Eblo

Running Other Than When Chased

An interweb friend just asked me about getting started running. The question was:
I'd like to start running. Do I really need to do a walking plan first like i keep reading? I do yoga & spinning now and some walking 5/wk.

I thought I'd post my response here in case anyone else cared.

First off, I am by no means an expert. I'm still trying to figure a lot of this stuff out myself and rely heavily on google, pre-established *conservative* running programs, and listening to my body.

I did not start with a walking routine per se. I actually started with bicycling and gradually added in running, but my initial running - even just a mile - had a lot of walk breaks sprinkled in - pretty much out of necessity. The key, I think, is to NOT overdo it. It takes a while for the knees, ankles, feet, and even bones to get used to the impacts and motions of running even if your heart and lungs have a good base (mine didn't). It's vastly different from riding a bike. So if you overdo it, it'll suck, and you'll never want to do it again. That's what kept me from running before - the classic folly of waking up one morning, deciding I needed to get into shape, running 2 blocks all-out, dying, and crawling back to the couch.

So, yes, there will be, and should be, some walking involved I would say. But how much depends on the feedback from your body. Even now, there are some 'runs' where I just don't have it and end up walking a good third or more. But that gets into the mental side of running a bit, too. :)

I know you're not starting from 'the couch,' but if you google "couch to 5k," you'll find a lot of good beginner advice. Again, I suggest starting conservative. The forums at RunnersWorld.com are pretty good, too, though I haven't been over there in a while myself.

One thing I find invaluable in training is my heart rate monitor. Training by one properly takes a whole new set of google searches, and again I make no claims of being an expert, but once I got the basics down, it really helped keep me from over exerting and burning out.

I hope this helps in some way. If you've got more questions, shoot, but remember, I don't know what I'm talking about!

Good luck. Get going!

MythTv ist kaput!

For a few months, smartd has been letting me know that the boot drive on my MythTV box was getting up in years - it's a 160 GB drive and I got it when those were about $150. I don't remember when that was, but it's been a few years and the thing runs 24/7/365. Anyway, I promptly ordered a 500 GB drive to replace it when those were about $150, but have yet to install it. It was going to be somewhat complicated because LVM spans to that drive. I don't have time. Etc. Etc.

This past weekend, MythTV crashed hard and wouldn't reboot. When attempting power cycles, I heard the dreaded "Click of Death" of a drive that doesn't know its ass from a hole in the ground. Damn.

At the time, we were heading out to early Christmas with the in-laws and I'd been up all night, coincidentally, recovering stuff off a failed external backup drive. So I didn't have it in me to deal with it at the time. I removed the offending/clicking drive, threw it in the freezer, and did my best to forget about it (yes, I know the freezer trick is unlikely to do any good in this case, but it doesn't hurt to try).

A few days later, I had some time to throw the remaining drives into a freshly installed Debian box to survey the landscape and see if my system backups were intact - there's a relatively new 320 GB drive in there as well with 100 GB set aside for music files and the rest reserved for backup files. I've got rsync scripts which mirror stuff from my local linux boxes to there. My hope was to get to the backups, mirror it to the 500 GB replacement drive, hack LILO a bit, and hopefully be back up and running.

Imagine my surprise when I mounted the non-LVM partitions and found the /, /usr/, /var/, and /home/ partitions intact! So wait, what? WHICH DRIVE IS IN THE FREEZER THEN? Sure as shit, the drive which failed was the MP3 drive. The backup drive. The NEWEST drive which has NEVER thrown a SMART error. WTF? The up-side is that - yay, my MythTV video files were safe because my LVM partitions are still around. And yay, I still have all of the original CDs we've owned and the stuff I've purchased digitally is for the most part also on my laptop AND on my iPod. But the bummer is that unless I can pull the files off my iPod with Amarok, which I may, I'll have to re-rip all those CDs. I'll also lose an ass-tonne of podcasts, grey-market MP3s, and random things I stashed on that drive 'temporarily,' like rips of DVDs for transfer to our iPods. Also, backups. Gone.

But wait, there's more!!!
(but I never finished this post)

2008 Team Ortho Monster Dash Half Marathon Race Report

Click to listen, right-click to save -> 2008 Team Ortho Monster Dash Half Marathon Race Report - October 25 - 33MB - 48:09

On October 25, 2008, My Darling Rose and I ran the Team Ortho Monster Dash Half Marathon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was my first half marathon and MDR's third. This is our race report while driving home a few days after the race. Sorry about the fussy baby in the background.

Some links:

Team Ortho
http://www.teamortho.us/

Medals for Mettle
http://medals4mettle.org/

Course Map
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/mn/minneapolis/154103639181

Out Out Out the Door!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd-MWlCQvH8

Contact info:
- email: eblo at ratula dot net
- My voicemail line is dead from neglect.
- skype: oblivion9999
- Subscribe to my podcasts via RSS:
- My banners and promos

Olympia Phantom Riding Suit Follow-up Review

Nearly 6 months ago I got an Olympia Phantom one-piece riding suit and did an audio review. Someone just asked me how I like my suit and I decided it was time to do a follow-up review. It's been nearly 6 months and perhaps 4,000 miles, so I've got some additional experience with the suit now.

Bullet points since that initial review:
- I'm still wearing it every day, so I must like it/or at least tolerate it (I like it).
- The high-viz gets dirty REALLY easily, especially if you have oil weeping from a bad valve cover seal (it's fixed now, but the legs still show the signs).
- The 'seat sliding' I mentioned in the review was a non-issue after about 2 days - as was shoulder fatigue I think I mentioned.
- Fit-wise I was right between L and XL. I went XL and am glad - L was a bit sung shoulders-to-crotch with the liner in (and I'm not that tall). Without the liner (95% of the time - i.e. when the temp is above 45F) - and after losing about 25 pounds - I feel a bit like I'm a little kid wearing my dad's suit. Points to Aerostitch if you can afford a custom fit, I guess. I'd definitely suggest trying one on and sitting on a bike (preferably yours) with it on to ensure proper fit/comfort.
- 'Stitch users often state how much harder this suit is to get into versus a Roadcrafter. They always cite '30 seconds' as the mystical time barrier at which they can get into or out of their 'Stitch, but they can't in a Phantom. I've never tried on a Roadcrafter, and I can tell you the first few times I put on the Phantom, it was a bit awkward. But if you wear the thing every day, which is kind of the point, you can easily get in and out of it in under 30 seconds, especially after the super-strong velcro has a chance to settle down a bit. ;) I should do a video of getting in and out of it - I bet I could get it on AND off in 30 seconds. Sure it takes a little longer with the liner in, but really, the liner is only going to be in about 3-4 months out of the year. BTW, the leg openings easily fit over my boots.
- As for rain, I've never been in any for more than about 20 minutes, though some of that has been heavy. I always show up dry, even without the liner, unless I opt to leave some vents open - but even then I'm only wet around the open vents, not seams, seat, or anywhere I shouldn't be. I recently washed the suit and have not yet re-treated it with NikWax, so I'd be curious to see how it holds out the water now, but I'll be treating it soon.
- PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE ME. My near-manslaughter moments have been reduced to weekly occurrences as opposed to daily (got to love commuting). Now if someone tries to occupy my space, I assume they're doing it on purpose. BTW, a lot of little kids wave sheepishly from the back seat - must be the Power Ranger thing.
- One complaint in a lot of reviews which I agree with is that given the extra room in my fit, I'm not sure how long the knee or other armor would stay in place when needed. There are pockets to keep it in place, but I really think it's a crapshoot.
- The back pocket is really nice for throwing a hydration pack in for longer rides.
- Other pockets are roomy, many are waterproof, and they're easy to get into and use even with gloves on.
- So far (4,000 miles or so), there's no apparent wear (pulled seams, loose threads, etc.). The only 'damage' I have is that some of the arm vent mesh (football jersey mesh, not Phoenix Jacket mesh) got caught in the zipper and there's a small hole. I wish that mesh was a bit more substantial, but the venting is nice.
- Oh, the venting is nice. I wish there was some reliable way to cool the leg/crotch region - which is a persistent hot spot - but that's the price of protection, I guess. It would be nice to be able to open the leg zippers a bit from the top down, but they only zip bottom-up.
- I don't regret the purchase and would buy one again. Sure, there's room for improvement, but I feel it's a good bang for the buck.

Any specific questions, let me know: oblivion at ratula dot net

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Random YouTube Video

Van + boat trailer - turn signal = asshat. This wasn't a horrible cut-off, but it is a pretty good example about how other drivers don't 'see' or care about motorcyclists, even ones wearing bright neon green and yellow outfits.

Note that he comes all the way over from the entrance ramp passing right through another lane.

And yes, I was doing the speed limit.