Ehlersism

Another Giveaway

2010-11-16T14:09:00.001-05:00

A Chance to win a Garmin 210 @ DC Rainmaker:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/11/november-forerunner-210-giveaway.html

DC Rainmaker at it again

2010-10-07T11:30:00.001-04:00

This time a chance to win a Timex Global Trainer: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/10/october-timex-global-trainer-giveaway.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+DcRainmaker+(DC+Rainmaker)

Another Chance at a Forerunner 310

2010-09-02T10:06:00.001-04:00

DC Rainmaker is giving away another Forerunner 310 here: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/09/september-garmin-forerunner-310xt.html

Garmin Forerunner 310XT Giveaway

2010-08-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

DC Rainmaker giving away a Forerunner:

Garmin Forerunner 310XT Giveaway

Soccer

2010-03-26T11:37:00.001-04:00

Ainsley’s past few soccer games have been fun for me to try to take a few pictures. I have a new appreciation for sports photographers. No matter how many pictures I take, I usually only end up with a few that look OK. Of course, I have not been trying too hard yet. I doubt the pro photogs have to take pictures with a baby strapped to their chest. Chase loves watching the game, especially from my vantage point, the only problem is he complains when I lean over…so all of my pictures have me standing up with the camera practically resting on his head.

I love the look on her face in the above photo (which needs cropping). I wonder if I can Photoshop a ball in there so it looks like she knows what she is doing. Of course taking these pictures at the game has also landed me in trouble…I have been assigned to take the team photo this Saturday. Let’s see how that works out.

Easter Bunny

2010-03-26T11:21:00.001-04:00

Chase was in a particularly good mood today, so we tried to get a few Easter Pictures. I’m finally getting the hang of Photoshop, and I was able to fix a few scratches and bumps he had…still learning the lighting though.

I was a fan of this pic of him pulling on his lip…as I said still need to work on lighting.

All-in-all it is hard to beat this smile:

Ains and Kira at AU vs. UT cookout

2009-10-07T17:12:00.001-04:00

Best Friends Fishing, Cookout from Chris Ehlers on Vimeo.

My second biggest cycling fear:

2009-07-13T13:45:00.001-04:00

I have heard two stories which always worried me. The first story is one that my Dad told me about a Pilot friend of his that was out riding his bike one day and got stung by a bee in the temple and died. I heard this story so often that I never questioned it. Did he die because he was allergic? Probably. I always thought that he died because he was stung in the temple…I don’t know why, but as a kid, it made sense. Story number two was that a friend of a friend got a bee trapped in his helmet while riding, which caused him to fly off the trail and crash into a tree at a high enough speed that he ended up paralyzed.

So needless to say, I have never had much affinity for bees while cycling. So I Saturday I went riding with a friend and sure enough at mile three of a planned 25, I felt a bug whack into me where my helmet meets my face, then I felt the sting. I immediately slowed down, ripped off my helmet, dropped my sunglasses all while yelling, “BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,” like a little girl. After a few seconds, I realized that I was still alive and I had not crashed (crashing, by the way is my biggest cycling fear). I nearby runner (no doubt startled by the earlier screeching) picked up my sunglasses and handed them to me. Then my friend, with sympathy one expects from a nun, said, “It will only hurt for a little while, let’s go.”

And he was right. After I got back up to speed, I was fine. The left side of my face was a little soar and I got nervous every time a bug pinged off my helmet, but I was fine. It became just a funny story I could tell everyone about at the pool and the concert later that night. But all-in-all, I was kind of glad that it had happed so that I could cross off another fear that was unfounded.

That was until the next day. I knew something was wrong when we got up for church and my wife’s eyes whet round. Apparently,during the night, the left side of my head swelled up to cartoonish proportions. So I took some Benadryl (which only made me sleepy) read WebMD (which basically said that swelling is normal especially when stung on the head and there is not much you can do other than ice and Benadryl). We chose to stick inside for the day, only venturing out to take Ains to a nice dark movie theater…even then the family asked that I wear a hat and not stand too close to them.

9.13 Miles, General Aerobic...Ate Bug

2008-07-21T16:08:00.001-04:00

And so reads the first entry for my current marathon training log. It seems no matter what I do, I end up having a story about it. My Mother used to say that my Dad, who was an Airline Pilot, could travel half way around the world and when he was asked, he would always say his trip was "uneventful." I on the overhand, could walk down to the mailbox and would return with a story.

My sister and I talked about this phenomenon. She too seems to always have something happening to her during her early morning runs. Be it a car accident, a nervous racoon or odd looking runner, we always witness something that the rest of the world seems to sleep through. So, now that we are back to marathon training we thought we would try to keep up with the blog again and jot some of these stories down.

So now to explain the title: My current marathon plans call for running on Thanksgiving Day. This seems like a great idea, a local marathon and I already feel like I am in pretty good running shape. However, when I talked my sister into it, and began planning our training, we realized the first week of our training is during our family vacation. We continued slightly daunted...we would just load up the beginning of the week and struggle through a few ~~hungover~~ humid runs in Mexico. So with no regard for the proper sequence of my training plan, I went out for a 9 miler today. On the return leg during a sharp inhale a giant bug flew into my mouth. When I say big, I am not exaggerating. I could clearly hear him in contact with Hartfield-Jackson Approach Control. I immediately gagged, then spit. I looked down to make sure the bug was there and not still in my mouth. This giant bug looked back at me with a surprised look that must have matched my own. He looked to be of the stinging variety and he also looked to be mostly in tacked. So I started running again before he came to his senses and realized that he missed a grand opportunity to sting. Luckily, I had my fuel belt, so after a swish of Gatorade, I was back up to speed. Well one run down many more to go.

35 Miles and 7 Days with the Forerunner 405: Part 2

2008-06-17T15:52:00.002-04:00

This morning I set the alarm on my new Garmin to wake me up at 6 a.m. to go out for a run. That was a little optimistic. I fumbled to turn off the alarm and I guess I ended up hitting snooze because the darn thing went of 2 more times. I guess it really wanted to go running. Although I still have yet to figure out how to turn it off (there was some small writing on the screen telling me what button would be the off and which one was the snooze, but it was too early to pay attention to that), I was happy to have an alarm. It always bothered me that my 305 couldn't do many of the things a $20 Timex Ironman could do. Still the Alarm features are a little lacking; it only offers the options of "once" or "daily." My Ironman could have different alarms for different days, but then again, it didn't know how when the sunrise was (Garmin does...It is one of the Display options).

I went out on a 6 mile run today with the Virtual Partner dialed down to an 8:40 pace. While on the run, I could tell that the initial love blindness was starting to wear off and I started to have a few quibbles with the 405. For one thing, that gee-wiz bezel didn't want to pay attention to my sweaty fingers. It took a few taps before it would change screens near the end of my run when the sweat was pouring down. I also noticed that the map or "bead crumb" trail that was on my 305, was missing from the new 405. While this wasn't something I used everyday it did save me many of time when I left my hotel room for a run, wondering through a town only to need the map to get back. The 405 did retain the "Back to Start" feature (which I didn't use) that will probably accomplish the same thing, just a little less elegantly. I also spent a little time annoyed that when used as a watch, that cool Time, Date and Day of the Week view reverts to just the time to save battery. But as my runners high set in and I once again beat my Virtual Partner, I realized these are small annoyances.

I got home and again my workout uploaded without me having to do a thing. Of course I forgot to turn the GPS off again, but that is my problem. I sat down to think about how I was going to configure my training screens. I had spent a lot of time making sure I had just the right items displayed on my 305, in a clear order, and without any frivolous information. I realized that for now, I didn't need to add any new screens. I had already swapped the current pace out for lap pace and the default screens seemed to meet my needs. You see on my 305, a few of the things that I considered essential, are already on the 405. I used to have to use up a precious display just to give me the time so I could find out if I would make it home in time for a conference call. But the 405 is a watch, so I could just tap and hold the bezel to get "Time/Date." I also no longer need to devote a corner to GPS accuracy to let me know why it seems to go wonky. I can just tap and hold GPS, not to mention the 405's GPS seems a little more stable. I used to have a whole training screen devoted to the heart rate monitor...Well Garmin has already taken care of that. When the HRM is detected a new screen pops up to help you keep track...I even added the nifty graph for a little eye candy while I run. You see, these Garmin Guys really seemed to have thought this one out. They may have cut a few options, but I think they have made a much more consumer friendly watch in the process.

35 Miles and 7 Days with the Forerunner 405: A Regular Users Review Part 1

2008-06-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

Being a lover of my Garmin Forerunner 305 I naturally was intrigued by the new 405. I decided I wasn't going to buy it however, because my 305 worked great and I didn't see the need for a new Forerunner. Well a few events conspired to change my mind (my current watch failing then a replacement Suunuto leaking and being sent back). So when the family asked me what I wanted for Father's Day I took the plunge and asked for the new 405.

While I was researching and evaluating my decision, I failed to find many user reviews that were helpful. So I thought I might put one together. I figured I would show people how I used the Garmin 405 everyday during a typical week of running, biking and everyday life. I'm not really training for anything, so my goals are just to keep active by running about 35 easy miles and to use it day to day as an alarm and general time keeper.

Day One: Happy Father's Day

I was a little ill over the weekend (I think I was bit by the poisonous tomato) so I didn't go for my usual Father's Day run, choosing instead to stay in bed and bask in the glow of my Daughter's adoration as I admired her hand painted mug (the kid is a Picasso in the making I tell ya). So Day One with the watch consisted of charging it up, playing with the buttons and even reading the manual (I'm sure that's a first, I never read the manual). I was very impressed by the design of the watch; while it looks like a normal sized watch, it actually probably has as much area as the 305 without looking like you have a DVD player strapped to your wrist. This is accomplished by moving a lot of the innards (technical term) into the actual watch strap to give the appearance of a typical sports watch. Because of this, the watch strap is curved; looking more like a bracelet if viewed from the side. I have the wrists of a little girl and the watch fits me great, however you may want to try one on before purchasing if you could beat one of the Olsen Twins at arm wrestling. Set up was a breeze, I didn't even have to enter the time, just choose the time zone and the watch connects to the GPS satellites to get an accurate time. The buttons worked fine and the touch bezel was more intuitive than I thought it would be. I'm sure if they just added more buttons they could have accomplished the same thing as with the touch bezel, however the cool factor gives you something to impress your friends when you show it off. I may wish for buttons during a run, but for now I'm happy when everyone gathers around to ooh and ahh as I spin through menus like an iPod. I did notice something odd when showering with the watch. The back light kept coming on. Normally, to turn on the back light you press the bezel in two places and I guess the water made the watch think it was getting hit with two fingers. I just locked the bezel (by pressing the two buttons at the same time) and it stopped.

Day Two: First Run, and 8 miler

I went out on a lazy 8 mile run after two back-to-back weeks of less than stellar mileage due to vacation and illness. Before heading off I set the virtual partner to an 8:40 pace (hey, I said I was ill), then turned on the GPS and got going. I didn't mess with any of the display screens, choosing to try Garmin's default screens before I customized them. One of the key differences I'm noticing between the 305 and the 405, is that I seem to be using some of the features on the 405 more. I think this is because I have the 405 on all the time, so I can play around with it and get used to the menus more than I did on the 305. I only wore the 305 while running and spent little time messing with it between runs, but the 405 is there on your wrist all day, just begging for attention. As a result, I don't seem to have to search forever to find a particular setting, maybe it is more user friendly or maybe it is just more familiar.

The run went well, however I decided to change the "Pace" display for the "Lap Pace" because it seems much more accurate. I beat the virtual partner by over a minute (kind of rude of me to leave him behind, but I guess I'm feeling better than I thought) and got home to play with the Garmin Connect software. The wireless sync went as advertised and Garmin gives you a choice between a Web based log or one downloaded to your computer. I chose the web based, because I use SportTracks. The new software looks great, even if it is no SportTracks, it does offer up one benifit: You can send and track goals. I filled in that I wanted to run a total of 35 this week, sent it wirelessly to my 405 and up popped a little fuel gage telling me how far I have to go. Then I went to SportTracks to load my run and I had to do a little research on where to find my history. You see you can't import directly from the watch into SportTracks like I could with the 305, so instead you import the file from your computer. It was easy though, on windows xp just navigate to: C:\Documents and Settings\{your username}\Application Data\GARMIN\Devices\{your device ID}\History and import.

So Day Two went well, although I forgot to shut off the GPS when I got back, so I drained the battery a bit (down to 66% by the time I noticed it). I guess I'll have to remember that in the future. I'll be back to let you know how the rest of the week goes.

So I Bought the Darn Suit

2008-03-28T15:24:00.001-04:00

My general rational for justifying a purchase is: How much will I use it?

For example: When I bought my Garmin Watch, it was a pretty good bet that I would wear it every time I ran and I generally run often. Therefore, if you divide the $250 price tag by the 260 or so times a year I run; you get less than a dollar per use. And that is just for the first year. I have had the watch for many years, so by now we are looking at pennies per use. Not to mention that I am now biking a good bit and I use the watch for that too. All in all the Garmin was a good purchase that did not sit in a draw or closet after I lost interest.

Since I picked up the Triathlon bug, everyone has told me I will need to get a wet suit for the race or else my nether region will take a trip back in time to when I was a 2 year-old-boy (I know what you are thinking...and it IS a long trip). When I balk at the prices and complain that I have already bought a bike, they say, well you can rent one. I'm sorry, but I have never been a fan of renting clothes; I make an exception for a tux and bowling shoes (although for a while there I actually owned my own bowling shoes...but that is another story).

So I started shopping to find the best deal I could, but I also wanted a good suit. I tried to get a 2007 close out deal, only to find that I could only do that if I was 5 ft. 6" and 150 lbs. I even tried to squeeze into a size large...let's just say that I'm glad no one had to witness that.

Finally, my 2nd favorite store REI to the rescue (Don't tell Best Buy I am seeing someone else). See this is where I bring this post full circle. I ordered my Garmin Forerunner as soon as they came out. I did this because I ordered it through REI to make use of my dividend check (REI is a co-op and gives you a check each year based on how much you spend there...basically a brilliant way to make you spend more money there) and to use the annual 20% off coupon before it expired. Well looking back on how well that worked out (I got a great deal on something I love and use all the time) I decided to apply my dividend check and 20% off coupon to my wetsuit. I finally bit the bullet and ordered the suit (to be delivered next week).

However, I can't fathom getting much use out of the wet suit at all. I mean sure, I plan on doing a few triathlons and of course there will be open water training, but still. Maybe I can just wear it around the house...can you imagine me answering the door to the UPS guy in my wet suit. Or better yet, maybe wearing it out for drinks at the local bar....

A Tale of Two Runs

2008-02-15T17:03:00.001-05:00

It was the best of Runs, it was the worst of Runs, it
was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. . . .

Run number 1: I was in a great mood for a run. Mostly because this was a bonus run. You see I had to pick someone up in Augusta, GA on my way to Charlotte,NC for an 11 am meeting. That's a lot of driving, which means I would have to get up early and I would be in my car all day because I had more meetings...which means no run.

But I outsmarted them. I drove to Augusta the night before so I could get up early and run. Sure I got in late and sure I didn't sleep well in the hotel, but I was in a great mood. Out side it was raining...but not bad at all. I was in a great mood. Well, OK, there was a busy road outside the hotel and not a sidewalk in site. That's OK, I'm in a great mood. I ran a half mile and had to doge my way through a construction site that was covered in mud. That's OK, I'm in a great mood. After a mile I had to turn back because I almost got hit by a car that ran a red light...and now, I'm not in such a great mood. Damn, back through the construction site again...just how much mud can collect on my shoes.

OK, this is a horrible place to run; the weather sucks, Its too dark and the road is too busy. I'll duck into the fitness center at the hotel and finish up on the treadmill. OK, now I am wet from the rain, it is stifling hot in the fitness center and the guy next to me smells funny and insists on watching CNBC at a volume that I'm sure the entire hotel can hear. I'm in a bad mood. This run sucks. How am I going to get all the mud off my shoes when 3 miles on the treadmill wouldn't get it off.

Run number two: The next day I'm still in a horrible mood. I have spent the past two days in the car from 6 am until 10 pm and tomorrow I will have to do the same. I don't even know what the city I'm in looks like because I drove there in the pitch black through twisty little country roads covered in mist. While I was driving I developed a sinus headache that felt like my face was being swallowed by some prehistoric beast. This sucks. I got up in the morning and said screw it...I'm not going to run. Well I'm up already, I'll just look outside.

After the lesson of yesterday, I asked at the front desk where I could run near the hotel. "Oh you can't run here. The road is too busy and there are no sidewalks." That sounds familiar. "I would drive five min. away." This sucks...I hate driving to run, I'm in a bad mood. So I ~~steal~~ barrow a hotel towel and hop in the car trying to follow the directions given to me. This sucks. It's a lot colder than it was yesterday and I made the mistake of wearing my warmer close during my last ill fated run that left me wet and sweating in a heated fitness center. So now I'm shivering in shorts and a windbreaker. This sucks.

I get to the end of the street and it is really dark out, but as I get out of the car I notice a boat heading out to the ocean. Kind of nice...but it's really cold out and this still sucks.

The wind is whipping around me as I run through some really cool looking houses. I kind of wander through a neighborhood lacking in streetlights, but I can see from the quaint porch lights of the houses. Every now and then I am rewarded with a view of the ocean and a burst of cold wind that by now I am getting used to. This doesn't suck so bad.

OK now the sun is up and the biting wind kind of feels...refreshing. I am running pretty slow and without direction because I am taking in the sites. With the sun up the waterfront looks beautiful. I stop to read some historic markers and trot out on a little boardwalk over the march. The view of the sun coming up through the masts of the boats in the harbor takes my breath away more than the biting wind could.

These pictures from my non-working phone don't even come close to doing the view justice. I snapped them after I got back to my car and the sun was already up and I didn't have time to drive to some of the best view I saw, but I had to try to capture the moment. Because, by now I was in a Great Mood.

Walk a mile in their clipless peddled shoes

2008-02-12T15:41:00.001-05:00

I has been said that,"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes."

Or something like that.

Us runners are a friendly bunch. It is tough to go out for a run on a local trail without getting a wave, a nod, or a hello. We are quick to make friends and to offer advice to new runners joining our ranks. I have run on my local trail so often that when I am not there for any length of time, many people ask me what was wrong when I return. After my last injury kept me off the trail for a while, I had to explain about 10 times that I was out with an injury, while sucking in lung fulls of air because I was out of shape due to said layoff.

I nod and wave to the runners and walks I see and usually have a word or two with the regulars. But not the Bikers. I have been operating under the assumption that most bikers are rude, stuck up or both. I mean there are the few that return my wave, but that is the exception not the rule. Not to mention the guys who zoom past you about 3 inches away from your shoulder shouting, "On your left," loud enough to make you jump three feet to the right. Even people I know seem to act a little different when they are on their bike. I have just decide not to wave or nod at the bikers, because it will most likely be wasted energy.

Well now that the Clipless peddled shoe is on the other foot (lets see, do I know any other shoe puns), I think a little differently. To understand these cyclists you have to get an idea of their situation. First of all, while us runners and walkers love the trail...Cyclists need it. I mean even though we don't want to, we can run on sidewalks and if we are running on a narrow road we can always retreat to the shoulder if a wide load comes by. These things are not so easy to do on a road bike. While many bikers brave the roads and the traffic to get a workout in, I'm sure they also appreciate the safety of the trail from time to time.

As for friendliness, lets look at it from both sides. While running you can see things long before they happen.

I'll often see one of my friends coming up on the bike while yelling, "Hey Chris, how's it going," as I wave franticly.

Then when they don't acknowledge me I just assume it has to do with that uppity bike syndrome. Now however I can see it from the other perspective and it goes something like this:

Me on the bike zooming by at 25 mph: "What is that idiot doing?... and did he say my name...Hey, Maybe I know him," as I am now about a half mile away.

So it is less to do with unfriendliness and more to do with speed and time. While on the bike I still try to nod as I pass by others. I'm afraid if I risk a wave I might swerve and crash into them...I'm pretty sure they would rather me be rude at that point. And when I do nod, I don't know if I get the timing down right...I might get the nod off before I pass them or I might be nodding like a complete idiot to no one at all.

So these bikers might be the friendliest people in the world...it is just really hard to be friendly at 20 mph. (Who am I kidding, I'm still closer to 15 mph). As a matter of fact, I got a crash course in friendly bikers when my chain broke last weekend. I passed a bunch of people while hobbling along side my bike. Everyone of the bikers asked if I needed help. Only one of the runners stopped to ask what he could do: He explained that the same thing happened to him last month. Even though he was running right then...he was really a friendly biker.

The Perfect Day

2008-02-11T07:42:00.000-05:00

Well I finally decided to stop messing around with the cycling thing. It was obvious that it was least favorite of the 3 sports and I was making any excuse to avoid doing it (too cold, too helpless. But this weekend I said enough is enough. To get better at cycling and therefore enjoy it more, I just need to spend more time on the Bike.

So I went to the local bike store and finally bought the neoprene booties to cover my very breathable shoes. I also got an areobar because you might as well go big, or go home. I spent Saturday putting on the areobar and testing the booties around the house, incidentally my daughter thinks they look like elf shoes.

So Sunday morning I rose with the sun (actually I got up a lot earlier and waited in my garage until I thought there was enough light to see, but rose with the sun sounds better) and drove to the trail. You see, I thought I would drive to the trail so that I would avoid all the hills and stop signs and stop signs on top of hills. This way I might enjoy the ride a little more and worry a little less about clipping in and out and about traffic. The plan worked great, I could put on my shoes and booties, clip in and off I went.

I was zooming along and the booties kept my feet from going numb. I was a little worried that they would make it harder to clip in and out, but strangely they made it easer. The areobar was great, on a straight-away I would lean down and really tear into it, zipping through the air like a rocket. I had to be home in time to meet the family for church, but I went just a little farther because I was going so fast I knew I could make up the time on the way back. The sun was shining, the weather was pleasantly chilly and little cartoon birds were singing a medley of my favorite songs.

Sure, things are going so great that even you, dear reader, can tell something is going to go wrong...but at the time, I just thought it was the perfect cycling day. Well I stopped at a light and got off the bike for a second to stretch my legs and have a drink. I then got back on, clipped in and started to peddle off only to find the peddle wouldn't turn. Was I between gears? Was I not clipped in? I kind of pushed off with one leg to get to the other side of the street then got off to assess what the problem was...Broken Chain.

I don't know how it happened. There was no warning, no sudden jerk, just resistance then a chain dragging. I had a sudden movie-like flashback to my friend Brett, after tuning up the bike for me saying,"The Chain is a little old, and you might want to have that looked at sometime...but otherwise she's in great shape." Well he might not have called the bike a she...but it seemed a lot more movie flashback that way.

So I called my wife, like a helpless child, to come and pick me up. Oh sure I had a nifty swiss army like bike tool, that I remember the directions (which were sitting back at home) mentioning something about a chain tool. But who was I kidding, when my car gets a flat, I call AAA.

I limped for about a half mile trying to decided if it was easier to walk in the grass with the shoes on or take them off and walk on the trail...and by the way Ains was right...they did look a little like elf shoes. I made it to the bike Depot and tried to call Sheryl to see how far away she was, only to discover my phone was not working (I had some sort of reverse midas touch this weekend, where everything mechanical I touched seemed to break...I even found a way to mess up a kite).

After Sheryl picked me up and we raced to make Church on time, I couldn't help but think..."This sort of thing never happens to me when I run."

Can you ride a Kangaroo?

2008-02-08T14:34:00.001-05:00

As I continue my training I have been doing a bit of swimming...one of the better exercises as it does not repeatedly pound my 200 lbs frame on my feet like running does. I enjoy swimming because I am not relaying on a machine such as a bike that could possibly break down. Unless Archimedes was wrong, I think water will pretty much behave the same way all the time.

Swimming also has a lot in common with my chosen sport of running: it is usually a solo endeavor and I can paddle away lost in my own thoughts. Of course therein lies my problem. When I am running it is pretty easy to measure my accomplishment, even while daydreaming. I'll be singing some little ditty in my head:

"G-L-A-M-O-R-U-S..." (because in my head, I'm quite the singer)

and look up and notice I am about 4 miles from my house...OK turn around here and it will be an eight miler. Not really Archimedes' principle (I'm on an Archimedes kick today).

Swimming laps, however, goes more like this:

"OK that was three, three, three, four coming up...burp, ooh what was that...what did I have for dinner last night. Hmmm, OK that was two, two, two. Wait that can't be right I've been here for 30 minutes and I'm only on two."

So I did a little bit of research and apparently I'm not the only one with ADD while swimming laps at 6 am. Many people use letters because they are a little easier to remember than numbers. I even read one post where people think of word in a category. For example they did animals: first lap: A...anteater, aardvark, armadillo...you get the idea. It was actually kind of fun. It gave me something to think about during the endless procession of that black line at the bottom of the pool.

"OK now I will do modes of transportation: First lap Automobile, Airplane, Air Balloon"

Well I cheated a little bit and it probably should have been a Hot Air Balloon but that was nothing like when I decided on lap K that you could indeed ride on a Kangaroo, so that could be a mode of transportation.

I've done foods (apple, bread...) and things around the house (armchair, breakfast nook...) as a matter of fact I find myself thinking of categories that I can do during my next swim. I feel like a writer for Family Fued..."top five answers on the board..." If you have any suggestions for a new category, by all means let me know.

I do sometimes miss the mindless daydreaming, but you'd be surprised at how much daydreaming you do while trying to think of a food that starts with a U.

She's a Brick...House

2008-02-07T17:08:00.001-05:00

Well I did my first Brick today and it was an eye opener. Every time I look at the parts of the Olympic distance I am not really all that intimidated. I mean I can swim 1500 meters and as long as I don't fall, 40K on a bike is not so bad. A 10K is barley breaking a sweat during my marathon training so it's hard to get worked up by that. But I know it is the sum of the parts that make it a challenge, so I thought I would teach myself a lesson in humility today.

I got up early and waited for the sun to rise enough so I could see. Then I road a quick 18 miles, only to return home switch into some running shoes and run 5 miles. Not really very intimidating distances, but not too far off from what I will have to do.

Now my transition was no where near what you will see while watching an Ironman on a Sunday afternoon. Instead of leaving my shoes on the bike and hopping off already at running speed...I causally stopped and walked off my bike. I then went into the kitchen to listen to a riveting story from my daughter about the mischief her stuffed animals where getting into during the night while I put on my running shoes and sipped a Gatorade.

Really to be honest the reason the Brick was such an eye opener was because I still haven't solved my freezing foot problem. You see, after all of the expenses I have incurred with my new sport, I am too cheap to buy the neoprene booties I need. I figure it will only be cold for a little while longer...and today it was a whole 10 degrees warmer than last time. I thought the 2 sox and a plastic bag trick would be fine today. Maybe I need thicker bags.

It was a solid 4.5 of my 5 mile run before I had feeling back in my feet. One of the strangest sensations I have ever experienced was running on feet that were completely numb. I could not feel anything and they were moving like flippers, occasionally scraping the ground and flopping around with a mind of their own. My first mile was slow as I learned to run without the use of my feet, I even got a few sympathy nods as I'm sure people thought I was training for the Special Olympics. But eventually I got used to it and my pace picked up to respectable. I didn't break any records, but now I know I need to work on some speed...maybe Ainsley can shorten her story next time.

Got Balance

2008-02-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

The thing that intimidates most about a triathlon is the swim. Being out in the open water getting bumped by others with no wall to grab on to between laps is indeed a bit frightening. But the thing that always kept me from trying a tri is the bike. This surprises most, I mean we are not all Lance Armstrong, but the phase, "like riding a bike" is there for a reason...we all remember how.

The strange thing is, I loved to ride my bike as a kid. Even at an early age I was more into distance the speed. I loved to watch the Tour de France on Saturdays when they recapped the whole weeks events in the days before VERSES gave us live coverage. I was probably one of the few kids who even knew who Greg LeMond was let alone what Bernard Hinault did to him. I was never into BMX stunts or jumps, I preferred instead to go on long rides with my Dad past the Ostrich farm miles away from our house.

But today, when I get on a bike, I feel like I am giving up control. I prefer the crunch of gravel under my feet as opposed to the hum of tires. Probably a lot of my fear has to do with clipless pedals.

I knew it would be a challenge to learn to ride while clipped in, so I bought some pedals and attached them to my old cheapo bike before I had picked up the new one. I hoped that by practicing on my old bike, I would get all of the falls out of the way before I was attached to anything of value.

I did fall a few times, but not the way most do. Most people fall because they forget they have them on...I fell because I could not get my foot out. I have since adjusted them a hundred times and I am getting used to them...but I don't think my falling days are over.

I still dread coming to a stop and absolutely fear a stop sign on a hill. I am convinced that the pedals freeze up in the wind chill as they seem to get progressively worse near the end of the ride...or maybe that is because my feet are just numb.

I think I'm going to lose a toe

2008-02-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

I've run in some really nasty conditions. As a matter of fact I kind of revel in it. Runners love to brag about the time they went out in a monsoon for a quick 10 miler, or about the time they couldn't even see through all the snow falling. I love to tell the story about how I couldn't drink from my fuel belt because my bottles were frozen at the end of a one 20 miler. So when I wanted to try out my new bike, I didn't really think 27 degrees was all that bad.

I mean I understood that the wind would make it feel a lot colder and I dressed MUCH warmer than I would have if I were going running. But I had a brand new bike that was just sitting in the garage, so off I went. After about 2 miles I had to turn back for home.

I had to trade my 2 pairs of gloves (running gloves under fingerless bike gloves) for a pair of ski gloves. I already had two pairs of sox but I added a plastic bag between the two for wind resistance. Then off I was again. Well the new bike was great...and indeed it was really fast. So fast in fact, that the wind blew right through 2 pairs of sox and a plastic bag. By mile 10 I had lost all feeling in my feet. I turned back for home only to realize that it was even colder on the way back.

When I got home, my feet were bricks. I could have walked on fire and not felt a thing. My wife quickly filled the bottom of the tub with very hot water and I soaked them for 10 min. before I started to get feeling back. They looked a little black and blue and on the way to the shower I told my daughter, "I think I'm going to lose a toe." She was very concerned. But after the shower, feeling was restored and they looked a lot better too.

I have since told some of my biking friends this story and they all laughed. Brett told me that he rarely goes out if the temp is under 50 and Misty couldn't believe I didn't know about the biking booties that apparently all bikers wear...great another biking expense. As if I hadn't already figured out...I had a lot to learn about Biking.

It's all about the Bike

2008-02-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

Running is a cheap sport: Pair of shoes, some shorts and you are off. Of course me being a gadget guy I always have to add more. Instead of just a t-shirt and shorts, I have to get a tech shirt and running shorts. I could make due with an old Timex, but why would I do that when there is a GPS watch from Garmin that does everything but run for you. But even with all of the gear and race fees, running is still even cheaper than most Gym memberships.

The sport of swimming is similar, in that you only need the bare essentials. I already have running shorts that make great swim trunks. I did have to replace my goggles when the strap broke, but at $10 for years worth of use...I think I can manage that. Our county pool charges either by the month or by the visit, and since my travel schedule is rather tight, I opted for 10 visits for under $20 bucks. All in all still a very cheap sport.

Then there is the bike. I know I could make due with my old cheapo, but it was in need of repair, and to throw $50 into repair would be about 50% of what the bike was worth. Coincidentally my friend Brett is an avid Biker and an avid fan of eBay. Well Brett from time to time sends me a deal on a bike on eBay that he thinks would suit me and I always decline. Well this time he got me at just the right time and we purchased a new Marin Road Bike. I say we because all I did was send a check. He found it, bid on it, picked it up, cleaned it, repaired it and adjusted it to my build. Its great to have friends.

This bike is no carbon fiber dream. It is not even aluminum. But for me it fits the bill perfectly. It is tons lighter than my old bike. and it is a true road bike with thin tires and real components. Very different from my old pseudo mountain bike, with witch I peddled furiously to keep up with my friends on the trial. The only problem is, even though I got the bike cheap…there are a lot more costs involved with biking than swimming or running. You have to have the pants so your butt won’t fall off after a long ride. You need the gloves, the helmet, water bottles…not to mention the pedals and shoes that are the bane of my existence and are worth a post all of their own.

Now a lot of these items I already had; and most of them can be picked up inexpensively. I have also tried to keep myself from going overboard and getting things I don’t need (which is awfully hard for a gadget addict). But in terms of costs, Mr. Armstrong had it right…it is all about the bike.

Getting Serious

2008-01-28T12:51:00.000-05:00

After my injury, I took a break from everything. I didn't run, I didn't exercise and this was easy to do, because it was the end of the holidays and bowl games and parties were keeping me busy. But then I went back to work and when I was traveling, I was trying to think of what I did with my free time before running. I guess I watched TV, read a book, stared at the Hotel wall...I mean there is only so much email you can answer. I also started to notice a little extra weight and a little heavy breathing after carrying my daughter up the stairs.

So I started to ride my bike a little (a Sears special that weighed about 40 lbs). and I did a few short runs to test my leg. But the weight was still there. I didn't have any motivation because I didn't enjoy biking as much as running and I didn't have a set goal.

I found out my neighbor, Misty was talking Julie into swimming 3 times a week at the County pool. I had done this after my stress fracture, but didn't stick with it for too long. Now, however, there was a group going, and that would help offer me some motivation. So off I went at 5:30 on a Monday morning. It felt good to do something. I have figured out that I am not a 'workout' kind of guy. I don't enjoy gyms or machines. I need to do something, accomplish something. I enjoy testing my endurance and looking backwards to see how far I have come (literally and figuratively). So when Misty, an accomplished Triathleat and an Ironwoman to boot, tried to talk us into a Tri...I said why not.

I started to get a little serious about riding my bike and I swam every Monday and Friday that I was in town. I picked an Olympic Triathlon that was near my in-laws so the SAF (Spousal Approval Factor) would be high. I was happy again, I was motivated and I was looking forward to trying out something new.

Try a Tri

2008-01-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

It has become a cliché, a runner gets injured and has to take some time off, so during the forced hiatus they take up another sport. I have become the cliché. I was in the midst of training for the Gasparilla Distance Classic Marathon and I really wanted to make this my signature race. I slowly ramped up my mileage to about 55-60 miles per-week-with a peak over 70 miles-per-week. I was in great shape, the distance felt like nothing to me. I could feel my speed improving.

To make this race even better than my previous marathons, I was going to do it with my sister...it would be her first marathon. I finally had someone to talk about every long run, every early morning, every post run recovery drink and every ice bath. With this being her first she actually wanted to hear it all...unlike most of my friends and relatives who's eyes just glaze over as they politely nod while they are really thinking,"Isn't this the same story I heard last time...and what the heck is a fartlek?"

Well of course I got injured. It was some kind of slow building, mysterious injury that manifested itself in my right calf. At first I just ignored it...just my body adapting to the higher mileage. Then I ran through it..."pain is just weakness leaving the body." Then I accepted it..."maybe I need a few days off." So I took all of 3 days in a row off...a huge concession I thought. Then I tried to run through it again..."just need to tough it out...it will go away." Finally I took two whole weeks off...a lifetime for me. I came back and gutted it out for another week so that I could do a 21 miler with my Sister when I visited her. I did fine and the pain was manageable, but as I went running later that week I realized that I forgot what it felt like to run pain free.

My leg would only hurt while running...I could not duplicate the pain any other way. And like the old joke:

Patient: Doc, it hurts when I do this.

Doc: Then stop doing that.

I had an epiphany...I need to stop. It sounds so simple, but running was such a part of me that it was hard. I went through all of the self pity you would expect. Most of my Christmas presents were running related and I couldn't use them. I was mad, sad and everything in between. I had been through this before, but I felt like I was older and wiser. And this time my injury was more elusive. With a stress fracture I had a date that I would be better and could start running again.

After I got over my self pity and realized I had gained weight and lost fitness, I finally got off my but.

Townie

2007-05-24T16:39:00.001-04:00

I guess I am a Townie. I love my little town here in the suburbs of Atlanta. I work about a half mile from the downtown area and live probably 3 miles away, so it is easy and fun when there is an event downtown. Recently we had a concert on the 'Village Green' with 7 Sharp 9, a local band that plays a mix of cover music and their own tracks.

Strangely, I was really looking forward to this little concert with the anticipation usually reserved for an Auburn Game or a large party. That is why I was really disappointed when the weather started to look foreboding. The night before we had a huge thunderstorm and it looked like we were going to get a repeat performance. We went through all the motions though: we bought a bucket of chicken, packed the cooler and got all of the tailgating supplies out (let's face it...we are professional tailgaters and can pretty much put one together at a moments notice).

So Hunter, Mindy and Baby Jackson came over and we all piled into the car, fully expecting the sky to open up at any moment and send us reeling back home. We set up our tailgate far away from the scene, but under cover of the coming showers. While we got comfortable, Sheryl went ahead and got us another space up front...just in case. When no rain came, we moved to our 'back up location' and had a bite. We had enough chicken to feed all the concert goes, not to mention chips, dips and cheese and crackers. As a matter of fact, our pictures look like some kind of Wheat Thins add.

Well the band started and we danced and sang. We also bumped into friends, neighbors and Ainsley even saw some of her teachers...after all this is our town and we are true Townies. One of the great things about an event like this is that it seems like everyone has a fun time. Us adults enjoyed the music, beer and friends, but even Ainsley had enough to keep her entertained. She went up next to the stage and danced, ate a snow cone, watched a juggler, got a balloon sward, played Frisbee with a little girl and even helped baby sit her new neighbor. It was exhausting just watching her...let alone trying to keep up. For my part, I loved going up to the stage with her and watching her dance. That is one thing that I think my daughter and I will share for a long time our love for Live Music. I even bought one of the bands CDs for us to listen to later.

Well we never planned on being able to stay for the whole concert; I thought Ainsley would get board or Jackson would get sick of all the noise. However, we will still going strong (Ains and I were on our way to the stage again) when the rain finally came. It was only about 10 minutes before the concert was going to end, so I guess it was good timing.

It was fun to have a nice family time downtown because our last few adventures for St. Pat's day and Cinco De Mayo were adults only excursions. Hopefully we will be able to recruit more neighbors for the next few concerts this summer, however I don't think the music will be as good as 7 sharp 9. But I plan to be there...we are Townies after all.

Road Rules

2007-05-04T16:36:00.001-04:00

Because I run and also travel, I am often forced to run on the roadside and often that is in different cities, in unfamiliar surroundings. Now I am not, like many runners I know, militant about my rights as a runner. I know that I am supposed to run towards on coming traffic and that I am entitled to a certain amount of space, as motorists are forced to share the road with runners and cyclists. As a matter of fact, in many states the road, not the sidewalk, is the preferred method of travel for runners and bicyclists. However, I generally try to run on the sidewalk where available, and even the grass (if it is firm) to help stay out of cars way. I usually run on the road until a car comes by, then I hop onto the grass or even a driveway to let them pass. I do this both for my safety and because I am trying to make it easier on the driver especially if I notice a lot of two way traffic. Sometimes I cannot move of the road, and when that happens I try my best to ' walk the tightrope' giving the driver as much room as possible.

That does not stop cars from honking, yelling, gesturing and otherwise letting me know how they feel about my running on the road. During a recent 8 mile run in Tennessee I ran most of it in a park then some on a sidewalk, but I was forced to run about 2 miles (one outbound and 1 on the way back) on a road that had no sidewalk and ditch on the side. During that 2 mile stretch I had 4 cars honk or yell at me. I tried my best to find a route that would avoid this problem, but not being familure with the area, this route was the best I could do. I figured it was a pretty rural area with many horses around and that any cars I encountered would be understanding.

I don't understand why they are yelling at me. Are they upset that I caused them to slow down? Do they really think that I don't have the right to be there? Some of these people show such emotion that I really think they believe that I am somehow doing something illegal. As I said, I try my best to get out of their way. Do people really think that I enjoy running with cars zipping by me, as I am forced to struggle to stay as close to the side as I can? These cars only see me for a second during an 8 mile run that was almost all out of motorist's way; and they choose that moment to yell at me to get off the road. The worst are the cars that don't yell but try to show their displeasure by coming as close to me as they can.

Now I am not saying that all drivers are like this. As a matter of fact the majority of people give me my space. Some even smile or wave. But I have noticed that certain cars types are better or worse. Not all drivers of certain cars behave the same, but over the years and the many encounters; I have noticed a trend. So to follow, from best to worst, is my very unscientific sampling of How Certain Cars treat runners:

Jeeps - by far the best. Maybe because most jeep owners see themselves as outdoorsmen/women. Jeeps almost always slow down and give me a wide birth. Occasionally I even get a wave or a nod...probably because they are hikers, bikers or runners and have been in the same situation and sympathize.
Cars with bike racks - This is probably obvious, but it is often hard to see the bike rack from the front. Any kind of distance biker has it much worse than us runners because to put together a long ride, they either need a trial, or have to deal with cars. Bikers can't jump to the grass very easily like us runners. They always give me my space on the road, therefore, when I am in a car, I give them their space.
Convertibles (with the top down) - most convertibles seem to try to give you space. They are not as good as the above cars and I suspect their motivation is more about fear then good deeds. I think convertible drivers know that they might get stopped at a red light and have little protection from a water bottle thrown upside the head.
Expensive Cars - the more expensive the car usually the more room they will give you. I don't know if this is because to afford a car like that you are probably educated...or maybe it is just because they don't want to mess up their car with a runner sized dent. These cars can go the other way though: some idiots think they are rich and don't have to follow the rules. You are just in their way.
SUV's - These cars go either way. Some are true outdoors people who do their best to get out of your way. Others are idiots on the phone, drinking coffee, eating a donut, yelling at their kids who look up just in time to miss you. Then they blame the runner...of course you are the one being unsafe.
Sedan's - These are a little worse than the SUV's because you don't get the outdoors people. Some are following the rules. Some are just nice and get out of your way. Some are just idiots that shouldn't have a driver's license. Usually Sedan's don't yell at you...but they may not get out of your way either
Sport's Cars - Some of these are fine. They respect you and they car too much about their car to get close to you. Some sports car drivers are risk takers who want to see how close they can get to you without hitting you.
Pick up Trucks - Now I'm not sure why, but these are the worst of the bunch. The majority of the close calls I have had have been with pick ups. They also are the cars that yell and honk at me with the most frequency. Another point, the more extras (brush guards, roof lights) that are on the truck the more prone it is to be a problem. And if it has a gun rack or a hunting sticker, give it some room. I always hear people defend hunting by talking about being out in Nature; hunters call themselves outdoorsmen. Why then would they not respect us runners or bikers? I guess sitting in a tree stand drinking beer and waiting for a deer is much more manly then training to run 26.2 miles.

By no means do I dislike hunters or Pickup drivers for that matter. Many of my friends do both. And by no means do I think that most hunters or pickup divers act like the few that I have had a problem with. I just offer this list and these thoughts as a service to other runners. If you are forced to run on the road and you see a jeep, you probably can expect that they will give you plenty of room. If later you see a pickup with a brush guard, roof lights, a gun rack, an NRA sticker and a 10 foot CB antenna with a rebel flag on it...be prepared to dive head first into the bushes.

Three Years, Three PR's

2007-04-30T14:35:00.001-04:00

Well for the third year in a row I did the Smyrna Jonquil Jog and PR'ed yet again. I don't think I am really getting that much faster, I just think the relatively few 5K's that I due make them all seem great.

I still can't find my Age Group placement online yet, but I know I finished in about 21:25...a 30 second PR over last year. I'm sure that Active will have the results later this week and I can see if I bettered last year's 7th place.

The only problem with doing the race this weekend is that I didn't run on Sunday because the race took time away from the Family on Saturday. We did have a great breakfast on Sunday, but I still felt like a slug.

ING

2007-04-27T15:52:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted my race re-cap, but better a month late then never.

I went into the ING Marathon, obviously hoping to do better than my first two attempts, but I kept my goals very tempered. I didn't know how the hills would hurt me, and I also learned my lesson (Disney) on what kind of effect the heat has on my performance. With the Sunday morning forecast reading just like the day of the Disney marathon, I knew it was going to be a hot one. So I planned on taking it very easy, heck just finishing this thing running would probably get me a PR. So my goal was to run 9 min. miles giving me a 3:55 finish or a 7 min PR. Modest, but an improvement non-the-less.

The race start was a mass of humanity. My sister Wendy and I had gotten up at around 3:30 to take care of our GI business and eat a little something, then we met with Misty to drive to the Start. We got there really early, so we parked in the deck and bumped into Misty's friends (which ended up being really helpful...more on that later). We then wandered to the athlete village as a group of five. After checking our bags we found some port-ta-potties then to the start. The crowds were huge. There were no corrals or even groups for half vs. full marathons, so everyone just packed in like cattle. It ended up being pretty nice that we could all stay together and chat; it kept the butterflies away. Once the race started I kept near Wendy until about 40 feet after the finish line, then we each went our own way.

The first few miles, like any marathon, were crowded. I dogged a few people and looked for running lanes, but my pace seemed fine (I actually did an 8:30 the first mile). The first few miles were downhill, but boy were they hot. By mile 3 I was covered with sweat and it was still early. Soon we left the city and crossed over into the neighborhoods and I could feel a huge temperature drop. The half marathoners also split off from us, so the crowd thinned out too. I was feeling pretty good and my pace was staying between 8:40 and 9 min.

At around the 10K mark I heard a lot of rumbling about there not being any water. I had my amphipod belt filled wit Endurance, so I didn't plan to take any water yet but it still worried me. At about this time I bumped into Patrick, one of Misty's friends that we met at the start. I was surprised that we ended up meeting up and I didn't know how long we would run together, but for the time being I loved the distraction. Patrick and I talked and it was so easy to get lost in the conversation that the miles just flew by. I was a little concerned that we were running faster than my plan (a bunch of miles in the 8:30's), but I felt good and I figured it was just the distraction that made me faster.

The neighborhoods were great. People sat on their driveways and cheered and little kids handed out water and ice. I was starting to get worried about water because the rest of the runners were really complaining. So I passed by a kid who handed me a glass and it was sooo cold. I commented that it was the best, coldest water I had had and I herd moans from the rest of the runners saying, " I should have grabbed one from him." Thank God for the kids because the water stops were all out of Poweraid. I was so worried that when I did get a water I started filling up a few of my now empty Amphipod bottles.

At mile 15 we hit a pretty good downhill and cranked out an 8:18...that worried me. I knew that the coarse was very tough near the end and I didn't want to burn out. I mentioned this to Patrick and I think he took heed and we both slowed a bit. He was in need of a bathroom break but could never find a good opportunity. The hills loomed large and he didn't want to stop at the bottom of one. I felt bad, but I knew if he stopped, I would leave him...I'm not one who can start up again very easily. At around mile 18 Patrick and I split apart to pass a few runners and while we were on opposite sides of the road I thought I heard him yelp. As I looked around to try to find him I heard him yell, "Good luck Chris." I don't know what happened, but I did hear that he finished about 10 min. behind me, so it couldn't have been too bad.

After I left Patrick I hit the worst part of the course, Freedom Parkway. Before this we had been running through tree lined neighborhoods and parks. Suddenly we were thrust into an uphill freeway with no relief from the heat. The two miles on Freedom Parkway were the worst in the race. Up until now, I had been talking to Patrick enjoying the scenery and the miles just melted away. Suddenly I was alone, in the heat with the only view of people running back down the hill I was going up...lucky bastards. It was horrible, and as hard as I tried I couldn't see the turn around. Finally I was on the downhill and I filled up every water bottle I could for fear of the heat. I was also popping salt tablets, something I forgot to bring for Disney. All in all, it was a rough patch, but I survived and I knew from Sheryl's phone call that she and Ainsley would be at mile 24, I figured I could make it that far.

I found myself in the proverbial zone now. But not that great mystical zone where everything goes right and you feel no pain. My zone was more like a blur. I was feeling the heat and I felt like I was slowing down, but really my pace was right on target. The crowds were really thick now, but I felt like that seen in every sports movie where the cheers just fade away and you hear the breathing of the runner. Finally I was about to make the turn into Piedmont park so I tried to call Sheryl to let her know I was coming. I didn't get through, but I guess she got my message because they were ready. Seeing her and Ains gave me quite a boost but I bet they couldn't tell because all I wanted was the Amphipod bottle filled with Endurance that they brought. Then I didn't want to stop, and every bottle I was going to give her back had something in it. So I finally found an empty and just threw it over my shoulder hoping she would pick it up. (you can see me struggling to find an empty bottle <---in this picture)

After seeing them I had some new confidence and some extra energy that I thought I could use to improve my time. Unfortunately at this point the course turned sadistic. I knew there was going to be some uphill's near the end but this was inhumane. I saw a lot of people walking those last two miles, and trust me I felt for them. I had been there and the hills were so bad I was sure I was going back. I kept seeing a turn up ahead and thinking, "well it must level out or go downhill after that," only to make the turn and see the uphill again. Everytime I turned the corner and saw another hill I almost decided to walk. I had been feeling an impending cramp and I knew if I stopped I would have to walk to the finish.

Finally I heard someone run right up next to me and yell, "Chris." It was Misty and it just hearing her helped me so much. She barley said anything and I know I didn't say a word, but she ran alongside me and I even picked up my pace a little. Finally she said, "there it is...your there" and peeled away. Then I saw Wen and I barley waved. I crossed the finish line 3:54:26. Right on target.

After that we met up with Sheryl in the car (she didn't even have to park) and I sat on the floorboard of the car to keep my legs from cramping. Ainsley scooted to the far end of her car seat away from, "stinky, wet daddy." But I was feeling great after we got home and showered. Then we were off to Cheeseburger in Paradise for beer, burgers and a surprising number of fellow runner had the same idea. Later that day, Misty came over for Pizza and we all told our war stories again.

Live Music

2007-03-23T15:42:00.001-04:00

I've always been a fan of live music. I love going to concerts or even the local pizza place with a guy playing covers. So it was with much anticipation that I finally got my Christmas present. Sheryl had bought me tickets to Snow Patrol for Christmas and I had it in the back of my mind for the past 3 months or so, but when the date finally got here it seemed like it snuck up on us. The neighbors agreed to watch Ainsley (no small feat on a weeknight when we likely wouldn't get home until midnight) and off we went.

Of course with all the things that happen on a weeknight we never got a chance to have dinner and tried to stop on the way but figured we were already late and would rather eat there then miss anything. Good Choice because we were treated to two great opening acts. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we had floor seats. I think Sheryl would rather have had a place to sit after a long day of work, but I enjoyed the intimacy of being a few feet from the band...it reminded me of Fraternity band parties. Silver Sun Pickup's were fun to watch, although I admit I only know one of their songs. But they enjoyed themselves and even continued to play through a few technical difficulties commenting, "I had it when a band just stops." Both Sheryl and I commented that you don't often see a base player in a full dress, but she looked good and I will probably have to download a few more of Silver Suns' songs.

Next up was OK Go, and I probably would have bought tickets to see them as a single act, so it was a treat that they were part of the larger bill. Ok Go was a lot of fun, getting the crowd involved in waving their phones or singing along. I even managed to take the above picture with my phone (which explains the poor quality). While they didn't do any of their now famous dances, they did have a video screen playing behind them with some neat images. My only problem was, unless I somehow missed it, they did not play 'A million Ways' and I kept thinking they would do en encore or something. However as soon as they were done the set up for Snow Patrol started.

I was very impressed with Snow Patrol, because while I love their music, I worried about how they would be in concert. Most of their songs are emotionally charged, in short, the point in concerts where most people get in the beer line. I couldn't have been more wrong however. Their songs still maintained the emotional charge, yet took on almost an anthem like feel. With their Irish brogue speaking between songs (I think they are actually Scottish) I couldn't help but be reminded of U2. They got Chasing Cars out of the way early on, which I liked, because if ever there was an example of a good song being over played...this was it. They pulled a girl out of the audience to sing the female part of 'Set fire to the Third Bar' and she preformed admirably. They played for quite a while without breaks, pausing only to allow for an encore. The encore consisted of two of their peppiest hits, including my favorite, 'Hands Open.'

It was a great night, and a nice break to be able to see some top live music. My wife obviously knows me well to think of this for a gift.

It's not easy Peeing Green

2007-03-22T15:58:00.001-04:00

I hold St. Patrick's Day with the same reverence that most people place on Christmas or their birthday. So when it happened to fall on a Saturday, we started the planning early. Sheryl lined up a sitter, we bought tickets to Smyrna Market Village and my parents even sent us cab fare.

The day started with me getting up at 5 am to squeeze in my last long run (really only 13 miles) before my marathon. At 5 am it was chilly, but comfortable in a long sleeve tech shirt and tights. That's why I was so surprised when we arrived at Ainsley's Soccer game in the middle of winter. It was so cold that they shorten the game due to kids crying because from the cold (I am not exaggerating). I have to hand it to Ains, she didn't complain once except when we talked about possibly skipping the parade due to the weather.

We decided to tough it out and head to downtown for the parade after stocking up on cold weather gear (see picture above). I rolled my eyes at Sheryl when she found some of those chemical hand warmers, little did I know I would be thanking her later. We parked near Peachtreee St. and trotted over to the parade, finding a nice spot in the sun before it started. Ainsley thoroughly enjoyed herself trying to catch beads, even running out to cars to get some. I liked the bag pipes and the Budwiser Clydesdales and of course her favorite was Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers (What exactly do they have to do with St. Pat's day). When there was a lull in the parade we tried to convince Ains that it was over because our sunny spot was now shady and windy. So we crossed the street to leave when Ains noticed that it was still going on and convinced us to stay. Good thing we did, because the beads and other loot picked up and I even got some beads from the Harriers by shouting, "On On" (that's what Harriers yell to let others know they are On the trail of the Hare...it's also their toast). It was getting colder and we even convinced Ains that it was time to leave when I noticed a "26" painted on the ground. Little did I know that we had been standing on the 26th mile of my next marathon.

We finally raced home to prepare for the Adult festivities. After a lot of Logistical discussions and a few beers (which probably lengthened the logistical discussions) we finally got to Smyrna Market Village to find the street closed off, many tents of beer and the smell of corned beef in the air...in a word heaven.

When entering we were giving shamrock tattoos and we were told that there would be a contest later based on placement. I never saw the contest, but we did have a few entrants in our group. We drank beer, listened to the bands and bumped into a bunch of our friends. All in all we had a great time that most of us can't remember the details. I do know by the pictures (somehow I took 77 that day) that we did a bit of dancing. The pictures show a progression from relatively civil to...yep they defiantly need a cab ride home. And cab home we did. We somehow made it home and I think the next day can be summed up best by a shirt we saw that night: "Irish today, Hungover tomorrow." Thank God it was Sunday, otherwise we would have had to call in sick with a case of the Irish Flu.

Yet another way to find out you are getting old...

2007-03-22T15:07:00.001-04:00

There are many things that happen through the coarse of your life that tells you, your getting old. Yelling at some one for touching the thermostat, a creaking knee or mentioning that some young punk is driving like a maniac are all things that happen to us that give us pause and make us shake our head and mutter, "I'm getting old." The other day at dinner however, one hit me that I never expected. While dining at a nice restaurant my daughter was being particularly good. Sitting in her seat and eating her food without too much trouble, when out of the blue she started singing. Now Ainsley loves to sing and to tell you the truth she is pretty good, when she doesn't confuse volume for passion. But what she was singing made both my wife and I laugh and ask her about the song.

Ainsley broke into a perfect rendition of the Human League's "Don't you want me, Baby" complete with the Oooohs and everything. When we asked where she heard that she calmly replied, "It was on a cookie commercial." After a chuckle, I had a sudden flashback to my parents playing a Beachboys song and me saying, "hey that's the Sunkiss commercial."

Well Thankfully it was only Human League, I mean the day they my daughter starts singing REM or Barenaked Ladies and telling me it's a soda commercial then I'll know I'm getting old.

Found Features

2007-02-28T16:00:00.001-05:00

I've always loved unlocking or finding a new feature in something that you already use and didn't know about. This week seemed to be all about new features in products I already use.

Zune

I got sick and tired of waiting for a firmware update to add new features to my Zune, so I took matters into my own hands. I tried to use a multitude of free software out there to convert my Media Center TV shows so that they could be watched on my Zune. I tried dcut, MSMCtoolbox and a few others with poor results. I finally sprang for some purchased software that works like a charm. Cucusoft Video Converter Suit works like a champ. I wish I could have gotten a free app to work, but this is so easy, I don't mind paying the money. This would have come in handy on my California trip, but I will have ample opportunity to use it in the future. It is always helpful to be able to watch what you want on a trip...be it on the plane or in a hotel room with very few channels.

Next I got for Valentine's day, a new set of Ultimate Ears headphones to replace my aging Sony earbuds. I loved those Sony buds, which had great sound in a small package and a low price, but I hated the overly long cord and the offset left and right cord that always seemed to get caught on something. These new Ultimate Ears are great. It took a little experimenting to get the right sleeve (smallest, where in the Sony's I needed the largest...go figure) and they lack some of the bass that the Sony's had, but the noise cancellation is great.

I also got a Belkin car mount for my Zune that plugs into the cigaret lighter. It is supposed to be an FM Modulator, but I have a headphone port on my stereo, so I use that. It has a bypass for use with a headphone or cassette adapter, but I was very disappointed with the sound quality coming out of it. I instead use the regular headphone out on the Zune. I am disappointed because this was one of the reasons I got this mount. So basically it has 3 features: Cigarette lighter mount (can be used in any car), FM modulator, Lineout pass through. Of those features, I am only using 1 (I thought I would use 2). I think I will keep it though because my other choice would be a pro clip that would cost the same and I would need to add a charging cable. Not to mention, I can use this Belkin in any car whereas the pro clip would be useless in another car.

Dart Board

While this is not an unlocked feature, it does sort of fit this post. You see I got this dartboard a long time ago and I tried to figure out a nice way to mount it to my deck so that it wouldn't look tacky and could be brought in after use. I never figured out an elegant solution so it sat in a closet gathering dust until my friend Hunter came over to have some adult conversation (he has a new baby and baby talk is very prevalent in his house). Hunter and I decided, elegant solution be damned, lets just put some screws in the wall. So we did and dart games have been the Sunday afternoon norm for the past few weeks. The board is electronic and far from regulation, but it does what we need. It gives us a fun thing to do while we socialize, drink and get competitive.

One more new Zune feature...while playing Darts we have been listening to the Zune outside through my AV dock and the outdoor speakers. Well the AV doc has a remote that has a magnet in it. When I noticed that I thought, "well that would be fine for a college dorm where you attach it to the fridge, but when will I use it." Well the patio door is metal and the remote works great though the windows.

All in all, it is great getting more use out of things you already have...I just wish I didn't usually end up paying more money for it.

I ran fast today...

2007-02-08T15:32:00.001-05:00

Well not really fast, but for the first time since my marathon I added a little speed. My training plan called for 9 miles with 5 at Half marathon pace. So after a slow start, in weather that was much colder than I anticipated, I really RAN.

I had been taking things pretty easy since the marathon and you know what, I think I missed it. It was fun to try to hold a time, even though I couldn't in the beginning...then I couldn't slow down at the end. But the end of the run felt so good and afterward I felt like I accomplished something. Before now I think I was just ' putting in the miles.' I was not emphasizing any speedwork or times at all; mostly because I don't have any time goals for my next race. So in a way, I seem to be motivated again...however it seems to have come at a bad time.

I also woke up this morning with a soar throat...a really bad one. I was lucky to avoid a cold during my last training cycle, even though I had a few close calls. But I think this one is here to stay. After I got over my renewed feeling of accomplishment and got to work, I felt weak, dizzy, tired and soar. All the markings of a cold, and a bad one at that. I know from reading about it, and from personal experience, that the first 3 days of a cold are usually the worst. Well if this is day 1, that puts day 3 squarely in the middle of my first real long run of this training cycle. So much for this new found motivation, I'll be lucky to live through it.

In a related topic, you can see my new shoes above. They are a departure from my tried and true pairs, but come recommended and at a great price (that's a story for another time). I needed new shoes more than you could imagine, with both of my current pairs well over 500 miles. I'm going to try to ease them in, not doing any really long runs in them. But so far they feel comfortable and very similar to the other Asics pairs I own. Well we will see how they work out, how bad this cold is, whether or not I will get my long run in and if I can work some hills in anytime soon.

Super Bowl Parties

2007-02-06T15:23:00.001-05:00

I'm as guilty as the next person for wanting to make watching a game more significant. As an Auburn Fan, I just can't seem to fathom watching say the Florida game alone at home. There is something about a big game that you want to share with others. You want to see things through their eyes and have them see it through yours. It does happen from time to time that I have had to watch one of these games alone, due to business travel or such, but I usually seek out a bar or some way to share the game.

Now, having said that, watching the game on TV with a crowd is probably the worst way to watch. At every party there are times when people are just not interested in the game. Hey, it happens to me from time to time. It is rare that anyone watches every play and add to that checking on the kinds, the food, socializing and drinking that goes on, it is amazing that we see the game at all.

On the other extreme, watching a game by yourself is boring. Sure, you can see every play and change channels to check other games without disturbing others. But, there is no one there to say, "Did you see that?" to. Not to mention you feel like an idiot screaming and yelling at the TV in a silent room. When ever this happens to me, I find myself on the phone with someone watching the game saying, "Did you see that?"

I guess the perfect mix is to have a small group of fans to gather and watch a game. It has to be a large enough group that, some can go off and have a conversation without leaving one or two alone watching the game. It also has to be small enough that the talking doesn't over power the game. I think we have hit on the perfect mix a few times. We have a large group gather near the TV trading insights and one liners while another crowd socializes in the kitchen or on the deck. It is best when you can flow from group to group, spending time socializing then watching, but the focus is always on the game.

I Joined the Social

2007-01-30T14:55:00.001-05:00

Most everyone who knows me, knows I am a bit of an electronics addict. I always have some gadget that I am pining for; some future purchase or soon to be released item that I want. I try to be as rational as possible. I try to wait when buying a new Windows Mobile device at least 2 product cycles. A new computer purchase must wait 4 years. And MP3 players anything over a year will do. While this is more often than many people, this is considered a late adopter in the Tech world.

This is why I surprised myself by buying a Zune. There were many reasons that I shouldn't buy it. I already had an MP3 player that was less than a year old. The Zune followed the same closed system that I had admonished iPod fans for buying into. I also had avoided Hard Drive players in favor of flash based systems that made for better running companions. Not to mention, the Zune was a first release of a new product line; one that may or may not even succeed.

But after Christmas I found myself with some Best Buy gift cards and an irrational desire to own a Zune. My 6 Gig flash player worked great, but my music collection had grown beyond capacity. I loved the Senza for running, but I missed having every song that I owned with me. I missed not being able to play just the right song for an occasion because that one that I wanted to hear right now didn't make the sync. Also, I was a little surprised by the accessories already offered with the Zune. I mean it was no iPod, but I had waited 6 months for a docking station for my Senza and it still didn't work. Microsoft worked hard to get accessories released, and if anyone can come close to rivaling the ipod in this regard, they can.

Am I happy with the purchase? Absolutely. It does everything I wanted and more. I was always cautious about what songs I added to my player due to it's limited size. Not to mention now I have size for video clips, TV shows and every picture I own. The interface is unbeleavable. Many complain that it doesn't have a real scroll wheel, trust me these people have not played with it to form a real opinion. It is so much easer to find a song by holding your finger down than by going around in circles. Not to mention the screens are much more intuitive than the ipod's interface. The twist menus allow you to navigate in two directions making it easy to get where you want to go.

Is the Zune going to beat the ipod? Not in the near future. As slick as it is, the interface is not enough for people to want to switch. And the added WiFi is more of a ' watch this space' feature. There are not enough Zunes out to let you share songs, and Microsoft themselves have stated that the WiFi will do more soon. So we wait. Not to mention Microsoft does not have Apple's cachet. Nowadays, if you don't have an ipod, you have some sort of cheap knockoff in the eyes of the Apple fanboys. And everyone and their dog have lined up to criticize the Zune simply because it is not an ipod.

But what the ipod crowd does not realize is that Apple has stagnated. The ipod, while it is great in it's simplicity, releases some small new feature every year with no real leap. Competition from the Zune is just what the ipod, and all MP3 players in general, need: Someone to force a leap. Remember the days of Netscape and Internet Explorer. The competition forced each to release a new version, with new features often. When IE faced no competition it stagnated with little innovation. Then along comes Firefox and low-and-behold we get a new version of IE with tons of new features.

And for those who say that the Zune will never win out over the ipod...be carefull. Remember when Microsoft entered the game console market which was dominated by Sony. They spent years as a distant third behind even Nintendo. Now they have changed the market and forced all the competitors to innovate with High Def and off-the-wall controllers. Also remember how everyone had a Palm, much like everyone has an ipod today. Palm, like Apple had stagnated. Now Blackberry and Windows Mobile dominate the landscape and you are hard-pressed to find a Palm outside of someone's junk drawer.

So while there were many reasons for me not to choose a Zune, I am very happy with the decision. Will I still be happy a year or two from now...only time will tell.

A Perfect Flip

2007-01-26T14:28:00.001-05:00

Do you ever wonder what you look like when you fall? I never really thought about it, but for the third time I fell while running again (not counting the sort of flop to the ground I did in my last marathon), and I wonder what it looked like.

Well the story was, I went running while traveling in Tennessee and therefore I was unfamiliar with the terrain (the excuses start). Also, since I had meetings that day I went out pretty early especially considering the time change, so there was very little light for the first part of the run (excuse number two). So, off I go on a 7 miler dodging traffic and plodding through the hills (excuse three and four) until I get almost 2 miles into the run (see map of the run on the right with the marker on the approximate incident).

So, I sort of hop up a curb and misjudge an uneven part of the sidewalk. Bam, down I go on my hands, then shoulder, then upright on my feet again. I mean as falls go, this one felt like a perfect roll. I could have continued to run in a, "I meant to do that," sort of way. I sure would have looked cooler if I had. Except I was so stunned by the incident that I stopped to check out my hands ( a little scraped), shoulder (fine except my music players case got a little scraped) and of course the sidewalk ("see everyone, there really is a bump here"). Only there was no one around to see me (unlike last time), so I just started to run again. I probably looked like a dead fish flopping around, but it sure felt like a perfectly executed roll. I always said that one of the reasons I like running as a sport is because it requires very little coordination. Looks like it requires more coordination than I have, unless I continue to execute these perfect rolls.

ING Georgia

2007-01-22T11:06:00.001-05:00

Yes, it is official, I am doing another marathon at the end of March. I didn't tell a lot of people that I was because most already think I am a little obsessive not to mention that little cramping problem I had last marathon. But plans for this one are a lot different. It is a hilly course, not to mention I have 11 weeks between the two marathons. So this time I plan to take it easy. I want to finish in around 3:50 or 3:45. No obsessive checking of the watch, no worry about pace, no fear of a bad time. I will run the speed that the terrain lets me.

I think doing the ING is a good idea for a number of reasons. First of all, I think doing more than one marathon a year will put less pressure on each event. I want to finally get a time I think I am capable of, but I keep going for it and crashing and burning. That might have more to do with the weather and my hydration than my skill, but then again maybe it doesn't. I need to make some progressively better times rather than going for one huge improvement. Also, I enjoy the structure of training. I know I am healthier and thinner then when I am not running and having a plan keeps me running. Do I want some time off from serious training? Sure. Is the timing a little close for comfort? Sure. But then again, everyone else is getting active still fresh off of their New Years resolutions; so why not now.

So with that said, I am following a plan tailor made for my situation (so obviously others are this obsessive), Pete Pfitzingers' 2 marathons with 10 weeks between them. I actually had 11, but I took the first week off; see I can rest. I'm in week 2 and I'm a little less motivated than I was in week 2 last time, but that fits with my plan too. The biggest difference for this marathon is that I am going to have to run some hills. I have such a great place to run near my house that it is hard to want to go elsewhere. The problem with that is, nearly everywhere in Atlanta has hills, except where I run. Sure there are a few on the way to and from the trail, but not enough to consider it hill training. So, I will have to run some hilly areas in the next few weeks and maybe the variety will help spice things up.

So soon everyone will begging to hear about my running again as I complain or brag. But the difference is, I will hopefully talk less about times. Let's see if this plan works a little better.

DLF not DNF

2007-01-18T16:21:00.001-05:00

There is an old saying says something about the hardest fought victories being the sweetest. Well yes and no.

This picture is of me doing the death march through EPCOT. What went wrong? Well many things, but mostly my pride. You see I trained for this marathon for about 6 months. In my first marathon I had to walk the last 2 miles turning probably a 3:45 finish into a 4:02. It was a bitter end to a great start in my mind. Although it was not bad for my first time, I was unhappy about having to walk the finish. So I vowed that I would finish the next one strong. I started a Pfitzinger marathon training program that upped my mileage and build up my speed. It built my speed up so much that I turned in a 1:44 half marathon and felt so strong at the finish that I knew I could have turned in a much better time. So I started dreaming of a 3:36 and trained for an 8:15 per min. pace. Everything was going well, all my training runs went great and were on pace...then came race day.

On Race Day it was HOT. 85 F with 98% humidity. I knew it was going to be hot the day before and I even played lip service to adjusting my pace accordingly. But it was just that, lip service. When the start sounded I felt great, the first mile was a little slow due to the crowd but I quickly got on my 8:15 pace and felt great. I was cruising, but somewhere around mile 14 I began to feel weaker. My legs were getting tired, something that had never happened to me before. At this point I made the decision to reduce my speed to an 8:30, but it was too little too late. By mile 18 I knew I wasn't going to make it but I continued to delay the inevitable. I knew I was going to have to walk, but I didn't want to walk 7 miles. I made deals with myself to try to make it to 22 then to 20, but finally my body made the decision for me. My legs cramped up beyond hope and just short of mile 20, I hobbled to the med tent and crumpled to the grass. I was so cramped up even my tongue hurt. I sat there on the ground convincing the medical people that I was fine. I was not. I made the decision to wait for the bus because I knew I couldn't walk 6 miles.

But a funny thing happened while trying to stop my legs from cramping, I got pissed. Pissed that all my training ended up this way. Pissed that I didn't start out slower. Pissed that after all my talk about a sub 3:40 I was going to DNF. So I grabbed a Poweraid and a banana from the med tent and walked away. It was more like a hobble. That first mile was really painfully and I felt like it took me an hour and I stopped at one point to stretch and again crumpled to the ground. It was at this point I met the nicest medical worker. He sprinted over to me to make sure I was alright and I assured him it was just cramps. He brought me to the med tent (my second stop) and said, "I'll have a cute girl rub some bio freeze on you and you'll be as good as new." Well the girl was cute and the bio freeze worked for about 10 min., but I did learn one lesson, stopping was BAD. So I kept going. It was slow and painful and I talked to a few people in a similar state as me which helped pass the time. Every now and then I would cramp up bad, but I just kept walking. I tried to drink constantly, but I was full. I had asked at both med tents for salt (that worked for me last time) but they didn't have any and I didn't think to bring my salt tablets from home.

Eventually I was closer to the finish and I could feel it's gravity pulling me. I wanted to finish, I wanted to be able to wear the shirt with pride, because even though this was not going to be a great finish by any means at least I didn't quit. I saw Sheryl and the Barbee's at EPCOT and I felt bad that they had waited for 2 hours past when they expected to see me. Then it was just a blur to the finish where I saw my parents and sister and I told them, "I can't stop." I got my medal and stopped again at the med tent on my quest for salt...again no luck.

Things after that were just a mess, when I finally sat down in the car I cramped up beyond belief, then we took a wrong turn, then the car broke down, then I was throwing up from dehydration. That story in itself makes for a bad day. But at least I finished. I. Finished.

Am I capable of running a 3:36, I think so, but I need ideal conditions. Right now I want to finish one marathon running strong. I still don't know what time I am going to try to run ING Georgia in, but I do know it will be slow with lots of hills and I am going to finish.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

2005-10-26T12:15:00.000-04:00

Namely....Me.

Sometimes it seems absurd the things we do in the name of our hobby. This week is a busy one for me, with work and my hobby. I have a lot of traveling to do so it has been difficult for me to get my runs in, especially considering that this is a high mileage week in my plan.

So after after landing back home at the Atlanta Airport my wife picked me up and the family went out for dinner. This gave me a good chance to not let work or running get in the way of family time and remind my daughter that daddy does indeed live here and he is not just some voice on the other end of the cell phone. After dinner we got home, gave my daughter a bath, then I read some books to her and she was off to sleep. That is when I became dumb.

I announced to my wife that I was going running; to which she replied, "What?" "Now!" and "How long, so I know when to send the search party?'

But I was resolve in my decision, so I affixed my headlamp and drove off to the deserted (I mean really deserted) trail. Now when I say that it was dark out, I don't want this to be taken for an understatement. It. Was. Dark. There are no lights on the trail. There are no lights nearby. There is no chance of lights penetrating the trees from houses, streetlamps, cars, moon, stars, or airplanes.

While starting out on my run I remembered the conversation I had with the salesperson at REI when I bought my headlamp:

Me(looking at a $19 headlamp): This one looks like what I need.
Salesperson: This $40 one puts out a lot more light.
Me: I like this one, it's light weight and I really only need it in the pre-dawn.
Salesperson: This $50 one is light weight and puts out more light.
Me: I understand you wanting to up-sell me, but really it's only dark for a little part of my run. And I really just want it so cars can see me.

Now we fastforward to a conversation I'm having with myself somewhere around mile 3:

Me: Wow....sure is dark out.
Me: Damn, I should have bought that $50 headlamp
Me: Ouch!...was that a branch?
Me: Damn, I should have bought that $50 headlamp

Me: What did I just step in?

Me: Damn, I should have bought that $50 headlamp

Me: What kind of animal makes that noise?
Me: Damn, I should have bought that $50 headlamp

The heck with the headlamp....I should have bought a treadmill.

Taper madness

2005-10-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

As the support team for a Marathoner you are entering a very tricky period.
Your Marathoner has been training hard through the summer and into the fall in
preparation for the big day. The hard work is behind and TAPER MADNESS is ahead.

Marathon training is a stair-step type process where muscles are
broken down for several weeks and then an easier week is thrown in for recovery.
Finally three weeks before the Marathon, one last long run is completed and it’s
time for recovery. The last three weeks are a period of descending running
mileage. This period allows the body to more fully recover and rest in
preparation for the Big Day, it is called the Taper.

This all
sounds well and good, however, the Taper is a period of great anxiety for many
Marathoners (first-timers and veterans alike). Over the course of training for a
Marathon, an athlete becomes accustomed to running many miles each week and
constantly feeling the rush of endorphin driven highs and the persistent fatigue
and soreness of effort. The athlete becomes somewhat addicted to these emotions
and considers them normal.

The Tapering Marathoner will be
irritable, anxious, nervous, overly emotional, short-tempered, restless, tired,
cranky, depressed (even more than normal). Sounds like a great three weeks
doesn’t it? It is not unlike the addict going cold turkey. This is a span of
time where most Marathoners go a bit crazy. For most it passes after Marathon
day. Of course there are the post-marathon blues, but that’s the subject for
another day.

The first week is not too bad. It’s really like
most “easy weeks” following a twenty mile run. Recovery is critical and the
mileage is not dropping by a large amount. Nerves may begin to fray but the best
is yet to come – trust me!

During the first part of Taper
Madness you will hear about every small ache and pain and how it may be a broken
leg or torn ligament or some other traumatic injury. Every twinge becomes a
reason to think about postponing the marathon effort. Every sneeze, sniffle,
cough or pimple becomes a life-threatening virus or infection. Tight hammies,
inflamed ITB, tweaked Achilles, plantar fascitis, black toenails, bloody
nipples, chafing, and this is just during breakfast.

The second
week starts the deep depression. The tapering Marathoner starts to really miss
running. There are no more double-digit runs before the marathon for most. The
longest run for the next two weeks will be 8 miles. Just 8 miles, how many used
“just” and “8 miles” in the same sentence prior to training for the marathon.
The body is really starting to recover and therefore has more energy than
needed. Therefore, the Marathoner becomes restless. No “extra” running is
allowed. The tapering Marathoner can feel the fitness draining out of their
body. Ask them, they will tell you, they are getting slower every day! This is
not happening but the feelings are real. Physiologically, there is nothing but
positives from a 3 week taper prior to running a marathon, however, it feels
quite the opposite. This restlessness often becomes frustration and a very
short-tempered athlete. Understand that this frustration will be projected at
anyone and everyone within reach. It’s nothing personal; it’s the lack of
mileage talking.

So it’s now seven days before the Marathon. The
last 8 mile run is done and all that’s left is 3 easy short runs and the BIG
EVENT. For the first time Marathoner and some experienced folk, this week is
nothing but self-doubt and worry. “I’ll never make it. My foot hurts. My nose is
running. I’m not ready. My last 20 miler sucked, I’ll die out there. I’m getting
fat and slow. My shoes are dead, my shoes are too small, my shoes are too big,”
These are some of the things going through the mind of a Marathoner in their
last few days. Not to mention the nervous energy that is overflowing. Not to
mention that there may be a couple of extra pounds after cutting back on the
running for 3 weeks. Not to mention that the trips to the bathroom are
increasing geometrically as the hydration dance starts in earnest. Many find
concentrating on anything other than the upcoming race difficult. By the way,
Marathoners in the final days before a race often make poor babysitters.

Two nights before the marathon are critical to the marathoner.
This night is probably the last chance for a good nights sleep. The night before
is typically restless and worrisome (what if the alarm doesn’t go off). A
sleepless night preceding a marathon will not have a dramatic impact on chances
for success. Adrenaline will offset missing that night’s sleep and get the
Marathoner through the race. The morning of the marathon is all about getting
some food, using the bathroom and getting to the race. My suggestion, don’t get
in the way.

I am sure your marathoner appreciates all the
support they have received during the training program. The last few weeks are
critical to a successful marathon effort. Please understand that the emotional
wreck will disappear after the marathon. The Taper can be especially difficult
and frustrating for everyone. The good news, it ends with the race.

I hope this sheds some light on TAPER MADNESS. Sometimes insight
makes things a bit easier to understand. Of course, your experience may differ
greatly but I’ll bet it doesn’t.

This is a great little article on Taper Madness and something to remember for everyone in my life around December. Oh the Joys I have to look forward to...

Ian's Shoelace Site - Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot

2005-10-20T13:54:00.000-04:00

A better way to tie a knot??? Click the title for the link.

I think most runners are somewhat obsessive about their shoelaces. Too Tight, too lose...should I retie before the run? I'll have to try this out and see if it helps.

The running has been going well. This week I have less mileage to do on Sunday, instead I have more during the week. It's a lot easier to spread it out like this, natch, but it also gives me an opportunity to not feel guilty about drinking this weekend.

17 miles so far for the week and 79 for the month.

Running Music

2005-09-11T09:30:00.000-04:00

JAMES � ( Sit Down Lyrics )

I know that runners are not supposed to listen to music while running. You are supposed to be able to hear cars and bikes passing you, you are supposed to regulate your breathing and you are supposed to enjoy the silence. I know all of this and I try to mitigate the risks, but I still love the music. I run on a trail, so I don’t really have to worry about cars. I also use headphones that let in a lot of sound (which of course means I have to have regular headphones and running headphones). I keep the volume pretty low; to start with at least. And I don’t listen to music at all when I am traveling and have to run along a street in a different town. But I refuse to give up my music.

My music is my running partner. It helps me keep my mind off the boredom. It distracts me from my fatigue. Most importantly there is no gel, energy bar or sports drink that can give you the boost that a perfectly timed peppy song can.

On Sunday, I ran my first long run since coming back from my stress fracture. I started really early in the day, so the weather was perfect. I had planned to run only 8 miles but everything was going well, and I was so happy to be able to do the sport that I love that I continued on a little further before my turn around point. When I finally started to tire and bore during my return trip James’ Sit Down came on and it was all I could do not to sing aloud:

Those who feel the breath of sadness
Sit down next to me
Those who find they’re touched by madness
Sit down next to me
Those who find themselves ridiculous
Sit down next to me
Love, in fear, in hate, in tears

Today’s Mileage: 9.4 Week to date: 23 Month to date: 32

Milege

2005-09-07T10:21:00.000-04:00

Today’s Mileage: 4.0 Week to date: 10 Month to date: 20

I Want to Run

2005-09-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

I want run
I want to hide
I want to tear down these walls that hold us inside
-Where the Streets have No Name, U2
I got into running kind of late in life. Oh sure, I ran as a kid and even a bit in college, but it was more of a distraction than a hobby. But recently I have attacked running with gusto and it became a very important part of me. I ran in local races to give myself goals and to keep me motivated. Eventually, I decided to take on the ultimate goal: to run a marathon.
I attacked this goal with a little too much gusto. I downloaded a training schedule and stuck to it religiously. But the early mileage was less than my base and I felt it needed to be more challenging. So if my training schedule told me to run three miles, I thought, “Sure, I’ll do three, but I’ll do them on hills.” And so every time I had a low mileage run, I would do it on hilly terrain. While this concept might be sound for many runners…it is not recommended for those carrying around a few extra pounds. As you may have guessed, I injured myself and I was out of the Chicago Marathon with a stress fracture.

While this may sound like the end of a challenge, it was actually the beginning of my biggest challenge: surviving the next 9 weeks without running. I tried swimming and biking, and enjoyed them, but not as much as running. With running if you felt like a quick workout, you just left your house and came back 30 minuets later after running 4 miles. With biking or swimming there seemed like much more preparation, and to get a similar amount of exercise; it felt like it took longer. Traveling also had its problems. With running, just pack your shoes. Swimming or biking on the road often meant hoping a hotel had a pool where you had to do twice as many laps or worse: riding on a stationary bike.

Now that I can run again, I appreciate it more. I am having even a harder time pacing my come back. I want to put in that frequent high mileage right away. I will try to avoid hills in the beginning, and then when I introduce them, I will do so in moderation. But I missed it so much that I want to get back that lost time.

I will remember for a long time that first day back after my injury when I started very slowly to test my leg. I was not even paying attention to the music in my MP3 player; I didn’t even know I had turned it on because it started so soft. And then all at once I recognized a familiar guitar riff, then the words broke out, “I want to run…”

Well the Holiday Season is Over

2005-02-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

The end of a 13-0 Season!

You’ll note that my Holiday Season continues to Super Bowl Sunday. I never start my resolutions on the 1st of the year because they usually involve losing weight, getting in better shape or getting organized. You can’t do any of those things when College Football season is still going on (I had to go to the Sugar Bowl), then NFL gives us an excuse to get the neighbors together for a few beers. Frankly, I don’t think I should start the resolutions until after March Madness and St. Pat’s day; but you have to draw a line at some point…I think I’ll just take those days off.

Anyway, a lot has happened since I last posted. I used the excuse of the Holidays and work to be lazy about posting, but I’ll try to pick it up again. I won’t waste time talking about everything that happened; I’ll just flashback to it during the course of the year like a bad movie. I do think a mention of the Sugar Bowl is in order though. It has been a long time since we got the old Poker Club together for some Guy Time. We couldn’t get away for more than just 1 day and night because we have families and jobs and things that didn’t quite tie us down as much as the old days. It is funny how when you get a group of your best friends together things just seem to pick up where they left off. We keep in touch through phone and e mail and we often see each other from time to time, but none of that compares to spending time in a car or drinking on Bourbon St. It’s the little things then end up being the funniest, laughing so hard at our hung over fog on the way home or the ribbing we constantly give each other. We will have to try to get the gang together at least once every other year…hopefully to more BCS games.

The trip was a little bit of a blur with all the drinking we tried to cram into the short time that we had, but I do have memories of bumping into a lot of old friends that we went to school with; I think we could have held a fraternity alumni meeting. Then there was Pat O’s which is always a good time, but this is where the really hard drinking began, this is where things got hazy. The game was a good time, but the fact that it got a little too close near the end sobered us all up quickly. Then we went back to Bourbon St. for dinner and a little ‘sight seeing’ (see photo below).

All in all it was a great way to finish the football season, but I don’t think we can wait until next year to get together again.

2005-02-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

Sight seeing on Bourbon St.

Life on the Road

2004-12-10T14:42:00.000-05:00

I probably have a hundred stories about traveling, as I’m sure anyone who travels does. There are so many that I don’t remember them until something reminds me. For example, this week I was traveling visiting customers all week by car. I did not have a chance to go running due to rain and a busy schedule, but finally I caught a little time before I had a dinner appointment. So I trudged down to the hotel treadmill only to find it making sounds and shaking like a washing machine on spin. That’s OK, I’ll just run around the area…there is a small college campus near buy so it should be runner friendly. So off I went I had my tunes and no destination or distance in mind. I watched all the college students walking home from class and checked out the campus feeling pretty good about myself…until I tripped on a crack and nearly did a cartwheel into oncoming traffic. I regained my balance and continued to run in an ‘I meant to do that’ kind of way, but I was red from embarrassment. It reminded me of a similar trip to Raleigh, NC.

Once I had to drive to Raleigh to meet customers, I usually fly with such long distances, but often (like this recent trip) it just made sense to drive. I made it there while it was still pretty light out so I thought I would take advantage and work off the long car ride with a jog around my hotel. I thought it would be a great way to scout out a restaurant for dinner and also get my bearings for my meeting the next day. So off I went, much like this recent jog however I did not have an MP3 player to listen to (I don’t think anyone did at the time), so I just listened to the sounds of the town. Well I didn’t go very far when I realized it was getting dark quicker than I thought it would due to the recent time change. So I started heading back when it happened. I actually got hit by a car!

Well not completely, but I did have to do a movie stunt dive out of the way from some idiot who did not even look as he turned onto the street I was crossing. My foot actually hit the car as I dove out of the way. I don’t even think he saw me because he just kept driving away. Tons of others did see it; I mean it wasn’t dark yet, not even dusk really. Many cars stopped and people asked if I was alright, do I need an ambulance or something. No, I was fine really. Just a lot of adrenaline and some scraped palms and knees from breaking my dive. I would have loved to see the replay, I probably looked like a belly flop, but in my mind it played like a James Bond movie…I could have rolled and come up firing if I had a gun.

But like most bad days this one did not end there. I sort of jogged/limped back to the hotel and decided that going out was out of the question…room service with a few beers is what the doctor ordered. I had to sneak thought the hotel because the place was packed with very well dressed people; there was an election going on and I think I was at campaign headquarters of the Governor or something. So I ordered my food and got ready to take a shower, but the food arrived before I could…that was quick, maybe the day wouldn’t end so badly after all. I sat in front of the TV eating and drinking beer feeling pretty good. I even forgot about my skinned palms and knees. I finished eating and went to put the tray outside when I noticed the room service guy a few rooms away; so I stretched towards him one hand on the door to other on the tray when…clunk. You guessed it. The door shut, with the key inside. I thought no problem, he can let me in. “Nope,” he said, “I work in the restaurant.”

What a day. Now I’m in the elevator on my way to the front desk as I take a look at myself.
• Sweat matted hair.
• T-shirt with bloody handprints from where I wiped off my palms.
• Skinned knee with dried blood all the way down to the socks that were stained with blood.
• Not to mention that smell of recent exercise with a little fear of my life mixed in.

I thought things couldn’t get much worse when all of a sudden the elevator door opens and I walk right through the Governor of North Carolina’s acceptance speech on my way to the front desk. No kidding, I could even see myself in the background on the 11 o’clock news that night, as the crowds heads turned towards me. When I finally made it to my room I think I took the longest shower of my life.

A Nice Relaxing Trip

2004-11-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever taken a vacation day that you will need a vacation from? My wife and I are famous for this. A trip snow skiing, weekends in Vegas or a trip to Europe are some of our usual vacations. All of them involve walking, partying or physical activity to the point that when we get back to work, we are exhausted.

Our latest get away was only a 2 hour drive, but it took me the better part of the week to recover from it. My parents came up to watch our daughter and my wife and I rented an RV and drove it to Auburn for a relaxing weekend…well it may not have been relaxing, but it sure was a fun trip to watch the UGA game.

When we arrived in Auburn we thought we would be able to park then walk into town for a relaxing lunch and a little shopping, before the rest of our crew arrived. Well, Auburn was a little more crowded than we anticipated. We weren’t allowed to park the RV in a space until after 4, so we pulled into my fraternity house and decided to have that lunch downtown. The only problem was it wasn’t relaxing because we were so worried about getting a parking space due to the crowd. So we headed back to the lot and started saving spaces. Then April and Brett arrived to help us save spaces, and of course the drinking began in earnest. We needed to get a bunch of spaces saved for friends and such, but mostly we needed 4 together to put the RV in. It was not happening. After about two hours of waiting for students to get back from class (and about a case of beer) we only had 3 spaces together. After some careful measurements by Brett, we knew that the RV would take up exactly 3 spaces, but we would need 4 to be able to parallel park it. Eventually the beer started talking…we can fit it in there. So by pulling forward and back about 15 times, we fit an RV that is 3 spaces long into……….exactly 3 spaces.

Well now it was time for dinner and the Niffer’s Corn Nuggets that Sheryl has been craving, along with the fishbowl drink that April had been craving. Of course there was about an hour wait for a table, but that didn’t bother us because beers were only $1…you gotta love Auburn. When we finally got seated we ordered a round of corn nuggets for everyone and a fishbowl…only to find out that we couldn’t get the big bowl because we didn’t have enough people at our table. Well we ordered two mini bowls as April tried to recruit an eight-year-old to sit with us so we could order the big one. Well it was time to head back to the RV for more drinking and some poker.

We were joined later in the night by Steph and John who quickly settled in for a relaxing sleep…well they did feel the need to put on seatbelts due to angle that the RV was on. No matter how we slept though, because when we awoke it was GAME DAY. The city had been packed since the night before, but somehow more people found a place. We awoke to chants of War Eagle and the sound of cell phones ringing as people asked, “did you save us a space?”

Well we showered and filled the ‘black water’ tank as Brett cooked up some pancakes and sausage. Then the girls went up to the Fratunity house to dry their hair (they kept blowing the circuit in the RV) as we prepared for the rest of our tailgaters to arrive. When they did the beer, bourbon and food started flowing. After that my recollection of events starts to get fuzzy. I remember helping Brett cook steaks, eating Amy’s Tortilla soup and the girls all making a cheerleader style pyramid (for some reason). After that we walked over to the Game to watch a great one. The team did just about everything right, but we were all still nervous…we didn’t need to be. The party continued all the way back to our tailgating spot and well into the night. My memories started to get fuzzy again, but I remember Sheryl and Cari off riding in another tailgater’s golf cart, then us finding them (after about an hour) and going into town to see the sights. Toomer’s corner was filled with toilet paper (an Auburn Tradition for those who don’t know) and the bars were packed.

Somewhere during the course of the weekend I lost my voice, oh well, I guess I can just go back to work to recover. Yet another relaxing weekend, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Pathetically Competitive

2004-10-08T11:48:00.000-04:00

It’s sad really. I mean tons of people go out to run and enjoy themselves. They smile and wave at fellow exercisers. I’m normally like that, I swear. But every now and then I snap.

I went running today, as I did yesterday, just to ‘work out the kinks.’ I had my big race this past weekend and I got a personal best time. It felt good, I really felt like I’m reaching my potential. The only problem is that I think I might be getting close to my limit. I have been shaving off time with just about every race, but I don’t know if I have much more speed left in me. That was evident this past week as my calves have needed constant stretching. So after taking a few days off, I decided the best way to recover is to work it off. I’ll just go for a nice jog; nothing too fast, or with too many hills. I thought I would hit my old stomping grounds the Trail. I figured since I was taking it slow, I would jog over to the trail, run along it for a mile or so than break off and wind through a neighborhood then home. This was a route that I used to think was pretty tough…now it is a piece of cake. So I ran that route yesterday without incident and it seemed to help my legs. I figured I would put in another day to teach my complaining legs who was boss.

So I jogged the mile or so over there working through a little stiffness, but otherwise enjoying my music and the cool morning. Then I got to the trail, where I usually enjoy seeing others, especially since I have been running elsewhere for so long. Then it happened. A spandex clad girl whizzed by me like I was standing still. I tried to tell myself that it was no big deal, this was just a jog. Then she stopped to tie her shoe and I passed her…until a few seconds later when I was almost hit by her ponytail as it flipped from side to side.

Now there was no reason for this to bug me. I mean I’m not fast by any means…I get passed by people all the time in races. I’m a middle of the pack runner at best. And the fact that she is a girl doesn’t change that at all. By no means am I sexist, but I’d be lying to say that it doesn’t get the competitive juices flowing. There are tons of girls faster that me, but it helps to use that as motivation. The reason I got a PB time on this last race is because I followed a girl who was running a perfectly even pace. I’m sure she was running to beat me…it was a race after all.

So when Miss Spandex stopped a third time on the trail to stretch, I finally admitted that it was starting to get to me. It felt like she was just stopping so that she could pass me. I started making up all these excuses as I sped up a little. I was running further than her (of course she might be on mile 1 of 20), today was just a slow jogging day for me (of course she might be having an off day too, maybe her off day is that much faster than mine), I just got through running a Personal Best on a 10K this weekend (who’s to say that she didn’t get a PB on a marathon over the weekend). I mean how pathetic was I? I even considered jumping off the course earlier instead of tacking on an extra half mile before jumping off. That way she wouldn’t see me turn around and think I was only running 3 miles. I finally realized I was being stupid…who cares what she thought. But I did detect a smirk when I passed her going the opposite direction after my turn. At least I didn’t let her pass me again.

In Other News

I always complain about others doing bone headed things, so I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t call myself out when I do. I was so preoccupied with all of this competitive drama I just wasn’t thinking today. As I was jogging along the trail today trying to make sure no one passed me for a third time, I got ready do jump off the trail on and wind my way home. I slowly moved to the left for a sudden turn on a sidewalk and up a steep hill. Then I heard a biker say, “On your left” to warn me that he was about to pass me. Well instead of moving to the right and letting him by or even staying where I was; I became an idiot. Instead, I glanced, realized I had enough room, and hopped off the trail. No damage was done, I don’t even think he had to slow down, but I’m sure he rode by thinking, “What an idiot.” And he was right. I mean it would have been like 5 steps out of my way to let him pass. Was I just so caught up being pathetically competitive that I didn’t want to let anyone pass me? He told me he was “On your left” for a reason. So Mr. Biker if you are out there…I realize I was an idiot…it won’t happen again.

Speaking of Competition

I would be remiss if I did not mention this pass weekend’s football game. I know there were a few, but in my household there was only one that mattered: Auburn vs. Tennessee.

College Football holds a special place for me. I know others would disagree, but College Sports seem so much more genuine. I know, I know, Division 1 football is just as big a business as the NFL is. And all the scandals and money generated makes it a joke to call it armature sports, but to me it’s still different.

If you’re from Philly, sure it’s easy to say you’re a life long Eagles fan. But it’s just as easy to disown your teem when things get rough (although a real fan wouldn’t do that…then again a Philly fan would even boo Santa, and has). But when you are a fan of a College Football team, you just have to take it when things go bad. You can’t change where you went, you can’t change who you give your money to, you just have to listen when others have a great season and you are having a “rebuilding year.”

And don’t get me started on rivalries. They always try to invent one in Pro Sports, but they just don’t work. In College there is a lot to be said about rivalries. You may disagree and say there are different players involved, and you are right; I mean they only have 4 years to play in College. But let me tell you, I don’t care if Auburn is beating every team by 50 points and Alabama is losing to every team by 100 points, when those two play (cliché warning) Throw the record out the window.

That is why it is so hard to be a fan of a College Football Team. You wear your passion for your team on your sleeve, so everyone can rib you when things go bad. Last year I cringed every time someone mentioned our high ranking and our chances for a National Championship. Then we came out and played like a high school team.

Things seem different this year, and not just because we are winning. The team was not expected to be great, they lost a lot of Defensive players and our quarterback has never seemed stellar. But Auburn looks like they want to prove everyone wrong. The Defense is playing above themselves…Jason Campbell looks like a pro quarterback at times. I should be rejoicing, and I am, but after last season I’m worried that something might go wrong.

Anyway, the Tennessee game was a great one; I just hope we can play like that for the 2nd half of the season as well.

Some thoughts while I run

2004-09-30T11:40:00.000-04:00

I have a race coming up this weekend that I have been looking forward to for a while. It is a 10K that is billed as being a fast race due to the flatness of the course. So I have been running pretty often, hoping to improve my time by about a minute or more. My plan is to run hills, so that when I run the flat course, my body will think, “hmmm, this is easy…I can go faster.” I have no idea if this will work, or even if this is a good training practice…I probably should read up on that.

Anyway, this week, as I look forward to my race, I caught a cold. I mean what timing. It’s not a bad one, but it does leave me feeling lazy and weak. I’m still planning on running the race and I’m still hoping that I run a personal best, but it does get you thinking.

I wonder about all those athletes who train all their life for an event, say the Olympics and something like this happens to them. They can try as hard as they can, but their body might just be having an off day. I mean I am just some weekend jogger who can enter in another race, but for those professional athletes it all comes down to one day. It just might be a day that they don’t have their “A” game.

Of course if I don’t get a good time, I have my built in excuse, “I did pretty well for having a bad cold.” And I guess I have that in the back of my mind to give me doubt. But it also makes me think of the professional athletes who don’t use that excuse. Can anyone forget the image of Michael Jordan on the sidelines of the NBA finals with a towel over his head ravaged by the flu? He said he was so sick that standing made him nauseous and caused him dizzy spells. He almost past out several times during the game, but still he played because it was the finals. Jordan scored 38 points that night to help the Bulls win the game and eventually the series.

We’ll see how I do this weekend, I’m sure I’ll be saying, “I did pretty well for having a bad cold,” on Saturday night (more like Wednesday when the official results come out). But I’d rather look at my time after the race and not use my built in excuse. After all, Jordan didn’t get his highest point total, but I’ll always remember that game as his best performance ever.

Ehlersism #109

2004-09-30T10:26:00.000-04:00

It’s a very simple rule: Slower Traffic to the Right

Right after man created the second wheel he thought to himself, “how am I going to get around this slowpoke.” So he developed the simple rule of passing on the left. Life was great, everyone knew that if someone was going faster they should stay to the right. This rule applied to everything involving motion. Let me tell you those caveman moving sidewalks at the Caveman International Airport were so orderly (walk to the left, stand on the right).

Well somewhere along the way we forgot that rule. I could go on and on about the idiots who are camped out in the left lane on the Interstate doing 5 under the speed limit while humming to themselves and wondering why you are glaring at them as you pass them on the right with a line of 40 other pissed off cars….deep breath. I mean I know everyone didn’t take Driver’s Ed, but don’t you think they would figure out they might be doing something wrong after getting flipped their 20th Bird. And why exactly do they think we are flashing our lights when we come up behind them? Just to say “Hi.” If these people ever drove in Europe they would end up a smear on the side of the Autobahn.

But it is not just driving. I know not everyone spends as much time at the airport as I do, but how lazy do you have to be to just stand there on the moving side walk. And if you are going to stand, do you not notice that most people are trying to walk…move over. Some airports even have a line drawn down the middle with “walk” printed on the left and “stand” on the right…and people still don’t get it.

Races bug me the most. The very definition of a race is to go fast. Trust me, I know that fast is relative to each person…I probably couldn’t run one mile at the pace professionals can run a marathon. But I know if someone is going faster than me; I should try to move to the right. And I’m not saying that is easy to do in a big race that, but common sense should tell you if you are walking you might be going slower than everyone else. And if you are going slower than everyone else, maybe the left is not the place for you. They tell you during the race: Walkers to the right. Most of the time you can hear a runner politely remind them, “Please walk on the right.” But still they walk on the left. Why?

LSWho?

2004-09-29T09:16:00.000-04:00

A view frm my seat

In the grand scheme of things who are we to complain. I mean Hurricane Ivan killed people, destroyed houses and left thousands without power. So my wife and I couldn’t complain when our plans to visit her parents in Pensacola fell through because of the storm. Here her parents worried about when they were going to get their power back and when they would ever get their yard cleared. My wife and I worried about how we were going to go to the Auburn v. LSU game without our trusty babysitters.

First we wondered if they would have the game at all. They didn’t decide until Friday that it would not be postponed. So we searched for a replacement babysitter, but we felt guilty about asking someone to watch Ains for the near 12 hours or so we would be gone. Then we toyed with the idea of brining her…nope, you do not bring a 2 year old to a game that big. Finally my wife (who will henceforth be referred to as MRS. WONDERFUL) insisted that I go to the game alone. She said it’s stupid for both of us to stay home, I mean we already have the tickets.

So off I went to Auburn to meet up with my friends, tailgate for a bit, then sell our extra ticket and watch the game. Sure I felt a little guilty that she was home watching on TV when she would rather be there, but I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn’t make it.

Our tailgate is still suffering from some problems: What used to be a wonderful, organized and fun Tailgate; now is scattered, thrown together and missing our tent and a good location. We made the best of it though; many were missing because of the storm and everyone had a story to tell about damage and power outages. I even had to sell our extra ticket for face value (unheard of for a game this big) because the storm had changed many people’s plans. But all was forgotten come game time.

I was a little late getting into the stadium because I had to sell the ticket, but I caught the buzz in the stadium from the eagle flying. It has been a long time since the eagle flew, but if you ever have a chance to see it, you’ll know why there was a buzz. We just felt like we had a good chance to win this one.

The game was nerve wracking. The Auburn Defense dominated and kept us in it; so much so that it felt like we were ahead, instead of behind. I just knew we were going to score again, but I wondered if the Defense could keep up their pressure for the rest of the game. When we finally scored we missed the extra point that would have put us ahead, but a penalty was called and we kicked again for a one point lead. At that point it felt like it was our destiny to win, but we still sweated out the last 1:40 on the clock.

I raced out of the stadium and ran to my car. Usually a win like this would be celebrated with my fellow tailgaters for a while, but I was anxious to get home and celebrate with my wife and daughter. As I faced the 2 hour ride home alone, I tried to call home, but the cell towers were busy with others discussing the victory. I did get a message on my voice mail from Ainsley saying simply, “I wuv you Daddy.” So I raced home and arrived before she went to bed and told her all about the game.

2004-09-29T09:14:00.000-04:00

The Celebration begins

Ivan Leave us Alone

2004-09-28T16:02:00.000-04:00

Well I was just traveling in Florida on business and while driving from appointment to appointment I was getting drenched by rain. So I turned on the weather report only to discover I was traveling through the reminisce of hurricane Ivan. Hurricane Ivan! The same storm that scared my parents (after having survived Francis and Charley), then pounded my in-laws leaving them without power and with a lot of yard damage (thankfully no structural damage). After playing around with my family, Ivan set it’s sights on my friends that live in Birmingham including 2 day-old Ella. Then of course Ivan made his way to Atlanta to have a little fun with me.

My hurricane story is pretty comical compared to the rest of my family. I mean my in-laws had to evacuate then try to sleep through the pounding of 130 mph winds. After that they had to wait days to make it across town to see if they even had a house left. Thankfully everyone and everything turned out alright; well they did have about a week worth of yard work to do. Then Jeanne battered my parents and my sister (The 4th storm to do so) and had them without power for a day and damaged their pride and joy, their boat.

Me, well when we lost power during Ivan I immediately raced to the corner store for ice and beer. I mean you can get through just about anything with cold beer. Then I drove to pick up my daughter early because I figured things would get worse. The drive over to pick her up normally takes 5 minuets, instead took 40. Lights were out, roads were flooded and trees were down. By the time I got home the neighbors were calling to see if I had any beer (I have a bit of a reputation I guess). So everyone congregated in my garage with flashlights, beer and cell phones. Poor Sheryl had to drive from downtown, a trip that usually takes 20 minuets, took her 2 hrs. But she was a trooper and stopped for a bucket of chicken on her way home.

As the night wore on, everyone went to their houses for change, cards and more candles. We decided that poker was the best way to ride out the power outage. While eating our chicken and dealing the first hand of Texas hold-em, the power came back on. I know it is awful to say, because many were without power for weeks, but we seemed a little disappointed that the excuse for a party had ended so soon. So no one objected when Julie quietly got up, turned off all the lights and we continued to play poker in the dark…we did turn on the TV though.

TV Blackout

2004-09-13T16:22:00.000-04:00

Carnell Williams was named the Offensive Player of the Week for an SEC-record eighth time

Well I gave it a shot this weekend. Most sports fans have tried it at one point or another, with very limited success. It’s called the TV blackout, where you record a game and avoid at all costs finding anything out about the game until you can watch it.

For me it was an easy prospect. I had a children’s birthday party to go to where I watched the first half of the Auburn/Miss State game, then I had a 30 min. drive home where I was recording the second half. No problem, listen to FM radio and turn it off if they show any hint of commenting about sports, don’t answer your phone and don’t look other divers in the eye incase you have to wonder why the guy with the AU license plate is cheering or crying. This will be a piece of cake…and if anything fails, I’m really only missing 10 or 15 minuets.

I have had friends who have attempted a much more ambitious TV Blackout. In an attempt to convince his wife that he understood there was more to life than Auburn Football, one friend agreed to go to a concert on the night of a game. He carefully thought out his plan taking pains not to wear any Auburn gear for fear that someone might say, “Hey, that was a great game today,” or something of the sort. Then he spent the next day running from any newspaper, radio, internet sites and coworkers (I believe he had to resort to fingers in the ear “I’m nooooot listening,” more than a few times. He was successful, but with his obsession, he failed to convince his wife of anything. Now she knows that, at least to him, nothing is more important than Auburn Football.

Thankfully my wife is of a like mindset as me. She was fully onboard with the plan; however, she wasn’t quite as worried about missing 10 minuets or so of the game as I was. After we saw that Auburn was up 21 to 0, she really couldn’t understand my obsession, but she played alone. We drove home in TV Blackout mode, drove through the neighborhood without acknowledging anyone (our neighborhood is populated with many College Football fanatics), and rushed inside settling down to watch the second half that was being recorded on Maggie. We were surprised at how easily we avoided any mention of the game as we turned on the TV to find….I had messed up in scheduling the recording somehow and the game didn’t record. Oh well, the game was a blow away and we only missed 10 minutes of game time. Calk this one up to lesson learned. Hopefully I won’t have to do that again (I’m usually at the game), but if I do, the most important element of the TV Blackout plan…is make sure it will record.

The Evolution of a Tailgate Crew

2004-09-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Game Time!.

Finally, Football season is here. After a long hibernation, Auburn fans slowly emerge from their summer caves anxious to forget about the bitter dream that was last season. Just as important as the football season however, is the tailgating season. And this year looks to be as challenging as any.

Way back in the mid 90’s our illustrious Tailgating Crew started out on the Drill Field as novices. Sure we tailgated in college some, but then a home game was just that…at our house. We could walk to the games, and when we did travel to away games we were happy to eat pizza out of the garbage (Derek Roh’s famous quote: “I can’t tell if those are black olives or cockroaches.”) We just enjoyed seeing our fellow, recent graduates and we were glad to have an excuse to get together.

As we approached the new millennium our Tailgate crew had grown in size, but soon we faced our first challenge. Our gathering spot was now for RV’s only now. We were being forced out. We tried to find new spots, but we were unorganized and were forced to resort to the Intramural Field. Wile the Intramural Field was familiar ground in it’s proximity to our old college home , the Delta Chi House, it felt cut off from the rest of campus. So we searched, organized and eventually found a new home near Drake Medical Center. Our new home did not come without a fight: we battled with another tailgate crew that claimed Drake as their turf for the past 30 years. Like two rival army’s we tried to establish a beachhead by getting there earlier and earlier. It was as natural as evolution; eventually we prevailed and even learned to coexist with the old generation of tailgaters.

The Drake spot became ours; and we couldn’t have asked for better. We were in close proximity to shopping and many food choices. We had parking for almost everyone, even room to camp or park an RV once a year. We also had room for the kids that suddenly emerged from our tailgating crew: The Next Generation. We evolved into a group of Professional Tailgaters, with all the right tools, including coolers, tents, chairs, loveseats, trashcans, even grills. The Drake Spot was our Utopia; we have many memories filled with happiness, sadness and a lot of drinking. But things do not evolve in a vacuum and once again our Crew faces another challenge: Our spot has been closed off once again.

So, much like the first time we were evicted from a spot, we met this first Saturday in September at the Drill Field. While this time the drill field offers us more room, even space for The Next Generation to run and play we also face the same problems. Once again we are cut off from campus; very far from shopping, food choices and worst of all far from the stadium. We also have new problems with a lack of parking spaces…this threatens our very nature: For what is a Tailgate Crew with out a Tailgate. We made the best of the situation, although the group was small (I don’t know if that was because not everyone came to the game, or because our group had…gasp…fractionalized). The tailgate was short due to the early start, and the game even shorter, with almost all of the action in the first half. But it gave us a chance to see the team in action (even though it was against an inferior team) and it also gave us a chance to see the tailgate in action. I personally think that both need improvement. I would like to see the development of a passing game to compliment our running game, as well as and improvement in both the location of our Tailgate and the number of participants.

Both our Tailgate Crew and our Team have overcome challenges in the past, and hopefully this year will be one that we remember for its positives. Here’s hoping that we return to the glory of the Drake Spot, as our team returns to SEC glory. WAR EAGLE.

2004-09-08T12:07:00.000-04:00

Reed and Abby at Game 1.

Gadget Addict

2004-09-03T18:03:00.000-04:00

I throw the word addict around a lot, but this time I’m not too far off. You see I’m addicted to gadgets. I mean it really has all the signs of addiction. I start to crave something new. I obsess about a particular product. I research to make sure there is not a better one out there. I decide that I need it and search and search for it until I get to the point where I have to have it. Then I buy it and get that rush. I play with it for weeks and weeks. I discover every option. I tell others about it to the point that I could be a salesman for the company. Then, while I’m not one to stop using something, the rush wears off and I start thinking about my next fix.

While I do have a lot of toys, almost all of them serve a great purpose. My wife scoffed when I wanted to put Maggie, our Media Center PC, in the bedroom. She thought we should keep it in the guest room, sort of like a second office. Now even she gets frustrated watching live TV, “can we skip the commercials.”

Then there was my MP3 player. Yes I had one, but it was old and buggy. Besides, I run about 4 times a week and to me the music is as important as the shoes. So I had to get a new one.

Well don’t even get me started on my pocket pc. I use this thing all the time. It is my daytimer, my bookreader, and my music player when I travel. I couldn’t live with out it and rarely do you find me with out it in my pocket. My wife even saw the value of it, using my old one when I upgraded until it died. Now she always asks me for someone’s phone number (because she knows I’ll have it) while muttering that she needs to get a new one.

I usually do a good job of holding off from needing the next generation for at least one cycle. I am also pretty good about finding the right gaget for MY needs, not just the neatest one out there. A few examples are buying a flash music player instead of an ipod or iriver that had more storage. I needed it for the durability of running.

So when the new pocket pc’s came out…I resisted. Sure they were faster than mine. Sure they had better storage than mine. But mine still works fine (although the battery is a bit buggy and the d pad is showing strains of constant use). But I did have a problem. I had a cell phone number that I had for about 10 years and didn’t want to give it up when my new job gave me a cell phone with a long distance area code. People still called my old one even though they knew that they would be leaving me a message. So I took to carrying that cell around sometimes, at least on the weekends. But I also had to have my work cell, but I could leave that at home on the weekend. And I always had my pocket pc with me. So sometimes on a Friday night I could be carrying 2 cell phones and a PPC. I may be a geek, but I try not to look like one.

Then came the new pocket pcs with a phone built in. I use the pocket pc for work, so I had no problem justifying it in my mind. And the addition of a phone made it that much better…I am back to carrying only two things! Only one on the weekend! Isn’t it amazing how us addicts can justify everything? Well now I’ll start obsessing over the new Portable Media Centers.

Live Music

2004-08-30T16:53:00.000-04:00

I love live music. I have often said all it takes for a bar to be a good one is some good live music and cold beer. Well the only thing better than that is a concert.

This past weekend we went to the John Mayer Concert with Hunter and Mindy and had a blast. We got a babysitter and planned on eating before hand, so we called each other to coordinate the plans. Originally we were going to go to a restaurant, but because the concert was on a Sunday, and we would be a little pressed for time (we did have to work the next day), we suggested tailgating beforehand. My wife thought this might be a little strange, “I’ve never heard of Tailgating for a John Mayer Concert.”

Blasphemy, I can’t believe my wife could say such a thing. I mean I keep camping chairs in the trunk of my car just incase a tailgate breaks out at the mall. So it was settled, we bought some chicken, chips and beer and my wife made dip and cookies. Off we went to the concert, parked in VIP parking for free (I don’t really know how that happed, we just parked). And lo and behold there actually were a lot of fellow tailgaters. We had a great time eating (except for me forgetting the Dip), and missed the opening acts to enjoy the cheap beer and company.

I consider it a practice run for College Football season. Sort of like a preseason game. We worked out all the kinks (now I know not to forget the dip) and shook the dust (and bugs, one in particular that I hope is no longer residing in Hunter’s Car) our of our equipment. We are ready for the big time…I’m just happy the College football games are on a Saturday…it’s pretty hard to make it to work after a Sunday night concert.

Date Night

2004-08-23T15:51:00.000-04:00

Remember when you were dating your significant other? Things were exciting; there were a lot of unanswered questions. Would we have fun? What would she be wearing? How would she look? Would we make out? Would she have a good time? Would she enjoy spending time with me? This feeling continued on late into the relationship although it had some changes. As the relationship progresses questions such as “would we make out?” turned to “Will she stay over?” And things were even more exciting.

Well as much as we don’t want to admit it, things change. When you are married for a while a lot of this excitement gets replaced by day to day things. And you try hard to keep things exciting, by life gets in the way. There are the exceptions such as Valentines Day, Anniversaries and Trips, but they are few and far between. Then when you have kids things are even harder. Spontaneity is gone. Even sex has to be scheduled between nap times and locked doors.

Then comes your savior….Date Night; with a babysitter and everything. You start to feel like a dating couple again. You cherish things as simple as having a few drinks with some friends in a bar (a real bar, with no family sections). A meal where one of you doesn’t have to scold the little one for throwing the salt shaker then chase her back to the table. You get to wonder those questions again (now it’s “what is she wearing underneath” and would the little one stay asleep after the babysitter left so you could find out) You actually broke out the old cologne (even though you had to blow dust off of it).

Well this Friday night we had Date Night thanks to one of our neighbors babysitting for us. We had a blast at our local bar with all of our friends and even had a few beers back at home with our neighbors. Then as everyone left and my wife and I jogged back to the bedroom…..my daughter woke up teething with her 2 year molars. She then proceeded to keep us up all weekend long. When we finally did get time for each other late Sunday…we just wanted to sleep. Poor her. Poor us. Oh well there is always the next Date Night to look forward to.

Confessions of an Olympics addict

2004-08-17T12:18:00.000-04:00

Auburn Athlete Kirsty Coventry is swimming for Zimbabwe in the Athens Olympics.

I confess, I am a bit of a sports junkie. I have found myself watching the 9 ball tournament on the Duce (if you don’t know what the Duce is, your fortunate enough to not share my problem) at 2 a.m. on a weeknight on more than one occasion. And forget about college football. Last year my wife and I had a conversation something like this:

HER: “Is there anything else on other than football.”
ME: “Yes, but this is a really good game.”
HER: “Oh, who’s playing…I didn’t even know they played college football on a Tuesday night.”
ME: “This is the ’89 Tennessee/Alabama Game”
HER: “This game didn’t even take place this decade? Don’t you already know who won?”
ME: “Yes, ummm, No errrrrr”
HER: “I’m going to see what else is on.”

So it was no surprise that I took to watching the Olympics with almost a zombie like devotion. I mean most people get excited about the Olympics and enjoy watching the prime time coverage and cheering for Team USA. So why would I think I have an addiction?

I think the first clue came to me while watching team table tennis. I mean part of the fun of the Olympics is being exposed to different sports, but I was arguing a call made by the ref…and I wasn’t even watching the Americans.

That brings us to my next clue. You see, this year NBC has done a great job of offering tons of coverage. Which is great, but if you’re going to be an addict; you can’t limit yourself to watching just Team USA. So I started searching for other teams to root for and low and behold there are a ton of my fellow Auburn Alumnus participating in the Olympics this year. And many of them will be doing so for other countries. So now I have 11 more countries to cheer for…well only when they are competing, and I can’t cheer for them to beat Americans…wait this is getting confusing. I need to make rules:

1. Cheer for Americans
2. When no Americans are competing Cheer for Auburn Alumnus
3. When no Americans or Auburn Alumnus are competing, Cheer for The Underdog.

Then of course there are exceptions. For example, last night I cheered for American Natalie Coughlin to win Gold (which she did) and Auburn senior Kirsty Coventry, who swims for Zimbabwe to get the Silver (which she did). So it was fun to watch, although it did dawn on me that when you make detailed rules such as this…you have a problem. Well I can’t worry about that right now; I have to watch Men’s swimming while recording Women’s Soccer and watching pre-recorded Rowing.

For you fellow addicts:
TV Listings
Results
Newsweek’s Athens blog
Auburn Athlete Kirsty Coventry's Olympics Diary

Sorry Charley

2004-08-16T11:28:00.000-04:00

Well today we are going to hear from a guest blogger, my sister. This past weekend my sister was supposed to visit us for my daughter’s birthday, but the weather did not cooperate. She was stuck in the path of Hurricane Charley and her flight was canceled. So she had to brave it out (by herself, because everyone was up here for the weekend). So here are her thoughts on this past weekend:

Ask Anyone - I've always been a weather freak. I don't know what it is but I love the weather. My family often teases me that the Weather Channel is my favorite station (I admit - it is). So this weekend I was in my element
- I live in an area where I literally dodged Hurrcane Charley.
Starting approximately Monday of last week I became "aware" of tropical storms Bonnie & Charley(btw in my opinion he should have been named Clyde -don't you think that's more appropriate?) To be honest the only reason that they "hit my radar" was the fact that I was scheduled to fly to Atlanta to participate in the birthday party for my 2 year old neice, Ainsley over the weekend. However, on Thursday, Charley truly became part of my life.
On Thursday the Hurricane Center predicted that this storm would hit somewhere between Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. To put this in perspective - I live in Pinellas and work in Hillsborough (btw 2 of the most populous counties in the state of FL). The forecast continued through the day and everytime continued to place the bulls eye of the storm directly between the place I live and the place I work.
O.K. so maybe I wouldn't have reacted the way I did if I wasn't a first time homeowner but for the amount of time I have lived in FL (approx. 28 years) I have never been in the direct line of a hurricane. I knew it was serious when my firm closed on Friday (they never close for anything). I rushed home on Thursday and did all the things you are supposed to do - buy the water, fill your car with gas, batteries (thanks mom and dad for your supply of "D"
batteries), pet supplies and of course beer (not Lucky beer - but that's another story). So Friday morning came and I was ready although very nervous - I've never gone thru anything like this on my OWN.
I have to say that I've never been so happy in my life when all of a sudden Charley took a turn toward the northeast taking a direct path towards the Punta Gorda area. I truly feel sorry for the people of Punta Gorda but tomorrow I will happily put back all of my patio funiture (apparently I have a lot of it- I can attest to that cause I took it off my patio yesterday
evening) and be happy that I live in FL where we can actually PREDICT disaster.
On another note, I have to tell you that when you are in the direct hit of a hurricane you tend to tune to a favorite station. Well, I found one - the local ABC channel. Funny side note - several years ago the meteorologist for this station was caught gambiling (several years ago this was a big deal). Well, this forecaster turned out to be my favorite. He made bets and predictions that turned out to be more accurate than what the hurricane center was predicting - well on top of that - he actually had a personality and a funny one at that.
So the fear is over and the relief sets in and once again we realize that we choose to live in PARADISE and as a result sometimes we have to deal with storms like Charley .

The Amazing Race

2004-08-06T17:20:00.000-04:00

I love this show. I have traveled all my life, for work and for pleasure so I can identify with the concept. I know how they got the idea (I guess it was Affleck/Damon) sitting around after missing a Eurail train and laughing because they couldn’t understand the hotel employee that gave them directions. Then after they finally got on the right train they found out the hard way that the rail car they were on got left behind as the rest of the train went on to their destination. They sat there and said…this could be a show.

Everyone who travels internationally has a funny story or two from every trip they take. That is part of the charm of traveling: to experience new things and to learn. I just wish the show would teach them some of the real world lessons, like before you drink 10 beers while crossing the English Channel, you should know that they close the bathrooms while they dock the ship. Or, no matter how drunk you are, you really shouldn’t tell a bar full of Englishmen that in the U.S. soccer is a girls game…men play football. Know that in certain parts of Spain the phase “Hamburger” is taken very literally. If you need directions in Italy, ask three people not one, then take the majority opinion. And when you decide to walk to save money, find out just how expensive the cab really is, you may be surprised.

No, the show doesn’t really catch the true lessons you learn while traveling. And you never see them in the bar after making mistakes; laughing about it over a beer. But all-in-all, it is entertaining TV.

My wife and I go back and forth on whether we would be any good at this show. Most of the time I think we would rock. We know each other’s strengths, and we can usually agree on a good course of action. Other times we worry we would kill each other. If a mistake was made (and it will be made) we would Monday-morning-quarterback each other (I would have gone that way).

I think I would prefer to do it the old fashion way: I’d rather laugh at the mistakes at a bar over beers then be sent packing.

Another Friday Night at the ER...

2004-07-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

Well my week was not going well. Work was a grind where I was not getting anything done. My Social life consisted of staying home all week. But all that was about to change…here comes the weekend.

So late Friday afternoon I decided to quickly mow the lawn so that I wouldn’t have to do it over the weekend. I had just enough time to get it done before I had to pick my little one up, so a mowing I went. I was done with the front yard in no time, it must have been the running music on my player that spurred me along, none the less I just had to change the height of the mower, finish the back and it was O’beer thirty. Hmmmm, the tab to change the mower height was stuck…I’ll just give it a push….

Now when I tell this story, it is important to note…I did not chop my finger off on the blade. The mower was off and the little rubber grip you use to change the mower height pulled off as I tried to push it…not my fault…OK maybe I am a bit klutzy, but not this time. No mater how it happened there was a good amount of blood, and I was wondering if I needed stitches. I did my best to stem the flow of blood, bandage my wounds and finish the mowing (I’ll be damned if I let this stop me from getting it done).

After I picked up Ains, I began to wonder if I needed stitches and (mostly) if I needed a Tetanus shot. So off I went to the Emergency Room. I tried to talk myself out of it 5 or 6 times: “I’m fine,” “It’s not that bad,” “who needs and index finger anyway.” So I sign in and wait. And wait. Let me tell you, if you are ever staved for entertainment, the ER on a Friday evening is full of it. Some old guy just wanted to talk to anyone who would listen (I think he was a patient). Another guy had just been in a car wreak…I wondered if he looked that much different before the wreck. And some poor guy was there because his pee looked like coffee…I don’t even want to know what his problem was…the nurse said enough when she said, “he is in bad shape.”

Then there was little old me, “Oh I just cut my finger a little, might need a tetanus shot.” So when the triage nurse saw me and said she didn’t think I would need stitches I started feeling better. Then she said I was smart to come and get the shot, but I did have 72 hours to get that done, I felt a lot better. I figured I had waited long enough and I already had everything I needed: 1. A professional Nurse’s opinion that I did not need stitches. 2. Information on how long I had until I needed a Tetanus shot. I beat the system. I told them I had to get home to my daughter (Sheryl was home watching her, but it sounded good at the time) and left the ER.

So the cut was a pain, the wait at the ER was a pain (1 ½ hours of my life I’ll never get back), but as I said I felt like I beat the system. I probably would’ve had to wait another 1 ½ hours not to mention what my insurance would have thought of the whole endeavor. On Monday, I went to a walk-in clinic and got the shot. In and out in less than 45 minuets and only a $10 Co-pay. The doctor did mention that he might have given me a few stitches…Everyone is a critic.

2004-07-16T13:21:00.000-04:00

The prize

All my rowdy Friends…

2004-07-16T13:13:00.000-04:00

It’s funny. When you have a kid you are so excited for them to hurry up and do things for the first time. There is the first time they roll over, first time crawling, first words and of course the first steps. I remember how happy I was that day, but what I didn’t know then was: that was the last time my wife and I would enjoy a meal together in a restaurant. One of us is always entertaining our child, chasing our child, or otherwise wrestling with her. That is unless she is asleep or at home.

To have a baby sitter is a great thing. Especially one you don’t feel guilty about how late you are gone. Where do you find one like that? Well Family of course.

This past weekend my parents came up to help us build Fort Ainsley, and we took advantage of them by going out on Friday night. It was great, since they were staying at our house, we did not need to be home by a certain time and best of all, it was free. So we were defiantly in the mood to have fun.

Off we go to meet some of our college friends, who we have not seen in a long time because; well they are single and don’t have kids and basically have a life as opposed to us. When we arrive the first thing we see is a Thermos grill/cooler that Samuel Addams is giving away as a promotion.

So we seek out the beer girl and ask her the deal, she said, “with every Sam Addams you drink you get to keep the glass, get a cozy and a raffle ticket for the grill.”

Well to a couple of suburbanites who don’t get out much and could use a device like this for tailgating…this is a challenge. I mean you might as well wave a red flag at a bull. Even my wife, who is not a fan of Sam Addams, can smell competition. We start ordering beers like we are using them to put out a fire. We down two before our friends even arrive (we were a little early because we were so excited to get out). Then when our friends Mason and Alexandra do get there, we quickly dispense with the pleasantries and immediately fill them in. They’re in…Another round of Sammies please.

By the time we get a table, the free glasses and cozies are starting to pile up. By the time we order our food we need an extra chair to hold all the freebies. Well by now we have made great friends with the beer girl who is dispensing the raffle tickets and she has a proposition. She is running out of cozies, can she trade us raffle tickets for them. Well this plays right into our hands. I mean I have a whole cabinet full of cozies (I know, I have a problem, but that is a topic for another time), all I need is one or two as a keepsake (as I said, I have a problem) and more raffle tickets. We need to win. We start to calculate how many rounds we can get in before the drawing. Drinking Sam Addams has turned into a competition sport.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, we did not win the cooler/grill. We were one number off and the guy who won it had not even had a Sam Addams – he got the winning ticket from someone who was leaving. So while we were a little bitter, we were also drunk and we didn’t let a little thing like losing get in our way of a good time.
Off we go to our favorite watering hole where Alexandra was as well known as Norm was at ‘Cheers.’ I mean they practically yelled her name when we walked in.
Bartender: “Pour you a Cosmo, Alex?”
Alex : “Alright, but stop me at one.....make it one-thirty.”

Sheryl and I were a little jealous; I mean that used to be us. But we did feel better when we saw our friend Glenn, the executive chef…knowing people who have access to free beer trumps knowing patrons.

So although we may have been the losers of the grill/cooler, we had a great night out. Not to mention we had a huge set of Sam Addams glasses to remember the evening by; well that the hangover and Sammie gas…

If anyone is wondering Murphy’s Law is alive and well

2004-07-16T10:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been driving down the highway and seen someone on the side of the road, in the poring rain, wearing a suit, changing a flat tire…and thought, “Sucks to be him?” Well let me tell you about my day.

On my last business trip, everything went wrong. My broker had a family emergency and could only make the first day’s appointments, meaning I would have to do the next two days on my own. That was not a problem. I do this often so I don’t really need someone to hold my hand, but I had to shuffle hotel reservations and I didn’t have all of the files I would have had if I knew I was on my own. None of this bothered me though, I adapt. It just meant I would spend some more time on the cell, as I drove by myself.
So there I was about an hour into a 3 or 4 hour drive constantly on the phone trying to re-organize my schedule when a torrential downpour breaks out. So I hang up to concentrate on the road, not to mention my cell was about dead anyway, when it happened. THUMP! REEEECK! It’s got to be a flat. So I get to the side of the road and step out to take a look when I notice, “Wow, It really is coming down.” One wheel is completely shredded and the other doesn’t look to happy either. Not a problem, this is a rental car, I’ll just call them.

So starts about the most infuriating call I’ve ever had. I mean, you would think this had never happened to anyone driving an Avis car before. I was very succinct and full of information,
ME: “I’m Southbound on I-75 about ½ mile from exit 423 about 10 min. from Lake City and I have one possibly two flat tires.”
AVIS IDIOT: “What?”
ME: “I’m Southbound on I-75 about ½ mile from exit 423 about 10 min. from Lake City and I have one possibly two flat tires.”
AVIS IDIOT: “What City is that near?”
ME: “I’m sorry is the connection bad”
AVIS IDIOT: “No I can hear you fine”
ME: “I’m about 10 min South of Lake City”
AVIS IDIOT: “What City is that near?”
ME: “Look my cell is about to die, I’m maybe 40 min. North of Gainesville.”
AVIS IDIOT: “Oh, Gainesville. And what is wrong with the car?”
ME: “I said I have one, maybe two flat tires, my cell phone is dieing and it is raining.”
AVIS IDIOT: “That’s right, you did say a flat. Can you tell me what exit you are near.”
ME: “Could you get a pen or something…I have very little time left on my cell. As I said, I am about ½ mile from exit 423.”
AVIS IDIOT: “Hang on…4…23??”
ME: “Yes”
AVIS IDIOT: “I’m going to put you on hold”
ME: “No I can’t…my cell is about to die. Take down my number and call me back.” Then I give her my number
AVIS IDIOT: “Hang on….let me get some paper….OK….what was that again.”
ME: “ARRRRRGH!”

So I hang up and think I got two choices fix it myself or call AAA. I look at the rain. I look at the cars passing within inches of me at 90 mph. I call AAA. As soon as I get through and start to give them my card #, my cell dies (of course). So I get out of the car and open the trunk…then take another look at the cars speeding by. Now, I like to think I’m a bit of a handy guy. I’m no wuss. I can change a tire. But, It’s only ½ mile to the exit, and I’m a runner.

So I change into my running shoes (a suit with running shoes is a good look), grab my cell charger (my car charger had a short in it…I originally thought the plug in the rental car didn’t work. Of course that made me that much happier at Avis) and sprint through the rain to the nearest gas station. The looks I got at the gas station were priceless, but finally, I charge my phone and call AAA (who by the way, were great). By the time I make it back to may car AAA’s truck is there. In 20 min. I’m on my way again and and I get a call from Avis suggesting I call AAA…I hang up on them.
Anyway, what did I learned from all this? A AAA membership is invaluable, Avis Roadside assistance sucks and I can make pretty good time running in a suit.

Fort Ainsley

2004-07-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

Looks like she likes it

Ehlersism # 108

2004-07-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

No matter how carefully you think you are following directions, there will always be pieces left over when ‘some assembly is required’

And

As size and quantity of the left over pieces equals the concern you should have. Example: 1) a few extra screws and washers…probably just included incase you lose a few
2) a giant 4 x 4 post and whole packages of bolts that look like they are used to construct suspension bridges…maybe we should read the directions again

This bit of wisdom comes to me after my parents came up to help assemble their birthday present for my soon-to-be-two-year-old. We spent last weekend carefully constructing a monstrosity of a swing set. My family is not the sort who enjoys paying for labor, when you can do it yourself. Call us cheap, but there is something to be said for building it yourself. I enjoy deckzilla that much more because when I sit on it, I know that I put it together (with a LOT of help from my family). So with that in mind, instead of buying the pre-fab swing sets, my parent bought a kit from Home Depot and drove from Clearwater, with tools in toe, to put it together.

My Dad and I went to Home Depot to buy the lumber (from a list in the kit) and then he got started cutting all the lumber to the proper specifications (again as laid out in the kit) while I…had to work. But early Saturday morning we started to put it together. Yes it was hard work and a little confusing at times (there is nothing worse than having to unassembled a part and start over because you looked at the picture backwards and put a board on the wrong side), but slowly Fort Ainsley started to take shape.

Late in the afternoon, when the heavy lifting was at its pinnacle, we came to the realization that we might not get it done in one weekend. But that is when (insert trumpet sound here) the reinforcements arrived. The great thing about my neighborhood is the people that live there. When someone has a project, be it laying sod in your lawn, building a deck or building Fort Ainsley, people just show up. The men all brought out their tools, the women fetched supplies, the kids and dogs play to the point that our yard looks like an Amish barn raising.

Now it is customary to provide beer and pizza if you are the recipient of such neighborly good will. And as the beer flows, and the men plan, Fort Ainsley gets more complex. We varied from the plans and fortified Fort Ainsley to the point that it could withstand a real military assault. But no amount of beer and pizza could thank my neighbors for their help, as a matter of fact; I seem to be the recipient of neighborly goodwill more often than not. Maybe that is why I always try to ‘build it myself’…because I never really do it by myself. Now if I can just figure out what I’m supposed to do with all the extra lumber and all these bolts…anyone building a suspension bridge?

2004-07-07T16:54:00.000-04:00

�Arrrr! Behold the bounty of the Sea��.Glenn just needs an eye patch and a parrot.

2004-07-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

Hooray for Boob shirts.

2004-07-07T16:50:00.000-04:00

Mindy says, "Now eat your veggies."

Well no one blew off their finger…

2004-07-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

The Race is over, the Keg is Tapped.

We had a great party on Deckzilla for the 4th of July. As mentioned before, a large group of us ran the Peachtree and then we raced home to join the others for the festivities. In the past we have barbequed pork (many of my friends compete in the Memphis in May Barbeque competition so the food is always good), but this year we wanted to do something different. So our friend Glenn, who is the chef at a local restaurant, was able to secure a ton of quality seafood so we decided to have a “low country boil.” By the way, I highly recommend having a talented chef as a friend and neighbor. Glenn slaved away over a boiling pot (much like a witch) and produced some of the best food I have ever had.

A great time was had by everyone. Crab legs were eaten, keg beer was drank, dogs played we even had a pool set up for the little kiddies to frolic in. Of course the real fun began when the little ones went to bed and the adults only had the responsibility of the baby monitors (one of these days I have to do a post about the sheer volume of baby monitors in the neighborhood…I mean Deckzilla looked like mission control with all the monitors plugged in).

As the title to this post indicates there were no injuries, but we did come close. Rich, tired from the morning’s race not to mention the exuberant drinking shortly afterwards, had a brief moment of concern. After lighting a firework of some sort, he threw the lighter instead of the firework. He quickly realized his mistake and threw the firework, but we didn’t find the lighter until morning. Of course that act earned him our ridicule for the rest of the night.

But the truly amazing thing is, none of the little ones woke up for more than a second even with things exploding right outside their window. Ainsley came the closest. After a very loud and bright explosion I went up to check on her…she sat up in bed, pointed out the window and said, “Uht Oh.” But apparently the long day of cheering the racers on and playing with all her friends in the pool and yard was too much for a not-yet-two-year-old, and she promptly fell back asleep.

Well, I’m looking forward to the next party…that is once we get finished cleaning up from this one. Thanks to everyone who helped out with time and money.

2004-07-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

I wouldn�t cross this line for another hour and 17 minutes.

56:33 (Unofficial)

2004-07-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

I'm the guy in the white shirt...

Well some Kenyan did it in 28:04, but I was still pretty proud of my time for my first Peachtree Road Race. My Goal was to get under an hour, so I’m happy. Really I did not know what to expect. I have timed myself at various distances and thought I could break an hour, but you never know what the course, the heat or the crowds will be like. And let me tell you for my first race (I did a few 5K’s when I was a kid) this one was interesting. If you live in Atlanta and run you have to do the Peachtree, and at least for me, once you do you are hooked. I’m now frantically looking up other 10K’s that I can register for…I have truly caught the bug.

All in all it was a fun event, Sheryl Dropped us off at the start then went to a friend’s house nearby to watch on TV. Misty, Rich and I wanted to run together, so we lined up with the last group, but it was so crowded it was too hard to stay together. Then after the race, we met up (after collecting our coveted T-shirt of course) with Sheryl, Ainsley and their friend Candice in Peidmont Park. They provided us with a few celebratory beers while we exchanged race stories.

One thing I was not prepared for was the crowds. I mean everyone told me, and common sense dictates that the “World’s largest 10K” might get a little crowded. But I figured that after the first mile or so, the walkers would thin out…Or at least MOVE TO THE RIGHT. Sorry to shout there, but you wonder what your time might have been if you didn’t have to constantly play Frogger with the walkers. People were constantly asking them to move to the right, some were polite about it, others where not. Peachtree is a big road, 6 lanes in most places, how hard would it be to keep to the right.

By the way, my playlist was just about perfect: Rocky Theme going up Cardiac Hill, Machine Head after it (breath in, breath out). The only problem was I didn’t give myself enough credit. I made it 1:15 long just in case my time was worse than I thought; I figured I could skip ahead near the end but I didn’t really feel like it at the time. In fact, I didn’t pay attention enough to know that there were marker along the way telling me how far (I never saw them, but my fellow neighborhood runners told me about it after the race). When the finish came up…it kind of surprised me. Next up the 10K Classic.

Ehlersism # 107

2004-06-28T16:08:00.000-04:00

The only thing worse than listening to your own breathing while running is listening to 50,000 other people’s breathing.

When I go running I like to immerse myself in my own little world. I like to reflect on things, plan things, and just plain old think. But I hate listening to myself breath when I run. To me it is distracting and boring. I know, I know, most runners say that this is essential for keeping your pace constant and that listening to music is dangerous (other cars, bikes, runners etc.). But I don’t care, I enjoy listening to music and letting my mind wander. It is one of the few times I get to myself to listen to new and old songs and decide what to put on my next CD. Not to mention, it motivates me when I feel myself slowing down.

To this regard, thanks are due to my Bride for the perfect Father’s Day Gift, my new Digital Music Player(new name for it pending). I have been listening to the radio the past few months because my previous player was acting pretty quirky (see The Gadget gods are against me). The radio was OK, I got caught up on news and sports, but morning shows don’t play a lot of music and there is nothing like turning that last mile and hearing a song you like. This new player is great, it is sporty, has an arm band and also has a radio so if I still need to catch up, I can.

Having said all that, I still have a dilemma: The Peachtree Road Race is on Sunday, so I need to come up with a play list. I need songs that are peppy, keep me energized with out making me kill myself and most of all that I like. I have just started to jot a few things down so far, but I’ll try to edit this list later.

1. Run Around- Blues Traveler Fun song that I don’t get sick of and the title fits the theme
2. Song 2- Blur Wahooo! Need I say more
3. Fall Down- Molly’s Yes Great uplifting song…if you have not heard it do your self a favor
4. Born To Run- Bruce Baby we were born to Run…can it be more obvious
5. Run- Collective Soul Well the race is in Atlanta, this song is a requirement
6. Fast as You- Dwight Yoakam A little country
7. Beautiful Day- U2 I always envision the bright lights from the their concert on the chorus…very motivational

Well It’s a start…I have to get hoppin’ though, the race is Sunday.

Trail Characters

2004-06-27T15:46:00.000-04:00

When I go running 4 times a week or so, (if I’m not on the road) my path usually crosses our local trail. You see we have one of those old rail-road paths that have been paved over giving us a great fitness trail that travels some 30 some odd miles. I personally only run about a mile of it if I am working on hill running or 3.1 miles if I am getting some distance in (3.1 up and back). I really enjoy it. It makes running easy without having to worry about cars, or jumping over curbs or ditches. And to me it is easy to just start running and determine how far I will go based on how I am feeling. Then there are all the people you see on the trail.

If you go running on the trail often enough you see the same people over and over. That is part of the charm of the trail. Since I have been running on the trail for years, I have started naming them and wondering about them based on what I have observed for the 10 or 20 seconds that I see them.

Most notable is the ‘Berry-Picker.’ She is a quite normal looking girl who walks the trial often with her dog (I wonder where he is other days…does she share custody of him or does he just say: “I had a rough night, you go on without me”). The strange thing is, she stops all the time and starts picking berries from the trees and bushes along the trail. While as strange as this seems to me, I have come to get used to seeing it. I am even used to seeing her pop them in her mouth. The thing that has me concerned is when she eats the low lying berries. She is not the only one who walks a dog on the trail.

Then there are ‘Unfriendlies.’ One of the unwritten rules of the trail is to wave, smile, nod or say hello as you pass by someone on the trail. Everyone does it, so it seems very noticeable when you don’t. There is this couple that walks together everyday and has great conversations. They are always talking to each other and smiling, until someone walks by. Then they avert their eyes, look at the ground and frown. It is like they are trying to win a bet by not smiling to anyone, but they do it everyday. I have taken upon myself not to give up at trying. I always say “hello” with as much exuberance as I can muster, I try to get a little familiar, “see you tomorrow,” I even commented when the girl switched her hair from brunet to very light blonde, “I like the hair.” All to no avail; they never even look at me.

There is the ‘Competitor’ who runs about the same time as me and at about the same speed. Because we run similarly we don’t see each other too often, usually we cross paths once. But on those rare occasions when we both start out at about close to the same time we push each other. When I start first, I can usually hear feet pounding behind me the whole way and I work hard to keep up the pace, mostly because I don’t want to get beat by a girl (OK so I admit it…but she is in great shape). Other days when she is first, I do my best to pass her.

I also see ‘Visor Lady’ this little old lady who walks about 4 or 5 miles everyday. She walks faster than most people a quarter her age and she is there rain or shine every day.
There is ‘UT’ guy and his friends. He is one of the friendliest people on the trail. I talk to him just about every time I see him. His kid is getting ready to go to Auburn and during football season we always discuss the games. He owns his own business in a similar profession as mine and we share a few customers. From time to time I pass him a leed (although I’m waiting for him to return the favor).

“Cell Phone Girl” is also pretty regular. Every time she walks she is talking on her cell phone the whole time. I always wonder if the person on the other end is walking too. I guess she likes the idea of walking and catching up on her gossip, but none of her friends live near. There are actually quite a few people talking on their cell while they walk, but none as regular or as animated as her.

There are a lot of others on the trail, some not as regular, some only on certain days. There are the soccer moms in their pushing a jogging stroller. There are the young girls in coordinated spandex work-out cloths that make sure that their pony tail swings perfectly from side-to-side. It’s funny how when they go buy the guys all act like the run is just the warm up for he real exercise, like swimming the English Channel (myself included).

I have been running the trail a little less now a days, because I have been trying to get a little hill training for the Peachtree. I’ve also had to run on treadmills at the hotel when I travel. But even when I run hills I make sure I stop by the trail for a bit, just so I can see my friends.

MIA

2004-06-25T17:18:00.000-04:00

Well I have been letting that pesky work get in the way of my Blogging….what was I thinking. Well no whit today, just a few updates.

For Father’s Day I went to surprise my Dad. My wife, daughter and I few down to Tampa and stayed at my sisters on Thursday. Then my sister had arranged to meet my parents for breakfast and when they walked in…tada. Well actually it was a heck of a lot more difficult than that; between arranging a car so that we could fit a car seat and our luggage and just managing a flight with a not-yet-two-year-old girl. But it all worked out and we had a great weekend.

I spent the weekend on my parents boat, in the pool, at my parents club, in the pool…hey who was this present for anyway. My wife and I both freaked out to be able to eat at the same time while my parents watched Ainsley (those of you without kids: The day your child learns to walk is the last day you and your spouse eat at the same time).

Well I’ll be a better blogger in the next few days now that my personal and work travel schedule had calmed down.

Dad's Day

2004-06-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

Airplane!

Well Father’s Day is on the way and that got me thinking. This is my second Father’s Day as a Dad, which means nothing to my daughter. At this age the burden of Father’s Day falls to Mom, (who by the way bought me a certain little MP3 player I have been wanting and had some great pictures taken (see above)). I’m sure there will be a time when my daughter actually understands the meaning of it and appreciates it. But let’s be real…she better get Mother’s Day first. Right now all I have to do to be a good Dad in my Daughter’s eyes is make sure her shorts are clean and swing her around and throw her up in the air every now and then.

My Dad was an Airline Pilot and after everyone got over the “cool, do you fly for free” question they always said, “it must suck having him gone all the time.” Well not really. I mean don’t get me wrong, he didn’t always make my birthday party and I never knew when Christmas was (24th…27th, something like that). However, when he was home – He was home.

It was great. We would wake up in the morning to find Dad, who was still on Tokyo time, had been up for an hour making us the most lavish breakfast. He was so eager to talk to us we would be late to school. Then in the summer, he would be home in the middle of the week (all the other Dad’s had to work) and he would wake us up telling us we were going out on the boat that day. Of course there was also the travel. I remember coming home from college for Christmas break and my Dad asking me if I wanted to go Frankfort and Paris. Just imagine my answer to: “So what did you do over winter break?”

So, anyways…I hope I do as good of job with my daughter that my parents did with me. As for my Dad I’m giving him a Father’s Day Gift I know he is going to love. More details next week.

The Bug Dance

2004-06-15T14:40:00.000-04:00

Well I went running today (OK I guess jogging better describes what I do) and I am settling into a pretty good system now. Generally I am running 4 days a week and sticking to a routine I like:

Monday: about a 5 mile run with limited hills
Tuesday and Wednesday: about a 4 mile run with hills
Thursday: a day of rest
Friday: a combination of the two about 5 or more mile run with some hills

Then I take the weekend off. It is a fun system for me, building up then taking the time off. I hope it will get me in good shape for the Peachtree Road Race.

My route takes me through a little bit of a wooded area, so when I got home and sat down to check my e-mail; I wasn’t too freaked out to find a little spider crawling up my let. I grabbed it with a Kleenex and threw it in the trash can under my desk. Well a few minuets later I felt something crawling up my leg again and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t the same spider. Only this time I knew that it wasn’t a little spider, but a tic. It had escaped the Kleenex and hopped onto my leg (I checked). If you have ever tried to kill a tic, you know that the gentle squish that you give to a spider does nothing to a tic. Now I was a little freaked out. Every time I even think I feel something on my leg I immediately look and scratch and check the floor around me. That has been happening about every 5 minuets all day.

Jerry Seinfeld used to do a joke about what people looked like from a distance after they walked through a spider web. I always think of that when I remember the time I ran over a yellow jacket nest with the lawn mower. I’m mowing along as I feel a slight sting on my leg, then my back, then my thigh (over 10 in all). I start flicking them off my leg as I worry about the one that just flew up my shorts. Next thing you know I run towards the house, arms and legs flailing, shedding clothing, making noises like a little girl (AAAAAAAYYYIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!). I wonder what someone would have thought if they looked out the window at just the right moment: “What the…Is that some kind of a dance?”

By the way, if you have never been stung by a yellow jacket, consider yourself lucky. They are much worse than a bee or hornet, not to mention you usually have more than just one sting. Well I just checked the trashcan again after vigorously showering and I don’t think I see the tic. I guess its time to take that trash out and resume the bug dance again. What was that?

The Change game… (Caution rant ahead)

2004-06-10T19:18:00.000-04:00

I’m Traveling again and that means hotel rooms (smoking room without high speed internet access as opposed to their advertisement) and all of the fun that goes with strange towns. Actually I enjoy traveling, I mean this trip is an exception (I think I’m going to have words with the manager about deceptive advertising), most of the time you see new places, meet new people and get to spend time catching up on your reading. While traveling there is no trash to take out, no laundry to get done, but there is work and all of the troubles that go with life on the road. Delayed flights, boring car rides, rude people and high speed runs through airports are just some of the things you encounter on your way to your destination.

But the thing is I’ve gotten good at it. I’ve even come to take pride in the fact I’m good at it. Of course I have had a lot of training. My Dad was an airline pilot; so when other kids were driving that summer to the state park…we were off to Europe (after all it was the same cost to us). So I learned the art of travel. Negotiating through airports, trains, maps and taxis in foreign countries. I’ve gotten to know London, Paris and Frankfort as well as most people know their grandparents home town.

So without a doubt I have the travel bug. Neighbors ask me where to park at the airport. Friends ask the best hotel to stay when in Boston, New York or Charleston. And I usually know the answer. But with being good at traveling also comes a little bit of annoyance with those who are not. People in Airports who try to impress others with their knowledge of airplanes (when they don’t have a clue) bug me. People who walk out of airplanes and just stop, oblivious to the rest of the departing passengers bug me. People who don’t know the ‘stand to the right, walk to the left’ rule when on escalators and moving walkways bug me.

But most of all, in the post 9/11 age, people who delay, don’t understand and unnecessarily complain about security bug me. Most people stand in the security line for hours, not even thinking about what is to come; then almost act surprised as they slowly empty their pockets. They place their coins, cell phones, gum, shoes, keys, watches, rings, PDA’s, beer tabs (how did that get there), lipstick, and everything else in their pockets into a bin (one bin for each item, it seems). While I, who have placed everything metal in my briefcase (take note…this is the proper thing to do…put it into your bag…you have the whole line to put it in there and the whole rest of the trip to get it out…do we really need to watch you count your change into individual bins…), wait for my turn to go through the line. And they wonder why the line takes so long.

Of course my obsession with being a seasoned traveler is not without its own faults. I finally emptied the pocket of my suitcase that I always put my pocket change into. I could have paid off a small nation’s debt. I’m wondering how I carried that bag around without noticing the extra 34 lbs. worth of change. The jingling noise alone should have been deafening. Well at least traveling will be easier now that I have gotten rid of that extra weight. Now maybe I can use the money to buy some internet access at a Starbucks…or maybe I could just buy a small phone company.

Two Thumbs Up

2004-06-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

I have a buddy of mine who does these really great movie reviews. These are like real world reviews from someone who has similar tastes to mine. I mean these were nothing like what you read in the paper or that I could find on line. He used to send out an e-mail every few weeks or so with a bunch of new DVD or theater releases and his and his wife’s comments. They would include things like “this movie sucked, but for the guys there was a great lesbian scene about 30 minutes in” or “If you have to watch a chick flix with your wife…this one is tolerable.”

The reason why I am missing his reviews so much now is that my wife and I are doing Netflix. A friend of ours recently gave us a gift subscription and we are loving it. It is nice not to have to worry about returning them and their User Interface is great. I love how you just keep a running list of what you want to see.

We used to love going to the movies, I think we went at least twice a month. That all changed after having Ainsley, now we prefer to watch movies at home. And with summer reruns here now is the time…the only problem is once we catch up to the movies we missed – what then. Netflix does an OK job of recommending, but there have been plenty of Dogs too. I personally love finding those movies that were not huge releases and after watching them you can’t believe that they weren’t. I mean most people would have never heard of Swingers or even Pulp Fiction if not for video.

So anyone have some recommendations? I guess I need to talk my friend into doing a Guest Blog Movie Review.

The best Gift I ever got…

2004-06-08T09:38:00.000-04:00

No not the most expensive, or the most needed, but one that you remember forever. For some I guess it was that bike they wanted when they were kids. Others, maybe it was the first car they got. Mine was a gift that I hated when I got it.

When you are a kid about the worst thing you can get is clothes (why do parents bother wrapping sox as a gift…if we need them put them in our drawer). While this wasn’t that bad it was probably a close second. I loved toys, airplanes, action figures or remote control anything. That Christmas when I opened that box of books, I thought, “books…I must have opened someone else’s gift.” I soon forgot them, pushed them to the side and continued to play with my new remote control whatever (see you forget those toys).

A few days later, after the newness of those shinny action figures wore off; my Dad sat down with me and asked me what I thought of the books. At this age I hated reading. Reading was something you were forced to do for a report at school or even worse a test. So I had not even really looked at the books…they sat in their boxes under the new clothes I got. So I asked my Dad what they were about. He proceeded to tell me that they were a series of books that he read when he was a kid. He loved them so much that he thought it was time to pass them down to me. He spent weeks trying to track them down through used bookstores (obviously no Amazon or Barnes & Noble then) and put together as much of the series as he could.

So more out of guilt than desire I thought I would at least pretend to read them. I sat where my Dad could see me and flipped through the first few pages of the first book of the Hornblower series. Well around page 10 things had changed. Suddenly I was interested in what would happen next. This was new for me – instead of being forced to read; I WANTED to. After that I was constantly reading. I was always looking for a new book. I read all my Dad’s old books until I caught up to him and soon we were fighting over new ones (“You can read it when I’m done,” “No YOU can read it when I’M done.”)

Nowadays anyone who knows me knows my appetite for books. I love to read. I love things that are well written. I even appreciate TV shows, songs and movies that I think have good writing. There is no better way to kill time while traveling or waiting in line. To me there is nothing better than sitting in my hammock, music on in the background, reading a new book by one of my favorite authors. Maybe it’s a little sentimental, but with my Dad’s Birthday and Father’s Day approaching I thought of this: I love to read…and I guess that was the best gift I ever got.

Maybe he should have had 3 Oats?

2004-06-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

While watching the ‘pre-game’ footage before the race this weekend my wife and I were curious about something. How big is an oat?

Before any big sports event it seems humorous the amount of coverage they try to fill just before the event. The Super bowl is the worst: “Next on Fox…’The History of the Coin Toss’ followed by our in-depth special ‘Game day Cleats.’”

So as we sat in a local bar (Date night with a babysitter and all) we noticed the Belmont Stakes was no different (almost worse when you consider the race only lasts a few minuets). There was a graphic posted about Smarty Jones’ schedule for the day: “8:01 am Wake up….8:15 a.m. morning rub down…8:45 a.m. breakfast 2 oats…” Two oats? Did they mean 2 bags of oats? I mean I don’t claim to have a vast knowledge of oats, but I didn’t think they were that big. I know he doesn’t want to fill up before the race, but surely he needs more than 2 oats. I think before a big day like that he should have been carb loading. At least give the horse a power bar or something. We can only wonder what might have happened if Smarty had had a proper breakfast.

Weekend sports schedule

2004-06-04T17:10:00.000-04:00

USATODAY.com

Weekend sports schedule listed above. Make sure you watch Smarty Jones on Saturday because if it happens you don't want to lie to everyone ten years from now and tell them you saw it happen. Post time is 6:38 p.m.

Ehlersism #106

2004-06-03T17:03:00.000-04:00

The ability to gauge distances while running is inversely proportional to how many beers you had the night before.

While on vacation I thought I would break in my new shoes with a run along the beach. Well I had just gotten there the night before and I really didn’t have any idea where I was, but we were on the beach and the land was flat…so I set off. Well it was pretty hot and I was without my normal equipment (no watch or MP3 player…see the post about the gadget gods for more info on that), but it was a straight shot in one direction. So I ran and took in the sights of morning on Panama City Beach. It was kind of tough going, but I blamed that on the heat and lack of music (I’m going to need to start an MP3 player collection or something)…there was also the wind (can’t forget that).

But I ran on feeling good about working off some of those calories I was going to build up on vacation. Well I run pretty often, so after what felt about the half way point of my normal 5 miles I decided to turn around. On my way back to the house I played that little game that everyone does in an unfamiliar area…”is my turn around that corner…maybe that corner.” Finally I got back to the house sweating a good bit with the feeling of accomplishment. We packed up for the beach (a work out itself) and later that day I thought I would clock the distance that I ran with the car.

3.9 miles! That can’t be right. It felt like a lot more than that. Maybe it was the lack of music that threw me off…It couldn’t have been the beers I had the night before…had to be the music.

The Reunion Tour

2004-06-02T10:50:00.000-04:00

I’m not one to live in the past, as John Mayer said,
“…I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
and the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
is still hiding
up my sleeve”
Having said that, sometimes the differences between past a present are funny. Case in point, we recently went on a trip to Panama City Beach with my friends. Now these guys and their wives I have been friends with for over 10 years. We are called Poker Club a name bestowed on us by our Fraternity due to our frequent card games. We went to school together, married each others friends, were in each others weddings, vacation together every chance we get and talk with all the time (especially during football season). Our numbers have grown to include the Ramons but, as is the case with life long friends, we often find ourselves remembering incidents that happened before.

This trip was full of remembrances due to the fact that we often went to PCB for House Party. We talked about how I met Sheryl for the first time on that beach (introduced to me by Brett, who I introduced to April…see what I mean). We had flashbacks to the time Brett applied just enough lotion so that he had a sunburn like a world map…a feat he managed to accomplish again (although this time it was more like a map of Canada).

There were also the inevitable differences that happen as we get older. The drinking was tamer (well just a little, I mean Amy is pregnant). We never made it to Club La Vila (I don’t think we could enter our daughters in the wet T-shirt contest). Going to the beach was very different:

Before…cooler or keg, volley ball, maybe a towel stolen from the hotel…and that is about it.

Now…12 different kinds of sunscreen (Water babies for the kids, sweat proof, water proof, face sunscreen, spray-on sunscreen…I mean Sheryl actually research the best brands), sand toys (admittedly these were as much for the guys as the kids), a blow up pool, beach chairs (we used to just sit in the sand), a wagon for the kids (well who can carry a kid when you have all this stuff), cooler (that didn’t change), snacks for the kids (well we ate a lot of them too), hats and cover-ups for the kids…and the list goes on. I mean it filled the Reed’s Sequoia not including the kids and wagon.

Then there was the going out to bars. When we went to Salty’s for lunch we commented about how we used to ‘have each other’s back’ if a fight occurred at a bar. Now we watch each other’s kids if we have to pee. We did get to throw down a little at Sharky’s thanks to Sheryl and Amy…they had to stay home and baby-sit. The next night we went back to Sharky’s for dinner because they had a play ground for the kids…not something we used to look for in a bar.

Then again this trip was more fun in some ways. It was a blast to watch the kids play in the sand and ruin the sand castles that we guys built. They loved the wagon rids to and from the beach. We all had fun playing in the pool, kids and adults included. And you had to be made of stone not to smile at Abby and Ainsley playing together, giving each other hugs and dancing to the songs Abby made up.

Good trip, but to paraphrase Mr. Mayer…the best one is still yet to come. Next time more sunscreen (this means you Brett and Hunter), more kids, more beach toys…and probably more beer (even as adults we still kept running out).

It doesn’t take much to impress me…

2004-06-02T09:52:00.000-04:00

Well at least in the way of restaurants. Cold beer, good food, casual and fun atmosphere and live music will put you on my list. Now that may sound easy enough to find; but you would be surprised. There is a place near us called NY Pizza Exchange that comes pretty close in all categories. Then there are the places that have weighted averages…for example anyone who knows me, knows Frenchy’s Saltwater Café in Clearwater, FL is one of my favorites (if it had live music there would be no beating it).

We just returned from a little mini vacation at Panama City Beach and enjoyed two beachside restaurants that did pretty well on the Ehlersism weighted scale. First we went to a place called Salty’s that received very high marks. Beer was served in 32 oz. Souvenir cups (a plus) the grouper sandwich was great. The entertainment was at night and since we were there for lunch we didn’t get to sample it. However, entertainment was provided by a group of guys on the beach funneling beer and inviting others to partake. The wives in our group enjoyed watching them, while us guys enjoys the girls they talked into funneling…all except for Reed, who just wanted to challenge them to a game of Volleyball. Salty’s received extra points for having a trough style urinal, thus reducing waiting time.

The second entry was a place called Sharky’s. A little on the touristy side (not saying a lot considering we were in PCB), Sharky’s has a large fake shark outside and a beachside playground for the kids. The first time we visited Sharky’s it was for drinks and to listen to music; for this it received very high marks. The music was great and the drinks were cold…my prediction was that the food would suck. Well I was right. There was a long wait for a table (and for that I was thankful for the playground), and an even longer wait for the food. The grouper sandwich was dry and square, and while many might complain that I ordered wrong; I contend that if you are going to be a beachside seafood restaurant, you must master the Grouper Sandwich (or another fish variation if you do it well.

The verdict, if you want to just head out for drinks or don’t mind the food and need to entertain the kids, Sharky’s will do. However if you want a good all around time…Salty’s wins by a urinal (I told you it doesn’t take much to impress me).

The Joke list

2004-05-25T17:32:00.000-04:00

It all began innocently enough. Someone wanted to send me a picture. I’m usually so smart about these things. I usually only give out my hotmail address; however with pictures…sometimes they are too large for hotmail. So I gave out my personal address. The person even joked, “I won’t send you too many jokes.”

Famous last words. They started slowly; a one liner here, a picture there. Now I like a good joke as much as the next guy. But if I am away on business, the sheer volume clogs my personal address to the point is no longer useful.

What do you? I mean you can’t really ask to be taken off the list. Well you could, but that would crush the guy. I mean he obviously lives for this. He never even asked if I wanted to be on his list…it is like he was just looking for email address like some spammer. Every now and then, he sends out an e mail apologizing that he is going on a trip and he won’t be able to give us our normal supply of jokes. (I wonder how many others are cheering).

I need a new kind of spam filter. One that deletes any urban legends, any feel good story that ends with, “send this to as many people as you know” or, “send this to 10 people in the next 10 minuets...don’t break the chain!” I need it to get rid of all the jokes I have heard too many times to count (unless they are really good ones that I like reading a second time). However, this filter needs to let through all the funny, dirty jokes…especially ones with pictures.

Well I have to go; I’m in the middle of reading this e mail about a guy who woke up in a bathtub full of ice with a note about his kidney…..

The Gadget gods are against me

2004-05-23T09:21:00.000-04:00

Well it all started when I dropped my sunglasses at the SciTech children’s museum. They survived the fall, but were later trampled by a hundred 3 year olds. I guess sunglasses are not really a gadget, but it was a sign of things to come.

Shortly after that my watch started acting up. It is a great TAG watch that doesn’t need a
Battery, but it wasn’t keeping time. Then my MP3 player only worked intermittently. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than going running and having your music source stop about half way through. I tried bringing a radio on my run, but that just wasn’t the same. Later my Ike (my Ipaq…(I know I have a problem with naming objects)) hard reset on me for no reason. I had to sped hours getting it back the way it was.

There have been other examples, but the point is ‘The Gadget gods are against me.’ Now instead of spending money to get new toys; I have to spend just to replace or fix. And I am spending to replace perfectly good stuff. Those sunglasses that I had were fine. My watch is costing a pretty penny to fix it and it is a great watch (not one I can afford or even want to replace). The MP3 player is just going to have to wait until I can afford to do something about it.

My take is that the Gadget gods are just hurting themselves. Now that I’m stuck in catch up mode…it is going to talk awhile until I am cutting edge again.

My groin is a punching bag

2004-05-23T09:02:00.000-04:00

Do you remember when you were little and you would run across the room so that you could jump onto your Dad’s lap yelling “Daddy!” You would be so excited, only to have Dad double over in pain clutching his groin. Your immediate reaction was, “I didn’t do any thing” or “I didn’t hit you that hard.”

Well now I know what it is like to be Dad. It is amazing how much of a bulls eye is painted on my groin. When holding Ainsley her foot is at the perfect kicking position. When lying down, her foot always seems to find my groin. When sitting down, a climbing step is located…you guessed it.

My only guess is that she I smarter than we thought. She knows that if we have another child that she won’t be as spoiled and she is trying to cut it off at the source.

Concert on the Green

2004-05-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

:: SEVEN SHARP NINE ::
Last night we went to see 7 sharp 9 play on the Smryna Village Green. We packed a cooler, got some sandwiches from Quizno's then set up a blanket for Ainsley and a few chairs for ourselves. The music was great...they are a cover band that we first saw play at Padriac's on St. Patty's Day. Not to mention Ains had a great time dancing and watching the jugglers. I did manage to offend a fireman by telling Ainsley the he was a police man (it's not like his uniform made it obvious), but we did stop by their fire truck on the way out so Ains could see it. She kept asking them for a ride ("ride...ride...rde"), but settled for a fire chief hat.

hangover ('ha[ng]-"O-v&r)

2004-05-15T10:27:00.000-04:00

Merriam-Webster online:
1 : something (as a surviving custom) that remains from what is past
2 a : disagreeable physical effects following heavy consumption of alcohol or the use of drugs b : a letdown following great excitement or excess

I’ve come to the conclusion that hangovers have as much to do with eating as they do drinking. I mean there are plenty of times you have a lot to drink but don’t get a hangover. However, that one time you don’t get much to eat…Bingo.

Last night I had plenty to eat…it’s just that the food arrived after my buzz did. On the bright side Ainsley was pretty good at the restaurant for about 45 solid minuets….of course the food didn’t get there for an hour. Then we proceeded to have more beers with the neighbors on Deckzilla, which didn’t help matters much.

I can’t decide who is suffering worse, Sheryl, for having to listen to last nights snoring (not to mention coming home to a messy house (see for info on that) or me. And of course Ainsley has a sixth sense about these things (“I see hung-over people”) and has decided to be more rambunctious than normal. Somewhere throughout the course of the day she has discovered that if you unwrap things there may be candy inside. So far she has had a lollypop, some chocolate and there was a near miss with some cough drops.

Well off to pound some water and prep for the Horse Race…I’m just rooting for a triple crow shot now.

Ehlersism # 105

2004-05-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

Mission Accomplished!!

Real Men Can’t Sew

Well at least this one can’t. It is pretty sad actually. It’s like those stories you hear about people who go through life unable to read and no one knows about it. They do little things like ask strangers what something says because they ‘forgot their glasses’ or memorize pictures and such. I’m the same way, I try to ‘re-dry clean’ shirts with the button missing, hoping that the drycleaner will attend to the missing button. Or I just avoid wearing the clothing all together.

That is what I did with my shorts. I mean they were great shorts, somewhat new, fit great, good style. And there they would sit, in the closet while lesser shorts (with all of their buttons) would get used often. Occasionally I would take them out and set them on the bathroom counter with the idea I would sew a button on to them. Who was I kidding? What I really wanted was for Sheryl to finally fix them for me. I mean she is no seamstress either, but she has got to be better than me. After all, she learned from her mother, the person for who (both of us) line up clothes with missing buttons for her to fix when she visits.

Well what do they say about your fears…face them head on. So today I attempted to sew a button on my shorts. I searched the house high and low for the tools. We have no sewing room…or even a sewing drawer for that matter. That was about the time when I started to think about brining the shorts to the tailors to get fixed (and it wouldn’t be the last). But I finally found a little box with thread and needles and even a button that looked to match. So I threaded and tied a knot then put the needle into the shorts, through the button….and right out the other side. I guess I need a bigger knot. Then I looked at button in back (the one for the pocket) for reference, I mean I didn’t even know if I should crisscross or box (crisscross for this pair). You don’t even want to see what the back looks like (loops and holes so far away from the center of the center you wonder how they reach). But the Button is on, and the sad thing is I was so proud that I would be able to wear my shorts again: you would think I sewed the whole pair. BTW I also leaned what a thimble is for…my thumb is sore.

Ehlersism # 104

2004-05-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

Nipple bleed will get you

I thought it was just because I was a bit chubby that I got it, apparently though it happens to a lot of folks. I remember seeing Pete Sampras get it during a Tennis match and during the NCAA Tourney this year I saw a player get it. But mostly it affects us runners.

For those of going eeeewww right now, I’ll explain. If you go running enough, the nipple bleed will get you. It happens when your shirt gets wet then becomes like sand paper to your nipples. If you go watch a marathon and see a bunch of guys with tape over their nipps when they take off their shirt, they learned the hard way. Even worse are the guys who pass by with a red splotch on their shirt. It’s strange because when it happens, it doesn’t even hurt at the time…it’s later that you feel the pain.

I have tried a few remedies such as Vaseline or liquid band aids (expensive). I even have a bunch of shirts with weird stains on them (they never look red after a wash) when I forget to do something. The best method is putting medical tape on before going running. This is a pain though and it hurts when you take them off (hint: take it off while showering). Not to mention Sheryl always laughs at me when I put it on.

So I guess I will just have to accept the fact that “Nipple bleed will get you.” Peachtree Road Race here I come.

I’m in love with Maggie.

2004-05-13T13:44:00.000-04:00

Yes there is another woman in the Ehlers house hold (as if Sheryl and Ainsley didn’t outnumber me already). But Maggie is different. She is technically savvy. She loves music. She loves pictures. She loves TV. At times she is a little temperamental, but she makes up for it by doing little things for me like recording my favorite shows and playing music that I want to hear. She doesn’t even mind if I watch sports…she’ll even show me replays. She is not much of a looker (unless you go for that silver, blue, black thing), but it is her mind that makes her so attractive. OK so I’ll admit, I have a little problem with naming material things.

Maggie is my HP Microsoft Media Center PC. And although sometimes I wish she was as stable as a Tivo (she has her days), she can do so much more. We needed to get a new computer at the beginning of the year and since it would be mostly used for pictures and videos of our family I started investigating the MCE. We didn’t really get it for its TV recording functions; that was just kind of a side benefit. Now how things have changed. The only problem is since she is not a Tivo I can’t say, “I Tivo’ed that show.” But maybe, “I Maggi'ed it” will catch on.

Sheryl and I have become fans of shows that normally we never would have watched. There is a show on BBC America called ‘Coupling’ (you may remember it from a brief stint on NBC), that we enjoy. And we are big fans of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. All shows that we probably wouldn’t watch without Maggie’s help. Also there are the shows you normally watch and now can watch at anytime. For example, I love the ‘West Wing’ and last night when Ainsley didn’t want to go to bed right away I would have missed the beginning. But with Maggie, I was almost happy to start watching it 30 minuets late….that way I could skip the commercials. It’s not that we watch more TV now; we just don’t waste our time watching bad TV or commercials. It’s amazing how we start watching (what would be) two hours of TV 40 min. late and finish at the same time. Not to mention we can burn the shows to DVD for later viewing or sharing.

Another side benefit is that you can play a slide show while you play music. This is a great way to enjoy your music and your pictures at the same time. It is like a music video set to your pictures. I set it to random play on the music then random play on the pictures and I get a chance to enjoy pictures that normally would sit in a shoe box or on a hard drive. In fact this was the main reason we ran a cable through the attic and to the downstairs TV. Now we can listen to music on Deckzilla (there is that naming problem again) or in the kitchen, and someone always comments on the pictures…”Oh, I remember that day” or “Look at how young Ainsley looked.”

Yep, you gotta love Maggie…I just can’t wait until College Football season. Then Sheryl might start to get jealous of her.

Maggie May

Daddy Day Care

2004-05-13T11:03:00.000-04:00

Daddy is in Charge wahooo!.

Well Sheryl is away on business for the rest of the week, and when Mommy is gone…let’s just say that things get a little messier. I honestly don’t know how Sheryl does it. I mean not to brag, but I think I am a great Dad. I think Sheryl would agree, I do a great job of taking care of Ainsley and doing the things that need to be done like a bath, playing, feeding her and all that. The only problem is the shrapnel that is left over.

Let me explain: No matter who goes out of town, I don’t think there is any difference in the care the Ains gets. She east well, dresses well, no major bumps or scrapes and she even has a great time. The difference is that when I go out of town and Sheryl is in charge…not only is all of the above done, but somehow the laundry is done and the house cleaner when I get back. When she gets back…let’s just say that things are a little messier. Not that I can’t do that…it’s just when you though Ains into the mix I have to prioritize. The funny thing is, I always make fun of Sheryl’s inability to multi task (if she is doing something else and you ask her a question; you’d better have some time to kill before you get your answer). But obviously, her multi tasking skills are much better than mine.

Anyway, Ains and I had a good time. She ate fish sticks and we went for a wagon ride (we had to run back to avoid the rain). Then (as you can see in the picture) Ains did a little coloring before Bath time and Bed time.

That’s another thing that Sheryl does better…getting Ains to go to sleep. With Sheryl Ains reads a few books than ACTUALLY WANTS TO GO TO BED. I don’t know what I do different, but with me it’s always one more book then lets do the little piggies (she loves the “Weee Weee Weee all the way home,” part), then let’s point to our noses and on and on. Things have gotten even worse now the Ains is switching to a Big Bed…but I’m sure that will be a story for another time.

OBX

2004-05-12T15:29:00.000-04:00

Well if you ever wondered what all those OBX stickers were, it's not OBnoXious it’s the Outer Banks. I am convinced that no locals have those stickers, just the tourists. This past weekend I took some clients fishing in Nag’s Head, NC and we had a grand time. We caught our share of fish, with Brandon bagging a Sailfish, that we released of course.

Ehlersism # 103

2004-05-11T17:12:00.000-04:00

Technology can never Break Habits.

There I said it. I’ll never admit Technology can’t do anything, at least while I am still saving up to buy the next great toy (MP3 player, a new Pocket PC), however habits are different.

Case in point: last week I had to take my watch in to get it fixed (that’s another story about how my possessions are out to get me). So while they were figuring out what was wrong with my TAG, I went without a watch. Well as I sit at my desk there are about 5 different things that tell time: my cell phone, my cordless phone (yes it has a clock), my computer, Ike (my iPaq) a radio, not to mention an real life actual clock. But no matter what, I keep looking at my wrist to see the time…then muttering.

Case # 2, my old car (now Sheryl’s) has a digital compass in it. I can remember many incidents while navigating…”hmmm, I need to go North on this road…the sign just gives locations (I hate that)…well the sun is there, so I’m going West now.” You idiot, there is a compass right in front of you.

I hope this admission doesn’t effect my chances of getting any new Tech gear…or further upset the Gadget Gods (more on them later).