Training update

Today I ran the "Ridgeline Ramble" 20K race as a part of my ongoing Marathon training. The majority of my running is done on flat roads or paths, so this was something entirely new for me. There were very few flat spots on the course, it was mostly uphill and downhill. The course kicked my ass, but I pressed on and finished in an extremely slow 2 hours and 20 minutes. I think for now I'm going to stick to nice flat runs.

Thank you

Thank you to all the men and women who have served or are currently serving this great nation in the armed forces. A special thanks to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, you are the true American Heroes.

You can't alway trust technology

For Christmas this year I got the Nike + for my Ipod. It's a pretty cool thing that I attach to my Ipod and then put a chip into my shoe and it tracks my time and distance on my runs. When I finish my run I just sync it to my computer and it uploads the data to A website in which I can track my progress. Yesterday I finished a 12 mile run in 1 hour 38 minutes, a pretty reasonable time and I know I went the full twelve miles because because I have measured that route out before. When I synced my Ipod and visited the website it showed the details of my run time and all. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I looked at some of my mile splits. According to my Ipod, I ran mile four in 4 minutes and 6 seconds. The world record in the mile is 3:43.13, so if my Ipod is to be trusted (which it can't be), I ran a mile that was only 23 seconds slower than the world record in the middle of a twelve mile run! If that is the case then I shoud be training for the Bejing Olympics.

Back in training

After a week of being lazy and eating anything I wanted, I decided that it was time to get back to work. After getting home from a weekend in Portland, I put on my running shoes and shorts and went out for a five mile run. Despite my feet feeling like there were cinder blocks strapped to them, I managed a nice easy eight minute mile pace. My training aproach for my next marathon will be a little different as I'm including more races this time. My next race is on Memorial day when I will run 20K (12.4 mile) Ridgeline Ramble along Eugene's famed Ridgeline Trail. After the Ramble I will run the 35th annual Butte to Butte (10k) on July 4 and nine days later I will run in the Coburg Run in the Country (Half Marathon). I may throw in a few more races in the summer as I prepare for the Portland Marathon on October 5th.

One more thing on workplace coffee

When you make a pot of coffee it should not look like tea. Make it strong, if you don't like your coffee strong you can always add a little hot water to your cup to dillute it. Please don't ruin it for everyone.

Coffee Etiquette

I know that I've blogged this before but since this is a subject that is near and dear to me, I find it neccesarry to blog about it again. This morning I went to get my cup of coffee as I normally but when I pressed the button on the coffee pot nothing came out. That really upset me because I had to make a new pot wait several minutes while it was brtewing before I could enjoy my fresh hot coffee. If the last person hadn't been so lazy, I wouldn't have had to wait for my coffee. There is an unwritten rule in the workplace that if you take the last cup of coffee, you're supposed to make a new pot. I call on everyone to please follow this unwritten rule, It will make the workplace a better place!

It just wasn't my day

Today I ran my fourth marathon. I knew going in to it that it wasn't going to be my best run. Two years ago I ran a 3:25:07 which to this day stands as my PR. My training for this one didn't go as well as my first and I'm a lot heavier than I was two years ago. I went out with a goal of four hours and for about 17 miles I was right on pace for that. Shorthly after mile 17 I hit my wall and for nine miles I struggled in pain. I crossed the finish line in 4:30:49, well short of my goal but hey I finished. I'm fully committed to pressing on and doing this again in Portland on October 5. Eventually I'll get back near 3:30 mark and I do believe that some day I'll get that Boston qualifier. The big question is do I do it now or do I wait until I'm 35 when it gets easier?

Vote for Me

Ok Republicans that reside in the 4th Congressional District in the State of Oregon, I've got a challenge for you. Since our party has no canidate for congress filed, I ask that you all write-in my name. When your ballot arrives in the mail, simply write-in Dennis M. Cook for Congress. Let's get me the nomination and then we can take down Defazio in the fall!!!!!



paid for by Cook for Congress 2008.

Quote of the week

I read today that former major leaguer and current "author"Jose Canseco is about to have his 7300 square foot home foreclosed upon. Should I feel sorry for Jose? Absolutely not, especially considering this wonderful quote:

"You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously when you make all that money people think that, OK, let's assume it is $35 million. People have to understand that $35 million, you're paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you're taking care of your whole family."

Obviously math is not one Jose's strengths because if you pay the gorventment 41% of $35 million that leaves you with $20.65 million. Since I'm a nice guy I'll give Jose the benifit of the doubt and say that he had only $17 million to live on. I can't imagine what it would be like to support your whole family on only $17 million, that's got to be tough on the guy. Poor Jose...................