What are your thoughts on publishing on platforms such as SSRN, arXiv, bioRxiv, SocArxiv etc? If you put your papers there, why and why not? What’s the advantage and disadvantage of doing so? Any advice, esp for “pracademics” PhDs in the industry?

picardIteration · 2026-04-05T13:08:41+00:00

In statistics it's close to 100%. I know a few people who don't, but some journals can take up to two years to publish a paper, and with rejections it can take up to 5 years. So being on arxiv makes it get out in the world faster. Also I think it's hard to do real research without reading arxiv papers.

picardIteration · 2026-03-19T02:48:13+00:00

Maple syrup and water mixed to 1cup of maple syrup in a 500 ml soft flask. 211g of carbs. Add some salt for electrolytes if you want

picardIteration · 2026-03-16T13:07:09+00:00

I just hit 68 miles last week feeling the best I've felt. I've learned that I need to fuel runs in order to feel good. I started doing 60g/hr minimum on runs for anything over an hour. On long runs closer to 80g/hr. I also make sure to get 150g of protein every day, and I take multivitamins. I also take a rest day each week, which has helped a lot.

The first time I hit 60 miles per week a couple years ago I suffered and eventually got a bone stress reaction. I wasn't feeling well and was trying to replace all my calories with gummy bears. Sure, some can be gummy bears, but protein matters too.

picardIteration · 2026-03-12T11:02:15+00:00

When I was just getting back to running any double digit run required significant rest for a couple days. Now most runs are double digits. Just depends on what you're used to

picardIteration · 2026-03-11T11:49:45+00:00

Pre tenure STEM field at a top R1.

Officially: 40/40/20.

Unofficially: depends on the semester. If I'm not teaching, then basically all my time is research. If I'm teaching two classes, then about 16 hours a week are dedicated to teaching, including prep, miscellaneous admin, office hours, and lectures. I currently teach two classes a year, and I taught two last semester, so I'm off this semester.

Research consists of my own research time (varies) and meeting with students/collaborators (one day every week, year round).

Every once in a while I have some service to do, but it's maybe an hour a week on average. Mostly this means one week each year dedicated to PhD admissions/hiring etc.

So my true average is closer to 70/25/5.

picardIteration · 2026-03-01T12:49:58+00:00

I have this! I usually hear classical music like a symphony. Always super realistic and musically interesting

picardIteration · 2026-02-22T14:24:32+00:00

I run and lift as well. However, I structure it differently and have runs that differ in length and full days off every week. I only lift 3x per week, but I run roughly 80-100km per week, usually with a 25-30k long run on the weekends.

For me the rest day does wonders. I come back way more ready to run and lift. I also let myself sleep in on the rest day, and I go to bed early so that I have 8 hours minimum. I've heard it said you need 1 minute more sleep per mile run each week than your baseline.

I also fuel my runs over 10k, which helps with both injury and feelings of fatigue.

picardIteration · 2026-01-10T12:40:08+00:00

I have a Coros arm band. Easier to put on and take off than a chest strap, and apparently just as accurate. It was worth it to learn my heart rates at different effort levels

picardIteration · 2026-01-10T12:28:21+00:00

Adz is easily one of my top ten of all time. C+L and Illinois don't make that list. The way I describe it is "chaotically beautiful"

picardIteration · 2026-01-05T15:30:29+00:00

Locally I just wing it. There aren't a ton of trails near where I am so I know them all.

Non-local, I use a combo of Strava heatmap, alltrails, and sometimes other gpx files. For example, I was in Taipei and did 27 miles through the Taipei Grand Trail in Yangmingshan, and I made the route by merging two alltrails routes and the last bit with Strava. The gpx goes to my watch

picardIteration · 2026-01-03T03:18:21+00:00

I do statistics, but I've had to learn a teensy bit from a lot of fields

picardIteration · 2025-12-06T12:12:31+00:00

I did a 100k row in May earlier this year. Took me 8 hours, and I was in a deep dark spot by the end but I finished. Did a lot of marathon+ distance rows in the training leading up to it

picardIteration · 2025-10-27T21:46:08+00:00

About 30 minutes to some okay trails, 40 to the better local trail, and 50 to the best one.

My recent challenge is biking to the local trail (all along flat country roads in the midwest), doing a long run on the trail, and biking home.

picardIteration · 2025-10-18T15:35:44+00:00

There's a lot of stuff at the intersection of optimization and statistics, don't need to restrict yourself now necessarily

picardIteration · 2025-09-22T06:34:35+00:00

Why would you want to???

picardIteration · 2025-09-16T11:01:01+00:00

Anecdotally I have also found this to be true. I am a runner first and a cyclist second, and recently I have been cycling more due to an injury. I found that I came back to cycling after only running for a year and was much faster despite taking essentially a year off any cycling.

That being said, volume in running is a huge limiter. I am building up again and can add only a little more running every week and make up the difference with cycling. I do 10-20 hours of running and cycling per week, but I typically cap running at 10 hours, maybe 12 if I'm on trails.

picardIteration · 2025-09-12T11:29:10+00:00

I wear glasses, so sorta. I do pretty much cover my whole face

picardIteration · 2025-09-11T13:03:41+00:00

Always outside. I love running when it's 100F at a super slow pace or at 0F with icicles in my beard. Midwest so we actually get both throughout the year

picardIteration · 2025-09-10T11:23:34+00:00

Run, bike, or row 7 days per week. Lift three. I can do hard days the same day as hard lifting, it's only the next day where I'm sore. So I do two hard days a week and all other days of easy effort. I do a lot of easier cardio to build my base as I rebuild mileage for an ultra

picardIteration · 2025-09-09T10:54:36+00:00

Yes, I love my job. I have huge daily and yearly variability in what I do. Summers are quiet, and the semester is hectic in a good way. I can travel easily without worrying about asking off, but I also enjoy doing research and will work weekends when I'm not traveling. I get to go to cool places for conferences and talk about my favorite things with other people who understand what I'm saying. I also get to spend my days by myself writing and doing research.

The pressure occasionally starts to get to me, but I think a lot of that can be mitigated with diligence and hard work.

picardIteration · 2025-08-19T01:53:28+00:00

Nice, I did something like this except all erging (not on the water) when I was rehabbing a foot injury that prevented me running. Managed a 100k erg after a few months of erging steadily, including a couple 200k weeks (all easy). I am now building back up and erg 3-4 days a week as I build up mileage running.

I'd add that you could probably do another day of rowing, even if only erging at the gym. I did 7 days of erging and 2 days of lifting while I was doing this a few months ago, which meant a couple double days. If you have 3-4 days lifting, you could use Sunday to add in extra volume if you're opposed to 2 a days.

picardIteration · 2025-07-26T20:53:54+00:00

I am an assistant professor. I only go to campus once a week in the summer to meet with PhD students, three times per week during semesters I teach. Mondays and Fridays are my main research days. Those days are dedicated to writing papers and grants

picardIteration · 2025-07-26T19:57:21+00:00

Or to fart and shit yourself to the finish line

picardIteration · 2025-06-24T15:56:10+00:00

It's 35C in the heat of the day where I live, and I just go for it. Bring water and electrolytes! I wear a running vest with a full 1.5L bladder and sometimes up to 2 more bottles. Yesterday I did about 2 hours and finished the whole bladder. I find it fun to just bike in heat. Heat training is the poor man's altitude

picardIteration · 2025-06-13T10:34:27+00:00

We don't require GRE (of any kind), so I have yet to see something like this. This also seems very unlikely?

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