Jeff’s Amazing blog

Thanks to Linc for pointing out that it’s National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). I don’t know who comes up with these things, but it’s a good idea I guess. If I had known about it in advance, I might have given it a shot. As it is I’ve already failed, but I’m not too upset. Life is busy.

I guess a quick update wouldn’t hurt. I’m actually enjoying Twitter and hope to write about that in detail at some point. Working from home, it helps me feel I’m more connected to humanity if I can look and see posts going by.

I’m still running a lot and am signed up for the 100th annual Cincy Thanksgiving Day Race, which will be my first 10K. Some new aches and pains lately, but I’m surprised that my body continues to adapt to the increasing levels of stress I’m subjecting it to. I’m not even sore from the 5 mile run I did 2 days ago, when it would have killed me 4 months ago.

I continue to study for my  RCHE exam that I’ll be taking in December. It’s a lot of material to cover, but I’m surprised at how much I already know. 10 years of Linux experience isn’t wasted, and I see now that maintaining a home server has been good practice.

Other than that, I’m just busy. Lots to do and lots to deal with, but I’d rather be busy on what I love than bored and hopeless.

The Reggae Run in Cincinnati is like a big party with a 5K in the middle of it. It’s a race through a hilly neighborhood with free food, drinks and a reggae band at the end. People show up in reggae hats with fake dreadlocks and various other crazy gear. Last year 8000 people came, and this year they kept saying it was by far the biggest year ever.

Even showing up an hour early we had to park on side streets and walk 20 minutes to the park. There was no chance of getting to the car and back before the race, so we ditched our race shirts and spare clothes under a bush. and went to the starting line.

The first leg is a rolling downhill slope of about a mile. My running partner helped me keep my pace down so I wouldn’t wear myself out. It’s easy to get pulled along by the people who kept passing (by the hundreds) but I knew I had to save my strength. Some were yelling and singing and some were even drinking as they ran. The neighborhood turns out to watch and cheer. Some houses had the windows open with reggae blasting out. At the bottom of the hill is a sharp right up Delta Ave which is a half mile straight uphill.

At this point most of the pack I was running with stopped and started walking. We ran part of this Thursday, so I knew what I was up against and kept trudging up the hill. Since it’s straight you can see the top of the hill. Once there, it’s a right turn onto what looks like a flat stretch. It’s not until you make the turn that you see another short, steep hill. I’ll not repeat the language that came out of people who thought the uphill was over.

I knew what to expect so I just kept trudging up the hill. At the top there’s a little bit of flat ground that leads to a couple rolling hills before the long uphill grade back to the park and the finish line. This was the fun part, as the hills were steep enough that I leaned forward, lengthened my stride and just blasted down, passing people like crazy. Gravity just carried me along. On the upslope I leaned back and shortened my stride again letting some of the people pass I’d just flown by. Next hill I blasted down again then I started the long slow trudge to the finish line. I’d saved just enough strength to make it, but the last mile keeps curving so you can never see the end. I was so glad to see the finish line and be done with it.

The party was just nuts. By the time we grabbed our clothes from under the bush and changed shirts, the crowd was packed elbow to elbow around the food tents, and boy was I hungry. Lines where slow because by the time we got there they couldn’t keep up with the demand. The line to the beer truck was just this huge mass of people that didn’t seem to be moving so we gave up. We went up and watched the band and it was nice to just stand in one place for a while. With reggae though, I’m not likely to stand still. The race is in memory of a girl named Maria who was murdered running in that area, and the band told her story. After a few more songs we started the long walk back to the car.

It was a fabulous time and I can see it becoming a yearly tradition for me. Anyone who can at least walk 3 miles ought to try it. I met my goal of finishing without walking, I challenged myself a little and I had fun.

OK. I’ve become just a tiny bit more stupid. I am now on the microblogs.

I was palying with Gwibber, which is a Linux Twitter client (among other things). Seems to work a lot better if you have an account for it to follow.

So I’m on the Twitter with ID Gomer_X. If you want to follow, whatever. I might say some interesting stuff, but I’m not one to let everyone know when I’m going to work or taking a crap. 

So a little over a week ago I went hiking with my usual hiking partner to Quiet Trails State Nature Preserve in Kentucky. If you didn’t know it was there you’d probably drive by it and not notice. There’s a gravel parking lot that might hold 5 cars and a small sign, but that’s it. We stopped to ask directions at a gas station and the lady looked at someone else and said “ain’t that where they built that house?” We felt confident with these directions that we’d make it. Just look for where they “built that house” and we’d be sure to find it.

The trails themselves where as advertised: quiet. We saw no one the whole time we were there. There is a big green mailbox near the trailhead that holds maps, a clipboard to register your visit and lots of roaches! We did find one trail (the westernmost leg of the Deep Hollow trail) that was blocked by downed trees. We never found the trail again and wound up taking a compass bearing and hiking off trail until we got back to the truck since we were just 50 yards out. Otherwise the trails are clear and mostly well marked.

After hiking the main trails we decided to do the short out-and-back White Tail Rest trail. Near the end, my partner stopped me and whispered “hey look over there.” After a few seconds I made out a donkey through the trees. I’ve seen deer, rabbits, snakes and lots of other things on hikes, but never a donkey. I checked later and they’re not native to the forests of Kentucky, so this one must have gotten loose from a nearby farm. I tried to slowly move close enough to get off a couple pictures with my camera phone. When I got closer than 30 feet it started snorting, twitching its ears at me and eventually moved farther away. I had a spare apple in my pack so I tossed it in the donkey’s general direction and headed back.

Here’s the best shot of the 2 I took.

In March I started running again after a 5 year break. It was a lot harder getting started this time, but I’m glad I did. Back then I trained for a 5K race and after I was successful I trained for another 5K. The training program I use builds you up slowly to running 3 miles. After the race I just kept going trying to build up my mileage. When I hit 3.5 miles it was much harder than I expected and I had to slow my pace just to finish the run.

I was discouraged because until then I had steadily built up my mileage and my pace week by week. I hadn’t expected to hit a wall and it shook me up. I backed off on my running, eventually got out of the habit and quit.

I’ve learned a lot since then and today I ran 4 miles. It’s an important goal for me because somewhere in the back of my mind I was afraid of hitting that wall again. It feels great to break the barrier and now I feel like there are no limits if I just keep at it.

What made the difference? I’ve got people involved this time. I’ve got a guy I run with once a week and people to pat me on the back and encourage me. I also realize you can’t expect to keep improving at a steady rate forever. Progress tapers off and sometimes you have setbacks. I’ve been reading Hal Higdon’s book “Run Fast” and have learned a lot about training. My long runs I do at a slower pace with a focus on just finishing, and I pick up the pace on the shorter runs through the week. I’ve also learned that my mood, the weather, my diet and how much sleep I’ve gotten really affect my performance. There’s no shame in slowing down or cutting a run short if I’m feeling tired.

It’s good to reach a goal I’ve been working towards for months. As I get older I realize that there are no shortcuts. Nothing happens without work, and no goal is achieved without discipline, hard work and putting in the time week after week.