I ended up 44th overall (though I maintain I won that sprint-off) out of 88, and 4th in the 30-34 male age group. Shannon was also 4th in her 5 year age group. Awesome!
Next week is another 5k and in 3 weeks the duathlon!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
1st 5k of the year
Today was the Aids Walk and 5k run in Albany. My time was 30:48, with a photo finish sprint against another runner in the last 20 feet. Shannon finished 32:31; her first time running 5k this year. It was a beautiful day in Washington Park and the course was 2 laps around/in the park. Both my knees were hurting by the 2nd lap, but I managed to keep on pace.
I ended up 44th overall (though I maintain I won that sprint-off) out of 88, and 4th in the 30-34 male age group. Shannon was also 4th in her 5 year age group. Awesome!
Next week is another 5k and in 3 weeks the duathlon!
I ended up 44th overall (though I maintain I won that sprint-off) out of 88, and 4th in the 30-34 male age group. Shannon was also 4th in her 5 year age group. Awesome!
Next week is another 5k and in 3 weeks the duathlon!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My first Tri
I did my first triathlon on Aug 7; the Fronhofer Tool Sprint Triathlon. I'd meant to do the (closer and shorter) Pine Bush Triathlon the month before but missed the registration deadline.
Swim: .5 mile
Bike: 14.5 mile
Run: 3.1 mile
The day was perfect; no humidity and in the 70s. The water was warm, the ride was peaceful (though crazy hills in the beginning) and the volunteers were very helpful.
The swim was of course the hardest, since I'm not the best swimmer. I kept at it though as the women (who started 3 minutes after) passed me one by one. There was one other slow guy but he steadily kept ahead of me and beat me by a a handful of minutes. I ended up ahead of a few people in the end, but the swim was definitely my weak spot. Despite this, I somehow came in 10 min. under my estimated time. Which is a lot better than the other way around. The T1 was brutal as my legs felt like jello and I had trouble getting on my socks and shoes standing on one leg. Also my race bib got messed up when putting on my shirt and I had to reattach it. I didn't mind the rest at the time though!
The bike section was tough in the beginning with some crazy hills. However, this meant there was a great downhill not long after this. It also gave me the chance to pass a few people that were walking up the hills. I used my mountain bike and was one of the few to do so (Shannon said she saw a couple of others.) It seems like they weren't preparing for this though as the bike racks didn't accommodate my bigger wheels too well. Even though I passed people, I got passed a lot later one when a road bike would come out of nowhere and whiz by me. It really hurt having a mountain bike and no clipless peddles.
For the run, I actually did really well. This is where I was able to make up for the swim and ride. Even after the ride, I was making good time, 10 min miles, which is a good time for me. On the last mile I actually felt good and sped up to pass several people. Besides a guy in his 60s, I passed a 37 year old guy on the last mile to not come in dead last for Mens. Yay! As a side note, they actually were unable to get my finishing time for the run and I had to tell them the actual time, so my run time is 30 seconds off. Oh well ;)
My parents and Shannon cheered me on and it was a great experience. I still felt good several hours after until I crashed. I didn't get sore either, especially not compared to the triple headers we used to have in soccer. Anyway, I can't wait to do it again next year. I'll definitely do Pine Bush and probably the FTT again.
Swim Time 22:49
T1 2:52
Bike Time 1:06:35
T2 00:52
Run Time 29:03
Total Time: 2:02:11
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Swim: .5 mile
Bike: 14.5 mile
Run: 3.1 mile
The day was perfect; no humidity and in the 70s. The water was warm, the ride was peaceful (though crazy hills in the beginning) and the volunteers were very helpful.
The swim was of course the hardest, since I'm not the best swimmer. I kept at it though as the women (who started 3 minutes after) passed me one by one. There was one other slow guy but he steadily kept ahead of me and beat me by a a handful of minutes. I ended up ahead of a few people in the end, but the swim was definitely my weak spot. Despite this, I somehow came in 10 min. under my estimated time. Which is a lot better than the other way around. The T1 was brutal as my legs felt like jello and I had trouble getting on my socks and shoes standing on one leg. Also my race bib got messed up when putting on my shirt and I had to reattach it. I didn't mind the rest at the time though!
The bike section was tough in the beginning with some crazy hills. However, this meant there was a great downhill not long after this. It also gave me the chance to pass a few people that were walking up the hills. I used my mountain bike and was one of the few to do so (Shannon said she saw a couple of others.) It seems like they weren't preparing for this though as the bike racks didn't accommodate my bigger wheels too well. Even though I passed people, I got passed a lot later one when a road bike would come out of nowhere and whiz by me. It really hurt having a mountain bike and no clipless peddles.
For the run, I actually did really well. This is where I was able to make up for the swim and ride. Even after the ride, I was making good time, 10 min miles, which is a good time for me. On the last mile I actually felt good and sped up to pass several people. Besides a guy in his 60s, I passed a 37 year old guy on the last mile to not come in dead last for Mens. Yay! As a side note, they actually were unable to get my finishing time for the run and I had to tell them the actual time, so my run time is 30 seconds off. Oh well ;)
My parents and Shannon cheered me on and it was a great experience. I still felt good several hours after until I crashed. I didn't get sore either, especially not compared to the triple headers we used to have in soccer. Anyway, I can't wait to do it again next year. I'll definitely do Pine Bush and probably the FTT again.
Swim Time 22:49
T1 2:52
Bike Time 1:06:35
T2 00:52
Run Time 29:03
Total Time: 2:02:11
Saturday, June 12, 2010
My Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Collection
My favorite place to find Converse is Marshalls, where you can pick them up for $20. I bought all the black/colored tongue ones there. I've found quite a few online though when they're onsale however. Famous Footwear is good because of their buy 1, 2nd half off. Of course zappos.com has the fastest shipping and are great, but it's hard to find Chucks on sale there.
Why do I have so many Converse? Well.. it doesn't help when your wife is a shoe-aholic (70+)!
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
Impressions of Europe
Here are the pieces from my "Impressions of Europe" show that just closed at the UAG.
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Saturday, April 10, 2010
ConTEXT show
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The ConTEXT show opened at the UAG on Friday, April 2 and was a great success. Thanks to all the people and friends who showed up!
The show runs until April 23.
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark Street
Albany NY 12210
Gallery Hours
Thurs/Fri 5:30-8 pm
Sat 2-8 pm
Sun 2-6 pm
Sunday, March 14, 2010
How to do Paper Plate Lithography
What is paper plate lithography? It is a form of printmaking where you take a laserprint photocopy (xerox) of an image as the basis for a lithograph. Gum arabic is placed on the photocopy. When you ink the copy, the gum arabic repels the ink from the white spots while the ink adheres to the photocopy parts.
What do you need?
1) After you have your laser print copies, shellac the back of each copy. This is done to give the paper more strength when you're inking it and dousing it in gum arabic. This step is not necessary but it will make your life a little easier.
2) After the shellac dries, turn the copy over to the printed side. Use gum arabic to cover the entire image. This will make the paper repel the ink later.
3) Take a damp sponge and wipe off / even out the gum arabic.
4) You're ready to ink it. Put on your gloves at this time. It gets messy. Take some ink out with a palette knife and place it on a workspace. Work the ink some to get it a nice consistency. Use a drop or two of burnt plate oil if it's too tacky. Next, use your roller and get a nice even coat of ink on in. Now roll your image. Cover all the photocopied parts; if there are white parts it's not necessary to ink these.
5) This is one of the most important steps. Using a sponge, remove the excess ink. Now, the easiest way to do this is to get your sponge really wet. Drop a few drops of water on the ink. Watch how the ink disippates; it's like oil and water mixing. Use the sponge to sop up the excess ink and rinse it out / douse it in a bucket of water often.
6) After all the excess ink is gone, you should notice the ink sticking to your image. If you don't, you might now have enough ink on it. Maybe you wiped off the ink or didn't do it right. You can roll it again or take your chances.
7) Take your printing paper and put it on your work surface. Sometimes it helps for your to have dampened the paper ahead of time and let it dry some. This is optional. Put your inked paper face down on the paper.
8) Take a rolling pin and roll the back of the paper. Initially I had a piece of paper over the inked paper to minimize mess, but it doesn't seem to work as well as rolling directly on the paper.
9) Now peel your (de)inked paper plate off the printing paper. Hopefully your print came out okay. If not, you might be able to make another pass with the same plate (or better yet a fresh one). This can create a neat effect if you do it correct. Just make sure to line up the plate correctly the second time. Good luck!
Special thanks to my former professor Rachel Gross who taught me this process initially, Central Art Supply for all my art supply needs, and Scott Pernicka for letting me use his laserprinter.
What do you need?
- Laser print copy (reversed)
- Shellac - optional
- Gum arabic
- Oil based Etching ink
- Roller
- Rolling pin - for the DIYers
- Disposable gloves
- Sponge
- Crappy brushes
- Printing surface - plexiglass works
- Burnt plate oil - for thinning out the ink (optional)
- Printing paper - Rivers BFK
- Baby oil - ink clean up
1) After you have your laser print copies, shellac the back of each copy. This is done to give the paper more strength when you're inking it and dousing it in gum arabic. This step is not necessary but it will make your life a little easier.
2) After the shellac dries, turn the copy over to the printed side. Use gum arabic to cover the entire image. This will make the paper repel the ink later.
3) Take a damp sponge and wipe off / even out the gum arabic.
4) You're ready to ink it. Put on your gloves at this time. It gets messy. Take some ink out with a palette knife and place it on a workspace. Work the ink some to get it a nice consistency. Use a drop or two of burnt plate oil if it's too tacky. Next, use your roller and get a nice even coat of ink on in. Now roll your image. Cover all the photocopied parts; if there are white parts it's not necessary to ink these.
5) This is one of the most important steps. Using a sponge, remove the excess ink. Now, the easiest way to do this is to get your sponge really wet. Drop a few drops of water on the ink. Watch how the ink disippates; it's like oil and water mixing. Use the sponge to sop up the excess ink and rinse it out / douse it in a bucket of water often.
6) After all the excess ink is gone, you should notice the ink sticking to your image. If you don't, you might now have enough ink on it. Maybe you wiped off the ink or didn't do it right. You can roll it again or take your chances.
7) Take your printing paper and put it on your work surface. Sometimes it helps for your to have dampened the paper ahead of time and let it dry some. This is optional. Put your inked paper face down on the paper.
8) Take a rolling pin and roll the back of the paper. Initially I had a piece of paper over the inked paper to minimize mess, but it doesn't seem to work as well as rolling directly on the paper.
9) Now peel your (de)inked paper plate off the printing paper. Hopefully your print came out okay. If not, you might be able to make another pass with the same plate (or better yet a fresh one). This can create a neat effect if you do it correct. Just make sure to line up the plate correctly the second time. Good luck!
Special thanks to my former professor Rachel Gross who taught me this process initially, Central Art Supply for all my art supply needs, and Scott Pernicka for letting me use his laserprinter.
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