http://fuzzyco.com/news/ All Fuzzy Gerdes, all the time. Chicago, improv, photos, my life, my work, and so on and so forth. en Copyright 2013 Sat, 04 May 2013 19:06:28 -0600 http://www.movabletype.org/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Erica, Kristen, [Claire](http://zulkey.com/), Shaun, and I all ran the Rave Run 5K last weekend. It's an untimed novelty run with raveish music and (some) lights along the course. It was fun, but in the [podcast](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/rave-run-5k-2013.html) we get a bit nitpicky about how it didn't quite live up to its own hype. But hey, when else do I get to [paint my fingernails](http://www.flickr.com/photos/midgetbusdriver/8691289656/in/set-72157633375112108). * [Erica's photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/midgetbusdriver/sets/72157633375112108/)]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/rave_run_5k_2013.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/rave_run_5k_2013.html Running Sat, 04 May 2013 19:06:28 -0600 For day-to-day use I wear Skull Candy [Ink'd](http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/inkd) (w/ Mic) because they are cheap (I find them on sale for less than $10 fairly often and buy in bulk when I do, because I'm hard on headphones) and they're pretty good at blocking outside noise, which really helps on the train. But that feature makes them terrible for running--they block too much noise and I worry I'm going to miss some insanely fast cyclist grunting "left!" or a mother who just lost her stroller yelling the traditional "my baby!" and get in a wreck. For running and cycling, then, I usually wear the white ear buds that come with iPhones--they're actually kinda crappy at keeping out background noise, which is good for me, and I like having the little mic/control so I can pause music quickly to be able to hear even better. Right now I also have in the mix some crappy earbuds that were a promo item from Brooks at the last race expo I went to. They don't have a control, but they were free. That's a thing for me--I'm hard on headphones, but I'm **really** hard on running headphones. If I don't catch them on something and end up stomping on them, then my sweat corrodes them into non-functionality. I've never tried any of the hook-over-the-ear or whathaveyou type headphones. Sorry! warmly, Fuzzy]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/running_headphones.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/running_headphones.html Running Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:23:46 -0600 So if you're a subscriber to [Time Out Chicago](http://timeoutchicago.com/), issue #425 showed up in your mailbox today and page one greeted you with that handsome bunch up there. This is the last print issue of the magazine, and most of the pictured staff have been laid-off, including myself. Friday was my last official day with the company, though I'm doing a little bit of contract work, helping the new reduced staff get transitioned into their new roles as primarily a web team instead of print journalists. But as [Frank Sennett](http://www.franksennett.com/), our outgoing Editor-in-Chief, pointed out in his [Afternoon Shift interview](http://www.wbez.org/programs/afternoon-shift/2013-04-16/afternoon-shift-boston-marathon-aftermath-106674) yesterday, it really is an amazing crew for a website and I don't doubt that they'll continue to be an important part of the Chicago cultural landscape. As for me, it was great being on the Masthead of TOC for the last seven months (especially right next to such a [good friend](http://www.georgegabe.com/)), but I'm off to new adventures of my own in the Chicago cultural landscape. I had put the word out on Facebook and Twitter (and obliquely, here) that I was looking for a job and a lot of great friends pointed me at various IT jobs. I'm not ruling out a regular IT position, but TOC has made me very picky—I've been spoiled. Until that perfect job comes along, I'm going to try putting together various freelance gigs and see how that goes. Friends have been very generous in that regard as well, and I already have gigs lined up in a variety of my talents: IT, web work, video editing, photography. If someone would come along with a job as a 'beardy guy' I'd be just about set.]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/blahblahblah/toc.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/blahblahblah/toc.html blahblahblah Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:13:23 -0600 *Photo by Lisa Hanna Akroush.* So our good friend [Jose Gonzalez](http://twitter.com/jose602), who is, seriously, just one of the finest human beings on the planet, was out in Chicago for [CIF](http://chicagoimprovfestival.org/) and he stuck around in town a few extra days to see even more improv and got a slot in [Kevin Mullaney](http://kevinmullaney.com/)'s Hump Night show and invited a number of people to play. It ended up being Jose, Shaun, [Shaun Clayton](http://shaunclayton.org/), and I playing and I have to say that I had a ton of fun. With very little warmup or discussion, we all clicked and played a form called "going where the winds of improv carry us," which is to say we dicked around. And yet we actually told a somewhat coherent story. Of sorts. Anyway, it was a bunch of fun. More photos from the evening are [here](http://kevinmullaney.com/2013/04/11/pictures-from-hump-night/).]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/hump_night.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/hump_night.html Look Ma, I'm on stage! Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:14:44 -0600 Erica and I (and you know, 39,998 other people) ran the Shamrock Shuffle 8K* this morning down in the Loop. It was an interesting exercise in determination, because my right knee started hurting after the first mile and usually that would be my cue to walk or slow down, but this morning I decided to just keep pushing it and see how I could do. I ran the next four miles in pain, but at a pretty good pace. So, that's good to know, that I can do that if I need to. Erica and I [reviewed](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/shamrock-shuffle-8k-2013.html) the race for the podcast. Official Results: Time: 49:40 Pace: 10:00 Place: 17,734/33,219 Place in Sex: 9,741/13,988 Place in Division (M40-44): 1,238/1,810 *5 miles, more or less, for you metric-phobes. http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/shamrock_shuffle_8k_2013.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/shamrock_shuffle_8k_2013.html Running Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:16:14 -0600 So, I can now add "singing on live TV, as a puppet" to the ol' actor resume. [Here's](http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=69016&sitesection=wgn_wgnmorningnews&VID=24714690) the Noah Ginex Puppet Company on WGN this morning, to promote our CIF shows this weekend. I'm Mike the Pie Man, the green guy on the right. Update: sorry about the auto-play. Changed to [link](http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=69016&sitesection=wgn_wgnmorningnews&VID=24714690). http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/puppets_singing.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/puppets_singing.html Look Ma, I'm on stage! Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:04:24 -0600
*Photo by [Greg Inda](http://greginda.com/)* I had decided to take pretty much the entire year of 2013 off from performing, to concentrate on the early-morning hours that training for the Iron Man will take up. But the [Noah Ginex Puppet Company](http://noahginex.com/) was once again accepted into the [Chicago Improv Festival](http://www.chicagoimprovfestival.org/) (they have a whole Puppet Improv category this year) and the rehearsals and performances fell nicely into the training dip after the marathon and before my hardqore IM training starts. And Erica is directing the group, so I'd just be sitting at home alone if I didn't participate. And I love the group, both the humans and the puppets--we're doing a thing where our puppets are established characters, in new situations from the improv suggestions. Above you can see Henrietta, who is a pretty, pretty princess and not afraid to let you know that. So, next Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, you can can see NGPC performing at the [CIC](http://www.cicomedy.com/) (1422 W Irving Park, Chicago). [Tickets](http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/349886) are $15.]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/puppet_improv.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/look_ma_im_on_stage/puppet_improv.html Look Ma, I'm on stage! Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:04:42 -0600 This Sunday you can see my wonderful and talented wife [performing as Cutie Bumblesnatch](http://ericareid.com/2013/03/see_cutie_perform.html). It is, to my memory, the first time Cutie has performed outside of [DSTW](http://dontspitthewater.com), so this is your first chance to see her where you are guaranteed to see all of the bits all the way to the end. So, [this](http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/chicago-media-blog/16155706/time-out-chicago’s-print-edition-runs-out-of-time) is going on, I guess. Didn't I (kinda) go through this last year? Anyway, I'll just leave [this](https://dl.dropbox.com/u/518961/Fuzzy_Gerdes_resume.pdf) lying around over here, just, you know, for giggles. http://fuzzyco.com/news/personal/a_coupla_quickies.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/personal/a_coupla_quickies.html Personal Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:52:12 -0600 If you would like to join our team for the [Rave Run 5K](http://theraverun.com/chicago/) (Saturday evening, April 27, 2013, here in Chicago) we are "Robot Lazer Kittens". Registering as part of our team saves you $5, which does **not** stack with the $5 coupon in the Active.com email that went out today. But hey, kittens.]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/team_robot_lazer_kittens.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/team_robot_lazer_kittens.html Running Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:13:02 -0600 The *really* good news, I think we can all agree, is that I can finally stop self-asterisking whenever a marathon comes up and I say "I ran the Chicago Marathon, just not all of it, but they called it off mid-race, but [I wasn't going to finish anyway](http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/most_of_a_marathon.html)". Anyway, now I can just say, "yeah, I ran the 2013 New Orleans Marathon". New Orleans was as wonderful as it always is. That was actually a bit of a problem on Saturday, the day before the race, because we were staying right in the French Quarter and the temptation was to walk around all day and see everything. Mid-afternoon I had to be a jerk and made us go back to the hotel so that I wouldn't wear out my legs. We did bring back a pretty good haul of street musicians' CDs, the best of which is by [Yes, Ma'am](http://www.reverbnation.com/yesmaamtheband). Sunday morning we got up super-early and walked over to Cafe Du Monde for a super-healthy pre-race breakfast of beignets and coffee. Funny story, at Cafe Du Monde when you ask for a "half-caf" they think you mean half-black coffee, half-cafe au lait, not decaf. I thought we might see some other runners who would think that was a good idea as well, but at 5am I think we were the only customers in the place who weren't still up from the night before. The race is part of the "Rock 'n' Roll" series of races and they really did give it that vibe. The National Anthem at the start of the race was played [as a guitar solo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Ut1B0Glog) by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, who was running the half-marathon distance. There were band stages almost every mile along the route and most of the bands were pretty good, especially the New Orleans-style brass bands like [Big Fun](http://www.bigfunbrassband.com/). Crowd-support was a little sparser than in Chicago, but the organizers had also scattered groups of middle-school cheerleaders between the aid stations. They had all dressed up in different "Rock" themed outfits: eighties, KISS, as actual LPs, etc. The best was a group that were dressed up as "Rock-n-Roll Grannies" and they'd tell runners that "your gramma is proud of you". It was very [Fantasy Grandma](http://www.fantasygrandma.com/). The route is a great tour of New Orleans. The first leg goes out into the fancy neighborhood along St. Charles, which is part of the Mardi Gras parade route, so the trees all have beads stuck up in them. Then a loop back into the CBD (Central Business District) and then through the French Quarter. The halfway point is at City Park and is, I think, a rather cruel part of the route. The majority of the racers (13,500 out of 16,000) were running the half-marathon distance, so they peel off to finish and the road was suddenly a lot more empty. And then the remainder of the marathon route is a big out-and-back up to Lake Pontchartrain and as you pass the park on the west side you can see (at least, if you're as slow as I am) much faster runners who are finishing the whole thing. Anyway, up to the Lake it was, and through another fancy neighborhood of big houses, and then back down to City Park, where my [sweetheart was waiting for me](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/8517257964/in/set-72157632883965628/). And a [very nice medal](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/8516982446/in/set-72157632883965628). And a [crappy beer](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/8516988766/in/set-72157632883965628). Run-wise, I made a few mistakes that led to some pain and slowness that I think could have been avoided, especially given how successful my [20 mile training run](http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/training_run_in_nyc_20_miles.html) in New York went. The biggest was simply that I went out too fast. I was telling myself over and over, from the start of the race, to stick to a 12-minute mile pace, and to take plenty of slow-downs and even walks. But I had my headphones out, to be engaged in the ambient music and the runners around, and so I wasn't getting my Nike+ info every mile. And it's easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of everyone around you. So I ran the first 7 miles at about 10'30" per mile and it just knackered me out. By the halfway point I was feeling worse than I had at the end of 20 miles a few weeks before, and I was starting to have some [knee pain](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/8515861701/in/set-72157632883965628). At 4 and a half hours, I had to give myself a little pep talk when it was obvious that I wasn't going to finish under my, completely imaginary, 5 hour goal. BUT. I ran a marathon and had a great time doing it. And I was mostly free of pain by the next day. Mostly. And we had a whole extra day in New Orleans to enjoy with our dear friend/relatives Chad and Elizabeth, who drove over from Jackson to hang out with us and take us to great eating spots like [Domenica](http://therooseveltneworleans.com/dining/domenica.html) and [Cochon Butcher](http://www.cochonbutcher.com/) (the latter of which we enjoyed enough to sit [out in the rain](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/8515887509/in/set-72157632883965628) to eat our lunch). * [My Photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/sets/72157632883965628/with/8515887509/) * [Erica's Photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/midgetbusdriver/sets/72157632877009670/) * [Our podcast](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/new-orleans-marathon-2013.html) * Erica's blog post: [Part 1](http://ericareid.com/2013/03/marathon_man.html) [Part 2](http://ericareid.com/2013/03/party_in_new_orleans.html) Official results (PR): Time: 5:25:54 Pace: 12:26 Overall place: 2228 / 2610 Place in sex: 1270 out of 1416 Place in division (M, 40-44): 238 out of 256 ]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/rock_n_roll_new_orleans_marathon_pr.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/rock_n_roll_new_orleans_marathon_pr.html Running Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:06:57 -0600 ]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/chicago/hey_i_know_them.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/chicago/hey_i_know_them.html Chicago Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:09:19 -0600 *Finishing the Cupid's Love Dash 5K - Photo by [Carpe Diem Racing](http://www.carpediemraces.com)* With all these long runs I've been doing, I don't really bother waking up until mile 4 or so…]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/zzzzzz.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/zzzzzz.html Running Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:57:33 -0600 I've posted the [third and final](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/frosty-5-mile-2013.html) podcast from our adventures this last weekend, running a half-marathon across three races. http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/third_podcast_of_the_combo_hm.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/third_podcast_of_the_combo_hm.html Running Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:06:42 -0600 I've posted the [second podcast](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/frozen-five-2013.html) from the weekend's half-marathon-in-three-races, this one covering the Frozen Five. http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/second_podcast_of_the.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/second_podcast_of_the.html Running Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:23:28 -0600 After that [20-mile run in New York](http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/training_run_in_nyc_20_miles.html), I'm now into the taper portion of my marathon training; I'll be running less and less over the next two weeks until the marathon itself. But "less" does still mean that I needed to run 12 miles this last weekend. And just when I was contemplating that in the middle of the week, Erica sent me an IM saying "look what Zach is doing". What my friend Zach was doing was [running 13.1 miles](http://www.zachrunschicago.com/2013/02/chicagolands-first-annual-february.html), but broken up into 3 separate races, spread across the day on Sunday and spread across 100 miles of Chicago suburbs. It's a funny thing about challenges. A few years ago, running twelve miles alone would have seen like a challenge, but now that I'm in training, it seems like a simple thing. You just run a mile, and then don't stop until you've gone eleven more. So adding a ridiculous layer of challenges on top of it just seems like, well, a good idea. There are all sorts of reasons why it's a bad idea. The weather was promising to be awful. With just two weeks to go, I really should be really careful not to injure myself so I don't screw up the marathon I've been training for for months. The structure of the day seemed almost designed to injure us: I've gotten into trouble before by running hard and then cooling off and then trying to run again. And the middle run was a trail run, which introduces the dangers of tripping over roots and breaking legs. So, I emailed Zach right away and asked to get in the action. Zach checked in with [Antonio](http://amgarcia.com/), who would be driving, and then we were agreed. The day turned out surprisingly well. We made it to all three races. I made good time in all of them. I even set a PR in the last 5 miler (well, easily, because I've never run a chip-timed 5 mile race before). We recorded episodes of the Unnamed Mostly Chicago Race Review podcast after each race, and I'll be releasing them over the next few days. Here's the first one: [Cupid's Love Dash 5K 2013](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/cupids-love-dash-5k-2013.html). * Zach's write-up of the [challenge](http://www.zachrunschicago.com/2013/02/chicagolands-first-annual-february.html) and the [aftermath](http://www.zachrunschicago.com/2013/02/chicagolands-first-annual-february_11.html). * [Photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzy/sets/72157632745402137/with/8467475640/) Official results for the Cupid's Love Dash 5K: Time: 26:19.8 Pace: 8:29 Overall place: 59 / 348 Place in sex: 36 / 118 Place in division (M, 40-44): 6 / 15 [Frozen Five](http://racesplitter.com/races/6A7153183) results (not chip-timed): Time: 57:19.8 Official results for the Frosty 5 Mile (PR): Time: 46:49.85 Pace: 9:22 Overall place: 155 / 258 Place in sex: 105 / 150 Place in division (M, 40-44): 13 / 16 **Update:** I've posted the [second podcast](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/frozen-five-2013.html), covering the Frozen Five. **Update:** The [third and final](http://fuzzyco.com/racereviews/frosty-5-mile-2013.html) podcast is up. Did we make it to the last race?]]> http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/a_half-marathon_sorta.html http://fuzzyco.com/news/running/a_half-marathon_sorta.html Running Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:34:20 -0600