and like secrets.

I'm assuming 2) but am open for other interpretations.

8K post-mortem

2009-03-16T04:04:14Z

Well, I didn't die - but I did get wet. It rained pretty solidly the whole race, with a few gusts of wind thrown in. But it could have been worse, much worse. The 5K, 8K and 15K had over 20,000 participants, so it was a mad house, but we were able to get there about twenty minutes before the race, stash our stuff and head to the start line.

They staggered by time, I went to the 9-10 min/mile section, my friends went back to the 10+ group. The gun sounded and in took forever (2-3 min) to get to the start line and then the first 1 mile was a lot of jockeying to get out ahead of the pack. A lot of people were really slow and you needed to run around them. By 1.5 miles it smoothed out pretty well. It was a gradual uphill until mile 3 and then flat or downhill all the way home.

I felt I was running well, and doing about my time (10min/mile or so) then at mile 3.5 I noticed my shoelace was coming untied. Weird, they were double knotted, but I had splashed in a few puddles. I actually decided to increase my speed as much as possible to get to the finish before an equipment malfunction, and around mile 4 the lace was completely undone. Luckily my foot was in the shoe pretty tight so I just hauled ass to the finish line. I crossed, pretty exhausted. It took me about 4-5 minutes to catch my breath.

The time said around 51 minutes which seemed a little off, but considering the rain and my shoe I couldn't really complain. I knew I was a bit faster than that, but had to wait until tonight to see the official time from the racing chip wrapped around my ankle.

After the race, I grabbed some water, got our gear, and waited for my friends. We walked over to the beer garden but it would've been a 30 min wait so we gave our coupons to other racers and headed back to the car. That 10 min walk was the worst part of the morning. We were pelted with rain and wind and our now sweaty and cold bodies felt horrible.

We decided to go get some bagels and cream cheese and head back to the house where the children were playing. Two bagels and many cups of coffee later, I felt more like myself.

The final time was better than I expected-- 47:01 meaning I ran just under 9 and a half minute miles! I didn't realize the clock at the finish was the gun time. Very encouraging considering the elements faced. But to put that time in perspective here in my race crazy city, my time gave me a ranking of 1017th/1593 for the men's 8K. The winning time was almost half me at 24:08!

So bottom line: early morning, rain, wind, untied shoelaces,and all the aches and pains afterward - definitely worth it! Next race? Maybe a short 5K next month, and/or a 15K in a few months, I'll have to figure out my schedule a bit.

8K T-1 Day

2009-03-14T21:02:22Z

I was hoping for beautiful weather and my body in perfect condition leading to a fast time. Unfortunately the best laid plans have been laid to rest. The gorgeous weather of last week has turned into rainy, windy days. 70% of showers tomorrow, probably 40-42 degrees F at race time.

I tweaked my soleus muscle a few days back, but it felt fine on yesterday's two-mile run. However, my back has a little pull in it as well, and I'm hoping that won't get worse during the event.

I'm going to carpool with a few friends who are also running, so at least we can all be miserable together if the rain pours and the wind gusts up to 30mph as predicted. Oh and there is a frosty beverage at the finish line waiting. I'm might want it to be coffee or hot cocoa instead. :)

$20 down the drain?

2009-03-13T01:18:44Z

Went to Safeway today, spent a bunch of money, saved a bunch with coupons, paid for it with my debit card, decided to get $20 cash out.

Completed transaction, got my receipt and more coupons from the little print-out thingy and went on my merry way.

Came home, unloaded the groceries, and then realized I didn't get handed my $20. Shit.

I go back over to the store, my cashier has gone on break. Talk to the assistant manager. She takes my name and number and says they will count the till tonight and if it is over $20ish, they'll call me to come and pick up my money.

What kind of line do we set on that happening?

Fitness and diet ramblings

2009-02-27T19:24:54Z

-I just signed up for my next race - The 8K Shamrock Run - all the ADBers out there will appreciate the Beer Tent at the finish line sponsored by Widmer Brothers Brewery - every eligible participant gets a free frosty beverage.

-I also just ran 7K for the first time. I'm a little tired but not exhausted. My time was slow though- 10:20/mile. I was however very happy I ran 2 miles a few days back with at a 9:00 per mile clip. Again, slow for many but my fastest yet. It was a little more downhill of a course though. :)

-The running has definitely helped my weight but getting those last 5-7 pounds off has been more difficult. This is mostly about two things - I need to cross-train more on my off days, and eat fewer calories overall.

-Speaking of calories, I started, for the first time ever, to write down and total up exactly what I eat. I'm shooting for 500 less calories a day and so far these past three days have hit that target. I find that I do best if I eat 4-5 meals a day at about 400-600 calories each. I'm not restricting anything really, I just watch portion size. I'm only going to do the writing/counting for a week, and I hope by then I'll have a good enough sense of what portions are appropriate I can just eyeball it.

So in general all is going well on the fitness front. I've been inspired by so many of my friends who have been getting in better shape, so thanks to all of your stories. Whether it is running, Muay Thai, treadmill work, yoga, or the Wii, your updates are all great to read and motivate me to continute to move forward.

LJers get this a few minutes before the BARGE list :)

2009-01-30T16:42:50Z

We, the organizers, are pleased to announce that BARGE 2009 will take place at Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel from Tuesday July 28th to Saturday August 1st, pending the usual regulatory approval.

The exact details of the tournaments, banquet, speaker and symposium will be released as soon as they are finalized, and will be available at the website: www.barge.org .

We can't wait to see you all there!

Signs I am getting old #271

2009-01-29T18:06:25Z

I have been given the opportunity to play (for free) in a $100 buy-in NLHE charity tournament held at a cigar store here in town tomorrow night. And I'm thinking I'd rather just stay home.

The only reason I'd go is to blog about it later and maybe get a cigar-related BARGE bustout gift. What say you readers: is that enough incentive to get off my butt and be social with complete strangers?

It's a Miracle!

2009-01-11T16:25:41Z

As a belated Xmas gift I received these, in tablet form. A few nights back, I had poured myself some lemonade and thought why not test them out? The difference of the flavor before and after was quite striking. Pre-tablet the Newman's Own Lemonade was your typical lemonade tart, with a hint of sweetness. The tablet reversed these, the drink was almost too sweet with just a hint of lemony acid. It tasted a lot like the lemonade you get at amusement parks, which they just pour the sugar in the glass along with a 1/2 a squeezed lemon.

Next I tried some plain soda water, and the acidity of the carbonation turned into a hint of sweetness, as if someone had poured a tiny bit of simple syrup into my drink. Lastly, I tried some dark chocolate with bits of candied ginger. The Miracle Fruit didn't do as much here; the bitterness of the chocolate was still pronounced but it did seem to mellow out the ginger a bit.

Overall, it was a cool and weird experiment. I'm going to try a whole bunch of foods and drinks with them and see what favors emerge.

37 hours

2008-12-24T20:42:25Z

I left my house in PDX at 11am Monday, I arrived in Michigan at my final destination at 3am (bonus question: What city am I most likely in? My wife said to me a few minutes ago: "I was just shopping alongside Jeff Daniels!")

When I last posted we were in MSP stuck for a day. We tried to get our flight changed early in the morning (after 7 hours of sleep) but no luck. So we decided to have breakfast at the IHOP next door (meh) and then walk over to the Mall of America.

To say that I never thought I would step foot in the MoA is an understatement, but I was glad we did. It gave my son an opportunity to have 3 hours of fun wedged in between 34 hours of hell. He went crazy over the Lego store, marveling at all the huge lego dinosaurs, space ships and other models, then he rode four of the rides in the amusement park in the center of the mall. My wife bought a few last minute gifts (Legos!) and successfully hid them from my son. We walked into the hideous Rainforest Cafe (so my son could look at the aquarium tanks) and I decided working there would be the worst possible customer service job I could ever imagine.

We returned to our hotel, got our luggage, and took the hotel shuttle to the airport. We checked in and realized our flight was 2 hours late! Grr. So we ran to another gate, got on a waitlist, and amazingly got the last three seats!

Our good luck agian turned bad again when it took over an hour to load the bags on the plane. But we finally left the Twin Cities en route to the Motor City. We landed 45 minutes ahead of our scheduled plane but our ride was not there, as Detroit got hit with a big snow storm. They finally arrived, and we decided to wait and see if our bags were on our original plane. They were, but it took an hour and a half for them to come to us. Grr again! Add an hour and a half drive to my wife's parent's house, and we arrived at 3:15am Xmas Eve day.

Seven hours of sleep later, 2 Excedrin, some non-fast food and a pot of coffee later, I'm starting to feel a little like myself. I have a few quiet moments with my son while everyone else is out rushing around for last minute purchases. The peace is wonderful.

So for the holidays and the New Year I have a simple wish: For all my friends enjoy few moments of peace, in whatever way works for you, over the coming week.

Ahhhh, the joys of holiday travel!

2008-12-23T15:44:03Z

When we left our hero last, he was cozily hanging out at home with with family during ARTIC BLAST 2008 (!!!!). Having survived that they now were preparing for their trip back to Detroit for the Holidays. Little did they know that ARTIC BLAST 2008: Part Deux!!!! would raise it's nasty head.

Sunday to Monday Portland got about 13" of snow. That rare event caused the already backed up airport to cancel almost all flights. The snow let up in the morning, and our flight (leaving at 12 noon to Minneapolis) was not canceled, just delayed indefinitely. So we leave the house at 11am, make it to the airport and our flight has been given a time 2:45. Then 5:15. Then 5:26.

We check our bags and rebook our flight from MSP to Lansing, MI not DTW for Tuesday night, 11pm. There was nothing to DTW until Xmas eve! Our flight finally leaves after 7pm and we arrive at MSP near midnight. We rebook our flight back to DTW for an 8pm arrival. I had booked a hotel before we left PDX and got to a nice Homewood Suites (across from the Mall of America) around 1:15am.

We are now seeing if we can get out earlier (but it doesn't look good). So we may head over to the Mall instead and let our son go gaga over the gigantic Lego store there.

Sadly we are going to miss my wife's family's big party (50-60 people) but at least we will be home for Xmas eve and Xmas day.

ARTIC BLAST 2008! (or so the news says)

2008-12-15T18:09:23Z

Yesterday Xmas arrived early in Portland with a nice snowstorm dropping 2-5 inches of white stuff on the valley floor. My house got about 2-3 inches and then promptly froze, making the roads pretty treacherous. Growing up in the Midwest I never understood the obsession with chains in the West but it really has to do with elevation changes and the amount of ice that forms. My wife had to work last night and she had no problems getting to the hospital with the chains on. She of course was welcomed to a ton of craziness (she works in an ICU) and they had four admits overnight, filling the unit with short staffing.

My son, dog and I took a nighttime walk around the neighborhood so see all the snow and ice and holiday lights. It was a lot of fun and he was excited to be out in the weather. I wish it hadn't been so windy or we could've stayed out a lot longer.

Of course they canceled classes today, which really doesn't affect us much (my son's preschool is Tues, Thurs, Fri only and I'm done with my finals). So it'll mostly be a lazy day of hanging out, watching movies, and playing in backyard.

However, I do have to go out to the store and get a few things today, and I'm probably going to take the chains off. ODOT is not requiring chain use (like yesterday) just that you carry them.

The other exciting morning chore has been to thaw out the hummingbird feeder every couple hours. We have two wintering ones who need to keep eating or they will freeze.

Maybe I'll win something this year!!!!

2008-12-04T05:42:35Z

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 680569