Feeling confident after the Broad Street Run, I decided to register for the Philly Half-Marathon [11/21/2010].  I’ll admit – the $10 coupon sort of helped, too.  I’ve been pretty lazy about running the past two months, not waking up as early as I used to.  It’s been dreadfully hot and humid this summer, which has only served to compound my desire stay in bed, as opposed to getting up and sweating.  So with approximately 18 weeks left, I’ve decided to get on a real regimen and stick to it.  Runner’s World just released a free new iPhone app called Smart Coach that allows you to quickly create a training schedule that’s somewhat customizable to get you on track for a target race.  I say “somewhat” because not everything is completely customizable, ie. the Schedule Length only goes from two to 16 weeks.  Not a huge deal, considering it’s free.  If all goes well, and I stick to the plan, I should be at 13 mi by 10/25/2010 – nearly a month in advance of the race.  At that point I think I’ll go into maintenance mode and just keep it rolling.

Schedule – Week #1

Monday [7/26/2010]: 8 mi, Long Run
Tuesday [7/27/2010]: 0 mi, Rest
Wednesday [7/28/2010]: 4 mi, Easy Run
Thursday [7/29/2010]: 0 mi, Rest
Friday [7/30/2010]: 5 mi, Tempo Run
Saturday [7/31/2010]: 4 mi, Easy Run
Sunday [8/1/2010]: 0 mi, Rest

Update 7/28/2010: I apparently suck at keeping a schedule.  I accidentally did my tempo run scheduled for Friday.

I love these xtranormal videos.

This has consistently been my favorite song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9EKqQWPjyo

Really, Prince?  If you had said, “radio is over,” I might have supported you on some level (but even that’s not true, depending on how you look at it).  Not only will music continue to be distributed via the Internet for some time to come, there is good evidence that CD sales will continue to decline (and we can assume they’ll eventually die off completely).  Prince – you’re certified loony.

The Internet is over, as is clearly depicted in the screen shot above (click to enlarge). Note the simultaneous streams of video, combined with typical web browsing - highlighting the Internet's complete lack of ability to deliver content.

Also known as the loudest ride on Earth.

Some of the best and/or worst times of my life were spent on this bench.

Columbus Square Park, post-thunderstorm.

Why is soccer so unpopular in the U.S.?  Unless things have drastically changed, most kids grow up playing soccer in grade school, and many through high school.  At least, that’s how it was when I was a kid.  Everyone knows a Soccer Mom -- they’re a suburban staple.  But on the professional level, there’s a general lack of interest in this particular part of North America.

I’d put money on the fact that the main reason for this is the complete lack of commercial time-outs.  The clock just keeps running.  Sure, you have your half-time… but you want to spend a good portion of that listening to a bunch of guys analyzing the game up to that point, and predicting what strategies each team will take going into the second half.  The lack of “breaks” make soccer a sport that networks don’t want to go near.  It seems like people have been trying to make soccer popular in the U.S. for as long as I can remember, with no success.

So we have the World Cup, and we can care about soccer for a month out of every four years.

Now, here’s Landon Donovan’s goal to beat Algeria and advance to knockout.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k29wBfLmNP0