August 19-27: Running & Cycling in Birmingham

Work is consuming life and making it difficult to do anything else. I am learning LifeRay portal, velocity and working way through some good OOAD and Java Serverfaces stuff. Meanwhile, my lists of things to do, my proverbial pile, seems to just keep getting higher and higher. Guess that is what happens over time and there is no escape. Most of it is fun, just wished could move at a pace that felt normal instead of beyond what seems reasonable. But, a lot of folks I talk to seem to find their jobs the same way. Guess it is just what we have done to ourselves. Produce, produce, produce.... have more stuff, make more money, work...work...work...don't rest, don't slow down, work...work...work...work....

Anybody got some cheese for that whine!

I have been keeping up with my workouts though and here's the latest podcasts I have listened to:

• Phedippidations
• RRT01: Some Time with the Good Doctor an interesting format, an online roundtable of runnings talking. I liked it.
  
• 149: The Mens Marathon of the 29th Olympiad
• Fitness Rocks
• 108 Reduced Disability Among Aging Runners
• 109 Exercise Nutrition: An Interview with Dr. Kathleen Melanson
• This American Life, Show 339: The Break Up
  

Data

August 27, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.19 Miles
Time:	57:56
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:21
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-70° Humidity-94%

August 26, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:37
Heart Rate:	153
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-73° Humidity-94%

August 24, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek Running
Distance:	12.84 Miles
Time:	2:05:42
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:47
Weather:	Overcast/Rain Temperature-73° Humidity-94%
Route

August 23, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain State Park Cycling
Distance:	23.27 Miles
Time:	1:22:04
Heart Rate:	133
Speed:	17.42 mph
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-73° Humidity-84%
Route

August 22, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.2 Miles
Time:	1:00:30
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	9:45
Weather:	Clear Temperature-76° Humidity-58%

August 20, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.3 Miles
Time:	1:00:45
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:38
Weather:	Clear Temperature-70° Humidity-70%

August 19, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:02
Heart Rate:	139
Pace:	9:00
Weather:	Haze Temperature-73° Humidity-79%

August 12-17: Running & Cycling in Birmingham

A busy, but good week. I finally bought an HDTV, a 37LG30, a 37" diagonal LCD at 720p. We had an Olympics party last night and the wife wanted a good viewing. We went with the this model because it was available, fit in our cabinet, and had a better picture that comparable sized TV's we looked at. So, far, so good. The party went well too.

Adam Curry has basically turned the Daily Source Code into conspiracy theory central. What a shame! I miss the tech talk and just general all around notes about his life. This conspiracy crap, for me, is just noise. But, it is his show and I have a fast forward button.

Work has me diving into more low level code than I get to which is exciting for me. So, I'm learning more directly about JavaServer Faces, Dojo, and Ajax.

I listened to these podcasts:

• This American Life
• Show 338, The Spokesman
• Show 361, Fear of Sleep
• Phedippidations
• 147: Low Impact Living
• 148: The Womans Marathon of the 29th Olympiad
• IT Conversations
• Prosumer Media: A Panel Discussion
• Eucalyptus on Technometria with Phil Windley
• Providing Online Social Networks With a Voice
• Technometria with Phil Windley: CTO Panel

Data

August 17, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek Running
Distance:	13.1 Miles
Time:	2:02:09
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:18
Weather:	Haze Temperature-67° Humidity-76%
Route

August 16, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain State Park Cycling
Distance:	23.75 Miles
Time:	1:21:08
Heart Rate:	133
Speed:	17.56
Weather:	Haze Temperature-72° Humidity-73%
Route

August 15, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.27 Miles (new route into "The Villages)
Time:	58:41
Heart Rate:	1150
Pace:	9:21
Weather:	Clear Temperature-67° Humidity-87%

August 13, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.16 Miles
Time:	58:25
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	9:28
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-70° Humidity-88%

August 12, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:30
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:30
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-73° Humidity-81%

August 5-10: Running & Cycling in Birmingham & South Carolina

Sunday, I took off for Blythewood, SC via Atlanta. I drive for 3 hours to just the other side of Atlanta, then drive the rest in the morning on Monday. I worked all week in Blythewood, SC. We have a user conference coming up and it always makes for a few intense months just prior to its conductance. So, here we go! While I was there, I practiced a fireman's carry in preparation for the Marine Corp Ultimate Challenge Mud Run in September. I did well once I figured it out, but not until I dropped my team mate once.

Adam Curry continues to go off on conspiracy theory. I am currently listening to a This American Life podcast, The Spokesman, that involves a blogger that was in one of the trains blown up in London. Some conspiracy theorists starting attaching her, verbally. They even contacted her family including death threats. Said she was part of MI-5 and such. This conspiracy crap is a whole different thing when someone who was really there and saw the body parts of people is accused of lying about being there and seeing it. But, she learned the hard way that you can not shake the convictions of many of these folks. It smells like a lot of religion to me. I am convinced of the truth based on my reasons and any contradiction to those rules must be snuffed, by God! Too bad this happens to people. As far as 9/11 and the London train bombings being inside jobs, I don't understand why folks can not just believe that extremists really did it and would love to do it again. They really hate western society and actively plot to do this crap. It's real!

I sold my original iPhone on eBay for a good amount, yeppee. I ship it tomorrow.

I listened to these podcasts:

• IT Conversations (all on Social Networking)
  
• A Closer Look at Online Social Activity, with Lada Adamic, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan on IT Conversations
• Here Comes Everybody, with Clay Shirky, Author
• Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators, with Valdis Krebs, Founder, Orgnet.com
• Power to the People, with a panel from Supernova 2006
• Leveraging Social Media for Growth, with Jeremy Hogan, Director of Business Development, Lulu.com
• Insights in Fielding Social Media Systems, with Jake McKee a Social Media Evangelist
• Social Applications, a panel discussion at Where 2005 at O'Reilly Media Where 2.0 Conference
  
• 360: Switched At Birth, This American Life
• Running at the Ancient Olympics, Phedippidations
• Fitness Rocks
• 106 - Diet and Skin Cancer
• 107 - Weight Loss with Low-Fat, Low-Carb, and Mediterranean Diets

Data

August 10, 2008: Birmingham, AL Shades Creek-Crestline Running
Distance:	13.11 Miles
Time:	2:04:32
Heart Rate:	146
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Clear Temperature-71° Humidity-68%
Route

August 9, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain State Park Cycling
Distance:	23.75 Miles
Time:	1:21:09
Heart Rate:	136
Speed:	17.56
Weather:	Clear Temperature-69° Humidity-65%
Route

August 8, 2008: Blythewood, SC Community Road Running
Distance:	6.12 Miles
Time:	56:11
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:10
Weather:	Clear Temperature-74° Humidity-93%
Route

August 6, 2008: Blythewood, SC Community Road Running
Distance:	6.1 Miles
Time:	57:32
Heart Rate:	152
Pace:	9:25
Weather:	Clear Temperature-75° Humidity-94%
Route

August 5, 2008: Blythewood, SC Community Road Running
Distance:	3.22 Miles
Time:	29:40
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-75° Humidity-87%
Route

July 22-August 3: Running & Cycling in Birmingham, & Vacation

What a busy 2 weeks! I ran a few times, went on vacation to Walt Disney World, ran some more, and bought the new iPhone since last blogging here.

I bought the new iPhone yesterday. I asked one of the Apple geniuses how to move my address book from the old iPhone to the new one. He told me to swap SIMs to get contacts moved using the Import from SIM feature. It didn't work. Instead, I simply plugged the new iPhone up to computer and it asked to restore from backup, I said yes! I had seen somewhere on the net while checking on getting the new iPhone, that I should sync before going to the store and I had done so. Well, this worked beautifully. I did get the proverbial loss of about 6 podcasts as I have described in the past. I had to associate these entries in iTunes with the files I downloaded manually. I also lost my library while at Disney and had to manually recover that too. iPhone rocks. iTunes sucks and rocks. By the way, my old iPhone is for sale on eBay (see picture).

I listened to these Podcasts:

• This American Life, show 359: Life After Death
• Openness and the Future of Mobile Technology, by Rich Miner,Group Manager, Wireless Platforms, Google on IT Conversations
• Enterprise Social Software, by Christian Gray, Craig Honick on Technometria on IT Conversations
• Latest episodes of the Daily Source Code (Adam is going off the deep end on conspiracy theories), Phedippidations, and Fitness Rocks.

I went to Disney World and had a smashing good time. I ate badly. I didn't exercise. I had so much fun with my son it was amazing!

And before I forget, Motionbased is having trouble syncing with my Garmin Forerunner 305 again!

Data

August 3, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek-Crestline Running
Distance:	14.2 Miles
Time:	2:26:12
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	10:17
Weather:	Clear Temperature-74° Humidity-79%
Route

August 2, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain State Park Cycling
Distance:	23.7 Miles
Time:	1:21:42
Heart Rate:	141
Speed:	17.41 mph
Weather:	Haze Temperature-80° Humidity-81%
Route

July 24, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain State Park Cycling
Distance:	23.7 Miles
Time:	1:25:19
Heart Rate:	134
Speed:	16.67 mph
Weather:	Haze Temperature-85° Humidity-57%
Route

July 23, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.18 Miles
Time:	58:39
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Haze Temperature-77° Humidity-79%

July 22, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:36
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:31
Weather:	Clear Temperature-80° Humidity-60%

July 15-20: Running & Cycling in Birmingham

A friend of mine, Prince Whatley, crewed for Sarah Lowell at the Badwater Ultramarathon this week. The results tell the story of the distance, participants, and times without the details. But, Prince talked about his experience during this Sunday's long run. It sounded extremely interested and like he had an experience he will never forget and one that is rewarding. He is pictured behind her in several of the pictures (he is wearing the patriotic shorts).

I have taken on a new task at working looking into how to use social networking. This is an interesting phenomenon occurring on the web and within computer science. So, I am thrilled at the assignment and hope I can squeeze enough time into it to do it justice. It is rapidly changing and still emerging.

I tried Reformer Pilates after my ride on Saturday. I felt it in my core and legs on Sunday. I liked the class, but with so much time spent on running and cycling each week, I will be focusing on free weights for most gym workouts.

I listened to these podcasts to these week:

• This American Life: show #293: A Little Bit of Knowledge.
• Puppet: on Technometria with Phil Windley
• Science Friday
  
• How Mars And Mercury Are Shaping Up
• Why Americans Are Obsessed With Bottled Water

Data

July 20, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek Running
Distance:	11 Miles
Time:	1:47:59
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:49
Weather:	Haze Temperature-74° Humidity-76%
Route

July 19, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain Park Cycling
Distance:	24.27 Miles
Time:	1:27:58
Heart Rate:	128
Speed:	16.55 mph
Weather:	Haze Temperature-72° Humidity-73%
Route

July 18, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.2 Miles
Time:	57:06
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Haze Temperature-69° Humidity-78%

July 16, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.21 Miles
Time:	58:16
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:22
Weather:	Partly cloudy Temperature-75° Humidity-58%

July 15, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:24
Heart Rate:	137
Pace:	9:07
Weather:	Clear Temperature-64° Humidity-84%

July 8-13: Running & Cycling in Birmingham

I got my first "real" bicycle ride this week with my friend Edd. Of course, I nearly caused him to crash. He said "we will turn left up ahead". He meant the next row in the parking lot; I thought the road passed it. He was on my right and started to the left. I kept going forward. Well, we both nearly went down, but didn't.

The Rev. Jackson quip caught on tape this week reminds me about how much it just rubs me wrong to hear such mean comments from those that portend to be a leader especially with a label like "reverend". There was nothing edifying in his comment. Gees whiz!

I listened to these podcasts to these week:

• This American Life: show #327, By Proxy.
• Phedippidations: Show 144, Moving to the Music
• Daily Source Code: Show 775 (Adam goes off deep end on conspiracy crap)
• Software Engineering Radio, Episode 24: Development Processes Pt.1
• IT Conversations, Episode 10: StackOverflow with Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky
  

In a world so small, I got an IM message from a friend that is in Iraq. We chatted for a bit and I mentioned that I have a cousin there as well. My friend is in the Air Force, and my cousin is in the Army. The branches of our service call the place where my friend is two different names. I didn't know precisely where my cousin was serving, only that he was in Iraq. Well, they are in fact in the same place and after I introduced them electronically, they have now had lunch together. What a small world!

Data

July 13, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek-Crestline
Distance:	12.93 Miles
Time:	2:06:25
Heart Rate:	143
Pace:	9:46
Weather:	Clear Temperature-77° Humidity-84%
Route

July 12, 2008: Birmingham, AL Oak Mountain Park Cycling
Distance:	19.78 Miles
Time:	1:10:37
Heart Rate:	132
Speed:	16.81 mph
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-79° Humidity-82%
Route

July 11, 2008: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood
Distance:	6.21 Miles
Time:	55:27
Heart Rate:	155
Pace:	8:55
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-74° Humidity-87%

July 9, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek
Distance:	6.18 Miles
Time:	56:46
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Clear Temperature-76° Humidity-82%

July 8, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:38
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Clear Temperature-72° Humidity-84%

July 1-6: Running in AL & SC + Cycling in Demopolis, AL

I bought a bike! A Giant OCR1. Naturally, I had to get all kinds of accessories: gloves, shoes, helmet, shorts, shirt, tire repair kit, bag, and air pump. So, here I am after my first ride (see statistics below). I am extremely pleased with the ride and it was very fun. I rode an out-and-back course in Dempolis. I rode the first 1/2 with my cousin-in-law, Don. He has traditional roadster bike (read as heavy, big tires, very durable, etc.). So, the pace was leisurely and we had a good chin-way (conversation) on the way. I did forget to put on the GPS watch, so I don't have precise timings or mapping. I did ride more full out on the way back, but discovered very late in the last 1/2 that I had not put the front derailer such that the chain was on the largest sprocket which was my intent. I may not have been able to handle it! Boy, those bike outfits don't leave much to the imagination. I'm glad I don't have much of a stomach.

I listened to This American Life this week which included a story about a 12 year old kid losing his bike on his very first ride! He thought it had been stolen. After contemplating what to tell his father as he walked home, he discovered that it was his dad that stole it to teach him a lesson. He learned a lesson other than that which the father meant to teach and the father held regrets that... well, you should go listen. I don't want to give the story away. But, it was fitting given my new purchase.

I listened to several podcasts this week that I found particularly noteworthy.

• A robotic lawnmower (think Roomba). A toy I need!
• Amazon's web scale computing architecture. Learn more...
• I.M. Wright's blog via a podcast from .Net Rocks! I can't wait to read some entries from the blog after listening to this gem.

So, a great week. And, I am looking forward to working up my exercise schedule to include cycling now.

Data

July 6, 2008: Birmingham, AL Brownell-Shades Creek Running
Distance:	11.16 Miles
Time:	1:49:57
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	9:51
Weather:	Clear Temperature-74° Humidity-85%
Route

July 5, 2008: Demopolis, AL Camp House Cycling
Distance:	21.27 Miles
Time:	Not recorded
Heart Rate:	Not recorded
Speed:	Not recorded
Weather:	Clear Temperature-73° Humidity-78%
Route

July 4, 2008: Birmingham, AL Peavine Falls Run Running
	Distance:	8.44 Miles
	Time:	1:09:29
	Heart Rate:	164
	Pace:	8:13
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-77° Humidity-74%
	Route

July 2, 2008: Blythewood, SC Frontage Road Running
Distance:	6.11 Miles
Time:	54:51
Heart Rate:	142
Pace:	8:58
Weather:	Clear Temperature-63° Humidity-90%
Route

July 1, 2008: Blythewood, SC Frontage Road Running
Distance:	3.07 Miles
Time:	26:58
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	8:47
Weather:	Clear Temperature-68° Humidity-65%
Route

Recent Cholesterol Checks

I have been holding off posting the first 2 negative results out of shame I guess. But, in the interest of history, I decided to post the results. I am sure it has nothing to do with the latest result which is within, OK barely, the healthy limit of 200. I sure hope I can manage to maintain by diet alone, but these high results are scary. Yes, I had cheated a little. It was just a little, but it appears that is all it takes. :(

Date	Result
April 23, 2008	206
May 8, 2008	231
July 27, 2008	198

June 24-29: Running from Lightening: Goodbye George!

First, let me say I was touched by learning of George Carlin's death. I feel like I see the world much as he did. Although, I could not express is as comedically or eloquently as he did. One on my favorite recent runs including listening to a snippet of George in on of Adam Curry's Daily Source Code shows while I was in Barcelona. I hope that George enjoyed a life as enriched as the enrichment he provided the rest of us. I only knew him through his professional persona, but it was all good. Goodbye George, here's to you!

I had what felt like a near death experience of my own this week. I went out for my Wednesday run at about 6:30 pm. My son's swimming class had ended early just prior to this because there were storms in the area. I checked the weather online and their were clouds approaching our area, but they were small and blotchy. So, I thought I could handle the rain and it didn't look that bad outside. I didn't see menacing looking clouds, hear any thunder, or see any lightening. So, off I went. Well, on the way back lightening struck the ground 30 feet in front of me! It sure got my attention and next time I may just take the weather a little more seriously.

I coded up my first web pages for the iPhone. Quite enjoyable, I forgot how much I just love the pure act of writing code and seeing results. I especially like the "webkit" CSS tags for rounded corners, shadows and such for boxes in Safari. Cool stuff.

On the negative side, my Motorola Motorokr S9 headset that was recently replaced (for about the 4th time) that is no longer under warranty, lots its up volume control today. I hope I never accidentally turn it down! I love no wire and this headset when it is working. I am incredibly disappointed that it just won't last.

Favoriterun GPS sync capabilities came back. I reported my problems to their help email and did get a response indicating they were looking at it. Thanks!

I went bike shopping yesterday. I rode a lot in 1980-82, but have not really rode any at all since. for those few years, I rode at least 15 miles everyday to and from work in the USAF. In those days, I rode on a converted touring bike, a Peugeot (see picture). I took off the bumpers, handle bars, and friction based lights. I put on drop handle bars, small bumpers just to deflect water from the rider, and battery operated lights. I rode mostly at night since I worked the midnight to 7:00 am shift. Well, I rode a collection of modern bikes yesterday (Giant, Trek, and Specialized) and man if my memory is right, what a difference. Of course, I am still not sure what to purchase I liked the feel of the Trek, but some of the Giant's had better components and supposed a more comfort styled frame. I will be buying something soon. I feel a tri coming.

Data

06/29/2008: Birmingham, Brownell - Shades Creek/Jemison Park

Distance:	11.41 Miles
Time:	1:42:51
Heart Rate:	Not measured
Pace:	9.01
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-75° Humidity-79%
Route

06/28/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	27:33
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:11
Weather:	Clear Temperature-78° Humidity-66%

06/27/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	26:31
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	8:50
Weather:	Clear Temperature-73° Humidity-84%

06/25/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	6.22 Miles
Time:	54:38
Heart Rate:	149
Pace:	8:47
Weather:	Light thunderstorm (w/Lightening!) Temperature-88° Humidity-40%

06/24/2008: Neighborhood

Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	28:31
Heart Rate:	139
Pace:	9:30
Weather:	Clear Temperature-67° Humidity-87%

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