Saturday, October 25, 2008

Mid-term Angst

On Thursday, I took two midterms. The second was in Matrix and Linear Algebra, and it seemed to have gone well. It was the first one, Calculus III, that has me concerned. Of the ten problems, I only managed to work seven of them. When class ended, about half the class was still in the room. I sent an e-mail to the professor asking about this, but have gotten no reply. I had sent two previous e-mails to this prof, and gotten no response to them, but he seemed to have considered them. I'm wondering if there is to be a curve. If not, I may have hit the first real bump in my return to school. Time will tell.

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

My World Series Prediction

I'm going out on a limb by picking the Rays to win, though I think it'll likely take six games. There seems to be a magic about this team this year. They play tough, scrappy ball, and they finished the season with the best record in baseball.

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Nervous About The Sox

As the ALDS came to a close, I commented to one of the local crossing guards (another Red Sox fan), that Tampa Bay seemed to be a juggernaut, and that I'd believed they'd be unbeatable in the post-season, but that in the ALDS, I'd seen some signs of weakness. Now, after tying up the series at 1-1 and then spanking the Sox at home last night, it's looking like my initial feeling might be right. I'm a Sox fan from way back, I don't give up hope, but I don't expect much. Only time will tell.

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Monday, October 13, 2008

Wearing The Coaching Hat

Four kids from the group I coach raced yesterday. One boy, the youngest who raced, finished last. He just doesn't seem to "get" racing. At 8, it's really no big deal, but I know his Mom and Dad want to see him having some success. So, it becomes a matter of trying to get him to look at racing as something to aspire to, and modifying his running style to make it a bit more efficient.
The other three kids ran the 3K race. Among them, my son was the first to finish. The two others, both girls, finished right after each other. The one who finished first raced worse than I expected, the one who finished second was in tears. I have a feeling that the one who raced worse than I expected was running with the other to support her. It's my job to try to tease out that piece of information, if that's, in fact, true. The tears of the one in back were due to a severe stitch.
My son raced pretty well, but in analyzing his race, thinks there were a few things he could have improved on.
Now, I have my job cut out for me. We'll have to see what happens.

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Monday, October 06, 2008

Around The Bay 30K

The Around the Bay 30K race (begun in 1894) is believed to be the oldest regularly held race in North America. While in Toronto, I had the chance to see their trophy. It's recycled! It's actually the 1914 Boston Marathon 1st Place trophy, which was repurposed in 1950 as the permanent trophy for the Around the Bay. Here are a few photos:
The 1914 1st Place Boston Marathon Trophy was named the Tommy Thompson Trophy in 1950 and serves as the permanent trophy for the Around the Bay 30K Race in Hamilton, ON. Jimmy Duffy was the winner of this trophy at Boston on Patriot's Day 1914.

I took photos of a couple of panels of the base with the list of winners. I took this one because you'll see that the 1954 winner was Arnie Briggs. Though a fine runner, I was most aware of Briggs as the man who trained Kathrine Switzer for the famous 1967 Boston Marathon. It was at that race that, due to her using initials, rather than her first name, she became the first woman to run Boston with a number.

I took this shot because an internet friend, Orville Atkins won the race in 1961.

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

A Disorienting Experience

Having run all my previous marathons in the United States, running my first outside the States, and coping with the change from miles to kilometers was a bit disorienting. The math we are accustomed to doing is different, and the way they give info also differs. I don't know if the availability of clocks is limited, but I am fairly accustomed to seeing a clock at most, if not all, miles. Now, to be fair, I was at times pretty near the maximum time allowed for getting around the course, so some may have been pulled to be relocated or simply shut down. I recall seeing one that had its battery die, so was up but non-operational. Of course, at the pace I was moving, a sundial would have been adequate.
Also, while it's normal to wear a watch, because I was dressed like the Johnny Hayes of 1908, a watch would have looked out of place. (OK, I may have been overplaying the role, I'll admit.) I'd gotten a pace chart, courtesy of Running Room for a 6 hour pace. I fell a bit behind, and had actually intended on a 5:45 finish time, but they didn't have. Regardless, it gave me a pacing of 8:31 per km, which was enough to keep me mostly on track.

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