Blood Sky

Some sunsets just make you glad to be alive.  This was the scene outside my hotel in Corpus Christi this evening. I am writing this while sitting out on the balcony watching the boats bob up and down in the marina and enjoying a slight sea breeze.  Of course, it's still 92F and humid as all get out, but you can't have everything, right?

I think I will get up early in the morning and go run along the shoreline for a few miles to earn my breakfast before heading off to our client's site.

Five Legs, Two Boys and a Bunch of Wood

This is how I chose to spend most of the record breaking hottest weekend of the year.  It registered over 110F in Austin on Saturday, and 112 today.  Despite this, I decided to get my woodworking hat back on and spent the day in the garage sweating myself into puddledom, drinking gallons of water and building the desks I planned last week.  I got a beautiful piece of birch hardwood, and ended up with three custom desks - one for Gavin's room, one for what will be Dylan's room, and one L-shaped beauty to replace my current work desk.  The picture above is of me and the Gavster measuring and marking our first cuts (the netbook is open to the 3D plans and measurements I put together in the brilliant Google Sketchup).  It was fun to do a project with Gavin, though he wasn't too happy that I wouldn't let him have a go with the circular saw or router (especially since I let him use the nail gun on my last project).

Gavin's desk has an odd shape built to fit into a specific space, so requires five legs.  He was excited because I've also built him a custom computer to go with it.  I figured as a new first grader, he needed his own special "study spot".

To complement my "honey do" weekend, I also cleared out a bunch of baby toys, strollers, high chairs and the like from the garage and the attic.  We are reclaiming space at a rate of knots!!!

On the running front, I celebrated the hottest day of the year by "running" 14 miles.  I say "running" because it was a horrible effort.  I couldn't seem to stop myself overheating, and slowed way down.  There was a bit of walking and a lot of whining.  I ended up averaging about 9:30/mile, and spent the drive home wondering why I can't seem to put together a decent run anymore.

Then I stepped outside later that morning and wondered how the heck I'd managed to run 14 miles in that heat.  I have some friends who ran a 60k all night race last night, and I don't understand how they did it - it was still well over 100F when the race started.

I will admit to some "glad that's not me" feelings as I went to bed last night. Give me cold and icy conditions any day.

This morning was another Walnut Creek "dust bowl" run, and again I felt much better than I did yesterday - still enjoying my trail return.  And in the quest to stop kicking my own ass every Saturday, I am gaining weaponry in the shape of extra running buddies for midweek runs.  At the time of morning I run, I really need motivation to get out of bed - having to meet somebody makes me accountable and (usually) ensures I don't turn off that alarm clock and go back to sleep.

Up this week - early morning runs tomorrow (with Frank) and Tuesday (with Clea), and then a business trip to Corpus the rest of the week.

Planning 16 for next Saturday.  Wonder if I'll make it.

It Looks So Realistic

3D without the glasses?

What do you think of the 3D capabilities of my TV? Just jumps out at you, doesn't it - and that's just the box!!!

This weekend was "reclaim the house" weekend.  Since my father-in-law left, our third bedroom has been more or less a storage space.  We moved our bulky old TV in there when we got the new flatscreen a while back, along with the box for the new one, the old audio receiver and various other bits and bobs we needed to get round to recycling.

Needless to say, there was not much room to move around in there.

So this weekend I decided I wanted the third bedroom transformed into Dylan's room, which is why Saturday afternoon found me sweating like a pig and swearing like a sailor in 108F Texas heat trying to figure out how to lift a 200lb+ projection TV into the back of my SUV.  After a lot of strategizing, straining and huffing and puffing, I finally managed to get it in there, drove it (along with a bunch of other stuff) to Goodwill, and cleared the room out.  A couple of trips to IKEA, some more purging of the back closet and we have something that looks suspiciously like a bedroom again.

A comfortable, cosy and inviting one at that.

In the meantime, my planning and scheming brain has been working overtime to figure out how to fit desks into the challenging profile of both Dylan and Gavin's rooms.  Thanks to Google Sketchup and my own cunning, I have come up with what I think is a really smart custom design that fits into a little nook at the end of the bunk bed and utilizes the space really well.  I cut out a scale model using the cardboard from the TV box and it seems to work great.  If I'm really smart, I may even extend to integrating the computer into the desk itself, so you'd press buttons on the desk to turn it on or off.

That, of course, would entail some more woodworking in the hothouse that is our garage.

In the meantime, this comfy chair appears to have become Dylan's favored "study spot".  Do you notice how the little scamp has laid claim to my netbook?  He knows exactly how to switch it on and open it up.  I only hope he hasn't figured out my password yet!!!

He wants to be just like daddy!!!

And of course, since I said in my last post that I've been catching a hint of fall in the air, the temperatures have been trending up.  I even saw some 110s in the forecast.  Sorry everyone!!!

I still stand by what I said though - there is a noticeable difference in the mornings.

Last Saturday I felt a lot more like my old self (the "winter" me), and didn't drop off the back of our running group.  In fact, it is time to implement San Antonio marathon training plan version 2.0, which calls for 14 miles this weekend.

This week has been taken up by back-to-school activities (Gavin is now a proud 1st grader), and study for OLAP certification exams for me.  Was supposed to take the test this morning at 8am, but instead sat in the test center for two hours while the staff tried to figure out how to get their servers back up and running, chain-smoked outside, and complained to me about their co-workers.  All this for a 90 minute exam.

Luckily, once they got everything working I flew through it and pulled a 96%.  Sweet - I guess I really do know what I'm doing with this multidimensional stuff.  Who knew?  I thought I was just good at BS!!!

Going to reward myself tonight by starting on Mockingjay - the final part of the Hunger Games trilogy.  In case I haven't said so before, it's a brilliant series and well worth a read.

Anyone else out there read it?

A Hint of Fall?

I swear I caught a hint of Fall on this morning's run. Now I know that sounds really silly when it's going to get up to 105F again today, but the humidity was definitely a lot lower than it's been in a long time, there was a nice breeze, and I actually felt really good.

And it was a beautiful morning. Nancy has been summoned to Brownwood, so me and the Gavster took Dylan to daycare, and I caught even more of that Fall promise - something about the light or the sun or just the general feel that lets me know that cooler days are coming.

Or maybe it was the fact that I saw some stores laying out their Halloween decorations at the weekend.

Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. Whatever it was, it put a spring in my step.

And in the week that Texas's own gun-slinging coyote-slaying Governor announces he's running for president, I also have a request for your vote. My running partner has applied to be part of Team Refuel. You can help her out by going here, searching for "Clea" and voting for her.  If she wins, she is going to donate her grant to the Trail Foundation.  I know many of you Austinites use the trail regularly, so it's a win-win right?

You can vote once a day.  Just saying.

Go team chocolate milk!!!

Back on the Trail

It rained this evening, for the first time since about April.  We were so excited that Nancy, Gavin, Dylan and I staged an impromptu game of basketball in the rain.  We all got soaked, and the three of them then kicked off their shoes and went for a walk/run around the block while I pulled a camping chair out onto the porch and enjoyed watching the water fall from the sky.

I love the rain - just wish we could have had a bit more of it.  Unfortunately I suspect it was a bit too late to save my vegetable garden.

Yesterday I did 12 muggy road miles and was slower than ten bears.  It's just not working for me at the moment, and I have taken to "easing off the back" of my little running group when I feel the need for a break.  No big deal.  I remember feeling just as crappy this time last year, and didn't run too badly that winter.

This morning I met Clea up at Walnut Creek for a pre-dawn 7 mile trail run.  It was a nice variation to our usual Sunday Danish run - I haven't run trail by headlamp since Rocky Raccoon back in February, and I loved it, loved it, loved it.  It had all the good things I'd forgotten I enjoyed about running trail, and a welcome reminder that you don't have to run crazy distances to be a trail runner.  We talked and laughed about all kinds of stuff ranging from Rick Perry to Rango (we'd both bought the movie this weekend), kept up a good pace, and I felt better and stronger the further we went.  We were even able to turn off our headlamps for the last few miles and enjoy a beautiful sunrise over the woods.  The first mountain bikers were just getting ready to set out when we finished up, and it was a good feeling to have had a good run and be done before 7am.

I'm glad I got up for it, though I was definitely cursing when my alarm clock went off this morning because I was up until the early hours reading "Catching Fire", the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Wow, what can I say - amazingly well written, emotionally draining, tail twisting page turners out of the top drawer.  The best books I've read in a very long time.  I can't wait to start on the last book to finish out the trilogy.

A Slight Re-Think

I am altering my marathon plan to basically tread water for a while.  This record-breaking summer has been brutal, and it is not fun nor sensible to bang out 20 milers in this heat.  I will re-evaluate how realistic my sub-3 hour marathon goal is in a few months time when I hit the sharpening phase, but the new focus for my base building is simple survival.  To be honest, that's not much different from last year, and I didn't do too badly once fall came around.  So I'm not going to worry about pace or the like, just keep a decent distance for my long runs and anything else will be a bonus.

Including getting out of bed for my early morning midweek runs!!!

Pictures from Colorado

We're back from Colorado. Had a great time and did not miss the Texas heat one little bit. We got back at midnight last night to be greeted by 90F at the airport - a sobering return to reality!!!

It was 5 days of eating, lots of drinking, late nights, magnificent scenery and great company.  Our ranch was at 8,500ft with spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and I even managed to get in a few runs (hilly rocky trails, but with zero humidity).

Here are some of the highlights.

Scenic stopoff on the way to the top of Pike's Peak

40F at 14,110ft on the summit - bloody marvelous

Looking down from the top as the weather closes in

The view toward Manitou Springs

Looking up the incline railway at the Royal Gorge

Me and Dylan on the railway.  I love this picture.

The afternoon rain moves in across the Sangre de Cristo mountains

Me and the Gavster enjoying the mountains

Gavin on the trail

Garden of the Gods

Nancy and the boys taking a break