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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Visual onomatopoeia

Ewen's got me thinking now. Are there any words that look like their meaning? Hmmm, I know that there are basically two ways of processing language. Most people see or feel the object/meaning/emotion in their head and then associate a word with it. Less commonly, people actually see words in their head. I have heard that some savants associate letters or numbers as images in their head, so a certain number or word forms a "picture" in their head. But this doesn't necessarily translate to what the word means. I'd love to look into this a lot further, but I don't really have the time right now. If anyone can think of anything, I'd love to know.

I think the onomatopoeic word for "the wheels falling off" is clunk.

I am considering taking up hockey again next year. I'm just trying to work out if the two sports are compatible. Running a half marathon or more the day after a premier league game might not be all that much fun, especially if I play midfield where there is more running. If I play fullback, then there is always more opportunity to get hit by balls/sticks which mightn't be too good for running either. Add to that the fact that I always used to get injured a lot more in hockey than in running and it doesn't sound all that appealing.

Went for a short run last night to loosen up the legs and it seems to have done the trick. The DOMS is a lot better today.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Not even close

Did the C2B in a PW of 47:04. It was all going well until about km 3 when I started feeling the heat. Then I missed 3 out of 3 grabs at water at the first drink station and didn't stop to get anything. I made sure that I got heaps of water at the next two stations. I think wearing the compression tights was a mistake too, just a little too hot for them today. My impression is that I just wasn't fit enough to do 45 for 12km. I gave it everything, but it just wasn't there. That's OK. I haven't been doing the miles in training and my intensity hasn't been high enough. The disappointing thing is that my two previous runs in the C2B were before I started running "seriously" when I was a hockey player: 46:30 in 1999 and 45:03 in 2000. I must have been fitter then than I thought.

Splits @ HR
1- 3:29 @ 156
2- 3:35 @ 178
3- 3:39 @ 183
4- 3:42 @ 185
5- 3:51 @ 185
6- 3:58 @ 183 22:15
7- 4:06 @ 180
8- 4:07 @ 181
10- 8:27 @ 179 missed the split
11- 4:10 @ 181
12- 3:55 @ 184 47:04

Anyway, I'm happy to have done the event again. The atmoshere was great, the event was huge, I got a nice massage afterwards, and I went for a cool dip in the sea which was really refreshing. There were 23,500 people there today and I'm not sure how much bigger they can make this event given the crowding at the finish area. Walking back to the tram, there were still thousands of people coming through. Luckily I got to the tram before there was a huge line to get back into the city.

There is a slight tingle in the achilles, so I'll have to monitor that. This may well be my last event for the year, apart from the remaining corporate cup runs. There is the Blackhill Challenge in November, an event that I really love and have done well in in the last two years, but I'm not sure that I'll have time for it and the hills might not be too good for the achilles if it comes up a bit sore still.

So stay tuned for what may be fewer entries about just staying fit until next year.

Edit: Official time 47:04. Equal 135th out of 7000-odd.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

False start

Sprang out of bed this morning at 7.30 and exclaimed "oh shit! the race!" to which my wife rolled over and said "David, it's Saturday". Whoops.

I'd been dreaming about getting the bus to the start. so when I woke up, I guess I assumed I had to go. This is odd for a few reasons. 1) I don't normally remember my dreams. 2) I'm catching the tram to the start tomorrow. 3) I'd already woken up earlier when one of the kids woke up too early, so I knew it was Saturday already.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Onomatopoeia

Since Ewen has brought it up, I shall reveal my next word: Onomatopoeia.

The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
From the Greek word onomatopoios, coiner of names: onomat-, name + poiein, to make.
Words are formed in many different ways, but one of the most fascinating is the tendency to create words that reflect the sound an object makes. This so-called onomatopoeic approach has produced dozens of English words, including splash, buzz, murmur, meow, chirp, hiss, sizzle, neigh, whinny, bang and cock-a-doodle-do.

C2B

Lock me in Eddie. I'm entered into the city to bay on Sunday. I'm hoping to go under 45 minutes. That would get me close to top 100, which I think should qualify me for the elite start next year. I was hoping to get into the elite start this year based on a 10km time from early this year, but the elite spots have been allocated already.

The pace I ran for Corporate cup yesterday morning (16:49 for 4.5km) would just get me under 45. Although I was really pushing it, it was essentially an individual time-trial. I'm hoping the racing conditions might pull me along a bit too.

I'll try to get to the start early for a good position. I won't be able to hang around at the end to chat to CRs and SARRC friends because I've got to get back to work straight away.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Supple - part 2

Q: What does this word make you think of?

A: Me - soft leather gloves or shoes.
My female officemate - breasts (I know, I couldn't believe it either).
Others - breasts x3, bendy flexible type person x5 (assuming this is what Ewen meant), strange NZ dialect for imbibing x1.

So I'm weird OK.

Not so supple: me after running 25km yesterday morning. I was intending to run about 15km, but I got a bit carried away with things. It was not easy and I was hurting by the last 5km. The achilles seems to have held up, it's just the rest of the body that's sore now!

OK, make that crazy too.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Supple

Q: What does this word make you think of?

My answer and my officemate's totally different (and unexpected) answer will be revealed next week, but what do my readers think?

Enough entries for today.

Steve Irwin dead

Like just about everyone else in Australia, I was shocked to hear of his death. I must admit that I wasn't a huge fan of his shows, but after hearing of his beliefs and efforts in conservation a few years ago, I admire him for what he has done both directly and indirectly for the conservation of wildlife globally and locally. He seemed like a lovely bloke and a loving and devoted father.

I had the strange coincidence occur that my kids gave me a Croc Hunter card for Father's day then he died the next day. I'll keep it as a reminder to be the best father I can be and to try and involve them more in what I do.

Bravo! to the ABC for showing the interview form a few years ago. It had me laughing the whole time even though it was sad that he's dead. It's a bit cliched to say that he died doing what he loved, but in this case it is certainly true. Thankfully it sounds like it was an instant (albeit intensely painful) death. I wish his family all the best during this time, and I hope his legacy is carried on through the zoo and his other great conservation work.

Kibosh

As in, to put the kibosh on. Not my favourite word but an interesting one, mainly because the origin of this word is largely unknown. There are a few theories as to it's origin, but none have been proven.

Anyway, I'm considering putting the kibosh on my aspirations of going in the City 2 Bay this year, not because I'm injured or because I wouldn't make the PB, but because of constraints on time and money. I may go past the course on my way into uni to watch the leaders go by. I probably would have time to go in the race, but by the time I've finished, cooled down, had a shower and travelled back into uni, most of the day would be gone. The chief financial officer has also expressed concerns about the cost of entry, although I should be able to find $20 somewhere. I'll think about it.

Here is the Oxford definition of kibosh.

[Origin obscure. (It has been stated to be Yiddish or Anglo-Hebraic: see N. & Q. 9th ser. VII. 10.)]
1. In phr. to put the kibosh on: to dispose of finally, finish off, do for.
1836 DICKENS Sk. Boz, Seven Dials, ‘Hoo-roar’, ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, ‘put the kye-bosk [sic] on her, Mary’. 1846 Swell's Night Guide 124 Kybosh on, to put the, to turn the tables on any person, to put out of countenance. 1856 Punch XXXI. 139 (To put the cibosh upon). 1891 C. ROBERTS Adrift in America 9 It was attending one of these affairs which finally put the ‘kibosh’ on me. 1896 H. G. WELLS Wheels of Chance xli, ‘I put the kybosh on his little game,’ he remarks. 1924 Chambers's Jrnl. May 296/2 Standofer's fairly put the kybosh on us this time. 1952 J. CLEARY Sundowners iii. 122 Well, that puts the kybosh on it. 1956 H. G. DE LISSER Cup & Lip xxii. 246 Good for you... You have put the kybosh on them. 1971 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 May 531/2 Not only did the First World War liquidate the Edwardian douceur de vivre. It also put the kybosh on the rationalist's faith in progressive social evolution. 1975 Sunday Post (Glasgow) 10 Aug. 7/3 She'd been looking forward to some salmon fishing, but the heatwave's put the kybosh on that.