June
Total: 156 miles over 20 days (10 days off)
Longest run: 18.5 miles
Longest week: 44 miles (last week)
Cutback week: 31 miles
Cross training: biked to work 6 times, 78 miles total
So, my car gets such great gas mileage that I don't actually save that much cash by biking to work. Here's the math: 13 miles a day (w/o errands), car is getting 47 mpg, diesel is $4.51 a gallon. I biked 78 miles this month, which would be about 1 2/3 gallons of diesel, so I saved $7.49 on fuel. I suppose there's carbon dioxide emissions to consider and wear & tear on the vehicle that should get factored in, but I'm only doing arithmetic today, people. I think the value is more in cross training and setting a good example for my kids (who actually bike a whole lot more than I do, at least when they're here).
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Running with Brandy
the imaginary running buddy, not the liquor.I made it on time to the correct lake and after a small GPS glitch were off for what was going to a 15 miler for Brandy but an 8 or so miler for me. We ran together until she headed up Summit and I continued back south along the river. I was running across that southern bridge you see when it started to rain. It was nice rain, not torrential, not too cold. Despite all that urban-ness you see at the left, we were running along the Minnehaha creek for awhile then along the Mississippi (does anyone else have to spell that out loud in their head so they type it correctly?) on a running/biking path. Lots of trees, water, hardly any homicidal drivers. And just a tenth under 10 miles.
SO & I were planning on driving out to Hastings to pick some strawberries, but there's thunder off to the south and I'm not that desperate for strawberries that I will risk getting struck by lightning. Eh, but if it clears up, we'll go.
And go we did. Twenty pounds of strawberries later, we arrive at Trader Joe's to conspicuously consume more consumables.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I wonder...
Are they taking this stove along with them? They are going to the Arctic, after all. Maybe that down jacket isn't going to be enough...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I made this last night
And it was AWESOME. Call it a vegetable terrine if the idea of raw lasagna scares you. It's mostly a recipe I found online (with some substitutions and deletions, of course) plus part of another recipe, also found online. It took forEVER to make. Soak the nuts, sun-dried tomatoes and wilt the spinach an hour before doing the other stuff. Don't cut your thumb on the mandoline by not using the guard. I had fresh herbs growing in the garden, you can use dried if you don't have these on hand. Don't skip the fresh basil, though.
Raw Lasagna
serves 8 or more
1 c raw pine nuts
1 c raw cashews
Soak in water for an hour, then drain and add:
2 T lemon juice
1 t salt
Place nuts, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add 6 tablespoons water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
6 c raw spinach
1 t fresh oregano
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
Toss together in a large bowl and set aside.
2 c sun-dried tomatoes
Soak for an hour in hot water, then drain (save the water!) and add:
1 tomato
1/4 onion
2 T lemon juice
1/8 c olive oil
1 large date
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried oregano
3/4 t fresh rosemary
1/4 t red pepper flakes
Place all of these ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If it's too thick and won't blend, add a little of the tomato-soaking water. Set aside.
3 c basil leaves
1/2 c raw pine nuts
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 t sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
Place all of these ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
2 medium zucchini, thinly shaved lengthwise with a mandoline
3 medium tomatoes, cut in half and then sliced thinly
Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a layer of zucchini slices. Spread 1⁄3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of the nut mixture and pesto, using 1⁄3 of each. Layer on 1⁄3 of the tomato slices and press down gently. Add another layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, nut mixture, and tomato slices. Before you put on the last layer of pesto and tomatoes, put the spinach mixture on, then dot with pesto and top with the last layer of tomato slices. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil.
When you refrigerate this, set the pan at an angle with the cut side lower. It will leak a lot of water and extra oil. Carefully pour it off, or to avoid disaster and heartbreak, soak it up with paper towels.
Raw Lasagna
serves 8 or more
1 c raw pine nuts
1 c raw cashews
Soak in water for an hour, then drain and add:
2 T lemon juice
1 t salt
Place nuts, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add 6 tablespoons water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
6 c raw spinach
1 t fresh oregano
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
Toss together in a large bowl and set aside.
2 c sun-dried tomatoes
Soak for an hour in hot water, then drain (save the water!) and add:
1 tomato
1/4 onion
2 T lemon juice
1/8 c olive oil
1 large date
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried oregano
3/4 t fresh rosemary
1/4 t red pepper flakes
Place all of these ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If it's too thick and won't blend, add a little of the tomato-soaking water. Set aside.
3 c basil leaves
1/2 c raw pine nuts
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 t sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
Place all of these ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
2 medium zucchini, thinly shaved lengthwise with a mandoline
3 medium tomatoes, cut in half and then sliced thinly
Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a layer of zucchini slices. Spread 1⁄3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of the nut mixture and pesto, using 1⁄3 of each. Layer on 1⁄3 of the tomato slices and press down gently. Add another layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, nut mixture, and tomato slices. Before you put on the last layer of pesto and tomatoes, put the spinach mixture on, then dot with pesto and top with the last layer of tomato slices. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil.
When you refrigerate this, set the pan at an angle with the cut side lower. It will leak a lot of water and extra oil. Carefully pour it off, or to avoid disaster and heartbreak, soak it up with paper towels.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I bought him all those clothes...
and all that gear...
and this is what little boy shows up in at camp:
and this is what little boy shows up in at camp:
Monday, June 23, 2008
Bike to work #4
Fourth time biking to work this year. I'm starting to get faster... not by much, 5 minutes or so. And, I've noticed that I can get up the rolling hills in a slightly-less-granny granny gear than I could two weeks ago.
Although I usually avoid talking about my job, it was so quiet at work today. The monitors are out monitoring or something and other people from my division are at a conference in Ohio. My boss is on vacation. Very quiet. I am badly in need of supervision.
It's a cut back week in running and not a moment too soon. Although I've been doing low HR training for about twelve weeks now and have some tempo stuff on the running schedule for this week, I may just keep taking it easy for another week. I ran more miles this month than I'd planned.
You may also notice that I put something new on the upcoming races list. I've decided to try Whistlestop again this year, that is, if I can find a hotel room. I've emailed three places, but the chains already claim to be full. It's still four months away! I don't want to stay at the start end of the course again, I want to be in Ashland. I don't need the mental freak out of driving 25 miles to where the shuttle buses take off, then riding the bus 26 miles back to the start. little boy wants to run the 10k. I think he wants to win.
little boy and his canoe gang should have set off on the actual canoing part of the trip today. I think they were driving yesterday. Big Boy is still doing advanced whitewater training near Duluth.
Oh, and it's my little sister's birthday, too.
Although I usually avoid talking about my job, it was so quiet at work today. The monitors are out monitoring or something and other people from my division are at a conference in Ohio. My boss is on vacation. Very quiet. I am badly in need of supervision.
It's a cut back week in running and not a moment too soon. Although I've been doing low HR training for about twelve weeks now and have some tempo stuff on the running schedule for this week, I may just keep taking it easy for another week. I ran more miles this month than I'd planned.
You may also notice that I put something new on the upcoming races list. I've decided to try Whistlestop again this year, that is, if I can find a hotel room. I've emailed three places, but the chains already claim to be full. It's still four months away! I don't want to stay at the start end of the course again, I want to be in Ashland. I don't need the mental freak out of driving 25 miles to where the shuttle buses take off, then riding the bus 26 miles back to the start. little boy wants to run the 10k. I think he wants to win.
little boy and his canoe gang should have set off on the actual canoing part of the trip today. I think they were driving yesterday. Big Boy is still doing advanced whitewater training near Duluth.
Oh, and it's my little sister's birthday, too.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Another one bites the dust
Big Boy is off to camp until August 11. He is headed to Kugluktuk, Nunavut (and here's a blog I found about the town) and the Arctic Ocean, via the Coppermine River. I'll post updates of his trip, as I have their planned itinerary. Although, they could actually be anywhere. No news is good news when your kids are canoing in the wilderness. Each group has a sat phone and a personal locator beacon, so if something were to go wrong, they can get help. So really, hearing nothing is good. Unless they're all eaten by bears or moose in the middle of the night and there's no one left to call for help on the sat phone. But wait, they're in northern Canada (Big Boy more so than little boy), so there really isn't going to be any night (from Kugluktuk's weather page: Length of visible light 24h 00m, Length of day 24h 00m, Tomorrow will be 0m 0s shorter).
No kids in the house. Quiet. Weird. I have to take out my own trash.
There was a nice cold breeze this morning but the sun was sort of hot. I took Sky for the first lap of of the run and she was happy except for the fact that there's lots of lake sludge in the spot she likes to jump in. SO took the next lap with me, on her bike. The third lap I was on my own, but I took tunes along. Average HR over 18 miles: 137.
Lap 1 (6 mi): 65 min, ave HR 132
Lap 2: 69 min, ave HR 138
Lap 3: 73 min, ave HR 142
My calf seems just fine, it's not stiff or sore at all. My feets, on the other hand, feel rather pounded.
SO & I went to brunch at Hell's Kitchen with two new friends, Terry & Tracy. I had the most food of any of them. It was good. I am sleepy again. Now to watch movies.
No kids in the house. Quiet. Weird. I have to take out my own trash.
There was a nice cold breeze this morning but the sun was sort of hot. I took Sky for the first lap of of the run and she was happy except for the fact that there's lots of lake sludge in the spot she likes to jump in. SO took the next lap with me, on her bike. The third lap I was on my own, but I took tunes along. Average HR over 18 miles: 137.
Lap 1 (6 mi): 65 min, ave HR 132
Lap 2: 69 min, ave HR 138
Lap 3: 73 min, ave HR 142
My calf seems just fine, it's not stiff or sore at all. My feets, on the other hand, feel rather pounded.
SO & I went to brunch at Hell's Kitchen with two new friends, Terry & Tracy. I had the most food of any of them. It was good. I am sleepy again. Now to watch movies.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Sunny sunny day
Oy. I'm tired. And I didn't even run a marathon or even half a marathon (just 5 miles this morning at 4:30).
My buddy Melis & I (along with my coworker's hubby Chris) drove up to Duluth this morning to watch Grandma's marathon. And we watched the heck out of it! We left for up north about 6:15 this morning and had good traffic (i.e. none). We found a place to park and walked over to about mile 22 of the marathon. We'd missed the half, but got to watch everyone from the elite men (some of whom were walking) to the 5+ hour finishers (again, some of whom were walking). It was very sunny and very warm today. We also had a couple of freak downpours, but only near the harbor. Out at mile 22, we got a couple of drips and that was it. Although there are thousands of people who run this marathon, we had little problems picking out the ones we were looking for. I first saw an imaginary buddy leading the 3:10 pace group. Very shortly after that, I saw Jen, and yelled for her, but we've never met in real life, and she may not have heard me. Awhile after that another imaginary buddy, Shawn, came by looking sweaty and a little weird, but still in one piece. Then imaginary buddy and first time marathoner KP of the comments ran on past with Melis pacing him for a few miles. He looked good and rocked his first marathon. Quite soon after that, Kerstin & her sister Erin came running up to us and lots of hugs were exchanged. They both looked absurdly good for it being so stinking hot. And they were good, Kerstin took TEN MINUTES off her PR marathon time (yes, that's good. that's very good!). We stayed around and cheered and handed out all the bananas, power bars, sun chips and ritz crackers that Melis brought. Then, it was time to move the car downtown and find our runners at the finish. We still had some half marathoners who were MIA.
We caught up with more imaginary buddies, Cindi, Tonya, and our other Jen. We sat in a circle for awhile, then it started to downpour and we were looking for Brandy who couldn't find Shawn. We hung around for awhile then headed over to Tonya, Kevin & our other Jen's hotel so they could clean up and Melis & I could hang out. We went to Hell's Kitchen for dinner (? it wasn't even 4pm, late lunch?) and got free peanut butter cuz the runners had a coupon in their swag bags (and the coupon did not say one coupon per customer, it said one free 4 oz peanut butter with each entree ordered). The runners decided it was about nap time and Melis & I decided that it was about time to drive back to the cities. We're both sunburned and tired. Did I mention that I'm tired? I'm going to bed!
My buddy Melis & I (along with my coworker's hubby Chris) drove up to Duluth this morning to watch Grandma's marathon. And we watched the heck out of it! We left for up north about 6:15 this morning and had good traffic (i.e. none). We found a place to park and walked over to about mile 22 of the marathon. We'd missed the half, but got to watch everyone from the elite men (some of whom were walking) to the 5+ hour finishers (again, some of whom were walking). It was very sunny and very warm today. We also had a couple of freak downpours, but only near the harbor. Out at mile 22, we got a couple of drips and that was it. Although there are thousands of people who run this marathon, we had little problems picking out the ones we were looking for. I first saw an imaginary buddy leading the 3:10 pace group. Very shortly after that, I saw Jen, and yelled for her, but we've never met in real life, and she may not have heard me. Awhile after that another imaginary buddy, Shawn, came by looking sweaty and a little weird, but still in one piece. Then imaginary buddy and first time marathoner KP of the comments ran on past with Melis pacing him for a few miles. He looked good and rocked his first marathon. Quite soon after that, Kerstin & her sister Erin came running up to us and lots of hugs were exchanged. They both looked absurdly good for it being so stinking hot. And they were good, Kerstin took TEN MINUTES off her PR marathon time (yes, that's good. that's very good!). We stayed around and cheered and handed out all the bananas, power bars, sun chips and ritz crackers that Melis brought. Then, it was time to move the car downtown and find our runners at the finish. We still had some half marathoners who were MIA.
We caught up with more imaginary buddies, Cindi, Tonya, and our other Jen. We sat in a circle for awhile, then it started to downpour and we were looking for Brandy who couldn't find Shawn. We hung around for awhile then headed over to Tonya, Kevin & our other Jen's hotel so they could clean up and Melis & I could hang out. We went to Hell's Kitchen for dinner (? it wasn't even 4pm, late lunch?) and got free peanut butter cuz the runners had a coupon in their swag bags (and the coupon did not say one coupon per customer, it said one free 4 oz peanut butter with each entree ordered). The runners decided it was about nap time and Melis & I decided that it was about time to drive back to the cities. We're both sunburned and tired. Did I mention that I'm tired? I'm going to bed!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
And he's off!
little boy is off to camp for the next 30 days. Well, 30 days plus a week of job shadowing after he's back from being on trail. We managed to be on time for the bus (unlike last year, when I had to chase it across the metro to Forest Lake), but we forgot the ginormous bag of dried fruit that I've been collecting for the past month and he forgot his sandals. Luckily for us, a trail guide is driving up on Saturday and I'm going to meet him tomorrow and he'll take the stuff up to camp for me.
I got up at 4:45 this morning and ran 6 miles. My calf felt tight after 2 miles, but I kept my HR lower than I had to (ave 133) and concentrated on running relaxed. I think I'll take tomorrow off (as I should anyway) and run an easy 6 early on Saturday and then try a long run on Sunday.
Big Boy had a phone interview with the Forest Recovery Team this afternoon. We've been scrambling to get all the things they asked for finished and faxed to California. I think the fact that they rushed their interview process to talk to him before he leaves for Canada is promising. They initially said that they were going to do interviews towards the end of July. He's still waiting to hear about a second interview with a position in town. The forest gig would be better, I think.
I got up at 4:45 this morning and ran 6 miles. My calf felt tight after 2 miles, but I kept my HR lower than I had to (ave 133) and concentrated on running relaxed. I think I'll take tomorrow off (as I should anyway) and run an easy 6 early on Saturday and then try a long run on Sunday.
Big Boy had a phone interview with the Forest Recovery Team this afternoon. We've been scrambling to get all the things they asked for finished and faxed to California. I think the fact that they rushed their interview process to talk to him before he leaves for Canada is promising. They initially said that they were going to do interviews towards the end of July. He's still waiting to hear about a second interview with a position in town. The forest gig would be better, I think.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
This is really true
One of my genius imaginary runner buddies posted this yesterday and I had to grab it. Did you know that they don't teach grammar in school anymore? Neither one of the boys even learned what the parts of speech are until they started learning Russian.7 miles last night after work and it was 82 degrees. I'm really not used to that. It was a slow, generally unhappy slog. This morning, however, it was still in the 50s at 5:30 and the exact same run seemed much easier (and it was 40 seconds per mile faster, too).
I seem to have strained my left calf (up high, just below my knee). It felt a little tight after my trail adventure this weekend, but stretching seemed to solve the problem. It started to feel a little weird on Sunday's run, but only after 4 miles or so. Yesterday, it started to feel tight about 2 miles into the run, and this morning it was annoying (but not painful) almost the entire time. Yay! Overuse injury. Just what I want as I contemplate running 18 miles on my day off. Oh well, arnica, Vitamin I and stretching will probably put things right again.
Also, I am cranky because the boys are leaving this week. While I enjoy my time off, I always get really crabby right before they leave (it's been this way at least since 1995, so I don't think I'm going to get over it any time soon). little boy leaves tomorrow morning and Big Boy leaves Sunday morning. little boy comes back in late July, but I won't see Big Boy again until mid-August. He'll already be 19 then.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
My own private 30k trail run
Well, it was just under 30k, it was 18 1/2 miles. Three laps of the south horse/hiking trail at Baker Park Reserve. I started out at 9, just after dropping little boy off at Ihduhapi. He skis there in the winter, so advised me to run clockwise around. It was almost entirely fun. There were a couple of spots where I felt a little bleak, but generally I ran with a goofy smile on my face and was having a blast. The path went up & down hills (see above), through prairie (they hadn't mowed in awhile, the grass was about 6" high), through woods, through mud (see bel0w). The first lap was definitely the muddiest, and by the last lap most of the trail had dried out. I stopped at the car after each lap to refill water and grab more Clif shot bloks. I listened to music the whole time and that seemed to help. There was a triathlon going at the same time, I saw speedy bikers while driving to the park, and by my last lap, they were running on the paved trail that ran nearby. Heart rate on the first lap: 145. Second lap: 148. Third lap: 160. My last lap was about a second faster than my first. The middle was three minutes slower. I was stressing about getting back to the car on time to pick up little boy and it was also about 75 degrees and very sunny on that third lap, which I think added to the heart rate jump.
Today little boy & I ran 6 miles with the dog. It was much less muddy. I felt a little creaky for the first couple of miles, but then everything was ok.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Bike to work day (again)
Is the second time the charm? Or just when things start to hurt? I managed to drag myself out of bed at 6:45 after being out late last night. SO & I went to see Aimee Mann at the zoo. Awesome concert (and dang, she looks awesome, too, she's 48 this year!), even though I didn't know a single song. (Can't remember why you know her name? Remember the '80s? 1985? Voices Carry? You know you do.) I ordered her new album and one of her older ones.
I biked to work for the second time this year. It was windy, but it didn't feel humid and it was only 60 degrees. I rode slowly, on account of that 15 on the schedule for tomorrow. (I have an idea for how that run is going to go, but I'll blog about that tomorrow.) And, for the second time this week, I'm wearing a skirt. They pack smaller than jeans. Stop giving me a hard time.
I biked to work for the second time this year. It was windy, but it didn't feel humid and it was only 60 degrees. I rode slowly, on account of that 15 on the schedule for tomorrow. (I have an idea for how that run is going to go, but I'll blog about that tomorrow.) And, for the second time this week, I'm wearing a skirt. They pack smaller than jeans. Stop giving me a hard time.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
No resolution yet
little boy and I met with his counselor, an assistant principal and the principal herself this morning. The way the principal was talking, it sounds as though she generally agrees with my analysis that this is a case of inadequate sourcing. little boy is going to rewrite the paper and we're crossing our fingers that Mr. EnglishTeacher will deign to regrade it. It seemed as though everyone in the room was on the same page about that, so if he resists this option, I think there will be pressure from higher up. The principal seemed especially concerned that little boy had an A before the paper, but ends up with a C- for the term. There was also some concern expressed that Mr. EnglishTeacher had admitted that he hadn't read the entire paper and that there was no grade listed for the final that the class took.
I downloaded and printed out how to source a paper using MLA format (it's really very quaint and I think it would get laughed out of a judge's chambers, but whatever). little boy is at work rewriting and is using different topic questions to outline the thing. I also made him write an outline and took away the copy of his original paper.
Kerstin & I met this morning for a humid, sweaty 5 miler. Well, we almost didn't because my alarm didn't go off (it would help if I would set it, I think). SO's alarm went off at 5:45 and I leaped out of bed, grabbed my running stuff, hunted in vain for the keys to open the door (Kerstin drove up as I was looking) and changed in the dining room. Neither one of us was very talkative, it being dark and misty and us being sleepy, but we accomplished our task. Since I was supposed to run 6 today, I tacked an extra mile onto Saturday's run, which is now looking kind of long (15 miles). But I get tomorrow off from running, so it will all be ok.
Hope for clear weather tomorrow so I can ride my bike to work!
I downloaded and printed out how to source a paper using MLA format (it's really very quaint and I think it would get laughed out of a judge's chambers, but whatever). little boy is at work rewriting and is using different topic questions to outline the thing. I also made him write an outline and took away the copy of his original paper.
Kerstin & I met this morning for a humid, sweaty 5 miler. Well, we almost didn't because my alarm didn't go off (it would help if I would set it, I think). SO's alarm went off at 5:45 and I leaped out of bed, grabbed my running stuff, hunted in vain for the keys to open the door (Kerstin drove up as I was looking) and changed in the dining room. Neither one of us was very talkative, it being dark and misty and us being sleepy, but we accomplished our task. Since I was supposed to run 6 today, I tacked an extra mile onto Saturday's run, which is now looking kind of long (15 miles). But I get tomorrow off from running, so it will all be ok.
Hope for clear weather tomorrow so I can ride my bike to work!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
More rain
It's raining again here in the Twin Cities. We had thunderstorms earlier and there will be more later on. Our rain barrel is full, so the extra water will be running off onto the patio.
Big Boy had an Americorps interview in Minneapolis this morning. Apparently, 30% of the people that this agency serves are Russian, so his language skills would be an asset. Keep your fingers crossed!
I ran 6 this morning before it started raining. Ave HR 143, pace 10:20. About half a mile from home, we pass the lake again, and Sky likes to stop and jump in the water and get a drink. Well, good dog! There were two $5 bills on the rock just before you jump in the lake. There wasn't anyone around fishing or anything that early in the morning, so I got paid ten bucks for running today.
We head to school tomorrow to argue with little boy's counselor and an assistant principal about his English grade. Mr. EnglishTeacher hasn't been fond of little boy all year, beginning first semester when he failed little boy on a substantial team project because the person who had custody of the project handed it in a day late. I asked Mr. EnglishTeacher about this during fall conferences, you know, how about giving the kids half credit (it was a really good project) or penalizing the one who turned it in late, not the other two kids. No dice. He told me, "Well, if he works really hard the rest of the semester, he can probably get a C." So instead of getting an A- for first semester, little boy had a final grade of C-.
Second semester, things went much better, little boy laid low and turned in good work. He had an A going into the final two projects. Mr. EnglishTeacher and Ms. Counselor called me up last week accusing little boy of plagiarizing his final paper. Mr. EnglishTeacher then admitted that he never read beyond page 5 (of a 12 page paper) and was giving little boy a zero. He also said, "I'm not getting overturned on THIS one!" as though he'd been overruled before after hastily accusing a 10th grader of cheating.
I ran little boy's paper through this and it came up with a 4.5% plagiarism percentage. I then ran a work finance memo through the same detector and it got a 44.6% score. I looked at one of the sources that little boy used, and yes, there are three sentences in the first paragraph that he just rewrote. The structure is similar to the outline he saw on a website.
The paper assignment said that they were to use MLA format. I asked little boy how much classtime had been spent on MLA format. Zero. Well, how about a text on this particular format? None. What did Mr. EnglishTeacher have to say about his other papers, not in MLA format, that were turned in? He got As on them. Now, me, I don't know a thing about MLA format. I'm a lawyer. We Bluebook everything.
I quizzed little boy about how much time had been spent in class explaining what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Zero. It hasn't been discussed. School policy defines plagiarism as the intentional or unintentional use of material or ideas that are not your own. I'm sorry, unintentional use of ideas that aren't your own?? You're going to give a kid a zero on a major project for something unintentional? How many completely original ideas have you had lately? About 19th century Russian literature? Furthermore, little boy is more math & chemistry oriented than English & languages. What do you do in math? Memorize formulas & spit them back for the test. How about chemistry? Anyone remember memorizing the periodic table in high school? Uh huh, me too.
I think a more accurate charge would be inadequate sourcing. According to school policy, he should have to rewrite the paper and take a class in citation.
Big Boy had an Americorps interview in Minneapolis this morning. Apparently, 30% of the people that this agency serves are Russian, so his language skills would be an asset. Keep your fingers crossed!
I ran 6 this morning before it started raining. Ave HR 143, pace 10:20. About half a mile from home, we pass the lake again, and Sky likes to stop and jump in the water and get a drink. Well, good dog! There were two $5 bills on the rock just before you jump in the lake. There wasn't anyone around fishing or anything that early in the morning, so I got paid ten bucks for running today.
We head to school tomorrow to argue with little boy's counselor and an assistant principal about his English grade. Mr. EnglishTeacher hasn't been fond of little boy all year, beginning first semester when he failed little boy on a substantial team project because the person who had custody of the project handed it in a day late. I asked Mr. EnglishTeacher about this during fall conferences, you know, how about giving the kids half credit (it was a really good project) or penalizing the one who turned it in late, not the other two kids. No dice. He told me, "Well, if he works really hard the rest of the semester, he can probably get a C." So instead of getting an A- for first semester, little boy had a final grade of C-.
Second semester, things went much better, little boy laid low and turned in good work. He had an A going into the final two projects. Mr. EnglishTeacher and Ms. Counselor called me up last week accusing little boy of plagiarizing his final paper. Mr. EnglishTeacher then admitted that he never read beyond page 5 (of a 12 page paper) and was giving little boy a zero. He also said, "I'm not getting overturned on THIS one!" as though he'd been overruled before after hastily accusing a 10th grader of cheating.
I ran little boy's paper through this and it came up with a 4.5% plagiarism percentage. I then ran a work finance memo through the same detector and it got a 44.6% score. I looked at one of the sources that little boy used, and yes, there are three sentences in the first paragraph that he just rewrote. The structure is similar to the outline he saw on a website.
The paper assignment said that they were to use MLA format. I asked little boy how much classtime had been spent on MLA format. Zero. Well, how about a text on this particular format? None. What did Mr. EnglishTeacher have to say about his other papers, not in MLA format, that were turned in? He got As on them. Now, me, I don't know a thing about MLA format. I'm a lawyer. We Bluebook everything.
I quizzed little boy about how much time had been spent in class explaining what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Zero. It hasn't been discussed. School policy defines plagiarism as the intentional or unintentional use of material or ideas that are not your own. I'm sorry, unintentional use of ideas that aren't your own?? You're going to give a kid a zero on a major project for something unintentional? How many completely original ideas have you had lately? About 19th century Russian literature? Furthermore, little boy is more math & chemistry oriented than English & languages. What do you do in math? Memorize formulas & spit them back for the test. How about chemistry? Anyone remember memorizing the periodic table in high school? Uh huh, me too.
I think a more accurate charge would be inadequate sourcing. According to school policy, he should have to rewrite the paper and take a class in citation.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Nothing much is new
Boys went to the doc for camp physicals today. little boy is officially an inch taller than Big Boy (however, we are of the opinion that if you're measuring the height of 6 footers, you have to be more than 5 feet tall yourself). But, Big Boy outweighs little boy by 40 lbs (no wonder I can't pick him up anymore!). Yes, same genetics, very different builds. Although, there are still a couple of baby pix of them that I can't tell apart. They were "eligible" for shots (they weren't required, but recommended: hepatitis A, meningitis vaccine and tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis), so I promised them ice cream and all was good.
Big Boy bought a pair of tires to put on the beater bike that was in pieces in the basement and rode off to R & D's for more paint scraping and siding put up. little boy has his class at the Y tonight, so I'll be headed out to Costco to stock up on flax and dried fruit. Then, to the bookstore to read magazines for free!
I ran 7 miles this morning, as the schedule dictated. I wasn't optimistic about the whole thing because my legs were still feeling achy from the weekend flagstone project. It went fine, though. Average HR 139, pace 10:46. I think the early summer cold is just about over. I felt less fuzzy and tired today, but it would be nice to be able to taste things again.
Big Boy bought a pair of tires to put on the beater bike that was in pieces in the basement and rode off to R & D's for more paint scraping and siding put up. little boy has his class at the Y tonight, so I'll be headed out to Costco to stock up on flax and dried fruit. Then, to the bookstore to read magazines for free!
I ran 7 miles this morning, as the schedule dictated. I wasn't optimistic about the whole thing because my legs were still feeling achy from the weekend flagstone project. It went fine, though. Average HR 139, pace 10:46. I think the early summer cold is just about over. I felt less fuzzy and tired today, but it would be nice to be able to taste things again.
Monday, June 9, 2008
So far, so good
Although I had a great time socializing with my imaginary friends Brandy, Cindi and Melis on Saturday, it was a craptastic run for me. Too humid, too hot, too long. I was thinking that we were going to run 12, which was what I had on the schedule, but my Garmin had us at 14.5. That, coupled with it being a zillion percent humidity and in the mid-70s with sun (!), my being slightly dehydrated, and of course, my being late (cuz I thought we were meeting at a different lake that started with H), made it just yucky.
I wasn't very optimistic about my new schedule, which had me running 6 on Sunday. However, it was cloudy and in the 50s and I made myself run so that my heart rate stayed below 140. Ave HR: 137. Pace: faster than Saturday! Dog: happy! We spent the rest of Sunday getting some new flagstones for the patio and reconfiguring a couple of areas. One of them was so big that it took the two of us to lift it.
I've managed to catch SO's cold, so I also spent the weekend sneezing and feeling generally tired. Despite that, I biked to work this morning (6 1/2 miles one way, super slow). It was nice out (62 mostly sunny when I arrived) and being on the bike was the best I've felt today. The rest of the day: feeling foggy, headachy, sneezy and tired. And although my arms & shoulders feel fine after yesterday's hours of flagstone fitting, wow, do my legs ever hurt in weird places. And, yes, that's before the bike ride!
In bad bike news, Big Boy's bike was stolen from the front yard of R & D's house yesterday. I'm really annoyed at Big Boy for leaving it in plain sight and for not locking it up. He's almost 19 and knows that R & D's house borders a sketchy area. LOCK YOUR BIKE! TO SOMETHING IMMOVABLE!! Sheesh.
I wasn't very optimistic about my new schedule, which had me running 6 on Sunday. However, it was cloudy and in the 50s and I made myself run so that my heart rate stayed below 140. Ave HR: 137. Pace: faster than Saturday! Dog: happy! We spent the rest of Sunday getting some new flagstones for the patio and reconfiguring a couple of areas. One of them was so big that it took the two of us to lift it.
I've managed to catch SO's cold, so I also spent the weekend sneezing and feeling generally tired. Despite that, I biked to work this morning (6 1/2 miles one way, super slow). It was nice out (62 mostly sunny when I arrived) and being on the bike was the best I've felt today. The rest of the day: feeling foggy, headachy, sneezy and tired. And although my arms & shoulders feel fine after yesterday's hours of flagstone fitting, wow, do my legs ever hurt in weird places. And, yes, that's before the bike ride!
In bad bike news, Big Boy's bike was stolen from the front yard of R & D's house yesterday. I'm really annoyed at Big Boy for leaving it in plain sight and for not locking it up. He's almost 19 and knows that R & D's house borders a sketchy area. LOCK YOUR BIKE! TO SOMETHING IMMOVABLE!! Sheesh.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Moving around the schedule
Although I'm afraid to commit to a fall marathon, not being sure that I ever want to run one again, I'm thinking seriously about a 50k trail race next spring. For those of you not accustomed to running math: marathon = 26.2 miles while 50k = 31.1 miles.
So what would possess someone who's experiencing marathon anxiety to think about running a race that's about 5 miles longer? Ironically, less pressure. At least mentally, and face it, running is 90% mental (say it with me: and the other half is physical). One of the awesome things about trail racing, at least for me, is that the challenge is entirely in finishing and still feeling like you want to continue living. Zero time pressure, sort of like my flirtation with low heart rate training. Doesn't matter how fast I go because it's all about keeping my heart rate between 135 and 145.
I've got myself a 50k training plan, which has about the same number of miles per week as the marathon training plan I used last year, but the runs are moved around so that you're running a long run on one day and then a medium long run the following day. That translates into running both weekend days, which might not be real popular on the home front, but will result in less hectic weekdays, as I'll have Mondays and Fridays off. We'll see how it goes. I'm instituting a trial of this schedule for June. This weekend will be 12 miles on Saturday followed by 6 miles on Sunday.
So what would possess someone who's experiencing marathon anxiety to think about running a race that's about 5 miles longer? Ironically, less pressure. At least mentally, and face it, running is 90% mental (say it with me: and the other half is physical). One of the awesome things about trail racing, at least for me, is that the challenge is entirely in finishing and still feeling like you want to continue living. Zero time pressure, sort of like my flirtation with low heart rate training. Doesn't matter how fast I go because it's all about keeping my heart rate between 135 and 145.
I've got myself a 50k training plan, which has about the same number of miles per week as the marathon training plan I used last year, but the runs are moved around so that you're running a long run on one day and then a medium long run the following day. That translates into running both weekend days, which might not be real popular on the home front, but will result in less hectic weekdays, as I'll have Mondays and Fridays off. We'll see how it goes. I'm instituting a trial of this schedule for June. This weekend will be 12 miles on Saturday followed by 6 miles on Sunday.
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