What I'm watching on TV

TV is important - at least to me. I watch a lot of TV but in the last few years I've tried it make it good TV ( good to me) and not just mindless surfing. Have a Tivo makes it easy. It records all the things I like and allows me to watch on my time. Tivo might be the greatest innovation ever.

So here is my list of the 'can't miss' shows.

Battlestar Galactica
The reimagination of this 70s show might be the best on TV right now. And that not just me saying that. They have created a compelling and believable scifi world with people that act and react like real people. They take chances and you never really know what might happen. BSG is exactly why I'm drawn to scifi. What is also very cool is that the creator, Ron Moore, makes a commentary of every episode that can be downloaded for free. Its a fascinating looking into the making of the show.

Lost
What I like about this show is the mystery. I hope it all means something.

Heroes
This is a brand new show so I don't have much history with it but in many ways it has combined what I like about Battlestar Galactica and Lost. A big mystery, scifi themes, and believable characters that I'm already engaged with after only 3 episodes.

There are other shows on the Tivo like 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and 'The Simpsons' but those three are the ones that I make a point to see.

Animation Examples Online

I recently noticed that a lot of animation I did at work last year has found it's way to the internet. They were all done for a CD that is given to patients to help them understand their condition and the heart in general. It was a great project and, from what I heard, well received. It's fun to finally share some examples because most of what I do is considered confidential and is not on the internet.

The fact that I didn't even know they were on the web is not surprising. Once I create them I rarely if ever get to know where they are used and if they were even successful. Sometimes I find out that they have a life beyond there original intent which is always gratifying to me because that means it was valued.

The whole library site

My favorites (animations, not conditions :-) ) are:
Heart Failure
Sudden Cardiac Death
Atrial Fibrillation

Techy notes;
The animation was created in Maya using the vector renderer for the simple cartoony look. We opted for that over a more realistic look because it seems less shocking. It's also impossible to have one cross section of the heart that shows all 4 chambers. Most illustrations are greatly contorted for clarity. The animation was exported as Flash animation and in some cases was actually tweaked in Flash. Even though it's 2d, by using Maya I was able to use much better animation controls thereby giving the heart more realistic and accurate motion. I've looked at a lot of heart animations on the internet and I think these have some of the best motion.

Marathon Statistics

Before the race they had these wrist bands with the mile by mile pace you would need to complete the race in X amount of time. I had the 3:50:00 band. Today I was comparing the splits I recorded with my watch to the band when I realized it would be easier to type them in. So here is each mile, the 3:50 pace time, my time in bold, and my per mile pace. It's interesting to see when I started to lose the pace which was at 18 where I lost a 2 minute lead on the pace. It continued to slip for the rest of the race but I already knew I was going to beat my goal of 4 hours. So I was giving into my legs need to slow down. Mile 24 was pretty bad.

There were 3 mile markers that I somehow missed.

1) 0:08:47 - 08:42 8:42
2) 0:17:33 - 16:44 8:02
3) 0:26:20 - 25:04 8:19
4) 0:35:07 - 33:24 8:20
5) 0:43:54 - 42:00 8:35
6) 0:52:40 - 50:41 8:41
7) 1:01:27 -
8) 1:10:14 - 1:08:13
9) 1:19:00 - 1:16:41 8:27
10) 1:27:47 - 1:25:06 8:25
11) 1:36:34 - 1:33:44 8:38
12) 1:45:21 - 1:42:27 8:42
13) 1:54:07 - 1:51:17 8:49
14) 2:02:54 - 2:00:23 9:06
15) 2:11:41
16) 2:20:27 - 2:18:14
17) 2:29:14 -
18) 2:38:01 - 2:36:55
19) 2:46:48 - 2:46:16 9:20
20) 2:55:34 - 2:55:46 9:30
21) 3:04:21 - 3:05:16 9:29
22) 3:13:08 - 3:15:02 9:45
23) 3:21:55 - 3:25:20 10:18
24) 3:30:41 - 3:36:18 10:58
25) 3:39:28 - 3:45:00 8:41
26) 3:48:15 -
Finish 3:50 - 3:55:46

Race Report; Twin Cites Marathon

This was the big one.
This was the race that I've been training for all year. The one I sacrified many of my weekend bike rides for. Last Spring I decided that, if I could run 10-12 miles by April, I would enter the marathon for the first time. Even though they let in 10,000 people, the race fills in a couple weeks starting in April. So I had to decide then. I made the decision and got in.

The basic training for a marathon is to run normally then have one long run per week that gradually increases all summer till just before the race - then tapers off. Because I still wanted to participate in triathlons I had to juggle the 3 sports and do the long run on Sundays. As the runs on Sunday got up into the 12-15 mile range I really starting to not enjoy them. Usually running is my favorite over biking and swimming but it just gets boring to run for 2-3 hours. I bought an Ipod shuffle so I could listen to a few podcasts. That helped a lot.

The week before the race I did very little per the training guides I had read online. It was very hard not to, but the experts say that by that point you are as fit as you are going to be. Any more training won't help and the rest will help you more on race day. I believe that now.

Race day started at 5:30am for me. Because Linda was at school, I had to have my neighbor Kirk take me to the race. I owe him big for getting up at 6am on a Sunday! The race started at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. There were 10,000 full marathon runners plus another 5,000 for the half marathon. It seems half of the people were lined up at the restrooms. I suppose mostly because people are excited and/or nervous about the race. Luckily, I didn't need a bathroom because I'm a cool seasoned runner - plus I made sure to go before I left.
At the starting line the weather was perfect if not slightly cool for my tastes. It was around 60 degrees with clear blue sky at 8am when the gun went off. It took me almost 5 minutes to reach the starting line because of all the people. Everyone had a electronic chip on their shoe so that when we crossed a sensor at the beginning and end, our time was recorded. In the race were official people that ran exact paces. If you stayed close to them you would know exactly when you would finish. So for example, I started right behind the 4 hour pacer then passed him then the 3 hour 50 minute pacer. As long as they were behind me I knew I would finish below 4 hours. Neat huh!

The race itself was mostly uneventful. They make the claim that it's the most beautiful urban marathon and I totally agree. We wound our way through Minneapolis, around several lakes, along the Mississippi, then into St Paul, up to St. Pauls Cathedral, then finally to the state capital. I don't think there was ever more then a block without spectators and usually the streets were packed with people. I've run for 20 years and never seen anything like that. An amazing amount of support.

As for me I had a fairly good race. My energy level was good throughout. I took my gu packs every 6 miles and at least a little water at every water station (around every 2 miles). Around 15 miles my legs started to ache and my motivation started to fall. My parents were at mile 17 which was fun and lifted my spirits a bit. Soon after that I popped a couple Advil I had for the achy legs. I had anticipated that. It made a big difference as I crossed the Mississippi at mile 19. From mile 20 to 23 was mostly uphill and is usually a big challenge for most this late in the race. Revived by the Advil I was able to keep my pace up and powered up the hill. I passed a lot of people near St Thomas University. However I paid a bit for that because at the top of the climb near Snelling Ave my legs were really starting to get heavy. But with only 3 miles to go I struggled on. Reflecting now I was more having to overcoming the mind then the legs. It was very difficult because it's easy for me to talk myself out of uncomfortable situations especially when I was already ahead of my goal. But I pushed on. Miles 24 and 25 were a blur. Linda was along the last 500 feet cheering me on. I was able to sprite the final half mile to the finish line and crossed at 3 hours and 55 minutes. A sub 4 hour first marathon!

I felt fine as I walked through the exit chute but there were other runners littered across the grass. I later learned that many people had a problem with the heat although I though it was fine. I in fact wore a jacket for the first 10 miles and was glad I did. It just shows how everyone is different and you have to adapted the training, and racing, to your own needs.
All in all I'm glad I did it however I have no interest in doing another marathon. It was an amazing experience but I would much rather do the triathlons were I can be moderately competitive. I love running but just not that far. I will probably continue to run an occasional 10 mile but no more 15-20 milers!