• Keep up the consistent training schedule.  I’m running 3 times a week right now, with cross-training on the Wii Fit.  Like I said previously, I’ve already signed up for three races this year, with the first two in March!  So, training for a new Personal Record in the half-marathon and 10k are high on my priority list!  
• Post more consistently.  I think this will actually happen this year.  I want to keep the blog as fresh and exciting as my life, so I’ve got to do this!
• Time management. If I get this right at home, then the next one will be no problem
• Keep the garage clean!  It seems like every time I get it clean, I’ll have another project come along and dirty it up again.  I’m going try to do a little each weekend this year toward keeping it in a cleaner state than 2008!
• Delegate more.  I’m hoping to delegate some engineering duties and tracking duties at work.  Hopefully, this will keep my phone from ringing as much as it does when I’m at home.
• Calendar.  I’ve got to make better use of my calendars at work so I can keep my team informed of upcoming projects, and keep my boss informed of upcoming races!  (I missed the Monument Avenue 10k last year due to work.)

I think that about does it.  What are your resolutions for 2009?

• Happy New Year! 2008 in Review.
• Home for the Holidays: Resolution Time
• 17 Days left! Almost Time to Taper
• Back from 5erFest in TN!
• 250 Miles!

January 2, 2009

January 2, 2009

December 30, 2008 Similar Posts:

• Another Run and a Meeting With the Builder
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• Christmas will be good
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Christmas Morning!

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already almost 2009!  Today is December 31, 2008.  It’s been an amazing year.  Let’s take a look at where the year started, and how I fared with my resolutions!

• Run more, and more consistently.  I think I did really well with this one.  Since June, I’ve run 393 miles.  I’m not sure how far I ran before June, because I didn’t have the Nike+ kit (thanks Grandma Shirley!)  Included in there is the Human Race 10k, the Midlothian Blaze 5k, and the Richmond Half-Marathon.  I’m very proud of how I’ve done with this resolution, and since I’ve already signed up for 3 races next year, (the Shamrock Half Marathon and Monument Avenue 10k in March and the Richmond Marathon in November) I better keep up with the consistency!
• Post more, and more consistently.  I started off well, in January with 7 posts, but it was all down hill from there.  I don’t know if my dream of more consistent posts is realistic or not, but I’m going to try to post at least once a week from now on.
• der5er.com T-Shirts.  Yeah, that didn’t happen.  Really, I need to build a larger readership to make this even do-able, so I don’t think I’ll be making any shirts in 2009 either.
• Migrate Shirleyannesheart.com to a new web host.  Done.  I’m very happy with Hostgator.com hosting, just enough size, excellent reliability and customer service.
• Time management.  I’ve gotten much better at managing my time at work, now if I could just do the same at home.  I’m sure Christi will agree that my honey-do list never gets shorter.
• Have more fun!  I think this was definitely accomplished in 2008, but will continue to be a goal for 2009 as well.  You can never have too much fun!

Other than the above carry-overs to 2009, I haven’t finished thinking of my 2009 resolutions yet.  I’ll post more about those later.  

Link Dumps.  I finally found a way to automatically share with you interesting articles from other blogs that I read.  Now, whenever I read something interesting, all I have to do is click the share button in Google Reader, and a link to that article will appear in the next weekly link dump.  Link dumps are also a way to remind me that the blog is here and that I need to actually write something!

How did you do in 2008?  Let me know in the comments!

• Happy New Year! 2009 is Here!
• Home for the Holidays: Resolution Time
• Home for the Holidays: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Website Highlights: Lifestream and the Archive
• Going Local: RVABlogs.com

December 25, 2008

December 25, 2008

December 24, 2008

December 24, 2008

December 24, 2008

December 24, 2008

December 24, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 21, 2008

December 22, 2008

December 22, 2008

December 21, 2008

December 20, 2008

December 21, 2008

December 20, 2008 Similar Posts:

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December 19, 2008

December 19, 2008

December 17, 2008

December 12, 2008

December 15, 2008

December 15, 2008 Similar Posts:

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Amazon.com: Black & Decker LI4000 3.6-Volt Lithium-Ion SmartDriver with Exclusive Magnetic Screw Holder

Of course, Amazon is out of stock.  So you probably can’t get one in time for Christmas.  But this little gadget is pretty cool.  

The SmartDriver from Black and Decker has a pretty neat Screw Holder that extends from the front of the driver.  Now, I know most of you will say that a magnetic bit will accomplish the same thing, and you’re right, but sometimes magnetic bits don’t hold very well.  In this case, the screw holder has more contact area with the screw than a magnetic bit would have, so I think it would hold a little better.  

Add this to the fact that the tool’s battery is Lithium-Ion and you’ve got my vote for Best Christmas present.  Though, like I said before, Amazon’s out of stock (and I’m sure other retailers are as well), so it might be Best Father’s day present.  Either way, this one’s on my WANT list!

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December 13, 2008

December 9, 2008

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Leanna looking innocent

Here’s a little middle school drama for everyone. Leanna rides the bus home from school every day. This week, she happened to be sitting next to a boy named Craig.
Craig asked Leanna for some gum on Thursday. Leanna said yes, but accidentally dropped the gum on the floor of the school bus. Craig changed his mind (no kidding).
Then, on Friday, Leanna played a little joke on Craig. When he wasn’t looking, she took a piece of gum out of her purse and dropped it on the floor. Then, she offered it to Craig, making it look as though she had just taken the gum out of her purse. Not knowing the gum was tainted by the school bus floor, Craig took the gum and ate it!
Leanna claims he’s not her enemy, and that he’s actually one of her friends.
Of course, while Christi is trying to admonish Leanna for being so mean, Grandma Shirley and I are laughing non-stop. I feel bad for the guy, but I think Leanna is going to be a very good practical joker some day.

• “I got that from Mommy”
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• Updates: Running with Leanna and WOOD DELIVERED!
• Bruce Springsteen in Richmond: AWESOME!!

Those who recieve der5er by e-mail will have to click the post title to see and hear Cooper sing Jose Feliciano’s holiday hit, “Feliz Navidad” in his own style.

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The future?

Ever want a product that hasn’t been developed yet? Well today, that’s me. I’ve been following lots of running blogs and listening to running podcasts and it seems that many runners greatly improve their training by monitoring and tracking their heart rate. So yes, I want a heart rate monitor. There are several on the market, and I’ve even put some reasonably priced heart rate monitors on my Christmas wish list.  But what I really want isn’t yet available.  I want a heart rate monitor that integrates with my Nike+ kit and my iPod.  

This would be a great feature to have, and from the Google searches I’ve done, I’m not the only runner that thinks so.  So, there is already a market for this feature.  One of the latest new gadgets from Nike is the AMP remote control watch that integrates with Nike+.  I think they fell short on this one, as they could have easily put pulse monitoring in the wristband.  At any rate, this device opens up the possibility of multiple peripherals communicating with the receiver in the iPod.  So, a heart rate monitoring device may not be far behind.  

In fact, my Google searching turned up an article on Gizmodo that claims exactly that and more!  The article was published in April, 2008 and claims that the latest patent for Nike+ shows all kinds of sensors monitoring heart rate, temperature, and hydration levels in addition to the sensor in the shoe for monitoring pace and distance (see picture above).  I could really care less about my temperature, and I think I have a pretty good grasp on keeping track of hydration levels while running, what I really want is the heart rate monitor!  

As soon as this product is on the market, it will be on my wish list for sure!

• WANT: Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit
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Race Bib and Medal

I finished the Half Marathon Saturday morning with an official time of 2:04:46, or about 4 minutes slower than my goal time of 2 hours.  As you’ll remember from my post a few days ago, I was 100 percent positive that I would beat that goal.  I had no idea what the weather would have in store for me, and apparently, neither did the weatherman.  

Christi, Grandma Shirley, and the kids

Race morning was supposed to be rainy, cloudy, wet, windy, and the high should have been only about 64 for the day.  So, I figured that the high for the race would be somewhere near 60.  Boy, was I ever wrong.  Our high temperature during the race was (and I’m guessing here) over 70, the sun was out, and we had somewhere near 90% humidity.  

Normally, I would be fine running under these conditions, but Saturday I wasn’t prepared.  So, that slowed me down quite a bit.  With the unexpected humidity, I just couldn’t get my pace up where I wanted it to be, and when I had a little wind to dry out the air, it turned out to be a lot of wind blowing right at me, slowing me down even further.  

So, all in all, I’m actually very happy with 2:04.  I’m actually proud that I kept the pace as well as I did, and I’m very impressed with my time.  

Christi, the kids, and Grandma Shirley (a.k.a. www.shirleyannesheart.com) came down to the finish line, and it was a great motivator to see them as I got near the end.  I could see the signs they made and hear lots of people cheering.
Seeing Cooper and Sarah still wearing their medals from Friday night’s Kid’s Run really let me know that they were proud of their accomplishment, and it was a lot of fun to show them my medal, too.  While going through the runner’s food tent with Cooper, they even gave him a banana.  I, of course, told him that they gave him the banana because he was obviously a runner wearing his medal!

This was, over all, a very fun event for me, and I can’t wait to do another half marathon.  I’ve even signed up for the full marathon next year, to give myself a new goal to shoot for.

Almost There!

• On the subject of being too busy to post
• 17 Days left! Almost Time to Taper
• Two Days Till Race Day!
• 13.1 Miles! I CAN DO IT!
• Happy New Year! 2008 in Review.

Friday night grandangels Sarah (age 9) and Cooper (age 5) ran the Richmond Times-Dispatch Mile Kids’ Run. It was the first run for both of them - and we had ever so much fun - even in the rain! Here they are BEFORE THE RACE. They had BRIGHT - DON’T NOTICE ME shirts! LOL

Here they are doing some pre-run warm ups. Cooper is in the red hat and Sarah is wearing a white hat.

Oh, they were SO PROUD of those medals! Here they are after the race - and Cooper is using his free drink to cool off with!

Today their dad ran the McDonald’s Half Marathon in Richmond, VA. Here he is with his fan club!

• Half Marathon Results!
• Happy New Year! 2008 in Review.
• Two Days Till Race Day!
• 17 Days left! Almost Time to Taper
• Adopting a new pet!

When I got home and opened the goody bags, Cooper took one look at Sarah’s race shirt, in neon yellow, and decided he wanted to race tonight!  So, I’ll be headed back to the Expo today to sign him up.  Thank goodness they allow late registrations!  

I’m even more excited today than I was yesterday.  I can’t wait for tomorrow to get here!

• Two Days Till Race Day!
• Adopting a new pet!
• Another Run and a Meeting With the Builder
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Friday night at 7:00 PM is the Richmond Times Dispatch Kids Run.  Sarah is going to race, and I’ll be right along side her making sure she stays on pace and doesn’t wear herself out too quickly.  The race is one mile, around the Richmond Sports Backers stadium and parking lot.  She’s run a mile before, in the Jog-n-Walk program at school.  She, Christi, and Cooper get up every Thursday morning (today’s the last one) and go do laps at the school.  Sarah regularly does 8 laps, which equals a mile.   She’s also done a training run with me.  She ran that one in about 12 minutes, but had to walk quite a bit.  I let her set the pace that day, and I think I’ll try to make her go a little slower to start the race on Friday, because she wore herself out pretty quickly when we ran together. She was very excited, and I know that will only be amplified on race day!  I’m still expecting her to finish somewhere around 12 minutes, but hopefully she’ll be able to run it all–I know she was a little disappointed she didn’t run the whole way when we ran together.  Good luck Sarah!

Of course, I’m extra excited about Saturday.  My goal is to finish all 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours.  I’ve already achieved this goal at home, so I’m secretly hoping to finish MUCH faster!  Wait, I guess that’s not a secret anymore, is it?  

This morning I ran 2 miles (tapering, remember?) in 17″47′.  This was a very easy 8″47′ per mile pace, if I multiply that pace over 13 miles (which is optimistic), I’ll be at about 1:55 on Saturday.  Since 9″00′ was my goal pace, I think I’ll be in good shape for 2 hour goal.  Plus, the pace this morning was very easy.  I was never out of breath, and, like all my shorter runs, I really wanted to go further.  

The only thing about Saturday that doesn’t excite me is the weather.  Right now, they are calling for rain on Saturday morning.  I hopeweather.com is wrong.  I can run in just about any weather without complaining, but rain is the one I like the least.  Plus, I don’t want to get my iPod wet.  So, if it’s raining, my iPod won’t be going with me to track my run.  Maybe I’ll stick it in a zip lock bag in my pocket, that way I can still use it.  I’ve got to figure something out, because over 13 miles, music is usually key to maintaining my pace.

Do you want to know how I’m doing as I run the race?  You can sign up for e-mail or text alerts on the race website.  Or, leave a comment at der5er.com (or send me an e-mail) and I’ll sign you up.  They’ll send an e-mail when I reach the 10k mark (6 miles, just a little under half way) telling you how fast I’m running and then at the finish, with my final time.  

This evening, when I leave work, I’ll head over to the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center to pick up Sarah and my race packets!  The Health and Fitness Expo is also there.  You have to walk through most of it to get your race packect, but that’s ok, because I would have wanted to see everything anyway.  I’ve got Christi’s camera with me, and if I see anything neat, I’ll be sure to post the pictures here!

• 13.1 Miles! I CAN DO IT!
• Half Marathon Results!
• The Nike+ Human Race 10k: 56 Minutes!
• 250 Miles!
• 17 Days left! Almost Time to Taper

Half Marathon Course Map

I’m not really looking forward to the next phase in my training.  The taper.  The taper is when I should taper off my training and not run as far, or as fast, or as often.  This is what I’ll be doing for the last two weeks before the half-marathon.  The goal of the taper is to rest up and give your muscles some recovery time before race day.  The secondary goal of the taper is to keep you free from injury before the race!  

I actually like running longer distances, tempo runs, and interval runs.  Today, for instance, I got up and ran 10 miles at what I consider to be my race pace, about 9 minutes per mile.  It was actually very nice, except for the wind blowing off the lake.  Not that the wind was cold, that was actually refreshing, it’s that the wind was blowing so hard, I think it actually slowed me down a bit.  

The longer distances are the times when I can usually just shut off my mind and run.  No thinking required.  It’s truly a moment of Zen for me.  I pushed myself today, running at the 9 minute pace, but that was the only thing I thought about.  I didn’t think about the project that didn’t go so well the night before at work, I didn’t think about the leaves I (still) need to clean up in the yard, and I didn’t think about how tired I was.  I think that’s the beauty of the long runs for me.  I get tired, but I don’t notice it until I stop running.  This happens on shorter runs, too, but it’s amplified on the long runs.  Doing long runs of 10 to 15 miles these last few weeks has actually led me to consider doing a full marathon next year.  

The only fun I can have Monday through Friday (unless I work nights), when I have less time to run, is to do what are called tempo runs or to run intervals.  Tempo runs are usually shorter distances that are run a little faster than your body naturally wants to.  They are important, because they train your muscles to run faster for longer periods of time.  I like tempo runs, but intervals are more fun for me.  I’ll go out and run 3 minutes as fast as I can, then spend two minutes at a slower pace, whatever is comfortable, repeating the cycle for however long I have to run that day.  I record some of my fastest times doing intervals, but I usually can’t go further than 4 miles.  Of course, 4 miles is perfect during the week when I have less than an hour to run before work.

I’m still looking forward to the half-marathon, just not this taper thing.  I wish I could keep doing long runs, tempo runs, and intervals right up to race day!

• 13.1 Miles! I CAN DO IT!
• Two Days Till Race Day!
• The Nike+ Human Race 10k: 56 Minutes!
• 250 Miles!
• Half Marathon Results!