Welcome to Wrigley!
Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.

Today was a great day. Jason and I headed to a Cubs game at Wrigley. Man, that place knows how to turn a relatively slow, boring game into an unforgettable experience. There’s just something about the old fashioned style, the sense of history and cameraderie. You can’t help but feel like a life-long fan.

I think even Jason, a true San Diego Padre fan, felt like a real Cubs fan almost immediately. I could tell not only by the sweet Cubs hat he bought before the game, but also by the two Cubs shirts he left the game with. I’m pretty sure Jason will cheer for the Cubs this October, after all, It Could Happen.

Excellent job Wrigley, and excellent job Cubbies, who beat the Mets 6-2. Have a look at my photos from the game.

I’m gonna go back to chillin with my good friend Jason. Here’s to old friends in new cities.

The Finish Line

Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.

A hearty congrats to Karen, Becky, and Catherine on finishing their first 5k. It was a great run for all. Inspiring run, y’all. Way to go!

Check out the photoset.

Phew, It’s been a while. Went on a solid one-miler this afternoon. It’s time to get back in the habit, cause I’m beat…

For my birthday this year, Puneet bought me a cool new Garmin Forerunner 101. For a number of reasons, though mainly because I have tended to workout indoors rather than out lately, today was the first time I had a chance to try it out.

I have to be honest…I’ve been a little skeptical of GPS technology for a while. Last summer I got a chance to try it out when Puneet and I went Geocaching while I was in SD. That was fun…but not all that useful when it really comes down to it. When Puneet, Paul, and I drove to San Luis Obispo last summer, P’s GPS unit didn’t work in my car. It seems the windshield was too thick for the signal to get through.

When I’ve played with the new Forerunner, I’ve run into a little trouble because it needs a clear line of sight to the sky for the first 30 mins or so of use (the first time you use it), and Hyde Park has trees everywhere, making this difficult. (Who wants to stand in the same spot for 30 minutes!?) Ok, enough about the prejudices…how did it perform during regular use?

I have to say, I am quite impressed. This thing is able to tell me a lot while I’m running. And, it even managed to pretty accurately track the distance of my run. It told me I went 3.24 miles, whereas the GmapsPedometer told me the run was 3.29 miles. When I’ve measured this run in my car (it’s to Karen’s school and back) it’s around 3.2 miles roundtrip. All in all I’d say the Forerunner was great! It also tells me things like how many calories I’m burning (like I care), the time of day (this feature cannot be underestimated), my current pace, and can show a map of my run.

Now, I’m not saying the unit is perfect. It could definitely be helped with an in-depth usability analysis…and I think feature creep definitely set in on the design team that made this, but still. For what it does, it works for me. Ok, time to shower, then grab a bite to eat. Thanks again for the gift, Puneet!

I went into the city today, as you might be able to tell by my earlier post. The fun news is that I rode my bike in. What a beautiful ride! Here in Chicago there’s a great bike path that runs along Lake Michigan, and it’s great. Basically it is a freeway for bikers, bladers, runners, and anybody else who doesn’t want to run on the freeway. I was really impressed. Oh, and downtown even had bike racks! Great stuff, windy city.

Now I’m beat…17 miles on a bike will tend to do that. I think Karen and I are going to head over to Target to pick up some sweet nourishment (candy and cake) and furniture (shoe rack). Piece.