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%

Jan 30-Feb 3, 2008: 4 Runs in the Birmingham, AL: 7, 3, 3 & 11 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. I am still thinking about politics a bit since our primary election is this coming Tuesday. I am updating my del.icio.us 2008 Campaign links as I spot things that are most influential on my thinking. A perusal there will show that I have settled on Obama as my choice. I shared this switch in my thinking with the person that challenged me to think about what my Iraq war stance was last week. He, too, is leaning towards Obama. At this point, I say "cool beans" to that.

Today's run was steady and felt great. I did not see Dan today. I noticed his absence and hope that it doesn't mean anything that he didn't come out for the last group run before the marathon next week. Prince was there as were quite a few others. There weren't many of the Mercedes Marathon runners though.

Data

02/03/2008: Shades Creek + Jemison Park-Mountain Brook Loop

Distance:	11.2 Miles
Time:	1:51:04
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:54
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-44° Humidity-83%
Brownell 7 Miler + Jemison/Mountainbrook 4 Miler

02/02/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:36
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	9:31
Weather:	Clear Temperature-31° Humidity-85%

02/01/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:10
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Clear Temperature-46° Humidity-54%

01/30/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	7 Miles
Time:	1:04:11
Heart Rate:	152
Pace:	9:10
Weather:	Clear Temperature-41° Humidity-32%

01/29/08: 4 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I finished off show 714 of the Daily Source Code, the latest Phedippidations, and started an Accident Hash during this early morning run.

I have not been able to shake the criticism I got during Sunday's run from my mind. I think the main thing that keeps bugging me is that knowledge that I was opposed to the Iraq invasion from the beginning with the firm belief that we were being fed a line (and we were). I also believe that our arrogant manner of dealing with the rest of the world under the current administration on top of others ills of the past, have created a climate where we don't seem to stand up to the ideals that most of us really hold dear. So, I have reflected and reflected. I have read a few editorials by Thomas Friedman, NY Times, whose view I respect and read the websites of several presidential candidates. The result? I have decided that perhaps an orderly, and timed withdrawal from Iraq is in order. That, we need a change in style that acknowledges our current conditions and directly seeks to alter and right them. So, I am beginning to lean back to my liberal roots and most specifically towards Obama. I do hope I settle on something before the primary vote gets here on Feb. 5th.

Data

January Total:	155 Miles
2008 Total:	155 Miles

Distance:	4 Miles
Time:	36:38
Heart Rate:	153
Pace:	9:09
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-77%

01/27/08: 13 Mile Run: Shades Creek + Jemsion/Crestline in Birmingham, AL

I'm still in taper mode for the big on, the Mercedes Marathon, in 2 weeks. I ran with the group again. Although, Dan and I ran a bit in front for the first 7 miles. We rejoined the group at Brownell as we took off for the last 6 miles. I got on a rant about politics and how we need to stay the course in Irag and that it will take a long time. This rubbed at least one of the folks in the group the wrong way and I was reminded that moms and dads of soldiers may feel different. Of course, I made a stupid remark about how they voted George W. in twice. And, there was some mention about how "they" have been fighting for 2000 years and nothing we do in the next 10 will make any difference.

I still think we Americans went into Iraq uninvited and violently. We shook up the balance of power and created a situation where fundamentalists and various factions brought murder, suicide bombs, and all kinds of evil to bear on those that may have not been directly exposed to such violence under Sadaam. And, no I am certainly not playing that jerk up as some kind of nice guy. My point is we may have created an environment that is not just reflective of some 2000 year old battle that was underway when we showed up with our "Shock and Awe". We made a mess. I was totally opposed to going in the first place. I was totally opposed to voting yes for George W. Bush, both times. But, my country (and by extension me) is responsible for the current street climate in Baghdad. I hate it. I hate that anybody is dying . And, everyone who dies, American and otherwise, has parents that likely wish they hadn't. I still believe we have an obligation to make what we created at least as good as what we found. That ain't saying much for Iraq, but I do believe it is worse than when we got there. To simply leave feels so wrong. Knowing American kids (the young soldiers) are dying does also feel so wrong. Hell, knowing that any human anywhere is intentionally causing harm to another human feels so wrong. War sucks! Mean people suck!

The "they have been fighting for 2000 years" feels like lumping 1.6 billion muslims into one group and saying "stick 'em behind a wall and let 'em fight it out". I have a hard time with that too. One need only hear about female runners being beaten with sticks in Pakistan because they dare wear something closer to running apparel than a burka to feel a morale obligation to right such wrongs. I sure don't know the right answers or definitively how to change the tide in such places. But, I don't think isolationism is one of them. At some level, what is wrong is wrong and it is not a theological question. Somebody has to stand up and say "stop it". "They", those that are willing to kill, beat, and maim in the name of theology are not going to say "ok". It will take a fight and some will get hurt.

And last, but not least, if we leave, "they" will regroup and we will hear from them again. Of that, I'm sure. Our leaving would be their victory. Their victory will be their rallying cry. It must end, not continue. But, it is also true that there is probably no easy way to be rational about the right thing to do when regardless of what option is selected somebody, somewhere will die. We will have Americans dying if we stay. We will likely see more Iraqis die if we leave.

:(

Data

January Total:	151 Miles
2008 Total:	151 Miles

Distance:	13 Miles
Time:	2:01:15
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:19
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-35° Humidity-85%
Route:	Brownell 7 Miler + Brownell/Crestline 6 Miler

Jan 22-26, 2008: 4 Runs in the Birmingham, AL: 5, 8, 5 & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. Adam keeps going on what the heck are we doing in Afghanistan and Irag. For Afghanistan, I believe we were absolutely just in going in. Iraq, we were not, but we did. Given the tactics and the quite apparent evilness of the Taliban, we simply can't abandon Afghanistan and let them resume the hellish control they had before. Not to mention their welcoming stance to Bin Laden. For Iraq, we created the mess, we have to make sure civility is achieved before we leave.

Which reminds me, a friend of mine sent me a link to a website where you can answer some questions and they score your answers against the Democratic and Republican candidates for the U.S. Presidency race in 2008. Thanks to my Iraq position, I come out favoring several Republican candidates. I haven't made up my mind how I'm voting yet, but this quiz is helping me shape my investigation and thoughts. I do wish McCain was younger.

And, IBM did not release the Notes client for the iPhone as some had predicted. :( Add to that, an idiot analyst apparently said:

However, Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at research firm IBRS, said he's not sure Lotus Notes will have a large impact on enterprise adoption of the device. "I can't really imagine someone who's really hip and cool--like an iPhone user--wanting to use Lotus Notes," he said.

Like no cool person happens to work for a company who has choosen Notes as the corporate email system. Give me a break. Note to self=>Upon noticing any analyst report authored by Kevin McIsaac, execute skeptic reception.

Data

January Total:	138 Miles
2008 Total:	138 Miles

01/26/2008: Local YMCA Gym (Inside track)

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:16
Heart Rate:	157
Pace:	8:45
Weather:	Cloudy, Light fog Temperature-34° Humidity-89%

01/25/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	45:40
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:07
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-39° Humidity-31%

01/23/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	8 Miles
Time:	1:13:09
Heart Rate:	152
Pace:	9:08
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-38° Humidity-76%

01/22/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	47:00
Heart Rate:	152
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Clear Temperature-39° Humidity-65%

01/20/08: 15 Mile Run: Birmingham, AL

Well, last night I felt like crap with a headache and some congestion. I took an Alieve and laid around. I was afraid I would not be able to go out to run today, but I felt fine when I work up.

Yeppee! I ran with the group again. This could become a habit as I have to admit the camaraderie is good. I took the headset off and interacted with the group as we ran. We were accosted by man that ran his car straight at us as he has made it his mission to force runners on to sidewalks. Prince approached him and asked what Church he attends. The man claimed to be a lawyer and that he would see to it that a warrant for Prince's arrest was imminent. This guy is near 60 years old, I guess, and he gets so riled at runners on the side of the road that he gets angry and wants to have them arrested. Is this the biggest legal issue he needs to solve in his life, give me a break! Not to mention he was clearly angry. He needs help! We had a much smaller group this week.

I wore a sleeveless, high tech shirt, a turtleneck high tech shirt, and a light windbreaker for my upper layers. Tights and 2 pair of socks for the lower level. I also wore a light pair of gloves under my running glove/mitten hybrids and an ear cover. These layesrs were about right for the condition. I did occasionally feel as if I was overdressed.

Data

January Total:	117 Miles
2008 Total:	117 Miles

Distance:	15.22 Miles
Time:	2:19:54
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Clear Temperature-17° Humidity-51%
Route:	Brownell 7 Miler + Brownell/Crestline 8 Miler

Jan 15-19, 2008: 4 Runs in Birmingham, AL: 3, 10, 5, & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life, and Phedippidations. I also listened to an excellent podcast about the Google Web Toolkit from ITConversations. The speaker was Bruce Johnson who spoke with Phil and Scott of the regular program call Technometria. The ideal of editing Java to generate JavaScript is quite interesting. It offers opportunities for clean code and optimizations that can be managed by the computer. Further, it offers opportunities to enrich the experience for multiple mediums with less worry about browser variance. Very cool.

I've now run the last mid-week 10 miler before the marathon. I have entered the taper phase for the training. Yeppee! Almost there and so far no problem. I am very pleased.

Data

January Total:	102 Miles
2008 Total:	102 Miles

01/19/2008: Local YMCA Gym (Inside track)

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:24
Heart Rate:	151
Pace:	9:07
Weather:	Cloudy (Snow threatening) Temperature-34° Humidity-70%

01/18/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	45:54
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:10
Weather:	Clear Temperature-51° Humidity-31%

01/16/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:33:58
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-37° Humidity-85%

01/15/2008: Detroit, MI

Distance:	3 Miles - Treadmill
Time:	27:00
Pace:	9:00

Jan 9-13, 2008: 4 Runs in the Birmingham, AL: 10, 5, 3 & 20 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, This American Life. I ran the 20 miler with the group of folks that run with Al DiMicco, one of our local TNT coaches. I decided that running with the group would help motivate me and keep me on pace for this longest training run for Mercedes. I would have listened to the latest Phedippidations episode, but it would have created too much difficulty to get the iPod out of the case I use on long runs while running with a crowd. And, my Motorola Motorokr S9 is messing up AGAIN. I will be sending it back for my 3rd replacement. This time the volume buttons have stopped working and the rewind button occasionally just spontaneously decides to go to the previous track. Freaking technology, eh! I love this bluetooth wireless headset stuff including the controls that are so easily available and accessible. I just wished it would last.

The episode of This American Life was quite moving. It contained a story about a Muslim family whose children were tormented at school after 9/11. Especially, after a teacher and some materials implied that ALL Muslims hate Christians and that all non-Christians go to hell. Gees, I should wish we could do better as people. I had a hard time not crying listening to the suffering the young girl in this family experienced at the hands of God fearing Christians. I don't care what one's religion is. If it doesn't teach love and tolerance, I have no use for it. PERIOD. The number of people that have died and killed in the name of God over the years is just shameful. Let's just be nice to one another and respect the right of others to worship as they see fit (assuming of course they don't start killing or tormenting those who disagree).

A great week of running, by the way. Dan was with the group for the Sunday 20 miler. So, we had a long chat. Which was made more difficult thanks to the broken controls on the headset. I did get a cramp in my left hamstring at about 17 miles when we stopped for water. I stretched and rubbed it out and all seemed well thereafter. Dan felt strong at the end and indicated he was going to add another 2 miles. Not me, I was spent. I did run hard for the last 3 miles though. There was a woman running strong at the head of the pack. I thought her pace was perfect so I stayed with her for the last 4 1/2 miles. Well, I took off for the last mile since I was feeling strong. But, she didn't lag much. It was nice to run with the group.

Data

January Total:	81 Miles
2008 Total:	81 Miles

01/09/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:30:16
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:01
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-59° Humidity-72%

01/11/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	44:57
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Clear Temperature-42° Humidity-76%

01/12/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:40
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:13
Weather:	Clear Temperature-34° Humidity-89%

01/13/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	20 Miles
Time:	3:09:57
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Start of run: Partly cloudy Temperature-38° Humidity-83% End of run: Clear Temperature-49° Humidity-56%
Al's 7 Miler + 13 Mile Montclair Run

01/08/08: 5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

The bluetooth adapter, TEN Technology naviPlay Bluetooth Stereo Adapter for iPod, worked fine today. So, maybe Sunday's woes were just the result of a low charge. The weather was wonderfully warm, but sure does seem like it should be cooler. Is global warming looming and I'm just a frog in a gradually but ever increasing hot pot? Let's hope not, eh.

I did another home check of my cholesterol and it is still good at 159 mg/dl. So, naturally I celebrated by having pizza for supper!

Data

January Total:	43 Miles
2008 Total:	43 Miles

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:02
Heart Rate:	151
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-60° Humidity-75%

01/06/08: 15 Mile Run: Birmingham, AL

I got off to a rough start today. I got to Brownell and started my rituals for getting ready and just didn't quite feel right. So, I got back in the car, put a towel over my legs and slept for about 30 minutes. Then, got up drove to a service station, went to the bathroom, and returned. Now, I was ready. And, running would have likely been a burden given what I left at the station (TMI, I'm sure). I put the iPod on shuffle through my huge running favorites collection and got to it. The run went well.

At about 9 miles the bluetooth headset stopped providing tunes. The bluetooth adapter, TEN Technology naviPlay Bluetooth Stereo Adapter for iPod, had spontaneously shutdown. I started it up again and after a few minutes, it did it again. So, I put the wired headset on. I am hoping it was just that I had drained the charge and the adapter is fine. I, however, am fairly confident that the charge should have been fine. Dang technology.

Data

January Total:	38 Miles
2008 Total:	38 Miles

Distance:	15.21 Miles (as measured with GPS earlier this year)
Time:	2:18:12
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-83%
Route:	Al's 15 Miler

Jan 1-5, 2008: 4 Runs in the Neighborhood: 5,10,5 & 3 Miles

I kept up with the Daily Source Code, Phedippidations, and the This American Life. The 10 miler was VERY cold. I had 3 layers on my upper torso (a singlet, long sleeve coolmax, and a runner vest). I also wore 2 pair of gloves. I wore a underlayer of regular running gloves with my gloves that have the finger cut off with a mitten flap that can be pulled on or folded back. I was NOT over dressed, it was that cold with the wind chill. The runs were all good, but I was feeling a bit tired during the last 2.

The Iowa caucuses had interesting results. I guess I need to start checking out Obama and Huckabee more. I haven't been paying that much attention since it is still so early. I have been concerned that Obama is too much of a peace nick to take seriously. But, I need to check out his positions more deeply to formulate a sound opinion. My current opinion is based on the media's coverage and that is not much to rely on. I guess the same could be said of Huckabee as I am concerned. Honestly, I have been leaning to Ron Paul, McCain, and Hillary in that order. Ron doesn't have a chance. I like his authentiveness and libertarian views. Huckabee seems equally authentic. I would less religion in politics, so I tend to think I would ultimately rule him out. The bottom line, of course, is that I have to get busy get my self educated on these folks. Right now, I am way to biased by the the press's coverage.

Data

January Total:	23 Miles
2008 Total:	23 Miles

01/01/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	41:41
Heart Rate:	159
Pace:	8:20
Weather:	Clear Temperature-38° Humidity-62%
Ran with Prince and Chad (met him on this run)

01/02/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:30:08
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:00
Weather:	Clear Temperature-24° Humidity-48%

01/04/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	46:46
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:21
Weather:	Clear Temperature-46° Humidity-29%

01/05/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	29:10
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:43
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-41° Humidity-47%

12/26, 28, 29, & 30/07: 10, 5, 4, & 13 Mile Runs: Demopolis & Birmingham, AL

I keep finding it hard to blog after each run. What a lazy, out of control bum! I have kept up with the Daily Source Code, Phedippidations, and the Accident Hash podcasts. I added NPR's This American Life to my subscription list. I have always been a fan of the show, but seldom hear it when aired. Since this is my last run for 2007, I totaled up my mileage for the year: 1313 miles run in 2007. Wow! A good year for running. A hard year for working. A good year for the family. I guess I can' complain much.

I listened to Tech Nation's Dr. Moira Gunn talk with Bob Drogin about "Curveball" which is the title of a book Bob wrote as well as the code-name for the sole source for the chemical trucks Colin Powell described at the UN in 2003. Of course, it was a sham put forward by Curveball. He had no idea of the impact of his statements and wasn't trying to commit a country to war. The interview and the story are amazing. It shows how a cast of human characters can spin an unbelievable tale with horrendous outcomes without really planning to do so.

Data

12/26/2007: Demopolis, AL

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:30:53
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	9:05
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-51° Humidity-66%
Turned around at the 5 mile mark on this 17 mile route

12/28/2007: Neighborhood

Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	48:46
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:45
Weather:	Raining (I got soaked) Temperature-55° Humidity-90%

12/29/2007: Neighborhood

Distance:	4 Miles
Time:	38:27
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:36
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-46° Humidity-86%

12/30/2007: Jemison-Montclair Loop: Birmingham, AL

Distance:	13 Miles
Time:	1:59:38
Heart Rate:	151
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-46° Humidity-96%
Route (I didn't loop parking lot at the end)

12/25/07: 5 Mile Run: Demopolis, AL

I finished listening to Phedippidations. I either ran stronger than I expected to or shorter than I thought. Judging by the the heart rate, I suspect it was the former. Cool. It has been hard to eat appropriately in the midst of the holidays when I am really the only person in the family that tries to eat exactly as "they" recommend. You know: 3 vegetables, 2 fruits, 3 grains, etc. Overall, I think I did well.

Data

Distance:	5.12 Miles
Time:	44:38
Heart Rate:	154
Pace:	8:43
Weather:	Mostly Cloudy Temperature-51° Humidity-46%
Route

12/23/07: 17 Mile Run: Demopolis, AL

A cold run during which I listened to 3 new CDs I recently purchased. I especially liked the Sum 41 CD. I loved about 1/2 of Fergie's songs. The slower, more "chickish" ones were not on my preferred list. But, she is talented and I did her sound in general. I finished up the latest Daily Source Code and Accident Hash, and started the latest Phedippidations.

Data

Distance:	17 Miles
Time:	2:36:30
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Mostly Cloudy Temperature-35° Humidity-69%
Route

12/18-22/07: 7, 10, 8, and 3 Mile Runs

Another week of being too busy to blog regularly. I have kept up with the Daily Source Code, Phedippidations, and the Accident Hash podcasts. I was looking for references to an organizational style I remembered serving within the in US Air Force. Amazingly, I found a rich one. It just amazes me to see how much rich information is made instantly available thanks to the internet. I also came across a site dedicated to the planes I worked on, F-111.net. I have been using some of the concepts from the organization article to shape some thoughts related to my current work which has nothing to do with planes or the military. You just never know where something may end up being applied in life.

Data

12/18/2007

Distance:	7 Miles
Time:	1:02:59
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	8:59
Weather:	Clear Temperature-30° Humidity-78%

12/19/2007

Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:30:28
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:02
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-48° Humidity-68%

12/21/2007

Distance:	8 Miles
Time:	1:15:41
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:27
Weather:	Cloudy Temperature-52° Humidity-90%

12/22/2007

Distance:	3 Miles (Demopolis, AL)
Time:	28:24
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:28
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-53° Humidity-86%

Cooper River Bridge Run History

I got my annual notice to sign up for the Copper River Bridge Run. As I was looking around on the site, I noticed that they have many years of results. So, I decided to chart 'em for my own reference point. I did break the listed PR recently.

Year	Clock Time	Chip Time	Comment
1995	1:00:31	N/A
1996	53:40	N/A
1997	53:46	49:49
1998	54:08	51:32
1999	48:22	48:22	PR
2000	58:27	55:05
2001			Didn't run :(
2002	51:43	51:03
2003	55:49	54:49
2004	55:23
2005	56:09
2006	54:04	53:37
2007	51:10	49:39
2008		48:39

12/16/07: 15 Mile Run: Brownell-Montclair-Shades Creek

I started the run listening to The Daily Source Code and Phedippidations. I finished the run listening to the running mix on shuffle for the rest of the run. It was cold and windy. No problem on the run. Adam has apparently got himself on some list that will cause him to be heavily scrutinized every time he visits the US. And, during the show says we should declare independence from the US government and air our influence by dramatically reducing our consuming behavior. I wonder, could it be this kind of banter is the source of his entry on "the list". Hum....

Data

Distance:	15.21 Miles (as measured with GPS earlier this year)
Time:	2:21:18
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:17
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-35° Humidity-70%
Route:	Al's 15 Miler