Kettle Moraine Day 2

Hiked close to 4 miles of the Ice Age trail at Kettle Moraine State Park in Wisconsin today.

A morraine is a deposit of rocks and boulders left by the retreating glaciers. The area in the state park is filled with these rocky hills and are challenge to walk over because there are so many rocks.

The night air is warmer this evening, so it should make for comfortable sleeping.

Tomorrow we have a good breakfast and then pack up to head home.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Kettle Morraine Day 1

It's close to 7 p.m. and I've just settled in to camp at beautiful Kettle Morraine State Park near Eagle, Wi.

I'm actually here with about 15 other campers with a camping enthusiasts group that I'm in. Looks like good times are ahead.

I'll be here until Sunday. My trusty Treo still has service and data on the Sprint network, so I'll try and post again soon.

LOTS of VERY large mosquitos here!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

How about a nice knuckle sandwich?

If I ever find the idiot that marked up this dollar bill enough to keep it from being scanned through the candy bar machine, I'm going to pull the Snickers bar I missed out on right out of his...

Well, you get the picture.

Running Log 9/23/07

(These are boring, I know)

Miles: 3.5
Avg. Speed: 6.1 mph
Time: 38:06:50

I took four day's of rest after my first 5K on Sept. 16, and started back up with a light run on Friday and a long run on Sunday. I'm on my way to doubling my mileage to 6.21 miles (10K) which I'd like to complete in about 54 minutes.

I'm experimenting with changing up the way I breathe when running because I don't think I was getting enough oxygen. I felt like I was losing energy during my long runs. I was breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, so I decided to reverse that during my run on Sunday, and it made quite the difference. It's amazing how such a small adjustment can completely change the way I feel when running. Now the challenge is to train my brain to get used to my breathing method. Concentrate!

I'll be filling out the paperwork for another 5K this week. This next one takes place in Fox River Grove on October 21. I'd like to get one more race in before the really cold weather sets in.

This week I will be doing some strength training with some short runs in between a few busy days before I leave for another camping trip near the end of the week.

Press Kit No No's

Yes folks, this band press kit is wrapped in plastic that is VACUUM SEALED!

It's a first.

The only way into the contents of this thing is by the way of scissors, thereby damaging the contents within.

From the looks of it, there's no way whatever is inside is going to come out unscathed.

Do I really want to go through the trouble?

This CD better be good.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Press Kits Galore

Oh how I love the trips to the Jstreet PO Box.

Lots of new local music to listen to. I hope there's some good stuff in here!

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Running Log 9/16/07- Condell 5K results

What: 31st Annual Condell Distance Classic
Sept. 16, 2007
Start time: 8:10 a.m.

Finish time: 0:27:35.1
Overall Finish Place: 180 out of 559
Overall Male Group Finish Place: 123 out of 261
Overall Age Group Finish Place: 22 out of 40
Average Time per mile: 08:35.9

See the complete race results

I'm very happy with these results. I beat my personal best time of 30 minutes for a 3.1 miler. Getting 180th place out of 559 isn't too bad either.

I started my day at 5 a.m., gathered my things, and arrived at Condell around 7 a.m. to check in and begin warming up. The air temp was still in the upper 40's and chilly! I was just a little nervous, but driving the course the day before made me relax a bit because I knew what to expect. Starting to run in that big crowd at the Starting line was something else, and an experience I won't soon forget.

I started out strong. I was a bit surprised to look at my watch at mile one and see that I was at eight minutes- a little early considering I was averaging ten minute miles during practice. Still, I felt good, had a lot of energy, the course was mostly flat, and the nagging knee pain I had earlier in the week was non-existent. The training I had during my two years running Cross Country during high school played a big part in how good I felt.

I missed the first water station completely because I was zoned into my run. I thought that may have been a mistake, but I hydrated myself well enough before the run that I didn't miss it. I did grab water at the 2nd water station near the 3 mile mark, but ended up with water up my nose! Let me tell you, drinking water out of a paper cup at 5K pace (6.5 mph) is more of a challenge than I expected! Put a check mark in the practice column for that one.

I had one guy run out of gas after about two miles right in front of me. He came out of nowhere along my left side, crossed in front of me, and slowed down so fast that I nearly ran into him. All I remember seeing is a blur zoom right by me.

I felt great coming up to the finish and picked up the pace about double what I was doing during the last half mile. I stopped so fast crossing the finish line that I nearly tripped with all of the momentum I had. Sorry to the girl I planted my face on the middle of her back!

Hopefully this is a start on the road to Chicago's 13 mile Distance Classic next year- my overall goal marathon.

God willing.

One 5k in the books

I beat all of my personal best times! I'm extremely happy with my run.

0:27:35

More later...

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

4106 is my new lucky number

My Condell 5K race numbers.

My Sept. 16, 5K Race Details

*** This article is updated frequently ***

For those that are interested...

I know some of you have asked me in the past about the details of my 5K race this coming Sunday, Sept. 16, and I didn't have much to go on. So here are the details if you're interested in coming by to cheer on the runners:

What:
Condell Distance Classic 5K/10k Race

Where:
For internet directions, use 900 Garfield Ave., Libertyville, IL 60048 as your destination. Condell Medical Center campus is easily accessible via Condell Drive (located on Milwaukee Ave./Route 21 between Route 176 and Golf Road). There is free parking in the Condell lots.

**Added 9/14: Head for the water tower when you enter the Condell park. The Start/Finish lines are near it along with the parking lots.

(PDF map of route)


View Larger Map

When:
Sunday, Sept. 16
My run starts at 8:10 a.m. sharp in the 5K class. I will be arriving between 7 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. for warmups. I hope to finish in about a half hour- around 8:40 or 8:45 a.m., unless I pass out or have a heart attack, whichever comes first.

Why:
I will be reviving my high school Cross Country days when I loved to long-distance run! I don't plan on breaking any records, but hope to just complete my first race and accomplish my goal after many weeks of working towards it.

I will have my cell turned on until race time should you need to reach me.

Running Log 9/8/07

UPDATE: I ran a 3.1 miler in 30 mins. 43 seconds with little discomfort in my knee. I was being careful and going just under my 5K speed at around 6 mph, so it makes me a happy camper. I'm still a little sore, but I'm better off than I thought I'd be.

I've suffered a minor setback.

I'm getting a sharp pain in my lower quadricep muscle just above my right knee during my runs as of late. I've cranked up my workouts ahead of my 5K race on Sept. 16, so I'm hoping it's just an aggravated muscle or tendon.

The funny thing is is that it doesn't bother me any other time. I have no pain when I walk, sit up/down, climb stairs, or any other activity that doesn't involve running. It also doesn't last long after my run. But still, when there is pain, it means something is wrong and you should slow down or stop. It seems minor, but I'd rather be safe, so I'm taking it slow and concentrating my stretches along that right side.

With the race a week away, I'd like to get another long run in, maybe two. It's all going to depend on what my knee tells me. I'm hoping that with a light workout and some rest it will go away (crosses fingers).

The new clothing I bought that is specialized for activities such as running makes a world of difference as to how I feel during my workouts. No more sweat-soaked shirts (gross, I know) to bog me down.

I'm off to ice up my knee and rest it up before my next trip to the gym tomorrow.

Gadget World Madness- my thoughts

I'm still catching my breath from all of the recent technology news that has popped up this week. I do have a few thoughts on things that I'll quickly summarize here:

Palm Foleo Cancelled:

My Treo was abuzz Tuesday afternoon with Twitter tweets, Google alerts, and finally an email from Palm president and CEO, Ed Colligan, announcing the end of the Foleo, for now anyway:

"I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market." -Ed Colligan, President & CEO, Palm Inc. (from the Official Palm Blog)

Initially, I had mixed feelings about the Foleo. I can understand having a large screen to browse the web, sync and read my email, etc., but I have a low profile laptop that does the job really well. Even still, I couldn't picture paying $599 for it.

I hope Palm can lick their wounds on this, focus, and come out with the ultimate smartphone product for us Palm loyalists.

iPod Mania:

Update: Steve Jobs to offer early iPhone buyers $100 store credit after news of price drop.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the newest line of iPods on Wednesday, including the new iPod Touch, which is the equivalent of the iPhone without the phone part. And to the dismay of many iPhone early adopters, the price of the phone was dropped $200 after only two months on the market. The news of this price drop was not taken lightly by a friend of mine who bought the phone on the day it was released. He considered the news "aggravating" and a "slap in the face" by Apple.

I, too, was eager to get in line to get an iPhone when it was released last June, but I was only a few months into a new Palm Treo 755P, and I couldn't part with Sprint, my long time carrier (and happy customer). I seriously had a gut feeling that Apple was going to release a new iPod with iPhone features, but wasn't sure when. I guess I learned my lesson a couple of years ago when I purchased a Sony Clie UX-50 Palm PDA at Best Buy. It was the highest I'd ever paid for a PDA at $599. This device was way ahead of its time, and came with wireless, bluetooth, voice recorder, camera & video recorder, thumb keyboard, and a high-res flip screen. The UX-50 was discontinued (as was their entire PDA line) by Sony only 5 months after I had purchased it, and it left me fuming.

I never bought another Sony product again.

So what's next?

The life of a gadget lover is hard. Do you get the latest and greatest now? Or wait to see what happens? Do I need it now? (shakes head yes). Can I afford it now? (shakes head maybe). Technology moves at break neck pace, and it's hard to keep up- take that from a career IT guy. But still, it's always fun to browse a store shelf or two to see what new toys are out there- just leave the wallet at home (yea right).

Palm Foleo Cancelled?

Looks to be true according to Palm's official blog.

I myself was looking forward to see what this 'Treo companion' can do.

The news is very fresh as of this post, so check out my Shared Feeds box along the right side of this page for the latest posts from gadget blogs around the world.

I'll post more as I can find them..

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Beach Days

Capping a beautiful Labor Day weekend at Waukegan's north beach.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Softball Sunday

Everyone's putting in their annual workout playing softball at Victory park, Waukegan.

My legs are a quite sore after a couple of consecutive 3 miler's this weekend... Ouch.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone

Beach Bums

Enjoying the end of summer days at Waukegan's beautiful north beach with friends.

The sand has been battered down by all of the recent rains, but the sun is warm and the drinks are cold.

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Sent with a Sprint Treo 755P Smartphone