May 14, 2011: The 6th Annual Zoo Run

John and I ran the Zoo Run again. I was slower than usual, but I did ride and run the evening before. So, not a bad run really. I went out for 32 mile ride after, but my rear derailer cable broke at 26 miles. I called Betsy for help. 

May 14, 2011: Birmingham, AL Zoo Run, 5K
	Distance:	3.1 Miles
	Time:	26:56
	Heart Rate:	Not Recorded
	Pace:	8:45
	Weather:	Overcast Temperature-61° Humidity-90%

April 16, 2011: Ellis Porch Statue 2 Statue Race Report

Another beautiful day for a run. I ran 2 minutes faster than last year. I Keith, John, Prince, Mark, Vanessa, Dan, and many more running friends. It was a good time.

April 16, 2011: Birmingham, AL Ellis Porch Statue 2 Statue, 15K
	Distance:	9.3 (9.41 on my Garmin) Miles
	Time:	1:21:36
	Heart Rate:	161
	Pace:	8:40
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-54° Humidity-53%

The Route:

April 2, 2011: Cooper River Bridge Run Race Report

In the midst of a whirlwind tour of Washington DC (for work), I found time to fly down to Charleston to arrive near midnight on Folly Beach for the 6:00 am departure to the race start. I got to start in the corral behind the seeded runners. That made for a less congested start with fewer people slowing in front of me. The weather and conditions were perfect. Rueben Studdard, from Birmingham and past American Idol winner, sang the National Anthem. He sounded great. Heba and Ed Salama and other Biggest Loser reality stars spoke on the starting over hang and participated in the race.

I'm very pleased with my results and the race was awesome. I ran 10 miles on Folly Beach the next day too. We went to Bowen's Island Restaurant for oysters and beer the next day, Sunday. We didn't know if it would be open. There was an event underway benefitting the AFFA. I even met an ex F-111 pilot. We had a good time and met several very nice people. The band, 2 people, who's name I wish I could remember were totally awesome. The female singer had a voice that was simply beautiful and the both played multiple instruments, some at the same time.

Then, back to Washington DC for more work.

April 2, 2011: Charleston, SC Cooper River Bridge Run, 10K
	Distance:	6.2 Miles
	Time:	50:20
	Heart Rate:	170
	Pace:	8:03
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-54° Humidity-72%
	Route Results

2010 Sam Lapidus and 2011 Mercedes Marathon

I ran the Mercedes Marathon on February 13, 2100. I ran the whole thing, but really slowed in the last 8-9 miles. I'm OK with my overall time, but I should have been running a 9:44 pace. I really, really, really, really need to learn to run my goal pace from the beginning. Although, I ran with the 4:15 pacers from about mile 5 - 13. They seemed to stop for a break at the 13 mile water stop. I tried to slow and wait, but they never came until about mile 23 when they passed me. Had I realized my watch was wrong, maybe I would have joined them. The watch!... I thought I finished in 4:14:37 per my watch. I pondered and pondered how could the official time and my watch differ so much. And, after a few days it dawned on me. My watch was on auto pause and I stopped to pee several times and walked a few of the latter water stops! Next race, turn off auto pause.

February 13, 2011: Birmingham, AL 10th Annual Mercedes Marathon
	Distance	Time	Pace	Leg Distance	Leg Time	Leg Pace
	6.2	56:28	9:06	6.2	56:28	9:06
	9.3	1:24:35	9:05	3.1	28:07	9:04
	15.5	2:20:09	9:02	6.2	55:34	8:57
	18.6	2:50:34	9:10	3.1	30:25	9:48
	26.2	4:19:06	9:53	7.6	1:28:32	11:38

I failed to post my race results from the 2010 Montclair Run, Sam Lapidus Run as it is now called. I had a good run and for the second time in recent history passed a young woman vomiting just before the finish line of a 10K.

November 25, 2010: Birmingham, AL 34th Annual Montclair Run, Sam Lapidus Run
	Distance:	6.2 Miles
	Time:	52:26
	Heart Rate:	161
	Pace:	8:27
	Weather:	Overcast Temperature-64° Humidity-75%
	Route Results

2010 Zoo Run

Another good year for this run. John ran what must have been a mile and came in with the lead pack of older children. I was very proud of him for his effort and results.

May 15, 2010: Birmingham, AL Zoo Run
	Distance:	3.1 Miles
	Time:	25:54
	Heart Rate:	168
	Pace:	8:27
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-75° Humidity-79%

The Route:

2010 Statue-To-Statue Run

A hard, but fun run. I only walked one of the big hills. This makes for the second year in a row that I have managed to do only walk on the steepest of the 2 steep hills. Yeppee! I love this challenging, but good run. I do always pack my own water because I find the space between water stops just too long for me.

April 17, 2010: Birmingham, AL Statue-to-Statue Run
	Distance:	9.3 Miles
	Time:	1:23:23
	Heart Rate:	169
	Pace:	8:51
	Weather:	Partly Cloudy Temperature-64° Humidity-65%

The Route:

2010 Cooper River Bridge Run

I haven't blogged in awhile and I find myself looking here for past race results and such. So, I thought I should at least get in here and update my recent race results.

I had a good run for the Cooper River Bridge Run this year although it was a minute slower than last year. I can not complain about these results:

March 27, 2010: Charleston, SC Cooper River Bridge Run
	Distance:	6.2 Miles
	Time:	49:28
	Heart Rate:	167
	Pace:	7:51
	Weather:	Overcast Temperature-48° Humidity-82%

The Route:

2010 Mercedes Marathon Finish: Run Your Real Pace Fool ;)

I ran the Mercedes Marathon on Valentines day  at 4:25:52. As the chart below shows, I died in the 7.6 miles. I should have ran to what I knew was my fitness level by aiming at something like a 4:15 or a 9:43 pace. I shot for 9:09 and ran with the 4:00 hour pace group. I am just not at that fitness level. I was close to that fitness level last year. I was running to improve last year's time, instead of to what I really knew my ability was. I'm OK with my overall time, but I hate finishing this spent. I walked A LOT in the end. I hate that. I don't mind being slow. I do mind walking. Lesson learned. The times listed for the 15K and 25K must be wrong. I suspect the 15K was wrong and the rest are correct. It is as if the measurement of the 15K was more like 10 miles or something. Anyway, I was spent, I ran way ahead of my ability and it hurt. But, no injury. I was just WAY tired.

Distance	Time	Pace	Leg Distance	Leg Time	Leg Pace
6.2	54:43	8:50	6.2	54:43	8:50
9.3*	1:31:34	8:49	3.1	36:51	11:53*
15.5**	2:16:35	8:49	6.2	45:01	7:16**
18.6	2:43:04	8:46	3.1	27:59	9.03
26.2	4:25:52	10:09	7.6	1:42:48	13:53

* There is no way that I was running a 11:53 pace between 6.2 and 9.3. So, the posted data from the results is wrong.
** There is no way that I was running 7:16  pace between 9.3 and 15.5. So, the posted data from the results is wrong.

Dec 18 - Jan 3: Working, Listening, and Exercising

Another year done gone. Man, where did the time go. I continue to spend more time working and exercising. I hear "get a life" more and more from folks around me. Hum.... Maybe, I should work less, but exercising is something I definitely enjoy.

My family and I had a great Christmas and New Years season. We had time together and with friends. That was great. John and Betsy had lots of vacation time together. Me, well, I was working, of course. No time for fun: Work! Work! Work! Deadlines to make and money to make. Go Go Go. I do like what I do, so that helps. The stress does stay high, but I guess that is modern life. Here just a few pictures from our family celebration:



Updated Cholesterol figures I forgot to post from November 20, 2009:

Total: 176 (goal < 200)
HDL: 49.8 (goal > 40)

I am missing riding my bike! It has been cold and I have been cranking out the miles for the Mercedes Marathon. But, I feel the need to ride.

Podcast Listening

Accident Hash

• Accident Hash Holiday Special 2009
• Christmas Podcast Switcheroo

Phedippidations

• Fdip218: The 2009 Phedippidations Holiday PodCast Variety Show Special
• Fdip219: A Year in Motion and Review
  

IT Conversations

• Marco Barulli - JavaScript improvements
• Perry Evans - Will the Promise of Location Based Ad Models Ever Get Off the Ground?
• Dirk Hohndel - Intel and Open Source: Netbooks
• Mark Roettgering - The Economics of Mobility: The Communications Value-System at the Dawn of a New Era
• Roger Magoulas - Facebook Apps: Big Picture Stats and Trends 
• Christopher Allen - iPhone News
• David Bankston - Issues with Software as Service for Social Networking

This American Life

• 342: How to Rest in Peace
• 396: #1 Party School
  

Cranky Geeks

• Episode 197: Europe Drops IE Browser Case, An AOL Renaissance?, The Google Phone is Real, and more...
• Episode 198: Florida Lawyers Must Unfriend, Office 2010's Future, Oracle Plays Hardball, Windows 7's Prospects, and more...   

Fitness Rocks

• New Beginnings a new site at http://science2health.org/ because apparently if you mention global warming or evolution you get attacked if you show is title "Fitness Rocks". Gee Whiz. Everything has to be treated in a polarizing way, eh? If you disagree with someone, bash 'em, yell at 'em, hate 'em, bitch at 'em, etc. Religion, politics, and Science are blending to the point where reason has no chance of prevailing.

Science2Health

• Lifestyle and Chronic Disease Rates

Exercise Data

January 3, 2010: Birmingham, AL Mercedes Course  Running
Distance:	13.14 Miles
Time:	2:05:57
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:35
Weather:	Clear Temperature-21° Humidity-63%
Route

January 1, 2010: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	3 Miles
Time:	29:12
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:43
Weather:	Clear Temperature-42° Humidity-49%

December 31, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	45:52
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:10
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-50° Humidity-93%

December 30, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	10.03 Miles
Time:	1:37:30
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:43
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-43° Humidity-47%

December 29, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	7 Miles
Time:	1:07:51
Heart Rate:	137
Pace:	9:41
Weather:	Clear Temperature-25° Humidity-85%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout:	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy

December 27, 2009: Birmingham, AL Brownell - Shades Creek-Crestline Running
Distance:	17.01 Miles
Time:	2:47:40
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:51
Weather:	Clear Temperature-34° Humidity-75%
Route

December 26, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	7 Miles
Time:	1:06:25
Heart Rate:	135
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Clear Temperature-30° Humidity-88%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	600 Yards
Time:	15:19

December 24, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	8.04 Miles
Time:	1:16:18
Heart Rate:	138
Pace:	9:29
Weather:	Scattered clouds Temperature-48° Humidity-77%

 

December 23, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	10.02 Miles
Time:	1:32:19
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:12
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-48° Humidity-63%

December 22, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.16 Miles
Time:	59:00
Heart Rate:	139
Pace:	9:34
Weather:	Clear Temperature-33° Humidity-92%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout:	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy

December 20, 2009: Demopolis, AL Running
Distance:	15.03 Miles
Time:	2:21:33
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:25
Weather:	Scatttered clouds Temperature-39° Humidity-61%
Route

December 19, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	5 Miles
Time:	49:57
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:59
Weather:	OvercastTemperature-39° Humidity-87%

December 18, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.23 Miles
Time:	59:27
Heart Rate:	Not measured
Pace:	9:32
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-39° Humidity-96%

Nov 16-Dec 17: I Need More Life!

I continue having a hard time balancing exercise, life, and work. Work takes over more and more and more and more... I am working on exciting stuff and it pays the bills in these scary days when unemployment is double digit, so I guess it could be worse. But, I do seem to fail to find time to update this blog. As a result, I fear that when I look back (OK, if I look back) I will find that I didn't say anything that will help me remember what ever I might be looking back to see. Anyway, here I am.

I have my sights set on the Ironman 70.3 Augusta, GA in 2010. It looks like Team in Training will be sending a team and I reckon I will get on it. I'm a little intimidated at the notion of raising $3500 given my time management problem. But, folks who know say it won't prove to be an issue.

We went to Dempolis, Alabama's Christmas on the River this year and had a blast (I also did well in the 5K see results below). J.T. Thomas was the Grand Marshall and he set in the Grand Marshal vehicle right in front of us for 10-15 minutes and we chatted. Seemed just as nice as he did on Survivor. Survivor is the only thing I watch on TV besides the news. So, it was cool to chat with him. I don't know why I didn't do the "let have a picture with you thing." Here are some pictures the whole celebration though:



John sold popcorn to as part of the Tiger Cubs fund raiser. And, for meeting his goal he got to throw a pie into the face of the troop leader. It was fun to watch and for John fun to do:



Betsy and I did Sip-n-Strokes together again. It was a blast, but I was the only male in a group of about 30 people. Guessing I am expressing my feminine self:



Notice on my December 9th run, the following story:

A truck passed me going the same direction (on the other side of the road) and crashed! It fishtailed and left the road right in front of me. I ran as fast as I could to where it left the road and found it upside down with in a raveen with water in it. I yelled, "are you OK?" The response was a resounding, "yes."  And,  a teenage boy climbed out unharmed. I was so afraid I was going to find a bloody mess in the car. I waved down a car and asked the driver to let the boy use her cell phone. I wasn't carrying one and his was not working after getting soaked in the water. He called his house. You could tell that his mother answered. He said:

Let me talk to Dad. Yeah, I'm fine, but I need to talk to Dad please. Dad, I have had an accident.....

His Dad arrived and showed compassion and concern. His first action was to simply hug his son. I hope all ends well for the boy, Lou.

Podcast Listening

Phedippidations

• Fdip213: Sports Medical Quackery
  
Hard not to say "I'm not a doctor, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night." ;)
• Fdip214: Email to my Droid
• Fdip215: Inspiring Off the Couch
  
• Fdip216: Running Through a New England Town
• Fdip217: Running Legend: Browning Ross
  

Cranky Geeks

• Episode 193: Windows 7 Opens to Ads, YouTube's HD Video, Piracy at Work, Dell's Android Phone in China, and more... 
• Episode 194: Google Talks Up Chrome OS, Verizon Tackles Texting, Droid vs. iPhone, Hulu To Charge For Content, and more... 
• Episode 195: TVs and Computers Converge?, Rupert Murdoch vs. Google, PC Makers Will Crown Android King, and more...
• Episode 196: Does Google Get News?, 2010 Predictions, AT&T Losing iPhone Exclusivity?, and more...
  Adam Curry really is a crackpot. He has good insight into technology and stuff, but the conspiracy theory like interpretations of everything is so distracting and annoying.

Accident Hash

• Audience and Owen

Fitness Rocks
Has Monte gone commercial? iTunes did not load show 150 from my collection at mevio.com. The site, Fitness Rocks, now shows a Subscribe button seems to want to set me up for a monthly charge. Now, I have to decide if I want to pay I reckon. I emailed Dr. Monte and he indicated that iTunes should work and that 1 show a month will continue to be free. iTunes did work. This is one of my favorite podcasts and I know production is not free or cheap. I may subscribe just to offer support.

• Will Exercise Make You Live Longer?
• Evolutionary Biology and Health – Part One: an Interview with Neil Shubin, Ph.D.
  Love the "I know 1/2 of you don't accept the science of evolution and this is not an invitation for debate. For the rest of you...."
• Evolutionary Biology and Health - Part Two: an Interview With James Evans, M.D., Ph.D.
• Is the FDA Protecting Our Food and Drugs?

This American Life

• 233: Starting from Scratch
• 369: Poultry Slam 2008 (pretty sure I heard this before, but it is good)
• 395: Middle of the Night (how do you recognize a poor salesman? He can't sell life insurance to a Kennedy)
• 286: Mind Games
  

Exercise Data

December 17, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	10 Miles
Time:	1:35:24
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:32
Weather:	Clear Temperature-49° Humidity-48%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	700 Yards
Time:	17:55

December 15, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.23 Miles
Time:	59:25
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:32
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-59° Humidity-94%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout:	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy

December 13, 2009: Birmingham, AL Mercedes Course (well almost) Running
Distance:	13.39 Miles
Time:	2:06:10
Heart Rate:	150
Pace:	9:25
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-53° Humidity-93%
Route

 

December 12, 2009: Birmingham, AL Jingle Bell Run at Greystone Elementary Running (ran with John, school event)
Distance:	1 Miles
Time:	9:00 (estimated)
Pace:	9:00 (estimated)
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-40° Humidity-40%

December 11, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.15 Miles
Time:	1:26:06
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:24
Weather:	Clear Temperature-29° Humidity-56%

December 9, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.1 Miles
Time:	1:26:07
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:27
Weather:	Mostly cloudy Temperature-60° Humidity-88%
A truck passed me going the same direction (on the other side of the road) and crashed! It fishtailed and left the road right in front of me. I ran as fast as I could to where it left the road and found it upside down with in a raveen with water in it. I yelled, "are you OK?" The response was a resounding, "yes."  And,  a teenage boy climbed out unharmed. I was so afraid I was going to find a bloody mess in the car. I waved down a car and asked the driver to let the boy use her cell phone. I wasn't carrying one and his was not working after getting soaked in the water. He called his house. You could tell that his mother answered. He said: Let me talk to Dad. Yeah, I'm fine, but I need to talk to Dad please. Dad, I have had an accident.....  His Dad arrived and showed compassion and concern. His first action was to simply hug his son. I hope all ends well for the boy, Lou.

December 8, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.13 Miles
Time:	1:28:21
Heart Rate:	Forgot monitor
Pace:	9:40
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-50° Humidity-87%

December 6, 2009: Demopolis, AL Running
Distance:	2.89 Miles
Time:	27:33
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:31
Weather:	Clear Temperature-29° Humidity-82%
Route iPod died. iPhone was loaded with old stuff. Got distracted and never finished the run.

December 5, 2009: Demopolis, AL Jingle Bell Run 5K Finished 11th overall, 1st in Age Group
	Distance	3.1 Miles
	Time	48:56
	Heart Rate	164
	Pace	7:41
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-60° Humidity-47%
	Route Results

December 4, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.19 Miles
Time:	58:39
Heart Rate:	147
Pace:	9:28
Weather:	Clear Temperature-44° Humidity-55%

December 3, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.13 Miles
Time:	1:30:00 (estimated watch was dead)
Heart Rate:	Watch was dead
Pace:	9:51
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-43° Humidity-76%

December 1, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	5.01 Miles
Time:	50:14
Heart Rate:	132
Pace:	10:01
Weather:	Clear Temperature-33° Humidity-92%

November 29, 2009: Birmingham, AL Brownell - Shades Creek Greenway - Montclair Running
Distance:	17.01 Miles
Time:	2:47:19
Heart Rate:	136
Pace:	9:50
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-47° Humidity-83%
Route

November 27, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	4 Miles
Time:	38:57
Heart Rate:	140
Pace:	9:44
Weather:	Clear Temperature-37° Humidity-79%
YMCA, Birmingham, AL Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout:	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy

November 26, 2009: Birmingham, AL 33rd Annual Montclair Run, Sam Lapidus Run
	Distance:	3.1 Miles
	Time:	48:56
	Heart Rate:	164
	Pace:	7:41
	Weather:	Clear Temperature-60° Humidity-47%
	Route Results

November 25, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.17 Miles
Time:	1:26:04
Heart Rate:	145
Pace:	9:23
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-52° Humidity-86%

November 24, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	4.01 Miles
Time:	38:09
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:30
Weather:	Overcast Temperature-52° Humidity-88%

November 23, 2009: Birmingham, AL YMCA Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy

November 22, 2009: Birmingham, AL Brownell - Shades Creek Greenway - Crestline Running
Distance:	13 Miles
Time:	2:05:29
Heart Rate:	144
Pace:	9:39
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-52° Humidity-82%
Route

November 20, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	8.09 Miles
Time:	1:13:24
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:04
Weather:	Clear Temperature-68° Humidity-35%

November 19, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	9.14 Miles
Time:	1:26:27
Heart Rate:	148
Pace:	9:27
Weather:	Clear Temperature-48° Humidity-71%

November 17, 2009: Birmingham, AL Neighborhood Running
Distance:	6.21 Miles
Time:	1:00:25
Heart Rate:	141
Pace:	9:43
Weather:	Light rain Temperature-53° Humidity-89%

November 16, 2009: Birmingham, AL YMCA Swim
Distance:	1000 Yards
Workout	4 X 50 yards even laps-sprint odd laps-smooth, work on stroke 200 yards kick, with or without board 200 yards free, easy! 4 X 50 yards even laps-work on arms, odd laps-work on legs 100 yards sprint 100 yards easy