Over the weekend I ran ten miles with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. Slowly but surely I’m getting back into shape. I’ve made some minor adjustments to my training that I hope will prevent me from having too many problems with my hip. For example, I’m now doing a thirty-minute warm-up on the stationary bike at LifeTime Fitness before all my runs during the week. So far this has seemed to help a lot.

Also, I’m applying bee venom cream from Dancing Bee Acres liberally to my hip to help prevent any swelling or inflammation that may occur. The bee venom cream is kind of expensive, but it’s still cheaper than going to see the doctor, and it works better than anything a doctor has been able to do for me. I’m determined to stay as healthy as possible so that I can run the Boston Marathon on April 21st!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Boston Marathon, running, LifeTime Fitness, Bee Venom, Bee Venom Cream, Dancing Bee Acres

I recently turned in my first ACT practice test to my client, and after the client reviewed it, I was immediately asked to sign a contract to write another one, so that’s what I’m doing now. I’m really excited that the client seemed to be happy with my work. The ACT practice tests are fun to write, because I have a lot of topics to choose from. The subject matter includes pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, coordinate geometry, plane geometry, and trigonometry, so there’s a lot of variety.

Also, this past weekend I went to the Drexel and saw Lust, Caution, a movie set in Shanghai during the World War II Japanese occupation. It doesn’t look like it’s playing in many theatres yet, but if it’s showing in your city, I would definitely recommend it.

Tags: math, mathematics, Lust, Caution, Drexel

Last night I was standing by the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble thumbing through some magazines, and I read this article in GOOD magazine, which I found pretty interesting. Standing and reading magazines is somewhat common here in the United States, but in Japan it’s extremely common. In fact, it’s so common that there’s a word for it in Japanese—tachiyomi o suru, which, of course, means, “To stand and read in a bookstore.”

Actually, though, I would say that most of the tachiyomi o suru that occurs in Japan isn’t at bookstores, but at convenience stores, where you’ll often see hoards of people reading the latest Japanese comic books, or manga. The stores don’t make any money when people tachiyomi o suru and don’t buy anything, but they don’t seem to care—probably because the store employees tachiyomi o suru themselves when they’re not working.

Tags: GOOD, GOOD Magazine, tachiyomi o suru

I recently picked up the book 2033: The Future of Misbehavior from the bargain rack at Barnes & Noble, and I also ordered the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin online. In addition, I just signed a contract to write a practice test for the mathematics portion of the ACT. For those who may have forgotten, the ACT is one of two tests (the other being the SAT) that are used by colleges and universities in the United States when making decisions on whether or not to admit students. I’m really excited about getting this assignment, and I hope that it is just the beginning of even more work in the near future.

Tags: book, books, 2033, Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, math, mathematics

Yesterday was the New York City Marathon. Last year there was a lot of hype surrounding Lance Armstrong at the race, which was his first attempt at 26.2 miles. This year there was almost no hype, and he quietly finished in 2:46 to take thirteen minutes off of his time from last year. He’s getting closer to his potential, but he could probably take about thirteen more minutes off of his time if he really wanted to. He said, “I think I came in better prepared. I feel better than I did last year leaving here. Last year I had no idea what to expect with 26.2 miles (42.16 km), and I paid for it.” Click here to see the full article. Congratulations to him and to all the finishers of the race.

Tags:, marathon, marathons, running, New York City Marathon, Lance Armstrong

The men’s Olympic marathon trials were today. Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell made the Olympic team. Tragically, Ryan Shay passed away. Click here for details.

Tags: marathon, marathons, running