There was a free Hold Steady show at the Paradise a few weeks ago and Laura, Jason, Mariam, and I went. I'm constantly impressed by their live show; the energy and enthusiasm they put out is phenomenal. They played a lot of material from their new album that I wasn't very familiar but there were plenty of tracks from their other albums that I did.

Laura and I saw Wall-E last week and it was pretty great. The quality of the animation was simply stunning and the story was adorable. It would make a phenomenal date movie but is well worth seeing in any capacity.

Jason and I took a trip up to Rumney on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and for some reason, there were almost no people there. We didn't have to wait for a climb at all and some of the crags were totally empty. We started off on Rose Garden (5.7) and Truth in Advertising (5.7+) and I felt pretty sketched out on both climbs. I wasn't very confident with my feet or hands the whole time and these climbs didn't get me excited about the day at all.

We then wandered up to Jimmy Cliff and started on The Junco (5.8+). This particular climb was the second lead I had ever done outdoors and I was hoping it would help me get back into a good mental place. I ended up getting backing off several moves (some of them multiple times) and eventually came off near the top. This was about the least confident I've ever felt on a climb and I was pretty bummed out about the day and the state of my climbing in general.

Jason then shot up To Love, Honor, and Belay (5.9) and told me that I should get up it. This is either the easiest 5.9 around, or the Junco is the hardest 5.8+ around because I went right to the top without any problems.

Jason had been climbing really well all day and wanted to give Lonesome Dove (5.10a) a try. He went up it with almost no problems and couldn't stop raving about how awesome it was. I had climbed it last summer (not cleanly at all) but after my climbing exploits earlier in the day, I wasn't feeling very confident. Jason talked me into it and I'm glad he did, because I ended up with my first clean send of a 5.10 outside. For whatever reason I felt solid the whole way up, my feet and hands stuck where they were supposed to, and I didn't run into any of the problems I had last time with route finding. The view from the top was incredible and it was a totally unexpected high after the nonsense from the morning.

After that we hiked back down to Darth Vader (which was still empty) and flailed around on Yoda (5.9). The first few bolts are on a pumpy overhang which neither one of us were in any shape to be playing on, and the last section was a vertical crack / crimp climb that required a lot more footwork than my toes could handle.

A few quick photos from Quincy:

The main crag.

I set the anchors on top of the main crag...

... and no one died!

This is the second Crimson Fist test model I have painted. I tried to go with thinner highlight strokes on this model with a different color blue. I think the technical highlighting looks a lot better but I'm not sold on the color so I will probably make a third tester with the new style and old color of highlights. I'm also still deciding whether or not I like the all brown base (Test 1) or the brown and gray base (Test 2).

Test 2.

Test 2 and Test 1 side by side.

Last week I started training for the Bay State Marathon which runs on October 19th. Lisa and I will be training together again but this time we're looking to take the next step in our program. We're going to be doing the Intermediate II schedule from halhigdon.com (last time we did the Intermediate I) and also incorporating tempo runs, pace work, and possibly some core work as well.

This first week of training was pretty rough. I jumped right back into 5 days of running per week after not running for almost 4 weeks. My body is pretty tired and sore but I worked through it and after my 10 miles yesterday I am feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I think the hardest run I did was the 6 miler on Saturday because I pushed the pace pretty hard on the way home and paid for it. I toned it down for the 10 miles on Sunday and managed to run pretty evenly (somewhere between 8 and 9 minutes per mile) and strongly the whole time.

Runs: 5
Miles: 28.4
Time: 3:51:50

The other weekend Laura, Jason, and I took a trip out to Quincy for some climbing. I set the anchors and did a pretty good job. I was nervous about the whole thing but I think I was pretty successful. The climbs weren't very hard but there were some interesting ones.

Today is Laura and my two year anniversary. To celebrate, we went to the ICA on Saturday, had sushi for dinner, and saw Get Smart. Tonight we're going to a place called Shabu Zen in Allston. Neither one of us has been to a restaurant like this before but it looks pretty exciting. It's been a wonderful two years thus far, and I anticipate more of the same.

I haven't made a whole lot of progress on my Wood Elves in the past few weeks. I managed to paint up the last four Dryads in the army, which leaves 5 Wild Riders, 6 Waywatchers, and 1 Wild Rider Noble left for the army. Of that, I've made a start on one Wild Rider horse.

Branchwraith, Branchnymph, and two two Dryads

I've also made a discovery that is a bit disconcerting. Apparently, Games Workshop has stopped production of half of their Waywatcher models. Currently I have six models for the unit, but only three unique sculpts. I don't like having duplicate models in a single unit but I am not sure where I am going to get an additional three models with different sculpts. Games Workshop does make a Waywatcher Noble model, but that still leaves me two models short. The idea of hacking up and converting metal models is not appealing so hopefully ebay or the interwebs will provide a solution.

I have all the models I need for about 1000 points of Crimson Fists sitting on my desk. I'd like to get them assembled and play a game or two with Spoony. Once 5th edition and the new codex comes out I will buy some more models and take it up to 1500 or 2000 points. I've started a second test model to try a few different things out and I think I'm closing in on what the final scheme will be.

The other day Bannister, in what I can only assume was some sort of protest over the terrible way I've been treating him this winter, threw his chain as I was going into a busy intersection and nearly killed me. When I stopped to fix that problem I noticed that the rear hub is totally boned. I'm in negotiations with Woodrow now to purchase a set of wheels from him.

Work has been really stressing me out lately, so much so that I left sick halfway through yesterday. It was a good decision I think, because I'm a lot more motivated and focused today. I don't really know what it is about this week, but I was just not very happy here or enjoying what I've been doing lately. I'm hoping a solid weekend will get me back on track.

I'm approaching the end of my Wood Elf army. Yesterday I finished off the Dryads, and all that's left at this point is some Wild Riders and Waywatchers. I'm excited to have this project done. I've learned quite a bit about painting and had a lot of fun getting this army from concept to completion.

Once these guys are done I'm going to begin work on an army of Crimson Fists. Already have 5 tactical marines, 5 terminators, and a rhino assembled, and another 10 tactical, 5 terminators, and 1 rhino on the sprues awaiting some attention. I'm currently looking into purchasing an assault and devastator squad as well, which should get me somewhere between 1000 and 1500 points. The scheme will be pretty typical of Crimson Fists.

I was aiming for some bold highlights, but I think I overdid it just a little. I have a bunch of ideas on how to improve this scheme on the next test model which I think are going to work really well. Also, these models come out in October and I'm planning on picking up a set of each:

Veterans on foot (from Bell of Lost Souls)

Veterans with jump packs (from Bell of Lost Souls)

Climbing has been sporadic at best over the past few weeks. There was a period of time where I thought my new shoes were going to be too small and painful, but I believe that I have fixed the problem now. They are incredibly precise and powerful and I'm pretty pumped to see how they work out.

Laura, Jason, , Kev, and I headed up to Rumney to spend Saturday and Sunday climbing and camping. I would describe the weekend as a rousing success - the weather was gorgeous, the climbing was fun, and the camping was relaxing.

Saturday started with what would turn out to be the hardest climb of the weekend, Obi-Wan Ryobi, a 9+. I lead it, but got sketched out on the early cave crux and spent a bit of time figuring out where the holds were. In retrospect, probably not the best climb to start on.

Me on Obi-Wan.

We then wandered on down to the 5.8 Crag and I set up The Terrace (5.8) for Laura to climb on. It was very slabby and while there weren't really any holds, the climb was very straightforward and fun.

Laura on The Terrace.

Next I got on The Raven, a very long 5.8. This climb spend a lot of time traveling up and to the right, so the falls had the potential to be big pendulums. This was a bit of a sketch out because often I wouldn't be able to see the next bolt so I would just continue up and to the right until something presented itself.

Jason and I then blitzed through Snake Skin Slab (5.8) and Asbury Park (5.7) before calling it a day.

Saturday night found us camping along the clear and cold Baker River. We bought burgers, s'mores, chips, and lots of beer, set a big fire, and generally had a grand old time. Jason fashioned a very functional spatula out of a coat hanger that we used with great success to flip burgers all evening.

I woke up on Sunday a little hung over but otherwise feeling ready to climb some more. I started up on one of my favorite climbs, Bolt Line (5.8). I feel like every time I get on this route the first bolt is less sketchy and the second bolt is more. There are no feet or hands anywhere and my calves were screaming at the end.

Me on Bolt Line.

Jason really wanted to try Lies and Propaganda next, which is a two star 5.9. After the second clip there was a sequence of moves that was a bit scary, but otherwise it was a great climb that was very rewarding to finish.

Jason on Lies and Propaganda.

Following that performance, Jason and I lead and cleaned Sixth Sense (5.6) for Laura. The climb had a few cool overhangs and some other interesting formations that made for a really interesting climb. We also watched some people take some interesting falls and generally be idiots.

To cap off the weekend, we got on Air and Present Danger, a 5.8 that starts at the top of another crag and is phenomenally exposed. The first two clips are sketchy because if you fall you're rolling off the cliff before being caught. The third clip is sketchy because you can't see if until you totally commit to some big moves. The rest of them are sketchy because you can see for miles in every direction and you're super exposed. The climb ends on a pair of really thin hands and no shuts; there is a rap ring and some chain. I was pretty nervous at the end and decided to back up my personal awesomeness system with a second anchor made from three draws strung together. All told it was a great climb to polish of a fantastic weekend.

Andy comes down off of Air and Present Danger.

I think I need a break from running. Since the marathon ended I don't have anything that I'm working towards and running has become something of a chore. I've been inconsistent at best with keeping in shape and at this point, two or three runs a week of 4 miles almost feels like a waste of my time. Mostly I just feel unmotivated and unexcited about the whole thing. My plan is to take a few weeks / months (whatever feels right) off and come back excited and with a goal (what that goal is I have no idea, but something).

My return to climbing has been going pretty well though. Last weekend I bought a bunch of new gear, including quite a bit of cord / webbing / slings and a rope. I took it to Hammond a few days ago with Jason and Kev and we climbed some simple stuff; it was a lot of fun to be outside again. Laura and I went to Metro where I struggled up a 10c, rocked a 10d, and tanked on a 10d/11a; that all tells me that the routes were not terribly consistent but that I am in pretty good shape for how long I've been back climbing. Hopefully some people will want to spend this weekend up at Rumney where I can get in some good solid leads.

My Wood Elves are shaping up pretty nicely. I'm now about 700 points away from having a full 2000 point army painted. In the 10ish years I've been in (and out) of this hobby, I've never had more than a few hundred points of anything painted, and what I had looked like crap. I'm really proud of this army and I think it's going to look great when it's done.

I've also started thinking about what I want to do once the elves are done. I was initially hesitant to start anything new since Spoony will be leaving and the GW store moved out of Harvard Square, but I realized that I'm not much of a gamer anyway so nothing has really changed. Initially I was thinking Deathwing, then I moved to Eldar, and now I'm thinking vanilla marines in the form of Crimson Fists. I like this last idea the most since it allows me to essentially play marines how I'd like to. We'll see though, as I'm going to wait until 5th Edition and the new codex are released (October).

I'm going for a run after work today, which will be the third time I've run since the marathon. I had such high hopes for maintaining my fitness levels post race, but without a goal to train for I've sort of fallen off the bus. I've also started climbing again, which is taking up the time and energy I used to devote to running.

Yesterday Matt, Pete, and I went to Hammond Pond after work and did some bouldering and traversing. There would have been some top-roping but Matt forgot his rope. The stone at Hammond is called Puddingstone, which essentially looks like concrete with pebbles in it. The pebbles are round and very slick, so footwork is very very important. I spent a lot of time working on my foot placement yesterday and feel pretty confident that I improved quite a bit in the hour and a half we were there. I'm thinking about trying to get back once a week for the specific purpose of traversing to improve my stamina and foot work.

I bought these shoes last week and I'm waiting for them to arrive in the mail so I can use them.

Work has been very stressful the past few days. My office is gearing up for the closing of the dorms, Commencement, our participation in summer orientation, and the general madness that comes with every office at BU trying to get everything done before the school year ends. I have been very busy this whole week and haven't really had any time to screw around, which used to be all I did at work.

I ran the Boston Marathon on Monday in 3 hours, 35 minutes, and 12 seconds. That was 25 minutes faster than my public goal and 10 minutes faster than my semi-private goal.

My splits were as follows:

mile	split	total
1	8:37	8:37
2	8:20	16:57
3	8:23	25:21
4	8:12	33:33
5	8:18	41:52
6	8:13	50:06
7	8:09	58:15
8	8:25	1:06:41
9	8:19	1:15:00
10	8:28	1:23:28
11	8:24	1:31:52
12	8:18	1:40:11
13	8:17	1:48:29
14	8:17	1:56:46
15	8:25	2:05:12
16	8:18	2:13:30
17	8:42	2:22:13
18	8:41	2:30:55
19	*
20	16:43	2:47:48
21	8:35	2:56:14
22	7:41	3:03:55
23	7:51	3:11:47
24	7:09	3:18:56
25	7:05	3:26:02
26	**
finish	9:09	3:35:12

*I missed this split, but I would guess that I ran mile 19 in 8:22 and mile 20 in 8:21
**I missed this one too, but I would guess I did mile 26 in 7:37 and the last 0.2 miles in 1:32

The start of the race was very hectic and the first three miles couldn't have been run at any other pace due to the press of all the other runners. After that the field started to thin out and Lisa, her sister Aimee, and I were able to average about 8:15's all the way to Heartbreak Hill (about mile 17). We were obviously slowed by the hill and sometime around here we lost Aimee. This was also the time that both of my quads started to hurt rather intensely. My cardio was great and my legs didn't feel fatigued, but my quads felt very very tight.

At the top of Heartbreak I was feeling great and started pushing the pace (mile 23 and 24). Somewhere near Washington Square Lisa told me to go ahead and I pushed the pace down to almost 7 minutes per mile. I flew through Coolidge Corner and South Campus, but started to slow down on the last mile.

The final push down Boylston was the hardest part of the race. All of the runners I was with had condensed to make the turn from Commonwealth Ave. to Hereford St. and had maintained that tight formation for the turn onto Boylston, but when we arrived on Boylston the formation broke apart and everyone spread out. The sensation was bizarre, because it was the first time all day there had been any sort of clear space in front of me. I had a clear sight to the finish line and the huge banner above it, but it seemed so far away, and the pain in my legs made it feel like forever before I got there.

After I crossed the line, my legs nearly dropped me on the ground. The moment I stopped running whatever had been keeping me upright and moving stopped working and the best I could manage was a slow, shaky walk forward. I received a space blanket, some water, and a banana before making my way to the Commons where Laura and my family were waiting.

Laura and my family were really supportive during this entire ordeal and I don't think I would have been able to do it if not for them. My parents drove out to Natic with signs to cheer Lisa and I on, and Laura made countless cups of tea and scheduling concessions for my training. I gave my mom a kiss in Natic and it was wonderful to see them all at the end of the race.

The after party was delicious and a ton of people came to say that they had seen me, or tried to see me, or just to say congratulations; it was a great way to top off a day that had already been phenomenal.

Including the marathon, here is the final tally of runs, miles, and time from my 128 days of training.

Total number of runs: 85
Total number of miles: 573.81
Total time: 79 hours, 22 minutes, 41 seconds

That averages out to 6.75 miles per run and 8:18 per mile (which was about what I averaged for the marathon).

Overall, the experience was phenomenal and I can't wait to start training for my next marathon. I don't know where it will be, but my goal is to run a 3:10 or faster and qualify for Boston in 2009.

Total number of runs: 80
Total number of miles: 535.85
Total time: 74 hours, 11 minutes, 21 seconds

This tapering nonsense is more difficult than the long running. I'm having a really hard time taking it easy on these runs which is adding more stress to the upcoming marathon day. Over the course of these week I will be running 11 miles total - this is not nearly enough miles to eat up the boundless energy that I have.

I've been trying to make plans in the evenings to occupy my mind. Lisa and I are going shopping after our run tomorrow to find some shirts to wear on race day, on Thursday Steve and I are going to get burgers and watch a Red Sox game after work, and Laura and I might go to a Red Sox game on Friday night. Lately I've sat on the couch at night with so much energy that I almost want to get up and start pacing.

I e-mailed a girl this morning who may have a number that Lisa can use. If that's the case then I will fill out the application Woodrow gave me and we'll both be official runners. If not, we'll continue our plan of being bandits.

I've worked my way through three of the Wardancers. They all have good spots and bad spots but overall I'm happy with how they're coming out. I painted the skin of two more last night but found myself rushing through and didn't do anything else. I've also noticed that the paint has been rubbing off of some of the models, which is a bit disturbing.

I miss climbing. I haven't climbed anything since I was in San Francisco, which was over a month ago.

Total number of runs: 75
Total number of miles: 511.85
Total time: 70 hours, 57 minutes, 31 seconds

Woodrow knows some people and yesterday when I came into work he had a number for the marathon if I wanted it. I don't want to run officially if Lisa can't, so I asked him if he could find a second number; he said he'd take a look.

The taper is pretty interesting. I feel like I'm not running nearly as hard (which I'm not) and it is difficult not to tack on a few miles. This past Saturday I ran 4 miles, which is a distance I haven't run in six weeks.

My parents and sister are going to be in town to see me run which is really exciting. My dad was at every soccer game and track meet that I ever competed in until I graduated high school, but almost never got to see me play ultimate in college. I miss having him there, and even though it is unlikely that he'll actually see me running the marathon, I'm excited to know that he's there cheering me on in spirit.

The other night I build Laura's desk and tonight I'm going to build a dresser for her. I enjoy building furniture and had a blast assembling stuff when I moved into my new place.

Over the weekend I had the good idea to take new pictures of the models I have painted for my Wood Elves (you can see them here). At some point during the evening I put one of my trays full of Dryads on the ground to make space on my desk. The chair I've been sitting in has been broken since I got it and it chose that night to break. When it broke, it dropped me on top of my figures, literally crushing 11 of the 24 Dryads on the tray. I believe I can salvage most (if not all) of them, but it is a bit depressing to see them smashed up and broken after all the work I put into them.

I also started painting a Wardancer and pretty much finished him up last night. The models are gorgeous and I had a ton of fun painting him, but I'm not really happy with how he came out. In general he looks drab and uninteresting, and I know that the way I painted his hair is really letting the model down. I'm going to take a stab at the hair again and probably re-highlight his leather pieces to try to get some brightness on the model.

Total number of runs: 71
Total number of miles: 483.31
Total time: 67 hours, 08 minutes, 14 seconds

Before this is done, I'll have run over 500 miles over the course of more than 3 full days.

This past Sunday, Lisa and I ran 22 miles (check out the route) at an average of 8:30 pace per mile. Around the 16 mile mark my legs started to feel pretty bad, but some gel and water (from some very friendly people who set up aid stations on the course) got me through. We stopped at the top of Heartbreak Hill, but both of use were confident that we could have maintained pace and finished the whole thing. Hot damn! My confidence is through the roof and there are still 3 more weeks to get some miles in.

These last runs are part of our three week taper. I'm supposed to be taking it easy and letting my body recover from the precious 15 weeks of punishment, so come marathon day they have all of the strength and none of the damage. My understanding is that this is very hard to do, considering we've done nothing but ramp up the miles for the past 3.5 months. I think I can do it, and I'm excited to have some extra free time now that the runs are decreasing in distance.

I helped Laura move into her new apartment last night. She doesn't have much in there right now (just a futon and some clothes) but the place has a lot of potential. Over the rest of the week she'll be moving more of her stuff in, and her parents are coming up on Friday to help her finish it off.

Her moving (and subsequent furniture search) has motivated me to try to finish furnishing my room. I've been working on a wobbly table with a stolen hutch for a desk since I arrived, but that solution becomes less and less viable everyday. I would also like another book case / display case for my little men, and I really need to get a real chair since the piece of crap I have now is starting to hurt my back.

I finished painting my Spellsinger, which means I only have two more Glade Guard models to paint. I can't wait to never have to paint those models again. I was excited about the painting on this model after the skin (especially the face!) and lighter green went on, but the dark green and brown didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.

I continue to lose at chess, although recently I've been encouraged because I'm no longer losing so badly.

Over the course of my training I've noticed that often times when I'm done running my stomach will get very upset. The worst instance of this was on Sunday, but it happened yesterday also and I can think of several other times in the past few months as well. I spent some time thinking about it last night, and the only actual cause I could think of was drinking. I can't say about any other times, but Saturday night I went to the Pour House, had a few drinks, and got sick after my run on Sunday. I went out Tuesday night to a fancy dinner, had a few drinks, and got sick after my Wednesday run.

I can see why drinking could cause this, but I know I've drank heavily and run the next day with no problems (my birthday and Friday night come to mind immediately). At least until the marathon, I'm going to cut down on the drinking before runs and see if the stomach problems go away.

Yesterday's run was a really easy 8 miler that Lisa and I did in 1:06:55. I love the fact that 8 miles now constitute a casual run for me. The first long run of this training program was 8 miles, and I struggled through it in 1:28:06. I can now happily run that distance 22 minutes faster with no effort at all, and can blitz it 28 minutes faster and still feel stronger afterwards. I'm not sure that I've ever been in this kind of shape and I'm really curious to know what sort of mile and 5k times I could put out right now.

Total number of runs: 67
Total number of miles: 447.56
Total time: 62 hours, 00 minutes, 12 seconds

I'm nearing the end of the Glade Guard models. I finished the basic 8 of them last night, which leaves me with just two musicians and a Spellsinger left before I never have to paint these things again; I can't wait.

I added some red to the models to break up the boring greens and browns, and I think it helps make the models stand out. My highlighting, while not getting any more technical, is certainly getting faster. I'm glad I can paint to this level at a greater speed, because doing it as slowly as it was going was starting to be a drag.

Only three more to go!

Total number of runs: 66
Total number of miles: 439.56
Total time: 60 hours, 53 minutes, 17 seconds

Running in San Francisco felt like running in jello. The hills were ridiculous and I don't ever want to try it again. The situation wasn't helped by the fact that I had rolled my ankle climbing in Yosemite, so I only ran twice that week.

I arrived home on Saturday, and on Sunday Lisa and I crushed 20 miles; that did wonders for my confidence. Sadly, it did the opposite for my right hamstring. After toughing out Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week, I took Thursday off to rest and came back terrifyingly strong on Saturday (I blew through 8 miles at 7:30 pace) and solid on Sunday. There is some lingering pain and tightness, so I plan to take Tuesday off as well.

My vacation was a pretty good time. Laura and I spent our first night in California sleeping in a tent that we pitched in a parking lot because there was snow on the campground. In the morning we went climbing in Yosemite, where I didn't even top 30 feet before rolling my ankle and ending my outing.

After that adventure, we spend the rest of the week wandering the city. We took a tour of the Haight (a fun commercial district in the city), saw the aquarium and an Asian Art Museum, and spend a day in Stanford looking at the campus and Tim's lab. All and all it was very relaxing and warm, which was what I was looking for. Some photo excerpts can be found below, and more here.

Some trees near our campsite.

El Cap, about 3500 feet up.

Laura cruising through a crack.

Me enjoying the highest point in my Yosemite climbing experience.

Since coming home, I've tried to finish painting my Glade Guard, but the models are so boring and I'm just not interested in them. They're mostly done, but I'm not sure I'll be able to hit the 200 point mark for this month. The monotony of this has left me thinking about finishing the models I have bought (a unit of 7 Wardancers) and putting the rest of the army on hold to work on something else. This same feeling has led me to seriously think about downgrading the size of my Blood Raven army from 1500 to 1000 points. If I do that, I will only have 3 Marines, a Land Speeder, and Dreadnought left to paint. I'd also like to finish the Tau army I have (2 Crisis suits and 5 Firewarriors left).

After that, I'm not sure where I'd like to go with this hobby. Spoony, my primary (and only) opponent, is moving to California in September and once that happens, I won't have anyone to play with anymore. That being said, we don't play much to begin with, so mostly this hobby has been painting for me anyway. Who can say. I have been looking at a Death Guard army and a Blood Angels army recently, but I'd like to finish what I have now before starting anything new.

Laura and I are going on a date tonight to celebrate her getting an apartment and so I can thank her for taking care of me yesterday when my stomach revolted against my body.

I saw Dar this weekend and he asked me to be part of his wedding party. I was a bit surprised but honored. Now I just need to figure out what exactly that means. I sure do feel old.

Total number of runs: 57
Total number of miles: 358.05
Total time: 49 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds

I've now spent over 48 hours training for this marathon.

Apparently, 18 miles is a breeze. I ran without Lisa this past Sunday (due to an alcohol induced foot injury) and did really well. The first few miles took about 10 minutes per, but eventually I found a comfortable stride and ran strong through 12 miles. Here, I pulled my new ace: Gu Performance Gel. I took one of these at the 12 mile mark, and another one at 15 miles, and never looked back. There wasn't a surge of energy that I could detect, but despite my rather large pace increase, there wasn't any new fatigue either. These things essentially allowed me to go a lot faster with no consequences - awesome!

Kayleigh came to visit over the weekend and Laura and I entertained her while she was here. I was sad when she left in December so it was nice to have her come visit us. We all tentatively made plans to visit her in the Addirondaks this summer.

I had some very lofty plans to paint 8 Glade Guard before leaving for California on Saturday morning, but they've fallen pretty short. The idea was to paint one color a day (flesh, secondary green, primary green, and brown) over the course of four days, and have 90% of the models done when I left. The flesh and secondary green went on just fine, but Laura and I went climbing last night, and followed that up with some beer at the Behan, so last night was a wash. Tonight is movie night, which means that I won't be able to paint anything else before we leave. Oh well.

EMS had a very large pack on sale for $100, which I bought yesterday to use on this trip. I also bought a dozen carabiners to turn into draws. I'm getting more and more excited about this trip as it gets closer.

Joel is still rocking my socks off in chess (I'm currently 0 - 5, with a 6th loss coming right up). My book arrived in the mail, so some quality reading time on the plane should help my game a bit.

Laura is all better.

Total number of runs: 53
Total number of miles: 322.05
Total time: 44 hours, 18 minutes, 02 seconds

The 17 miles last Sunday were tough. I felt pretty good for the first 75% or so, but eventually the lack of sleep and poor eating from the week before caught up to me and I struggled on the way home. However, I slept well over the weekend and have been eating much better, so the three runs during this week all went very well. Lisa and I are tackling 18 miles this weekend and I'm feeling a lot better about it than I was about the 17 last weekend.

I finished painting my Dryads last week. One of the units I painted to look like birch trees, and I think they came out really well. I have a unit of 10 Glade Guard, a unit of 7 Wardancers, and a Spellsinger assembled and based, but the weather has been brutally cold this past week so they haven't received primer yet.

Brown - I really like the skeleton in this unit.

Birch Trees.

About 850 points of Wood Elves.

I finally got around to working on my fish tank this past week. Through the wonders of the internet I ordered a bunch of silk plants, some driftwood pieces, and black gravel. The results of a few hours of moving plants and stacking gravel to get the wood to sink res

Everything looks a lot more yellow than it really is.

When I get back from California I am going to have Spoony drive me to a fish store so I can buy some neon tetras. My hope is that the black and bright green of the tank will help set off the reds and blues of the fish.

I've been playing a lot of e-mail chess with Joel this week (he's currently 3-0, with a likely 4th victory on the horizon). He's pretty good, although I'm bad enough to not know the difference. However, I'm very interested in learning how to play better. I ordered a book on Joel's recommendation that should arrive next week sometime.

This has not been a stellar week. Laura had some dental work done last Thursday and was put on anti-biotics. On Sunday (maybe?) she developed developed a rash and it became clear that she was allergic to the anti-biotic. We were hoping to tough it out but ended up in the ER on Tuesday morning where we were told that she was just going to have to deal with everything but that eventually she would be ok. I went into work late and left early because I was exhausted. Around midnight we went back to the ER, and stayed there until 6am while the doctors made sure she was still ok. They determined she was and we both went home to sleep. At this point she developed sores in her mouth (either from the reaction or the dental work) and hasn't been able to eat solid food for a few days now. She went into the ER for a third time yesterday, and again they decided that even though she was miserable there wasn't anything they could do.

I haven't slept much since Sunday night and have been worried sick. I know she's going to be fine but it sucks that I can't do anything to make her feel better.

Total number of runs: 48
Total number of miles: 279.05
Total time: 38 hours, 06 minutes, 20 seconds

I've had several good runs over the past two weeks (several of the weekend 7 milers and Wednesday's 8 miler with Lisa) and one bad run (Sunday's 11 miler that I ran alone and with an Ipod). Overall I'm very happy with where my training is and I feel very confident heading into the longer runs.

In the coming weeks Lisa and I will do 17, 18, 13, 20, 12, and 20 before hitting the taper. Even 9 weeks ago when I started this whole thing, runs of that size would have been very daunting. Right now though, I'm really excited to tackle them and I know that I will do them well. This gives me a lot of confidence for the marathon itself, which I wasn't expecting to have.

Last night I did the final details on the last four Dryads, which leaves me with only the basing to finish. I am pretty proud of myself for getting motivated and painting 16 models in two weeks. At this rate I will have this army painted in a few months.

Spoony's friend Matt came to our place this past weekend and the three of us played a round robin tournament at 500 points - Matt beat both of us, and I beat Spoony. My victory over Spoony came because of some good rolling on my part and some bad rolling on his, but I also think my list starts off at an advantage over his due to all of my shooting and his lack of an armour save.

In the first turn against Matt I killed off his unit of fast cavalry, which I thought won me the game right away. However, my inexperience at the game led me to charge a ranked up unit of his infantry with my Glade Riders and Noble, and after a few rounds of combat he had killed most of my army. He had static combat resolution and a good armour save in his favor, and I just didn't have the volume of attacks needed to overcome that - lesson learned.

My Warmachine models arrived, and they're a bitch to assemble. They look fantastic though, and I'm both excited and intimidated to start painting them.

At times, biking is the most relaxing thing I can do for myself. The quick ride from Laura's place last night to the comic shop was pure happiness. I didn't feel the cold, I didn't feel my legs working, I just felt the smooth motion.

Total number of runs: 40
Total number of miles: 231.69
Total time: 31 hours, 23 minutes, 59 seconds

I crushed my weekend 7 mile run. I ran 8 minute splits for the first half, and then increased my pace for the second half. I felt great the whole time and finished strong even up the hills. Sunday's 15 miles were done in the pouring rain, the shining sun, and the blowing wind; towards the end there was even some thunder, and we just avoided a blizzard. Lisa and I averaged 9 minute miles and I felt great for most of it. This week is a down week, which is going to be a welcome rest and recovery period.

This weekend I was very motivated to paint, and between Sunday and yesterday I painted eight of my 16 remaining Dryads. One unit is a darker version of my previous scheme. It doesn't look terrible, but I think the original unit is going to look better. I was a bit bored painting brown though, so the second unit found itself looking like Birch trees. I think the scheme itself turned out really well, but I was a bit sloppy and rushed through it. Hopefully the final four in that unit will turn out better.

Spoony and I muddled our way though a game of Warmachine this weekend. After a promising start (I managed to get all three of my units into assault and do quite a bit of damage), Spoon executed some clever maneuvers that allowed him to kill my warcaster and win the game. Lesson learned, so next time I'll do a better job of protecting my 'caster. I had a lot of fun playing, but it took a long time since neither one of us is familiar with the rules at all.

Laura and I went climbing on Friday night. Neither one of us had the day we were hoping for, but I think that's about what we can expect after not climbing a whole lot. We are planning on going back out on Monday (Presidents' Day = no work!) to get in another good workout so that we're ready for Joshua Tree in a month.

Total number of runs: 38
Total number of miles: 209.69
Total time: 28 hours, 14 minutes, 40 seconds

On Wednesday I had to duck out on my first workout. Right before running I ate some cookies (a poor decision, but I was bored and they were sitting in front of me) and a few miles into my run my stomach was in knots. I managed to get through 5.5 of the 7 miles, but I wanted to die for most of it and my time was pretty damn slow. Yesterday's run went a lot better, but I'm still annoyed at myself for having to cut that run short.

I bought a bunch of Warmachine models today at work. In addition to the Battlegroup and Widowmakers from the previous post, I bought a box of Man-O-War Demolition Corps. The models are really awesome sculpts and the idea of men in steam powered suits of armour wielding giant hammers has a certain charm to it.

I received my Wardancers in the mail today. The models look really good, but I'm really intimidated by the detail that they have; I hope I can make them look good. This is the picture the seller posted on e-bay.

I couldn't have asked to win a better auction. There are seven models, which is the unit size I was planning on fielding. The group also has a musician model and a commander model, so I can field those things if I want to. They're all in excellent condition also.

My goal is to paint the Wood Elves before I get started on the Warmachine models, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen at all. I have 16 Dryad models primed and sitting on my desk, 10 Glade Guard models waiting to be assembled, a half converted Spellsinger, and now 7 Wardancers left to finish the elves, and I don't think I'll have the self restraint to stare at the Warmachine models and not paint them.

Total number of runs: 36
Total number of miles: 200.19
Total time: 26 hours, 50 minutes, 42 seconds

Two-hundred miles! Twenty-four hours! Awesome! The 14-miler on Sunday was quite the adventure. It took us just over two hours to do, which is a damn long time to be running. Lisa's ankle and calf started giving her a lot of trouble towards the end, but we still managed to average 9 minute miles. I started to get tightness in my groin and legs, and stopping at Sunset for some water didn't help much. I'm going to start stretching a little more and hopefully address that problem. Yesterday I did four miles in under 32 minutes, which translates to an average of under 8 minutes. I felt great doing it and it wasn't apparent to me that I was going that fast.

On Monday I went to Marathon Sports downtown and bought another pair of running shoes. I'm not even half way into my training and I've already gone almost 200 miles on my Adidas shoes, so I was concerned about wearing them out and having to break in a new pair on a 20 mile run. I wanted to get a second pair of the Supernovas I have right now, but they've updated the model since I bought these in December and I don't like the changes. The woman at the store gave me a pair of Mizunos that felt incredible on my run yesterday. I'm going to break them in slowly, and then use them for the last few weeks of training and the marathon itself.

On Friday Laura took me out for my birthday dinner to Addis Red Sea. We both love it there and this time was no exception. I ordered a cabbage dish and Laura had a dish with potatoes and vegetables. The bread was delicious as always, and we were both able to order beers to go with the food.

Sunday was the Superbowl and chili cook off at our house. The Giants stole the Patriots undefeated season and were the victors; most everyone in the house was bummed out. There were five different chili entries and I tried all of them except Spoony's (his was way too spicy). There were some interesting chilies, including one with cinnamon in it. It was a very hearty way to eat after the 14 mile run.

Last night Laura and I bought our plane tickets to California. We're going to spend a week climbing in Joshua Tree and hanging out in Palo Alto with Tim. I'm really excited to travel with Laura and go climbing somewhere not in New England.

Since we moved our office, I'm no longer in walking range of the Dunkin' Dohnuts. I've been trying Starbucks and Campco coffee, but so far they're both terrible.

Lately I've spent a lot of time lately looking at the game Warmachine by Privateer Press. The models look phenomenal and the game mechanics seem to be more intuitive than 40k or Warhammer. Spoony has an older rule book that I've been reading and I'm pretty much sold on the game. I'm really excited to paint the models and play the game, but mostly I'm excited about the models. They all look very dynamic and well sculpted, and they have tons of details. Initially I'm going to purchase the starter army, which comes with a warcaster and two warjacks (the 'jacks are phenomenal looking and are what makes me want to play this game). I am also eying box of sniper models. After that I'm going to expand with another 'jack and some more human models.

Khador Battlegroup (Juggernaut, Kommander Sorscha, Destroyer)


Widowmakers


Kodiak


Manhunter


Vladimir Tzepesci

Total number of runs: 33
Total number of miles: 172.19
Total time: 23 hours, 16 minutes, 37 seconds

During the last three runs my legs have not felt as good as they have been. The muscles behind my shins are tight when I start the runs, and they don't loosen up until I'm about three miles in. It isn't really pain, and I don't think it is shin splints, but it is annoying and I wish it would resolve itself. I'm going to try a few stretches before and after my runs this weekend and see what happens.

I'm typing this from my new office. It sure it fun to say that. Yesterday David referred to the move as my "first big project." I did do a lot of leg work to make sure the office was set up properly and that we were packed and moved, but I didn't really think I was doing anything special. There have been a lot of problems with the office (missing furniture, incorrect furniture, paint screw ups, etc.) and with the move itself, so I'm not sure if I even want to be associated with the project. That being said, none of them were really my fault so even though this whole process could have gone a lot smoother, I'm happy with how I conducted my end of it.

We'll see how the unpacking and settling in goes before I render my final decision on my performance on my first project.

I finished the Alter Noble. I'm not really sure where to go now because I don't have any models primed, and it is too cold to get outside and spray. I have 16 Dryads sitting on my desk waiting for spray, and I have another 10 Glade Guard that need to be assembled. I am also bidding on some Wardancers, all of which is going to take my army up to the 1000 point level. I've never had 1000 points of any army painted before, although I'm close with the Blood Ravens. Since Spoony doesn't seem much interested in getting his Chaos army assembled, and has expressed interest lately in finishing his Imperial Fists and starting a Guard army, I might table the Elves and try to finish my marines.

Glade Riders

Mounted Noble

Alter Noble

Whole Army