June 17-22: Running Around Town in Birmingham

Another week of running. I kept up with my usual podcasts during the runs and managed to squeeze in some techie listening here and there too. On the Sunday (June 22, 2008) long run, we ran across a copperhead snake about 15 inches long. It wasn't too scary, but it did take my breath away at first. I am feeling a new bout of iPhone fever with the announcement of the upcoming release of the new iPhone. Sleeker, normal headphone jack, 3G, and GPS, humm.... I haven't decided if I'm upgrading or not.

The online logging from my Garmin Forerunner 305 has been a hit or miss lately. Motionbased wouldn't upload 1 day this week and I have been able to upload, but not save on favoriterun.com for the last 3 runs. Technology is great until it doesn't work. And, this is just flaky enough that I still use both of these sites. Oh, and the Garmin Training Center that comes with the watch portends to work with Google Earth, but that never seems to work either. It says I need to load Google Earth, which is loaded. Damn software and puters.

To top off the end of the week, I got called by the provider of the credit card I used for business expenses. Some vendor's software system got compromised and my number was being used in Mexico by some thugs!

Data
06/22/2008: Birmingham, Brownell - Shades Creek/Jemison Park

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:44:34
Heart Rate:	139
Pace:	10:27 (Ran with the crowd at a relaxed pace)
Weather:	Haze Temperature-71° Humidity-84%
Route

06/21/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:00
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:00
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-70° Humidity-81%

06/20/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:04
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:01
Weather:	Clear Temperature-62° Humidity-78%

06/18/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6.14 Miles
Time:	57:34
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:22
Weather:	Clear Temperature-60° Humidity-80%

06/17/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:09
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:02
Weather:	Clear Temperature-70° Humidity-87%

June 6-15: Running in 3 States

Some how I have let my days get so consumed that I can barely keep up with this blog. :( Perhaps, I should get back to doing them after each run. Little, but frequent bursts could be more time efficient? Regardless, the running is going well. I have been traveling a lot, some for work and some for pleasure. For work, I went to Orlando for the Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit from June 7-11. The conference was well done and information packed. It challenged many traditional viewpoints of architecture and introduced lots of thoughts around modernization, governance, SOA, and anything as a service. Very interesting. The long run on Sunday, June 8 felt Hot!

We took are yearly trip to the Smokies for the annual synchronized firefly adventure in Elkmont, TN. We were not able to get into the Elkmont campground. We stayed in Cade's Cove. To get to Elkmont, one has to goto the Sugarlands Visitor Center and catch a bus. Once its parking lot is full, no one else is permitted to ride to Elkmont. We were going to set out late (about 7:00 pm for this adventure. So, I opted to stay in camp. Unfortunately, for those that tried, they were not able to ride as Sugarlands was full. So, I made the right choice. I ran the Cades Cove Loop road. It was an awesome road. At one point, I was running towards a mountain whose peak was obfuscated by fog, but whose main moutain side was clearly visible and covered with Mimosa tree blooms. It was beautiful. Traffic was light and drivers were very respectful and friendly. This was a good thing since it is a 1 lane, 1 way road. There were some good hills, but not bad overall.

We concluded our trip with a visit to Chattanooga, TN and its Aquarium. We did see a dreadful episode of capital punishment administered by some boy's father (it was Father's day too). His first swat to the boys bottom that the sound alone was alarming and we were 200 yards away. But, he didn't stop with one swat. He added a couple more of equal veracity. I nearly came unglued and found myself very emotionally charged. I just can't stand to hear about or see people hurt children. This man didn't teach his son anything other than you use violence when you are angry. We watched this man intently as he walked the boy to his van. He showed no further signs of violence. The rest of his family lagged well behind. It would appear that this is a scary man. So sad. Mean people simply suck!

We also saw a terrible wreck on I-75 towards Chattanooga, TN as we headed home. A van or SUB had clearly rolled on the highway and landed off the road on its wheels. Our first observance was of a helicopter landing on the opposite side of the highway. We didn't see any gore, but this had clearly just happened. To make matters worse, we saw another car that hit a guard rail apparently trying not to hit the car in front of it as it noticed traffic has stalled for the first accident. I tried to find a link to any news related to this, but couldn't find it. I have had the same problem in the past. It is hard to find news stories about car crashes. Too common, I guess. :(

Data
06/15/2008: Cades Cove Campground, TN

Distance:	11.57 Miles
Time:	1:49:20
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:26
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-70° Humidity-88%
Route

06/14/2008: Cades Cove Campground, TN

Distance:	3.1 Miles
Time:	26:45
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	8:38
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-72° Humidity-84%
Route

06/13/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:57
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	8:58
Weather:	Clear Temperature-72° Humidity-84%

06/11/2008: Orlando, FL

Distance:	6.38 Miles
Time:	58:46
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-73° Humidity-87%
Route

06/10/2008: Orlando, FL

Distance:	3.56 Miles
Time:	30:41
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	8:37
Weather:	Clear Temperature-74° Humidity-87%
Route

06/08/2008: Orlando, FL

Distance:	11 Miles
Time:	1:43:59
Heart Rate:	154
Pace:	9:27
Weather:	Clear Temperature-77° Humidity-76%
Route

06/07/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:18
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:26
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-77° Humidity-76%

06/06/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:29
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-74° Humidity-85%

June 3-4: Runnning in the Neighborhood & Vista is Running Fast Now

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. I got fired up listening to the latest episode of This American Life, The Prosecutor. It is so hard to believe how politics, office and governmental, can get so personal and forget that truth and service are frequently the better goals.

I have been suffering with slow performance on my personal laptop for a longtime (like since I loaded Vista). I bought 2GB's worth of sims yesterday and stuck 'em in the Toshiba. And, walla, responds like I expect. I hate that I waited so long. But, all is well now.

Data
06/04/2008: Birmingham, AL

Distance:	6.04 Miles
Time:	55:38
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-75° Humidity-82%

06/03/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3.02 Miles
Time:	27:42
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-71° Humidity-84%

May 28-June 1: Birmingham & Blythewood, SC Runs

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. I spent most of the work week in Blythewood, SC working.

During Sunday's long run, I thought about George Bush and God. Specifically, I reflected on the fact that he was elected with large support from the Christian right. Thus, I'm sure when he was deciding on the "justness" of the upcoming Iraq war he was going to launch, he must have called on God. Surely, he would not make such a momentous decision without appealing to God in prayer. Thus, given that God offers direction and that Godly men would surely benefit from such direction and prayerful reflection, dare we ask why George was so wrong. OK, I'm assuming that given the arguments presented for the war (e.g., WMD, ties to Al Queda, etc.) proved to be false. So, is George not Godly? Does God ignore pleas to help such ungodly matters and choosing to go kill people? Why did this religious and righteous man get it wrong on such an important matter? Let's take religion out of politics, please! Let's make sure the press asks really hard questions next time. For example, maybe some journalist should have asked Powell if any American had talked to Curveball about those mobile chemical factories! Oh yeah, Obama resigned from his church. Is he choosing another? Just makes me wonder...

Data
06/01/2008: Birmingham, AL

Distance:	11.08 Miles
Time:	1:40:10
Pace:	9:02
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-77° Humidity-74%
Route

05/31/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:04
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	8:36
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-63° Humidity-94%

05/30/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	3.11 Miles
Time:	26:04
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	8:36
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-63° Humidity-94%
Route

05/29/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	6.12 Miles
Time:	55:02
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-59° Humidity-94%
Route

05/28/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	3.14 Miles
Time:	26:39
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	8:29
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-69° Humidity-75%
Route

May 20-26: Birmingham & Chattanooga Runs

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. This week's runs include an 11 miler in Chattanooga, TN. My son loves the aquarium and Lookout Mountain there. The Riverfront Park in Chattanooga is a cool area for running, walking, biking, and just general outdoor fun. I saw a river otter, squirrels, great blue herons, and rabbits. I also saw a group of rowers on the river. I thoroughly enjoyed the run.

Data

05/26/2008: Chattanooga, TN Riverfront

Distance:	11.04 Miles
Time:	1: 41:05
Heart Rate:	129
Pace:	9:09
Weather:	Clear Temperature-66° Humidity-75%
Route

05/24/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles (Battery died on Forerunner 305 and older heart rate monitor recorded time, but I couldn't recall heart rate from the watch)
Time:	28:23
Heart Rate:	Unknown
Pace:	9:27
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-67° Humidity-93%

05/23/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:41
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:13
Weather:	Clear Temperature-70° Humidity-84%

05/21/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:02
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-59° Humidity-83%

05/20/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:13
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Clear Temperature-70° Humidity-76%

May 13-18: Running in Birmingham and Las Vegas

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. The latest episode of This American Life, The Great Pool of Money, was extremely interesting as it told the story of lending practices that led up to the current credit crunch. Imagine having an underwriter basing your loan on what someone in your profession can make; not how much you actually make! Amazing. It remains true that if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

Speaking of money, I just got back from Las Vegas. I was busy as usual, but managed to gamble for 2 hours. My favorite form of gambling is craps. I simply bet minimum amount on the pass and come line and back them up with something like $5 odds. After 2 hours, I made $296 and left. Yeppee! I always play at the Casino Royale because of its low minimum bids. $3 dollars for craps in this case. They raise it as the night wears on the place begins to fill. I left when they raised the table minimum to $5. I'm cheap. But, it was fun for 2 hours.

My workouts in preparation of the USMC Mud Run are going well. We added 2 more team members are have renamed ourselves Quatros Tontos (4 Fools). I used a universal machine at the hotel in Las Vegas, I stayed at the Desert Rose Resort. I just used its legend for a collection of workouts. It felt like it did good and I did have some soreness. I also made a trip to the weight room one I got home. So, I have added 2 weight-bearing exercise workouts to my 5 day a week running schedule. All seems to be going well and I am looking forward to the event.

I also registered for the Third Annual Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon Challenge, October 11-12, 2008.

Here's the latest running stats:

Data

05/18/2008: Brownell-Shades Creek Greenway Loop

Distance:	10.96 Miles
Time:	1: 38:28
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Clear Temperature-63° Humidity-67%
Route

05/17/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:20
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	8:46
Weather:	Clear Temperature-48° Humidity-89%

05/16/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:31
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	8:50
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-65° Humidity-70%

05/14/2008: Las Vegas, Nevada

Distance:	6.13 Miles
Time:	55:47
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:06
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-60° Humidity-17%
Route

05/13/2008: Las Vegas, Nevada

Distance:	3.11 Miles
Time:	26:06
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	8:23
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-60° Humidity-18%
Route

May 4 - 11, 2008: 6 Runs in Birmingham

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. I have signed up for the USMC Mud Run in Columbia, SC scheduled for September 20, 2008. I have run this before and it is tough and fun. A friend of mine that turns 50 on her next birthday has decided that she needs a signature event to prove she is still tough. OK, she didn't say that per se, but that is my interpretation. My recent marathon was my event for the same purpose. We named our team "Dos Cincuenta Tontos" (Two Fifty Fools).

I ran the 2008 Birmingham Zoo Run. I placed 28th overall and 2nd in my age group. My award for my place was a picture painted by a Gorilla. Here's the artist:

Here's the art:

Here's my certificate:

There was a teenage girl that kept catching up to me and nearly passing me for the middle mile. She finally did pass me, but she did help push and pull me to the finish line. I felt like telling her "thank you", but that would have been odd. So, I didn't. My five-year old son ran his first race (The You Can Toucan) too. Followed by a good morning at the zoo.

Data

05/11/2008: 10.5 Miles in the Neighborhood

Distance:	10.59 Miles
Time:	1:39:41
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Clear Temperature-68° Humidity-90%
Route

05/10/2008: 5K Birmingham Zoo Run

	Distance:	3.12 Miles
	Time:	23:16
	Heart Rate:	166
	Pace:	7:27
	Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-71° Humidity-81%
	Route

05/09/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:23
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:07
Weather:	Clear Temperature-61° Humidity-93%

05/07/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	47:11
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:26
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-64° Humidity-63%

05/06/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:10
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:03
Weather:	Clear Temperature-50° Humidity-83%

05/04/2008: Brownell-Shades Creek-Crestline

Distance:	11.04 Miles
Time:	1:46:27
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:38
Weather:	Clear Temperature-54° Humidity-83%
Route

Apr 20-May 3, 2008: 9 Runs in 2 Countries

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. Adam Curry keeps going on, show after show, about how everyone gets the government they deserve. Because, after all, no matter where you live you can protest and act. It matters not where as long as you are willing to sacrifice. Blah, blah, blah. It is an interesting conversation and I enjoy listening to the variety of viewpoints. But, it strikes me that Adam is another millionaire telling poorer people to be prepared to die for his mission. OK, he is not really going that far, but it seems to me that he is logically very close.

I have been very busy. Thus, the long time since the last blog. I did finish The God Delusion. A good book and it does make you think. You may need to be careful where you talk about it though. It came up a few times over dinner with some folks I work with. Several had read it. Some of the group made comments that a religious person might find distasteful. And at one point, one person said "I think I should tell you I am religious...." Richard would likely treat this with less accommodation, but this group shut down the conversation. Sex, religion, and politics eh!

Data

05/03/2008: 3 Miles in the Gym in Birmingham, AL

Distance:	3 Miles (estimated)
Time:	27:00
Heart Rate:	153
Pace:	9:00
Weather:	Raining outside

05/02/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	3.2 Miles
Time:	26:35
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	8:18
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-67%
Route

04/30/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	6.04 Miles
Time:	55:34
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-59° Humidity-88%
Route

04/29/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	3.06 Miles
Time:	27:31
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-55° Humidity-82%
Route

04/26/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	11.13 Miles
Time:	1:43:13
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:16
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-64° Humidity-88%

04/24/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6 Miles
Time:	57:00
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:30
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-78° Humidity-44%

04/23/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:45
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:20
Weather:	Clear Temperature-65° Humidity-56%

04/22/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:27
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:09
Weather:	Clear Temperature-54° Humidity-44%

04/20/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	31:44
Heart Rate:	136
Pace:	10:34
Weather:	Clear Temperature-49° Humidity-86%
I pushed my 5 year old in a stroller, thus the longer time. Yes, I felt compelled to point that out!

Apr 16-19, 2008: 4 Runs in AL: 3, 6, 3, & 9.3 (Statue-to-Statue Race)

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. Steve, host of Phedippidations, is about to run Boston. So, that last few shows have been about the course, Steve's preparation, and some historical stuff about Boston. Good shows.

Gear Rants:

• The Motorola S9 bluetooth headset has lot its ability to manage volume again. So, I will be sending it back for the fourth time.
• iTunes continues to sporadically delete the physical file for a podcast. This forces me to download the file manually and tell iTunes where the file is located so I can manage this in iTunes. I first logged this in the Apple discussion forum on March 25, 2007 (Yes, over a year ago!). Apple archived this discussion, so I added it again (After a Year, Podcasts file STILL disappear from harddrive during sync). I would have to say that as a podcatcher, iTunes f**king sucks! I still have ghost listings of podcasts that are not on my harddrive, not in my iTunes library, not in my iTunes Podcasts library, but show up in iTunes playlists (Stranded Podcasts and Playlists That Have "Non-Existent" Podcast episodes on Apple's Discussion Forum).
• Finally, the Garmin 305's battery was died during my 3 mile run on April 16. I don't know if I accidentally left it on, its button got pushed in the special carry case I bought, or what. I am assuming user error at this point.
  

My running is going well. I just finished the Statue-to-Statue run yesterday and look at my history:

• 2008 - 1:17:39
  
• 2007 - 1:20:48
• 2006 - 1:25:55

I sure can't complain about that. This is a very tough run with some serious hills.

A friend of mine sent me this humorous picture since I am reading The God Delusion:

What a hoot!

Data

04/19/2008: Statue-to-Statue Run, Birmingham, AL

	Distance:	9.38 Miles
	Time:	1:17:39
	Heart Rate:	165
	Pace:	8:16
	Weather:	Few clouds Temperature-55° Humidity-77%
	Route

04/18/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:28
Heart Rate:	157
Pace:	9:09
Weather:	Clear Temperature-52° Humidity-83%

04/17/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6 Miles
Time:	54:54
Heart Rate:	156
Pace:	9:09
Weather:	Clear Temperature-47° Humidity-80%

04/16/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:36
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-39° Humidity-82%

Apr 6-13, 2008: 6 Runs in SC & AL: 9, 3, 5, 3, 3 & 13 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. The Motorola S9 died on Tuesday because I let the battery get too low. iTunes died on Friday because it thought its library got corrupted. That led to hours of recovery work for me. It appears that in such a circumstance, it can rebuild the music library. But, it loses track of downloaded podcast episodes. The podcast episodes show up in playlists, but not in Podcasts or Music (as show in the library part of iTunes). Thus, they can't be deleted, don't really exists, and appear to be stranded on the iPod and iPhone. I discovered that I could get them off of the iPod and iPhone, but unchecking them in bogus playlists I created just for this purpose. What a pain in the ass. I do wish Apple would make these lists a little more transparent and powerful. For example, let me delete from the playlist and ask if I want it removed from the library. And, if I say yes, delete from the real and the ghost library. Further, let me delete directly from the iPod and iPhone. Oh, and while you are at it, Apple, let me build playlists on the device too. I'm sure they are listening to me rant and tomorrow it will be released. Yeah right!

I had a stressful week of work during which I cranked out lots of hours, but I managed to run on plan for the most part. Work will be this way for awhile. Goes with making money, I reckon. All you can do is buck up and go on.

Judy came out to run this Sunday for the first time in awhile. We didn't chat too much, but it was good to see her. I believe she had some plantar fasciitis pain towards the end. She has been battling this injury for awhile :(. I hope all turns out well. Prince and I rode together and he convinced me to run 13 instead of the planned 11. He ran 15.

Geoff Smith created a cool Bohemian Financial Rhapsody (obvious parody of a Queen song), follow this link to Podsafe Music Network and listen to a theme about the current financial woes.

Data

04/13/2008: Brownell, Shades Creek, Crestline

Distance:	13 Miles
Time:	2:01:07
Heart Rate:	139
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Clear Temperature-45° Humidity-58%
Route

04/12/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:42
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	8:54
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-56° Humidity-64%

04/11/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	3.14 Miles
Time:	26:36
Heart Rate:	153
Pace:	8:28
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-64° Humidity-83%
Route

04/10/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	5.09 Miles
Time:	45:09
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	8:52
Weather:	Hazy Temperature-54° Humidity-83%
Route

04/08/2008: Blythewood, SC

Distance:	3.18 Miles
Time:	27:26
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	8:37
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-55° Humidity-77%
Route

04/06/2008: Lake Wateree, SC

Distance:	8.9 Miles
Time:	1:23:33
Heart Rate:	151
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-64° Humidity-88%
Route

Apr 1-5, 2008: 2 Runs at Home & Cooper River Bridge Run: 3, 6 & 6.2 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code and This American Life. A good week of running and a hard week or working. Wednesday's run was in a pouring rain. Prince was out in it too. Good run though. Then, I knocked off the longest mid-week run and skipped the Friday run to put in a little taper to prepare for the Cooper River Bridge Run on Saturday. I was hoping to PR (run a personal record), but I missed by 33 seconds. However, a 48:39 is very good for me regardless. I was 2 minutes behind pace at the top of the bridge, so to end only 33 secs off is not bad. I can say that I am confident that I did not feel as strong after the peak of the bridge like I did last year.

Data

04/05/2008: Cooper River Bridge Run

	Distance:	6.2 Miles
	Time:	48:39
	Heart Rate:	170
	Pace:	7:46
	Weather:	Overcast Temperature-69° Humidity-90%
	Route

04/02/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6 Miles
Time:	55:15
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-55° Humidity-86%

04/01/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:00
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:20
Weather:	Raining Temperature-57° Humidity-93%

Mar 23 - 29, 2008: 5 Runs in Birmingham & Demopolis, AL: 9, 3, 5, 3, & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. Vista SP1 does seem to be a little zippier than the original. Still nothing to shout about if you ask me. Adam Curry has been digging into content around multiculturalism and judging by comment entries (well, at least one of them), he may be stepping into controversial territory. I did find the references to Pat Condell rants and Pat's videos interesting. This led me down one of those meanderings on the Internet that including viewing a couple of videos of Richard Dawkins and a funny about How to Piss Off an Atheist. What a hoot! As soon as the color of one's skin, the nationality of one's origin, one's religion or culture become the topic of a rant by someone of a different background, the air gets murky. It is hard to be appropriately focused on that which is simply appropriate or wrong regardless of such attributes, and that which should be respected as a cultural difference that is "harmless" (not sure what word to put here). Let's all try to share the planet in peace and harmony, please!

I am reading Richard's book, The God Delusion, now. So, I found these videos particularly interesting and that the experience enhances the reading. I don't equate all of this together. I find it hard to find the truth in all of this as I am sure most genuine truth seekers do. I don't want to be judgmental about anyone or their culture. But, I also don't wish to continue worrying about the safety of my family or the planet as powerful men wield their military, religion, and other tools to force others to behave and think as they see fit when it isn't benevolence that is motivating them. For me, I can see guilt for the likes of George Bush and Bin Laden. I do wish to see religion leave politics PERIOD.

I also bumped into videos by BettyPumpkin (YouTube nick) that are disturbing and thought provoking. I am not sure what to think of them. They are clearly intended to disturb and they are effective. It is hard to imagine living in a place where stoning, public beatings, and such are practiced. I am disgusted by the notion of beating women for running in athletic clothing that is intended to aid the performance of the sport.

What a world!

Data

03/29/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:56
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	8:58
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-57° Humidity-100%
Route

03/28/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:38
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-62° Humidity-84%

03/26/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:57
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Clear Temperature-31° Humidity-69%

03/25/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:14
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Clear Temperature-31° Humidity-69%

03/23/2008: Demopolis, AL

Distance:	9.13 Miles
Time:	1:22:07
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Clear Temperature-48° Humidity-54%
Route

Mar 18 - 22, 2008: 4 Runs in Birmingham & Demopolis, AL: 3, 6, 3, & 4.4 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. All the runs went well. I upgraded to Vista SP1 this week. My Toshiba Portege M200, which I loaded with Vista myself, would not restart at the end as was expected by the installation program. I had to hold the power switch to off and hope it would reboot correctly. It rebooted and loaded SP1 as it should. The presentation on to my 24 inch flatscreen took a little tweaking as well. So, scary, but it worked. It loaded on my home built tower just fine.

The latest This American Life episode, The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar, was extremely interesting. It is about a boy that disappeared around 1912 and was reportedly found 8 months later. After being found, 2 mothers claimed the boy. Many years later, his granddaughter was given 400 newspaper clippings about the incident. She started a multi-year research effort and discovered some startling information. I found this episode extremely engaging and emotional.

I checked my cholesterol on March 20th and it was 159. Yeppee!

Data

03/22/2008: Demopolis, AL

Distance:	4.46 Miles
Time:	39:38
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	8:53
Weather:	Clear Temperature-48° Humidity-93%
Route

03/21/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:51
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:16
Weather:	Clear Temperature-48° Humidity-48%

03/20/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6 Miles
Time:	55:48
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:17
Weather:	Clear Temperature-40° Humidity-70%

03/18/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:36
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	cloudy Temperature-61° Humidity-72%

Mar 11 - 16, 2008: 5 Runs in Barcelona, Spain & Birmingham, AL: 3, 6, 3, 3, & 11 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. I got a few more runs in Barcelona, but have returned home and have already completed a few more here. Barcelona was cool, but I worked a lot and didn't get to see much really. I wouldn't mind returning as a tourist with the family. Betsy, my wife, is a great trip planner and touring is so much more fun with her than alone. I did have some good meals and thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine.

I have received my race packet for Cooper River and I hope to PR there by beating 48 minutes for 10K. The usual crowd will not totally be there as Teresa and Ernie can't make it, :(. But, I don't want to miss it. The one year I missed in the past was something I always regretted. I do have to be to work in Columbia the Monday following the race which will be a damper on the weekend too. But, that's the price of earning a living.

Data

03/16/2008: Birmingham, AL

Distance:	11.22 Miles
Time:	1:39:10
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	8:50
Weather:	Clear Temperature-45° Humidity-80%
Route

03/15/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:34
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-57° Humidity-93%

03/14/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:51
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	8:57
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-56° Humidity-80%

03/12/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	5.95 Miles
Time:	54:55
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:13
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-88%
Route

03/11/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	3.15 Miles
Time:	28:55
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:10
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-62%
Route

Mar 4 - 9, 2008: 5 Runs in the Birmingham, AL & Barcelona, Spain: 3, 6, 3, 3, & 9 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, caught up with This American Life, and Phedippidations. I am currently in Barcelona, Spain. So, my last 2 runs have been from a place a little more exotic than my usual neighborhood runs. I have been extremely busy, so not a lot of time to put into thoughts about what to blog. I am still enjoying the Garmin Forerunner 305. I did have to set the desktop application from Garmin it to run as Administrator on Vista.

Added March 16, 2008: I forgot to mention that I checked my cholesterol on March 4th and it was good at 174!

Data

03/09/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	9.56 Miles
Time:	1:26:23
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:02
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-52° Humidity-46%
Route

03/08/2008: Barcelona, Spain

Distance:	3.39 Miles
Time:	30:01
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	8:51
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-55° Humidity-42%
Route

03/07/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:22
Heart Rate:	151
Pace:	8:47
Weather:	Pouring rain (treadmill)

03/05/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6.12 Miles
Time:	54:02
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	8:49
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-34° Humidity-76%

03/04/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:51
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	9:16
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-64° Humidity-90%

03/02/08: 11 Mile Run: Brownell - Jemison, AL

I ran with the group again. Prince ran the first 7 with some of this faster friends (7:30 pace or better) and caught up with the rest of us just after we finished 7 miles at Brownell. I met a friendly runner named Cliff this morning. Nice sounding fellow that was gregarious. I didn't spend much time listening to any thing on the iPod. I mainly chatted with various runners and briefly with a fellow that I met last Sunday and damn if I forgot his name despite talking to him twice now and hearing his name both time. Gees!

Data

Distance:	11.2 Miles
Time:	1:44:09
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:14
Weather:	Clear Temperature-50° Humidity-59%
Brownell 7 Miler + Jemison/Mountainbrook 4 Miler

Feb 27-Mar 1, 2008: 4 Runs in the Birmingham, AL: 3, 5, 3 & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, and I am catching up on This American Life. A new Phedippidations has been posted and I should get through it tomorrow. I received my Garwin Forerunner 305, with heart rate monitor. At first, it seemed to disrupt the interaction between my Motorola S9 bluetooth headset and the Ten Technology bluetooth adapter on my iPod, but I re-paired them and all seems well. So, now I can get distance, time, and heart rate all with 1 device. I am extremely pleased. I choose to buy the 305 instead of the 405 purely on price. The 305 is a big time advance over what I had and the price was right.

I had another cholesterol reading above 200, 212. The price of Mexico, I guess. I will be checking it again soon.

Data

03/01/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:47
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:15
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-93%

02/29/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:32
Heart Rate:	159
Pace:	8:50
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-55° Humidity-51%

02/28/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:56
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Clear Temperature-25° Humidity-78%

02/27/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:53
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:37
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-38° Humidity-82%

Playa Del Carmen Vacation Pictures

More ...

• Having fun at Bad Boys (a bar on the beach). I am in blue.
• Our group on the beach at our table
• Check out the videos from Feb. 16, my friends and I are in there...

Feb 17-24, 2008: 5 Runs in Playa Del Carmen, MX & Birmingham, AL: 3, 3, 6, 3 & 8.5 Miles

I have not kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. But, I did hear the episode where Steve indicated that he will no longer be committed to weekly podcasts. Sounds like he has sort of burned out on put out so many which requires a significant time and financial investment on his part. I certainly understand, but will definitely miss the weekly shows.

I have been on vacation in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. What a blast! We snorkled in a cenote that led into a cave. It was totally awesome. We swam with sea turtles. We almost rented scooters for a day on Cozumel. Well, we did until one of our group wrecked with 1/2 block of the rental place. They simply switched us to jeeps and we were off again. My wife didn't want to do scooters in the first place and all of the other women lost their nerve after seeing the wreck. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the guy that crashed lost nearly $800 to cover damages. Hint: buy the insurance. Better yet, don't rent scooters! We also visited Chichén Itzá. This place was awesome and huge. What a walk through history and majesty. I will be posting the pictures to flickr later and will post a link on this blog when I am done.

I ran several times in Playa Del Carmen as indicated below. It was nice to run in shorts and no shirt in nice warm weather. Today's run was steady and felt great despite the cool temperature. I rode with Prince and say the usual lot at Brownell. The Timex Time & Distance watch died again. So, I think it is simply time to upgrade. Nearly all of the runs in Playa Del Carmen are based on my initial run where I got a measure of a 3.4 mile loop. The run listed as 4 miles is due to my missing a turn and running a bit further. I estimated the distance to 4 miles for this run.

I finished reading Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, by Tim Weiner. It was a interesting read that consisted predominantly of Tim Weiner whining (pun intended) about the incompetence of the CIA. But, the read was good and it offered a very interesting perspective on America history for the last 60 years or so. I especially liked the insight it provided into the policy and personalities of the presidents during these years. Good reading.

Data

02/24/2008: Shades Creek

Distance:	8.5 Miles
Time:	1:15:07
Heart Rate:	153
Pace:	8:50
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-38° Humidity-82%
Route

02/23/2008: Playa Del Carmen

Distance:	3.4 Miles
Time:	32:00
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-72° Humidity-88%

02/20/2008: Playa Del Carmen

Distance:	6.8 Miles
Time:	1:01:00
Pace:	8:58
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-72° Humidity-88%

02/19/2008: Playa Del Carmen

Distance:	4 Miles
Time:	38:00
Pace:	9:30
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-68° Humidity-100%

02/17/2008: Playa Del Carmen

Distance:	3.4 Miles
Time:	31:00
Pace:	9:07
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-72° Humidity-94%

2/10/08: Mercedes Marathon: Personal Record

I ran the Mercedes Marathon today. I ran with the 4:15 pacer, Marie Bartoletti, up through about mile 21. At that point, I picked it up and gained about 4 minutes on the pace in the last 5 miles. I was feeling strong. I never walked! Clearly, running a well paced, slower start race pays off for me. This is my third marathon and the first time I ran the whole thing and I gained 19 minutes on my previous best for a new PR. Yeppee. The weather was perfect. I saw a lot of my friends including Judy who ran in the relay. Prince paced the 4:00 minute group. And, Dan ran well too.

Data

	Distance:	26.2
	Time:	4:11:07 (Results, Bob Evans in the 50-54 Male group)
	Heart Rate:	156
	Pace:	9:35
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-32-60° Humidity-82-24%

Splits

Distance	Time	Pace	Leg Distance	Leg Time	Leg Pace
6.2	1:00:47	9:49	6.2	1:00:47	9:49
9.3	1:29:44	9:39	3.1	28:57	9:20
15.5	2:26:18	9:27	6.2	56:34	9:07
18.6	2:56:45	9:31	3.1	30:27	9:49
26.2	4:11:07	9:36	7.6	1:14:22	9:47

Some Pictures (Larger pictures on Flickr)

I just finished

I'm feeling good.

Marie, the pacer

Prince in green, Larry in white

Feb 5 - 9, 2008: 3 Runs in the Birmingham, AL: 3, 6, & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. It was a light week of running and tomorrow is the big day, The Mercedes Marathon and I'm running. I have not missed a single run; I have had no injuries; and I have had no illness. How lucky I have been. I did get a good lesson this week. To Illustrate the point, I will show you an email thread.

Today's Lesson: When a Planned Aggressive Response Backfires
To a Friend in My Neighborhood

The intent of this email is two fold: 1) Gain your forgiveness if I am right 2) Amuse you if I am wrong About what you might ask? Well, as I finished up my run this morning coming up the road after entering the back gate to the neighborhood, a car approached honking and waving. My mind said, "here's that fool that keeps honking and pointing to the side of the road again". I had decided last time he passed me that I was not going to just passively go about my run as I had in the past. In the past, I didn't realize he was being mean until after he passed and regretted that I didn't let him know that he was being rude and unappreciated. So, I have been on a hair trigger to get him next time I had the opportunity. Well..... I think this morning I pulled the trigger and IT WASN'T HIM. Worse the driver was being friendly. And, I think it was you. I am embarrassed and ashamed. If it was you, please forgive my stupidity. If it wasn't you, you have my blessing for laughing at my silliness. And, gees I hope I didn't push someone over the fence to hate all runners. Gees, I can do some silly things.

The Response

Bob, That WAS me. I laughed at your response because I thought it was in jest, just like my rapid fire birdies as we passed running earlier. After I passed I thought that you had been pretty convincing. Now I know why. You have succeeded with both intentions listed below [above].

I heard from Dan today and he and I are going to run with the 4:15 pace group. He his hoping to do something closer to 4:00, but I will be way satisfied at 4:15 which would be a PR of 15 minutes better than either of my previous 2 marathons. Judy is running a 10K portion of the race as part of a relay. She is struggling with Plantar fasciitis, so I am not sure she should run. But, she's a big girl (as in grown up). I hope it goes well as I know she wants to run.

Oh, and I voted for Obama

Data

02/09/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:51
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:16
Weather:	Clear Temperature-47° Humidity-74%

02/07/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6 Miles
Time:	56:05
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:20
Weather:	Clear Temperature-33° Humidity-82%

02/05/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:27
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:28
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-64° Humidity-90%