The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Computer? Fixed! + Tempo Run

Desktop - FIXED!
I can't believe I'm actually sitting here, at my desk, on my deskTOP computer, typing this.

Back in October, I was tasked with putting a video from a website onto a DVD. I'd never done it before, but I figured it would be easy. Hah! It was anything but.

In looking for the right software, I made some serious errors, the gravest being running a program I knew better than to run. Yeah, that's the best way to put it. I'm a computer tech for gosh sakes, I know what programs I should be running and shouldn't, right?

The first thing that popped up was this program that said it was looking up flight information. Flight information? OK, this isn't right... before I could do anything else, *poof*, computer reboots. Immediately I knew what was wrong, and what had happened. My life flashed before my eyes.

I spent the next three days running all sorts of virus, malware, spyware, and trojan finders available. I tried just about every demo program I could, all the hardcore tools I normally use, with no success. So I brought my computer to work and tried a bit there. Nada. I won't name off all the software, but I think I tried 20 different programs.

Actually, nada's not true. I did clean all the crap that was on it. The only problem was, the networking got hosed in the process. I decided to put it away for a while.

It's been three months, and I've been working off a crap laptop I borrowed from work, just so I could support our users from home. The first of the year came and went, and yesterday, my W2 came waltzing into the door. I said to my father in law, this is motivation to fix the computer!

So I brought the computer to work today, spent a little time, and ended up on a path I hadn't looked at before. What led me down the path is the fact that I was able to get wired networking to work. Wired means that wireless must not be as broken as I thought! I started off completely removing the wireless drivers and reinstalling, but that didn't work. Then I stumbled on an option to troubleshoot the connection. Normally these sorts of things rarely work, but I figured what the heck.

Vista reported that the wireless service wasn't running, but couldn't start it. I tried to manually start it, but got yet another error. I searched for that error online and found that there were 5 other services that the wireless service was dependent upon, two of which weren't running.

Once I started these services, BAM! My desktop was back in working order. Yippee!

So I'm a happy guy. Maybe it makes up for today's run. ;)

Tempo Run
Today was a scheduled tempo run. 2 miles easy, 2 miles tempo, 2 miles easy. The tempo miles were supposed to be between 7:37/mi and 7:52/mi, but I didn't even come close. It was 8:25 and 8:37. Do I still get to count it as a tempo run?



Mile 1: 9:03.45
Mile 2: 9:15.25
Mile 3: 8:25.27 (tempo)
Mile 4: 8:39.22 (tempo)
Mile 5: 11:21.72
Mile 6: 9:56.17
.21 Mi: 4:22.29 (20:40/mi, walking)

As you can see, something happened around mile 2 and it continued right up until the end. I can't believe how tough those two tempo miles were! I wasn't gasping for air, but pretty darn close, and my heart rate was around 170. I did eat lunch about an hour before running, and it was a bit windy, but I didn't expect to run it that badly.

So how about it? Can I still call it a tempo run?

Today's Tweets

06:36 Wt: 166.4, RHR: 58 #

08:52 Hey everyone, Twitter seems to be back to normal today. Maybe. :) #

09:14 RT DarkUFO Charles Widmore on Twitter? twitter.com/CharlesW #

10:41 I hate dealing with people who claim they speak English but don't. #

10:46 "Getting visionary'd." It has a nice ring to it. #

11:46 tweet what you eat? I scared! #

11:47 Breakfast: sandwich made with my protein waffles, 2 tbsp pb, 1 tbsp sugar free preserves, & an apple. 467 calories. #

12:49 I just drank the nasty, now it's time for the gym, or as I like to call it: Business Time. tinyurl.com/r4mdy #

13:45 Done at the gym, prowling for Diet Dew. #

13:58 Ooh, Damages season premiere tonight! #

14:08 Diet Dew counteracts the taste effects of protein powder quite nicely. #

14:21 Experiment successful! I tweeted Damages and two minutes later, @ PattyHewes is following me. #

14:22 OK let's try this #

14:22 New episode of Dora the Explorer tonight! WOO! #

14:25 I was annoyed at the fact that my gym performance today sucked compared to the same workout last week. #

14:25 Then later I realized that perhaps I was only able to do half the pullups as last week because I had already done the pushup test #

14:47 DAMN IT ALL TO HELL! I forgot my lettuce. Now I have to go saladless. #

15:03 eats his 2nd apple today. #

15:57 May as well post my sorry lunch: boneless chicken breast, chicken wrap (chicken slices & tortilla), clif bar mini, apple, 484 calories #

16:28 BEEJ IS HOME! #

16:32 Got my W2. Oh yeahh. #

16:32 WHAT?! I only made $795,926.20 this year?!?!?! #

16:40 MapMyFitness.com: Completed 1/7/2009. 154 (kcal). 00:32:58 #

17:24 Well, stab me with a fork, I'm done. Where's that carbonated crack drink known as Diet Dew? #

17:25 Hmm... what do you think Jack Bauer's DTK ratio will be on Sunday? #

17:26 DTK Ratio = Dammit to Kill Ratio #

17:34 New post on my blog: Weight Workout: Well, today wasn't near as hectic at work. I didn't hav.. tinyurl.com/a8plrl #

19:40 Now Ellen Parsons is following me. Wonder if these are official from FX? #

20:26 So I went into the kitchen a little earlier, getting the salad dressing for dinner, and what was in there to greet me? My friend, Diet Dew. #

20:27 I didn't expect him to be there, it was a pleasant surprise. And now I'll consume him, and let the green juice fill my innards with caffiene #

20:27 That and cancerous aspartame. :P #

20:47 Watching Stargate Atlantis. #

21:27 Oooh, Teyla just pulled an Admiral Kirk on ol' Michael. "I... have had enough... of YOUUUUUUU!" #

21:35 Darn. Watched Stargate Atlantis, now we can't watch Damages. Tomorrow night I guess. #

22:12 BOOM!!!!!! #

22:12 Heads up ladies & gentlemen, the moment has arrived. #

22:13 That's the best HRM for the price, it beats $70 Polars. Get it. Now. Stock up. I am. Not making the mistake of not stocking up again. #

22:14 Seriously, the Reebok strap is compatible with Polars and treadmills, $20 for watch & strap. The Polar strap alone is $50. #

22:19 I just bought two of the Reeboks. Werd. :) #

22:20 Oh also, shipping is $5 whether you buy 1, 2, or 3 of them. #

22:24 And with that, I'm off to bed. If it's still available I'll RT the Reebok again in the morning for those who missed it tonight. #

22:30 www.woot.com for the Reebok HRM. Had to post it minus the @, hehe. #

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