It's freakin' hot here in North Texas. I think we've (read: I) have been spoiled over the last couple summers. It just hasn't been this nasty hot since we've lived here. (I have no statistics to back that up and I'm quite certain I say the same thing every summer.) Here's the forcast for the next 7 days:







I stole this video from Half Fast, who undoubtedly stole it from someone else. Regardless, it's damn funny.

run, study, run, sleep, repeat

Yep, that's pretty much what I do these days. Although, I forgot to add work to that list. Now that I passed the ICND1 exam I'm moving on to the ICND2. However, my employer wants me to get a microsoft cert as well. So studying for 70-291 which is the network infrastructure exam on the MCSE/MCSA track. I've read that it's really hard, but to tell you the truth so far it seems like pretty easy material after studying the Cisco stuff. I'm really into Cisco right now so I'll probably keep studying for that at the same time. Seems like if I take much time off between ICND1 and 2 then I'll lose some momentum...and certainly some knowledge.

Running content...3 miles on the treadmill. Slowly getting back to it. I ran 12 miles last week and hope to have my 12 this week. I'm going to start writing a little more about my cisco studies..but I think i'll probably start a new blog for that. We'll see.

Later,
Ryan

Passed

Passed my ICND1 test today with an 875. Whoop!

iphone update

For those with an original iphone, non 3g, if you want the new 2.0 firmware early here's a link. Follow the instructions and it works great!

2.0 Firmware Link

4th of July Weekend

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. Our was pretty relaxing. Went to a BBQ with some friends on Friday, ran 3 miles on the treadmill Sat and did absolutely nothing today. Perfect.

It's back to work tomorrow. I'm studying for a Cisco test, ICND1. It's the first test in the CCNA certification path. I'm pretty confidant that I'll be able to pass it. Now I just need to schedule the test. I've used three study guides, the Cisco Press ICND1 official guide, Sybex book and testking.com practice tests. I also setup a pretty cool router sim this weekend. It's called dynamips. Was a bit of a pain in the ass to setup, but once it was done it works well. You actually download and run real cisco IOS's on the virtual router hardware. So unlike a sim, this really is the IOS and you have complete control and can use any command just as if you had an actual router. It only supports certain routers, but any router is fine for me at this point. Only thing I wish I could do with it is load IOS for switches. So far it looks like you can only setup routers.

Ryan

I've finally started running again!

I started a new job the first of May and that's been keeping me pretty busy. But I'm determined to get back to it. So I'm starting slow.

Stormy Thursday...

Big storms last night at about 4am. Lot's of lightening and thunder. No tornado's though, that's a bonus. As soon as it gets light outside I'll be able to assess how much of my tree is scattered about my yard! Of course dogbert and catbert were up most of the night..so not much sleep on our household last night! I'll post some pics for nobody to look at later.

BTW - on another subject, I wanted to throw this blog out there for anyone that hasn't read it: http://trailgirl.blogspot.com/, it's a great blog. And by putting a link here I'm hoping I'll get some hits. :)

Ryan

April!

Hey, sorry it's been a week since my last post. But I suppose nobody is too upset...as I'm fairly sure I'm the only one that reads this blog! :) But that's OK! I took Pepper out on Sat. for a three mile run. That's our longest so far. She was great and I was really tired!

Have a good April Fools Day!

Ryan

On a roll...

Beautiful evening here in TX. I took Pepper out for a quick 2 mile run. I've decided it's best to use her on my fast days, as she only has one speed. Fast. Here's a pic of catbert and dogbert.

Sunday...

Happy Easter everyone!

Running content: ran 4m yesterday and am heading out for another 4 today.

See ya
Ryan


oh and here are a few pics of us setting up for our garage sale last weekend. Everything you see was sold! Everything!

Back at it...

Finally got back to running this week. Wow, what beat down that is after taking the better part of a month off! Monday was 3 miles on the treadmill and Wednesday was 2 miles at the park with my dog. This was our first run together where I really tried to go at my pace and keep her moving along. She was great, it was a fast pace but even and she loved it.

The OKC Memorial Marathon is not happening for me this year, so for those of you counting, that's two events that I wussed out on so far! I'm going to plan for a fall marathon and maybe even a summer Tri if I can find a good one. I already booked my hotel for the OKC so I think the wife and I are going to go and make a weekend getaway of it anyway. I love the atmosphere of a marathon weekend and we're staying at the host hotel so it should be fun!

I met a friend in Austin this past weekend. It was my first time to Austin and, damn, what a blast! Now I know why everyone says that if you're going to live in TX, it HAS to be Austin. Great nightlife and beer spots, great running and biking trails and just overall a really clean and fun city. I'd love to live there if the opportunity ever came up.

Back to work.

Ryan

Yes, this is TX weather.

Old.

Today I'm 33. Wow, what happened.

Is it Spring yet?

Nearly 90 degrees yesterday. Really...what the hell? Today back to the 50's.

A few random notes for today:

* Didn't run the cowtown half marathon. Lack of training, and a huge lack of motivation. That's changing though! I got ahold of a running partner and we're hitting the road this weekend. He's going to beat me into marathon shape again! Two months till the OKC Memorial Marathon.

* The new dog, Pepper, is doing well. However, we discovered this weekend that she can mutate into a gazelle and leap over our 6ft wooden fence that surrounds our back yard! Again, what the hell? So I spent Sunday installing an "invisible fence" it's one of those things that PETA would probably picket my house for. At any rate it seems to work, if she gets too close while wearing the collar she gets a little static jolt. If it makes you PETA people feel better, I gave my self a zap to see how it felt...it's basically like getting static shock for rubbing your feet on the floor then touching someone.

* Still haven't pulled the trigger on the Dyson, now we're holding out for it to go on sale!


That's all I got for now.

The hunt for an expensive vacuum cleaner.

If you would have told me ten years ago that at some point in the future I'd spend a Saturday afternoon driving all over town looking for a plastic, purple vacuum that costs $500, I would have laughed in your face and then listed all of the things I would buy if I actually had $500.

Well, Saturday, my wife and I spent the afternoon doing just that. You're probably wondering why we couldn't find one of these Dyson vacuums, as everyone seems to have them these days. Well, the catch is that we have to buy it at one particular store because we have several gift cards to this one store...and those gift cards are what makes it worth spending that kind of money on a freakin' vacuum. We drove all over the metroplex and of course they didn't have the one we want..so I'll be ordering it online.

In other news, I haven't ran in almost two weeks now. I'm just not motivated, not sure what the hell is going on. I'm supposed to run the Cowtown half this saturday..not sure how the heck that's going to happen. I still plan to do it..but it's going to hurt!

dog pics!

My training lately has sucked. There's just no other accurate way to describe it. I think it boils to lack of motivation and just plain being busy with life. And of course a new dog certainly plays into that as well. I'm going to try running with her tonight after work though. She does great on a leash when we've been walking, so I think she'll catch onto the running pretty quick. Here's a few more pics. Sorry for the poor quality, can't do much with a cell phone!

Crazy weather...

OK...I'm not from TX originally so this messed up weather still gets me every year. I just don't understand how it can go from mid 80's one day to mid 30's the next! In Washington State, we had what are called SEASONS, these are specific times of year when you can expect weather that will either be hot (called SUMMER), cool with leaves turning color (called FALL), cold with snow and ice (known as WINTER) and of course spring which is a combination of the other three. Here in TX we have no seasons...just random crap weather! Well at least no tornadoes here last night. Sounds like they got hammered pretty good in the states to the North of us.

In other news: We're getting a dog! WhooHoo! I've been wanting one for quite a while and just couldn't find the right one. Well, we finally did. She's an English Setter about a year and a half old. She's already been through obedience training and pointing training. (it's a hunting thing) She comes from a trusted family member so I know she's been well taken care of. Apparently even after the hunting training, she just isn't much of a hunting dog...she would rather stay near her owner and play games..so he's decided to give her to us and she can just be a family dog..which is exactly what she wants. Her name is Pepper. Here's a few pics.

5 warm miles

OK...it was Saturday that I ran the 5 warm miles. But, hey at least I'm keeping up with this thing..even if nobody reads it anyway. After work today it's going to be another 5 and yes, it's still warm! 77 degrees right now.

BTW - snicker..snicker...nice job Pats..hehe...karma's a bitch.

back in action

Wow, it's been a while. I came down with the flu last week and it really kicked my ass. I finally got a run in last night, 3 miles on the treadmill. Lungs were burning so much it felt like I ran a damn marathon. I've got to get back into the swing of things though, with the cowtown half coming up in only 24 days! My goal is still sub 2hrs...we'll see if I can stick with that.

Bold in the really damn ass Cold...

Brrrrr...18 degree windchill at the start of the race this morning! Luckily I bought some new running tights last night as well as some gloves. I was actually dressed just right. I ran well and I'm happy with my splits.

blah!

2 mile run last night and my legs/shins were killin me! I'm a little pissed. You'd think I've never ran before..I don't get it. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by Sat. Blah!

Long Run continued

The 7 mile run went great today. The friend I ran with is a veteran marathoner (18 marathons and two 50 mile ultras) so it was a blast picking his brain regarding training and such. We're going to do the Bold in the Cold 15k next weekend.

I'm a little sore tonight, as 7 is my longest run since I've gotten back to it the last month or so. I may have to look into my shoe situation. I just think that my hips and legs shouldn't hurt like this. Everything that I'm reading leads me to believe maybe the New Balances that I've been so high on aren't the best choice. I know no shoe is perfect...but maybe it's worth looking at something else. Anyway hope everyone had a good weekend. Even though I know nobody is reading this...what the hell, I talk to myself, may as well type to myself!

Lates

Long Run

I'm heading to the park in a couple hours to do my long run for the week. I'm running the 7 mile loop with a friend. His pace is a little quicker..so we'll see how I do. It should be a good test. I had a few drinks last night, so we're getting a little bit of a late start. Weather wise it should be about perfect though, high around 60 degrees today in DFW. I'll post a long run recap when I get back. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

PS - I'm thinking about doing some trail running this week. I've never really done much trail running..but I think it would be good for my knees and looks like fun. I'm interested in ultras eventually and those are all trail running. I'd love to hear comments from anyone that is a trail runner. What are some of the challenges? Do I need new shoes specifically for trails? Anyone around DFW know of a good spot?

Ryan

Ran on the treadmill tonight after training some clients. By 9pm I'm pretty tired, but I wanted to get the run in that I missed yesterday. It went well, a little heart burn from not eating very well today..but other than that not bad for the treadmill!

4 miles - 35min
avg. 8:45 pace

Down with the Sickness!

No running yesterday. Got a severe headache/neck ache and decided it would be best to just relax for a night. Wed. night is also my night of no personal training at the gym...so I was really able to just sit on the couch and zone out. It was nice and I think my body appreciated it as I certainly feel better today.

I didn't mention it yet, but I'm also a certified personal trainer and I do that part time at a local gym. It's a great second job and I really enjoy working with all types of people. It gives me an outlet that I just don't have with the 8-5 desk job. I've been doing it for about a year and a half and I've developed a pretty consistent client base. I'm certified through the ISSA which is one of the more reputable certs for personal trainers. However, with that said, I really believe you get out of it what you put into it. Many people have negative things to say about personal trainers because they think they don't all know what they're doing and don't have the training to be training...if you get my drift...and I'd agree with them for the most part. That's why if you are looking for a trainer you really have to do your homework and find someone that is knowledgeable in the type of training you're looking for. I'm a runner and triathlete (ok...I did one tri. Does that make me a triathlete..I say yes!) so my type of training is endurance based. If you want to be a bodybuilder I'm probably not your guy!

So a little tangent there..but oh well. On another note, I bought a set of Perfect Pushups the other day at Sports Authority. I've used them before in the gym and they're really pretty cool. They have rotating handles and by using them you bring a lot of muscles into play that you ordinarily would not with a standard pushup. I'll keep you updated on my progress with them. Well, better do some work here. Lates.

Treadmill

Went to the gym last night and ran my 3 miles on the treadmill. I'm not a big fan of running on the treadmill, and can usually only put up with it for 3 - 5 miles or so.

3.11 miles - 28min

Off day today.

That's right, the runs.

I like to read running blogs, so I thought, what the hell I may as write one as well. So here it is. I'll keep a log of my running and any other important tid bits and no one will actually read.

Sunday - 5 miles

Windy as hell and my quads were burning by the end. The temps were in the low 70s, which is quite a change from running in the 40's last week. Was a damn hard 5 miles because of the wind. I tried not to push it to much and just let my body relax. Ended up running the 5m in about 49min.