Scott DawsonScott Dawson's web site, where he waxes poetic about web design, development, running, singing, playing, and generally making a ruckus.2023-12-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.comScott DawsonWomen's World Cup Giant Slalom at Mont-Tremblant (December 2-3, 2023)2023-12-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/womens-world-cup-gs-mont-tremblant-2023/<p>In 2016, when Killington announced they'd host the first World Cup ski race in the East in 25 years, we knew we <em>had</em> to go. I wrote about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/ski-racing-weekend-killington-world-cup/">spectating that amazing weekend</a> in November 2016. So, when <a href="https://coupedumonde.tremblant.ca/en/">Mont-Tremblant announced that they'd host a World Cup ski race</a> for the first time in 40 years, we jumped at the chance to get tickets.</p>
<p>We booked a reservation at <a href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/ymywi-le-westin-tremblant/overview/">Le Westin Tremblant</a>, right in Tremblant's pedestrian village. It was a wonderful place from which to walk to the race, explore shops and restaurants, and enjoy a wonderful outdoor heated pool, hot tub, and sauna.</p>
<p>The first run of the first day was scheduled for 11 a.m., so we arrived shortly after 9 (when the venue opened) to get a good spot in the general admission section. We were right up front by the Longines clock, right in the middle of the action. Athletes exited the venue right in front of us, and we had a great view of the finish area and displays. The vibe was party-like with such good energy from the announcers, crowd, and racers.</p>
<p>We purchased a ticket that included a gondola ride to the summit and lunch. We've skied 4x at Tremblant so it was a bit weird to go up the mountain without ski gear, but we enjoyed the ride and the ability to the see the summit, where winter was in full swing! Lunch was unfortunately lackluster, including a burger or hot dog with fries, and a soda or hot chocolate. I jealously looked at skiers who were buying a la carte chili and other options. Our lunch did the trick, though, and it was honestly the only "hmm" moment of the weekend for us.</p>
<p>For run two we walked up to stand on the side of the finish area, knowing we wouldn't be able to get as good a spot down below. It was nice to have the other vantage point for the afternoon.</p>
<p>Later in the evening we went to the base of the village for evening awards and bib draw for the following morning. What a spectacle! We set up along the fencing where athletes walked to and from the stage. Where else can you high-five fifteen of the world's fastest ski racing women? It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with the athletes and see them away from the race hill.</p>
<p>We enjoyed takeout from <a href="https://www.o-wok.com/">Le Restaurant Ô WOK</a> in our hotel room, along with a small bottle of wine from the pedestrian village's general store.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/tremblant/grandstand.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="At the front of the grandstand on Day 2" title="At the front of the grandstand on Day 2" /><p class="stickyNote">At the front of the grandstand on Day 2</p></div>
<p>We had grandstand tickets for day 2 and repeated our routine from the day prior. We got a prime spot in the front of the grandstand and enjoyed the elevated perch for the first run. There was heavy snow forecasted for the afternoon, though. We decided to head home (a six-hour drive) before the roads got too nasty. We grabbed some poutine and a beaver tail from <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/VE6hL6UAkX3X32vv5">Queues de Castor</a>, enjoyed that in our hotel lobby, and headed out. As it was, we hit bad weather-related traffic most of the way to Ottawa, so I'm not sure how later departures fared. We did watch and listen to the second run in the car, though, thanks to Elizabeth's subscription.</p>
<p><a href="https://coupedumonde.tremblant.ca/en/">World Cup ski racing returns to Mont-Tremblant December 6-7, 2024</a>. Check below for a summary of the sights and sounds of this year's event.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEJevasJAE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEJevasJAE</a></p>
Ithaca 5&10 10K 20232023-09-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ithaca-5-10-10k-2023/<p>Amy and I ran the Ithaca 5 & 10 on <a href="https://skirtrunner.com/race-report/ithaca-510-2012/">September 9, 2012</a>. We returned this year to find a few changes, most notably that the distances are now measured in kilometers, not miles. We were both up for a 6.2-mile (10K) run, so registered a few days prior and made it part of our Sunday plans. It was a delightful day for running: on the cooler side (yet humid, ugh), overcast, and dry.</p>
<p>I had a fantastic time socializing pre- and post-run, but the best part of the day was Ian Golden’s on-course encouragement as he guarded one of the many intersections. It went a little something like this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Looks like cruising’s made you soft, Dawson!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ha! He knows about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cruise-explora-i-by-explora-journeys/">my recent cruise</a> since both Xander and Elizabeth work at the store, but he also has a sense of humor very much aligned with mine. It was a welcome departure from the traditional canon of race encouragement, like <em>“You’ve got this!”</em> or <em>“Great job!”</em> or the venerable <em>“You’re almost there!”</em> <strong>(you never are)</strong>. I thought about this for literally the next mile. The beauty and humor of his words was that they weren’t true, and Ian knew it. Nothing’s made me soft, but most things have made me strong. My running volume is way down, but my cross-training is way up. I was having a good race. Soft? Pfft. Onward!</p>
<p>Here’s a side-by-side from 2012 to 2023. I’m smiling more this year because I won the Veteran’s category for this race (that’s 50-plus as a category). Amy’s sporting bling since she won her age group, too!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/ithaca510/comparison.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="11 years apart" title="11 years apart" /><p class="stickyNote">11 years apart</p></div>
<p>Eleven years ago, the story was different for me: my bib in our gym has a big asterisk next to the word INJURED. It’s probably about the time I was experiencing IT band pain, and that’s the worst. That I could muster a smile at all is impressive. Looking back at my photos, I see we ran the Rochester Marathon a week prior, and I remember walking a good part of the latter miles of the race, crying when I saw my kids. I remember being in so much pain.</p>
<p>Shortly after that period, I remade my stride with the help of sports medicine and physical therapy. I continued running. I’m so glad I did!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/ithaca510/medals.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Bringing home the bling" title="Bringing home the bling" /><p class="stickyNote">Bringing home the bling</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/ithaca-5-10-2023/">Official Results</a><br />
<strong>Time:</strong> 42:13<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 14/106 overall, 13/61 M, 1/8 Male 50-59</p>
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A First-Time Cruiser’s Perspective: Family Time Aboard the Luxurious Explora I2023-08-26T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cruise-explora-i-by-explora-journeys/<p>We’ve just returned from a 6-night cruise on <a href="https://explorajourneys.com/">Explora Journeys’ Explora I</a>. MSC is planning <a href="https://www.cruisemapper.com/cruise-lines/MSC-Explora-Journeys-125">a series of 6 luxury ships in this class</a> and we consider ourselves lucky to be among the first to experience it. We departed Copenhagen under sunny skies on August 15 and enjoyed stops in Gothenburg, Oslo, and Stavanger.</p>
<p>We’ve never been on a cruise. We really looked at this experience with fresh eyes. Anyone we talked to who’s knowledgeable about the cruise industry told us what we’d inferred only after hours aboard: Explora is a whole new level of luxury on the open sea. Maybe a little too luxurious, for I fear our experience has ruined any kind of cruising outside of the luxury realm.</p>
<p>We are not travel agents (a good portion of whom we saw on our cruise or read postings from their prior itineraries), so we’re writing about this from our unique perspective as first-time cruisers. We went on this particular cruise for a very good reason, so check out the entertainment section for that story.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/boarding.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Embarking in Copenhagen" title="Embarking in Copenhagen" /><p class="stickyNote">Embarking in Copenhagen</p></div>
<h2 id="accommodations-on-explora-i">Accommodations on Explora I</h2>
<p>It was as if we stepped into the lobby of a luxury hotel as we boarded Explora I. A host greeted us enthusiastically, handed us a glass of champagne, and told us that our suite would be ready in an hour or so. They encouraged us to explore the ship. As we were incredibly hungry, we were guided to the Emporium, an array of lunch options that filled a massive space with ocean views from all sides.</p>
<p>We headed down to Deck 7 to let ourselves into our suites. We had one on each side of the ship, affording us a chance to have great views no matter where we were docked or sailing. The suites were comfortably sized and decorated like a sleek, modern hotel room. In fact, I can count very few on-land stays that had the same vibe. The bedding was really comfortable with upscale sheet sets. The room lighting could be configured to fit your mood, from subtle lighting for mornings and evenings to full brightness, if you wish.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/room.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Suite 7106" title="Suite 7106" /><p class="stickyNote">Suite 7106</p></div>
<p>The balcony, behind a substantial door that let us view the ocean from within our suite, was also a fantastic size, complete with a table, two chairs, and a chaise lounge.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/balcony.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beautiful ocean views from the balcony" title="Beautiful ocean views from the balcony" /><p class="stickyNote">Beautiful ocean views from the balcony</p></div>
<p>The balcony furniture was so nice and comfortable I had to look them up. We’re in the market for some new deck furniture, after all. The pieces are from Manutti: the <a href="https://www.manutti.com/en/products/chairs/chairs/radoc-chair-flint-pepper">Radoc chairs</a>, <a href="https://www.manutti.com/en/products/loungers/loungers/zendosense-meridienne-right-flint-softfawn">Zendo Sense lounger</a>, and table easily add up to $10,000 based on a cursory search. <em>Luxury.</em></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/chaise.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Amy enjoying the lounger" title="Amy enjoying the lounger" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy enjoying the lounger</p></div>
<p>As Amy got ready for dinner the first evening, she used the <a href="https://www.dyson.com/hair-care/hair-dryers/supersonic">Dyson hair dryer</a>. It was the best hair dryer she’d ever used, so we looked that one up, too. Again, <em>luxury.</em></p>
<p>Ravi, the host assigned to our room, was attentive and friendly. We really didn’t need anything special during our stay, as any needs we had seemed to have been anticipated by the well-stocked room. He did check in whenever our paths crossed and we always enjoyed chatting with him. We received little gifts most days: tote bags, souvenir water bottles, Moleskine notebooks, bath and shower oil, and artisanal chocolates. Very nice touches.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/chocolates.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Fancy chocolates" title="Fancy chocolates" /><p class="stickyNote">Fancy chocolates</p></div>
<h2 id="food-on-explora-i">Food on Explora I</h2>
<p>You won’t go hungry on this cruise, but you also won’t be so stuffed that you’ll regret your choices. Portions are reasonable and there’s a tremendous focus on presentation and taste. I mentioned Emporium before, and we enjoyed going there for breakfast and lunch at least a few days.</p>
<p>Suites have a fridge stocked with drinks. Ours had a variety of options but we opted for the apple and orange juices. There’s an extensive room service menu that you can order from 24 hours a day. We enjoyed room service breakfast for a few days, midday lunch before heading out into Stavanger, and late-evening meals after taking in the entertainment. A bonus feature we really enjoyed was being able to call and request room service at a specific time.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/marblegrill.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The four of us at Marble Grill" title="The four of us at Marble Grill" /><p class="stickyNote">The four of us at Marble Grill</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/restaurants.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Fil Rouge and Med Yacht" title="Fil Rouge and Med Yacht" /><p class="stickyNote">Fil Rouge and Med Yacht</p></div>
<p>The restaurants are a highlight, though. We enjoyed two dinners and our farewell breakfast at Fil Rouge, a French-inspired restaurant. We took in lunch and dinner at Sakura, with lobster pad thai, steak, stir fry, and sushi as highlights. And the Marble Grill is not to be missed. I haven’t tasted steak that delicious before. Sakura and Marble Grill both accept reservations, and you should make them when you arrive for your cruise, if not before. We did not partake in Anthology, a paid option that offers fare from Michelin-starred chefs, but mostly because we were really pleased with the included options.</p>
<p>In order below, a) the Fil Rouge menu, b) Artfully arranged kale salad at Marble Grill, c) Lobster Pad Thai at Sakura, d) Appetizers at Med Yacht, and e) Passion Fruit Souffle at Fil Rouge.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/filrouge.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Fil Rouge menu" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/kale%20salad.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Artfully arranged kale salad" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/lobsterpadthai.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Lobster Pad Thai" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/medyacht.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Appetizers at Med Yacht" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/passionfruitsouffle.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Passion Fruit Souffle at Fil Rouge" />
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<p>Also, if you’re interested in getting to know Resident Artistes (or any staff, for that matter), you can invite them to a meal, coffee, or drinks with you. We know firsthand that they’ll really appreciate it, and the opportunity to get to know you better!</p>
<p>We enjoyed crepes and gelato near the Conservatory Pool on more than one occasion.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/gelato.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Gelato adjacent to the Conservatory Pool" title="Gelato adjacent to the Conservatory Pool" /><p class="stickyNote">Gelato adjacent to the Conservatory Pool</p></div>
<p>The Crema Cafe on Deck 5 was a daily stop for us after yoga. They have cold brew, lattes, and depending on the time of day, light pastries or other sweet and savory options.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/latte.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lattes were especially delicious after yoga" title="Lattes were especially delicious after yoga" /><p class="stickyNote">Lattes were especially delicious after yoga</p></div>
<h2 id="drinks-on-explora-i">Drinks on Explora I</h2>
<p>Our suite had a bottle of Veuve Clicquot chilling as we arrived. Our host offered us a choice of two liquor bottles during our stay, too: I chose Hennessy Cognac and Glenmorangie, a fine single malt scotch whisky.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/whisky.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Glenmorangie, expertly prepared for us in the Whisky Bar" title="Glenmorangie, expertly prepared for us in the Whisky Bar" /><p class="stickyNote">Glenmorangie, expertly prepared for us in the Whisky Bar</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/whiskybar.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Relaxing at the whisky bar" title="Relaxing at the whisky bar" /><p class="stickyNote">Relaxing at the whisky bar</p></div>
<p>We ordered pina coladas as we relaxed by the conservatory pool, but we ended up finishing them on our daughter’s balcony while relaxing in our bathrobes. Yeah, it was tough.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/pinacoladas.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pina Coladas on the balcony" title="Pina Coladas on the balcony" /><p class="stickyNote">Pina Coladas on the balcony</p></div>
<p>While there are many bars and lounges on board that offer beverages, we chose to stick mainly to accompanying our dinners with the house red wines on offer. They were fine choices, though you could spend money on more extensive wine selections. The entertainment venues also have roving hosts to offer drinks as you listen to music.</p>
<h2 id="entertainment-on-explora-i">Entertainment on Explora I</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/wheninrome.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Journeys Lounge" title="Journeys Lounge" /><p class="stickyNote">Journeys Lounge</p></div>
<p>Our son, <a href="https://xkdawson.com/">Xander Dawson</a>, was hired as a Resident Artiste for this cruise. Shortly after completing his first year at Boston Conservatory, he joined the rest of the musicians in Orlando for a few weeks of rehearsals and then was whisked away to Monfalcone, Italy to board the ship and await its completion. He’ll be in residence as an artiste through mid-December, and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to see him perform in such a wonderful and unique setting. That’s the main reason we chose Explora I, but we were also celebrating our 25th anniversary, Elizabeth’s college graduation, and her subsequent job as an elementary chorus teacher. So, <em>plenty</em> of reasons to get on board!</p>
<p>The approach to entertainment on Explora I is unique. There are no massive performance spaces, but rather intimate lounges conducive to popping in and out as you wish. We enjoyed several evenings in the Astern Lounge with intimate quartets, and most evenings we took in a few sets in the larger Journeys Lounge. Xander played a late afternoon saxophone set with piano accompaniment by Eli. It was a complete concert, really, with narration about the history of the saxophone and sharing context for the pieces he played. Here's a brief sample pack of the variety of entertainment we enjoyed.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YZONQaz2xd8?si=xjHJkeV9ob5qn8rn" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>Xander also played a brief piano set above the lobby bar while guests relaxed below and at the adjacent Crema Cafe. Wonderful ambiance.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XGsIsOoqYSA?si=Qq8wMeu5xM6xVE-l" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>The artistes on board are all very talented and we really enjoyed the entertainment!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/eveningbycandlelight.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Evening by Candlelight" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/astern1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Astern Lounge" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2023/explora/astern2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Astern Lounge" />
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<h2 id="activities-%26-amenities-on-explora-i">Activities & Amenities on Explora I</h2>
<p>The fitness center is stocked with TechnoGym equipment and the staff is helpful and friendly. We enjoyed a few treadmill runs, a circuit on the weight machines, and took advantage of a couple's offer for an <a href="https://inbodyusa.com/general/inbody-test/">InBody scan and consultation</a> (for an extra modest fee). We enjoyed morning yoga most days, which you should sign up for if you’re interested (there are only 8-10 spots). That was a great way to kick off the day before enjoying coffee and breakfast.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/yoga.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The yoga studio at the fitness center" title="The yoga studio at the fitness center" /><p class="stickyNote">The yoga studio at the fitness center</p></div>
<p>The spa’s thermal area is open to all guests any time on port days, and between 6-8a and 6-8p on at-sea days unless you have a spa treatment scheduled. We went there twice and enjoyed the really beautiful tranquil space with a sauna, steam room, hydrotherapy pool, and salt cave.</p>
<p>Pools and hot tubs are everywhere! We enjoyed the hot tubs adjacent to the conservatory pool and really enjoyed those on Deck 14 that were outside, facing the mesmerizing waves. We didn’t swim much, but the temperatures weren’t terribly conducive to that. These will be very popular later in the year on the Caribbean routes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/jacuzzi.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Jacuzzis on Deck 14" title="Jacuzzis on Deck 14" /><p class="stickyNote">Jacuzzis on Deck 14</p></div>
<p>We love to run, so hit up the outdoor track on Deck 14. My only wish is that it was rubberized, but it was fun nonetheless to circle the decks and take in the sights on and off the boat.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/track.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Running track on Deck 14" title="Running track on Deck 14" /><p class="stickyNote">Running track on Deck 14</p></div>
<p>We also enjoyed rowing on Deck 14. There's nothing like rowing while looking out at the rolling sea!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/rowing.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Rowing at sea" title="Rowing at sea" /><p class="stickyNote">Rowing at sea</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/marga.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Marga teaching photography" title="Marga teaching photography" /><p class="stickyNote">Marga teaching photography</p></div>
<p>Margarita (Marga), the ship’s photographer, ran a class on how to use all of the features of your smartphone camera. We picked up a few things and even got some private instruction from her in her studio space adjacent to the art gallery. It definitely helped Amy take some beautiful pictures of food in this post!</p>
<p>We didn’t do any of the ship’s excursions, but we did enjoy a fjord tour that we purchased through <a href="https://www.norled.no/">Norled</a>. It was fun to get on a smaller and faster boat and explore the beautiful fjords in Norway for a few hours!</p>
<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>You can look up the cost of cruising on Explora I if you’re interested, but I’ll generally classify it as very expensive. We were fortunate that the economics of Xander taking a semester off from paying tuition made this reachable, though there are many others for whom the price is not an issue. We feel fortunate that we were able to make this work, as it truly was one of the best vacation experiences we’ve had.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/explora/frontofship.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Farewell, Explora I" title="Farewell, Explora I" /><p class="stickyNote">Farewell, Explora I</p></div>
Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20232023-06-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2023/<p>For this year's <a href="https://www.rednewtracing.com/gorges-ithaca-half">Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</a>, I dropped Amy and Elizabeth off at the start line, drove ⅔ mile up the road to park our car at a friend’s house, and ran to the staging area on Jacksonville Road as a warmup. After milling around a bit, I walked to the bridge overlooking the upper falls. A lot of runners were from farther-flung places, so Taughannock is a new thing for them. I took a moment to see the falls through fresh eyes, as a newcomer would, and it really is impressive. I hike and run there often, so it’s kind of like my backyard and I’m used to it.</p>
<p>The first half of this race approximates the FLRC Challenge’s <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/black-diamond-park-to-park/">Black Diamond Park to Park</a> course, though the start sign is a short distance before the start line. Damian Clemons talked with Ian before the race and learned that they’d keep the start line active until we’d gone through if we decided we wanted to start at the challenge sign. John Hummel and Verity Platt had a similar idea, so we found ourselves starting the half marathon as a group, huddled as a trio far away from the start line waiting for Damian to come down the path and let us know the race had started. I joked that Damian was like a modern-day Paul Revere, telling us, <em>“The race has started, the race has started!”</em></p>
<p>Damian and I are closely matched, so we shared with each other our goals. His goal time would put us at a pace of about 6:50, which sounded agreeable to me. I’d quipped to a fellow runner who’d asked about my goals earlier, saying “I plan to do this somewhere between a training run and death,” which left things wide open for me. I was ready for the distance, but not sure if I was ready for the speed.</p>
<p>We all started our watches and hammered up the short hill to the start line, now devoid of runners. Damian and I were running in lockstep and soon approached a mass of runners that hadn’t broken up much. The trail is only 8-10 feet wide, so navigating the crowd could be interesting. I briefly lamented our choice to start at the sign and have this count as a “challenge effort”, but navigation was actually kind of fun. We dodged, darted, and slinked (slunk?) our way past much of the field, making our way to more thinned-out sections of runners. At one point I came upon Amy and Elizabeth, who were really surprised to see me since they didn’t know my plan. In hindsight, it was kind of smart, as it kept Damian and me from going out too fast.</p>
<p>The humidity started to get to me after a few miles and I took my shirt off, hoping for some evaporative cooling to provide some relief. We’d been running a little faster than 6:50, but not much, and I started to pull away, feeling the allure of the tree-covered trail. It was a cloudy day, so rather nice for running even without tree cover. I grabbed water at every aid station but did not stop, and was grateful that my cup-grabbing skills have improved.</p>
<p>The transition from the trail to the roads and sidewalks of Cass Park and the Waterfront Trail was brutal, as usual, but I didn’t lose too much of my mojo. One of the standout moments from this portion of the race was on the bouncy bridges in Stewart Park. I narrowly passed Ron Heerkens Jr. on the first bridge as he walked his bike across to get to another spot to take fantastic photos. On the second bridge, I came up sharply behind a duo who were running side-by-side. There was no easy way to pass by, so I did what I do best and made a fool of myself.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/gorges/photobomb.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Photobomb!" title="Photobomb!" /><p class="stickyNote">Photobomb!</p></div>
<p><a href="https://iamlesher.com/">Michael Lesher</a> – working with Ron Heerkens Jr. at <a href="https://galleries.goatfactorymedia.com/gorgeshalfmarathonrnr-2023/">Goat Factory Media</a> – captured this laugh-out-loud photobomb of me. As I passed he smiled and said “Good one!” And lest you lament that these runners missed out on an otherwise wonderful photo, in the split second before, Michael did capture them. I was tucked discreetly behind the runner on the left. As always, a classy event, and per usual, fantastic photos.</p>
<p>The remaining miles were uneventful, and though I desperately wanted to stop, I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I passed a group on the last mile who remarked that it was nice that the second wave (my wave) was passing the first wave (which started an hour earlier) since it provided them with a pull to keep on going. I flashed them a double-thumbs up and kept making steady progress toward the finish.</p>
<p>I made my way back up the course to cheer Elizabeth and Amy in, and we made a decision to head back home without waiting in the lunch line. We were all too exhausted and not hungry enough to do that, so that was just fine. I was incredibly exhausted at the end of the race, given my lack of specific training, and I paid for it with some awkward walking for the next few days. But, this was the last planned race of the year, and plenty of yoga, cross-training, and pleasure running awaits.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:31:13<br />
<strong>Age Group 40-49:</strong> 7/55<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 26/276<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 29/712</p>
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Syracuse Half Marathon 20232023-04-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2023/<p>I was glad I dropped to the 10K distance for the Skunk Cabbage race this year. Just two weeks after that, Syracuse would be my first half marathon of 2023. We experienced roller coaster temperatures during the prior weeks with some days reaching into the 70s and low 80s. Really uncharacteristic weather for April! It was no surprise, then, that Syracuse was forecasted to be warm, in the high 60s by the time we’d finish. It doesn’t sound terribly warm, but since we’ve not been training in the heat, we’re not acclimated to it.</p>
<p>The night before, Amy made herself a great playlist and I had her send it to me. I thought it’d be cool for us to listen to the same playlist as we ran the race.</p>
<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/us/playlist/syracuse-half/pl.u-V9D7mgpU3zJyNDx"></iframe>
<p>After we arrived and parked in the garage near the OnCenter, the race announcers reminded us of the forecasted heat, imploring us to hydrate well. After stretching and walking around a bit, it was time to start. Orange Theory was set up inside with a warm up and Amy readily participated in some of that. We also ran into my college friend Jason Fingerman and it was really great to catch up with him.</p>
<p>I set an intention to run nice, even miles, and finish without feeling totally spent. Competitors for the masters championship set off a few minutes before the masses and I found myself passing some of the older runners in that wave. It was so inspiring to see runners in their 60s, 70s, and older still out there running, and I shouted encouragement as I passed some of them. Some of the miles felt more difficult than others. It’s a hilly course, but the clear skies and sunshine made it a delightful run because I could see everything and everyone around me. It was very unlike the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">Syracrazy</a> experience in 2016!</p>
<p>I walked through every aid station and took water, at one aid station opting for two glasses. Midway through the course one of the Fleet Feet spectators was shouted, <em>“It’s a great day for a half marathon!”</em> Just under my breath, I muttered, <em>“Is it, though?”</em> It was so hot and I was slightly uncomfortable even in a tank top, so I corrected her in my head, <em>“It’s a great day for spectating a half marathon.”</em></p>
<p>The final miles seemed to drag but I felt spurred on by my proximity to the finish line. I started characterizing the remaining distance as my favorite running loops back home. Just the Curry Loop left (4); just the 3-mile loop left, just the 2-mile loop left, and then just the 1-mile loop! And then I was on the final straightaway, counting down the blocks until I crossed the finish line.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/syracuse/solo-at-finish.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Selfie at the finish line" title="Selfie at the finish line" /><p class="stickyNote">Selfie at the finish line</p></div>
<p>I grabbed a bagel and banana and walked over to Mile 12 to cheer Amy on. After she finished we enjoyed a slice of pizza and a few other post-race goodies. Really well-organized race with volunteers, and stocked pre- and post-race food in the OnCenter.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/syracuse/finished.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me at the finish line with our medals" title="Amy and me at the finish line with our medals" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me at the finish line with our medals</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
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<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:39:30<br />
<strong>M 45-49:</strong> 11 of 80<br />
<strong>M:</strong> 114 of 840<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 142 of 1,815</p>
Skunk Cabbage 10K 20232023-04-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-10k-2023/<p>Spring has sprung in upstate New York! Well, at least on the race calendar, it has. The <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/skunk-cabbage-classic-2023/">Skunk Cabbage</a> race is always a harbinger of spring for me and I was excited to have this as the first race on my 2023 calendar.</p>
<p>I participated in <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/mithacal-milers/">Mithacal Milers</a> workouts for a few months prior but I never really felt primed for speed. I chalked it up to lingering effects from the Philadelphia Marathon and aftermath of taking a month off from running. During that time, I mostly focused on cross-training, yoga, and weight training. And, there was the Syracuse Half Marathon coming up just two weeks after. I knew that if I raced a half marathon at Skunk, I’d likely suffer in Syracuse. So, Amy and I both dropped from our planned half marathon distance to the 10K.</p>
<p>The forecast warned of a colder morning (hey, it's been colder), but warm enough for me to wear shorts and my running mittens. It was really nice to warm up in Barton Hall again after being forced outside during the pandemic. We enjoyed visiting with friends and stretching before we were called to the start line.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/skunk/prerace.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="In Barton Hall with Laurel and Amy" title="In Barton Hall with Laurel and Amy" /><p class="stickyNote">In Barton Hall with Laurel and Amy</p></div>
<p>The first few miles of the race are a gradual uphill. I definitely felt this, and by the time I turned around for the return trip, I was felt pretty spent. I felt buoyed by seeing other runners coming my way, though, and shouted encouragement to those I knew. Around mile 4.5, when we started to go downhill again, I realized that I wasn’t <em>“racing”</em> per se, but felt like I was out for a training run. There was nobody in front of me to chase and nobody behind me to spur me on, so my only motivation was internal. I set an intention to pick up the pace for the last mile and ended up finishing strong.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2023/skunk/finish.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Fairly alone at the finish line!" title="Fairly alone at the finish line!" /><p class="stickyNote">Fairly alone at the finish line!</p></div>
<p>After catching my breath, I traded my wet shirt in the car for the dry (and very colorful) race shirt to get a photo with Amy after her finish (see photo at top).</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 43:53<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 26/329 overall, 24/144 M, 4/9 Male 45-49</p>
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How to Automatically Create Google Calendar Events from a Google Sheet2023-02-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/how-to-automatically-create-google-calendar-events-from-google-sheet/<p>I'm writing this up after doing a more complex integration of a Google Sheet with Google Calendar. My wife's bakery has an online order form that submits to a Google Sheet. From there, I needed a way to get the orders into her Google Calendar without manual intervention. If you need to automatically create Google Calendar events from data in a Google Sheet, this pared-down example should work well for you.</p>
<h2 id="data-in-google-sheets">Data in Google Sheets</h2>
<p>Start in your Google Sheet, which may be something you created, or may be something that sources its data from a Google Form. For this example, I created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oUljByyOCIujLQN09VKPQ8_AMXOMuJzfdTRbw7Tt5Os/edit?usp=sharing">static spreadsheet</a> of the <a href="https://www.space.com/39238-full-moon-names.html">names of full moons in 2023</a>.</p>
<h2 id="open-apps-script">Open Apps Script</h2>
<p>Choose <strong>Extensions > Apps Script</strong>. This opens a new tab to the scripts that are connected to this Google Sheet. Go ahead and name your project at the top of the scripts page.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/google-sheet.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="open-the-google-calendar">Open the Google Calendar</h2>
<p>Navigate to the Google Calendar you want to add these events to. Find the ID of the calendar:</p>
<ol>
<li>Click the 3 dots next to calendar name on the left</li>
<li>Select <strong>Settings and sharing</strong></li>
<li>Copy the Calendar ID at the bottom under the <strong>Integrate Calendar</strong> section. This may look like your <a href="http://gmail.com/">gmail.com</a> email address if it's your primary calendar, or something more like <a href="mailto:randomcharacters@group.calendar.google.com">randomcharacters@group.calendar.google.com</a> if it's a separate calendar you created.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="update-the-script">Update the Script</h2>
<p>I have a bit of code you can use to get started here. The variables are all at the top, so you can customize them for your use.</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>calendarId</strong> - The calendar ID you got from the prior section.</li>
<li><strong>uniqueEventSuffix</strong> - A unique string we'll use to help with making updates.</li>
<li><strong>dataRange</strong> - The range of data to import into the script (should include all of the columns you need)</li>
</ol>
<p>A note about the suffix: be careful if you’re working in a calendar with other events in it. The suffix is used as a qualifier for deletion, so choose something that's bound to be unique from anything you'd manually put into your calendar.</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/f5c0bcbb6896af5b7f5f0fafca9ab70f.js"></script>
<p>So, what's going on here?</p>
<p>The core function is <strong>addEventsToCalendar</strong>. It gets the event data from the spreadsheet, ignoring any empty rows. Then, it deletes any events created on prior executions. This step is crucial, because otherwise you'd duplicate events (see the section on editing events below). Then, for each event, it grabs the date, title, and description, and creates an event.</p>
<h2 id="run-the-script">Run the Script</h2>
<p>Let's give it a try. Click the <strong>Save</strong> icon in toolbar, select <strong>addEventsToCalendar</strong>, and then click <strong>Run</strong>. Since this is the first time you're running a script connected to the sheet, you'll need to get some permissions set.</p>
<p>First, click Review Permissions.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/authorization-required.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>On this imposing dialog, click the link "Go to your project name (unsafe)". It's okay, 'cause you're the developer!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/google-hasnt-verified.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Lastly, allow access. Now the script can run.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/allow-access.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>You should see some console output for each event that's processed.</p>
<h2 id="check-the-results-in-google-calendar">Check the Results in Google Calendar</h2>
<p>Let's head over to Google Calendar and see if we can find the events that were created.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/calendar-event.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Yes! First, we found a single event. We can search for MOONCAL and find all of the events that were created, too.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/all-calendar-events.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="running-the-script-automatically">Running the Script Automatically</h2>
<p>One-time use is cool enough, but you probably want this script to run automatically. For my wife's bakery, we set it to run periodically, reflecting updates that she makes in the spreadsheet throughout the day. Her script is a lot more sophisticated: rows are only turned into events if she accepts the order, so there's a column that we use to indicate an order is accepted. You can do anything in the script, so make it your own!</p>
<p>Visit Triggers and "Add Trigger" from the Apps Script page. The screenshot below shows an option for setting up an interval-based trigger. You can also trigger from spreadsheet or calendar changes, but be careful of race conditions. The script can execute concurrently, and that can result in some nasty race conditions. So, I prefer interval-based execution.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/develop/sheets-calendar/trigger-menu.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="updating-events">Updating Events</h2>
<p>You can change the dates, the description, or other details in your spreadsheet, and those should be reflected in the calendar. How can we accomplish this?</p>
<p>I originally wrote calendar event IDs back to the Google Sheet, and used them to find and update the events if they existed, or create new events if they did not. However, I found that to be too error-prone and unreliable. Not sure why, but sometimes Google couldn't find an event that already existed, resulting in a ton of duplicated events. If you're interested in the code snippets to do this, I included them below (you'll need to slot them into the appropriate spots in your code). Again, don't recommend this, but if you need a variation on the theme for your use case, it's here for you.</p>
<p>I ended up with the approach above, where all events are deleted and re-created on each run of the script. I found to this to be the least error-prone. To prevent too much script execution time, I also only delete events and write new events that occur in the future. Unless you need to refer back to older events in your calendar, this can be pretty efficient. After all, you still have all the data for past events in the spreadsheet.</p>
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2022 Holiday Running Wishlist2022-12-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/2022-holiday-running-wishlist/<p>I'm taking a post-marathon break from running, so what better time than now to write about some of my favorite running things? This is my holiday wishlist for running, which means that I've gear-tested all this stuff and it's fantastic. If you're searching for a gift idea for that special runner in your life, here's some inspiration. You'll notice there's no shoe recommendations here: that's because shoe preferences are highly subjective, and my affinity for Altra and Topo will likely not transfer onto just any runner. If you're in the market for new kicks, hit up your local specialty store: they need your business! Now, on to the list.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/holiday/bombas.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Bombas Running Socks" title="Bombas Running Socks" /><p class="stickyNote">Bombas Running Socks</p></div>
<h2 id="%231%3A-bombas-running-socks">#1: Bombas Running Socks</h2>
<p>I typically find a running sock brand I love and stick with it. For the past handful of years, that running sock has been <a href="https://shop.bombas.com/search?q=running">Bombas</a>. There's a reason my sock drawer looks like this! They fit well, they're comfortable, they don't bunch, and they're good for the gym and outdoor runs. Get a multipack and your feet'll be pretty happy.</p>
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<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/holiday/honeystinger.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Honey Stinger Fruit Smoothie Energy Chews" title="Honey Stinger Fruit Smoothie Energy Chews" /><p class="stickyNote">Honey Stinger Fruit Smoothie Energy Chews</p></div>
<h2 id="%232%3A-honey-stinger-fruit-smoothie-energy-chews">#2: Honey Stinger Fruit Smoothie Energy Chews</h2>
<p>I waffled between waffles and chews here, but since it's a running list, I'm gonna go with chews. Any run longer than an hour and you'll find a package of <a href="https://honeystinger.com/collections/energy-chews/products/fruit-smoothie-energy-chews">Honey Stinger Energy Chews</a> in my shorts pocket. I pop one every mile or so and it's great energy and motivation to stay strong 'til the finish. I used two packages of these at this year's Philadelphia Marathon.</p>
<div style="clear: both"></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/holiday/runmitts.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Wind And Water Resistant RunMitts" title="Wind And Water Resistant RunMitts" /><p class="stickyNote">Wind And Water Resistant RunMitts</p></div>
<h2 id="%233%3A-wind-and-water-resistant-runmitts">#3: Wind And Water Resistant RunMitts</h2>
<p>Susan has built a really great product in <a href="https://runmitts.com/">RunMitts</a>. They are a convertible mitten, and I love how they keep my fingers and thumbs together on really cold running days. When I'm midway in to a run and my hands start to sweat, I can flip open the top of them to get my hands some breathing room. When you're fully warm, just shove 'em up your wrists and they're out of the way. There's a reason these are back-ordered right now: they're so nice!</p>
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<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/holiday/aftershokz.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Aftershokz Aeropex" title="Aftershokz Aeropex" /><p class="stickyNote">Aftershokz Aeropex</p></div>
<h2 id="%234%3A-aftershokz-aeropex">#4: Aftershokz Aeropex</h2>
<p>We've been with Aftershokz since the beginning, and their lineup has only gotten more comfortable and lighter with time. I love the <a href="https://amzn.to/3uJrvm4">Aeropex</a> model, especially for trail running, because I can listen to my favorite podcast or music and still hear the wildlife (humans included) all around me. Bonus points: I use them while doing yard work around the house, too.</p>
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<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/holiday/theragun.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Theragun Mini with Duo Adapter Standard Ball Set" title="Theragun Mini with Duo Adapter Standard Ball Set" /><p class="stickyNote">Theragun Mini with Duo Adapter Standard Ball Set</p></div>
<h2 id="%235%3A-theragun-mini-with-duo-adapter-standard-ball-set">#5: Theragun Mini with Duo Adapter Standard Ball Set</h2>
<p>Percussive massagers are all the rage, and this gem from Theragun is so nice. We bought the <a href="https://amzn.to/3iRavYF">Theragun Mini</a> and the <a href="https://www.therabody.com/us/en-us/duo-standard-ball-set.html">Duo Adapter</a> to go with it, which gives you twice the fun on every pass. This version is highly portable, so we pack it with us most places we go.</p>
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Philadelphia Marathon 20222022-11-20T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/philadelphia-marathon-2022/<p>My daughter Elizabeth decided to sign up for the Philadelphia Marathon this year. It’d be her first marathon, and she was happy to have me and Amy come and support her. As we reserved the hotel and considered logistics, we decided we’d rather just run the race, too! We’re crazy like that. So, I registered and committed myself to my fifth marathon distance.</p>
<p>I was coming off of a heavy-volume <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flrc-challenge-2022/">FLRC Challenge</a>, and more importantly, the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flrc-100k-ultra-challenge-2022/">FLRC Ultra Challenge</a>, so I was pretty tired coming into marathon training. I’d spent the entire summer mostly on trail, so my first road run (a 3-miler) on August 23 had the caption “Hello, roads! It’s been a minute. Time to start training for Philly soon!”</p>
<h2 id="the-plan">The Plan</h2>
<p>I looked up the plans in <a href="https://amzn.to/3GGvhUP">Hansons Marathon Method</a> and started an intermediate one that contained some speedwork. I shelved that plan after one week. I just wasn’t feeling it. And, the time I had was kind of compressed: due to the timing of the FLRC Challenge, I only had 13 weeks to prepare. So, I happily adopted Hansons’ “just finish” plan. I covered 440 miles during the training cycle, making it up to 16 mile long runs three times. Did I feel prepared? Not as much as prior marathons. But I felt ready.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race-evening">Pre-Race Evening</h2>
<p>We booked a room at the <a href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phlws-sheraton-philadelphia-downtown/overview/">Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown</a>. The valet was crazy busy when we got there, but I was grateful they parked our car. The hotel was totally overrun with runners and their families. The hotel had kindly put out Gatorade, granola bars, and fruit for us runners. We headed headed to the expo just about 90 minutes before they were to close for the day. It was kind of underwhelming with the lack of exhibitors; there were a lot of empty booths. We wandered through the exhibits that were there and headed back to our hotel with our bibs and shirts.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2022/philly/amy_scott.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Scott and Amy at the expo" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2022/philly/elizabeth.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Elizabeth at the expo" />
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<p>After a complimentary glass of wine in the hotel bar, we enjoyed a longer walk to dinner at <a href="https://lascalasfire.com/">LaScala’s Fire</a> at the corner of 7th & Chestnut. On the way there, we walked through a beautiful outdoor market. It was very festive!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/philly/market.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The outdoor market was so beautiful!" title="The outdoor market was so beautiful!" /><p class="stickyNote">The outdoor market was so beautiful!</p></div>
<p>Dinner was great: we enjoyed time with our friends Art and Emilie. The portions were far too large for us, sadly. We overordered some brussels sprouts that we mostly left untouched.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/philly/dinner.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Dinner at LaScala’s Fire" title="Dinner at LaScala’s Fire" /><p class="stickyNote">Dinner at LaScala’s Fire</p></div>
<h2 id="the-race-before-the-race">The Race Before the Race</h2>
<p>Back at the hotel, we started getting our gear organized. Amy realized in horror that she’d packed two right shoes. Elizabeth got on the phone with Asics after a quick Google search and learned that they had a few option in stock that’d fit Amy. Problem was, they were a 20-minute walk away, and they closed in 15 minutes. What ensued was something out of an episode of The Amazing Race. I followed Elizabeth out of the hotel room, wearing just my socks, my shoes in hand. I ordered an Uber while the elevator descended, slipping my shoes on as the doors opened.</p>
<p>We raced out into the cold streets and rounded the corner to where the Uber’d meet us. Where was it? The app said it was running late, so I called. The driver apologized and said that a prior fare had forgotten an item. Time was running out! Elizabeth called Asics to appeal to them to stay open a few minutes past closing, but they were adamant that they’d close on time. The driver arrived and I checked my watch. Five minutes left. “Can you get us there in five minutes?” I asked. “Sure, I can try,” Amy said. I took it as a positive sign that she shared my wife’s name. She drove confidently to the destination while Elizabeth called the shop once more and implored them to stay open just a minute longer. “If you pull the shoes, we are literally going to walk in and put down our credit card,” she said. They relented and agreed.</p>
<p>We pulled up at the address and it turned out to be a shopping mall. What? How’d we know where Asics was? The mall was clearly about to close. Elizabeth said she’d take the first level and I could take the second. I bounded up the escalator and ran down the hallway, parallel with her below me. And there it was: Asics! I yelled down to her and entered the story. John and Mick were there, smiling, with three pairs of Asics in Amy’s size. As promised, we plunked down our credit card after we chose the pair we thought she’d like the best. And the best part? Those shoes were on sale, 60% off for a total of $52. Not bad, even when you factor in the Uber rides. Not bad at all.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/philly/asics.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Elizabeth and me after our Asics rescue mission." title="Elizabeth and me after our Asics rescue mission." /><p class="stickyNote">Elizabeth and me after our Asics rescue mission.</p></div>
<h2 id="race-morning">Race Morning</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/philly/hotel_room.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Pre-race in our hotel room." title="Pre-race in our hotel room." /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race in our hotel room.</p></div>
Although tragedy was averted, I slept fitfully. We all woke during the 4 o'clock hour to eat plain bagels with peanut butter. I enjoyed some tea, too. Once we arrived at the start line, we made the mistake of following a volunteer’s instructions that security lines would be shorter around the corner. Turns out they were just as long. We had given ourselves a full hour to clear security and we made it into the venue just 10 minutes before the race started. Way too tight, and way too stressful.
<p>I got in my assigned corral and then realized it was foolish to not try to pee beforehand. I got in a decently-sized line and listened to the national anthem and the first 2 waves go off before it was my turn. I literally got back into my corral and stripped off my goodwill clothing as the group was moving up toward the start line. I saw Art (from dinner) and Alex (another Ithaca friend who trained with Art) near the back of the black corral. I was happy to take a picture with them literally as they set our corral loose. I fiddled with my belt to get my phone stowed again, and I was probably the last in my corral to leisurely cross the start mat.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/philly/art_alex.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Art, Alex, and me at the start line." title="Art, Alex, and me at the start line." /><p class="stickyNote">Art, Alex, and me at the start line.</p></div>
<h2 id="and-we're-off!">And We're Off!</h2>
<p>The first miles were really fun and relaxing. I ran with Art and Alex for the first four miles and enjoyed our bits of conversation. I gradually peeled away from them, though, and settled into a groove of mid to high 7-minute miles. I snapped this picture running along South Columbus Boulevard with the sun rising to my left over the Delaware River.</p>
<p>I felt warm enough to peel my windbreaker off around mile 6, wrapping it around my waist as the energetic crowd along Walnut Street spurred me onward. The wind hit me like a ton of bricks as we crossed the exposed bridge across the Schuylkill River. The hills up into the Centennial Arboretum were tough to run up, but I was grateful we could run down them. This course featured several out-and-back segments like this, but I found them mentally tough. I was never really being sure of where the turnarounds would be. Footing on the roads in Fairmount Park was kind of tricky, too. The wind really picked up in the mid-morning hours, and little apocalyptic mini-tornadoes of leaves provided some entertainment as we danced through them. I had to tuck my fingers back into my <a href="https://runmitts.com/">RunMitts</a> several times due to the windchill.</p>
<p>As we pulled onto Kelly Drive for the longest out and back, I saw elite runners about to finish. “Holy shit,” I said out loud. It was phenomenal that they’d been keeping up just shy of a 5-minute mile for 25 miles by that point. I had at least 10 miles to go. I was into my second bag of <a href="https://honeystinger.com/pages/shop-all">Honey Stinger chews</a> by now. Holding them in my hands kept them soft and pliable, and coupled with getting water at every aid station, they were a solid choice for nutrition.</p>
<p>Since mile 17, I’d been slowing to 8 and 9-minute miles, though. It was all tired legs and tight hamstrings, really. Nutrition was not a problem. By mile 21, at the turnaround in Manayunk (a very cute and energetic town), I was utterly fried. I had to really bargain with myself. I allowed myself to walk through the water stops and up a few small hills. I was squarely in preservation mode. I felt like I was going so glacially slow, but in reality, I had only one closing mile (the 25th) where I ducked into a 10:03 mile. Soon enough the last mile was upon me. The crowds were so thick I felt like I had to run, and run well. I managed to will myself through a decent closing mile and crossed the finish line. It was my slowest marathon of the five, but a marathon finish is a marathon finish. And I was done.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2022/philly/medal.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Hard-earned medal" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2022/philly/sitting_finish.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Sitting in the finish area" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2022/philly/zombie.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Zombies!" />
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<p>The post-race vibe was not that great. We were quickly ushered through the food tents. I was handed a NutriGrain bar, a banana, and a bottle of water. Between my space blanket and gloves, I had no reasonable way to carry any of these things, so I found a patch of concrete to sit on and took this picture of runners walking by. Zombie apocalypse? Perhaps.</p>
<p>They had us all funnel out through a narrow chute, and I barely registered that I was staring at the Rocky steps. I made a beeline for the hotel, which though it was less than a mile away might as well have been on Mars. It felt like it took so long to get there, and I was so chilled. I stripped off my clothes, hunkered down under the bed sheets, and waited to warm up slowly. A hot shower sealed the deal and I waited for Amy and Elizabeth to arrive. They both finished and we all met back at the hotel and each got through our warming-up routines. I was so grateful to be done and headed for home – happy for the experience, but also happy for the coming rest and preparing for whatever adventure we choose next.</p>
<p><a href="https://skirtrunner.com/race-report/philly-marathon-2022/">Amy wrote a fantastic blog post about her experience</a>, too. It’s filled with grit, determination, and is incredibly inspiring.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 3:41:31<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 2348/8394 overall, 1792/5122 Male, 161/482 Male 45-49</p>
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A Four-Box Approach to Allowance2022-10-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/four-box-allowance/<p>We started the kids on a weekly allowance at age 3. We are so happy we did, and even happier with how we did it. I was reminded of this system when <a href="https://todoist.com/">todoist</a> prompted me to "help" this month. I realized I no longer needed to make sure the kids were doing their "quarterly finances" since they're both in college now and (mostly) do this on their own. More on that below, but first let's delve into what we did for the kids from a very young age.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/allowance/end_quarter.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Time to stop? Maybe." title="Time to stop? Maybe." /><p class="stickyNote">Time to stop? Maybe.</p></div>
<p>When Elizabeth was two and a half we read an article in Money Magazine about allowance. The author shared her allowance philosophy in the short article. She suggested 3 money pools for kids: spend, give, and save. We decided it made sense to start her on allowance when she turned 3. We also decided we’d add a 4th pool for investing.</p>
<p>Amy went to Michaels and bought 3 little unfinished wood boxes, pastel paint, and 3 wooden letters (<em>S</em> for Spend, <em>I</em> for Invest, and <em>G</em> for Give) to attach to the boxes. Once they were assembled and decorated, they were ready for Elizabeth to start getting allowance.</p>
<p>How much money to give? We determined that $3 each week was perfect. She’d have to learn how to split that into 4 piles and it wasn’t a straightforward split. Starting on her 3rd birthday, every Sunday we’d give her three $1 bills. She traded these in for 12 quarters and then split them between her 3 boxes. She used her duck bank that she got when she was a baby for the Save pool.</p>
<p>Every year our plan was to add $1 per week, so when she turned 4 she got $4 each week, 5 was $5 and so on. As she neared age 10, we decided that maxing out at $10 per week made sense. When she hit her 10th birthday she started getting a $10 bill at her Sunday breakfast table, and she would evenly split it 4 ways.</p>
<p>We followed the same plan for Xander when he turned 3, buying 3 boxes and painting them red, yellow and green. He had a giraffe bank from when he was a baby that he used as his Save pool.</p>
<p>We also did NOT tie allowance to chores. We thought it was important for them to help around the house because it was an expectation of being a part of a family, not because they’re paid for it. If you're interested in doing something similar, there are some cool products on the market like this <a href="https://amzn.to/3SItm51">Save/Spend/Give box</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3fR4HNq">lids to make Mason Jar banks</a>, and <a href="https://amzn.to/3V7lmfv">purpose-built wooden boxes</a>. However, if you want to make it 100% your own, grab <a href="https://www.michaels.com/search?q=wood%20box">plain wooden boxes from a craft store like Michaels</a>.</p>
<h2 id="box-1%3A-give">Box 1: Give</h2>
<p>When this box filled, we gave it away. The kids chose charities, the food pantry, disaster relief, or another good cause. The food pantry was a nice option since the kids shopped for groceries, figured out how they could maximize what they purchased, and then delivered it to the food pantry for distribution. They even got to help a few times at distribution so they could see their impact on the community. Now, the kids use their credit cards to donate online to charities they want to support.</p>
<h2 id="box-2%3A-spend">Box 2: Spend</h2>
<p>We found that in some years, the kids spent this quickly, but for the most part, they let it accrue. Excess money went into a starter account for kids at the bank, so it wouldn't burn a hole in their pocket. It’s nice that when the kids wanted something for themselves, or for someone else as a gift, we could ask, “How much ‘spend’ do you have?” They loved using their own money for discretionary items. Some major purchases that the kids were able to make were a cheese mat (for gymnastics), a percentage of a Concept 2 rower for home, and later in adolescence, their own technology and music instrument purchases. They also started buying their own clothes and gifts for their friends when they were in high school.</p>
<h2 id="box-3%3A-save-(for-college)">Box 3: Save (for College)</h2>
<p>From the moment they were born, we saved for our kids' secondary education in a state-sponsored 529 plan. When this box filled, we showed the kids how their contribution was added to to plan. It’s a small addition, but an addition nonetheless. Now that they're in college, those funds are being drawn down and their "save" money is their own.</p>
<h2 id="box-4%3A-invest">Box 4: Invest</h2>
<p>Lastly, the concept of investing was fun to teach. We designated a mutual fund of our own that we could <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dollarcostaveraging.asp">dollar cost average</a> into. We added funds from the kids and earmarked it (using Google Docs) so they could see how many of those shares they owned, at what cost basis, and what the current value was. Our hope was that they grew to see investing as valuable, especially earlier on in their adult lives. Once they were old enough, they got their own investing accounts through <a href="https://www.wealthfront.com/">Wealthfront</a> and continue to invest the money that way.</p>
<h2 id="teenagers-and-young-adults">Teenagers and Young Adults</h2>
<p>As the kids got older they found other ways to make money. They taught music lessons, got paid for music gigs, and enjoyed great jobs at Ithaca's <a href="https://fingerlakesrunning.com/">Finger Lakes Running Company</a>. <a href="https://erdawson.com/pottery/">Elizabeth started a pottery business</a>. Add to that gifts of cash for birthdays and money started to add up. Allowance phased out at age 18, anyway. The four-box model lived on, but in a world with bank and investment accounts, remote check deposit, and credit cards. Instead of splitting things up every week, we got into a quarterly cadence using a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yP9w5rQF4ptdBOY6937jTYgbHZEnRxGHiqH45lc9i4Y/edit?usp=sharing">Google Doc</a> <em>(feel free to copy and adapt)</em> to keep things straight.</p>
<p>At first, I sat with them quarterly and helped them fill it out. Now, they fill it out themselves. Every quarter they use the doc to manage their income, allocating 25% to retirement, 10% to charity, and keeping 100% of cash gifts. Now that they're adults, we think these habits of saving for the future and being charitable will stick.</p>
FLRC Challenge 20222022-08-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-challenge-2022/<p>This was the second year of the FLRC Challenge, and I’d love for you to read about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flrc-challenge-2021/">last year’s challenge</a> — it does a great job explaining what it’s all about. This year brought all-new courses, including my favorite trails of all at Taughannock Falls State Park. Also new was a social aspect, where you could rack up points for running with others and patronizing local businesses after running. The social aspect was all captured on the <a href="https://challenge.fingerlakesrunners.org/">leaderboard</a> and the <a href="https://forum.fingerlakesrunners.org/c/flrc-challenge/29">forum</a>, which was a great way to see and read about other runner’s experiences. Many thanks to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_C._Engst">Adam Engst</a> for all of his hard work creating and managing the challenge, and to <a href="https://stevedesmond.ca/">Steve Desmond</a> for coding the leaderboard (I did some CSS work here, but really, the magic of the leaderboard is all him).</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/ultra_sign.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Amy, Teressa, and me with our ultra completion signs" title="Amy, Teressa, and me with our ultra completion signs" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy, Teressa, and me with our ultra completion signs</p></div>
<p>So how did we fare in 2022? As a team of 40-49, we fared really well. We came in first! It was a dramatic finish, neck and neck with 50-59. Amy and I were proud to be first and second in our team’s categories, no doubt lifted by our Taughannock tally. I ranked 12th in the points race (age-grade based) with 585.54 points. I covered 553.5 miles (3rd) over 114 efforts. AND … I still can’t believe I did the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flrc-100k-ultra-challenge-2022/">ultra challenge (all courses in 24 hours)</a>, but I did. Whew! That’s a lot. So, here’s a roundup of the courses, from shortest to longest, with some fun pictures to help tell the tale.</p>
<h2 id="sweet-1600">Sweet 1600</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 6:05 (20th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 8):</strong> 8:30 (11th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 9 (20th)</p>
<p><strong>Track 1 mile:</strong> Ah, the 1600. This was a really cool aspect of this year’s challenge, where you could grind out a mile on any track of your choosing. I did 9 track efforts, hitting the Trumansburg track for 2, Lansing for 1, but most of our efforts came from our <a href="https://forum.fingerlakesrunners.org/t/sweet-1600-star-posts/3184/87">track crawl in NYC</a>. It was really fun to explore all of the tracks Manhattan has to offer!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/1600.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Sweet 1600" title="Sweet 1600" /><p class="stickyNote">Sweet 1600</p></div>
<h2 id="lansing-center-trail">Lansing Center Trail</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 23:17 (9th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 24:02 (5th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 5 (7th)</p>
<p><strong>XC 3.4 miles:</strong> It seems like the shorter distances can be the hardest, and this was no exception. This cross-country course has some awkward footing in places on the mown track, and offers little shade depending on the time of day. I enjoyed running with others on this trail, especially the group run near the end of the challenge where we enjoyed socializing at Salt Point Brewing afterward.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/lansing.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lansing Center Trail" title="Lansing Center Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Lansing Center Trail</p></div>
<h2 id="beebe-lake">Beebe Lake</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 28:46 (13th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 4):</strong> 38:19 (10th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 5 (18th)</p>
<p><strong>Mixed 3.9 miles:</strong> It was really fun to explore new configurations of routes around Cornell’s Botanic Garden and Beebe Lake! As a Cornell student, I never ventured to this side of campus, and I wish I had. Walking around Beebe, you might confuse your location with somewhere in NYC’s Central Park. It’s so beautiful, hiking or running, and the varied trail surface is a welcome respite from the roads that dominate the Botanic Gardens. The picture is from the very last run of the challenge: a group run followed by fun fellowship at the Loehr’s home.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/beebe.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beebe Lake" title="Beebe Lake" /><p class="stickyNote">Beebe Lake</p></div>
<h2 id="taughannock-rim-%26-falls">Taughannock Rim & Falls</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 35:20 (4th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 4):</strong> 36:14 (1st)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 76 (1st)</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/taughannock_sign.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Amy and me with our Taughannock sign" title="Amy and me with our Taughannock sign" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me with our Taughannock sign</p></div>
<p><strong>Trail 4.6 miles:</strong> Our home course! We live just 3 miles from Taughannock’s top trailhead, so of course we ran the HECK out of this course. The course involves the rim and base trails and is a genuine challenge. The picture is from one of the challenge’s first group runs, after which we hosted a large group in our backyard for breakfast and coffee. I preferred the overlook start and running clockwise. I think that’s the direction that can give you the fastest time, but after some of the speedier challengers hit the course, I gave that up. The prize for most runs on a course yields the sign, and Amy and I set our sights on that one. Teressa proved to be a formidable challenger, though, and for months we jockeyed for most runs. We hammered some efforts in a bid to get ahead: I did a few doubles on weekends, we racked up some hikes together, and even <a href="https://forum.fingerlakesrunners.org/t/taughannock-rim-falls-star-posts/3186/63">spent our anniversary banging out 5 efforts for 24 miles</a>! In the end, I stopped my insane cadence at 76 efforts, and Amy caught up with me for a tie. So, we both walked away with the sign, and an intimate knowledge of every rock, root, and vista on the trail.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/taughannock.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Taughannock Rim & Falls" title="Taughannock Rim & Falls" /><p class="stickyNote">Taughannock Rim & Falls</p></div>
<h2 id="long-loomis">Long Loomis</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 48:10 (15th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 49:10 (3rd)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 4 (5th)</p>
<p><strong>Trail 5.7 miles:</strong> Hammond Hill is such a beautiful, well-maintained complex of trails. Not a ton of runs here, but I really enjoyed the group run effort mid-season. I took Xander here late in the season for his very last run of the challenge! I was on tired legs from running the ultra challenge, but it was incredibly fun to run it out with Xander.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/loomis.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Long Loomis" title="Long Loomis" /><p class="stickyNote">Long Loomis</p></div>
<h2 id="inlet-shore-trail">Inlet Shore Trail</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 46:13 (21st)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 3):</strong> 49:28 (9th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 3 (16th)</p>
<p><strong>Mixed 6.2 miles:</strong> I gotta be honest: I really didn’t like this one. Too much pavement and not enough shade! I did enjoy the northern reaches of the course, offering really great lake views. My most favorite run on this was during the ultra challenge, running as the sun started to come up.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/inlet.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Inlet Shore Trail" title="Inlet Shore Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Inlet Shore Trail</p></div>
<h2 id="east-hill-dryden-rail-trail">East Hill Dryden Rail Trail</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 54:32 (18th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 54:45 (6th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 3 (12th)</p>
<p><strong>Mixed 7.5 miles:</strong> Ah, another tough course! This was was also made more fun with friends. I ran this just once on my own, once on a group run, and once more for the ultra challenge.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/east_hill.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="East Hill Dryden Rail Trail" title="East Hill Dryden Rail Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">East Hill Dryden Rail Trail</p></div>
<h2 id="jim-schug-trail">Jim Schug Trail</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 58:35 (14th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 59:01 (7th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 3 (8th)</p>
<p><strong>Mixed 8 miles:</strong> Folks in Dryden must really enjoy this trail! It picks up right in town, and in seconds, you’re whisked away to a wonderful natural world flanked by a beautiful lake. Amy and I enjoyed this together first, and I had a solo effort. The most memorable, though, was the ultra challenge, fast-hiking it with Amy and Teressa in the dark. I’ve never been so startled by bullfrogs jumping into the bogs that flank the western edge of the trail!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/schug.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Jim Schug Trail" title="Jim Schug Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Jim Schug Trail</p></div>
<h2 id="brookton-hill-%26-dale">Brookton Hill & Dale</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 1:17:24 (13th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 1:18:42 (4th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 3 (3rd)</p>
<p><strong>Road 10.4 miles:</strong> This is a genuinely difficult road course. In my head I always reasoned, “It’s only ten miles!” But, that extra .4 is a bear mentally, and this course has so many ups and downs it’s a mental game to keep the pace up. The market was a nice touch at the end, with coffee and breakfast foods on offer. Just 3 runs on this one, but my most memorable was having Xander come and run it with me for the ultra challenge. We stashed a cooler of water halfway through the course and kept up a decent pace throughout. It’s too bad that Lick Brook & Treman came right after, though — my legs were wasted by that point!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/brookton.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Brookton Hill & Dale" title="Brookton Hill & Dale" /><p class="stickyNote">Brookton Hill & Dale</p></div>
<h2 id="lick-brook-%26-treman-flt">Lick Brook & Treman FLT</h2>
<p><strong>Fastest Time:</strong> 2:22:20 (10th)<br />
<strong>Average (Top 2):</strong> 2:34:56 (6th)<br />
<strong>No. of Runs:</strong> 3 (5th)</p>
<p><strong>Trail 13.1 miles:</strong> Ah, my nemesis (and many challengers likely felt this way). I love this park, and have special memories of having run two 50-milers here. How hard can 13.1 miles be? Well, REALLY hard. The first effort was really early in the season, when foliage and ground cover had barely begun to emerge from winter slumber. Really fantastic, but really difficult. The second effort was a genuine race effort for me, and I was happy to grind out a fast performance. The last effort was during the ultra challenge, where it was difficult to run at all. I did run some stretches, but it was mostly a hike that I was immensely grateful to complete.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/challenge/treman.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lick Brook & Treman FLT" title="Lick Brook & Treman FLT" /><p class="stickyNote">Lick Brook & Treman FLT</p></div>
FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge 20222022-08-07T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-100k-ultra-challenge-2022/<h2 id="a-challenge-in-a-challenge">A Challenge in a Challenge</h2>
<p>This is my second year participating in the FLRC Challenge (<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flrc-challenge-2021/">last year's recap is a great explainer</a>). The courses this year varied from the prior year, but I again really enjoyed the variety of "10 area courses, split evenly between road and trail, and with distances ranging from 1 mile to the half marathon." Now, that's challenging enough, with plenty of gamification throughout: who can run the fastest/most frequent/be most social? But what about the challenge in the challenge? The <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/flrc-100k-ultra-challenge/">race page</a> tells the tale:</p>
<p><em>Where most people will be running, walking, or hiking as many courses as they can from April to August, can you complete all 10 courses—slightly more than 100 kilometers—in the space of one 24-hour day? That’s the goal of the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge, a unique test of your ultrarunning prowess. You can run the 10 courses in any order, but you’ll need to figure out the logistics of traveling between them, decide how you’ll fuel and stay loose in between, and make sure you can navigate each course successfully.</em></p>
<p>Amy and I completed the main challenge of running all 10 courses at least once. Amy wondered if she and her friend Teressa could do the ultra challenge? The challenge season ends in just one week, so the time was now or never.</p>
<h2 id="how-it-started">How it Started</h2>
<p>Amy shared her plans with me. As I listened, I felt a pang of jealousy. Prior ultra challenge completions came from <em>really</em> serious runners, some with really impressive ultrarunning pedigrees. Was I that person? Surely not. Yeah, I've done a few ultras, but by no means would I advertise myself as an ultra runner. The distance is still quite out of my wheelhouse. As she shared her plans, though, I reacted aloud, "You know, if you do this, I'm gonna want to do it too." Would I really do that, though? By myself? She replied, "What if you came with us?" I thought that sounded awesome. I'd be able to get the external motivation from two friends doing this crazy adventure with me, and we'd all be committed together. We hatched a plan, using our most optimistic and pessimistic times. Here's what it looked like, using our pessimistic times in the tracking spreadsheet I created.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/started.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>At worst, we'd finish just under the 24 hour cutoff, and at best, we'd finish in the early evening. We planned to get started at 3a at the Trumansburg High School track and go from there. When the forecast solidified, we made one alteration, moving Brookton before Lick Brook. Given the heat advisory for indices between 95 and 100, Brookton would be a scorch-fest. With the move, we'd be off it before the sun was fully up.</p>
<h2 id="how-it-ended">How it Ended</h2>
<p>There's no yada-yadaing through 21 hours -- there's just not. That's why I put our course-by-course play-by-play below, complete with pictures. But we did it! By my GPS, I covered 64.45 total miles (100K+). I also lost 7.5 pounds despite trying desperately to stay hydrated and fed. As with the best-laid plans, they changed, too. After Lick Brook, we decided to improve our overall finish time by adjusting our course order. Economizing on drive/prep time was the only real way we had to control it. So, courses 6-10 got totally re-worked. This post's featured image shows the route best: the latter courses carved a clean arc through the eastern half of Tompkins County.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/ended.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>If you're interested, this <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RelpvFuPGbHtEnEzuLrJ6Q2quONXcWXyl7_agv6jBL0/edit?usp=sharing">Google Sheet shows how this schedule kept us on track</a>. After every run, I marked our actual run time and travel time to the next destination. I marked each leg when we completed it, which was a nice way for our families to know what we were up to. There's a nice touch in there that shows what legs would be in the dark, too.</p>
<h2 id="roving-aid-station">Roving Aid Station</h2>
<p>Did I mention that this challenge is totally async and unsupported? We had total discretion over when and how we did this, as long as it fit in a 24-hour window. We packed enough food and drink for a small country. Don't most ultra support vehicles look like this?</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/car-at-hammond.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Our ultra support vehicle" title="Our ultra support vehicle" /><p class="stickyNote">Our ultra support vehicle</p></div>
<p>Our favorite foods for the day were pickles, watermelon, and Twizzlers. I knocked back three red Gatorade bottles and countless liters of water, too. I should share about our tech, too. Our Apple watches obviously wouldn't hold a charge for this type of event. I found this fantastic <a href="https://amzn.to/3JFhUUe">portable power station</a> that served us well all day long. We were able to plug in our watches and phones during our transition periods and keep them mostly topped off throughout the day. Much cheaper than having to buy a legit GPS watch!</p>
<h2 id="play-by-play">Play-by-Play</h2>
<h3 id="2%3A57a%3A-sweet-1600">2:57a: Sweet 1600</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/track-before-start.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Ready to go!" title="Ready to go!" /><p class="stickyNote">Ready to go!</p></div>
<p><strong>1.01 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7595668613">7:40</a>:</strong> We started at the Trumansburg High School track a few minutes after picking Teressa up. The picture of us at the beginning was the freshest we'd be all day long, but we were looking forward to the adventure ahead. I had a little waist light that worked well for these four loops, and they were over quickly enough. The air was so incredibly humid my shirt was soaked through by the end. I love this picture I took as we were about to start. Really amazing.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/track-dark.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Track in the dark" title="Track in the dark" /><p class="stickyNote">Track in the dark</p></div>
<h3 id="3%3A21a%3A-taughannock-rim-%26-falls">3:21a: Taughannock Rim & Falls</h3>
<p><strong>4.66 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7595914198">46:50</a>:</strong> Our home course! I've run this 75+ times for this year's challenge, but never in the dark. I've actually never run in the dark before, so this was a completely new experience. I started a few minutes after they did, and really enjoyed this shirtless run around the rim and base trails. I was struck by how the lack of light transforms everything. Across the gorge, you can easily make out landmarks that are normally obscured by trees. I picked out the overlook and the camp shower house solely due to the lights shining within. I took this photo touching the bridge post at the end of the base trail before returning the car.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/taughannock-bridge.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Tagging Taughannock's post" title="Tagging Taughannock's post" /><p class="stickyNote">Tagging Taughannock's post</p></div>
<h3 id="4%3A46a%3A-inlet-shore-trail">4:46a: Inlet Shore Trail</h3>
<p><strong>6.23 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7596460416">51:23</a>:</strong> Another shirtless run. Oppressive humidity! A mile into the run I was grateful to see that the Cass Park bathrooms were open, with lights on. My little Strava map shows my little detour. It was cool to see the sky start to lighten as I rounded the loop near the north end of the point. The lake, the sounds of the animals ... really amazing to be out in nature at an hour that I was normally in bed! I encountered only a few people on the south part of the trail, beginning their morning walks. Really quiet and peaceful. Xander was due to meet me in Brooktondale to run the next leg, and we were tracking 20-30 minutes ahead of schedule. He was ready to go and started driving to meet me sooner than he'd planned. Good teenager! We took this picture heading out of the parking lot, just before we saw Aaron King. Aaron's a really good runner, and I shared what we were doing. He shared that he was, too! So, we were not alone in pursuing this effort on an oppressively hot and humid day.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/inlet-shore-after-sunrise.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Still smiling!" title="Still smiling!" /><p class="stickyNote">Still smiling!</p></div>
<h3 id="6%3A36a%3A-brookton-hill-%26-dale">6:36a: Brookton Hill & Dale</h3>
<p><strong>10.34 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7597533750">1:34:55</a>:</strong> I dropped Amy and Teressa off and left to plant a small cooler at mile 5. By the time I got back to Brookton's Market, Xander had arrived and was ready to run. I was so grateful we'd changed our order, since it meant we'd likely be done with this run by the time the sun was fully up! We had a delightful run at a decent clip. Xander was a really good sport about me walking the hills, and we enjoyed sparse conversation: I was working way to hard to be a full conversationalist! He needed this course to get his finished medal, and I was happy to have done it with him. We finished almost exactly when Amy and Teressa did!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/xander-brooktons.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander and me before starting out" title="Xander and me before starting out" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander and me before starting out</p></div>
<h3 id="9%3A03a%3A-lick-brook-%26-treman-flt">9:03a: Lick Brook & Treman FLT</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/lick-brook-turnaround.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="So grateful to see the turnaround sign!" title="So grateful to see the turnaround sign!" /><p class="stickyNote">So grateful to see the turnaround sign!</p></div>
<p><strong>14.14 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7600030301">3:55:10</a>:</strong> By this point, we'd run almost a marathon. I surely felt like it. We decided to do the Lick Brook side before taking in the longer Treman side. I put my two sodden shirts on top of the Pilot to dry in the sun as I banged out Lick Brook. On my ascent, I saw Aaron King moving well down the hill. He looked really fresh! On my descent, I saw fellow Challengers Josh and Caroline Brockner, also was a nice lift. Once back at the car, we all took a break to get water and nutrition before heading out for the longer loop. We enjoyed talking with fellow Challenger Kristina Harrison and her husband as we headed out. The next 10 mile segment was so difficult. I hiked most of this and was grateful for the trekking poles we'd brought. My water consumption was through the roof and I found my pack mostly empty by the time I was halfway through the return trip. I rationed well, though, and promised myself I could drain the pack at mile 13. When I returned to the car, I took time to re-pack my water bladder with ice and water, and get some much needed food in my body.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/lick-brook-socks.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Is this the right sock, or the left sock?" title="Is this the right sock, or the left sock?" /><p class="stickyNote">Is this the right sock, or the left sock?</p></div>
<p>Before we left, we talked about the rest of the day. We were a bit concerned about our transition times, so decided to reorganize the second half of our day to economize on drive time. It turned out to be a fantastic decision!</p>
<h3 id="2%3A04p%3A-cornell-botanic-gardens-beebe-lake">2:04p: Cornell Botanic Gardens Beebe Lake</h3>
<p><strong>3.89 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7600028481">54:20</a>:</strong> Now we were securely in the heat of the day, for sure. Beebe was a bit exposed at the beginning, but we soon found shade. Now hiking as a trio, I was no longer feeling the isolation of hours of hiking at Treman. We did run a bit of this, mostly on the downs of the arboretum side.</p>
<h3 id="3%3A19p%3A-east-hill-dryden-rail-trail">3:19p: East Hill Dryden Rail Trail</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/aaron-king.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Aaron and Amanda King" title="Aaron and Amanda King" /><p class="stickyNote">Aaron and Amanda King</p></div>
<p><strong>7.42 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7600403209">1:44:12</a>:</strong> As we pulled into the gravel drive marking the start of this trail, we saw Amanda King waving at us from her car! She was crewing for Aaron, and doing some running with him, and she was our trail angel here. She brought over some excess ice and offered to get us anything else we needed. Aaron arrived soon after and we took a picture before starting our respective efforts on this course. We each started a different direction. We ran the outbound mile on the East Hill Rec Way and hiked back to the car. The heat off the pavement was oppressive, and there was no shelter from the sun. Ugh! It was cool to see Aaron finishing the longer leg as we finished ours. Shame I had a pickle in my mouth for this picture: otherwise it's a good one!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/dryden-rail-pickle-mouth.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="No better time to eat than during a picture, right?" title="No better time to eat than during a picture, right?" /><p class="stickyNote">No better time to eat than during a picture, right?</p></div>
<p>On the rail trail part, Amy had a brilliant idea. We'd run a quarter mile, then walk a quarter mile, and repeat. I joked with Teressa that we were campers and Amy was our camp counselor. Amy was really motivational, helping me along when the thing I wanted to do least was run.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/rail-trail-turnaround.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Rail Trail turnaround sign" title="Rail Trail turnaround sign" /><p class="stickyNote">Rail Trail turnaround sign</p></div>
<h3 id="5%3A50p%3A-long-loomis">5:50p: Long Loomis</h3>
<p><strong>5.38 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7600763459">1:45:30</a>:</strong> Hammond Hill is so beautiful. Amy and I love running and skiing there. We pulled into the empty lot, got ourselves together for what we knew would be a hike, and got started. Time slowed down for me here, and that probably had a lot to do with the diminishing light. The sun was setting in the sky and the woods exacerbated the effect. I knew it'd be dark soon.</p>
<p>As we started the half mile descent to the parking lot, I heard faint music in the distance. As I got closer I realized it was bagpipes. Was I hallucinating? Had my kids arranged a surprise bagpiper to lift our spirits? There's an old shack at the start of the trail that the club affectionately calls the Hammond Hill-ton (I think I have that right?) and someone was in there just practicing their bagpipes. It gave me a much needed smile.</p>
<h3 id="8%3A23p%3A-jim-schug-trail">8:23p: Jim Schug Trail</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/pizza.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Delicious pizza!" title="Delicious pizza!" /><p class="stickyNote">Delicious pizza!</p></div>
<p><strong>8.06 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7601041755">2:10:42</a>:</strong> We stopped at a gas station in Dryden to use their facilities and regroup for our last big effort. While waiting, I hopped over to <a href="https://www.pizzaandbones.com/">Pizza and Bones</a> and got three slices. It was the only outside food we'd gotten all day and it tasted so good! We got underway shortly after 8 and used the remaining light before switching on Amy's light belt. We were keeping such a good hiking pace that we agreed to not try the run/walk that we'd used on the rail trail. Thought the moon was on the fullish side, it cast little light for us. It was surreal walking past Dryden lake and the bogs that surround the trail. The frogs were plentiful. A few bullfrogs surprised me when then leapt into the water to escape my feet. I couldn't help but be a little guilty for intruding on their space. It was nighttime, after all! After a few hours of effort and fun conversation, we were done. Just 3.4 miles left!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/starting-schug.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Starting the Jim Schug Trail" title="Starting the Jim Schug Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Starting the Jim Schug Trail</p></div>
<h3 id="11%3A00p%3A-lansing-center-trail">11:00p: Lansing Center Trail</h3>
<p><strong>3.33 mi in <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7601139044">45:26</a>:</strong> We arrived at Lansing Center Trail a few minutes 'til 11, and we realized that if we made an effort to run, we'd finish before midnight. Amy was adamant that we finish before then, and I was sure we could do it! You know what? We ran most of this thing. Not a blistering pace, mind you, but with 60 miles on your legs, what can you do? We spent some of the time recapping the day, grateful that the weather had cooperated (every other day this week brought torrential afternoon rain), and that none of us had dealt with any kind of injury. As we closed in the final mile, I said "You know what? We're gonna f%$king do this!" And we did.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/100k/done.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Three 100k finishers." title="Three 100k finishers." /><p class="stickyNote">Three 100k finishers.</p></div>
Celebrating 24 Years with 24 Miles2022-07-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/24th-anniversary-miles/<h2 id="how-to-best-celebrate-24-years%3F">How to best celebrate 24 years?</h2>
<p>Today's our 24th wedding anniversary! Several nights ago, Amy asked me a question she was sure I wasn't going to like. "So, for our anniversary... what if we ran the <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/">FLRC Challenge</a> course at <a href="https://taughannock.us/">Taughannock</a> over and over and over again?"</p>
<p>I'm not gonna lie, I thought this sounded like pure torture, and while I enjoy a good run as much as the next guy, I do like some celebration in my celebratory days. "All day?" I asked. "Wait a sec. What if we did 24 miles?" Turns out that's basically 5 challenge efforts with a little kicker thrown in at the end. Thus, this year's challenge was born.</p>
<h2 id="%22i-would-walk-5.65-miles-and-i-would-walk-5.65-more%2C-just-to-be-the-man-who-walks-24-miles%2C-to-fall-down-at-your-door%22">"I would walk 5.65 miles and I would walk 5.65 more, just to be the man who walks 24 miles, to fall down at your door"</h2>
<p>We got up bright and early and enjoyed an episode of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series)">For All Mankind</a> before packing up a cooler with ice, Gatorade, Bob's bars, Honey Stinger waffles, and a few apples. We had agreed to alternate running and hiking the loops, like: run-hike-run-hike-run. After the first loop, though, Amy asked me if I'd mind running the second one, too, because she'd need to change shoes for hiking. Sure! I was still feeling pretty good, and enjoyed seeing my friends Laura, Scott, Melissa, and Walter on the base trail during this loop.</p>
<p>At the overlook parking lot, I ran into my friend Art and had a fun chat before Melissa, Walter, and Amy came nearby.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/anniversary/me-and-art.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Art" title="Me and Art" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Art</p></div>
<p>You know what the really fun part was? All of us discovering that it was each others' anniversary. Yep. Walter and Melissa were celebrating. Amy and I were celebrating. And Art and Emilie were celebrating. What are the chances of that? We thought it was so cool we took some pictures of all of us (except Emilie, who was on the trail during that time).</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/anniversary/amy-melissa-walter.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy, Melissa, and Walter" title="Amy, Melissa, and Walter" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy, Melissa, and Walter</p></div>
<p>Amy and I agreed then to run our third loop, too. We were still feeling fresh and the heat of the day was about to settle in. Last night's rain (the most we've had in a while) was quickly forgotten as the humidity lessened and the trail dried out. The third loop felt tough but doable, and by the time I made it back to the parking lot, I was grateful that my son Xander had brought us towels after the second loop. I toweled off, changed my shirt, and grabbed my hiking poles for the final two laps of hiking with Amy.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/anniversary/last-loop.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beginning our last loop" title="Beginning our last loop" /><p class="stickyNote">Beginning our last loop</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/anniversary/beef-on-weck.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Beef-on-weck sandwiches" title="Beef-on-weck sandwiches" /><p class="stickyNote">Beef-on-weck sandwiches</p></div>
<p>We ended up having a delightful day. Each loop of this 4.65-4.7 mile course was different: different people, different conversations, different body feels. It was all good, though, and I didn't feel nearly as wasted as I feel at the end of a marathon effort. It made our post-run celebration all the sweeter: 2 X-IPAs and beef-on-weck sandwiches from <a href="https://twogoatsbrewing.com/">Two Goats</a>. Does it get any better than this? I don't think so.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/anniversary/two-goats.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="All smiles at Two Goats after our 24-mile challenge" title="All smiles at Two Goats after our 24-mile challenge" /><p class="stickyNote">All smiles at Two Goats after our 24-mile challenge</p></div>
<h2 id="strava-track">Strava track</h2>
<p>My GPS tracks measured a bit long, since by my calculations it should have been a little over 24, but oh well! Challenge completed.</p>
<div class="strava-embed-placeholder" data-embed-type="activity" data-embed-id="7528205673"></div><script src="https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js"></script>
Seneca 72022-04-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/seneca-7-2022/<p>Back in mid-March, Brian Lazzaro reached out to me and asked if I’d be a part of, as he put it, a reasonably competitive Masters team for the <a href="http://www.seneca7.com/">Seneca 7</a>. He went on to describe the race in his email, noting that the Ithaca community historically assembles strong teams and have won overall several times.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think you know the race, but if you've never done it, it's a hilariously fun and frantic relay race around Seneca Lake. The course starts in Geneva, runs down the west side of the lake to Watkins Glen, then back up to Geneva for a 77.7 mile circuit. There are 7 runners on a team, each of whom run three legs that are ~3.5-6 mi each. We'll have a van to move the resting runners from checkpoint to checkpoint. The race is a staggered start, so the slowest teams go first and the fast teams run them down and then get out in front. It's an absolute blast.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why not? I’d never done the race before, but it’d be a good experience and an opportunity to get to know some of the names and faces I’ve encountered at local races, FLRC events, and Mithacal Milers. Our lineup of 7 runners from <a href="https://www.strava.com/clubs/high-noon">High Noon Athletic Club</a> was fantastic:</p>
<ol>
<li>Jay Hubisz</li>
<li>Roger Moseley</li>
<li>Dave Kania</li>
<li>Scott Dawson</li>
<li>Brian Lazzaro</li>
<li>Josh Brockner</li>
<li>Scott Weeks</li>
</ol>
<p>I raised my hand early to be runner 4. With my post-Covid status (read more about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2022/">my Skunk Cabbage sufferfest</a>) and doubts about my ability to run fast, I wanted to minimize the damage I’d potentially cause. The short legs, even though one was a challenging climb out of Watkins Glen, would put me at a total of 8.6 miles for the day. It sounds short, but when each of those efforts was at 5K pace or better, and under a relentless sun and 85 degrees bouncing off the pavement? This had the potential to be brutal.</p>
<h2 id="the-start">The Start</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/brazil.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Our 'fast team' flag" title="Our 'fast team' flag" /><p class="stickyNote">Our 'fast team' flag</p></div>
<p>I was cold at the start. As we packed up my car (I’d offered our Pilot as a race vehicle) in the parking lot in Geneva, I was shivering badly enough for Dave to offer me his puffy. I gratefully took it. We joked that later in the day we’d be looking back on these temperatures with jealousy. We were right. It would have been nicer to have 50-degree temps with overcast skies, but you can’t choose your weather in upstate New York. As a fast team, we got a Brazilian flag to fly from our car. It promised to give us priority at transition points, I imagine for parking, but I’m not sure that really worked out in many cases. Still, it was a fun conversation starter.</p>
<h2 id="my-legs">My Legs</h2>
<h3 id="leg-4-%E2%80%94-anthony-road-to-dresden">Leg 4 — Anthony Road to Dresden</h3>
<p><strong>2.2 miles at 9:59 am:</strong> This was just over 2 miles. Easy, right? That’s what I thought, and the first half mile was a nice downhill stretch. I ran the first mile in 6:01 and managed an average pace of 6:19 when it was done. I recharged with a Honey Stinger waffle and a half PB&J. On to the next stops! (<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7036343967/overview">Strava link</a>)</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/handoff.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My first handoff from Dave" title="My first handoff from Dave" /><p class="stickyNote">My first handoff from Dave</p></div>
<h3 id="leg-11-%E2%80%94-clute-park-to-hector-falls">Leg 11 — Clute Park to Hector Falls</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/honey_stinger.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Honey Stringer figured squarely into my day" title="Honey Stringer figured squarely into my day" /><p class="stickyNote">Honey Stringer figured squarely into my day</p></div>
<p><strong>3.5 mi at 12:57 pm:</strong> Really dreaded this climb out of Watkins. Safety vests were required by the race for the descent into Watkins and the ascent out of it, but we’d confirmed with the race organizers that we were good to go with wearing high-visibility shirts. I donned my traffic safety-cone orange Finger Lakes 50s shirt. As I took the handoff from Dave, the volunteer stopped me and told me I had to have a vest. What? A quick exchange between Brian and the volunteer cleared that up. I lost a few seconds, but all in all not too much of a delay. I headed uphill almost immediately but leveled off after taking a left on 414. Passed a lot of people walking at this point. Cruelly, the course profile turned uphill at the end. My average pace for this leg was 7:32. Net elevation gain was approximately 400 feet, not unlike Taughannock Falls’ rim trail. I ran with Honey Stinger Stingerita Lime chews and refueled with Honey Stinger Rapid Hydration Mix, another half PB&J, and some blueberries. (<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7036343989/overview">Strava link</a>)</p>
<h3 id="leg-18-%E2%80%94-sampson-north-to-seneca-lake-camp">Leg 18 — Sampson North to Seneca Lake Camp</h3>
<p><strong>2.9 mi at 4:17 pm:</strong> I really felt off before this final leg. I was excited about the prospect of being done, but a combination of things made me really nervous. First, we were playing leapfrog with a team from <a href="https://www.strava.com/clubs/174024">Cornell Running Club</a>, and we were very much still in the running for third place. Second, I’d been struggling with what to eat, having had some of Scott’s Jelly Bellies and the rest of my Honey Stinger chews. I felt like I needed a proper meal but that wasn’t going to happen. Then as icing on the cake, my heart started racing. Perhaps it was the heat of the day, which was 85 degrees by this point, or my body trying to chew through some of the sugar I’d been throwing at it. I hoped it wasn’t heat exhaustion. I rested in a child’s pose on the ground in a fruitless bid to calm down and get back to a reasonable heart rate. No joy. I fought off the well of panic rising in me as my team told me our runner was here. I stood, grabbed the slap bracelet from Dave, and just started running. I felt better almost immediately. At this point in the race we were mostly alone as a team, jockeying for position with Cornell. This leg ran along the lakeshore the entire way. Really nice and flat. I enjoyed a cool breeze for the first half mile and then that died down to literally nothing. I looked off to the left at the lake’s glassy surface and smiled at the thought of stopping running, dashing down to a private dock, and jumping in. I focused on keeping an even pace, my heart rate now chugging right along in my threshold zone. I passed Cornell’s runner about a mile in. I looked at my watch a little more often than I usually do, literally counting down the tenths of a mile until could hand off the bracelet to Brian. I spotted some of my team on the road’s right shoulder as I approached the transition point, and I was overwhelmed with their encouragement. With a quick transfer of the band, I was done. My third and last leg ended with an average pace of 7:05. (<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/7036344083/overview">Strava link</a>)</p>
<h2 id="short-stories">Short Stories</h2>
<p>I saw my friend Brenda Michaud running toward the Ol' Fourteener transition and slowed down enough to yell hello from the car. I caught up with her as she finished her running leg and rejoined her bike team. It was nice to see her since she moved away a few years ago. I miss taking Bikram yoga with her and Amy.</p>
<p>I passed a runner from Aruba as I was climbing out of Watkins. The day before, Amy met their entire team while she was running at Taughannock. They were so friendly: she enjoyed talking with them, shared that I was doing the race, too, and got <a href="https://forum.fingerlakesrunners.org/t/taughannock-rim-falls-star-posts/3186/13">their picture</a>. I was so out of breath during the run I couldn’t say anything to their runner, but at Scale House Brewery I caught up with one of their runners waiting on the bank by the road. The man <em>(third from the left in the photo)</em> smiled and remembered meeting Amy. We had a nice short chat and wished each other continued luck.</p>
<p>The middle seat in the second row became the most popular seat in the car due to the stellar air conditioning in that spot. We thought on-deck or recovering runners might appreciate the front passenger spot for the leg room, but climate control won the day. I even took that spot after my third leg, opting to have Josh drive an additional leg to let me cool down. Incidentally, that was a big benefit of having my car be the crew car: I always had the driver’s seat to come back to after each leg!</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/hotdog.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Post-race hot dog? Why not!" title="Post-race hot dog? Why not!" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race hot dog? Why not!</p></div>
<p>At <a href="https://www.zugibevineyards.com/">Zugibe Vineyards</a>, the second-to-last transition area, Roger purchased a hot dog while we were waiting. It looked so good, and my stomach was still in search of sustenance, I couldn’t pass it up. I was done running, after all. I happily ate it as we drove on to the last transition.</p>
<h2 id="the-finish">The Finish</h2>
<p>Bottomless Brewing was the last transition zone, and by that point, Cornell’s team had edged us again. Their last runner had quite a headstart on us by the time we transitioned. Scott Weeks was up, our super-fast ringer who’s also Groton’s varsity track and cross-country coach. Could he reel in Cornell’s runner? Scott was looking fantastic when he left, but we weren’t so sure. As we drove the divided highway leading to the left turn in Geneva, we yelled encouragement to Scott. He was bombing down the hill and looking so strong. Still, Cornell was a ways ahead with two miles left. We assembled in the “Team Reunification” spot and waited.</p>
<p>Just before I started capturing video, I spotted Scott’s blue USA singlet in the distance. No Cornell red. “Oh my God, he did it!” I yelled.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwHkLg4w0Qs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwHkLg4w0Qs</a></p>
<p>He flew by us to the final turnaround and we all sprinted in to the finish with him. He must have been doing sub-5 at that point, and later told me that he’d passed Cornell with a mile and a half to go. Phenomenal. We ended up edging Cornell by 55 seconds: a solid showing for a 100% Masters team from Ithaca, NY. We enjoyed talking with the Cornell team after we'd both finished and snapped this post's feature photo. Look at all those fast Ithacans!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/team.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race photo of our team" title="Post-race photo of our team" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race photo of our team</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/seneca7/team_with_cornell.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race photo of our team with Cornell" title="Post-race photo of our team with Cornell" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race photo of our team with Cornell</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 8:50:35 (<a href="https://live.resport.io/spec/results.jsp?w=4920318913150976">results</a>)<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 3/210 teams<br />
<strong>Pace:</strong> 6:48 average</p>
<p>The race helpfully provides a <a href="https://live.resport.io/roadkill.jsp?r=6221160018608128">roadkill report</a>, where <strong>roadkills</strong> denote you passing someone, and <strong>roadkill</strong> denotes someone passed you. I passed 37 runners throughout the day, and wasn’t passed by anyone.</p>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 2022: Untrained Melody2022-04-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2022/<p>The tagline of this post’s title ran through my mind for much of this race. As a headphone-free event, I made up my own song. The lyrics to that song, wouldn’t you know, were about how unprepared I was.</p>
<p>My story of unpreparation began on March 15 with a few sniffles. I felt lousy, but I’m prone to get a winter cold most years, so maybe that was it? Well, the next day I didn’t work. Very unlike me. I slept on and off, had some macaroni and cheese for lunch, and watched Jungle Cruise. Took a home test for Covid, which turned out negative. Turning a corner? Perhaps. Then the next day, out an abundance of caution for my stylist (who always sends a nice pre-appointment email making sure we’re not sick or exposed), I took another home test. Fuuuuck. I texted my wife to tell her I was positive. Ironically I was feeling a lot better than the day prior, but still not great.</p>
<p>I slept a few nights awy from Amy until she tested positive, and then Xander tested positive. He remained asymptomatic the whole time, a true silver lining, so he got to take a free week off from in-person classes. Elizabeth, who’s been commuting to Ithaca College, never came home after Xander’s positive result. There was no way for her to remain isolated on “their side” of the house. Luckily, Ray was willing to take an impromptu trip to Pennsylvania so Elizabeth could live in his house for the duration of our isolation periods.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/skunk/foyer.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Pre-race in our foyer" title="Pre-race in our foyer" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race in our foyer</p></div>
<p>So, in the 20 days leading up to the race, I ran twice. A 3.1 mile run and a 5 mile run. Neither felt very good. Thought I was feeling symptom-free, Covid had clearly had its way with the parts of my body that help me run well. Race morning was cold, and though there was a threat of rain, it never materialized. Amy and I got to Schoellkopf Field at Cornell for the pre-race check-in. We didn’t need to kill a lot of time, and soon we were at the start line. I started off well enough, running step-for-step with Gerrit Van Loon. He was a tremendous support throughout the first 10K, learning about my post-Covid status and encouraging me all along the tough uphill stretches as we turned from Dodge onto Ellis Hollow. He pulled away from me as I slowed on this long stretch. I got passed by more and more runners for the duration of the race. I was trying so hard but my body wasn’t delivering.</p>
<p>As we ran down the last mile of the race, I was in lockstep with another runner. As we rounded the final turn, I goaded him on, saying “Let’s do this!” I started to sprint and he matched me, but then my body was like, “Nope, you’re not doing that.” He sprinted off ahead of me and all I could do was hold on ‘til the finish line.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2022/skunk/finish.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Absolutely toast at the finish" title="Absolutely toast at the finish" /><p class="stickyNote">Absolutely toast at the finish</p></div>
<p>Ended up 8 minutes off of my standard (healthy) pace for a half marathon, but hey, I stuck it out and finished. I'm really happy I did as well as I did, racing against a past (healthier?) version of myself.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:38:56<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 32/194 overall, 4/22 Male 45-49</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/6927201593/embed/c3acca96edec0d7889d1d8b484725da957c1ae6a"></iframe>
FLRC Challenge 20212021-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-challenge-2021/<h2 id="%22did-you-race-this-year%3F%22">"Did you race this year?"</h2>
<p>I was asked this question a lot this year at the few social gatherings we enjoyed. The answer: well, I kind of did, but not the kind of race I normally sign up for. Instead of toeing the line at a series of trail and road races, the Finger Lakes Runners Club put on the <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/">FLRC Challenge</a>. The asynchronous challenge sent runners to 10 area courses, split evenly between road and trail, with distances from 1 mile to the half marathon. Participants aimed to run, walk, or hike as many courses as they could in 2021.</p>
<p>I played a minor role in the creation of the challenge's <a href="https://challenge.fingerlakesrunners.org/">dynamic leaderboard</a>, specifically with design and usability work. <a href="https://twitter.com/stevedesmond_ca">Steve Desmond</a> did the lion's share of the development work, and <a href="https://twitter.com/adamengst">Adam Engst</a> brought it all together from a requirements perspective. So, with the leaderboard ready to tell us how we were doing, I was jazzed to get running.</p>
<p>Amy and I signed up for the challenge together, and while we ran most of our efforts at the same time, we rarely ran together. Between March and June, we exclusively alternated between the longest options on the weekend: Skunk Cabbage and Black Diamond. These long weekend runs proved to be a fine distraction from the pandemic stress that was all around us. On June 15, I was forced to take a break to have – and recover from – hernia surgery. Yuck! I was sad to have to take such a big pause, but was grateful to resume running on July 24. As the chart below shows, our summer runs picked up in frequency, mostly due to three-day weekends and a missed vacation to Oregon that kept us home. That extra week of vacation got us the rest of the way to finishing all ten courses in the challenge. Since then, we ran when we could, opting for the longer trail options on the weekends.</p>
<p>The challenge provided a few things to focus on: speed, frequency, overall mileage, or average speed. I chose to focus on speed-based points (<a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/rules/">a complex calculus you can read more about</a>) and was pleased to end up with 818.93 points. Good enough for 7th place! I was really pleased to look back at these results and note that, with the exception of Black Diamond, all of my fastest efforts came <em>after</em> my recovery. Mission accomplished! The main benefit of the challenge for me, besides staying fit, was variety. I routinely run in Trumansburg and at Taughannock. The challenge forced me out of my comfort zone and onto some routes that I've only raced on in large groups, or have never been to at all. I covered 404.1 miles (12th place in the mileage competition) over the 57 efforts I put in. Overall, I ran 914 miles in 2021, so just less than half were on challenge courses. Not bad for a Trumansburg resident!</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to future editions of the FLRC Challenge. This inaugural challenge was one I'll remember forever!</p>
<h2 id="flrc-challenge%2C-visualized">FLRC Challenge, Visualized</h2>
<p>This chart does a good job visually summarizing a few things. First, our focus on long weekend runs early on in the year. Second, the big pause in the middle for surgery and recovery. And lastly, our big summer push to get all the courses done, and then have fun the balance of the year trying to improve our speed and effort counts.</p>
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<h2 id="in-pictures">In Pictures</h2>
<p>Most pictures are at the start/finish signs, where you scan a QR code to mark your effort. Some show off the beauty of the area, too!</p>
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<h2 id="course-commentaryeast-hill-rec-way-(1-mile)">Course Commentary<h3>East Hill Rec Way (1 mile)</h3></h2>
<p>Once a month was good enough for this course, apparently! The mile is such a tough distance, and even more so when you don't have the markers of track or the motivation of nearby runners to keep the pedal to the metal. The Rec Way is beautiful, though, and a nice flat venue to try your best. My last and fastest effort brought me close to my 5:17 mile PR, so that was pretty satisfying for me. Benefit to this course is the return trip back to the start, which I mainly did as a cool-down walk with Amy.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>7/24/21</b>: 6:27 </li>
<li><b>8/19/21</b>: 5:50 </li>
<li><b>9/11/21</b>: 5:38 </li>
<li><b>10/10/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6092844898">5:23</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (11th)</li>
</ul><h3>Cornell Botanic Gardens (2.4 miles)</h3>
<p>I had never been to Cornell's Botanic Gardens before. It's so beautiful! It's also a tough course to run. It's short, sure, but there's plenty of elevation gain and loss. Fastest time on this course was with fellow runners at a FLRC-sanctioned group run. Some younger (faster) runners helped propel me to my PR here.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>7/24/21</b>: 24:03 </li>
<li><b>8/18/21</b>: 16:38 </li>
<li><b>8/18/21</b>: 18:14 </li>
<li><b>8/18/21</b>: 18:19 </li>
<li><b>8/21/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/5828654982">16:05</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (17th)</li>
<li><b>9/11/21</b>: 17:58 </li>
<li><b>9/29/21</b>: 17:18 </li>
</ul><h3>Waterfront Trail (3.1 miles)</h3>
<p>Ah, the 5K. A nemesis distance if I ever knew one. Why run a fast mile when you can run 3? I have trouble pacing at this distance, and never got the chance to run it with other people. Still, I put in solid efforts whenever I could and notched a sub-20 in October.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>4/11/21</b>: 22:12 </li>
<li><b>7/24/21</b>: 30:04 </li>
<li><b>8/7/21</b>: 22:44 </li>
<li><b>9/9/21</b>: 20:53 </li>
<li><b>9/13/21</b>: 24:34 </li>
<li><b>10/17/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6126236015">19:43</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (15th)</li>
</ul><h3>Tortoise & Hare (5.4 miles)</h3>
<p>Buttermilk Falls State Park is gorgeous. We did a hill running training camp here once, and every time I go up the camp road I'm reminded of that time with Willie McBride, Yassine Diboun, and Krissie Moehl. A mid-year storm wiped out the bridge at the top of this course, so late-season efforts were true out-and-backs to make the proper distance. That last effort was really tough, but there's nothing like sprinting across that parking lot after the last mile or so of gnarly downhill running.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>7/26/21</b>: 1:11:38 </li>
<li><b>9/7/21</b>: 51:40 </li>
<li><b>10/11/21</b>: 47:11 </li>
<li><b>10/19/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6135662504">44:04</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (5th)</li>
</ul><h3>Danby Down & Dirty (6 miles)</h3>
<p>Oh, Danby! I'd never been to this trail before, and the first time Amy and I went, we walked and hiked most of it. And, we encountered snakes! We thought seriously about not returning but we were drawn to another effort with friends (who would keep the snakes at bay) who were running the race in October. In fact, Danby is the only <i>real race</i> I ran this year, and you can read all about it in my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/danby-down-and-dirty-2021">race report</a>. My very best course-specific placement in the challenge!</p>
<ul>
<li><b>8/16/21</b>: 1:22:28 </li>
<li><b>10/2/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6052962624">51:51</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (4th)</li>
</ul><h3>South Hill Rec Way (6.8 miles)</h3>
<p>Another new trail for me! The Rec Way course has three legs and you can run them in any order. I found a preference in the latter runnings for the shortest leg first, then the longest, and then the downhill/uphill leg to finish. My favorite memory running this course was when Ian Golden and I hooked up for an impromptu conversation for most of the run in July.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>7/31/21</b>: 52:49 </li>
<li><b>9/6/21</b>: 48:58 </li>
<li><b>10/10/21</b>: 48:51 </li>
<li><b>10/22/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6151690401">45:28</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (10th)</li>
<li><b>10/31/21</b>: 47:39 </li>
</ul><h3>Thom B. Trail Run (8.5 miles)</h3>
<p>Hammond Hill was such a blast. I used to cross country ski here when we first moved to the area, and I'd only been here a few times in summer to run the race. All of my efforts were in late summer and early fall. The first was a reconnaissance hike/run with Amy. Most of the efforts were in very wet conditions. Nothing like getting a little mud on the tires! Also very impressed with the Friends of Hammond Hill organization: they kept the trails nicely maintained, and also made some pretty big improvements in some of the wettest spots!</p>
<ul>
<li><b>8/14/21</b>: 1:38:12 </li>
<li><b>8/20/21</b>: 1:18:35 </li>
<li><b>9/26/21</b>: 1:12:54 </li>
<li><b>10/30/21</b>: 1:15:10 </li>
<li><b>11/11/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6244137211">1:09:21</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (8th)</li>
</ul><h3>Forest Frolic (9 miles)</h3>
<p>The forests near Virgil are gnarly and really off grid. No cell service in much of this area, and I love it because it backs up to Greek Peak. You can see the top of Chair 2 from the apex of this course! I ran this with similar timing and frequency to Thom B. For us, it's quite a haul to get there and back, but every time it was really worth it. Lots of elevation gain and plenty of solitude!</p>
<ul>
<li><b>8/9/21</b>: 2:40:00 </li>
<li><b>8/28/21</b>: 1:30:41 </li>
<li><b>9/12/21</b>: 1:25:17 </li>
<li><b>10/24/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6161429449">1:24:31</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (11th)</li>
</ul><h3>Black Diamond Trail (10 miles)</h3>
<p>It's no surprise that I notched most of my efforts here. It's closest to Trumansburg. This course is pure challenge: five miles up, five miles down. To nail a fast time, you have to work hard the entire time! This was the only time that I ran faster pre-surgery, though it did come close to besting the time in early November. Colder air makes for faster running, right?</p>
<ul>
<li><b>3/20/21</b>: 1:18:58 </li>
<li><b>4/3/21</b>: 1:08:48 </li>
<li><b>4/10/21</b>: 1:10:07 </li>
<li><b>4/24/21</b>: 1:09:44 </li>
<li><b>5/9/21</b>: 1:07:54 </li>
<li><b>5/16/21</b>: 1:10:27 </li>
<li><b>5/29/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/5379284790">1:07:13</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (7th)</li>
<li><b>6/12/21</b>: 1:14:55 </li>
<li><b>8/15/21</b>: 1:14:55 </li>
<li><b>9/4/21</b>: 1:10:04 </li>
<li><b>11/6/21</b>: 1:08:56 </li>
<li><b>11/14/21</b>: 1:16:01 </li>
<li><b>11/24/21</b>: 1:15:03 </li>
<li><b>11/28/21</b>: 1:12:48 </li>
</ul><h3>Pseudo Skunk Cabbage (13.1 miles)</h3>
<p>For the past few years, I've tried to maintain a constant state of half marathon readiness. In fact, I used to bang out a half every weekend during the first year of the pandemic. I still really enjoy the distance and the mental focus it takes to work for the better part of 90 minutes. I'd never run the streets of this course, but came to love it, especially in the early months of the challenge.I saved my best effort for last, getting my course PR in late November.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>3/13/21</b>: 1:40:43 </li>
<li><b>3/27/21</b>: 1:33:22 </li>
<li><b>4/18/21</b>: 1:34:38 </li>
<li><b>5/2/21</b>: 1:35:12 </li>
<li><b>5/23/21</b>: 1:36:26 </li>
<li><b>11/20/21</b>: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/6284878703">1:32:17</a> <i class="fas fa-star" style="color: #ff9a00" title="Fastest time for this course"></i> (7th)</li>
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Annual Christmas Tree Ornaments2021-12-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/annual-christmas-tree-ornaments/<p>We've been making homemade ornaments for our family since we were married. We skipped 1998 and 1999, though. We were newly married then, moving to apartments in Waltham, Massachusetts and Fairport, New York. As we had kids and built a home, our ornament streak remained intact!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/1996-Calligraphy-Heart.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="calligraphy-heart">Calligraphy Heart</h2>
<p><em>1996</em><br />
Amy and I started dating on Columbus Day Weekend in 1996. I found these hearts in a craft store. I took a calligraphy class in college, so felt comfortable scripting our initials and the year on some parchment.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/1997-Holly-Leaves-with-Berries.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="holly-leaves-with-berries">Holly Leaves with Berries</h2>
<p><em>1997</em><br />
We thought it'd be fun to make a festive ornament with Sculpey Clay. What's more festive than holly leaves with berries?</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2000A-Ho-Ho-Ho.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="ho%2C-ho%2C-ho">Ho, Ho, Ho</h2>
<p><em>2000</em><br />
We bought a clay book for ourselves. Sculpey Clay in hand, we had a lot of fun learning new techniques. It was a double-ornament year!</p>
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<h2 id="christmas-tree">Christmas Tree</h2>
<p><em>2000</em><br />
More Sculpey Clay fun to accompany the "Ho, Ho, Ho" ornament. I guess we thought that the year 2000 was significant enough to warrant two ornaments!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2001-Clay-Heart.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="clay-heart">Clay Heart</h2>
<p><em>2001</em><br />
Again with the clay? Yes! We had fun fashioning this heart with a festive braid of red and white.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2002-House-with-Button-Roof.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="house">House</h2>
<p><em>2002</em><br />
We'll forever remember the process of building our first home together. We bought land in the Village of Trumansburg, picked a house plan, customized the heck out of it, and engaged a builder to make it a reality. We put plenty of sweat equity in, too, and the result was oh-so-sweet.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2003-Joy.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="joy">Joy</h2>
<p><em>2003</em><br />
Our son Xander was born in 2003, so definitely a cause for Joy! This was a pre-made ceramic ornament. We painted on it with ceramic paint and affixed a laminated picture on the back.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2004-Holly-Cornucopia.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="cornucopia-with-holly">Cornucopia with Holly</h2>
<p><em>2004</em><br />
A few minutes in a craft store was all it took to find this year's ornament. We assembled this with an off-the-shelf ceramic container, some artificial foliage, and a custom tag.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2005-Ball-with-Paper-Confetti.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="paper-accordions">Paper Accordions</h2>
<p><em>2005</em><br />
The kids, ages 2 and 5, really enjoyed cutting and folding paper into accordions.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2006-Trex-Deck.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="deck">Deck</h2>
<p><em>2006</em><br />
This was the year that we added a custom deck on the back of our home. We had some material left over, so thought it'd be cool to create Trex ornaments with a picture of the completed deck!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2007-Sea-Glass-Frame.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="sea-glass-photo">Sea Glass Photo</h2>
<p><em>2007</em><br />
We collected the sea glass and seashells for this ornament during a summer trip to Cape May with cousin Cassidy. Such fun in more temperate weather!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2008-Tiny-Pot-of-Flowers.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="flower-pot">Flower Pot</h2>
<p><em>2008</em><br />
Were we thinking of spring when we made this clay flower pot? Perhaps.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2009-Oregon-Hiking.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="hiking-in-oregon">Hiking in Oregon</h2>
<p><em>2009</em><br />
We created this to commemorate a really fun trip to Oregon. Over the two weeks, we hiked 75 miles with an elevation gain of 18,000 feet. Amy's sister Sarah and her boyfriend Adam took us up Old Snowy Mountain (in Washington) and up South Sister (near Bend, OR).</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2010-Miniature-Set-of-Books.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="books">Books</h2>
<p><em>2010</em><br />
Both kids were really into reading so we made a miniature bookshelf. The book covers are titled "Frog and Toad are Friends" and "Little House in the Big Woods."</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2011-Tiny-Cupcake.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="cupcake">Cupcake</h2>
<p><em>2011</em><br />
We used a softer no-bake style of clay for this delicious looking cupcake ornament.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2012-Angry-Bird.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="angry-bird">Angry Bird</h2>
<p><em>2012</em><br />
Xander was OBSESSED with all things "Angry Birds" this year.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2013-Honda-Pilot.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="honda-pilot">Honda Pilot</h2>
<p><em>2013</em><br />
We bought our Honda Pilot this year and immediately drove it cross-country to Oregon. Plenty of fun on I-90! Elizabeth (age 12) made this ornament by herself out of clay.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2014-Mickey-Mouse.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="mickey-mouse">Mickey Mouse</h2>
<p><em>2014</em><br />
We saw these on our Disney trip this year and thought it'd be the perfect ornament to share with others.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2015A-Music-Notes-in-a-Ball.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="music-notes">Music Notes</h2>
<p><em>2015</em><br />
Both kids really starting to get into music this year. Simple, yet thematically appropriate!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2015B-Snowball-at-the-Pool.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="snowball-in-the-pool">Snowball in the Pool</h2>
<p><em>2015</em><br />
Our beloved rabbit, Snowball, swam in a pool for the first time this year. His fragile ears didn't last long on the ornament, but the memory of him swimming will last a lifetime.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2016-Wine-Cork-Grapes.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="cork-grapes">Cork Grapes</h2>
<p><em>2016</em><br />
We drink wine and save the corks. These ornaments are a nod to our local wine region. We were inspired by a Pinterest idea for using corks for these bunches.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2017-FLX-Fitclub-BodyPump-Bar.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="bodypump-with-flx-fitclub">BodyPump with FLX Fitclub</h2>
<p><em>2017</em><br />
Chantelle Farmer opened <a href="https://flxfitclub.com/">FLX Fitclub</a> in March 2017 and we were enthusiastic joiners from the first day. We love all things LesMills in her fitness club, including BodyPump!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2018-Oregon-Pinecone.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="oregon-pine-cone">Oregon Pine Cone</h2>
<p><em>2018</em><br />
Amy and I had just enjoyed a morning coffee at Sisters Coffee Company when we came upon these perfect pine cones on the walk back to our rental. They were appropriately located on <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/96qq1QVJpgSgQsdp7">South Pine Street in Sisters, Oregon</a>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2019-Piano-Keys.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="piano-keys">Piano Keys</h2>
<p><em>2019</em><br />
When Scott's Korg 01/WproX piano started to bite the dust, he tore it down to be recycled. It seemed appropriate to upcycle the keys into ornaments, given that 7 octaves contained the requisite C/D/E combination for this ornament. Also appropriate since Elizabeth began her college education this fall as a music education major with a concentration in Piano.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2020-Pottery-Rose.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="pottery-vessel-with-a-yellow-rose">Pottery Vessel with a Yellow Rose</h2>
<p><em>2020</em><br />
Elizabeth made this year's ornament to remember her grandma, Diana Bradham. Elizabeth threw, glazed, and fired all of the pottery vessels (20 in all) and placed Diana's favorite flower (a yellow rose) in each.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2021-Saxophone.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="saxophone">Saxophone</h2>
<p><em>2021</em><br />
We call this the "Saxy"-est ornament on the tree. 2021 has been all about the saxophone (well, flute and clarinet, too) for Xander as he auditions for music school. He also was the principle saxophonist at the NYSSMA All-State Music Festival.</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2019/12/2022-boston-conservatory.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Caption" />
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<h2 id="a-college-and-a-conservatory">A College and a Conservatory</h2>
<p><em>2022</em><br />
It's a two-for-one year with a reversible ornament that Elizabeth purchased from Amanda Colunio. Elizabeth graduated from Ithaca College and Xander was a freshman at Boston Conservatory in 2022!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/2023-Explora-I.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h2 id="explora-i">Explora I</h2>
<p><em>2023</em><br />
Xander was a working musician on Explora Journeys' Explora I for much of 2023, so we commemorated the occasion with a nautical ornament we purchased from a Christmas shop in New York City's Little Italy.</p>
Book Launch: Handbook for the Modern Worker (365 Daily Tips)2021-12-11T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/handbook-launch-announcement/<p>I'm happy to announce that my newest book, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/writing/handbook">Handbook for the Modern Worker (365 Daily Tips)</a>, will be available for purchase on December 12, 2021. It was literally a <em>year</em> in the making, and I'm so proud of how it turned out!</p>
<p>The Handbook for the Modern Worker covers the entire range of concerns for anyone not working in a traditional office environment — communication, discipline, health, performance, managing up, managing others, leading meetings, professional development, quality workspaces, and networking. As a compendium of 365 tips, they’re a fantastic resource for anyone working in this modern world. They’ll help you level up your working game, regardless of where, when, or how you do it. It's <em>literally</em> a handbook – postcard-sized at 4x6" - and let's face it ... it's just cute.</p>
Shakespeare Insult Generator2021-10-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/shakespeare-insult-generator/<p>Since 1996, the origin of this kit was listed as anonymous. It came to <a href="http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/">Chris Seidel</a> on a piece of paper in the 90's with no attribution and they thought it would make a <a href="http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html">cool web page</a>. In 2014, Lara M (?) found the originating author, an English teacher at Center Grove High School in Greenwood Indiana named Jerry Maguire. I took a master class on Shakespearean speech from the great <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Hertzler">J. G. Hertzler</a> in April 2015 and have been intrigued by the bard's insults ever since.</p>
<p>So, as another pandemic development project using React, I created this <a href="https://shakespeare-insults.netlify.app/">Shakespeare Insult Generator</a>. It converts three arrays of adjectives and nouns into a delightful random insult that would have thrilled the Bard himself. I embedded it below so you can play with it directly, but you can also link out to it. A few features to note:</p>
<ul>
<li>In the <a href="https://shakespeare-insults.netlify.app/">standalone version</a>, the URL carries the phrase you generate so you can email or post it</li>
<li>You can lock each word as you like if you hit on a part you want to keep</li>
<li>See <a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/shakespeare-insults">the project's Github page</a> if you're interested in implementation details</li>
</ul>
<iframe height="600" width="100%" src="https://shakespeare-insults.netlify.app/" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Danby Down and Dirty 20212021-10-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/danby-down-and-dirty-2021/<p>Wow, it's been a while since I wrote a race report. Pandemic, you know? We've been doing plenty of running in the meantime. I haven't written (yet) about the <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/">FLRC Challenge</a> and how that's been a godsend during this relative drought in racing opportunities. The <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/danby-down-and-dirty-2021">Danby Down and Dirty course</a> is also part of the 10-course challenge. One of the things Amy and I love most about the challenge is that it gets us out of our well-traveled running routes and into some new places. Danby is no exception.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2021/09/danby_trees.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Baby trees?" title="Baby trees?" /><p class="stickyNote">Baby trees?</p></div>
<p>We did a reconnaissance run in mid-August on the course. It was more of a run/hike, given our lack of familiarity with the course, the copious mud, and the steepness of the climbs. The course is in the Danby State forest and covers ground on the Finger Lakes Trail and Abbott Loop. That day, we encountered plenty of mud in the Michigan Hollow ravine, but I was grateful for the slower pace so we could take in the sights on this beautiful trail. Along the way, we saw baby trees (I think?) on the upper flanks of the climb, a picturesque view of the valley from the summit (we sat on the picnic table and enjoyed some nutrition), and snakes on the bridge before the parking lot. This last feature of our recon run starred a quartet of Northern Water Snakes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2021/09/danby_snakes.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Snakes on a bridge!" title="Snakes on a bridge!" /><p class="stickyNote">Snakes on a bridge!</p></div>
<p>I grabbed a long stick from nearby brush and coaxed them back under the bridge before we sprinted to the safety of our car.</p>
<p>After that day, we admitted that we much preferred the other courses. We wanted to get a faster Danby effort in, though, and promptly signed up for the race. A loop of the 10K course would count as a challenge effort, and it'd be wonderful to have a lot of company on the course. We wagered that the snakes would stay safely under the bridge if enough runners made a ruckus on race morning.</p>
<p>Race start was set for 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 2. Sunny skies overhead and brisk-yet-tolerable temperatures foretold a fun day on the trails. As we encountered the tail of a long train of parked cars, at least a quarter mile from the race start, Gerrit Van Loon ran by warming up. He helpfully stopped and told us there were at least a dozen spots near the start. What a good omen, to be directed to VIP parking! We slowly navigated the remaining distance to the start line and backed into one of the vacant spaces nearby. Oh, the luck! Bib pickup was fast and I enjoyed catching up with a few friends before we all lined up for pre-race instructions from race director Pete Kresock.</p>
<p>Soon we were off, hurtling down the 1.6 mile expanse of road before turning into the forest trails. I set a brisk pace of 6:30 during this initial stretch, reasoning that every stride counted in the final summation. Later on, the elevation of this course would result in far slower splits. As we turned into the forest on ascending singletrack, I was grateful to have pre-opened my sleeve of Stingerita-Lime Honey Stinger chews. I was carrying a soft Nathan handheld in one hand, so the other hand was able to deftly eject the gooey treats as I fast-hiked up the first ascent.</p>
<p>The ground leveled off here and there and I was able to pick up the pace. As we ran along, I was grateful for the proximity of other runners. The first time we'd been here, I clapped my hands, snapped my fingers, and generally made a ruckus to warn wildlife - specifically, bears - of my presence. Today, I didn't have to do that. I also was really grateful to Pete for doing such a great job with course marking. I was able to run as fast as I could without the pressure of wayfinding. Soon we were splashing through the pockets of water and mud that covered the floor of the Michigan Hollow ravine. It was much less pronounced than the last time we were here, and my post-race discussion with Pete confirmed that. He agreed that, yes, the ravine was far muddier in mid-August. Still, I got properly dirtied, and was grateful to be wearing a pair of gaiters I'd bought for ultra running many years prior.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2021/09/danby_view.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="No stopping at the vista today" title="No stopping at the vista today" /><p class="stickyNote">No stopping at the vista today</p></div>
<p>As the race unfolded, I found myself running comfortably with Kenny Makosch and Jean-Luc Jannink, both of whom I've run with during Mithacal Milers workouts in Barton Hall. The downhill stretches were particularly delightful, and Kenny and I had some dramatic place-trading during the final miles. One happened at the next-to-last road crossing: there was a trough of mud that Kenny sidestepped but I ran straight through it and got ahead of him by a few paces. We were on each others' heels for the duration, though. As we crossed the final bridge, I noted with relief that the snakes were hiding. As I crossed the road toward the final ascent, I noted the time on my watch to record my challenge effort, but Kenny beat me to the punch getting to the singletrack rise that marked the remaining few tenths of a mile in the race.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2021/09/danby_postrace.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Muddy legs" title="Muddy legs" /><p class="stickyNote">Muddy legs</p></div>
<p>Finishing never felt so good. The footing on the final stretch was rocky and I was grateful not to fall. My quads were torched from the effort. I enjoyed talking to other runners after the race, enjoyed some delicious donuts and cider (fantastic post-race food!), and headed home after cheering Amy to the finish line.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<ul>
<li>Time 53:24.1 (<a href="https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=255964">results</a>)</li>
<li>3/11 in the M40-49 age group</li>
<li>10/92 overall</li>
</ul>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/6052962624/embed/8ed477b0b6aa17888dec75879d7e3a730b72b2d5"></iframe>
Scott Dawson's Top 10 Posts of 20202020-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/top-10-posts-2020/<p>Looking back on my web site traffic for 2020 <em>(thanks, Google Analytics)</em>, I thought it'd be fun to recap my top 10 visited posts of 2020. I think they paint a nice picture of my diversification of interests, and also a hint of a visitorship intent on improving their backyards. Here's to 2020, and to these popular posts (in order of increasing views):</p>
<h3 id="10%3A-how-to-create-interactive-maps-with-react-and-leaflet">10: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/how-to-create-interactive-maps-with-react-and-leaflet/">How To Create Interactive Maps with React and Leaflet</a></h3>
<p>In May, a Smashing Magazine post inspired me to combine my love of skiing with React and Leaflet. The result: an interactive map of ski resorts. This project led me to some contract work, too, so that was really cool.</p>
<h3 id="9%3A-diy-wine-rack">9: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/diy-wine-rack/">DIY Wine Rack</a></h3>
<p>Has it really been 3 years since I built this wine rack? Seems hard to believe. This year's wine consumption put this rack through its paces; we've stacked it frequently with 20+ bottles.</p>
<h3 id="8%3A-view-transactions-within-a-specific-date-range-in-mint">8: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/view-transactions-within-date-range-in-mint/">View transactions within a specific date range in Mint</a></h3>
<p>A lot of my posts are inspired by a) not being able to do something straightforward, and b) figuring out how to do it anyway. I wrote this one in January after I figured out how to hack Mint's URL structure to my liking.</p>
<h3 id="7%3A-create-a-custom-post-type-in-wordpress-with-database-content">7: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/create-a-database-driven-custom-post-type-in-wordpress/">Create a Custom Post Type in Wordpress with Database Content</a></h3>
<p>Another blast from the archive is still popular, three years on. My wife's Emoticakes bakery web site, when it was running on Wordpress, needed some custom post types for the cake gallery and testimonials. I wrote a tutorial about it.</p>
<h3 id="6%3A-backyard-barrel-sauna-project%3A-a-suburban-oasis">6: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/backyard-barrel-sauna-project-suburban-oasis/">Backyard Barrel Sauna Project: A Suburban Oasis</a></h3>
<p>Another 2017 gem continues to be popular. To be sure, our affinity for our backyard sauna has not waned, either. We had a blast putting this in, and use it frequently.</p>
<h3 id="5%3A-improve-your-backyard%3A-install-a-shade-sail">5: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/improve-your-backyard-install-a-shade-sail/">Improve Your Backyard: Install a Shade Sail</a></h3>
<p>Another high satisfaction-factor backyard improvement, this time for 2015, our shade sail is a fabulous part of every summer meal on our deck. It's not as hard as you'd imagine to install a shade sail.</p>
<h3 id="4%3A-simple-css-for-disabled-buttons">4: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/simple-css-for-disabled-buttons/">Simple CSS for Disabled Buttons</a></h3>
<p>Posted seven years ago (an eternity in web years) this post is still generating a ton of interest. Who knew there were so many disabled buttons out there? CSS is important, y'all.</p>
<h3 id="3%3A-classroom-tech%3A-teaching-math-with-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil">3: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/teaching-math-with-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil/">Classroom Tech: Teaching Math with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil</a></h3>
<p>Back in 2016, my wife starting using her iPad Pro and Apple Pencil as part of her teaching technology arsenal. The post continues to be incredibly powerful for teachers, and her follow-up posts in 2018 and then this March are equally powerful.</p>
<h3 id="2%3A-how-to-find-your-mahr-(maximum-aerobic-heart-rate)">2: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/find-your-mahr-maximum-aerobic-heart-rate/">How to Find Your MAHR (Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate)</a></h3>
<p>I decided to try my hand at heart-rate training in 2015, and this is the second-most visited post for 2020. The punch line: if you can stay below your MAHR, in the aerobic zone, you rely on fat stores (good enough for 100+ hours of activity).</p>
<h3 id="1%3A-how-to-export-strava-workout-data">1: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/export-strava-workout-data/">How to Export Strava Workout Data</a></h3>
<p>Here we are, my NUMBER ONE post of the year. It's another example of being frustrated by the lack of a feature, in this case, Strava. If you're a numbers geek AND a fitness geek like me, check out this method of exporting your fitness data.</p>
<hr />
<p>That's it! My top 10 posts from 2020. If you liked this list, follow me at <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson">@scottpdawson</a>. I wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!</p>
Christmas Half Marathon: 13.1 Miles of Holiday Cheer2020-12-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/training-christmas-half-marathon-2020/<p>After <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/we-interrupt-your-normally-scheduled-programming/">taking a week off after my 13-week Memorial Day to Labor Day sprint</a>, my body was calling for me to do something new. Without a race on the horizon due to the pandemic, I figured I'd jump into a plan and see what materialized. I've used the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Runners-World-Less-Faster-Revolutionary/dp/159486649X">Run Less, Run Faster</a> half marathon plans before, so when I calculated out where a 16-week plan would land, it put me squarely at the end of Christmas week. So, I plan to give myself an awesome gift at the end of the plan: a (hopefully) fast half marathon on a homemade course of my choosing!</p>
<p>I'm going to keep track of my workouts week-by-week below. There are three hard runs per week (that's the "run less" part of this plan). It'll be a fun way to look back and see how I was feeling during this tough, yet effective, plan. I'm not going to log my 4x weekly rowing sessions, or walks and hikes. I <em>will</em> log things that get my heart rate going or really put a stress on my muscles.</p>
<p>I ran <b>385</b> miles over <b>45:02</b> (hh:mm) in pursuit of this goal. On December 25, 2020, I nailed it.</p>
<h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch16">Week 16</label></h3>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">21</div>
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<td>
<b>Rabbit Repeats</b>
<p>I decided to do my 6x400 repeats today instead of tomorrow, mostly because I’m being a wuss about the forecasted weather. No rest between yesterday’s long fast run and today, so this felt particularly taxing!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:39
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4500172646/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">23</div>
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<td>
<b>Easy Miles</b>
<p>Three easy miles to close out the plan. Now all that’s left is a half marathon this weekend!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>3.02</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:23
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4509844708/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">25</div>
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<b>Christmas Half Marathon 🎄</b>
<p>Racing solo is so hard, but such a sweet reward for cap off a solid training cycle. 2nd fastest half marathon EVER with 1:25:50, between my 1:23:17 PR at 2018's Gorges and 1:26:20 at 2014's Wineglass. I promised myself a fast half marathon for Christmas, and I delivered it right on time!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>13.14</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:26
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<b>Week 16 Recap:</b> Mission. Freakin'. Accomplished. 2nd fastest half marathon! When I thought about this goal Labor Day weekend, I never thought it would bring me so much satisfaction. The training runs were hard, but as the pandemic-fueled weeks rolled on, I hit my goals again and again. This last week had just a few easy runs, the first cross-country ski of the season, rowing, yoga, and an elliptical workout. Most importantly, though, it culminated in a goal met. Onward!
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch15">Week 15</label></h3>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">15</div>
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<td>
<b>Ginger Lee</b>
<p>Well, gingerly. Snowy roads for the first time this season! 5x1,000 w/ 400 RI. Hamstring is tight, too, so time for a little stretching too!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:45
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">16</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump 97</b>
<p>97 is our go-to BodyPump release. It's like an old friend!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4481410841/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">17</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyCombat 73</b>
<p>Switched up my runs this week due to weather, so a rare BodyCombat for a Thursday. Did a full-length edition, and felt every punch and kick by the end. Such a wonderful workout!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4485175956/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">18</div>
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<td>
<b>Slip ‘n Slide</b>
<p>Tough to maintain a target tempo pace in miles 3-5, but at least it was faster than my 2-mile warmup and 1-mile cool down! Snowy roads and sidewalks made for tough progress.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.02</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:46
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4487106389/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">19</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>This time, a real-time virtual class with Chantelle. Really nice to get the shared energy from other participants from their respective living rooms.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:58
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4491675032/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">20</div>
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</td>
<td>
<b>Chasing Clean Pavement</b>
<p>Last long run of the training cycle! I could have done without needing a bio break with 1.2 miles to go, but that’s what I get for drinking too much coffee! Ready for an easier week ahead.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>8.11</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4496935502/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 15 Recap:</b> Well, that's pretty much it. Hay is mostly in the barn, with two more short, easy runs before I try a fast half marathon late next week. It coincides with the beginning of a much-needed week off from work, too, so I'm really looking forward to it. I also have a plan for what I'm going to do post-race: a whole lot of cross training and a lot less running. Really glad that we have some solid fitness equipment at home to get through these cold winter months!
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch14">Week 14</label></h3>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">8</div>
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<b>No Netflix and Chill</b>
<p>Hey, that was cold! 2x1200 w/ 2 min RI + 2x800 w/ 2 min RI. Fun to put on my cold weather gear and see that I wasn’t alone out there!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.61</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:40
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">9</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump 109 Express</b>
<p>I don't think Les Mills should advertise a 37-minute workout as a 45-minute workout in their app. I feel cheated.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:37
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4452555541/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">10</div>
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<td>
<b>Tempo + It's a Wonderful Run</b>
<p>Felt like a tough go today, but happy to get this in before a hectic day of work. Plus, this was the week for the virtual "It's a Wonderful Run". I paid for a nice tech tee, so might as well have this count. It's strange to run these virtual races alone, but here we are! We'll count the first mile as a warmup, so this was a 20:26 5K effort.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:49
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4455319806/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">11</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyCombat 78</b>
<p>Punching and kicking on the deck. I felt the need to kick the shit out of something after a frustrating day at work, so I kicked the shit outta this workout. Mission accomplished.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:41
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4460163439/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">12</div>
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</td>
<td>
<b>🎯 Right on the Money</b>
<p>Called for 12 at 7, so yeah. I threw in a bunch of little hills to keep it interesting. Maiden voyage with my warranty-replaced Torin Plush, so that was a nice treat!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>12.03</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:24
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4463094799/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">13</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>Another great Sunday exclamation point, courtesy of Chantelle and her virtual FLX Fitclub BodyPump class. Now, off to get takeout dinner from Bickering Twins!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4469469868/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 14 Recap:</b> What a difference a few days makes. The weekends are crucial to my emotional health during this time. During the summer, I used much of my vacation time to take Mondays off, resulting in a serious string of 4-day work weeks. I really miss that. It seemed like the right balance. I'm taking the week between Christmas and New Year's off, so am really looking forward to that. Now, just 2 weeks left in the plan. 5 more training runs. Nothing over 8 miles. Let's do this!
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch13">Week 13</label></h3>
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<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">30</div>
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<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>Rainy. Cold-ish. Perfect for indoor BodyPump!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:59
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4414171901/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">1</div>
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<td>
<b>Repeats</b>
<p>Oof. That’s was difficult. I wish I’d run this in the morning, but my only schedule opening was late afternoon. 10x400 w/ 400 RI.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.02</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:53
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4417988751/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">2</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump 105</b>
<p>Amy and I had schedules that didn't line up to do this together, so this was a solo living room effort with ear buds in. It seems like the workout goes a lot faster this way!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4422870223/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">3</div>
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<td>
<b>Tempo</b>
<p>Beautiful sun for this afternoon run, but a really unsettled stomach after a late lunch. Plus, shredded shoes (see Strava pics)! Time for a new pair, definitely.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4426083537/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">5</div>
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</td>
<td>
<b>Sleet Feet</b>
<p>Longest run of the training cycle with 3 weeks to go. Goal pace of 7:10, so really happy with this! My inventive route had me cross paths with my neighbor Ken like 6 times, he must have thought I was stalking him!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>15.05</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:47
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4433109341/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Dec</div>
<div class="day">6</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>Sunday BodyPump in our living room. Chantelle put together a pretty challenging workout for us today! Pretty whipped by the end.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:57
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4439730098/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 13 Recap:</b> What a week. I ran in the sun, sleet, morning, and afternoon. 2x BodyPump felt good, though I skipped my weekly BodyCombat on Friday. Just wasn't feeling it, so begged off! My Altra Torin 4.5 Plush generated 3 holes in the sidewalls with just south of 400 miles on 'em, and to my surprise (and delight), Altra is covering that damage under warranty with a replacement pair. I'll be turning in these destroyed red kicks for something new in the coming 7-10 business days. Yeah!
</td>
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch12">Week 12</label></h3>
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<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">24</div>
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<td>
<b>Man in Tights</b>
<p>Repeats! Boy, it was cold. First run this season in thermal tights. 3x mile with 200 RI. Splits: 6:18, 5:55, 6:23.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.03</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4384068315/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
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<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">25</div>
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<td>
<b>BodyPump Remix</b>
<p>Hard to believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Work gave me part of the afternoon off, so it was nice to start this a little earlier and finish it with 15 minutes in the sauna while the rain fell softly outside.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:42
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4391321014/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">26</div>
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<td>
<b>T3: Taughannock Turkey Trot</b>
<p>This is the first week of my plan where Thursday didn’t call for a tempo run. 6 miles “easy” was the order of the day, so it was perfect that @FLRCIthaca held a virtual fund run edition for their 48th Annual Turkey Trot. It benefits Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County. I’m looking forward to a fun run with friends next year, but this year’s waterfall was a splendid stand-in as the sun peeked through the clouds.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.15</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4393505823/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">27</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 80</b>
<p>Punching, kicking, and capoeira. Pretty darn good way to pass an hour!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:58
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4399718205/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">28</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Be Chilled or Be Chafed</b>
<p>Rain? What rain? Started with clearing skies but my shirt was soaked by mist by mile 5. Fully soaked by 8 so the shirt came off. It was “be chilled or be chafed,” so I chose short-term discomfort!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>10.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:19
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4402520119/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 12 Recap:</b> What a gift today is. It's sunny, warm enough for a recovery hike, and tomorrow's back-to-work forecast is for rain. Perfect for indoor BodyPump, so today's planned lifting will be tomorrow's sweat-fest. What's next? Four weeks of planned runs, culminating in a fast half marathon. Let's do this!
</td>
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch11">Week 11</label></h3>
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">16</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Dusky Repeats</b>
<p>Headed out after work to avoid nasty weather tomorrow. Got to wear light-up gear! 1 mile warm up, 1,000-2,000-1,000-1,000 w/ 400 RI, 1 mi cool down.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.02</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:42
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4348677763/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">18</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 107 Express</b>
<p>Ended up doing this one alone, since Amy and I had schedules that didn't align. We both agreed that solo BodyPump seemed to go by more quickly and seemed easier, but we're not exactly sure why.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:38
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4356526954/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">19</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo</b>
<p>Man, I just love running into a cold headwind! Oh wait, that's not true. Southbound was miserable!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4361303368/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">20</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 82 Express</b>
<p>I literally finished this 2 minutes before my morning meeting. Punching, kicking, and conference calling. That's life in 2020!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:42
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4365742952/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">21</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Hard-Earned Miles</b>
<p>This was my longest run in a long tome, so I felt nervous. The first half felt good, while the second half was hard. I felt like I was working hard to earn each stride. Every one of those strides got me closer to my goal, though! 14 miles with a 7:10 average pace goal.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>14.09</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:39
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4369971042/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">22</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>A little virtual BodyPump with Chantelle in our living room. So delightful to get a good sweat on before hitting the barrel sauna for 15 minutes.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:00
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4377670734/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 11 Recap:</b> Well, that was close to a 30 mile week, and not a bad one at that. Boy, do I need a break, though. These weekends aren't cutting it, so I'm looking forward to this being a 3-day work week coming up. I've decided to take Friday off so I get a nice 4-day weekend courtesy of Thanksgiving. Onward!
</td>
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch10">Week 10</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">10</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Repeats</b>
<p>1 mi WU, 4x1200 w/ 2 min RI, 1 mi CD. I started the run pretty tired, and intervals 3 and 4 proved really difficult. Perseverance is the watchword of the day!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.03</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:42
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4318075461/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">11</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 112 Express</b>
<p>At-home BodyPump with Amy. These shorter sessions can sometimes be harder than the hour-long ones!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:38
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4326180837/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">12</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo</b>
<p>6 miles at mid-tempo pace of 6:36. Started off rather cold but was really grateful for shorts and a tee a few miles in!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>8.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4327492705/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">13</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 83</b>
<p>It's been a few weeks since I did a full-length class. This felt SO good! Wow. Morning is such a better time for my energy level for this class.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4331861816/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">14</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Saturday Sevens</b>
<p>7:00 goal pace for 10 miles. Overcast, cool, and delightful! Listened to Marc Cohn for the first time in a while, and then Hamilton. What’s your name, man?</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>10.06</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:10
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4336249892/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">15</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>We enjoyed the replay of Chantelle's Saturday morning class. Sunday evening, while it was pouring outside!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:56
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4344065948/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 10 Recap:</b> This week seemed to fly (or is it slip) by! It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away, and it *is* getting colder. That makes the tough runs far more bearable. I'm still feeling really good about this plan, and am really happy with how things are going!
</td>
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch9">Week 9</label></h3>
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<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">3</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Repeats for Breakfast</b>
<p>These were big repeats, too. 2x1600 and 2x800. Took 60s between each and a mile to warm up and cool down.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.07</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:33
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4280398812/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">4</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 111 Express</b>
<p>At-home BodyPump with Amy. Mission accomplished!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:40
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4289605678/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">5</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempolicious</b>
<p>Oh, how I missed the sunshine and warmer temperatures. Blissful for 5 miles of tempo effort.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.17</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4289605969/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">6</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Ride, Interrupted</b>
<p>It was such a gorgeous day that we had to go out for a ride. Sadly, though, we had bail after Amy’s bike got a flat. I raced home to fetch our rescue vehicle!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>9.55</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:35
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4298757998/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">6</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 83 Express</b>
<p>This was NOT very satisfying since I had to pause for 10 minutes and then resume, but it served as combat for the week, nonetheless.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:37
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4302030230/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">7</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Sunshine and Smiles</b>
<p>I was smiling for a lot of this run, but later miles were a tad uncomfortable. Beautiful temperatures for a November Saturday morning!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>13.18</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:32
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4302031279/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">8</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Sheldrake Ride w/ Amy</b>
<p>A gorgeous Sheldrake ride with Amy. I can’t believe we have these temperatures in November!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>28.28</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4310545025/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 9 Recap:</b> What a roller coaster of a week! Coronavirus roars on, but the week's emotions about political uncertainty crescendoed to a delightful resolution on Saturday. The run workouts were tough this week but I got 'em all in, and it seems like it may be the last week of unseasonably warm temperatures.
</td>
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</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch8">Week 8</label></h3>
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<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">27</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Double Tempo</b>
<p>I got my wires crossed this week and was supposed to run intervals today. Instead, I ran the double tempo that was scheduled for Thursday. I guess I’ll be doing intervals on Thursday! Working goal pace was 6:36.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.07</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4249714428/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">28</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump</b>
<p>Another great on-demand BodyPump with Amy. Express version 103, you know, from before the pandemic!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:41
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4257822854/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">29</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Swatter Weather</b>
<p>Christina said my Strava map looked like a fly swatter, and it’s getting cooler ... so, swatter weather! 2x(6x400) w/ 90s RI and 2:30 between the sets. Wet and wonderful!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:53
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4258357471/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">30</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 82 Express</b>
<p>I felt off this whole workout. It must have been the obscene about of caramel cremes I've been eating lately!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:41
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4265412503/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">31</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Hot Miles</b>
<p>Started off a bit fast for my planned 7:00 miles, but the uphill segment made me temper it a bit. I was stressed for time and knew I had a latte waiting for me at the finish!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>8.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:53
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4267628491/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Nov</div>
<div class="day">1</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump</b>
<p>This was a killer Halloween BodyPump mix with Chantelle. I felt like the first two tracks were interminable, but the entire release was a great workout. I like when things are mixed up enough that it all feels novel.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:58
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4273182438/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 8 Recap:</b> Really, November already? I can't believe it. These training weeks are rolling by quickly, and though this week's long run really wasn't that long, it wasn't really a fallback week, either. Total mileage is right in line with prior weeks. Next week I'll run a 13 again on on the weekend. 8 weeks to my goal race!
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch7">Week 7</label></h3>
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<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">20</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Midday Misty Intervals</b>
<p>Got to a logical stopping point at work and laced up for 6x800 w/ 90s RI. Tough, short, and delightful.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.73</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4221088481/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">22</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Midweek Tempo</b>
<p>5 miles of work at 6:36 target pace. Got out the door in time to get this solid run in before my meetings, AND the rain!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4231013070/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">22</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump</b>
<p>An on-demand BodyPump session before dinner. We felt like passing on our scheduled BodyPump session yesterday, so fit it in today (despite running earlier) so we'd have 2x for the week.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4231013024/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">23</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 83 Express</b>
<p>Punching, kicking, and capoeira on the front patio. It was HOT today, but the setting sun made this patio workout downright delightful.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:41
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4234449619/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">24</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>From Clouds to Mist to Sun</b>
<p>I waited for the rain to stop before starting this long run. It was cloudy, then it misted for a while, then the sun came out for the last few miles. All kinds of luscious weather out there this morning! Goal pace 7:10, so mission accomplished!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>12.03</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:24
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4237189159/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">25</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump</b>
<p>Another great BodyPump with Chantelle on our living room television. This felt particularly good because we were able to hit the sauna after we were done.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4242215751/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 7 Recap:</b> The weeks are flying by! I enjoyed two hikes this week, along with my standard set of four 10-minute rowing sessions. Feeling really great, and took in a massage this afternoon to loosen up my tight leg muscles.
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch6">Week 6</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
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<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">12</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge</b>
<p>Tomorrow's forecasted rain had me wanting to do my track repeat workout today. I also coincidentally signed up for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, a 3.5 mile effort. So, I combined the concepts today! The challenge has its own app to use, and I covered 3.5 miles in 22:17, with splits of 6:17, 6:23, 6:32, and 6:10. Pretty happy with that!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.17</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:37
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4185136358/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">14</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 105</b>
<p>We liked the the LesMills On Demand BodyPump 105 Express release so much last week that we repeated it this week. Smooth, efficient, powerful.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4199042276/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">15</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Double Tempo</b>
<p>This was a fun one. A tempo with a mile break in the action. I headed out at 7 a.m. and enjoyed seeing the brilliant sunrise as I ran the warmup mile. The work was tough, but I hit the goals and made it back to my house in time to get cleaned up for work!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.01</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:50
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4199042934/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">16</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 71</b>
<p>Well, they don’t offer an express version of this release, but given the time constraints, I made my own. Just skipped a few tracks ...</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4208203474/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">17</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Rambling in the Sun</b>
<p>Oof, that was hard. I am used to running in the morning, before I eat anything, so this post-lunch run felt kind of tough. It is beautifully sunny, though.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>10.21</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:10
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4208203796/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">18</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump with Lynn</b>
<p>A delightful virtual class with Lynn. There's something wonderful about working out in your living room when it's *not* your dinner night.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4213976352/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 6 Recap:</b> I can't believe it's already mid-October. Where is the time going? My wife and I agree: time seems like it's moving both slowly and quickly, inexplicably at the same time. Regardless, that's another week of successful fitness, and I'm looking forward to the week ahead!
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch5">Week 5</label></h3>
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<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">5</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 105</b>
<p>Post-work BodyPump, express edition. The short class is tough, but getting started so close to dinner had us not feeling up to the full hour. Good enough!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4156694879/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">6</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Mile Repeats</b>
<p>3x1600 w/ 60s RI. Goal pace of 5:48, so I wasn’t far off with a 5:51, 5:53, and 5:59. My intervals always seem to be marginally slower than the plan calls for, but the tempo and long runs are right on the money.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:34
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4123524361/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">7</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 72</b>
<p>Strava says this workout was 90 minutes, but only because I had to pause my watch to take a call. Funny to mess up the time so much just for the sake of my abs.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4164932692/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">8</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo</b>
<p>6 miles at long tempo pace, target 6:51. What a delightful temperature for this hard effort!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>8.06</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4167437626/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">10</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>#LGR Long Run</b>
<p>Red tree, shirt, Altra shoes, and Cornell scarf (Lynah, how I miss you). Took today’s long run and made it 100% Big Red for Cornell Homecoming.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>11.1</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:17
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4176284349/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">11</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Brisk Yet Beautiful</b>
<p>It was a beautifully sunny day. As I got going on my ride, I regretted not having at least some lightweight gloves. That only motivated me to keep focusing on turnover on this ride's ups and downs.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>17.54</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:06
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4182763871/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">11</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>Watched the replay of Chantelle's Saturday morning FLX Fitclub BodyPump class. I love doing this class in my living room ... but I do miss our Friday Happy Hour Pump in the studio, too.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4183224211/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 5 Recap:</b> The vibrant leaf coloring from last week is replaced by a pretty consistent browning and shriveling. We've been without much water these last few months, so that's affecting my leaf peeping! It was a good, solid week of fitness, and I particularly enjoyed my Thursday tempo and my solo hike on Friday.
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch4">Week 4</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
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<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">28</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Track Repeats</b>
<p>Man, this felt really hard on tired legs from yesterday’s ride! 5x1000 on the high school track. Delightful to get this done as the sun rose!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.38</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4123524361/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">29</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 113</b>
<p>Les Mills On Demand always churns out a good workout. We opted for a full-length edition to nail our biceps and triceps.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:50
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4130662724/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">30</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo</b>
<p>3 miles of work at short tempo pace (6:21) so ... mission accomplished. Cool, but humid. Kind of hard to shake off the disgust from last night's presidential debate. I think I'd need all day to do that.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>5.27</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:37
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4132482412/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">1</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 73</b>
<p>This was a pretty good release. Planned to do it on the deck, but with slippery boards I opted for inside.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4139308731/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">2</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 97</b>
<p>97 is hands-down my favorite on-demand track. It's like putting on a nice, comfortable pair of shoes. And then sweating a lot.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:01
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4145769761/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">3</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Delightful and Short</b>
<p>My post-run latte has never tasted so good. Crisp air and sunny skies made this run really fun, and it ended before I got tired of it. I like this distance!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>9.03</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:01
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4145770296/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Oct</div>
<div class="day">4</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Indoor Cat</b>
<p>Felt like a little indoor steady state riding today. I'm grateful we have a Keiser bike! Sweated quite a bit AND got to watch a movie!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:00
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4152129052/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 4 Recap:</b> Wow, what a dreary day! It's okay, because we need dreary days to remind us how wonderful sunny days are. This week has been taxing physically and emotionally, but with good nutrition and rest, I'm ready for plenty of fun next week. Bring it.
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch3">Week 3</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
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<label for="switch3">Toggle</label>
<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">22</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Track Repeats</b>
<p>6x800 with 90s RI. The fairgrounds track is a half-mile, so this was perfect on this chilly morning!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:45
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4096311818/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">23</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 74</b>
<p>Planning on Friday night BodyPump at the FLX Annex, so traded BodyCombat into this Wednesday slot. There's nothing nicer than Combat on the deck!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:50
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4104004995/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">24</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Taughannock Tempo</b>
<p>There are always some GPS anomalies in the park, but the weather was too good to pass up some speed on the base trail. Tempo miles called for 6:21, and I hit 6:41, 6:20, and 6:26. Considering the variable terrain and the marina stairs, I'm pretty happy with this!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.08</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:45
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4105808124/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">25</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>FLX Fitclub BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>Friday night BodyPump was one of our pre-pandemic staples. When Chantelle offered an outdoor edition in that time slot, we jumped right on it. Front row, all smiles, sun at our backs ... it was a great workout!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:59
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4112014373/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">26</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Long Run (Leaf Peeping)</b>
<p>A run with no pace goal means leaf peeping! Beautiful trees and a pause to say hello to The Bialke family’s horses.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>10.02</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:20
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4114591336/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">27</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Sheldrake Ride with Art and Herman</b>
<p>Art invited me out for a long ride on one of the last warm days we may have. Temperatures turn cooler early this week, so it was nice to get out for this ride and meet Herman, too!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>34.11</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 2:18
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4121290987/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 3 Recap:</b> I really felt tired after today's ride. So much so that I took a nap! I know I didn't hydrate enough on the ride, and didn't take any nutrition during, either. So, not smart. The running this week has me ready for more, though, so am looking forward to an early start tomorrow. Will do my repeats on Monday due to Tuesday's forecasted rain!
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch2">Week 2</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
<input type="checkbox" class="trainingSwitch switch" id="switch2" />
<label for="switch2">Toggle</label>
<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">15</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Track Repeats</b>
<p>400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400. I guess it's not hard to have the track to yourself when you get there early and the morning temperatures are hovering around 40°. This was really challenging (oof, that 1200), yet fun! Managed to keep within the goal of each segment by under 10 seconds, so #winning in my book.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.55</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4062846888/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">16</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 104 Express</b>
<p>This was hands-down the shittiest day of work I've had in a while. Not a lot to show for my efforts, and evening motivation was waning. But ... Amy and I spurred each other on to at least do a half-hour edition of our fav BodyPump release.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:25
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4070941206/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">17</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo Run</b>
<p>5 miles of tempo with target pace of 6:36. Hit 6:30, 6:30, 6:30, 6:26, 6:27. Yesterday's stresses evaporated after this, and I enjoyed listening to the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>7.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:48
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4072851437/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">18</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat 77</b>
<p>This was a really great session that dovetailed nicely into my early afternoon. I made a list of the Combat classes I've taken so far on Les Mills on Demand so I won't repeat myself.5 more uniques to go!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:46
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4079832977/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">19</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Long Run</b>
<p>Crisp. Sunny. Beautiful. And no GPS data because (of course) my Apple Watch got messed up after Apple's latest update. I fixed it later in the day by re-pairing it with my phone, but missed out on capturing my route nonetheless. All 9 miles sub-7, per plan, out-and-back on Congress and then out-and-back on Rabbit.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>9.05</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:01
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4083765119/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">20</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Sunday Ride with Art</b>
<p>Enjoyed this ride with Art! Man, Perry City is a sweet westbound stretch. Had a great workout with great conversation!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>24.51</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 1:26
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4088736510/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">20</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 109 Express</b>
<p>After this morning's ride and this afternoon's yard work, I was not feeling up to this. It's just 45 minutes, though ... how bad can it be? Well, the Express releases pack a punch, so I got punched. Happy tomorrow's a rest day!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:46
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4089977898/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 2 Recap:</b> I thought the repeats were the least enjoyable workout of the week. I phrase it that way because I actually enjoyed all of the running workouts. Perhaps that's a side benefit of a plan that has fewer weekly miles? I also appreciate all the cross training I am getting in. Now that the week is closing down, I do feel that my body is calling for a rest day. Oh, look, that's on the plan for tomorrow!
</td>
</tr></table>
</div><h3 class="trainingTitle"><label for="switch1">Week 1</label></h3>
<div class="trainingToggle">
<input type="checkbox" class="trainingSwitch switch" id="switch1" />
<label for="switch1">Toggle</label>
<table class="trainingTable"><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">7</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Group Ride to Sheldrake</b>
<p>Labor Day. Amy and I joined a group ride from the Farmer’s Market, heading to Sheldrake and back on country roads. We were rushed getting there after a failed attempt to lunch at Viva (they were closed), so I wolfed a slice of pizza as we rode to meet the group.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>32.31</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 2:22
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4026995299/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">8</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Track Repeats</b>
<p>12 x 400 w/ 90s RI. First day of the 16-week plan. Happily headed to the HS track, but stymied by the group of girls walking around it. Obviously, some kind of team practice was messing with my plan. Still, heading to the streets for these repeats got the job done. This felt really tough, but doable.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.62</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:53
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4029927425/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">9</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump 113 Express</b>
<p>Tough release with impossible choreography for the lunge track.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:41
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4037192275/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">10</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Tempo Run</b>
<p>2 mi easy, 3 mi @ ST (6:21 goal), 1 mi easy. Hit 6:18, 6:28 and 6:11 for the fast miles. Yeah!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>6.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:43
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4039214540/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutCombat">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconCombat" title="Combat"><i class="fas fa-fist-raised"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">11</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyCombat</b>
<p>Release #76 has some really great combinations in it! I listed the releases I’ve done before so I won’t be repeating anytime soon. There’s a ton of ‘em on demand.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:52
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4043927867/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRun">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRun" title="Run"><i class="fas fa-running"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">12</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Long Run</b>
<p>Long run day called for 7-minute miles. It was nice and cool out in the morning, so I hit the pace a little hard in the beginning and just held on! Ended up with a 6:45 overall with pretty even splits.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>8.04</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:54
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4048787464/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutRide">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconRide" title="Ride"><i class="fas fa-biking"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">13</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>Choose Your Own Adventure</b>
<p>Calves felt really tight after this week's runs, so I really looked forward to getting this bike ride done for therapeutic reasons. It was a nice stretch of the legs and nice cool temperatures for a ride.</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><b>15.35</b> mi<br /><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:57
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4053999428/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workout workoutWeight">
<td>
<div class="trainingTypeIcon trainingTypeIconWeight" title="Weight"><i class="fas fa-dumbbell"></i></div>
<div class="trainingDate">
<div class="mon">Sep</div>
<div class="day">13</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<b>BodyPump with Chantelle</b>
<p>I love the mixes that Chantelle puts together. Virtual with a live instructor is bested only by the energy of a live class!</p>
</td>
<td class="metrics"><i class="far fa-clock"></i> 0:55
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/4055911554/overview" target="_blank" title="View on Strava"><i class="fas fa-external-link-alt"></i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr class="workoutWrap">
<td colspan="3">
<b>Week 1 Recap:</b> It was a delightful week of fitness, but carried with it the stresses and preparation for back-to-school. Soon we'll be into our new-new-normal as our routines adjust, yet again. I'm feeling good physically, though, so bring on Week 2.
</td>
</tr></table>
</div>Building a Content Accordion with CSS-Only Toggle Switches (Checkbox Hack)2020-11-26T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/content-accordion-css-only-toggle-switch/<p>I love to write about running. One of the most rewarding things about training for a race is the journey, not necessarily the destination. I view races as the topping on a sundae, because the real transformation happens during the weeks leading up to a race. When I started my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/training-christmas-half-marathon-2020/">16-week training plan for my Christmas Half Marathon</a>, I knew I wanted to write about the training, but not as I've done in the past with a weekly post. I felt like this called for something more bite-sized. So, I decided to create a page that talked about what I was training for, and provided a way for me to provide bits of commentary as the training plan unfolded.</p>
<p>Since I converted this web site to Eleventy recently, a natural choice for doing this was to have the commentary in a JSON file. The page would be dynamically generated based on updates to the file. If you're curiuos about how I did this with Eleventy, check out the <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scottpdawson/scottpdawson/master/posts/running/all-i-want-for-christmas-2020.md">raw template</a> and the <a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/scottpdawson/blob/master/posts/running/all-i-want-for-christmas-2020.11tydata.json">source JSON file</a>.</p>
<p>I didn't want to overwhelm my readers with a massive list of dispatches from the road. Rather, I designed it so the current week was expanded, while prior weeks showed a paragraph recap and an option to view the individual dispatches from the week. I used <a href="https://codepen.io/mburnette/pen/LxNxNg">Marcus Burnette's All-CSS Toggle Switch (Checkbox Hack)</a> as a starting point and extended it to include section visibility and to have the header act as part of the toggle using a duplicate label. Here's the code I used:</p>
<iframe height="400" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/RwGbNPV?height=400&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<p>Here's how it looks, and you can always click through to <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/training-christmas-half-marathon-2020/">the actual page</a> to see it in action. I really like how the page exposes the most recent week (a little Eleventy magic) and the others are one click away.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/11/toggle-screenshot.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My CSS-only toggle switch in action" title="My CSS-only toggle switch in action" /><p class="stickyNote">My CSS-only toggle switch in action</p></div>
12 Things I Learned After Converting Wordpress Sites to Eleventy2020-10-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/convert-wordpress-to-eleventy/<p>Self-hosted Wordpress? Periodic updates and backups? Inflexible templates? SSL issues and inexplicable server spikes with GoDaddy? Forget it. I wanted out of the game of hosting my own Wordpress and paying money for what is admittedly not a series of highly-trafficked web sites. I read about static site generators like Hugo and Eleventy and saw the light. After some quick reads on comparing the leading contenders, I rolled up my sleeves with Eleventy.</p>
<p>The new sites are <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/">scottpdawson.com</a> (this one), <a href="https://skirtrunner.com/">skirtrunner.com</a>, <a href="https://taughannock.us/">taughannock.us</a>, <a href="https://erdawson.com/">erdawson.com</a>, <a href="https://xkdawson.com/">xkdawson.com</a>, and <a href="https://artofworkingremotely.com/">artofworkingremotely.com</a>. I think I had the most fun with the Taughannock conversion, because it allowed me to really think freely about the templates and do some sophisticated things (IMHO) with auto-generating front matter like permalinks and calculating what season a post was generated in. Here are 12-ish things I learned after converting these four Wordpress sites to Eleventy.</p>
<h2 id="getting-started">Getting Started</h2>
<p>I chose Dan Urbanowicz's <strong>eleventy-netlify-boilerplate</strong> project as a starting point. Netlify's automation and built-in SSL made it a very attractive choice. Here's the general startup process.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://templates.netlify.com/template/eleventy-netlify-boilerplate/">One-click install</a></li>
<li>Go to Netlify’s General > Site Details and change name to something more friendly</li>
<li><code>git clone</code> to my local desktop</li>
</ol>
<p>From there, follow the <code>README</code> instructions:</p>
<ol>
<li><code>npm install @11ty/eleventy</code></li>
<li>Edit <code>_data/metadata.json</code></li>
<li><code>npm install</code></li>
<li><code>npx @11ty/eleventy --watch</code> or <code>npx eleventy --serve --quiet</code></li>
</ol>
<p>I also chose to use <a href="https://docs.netlify.com/large-media/overview/#large-media-docs">Netlify's Large Media service</a> to host full-resolution images and <a href="https://example-nlm-picture.netlify.com/">serve smaller versions to my pages</a>. The <a href="https://docs.netlify.com/large-media/setup/">setup documentation</a> is fantastic and I tracked my images folder with <code>git lfs track "images/**"</code>.</p>
<h2 id="downloading-wordpress-posts%2C-pages%2C-and-images">Downloading Wordpress Posts, Pages, and Images</h2>
<p>I had to get my posts, pages, and images into my local folder before I could start updating them for use in Eleventy. I exported the whole site's contents as an XML file from Wordpress (go to your site's <code>/wp-admin/export.php</code> page and follow the instructions), and used FTP to fetch all of the images into my <code>/images</code> folder. I also got a <a href="https://github.com/lonekorean/wordpress-export-to-markdown">great package for converting Wordpress posts and pages to markdown</a>. Here's the steps I used for the markdown conversion:</p>
<ol>
<li><code>git clone</code> the above repo and put your downloaded XML in the root folder</li>
<li><code>npm install</code></li>
<li><code>node index.js</code> and follow the instructions</li>
</ol>
<p>By default, the tool converts only posts. There's an easy edit on line 39 of <code>parser.js</code> to convert pages on a second pass.</p>
<h2 id="batch-image-conversion-using-mac-terminal">Batch Image Conversion using Mac Terminal</h2>
<p>You don't need all of the size variations for the Wordpress images, since Large Media takes care of resizing for us. I'm on a Macbook, and found the following Terminal commands quite helpful. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p><strong>Rename jpeg to jpg</strong><br />
<code>find . -iname "*.jpeg" -exec bash -c 'mv "$0" "${0%\.jpeg}.jpg"' {} \;</code></p>
<p><strong>Remove all XxX sized images from Wordpress</strong> (Mac regex find is a little weird)<br />
<code>find -E . -type f -regex '.*[0-9]+x[0-9]+.(jpg|png|gif|jpeg)$' -delete</code></p>
<p><strong>Move all images from subfolders to single folder</strong><br />
<code>find /path/to/images -mindepth 2 -type f -exec mv -i '{}' /path/to/images ';'</code></p>
<h2 id="batch-markdown-image-path-replacement-in-visual-studio-code">Batch Markdown Image Path Replacement in Visual Studio Code</h2>
<p>I also found these useful to convert Wordpress image code to markdown image code. You have to use Regex find and replace in VS Code, and you might need to tweak these to your unique circumstances. My replacement text, for example, is for my own "picture" shortcode I wrote.</p>
<p><strong>Replace resized image references</strong><br />
Replace <code>!\[(.*)\]\((.*)-[0-9]+x[0-9]+.(jpg|jpeg|png)\)$</code> with <code>{% picture "$2.$3", "$1" %}</code></p>
<p><strong>Replace non-resized image references</strong><br />
Replace <code>!\[(.*)\]\((.*).(jpg|jpeg|png)\)$</code> with <code>{% picture "$2.$3", "$1" %}</code></p>
<h2 id="contact-form">Contact Form</h2>
<p>The <code>eleventy-netlify-boilerplate</code> project also sets up a contact form with <a href="https://www.netlify.com/docs/form-handling/">Netlify Forms</a> as a processing backend. This all worked out of the box and was easy to set up. You configure notifications of submissions through Netlify's administration screens.</p>
<h2 id="content-management">Content Management</h2>
<p>I tried out the <a href="https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/configuration-options/">Netlify's content manager</a> by accessing /admin on my published site. I added users in Netlify’s Identity console. I could edit a post and add an image, and it all synced back to my local via git. Very cool, but the service's limitations became clear pretty quickly. First, it requires some savvy I don't yet have to configure the CMS preview to be accurate, and also doesn't support any nesting of markdown files or images as of this writing. No worries for me, though, since I decided VS Code and git were a fine enough workflow for me.</p>
<h2 id="markdown-user-snippets-for-vs-code">Markdown User Snippets for VS Code</h2>
<p>I found it helpful to configure Visual Studio code to spit out complicated markdown using <a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/userdefinedsnippets">user snippets</a>. The file is stored in <code>~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/snippets/markdown.json</code>. Make sure your VS Code's <code>editor.tabCompletion</code> is set to true. I used the following user snippets:</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/0bef072b68d7eb3c60e0d2ffdb43e83d.js"></script>
<h2 id="search">Search</h2>
<p>I followed <a href="https://www.hawksworx.com/blog/adding-search-to-a-jamstack-site/">Phil Hawksworth's instructions for static search</a>. Brilliant. It offers a fallback to doing a Google site search if JavaScript is disabled.</p>
<h2 id="gotchas">Gotchas</h2>
<p>Well, almost gotcha, because I found solutions for these issues.</p>
<p>On <code>git push</code> after installing the Large Media service, I got an error saying <code>git: 'credential-netlify' is not a git command</code>. I found <a href="https://piperhaywood.com/configuring-and-troubleshooting-netlify-large-media/">Piper's article</a> really helpful here. Specifically, had to add <code>"helper = osxkeychain"</code> before the <code>netlify</code> line in <code>/Users/username/.netlify/helper/git-config</code>.</p>
<p>When I was just starting out, I didn't realize that permalinks should have trailing slash. It's in the documentation but it bit me anyway. If you find that files are not being written to <code>filename/index.html</code> and instead are being written to <code>filename.html</code>, check this detail. I also found that sometimes I needed to delete the <code>_site</code> folder with the generated content and just restart.</p>
<p>I ran into some problems configuring one of my repositories on another computer, specifically with Netlify's Large Media. Here are the steps I followed to get it configured for an existing repository on a new computer.</p>
<ol>
<li>Download Git Large File Storage from <a href="https://git-lfs.github.com/">git-lfs.github.com</a></li>
<li>run <code>sudo spctl --master-disable</code> in the terminal.</li>
<li><code>git lfs install</code></li>
<li><code>sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules</code></li>
<li><code>sudo npm install netlify-cli -g</code></li>
<li><code>netlify plugins:install netlify-lm-plugin</code></li>
<li><code>netlify lm:install</code></li>
</ol>
<h2 id="deploying">Deploying</h2>
<p>After pushing my files to git, Netlify picked them up, generated the site, and made it live. All that remained was the map my existing domain's A record to Netlify, and they provided clear instructions for doing so.</p>
<h2 id="eleventy's-leaderboard">Eleventy's Leaderboard</h2>
<p>Eleventy has a performance leaderboard at <a href="https://www.11ty.dev/speedlify/">11ty.dev/speedlify</a>. To add your Eleventy site to the leaderboard:</p>
<ol>
<li>Clone <a href="https://github.com/11ty/11ty-website">https://github.com/11ty/11ty-website</a></li>
<li>Create a new file in <code>_data/sites/*.json</code> (you can model after <a href="https://github.com/11ty/11ty-website/pull/744/commits/906c873a131293d789fcef707e3bcc6d1af4c70d">my commit</a>)</li>
<li>Commit your new file and create a pull request</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="resources">Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.11ty.dev/docs/">Eleventy Documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/scottpdawson">Git Repo for scottpdawson.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/skirtrunner">Git Repo for skirtrunner.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/taughannock">Git Repo for taughannock.us</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/elizabethrdawson">Git Repo for erdawson.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/xanderkdawson">Git Repo for xkdawson.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/art-of-working-remotely">Git Repo for artofworkingremotely.com</a></li>
</ul>
How to Export Strava Workout Data2020-10-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/export-strava-workout-data/<p>If you're a numbers geek AND a fitness geek like me, you've wanted to export Strava data. You've realized with dismay that Strava doesn't have any kind of export function for the hard-earned workouts you've uploaded. Normally the lack of a feature like this wouldn't cramp my style, but I <em>really</em> wanted to summarize my preparation for <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">Cayuga Trails 50</a>.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/CT50-Training.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Training infographic" title="Training infographic" /><p class="stickyNote">Training infographic</p></div>
<p>Going through workout-by-workout just wouldn't cut it. I needed a spreadsheet I could sort, filter and enrich. The <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/infographic-training-50-mile-race/">resulting poster</a> was just as I'd hoped for! It turns out I'm also a technology geek, so I figured out how to export Strava data into a spreadsheet so I could get the numbers I needed for my poster. There are a few steps involved, but it's not <em>THAT</em> hard. Grab a cold one and get your browser console ready, 'cause we're going to go on a Strava data expedition!</p>
<h2 id="tl%3Bdr%3A-an-update">TL;DR: An Update</h2>
<p>Tibor commented on my original post a while ago, and I had reason to use their code when <a href="https://skirtrunner.com/hiking/200-day-coronavirus-hike-streak/">my wife and daughter summarized their 200-day hike streak</a>. This is by far the easiest and quickest approach.</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to <a href="https://www.strava.com/athlete/training">https://www.strava.com/athlete/training</a> after signing in.</li>
<li>Open your browser's developer tools and navigate to Console window. In Chrome, you can press Command+Option+J (Mac) or Control+Shift+J (Windows, Linux, Chrome OS). In Firefox, you can press Ctrl+Shift+I or F12 (Windows, Linux) or Cmd+Opt+I (Mac)</li>
<li>Copy the code on <a href="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/74f85f60a7cf7fcc8ee527592dadf498">this page</a> and set maxPage and activityType at the top.</li>
<li>Paste the code into the browser console and hit Enter.</li>
<li>Copy new window's content into <a href="https://konklone.io/json">https://konklone.io/json</a> to convert to CSV.</li>
</ol>
<p>Also, if you're after GPX files from multiple activities, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair0adams/">Alistair Adams</a> sent me some code that they've used to <a href="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/e4a9e7febf073302c46f012b46cc5676">bulk-download GPX files from Strava</a>. No arbitrary wait time between downloads and some control over the saved filename, too. It's a different use case than above, but very useful if you're trying to get per-workout data out to transfer to another platform or analyze further.</p>
<h2 id="other-approaches%2C-background">Other Approaches, Background</h2>
<p><em><strong>Note:</strong> An astute reader pointed out that Strava already had an export feature. True! Go to <a href="https://www.strava.com/settings/profile">profile settings</a> and you'll see "Download your data" in the right column. However, that downloads only a zip file of your owrkouts in GPX format. It doesn't supply a single spreadsheet view with oodles of data, which is what I was after. True, Strava provides a developer API, but that's a bit heavy-handed for a single query. All API-based plugins or add-ons that I tried while researching this post did not work for my use case; they either didn't work at all, didn't have all the columns I needed, or only exported a certain number of workouts.</em></p>
<h3 id="step-1%3A-the-browser-console">Step 1: The Browser Console</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/chrome-inspector.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Open up your browser console. I'm going to show you this in Chrome, which is how I'd do this, but if you use Firefox or <em>(shudder)</em> Internet Explorer, you can do this there, too. Right-click anywhere on the web page and click Inspect.</p>
<p>This will load the inspector at the bottom of your browser, looking something like this:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/inspector-loaded.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Frightened yet? Don't be.</p>
<p>In the inspector, there are navigation options along the top. Click Network. Below that, you can filter network traffic by type. We're looking for XHR, so click that. Now, any data request the browser makes back to the server will be summarized here. Who knew browsers could show you such cool stuff?</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-empty.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h3 id="step-2%3A-go-to-strava's-my-activities-page">Step 2: Go to Strava's My Activities Page</h3>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/strava-menu.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Go to <a href="https://www.strava.com/athlete/training">Training > My Activities</a>. You get a nice tabular view of your workouts, right? Unfortunately Strava will only let you see 20 activities at a time, but you <em>can</em> filter by sport type and search by keyword. If you want to use these filters before you export your data, so you get a subset of your workouts, now is the time to use them.</p>
<p>Your inspector should now look like this:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-full.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<h3 id="step-3%3A-export-strava-data">Step 3: Export Strava Data</h3>
<p>Web pages can make a lot of requests in the background for data. In this case, we're looking for one called training_activities. In the upper left corner, under that red dot, you can search for "training" and see just those requests, which is what we're looking for.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-filtered.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Click the first request in the list. This is the request/response for the first 20 workouts in your list. On the right side, you can see a preview of the response for the data.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-clicked-request.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Above that data on the right side, click on "Response" to see the raw data.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-result.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Click anywhere in that raw data (that pretty red and blue text), hit Ctrl-A to select all of it, and then Ctrl-C to copy it to your clipboard. The data's in what's called JSON format, and we need to get it into another format so we can import it into the spreadsheet of our choice. Open a new tab (don't leave the Strava tab, 'cause we have more work to do!) A quick Google search for "convert JSON to CSV" gives me a result of from <a href="http://www.convertcsv.com/json-to-csv.htm">convertcsv.com</a>, which is exactly what I need. Paste the JSON text you copied into the text box on their page and click "Convert JSON to CSV". From there, you can download the result, or if you're a Microsoft person, you can also click JSON to Excel.</p>
<p><img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/09/strava-next-page.png" alt="" />Now we can go back to our Strava tab, scroll to the bottom of the 20 workouts shown in the actual web page, and click the Next button to view the next set.</p>
<p>When you do this, you'll see another XHR request in the inspector. This time, it's requesting workouts 21-40, whereas the first time, it was workouts 1-20. It'd be easier if Strava let you change the results per page to something other than 20, but it doesn't. Believe me: I checked. Now you'll see another response below the first one.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-second-request.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Repeat the steps to copy the result and convert it from JSON to CSV or Excel. Keep on going, and your Network panel will look something like this, chock full of good data:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/xhr-requests-filled.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Once you're finished, if you've gone the Excel route, it's a matter of copy/pasting from each spreadsheet into a master spreadsheet. If you've done CSV, you can do the same in your text editor, grouping all the CSV files into one, or import each into your spreadsheet of choice and manipulating the data from there. If you're a Windows user and feeling particularly brave, you can also follow Tom Nash's instructions on <a href="http://www.tomnash.eu/how-to-combine-multiple-csv-files-into-one-using-cmd/">combining CSV files automatically</a>.</p>
<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>
<p>I can only hope that Murphy's Law applies here, and after thoughtfully writing this post, Strava releases an update that'll let you export Strava data natively. Until then, happy data mining, and happy running/cycling!</p>
<h2 id="updates">Updates</h2>
<p>This is one of my more popular posts and I've gotten some great comments and suggestions. Here's a sampling!</p>
<blockquote>Your awesome work and effort in doing this and writing it so that a nube like me is able to follow your steps is greatly appreciated. Now I can statistic the sh*t out of all my workouts. - Tom</blockquote>
<p>Great idea! Expanding on it, here is an alternative solution for those too lazy to repeat the steps for every 20 activities. I noticed that in the second page, the training_activities URL finished by &page=2&per_page=20. Which made me think this could be scriptable (but only in the browser and session context). Googling a few ideas on how to do that made me learn that you can right click an XHR call in the browser inspector, then Copy / Copy as cURL. You can then paste the result in a bash window to download the JSON. So I created a quick shell script that looks like this:</p>
<pre><code>#!/bin/bash
for pagenumber in {1..36}
do
[extra long curl command from above step, replacing page=2 by page=${pagenumber}] > res_$number.json
done
exit 0</code></pre>
<p>In that case, I wanted 36 pages since I have 719 activities in Strava. This yields 36 files containing 20 activities each. Then joining them together should be easy in your favorite scripting language… - Christian</p>
<blockquote>Awesome Scott, thanks for the clear instructions. All downloaded and now looking for a cool excel/infographic way to present my training for my next event. - Mark</blockquote>
<p>I wrote a small web tool using the official Strava API to generate an Excel report off all activities. This might save you some json downloading by hand. Bulk json download for all activities is also implemented. See: <a href="https://entorb.net/strava">https://entorb.net/strava</a> - Torben</p>
<blockquote>Thank you so much! I’m starting a data analytics program (mid-career pivot from a STEM field but no coding experience and minimal html experience) and we have to introduce ourselves through data visualization for the first class. I wanted to visualize my Strava data and was frustrated when it didn’t seem clear cut how to get it. This was PERFECT and I’m so psyched to play with this data now! Thank you! - Abigail</blockquote>
<p>A friend of mine created <a href="http://www.stravabestefforts.com/">http://www.stravabestefforts.com</a> and I am working with him now to be able to extract average heart rate data for each split. His program already does a lot but heart rate data will make it even more valuable. - Patrick</p>
<blockquote>Cheers Scott – You’ve written this so in a great and easy way to understand. I now have the spreadsheet I want so I can manipulate my training information in one easy to see document. Thanks again! – Chris
</blockquote>
<p>This seems to work pretty well. Load a page showing 20 activities and run this snippet to automate downloading each tcx file. It spreads out downloads one/second. When it complete, click the “next page” button to move to the next 20 activities and run the snippet again. (Note that I tried to customize the file name with the download button but that doesn’t seem to work in Chrome v80.) - Stephen</p>
<pre><code>var links = jQuery(“a[data-field-name=’name’]”);
for (var i=0; i < links.length; i++) {
if (links[i].href.indexOf('export_tcx') < 0) {
links[i].href = links[i].href + '/export_tcx';
}
links[i].download = "activity" + i + ".tcx";
window.setTimeout(function(link) {
console.log('downloading', link.href, link.download);
link.click();
}, 1000 * i, links[i]);
}</code></pre>We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you rest2020-09-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/we-interrupt-your-normally-scheduled-programming/<p>Well, Labor Day weekend is upon us, and what a summer it's been. The last time I remember taking an intentional break from running was in November 2017 (see: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/metamorphosis-taking-break/">Metamorphosis</a>). Fast-forward to present day, and the intervening time has brought me to the start lines for indoor and outdoor mile races, adult cross country, and a handful of half marathons. Most notable was our post-pandemic plan to run our <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/dawson-family-marathon-pandemic-edition/">Memorial Day Weekend marathon on our own here in upstate New York</a>.</p>
<p>Since that day after I lay under a tree at the end of the Black Diamond Trail, a lot has happened in the world. One of the ways I cope with stress is by relying on routines. I can point to plenty from the time since Memorial Day weekend:</p>
<ul>
<li>Daily pushups and situps based on my age <em>(going strong after 1,846 and 796 days, respectively)</em></li>
<li>Rowing 4x per week, 10 minutes per session, watching vintage Twilight Zone episodes <em>(appropriate, right?)</em></li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/walking-to-bookend-the-work-week/">Starting and ending my work weeks with a walk</a></li>
<li>Weekend lattes in my front yard with Amy</li>
<li>Running a ton of mileage with no race in sight</li>
</ul>
<p>It's the last point that bears explaining. Here's a visualization of what's happened with my running since that Memorial Day weekend "long run."</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/09/strava-half-marathons-2020.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Weekly mileage? Check." title="Weekly mileage? Check." /><p class="stickyNote">Weekly mileage? Check.</p></div>
<p>See that red dot at the bottom? That's 26.2 miles. In the weeks since I've kept up a schedule of 5/8/5/13/4 every week. Some workouts shifted a day forward or backward depending on the weather and schedules, but man, it's been consistent. Each week I hit 35 miles and change in total mileage, too, which is a higher load than I've had for most race training, barring late-stage ultramarathon training. I also threw in weekly Les Mills BodyCombat <em>(see: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCzr8bZECkgA6afYKSUgOibXNxH947EtH">28 Days to Invincible</a> for a free, get-your-ass-kicked way to get a taste of the workout)</em>, which is a wonderful way to feel totally badass while punching and kicking thin air.</p>
<p>Here's what the plan looked like on paper, hanging just above my desk. And yes, it's time to change the toner:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/09/weekly-workout-plan.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Weekly Workout Plan" title="Weekly Workout Plan" /><p class="stickyNote">Weekly Workout Plan</p></div>
<p>BodyPump actually happened a max of 1x per week, and I never did get into BodyFlow as much as I wanted to. Regardless, it's an understatement to say that I was tired.</p>
<p>So, this past weekend, after 13 straight weeks of this routine, I just stopped. After 455+ miles of running, punching, and kicking, it felt so <em>good</em> to take a week off. I hiked a few times (this post's picture is of Taughannock's upper gorge on a hike this week), walked, and went for a bike ride, but the no-expectations approach to the week's fitness felt refreshing.</p>
<p>Now, if you know me, you know I can't keep this up for long. Heck, next week I'll be into something else for the forseeable future. But for now, I'm savoring the effect of pushing the reset button once again.</p>
Walking to Bookend the Work Week2020-09-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/walking-to-bookend-the-work-week/<p>I've been taking a walk twice a week since the last week of May. Why? My wife and daughter have been on a hike streak since the beginning of New York's coronavirus lockdown. As a runner, I thought it'd be cool to add walking to my repertoire, as both a way to stretch out my legs and add a sort of meditation to the week. I kicked off and ended each work week with a walk. For up to an hour, I was intentional about looking around as I walked, and about focusing on what I was listening to <em>(usually, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily">New York Times Daily podcast</a>)</em>. Michael Barbaro and I are walking buddies!</p>
<p>As a way to aid the "intentional" part of the walk, I made a point to take a picture of something I found remarkable on the walk. Turning them all to black-and-white and amping up the constrast yielded a really fun collection of images. In no particular order, here's a gallery of my favorites.</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6074.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Hitching Post" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6100.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Eagle Sculpture" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6110.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Lion" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6113.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="NYS Historical Marker" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6139.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Water" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6357.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Storm" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6396.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Dead End" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6451.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Umbrella" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6501.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Bike Stands" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6511.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Tire Treads" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2020/09/walking/IMG_6561.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Fire Hydrant" />
</div></div>
How To Create Interactive Maps with React and Leaflet2020-05-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/how-to-create-interactive-maps-with-react-and-leaflet/<p>My family is chock full of avid skiers. We put our two kids through ski racing programs, and now they can ski pretty much anything we throw at them. After being dedicated mountain pass holders, then Ikon pass holders, then nomads purchasing advance tickets, I thought it'd be cool to create a map-based way of discovering new ski resorts. It'd be a cool way to visualize where they were, and whether they were included in popular pass programs like Ikon and Epic.</p>
<h2 id="creating-a-simple-interactive-map">Creating a Simple Interactive Map</h2>
<p>I've been programming in React at work, and have used the Google Maps API in the past. When I came across <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/02/javascript-maps-react-leaflet/">this Smashing Magazine post</a>, I tried to follow the steps to create my own map. The post didn’t link out to a repo of a fully-working example, so I created this pared back version of my final project as a resource for anyone wanting to do this on their own. Feel free to fork the repo and use it as a basis for your own map development! Check out the video below for a walkthrough of these links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://react-leaflet-maps.netlify.app/">Simple Interactive Map: Ten Highest Peaks of the Oregon Cascades</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/react-leaflet-maps">GitHub Repository: React Leaflet Maps</a></li>
</ul>
<iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/23ec098f7ae443968107f854fc1a2d6a" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: 370px;"></iframe>
<h2 id="ski-resort-finder">Ski Resort Finder</h2>
<p>Now it's time to get fancy, both with design and functionality. The site is deployed at <a href="https://skiresorts.netlify.app/">skiresorts.netlify.app</a>, and here's a quick video demo of the functionality.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/b1117c683ba7498aa6ce8bcf292480d1" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: 370px;"></iframe>
<p>Now, on to the code! I'll be referring to snippets of code from <a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/ski-resort-finder">my GitHub repository</a> so head over there if you want a fuller picture.</p>
<h3 id="getting-the-ski-resort-data">Getting the Ski Resort Data</h3>
<p>The app's componentDidMount function fires off an axios GET request for the ski resort data from <a href="https://skimap.org/pages/Developers">skimap.org's developer API</a>. Once that result comes back, I map each resort to a "resorts" array. Each object in the array contains information about the resort, including the name, details about the lifts and runs, and a geographic point to plot the resort. Some of the resorts in the API provide a series of polygons. In those cases, I'm using a function <a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/ski-resort-finder/blob/master/src/components/utils/AppUtils.js">getCenterOfPolygon</a> to get the center point of the first polygon in the data set. It works well enough!</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/fa2a46faf465f5b6da30135d353719ad.js"></script>
<p>You see that Firebase request in the above code? The <a href="http://skimap.org/">skimap.org</a> data doesn't include pass information, so I created a dataset in Firebase to store resort names that belong to either the Epic or Ikon portfolios. This is where the data caveat comes in: if any resort information is not accurate, it can be updated by anyone over at <a href="https://openskimap.org/">openskimap.org</a>. However, I am maintaining the pass flags for Epic and Ikon resorts in my own Firebase account. I used a <a href="https://www.csvjson.com/csv2json">CSV to JSON converter</a> to get the Epic/Ikon data from a Google Sheet into the format that Firebase can import.</p>
<h3 id="plotting-the-ski-resort-data">Plotting the Ski Resort Data</h3>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/7b8866327bddab0ed6eb7a062b13e31e.js"></script>
<p>Now that I have the ski resort data all in the app, it's time to plot the points. This is where I had the most fun, since there are a lot of interactions and design elements. Here are the notable parts of the code:</p>
<h3 id="map-tiles">Map Tiles</h3>
<p>There are a ton of options for the <a href="https://leaflet-extras.github.io/leaflet-providers/preview/">map tiles</a>. I chose an option that didn't need any license or key (see: line 16). Depending on the map you choose, you should make sure you're attributing the source properly (see: line 15).</p>
<h3 id="leaflet-map-performance">Leaflet Map Performance</h3>
<p>When you're rendering thousands of items on a map, don't use images. I had started with images and it was way too sluggish. Instead, leaflet provides SVG markers, so that's what CircleMarker is in the code. You specify the color, opacity, radius, and weight. Also on the performance front, I set the leaflet map's attributes for updateWhenZooming (false), updateWhenIdle (true), and preferCanvas (true) to optimize performance.</p>
<h3 id="leaflet-popup-interaction-model">Leaflet Popup Interaction Model</h3>
<p>I made an early mistake where I was creating a Popup for each resort on the map. Wow, that slowed things down! The way this is written now, there's one Popup, which makes a lot more sense. When you click a CircleMarker, line 26 sets the state's activeResort. An activeResort in turn shows the Popup using the activeResort's point to plot the position. Lastly, my custom SkiMapTooltip component is a richly-styled component to show the resort's details. I pass the activeResort and the units (metric or imperial) to this component.</p>
<h2 id="deploying-the-app-to-netlify">Deploying the App to Netlify</h2>
<p>The last step was pretty simple, actually. I deployed the application via Netlify using <a href="https://medium.com/@thevatsalsaglani/working-with-firebase-real-time-database-using-reactjs-and-uikit-and-launching-to-netlify-ff92419289b2">these instructions</a> (see point 6). This was my first experience with Netlify, and it was really smooth. I also wanted to make sure that I hid my Firebase API key, and Netlify made that easy, too. I updated my code per <a href="https://medium.com/better-programming/how-to-hide-your-api-keys-c2b952bc07e6">this article's advice on hiding API keys in React .env files</a>. Then, in Netlify, I set my REACT_APP_FIREBASE_API_KEY as an environment variable. Now, whenever I push a code update to GitHub, Netlify automatically picks up the change, builds the project, and deploys it.</p>
<h2 id="recap-%26-links">Recap & Links</h2>
<p>That's it! A simple map with React and Leaflet, and a more complicated map built on those simple principles.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/ski-resort-finder">GitHub Repository</a></li>
<li><a href="https://skiresorts.netlify.app/">Interactive Ski Resort Map</a></li>
</ul>
Dawson Family Marathon: Pandemic Edition2020-05-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/dawson-family-marathon-pandemic-edition/<p>I wanted to quit after just about 24 miles of running. It wasn’t a fleeting thought. No, it was more of a persistent message issued from my shredded legs. My brain was clearly playing off the same sheet of music, too. I’d been teasing myself the last few miles with mental images of the remaining distance as I ran the slight downgrade of the Black Diamond Trail. “C’mon, Scott. Just your normal 5-mile out and back left.” And then, “Hey, it’s just the three mile loop. You can do that, right?” But now, the prospect of my “quick” 2-mile loop held no allure. I had nothing left to offer.</p>
<p>We hatched our plan to run a local marathon distance after our Memorial Day plans were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. We had planned a weekend trip to California to run in the “Mountains 2 Beach” marathon, mostly because the minimum age would allow my son to compete. He’s 16 and wanted to run his first marathon. As a bonus, the race had a half-marathon distance that my daughter could do. With those plans scuttled, though, we looked back at our training plan. We’d been following it since early January. When we got the stay-at-home order, right around March 16, we were literally halfway through our 20-week plan. Running is one of the safest things we can do while somewhat locked down, so we kept the training going.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/dawson-family-marathon-plan.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Marathon training plan" title="Marathon training plan" /><p class="stickyNote">Marathon training plan</p></div>
<p>As luck would have it, the weather for our marathon was ideal. The morning called for overcast skies and temperatures in the low- to mid-60s. Amy and I woke up at 4:30a and I enjoyed a homemade “everything” bagel (thanks to Elizabeth’s mad baking skills) with peanut butter at 5a. Amy planned to start a little earlier than Xander and me so we’d finish around the same time.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_6050D.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Breakfast of champions" title="Breakfast of champions" /><p class="stickyNote">Breakfast of champions</p></div>
<p>As we prepared our things after Amy started her run, I shared with Xander how weird it was to think about what our weekend would have been like without a pandemic. We’d be waking up in Ventura, bused to the start of the race in Ojai, and running a marathon in the California sun. We’d hop a flight back to New York in the evening, returning home in time for him to march and play saxophone in Trumansburg’s Memorial Day parade. Our house may very well have been rented out for Cornell’s graduation, as has been our custom for years. Instead, we were well-entrenched in our weekly routines of school and work, with no solid markers of time to let us know that Memorial Day weekend was approaching. Yet, here she was.</p>
<p>We finished getting our things prepared as Amy came back to the house after 5 miles. We grabbed a quick photo before she resumed her run (see this post's top image).</p>
<p>I planned my marathon in two parts: 15 miles up near my home in Trumansburg, followed by 11 miles to Ithaca on the Black Diamond Trail. For the first portion, I thought that routes of an ever-increasing distance would help me get to 15 without getting too bored or overwhelmed. It was time to run! I staged water on my front porch, two Honey Stinger gels, and a buff and handheld for the trail portion. After stretching my legs out for a few minutes, I was off!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_6051.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Aid stash: Honey Stinger gels, buff, water" title="Aid stash: Honey Stinger gels, buff, water" /><p class="stickyNote">Aid stash: Honey Stinger gels, buff, water</p></div>
<p>My legs felt so fresh for the first mile. After the taper in my plan, I was clearly ready to go. I did our standard 1-mile loop south of the house (1.25, actually) and bypassed stopping to continue on our standard 2-mile loop north of the house. I was out again for our standard 3-mile loop after a quick stop for water, and then headed out farther for 4 miles on the Curry/Searsburg loop. I had my first gel after that, having run for just over an hour. My final run in Trumansburg was an out-and-back on Congress Street Extension. Back at the house, I took a quick break to pee. I grabbed my buff and Nathan handheld and continued down Rabbit Run toward the Black Diamond Trail at the top of Taughannock Falls State Park.</p>
<p>Three miles later I was at the road bridge that crosses Taughannock Creek at the top of the park. I walked for a few seconds to ingest my second gel of the day, and was soon on the tree-covered Black Diamond Trail. Eight miles to go. With six miles to go, I saw Elizabeth waiting at one of the road crossings for Xander. She had water for him, and she shouted encouragement to me. I was starting to feel really sluggish and my demeanor totally conveyed that. Miles 20+ of a marathon for me are always the hardest, and my pace slackened by at least a minute per mile. In fact, I’d been steadily slowing for the entire run, having started out with enthusiastic, fresh legs that were now exhausted. There were no crowd-filled intersections. No “power up” signs. No water stops stocked with enthusiastic volunteers. I just wanted it done.</p>
<p>I crossed paths with other walkers and bikers, raising my buff each time to cover my nose and mouth. I was grateful that the trail wasn’t more congested since the buff was uncomfortable. It was nice to only have to raise it for 30 seconds at a time. At this point, we’ve caught up to the introductory paragraph of this post. I was no longer having any fun. The miles felt slow, painful, and mentally taxing. Not altogether unexpected, but unpleasant nonetheless. I found myself buoyed by the advice I’d given Xander before the run. Being his first marathon, I advised, “Hey, I’m really proud of you. You’ve got this. That said, you’re going to get to the point where it hurts, where you don’t want to keep going. It’ll happen, so be ready for it. When it does, remind yourself that it’s temporary. It’ll be over. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.” Man, I needed my own advice just then. I passed Amy with just over a mile to go, and told her I was hurting. I had just finished my water, too, and unscrewed the lid to pour the remaining drops in my mouth. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I was not going to stop. Not until my watch ticked past 26.2 miles.</p>
<p>And then it did. I was done! I abruptly stopped running and started making forward shuffling progress toward the end of the trail. Amy caught up with me shortly and told me that she was done. We walked together but I wasn’t a very good conversationalist. I felt out-of-sorts and was really thirsty. I called Elizabeth on the phone as she waited in the Cass Park parking lot for us. “Can you walk some water into me?” I asked. “Mom and I are done, and we’re walking the rest of the way.” I was so grateful to see Elizabeth shortly after the call. I sat down on the edge of the trail and pounded back a half liter of water. After arriving back home, I’d find out the cause of my malaise: I was pretty dehydrated. I’d lost 7 pounds of water weight during the run, and that little Nathan handheld was no match for 11 miles of effort. You should have carried more water, sir!</p>
<p>We finally made it to the end of the trail. All I wanted to do was lie down in the shade of a small tree while waiting for Xander to finish. He wasn’t far behind me, and my family relished in making some light of my plight.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_9178.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="One tired puppy" title="One tired puppy" /><p class="stickyNote">One tired puppy</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_9180-e1590415671796.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="My view, looking up" title="My view, looking up" /><p class="stickyNote">My view, looking up</p></div>
<p>This was my view of the tree, sunlight filtering through the branches. As I started to feel moderately better, I felt grateful. Grateful that Xander had finished his first marathon, coronavirus be damned. Grateful that we lived in such a beautiful area. And grateful that I was able to finish my fourth marathon, despite the difficulty of the finish.</p>
<p>We’d ordered post-race Pinesburgers from Glenwood Pines in advance. Shortly after we got home, Elizabeth and Amy cleaned up and headed out to pick them up. I had a delightful shower and prepared pink lemonade smoothies to go with the burgers. The day may have lacked the allure and energy of a destination race, but as backyard marathons go, I think we did it fine. Just fine.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_6060D.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pinesburger!" title="Pinesburger!" /><p class="stickyNote">Pinesburger!</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 3:20:19</p>
<p>This was my fourth marathon, and I was happy to see that it was my second-fastest, less than a minute behind 2016’s Corning Wineglass. I’m really happy that I was able to push myself as hard as I did without crowd support or the adrenaline that accompanies a big race. Now, that all said, let’s get back to normal, shall we?</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/3505424429/embed/4b186921dd46115d5def0494234ff00293f802e4"></iframe>
A Broken Chain Can Be a Reel Problem2020-05-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/a-broken-chain-can-be-a-reel-problem/<p>I started cutting my lawn with a reel mower in May 2014. Before that, I'd used a <a href="https://www.neutonpower.com/">Neuton</a> battery-powered mower, but the battery life kept diminishing. That, and the plastic handle cracked one day. Why not throw back to how people <em>really</em> used to cut their grass? Thus began my relationship with the original model of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2SxgTnW">Fiskars 18 Inch Staysharp Max Reel Mower</a>.</p>
<p>Several years into using it, the reel mower became incredibly difficult to push. I found a fellow owner who theorized that removing the grass chute would help. The way it was designed, grass clippings were thrown forward, resulting in mowing the same blades of grass multiple times. When I removed the grass chute, I was instantly thrilled. Instead of being thrown forward, grass clippings now delightfully flew out of the top of the mower, dispersing in the direction of the wind. I felt like a kid pushing one of those toy bubble mowers! So fun. Fiskars likely knew this was a problem, too, since their current model can throw grass forward <em>and</em> through the rear of the blades. It's currently <a href="https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-reel-mower/">Wirecutter's #2 pick for reel mowers</a>.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to present day, and I had my mower out for the second time of its 7th season of use. The chain had been falling off of the drive wheels fairly often since the prior summer and I really hadn't taken the time to register that it was slackening. There's a spring that's supposed to push down on it to take up slack, but the chain had slackened far too much for that to have any impact. To my dismay, the chain snapped in two when it got caught up on a turn. After sheepishly borrowing my father-in-law's zero-turn mower to finish the job, I set about finding a way to fix my reel mower.</p>
<p>My first go-to resource was Fiskars, but my quick Internet search led me to conclude that they don't sell replacement parts for this mower. Really? A few results later, I found an owner who had <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robinski/albums/72157645551435678/">replaced the chain and posted some photos about it</a>. "Chain stretch" is a thing, and I was not alone! Knowing that I didn't have any chain or tools, I thought of the next-best option. A local bike shop? Maybe. I emailed John Compton, owner of <a href="http://mainstreetbikeshop.com/">Main Street Bike Shop</a> here in Trumansburg. I asked how he was, hoping that he was weathering "this nonsense" well <em>(looking at you, pandemic)</em>, and asked my question. His response:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hey, I’m good. Hope your guys are!<br />
Cool.<br />
Yeah. Bring it in. Fun.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I was so grateful for his willingness to tackle the job! Within just a few hours of dropping it off, John emailed me that it was all set to pick up. Phenomenal. I cut the grass yesterday with my renewed mower, with no slack in the chain. It cut like a dream again. Thank you, John! If this happens to you, hit up your local independent bike shop. They might be able to help!</p>
<h2 id="update-may-9%2C-2021">Update May 9, 2021</h2>
<p>Tori emailed me to let me share their story about the very same issue. They bought their Fiskars StaySharp Max reel mower in 2011 and used it every season since then ... going into 10 years of weekly mowing a rural home lot for 8 months out of the year.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had chain issues this year; on my 4th mowing the chain slipped off 6 different times and I was beyond frustrated. I didn't really want to spend another $200+ for a new Fiskars so I emailed their warranty dept. explaining that I knew I was not in a warranty period but needed a new chain and possibly a large sprocket because I thought it might be bent. Their response: "Anyone that has a 10 year-old reel mower that has performed faithfully deserves new parts". Seriously! They sent me a new chain, a chain tensioner (something new that mine did not have), and a new large sprocket. I had them 8 days later. Absolutely no cost to me. Fiskars rocks! If you have problems in the future you might want to try their warranty dept. I suspect you will have the same positive experience I had.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What a great story from Tori! Fiskars' warranty email is <a href="mailto:warranty@fiskars.com">warranty@fiskars.com</a>.</p>
FLRC Virtual Covid-19 Fund Run2020-05-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-virtual-covid-19-fund-run/<p>The Finger Lakes Runners Club hosted this virtual run to benefit Ian Golden's <a href="https://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running Company</a>—Ithaca’s only specialty running shop. The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting small businesses especially hard, and many will struggle to stay afloat without community support. We've known Ian for the last 12 years, and are so proud to support him as part of this fund run.</p>
<p>I was inspired by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbVvqRrJQ0">the video Ian shot during his run</a>, so I took to the streets and trails where I live in Trumansburg and paused along the way to take some videos. Here's the compilation of my 19-mile run.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsgaHzb0c6g">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsgaHzb0c6g</a></p>
<p>I mentioned some businesses and places/events of interest during the run. Here's a list of them for easy linking, too!</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Trumansburg-Liquor-584252081719984/">Trumansburg Liquor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hazelnutkitchen.com/">Hazelnut Kitchen</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.littlevenicet-burg.com/">Little Venice</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Chinese-Restaurant/Wok-This-Way-100149194728047/">Wok This Way</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.tburgmainstreetmarket.com/">Main Street Market</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gimmecoffee.com/">Gimme! Coffee</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.creeksidecafetburg.com/">Creekside Cafe</a></li>
<li><a href="https://garrettsbrewing.com/">Garrett's Brewing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.incredapple.com/the-farm/">Black Diamond Farm</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cayugalaketriathlon.org/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a></li>
<li><a href="https://taughannock.us/">Taughannock Falls</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.tburgfair.info/">Trumansburg Fair</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.grassrootsfest.org/">Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Not-My-Dads-Ice-Cream-112897727210/">Not My Dad's Ice Cream</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikes-Auto-Repair/155637294475526">Mike's Auto Repair</a></li>
<li><a href="https://atlasbowl.com/restaurant/">Atlas Bowl</a></li>
</ul>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/IMG_5837.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post race cupcake from Emoticakes" title="Post race cupcake from Emoticakes" /><p class="stickyNote">Post race cupcake from Emoticakes</p></div>
<p><strong>Want to get in on the action?</strong> You can <a href="https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=76923">sign up through tomorrow, Sunday May 3, at 11p</a>. Whether you run 19 miles, 19 kilometers, or 1.9 miles, the store can certainly use your support!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Miles:</strong> 19.28 (<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/3386510877">strava track</a>)<br />
<strong>Moving Time:</strong> 2:51:32<br />
<strong>Elapsed Time:</strong> 3:09:45<br />
<strong>Elevation Gain:</strong> 1,466 ft</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/05/Screen-Shot-2020-05-02-at-2.12.35-PM.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My 'favorite places' route" title="My 'favorite places' route" /><p class="stickyNote">My 'favorite places' route</p></div>
The Locker Prank2020-04-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/the-locker-prank/<p>When I read about this Popular Mechanics <em>Riddle of the Week</em>, I knew I could solve the problem by writing code. After all, I was a math minor in college, but my computer science degree wins out when I'm confronted with something like this. Brute force! Here's the riddle:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are 100 lockers that line the main hallway of Chelm High School. Every night, the school principal makes sure all the lockers are closed so that there will be an orderly start to the next day. One day, 100 mischievous students decide that they will play a prank. The students all meet before school starts and line up. The first student then walks down the hallway, and opens every locker. The next student follows by closing every other locker (starting at the second locker). Student 3 then goes to every third locker (starting with the third) and opens it if it’s closed, and closes it if it’s open. Student 4 follows by opening every fourth locker if it’s closed and closing it if it’s open. This goes on and on until Student 100 finally goes to the hundredth locker. When the principal arrives later in the morning, which lockers does she find open?</p>
<p>Popular Mechanics <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a31153757/riddles-brain-teasers-logic-puzzles/">Riddle of the Week</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a31155135/solution-riddle-locker-prank/">mathematical solution published by Popular Mechanics</a> is far more elegant than my brute force approach. That said, I was able to come up with a way to visualize the changes as each student goes through the rows of lockers. Also, you can change the number of students and lockers to get quite the animation going!</p>
<iframe height="600" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/LYpyazV?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20202020-04-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2020/<p>It was no surprise that the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon was canceled shortly after the scope of the coronavirus pandemic became apparent. That said, this run is a staple of my racing calendar. It’s a harbinger of spring, when we all emerge (not <em>literally</em>) from hibernation and enjoy the camaraderie of racing as spring starts to emerge.</p>
<p>Along with Amy and Xander, I’ve been training for a marathon over Memorial Day weekend. When that, too, was canceled, our reaction was immediate: of course we were still going to run the marathon! We’d just do it right here, in our backyard. It was only natural, then, that we’d still run the Skunk, because it IS in our backyard.</p>
<p>I half expected to see a lot of local runners on the course today, and while there were some runners out, we had the course mostly to ourselves. Elizabeth was our roving water stop, driving to intersections throughout the course in case we needed anything. We gave Amy a 10 minute head-start. Then Xander and I, staggered by a few minutes, chased after her. The start line, usually a cacophony of people catching up and flinging away pre-race anxiety at the same time, was void of people. Literally. I started my run shortly after 10a with the only pomp and circumstance coming from my daughter.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZM03KG0rl8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZM03KG0rl8</a></p>
<p>Shortly after starting the run, I saw Steve Ryan and a friend running back toward campus. I also saw John Hohm running shortly after I turned on Game Farm Road, too. I wondered, how many other runners would I see?</p>
<p>I lamented the lack of facilities at the start. Cornell’s campus is, after all, shut down. I had to pee from the start, but promised myself if I still had to pee, I could use the woods about 2 miles in. I kept that promise, peeling off the road for a few seconds and then resumed my run. My heart sank briefly as I struggled with my watch post-pee, and ended up ending my workout tracking prematurely. No bother, I thought, as I could just start it again and merge my Strava tracks after the run.</p>
<p>Laurel McIntyre was at the intersection of Game Farm and Stevenson, running back and forth holding a homemade sign. I loved seeing her enthusiasm and support! The turn onto Dodge is really the only tricky one of the race. Without an aid station there, I was mildly concerned when I saw Xander, about 100 yards ahead of me, miss the turn. <em>Oh no!</em> We had carefully done a course preview at home, and he’d dutifully written turn-by-turn directions on his hand. I called his cell phone when I reached that intersection and was sure it was him, further down the road. I got him back on course, but lost a few minutes as I waited for him to see me before I started running again. This is one of the hardest parts of the course for me, since most of Dodge is uphill. It felt blessedly short, mostly due to the lack of runners that could pass me, and I was soon on the beautiful straight stretch of Ellis Hollow Road.</p>
<p>Joel Cisne, who I’d seen running in his banana costume in my first mile (he was finishing his race) drove by in his car, enthusiastically clanging a whole set of cowbells. More cowbell? Not today, not with Joel. He’s a local legend, and never disappoints with his support of a fellow runner. I came upon Elizabeth, who had carefully used sidewalk chalk to pen messages of support on the shoulder (see video below). That was so cool! Never in a race have I had so many personal notes to spur me onwards!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De-MR8TPm7o">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De-MR8TPm7o</a></p>
<p>I saw Tonya Engst, running the opposite direction, and we enthusiastically waved to each other. I’d see her once more, about 6 miles later. I passed Amy shortly before the turn onto Ellis Hollow Creek. She was looking good. Elizabeth was parked with our car just after the turn, and I took solace in knowing I was halfway through the race. This was a beautiful stretch of the course and I took time to look around. Amidst the general brown color of everything, bright green shoots of foliage were growing out of the ground just off the shoulder. Spring is coming, and with it, all sorts of lush colors that we know and love here in upstate New York. That hopefulness almost made up for passing by what’s usually a hasher-staffed aid station around mile 9 that offers up beer in addition to water. I was carrying my own water today, but a few frothy ounces are part of this race’s personality. I missed that today.</p>
<p>The Turkey Hill climb was tough as usual, but short, and I stopped at the top to glance back and see if Xander was making all the right turns. I also took a photo of the COVID-19 lawn signs (advertising where to call for more information) that seemed prevalent here in Dryden. Definitely not our normal race on a normal day. I saw Elizabeth once more after the turn onto Stevenson. She’d chalked more messages on the road, and I was grateful for them. I was about to hit the final few turns of the race course, the last three miles. I was feeling pretty comfortable, and decided in the last mile to pick up the pace a bit.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/04/IMG_8434.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="On the course, 4 miles from the finish" title="On the course, 4 miles from the finish" /><p class="stickyNote">On the course, 4 miles from the finish</p></div>
<p>As I ran that last mile, I thought about what was different about this race. No Steve Gallow, taking fantastic pictures of us as we ran down the final minutes of the course. No post-race belly filling and mingling with friends in Barton Hall. No Ian Golden shouting out our names as we crossed the finish line. No finish line clock, ticking down the seconds to motivate my legs at the last minute. No people at all, actually, at the finish line. It was just me, on just another day, and I was grateful.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/04/IMG_5677.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done!" title="Done!" /><p class="stickyNote">Done!</p></div>
<p>Alex Kleinerman and John Hohm put out race medals on a stone wall and near the doors to Barton, just in case we wanted to take home the recognition of our efforts instead of having to pick them up another time. I thought that was incredibly cool.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/04/IMG_5678.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Medals at the finish line" title="Medals at the finish line" /><p class="stickyNote">Medals at the finish line</p></div>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls1t-kxPtkw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls1t-kxPtkw</a></p>
<p>Elizabeth pulled up a few seconds later and we watched Xander and Amy finish out their races. We had the foresight to place a take-out order with Taste of Thai Express, so picked that up on the way home and enjoyed sharing post-race stories around our dining room table.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2020/04/IMG_8454.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander and me at the finish line" title="Xander and me at the finish line" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander and me at the finish line</p></div>
<p>It was a fantastic shared experience for our family. We’re still running throughout this pandemic, but we’re definitely doing it alone. It’s still so much better with others, but for now, reading the stories from others who did similar things today will stand in quite nicely. I’m looking forward to racing with all of my friends again, though. Next year? Yeah, let’s do that.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:36:33<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 1st Age Group! ;)</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/3259565793/embed/b67b6e25921e122465312174d09c34807c94d87d"></iframe>
Virtual Teaching in the Age of COVID-19 and Coronavirus2020-03-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/virtual-teaching-in-the-age-of-covid-19-and-coronavirus/<p>It’s no surprise that <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/teaching-math-with-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil/">Classroom Tech: Teaching Math with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil</a> has been one of my most popular posts in the past few weeks. Since the post was published in 2016, Amy started her own web site at <a href="http://mathista.org/">mathista.org</a>. Now that she’s had a week of virtual teaching under her belt, she wrote the first of a series of posts that should be helpful to any teacher that finds themselves needing to teach virtually. These are relevant to any kind of teaching, not just math.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mathista.org/2020/03/21/teaching-k-12-online-part-1/">Teaching K-12 Online – Part 1</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mathista.org/2020/03/21/teaching-k-12-online-part-2/">Teaching K-12 Online – Part 2</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mathista.org/2020/03/21/recorded-classes-with-explain-everything/">Recorded Classes with Explain Everything</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://mathista.org/category/virtual-teaching/"><em>View all "virtual teaching" posts from Amy's mathista.org</em></a></p>
Korg 01/WproX Breakdown2020-01-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/korg-01-wprox-breakdown/<p>I was fortunate to receive this beautiful piano as a graduation gift from my parents when I graduated from college in 1995. I enjoyed using it when I went to graduate school, lived on Long Island upon graduation, and moved through 3 different apartments on my way to my current home. At the end of its 25-year run, the piano's damper pedal port failed and the display had dimmed to the point of illegibility (despite changing the battery once). In short, it had lived a full life.</p>
<p>Instead of discarding the unit, and knowing that I couldn't sell it <em>(seriously, it weighs like 80 pounds, and 25 years is like 200 years in synth time)</em>, I decided to break it down and recycle it. I was sufficiently fascinated by the internals that I took a ton of pictures as I broke it down. Here's where it all went:</p>
<ul>
<li>All metal, screws, key weights, and green board: scrap recycling center, which basically gave enough compensation to cover the round trip to the scrap recycling center</li>
<li>Wood end caps and base: to my shop for future use</li>
<li>Plastic piano keys: C/D/E and connecting black keys up-cycled into <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/annual-christmas-tree-ornaments/">Christmas ornaments</a>! The other keys are still here in a box for potential future crafts.</li>
</ul>
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</div></div>How to Create and Moderate a Twitter Chat2020-01-27T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/how-to-create-and-moderate-a-twitter-chat/<p>Several people have asked me about how I created and moderate <a href="https://artofworkingremotely.com/remotechat/">#RemoteChat</a>, a weekly Twitter chat focused on remote workers. <strong>So, I decided to write about it!</strong> As of this writing, I've hosted 151 chat sessions and have learned some lessons along the way.</p>
<h2 id="create-the-chat">Create the Chat</h2>
<p>There's not much to do to start a Twitter chat, other than to start it (isn't life wonderful that way?) Here are the table-stakes things you need to do to get started:</p>
<ol>
<li>What will your chat handle be? Will you be posing questions from your corporate account, another account you create specifically for the chat, or from your personal account? In my case, I tweet from <a href="https://twitter.com/workingrem">@workingrem</a>, an account I created for the chat. The benefit of this approach, or if you already have a corporate account to use, is that you can participate (answer questions) with your own personal account. It's up to you on whether that's important, since for corporate-hosted chats, you may just use the corporate handle for asking questions AND engaging with participants.</li>
<li>Choose a hashtag to use for your chat. You'll want to make sure that the hashtag is representative of the chat, and can't be easily confused with something that someone else is already using. Stealing hashtags is frowned upon in this space, so stake a claim and make good use of what you choose.</li>
<li>Choose a frequency and time (or multiple times) that you think will work well with your target audience. Though your chat may be at a single time, be global about the time when you're communicating and include the UTC time. Thanks to daylight savings time, I have to adjust the time seasonally, but that's not a huge deal:
<ul>
<li>When we’re in winter months (EST): 1p EST (6p UTC)</li>
<li>When we’re in summer months (EDT): 1p EDT (5p UTC)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Create a <a href="https://artofworkingremotely.com/remotechat/">web page with instructions on how to chat</a>. It's easy to direct participants to this as you tease your chat in advance.</li>
</ol>
<p>I generally send tweets out each of the few days preceding the chat to tease the topic and raise the visibility with my followers. You might even have a giveaway for whoever retweets the announcement tweet AND participates in the chat. It's pretty easy to keep track of that (see the Keep Track section below) and it adds a dimension of fun. <a href="https://www.therunchat.com/">#RunChat</a> does this with fantastic success, and they've been doing this far longer than I have.</p>
<h2 id="create-and-leverage-a-template-(script)">Create and Leverage a Template (Script)</h2>
<p>Repeatability is fantastic for you as a host, and also for your participants, who will enjoy the regularity of the schedule you set. To that end, I use this template for my 1 p.m. chat, which poses 6 questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>11 a.m.<br />
Reminder: #RemoteChat starts in just 2 hours at 1p EST (6p UTC). Chat soon! <em>(multiple tweets that @ mention anyone who's asked for a reminder)</em></li>
<li>12:30 p.m.<br />
#RemoteChat is right around the corner in a half hour!</li>
<li>1 p.m.<br />
Welcome to #RemoteChat! Introduce yourself ...</li>
<li>1:05 p.m.<br />
If you're new to #RemoteChat, we ask 6 questions, you answer. For Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the #RemoteChat tag. Q1 coming right up!</li>
<li>1:06 p.m.<br />
Q1: Your question goes here ... #RemoteChat</li>
<li>1:15 p.m.<br />
Q2: Your question goes here … #RemoteChat</li>
<li>1:24 p.m.<br />
Q3: Your question goes here … #RemoteChat</li>
<li>1:33 p.m.<br />
Q4: Your question goes here … #RemoteChat</li>
<li>1:42 p.m.<br />
Q5: Your question goes here … #RemoteChat</li>
<li>1:51 p.m.<br />
Q6: Your question goes here … #RemoteChat</li>
<li>2 p.m.<br />
Thanks for a great #RemoteChat! We chat every Wednesday. If you’d like a weekly reminder, reply or DM me.</li>
</ul>
<p>I'm in a routine where I write the questions for the chat over the weekend using the above template. <a href="https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/">TweetDeck</a> lets you queue tweets up in advance, so by the time Monday rolls around, everything's all set to be automated as the chat date approaches.</p>
<h2 id="grow-your-audience">Grow Your Audience</h2>
<p>I started my chat in November 2016. I didn't have a ton of fanfare, I just started asking the questions and using the template. To be honest, I was literally chatting with myself for the first few weeks. Gradually, others joined in, and today it's a vibrant event that a lot of regular chatters genuinely look forward to. Here's a chart that shows the trajectory of the chat over time. There's no dollars thrown at encouraging participation: this is literally the result of showing up and delivering, week after week.</p>
<p>So that's the next point: <strong>regularity</strong>. Don't take too many breaks, and establish a solid routine. Since TweetDeck lets you queue things up in advance, there are few excuses for skipping a session. For example, when I had a two-week family vacation, I queued up the questions for those weeks in advance of my trip. Though I was overseas and on holiday, the chat went off as expected, and I was serendipitously able to participate from afar when my travel schedule allowed me to jump in at the scheduled time. Pretty cool. Of course, if you know your audience will not be around, like for a major holiday that coincides with your schedule, skip it and let everyone know when you'll be back!</p>
<p>Between chats, share newsworthy things related to the domain you're chatting about. I use a Google Alert to find articles of interest to my audience, and queue those up in advance using <a href="https://publish.buffer.com/">Buffer</a>. Engage with folks who engage with your account throughout the week, and by all means, retweet tweets that will resonate with your audience.</p>
<p>As you can see in my template's closing tweet, I offer a reminder service for my chat. I keep track of a list of whoever has DM'd me, and send them reminder tweets 2 hours prior to every scheduled chat. I use this <a href="https://www.randomlists.com/team-generator">random list generator</a> to segment the reminder list each week and keep them somewhat different.</p>
<h2 id="listen-to-your-audience">Listen to Your Audience</h2>
<p>Listen to what your participants have to say about the chat. Do they love it? Could certain things be improved? For example, for the first year, my chat's hashtag was #wfhchat (work-from-home chat). Over time, I realized by engaging with my audience that working from home was just ONE way that people worked remotely. There's also coffeehouses, libraries, and coworking spaces. So, that's where #remotechat came into play. A chat participant commented about how capitalizing the words in a hashtag made it far more accessible to read. Now, the chat is #RemoteChat! That change was easy to make, since searches on Twitter are not case-sensitive.</p>
<h2 id="keep-track-of-chat-participation">Keep Track of Chat Participation</h2>
<p>How can you know how your chat is doing? Keep track! I created a Google Sheet for this. Depending on how granular you do your tracking, you can celebrate your top chatters of the month, quarter, or year with a special tweet. Twitter has made it hard to get some analytics directly from the platform, though there are some useful metrics at <a href="https://analytics.twitter.com/">analytics.twitter.com</a>. In addition, I use <a href="https://ifttt.com/applets/212762p-track-hashtag-mentions-in-a-google-spreadsheet">this IFTTT recipe</a> to save raw tweets from each weekly chat. Every time the #RemoteChat hashtag is used on Twitter, the recipe automatically adds it to a Google Sheet. I can then use these mentions in another sheet to aggregate participation metrics over time. It wasn't terribly hard to set up, and I have a recurring reminder to recap the participation the day after each chat.</p>
View transactions within a specific date range in Mint2020-01-23T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/view-transactions-within-date-range-in-mint/<p>When I read Fast Company's article titled <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90453586/what-the-hell-happened-to-mint">What the hell happened to Mint?</a> I saw a reference to a Mint help article that promised to <a href="https://help.mint.com/Accounts-and-Transactions/972190281/How-can-I-view-transactions-within-a-specific-date-range.htm">allow filtering by date range in the transactions view</a>. I clicked in and gave it a test drive. Guess what? It doesn't work. Clearly, Mint has changed their URL structure since the help content was written.</p>
<p>Fear not, dear reader. Turns out, you CAN do all kinds of cool queries, if you know the proper URL structure. Here goes.</p>
<h2 id="mint-transactions-url-structure">Mint Transactions URL Structure</h2>
<p>The structure is simple ...<br />
<a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:">https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:</a>{<em>QUERY_GOES_HERE</em>}</p>
<p>The magical part is QUERY_GOES_HERE, and that's where we have the syntax for startDate and endDate. For example, for FY2019, use this:</p>
<p>"startDate":"01/01/2019","endDate":"12/31/2019"</p>
<h2 id="adding-category%2C-name%2C-tag%2C-and%2For-notes-queries-to-the-date-range">Adding Category, Name, Tag, and/or Notes Queries to the Date Range</h2>
<p>If you want to group this with a query by category, transaction name, tag, or the contents of the notes field <em>(this one blew my mind, since I've wished for this for awhile)</em>, I've got you covered.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>category:</strong> "query":"category=:Groceries"</li>
<li><strong>transaction name (description):</strong> "query":"Wegmans"</li>
<li><strong>tag:</strong> "query":"tag:strawberries"</li>
<li><strong>notes:</strong> "query":"notes:lunch with Joe"</li>
<li><strong>grouping a few together:</strong> "query":"description:Silver Queen Farms, tag:strawberries"</li>
</ul>
<p>Assuming that the quotes above turn into fancy quotes or some other kind of nonsense, here are functioning links that use this syntax for the examples above. You can hit 'em, modify 'em, and bookmark 'em. Enjoy!</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:%7B%22startDate%22:%2201/01/2019%22,%22endDate%22:%2212/31/2019%22,%22query%22:%22category=:Groceries%22%7D">FY 2019 for Groceries</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:%7B%22startDate%22:%2201/01/2019%22,%22endDate%22:%2212/31/2019%22,%22query%22:%22Wegmans%22%7D">FY 2019 for Wegmans</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:%7B%22startDate%22:%2201/01/2019%22,%22endDate%22:%2212/31/2019%22,%22query%22:%22tag:strawberries%22%7D">FY 2019 for 'strawberries' tag</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:%7B%22startDate%22:%2201/01/2019%22,%22endDate%22:%2212/31/2019%22,%22query%22:%22description:Silver%20Queen%20Farms,tag:strawberries%22%7D">FY 2019 for 'strawberries' tag from Silver Queen Farms</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mint.intuit.com/transaction.event#location:%7B%22startDate%22:%2201/01/2019%22,%22endDate%22:%2212/31/2019%22,%22query%22:%22notes:lunch%20with%20Joe%22%7D">FY 2019 for notes containing 'lunch with Joe'</a></li>
</ul>
Building a Custom Cake Order Form with React2019-12-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/building-a-custom-cake-order-form-with-react/<p>I started programming in React when we adopted a React-based framework at my day job earlier this year. At the same time, my wife's bakery needed to have a better order form. I reasoned that I could take her Google Form and improve the experience, all while lending more transparency to the options and pricing that she shared with clients placing an order. As you'll see in the progression below, I started with functionality, layering design and interactivity into the project once the core logic was done.</p>
<h2 id="1%3A-cupcake-size-and-quantity">1: Cupcake Size and Quantity</h2>
<p>The project started as a way to create an order for cupcakes. I chose to use a single component for the project with a state object to keep track of the user's order. (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/13eaa926e9e067ecf43a78f65169f572f1b069d7">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381785984">https://vimeo.com/381785984</a></p>
<h2 id="2%3A-cupcake-flavors">2: Cupcake Flavors</h2>
<p>This update added the ability to choose a cake flavor to associate with an order item. I misspoke in the video below: I'm not using Redux here, rather, a single-component state. (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/fd515655b2ca53462feb42280083aabea44d9969">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381785993">https://vimeo.com/381785993</a></p>
<h2 id="3%3A-frosting-flavors">3: Frosting Flavors</h2>
<p>In addition to cake flavor, clients can choose up to 2 frosting flavors. We're starting to see some business rules in the logic here! (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/6113e1d0f43b4c02af7b1567756d5a8e041bd68b">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381785998">https://vimeo.com/381785998</a></p>
<h2 id="4%3A-date-selection%2C-delivery-options">4: Date Selection, Delivery Options</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/cake_order_email.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Starting to build out additional options for the order form, refactored to use React Hooks to update the component's state. Also supported an up-charge for some combinations of cake and frosting. See? More business rules! I also incorporated email functionality using the free version of <a href="https://www.emailjs.com/">emailjs</a>, which worked like a charm. Here's a screen capture of the resulting email form submission. (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/d9a202e24b16e926394212d5984c186a8f00c45d">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381786007">https://vimeo.com/381786007</a></p>
<h2 id="5%3A-adding-the-design">5: Adding the Design</h2>
<p>A big update to the visuals, using CSS and some updates to add interactivity among the sections of the form. (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/eff925426238e381c64f572396df54d5793b78e3">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381786026">https://vimeo.com/381786026</a></p>
<h2 id="6%3A-adding-cupcake-and-frosting-imagery">6: Adding Cupcake and Frosting Imagery</h2>
<p>I had a blast creating the variations of cupcakes and frostings using Affinity Designer. I used a single cupcake image and applied different adjustment layers to get the look I wanted. It took awhile, especially since I had a false start trying to use a single image and the CSS filter attribute, but that turned out to not give me the flexibility I needed for some of the coloring. (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator/commit/5a2e1d730fed8c3ff30588e4e8fe7eac4a24a495">github commit</a>)</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/381786038">https://vimeo.com/381786038</a></p>
<h2 id="7%3A-final-...-final-evolution">7: Final ... Final Evolution</h2>
<p>You know how when you think a project's done, you might learn that it's not? Well, that happened. My wife and kids started testing out the form, and a few things changed. First, I lost the yellow background. A white background made for a cleaner design, and I have to agree. Second, since Emoticakes also has cakes on offer, my wife asked if the form could handle that? Sure! I renamed it to be an "Order Quote" instead of a "Cupcake Quote" and was able to add the configuration options for cakes. All of my hard work to create cupcake images was not lost, either, since the frosting color was all I needed to show for cakes. So, I made an alternate presentation for that. As a last step, I added the ability to add a message to each item in the order. For cupcakes, this part is DOUBLY cool because you can see how the message aligns to the cupcakes in the box size you chose. No video for this last (last) evolution, but you can see the result in the image below. Of course, if you want to play with the final product, it's at <a href="https://emoticakes-order.netlify.app/">emoticakes.com</a> <em>(please don't submit the form unless you actually want to place an order, okay?)</em> (<a href="https://github.com/scottpdawson/cupcake-configurator">github project</a>)</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/12/final_cake_order_form.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Cupcake lettering and the option to order cakes, too" title="Cupcake lettering and the option to order cakes, too" /><p class="stickyNote">Cupcake lettering and the option to order cakes, too</p></div>
<h2 id="8%3A-next-steps">8: Next Steps</h2>
<p>Oh, there's SO much more I could do with this! It's been a fun passion project, and yeah, I burned a few vacation days working on it over the holidays, but what a fun way to put my skills to use. Here's my punch list of tasks when if/when I make the time to get to it:</p>
<ol>
<li>Continue to evolve the design and interactivity.</li>
<li>Refactor the code to make more reusable</li>
<li>Refactor the code to use Redux instead of a single component state (allow for component reuse and additional abstraction).</li>
</ol>
Syracuse Half Marathon 20192019-11-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2019/<p>I last set foot on the Syracuse Half Marathon course on April 3, 2016, when I raced in a frigid, wind-whipped, and seemingly post-apocalyptic world. It was a late-season blizzard that earned that year the moniker “<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">Syracrazy</a>.” It was Syracuse, it was extreme, and it was crazy, indeed. Race organizers changed the race month to November, perhaps to minimize the chance of epic snow. Would they dodge the bullet this year?</p>
<p>I jumped mid-plan into a “Run Less, Run Faster” schedule I’ve followed before. I had 10 weeks to prepare, starting September 3. The plan promises faster running through less mileage, though the formula has you run those miles fast: 3 key weekly running workouts include intervals, a tempo run, and a long run at half marathon pace minus 10 or 20 seconds, depending on the distance. Tough stuff, but I hit most of the prescribed distances and paces. I felt good and prepared going into the race, though my weekly mileage averaged between 25 and 30 miles.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p><a href="https://skirtrunner.com/race-report/2019-syracuse-half/">Amy wrote a fantastic post about her race</a>, including how we went from a double-date to a family event over the course of the year. Long story short, we traveled to this race as a party of four! Elizabeth and Xander would also be along for the ride. We drove up to Syracuse after Xander’s shift at Finger Lakes Running Company and efficiently picked up our race bibs and souvenir jackets at Fleet Feet. It was a cinch to check in to our hotel near Armory Square. We headed out in search of dinner.</p>
<p>Pastabilities quoted a 2-hour wait for food, so we wandered around the corner in search of something more immediate. We didn’t have to walk far before we happened upon <a href="http://thehopsspot.com/">The Hops Spot</a>. Their menu was posted outside, and a quick glance told us we’d do just fine there. I enjoyed a craft beer and “3 Degrees of Kevin Bacon” — a grass-fed burger from Black River Cattle Company in Sackets Harbor with crispy pork belly, bacon aioli, and bourbon bacon jam. It was delightful.</p>
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<p>My full stomach and the prior weekend’s Daylight Savings Time switch conspired to make me rather sleepy. As I read a few pages of my Stephen King book, I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I was grateful that others in the room felt the same way. We turned the lights off at 7:30, giving me a nice, long rest before morning.</p>
<h2 id="the-race">The Race</h2>
<p>I like to eat 2 hours before racing, so I read for a few minutes before downing a Honey Stinger waffle, trail mix, and a spoonful of peanut butter at 5:45. I was recently accepted as a <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/joining-the-honey-stinger-hive/">Honey Stinger ambassador</a> for 2020, so the pre-race food was apropos. I paired it with a few cups of in-room coffee while we watched the prior evening’s news.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/11/syracuse-1-3.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Breakfast of champions" title="Breakfast of champions" /><p class="stickyNote">Breakfast of champions</p></div>
<p>I carefully pinned my race bib on my favorite long-sleeve New York City Marathon tech shirt. I opted for no windbreaker, since the temperature was borderline. Right around 45 degrees, I’d run in short sleeves and shorts, and today’s start was in the high 30s. Xander asked me if I was going for a PR. I set my <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1642279660">half marathon personal record</a> on the Gorges Half Marathon course in Ithaca last year. Half of that course is downhill, so it made sense I’d run a good race there. Could I do it today? Was I prepared? I didn’t know, but the prospect of a solid race made me smile.</p>
<p>Our hotel was just a short walk from the start line. We half-walked, half-ran to get there, since it was rather chilly. I knew I’d be fine once I got warmed up, though. I made my way to the 5-7 minute mile section of the corral, where I found plenty of space to stretch and patiently wait for the start.</p>
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<p>As is my (bad) habit, my pace was a little too quick off the starting line. I feared I’d pay for it later in the race, especially given the elevation changes. The first challenge was a 2-mile uphill stretch on James Street, but I crushed the pace with my fresh legs. I smiled and pointed as fellow running friend Jason Fingerman shouted encouragement at the first aid station. I took my gloves off as I crested the top of this hill.</p>
<p>The middle miles of the race were a genuine struggle. At just 4 miles, I told myself I was almost ⅓ through the race. The uphill sections kept coming and pacing felt difficult. I vacillated between feeling great and feeling defeated. Mentally, I really wanted that PR, but physically I felt rather awful. Was it accumulating stress at work? The cold I was trying to fend off? I felt so negative, and it was easy to see the negative in everything. I saw every pothole. Every bit of uneven, eroded pavement. I saw the gray sky. I took every elevation gain as a personal affront. I longed for the trails and greenness of running familiar streets back home. It didn’t help that I couldn’t recall many details of the course from 2016: it was too snowy back then! What a <a href="https://g.co/kgs/iyjZkS">Debbie Downer</a>! I consumed a Honey Stinger gel at the midpoint, just in case my malaise was primarily caused by energy depletion.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I felt so negative, and it was easy to see the negative in everything.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I wasn’t going to PR. I started getting passed by other runners. I set a new intention to be competitive with my prior half marathon times, despite this being a tough course. I run half marathons most years, and 2016 was my “<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/2016-year-half-marathon/">Year of the Half Marathon</a>” with 5 races spread out over just a few months. Could I best 1:29:18, the fastest time of that series? All of my faster half marathon times were from easier courses. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It was all I could do.</p>
<p>I passed the 9-mile sign and told my tired mind I was ⅔ of the way through. It’s helpful to play those kinds of games. With just four miles left, just like Amy, I visualized our 4-mile loop at home. With a 3-mile loop left, I was passed by a group of runners. One wore Hawaiian-themed running shorts and I was instantly jealous. My thermal tights were a bad choice in hindsight. Sunshine was starting to poke through the gray skies and I was feeling the heat. I was grateful that I left my windbreaker back at the hotel.</p>
<p>In the final mile, I was passed by another guy who looked like he might be close to my age. It’s so hard to gauge age when you’re in your 40s, yet I convinced myself he was in my age group. He quickened his pace as I quickened mine. I wasn’t going to catch him. After the final turn on the course, I saw the finish line far in the distance. Why couldn’t it be closer? <em>Why?</em> I willed my legs to turn over faster, but they did not respond. Hell, I ran the uphill James Street miles faster than these closing yards. There wasn’t time to dwell on this as I closed the distance to the finish. Soon, I was done. I gratefully grabbed a water from a volunteer and lowered my neck to receive the finisher’s medal.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<p>As I sat on a stone wall flanking the finish line, Josh Brockner, a fellow Ithaca-area runner, joined me while he waited for his wife. The announcer shouted out Xander’s name as he finished, so I got up to greet him. Hot coffee from the nearby Dunkin’ truck helped me warm up a little, and Xander and I spent a few minutes inside the OnCenter before heading outside to see Amy finish. It was too cold to wait for Elizabeth, though, since the clouds had blocked out the sun again. The three of us met her inside for pizza, pancakes, and other post-race food.</p>
<p>I checked the results and was heartened that, despite my crappy in-race attitude, I placed 2nd in my age group (45-49). The first age group award went to a man with 1:19. My half marathon PR is 1:23, so there was slim chance I could have changed my age group placement by running faster. The next age group finisher was 3 minutes behind me, a decent margin, but I’m really glad that I didn’t give up. It would have been easy to do so, especially in the later miles when my mind was so negative.</p>
<p>After waiting in line for my <a href="https://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/">Dinosaur Bar-B-Que</a> Gift Card ($25), I ran back to the hotel to shower. It was downright luxurious, and if we started running more races out-of-town, I’ll remember this as a key reason to stay near the race venue. We drove back home via Ithaca and enjoyed Viva Taqueria as a family before Elizabeth headed back to college.</p>
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<h2 id="what%E2%80%99s-next%3F">What’s Next?</h2>
<p>You might think my takeaway from the race, given how I felt in the middle miles, was a net negative. Given time to think about it, though, it’s so incredibly positive. Even though things may be difficult, even though I may not be having the greatest time in adversity, I get to do this thing. It’s really about the journey, not the destination. Those 30 runs that led up to the race? They were priceless. They were really challenging, yet they made my body feel great. Most of them were on sun-drenched streets that I know and love. And the fact that we did this race as a family of four? Well, I’m pretty damn proud. We’re a family that enjoys the anticipatory fun, the shared experience of racing, and the post-race glow of accomplishment. We’ll do it again, too.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m pretty damn proud. We’re a family that enjoys the anticipatory fun, the shared experience of racing, and the post-race glow of accomplishment. We’ll do it again, too.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What’s coming next year? I’m honestly not sure yet. I’m going to have to consider how my body’s feeling. I do know that yoga last night felt so good, with my tight calves and all. Am I up for another go at Cayuga Trails 50? I’m definitely up for another Skunk Cabbage and Gorges Half. I love those local races! I’m definitely doing MITHICAL Milers this winter, and will sign up for Hartshorne for another go at a fast mile. Most immediately, after a few more days rest, Amy and I are going to try a Les Mills BodyCombat “28 Days to Invincible” challenge. It sounds impressive, but it’ll just prepare us to do a full BodyCombat class without feeling like total fools. Onward!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
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<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:29:14<br />
<strong>M 45-49:</strong> 2 of 135<br />
<strong>M:</strong> 84 of 1,248<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 97 of 3,167</p>
Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre2019-11-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/murder-mystery-dinner-theatre/<p>I've enjoyed several roles with Crime Solvers, including</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Jaques St. Germaine</strong> in <em>The Revenge of Mustby Shrinkineds</em> on February 17, 2015</li>
<li><strong>Father Justin Nicholas O’Thyme</strong> in <em>The Family That Slays Together</em> on February 21, 2015 and October 8, 2015</li>
<li><strong>Jack McCoy</strong> in the <em>Trail of Tragedy</em> on October 30, 2015</li>
<li><strong>Billy Updike & Patrick Dupree</strong> at the <em>Cornell University Cloud Forum Murder Mystery</em> on November 6, 2019</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="guest-commentary">Guest Commentary</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>I was totally sucked in … at first I thought it was for real. Then, I truly sat back and enjoyed the performance and the talent of each individual player. You totally provided us with an evening where I was able to forget about any troubles in the world and reach an imaginary state I have not been to in years. This evening was a really cool and fun experience for me, one that I will never forget.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I just want to take a minute to tell you how much we enjoyed the Trail of Tragedy. Every detail of the evening was top notch and enjoyable. Thank you so much for the entertainment!</p>
</blockquote>
Joining the Honey Stinger Hive2019-10-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/joining-the-honey-stinger-hive/<div class="rt sm">
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<p>I fell in love with fitness just 13 years ago. Amy and I committed to "focus on fitness" by choosing an annual challenge. I'd never been a serious athlete as a kid and young adult, though I did play soccer in high school and racquetball in college.</p>
<p>For our first challenge, we rode our mountain bikes around Cayuga Lake. It was so hard, and prompted us to get road bikes for future cycling exploits! The following year, we ran our first half marathon together in Rochester, NY. We properly trained, and had a blast (look at those smiles!). Amy wrote <a href="https://skirtrunner.com/race-report/rochester-half-marathon-2007/">a fantastic blog post about our first-time half marathon experience</a>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/10/7167001682_4021dcbca5_k.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My kids at that first half marathon" title="My kids at that first half marathon" /><p class="stickyNote">My kids at that first half marathon</p></div>
<p>Since then, we've ditched an <em>"annual challenge"</em> in favor of perpetual challenges. My interests vary from year to year, but I've run <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/hartshorne-memorial-masters-mile-2018/">fast miles</a>, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">ultras</a>, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/tag/triathlon/">triathlons</a>, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">adult cross country</a>, and enjoy <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/category/hiking/">hiking</a>. One of the things I love about being perpetually "race ready" and training year-round is what it does to my body. People I meet can't believe that I have a daughter in college and a son in high school. I firmly believe a fit lifestyle is a pathway to the fountain of youth. Since I started this in my 30s, too, I also know that it's never too late to start. It's never too late to try something new. As a Masters competitor, I enjoy racing against myself, trying to stave off the seconds that passing time will shave off of my race times. Not yet, Father Time. Not yet.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/10/7925198558_419dfc8f73_k.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Amy with Honey Stinger waffles in Oregon" title="Amy with Honey Stinger waffles in Oregon" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy with Honey Stinger waffles in Oregon</p></div>
<p>Speaking of new things, and addressing the title of this article, I am humbled to have been accepted into the <strong>2020 Hive Athlete Ambassador Program</strong>. My earliest memory of Honey Stingers were fueling ourselves with waffles while hiking Broken Top in Oregon's Cascades. They provided ample energy for our family as we enjoyed the pristine views. It was August 2012 and the kids were still pretty little. I'm so grateful that we started running, biking, and hiking when we did. The kids both caught the athletic bug: we're all running in the Syracuse Half Marathon in three short weeks. I'm hoping it won't be as <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">Syracrazy</a> as the 2016 race!</p>
<p>I'm not sure what's in the cards yet for the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/race-schedule/">2020 race season</a>, but I'm sure it's going to be a fun one. I'm going to start with some winter base fitness, cross training, alpine skiing, and gearing up for my staple races of the year (a few half marathons and the Cayuga Lake Triathlon). Whatever the year brings, it's going to be a fun year in the hive. I'm most active on <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/6904418">Strava</a>, so feel free to connect with me there!</p>
Remote 5K: My First Foray into Virtual Racing2019-10-11T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/my-first-foray-into-virtual-racing/<p>If you know me well, you know that I'm an enthusiastic advocate of remote work. I've worked remotely since 1998 and <a href="http://artofworkingremotely.com/book/">wrote a book about my experience and advice</a>. I'm also an avid runner, racing distances from the mile to 50 miles. I share my running stories and routes here and on <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/6904418">Strava</a>.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.workplaceless.com/">Workplaceless</a> and <a href="https://cantilever.co/">Cantilever</a> teamed up to organize a Remote 5k, I immediately raised my hand. Heck yes! <strong>I was all in.</strong></p>
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<p>I moderate a weekly Twitter chat (#remotechat) for remote workers, too, so helped publicize the race to other remote workers with my <a href="https://twitter.com/workingrem">Art of Working Remotely</a> account. The race was scheduled for Friday, October 11 shortly after noon, which was perfect. I was no stranger to Zoom calls, having attended numerous Workplaceless events, so I dialed in using my iPhone just before the race started.</p>
<p>I had no idea what to expect. I run alone most of the time. As we chatted pre-race, I asked what others planned to do while the race was underway. The event had the potential to have the most heavy breathing I've ever heard on a conference call! Some said they'd leave their cameras on while they ran, some said they'd disconnect and rejoin after their run, and one creative athlete jerry-rigged a camera to his hat so people could see his progress! I opted to stay connected to the call while muting myself, carrying my phone with the camera facing out as I ran. I had to laugh as I ran: my friend Raul, <em>who had done the 5k as a</em> <strong><em>SWIM</em></strong> <em>(totally badass) the prior evening,</em> commented that the Zoom video looked like an episode of Cops. Here we were, some with cameras on, shakily making our way to the 3.1 mile mark.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/11/49005723446_f0e1144afb_k.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race in my front yard" title="Post-race in my front yard" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race in my front yard</p></div>
<p>I learned after the fact that I was among ~25 racers from 8 different time zones. While I gutted it out over my typical 3-mile route, I appreciated hearing people talking to each other as they did the same thing. Some were in my own time zone, running during their lunch hour, and some were from halfway around the world. It made this big place we live in seem rather small. It was a fantastic way to connect with other remote workers over a shared experience! After the race was over, we reconvened on Zoom for a post-race recap and socialization. It was fun to look over everyone's #remote5k2019 posts on social media, too.</p>
<p>I came across <a href="https://www.nyrr.org/run/virtual-racing">NYRR's virtual racing series</a> recently and thought about the parallels and differences that series offers. This virtual 5k was unique: we interacted with each other through voice and video, and it made me feel so much more connected to my fellow participants. Sure, it wouldn't work for a massive draw that NYRR races get, but as a remote worker, I'll take community where I can get it. It was a really fun event, and I look forward to the next one!</p>
<h2 id="related-links">Related Links</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cantilever.co/cantilever-workplaceless-remote-5k/">Cantilever and Workplaceless Remote 5k</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.workplaceless.com/blog/remote-5k-2019-event-recap">Workplaceless Event Recap</a></li>
</ul>
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Summer 2019: Stretch Assignment2019-08-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/summer-2019-stretch-assignment/<p>I will forever remember the summer of 2019 as a major stretch assignment. I didn’t intend to have these major events line up like planes waiting to land during a nor’easter, but that’s exactly what they did. I am writing this to remember the process, what I was thinking, and how it all turned out. It’s important to note that a lot of these things had a LONG lead-up to their reveal, and I can’t overstate the importance of advance preparation. Yes, I was prepared. <em>Ready for the crazy?</em> Read on.</p>
<h2 id="art-exhibit-at-gimme!-coffee">Art Exhibit at Gimme! Coffee</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/365DayDraw-at-Gimme.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>I drew daily in 2016. Since completing the project, I thought of different ways to exhibit it. After I started frequenting Gimme and seeing the art on the walls, I asked about the process for hanging art there. Anyone can do it; all you need to do is ask. I signed up in the spring of 2018 and they offered me June, July, August or September. I thought, “September would be cool, with back-to-school and all.” Then I re-read the email. The proposed dates were the following summer! So, I opted for the earliest possible opening: June 2019. I had the prints made and hung them with care as a kickoff to summer. It was really cool to see new life breathed into the sketches: 266 in all.<br />
<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">Read more about the project</a></p>
<h2 id="the-art-of-working-remotely">The Art of Working Remotely</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/cover-ipad-mock-e1561109317865.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>The Art of Working Remotely</p>
<p>I’ve been working remotely since 1998, and I was inspired to write about my experiences and advice after a conversation with a colleague. I wrote this book in half-hour increments in early 2018, fueled by morning coffee and the stillness of my house in the pre-dawn hours. Six months later, I was done with the first draft! I decided to independently publish it in early 2019, giving me control over the editorial and creative process. If you know how “Type A” I am, you’d guess that I had quite the punch list of tasks leading up to a publishing date. You’d be right! I started the launch plan in earnest after completing the cover art and interior formatting. I chose to publish the book on July 25: my wedding anniversary, a significant date in my remote work journey. My 7-week launch plan started on June 3.<br />
<a href="https://artofworkingremotely.com/book/">Buy the Art of Working Remotely</a></p>
<h2 id="chitty-chitty-bang-bang">Chitty Chitty Bang Bang</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/caractacus_sewer_scene.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>I auditioned for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Encore Players’ summer musical. I found out I was cast as Caractacus Potts on May 13. We’d perform the musical on August 1, 2, 3 and 4. We met on June 3 for the initial read-through of the script, and I was called for most rehearsals from that date forward. I had a lot to learn! The part called for memorizing ~205 lines, 11 songs, choreography (yes, dancing!) and blocking to go with all of it. It was an intense experience: incredibly rewarding and moderately stressful at the same time. By the time “tech week” rolled around, I was ready to run the show with a terrific cast, crew, and pit. Elizabeth and Xander both played in the pit band, making it doubly fun for me in the final, frenetic weeks.<br />
<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/acting/chitty-chitty-bang-bang-caractacus-potts/">Check out some pictures from the show</a></p>
<h2 id="cayuga-lake-triathlon">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/4B23DC31-A2A7-45BD-B28B-546A48DF3888.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>The Cayuga Lake Triathlon is a staple of my summer fitness calendar. This year I competed in my 4th intermediate (Olympic distance) race, and I’d completed 5 sprint races prior to that. I was grateful that the race was the morning of August 4. I’d have enough time after finishing to get ready for the last matinee performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The race was a delightful family affair. The kids competed together on a sprint relay team, and Amy also competed in the intermediate distance. I didn’t do much event-specific training for this due to my rehearsal schedule. It was refreshing to approach the race as a low-key, low-expectation event. I did very little swimming preparation (one panic-ridden swim in the lake, actually), ramped up my biking in the month prior, and am always ready for a run. I was surprised, then, when the results came out: I eked out a 45-second PR with my 2:37:33 effort. I attribute the personal record to a solid swim performance and a 12-second improvement in my T2 time (changing from biking to running). Every second counts!<br />
<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/">Read my race report</a></p>
<h2 id="european-vacation">European Vacation</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/zurich.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Our vacation started the day after the triathlon. We drove to Toronto for our Air Canada flight to Zürich. We were mostly packed before the triathlon, and logistics were locked and loaded many months prior. We had such a blast while we were there, but there’s always an underlying stress with complicated travel, too. We took in the sights, sounds, cheese, and chocolate of: Zürich, Engelberg, Venice, Verona, Lugano, and Stafa (along the shore of Lake Zürich). We rented a car and drove between these destinations, enjoyed Airbnb accommodations everywhere we went, and made plenty of memories as a family. Elizabeth was of legal age in Switzerland, so she enjoyed her first beer during a hike in Zürich. She later tried Prosecco (who doesn’t love champagne by another name?) whilst on a boat ride on Lake Lugano. Xander was of legal age for beer consumption in Germany, and we drove to a small German town so he could partake. His first beer experience was rather comical and we relished in reviewing the video when we were traveling back home.</p>
<h2 id="elizabeth-off-to-college">Elizabeth Off to College</h2>
<p>We arrived home, weary and jet-lagged, the evening of August 19. As we unpacked our trip luggage and put things back in their proper places, Elizabeth packed a few more things into the boxes and bags she’d already assembled for college. Her move-in date was the morning of August 21 at the Eastman School of Music. She had barely a day to turn things around and start the next chapter of her life! It’s a change for all of us, really, and given the way things were scheduled, we didn’t have much time to lament the coming change. Move-in day was smooth, and the college captured Amy and Elizabeth outside of the campus Student Living Center just before moving her things into her room.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1cBpSggetF/">https://www.instagram.com/p/B1cBpSggetF/</a></p>
<h2 id="that%E2%80%99s-all%2C-folks!">That’s all, folks!</h2>
<p>Now that it’s all done, it’s satisfying to look back and remember all it took to accomplish this, smiling through it all. I’m sure most parents who’ve sent their kids off to college will tell me that it’s a mixture of emotions — that it’s weird, exhilarating, and lonely, all at the same time. For the coming months it’s going to be Amy, me, and Xander holding down the fort, while Elizabeth experiences some new and fantastic things in a not-so-far-away city.</p>
<p>I’m grateful for the time we spent together this summer, and for the experiences we all had. They made for really great chapters in our ongoing book of memories. It’d be easy to be sad that they’re behind us, but hey … there are new exciting chapters ahead, aren’t there? Absolutely. Onwards!</p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20192019-08-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/<p>As usual for my races, I love to write a recap of how they went. It’s mostly for me to look back and remember the particulars of each race: this is my 4th intermediate race at the Cayuga Lake Triathlon, and I’d raced 5 sprint races prior to that. Vineeth, one of my fellow classmates in Shane Eversfield’s <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">Total Immersion</a> classes at Island Health & Fitness, told me pre-race that he’d read one of my posts about a prior race. He found it really helpful, so there’s the second reason I write about my races: if you’re contemplating the event, it’ll give you a better sense of what to expect!</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>Ian moved his store location from the Ithaca Commons to a storefront adjacent to Purity Ice Cream. This was the first year for packet pick-up at the new location, but that didn’t stop us from taking in a delicious outdoor lunch at Viva Taqueria. We arrived at Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company with bellies full of “Mexithacan” food and margaritas.</p>
<p>Packet pick-up was super efficient. We talked with Ian Golden and Alex Kleinerman (the race director) while we waited for the kids to pick up their relay packets. Just a week prior, the kids’ relay swimmer notified them that they couldn’t swim for them. That was cause to panic a bit: it’s hard to find another swimmer on short notice! However, Elizabeth quickly put an appeal out of Facebook and quickly found a new swimmer. She was participating in the national championship the following weekend, and really was happy to jump into the Cayuga Lake Triathlon as a training effort. This was pure serendipity: the kids would have a pro on their relay team! She met them at the store so they could pick up their packets together.</p>
<p>Back home, I laid out all of the things I’d need for the race before helping Amy deliver cakes to two separate weddings. One was at a private home in Trumansburg; the other at Fountainbleau. I didn’t have a ton of time before I had to be at Trumansburg High School for the third performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We had to be there at 5 p.m. for the 7 p.m. curtain. I used that time to put on my stage makeup, do a vocal warmup, and mentally prepare myself for a pretty demanding show on stage. I’ll write more about that later!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/B0A1788D-1154-45AB-8173-238037F05762.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Race morning. Photo Credit: Ed Dawson" title="Race morning. Photo Credit: Ed Dawson" /><p class="stickyNote">Race morning. Photo Credit: Ed Dawson</p></div>
<p>Race morning arrived too soon. I don’t think I got the greatest sleep, but it wasn’t the poorest, either. I enjoyed my typical pre-race breakfast: a few cups of coffee and an everything bagel with peanut butter. We headed to the park in two separate cars: Amy and I first with the Subaru and two racked bikes; the kids a few minutes behind us in the Pilot with a bike stashed inside for their relay. It was so great to see our friends before the race! It was hard to walk a few steps and not see someone we knew. We got a picture with my parents, since they were volunteering at the registration table.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/B0A90ABA-99DA-4973-8CEB-6D863A2B3BBE.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="With Ed and Jean" title="With Ed and Jean" /><p class="stickyNote">With Ed and Jean</p></div>
<h2 id="swim">Swim</h2>
<p>I love my wetsuit. It provides just a touch of buoyancy and helps me feel a bit insulated from the things I cannot see in the water (fish, seaweed, and cold patches). When the water temperature was precipitously close to 78 degrees, the legal limit for wetsuits, I admit I was a little nervous. Whoever took that 77.7 degree temperature on race morning ... <em>thank you!</em></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/9D7CA247-40AC-4C97-8FD2-6B5DCC06E9D3.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Wetsuit legal!" title="Wetsuit legal!" /><p class="stickyNote">Wetsuit legal!</p></div>
<p>The water looked so nice. The buoy line was straight as an arrow, a departure from prior years where the wind whipped it into a cruel arc. While not glassy, the lake surface wasn’t choppy at all. I got into the warmup lanes and swam a few laps about 20 minutes before the 8a start. The water felt warm, but not overly so.</p>
<p>While I’m perpetually ready for a run, and had been training fairly regularly to ride in recent weeks, my swim preparation was slim to none. I’d only done two training swims: one stint in Island’s pool a while ago, and a more recent panic-filled half mile at Kathey’s dock. It’s ironic, then, that when I lined up in the water with the other men aged 40+, I felt very, very calm. The vibe of the whole group was calm, actually. When it was time to go, we gradually slipped into the water and started swimming. It was all very chill, and there was very little aggressive kicking or jockeying for position. Here's a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1107148253007364&ref=watch_permalink">Facebook Live video of the start</a>.</p>
<p>I found my groove early on during the swim. I didn’t experience any of the panic I’d had a week prior during my half-mile test run. With such a stress-free start, and such warm and smooth water, it was hard not to feel anything but gratitude. At one point on the outbound leg, I heard a kayaker say something off to my left. I saw them back-paddling and felt a wave of comfort as I remembered the feeling of Amy kayaking off my shoulder during training swims during this and prior years. I had a feeling that this kayaker was Louise Adie, a good friend who’s known me since I was a kid. I had no way of knowing for sure in the moment, since I didn’t take my head out of the water for more than a split second each stroke. I learned after the race that it was, indeed, Louise. Magical.</p>
<p>I was happy to head north again at the turnaround buoy. The calm conditions meant that I wouldn’t enjoy a massive tailwind on the way back, but that was okay. I encountered a few pods of swimmers going my pace on the return leg. I was reminded of swimming with Shane Eversfield during his Total Immersion classes. I really enjoy the feeling of swimming side-by-side with other swimmers. Safety in numbers, I guess? Soon I was out of the water on the beach, high-stepping my knees to get my legs moving.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/4B23DC31-A2A7-45BD-B28B-546A48DF3888.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Exiting the water" title="Exiting the water" /><p class="stickyNote">Exiting the water</p></div>
<h2 id="bike">Bike</h2>
<p>I stripped off my wetsuit after finding my bike at the end of row 11, on the left. I’ve learned in past triathlons to memorize where my bike is! I had some trouble stopping my watch in transition. It was still recording my swim, so stopping it and starting the bike leg took some doing. This was my first time using an Apple Watch in a triathlon. It recorded the actual swim with some precision, though, so that was happy news.</p>
<p>I was jealous of the feature that athletes with Garmin watches enjoy: simply hitting a button as they transition. My friend Jia was showing me that after the race.</p>
<p>I managed a quick transition nonetheless and headed out on the bike course. I focused on keeping my breathing smooth and measured. I knew I didn’t want to have a dry cough for the performance of Chitty at 3p. It’s hard to sing when you’re coughing!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/AF5AA7B9-FFFC-4893-A29A-9596AEE292B2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>I passed the Knapp family cheering squad as I crested the last of the rises out of the park. They’re always energetic and fellow frequent hikers (and photographers) in the park. It was a beautiful morning for a ride and I found myself smiling a lot as I looked at views of the lake. I bombed down the hill into Sheldrake. Apparently it had recently rained there, but it hadn’t at the park. I thought that was interesting and watched my speed as I shallowed out on the curve into the “Sheldrake Sprint.” The neighborhood’s residents were out in force again, cheering with their cowbells. The sprint was over all too soon and I found myself climbing back up to 89 for the return trip. I always feel exhilaration when I pass the police marking the road closure for the descent back into the park. Despite hitting my max speed of 39.1 mph on the descent, I got passed (quickly) by a younger intermediate racer on a very nice tri bike. I remarked to myself just how much money you could invest in this sport if you were really serious about it. He was really hauling, and I have no doubt a lot of it was training. A lot of it is bike, though, isn’t it? I crossed the grassy strip that marks the entrance to the park and headed to transition for the final run segment.</p>
<h2 id="run">Run</h2>
<p>I managed a pretty fast run transition: swapped bike shoes for socks and running shoes, clipped on my running belt, threw on a hat, and traded my nice bike shades for my cheap-o (free) Cruzan Rum mirrored sunglasses (hey, they’re light, and fun!) While I ran side-by-side out of transition with another biker who had finished at the same time as me, I very quickly realized that his pace was a bit fast. I let him go and ran most of the 10K by myself. I drew a lot of energy from other runners on the out-and-back course. I’m so grateful that I get to run these trails as a normal routine, any month of the year. They’re so beautiful.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/57B7ADB7-A205-4FB2-AE7D-BAD5BA32DE6F.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Airborne at the turnaround" title="Airborne at the turnaround" /><p class="stickyNote">Airborne at the turnaround</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/140FF636-E2D9-456E-AB23-B054D7A0A0DC.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Happy runner!" title="Happy runner!" /><p class="stickyNote">Happy runner!</p></div>
<p>There were definitely parts of the run where I felt fatigued and ready to be done, but then I’d see someone I knew smiling or shouting encourage, or telling me to take another lap (thanks, Joel!) Then, just like that, it was over.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/8F43A1BC-F67B-482E-B313-A3671328CE46.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finish line smile!" title="Finish line smile!" /><p class="stickyNote">Finish line smile!</p></div>
<h2 id="post-race-thoughts">Post-Race Thoughts</h2>
<p>I felt pretty good about the race this year. Most of my training was on the bike, and really just a moderate amount of running. I enjoyed watching other runners finishing their races. Xander wrapped up his relay team’s performance and Amy finished her intermediate. Ray and Diana had spectated the bike course and come down to the finish area to say hello, too.</p>
<p>We grabbed a wrap from Wegmans and an Ithaca Beer and enjoyed our picnic lunch down by the lake shore. I had to be back uptown by 1 p.m. for my call time, so there wasn’t much time to linger. I indulged in a quick shave and a shower and headed to the school for my second big event of the day. More on that later, I promise!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/08/D72C6646-5DF4-42BA-8462-193B3564D9FE.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="With Ray and Diana" title="With Ray and Diana" /><p class="stickyNote">With Ray and Diana</p></div>
<p>Next year is the national championship for both the sprint and intermediate distances, which will be a HUGE deal. We’ve hosted the sprint national championship before (I think that was my first triathlon, actually), and it was really nice to have a carpeted walkway from the lake to the transition area. Many other people will get to come experience what Taughannock Falls State Park has to offer!</p>
<h2 id="cayuga-lake-olympic-triathlon%3A-by-the-numbers">Cayuga Lake Olympic Triathlon: By the Numbers</h2>
<p>4/12 age group M45-49<br />
22/98 male<br />
25/146 overall</p>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Olympic Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/">2019</a></td>
<td>2:37:33</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779253/overview">31:51</a><br />(2:07 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:53</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779380/overview">1:14:34</a>
<br />(19.55 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779469/overview">47:44</a>
<br />(7:42 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2018-olympic-distance/">2018</a></td>
<td>2:38:18</td>
<td>34:51<br />(2:19 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:51</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052368/overview">1:13:51</a>
<br />(19.74 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:43</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052471/overview">46:02</a>
<br />(7:25 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">2017</a></td>
<td>2:43:40</td>
<td>35:54<br />(2:24 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:26</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575512/overview">1:14:51</a>
<br />(19.47 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:50</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575728/overview">49:39</a>
<br />(8:00 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016-olympic-distance/">2016</a></td>
<td>2:40:28</td>
<td>31:34<br />(2:06 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:29</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667999049/overview">1:14:44</a>
<br />(19.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:22</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667998576/overview">51:19</a>
<br />(8:17 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Caractacus Potts)2019-08-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/chitty-chitty-bang-bang-caractacus-potts/<p>I auditioned for <a href="http://encoreplayers.org/summer-2019-musical-chitty-chitty-bang-bang/">Chitty Chitty Bang Bang</a>, Encore Players’ summer musical. I found out I was cast as Caractacus Potts on May 13. We’d perform the musical on August 1, 2, 3 and 4. We met on June 3 for the initial read-through of the script, and I was called for most rehearsals from that date forward. I had a lot to learn! The part called for memorizing ~205 lines, 11 songs, choreography (yes, dancing!) and blocking to go with all of it. It was an intense experience: incredibly rewarding and moderately stressful at the same time. By the time “tech week” rolled around, I was ready to run the show with a terrific cast, crew, and pit. Elizabeth and Xander both played in the pit band, making it doubly fun for me in the final, frenetic weeks.</p>
<p>These are some photos from the production, courtesy of Renee Wilkinson (<a href="https://flickr.com/photos/133654075@N06/sets/72157710575723371">see the complete set</a>).</p>
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</div></div>Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20192019-06-15T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/fifth-annual-gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2019/<p>I’ve come to look forward to the <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/GorgesIthaca">Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</a> just as much as the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon. If Skunk is the kickoff to spring, Gorges is certainly the kickoff to summer!</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>This year, the race offered buses to take racers from the finish line to Cayuga Medical Center. The race course has changed most years for a variety of reasons, so CMC was a new start line this year. No parking would be available nearby. We didn’t want to get into Ithaca pre-race in time to get a bus, though, so we hatched an alternate plan. Friday night, Elizabeth, Amy and I worked out at FLX Fitclub. Amy and I did BodyPump after Elizabeth did BodyAttack. While we pumped, Elizabeth helpfully picked up our bibs, grabbed some takeout Thai food, and shopped at Wegmans. Then we “stashed” our Subaru on a side street near the finish so we’d have it post-race.</p>
<p>I had my typical pre-race breakfast of an “everything” bagel with peanut butter. Since the race kicked off at 7:30, I feasted at 5:30 so I’d have time to digest. I went on a run with Jason Tuori Friday before BodyPump, and he raised his eyebrows when I told him I was having red curry for dinner the night before the race. I hoped that the spicy dish wouldn’t react poorly with the savory bagel. I haven’t had a problem in the past, but hey, you never know!</p>
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<p>My father-in-law picked us up at the house to drive us the short distance to CMC. A few other runners were there milling about, but buses has not yet arrived from Ithaca. We each took turns in the porto-potties as the buses pulled out, unleashing hundreds of runners in a matter of minutes. Instant lines! I ran around the parking lot a bit to warm up, chatted up some friends, and jumped my nervous self into another porto-potty line for a delightful 20-minute wait. So many others had similar pre-race intentions that they delayed the start of the race by 15 to 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Want to know what almost 1,000 runners looks like? Here's social media maven Elizabeth taking video of the pre-race crowd. Amy and Xander are in the opening of the shot.</p>
<p>I lined up right in the middle of the start line. Not intentionally, by any stretch, but more so because nobody else was there. I love the feeling of jumping off that start line! Alex Kleinerman, who helped organize the race, shot this video of us starting.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Byus7AhBbWP/">https://www.instagram.com/p/Byus7AhBbWP/</a>?</p>
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<p>The pictures tell the tale: it was a crisp morning evolving to a beautiful day, and I felt buoyed by the 889 runners behind me. Since I had a nice spot right up front, I made an animation of the start using some of the fantastic pictures from <em><a href="http://goatfactorymedia.com/">Goat Factory Media Entertainment</a></em>.</p>
<h2 id="first-3-miles">First 3 Miles</h2>
<p>I made the first turn of the race in the lead as we circled the CMC parking lot. Faster runners started to pass me, and by the time we were heading uphill on a short stretch along Indian Creek Road, I was settling into my pace. We turned right onto Dubois and started a northbound stretch. Last year’s course started on Dubois, but farther north than we’d run today.</p>
<p>As we ran along, I noticed a side stitch in my right abdomen. I was suddenly jealous of the runner to my left who was carrying water. He asked how I was, and I looked far ahead at the leaders. “I just hope I see them turn soon,” I said. I longed for the shaded protection of the Black Diamond Trail and the promised aid station shortly after mile 3. There’d be water there for my worsening cramp. It was nice to see Steve Ryan helping at an intersection in these early miles. His friendly smile and encouragement distracted me from my cramp for a moment.</p>
<h2 id="black-diamond">Black Diamond</h2>
<p>Ah, blissful shade! After a short stretch turning right on Perry City Road, we hooked up with the Black Diamond Trail. I was happy to have the familiar packed gravel underfoot. The first aid station loomed like an oasis ahead. I saw Jody Latini near the beginning of the aid station, and I apologetically took two glasses of water from her as I ran by. One shot, two shots, quick as a whistle. I managed to get most of the water down and prayed that it’d dissolve my cramp.</p>
<p>I focused on breathing slowly and intentionally, despite the quick pace. The trail would soon be a memory and I intended to enjoy it as much as I could. In the next few minutes, I felt my cramp abating. These four blissful miles were the best of the race, and my pace was indicative of that. I felt even and smooth, notching 6:29, 6:29, 6:24, and 6:25 for the 4-mile stretch.</p>
<p><a href="http://goatfactorymedia.com/">Ron Heerkens</a> captured me from behind his lens shortly before the trail spit me out onto the Case Park’s sun-soaked blacktop trail.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/black_diamond.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Black Diamond. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" title="Black Diamond. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" /><p class="stickyNote">Black Diamond. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment</p></div>
<h2 id="cass-park">Cass Park</h2>
<p>I really dislike the transition from Black Diamond to Cass. Almost exactly where mile 8 begins, the race changed dramatically. No more downhill. No more shade. My per-mile average dropped by a full minute for the remainder of the race, starting right here. The crowd support at the turn was incredible, though, and there was a ton of cheering and encouragement. I grabbed a high-five from Jon Shaff. I almost missed the right turn after the ice rink, and was grateful for the spectator who hollered at me to turn.</p>
<p>I really started feeling the effects of the warming day on my body. It felt like drudgery as I made my way along Ithaca’s inlet toward the Route 89 bridge. At least it was pretty out. I also looked forward to seeing some familiar faces outside of <a href="https://flxfitclub.com/">FLX Fitclub</a>, just about a mile away. The turns would be quicker in this half of the race. No more sweet 4-mile stretches like the trail! I grabbed a water from Zeb Whitford at a station along the waterfront trail. He’s a really tall guy, and it gave me great pleasure to reach up to give him a high-five. The crowd at FLX Fitclub, just outside the club and adjacent to the Cornell and IC boathouses, was super supportive and fun to pass!</p>
<p>As I approached the bouncy footbridges marking the entrance to Stewart Park, aid station workers were handing out fresh strawberries. They were so good! I had a tough time chewing and running, but gratefully they positioned the strawberries about 100 feet BEFORE the water. I was able to wash down my delicious strawberry and hit the loop around Stewart without a problem. My cramp was a distant memory now, so I felt like I was doing a good job staying hydrated.</p>
<p>I ran into a little course confusion after I high-fived Joe Reynolds at Stewart’s railroad tracks. The runner before me went around the wrong side of the Ithaca Youth Bureau building. I blindly followed. It didn’t make a material difference in distance, but I felt bad.</p>
<h2 id="finish">Finish</h2>
<p>I was all alone as I ran past Boynton and Ithaca High School. A young lady held a “Power Me Up” sign along Lake Street. She had it facing the road instead of the runners, but I knew what it was and gave it a solid, satisfying smack. She’d get a lot more takers as more runners came through! Rich Heffron came bounding out of his house on Falls Street and shouted much-needed encouragement. Have I told you how awesome runner friends are? They are.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/last_mile.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A fav photo from the last mile. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" title="A fav photo from the last mile. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" /><p class="stickyNote">A fav photo from the last mile. Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment</p></div>
<p>I made the final turn of the race and started counting down the intersections to the finish. This last mile felt slow, but there were plenty of friendly faces and clapping spectators. I got encouragement and high-fives from Aaron Proujansky and Scott Ulrich, both volunteering their time to keep us safe in the intersections.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/2019-05-2-2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post race. That's us, lower left! Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" title="Post race. That's us, lower left! Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment" /><p class="stickyNote">Post race. That's us, lower left! Photo Credit: Goat Factory Media Entertainment</p></div>
<p>As always, post-race is the best. I walked back along the course and took up a shady spot in front of City Hall to encourage runners. Xander came by, finishing a strong race for him. Amy came by, and then Elizabeth. It was time to get the Commons for socialization and refreshment! We enjoyed homemade energy bars from CMC (a favorite recipe) and more delicious strawberries. I met one of our favorite Viva Taqueria bartenders, Ben, and we chatted about the race. Fitnell Farms catered a delicious lunch (at 9:30a, though, it’s brunch!) and Amy and I enjoyed some cold <a href="https://www.ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a>.</p>
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<p>We didn’t have to wait too long for awards, and for me to get a gift card for my efforts: first in my age group! After that, it was a short walk to our stashed Subaru. We headed home to enjoy the rest of our sunny weekend.</p>
<p>Did you enjoy reading about the race? Head on over to <a href="https://skirtrunner.com/race-report/my-5th-gorges-half-2019/">Amy's blog post</a> for more about her experience running this year's race!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>1:30:03 (<a href="http://www.leonetiming.com/results/index.php?id=4455">results</a>)<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 22/990<br />
<strong>M45-49:</strong> 2/43<br />
<strong>M:</strong> 18/348</p>
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Ithaca Festival Mile2019-05-30T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ithaca-festival-mile-2019/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Ithaca Festival Mile on May 30, 2019 in a time of 5:29.9. Xander and I got utterly SOAKED as we waited for the race to start, and then enjoyed the sloshy dash to the finish.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2410369979/embed/e047f137f8b7261db28b230d85f061dc0b05ec2b"></iframe>May Day 5K 20192019-05-11T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5k-2019/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the May Day 5K 2019 on May 11, 2019 in a time of 19:05.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2359360940/embed/9b1e3a884f68a9cab37fa76e4b6a439113acc1ec"></iframe>Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20192019-04-07T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2019/<p>April 7 snuck up on me very quickly this year. I had good intentions for some strong winter training, but it just wasn’t in the cards.</p>
<h2 id="training%3F-not.">Training? Not.</h2>
<p>My mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer a few days after Christmas. Much of the following weeks were an emotional roller coaster, but she’s now in treatment and doing well. Weeks later, we had to make the gut-wrenching decision to say goodbye to Snowball, our family rabbit and my office companion. Within six days, we adopted Phoebe from the SPCA and she wasted no time trying to chew most things in the office. This rabbit took a liking to our couch, resulting in a lot of angst and a struggle over whether we should keep her (we did). Amy was recovering from a stress fracture in her toe and not running much. As if the personal stress wasn’t enough, I had a management change at work! I had several trips to New York as a result.</p>
<p>Given that preamble, it’s understandable why we didn’t get to the MITHACAL Milers workouts, or why I didn’t follow a training plan for this race. It just wasn’t anywhere near the top of my priority list. Despite the tumultuous winter, I did remain active: I skied, did weekly BodyPump, and had a modest load of 15-25 outdoor running miles (mostly toward the lower end of that range).</p>
<p>The weeks preceding the race were really busy for the family. Xander was fresh off a run of shows for his high school production of Addams Family. As a bonus, Amy and I had learned at the last minute how to apply a theatrical bald cap! Xander’s last matinee performance of Alice in Wonderland Jr. preventing him from running the 10K race as planned. Elizabeth needed to bake for Emoticakes, too, so she stayed back home. With both kids out of pocket, it was up to Amy and me to kick of the spring racing season for the family!</p>
<h2 id="race-day">Race Day</h2>
<p>We arrived a little more than a half hour before race time. The bib line was rather short. We pinned the bibs on ourselves and had time to talk to a lot of our friends as we waited for the race to start. We both took last-minute trips to the bathroom, too: I was really nervous despite having a goal of just “running well.”</p>
<p>I found a spot near the front of the pack at the start line and looked up the short hill that we’d run up before turning to the left. It was beautiful out: low 60s, sunny, and a rather sharp contrast to the cold and snow at this race last year. I set an intention to not look at my watch too much. I read somewhere recently that just looking at your watch could lose you a bunch of time. I chose to just enjoy the run! I carried my own Nathan flask of water so I wouldn’t have to stop at any of the aid stations.</p>
<p>My brain was busy as I raced. Myriad emotions and thoughts revealed a bit of my personality as they flitted in and out of my consciousness. As I passed people, got passed, and endured long miles by myself, I alternatingly thought: You suck. You’re awesome! You’re going too slow. You’re going too fast! You should walk. Try to pick it up a little, will you?</p>
<p>I felt whipped when I got to the course’s final ascent. I powered up the hill the best I could and enjoyed the respite of several downhill-ish miles back to the finish. As I approached the finish line I saw the clock ticking up towards 1:32. I powered my legs enough to cross just before the clock flipped to the next minute, finishing in 1:31:55. The time was right in the sweet spot of my usual half marathon times (see 2016, the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/2016-year-half-marathon/">Year of the Half Marathon</a>) but would turn out to be my slowest performance on this course.</p>
<h2 id="aftermath">Aftermath</h2>
<p>Bagels with cream cheese never tasted so good. After Amy finished, we enjoyed more time with friends over post-race food. Soon it was time for awards! After the first and second masters winners were removed from our respective age groups, Amy and I walked away with the 45-59 age group wins for males and females. We held up our winnings for the photo at the top of this post (FLTRC gift cards to help defray the cost of new shoes!)</p>
<p>My tiredness caught up with me at home. Content with the post-race food as a stand-in for lunch, I made the mistake of lying down in my bed. I promptly fell asleep and napped for awhile. Amy and I have been doing a weight training program called 5x5, so I banged out a workout in our home gym after I woke. We had planned a yoga date for later in the afternoon at Pure Sweat in Ithaca. Bikram yoga turned out to be the perfect prescription for tight muscles. After 90 minutes in the hot room, we were sufficiently stretched and avoided post-race muscle soreness. There’s something to be said for not having to hobble down the stairs the day after a race!</p>
<p>With Xander’s matinee performance over, the kids picked us up from yoga and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner out at Viva Taqueria. Our favorite waiter Scott got us a table promptly. Post-race replenishing never tasted so good!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/04/IMG_7081.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race at Viva Taqueria" title="Post-race at Viva Taqueria" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race at Viva Taqueria</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:31:55<br />
<strong>Age Group:</strong> 2 of 29<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 25 of 225<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 28 of 452</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2273173525/embed/336f40f4153d7fc221124b3499fd6403c86d760c"></iframe>
3 Simple Steps to Take a Full-Page Screenshot in Google Chrome2019-02-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/3-simple-steps-to-take-a-full-page-screenshot-in-google-chrome/<p>Taking a screenshot is easy, right? What if you wanted to capture the entirety of a web page in a single image, though. I didn't think that was so easy. I used to think I needed Snagit or a browser extension to do that. I recently read about a way to do this in Google Chrome. While it may make you a bit uncomfortable delving into Developer Tools (built into Chrome) it's not that bad. Here are the three simple steps to take a full-page screenshot in Google Chrome.</p>
<ol>
<li>Right-click anywhere on the page and choose "Inspect"</li>
<li>Command-Shift-P to open the DevTools Command menu</li>
<li>Type "screen" and choose "Capture full page screenshot" from the menu</li>
</ol>
<p>Chrome will save a full-size screenshot in PNG format to your Downloads folder.</p>
<p>Above, you'll see what it looks like in a brief animation. To complete the picture, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2019/02/fullSizeScreenshotArtWorkingRemotely.png">check out the full-size screenshot I took from a page on artofworkingremotely.com</a>.</p>
Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 20192019-01-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/hartshorne-memorial-masters-mile-2019/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2019 on January 19, 2019 in a time of 5:23.14.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eOhzkC9ptxU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<iframe height="405" width="590" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2090024714/embed/bd2c0950b77b8871c932df8ca802bd53f0251276"></iframe>PGXC (Drumlins Golf Course, Syracuse)2018-11-18T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pgxc-drumlins-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the PGXC (Drumlins Golf Course, Syracuse) on November 18, 2018 in a time of 33:04.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="590" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1972611701/embed/70e0468f6384e878d023fe5427f79d7954046965"></iframe>PGXC (Taughannock Falls, Trumansburg)2018-11-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pgxc-taughannock-park-2018/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series/">Pete Glavin Cross Country</a> (PGXC) series has brought athletes of all ages and abilities together for regional cross country races since 1990. This Sunday the series came to Taughannock Falls State Park for the first time in its history.</p>
<p>Are you familiar with cross country? Outside Magazine wrote a great article: <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2137336/four-reasons-why-you-should-love-cross-country">Four Reasons Why You Should Love Cross-Country</a>. Not only is the sport steeped in history (it’s been around for 200 years), it is physical and strategic. As Mike Nier, the race director, reminds us at each start line announcement, “this is cross country. Every place matters.” It doesn’t matter how fast you are … it matters what place you finish.</p>
<p>The PGXC web site describes the course as</p>
<blockquote>"Fields by the lake, wide tree lined paths and high walled gorges … running on the first two, the third not so much.”</blockquote>
<p>Many of my training runs are at Taughannock since I live nearby. Due to GPS drift, some of my runs make it look like I’ve scaled the gorge walls. I haven’t, though sometimes my quads feel like they have!</p>
<p>The Taughannock course starts on the main field at South Point and makes its way counterclockwise toward the summer concert stage. It wends its way around the lake side of the playground and then re-enters the field briefly before shuttling runners around the marina toward the lakeshore once more. Then the course makes a beeline for the mouth of the base trail, guiding runners along the end of Taughannock Creek and under the Route 89 bridge. The race turns just before the bridge at the end of the base trail (cross country spikes would not fare well on the wooden surface) and returns practically along the same route. The race finishes in the middle of the park after a partial loop around the main field.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/11/taughannock_pgxc_course_map.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Course map" title="Course map" /><p class="stickyNote">Course map</p></div>
<p>The weather could not have been better. The day before (and the day after, actually) were soggy affairs. Today, the sun shone brightly over glass-smooth water. Those of us who compete in the summer triathlon would wish for a day like today, but alas, it’s not swimming weather anymore. The mid-40s temperature was ideal for wearing shorts while running.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/11/taughannock-boatyard.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Taughannock's marina amid placid waters" title="Taughannock's marina amid placid waters" /><p class="stickyNote">Taughannock's marina amid placid waters</p></div>
<p>I picked up my race tag in the pavilion by the marina and used the bathroom nearby before going on a warm up run with my team. We ran most of the course casually, map-in-hand, making sure we knew the twists and turns before the actual race. We laughed a bit at the orange-colored flags since they blended into the fallen leaves so well on the main lawn. In the actual race it wouldn’t matter much — only the race leaders really need to know where they’re going!</p>
<p>A short time later the clock ticked toward 11 a.m. and 233 runners started to mill about the start line. Teams gathered in tight circles and shouted their trademark cheers. Our own High Noon men’s team and Finger Lakes Runners Club women’s team joined in the aural fray:</p>
<blockquote>“Hoebeke, Hoebeke, Hoebeke! Go High Noon! Go Finger Lakes women!”</blockquote>
<p>Short pre-race instructions guided us to keep the cones on our left for the out-and-back sections, meaning we’d always be on the right side of the path. That was easy to remember! Seconds later we were off, converging from a wide swatch of runners to a narrow group negotiating the first turn.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/11/start-line.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Runners from all over Central New York" title="Runners from all over Central New York" /><p class="stickyNote">Runners from all over Central New York</p></div>
<p>The course was so fun to run. The contrasts were not lost on me as we ran the twists and turns up to the falls. Soft ground vs. hard-packed gravel. Open air vs. gorge walls. Expansive lake views vs. tree-lined trail. It was everything that I love in the park wrapped up into one very quick experience. As I made the final turn toward the finish line in the center of the park, I sensed tension in the runners around me. One of the others also had energy for a finish line sprint so we went for it. We bounded toward the flag-lined finish chute, relishing in the exhilaration and exhaustion of a race well-run.</p>
<p>In the end, I was thrilled that <a href="http://results.yentiming.com/2018/XC/PGXC/pgxc-4/">our own High Noon Masters team took first place</a>. Plenty of beer and chocolate was handed out as swag to individual and team winners. The true prize, though, is the opportunity to run on some of the most fantastic courses in upstate New York!</p>
<p>I’d like to send a huge thank you out to the PGXC series, to Charlie Fay for expertly laying out the Taughannock course, to Brenda Michaud for the race photos, and to Taughannock Falls State Park for all of their help and enthusiasm for the race. All the runners appreciated the trail closure and the warm pavilion fire! The next and final race of the PGXC series will be November 18 at the Drumlins Golf Course in Syracuse.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1946412975/embed/d45c02ce291e14cfd4792621ca1bcce71c3a60a7"></iframe>PGXC (Mendon Ponds Park, Rochester)2018-10-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pgxc-mendon-ponds-park-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the PGXC (Mendon Ponds Park, Rochester) on October 21, 2018 in a time of 23:27.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1919653297/embed/a8737dcaa1618fdc3b368679c276d84756f79a1f"></iframe>PGXC (Stuart Park, Newark)2018-09-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pgxc-stuart-park-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the PGXC (Stuart Park, Newark) on September 9, 2018 in a time of 19:35.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="590" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1830747530/embed/da2547074b715bb1b7412bf9b021fcd00c3f312c"></iframe>FLRC August Track Meet2018-08-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-august-track-meet-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the FLRC August Track Meet on August 21, 2018 in a time of 5:20.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1788813125/embed/f24a48e39c4103d252f543f971ebdb6bd4950d9c"></iframe>Tumalo Falls2018-08-18T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/tumalo-falls/<p>Saturday was sadly our last full day in Oregon but we made the most of it! We started off with a 90-minute horseback ride from Black Butte Ranch. Amy and I did this together during our last trip to the area and wanted to give the kids a similar experience. We ended up having a solo trip with our guide and saw some beautiful things: a herd of elk, the clearest views of the Cascades range (thank you, departing forest fire smoke) and a beautiful view of Black Butte (which we learned is the world’s second most-symmetrical in the world, behind Mount Fuji).</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1882.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="All four of us on horseback" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1821-2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Post-ride, on the way to Bend. We love these sculptures!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1884.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Black Butte" />
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<p>After riding, we met up with my high school friend Mata and her family at the <a href="https://nwxfarmersmarket.com/">Northwest Crossing Farmers Market</a>. We enjoyed walking among the vendor stalls and catching up. While in the area, we grabbed an outdoor table at <a href="http://www.sunnyyogakitchen.com/">Sunny Yoga Kitchen</a> for a delicious lunch.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1895.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Northwest Crossing Farmer's Market" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1890.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Smiles at Sunny Yoga Kitchen" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1924.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Mata and her son" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1893.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Such a delicious, sun-drenched lunch" />
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<p>We had our sights set on Tumalo Falls for the afternoon, but mistakenly believed it was halfway back to Sisters in Tumalo. Nope — that’s a state park with camping along the Deschutes. We mapped it out on our GPS and headed due west from Northwest Crossing and arrived at a very busy parking area. Luckily, there was a free spot just feet from the trailhead. We checked out the map, decided to leave our trekking poles behind, and headed up the trail with just a few running packs of water on the kids’ backs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4WbjO1FEaw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4WbjO1FEaw</a></p>
<p>We passed waterfall after waterfall on the outbound leg of the hike. The terrain was well-trod, and I’ll say it got a bit monotonous as we neared 3.5 miles. At the junction with the middle fork of Tumalo Creek, we realized quickly that, were we to cross without our poles to steady us, we’d get wet. The crossing logs were either too narrow or submerged, so we decided to head back the way we’d come. As an added bonus, since we were wearing running packs and trail running shoes, we could do some running on the mostly-downhill return. I took up a spot behind Xander and really enjoyed the stretches of running on the clean trail. There were a few roots and rocks to contend with, but nothing like some of the trails out east.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1898.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Tumalo Falls" title="Tumalo Falls" /><p class="stickyNote">Tumalo Falls</p></div>
<p>So many waterfalls along the hike!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1903.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>We were back to the parking lot in short order. The juxtaposition of having hiked the route one way and running the other was really cool. We piled into the car, having completed our hiking for the week, and headed off to a rather filling dinner at Worthy Brewing.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1822.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Worthy? Worth it." title="Worthy? Worth it." /><p class="stickyNote">Worthy? Worth it.</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>7.55 miles, 2:35 total time, 1,134 foot ascent</p>
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Broken Top and No-Name Lake2018-08-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/broken-top-and-no-name-lake/<p>The guidebook in our townhouse rental gave two options for this hike. The first was shorter, but only after a longer drive on forest service roads; the second longer — anywhere from 12-14 miles — but no such drive. The forest service roads called for a four-wheel drive with high clearance, code for “don’t bring your Prius.”</p>
<p>We rented a small SUV from Hertz for this trip. When we picked up our Ford Escape from the Portland airport, we thought it’d be small yet suitable. The Hertz attendant asked if the gas was full as we were leaving. As I looked at the dash, I saw an indicator lit that always gives me anxiety. <em>“Yeah, but the tire pressure light is on.”</em> She was incredibly apologetic and asked us to get our stuff out of the rental so she could find us a suitable replacement. <em>“Would an upgrade be all right with you?”</em> Of course it would.</p>
<p>Fast forward to Todd Lake, where we pulled off the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway in our upgraded Ford Explorer at about noon. It’d been a great vehicle for our activities so far, with plenty of room to leave our trekking poles and shoes in the back in between hikes. At the end of the Todd Lake parking area we passed a metal gate that was flung open. The weathered sign warned us: NOT MAINTAINED FOR PASSENGER VEHICLES. The rutted, sandy and rocky path before us jumped uphill before looping out of sight. 5 miles. The guidebook said it’d take us a half hour. That’s some careful driving, I thought. I looked down near the parking brake and dropped our rental into four-wheel drive, the icon with the path and an iconic tree. We were off!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8565.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Not the greatest road, but passable!" title="Not the greatest road, but passable!" /><p class="stickyNote">Not the greatest road, but passable!</p></div>
<p>Honestly, with the proper vehicle, the drive isn’t all that bad. You have to pray the entire way that a tire doesn’t blow, because addressing that on the narrow road would be a catastrophe. I thought about this the entire way up, though, knowing that if I had to run out to the trailhead I could do it. It would have been a nightmare, though. I breathed a sigh of relief when we arrived at the trailhead. The parking lot was bursting with cars and I awkwardly angled ours into what would pass as a space. We popped open the tailgate and enjoyed chips with salsa and guacamole before putting on our hiking shoes.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_8558.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Soda Creek" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1825.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="We've never seen Broken Top from this angle" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_8559.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Happy hiker!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1826.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Soda Creek crossing" />
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<p>It is so true that you pay for most of this hike with the drive. The hike itself is non-taxing and incredibly beautiful. We enjoyed little cascades of water in Soda Creek for the first mile. Expansive views of Broken Top were before us and to our side for much of the hike. We crested the last rise before No-Name Lake just after just 2 miles of hiking. It was breathtaking.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1829.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="No-Name Lake just over the crest" title="No-Name Lake just over the crest" /><p class="stickyNote">No-Name Lake just over the crest</p></div>
<p>I caught a faint whiff of death when the lake came into view. We’d heard about some elk that had mysteriously died in the area. They littered the snowfield on the far side of the lake. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought they were rocks.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1833.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A herd of dead elk on the far snowbank" title="A herd of dead elk on the far snowbank" /><p class="stickyNote">A herd of dead elk on the far snowbank</p></div>
<p>We wondered aloud, with many others, what had happened. It was a mystery until just the prior day. Post-hike, we read that officials believed <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2018/08/melting_snow_reveals_dead_elk.html">the herd was killed by an avalanche</a> the prior season, and melting snow had revealed them just now.</p>
<p>The smell didn’t linger long, though, and we continued along the edge of the lake toward a small rise to the ridge line. As foreshadowed by the fullness of the parking lot, there were a lot of hikers in this area. Most were concentrated on the ridge and we hiked the short stretch of uphill to join them. The view was nothing short of amazing. The wildfire haze was not as bad as prior days and we could see far. From left to right we could see Broken Top, South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood. We found a comfortable spot at the top to enjoy some cheese and crackers before heading back down.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1838.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="It's a short climb from the lake to massive views" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1806.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Amazing payoff for a short hike!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1843.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Family photo with No-Name lake in the background" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1842.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="The panorama is impressive with the entire mountain chain" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_8563.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Xander and Elizabeth" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1805.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="No-Name Lake" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1814.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Broken Top at right" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1812.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Broken Top" />
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMP9dA1PdXw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMP9dA1PdXw</a></p>
<p>The return hike was mostly downhill and passed quickly.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8560.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Mount Bachelor on the return trip" title="Mount Bachelor on the return trip" /><p class="stickyNote">Mount Bachelor on the return trip</p></div>
<p>As we started our drive I had the same anxiety I’d had on the way up. It was amplified by a driver who’d beached the front end of his truck up onto a rock at the end of the parking lot. He needed a Good Samaritan with a tow rope, which I didn’t have. Luckily a driver that had just arrived at the trailhead seemed to have what he needed. My worries were yet again unfounded, though, as the descent was slow yet smooth. Soon we had all four tires on pavement, heading back to Bend and Sisters with another day of memories in our minds.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>5.5 miles, 2:48 total time, 1,318 foot ascent</p>
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Mount Bachelor2018-08-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/mount-bachelor/<p>It may have been the wrong season to hit up a ski resort, but Mount Bachelor’s summit was too close for us to ignore during this hiking season. We arrived in their expansive, mostly empty parking lot shortly before 1 p.m. We opted to cut out some of the lower flanks of the butte by taking the scenic Pine Marten ski lift to the Pine Marten lodge, where we enjoyed a quick lunch of carrots, tortilla chips and hummus.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8554.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lift ride!" title="Lift ride!" /><p class="stickyNote">Lift ride!</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8542.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lunch spot at the Pine Marten lodge" title="Lunch spot at the Pine Marten lodge" /><p class="stickyNote">Lunch spot at the Pine Marten lodge</p></div>
<p>We were in the minority among the lift riders since the majority of which were mountain bikers. Bachelor appears to have some amazing mountain biking trails! We enjoyed watching a few bikers at the start of the course as we started our hike.</p>
<p>The hiking trail (at this point, a dirt road) descended 400 feet, heading southeast to the junction with the climber’s trail near the top of the Sunrise Express ski lift. I was glad that we asked for a hiking trail map when we purchased our lift tickets, as it made it very clear how to get to the climbing trail!</p>
<p>The trail's endless switchbacks guided us southwest towards the summit. We took a few short breaks for water along the way but focused mostly on making good progress toward the peak. The views were fantastic despite the area's wildfire haze.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1771.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Switchbacks toward the summit" title="Switchbacks toward the summit" /><p class="stickyNote">Switchbacks toward the summit</p></div>
<p>As we traversed under the Summit Express lift, the final path to the summit loomed in front of us. When we reached the same elevation as the Summit Express’ terminal, it was relatively unclear how to proceed. I found a faint path up a rocky slope and followed it, leaving the family behind momentarily. What I found at the top was a post, a solitary ski patrol sled and a very clear path that led to the true summit. I walked over there, not sure that the family would follow. On my return trip, I found a very clear path that they could take. I relished in surprising them from the opposite direction that I’d climbed and they then followed me back up to the true summit.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_8545.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Which trail to take? Wrong season." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1773.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Summit lift terminal" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1776.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="You can see the Cascade Lakes Highway back to Bend" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1783.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="You can see the large lodge where we started" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1772.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Almost to the top!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1782-1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Broken Top and South Sister" />
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<p>The timing was fortuitous. When I’d been up there, the skies were darkened by clouds. When all four of us ascended together, the clouds parted and we enjoyed full sun while we lingered at the summit. The views were amazing, and the feeling of being at the top of a 9,000+ foot peak was exhilarating. We took a few pictures and polished off a bag of M&Ms before heading back down the way we’d climbed up.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8543.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander and I taking a break during the descent" title="Xander and I taking a break during the descent" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander and I taking a break during the descent</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8556.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="From the lift's descent" title="From the lift's descent" /><p class="stickyNote">From the lift's descent</p></div>
<p>Once we’d taken the lift ride back down to our car, we headed back to Bend. The kids enjoyed some Cuppa Yo (frozen yogurt) while Amy and I headed to <a href="https://bendbrewfest.com/">Bend’s Brewfest</a>.</p>
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<p>We had a fantastic time sampling beers from different breweries while the sun started to lower in the cloud-filled sky. We’d just missed a thunderstorm passing through the area, and it turned out to be a fantastic evening. We bought a tortilla pizza on the way out of the festival, saving a few of the slices for the kids before we headed back to our rental for the night.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UM6uvKLvoM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UM6uvKLvoM</a></p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>5.83 miles, 3:42 total time, 2,138 foot ascent</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1777583587/embed/d800bfa79bff2203fa1c28e88f7a8dfe26b4998e" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Green Lakes2018-08-15T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/green-lakes/<p>We chose to take it “easy” today. We opted for Green Lakes: it's a hike we’ve done several times before that has a big payoff for less effort. After spending the morning in Sisters going for a run, reading and enjoying the pool and hot tub, we headed south to Bend with a carful of huckleberry smoothies. The smoothies, complemented by some slices and knots from Pizza Mondo, rounded out our incredibly nutritious (yeah, right) and rather filling lunch. As we drove westward on the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway the cloud-filled sky let loose with some sprinkles. Ah, it’d be okay, we thought out loud. Then the sprinkles got a little heavier. They'd stopped by the time we pulled into the Green Lakes trailhead around 2 p.m. though clouds still filled parts of the sky.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1788.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Huckleberry smoothies" title="Huckleberry smoothies" /><p class="stickyNote">Huckleberry smoothies</p></div>
<p>Thunderstorms were predicted for the evening. I’m not sure if there was any correlation, but there were tons of park rangers at the trailhead too. Perhaps they were going to be hiking in for the night to be sentries on the lookout for any fires. One ranger who helped us with our permit (there was a line) warned us of bad weather in the forecast and asked us to be careful. We’d be in and out before nightfall as this was a quick hike up to Green Lakes and back.</p>
<p>The outbound, upward section of this hike is so beautiful. Fall Creek rushes by on the right with alternating cascades of white and placid stretches where vibrant colorful rocks in the stream bed are sharply visible through the crystal clear surface. We kept a good pace on the inbound hike and enjoyed reminiscing about how we’d hiked part of this segment as we passed the junction with the Moraine Lake trail. It’d been a long day up the climber’s trail to South Sister’s summit and we’d run low on water. I remembered fast-packing ahead of the rest of the family to get back to the campsite to filter water and start dinner. I recalled the stretch where I’d left a bag of Craisins in the middle of the dusty trail, scratching “Dawson” in the dirt in front of it. That way, my weary family would have some sustenance for the last mile. It seemed like such a long time ago!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1751.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Inbound views of Broken Top" title="Inbound views of Broken Top" /><p class="stickyNote">Inbound views of Broken Top</p></div>
<p>A pair of horseback riders rode toward us. We stepped off below the trail to let them pass. They are such majestic creatures and I suddenly looked forward to our planned horseback ride Saturday morning. Closer to Green Lakes, after the sign that lays out the camping rules, we encountered <em>the tree</em>. It’s a tree that has a crook near the base that is perfect for sitting. Every year we’ve been there we’ve taken a photo of us sitting in that crook. Today was no exception!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1756.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="The tree!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1752.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="The tree!" />
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<p>The sun had been with us during the entire hike but cruelly ducked behind the clouds as we entered Green Lakes. The lakes were still pretty, but without the sun the vibrant blues and green had turned to darker, more muted shades. We sat on a weathered log and took in the view of Broken Top, talking about the time we screed down the flanks after hiking close to the summit. Turning around, we could see the beginnings of the climber’s trail up South Sister. We remember that hike well and could see the large waterfall you pass as you start.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1768.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Green Lakes is so pretty regardless of the weather. This is South Sister." title="Green Lakes is so pretty regardless of the weather. This is South Sister." /><p class="stickyNote">Green Lakes is so pretty regardless of the weather. This is South Sister.</p></div>
<p>Raindrops started to fall so we didn’t linger long. Just a half mile into the return trip, however, the clouds parted and the sun came back. It was as if we needed to see Green Lakes in the dusky light today, and that was fine with me! The rest of the hike out was uneventful with the miles clicking by as we chatted in pairs.</p>
<p>You’ll recall that one of our favorite post-hike activities is hitting up a local establishment for food and beer. Today’s choice was Worthy Brewing. Sadly as we pulled into the parking lot, it was clear that it probably wouldn't not work. There were <em>tons</em> of people there already although it was a Wednesday night. We’d last been here three years ago, and during that time the area had clearly grown up. The many pocket neighborhoods and apartments nearby must have had something to do with the crowds at Worthy (we would find out there was also a special event, too). We decided we weren’t up for a half hour wait and headed to our backup choice, 10 Barrel Brewing. That, too, was mobbed. They estimated 45 minutes to an hour. As with many things in life, what turned out happening was the very best choice. We headed to Ray’s grocery store in Sisters, picked up some nice organic pasta, Classico sauce and some meatballs for a quick home-based dinner. We put on some music in the background and had a relaxing, quiet dinner to round out our day!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>9.22 miles, 3:40 total time, 1,136 foot ascent</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1775394963/embed/518dcd43159f2f247658618bcd380c0e7fee03d2" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Pole Creek to Camp Lake (2018)2018-08-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pole-creek-to-camp-lake-2018/<p>We kicked off our week in central Oregon with a hike from Pole Creek Trailhead to Camp Lake. Amy and I had <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pole-creek-to-camp-lake-chambers-lakes/">hiked this ourselves in 2015</a> while the kids were at ski camp. It was definitely a highlight then, so we wanted to share it with the kids. We were staying in Sisters, and the drive to Pole Creek is super short from there. We arrived shortly before 10 and got started up the dusty trail, once more traversing several miles of what remained from the Pole Creek fire in 2012. The hulking remains of once-majestic trees stood out starkly against the sky. The skies were so blue the last time we hiked this, though today there was a lingering haze from the California wildfires.</p>
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<p>At the junction with the Green Lakes trail, someone had stabbed a fork into the top of the sign to hold up a pair of lost sunglasses. It was an odd juxtaposition made even more peculiar by the presence of a slice of cured meat at the business end of the fork. Before seeing the skewered meat, I dubbed the spot “shady fork.”</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1718.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Shady fork" title="Shady fork" /><p class="stickyNote">Shady fork</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1717.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Stream crossing just under 2 miles into the hike" title="Stream crossing just under 2 miles into the hike" /><p class="stickyNote">Stream crossing just under 2 miles into the hike</p></div>
<p>Xander ran out of water just 4 miles into the hike. We were all being super conscious of drinking enough, but he took it to an extreme, blowing through his 2L supply in just a few hours. We took a break at the Whychus and I used our <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPH1LEU">Sawyer Mini</a> to filter water. It really worked great, and I think secretly Xander was happy to have some cold water in his pack.</p>
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<p>We encountered a pair of US Forest Service rangers along our route. This was the first time in the many years we’ve been hiking out West that we’ve seen them, let alone been questioned. They chatted with us for a few minutes before asking to see our self-issued permit. They thanked us for filling it out and asked if we knew the rules, specifically those around campfires. Of course we did! Everything is so dry, so they were being extra vigilant, making sure that everyone they encountered that fires were not permitted anywhere.</p>
<p>It was really cool to see the kids’ faces when we arrived at Camp Lake. It’s an amazing sight to see: a beautiful crystal-clear body of water seemingly at the foot of South Sister. We sat on a weathered log that warned visitors with a “No Camping on Beach” sign. We enjoyed this trip’s standard hiking fare: baby carrots and Juanita’s tortilla chips with hummus. Amy and I both waded into the refreshingly cool water, and I took some time to filter more water for our return trip. Butterflies were plentiful on this hike. One lit on a pack and stayed there until we shooed it off. This gave Xander plenty of time to take some cool pictures of him.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_0747.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Bliss" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1731.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Still a bit of snow clinging on in August" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1778.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Kids!" />
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oTIi5WizE0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oTIi5WizE0</a></p>
<p>After we were done relaxing, we took off on a rambling route around Camp Lake, trying to find access trails to some of the Chambers Lakes that lay beyond. We found the well-worn trail near the end of our traverse around the lake and decided we’d seen enough. The official trail to Chambers Lakes ascended a steep ridge, and we still had about 8 miles to hike out to the trailhead again.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1728.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beautiful views of Middle and North Sister" title="Beautiful views of Middle and North Sister" /><p class="stickyNote">Beautiful views of Middle and North Sister</p></div>
<p>We tried to keep a good pace on the way back since the day was getting long. We were treated to the sights and sounds of several rock falls high atop Middle Sister.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8527.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="You can see the massive cloud of dust below Middle Sister's peak" title="You can see the massive cloud of dust below Middle Sister's peak" /><p class="stickyNote">You can see the massive cloud of dust below Middle Sister's peak</p></div>
<p>When we got to the Whychus crossing again, the water was clearly flowing higher and faster due to the accelerated glacial runoff from the midday heat. Check out the video above for some cool footage of that. We crossed carefully and descended the remaining miles back to the car.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1741.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Almost back!" />
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<p>We drove straight to Twisted Juniper Coffee to treat ourselves to huckleberry smoothies, but sadly they closed at 5. We were just a half hour too late. Our palates would have to wait a few minutes for us to get cleaned up. Amy, Xander and I used the pool and hot tub at our place before showering. We all headed out to Hop & Brew in Sisters for some refreshing pints (our favorite post-hiking beverage) and a platter of loaded nachos. While there, we struck up a pleasant conversation with two Canadian bikers who were passing through town. We finished off the evening with some ice cream from BJ’s on Main Street.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1743.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The menu board at Hop & Brew, our dinner stop" title="The menu board at Hop & Brew, our dinner stop" /><p class="stickyNote">The menu board at Hop & Brew, our dinner stop</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>15.4 miles, 7:14 total time, 2,129 foot ascent</p>
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Cloud Cap to Tie-In Rock (Cooper Spur)2018-08-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cloud-cap-to-tie-in-rock-cooper-spur/<p>It’s a 12-mile drive up the access road to Cloud Cap on the eastern flanks of Mount Hood, but it takes a strong stomach and about a half hour of careful driving. We debated who among us should get the cherished front seat, the place least likely to induce carsickness (you can check out a back seat perspective of the drive in the video below). It was all for nothing, though, since we all gratefully stayed healthy during the ride to the top. Sarah, Adam and Quiggly joined us for this hike. We were a party of six, plus a small and determined dog!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1671.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="First miles of the hike with peak views of Mount Hood" title="First miles of the hike with peak views of Mount Hood" /><p class="stickyNote">First miles of the hike with peak views of Mount Hood</p></div>
<p>We started hiking from the packed trailhead parking lot at Cloud Cap right around 10a. The first few miles that led up to the junction with the Timberline Trail were quite pleasant and mostly tree-lined. We took a right turn at the junction with Timberline to start climbing the Cooper Spur Trail. Once we reached above tree line, we were rewarded with expansive views to the north of Mount Adams, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens. Skies had been hazy for the last few days but today was far clearer. We reached the Cooper Spur shelter, a 10’ square stone shelter built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was the perfect place for a break.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1673.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Views of Helens, Adams and Rainier to the north" title="Views of Helens, Adams and Rainier to the north" /><p class="stickyNote">Views of Helens, Adams and Rainier to the north</p></div>
<p>We took a brief detour on a spur trail to view Eliot glacier. Sarah and Adam were shocked at the lack of coverage of the lower glacier and took time to point out how low they’d encountered ice in prior hikes. We watched a few parties below who were practicing their skills on portions of the glacier.</p>
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<p>The remaining miles were nicely switchbacked and we made steady progress toward a crest that’s a common turnaround point.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1680.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Sarah and Adam guide Quiggly up the switchbacks" title="Sarah and Adam guide Quiggly up the switchbacks" /><p class="stickyNote">Sarah and Adam guide Quiggly up the switchbacks</p></div>
<p>The plaque on tie-in rock commemorates five climbers who died on June 21, 1981. They fell from Cooper Spur while descending, and the plaque implores climbers to “Walk gently, friend. You are walking in the path of those who went before.”</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1686.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The plaque on tie-in rock" title="The plaque on tie-in rock" /><p class="stickyNote">The plaque on tie-in rock</p></div>
<p>We decided to proceed along the trail all the way past Tie-In Rock, ending up at the edge of the glacier after exactly 4 miles of hiking for a fantastic lunch and photo spot. Quiggly enjoyed rolling around on the glacier.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zygV9gKRW5I">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zygV9gKRW5I</a></p>
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<p>We bypassed a few of the switchbacks on the way down, opting to hop rocks along the edge of the spur. Once back on the switchbacks, I wondered aloud how they were initially formed. Adam knew: the US Forest Service carefully maps them out, using the terrain as a guide. Using tools, they move rocks to the side, carve out a bit of a path and tamp it down. Then hikers’ feet do the rest! I thought it was a similar parallel to how mogul courses in skiing are created, since we’ve watched coaches “set a course” by shoveling a very deliberate pattern of small bumps and troughs. Skiers do the rest as they slalom themselves through the mogul course.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8515.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Hopping rocks on the way back down" title="Hopping rocks on the way back down" /><p class="stickyNote">Hopping rocks on the way back down</p></div>
<p>Back at the junction with the Timberline Trail, we opted to go straight instead of turning a left as we’d come up. This took us along the edge of Polallie Canyon. I later learned from the guidebook that this was created in 1980 after heavy rains triggered a massive landslide and a flash flood.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1697.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Polallie Canyon" title="Polallie Canyon" /><p class="stickyNote">Polallie Canyon</p></div>
<p>It was an impressive canyon, and one of the cooler sights was a quartet of trees barely hanging onto the cliff edge by their roots. After checking out the Tilly Jane complex, we ascended a short trail back to the parking lot.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1698.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Trees barely hanging onto the cliff edge by their roots" title="Trees barely hanging onto the cliff edge by their roots" /><p class="stickyNote">Trees barely hanging onto the cliff edge by their roots</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1700.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lush greenery near a creek at the end of the trail" title="Lush greenery near a creek at the end of the trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Lush greenery near a creek at the end of the trail</p></div>
<p>The drive down was no less harrowing but seemed shorter since we knew what was coming. We found an outside table right away at Mount Hood Brewing in Government Camp, enjoying burgers and beers before heading back to Portland. We all were wearing our Patagonia Houdini jackets for warmth, so took a picture while waiting for our food.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1706.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Houdinis at Mount Hood Brewing in Government Camp" title="Houdinis at Mount Hood Brewing in Government Camp" /><p class="stickyNote">Houdinis at Mount Hood Brewing in Government Camp</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>8.22 miles, 6:43 total time, 3,166 foot ascent</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1768533431/embed/097c2552813ae04e519c17476c8fd45d79c988a8" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Hamilton Mountain2018-08-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/hamilton-mountain/<p>Sarah and her cute dog Quiggly joined us for the third hike of our trip. She took us to Hamilton Mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. As we were driving east of Portland, Sarah told us about how some trails in Washington required a different permit. We'd been so used to our <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=fsbdev2_027010">Northwest Forest Pass</a> that we hadn't even considered it could be something different. Due to a variety of reasons, it was, and Sarah had purchased the <a href="http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/">Discover Pass</a> we needed. We crossed the Bridge of the Gods and parked at the trailhead for Beacon Rock State Park.</p>
<p>Shortly after starting the hike around 10a we came upon Pool of the Winds, one of the waterfalls along Hardy Creek. We thought the bridges and railed switchbacks reminded us of the rustic nature of the ride queues at Disney for Splash Mountain or Thunder Mountain Railroad, but this was the real deal.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1613.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Crossing bridges at Pool of the Winds" title="Crossing bridges at Pool of the Winds" /><p class="stickyNote">Crossing bridges at Pool of the Winds</p></div>
<p>Shortly after we began switchbacking up the hill we were rewarded with expansive views of the Columbia River gorge. Quiggly was holding his own quite well despite his little legs. We stopped to offer him some water but he wasn't interested. That saying about horses just might apply to others in the animal kingdom, too!</p>
<p>Just under 2 miles into the ascent, we came across something you don’t see everyday. It was a pop-up lemonade stand perched on a rocky outcropping, in sharp relief against the blue sky. A smiling couple asked if we wanted free lemonade (as their chalkboard sign advertised). They were representing Merrell and Backpacker Magazine and were taking their pop-up stand all over trails throughout the region. We were experiencing their <a href="https://www.merrell.com/US/en/merrell-magic/">Merrell Magic campaign</a>! We stayed with them for awhile and took some pictures. We enjoyed lemonade with blueberries on skewers and I snagged a clementine for some additional refreshment.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1622.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="These magicians were having such a good time!" />
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<p>We ascended again through what seemed like an endless series of switchbacks. We arrived at the summit of Hamilton Mountain at 3 miles but it was not the most comfortable place to linger. We had a small snack while standing in a sunny, sandy clearing and then resumed our hike. After another ¾ of a mile we came upon an expansive saddle: it was the perfect place to lunch. We sat on some low rocks and enjoyed a small lunch of carrots and hummus.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_0645.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="A delicious picnic" />
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<p>We descended on an old logging road before getting back on trail. This part of the hike was rather nice, shaded and mostly level. Elizabeth took a turn at holding Quiggly's leash. It was very cute to watch him hike as close as he could get to Sarah's heels!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8497.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Elizabeth and Quiggly" title="Elizabeth and Quiggly" /><p class="stickyNote">Elizabeth and Quiggly</p></div>
<p>Much of the conversation Amy and I had on this stretch was about the myriad possibilities we could have to open parts of our home to AirBnb guests. We'd been having a great experience with our hosts in Portland, and thought we could do something at home in the future. It wasn't long before we'd spent hundreds of thousands of virtual dollars in our heads! We met back up with the junction to the trail we’d come up on and soon arrived back at Pool of the Winds. We got up close to the mouth of the waterfall and felt the cool breeze emanating from it. A huge log had been stuck up inside the main cataract of the falls, making for a very interesting photo.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1633.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Pool of the Winds" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1635.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Looking downward at the Pool of the Winds" />
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<p>Quiggly hiked most of this route under his own power, except for a short ¾ mile stretch where Sarah carried him. He's a strong little hiker. He even has his own <a href="https://www.instagram.com/quiggquigg/">Instagram @quiggquigg</a> if you want to follow him!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_0638.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Quiggly is a power hiker extraordinaire!" title="Quiggly is a power hiker extraordinaire!" /><p class="stickyNote">Quiggly is a power hiker extraordinaire!</p></div>
<p>We drove further east and crossed back into Oregon. We enjoyed an early dinner at <a href="http://solsticewoodfirecafe.com/">Solstice</a>, a fantastic pizza place in Hood River. Draft beer is always so wonderful after a hike and the outdoor seating was perfect for Quiggly and the views of the wind- and kite surfers enjoying the Columbia River.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1640.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy, Sarah and Quiggly at Solstice in Hood River" title="Amy, Sarah and Quiggly at Solstice in Hood River" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy, Sarah and Quiggly at Solstice in Hood River</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1645.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander, Amy and me at Solstice in Hood River" title="Xander, Amy and me at Solstice in Hood River" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander, Amy and me at Solstice in Hood River</p></div>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOEcwwrnAA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOEcwwrnAA</a></p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>7.37 miles, 5:04 total time, 2,169 foot ascent</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1764707728/embed/4c86318803de2e09bab162739bde09db747ac0ba" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Elk Meadows to Gnarl Ridge2018-08-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/elk-meadows-to-gnarl-ridge/<p>We wanted to get a far earlier start on this hike than we’d had the prior day at Kings Mountain. We arrived at the trailhead just off of Mt. Hood Meadows Nordic Center at 9a, after a bit of confusion after mistakenly pulling into the main Meadows driveway. It's clear that we have to update our guidebooks, since the ones we're using were published about a decade ago!</p>
<p>This hike advertised a far more gradual ascent than Kings Mountain and we immediately appreciated the chance to hike on more level ground. The first 1.2 miles were fairly flat with smaller creek crossings over bridges. Newton Creek was flowing full and fast, though, and had no such bridge. We followed the trail upstream about 100 yards and crossed somewhat perilously on a massive log about 10 feet over the water.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1578.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Newton Creek crossing (one option)" title="Newton Creek crossing (one option)" /><p class="stickyNote">Newton Creek crossing (one option)</p></div>
<p>As we searched for the trail to resume on the far side of Newton, we spied a better creek crossing much closer to the trail. We’d take that on the return trip!</p>
<p>The guidebook told us we'd encounter eight switchbacks up the steep slope, so the kids delighted in keeping track of where we were on the way up. At some point along this stretch, I stopped to take a picture of this really cool stripped tree trunk with remarkable diagonal striping. I wondered aloud what could have cause it?</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1580.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Diagonal striping under the bark" title="Diagonal striping under the bark" /><p class="stickyNote">Diagonal striping under the bark</p></div>
<p>After counting nine switchbacks <em>(oh, cruel expectation setting ... it was supposed to be eight!)</em> we came to trail junction with the Elk Meadows perimeter trail.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1581.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Trail junction with Elk Meadows Trail" title="Trail junction with Elk Meadows Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Trail junction with Elk Meadows Trail</p></div>
<p>The meadow was not in full bloom anymore, but it probably was in July. We followed signs for Gnarl Ridge which took us another mile uphill to meet up with the Timberline Trail.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1583.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Junction to shortcut Elk Meadows on the return trip" title="Junction to shortcut Elk Meadows on the return trip" /><p class="stickyNote">Junction to shortcut Elk Meadows on the return trip</p></div>
<p>We followed signs for Cloud Cap for the remainder of the hike. As we approached the edge of Gnarl Ridge the guidebook talked about the remains of an old stone hut that we’d see on the left. Approaching, it looks like just a pile of rocks, but on the way back we saw that the outline and walls were very clearly demarcated. It's interesting how your perspective can make all the difference in recognizing something! Gnarl Ridge was impressive. We sat to have lunch of almond butter/jelly sandwiches and grapes. Elizabeth was able to take remote pictures of us using her Apple Watch, too!</p>
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<p>Our descent was far faster and we were able to pace at about 4 mph instead of the 2 we’d made the way up. Back at Newton, we took the more straightforward crossing we'd not seen on the way in.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1590.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Newton crossing on the return trip" title="Newton crossing on the return trip" /><p class="stickyNote">Newton crossing on the return trip</p></div>
<p>We made a brief stop at Trillium Lake after the hike. The kids had not yet seen this amazing view. I took my sandals off to douse my dusty legs in the refreshing water and we took a few pictures before heading back to the car for our drive back to Portland.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1594.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Mount Hood from Trillium" title="Mount Hood from Trillium" /><p class="stickyNote">Mount Hood from Trillium</p></div>
<p>As evidence that Portland is a "small town" the driver of the car parked next to us was the woman who worked at Road Runner Sports the prior day! She had said she was going to the Hood area, and we had joked that perhaps we'd run into each other. What are the chances?</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>10.47 miles, 4:54 total time, 2,305 foot ascent</p>
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Kings Mountain2018-08-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/kings-mountain/<p>We had intended to hike Saddle Ridge for the first hike of our summer trip to Oregon, but found out en route that it was closed due to a dried washed out creek. Since we were "in the neighborhood" we decided to re-route to to a familiar peak a short detour to the south. We’d done the entire Elk-Kings Traverse with the kids when they were younger, but given the late start we had on the day, we decided to do an out-and-back (or is it up-and-down?) to Kings Mountain. Although it’s just 5 miles round trip, it gains 2,546 feet of elevation.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1565.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beautiful ferns" title="Beautiful ferns" /><p class="stickyNote">Beautiful ferns</p></div>
<p>We started hiking shortly before 11a. The trail started off fairly level as you walk through a lush forest with massive ferns. This part always reminds me of ET or Star Wars - you know, the scenes with Ewoks? As the trail steepened I was grateful that we’d brought trekking poles for all four of us. Halfway through our ascent we came to a junction and a trail runner was trying to decide where to go. We were standing at an unmarked shortcut trail to the top and he said that was the direction of the summit. We took the shortcut, but only realized we'd done so as we came to the junction with the main trail. It was <em>very</em> steep and in hindsight, it was clearly not the main trail. We’d definitely take that down on the return trip!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1546.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Unrelenting climbing!" title="Unrelenting climbing!" /><p class="stickyNote">Unrelenting climbing!</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1547.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Eagle Scout project" title="Eagle Scout project" /><p class="stickyNote">Eagle Scout project</p></div>
<p>We encountered a picnic table built as an Eagle Scout project in 1993 by “N. Brown” from Tigard, Oregon. It's close to the top and a tempting place to take a break. It’s holding up pretty well, having been there for 25 years!</p>
<p>We finally came out of the trees onto an exposed patch at the summit. The expansive views were worth the effort, but just barely. It was a lot of vertical to cover in such a short time! We signed the trail register at the top and enjoyed snacks of Krave Beef Jerky (Chili Lime), dried cranberries and trail mix. We thought it was especially appropriate that we adults were wearing Altra King MTs. They're our favorite trail running shoe, so we took a photo of our Kings at the top of Kings.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1550.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Summit trail register" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1560.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Nice views from the summit" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1549.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Just below the summit" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/08/IMG_1561.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="King MTs on Kings!" />
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<p>We descended the way we came, taking care to avoid the steep shortcut on the way down. Sadly, Elizabeth was using footwear that didn’t have sufficient tread on it. She suffered through a lot of slipping on the way down. We later stopped at <a href="https://stores.roadrunnersports.com/or/portland/running-shoe-store-119.html">Road Runner Sports</a> on the way home and bought her some bonafide trail running shoes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_0587.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Goofing around on the descent" title="Goofing around on the descent" /><p class="stickyNote">Goofing around on the descent</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1563.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The trail is so steep at times!" title="The trail is so steep at times!" /><p class="stickyNote">The trail is so steep at times!</p></div>
<p>Post-hike, we drove further west and north to Cannon Beach <em>(where parking was a nightmare)</em> to see Haystack Rock (which was very foggy) and enjoy an early dinner at Pelican Brewing. As always, post-hike food is fantastic!</p>
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<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>4.53 miles, 3:23 total time, 2,374 foot ascent</p>
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Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20182018-08-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2018-olympic-distance/<p>This was the third year that I’d signed up for Cayuga Lake Triathlon’s intermediate distance. As in prior years, the race would be a gateway between our summer at home and several weeks of summer vacation. This year, we’d travel to Oregon for a few weeks of hiking, brewpubs, reading and relaxing. But first, I’d spend a few hours gutting it out in the lake, on my bike and on my feet.</p>
<h2 id="training">Training</h2>
<p>I had focused solely on running for the last six months. I’d completed several mile races, the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon, and the Gorges Half Marathon. As I wrote in those race reports, the plan I’d been following (Run Less, Run Faster) was tough. It left little room for joy and plenty of room to steel myself for the hard workouts. Since Gorges, I’d felt the need to refocus on being diversified in my fitness and rediscovering the joy of moving my body in different ways.</p>
<p>The lead up to this year’s triathlon was, by any definition, non-traditional. I felt no pull to use any kind of triathlon plan. I didn’t have my sights set on any specific goals for the events. I listened to my body and spent my time doing more of the fitness things I love: biking, trail running, BodyPump, Bikram yoga, and vinyasa yoga. You’ll notice the absence of one key triathlon ingredient: swimming.</p>
<p>Taughannock Park opened a swim lane specifically for triathletes the weekend before the race. Amy and I both went and swam with our wetsuits. We both swam the race distance of a mile. Shane Eversfield offered a “Strokes Mastery” course the Wednesday before the race at Island Health & Fitness. Shane, a Total Immersion instructor extraordinaire, would prove to be a critical piece in this year’s triathlon for me. He started off the course talking about nervousness. He said he counters nervousness by first acknowledging it, but then by recognizing that he’s about to do something that is important to him. Something he’s able to do. That he “gets to do this.” That resonated with me. The evening progressed with a Cliff Notes version of the Total Immersion class that I’d come to love when I progressed through it several years ago.</p>
<h2 id="volunteering%2C-night-before">Volunteering, Night Before</h2>
<p>We enjoyed volunteering at registration as a family last year, so made a point of doing so again this year. Amy, Elizabeth and Xander enjoyed greeting athletes with Wegmans bags and race shirts as they went through the registration process. I took on a different job, applying yellow transition zone bracelets to racer’s wrists. I explained that they were super-plush and engineered for overnight comfort. They were assuredly not, but I think most appreciated my sense of humor. A few hours into our shift, we enjoyed delicious sandwiches brought in from Collegetown Bagels. Time passed quickly and we were soon relieved by more volunteers.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1625.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Wrapping wristbands around wrists with Marie" title="Wrapping wristbands around wrists with Marie" /><p class="stickyNote">Wrapping wristbands around wrists with Marie</p></div>
<p>The concerts in the park are always a good time and Amy and I headed down for the evening while the kids stayed back at home. I really enjoy seeing the transition area set up for the next day, although the lion’s share of the setup happens overnight. As we listened to the band and relaxed with a bottle of wine, I was so struck by the contrast of the moment that I decided to write about it (link to <a href="http://taughannock.us/">taughannock.us</a>). I was enjoying a soothing evening, but just 12 hours later I’d be on the very same grass getting ready for an incredible endurance event.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1493.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Wristbands, wine and a damn good time" title="Wristbands, wine and a damn good time" /><p class="stickyNote">Wristbands, wine and a damn good time</p></div>
<p>After returning home we all set about packing most of the things we’d need for the race and then headed to bed. I don’t get too nervous before races anymore, and I gratefully found sleep rather easily once I turned in.</p>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
<p>We drove both of our cars down to the park: a little Dawson family caravan. Amy and I were both doing the full intermediate distance and the kids were signed up on a sprint relay team with their friend Jessica. Our Subaru ferried two bikes up top while our Honda Pilot took the third bike. I could feel my energy levels rising as we pulled into the park and heard the announcer’s voice reverberating around the area. He was reminding racers about body marking, transition, USAT rules, and the promise of selfies with Andy Getzin. We got into body marking lines and then stashed our bikes and gear in our assigned transition spots.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8416-e1533560057185.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="All set up in transition" title="All set up in transition" /><p class="stickyNote">All set up in transition</p></div>
<p>I walked over to the lake and looked at the swim course. The buoy line was relatively straight and the waves were not too bad.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1501.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A straight buoy line, but not for long" title="A straight buoy line, but not for long" /><p class="stickyNote">A straight buoy line, but not for long</p></div>
<p>I stopped back at registration to say hello to my parents, as they were volunteering there before being able to spectate.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1499.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My parents and Xander at registration" title="My parents and Xander at registration" /><p class="stickyNote">My parents and Xander at registration</p></div>
<p>It was fun to walk around and say hello to the people we knew, and I had the good fortune to run into Ximing. He ran on my cross country team last year, and we immensely enjoyed his company and good humor when we hosted the team for a barbecue at our house. He was looking good in a China singlet and we wished each other well.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1511.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A pre-race thumbs up from Ximing" title="A pre-race thumbs up from Ximing" /><p class="stickyNote">A pre-race thumbs up from Ximing</p></div>
<p>As I waited for my 8 a.m. start time I saw pockets of volunteers meeting in different locations to map out their day. The kayakers were huddled near the shore. The lifeguards were mingling outside their building. State troopers and sheriffs were gathered in the parking lot. Ian Golden was setting up a generator and sound system near the water where he’d be announcing the swim. Volunteers were unloading massive amounts of ice from a tractor. A refrigerated Wegmans truck pulled into the park, undoubtedly carrying much of the delicious post-race lunch we’d enjoy. The race takes an army of organizers and volunteers, and this point was not lost on me as I waited.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1506-e1533560023292.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Four Dawsons, pre-sweat" title="Four Dawsons, pre-sweat" /><p class="stickyNote">Four Dawsons, pre-sweat</p></div>
<h2 id="swim">Swim</h2>
<p>It was getting close to my start time so I headed into transition to grab my wetsuit, swim cap and goggles. I was in the first wave: men 45 and older.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8451.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Corralled and ready" title="Corralled and ready" /><p class="stickyNote">Corralled and ready</p></div>
<p>The water had gotten a bit choppier since I’d last looked and the crew had some trouble with buoys getting away from them. Over the last half hour, they’d lost the yellow turnaround buoy and a bright orange one that threatened to drift around Taughannock Point. They’d gotten them all back to where they needed to be, but the distinct arc in the buoy line told me that the wind was going to conspire to make this an interesting swim. I couldn’t control any of that, though, so I hopped into the swimming area to warm up.</p>
<p>As I came out of the water after swimming a lap I saw Andy Getzin talking with Travis Turner. They’d no doubt be leading the pack today, so I made a joke of wishing them well, since this would be the only time I’d see them today! All of us white-capped swimmers walked one-by-one from the holding pen into the water. In prior years, I’d been at the front of the mass of swimmers, only to be trampled and kicked in the fight for space as the race began. This year I adopted a different strategy. I held back about two-thirds of the way back, off to the left of the buoy line. I reasoned that it’d be a far less stressful start, and it would only add a few seconds to my time. It turned out to be a fantastic decision!</p>
<p>The swim was so pleasant. True, the wind had whipped up waves making each outbound stroke a struggle, but I passed the time focusing on the different points that Shane had made in his Strokes Mastery course. Snapping my hips. Patient lead arm. Sliding my arm into the sleeve. Alternate breathing the whole way. I was filled with gratitude at one point, and echoed Shane’s sentiment to myself, saying “I get to do this.” I was being smacked in the head by waves and constantly having to course-correct, but I was grateful.</p>
<p>Near the turnaround at a half mile, I noticed as I breathed off to the right that the turnaround buoy was about a hundred yards in that direction. Could that be right? I stopped short and treaded water as I got my bearings and quickly understood what had happened. The buoy had again become untethered and a poor kayaker had taken up a post in its stead. He was yelling for all of us to go around him, which we did. I can’t imagine how long he must have had to give those instructions while paddling to stay in one place, especially to swimmers whose ears were mostly underwater.</p>
<p>The return trip was blissful since I was now swimming with the current. I enjoyed the quickening pace and reduced resistance and spent some of the return time thinking about transition. I visualized what I’d need to do: sunglasses, shoes, helmet. Sunglasses, shoes, helmet. As I approached the shoreline — (sunglasses, shoes helmet) — I saw bright sunlight reflecting off dense patches of seaweed beneath me. They passed by fluidly with each stroke. I was struck by the irony that, for most of the swim, you mark progress by the passage of surface buoys. It was far more satisfying to see objects below me passing by. It wasn’t unlike the feeling of being a little kid, putting my arm outside a car window and feeling the wind buffeting my hand as we drove. It was tactile for my senses and so enjoyable. I came out of the water feeling like I had plenty of energy. As Shane has told me before, nobody wins their race in the water, but plenty of them can lose it. The goal is to get out onto the bike and run courses with plenty of gas in the tank.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_8444-e1533560105446.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Exiting the swim (photo: Ed Dawson)" title="Exiting the swim (photo: Ed Dawson)" /><p class="stickyNote">Exiting the swim (photo: Ed Dawson)</p></div>
<h2 id="bike">Bike</h2>
<p>I ran through the parking lot into transition and noticed Craig McManus running at my left side. We had a good laugh since last year we also exited the water at the exact same time. I stripped off my wetsuit awkwardly after having some difficulty getting it around the timing bracelet on my ankle. I put on my sunglasses, slipped into my cycling shoes and strapped on my helmet. I staggered briefly as I started to roll my bike out of transition, mostly due to the rush of exerting so much energy moving while standing. A quick yell fixed that sensation. I clipped into my pedals and pedaled quickly onto Route 89.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/69E00E32-545A-4989-B628-4B0D68033DFE-2348-000002EA3504FF5B.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Starting the bike course" title="Starting the bike course" /><p class="stickyNote">Starting the bike course</p></div>
<p>The ride is easily my most favorite part of this course. Sure, it’s in my backyard so I train on it a lot. I love that you get a lot of the climbing out of the way in the first few miles. I doubled down and passed a few guys from my wave during the ascent. The Knapp and MacCarrick clans were out in full force near the crest of the hill. Stevan Knapp shot photos from the opposite shoulder while the families gave much needed encouragement as I passed. It was a wonderful emotional boost!</p>
<p>The next miles clicked by quickly. Rolling hills had me alternating between gear extremes. During the triathlon training night weeks prior, I had clocked my fastest bike time on the course — race or no race. I’d had a good rabbit to pace off of that night and hit 20 mph as an average. I’d not been in the lake for a mile beforehand, though. I had my watch set on average pace today. My average pace approached 18 mph as I approached Sheldrake. I immensely enjoyed the downhill into the shoreline community. As I made the turn and sped onto the “Sheldrake Sprint” Strava segment (link) I was gratified to hear the cowbells rung by so many residents from their lawns and porches. What amazing support! Here I was, halfway through the bike race and being buoyed by the support of neighbors to the north. It was awesome.</p>
<p>I passed a few more cyclists on the flats and made the left turn just past Sheldrake Point Winery to climb back up to Route 89. My average pace was lifted by the speed I carried through Sheldrake and I’d kissed my 20 mph average as I started the climb. I had a strong ride up the winding hill, took a left on 89, and doubled down to keep up the pace.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_0006.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Return trip (photo: Stevan Knapp)" title="Return trip (photo: Stevan Knapp)" /><p class="stickyNote">Return trip (photo: Stevan Knapp)</p></div>
<p>The first few southbound miles of the return trip have some slight longer uphill grades. I watched my average pace creep down tenth-by-tenth to 18.8. I was sure I could make some of that up in the final downhill miles. I traded places with just a few bikers on the return trip, since some of us are stronger at downhill stretches and others excel uphill. I passed a large contingent of MacQueen supporters. Such great cheering! I flew by the troopers who’d closed the road beyond the last intersection. All that stood between me and the end of the bike course was a sweet downhill with no traffic — guaranteed. I hit a top speed as I bottomed the hill, slowed to enter the park and dismounted when instructed. It was time to run.</p>
<h2 id="run">Run</h2>
<p>I had a decent transition time from the bike to the run. The longest part was slipping on my socks and shoes, yet the bib was a cinch. When this race hosted the National Sprint Championship several years ago, the runner swag included a triathlon running belt. Your running bib snaps on the front of it, and the elastic belt clips around your waist. I’ve loved this piece of swag every year I do a triathlon, as it makes transition so easy.</p>
<p>The run is two identical loops up to the end of the gorge trail and back. After spending so much time exerting myself on the swim and bike, the run was all about perseverance. I ran by perceived effort, using my watch only to record the workout for posterity. After many minutes of isolation on the bike, it was heartening to have so much support on the run: the myriad spectators who shouted out my name (thank you!); Brenda Michaud at the marina bridge; the two enthusiastic volunteers cheering at the turn to the west at the shore; all the aid station crews, but most notably Bob Talda and his infectious positive vibe.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/1AFE6497-8CFA-433C-9854-67AE11983A81-2348-000002EA287CABB0.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="At the turnaround, loop 1" title="At the turnaround, loop 1" /><p class="stickyNote">At the turnaround, loop 1</p></div>
<p>I caught up with Shane Eversfield on the first loop and chatted with him briefly. I told him that the Wednesday night class had been “pure gold” for me. It was true: without it, the swim would have gone far more poorly. The first loop went by so well, but the sun beat down relentlessly as I came back into the park. There was no shade here, and I longed to be back on the tree-covered gorge trail. Joel Cisne, in his inimitable fashion (personality and clothing) spurred runners on at the halfway point and finish. He was kind enough to let me post this video of him either guiding runners to the finish (sprint and second-lap intermediates) or another 5K loop (us lucky intermediates). Joel is one of the most memorable parts of the race for me!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNkgCdAN9c">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcNkgCdAN9c</a></p>
<p>The second loop was all about just keeping the pace up. I went a little further inside myself, not taking the time or energy to encourage many other runners. It was hard enough to focus on my own cadence! Minute by minute the miles passed by, though, and soon I was back in the direct sunlight. I was ready to be done.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/34F0E388-C4FF-4883-93F2-CFC0D6098F59-2348-000002EA1CD1F2A5.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finish line photo" title="Finish line photo" /><p class="stickyNote">Finish line photo</p></div>
<p>I crossed the line with an interesting dual fist pump posture. Call it my BodyPump pose, if you will? I was so happy to be done with the heat of the day descending. All I wanted in the moment, though was to find a piece of shade. I quickly said hello to my parents and my son, who’d not yet begun his relay run, followed me over into the shade of a tent. I collapsed and he took what is probably my most favorite picture of the day.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_0539.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done" title="Done" /><p class="stickyNote">Done</p></div>
<p>Elizabeth soon came into transition and Xander headed out onto the run course. I pulled my things out of transition and packed them in the car, then waited with Elizabeth and Jessica for Xander, then Amy, to finish. Everyone was smiling and talking and laughing, and that’s one of the reasons I love this race. It’s such a fun community to be in! There wasn’t any line at the Wegmans tent for lunch, and the long line for Ithaca Beer didn’t take a long time to get through. Our friend Christina had volunteered to sweep the youth bike course and she joined us for lunch at a shaded picnic table near the shore.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1526.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A fabulous post-race spread" title="A fabulous post-race spread" /><p class="stickyNote">A fabulous post-race spread</p></div>
<p>It was a fitting end to a tough morning. I enjoyed the cold beer and beautiful spread of food, but I enjoyed being able to sit even more. The waves we’d endured during our swim were gone now. Ironically, the wind had died down enough to give the lake a glassy texture. After a few more minutes, with the beer gone, there was only one more choice our family could make before going home. We all looked at each other as we stood up. “Ice cream?” Amy asked. Heck yes. Ice cream.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/08/IMG_1528-e1533560185557.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Beer never tasted so good" title="Beer never tasted so good" /><p class="stickyNote">Beer never tasted so good</p></div>
<h2 id="cayuga-lake-olympic-triathlon%3A-by-the-numbers">Cayuga Lake Olympic Triathlon: By the Numbers</h2>
<p>5/17 age group M45-49<br />
33/130 male<br />
35/195 overall</p>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Olympic Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/">2019</a></td>
<td>2:37:33</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779253/overview">31:51</a><br />(2:07 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:53</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779380/overview">1:14:34</a>
<br />(19.55 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779469/overview">47:44</a>
<br />(7:42 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2018-olympic-distance/">2018</a></td>
<td>2:38:18</td>
<td>34:51<br />(2:19 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:51</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052368/overview">1:13:51</a>
<br />(19.74 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:43</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052471/overview">46:02</a>
<br />(7:25 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">2017</a></td>
<td>2:43:40</td>
<td>35:54<br />(2:24 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:26</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575512/overview">1:14:51</a>
<br />(19.47 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:50</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575728/overview">49:39</a>
<br />(8:00 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016-olympic-distance/">2016</a></td>
<td>2:40:28</td>
<td>31:34<br />(2:06 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:29</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667999049/overview">1:14:44</a>
<br />(19.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:22</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667998576/overview">51:19</a>
<br />(8:17 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
FLRC July Track Meet2018-07-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flrc-july-track-meet-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the FLRC July Track Meet on July 17, 2018 in a time of 5:21.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1709767412/embed/a11c03bba1ee5dc7f3577febf465dc810b96f205"></iframe>Celebrating 20 Years of Marriage2018-07-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/20th-anniversary/<p>We’ve been married for 20 years! Instead of throwing a huge bash on a single date, we thought we’d do something a little different.</p>
<p>We’d love to see <strong>YOU</strong>. We love to support our local businesses. So, we’re putting five different dates and places on our calendar. If you’re reading this, <strong>you’re invited</strong> to come and hang out with us at one (or many) of these fine establishments this summer. No reservations needed. No RSVP required. Just bring your cash for some provisions and bring some favorite memories and stories to help us usher in our next 20 years of our marriage! If you are interested in the September 3 event at our home, please do RSVP so we have a sense of how many to plan for.</p>
<p><strong>And please, no gifts.</strong> Your presence will be our presents. <em>See what we did there?</em></p>
<p>As a final twist, since 20 is such a nice, round number, we’re giving away 20 of our favorite things. Along with each thing, we’ll tell you why it’s special to us. Each venue has a list of the “door prizes”. When you check in with us and sign our guest book, you’re entered for that venue’s door prizes!</p>
<p>SUNDAY July 22 <em>anytime between 4-6p. No RSVP needed.</em><br />
<strong>Venue:</strong> <a href="https://www.ithacabeer.com/"><strong>Ithaca Beer</strong></a></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://flxfitclub.com/">FLX FitClub</a> Introductory Pass</li>
<li><a href="https://www.ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a> Gift Card</li>
<li>6-pack of <a href="https://www.ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a> Flower Power</li>
<li>6-pack of <a href="https://www.ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a> Green Trail</li>
</ul>
<p>WEDNESDAY July 25 <em>anytime between 6:30-8:30p. No RSVP needed.</em><br />
<strong>Venue:</strong> <a href="http://carriagehousecafe.com/the-loft-bar-lounge/"><strong>Carriage House Loft</strong></a><br />
It's our actual factual anniversary evening! The Carriage House's Loft is a “third place” where you can go that isn’t home or work. They have craft beers, wines, signature cocktails and a variety of flatbreads and mezze platters.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.puresweatyoga.com/">Pure Sweat Bikram Method Yoga</a> Intro Class</li>
<li><a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">Viva Taqueria</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="https://gimmecoffee.com/">Gimme Coffee</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="https://www.liquidstatebeer.com/">Liquid State Brewing Company</a> Gift Card</li>
</ul>
<p>FRIDAY August 3 <em>anytime between 6:45-8:45p. No RSVP needed.</em><br />
<strong>Venue:</strong> <a href="https://www.liquidstatebeer.com/"><strong>Liquid State Brewing Company</strong></a><br />
Have you worked out at <a href="http://flxfitclub.com/">FLX Fitclub</a> yet? We’ll be at their Friday Happy Hour BodyPump class from 5:30-6:30 before heading over to Liquid State. Come join us for a pre-beer sweat!</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wegmans.com/">Wegmans</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="https://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running Company</a> Gift Card</li>
<li>64 ounce growler from <a href="https://www.liquidstatebeer.com/">Liquid State</a></li>
<li><a href="https://amzn.to/2NtM9jq">Moleskine Notebooks</a></li>
</ul>
<p>SATURDAY August 25 <em>anytime between 6:30-8:30p. No RSVP needed.</em><br />
<strong>Venue:</strong> <a href="http://atlasbowl.com/"><strong>Atlas Bowl</strong></a></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://atlasbowl.com/">Atlas Bowl</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/New-York-Pizzeria-153330741403715/">New York Pizzeria</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gtgtburg.com/">Good to Go</a> Gift Card</li>
<li><a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz/not-my-dads-soft-serve-trumansburg">Not My Dad’s</a> Gift Card</li>
</ul>
<p>MONDAY September 3 <em>anytime between 2-5p</em><br />
<strong>Venue: Our Home in Trumansburg (113 Larchmont)</strong><br />
This will be a casual afternoon gathering before back-to-school gets in full swing. We’ll have the sauna on if people are interested, and plenty of games and space on the deck to hang out and relax. Bring a dessert item or drink to share!</p>
<ul>
<li>Bottle of Wine</li>
<li><a href="https://cheribundi.com/">Cheribundi</a></li>
<li><a href="https://amzn.to/2MRd1c0">Kyocera Ceramic Knife</a></li>
<li><a href="https://amzn.to/2MRd1c0">Personal Crock Pot</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Plan on coming to this last event? <a href="https://goo.gl/forms/Fkt7Nzi1ddvUElxu2">Please let us know</a>.</p>
<h2 id="blasts-from-the-past">Blasts from the Past</h2>
<p>What anniversary invitation would be complete without at least a few pictures from the couple? Here's a few of us through the years.</p>
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</div></div>FLRC June Track Meet: A Mile in My (Discount Rack) Shoes2018-06-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/a-mile-in-my-discount-rack-shoes/<p>Today, I ran my fastest mile. This past winter, I participated in MITHACAL Miler training sessions. They definitely helped propel me into my spring training cycles, focusing on shorter distances and speed. After Saturday’s Gorges Half Marathon <em>(story coming soon)</em> I was unsure how I’d handle a fast mile at <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/june-2018-outdoor-track-meet/">FLRC’s June track meet</a> in Lansing. It’d be my third meet, my first outdoors. I didn't run at all after the half marathon, but did a BodyPump session, yoga, a few hikes and indulged in a sports massage.</p>
<p>I could write a ton more about the evening, but here’s the TL;DR. I finished in 5:17, an 6-second improvement over my prior record at <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/hartshorne-memorial-masters-mile-2018/">Hartshorne</a>. I was seeded in the fastest heat, knowing after the first straightaway that I was not going to be the first to cross the tape. I was quickly passed by half the field. I focused on running 120-second 400s. I made the turn onto the final straightaway and saw the clock blink past 5:00. I poured every ounce of willpower I had into turning my legs over, knowing that this final stretch would make or break the day. Turns out it made the day.</p>
<p>Adam Engst's summary email was priceless:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As so often happens, though, the mile was once again the highlight of the meet. After the gun, the pack settled in behind Scott Dawson for the first lap, with a four-man pack breaking free after that, including 2018 Twilight 5K winner Ethan Seltzer, Joshua Derrick (trying to double from the 2 mile), Cornell University grad student Adam Pacheck (who won both the Skunk Half Marathon and Monster Half Marathon in 2017), and Leon Atkins of the Auburn Pulsars, who ran the 800 in 1:52 for the University of Buffalo. Just past the halfway point, Pacheck took the lead, followed by Atkins, and together they pulled away from Derrick and Seltzer. Pacheck still held the lead at the final bell lap, but Atkins unleashed a ferocious kick to win in 4:32, putting 6 seconds on Pacheck in that last lap even as he was kicking too to come through in 4:38. The race was far from over though. Derrick and Seltzer battled to the line for third and fourth, with Derrick outleaning Seltzer by 0.18 seconds in 4:48. Then, after Jason Tuori cruised in fifth in 5:12, 15-year-old Hayden Belanger of Southern Tier SOAR barely nipped 37-year-old Phil Kwasney of STRC by 0.41 seconds in 5:14. And then, Scott Dawson — remember him from the first lap? — ended up running a 1 mile PR in 5:17 just days after running a half-marathon PR with an 8th place finish in the Gorges Half Marathon.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is where the shoes come in. I don’t often think about the clothes I wear or the shoes I slip into, but after this race I did. Ian Golden offered these as a discounted option a few years ago at <a href="https://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running</a>. I was buying other shoes at the time, and he brought them over and said, <em>“Here, try these.”</em> I bought them, mostly because I thought they looked cool and the price was right. I foolishly wore them for a marathon, during which a hotspot chafed my foot and I put them in the closet for many months. Then the MITHACAL Milers training started, and they were perfect for short distances in Barton Hall. They’re also the shoe I reach for when I go to <a href="http://flxfitclub.com/">FLX Fitclub</a> for BodyPump. They’ve been on my feet for each of my mile races. Looking back, I’d have to say they’ve turned out to be a pretty special pair. They may have started off on a discount rack in a specialty running store, but they’re looking pretty sharp now. Here’s to many more miles in these shoes. <strong>They have more stories to tell.</strong></p>
<p>So yeah, shoes. Sandals. Boots. When you buy them, their stories are yet to be woven and told. It's an intriguing thought: everything starts at zero. A blank slate. A car with zero miles. A notebook filled with blank pages. New shoes with perfect, shiny treads. What stories will unfold when you travel, write, draw, or run?</p>
<p>Onward!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/IMG_1144-e1529499704880.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Many thanks to Aaron Proujansky for the post-race snap!" title="Many thanks to Aaron Proujansky for the post-race snap!" /><p class="stickyNote">Many thanks to Aaron Proujansky for the post-race snap!</p></div>
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Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20182018-06-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2018/<p>It’s so nice having a teenage driver. On a busy Thursday afternoon, my daughter drove my son to his haircut, then continued afterwards to Ithaca to pick up our Gorges Half Marathon bibs. My wife and I were registered to run and schedules made it tough for us to get in to get our race numbers and t-shirts. My phone rang.</p>
<p>“Uh, Dad?” It was Elizabeth.</p>
<p>“Yeah?” I hoped everything was all right.</p>
<p>“Yeah, so …” Elizabeth sounded like she was going to ask a far-fetched, theoretical question. “I’m here at the running store.” Then, after a beat, “I got your bibs.”</p>
<p>“Excellent.” I said. Why was she calling, then?</p>
<p>“But there’s more.” She continued, “Why would there be … a packet for me and my brother?”</p>
<p>“What?” I furrowed up my brow, confused. I was sure it was just Amy and me running, not the whole family. The kids certainly weren’t trained for a half marathon. “That’s really weird.” I said. “Hold on.”</p>
<p>I went into my trusty email folder marked “Receipts” and did a quick search. There it was. Gorges Half Marathon. Confirmation. Scrolling … scrolling … scrolling. And yes, in black and white, evidence of total absentmindedness on my part. Four registrations for the race, two for a few reasonably well-trained adults and two for a pair of kids who were not. <em>Excellent!</em> I told Elizabeth to come on home with all four packets.</p>
<p>We were so excited about this year’s race that we registered on December 1, the earliest one could register. Six months ago, the world looked a lot different and the kids said they were totally down for a half marathon. Come springtime, their exuberance must have faded to the point of forgetting they’d signed up, and we adults didn’t have the presence of mind to remember either. Thing is, Amy and I are <em>always</em> training for a race so we are jumping from plan to plan without much of a break. The kids are busy with school, spring sports and music, so ... there you go. Xander was coming down with a cold (Amy already was in the middle of one) so he decided he wasn’t feeling like running 13 miles. We thought about logistics for getting him into Ithaca to enjoy the post-race festivities but he was quite content to stay home. Elizabeth thought it’d be fun to see what she could do. Her decision was all the more fun since she’d told one of her teachers that she <em>wasn’t</em> registered to run. She’d run after all!</p>
<h2 id="training">Training</h2>
<p>I had followed the Run Less, Run Faster half marathon training plan for this year’s <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2018/">Skunk Cabbage Half</a>. It treated me so well for that race that I just jumped right back into the plan after a week off to train for this race. The plan calls for fewer, but faster, miles. Three key weekly workouts — intervals, tempo and long run — progressively built on each other to add intensity but not massive mileage. I’d fill the rest of my time with cross-training: hiking, BodyPump, vinyasa yoga and Bikram. I was talking with Amy about the plan as the race date approached and how it may take less time due to the curtailed mileage, but none of those miles are pleasurable when you’re in ‘em. It’s ALL tough, sweaty work.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>We could have opted to drive a car into Ithaca during race morning, leave it for the return trip, and take one of the buses to the start (included with this year’s race registration). However, that’d be a lot of driving for a race morning! I decided to position the car the night before. I drove into Ithaca, parked our Subaru a few blocks from the finish, paid for the half hour remaining on the parking meter for the day and boarded one of the TCAT buses heading back to Trumansburg for the evening. It worked out beautifully.</p>
<p>I slept really well for a race evening. We woke at 5, as is our custom, and I made us some coffee. I eat religiously two hours before the start of any event, so I chased my coffee with an "everything" bagel with peanut butter. Normally I’d write or do some light correspondence in the early morning hours, but unfortunately I’d been troubleshooting a problem with a web site for which it turns out the owner didn’t renew the domain name. It was a total distraction for me on this race morning, and the free hour I had quickly passed by.</p>
<p>We had arranged a morning ride to the start line with my father-in-law the night before. Last year, we drove our other car to the Racker Center building a mile from the start, but Ray would get us closer and without having to leave a car. We approach from the north end of the start line, said goodbye and each found our own hedgerows to pee in. Charming, I know, but we were there close enough to the start time that I didn’t want to fight the port-o-pottie lines.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/IMG_1125-e1529939270661.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me, Amy and Elizabeth" title="Me, Amy and Elizabeth" /><p class="stickyNote">Me, Amy and Elizabeth</p></div>
<p>There were about 1,000 runners this year. The view of the colorful mass of runners was awesome at the start. I took a picture of me with Amy and Elizabeth, then Ian Golden indulged me with a picture before his pre-race remarks. The sun was out, everyone was smiling, and the temperature was not too hot, unlike <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2017/">last year</a>.</p>
<p>As I was talking with Mark Jauquet (who’d go on to win his age group) at the start, I felt something on the bottom of my shoe. One of the treads was halfway torn off, right at the heel. I ripped the rest of it off. These were fairly new Altra Escalantes, so I was really surprised! I doubted it would affect my footfalls and carefully tucked it away in my running belt (I’d successfully re-apply it with some superglue later). A short time later, Ian blew his ram’s horn and we were off.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/IMG_1127-e1529939226337.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Ian Golden just before the race started" title="Me and Ian Golden just before the race started" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Ian Golden just before the race started</p></div>
<h2 id="black-diamond">Black Diamond</h2>
<p>The first mile felt really smooth and even, especially on brand-new asphalt. Trees provided ample shade on the northbound stretch, but the morning sun was unrelenting as we turned eastbound for a few minutes. I was happy to turn south onto the shaded Black Diamond trail. I ran alongside Dillon Shaffer for a few miles. We were clocking even 6:00 miles. I asked how he felt about the pace since we seemed to be pushing each other. He said it was a good pace for him. It did feel somewhat easy given the downhill. I shared it was definitely not sustainable for me, at least after we exited the trail onto Cass Park’s flat paths. Midway down Black Diamond, we ran past Jon Shaff who was in the late miles of a 17-mile training run. It was nice to see him and get some encouraging words from a friend!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/ML-2018-RNRGorgesHalfMarathon-00042.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Dillon Shaffer, pushing the pace on the Black Diamond" title="Me and Dillon Shaffer, pushing the pace on the Black Diamond" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Dillon Shaffer, pushing the pace on the Black Diamond</p></div>
<p>I decided to hydrate by walking through the water stations, taking only water (no Tailwind this year). The first one was staffed with volunteers from Trumansburg’s robotics group. I took a water and thanked them. As I started running again after a few seconds of walking and drinking, one of the volunteers said, “Hey, that was Scott. That was Scott Dawson!” That made me smile and gave me a bit of extra energy. I believe this was where Dillon and I parted ways. I’d run alone for the remainder of the race.</p>
<p>Near the end of the trail, photographer extraordinaire Ron Heerkens, Jr. was crouched on the side of the trail. He said something as I went by, though I couldn’t make it out. In my semi-daze, I convinced myself that he said, <em>“You’re going to have to go faster than that.”</em> I admit, it made me not give up much pace as I made my way off Black Diamond and onto Cass Park’s maze of sun-drenched blacktop trails. Talking to him later, what he actually said was something like <em>"That'll be a better picture"</em>, since last year I was running so close to someone it was hard to get a good shot. A large group of spectators clapped and cheered at the trail’s exit and I found pockets of supporters throughout the park. I think it’s wonderful when spectators cheer for everyone, not just their own athlete. I know from experience it can feel awkward, but it really helps the runners so much! Once you get over the ridiculous feeling of saying practically the same thing over and over <em>(Way to go! You’re doing great! Looking strong!)</em> it really isn’t that bad. I am always so grateful for all of the spectator support!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/Gorges_Half_RNR_RH-20180616-166.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Nearing Black Diamond's exit" title="Nearing Black Diamond's exit" /><p class="stickyNote">Nearing Black Diamond's exit</p></div>
<h2 id="cass-and-stewart-parks">Cass and Stewart Parks</h2>
<p>I took on more water and marveled at the fine sidewalk chalk art near the ice rink. The sounds of bagpipers stationed farther down the course floated from across the inlet. Brenda Michaud had told me she’d be course marshaling at the intersection by the Jewelbox, so I set my sights on seeing her. I was tired and alone, so setting landmarks was going to help immensely. I smiled and shouted as I saw her, and then turned onto the waterfront trail. As I weaved my way around the stands of kayaks for rent, a few Ithaca bike cops pulled in front of me on the trail. It was purely coincidental, but I smiled at the prospect of getting a police escort for this stretch of the race! I was passed by a runner as I took more water near the Ithaca College and Cornell boathouses. I passed the bagpiper duo. They were wisely spelling each other, providing an endless stream of fantastic aural fabric to run by, yet providing each other with much-needed breaks. I tried to keep a steady pace. My watch told me what my average pace was, but I had no idea what I’d need to do well. What were my goals? I realized I didn’t have any, just to run my best race against my prior self. I hadn’t looked up any times in advance. I soldiered on, trying not to lose precious seconds as the sun beat down near the Ithaca Farmers Market.</p>
<p>The next landmark for me was exiting Stewart Park after bouncing over the footbridges. I love running over these bridges as part of the turkey trot we do each year. Someone had circled goose poop on the Stewart Park sidewalks near the waterfront. It was very nice gesture, but dare I say a shitty job? I laughed inside at this corny joke in my head. Joe Reynolds was course marshaling at the railroad track as I exited the park. It was another emotional lift from a familiar face. Shortly after that I got another boost from Adrian Western as I ran by Ithaca High School.</p>
<p>My thoughts turned to my love for the running community. Here in Ithaca, it’s the same with road races, trail races, short races and long races. Everyone is so supportive and encouraging, even people I don’t know well. I happened to be running by myself, but I knew that I was not running alone. None of us are.</p>
<h2 id="the-finish">The Finish</h2>
<p>I made the final turn onto the “home stretch”, a ¾ mile straightaway to the finish. 17-year old local Guthrie Kuckes came up alongside me, seeming fresh as a daisy. I was flagging, but we encouraged each other and I matched his speed for a few minutes. Soon he surged ahead as I kept a laser focus on the finish banner looming in the distance. I smiled inwardly and then outwardly as the finish chute came into sharper relief. Two blocks away. One block away. The spectators lining the finish area cheered. I crossed the finish line exuberantly, smiling and clapping my hands. I didn’t know yet what my time meant for me, since all of my race times are a jumble of numbers in my brain. I was happy to finish the race without feeling totally depleted, knowing that my training and even pacing resulted in the best I could do on this specific day.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/06/147A9681.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done!" title="Done!" /><p class="stickyNote">Done!</p></div>
<p>I walked back along the course with a brand new bottle of refreshing, cold water. I clapped and encouraged runners as they finished, even high-fiving a few. I saved my best announcer-ish voice for Jeff Cronk and Peter Korolov, both good running friends. Back at the final turn, I sat on the curb next to two spectators with signs and waited for Elizabeth. I’d used Find My iPhone to see where she was. I shouted encouragement to Amy as she made her final turn. I gingerly stood up when Elizabeth came around the corner and started running the final stretch with her. She said she was feeling surprisingly good for not having trained and ran an even race to get where she was. I enjoyed this last mile with her, not talking much, just running.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<p>That’s it. It was done! The three of us had fun milling about the Ithaca Commons as we cooled down. The post-race food and Ithaca Beer were delicious, but even more delicious was the opportunity to catch up with friends who’d also raced. At the awards I learned that the first masters runner had finished a few minutes ahead of me, but I took the prize for first in the M40-44 age group. Yeah! More money, albeit a modest amount, to spend in the running store!</p>
<p>We walked the few blocks to get our stashed Subaru and drove home. As I waited for my watch to sync to Strava, I thought about my Corning Half Marathon PR from 2014. In that race, Jason Husted was my unofficial pacer. He and I ran step-for-step for much of the latter half of that race, and I credit much of that PR (1:26:23) to having him racing hard next to me to keep me in the game. How would today’s effort stack up? I looked at my time, and thought … <strong>Oh. My. God.</strong> 1:23:17. Three minutes faster? This was a new personal record for the half marathon! Granted, this course has a lot more elevation loss, but it’s not without its challenges. I never thought I could challenge the Corning time, especially as I got older. Yet here I was, just over 3 weeks shy of my 45th birthday, still challenging myself and running healthy. That was cause for celebration, indeed.</p>
<p>Many, many thanks to Ian Golden and Alex Kleinerman for co-race directing and all of the fantastic volunteers on and off the course. Our local races are top notch, in no small part due to their efforts and enthusiasm. I’m honored to be a part of the community. Thank you.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:23:17 (PR!)<br />
<strong>Age Group 40-44:</strong> 2/48<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 8/316<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 8/977</p>
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<p><strong>Full Results:</strong> <a href="http://leonetiming.com/2018/Roads/GorgesNet.htm">http://leonetiming.com/2018/Roads/GorgesNet.htm</a> <strong>Age Group Awards:</strong> <a href="http://leonetiming.com/2018/Roads/GorgesAwards.htm">http://leonetiming.com/2018/Roads/GorgesAwards.htm</a></p>
<h2 id="photos">Photos</h2>
<p>The watermarked photos on this page are from <a href="http://www.allisonusavage.com/category/events/">Allison Usavage</a> (finish photo) and Ron Heerkens Jr. of <a href="http://goatfactorymedia.com/">Goat Factory Media</a>. They are both incredibly talented whether they have a camera in front of them or not.</p>
<p><strong>Goat Factory Media:</strong> <a href="https://galleries.goatfactorymedia.com/gorgeshalf-rnr2018">https://galleries.goatfactorymedia.com/gorgeshalf-rnr2018</a> <strong>Allison Usavage:</strong> <a href="http://photos.allisonusavage.com/ithacahalf2018">http://photos.allisonusavage.com/ithacahalf2018</a></p>
Tortoise & Hare2018-06-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/tortoise-and-hare-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Tortoise & Hare on June 2, 2018 in a time of 50:46.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1612711965/embed/408805609ee4c4b84a9b484a5759727d15f7be89"></iframe>May Day 5K 20182018-05-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/may-day-5k-2018/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the May Day 5K 2018 on May 12, 2018 in a time of 18:39.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1567458650/embed/84f8dfb3a4ddd872612f280fa8e301c9d658b051"></iframe>Artifice (Payne Showers)2018-04-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/artifice-payne-showers/<p>In April 2018 I was grateful to be cast as <strong>Payne Showers</strong> in <a href="http://encoreplayers.org/artifice/">Anne Flanagan's <em>Artifice</em></a>. The play is a hilarious romp packed with intrigue, relationships, near disaster, and, well, art. For her work on Artifice, playwright Anne Flanagan won the Reva Shiner Award, the McLaren Memorial Comedy Award, and the Mountain Playhouse International Comedy Award.</p>
<p>Here's what I wrote about the show amid our hectic rehearsal schedule:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anne Flanagan’s script is hands-down hilarious, and it’s a pleasure to bring Payne's personality to life. He goes through so many emotions throughout the play, and the interactions he has between Maggie and Richard bring him — and the audience — through all the ups and downs of relationships. As an added bonus, the storyline allows me a good amount of “filling in the blanks” about what ultimately makes him tick. Couple that with the honor of working with such a talented group of actors and directors, and I’m having a pretty fantastic kickoff to spring!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The story takes place at a farmhouse in upstate New York; the country home of gallery owner Maggie La Rue. Her recently deceased husband and popular artist Payne Showers <em>(hey, that's me!)</em> has left Maggie in debt, forcing her to auction off his paintings in order to avoid bankruptcy. Showers’ untimely death causes his work to skyrocket in value. Two bigwigs from the city have been invited to view the collection, and Maggie is praying they will make substantial purchases. Then, Payne Showers comes home. As the plot unfolds, the ensuing chaos guarantees two acts full of laughter!</p>
<h2 id="photos">Photos</h2>
<p>Renee Wilkerson took some fantastic photos of the cast during a few of our performances. The entire set is linked from <a href="http://encoreplayers.org/artifice/">Encore Players' show page</a>, but here are some of my favorites.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2018/05/img_8122_27909993268_o.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Caption" />
</div></div>Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20182018-04-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2018/<p>I signed up for my fifth <a href="https://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/skunk-cabbage-classic-2018/">Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon</a> on December 1. There’s something about hitting registration for your favorite races on the first day it opens, in the depths of winter. I have several races that are this way, including <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/GorgesIthaca">Gorges Half</a> and the <a href="https://cayugalaketriathlon.org/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a>. I love Skunk because of the people. It feels like everyone emerges from winter hibernation and converges on Barton Hall for an unofficial runner’s kickoff to spring. I love the social aspect of mingling before and after the race. The course is also rather nice, as there aren’t too many hills and it’s easily digested in stretches of 2-4 miles.</p>
<p>This winter’s <a href="https://www.strava.com/clubs/mithacal-milers">MITHICAL Milers</a> series served as good preparation to come into the middle of a half marathon plan. I chose to jump into the last 8 weeks of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2GQybED">Run Less, Run Faster</a> plan. The plan calls for three key running workouts each week: an interval, a tempo and a long run. I’d fill a few more days each week with cross training, a critical component to staying healthy and keeping my whole system in check. As an added bonus, since it was still rather cold out and MITHICAL Milers was officially over, I’d have an excuse to go to Barton Hall for speedwork on the 200m track. I made it through the plan having hit my aggressive goals for the most part, so felt really prepared physically for this race.</p>
<h2 id="what-to-wear%3F">What to Wear?</h2>
<p>The key problem was going to be the weather. The temperature was forecasted to be about ten degrees colder than I’d like. It’d hover right around freezing for the entire distance! What should I wear? Tights could overheat. Shorts could be too cold, especially if it wasn’t sunny. I need up choosing shorts and my favorite NYC Marathon long-sleeved tech shirt. A hat and sunglasses completed the ensemble nicely, since the course was not sheltered and wind and snow could be an issue for visibility. I was really nervous, too. Race mornings can be hit or miss for me, but I was feeling particularly bad this morning, <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson/status/982933394878271488">bad enough to tweet about it</a>.</p>
<h2 id="getting-ready-in-cornell's-barton-hall">Getting Ready in Cornell's Barton Hall</h2>
<p>As we arrived outside of Barton Hall, Joel Cisne was the first familiar person we saw. His smile is always infectious and helps kick off the day right.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/04/dawsons_joel_cisne-e1523392730832.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy, me and Joel Cisne" title="Amy, me and Joel Cisne" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy, me and Joel Cisne</p></div>
<p>It’s no wonder he was awarded the Ian Golden Community Wellness & Spirit Award in 2016. He does so much for the local running community. Just outside of Barton, Amy and I saw Shane Eversfield, a beast in his own right, who <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">taught me how to swim again</a>. We exchanged enthusiastic hellos with him before heading inside to join the throngs of people waiting for the race to start.</p>
<p>I then ran into Jason Fingerman, who was treating today as a final volume day leading up to the Big Sur Marathon. We had been chatting on Strava about the race, and wanted to get together for a picture beforehand. He routed his first 8 miles downtown from Cornell and then back up Buffalo Street. He had my instant respect based on this route. He’d finish off his long run on the race course. In 1993, you could have found Jason and I in adjacent dorm rooms on Onondaga 4N at SUNY Geneseo. Neither of us were runners then, but we sure are now!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/04/scott_dawson_jason_fingerman-e1523392703413.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Jason" title="Me and Jason" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Jason</p></div>
<p>Barton was swarming with people picking up bibs, finalizing their wardrobes, grabbing last glasses of water and socializing with friends. I found a corner to stash our extra clothing in, said goodbye to Amy and started to do some strides on the track. Only half of it was really usable, which was fine. I wasn’t going for distance here, just looking to get the legs moving and feel what speed felt like again. I jogged a few light 100s and found some hurdles to use for stability as I swung my legs in all manner of directions to loosen up. Tonya Engst happened by and she stretched a bit with me as we talked about a play I’m acting in. The show’s in two weeks, so I’ve been telling everyone who’ll listen to me that they should go. If you live locally, you should!</p>
<p>It was 20 minutes to race time, so I headed off to the men’s room. Bathroom lines were insane (aren’t they always pre-race?) and I couldn’t help but laugh a little at all of us. The men’s room is always funny, with a single line feeding two types of pre-race people: sitters and standers. Only here can you cheerily say something like <em>“Urinals are open”</em> to a complete stranger behind you and have it be remotely okay. John Donaldson came in and feigned budging the line to bump into me, and we had a good laugh about locals causing all kinds of trouble. I don’t think I’ve seen him since a Taughannock trail run late last season! I turned to leave and saw Jon Shaff standing there patiently. I’d already seen him a few times and he cracked a joke about me, just hanging out in the bathroom socializing. Damn straight! It’s where all the cool kids hang out.</p>
<p>I waffled about what to wear as I walked out the door. I ended up ditching my standard-issue winter running windbreaker, as I was concerned about sweating into it and then having to tie it around my waist. Part of today was going to be getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, so I chose to leave that behind. As I joined the large group shuffling out the door, I talked with Jess Kerns about why we love to do this crazy thing called running, and about pink sunglasses. Since I had a pair on my head, it was only appropriate. Ian Golden was setting up near the finish line to announce, so we caught up briefly. Adam Engst was going to lead the half marathon on his <a href="https://www.elliptigo.com/">Elliptigo</a>, so I asked him if I could have a ride if I ever found I was flagging. As I walked down the yellowed center stripe of the road to the start area, the loudspeakers played Chariots of Fire. <em>Hell, yes.</em> The sun was out, this music was setting a fine aural stage, several hundred people in all manner of colorful running clothing teemed before me with infectious energy, and I couldn’t help but smile. I stood front and center on the start line and looked at the expanse of blacktop before me. It was a short rise before turning left and crossing the pads that officially started the race.</p>
<h2 id="ready-to-race">Ready to Race</h2>
<p>I shared a space at the start line with Pete Kresock and Rich Heffron. We talked about paces briefly, though I knew that to try to keep up with Rich would be pure foolishness. He’d finish about 10 minutes before I did. Ian Golden (Golden for Congress!) approached the start line to give his pre-race speech, which was short, sweet and hinted at beer on the course. The beer, of course, is courtesy of Ithaca’s hashers — at least I think — and would make an appearance around mile 9.</p>
<p>We started running at the stroke of ten. I powered up the hill, rounding the corner with another runner at my side. I thought it was Rich, but then realized it was another speedster. I wished him well, and he shared that he was tuning up for Boston. Man, to be able to run that fast in a tuneup on the road to Boston. Humbling. I checked my pace and it was way too hot, so I moderated a bit as we turned onto Tower. Now it was time for Rich to pass me, and I wished him well, too.</p>
<p>The sun was out and the temperature seemed rather pleasant. I started thinking back to my half marathon PR set years ago at Corning. I was unsure what that pace would need to be, and I also hadn’t looked up any of my prior Skunk times. This was very unlike me, but also today’s effort was really about running my own race on this day, enjoying every step. I ran a few of these opening miles alongside runners of similar pace while the lead pack kept extending their gap. I stopped briefly enough to take in water at the first water stop and was alone from this time forward. It’d only been 20 minutes with another hour to go. Without music or a running partner, it was time to get mentally in the zone.</p>
<p>Trouble is, when my mind is empty lately, I start running lines and going through the myriad emotions of Payne Showers, my character in the play Artifice. “I’m pretty sure Payne is not a runner.” I thought to myself. Payne is a mountain climber. He’s probably into bouldering, drinking craft beer and sleeping in a hammock swinging between two trees. Those are all things I enjoy, too, except sleeping in a hammock. I should try that sometime. “Dude, you’re racing. Shut up.” I thought to myself. I tried to shuttle the thoughts of the play to the less-needed parts of my brain and started thinking about pace again. This required math. Math while running is really hard, and I gave up on trying to add, multiply and divide after a few minutes. It wasn’t important, either. I focused on turnover, breathing, squared shoulders and a level pelvis. All good stuff.</p>
<p>With my mind no longer consumed with lines or math, I started to get negative, but only briefly. I wasn’t sure I could keep up this pace, and I already knew I was off of a PR time. I even thought I wouldn’t write about this race (I love writing about running) since it wasn’t feeling all that special. I wasn’t even halfway through it! I paused for water again, clumsily spilling some on my shorts. Brilliant. Not that it’s cold or anything, so why not get some refreshing water on your shorts?</p>
<p>Somewhere around mile 6 I got passed for the first time since the opening miles. Blue t-shirt and white Ironman hat. Mr. Ironman. It’s funny: in a race I end up naming people by their clothes if I don’t know them. Over the next four miles, Mr. Ironman would trade places a few times with me. I passed him again just before mile 7 on a sweet downhill stretch. He encouraged me as I passed, and I said, <em>“Don’t worry, you’ll get me again.”</em></p>
<p><em>“More than halfway done now.”</em> I thought to myself. Keep going. The discomfort you feel is temporary. The sun had gone away after the first few miles of the race, but came back now. I pulled my sunglasses down to shield my eyes and also keep them from tearing in the wind. The glasses fogged instantly. I pulled them just off the ridge of my nose to let some air in, but then they bounced comically up and down. I pushed them back up securely. More fog. <em>“Man, I can’t see shit.”</em> I said to nobody in particular. The glasses were done for the day. I soldiered on, and the next water stop beckoned. This one would have beer! As I approached the volunteers’ outstretched hands, I listed to the cacophony of offered liquids. Water? Gatorade? Water?</p>
<p><em>“Beer?”</em> I asked. YES. An angel of a man stepped forward with about 4 ounces of hoppy goodness and I downed it while briefly standing still. I grabbed a water from the next volunteer and chugged that as well before setting off again. All told, it was a 5 second stop. I couldn’t help but think about the beer mile, and how that might be fun to do sometime. Because running … and beer.</p>
<p>I had one last rise to make it up before the long, gradual 3-mile descent into the finish area. I ran up the hill thinking of effort, not speed. If I kept the effort constant and didn’t worry about my speed on this stretch, I wouldn’t kill myself. Though I did feel half-dead at this point. This train of thought came to an abrupt, happy end as I hung a left at the top of the hill. All downhill from here. Scotie Jacobs was spectating on the left here, at the turnaround point for the 10K. We started folding in with 10K runners, and it felt good to pass people and give encouragement as I went.</p>
<p>The skies darkened abruptly and it started to snow. Heavily. With three miles to go, it was going to be interesting. I thought back to the Syracuse Half Marathon, and how it couldn’t possibly get THAT bad. Katie Sick was on my heels, and with a mile left I said to her, <em>“Ready to get to work?”</em> I knew full well that my current pace was going to be my closing pace. I didn’t have much gas left in the tank. She did, clearly, and passed me before our final turns into Cornell’s campus. She’d prove to be a good rabbit for the last mile.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/04/confluence_skunk_cabbage_scott_dawson.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Confluence Running's photo of me making the final turn" title="Confluence Running's photo of me making the final turn" /><p class="stickyNote">Confluence Running's photo of me making the final turn</p></div>
<p>The closing mile was almost a whiteout. One foot in front of the other. Watch out for traffic. Smile. Almost done. <a href="https://stevegallow.smugmug.com/">Steve Gallow</a> was on my left, taking what I’m sure will be wonderful photos in the falling snow. I felt for him, photographing the field in what he’d say was probably the coldest race he’s photographed. I rounded the final corner and saw the finish line. I poured what little energy I had left into a concerted effort to turn over a little faster. Ian shouted my name as I crossed the finish line. I was thrilled to see Brenda Michaud there to give me a post race hug. She’d normally give me a medal, but instead took down my number since some locals were being asked to forego their finish medal for a few weeks. I imagined there weren’t enough to go around, with so many runners this year! I said that’d be fine, and shuffled off to Barton to get into some warmer clothing.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<p>I got into some warmer clothing and headed back outside to see Amy’s finish. Runners were coming in with snow-clad eyelashes and clothing smeared with white patches of ice. I knew then that I had missed the full force of the storm that swung through the middle of the race like an unwelcome visitor. After Amy’s finish, we ducked back into Barton to get something to eat and drink, socialize a bit, and then head out to see the last performance of my son’s middle school play.</p>
<p>As a consequence, we missed the awards ceremony. I knew that I was the first masters finisher based on the timesheet posted on the wall. It was close, too. The next masters finisher was 5 SECONDS behind me. Had I lingered a little longer with that beer, had to tie my shoe or take a pit stop in the woods, I would have been in second place. It’s hard to think about those things when the race is all said and done, and there’s no way to be aware about it in the moment, when you're running. I finished with a 1:26:15, a good three minutes faster than any of my prior efforts.</p>
<p>What I didn’t realize as we were leaving was that since this race was New York’s RRCA State Championship race for the half marathon distance, I was also the NYS Masters Half Marathon champion! Joel Cisne would tell me later in an email, and I laughed out loud at the prospect. It’s just like when I <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/life-love-winning-chris-bond-5k/">won a 5K for the first and only time</a> (I’m 99% sure of that) when I realized it’s all about who shows up for the race. My time is fast, sure, but it’s not sub-elite fast. I think more like upper amateur. Any number of people could have come out and blown me away, and that would have been okay. Expected, actually. I’ll hang the medal proudly on my gym wall, though, and in the future will look back on 2018 as the year I was the state champion.</p>
<p>A huge thank you to Alex Kleinerman and her crew of volunteers who pull this event off without a hitch, year after year. If you had an idea of half of what it takes to put on an even with 1,000+ runners, you’d be in awe. It truly is a wonderful way to kick off spring, even if it was snowing.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> <a href="http://www.leonetiming.com/2018/Roads/SkunkHalf18.htm">1:26:15</a> (course PR!)<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 15/625<br />
<strong>Age Group:</strong> 1/40, 1st Masters winner, NYS RRCA Champion</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1497520920/embed/ef9f2ed9f6912378d5c455161d41824769bf23d8" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Gorp Backlash: Wegmans, won't you bring back real M&Ms?2018-03-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorp-backlash-wegmans-wont-bring-back-real-mms/<p>I reached my hand into the bag of <a href="https://www.wegmans.com/products/bulk-foods/miscellaneous-snacks/trail-mix/mountain-trail-mix-family-pack-44402.html">Wegmans Mountain Mix</a> and pulled out a handful of the gorp goodness. This trail mix is my go-to snack. I made sure I had more than my fair share of colored bits, those chocolate M&Ms that so nicely pair with the flavor of the cashews, almonds and peanuts. But ... what were these odd colors?</p>
<p>Forest green? A hard-to-place blue? Mustard?</p>
<p>These were not the colors I was accustomed to. A quick glance at the bag, which used to proudly proclaim the candies as authentic M&Ms, showed that this relationship was no more. These were impostors! The label used to say "M&M's Chocolate Candies", and now dully advertised "Milk Chocolate Candies". My wife and I were appropriately saddened by this turn of events.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/03/mountain_mix_compared.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A subtle yet important distinction" title="A subtle yet important distinction" /><p class="stickyNote">A subtle yet important distinction</p></div>
<p>Maybe they tasted okay? A few bites convinced us that these were NOT the candies we were looking for. They lacked the classic M&M crunch and solidity of quality chocolate once you compromised their outer shiny shell. These impostors had a matte finish, a chalky taste and collapsed lethargically as I chewed.</p>
<p><strong>This would not do.</strong></p>
<p>We are not alone in our despair, either. The <a href="https://www.wegmans.com/products/bulk-foods/miscellaneous-snacks/trail-mix/mountain-trail-mix-family-pack-44402.html">product's star rating plummeted to ONE</a> and has four (as of this writing) unflattering comments.</p>
<p>Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we hatched a plan. We'd make our own! We turned first to <a href="http://nuts.com/">nuts.com</a>, since that's where we buy some of our bulk ingredients. Turns out the raw ingredient costs at Wegmans are far more affordable than our favorite nut e-tailer. Armed with a spreadsheet <em>(and kids wonder why spreadsheet awareness is important in life)</em> and Wegmans app <em>(which is awesome for figuring out pricing from the comfort of my comparison-shopping lair)</em> I did some quick calculations.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/03/mountain_mix_spreadsheet.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Cost spreadsheet for trail mix" title="Cost spreadsheet for trail mix" /><p class="stickyNote">Cost spreadsheet for trail mix</p></div>
<p>Guess what? Turns out for an extra $1.70 and the satisfaction of mixing your own ingredients, we can have our beloved M&M-laden trail mix back. The key question is, will we add proportionally more M&Ms than what Wegmans has in their pre-mixed bag?</p>
<p>You bet.</p>
Create an Aggregated Map of Your Strava Fitness Routes2018-02-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/create-aggregated-map-strava-fitness-routes/<p>I'm not map-obsessed, no. But I'm probably somewhere on the spectrum. I've been fascinated with maps as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I bought a 33" x 47" print of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes here in the Finger Lakes. Was I a boater? Nah. I just really enjoyed the beauty of data superimposed over our natural world. There was something surreal about knowing that there are underwater cliffs, nooks and crannies hidden just out of sight. Sadly, that map was ruined many years later while sitting in a basement. Yep, it was water damage. Ironic.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/02/cayuga-seneca-lake-nautical-map.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Cayuga and Seneca Lakes" title="Cayuga and Seneca Lakes" /><p class="stickyNote">Cayuga and Seneca Lakes</p></div>
<p>I have another similar map in my office today. This one is nice and laminated, so has little chance of being similarly afflicted by water damage. It depicts the <a href="http://www.eriecanal.org/maps.html">Erie Canal</a>, and has two dimensions of data. First, it shows the Erie Canal's path through the heart of New York State. Then, along the top edge, it shows the elevation change of the canal at each longitude where a lock exists. I could look at these maps all day long, but I digress!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/02/erie-canal-map.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Erie Canal map" title="Erie Canal map" /><p class="stickyNote">Erie Canal map</p></div>
<p>Strava, the fitness tracking app, recently made headlines after someone discovered some interesting data in an aggregated map they created in 2007.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#10.45/-76.85542/42.60169/hot/run">Strava Global Heatmap</a> summarizes 1 billion activities and over 10 terabytes of raw input data to create amazing maps that show where people bike, run and swim all over the world. Trouble is, someone also noted that one could identify patterns of soldiers inside secure military facilities all over the world. I found it interesting enough to tweet about it, and also to <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson/status/958063988964765702">zoom into our Finger Lakes area and see my own routes reflected</a>, along with thousands of others. A timely email arrived in my inbox a few days later from a local running group. The email contained a link to a story written in 2014 on <a href="http://flowingdata.com/">flowingdata.com</a> titled <a href="https://flowingdata.com/2014/02/05/where-people-run">Where People Run in Major Cities</a>. The author posted an R code snippet and talked about the ease with which you can create your own aggregated maps given a set of GPX files, which you can download from Strava (or Runkeeper, in his case). He summarized the process thusly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Download your logs from whatever service you use, stick the R code in the same directory, run in the console, and you get a quick plot of your routes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wow. That sounds simple! I decided to give it a go. First up: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_(programming_language)">what's R code</a>? Some quick Googling revealed that R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. This is on the periphery of my area of expertise (usability and front-end development) but I thought, "Hey, it's about computers, so I can do it!" I rolled up my sleeves and got started. The process took a lot longer than the quote above would imply, and your mileage may of course vary, but I got some cool maps in the end.</p>
<h2 id="get-your-strava-gpx-data">Get Your Strava GPX Data</h2>
<p>Go to your <a href="https://www.strava.com/settings/profile">Strava profile page</a> (you must be signed in). At the bottom of the right column, you'll see a link to get your data. Click that, and Strava will send you an email when your archive is ready. Download and unzip that, and you'll have all of your GPX files in a single folder. I filtered mine so I had separate folders for running and biking.</p>
<h2 id="download-the-map-routes-function">Download the Map Routes Function</h2>
<p>I saved the original author's R code in a gist for posterity. Save the file as <a href="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/2ad6a56e756f3bf028fed77f7152e741">map-routes.R</a> in the same directory as your GPX files.</p>
<h2 id="download-r">Download R</h2>
<p>This was the tough part for me, mostly because the function requires a lot of dependencies for mapping. First, I downloaded R for Mac OS X from <a href="http://r.research.att.com/">r.research.att.com</a>. Since I'm running Mavericks, I've used <em>R-3.3-branch-mavericks.pkg</em>. For other OS, see the FAQs at <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/faqs.html">cran.r-project.org/faqs.html</a>.</p>
<p>Once you're installed R, you can open a Terminal, go to the directory where you've downloaded the GPX files, and type "r" to start R. Once in the R console, type <em>source("map-routes.R")</em> to run the script. Of course, I got some errors, and the chief complaint was the lack of plotKML. I needed to install some dependencies to continue!</p>
<p>I needed to download the binary for plotKML to install it, since it wasn't working directly from the Terminal for some unknown reason. I grabbed the right version of plotKML from <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/plotKML/index.html">cran.r-project.org</a> and downloaded it. Once downloaded, this was the command to install it from the Terminal.</p>
<pre><code>install.packages("/Users/Username/Downloads/plotKML", repos = NULL, type="source")</code></pre>
<p>Next it complained about not having RColorBrewer, scales, munsell, plyr ... the list went on! Long story short, you can use this command to install the dependencies. For me, it was a bit like peeling an onion, but soon I was done. Replace PACKAGE_NAME below with the name of the dependency plotKML is looking for.</p>
<pre><code>install.packages("PACKAGE\_NAME", repos=c("https://cran.r-project.org"))</code></pre>
<p>To verify that plotKML is all installed properly, type <code>library(plotKML)</code> into the R console. You should see something like this:</p>
<pre><code>plotKML version 0.5-8 (2017-05-12)
URL: http://plotkml.r-forge.r-project.org</code></pre>
<h2 id="generate-your-maps">Generate Your Maps</h2>
<p>Now I was ready to make some maps! I started with my cycling routes folder and typed <em>source("map-routes.R")</em> to kick off the process. It took awhile, but soon it popped up with a window of my bike routes! From this window, you should be able to save it as a PDF.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/02/bike-routes.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My bike routes after running the R script" title="My bike routes after running the R script" /><p class="stickyNote">My bike routes after running the R script</p></div>
<h2 id="prettify">Prettify</h2>
<p>I wanted to overlay this on a real map, and so found some sites that offered different themes on top of Google Maps. I found one I liked and opened it in Affinity Designer. Turns out you can open the resulting PDF from the R code right in Affinity Designer and have access to the vector shapes. Very cool! I needed to stretch the vectors vertically and horizontally a bit to get it to perfectly match up with the Google map image, but once I got it, it lined up perfectly! Then I was able to export it to a PNG to include here.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/02/run_routes.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My most-local running routes" title="My most-local running routes" /><p class="stickyNote">My most-local running routes</p></div>
<p>The area at top left lights up with the routes around my house in the 3-5 mile range, and near top center, the trails I frequent at Taughannock. There's a line on the Black Diamond trail that fades out as you approach Ithaca (I've only run end-to-end a few times). The lower right corner is Treman and Buttermilk State Parks in Ithaca, home to the Cayuga Trails 50 race I did.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/02/bike_routes.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My biking routes" title="My biking routes" /><p class="stickyNote">My biking routes</p></div>
<p>The biking routes extend out farther, of course. The top loop near the lakeshore is our Sheldrake ride, one of the features of the Cayuga Lake Triathlon course. Route 89 is a pretty clear track from all the training we've done there!</p>
<h2 id="summary">Summary</h2>
<p>I'm sure there are better ways to do it. If you've done this before and were able to streamline the process, let me know! In the course of talking about this project, my friend Adam Engst told me about <a href="https://www.madewithsisu.com/">madewithsisu.com</a>, a service that'll take your Strava data and do some visualizations of it. It's not nearly as computationally intensive as this, since it only shows a handful of individual tracks, or start/end times, but cool nonetheless.</p>
Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 20182018-01-20T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/hartshorne-memorial-masters-mile-2018/<p>Remember <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/first-flrc-track-meet/">last week’s track meet</a>, the one where I showed up late and ran with untied shoelaces? I vowed to not make those mistakes this week when I ran in the <a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/hartshorne-masters-mile-2018">Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile</a>.</p>
<h2 id="about-the-hartshorne-memorial-masters-mile">About the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile</h2>
<p>Hartshorne is a storied race, taking place in the same Barton Hall where we meet Tuesday nights as MITHACAL MILERS. The race was founded by <a href="https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/james-mott-hartshorne-%E2%80%9946">Jim Hartshorne</a>, who earned a doctorate from Cornell in ornithology. In 1968, Jim was the national Masters Champion in the mile and founded our local Finger Lakes Running Club. He conceived of “master miles” — events for elite runners over 40 — and brought the first master mile event to the very same Barton Hall in 1968. The morning of the race this year, Amy and I had the honor of meeting Jim’s son Tom Hartshorne (<a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/masters/for-masters-champion-hockey-soccer-and-cycling-are-secrets-to-success">read his profile in Runner’s World</a>), who has been race director of the Hartshorne since 2002.</p>
<p>The web site promises something special:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Hartshorne Masters Mile features fully automatic timing, introductions of each runner at the starting line, commentary on every heat, rabbits for the elite heats, and hordes of enthusiastic spectators. Don’t be intimidated! The Hartshorne Masters Mile may be an elite event, but it’s open and welcoming to runners of all abilities—no matter how fast you run, you’ll be treated like an elite!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hey, that sounded good to me! I signed Amy and myself up a week before the race, as we’d done the workout option the prior Tuesday that presumed our participation. It dovetailed into an already busy day, but we’d make it work nicely. The kids were off to all-county chorus at 8a, we’d race later in the morning, enjoy lunch at Viva and then go take in the chorus concert at 2p. Then we’d all drive from Lansing to Lake Placid for a one-day ski trip to Whiteface. It was going to be a whirlwind, but with a properly-packed car, we could get it done! I was looking forward to the mile, after having raced a fast mile in last week’s track meet (albeit with untied shoes). In Adam’s pre-race overview, he wrote of the heat I was seeded in:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Equally tight will be the men's Section 1 race, with Syracuse stalwart Tim Riccardi joined by three long-time locals: Gary Williams, Tom Mullins, and Keith Eggleston as the top seeds. But the estimated seed times don't drop off much, with Scott Dawson, High Noon alum Chris Mansfield, Jean-Luc Jannink, Bob Swizdor, and Greg Green separated by less than 15 seconds. Look for a big pack in this race.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
<p>I knew I could hang with Keith based on our track meet times, and having done some training together. As we arrived at the mostly empty Barton Hall just more than an hour before Amy’s start time, Adam greeted us at the door in his suit and tie. He gave me some good information about my heat: one of the faster seeds had scratched (not racing). And, the fastest seed was not going to be racing at his seed time, but slower, since he was getting over an injury. Short story was, Adam thought I had a chance of winning it if I could keep up with Keith. It was just the thing I needed to hear, but it amped up my nerves all the more. The gym was set up for Cornell’s meet, scheduled for right after the masters mile, so the infield was choked with all kinds of flagging and apparatus for the field events. The scoreboard on the wall lit up with the names of those runners in the first heat. The voice of the official announcer reverberated through the space. I could tell this was going to feel a lot more official than anything else I’d ever run in.</p>
<p>Amy and I made our way to the registration table and picked up our numbers and our complimentary insulated mugs. The mugs were stamped with the name of the race and made pretty cool race swag. I’d never worn numbers like these before: they were adhesive, and one would go above my left chest, and one facing outward on my left thigh. This was so the race cameras could pick us up as we passed by the start. I was number 6, and so made sure I paid close attention to the lines under the number so I wouldn’t magically turn into a nine!</p>
<p>The atmosphere was really friendly, and I enjoyed talking to friends from MITHACAL MILERS and the Pete Glavin XC Series from the fall. There were a lot of familiar faces! Time passed quickly, and soon Amy was toeing the line for her heat. She had a fantastic race (<a href="http://skirtrunner.com/mithacal-miles/hartshorne-masters-mile/">read her race report at skirtrunner.com</a>) and I enjoyed watching her eight loops of Barton’s track from the infield. The announcer’s voice boomed over the loudspeakers as the runners made their turns, and it was really cool to hear “Dawson” over and over as he announced the runners in the pack on each turn.</p>
<p>In the half hour leading up to my heat, I stretched, ran a bit on the outer lanes of the track and visited the bathroom a few times. The most fun, though, was watching the prior heats go off. It was exciting to see the shifting in positions as each mile progressed, and to see people exceed their goals when they finished their last lap.</p>
<h2 id="race">Race</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/01/IMG_7146-e1516803236562.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Awaiting the start" title="Awaiting the start" /><p class="stickyNote">Awaiting the start</p></div>
<p>They called my heat and I made my way to the start line. They announced our names as we stepped to the line. The starter gave us some brief instructions. Then with a POP of the starting gun, we were off! I rounded the first corner in lane one at the head of the pack, trying my best to keep the pace measured. I knew my race pace called for 42 second splits, so I was shooting for 40 second splits. At the end of the first straight, I heard the announcer talking about how tight the pack was, and I knew everyone was in a knot right behind me. Keith passed on my right, and I was grateful at that moment to know that we’d be pacing together from there on out.</p>
<p>Amy caught these video clips of me at the start, and after the first lap:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdo8HvJwjH0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdo8HvJwjH0</a></p>
<p>I took up a position just off and behind his right shoulder, which meant I was running between lanes one and two. Psychologically, I felt really comfortable in this position since I wasn’t behind him, but I wasn’t right next to him, either. I literally stuck to this position for the next five laps, though later I’d get some sage advice that I’ll adopt next time (see below). As the last turn of lap six came into view, I decided to abandon my post at Keith’s shoulder and make a break for it. It wasn’t my kick, but it was a nudge in that direction. I tucked into lane one and had a steady seventh lap in the lead.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/01/75342900-IMG_7254.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="I love this picture. Keith and I are synchronized. Photo by Steve Gallow." title="I love this picture. Keith and I are synchronized. Photo by Steve Gallow." /><p class="stickyNote">I love this picture. Keith and I are synchronized. Photo by Steve Gallow.</p></div>
<p>As I came down the straightaway to start my eighth and final lap, I decided to crush it. At the same time, Adam yelled what I was thinking, “Go all out!” In last week’s training session, I had learned what my capabilities really were. Our workout of eight successive 200s with equal rest had us starting at I pace (46s) and progressing toward R pace (42s), with our last repeat being beyond R pace, running “all out.” In this training session, I ripped a 31.6s last lap. This was huge for me psychologically, since I knew that even though my legs were exhausted, I could push more if I demanded it from myself.</p>
<p>When I passed by the bell ringing to signify the last lap, I screamed out loud to spur myself on. My legs found another gear: specifically, being “chased by a bear” gear. I turned into the first turn of the final lap with arms and legs pumping in synchronicity, faster than I thought I could move them. I glanced rearward a few times as I rounded the ends of the track, but I saw no immediate threats behind me. I focused on working hard and getting to the finish with the best time I could muster. As I exited the final turn, I sensed Adam off to my left. He told me to go strong all the way to the end, and I did.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/01/75342899-IMG_7302.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Shortly after I found 'chased by a bear' gear. Photo by Steve Gallow." title="Shortly after I found 'chased by a bear' gear. Photo by Steve Gallow." /><p class="stickyNote">Shortly after I found 'chased by a bear' gear. Photo by Steve Gallow.</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/01/IMG_7147.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Post-race" title="Post-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race</p></div>
<p>I crossed the finish in 5:23.91, good enough for first in my heat and a solid 11 seconds faster than my time trial from earlier in the season. I was beat up, but enjoyed high-fiving and congratulating the other runners in my heat as we clustered in a group at the finish. It was a tough race and a fast pace.</p>
<p>Shortly after the race, <a href="http://www.ithaca.com/living/prime_times/local-runners-race-into-their-s/article_48ae9dce-3919-11e4-8dae-001a4bcf887a.html">Joe Reynolds</a> had some great advice for me. Learning from others is one of the things that I love about the group. I’m a firm believer in lifelong learning, so I listened carefully to Joe, who had started running in his late 40s after focusing on rugby. First, he told me to ditch my watch. I lost fractions of a second each time I looked down, and each time I reached my right arm over to hit the watch’s lap button. He reminded me at that all the information I needed was on the clock at the start. True: in this race, even our 200 splits were recorded by Leone Timing, and the clock did tell me everything I needed to know. Truth be told, I didn’t actively check my watch during the race, since I couldn’t even read it well enough to use it. Its value was bound up in the ability to look at my splits later. Second, Joe noticed (how could you not) that I ran most of the race hanging out at the far edge of lane 1, if not in lane 2. I ran a lot farther than I needed to! He advised that I tuck in behind the lead runner on the turns, and come alongside on the straightaways. The benefits are twofold: you’re not running farther than you should, and it helps you get frustrated. “Frustrated?” I asked. “Yes, frustrated.” Joe said. “Frustrated runners can run faster.” He smiled, since he’s done this before. Like Adam’s said in the past about our veteran runners, I want to be like Joe when I grow up.</p>
<h2 id="recovery">Recovery</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2018/01/IMG_7143.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Our reward for running the mile: Tres Amigos from Viva!" title="Our reward for running the mile: Tres Amigos from Viva!" /><p class="stickyNote">Our reward for running the mile: Tres Amigos from Viva!</p></div>
<p>After mingling a bit more and watching a few more races, Amy and I packed up and headed to our favorite place, Viva Taqueria. Plates of Tres Amigos, refreshingly cool glasses of water and a few Purist margaritas graced our table for a quick yet delicious post-race lunch. The results were posted on the web site by now, and I took a look at my 200m splits.</p>
<p>43.085<br />
38.646<br />
39.436<br />
41.636<br />
42.430<br />
42.581<br />
41.273<br />
34.823</p>
<p>They were not as even as I’d hoped, and I was surprised to see the first lap having taken so long. Adam would remind me that this first lap includes the extra 9.344 meters, since that’s how far we started behind the lap line to make a full mile. The next two laps made up for it by being a bit too hot. Laps 4-7 were right on the dot, just around 42 seconds (my R pace). And that last lap, the one where I drew on reserves I knew I had based on Tuesday training? Not as fast as the one in training, but a definite bear-inspired 200m kick. I’m in awe of faster milers, as this final kick typifies their pace for the ENTIRE RACE. Simply amazing.</p>
<p>I’m grateful to everyone who worked so hard to put this event on, including Adam, Charlie, Tom and everyone in the FLRC community who volunteered their time and effort. I’m grateful for the Jim’s legacy, and for Tom and his continued efforts to race direct this fantastic event.</p>
<h2 id="race-video">Race Video</h2>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x1FL3U1IcC0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
My First FLRC Track Meet2018-01-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/first-flrc-track-meet/<p>We were supposed to be skiing. We had reservations for a weekend at Jay Peak, but with a winter storm brewing, bad driving on the horizon and negative temperatures the whole time we’d be there, we weren’t feeling it. So we decided to stay home. I half-unpacked my bag and relished the prospect of a few days to relax, after we’d rescheduled our Jay date, of course. It was going to be cold here too, just not AS cold, and we’d all enjoy a little natural snow (we’d get just under a foot) to cover the grass again.</p>
<p>I was going through my email, and one from Adam Engst caught my eye. He was talking about the Finger Lakes Runners Club track meet, the first of the season, this weekend. I didn’t have it on my calendar since we’d planned to be out of town. But plans changed, and I suddenly found myself available. Amy and I have been training with the MITHACAL MILERS group for the last month. It’s a Tuesday night group that meets at Barton Hall, which has a beautiful indoor track on Cornell University’s campus. <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/category/mithacal-miles/">Amy’s doing a great job chronicling her experience with the workouts</a>. I’ve really enjoyed them, too, as they push me to the limit, but in the company of like-minded people.</p>
<p>As I registered, I saw a variety of events. The mile jumped out at me. After all, that’s what we were training for. Hartshorne, a huge meet for masters milers, is scheduled for next week, and Adam wrote that this weekend would be a great opportunity to kick the tires, so to speak. I finished the registration process and paid the hefty fee of $0 for FLRC members. I was going to race a mile!</p>
<p>I re-read the heat sheet the morning of the meet. There’d be several events before the mile, including a 5000m and then some shorter distances. Some friends are mine were running the 5K, but since I was pre-registered, I could show up anytime before my heat and grab my bib. Since we’ve been having some heated games of Risk in our house, I opted for the latter and calculated my arrival time. The mile event would start at 11:40, per the schedule, and I was in heat 8 of 11, going slowest to fastest. I figured getting there around noon would give me a few minutes to warm up and be ready to go. A last Tuesday’s training, I ran with Keith Eggleston, who I’ve raced before at outdoor 5Ks. We were scheduled in the same heat, so I looked forward to being able to pace each other.</p>
<p>Traffic was gratefully light and moving right along in Ithaca (you never really know) on this sunny, crisp day, and I easily found a spot to park in the Schoellkopf parking garage. A flight of stairs later and a brisk walk to Barton, and I could hear the cheering from outside the big red doors. I smiled to myself. This was going to be a high-octane, fun event. Perfect for my first track meet, ever!</p>
<p>I played soccer in high school. Any track work I’d done was in the context of soccer practice or recreational track as a really little kid. I’m 44, and have found my stride so-to-speak with running, but only as a full-grown adult. I thanked myself for exposing me to new experiences, took a deep breath and swung open the big red door to greet the expanse of Barton’s interior.</p>
<p>The atmosphere was electric. Runners of all ages were milling about the infield. A group of runners were making their way around the oval while coaches and spectators shouted encouragement from all sides. If my calculations were correct, this would be the 3rd or 4th heat. Plenty of time for me to —</p>
<p>What the hell? My brow furrowed as I tried to process what I was seeing. The group of runners made its way past me, and in the middle of the pack, gutting it out, was Keith Eggleston. He was in my heat! I dropped my bag, wasted no time swapping my outdoor shoes for indoor, and bounded across the six lanes of track when there was a break in the traffic. I wandered around the infield area, looking for the registration table. I found it near the start line, and Adam, who was announcing the event.</p>
<p>I squatted down in front of the registration table, trying to appear somewhat inconspicuous. I was already self-conscious about running the event and was now obviously tardy.</p>
<p>A volunteer working the table looked at me intently. “Can we help you?”</p>
<p>“Uh, yeah. I’m here to race.” I stammered. “And I think I’m late.”</p>
<p>She looked at me and said, matter-of-factly, “Yeah, they’re running way ahead.”</p>
<p>Crap. What a mistake to make on my first time out! I should have been here earlier, but how was I to know? I had half-thought when planning my morning that I could’ve brought a book or something and arrived WAY in advance. The book would be useful if I had to pass an hour or more. In hindsight, that would have been a good idea, though I wouldn’t have had any time to read it.</p>
<p>The other volunteer at the table sprung into action as well, saying “Are you pre-registered?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” I said. I quickly found my name on the pre-registered list, made a mark next to my name (what I wrote wouldn’t really pass as my signature) and grabbed a bib the first volunteer had started pinning for me. It was the quickest check-in I’d ever had at a race.</p>
<p>“Do you know what heat you’re scheduled for?” a volunteer asked.</p>
<p>“Heat 8.” I replied.</p>
<p>“Oh —“ the volunteer trailed off and looked over at the start area. “You missed that one, but they’re just starting the next one. Maybe you can get into that? Can you be ready?”</p>
<p>I slipped out of my zip-off pants and took off my top. As I started pinning my number on my High Noon singlet, I noticed Tonya Engst standing at the end of the table. The volunteer looked me up and down and said, “Wow. That was fast.”</p>
<p>Tonya and Adam organize the MITHACAL MILERS group, and I was grateful that she was there just then. She smiled at me, saying “Do you need to warm up at all?”</p>
<p>I thought about it, and knew there was really one good answer. “No. I’m good. I’m ready to go.”</p>
<p>She nodded knowingly and said “Great. Let’s go.”</p>
<p>We walked over to the start line. She and Adam conferred with the starter, who was lining up a group of what appeared to be high school kids. Adam said, “Let’s get Scott in this group, because the heats are just going to get faster.”</p>
<p>I thought that was a fine idea, and fumbled with the second pin on my singlet. I lined up at the back of this mass of kids who were young enough to be my own kids. Adam looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “So, this group is running 5-5:10.”</p>
<p>What he didn’t need to say was “Don’t keep up with them.” My time trial from a few weeks prior was 5:35, and my training all centered around that.</p>
<p>“Well, that’ll be easy, then.” I said. My inner dialogue completed the sentence for me: I’ll just stay behind all of ‘em and I’ll be good.</p>
<p>One of the things I love about the Tuesday training sessions is a greater awareness of effort and pace. As we do intervals, we take turns leading and following, taking note of our lap times and adjusting if needed. If something was a few seconds too fast or too slow, the group takes note. I knew what too fast felt like, so as I waited for the gun to go off, I thought about not going out too fast. I didn’t have time to think about not warming up, not going to the bathroom, and not racing with anyone my age. It was just time to go.</p>
<p>BANG.</p>
<p>We started flying forward with the shot from the starter’s gun. I settled into what I felt was a good pace based on training, trying to forget about the other fifteen kids all around me. I didn’t want to trip anyone up, or get tripped up, so also focused on this as we rounded the first turn. Barton’s track is brand new, so a delight to run on. It’s also an ⅛ of a mile around, so 8 laps of “hang onto your hat” pace for me. I came to the first split while I heard some friends yelling encouragement to me. I was using the stopwatch feature of my TomTom, hitting the split button every time I passed the start. I looked down at my jostling watch as I rounded the first corner again, making out the time of 39.80. Not bad, I thought to myself. My race pace in training was 42 seconds.</p>
<p>The second and third laps went by at 39.31 and 41.21. I was feeling good, despite the snafus getting to the start line, and I noted that I was nowhere near the end of the pack. Solid mid-pack, I thought. Clearly the group was not all running 5-minute miles. Suddenly I had a sinking feeling as I felt the sensation of one shoelace loosening. I didn’t look down to check, but I felt it. My right shoelace had come untied. In my rush to change shoes and toe the line, I had not double-knotted my laces.</p>
<p>Lap four was done in 41.70. Somewhere along this lap, my other shoe came untied, as if in sympathy with its brother. I thought briefly about pulling off to tie them, but my shoes were staying on. They didn’t seem to be adversely affecting my running. It was making me more self-conscious, if anything. Here I was, a forty-something running with a group of kids less than half my age, shoelaces flinging around both feet like the tassels on a girl’s bike handlebars. I was hanging on for dear life with a tasseled banana seat bike while everyone else had flame-emblazoned BMXs.</p>
<p>I felt like I was wearing bedroom slippers, but I shelved the thought and kept on going. The cheers for me each lap helped immensely. The next three laps flew by in 41.89, 42.80 and 43.11. Getting slightly slower, but by no means flagging.</p>
<p>‘Last lap.’ I thought to myself. Time to find another gear. I’d been chasing the heels of a young man in front of me, and I pulled alongside him with a burst of speed. He answered the call and we sprinted together around the last curve. He’d finish before me, and that was just fine. I stopped my watch for a final lap of 39.69 and an <a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/race/january-2018-indoor-track-meet/">official finish time</a> of 5:29.49. I breathed heavily as I bent over in the line of finishers and tied both shoes.</p>
<p>“Nice kick at the end, there.” I said to the kid next to me. “Now I can tie my shoes.” He smiled and nodded.</p>
<p>I high-fived Adam on the way out of the start area, and Tonya came up to me to ask how I’d done. I told her I was happy, that I’d beaten my time trial by 5 seconds. Adam smiled at me from a few more feet away, saying “Yeah, you can go faster.” He knows, since he’s wicked fast. I have no doubt that he speaks the truth, and I’m sure that our Tuesday night trainings will have something to do with that. Adam explained the timing changes, too, saying that several groups hadn’t shown up, so they had to skip some heats and adjust people around. It was all good, and I learned a valuable lesson.</p>
<p>I packed up my things and walked the short distance back to the car. I promised myself I’d run a few miles once back home to cool down. A hot sauna after that would be just the thing I needed to wrap up the day’s fitness. The cold, dry air combined with my already dried throat and made me cough uncontrollably as I walked through the Schoellkopf garage. I definitely sounded like I’d run a mile. Next time, though, I’d show up just a bit earlier, and tie my shoes with a double knot.</p>
Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC) Series (2017)2017-11-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. For me, signing up was a way to ensure I remained fit as I tapered off from running longer distances this year.</p>
<p>Amy ran in the series last year to check it out. She attached to the Finger Lakes Runners Club team, and as such had a group of women to carpool, race and bond with. She loved her experience and thought I would too. After I checked out the last race of last year’s season, running in the freezing temperatures and snow on Cornell’s golf course, I was sold. We both signed up for the complete PGXC series this year.</p>
<p>I would like to tell you about my past experience running cross country, since most people associate it with grade school’s modified and varsity disciplines. I can’t help but think that some of the runners in PGXC are reliving their high school cross country glory days. I, on the other hand, had no such glory days. I dropped out of varsity soccer my senior year after a 3-year run because I was “concerned about my grades.” I was a high honor roll student, and it was a convenient excuse to not work out. My grades were just fine, but my 17 year-old brain wasn’t having it. I was not an athlete at that point in my life. So, my “glory days” were really about achieving academically, participating in the school play and making sure I’d have enough down time to play with my Legos.</p>
<p>Fast forward to mid-40s me and you’ll find an older version of that young man, albeit with a bit more balance and variety. I still love to achieve at a high level (but not with the same intensity), partake in the dramatic arts and make sure I have enough time to play (usually guitar, drawing or something else creative). The key added ingredient in my adulthood is fitness. You could say that I’m IN my glory days from a fitness perspective, and I think you’d be right.</p>
<h2 id="race-reports-%26-series-summary">Race Reports & Series Summary</h2>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Date</th>
<th>Race Report</th>
<th>Time</th>
<th>Mile Pace</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Age Group</th>
<th>Team Place</th>
<th>Strava</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td>September 10, 2017</td>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-clay-park">Clay Central Park 5K</a></td>
<td>19:25.4</td>
<td>6:14</td>
<td>39/127</td>
<td>6/21</td>
<td>2</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1177969219">strava</a></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>September 24, 2017</td>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-akron-falls">Akron Falls 6K</a></td>
<td>24:23.2</td>
<td>6:32</td>
<td>48/112</td>
<td>6/19</td>
<td>2</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1200254118">strava</a></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>November 12, 2017</td>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-watkins-glen">Watkins Glen 6K</a></td>
<td>26:38.9</td>
<td>7:08</td>
<td>45/142</td>
<td>5/13</td>
<td>2</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1221623737">strava</a></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>October 29, 2017</td>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-genesee-valley">Genesee Valley 6K</a></td>
<td>23:29.2</td>
<td>6:17</td>
<td>12/78</td>
<td>7/13</td>
<td>5 (w/ vets)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1252614754">strava</a></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>November 12, 2017</td>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-flcc">FLCC 8K</a></td>
<td>33:15.8</td>
<td>6:41</td>
<td>43/99</td>
<td>8/13</td>
<td>4 (w/ vets)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1272929177">strava</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 id="final-thoughts">Final Thoughts</h2>
<p>As an individual, I ended up solid mid-pack in the M40-49 rankings, 7 out of 13 for the ranked runners with 39 points (I’m still not sure how this works). After race 4, I was third in the masters series, but in this final race, it looks like four GVH runners, who didn’t come to all the races, ran and did very well, beating both Adam and me. Top ten in each age group takes away a bottle of wine, so that’s a pretty decent prize. Also, our High Noon men’s masters team took the series win, thanks to Adam’s smart decision to run our faster veterans team down with the master for a few races. I think there’s some more swag coming our way for that, too. We’ll have a picnic in early December to celebrate the season. Amy and I are looking forward to that! If you’re interested in running adult cross country in upstate New York, you should total check out this race series. It really is fun, and you don’t have to be a fast runner. You just have to love running.</p>
PGXC Series (Watkins Glen)2017-11-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-watkins-glen/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. This race report is part of a broader post about the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">2017 Pete Glavin Cross Country series</a>.</p>
<p><em>All grass trails, rolling hills and 3 loops around so negative splits are encouraged, but did I mention there is a short but steep hill?</em></p>
<p>Will summer ever leave? I was wondering this as we began our short drive to Watkins Glen. We’d had many warm days as October wore on and today was no exception. Once we’d found our way to the Iroquois Lodge at Watkins, we parked along the road and picked up our bibs. Today’s race was another loop format. This time, it’d be three times around a loop. As we ran the warmup lap, though, it became clear that this was a bonafide cross country course. There were no patches of asphalt, plenty of twists and turns, and a lot of up and downs. One pair of hills were so steep I thought I might have to power hike them up and down!</p>
<p>We were toeing the start line when Mike Nier made an announcement that the park had asked some of us to move our cars. It was unclear whether this was me, but it turns out there were so many cars to move, the start of the race was delayed by a half hour. The insult came in the form of cloud cover: the sun had beat down all morning, helping to dry the grass, and at 11 a.m. dark clouds covered the sky. We all moved our cars under this blanket of shade and returned to the start line. As the clouds parted, just before 11:30, the group emitted a groan. We’d get to run in the full sun anyway!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_4312.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ready to run!" title="Ready to run!" /><p class="stickyNote">Ready to run!</p></div>
<p>I chose my spikes as footwear today, and was really happy I did. The all-grass course had a lot of sharp (acute) turns, and as we negotiated the first loop I was grateful for the traction. Just before we started, Adam reminded me to not go out too fast. Good advice, but tough to adhere to given the tight quarters as the trail narrowed into the woods. I was a bit caught up in the pack I was in, so kept pace with them until it thinned out a bit.</p>
<p>On the second loop, I was grateful to have a runner near me who was also named Scott. He was on “The B Team”, stocked completely with high-school kids, so had plenty of spectators watching. Every time someone yelled encouragement to Scott, I believed they were talking to me. Every little bit of encouragement helps! Scott had soon run far enough ahead of me that I was alone again, though.</p>
<p>The sun and humidity was taking its toll on me after loop 2. I knew I was getting progressively slower, but I wasn’t sure by how much. Mike Nier, before the race, had talked about one of those Peace/Faith/Love roadside signs he’d passed. He drew a parallel to the loop format we were running today. On the first loop, you’d have a sense of inner peace that’s easy to find as a runner. On the second loop, you’d have to have faith in your training, to persevere. On the third loop, you’d need love to get you through. As I started the third loop, i thought different things about love: “Boy, I’d love a cold drink right about now.” Or, “I’d love to be done right about now.” I approached the last big hill of the course knowing that I was almost done, and anything I did on that hill would be quickly remedied by stopping at the end. I sprinted up it, using my spikes for sure footing, and barely lost any pace. I launched myself off the top of the hill onto the grassy field that stood between me and the finish. Accelerating past the first turn, I heard Adam encourage me further, telling us to work together. I gathered that a teammate was right there with me. One more turn into the finish chute and I was done! Columbia Warren had been right on my tail, finishing just 3 seconds back.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_4707.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Nutella and bagels. Mmm!" title="Nutella and bagels. Mmm!" /><p class="stickyNote">Nutella and bagels. Mmm!</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_4706.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Heaven" title="Heaven" /><p class="stickyNote">Heaven</p></div>
<p>I enjoyed the post-race food immensely. After treating myself to a water and cheering on the other runners, I downed a banana and went to retrieve more comfortable footwear from the car. Back at the food table, I spied a jar of Nutella! Oh dear. I would normally just grab a spoon. I spread a liberal amount of the chocolate-nut goodness on a bagel half and dug in. My teammate Jessie was of a similar persuasion, eating the same thing in the shade. I joked with him that God must have made the Nutella/bagel combination on the eighth day. It was that good.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/20171008-PGXC-6km-trail-race-at-Watskin-Glen12.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Masters win beer!" title="Masters win beer!" /><p class="stickyNote">Masters win beer!</p></div>
<p>Awards time revealed that my masters team took first place, and as such got to go home with a case of beer. Ah, sweet victory! We were surely helped by Adam Engst’s masters win, but the results also revealed that we were the only complete masters team that day. Well, we got the beer anyway! Amy and I offered our home for a post-race party, and so we headed out quickly to get back and start the grill. Including us, ten runners came to hang out afterwards. We had a wonderful time with grilled sausage and peppers and onions, salad, rice and bean soup, brownies and beverages. Adam brought some mini kiwi fruits from a tree on their land, too. They were so good!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/20171008-PGXC-6km-trail-race-at-Watskin-Glen0.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race gathering at our house" title="Post-race gathering at our house" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race gathering at our house</p></div>
<p>We spent the afternoon talking and laughing on our deck. Ximing Yin told us some great stories about running in China, which was extra special. You couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm for running and meeting new people, and him taking wonderful pictures throughout the event. That’s the other half of the team sport coin: there’s fitness, and there’s fellowship. Caring for our fellow humans. Talking with them, and more importantly, listening. I felt, as we were sitting there that afternoon, that I was a part of a team.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/20171008-PGXC-6km-trail-race-at-Watskin-Glen11-e1510588758313.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Runners on our deck" title="Runners on our deck" /><p class="stickyNote">Runners on our deck</p></div>PGXC Series (Finger Lakes Community College)2017-11-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-flcc/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. This race report is part of a broader post about the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">2017 Pete Glavin Cross Country series</a>.</p>
<p><em>Fields, Hills, Trails … perfect. No wonder it was voted best XC course of the PGXC series</em></p>
<p>The last race of the series would also have the best weather for cross country running. It was dry, sunny and in the mid-40s. FLCC is close-ish to our house as compared with the other race venues, so we had a relaxing morning at home before heading out around 9. The women’s race started at 11, and I enjoyed cheering Amy and Elizabeth on while waiting for my 11:45 start time. Xander had come along to take pictures and video, too, which was super cool. I had debated whether or not to wear spikes. There is a 100-yard stretch of hard-packed gravel on this course, and we run up and down it. I chose to wear my trail shoes. Now, even post-race, I’m not sure what choice I would have made if I did it again. As we rolled through the first mile of the 8K (5 mile) course, I noticed the ground was soft and muddy in spots, which would have been perfect for spikes. I lost my footing around one particularly sharp turn, and almost ended up on my side. Gratefully I stayed vertical, passing Amy, Elizabeth and Xander shouting encouragement from a soccer field.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6iklFQE624">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6iklFQE624</a></p>
<p><em>Xander got this great series of videos while spectating!</em></p>
<p>I pounded down the gravel incline, grateful to have shoes on for this stretch of hard, cobbly surface. We were entering an area of wooded trails, and my teammate Casey came up alongside. It was nice to run with him for awhile, and I enjoyed his encouragement. The leaf-covered wooded trails reminded me of running at Taughannock. I felt at home here, but it was short-lived. Soon we were heading back up that incline to the upper part of the course. I again passed my family shouting encouragement as I crested the hill, and I set my sights on a GVH runner who was just ahead of me. I passed him just around mile 4 and vowed to not get passed by him. I knew my pace was dropping off, and my mind started going other places now. I plan on taking some time off of running to reset, so I thought of that. We were about to go buy my son some new ski boots, since his feet keep growing, so I thought of that. I was coming up on that sharp muddy turn where I almost fell, so I thought of that. I realized I was thinking way too much, so ironically thought of that.</p>
<p>I gave all I had as I approached the finish. The GVH runner I had passed was far enough behind me, or so I thought. About 20 yards from the finish line, I sensed him right behind me. I turned my head to the left and saw him in my periphery. Could I go faster? I didn’t know. I turned the volume up to 10, so-to-speak, and started half sprinting and half-falling into the finish chute. <strong>DO NOT GIVE UP THE PLACE.</strong> The series director, Mike Nier, was here for this spectacle. I managed to stay upright and finish with my place intact. I paused just long enough to have my bib torn off, then walked a few more steps to put my hands on my legs and try to catch my breath. It was an all-out effort, and I was grateful to be done.</p>
Metamorphosis: Taking a Break2017-11-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/metamorphosis-taking-break/<p><strong>“I’m taking a month off from running. You know, to reset.”</strong></p>
<p>This has been on repeat in my mind for the last few weeks. I’ve been running religiously each week for the entire year, except for the two weeks I reduced my mileage and intensity after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">Cayuga Trails 50</a> and <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/green-lakes-endurance-runs-gler-50k-2017/">Green Lakes 50K</a>.</p>
<p>After UTMB, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BZH2r6Endcc/">Yassine Diboun posted a super-chill picture of him and his family.</a> In the caption, he wrote something that really resonated with me at the time.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“Everyone is different, but I've found that 3-4 weeks of down-time following a big race like #utmb allows my body to heal, my internal organs & systems to take a break & reboot, & for a much needed mental reprieve."</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now, Yassine and I are not on the same rung of the athletic ladder. There are several rungs between us, I’m sure! But my body is telling me to renew itself. I’ve been enjoying some of these fall runs, mostly at Taughannock, and also have really enjoyed running <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series/">adult cross country</a> this season <em>(more about that in a post early next week)</em>. I’ve also had some bad runs, where I know I’m just putting in junk miles, and it feels more like a chore than something that brings me joy. It may be the onset of winter, too <em>(please, can we get some real snow this year?)</em></p>
<p>You could say that I’m making myself a cozy chrysalis for four weeks. While I’m in that gilded structure, I’m not swearing off exercise, though. Just running. One exception: I’ll jog in the Thanksgiving morning turkey trot in Ithaca. It’s a family tradition that I’ll not give up just because of this metamorphosis thing. I’ll keep doing fitness-oriented things, but the kind you don’t have to lace up your running shoes for: BodyPump, elliptical, rowing, cycling and yoga. Plus, if you’re in the Les Mills know, you’ll smile when I say I may even <a href="https://www.lesmills.com/us/workouts/fitness-classes/shbam/">Sh’Bam</a> a little.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking a lot about change and self-care over the last year. Just recently, in our early 40s, my wife and I have realized the importance of taking care of oneself. It’s like <a href="http://www.edsheeran.com/lyrics/save-myself-36156">Ed Sheeran’s lyric from Save Myself</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We made a commitment to add some self-care habits to our lives, like monthly acupuncture or massage for example. If you’re reading this and think it’d be extravagant, I tell you it’s worth it. Whatever frequency you can get away with, you should totally have body work done on a recurring basis. As an athlete, it’s kept me physically balanced the entire year. As a person, I find it restorative and calming. Those are two words in scarce supply in today’s climate.</p>
<p>Now a few thoughts on the topic of change. We’re not the same person each day. We’re just a little different each day, depending on the people we’ve met, the things we’ve done and the things we’ve set out to do. The incremental change is so slight, but years in the future we can look back and barely recognize the “man in the mirror.” I’ve rediscovered in the last few years that I love doing creative things, and they’ve changed me for sure. I did my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">365DayDraw</a> thing and recently finished <a href="https://dribbble.com/shots/3915988--inktober-2017">Inktober</a>. I am enjoying writing more often, mostly between 5:15 and 5:45 in the morning. That’s when I’m writing this post, by the way. There are two bigger changes on the horizon in the world of fitness for me. Both Amy and I are going to <a href="https://www.lesmills.com/us/workouts/fitness-classes/bodypump/">Les Mills BodyPump</a> certification on December 2, and also a <a href="http://www.rrca.org/our-programs-services/programs/coaching-program/level-i-certificiation-course">RRCA Coaching Level 1</a> certification in early March. This means that by next year this time, Amy and I may be certified running coaches and be teaching BodyPump classes at <a href="https://flxfitclub.com/">FLX Fitclub</a>. Talk about change! Part of me is nervous about it, but part of me is totally up for the challenge.</p>
<p>The last adult cross country run is this Sunday. It will probably snow. It’s definitely going to be cold. All of those familiar faces are going to be there. It’s going to be 8 kilometers of epic-ness, to be sure. But then I’m heading to my chrysalis. <strong>See you on the other side.</strong></p>
<hr />
<p><em>I took this article's cover photo during a <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/839761251">January 2017 run in Virgil, NY</a> while Elizabeth was ski racing at Greek Peak. To me, it sums up the spirit of this article. Those miles were just a part of the 212 runs I've had so far this year, covering more than 1,574 miles.</em></p>
A Month of Drawing: Inktober 20172017-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/month-drawing-inktober-2017/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/inktober-logo.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Inktober" title="Inktober" /><p class="stickyNote">Inktober</p></div>
<p>When I saw people on Twitter start posting with the #inktober tag on October 1, I thought, "Why not?" I enjoyed how daily drawing felt during my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">#365DayDraw</a>, so I grabbed a pen and paper and got to work.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. – <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober">mrjakeparker.com/inktober</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Jake Parker started Inktober in 2009 to better his skills and reinforce good habits. I followed <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/">Jake Parker's prompts</a> for my first year at it, and derived a ton of inspiration from looking at everyone else's work. This world is so full of talent, and it's wonderful to be an aspiring part of it. You can <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/11/inktober.png">view the monthly montage</a> or the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=(%23inktober2017)%20(from%3Ascottpdawson)&src=typed_query&f=live">full-size individual posts, complete with captions</a>.</p>
PGXC Series (Genesee Valley Park)2017-10-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-genesee-valley/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. This race report is part of a broader post about the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">2017 Pete Glavin Cross Country series</a>.</p>
<p><em>All grass fields, a sloping hill and one of the best spectator courses in Rochester, which is perfect to watch the other two races unfold for the Niagara championships bragging rights.</em></p>
<p>Compared to the balmy weather several weeks ago, this weekend made it clear that winter is on the way. The temperature hovered in the mid-40s, normally perfect for running, but the real issue was water. Lots of it. A weather system parked itself over Central New York and started dumping water the night before the race, and would continue to do so until the morning after the race. Elizabeth joined in for this race, too, rounding out the women’s open team for Finger Lakes Runner’s Club. Amy, Elizabeth and I enjoyed the drive to Rochester and found a decent parking spot near the pavilions that would keep us dry until race time.</p>
<p>The kids’ McQuaid cross country meet is held at this park as part of their school cross-country series. It was going to be fun to race it myself, and the course they’d set was advertised as three 2K loops. After watching the women start their race (men and women were separated today), I walked through the sopping field back to the pavilion to stow my umbrella and strip down into my shorts and singlet. I watched the remaining laps of the women’s race and warmed up a bit, running haphazard lines across the main field and periphery.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_9482.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Carl Franck had all the right accessories" title="Carl Franck had all the right accessories" /><p class="stickyNote">Carl Franck had all the right accessories</p></div>
<p>As we waited for the signal to start, an organizer shouted out that the course was starting to get muddy in places. This was hilarious, because the entire course was mud; it was just muddier at the turns. As we started the first loop, Adam came up next to me and warned <em>“Slow down, Scott.”</em> I turned to my right and said <em>“Is that the voice of reason I hear over there?”</em> I did slow down, but was grateful to get out in front of the mass of runners. The race itself flew by. Alex Colvin came alongside around mile 2 and I enjoyed pacing off of him for a bit. Casey Carlstrom reeled us in not far into mile 2 and we were a trio for a bit. Alex and Casey were both veteran runners who were “running down” into the masters team to give us a better chance at winning. They were fast! Adam had also recruited Scotie Jacobs, a local (fast) ultra runner, to join us. I hoped to hold on and finish in the top 5, given these roster changes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_9524-e1510596876244.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Elizabeth snagged this picture of me mid-race" title="Elizabeth snagged this picture of me mid-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Elizabeth snagged this picture of me mid-race</p></div>
<p>As we started the third loop on the grassy infield, I wondered how much longer it’d be. I hadn’t studied the course closely, but I knew we had to do “three loops.” I was shocked when the guys in front of me peeled off toward the finish! Shocked, and grateful. I was so ready to be done! I had been focusing on not letting the GVH runner behind me pass on the last loop, and had thought I had to go up a hill toward our pavilion one more time. Just as I was focusing on that challenge, the race was over. I didn’t give up a single place over the one-hundred yard dash to the finish, though I would have liked to have kicked sooner. There’s always next year!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_0126.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A bit muddy after the race" title="A bit muddy after the race" /><p class="stickyNote">A bit muddy after the race</p></div>
<p>The results for our men’s masters team were good, though we didn’t find out ‘til later. Dry clothes and the promise of warm coffee won the day, and we were soon headed home after getting a group picture of our clean fronts and muddy backs. We were so disappointed to learn that Starbucks had closed for renovations in Canandaigua, though! We dejectedly drove by, seeing construction workers outside and a sign in the window. Why, caffeine gods, why?</p>
<p>I was thrilled to know how we’d done as a team when Adam wrote later that evening. Our High Noon masters team eked out a victory over GVH with a 34 point tie that was broken by Sean Nicholson’s 6th man tie-breaker. Adam’s strategy of stacking the masters team in favor of diluting our strength across a weaker veterans and masters teams paid off! The performance netted us our second case of beer for the season. Personally, I ran my fastest 6K race of the season. My average pace was only bested by the first race in the series, though that was a 5K. Two more weeks of training, and we’ll toe the line at the last race of the season!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_9516.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done! ... and ready for dry clothing" title="Done! ... and ready for dry clothing" /><p class="stickyNote">Done! ... and ready for dry clothing</p></div>
PGXC Series (Akron Falls Park)2017-09-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-akron-falls/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. This race report is part of a broader post about the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">2017 Pete Glavin Cross Country series</a>.</p>
<p><em>All grass course on fields, a couple uphills to make it honest and maybe soggy part so you can get some mud on the back of your shorts.</em></p>
<p>Summer came back in mid-September, so it was no surprise that this race fell on a 90-degree day. Amy and I enjoyed the drive to Akron Falls County Park. Despite being the longest distance from our home, the thruway miles clicked by as we talked and had a packed breakfast. Our running friends had already set up the tent in a nice shady spot so we’d have some respite from the beating sun.</p>
<p>We picked up our running tags and also our PGXC series t-shirt. There had been a misprint this year, marking all shirts boldly with PGCX, which sounds more like a train line than a cross country series. The organizers had promised the shirts would be ready for the next race, and they were!</p>
<p>The other runners had already headed out on a preview loop, so I spent a few minutes stretching with Adam. We headed out solo to preview the first and third loops of the course. We had spectate the kids’ cross-country meet in Baldwinsville the prior day, so I told him something I’d realized when talking about PGXC with another race parent. There’s no drama in adult cross country! I’ve heard all kinds of stories from my kids of their teammates talking smack about each other, bragging unabashedly about what place they come in while hoisting their ribbons in the air, and forming exclusive cliques within the team. There’s simply no drama in adult cross country, at least as far as I’ve seen. We love to run, and we’re all there for the challenge and the fellowship. Adam smiled as I told him this analogy, and we finished our preview run glistening with sweat and grateful for the shade of the tent as we awaited the start. We had a brief discussion of the merits of shirts. I waffled on whether to wear one, knowing that I’d brought my very lightest Patagonia to wear. Adam said he wore a shirt mainly for protection from the sun. David Keifer talking about some research that showed <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/common-myths-about-running-in-the-heat">wearing a shirt actually resulted in better performance than not</a>. I decided to keep my shirt on, and also carry a collapsible handheld filled with Tailwind.</p>
<p>I had no particular strategy in mind for this race, except not going out too fast. The race organizer reminded us of the recent tragic news that a 9 year-old girl had been killed by a driver during XC practice in nearby Geneseo, our alma mater. We’d be running today for her, her family and her community. Yet again, I was reminded once more about how lucky I should feel that I can run. My childhood battle with osteomyelitis jumped to the front of my mind once more. Adam was off to my right. As we started running, I fell in beside him and kept pace for the first mile. As we came back near the start, I felt my pace falter and silently bid adieu to Adam. His second mile split was the same as his first, but mine was a minute slower. I clearly couldn't maintain that pace: I’d need another rabbit from the start if that were to be a viable strategy.</p>
<p>I also didn’t wear spikes this race, despite having practiced with them. During the preview, we noticed several road crossings that would be tough on spikes. That didn’t deter much of the field, though. As we crossed those hard surfaces, I heard plenty of the clickity-clack of spikes on asphalt. I secretly wished I’d been wearing them, but there were three races left to try them out. I gutted out the third loop, thinking of nothing but how frustrated I was to have slowed so much. I tried to sip periodically from my Tailwind, but my breathing was so labored it wasn’t worth it. I probably won’t carry again, even if it were hot for a future race. I’ve never been so grateful to finish, and instantly sought out shelter from the sun to regain my breath and composure. I walked back along the course to another shady spot and helped cheer in the rest of our teams. It was quite a sight to see the finish line area and the stream of runners walking back to the pavilion. We had all swaggered to the start line, full of energy, bravado and pep. Now, after just 20-30 minutes, we all walked as full participants in a zombie apocalypse, shoulders hunched awkwardly with each step as painful as the prior, cursing the mild uphill grade back to the pavilion. I joked with a teammate as I took in the sight: they should make the extras for the next zombie flick run a 5K before the shoot. It’d be rather authentic.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_6889-e1510588430370.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The Recovery Beer" title="The Recovery Beer" /><p class="stickyNote">The Recovery Beer</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/11/IMG_6888-e1510588377224.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Yes, please" title="Yes, please" /><p class="stickyNote">Yes, please</p></div>
<p>I enjoyed the post-race food and recovery beer, A few guys were trying out some home-brewed recovery beer on us, complete with a survey. We went on a short walk to Akron Falls to help our legs recover, but sadly the lack of rain meant there was barely a trickle of water coming down the stream. It was a pretty walk, but we didn’t make it to the waterfall. Awards would start soon, and there’d be more beer and chocolate that I didn’t win! I changed out of my sweaty clothing in the car and rejoined the group at the pavilion. Amy and I took a brief reroute on the way home to stop at Geneseo. We sat outside of Aunt Cookie’s and had a sub for a late lunch, followed by a stroll through campus. It is so different to go back so long after graduating. For some reason, everything looked so small to me. The buildings, green spaces and classrooms all looked tiny. Perhaps there’s something that age does to the brain, providing a new set point from which to compare your past. It’s a heady thought that’ll have to wait for now. It’s time to set my sights on a closer race two weeks from now: Watkins Glen!</p>
DIY Wine Rack2017-09-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/diy-wine-rack/<p>I had an itch this weekend to build a more expansive wine rack in our pantry. Actually, the itch had been there awhile, since I’ve been spending the last few runs thinking intermittently about designs I could pull off using materials I have on hand in the garage. I had all kinds of concepts percolating in that running brain, though when the adrenaline wore off, none of those concepts really inspired me. After we got an additional cheap(er) case of wine from WSJ Wines, including our normal delivery, our supply outstripped our capacity to store it. Our little 12-bottle rack hung high on the pantry wall was no longer going to cut it. It was time for a high-capacity DIY wine rack.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_4316.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="The inspiration (racks only)" title="The inspiration (racks only)" /><p class="stickyNote">The inspiration (racks only)</p></div>
<p>I was inspired by this image. With Saturday morning’s coffee in my stomach, I opened up my phone and turned to the constant friend who’s always there when I need advice: Google. I scrolled through the results for “DIY Wine Rack” and found a promising article titled <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/clean-and-organize/creative-wine-racks-and-wine-storage-ideas-pictures">15 Creative Wine Racks and Wine Storage Ideas</a>. Scrolling through the possibilities, I found many of the concepts I’d been turning over in my brain, and some others I hadn’t thought of yet. The 11th picture leapt out at me. Though it was lodged in the cavity of a sideboard, I thought I could build something similar to sit on our pantry shelf. I headed to the garage to forage for materials.</p>
<p>I found some scraps of ½” medium-density fiberboard (MDF) left over from an oven shipment we received for Amy’s kitchen. I’m a big fan of upcycling, so relished in carefully taking apart the pieces of nailed fiberboard. Nails removed, I knew I had enough pieces to start to play with designs and spacing. First, I used my table saw to cut all of the pieces into 1” strips. It made a sufficient amount of sawdust, so I knew I was making good progress. I cut 12 pieces of 1” x 32” and 60 pieces of 1” x 12”.</p>
<p>I placed two of the 32” piece parallel to each other on the garage floor and tested several different placements of the 12” pieces to see how the wine bottles fit next to each other. It turned out that 1” for each wine bottle to rest in was ideal, and 2” between each wine bottle. With this spacing, each tier would hold 10 bottles. Given the design I ended up with, you could have used a 2” x 12” for each spacer between the bottles, where I’ve used two 1” x 12” pieces (I’m calling for 2” pieces in the materials list below).</p>
<p>I used a framing square to draw lines across all of the 32” pieces all at once. This way, I’d be sure that the 12” pieces would all be aligned as I fastened them to each tier. I brushed glue between all of the joints as I laid the 12” pieces on the 32” bases, then placed the other two 32” pieces on the top, again using glue. I was so excited for this particular project because I’d get to use my nail gun! I hooked up my compressor, put a few drops of oil in the seldom-used gun, and loaded it up with nails. At 1 ¼”, they were just long enough to go through all three pieces of ½” material. Now that I had all three tiers glued and nailed, it was time to think about how to stack them.</p>
<p>I headed to my local hardware store, Stover Lumber, and told them what I needed for my DIY wine rack. I thought I’d find bolts that were 12” long, and though they had them they were only threaded at the end. They suggested threaded rod. Perfect! I got some ⅜” threaded rod in 36” lengths. I’d need to cut them down to size, but they’d work really well. Back home, I used my hacksaw to cut the rods and then loaded my drill up with a ⅜” bit. I placed some sample bottles in the bottom tier to confirm my placement of the holes that would receive the rod. I’d chosen to place the rod at the four corners, and also directly in the middle. Since the holes are through the 12” piece and not the three pieces sandwiched in the corner (I’d have hit nails with the drill if I did that), the hardware under the threaded rod would be totally hidden under the 12” piece). I used a washer as a guide to start each hole to ensure sure they were all centered and approximately in the same spot.</p>
<h2 id="assembling-the-diy-wine-rack">Assembling the DIY Wine Rack</h2>
<p>With the holes drilled, the exciting part was finally here: assembly! Put a nut at the very end of each threaded rod, followed by a washer. Thread each rod up through each hole, and secure in place on top with another washer and nut.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9249.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Closeup of bottom shelf with threaded rod in place" title="Closeup of bottom shelf with threaded rod in place" /><p class="stickyNote">Closeup of bottom shelf with threaded rod in place</p></div>
<p>Spin another nut and washer down each rod until they’re at the height you want the next shelf.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9247.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="First shelf with threaded rod inserted through bottom, ready for second shelf" title="First shelf with threaded rod inserted through bottom, ready for second shelf" /><p class="stickyNote">First shelf with threaded rod inserted through bottom, ready for second shelf</p></div>
<p>3 ½” is probably an ideal spacing, but make sure you’re accounting for the extra ½” per shelf taken up by the 32” pieces on the front. So, you’ll want about 4 ½” between the washers for each tier. Slide (finagle?) the second tier down over the threaded rod and ensure it is level. The nice part about this design is the ease with which you can adjust each post’s placement by turning a nut. Slide another washer/nut combination on each rod, and repeat the whole process for the last shelf. Once you’re happy with the placement, tighten all the nuts down with a wrench.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9250.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Closeup of nut and washer ready for next shelf" title="Closeup of nut and washer ready for next shelf" /><p class="stickyNote">Closeup of nut and washer ready for next shelf</p></div>
<p>I was really pleased with how the DIY wine rack turned out! I took our old shelf down and placed this one in our pantry. I easily handled the load of the wine bottles, and they are totally secure in their slots, not banging into each other on the way in or out. The top tier’s emptiness left some room for our other liquor bottles (we enjoy margaritas rather frequently on Mexican Fiesta nights). I thought about hot gluing some ribbon along the front to hide the ends of the wood, and also about wrapping the threaded rod with something festive, like tape or ribbon. I’m happy with the rustic look as-is, though, so no additional adornments for me at the moment.</p>
<p>There you have it, my DIY wine rack! It cost $10 in materials for the hardware, and I used recycled materials for the rest. Sure, a little blood, sweat and tears (wait, that was more sweat: it was a hot day) are needed, too! If you have ready access to the tools and materials, you can do this in an afternoon.</p>
<h2 id="what-you%E2%80%99ll-need-for-a-diy-wine-rack">What You’ll Need for a DIY Wine Rack</h2>
<ul>
<li>½” material: (12) 1” x 32”; (6) 1” x 12”; (27) 2” x 12”</li>
<li>(6) ⅜” x 12” threaded rod</li>
<li>(36) ⅜” flat washers</li>
<li>(36) ⅜” nuts</li>
<li>Wood glue</li>
<li>Drill with ⅜” bit</li>
<li>Crescent wrench</li>
<li>Nail gun (or a ton of patience with a hammer)</li>
</ul>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9254.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="DIY Wine Rack" title="DIY Wine Rack" /><p class="stickyNote">DIY Wine Rack</p></div>PGXC Series (Clay Park Central Syracuse)2017-09-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017-clay-park/<p>The <a href="http://www.gvh.net/pete-glavin-xc-series">Pete Glavin Cross Country (PGXC)</a> series of races is for runners throughout upstate New York. You can win individual age group prizes and team awards for each race, also accumulating series points and awards (and bragging rights) along the way. This race report is part of a broader post about the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/pete-glavin-cross-country-pgxc-series-2017/">2017 Pete Glavin Cross Country series</a>.</p>
<p><em>An all grass course on fields and paths, flat with maybe a roller or two which is perfect for getting used to the spikes after a summer of flip flops</em></p>
<p>The first race was upon me before I expected, having run a 50K at Green Lakes just a few weeks prior. All of my training to this point was for longer distances, so I simply put in maintenance miles leading up to this race. We carpooled up with Brenda Michaud. She’d done the AIDS Ride for Life 102-mile bike ride the day prior, so we had a great time catching up about that during the drive.</p>
<p>We got our bibs (well just, the tear tag from a traditional bib, kind of like what you wear in flag football) and spent some time setting up our tent and meeting each other. There were some new runners on the High Noon AC team I was on, including Columbia Warren. Columbia and I grew up together, and as adults see each other mostly at races. I thought it was cool that we would be running together again! We headed out for a loop on the 2-loop course to get our bearings and warm up. The day was getting hot, and I was already uncomfortable in the tight short-sleeved shirt I’d chosen. Adam Engst offered me a race singlet, but it didn’t fit too snugly. I decided to run shirtless, and though I was in the minority I’d be joined by two of my teammates looking for evaporative cooling as I ran.</p>
<p>The mass start (men and women, all age groups) was in the middle of a field along a white line. We were in the middle, with masses of runners off to our right and left. At the signal, I bolted across the field toward the first turn, running an irresponsibly fast pace (4:35) for someone who’d be running for about 20 minutes. I was the first runner to the turn where the path narrowed and we skirted a soccer pitch. I tried to settle into a good pace, knowing that as Adam Engst passed me I was succeeding at that goal. Adam’s a faster runner and should be finished before me.</p>
<p>The second loop turned into an endurance event for me. I focused on pace and not giving up any spots. In cross country, results are based on points, and points are based on the order in which you finish, not your time. Order matters! I picked off two runners as we rounded the last turn around a baseball field and approached the finish chute. As with the too-fast start, I really picked it up at the end, finishing with a sprint at 4:27 pace.</p>
<p>I was really happy to be a scoring runner for our team! There are a ton of fast people everywhere you look in this race, from 0-39 (open), 40-49 (masters), 50-59 (vets) and 60+ (supervets). Amy scored for her team, too, and I enjoyed hanging out with her after the race as we recovered our breath.</p>
<p>I surveyed the awards table. Wine, beer and chocolate. It looked delicious, but they had plenty of post-race fare for the runners. I devoured a banana, some Chex mix and a bar of something-or-other. The awards were fun to see: the Fingers Lakes Runners Club’s team won the Masters division! Our High Noon Masters nabbed second, but beer is for winners. I wondered if we’d win beer at one of the other four races? The GVH team is pretty fast. Individually I don’t think I’ll have a prayer either. I was 6th master with a time within the margin of error for my fastest 5K ever. I don’t think so. I will instead opt to run the fastest I can, aspiring to win beer and chocolate, but being content with the effort associated with a job well done.</p>
<p>The next race will be in two weeks. It is time to do some 5K-specific training! I’ve looked at Hal Higdon’s Advanced 5K plan, and it throws in some speedwork. Perfect! My daughter (who also runs cross-country) convinced me to buy some spikes. Amy had purchased some before the season started, and a lot of the High Noon runners had them. I’ll be wearing them at the next race!</p>
Backyard Barrel Sauna Project: A Suburban Oasis2017-09-07T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/backyard-barrel-sauna-project-suburban-oasis/<p>Amy and I are avid Tim Ferriss readers and listeners. When we listened to a podcast episode about <a href="https://tim.blog/2014/04/10/saunas-hyperthermic-conditioning-2">saunas and performance enhancement</a>, we were sold on sauna health benefits! We'd used them periodically in the gym, but never regularly. Before we proceed with the story, Tim has a great disclaimer on his post which I'll directly adapt here:</p>
<p><strong>SCOTT'S DISCLAIMER ON THIS POST:</strong> Please don’t be stupid and kill yourself. It would make us both quite unhappy. Consult a doctor before doing anything described in this post or on this blog.</p>
<p><strong>BIGGER LAWYERLY DISCLAIMER:</strong> The material on this blog is for informational purposes only. As each individual situation is unique, you should use proper discretion, in consultation with a health care practitioner, before undertaking the protocols, diet, exercises, techniques, training methods, or otherwise described herein. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained herein.</p>
<p>As endurance athletes, Amy and I were most intrigued by this endorsement of sauna use from Tim's post:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... acclimating yourself to heat independent of aerobic physical activity through sauna use induces adaptations that reduce the later strain of your primary aerobic activity. – <em>Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick, Ph.D.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In short, exposing ourselves to heat in the sauna will help our bodies adapt to the stresses we put ourselves under during endurance events. Rhonda also writes about the benefits of sauna use as it relates to muscle growth and regrowth (post-injury). We were sold on the benefits. Now, how to sauna more regularly?</p>
<h2 id="members-no-more">Members No More</h2>
<p>In early 2017, we'd left a gym we'd been long-term members of due to staffing drama involving group fitness. Amy wrote about how <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/musings/selecting-gym-went-1-gym-four/">we were part of four "gyms"</a> after that. Since writing that post, we'd not found ourselves at the YMCA nearly as often as we would. By the end of August, we realized that it wasn't worth paying for, given our usage. Now that we'd heard about the health benefits of a sauna, we no longer had access to one!</p>
<h2 id="evolution-of-a-backyard-space">Evolution of a Backyard Space</h2>
<p>When the kids were little, the back of our yard was appropriately occupied by a sandbox and swingset. As they grew up, so did our backyard. We replaced the swingset and sandbox with a garden and a storage shed. We also <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/improve-your-backyard-install-a-shade-sail/">installed a shade sail</a> along the way, improving our deck space and making it a wonderful place to hang out. We wondered: would we be able to afford an outdoor sauna? If so, would it fit well in the space beside our garden? We started researching available options and quickly gravitated to the aesthetic of a barrel sauna. <a href="https://almostheaven.com/current-specials">Almost Heaven Saunas</a> had a "Specials" page on their web site that advertised a 6-person sauna with an electric heater for essentially 50% off the normal price. We plugged in our credit card details and began waiting (and planning) for its arrival.</p>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/barrel-sauna-shipping.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="This is what the shipment would look like" title="This is what the shipment would look like" /><p class="stickyNote">This is what the shipment would look like</p></div>
<p>The sauna arrived on July 6 and I called my Dad to see if he (and his hand truck) would be available to help unload. Almost Heaven makes it clear that the truck will drop off at the curb. That proverbial "last mile" is up to you, and we had to get it into the garage until a few stars aligned. As we surveyed the four boxes in the truck, I became increasingly grateful that my Dad was there. These boxes were HEAVY! The heater was in a box of its own, and it was manageable for one person to carry. One long rectangular boxes contained the staves for the outside (curved) part of the sauna, and the other contained all the other parts (benches, hardware, and rocks!) The remaining box was 7' in diameter and contained the two end pieces.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/sauna_delivery_july_6.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Gravity was a wonderful help getting boxes off the truck" title="Gravity was a wonderful help getting boxes off the truck" /><p class="stickyNote">Gravity was a wonderful help getting boxes off the truck</p></div>
<p>We carefully lowered each box to the ground, got under it with the hand truck and gingerly wheeled each of them into the garage. It was quite a job, especially the box with the staves. It was a box full of wood, after all!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t6IuG_52Go">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t6IuG_52Go</a></p>
<h2 id="preparation">Preparation</h2>
<p>We needed a level place to install the sauna, along with conduit for electrical service to be run out there. It's about 100' from the electrical box, so we involved <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/KJPropertyCare">KJ's Property Care</a> in a plan to run the 1" conduit (digging safely along the way), build a level pad and landscape a stepping stone path. Kyle and his crew did a fabulous job over several weekends of work. The weather in July here was monsoon-like, so there were a few rain delays during the project. Our backyard can be a swamp anytime there's a lot of rain, so add in some excavation work and <em>poor</em> drainage turns into <em>no</em> drainage! When things dried out and they were all done, the space looked perfect. We now had a level pad for the sauna (two courses of interlocked landscaping timbers, filled with crusher run and pea gravel), conduit from the house coming up into the rear of the pad, and a beautiful stone path using <a href="http://sensenigs.com/product/black-hills-rustic-flagstone">Black Hills Rustic flagstone from Sensenig's</a> in Geneva. We chose a brownish stone instead of gray, since our deck and house all share hues of tan and brown. I took some of the remaining stone and built a small patio for our outdoor fire pit, too. It was time to assemble!</p>
<h2 id="assembly">Assembly</h2>
<p>Despite the sauna's early July arrival and the readiness of the sauna pad, we had a few things holding up the actual assembly. Our summer was jam-packed with staccato trips and events: a long weekend in Martha’s Vineyard and Boston, competing in the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a>, a trip to Oregon for <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/mazamas-mountain-running-camp-mrc-2017/">Mountain Running Camp</a> and a trip to NYC. We chose the first fair-weather weekend we were free: August 13 would be assembly day!</p>
<p>We chose a nice, sunny day to put the sauna together. I anticipated it would take much of the day, so I got a really early start, moving the staves in piles of 5-6 to a pair of benches in the backyard. Once we'd all enjoyed breakfast, it was time to get started! I had already finished the first step in the garage, using the controlled space to align the bases properly and screw the bottom staves in place. Amy and I carried that piece out and centered it on the pad.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9059.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Center piece on the pad, staves on the side" title="Center piece on the pad, staves on the side" /><p class="stickyNote">Center piece on the pad, staves on the side</p></div>
<p>Next it was time to move the end pieces. Given their size and weight, we opted to use a winter sled to handle the transport. We put the bottom edge of each end piece on a sled and used that to drag it gently through the yard to the pad. It worked wonderfully! It took a bit of rotating to and fro to get the end pieces level on top of the base. It would be important to make them level, though, since nobody wants a door askew!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9061.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Side pieces set and leveled" title="Side pieces set and leveled" /><p class="stickyNote">Side pieces set and leveled</p></div>
<p>We added the staves one at a time, nailing every other one to the end pieces until we got to the pieces at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9067.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Nailed to 3 and 9 'o clock" title="Nailed to 3 and 9 'o clock" /><p class="stickyNote">Nailed to 3 and 9 'o clock</p></div>
<p>Now gravity would take over as we placed the remaining pieces along the top arc of the barrel. The last few were tricky, since the goal is a tight fit, but it was by no means as difficult as I thought it'd be!</p>
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<p>Xander shot a cool time-lapse of the construction. It's fun to see the pile slowly disappear on the left!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSYwPObqyk0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSYwPObqyk0</a></p>
<p>We attached and tightened the metal bands that hold the unit together. This was probably the toughest part, mostly due to the design of the hardware. It's a threaded bold with no head, so you have a nut that goes on both ends. <strong>*Editor's Note:</strong> After several weeks of use, we realized we needed to add a quarter-inch spacer stave due to a small gap in the top within which we could see sunlight. My Dad came over once more, and sadly we'd cross-threaded both nuts on the last metal band. I had to cut off the bolt! He also had a set of wide-mouth pliers that helped us tighten the bands sufficiently so cross-threading wasn't as much a risk. So, my feedback to Almost Heaven is (a) longer bolts with a head end, and (b) advice to use wide-mouth pliers to bring the bands together before threading the nut on the bolt. That way, you don't need a hacksaw!* The interior and exterior benches were easy to assemble and install. We mounted the heater on the wall with just a few screws and awaited our date with the electrician.</p>
<h2 id="turning-on-the-juice">Turning on the Juice</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_7462.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Heater, ready for wiring!" title="Heater, ready for wiring!" /><p class="stickyNote">Heater, ready for wiring!</p></div>
<p>When Dave Hulle of Hulle Electrical Corporation called to make an appointment, I gave him some additional specifics of the project. I told him we were all set to "turn on the juice!" Dave arrived August 23 and worked most of the day to get us up and running. As usual, his work was beautifully done. Behind the sauna, he added a set of GFI outlets: one for the sauna's internal LED light, and another outlet that we've found useful for plugging in a vacuum for the interior, and will likely use for party lights in the future. We turned on the sauna late in the evening and followed the initial startup instructions.</p>
<h2 id="the-joy-(and-sweat)-of-a-backyard-sauna">The Joy (and Sweat) of a Backyard Sauna</h2>
<p>We've been using the sauna almost daily! We enjoy going out in the evening or anytime post-workout. The first few times, we noticed that despite the thermostat being all the way up, it was still cooler than we'd have liked. I mounted the sensor just a little bit lower than instructed, and since then it's become sufficiently hot within the hour that it warms up (~55-70 deg C, ~131-158 deg F).</p>
<p>Our older selves will tell you whether the sauna made the advertised difference with endurance and recovery, but in the meantime, our younger selves are having an absolute blast.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/09/IMG_9226.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Path from our house with fire pit in foreground" title="Path from our house with fire pit in foreground" /><p class="stickyNote">Path from our house with fire pit in foreground</p></div>
Green Lakes Endurance Runs (GLER) 50K 20172017-08-27T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/green-lakes-endurance-runs-gler-50k-2017/<p>Amy convinced me that a 50K would be a good idea on the heels of <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">Cayuga Trails 50</a> earlier this year. She had run the Green Lakes 50K a few years prior with Jenny, and was excited to try it out again. As we’d both be coming off of Intermediate Triathlon training, and we’d been steadily running all year, we were not <em>wholly</em> unprepared for the challenge. We signed up on July 12 for this late August race.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>We drove to Syracuse after dropping an <a href="http://www.emoticakes.com/">Emoticake</a> off in Ithaca. Getting our bibs the day prior would be one less thing to do race morning. It would certainly be better to roll into the race venue just ahead of the start, given the 1:45 drive from our home. We headed back home with bibs, stickers and shirts in hand. There wasn’t much time left in the day to get ready. We had been to the Trumansburg Fair earlier with Xander, and after we returned we enjoyed some ice cream, dinner and a brief bonfire at my parents’ house. The only thing left to do before bed was to lay out our race clothes, pin bibs on our shirts and try to get a good night's sleep.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_9122-e1504172417840.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me, pre-race. Thanks to Ellie Pell for the fine photograph!" title="Amy and me, pre-race. Thanks to Ellie Pell for the fine photograph!" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me, pre-race. Thanks to Ellie Pell for the fine photograph!</p></div>
<p>The drive to Green Lakes was uneventful, but just a little on the long side for an early morning drive. It reminded me a bit of driving to ski races, with better roads! Amy and I enjoyed chatting during the drive and stopped once at the I-81 rest stop. We saw people sleeping in their cars, all in a row, as we traipsed in and out of the rest stop building just before 6a. We'd never seen that. Is that a thing, overnighting at rest stops? I knew truck drivers did it, but not people in cars.</p>
<p>There wasn't much to do but assess our surroundings and double-check things once we arrived. Sadly, Amy's hydration pack was leaking and had soaked the bottom of her pack. She made the decision to run without her pack, using aid stations for water and opting to not carry a phone. She was looking forward to catching up on podcasts! I mixed Tailwind in my pack, so was secretly grateful mine wasn't leaking. Despite being wet, I still would have carried it though! <em>(Note: Nathan has a great lifetime replacement policy on their bladders, so a new one is on the way!)</em></p>
<p>We walked down a short hill to the starting line path. Steam lifted slowly off the lake as the sun rose. The scene provided a beautiful backdrop. Amy and I would be running approximately 5 hours. The temperature was perfect. There was no rain in the forecast. We were in a beautiful park. It was time to have some fun!</p>
<h2 id="loops-1-and-2">Loops 1 and 2</h2>
<p>Given the loop format, I was relatively sure I wouldn't see Amy again until the finish. I lined up near the front, just behind the runners that comprised a stacked field. The day's top male and female runners were in the group, and they'd both set course records today. I just hoped to have a solid race and not fall apart (or simply fall, for that matter). Doug Hardy posted a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/gleruns/permalink/10155672392599204/">video of us starting the race</a>. Unlike a road race, ultras seem super casual to me. We're just kind of standing around, waiting for the start. Then when we're released, we run. But not too fast. We'll all get there eventually!</p>
<p>I don't have much else to say about the first two loops, other than I ran them too quickly. I love the trails at Green Lakes, and they were well marked for the race. Without the proper marking, it's pretty easy to lose your way, given the network of criss-crossing trails. The aid station at the top of the Serengeti would be an oasis later in the race, but I didn't stop on the first loops. Back at the start, the aid station was quite nicely set up in the Old Administration building. I ran straight through between after Loop 1, not stopping for anything other than a pleasantry. I was feeling great!</p>
<p>After my second time up on the Serengeti, I was grateful to make it quickly back down to the lake level, knowing there was no more elevation and exposure until I ascended again. I stopped for aid, downing some water, banana and watermelon. I'd been running for just over two hours, my second loop a few minutes slower than the first. Could I pick up the pace a little? I was unsure.</p>
<h2 id="loop-3">Loop 3</h2>
<p>I was starting to beat myself up mentally at this point, knowing that I was getting slower instead of faster. I'd been listening to podcasts up 'til this point, and shifted to music. Maybe something uptempo would lift my spirits? I really enjoyed seeing "In the Heights" at the Hangar Theater last year. I put on that soundtrack and it helped the miles click by. I stopped at the Serengeti aid station and spotted a jar of pickle juice. I was feeling a lot of calf tightness and hoped that the miracle juice would help stave off cramps.</p>
<p>Back near the start, I rounded the far edge of the lake in the open sun. It's a beautiful beach, and the juxtaposition of the few sunbathers relaxing and reading while I was sweating my ass off was not lost on me. I would have loved to trade places with them. Back at the aid station, I stopped for more banana and watermelon. I took my sweet time, even sitting in an Adirondack chair just outside the door to think. I was mentally beat up, but I knew I had to continue. It had been 3 hours, 20 minutes. Only one more loop.</p>
<h2 id="loop-4">Loop 4</h2>
<p>The stairs that led from the Old Administration building down to the path loomed before me. I had bounded down them two-by-two after Loop 1. I had run down them after Loop 2. Now, I walked down a few steps, turned right, grabbed the railing and stepped my legs far behind me to stretch out my calves. I breathed deeply and looked at the lake. It was beautiful. I was tired. A runner descended the stairs behind me. I had to get going.</p>
<p>I ran the level path around the big lake. There were port-a-potties at the junction with the small lake, so I stopped there. There was also a bench facing the small lake. I used the bench's back to steady myself as I stretched my calves once more. The scene was serene. I wondered what would happen if I sat there awhile, just taking it in? Another runner came down the path I'd come from, passing quietly behind me. I had to get going.</p>
<p>I called Elizabeth back home to say hello. I think she thought it was super weird her Dad was calling while racing. I did, too, but I really didn't care. I was tired and lonely. She filled me in on what she and Xander had been doing, and then I asked her about my prior 50K time. It was written on a sign in our home gym. She told me it was 5:40. I took solace in the fact that, unless I totally fell apart, I'd crush the time. I was on a faster course today, sure, but it was still a PR. I thanked her for indulging me as I was running, and hung up.</p>
<p>I power hiked the few stretches of elevation that separated the lakes from the Serengeti. I was increasingly grateful as I started passing a few runners that were starting their third loop. The silver lining was that I was on my fourth loop. This was the last time I'd traverse this terrain today. Keep positive, Scott.</p>
<p>Now up on the Serengeti, I heard a biker come up on my left. He recognized me immediately. It was Tom Garby, a friend I'd made back when we were FLRTC ambassadors together. I asked if he would hang with me for a bit, trying not to appear too emotionally needy. He was biking with another guy and they slowed to talk to me. They asked how I was doing. <em>"It's f%$king hard!"</em> I replied. I was so ready to be done, and they reassured me that I was looking good and would be done soon. They also said they'd just seen Amy on a descent, and that made me smile, knowing she was out there with me.</p>
<p>As I approached the Serengeti aid station, the volunteers asked if I needed anything. I said something like "I just want to be done." They took it as I was <em>dropping</em>, saying incredulously that I was just 3 miles from the end. I said, "No! I mean I'm just tired." I grabbed another half a banana, thanked them so much for volunteering, and resumed running. Along the next stretch, an older runner bounded by me, looking fresh as a daisy. I didn't see a number on him, but I could have missed it. Was he really part of the field? Looking that good this far in? Couldn't be. Turns out, he was. Had I been running more even splits, that could have been me!</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_9123a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Me and Tim Hardy, post-race" title="Me and Tim Hardy, post-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Tim Hardy, post-race</p></div>
<p>I was so grateful to get down to base elevation. I could run on level ground for the remaining miles. I picked up the pace, going faster than a 10-minute mile for the first time on Loop 4. My last three split paces were 9:36, 9:38 and 8:49. I crossed the finish line. I was so grateful to be done. Tim Hardy, the race director, was there to greet me and talk to me about the race. He indulged me in a post-race photo. It was done.</p>
<p>I hung around the finish area for a bit, enjoying watching the awards ceremony and the wicked fast winners collecting their swag. I wandered down to a shady spot, bid John Donaldson adieu on his fourth loop, and unabashedly took a seat in his bag chair to watch for Amy coming around the waterfront. She was soon there and I got up to grab some photos of her finishing (<a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/green-lakes-50k-2/">read Amy's race report</a>). We were BOTH done!</p>
<h2 id="finish-line-%2B-refueling">Finish Line + Refueling</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_9135.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Not your traditional beach wear, but a finish line photo nonetheless!" title="Not your traditional beach wear, but a finish line photo nonetheless!" /><p class="stickyNote">Not your traditional beach wear, but a finish line photo nonetheless!</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_9136.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Caffeine/calorie bombs" title="Caffeine/calorie bombs" /><p class="stickyNote">Caffeine/calorie bombs</p></div>
<p>We were so happy with ourselves, and now it was time to recover (<em>ahem</em>, indulge). We both had grabbed some provisions from the finish line aid station after our respective finishes. I'd grabbed a few handfuls of M&Ms and had a glass of orange soda with ice, mostly for the refreshment factor (I've not had a full soda in <em>many</em> years after watching some frightening documentaries).</p>
<p>We had a few free rewards <em>(don't you love those?)</em> on our Starbucks account, so after taking a few minutes to change our clothes, we headed to the closest caffeine dispensary to order the largest Frappuccinos we could find. Why is there not a SuperVenti for ultra runners? The Venti Frapps didn't disappoint and we finished them before we were too far down I-81. As Amy reached the bottom of her drink with the telltale sound of slurping air and whipped cream, I said "Well, we could always get another one, right?" I don't doubt we'd have stopped again if there was another Starbucks nearby.</p>
<p>By this point we were getting hungry (or it may have evolved into <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=define+hangry"><em>hangry</em></a> as we exited 81 in Cortland) so we made a plan to stop by <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">Viva Taqueria</a> and get some Cheatin' Vegan Nachos on the taqueria side. We placed our order and patiently waited outside in the partial shade, content to watch the world walk by as our stomachs protested the lack of further Frappuccinos. <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson/status/901882922051010560">Nachos</a> arrived late ... but better late than never!</p>
<p>We continued our evening at home with a beer while relaxing outside, and then with Mexican night (homemade quesadillas, guacamole with refried beans and corn) and a margarita. I'd say we replenished far enough!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/Screen-Shot-2017-08-28-at-9.25.50-AM.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="GLER Results" title="GLER Results" /><p class="stickyNote">GLER Results</p></div>
<p>GLER's results page is SO cool. It helped me confirm what I already knew, albeit with more precision. My first two loops were too fast. The third loop was definitely where I started to give up ground, even if I did maintain my overall placement. The fourth loop was carnage, giving up four places along the way to the finish. Even pacing is my nemesis, especially when I go beyond 20 miles! I'm not sure if I'd be up for this again, given the looping format, but there is something to be said for knowing what's ahead of you. <em>Miles are miles, boss!</em> I'll give myself an attaboy, though, since I beat my prior 50K time by 55:31. I ran 5:40:22 during my only other 50K run <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/212335849">several years ago at the Finger Lakes 50s</a>. Gnarly course, and a separate one to be sure, but a PR is a PR any day of the week!</p>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 4:44:51 (<a href="http://results.leonetiming.com/2017GLER">results</a>)<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 16 of 82<br />
<strong>M40-49:</strong> 2 of 12</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1155551831/embed/48e63fd8444b26adf2d9c3226a55f2b2a165826e" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Lucifer's Crossing 20172017-08-20T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing-2017/<p>As I write this, I'm about to jump into Green Lakes Endurance Run's 50K tomorrow morning. After the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a>, I shifted gears into the final weeks of a 50K plan to have some semblance of preparation for this race. As such, it was serendipity that the fourth running of Lucifer's Crossing coincided with a 5-mile day on the 50K plan. I'm not one to mince miles when a super fun 6.66 mile trail race is in the cards. I decided to register race morning (August 20) and enjoy my trail time with a few friends.</p>
<p>I arrived at Treman Park about a half hour before the posted 10a start time. It'd be enough time to plunk down $25, fold and pin my bib on my shorts and do a warm up run to a remote park bathroom. I mingled with Pete Kresock, Ron Heerkins, Rich Heffron and Jed Sheckler before we got underway. I lined up at the very start of the pack again, relishing the opportunity to burst off the line. I stuck my tongue out and grinned wryly as I felt purchase on the gravel beneath my feet. We all swiftly rounded the first corner toward the causeway that promised to get those feet wet. Splashing across was a mixture of sheer joy (who doesn't like running through a massive puddle?) and delicate care to remain upright. After a half mile, I started up the Jeep road that led to the rim trail.</p>
<p>As I began ascending, I thought of the irony that just months before, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">I had run this same stretch twice</a>, yet far slower. One of the reasons I love this race is the ability to tromp on the gas pedal, forgetting the brake. It's the 5K of trail racing. I knew that by the time I was done, I'd be <em>done</em> and wouldn't need to preserve myself for anything. These thoughts occupied my mind as I ran over the flowing sections of trail leading to the stone steps flanking Lucifer Falls.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/20934795_283614768711944_2033414122343972255_o.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ascending the steps adjacent to Lucifer Falls" title="Ascending the steps adjacent to Lucifer Falls" /><p class="stickyNote">Ascending the steps adjacent to Lucifer Falls</p></div>
<p>With a few short exceptions, I ran the steps. It felt good to use my arms to get my legs up and over each step, and it was over soon enough. I enjoyed rounding the Old Mill, passing a few tourists along the way, and heading onto a quieter part of the course. The stream crossing at the top was less eventful than the causeway. I was able to bound over the 3-4 inch trickle by just getting my right foot wet. The second half of the course beckoned. The Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) section flows at the beginning with some decent climbs and descents, and then bombs the remaining elevation away along some sweet stretches of singletrack to close out the loop.</p>
<p>Just a mile from the end, I heard a runner (Shaun Griffith) come up suddenly behind me. I glanced backward. He was close! It was as if he was a ghost, since I'd felt alone until then after passing one runner earlier on the FLT stretch. I felt a surge of adrenaline as I became determined to not be passed. There was one short hill left on the course, and I used it to my advantage. I shot up it, not paying my screaming quads any heed. When we reunited at the end, he told me that made the difference between him catching me or not. He finished 9 seconds after I did.</p>
<p>I'm afraid I indulged in some finish line drama, too. <a href="http://www.happybellylife.com/">Natalie Thompson</a> had passed me near the beginning of the run. I didn't think I'd see her again. As I ran the final stretch of road toward the field to the finish line, I spotted her in the distance. Could I catch her? That adrenaline was still lingering in my body and I felt like I had more to give. My legs started answering the call to sprint, and sprint I did! I only saw her in my field of vision. I did not see <a href="http://goatfactorymedia.com/">Ron Heerkins Jr</a> filming her from the right, and only thought he was another runner. Turns out he was filming her for a project, and I provided entertainment in the form of a massive photobomb <em>(videobomb?)</em> at the finish line. Natalie answered the call as I passed her, and put in some extra effort to edge me by a second at the finish. I'm grateful for that, since I was feeling rather shabby for trying to edge her right at the finish anyway.</p>
<p>Ah, competitive human nature!</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/230359232">https://vimeo.com/230359232</a></p>
<p>There are no awards at this super-chill trail race, but I did enjoy the burrito-feed from <a href="https://www.gorgerstacos.com/">Gorgers Taco Shack</a> and hard cider from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/grisamoreciderworks/">Grisamore Cider Works</a>. So much that I felt compelled to photograph my food. I rarely do that, so you know it was good.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%2C-strava-track">By the Numbers, Strava Track</h2>
<p>This was the fastest I've run this race! I shaved about 20 seconds per mile off <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1143377685/matched-runs">my prior times</a>, and felt none the worse for wear. There were a lot of people there, too: it's definitely a race gaining in popularity. See you there next year?</p>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 54:31<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 8/97<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 9/164</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1143377685/embed/297609b36ef1c8547549ea4a4c55c40ac03399f6" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20172017-08-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/<p>I raced my second Intermediate (Olympic) triathlon on August 6. I’m lucky that it’s very close to my house, but I’m afraid the proximity also made it easier to be more blasé and less prepared than I was last year. I had raced the Cayuga Trails 50 on June 3 and just returned from Mountain Running Camp on August 1, so this was definitely not a “goal race.”</p>
<h2 id="training">Training</h2>
<p>I had a mixture of adequate and inadequate training under my belt. For biking and running, I’d been following the last 4 weeks of the plan I used last year. I biked between 60 and 100 miles per week, and averaged 18 miles of running per week.</p>
<p>In stark contrast, I swam a half mile in the lake on July 16. That was it. No other swimming, not even in a pool. Shower time doesn’t count toward the triathlon, folks. I was going to be crashing this swim with one swim under my belt. Adding insult to injury, that swim was awful.</p>
<p>I admit, it was toying with my head.</p>
<h2 id="volunteering%2C-night-before">Volunteering, Night Before</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_7293.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="So many Wegmans bags!" title="So many Wegmans bags!" /><p class="stickyNote">So many Wegmans bags!</p></div>
<p>We signed up as a family to help out at packet pick-up on Saturday. We organized and folded t-shirts before registration opened. A steady stream of athletes passed our table between noon and 3p. We opened Wegmans bags, stuffed flyers inside, folded more t-shirts, greeted each registrant and confirmed their t-shirt size before sending them on their way to pick up their transition area bracelet and timing chip. Tara Masters called me near the end of our volunteer shift to tell me that someone hit my car in the parking lot! This added a certain amount of stress to the morning, despite the damage being minor. It was a local 19 year-old using her parent’s car, and she didn’t seem to care a bit that she’d hit me while parking. I took down her information in case I wanted to follow up and thanked Tara for having my back! Friends and neighbors have each other’s backs! Our volunteering done, we headed home and had leftover pasta for dinner. We each retreated to our rooms to do our own thing and pack everything we needed for the triathlon. We’d be heading to NYC for a few days right after the triathlon, but our packing attention was squarely focused on the race.</p>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8908.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="With the kids, pre-race" title="With the kids, pre-race" /><p class="stickyNote">With the kids, pre-race</p></div>
<p>We adults woke at our normal time of 5a to enjoy coffee and do some final preparations. I pumped our bike tires, loaded bikes in the cars and took care of Snowball. We can only take 2 bikes per car since we don’t have a carrier that handles more. There was still no time to pack for NYC! We got the kids up and Amy made delicious breakfast sandwiches for everyone. Since my wave started at 8:20, I opted to eat my sandwich my customary 2 hours prior, just before we headed out the door for the short drive to the park. We snagged some decent parking spots not too far from the transition area. After volunteers wrote our race numbers and ages all over our bodies, we headed to transition and all independently got our bikes and gear racked and organized. Amy and I were near each other, but the kids were in separate areas since Elizabeth was doing the relay with Jessica and Xander was in the youth division.</p>
<p>Amy’s race started at 8a, and the water temperature was colder than she would have liked at 69.8 degrees. I was also hesitant, but mostly because of my total lack of swim preparation. I was relishing getting in, since the air temperature was about 55. The lake would feel like a bath! I half-jokingly shared with Simon Prosser that I was going to find a quiet place to throw up, and then saw Shane Eversfield and Adrian Western and told them the same thing. I headed to transition, shimmied into my wetsuit and grabbed my goggles and swim cap. Back at the lakeshore, I saw Michele Mitrani, who was racing her first triathlon. We are in a play-reading group together, and I unloaded my insecurities on her, too. I told her I was “not going to die” and she thought I was trying to provide inspiration to her that she was not going to die. I clarified quickly that no, I was talking about myself. I was SO nervous! We took a quick photo of ourselves after (like a mantra) telling ourselves that everything was going to be okay. Time marches on, and I needed to get ready to swim.</p>
<p>There was doubt in prior weeks if we’d even be able to have the swim. There were harmful algae blooms (HABs) in Cayuga Lake, and the swimming area at Taughannock had been closed several times. The race directors warned us that skipping the swim was a possibility, and they'd make a decision the morning of the race. As luck would have it, we were swimming! I walked into the shallow area marked off for warming up and eased into a few strokes in waist-deep water. A few waves of panic washed over me. Stand up. Breathe. Try a few more easy strokes. Breathe. A few more. I felt myself calming down. The warm water (compared to the air) and lack of major waves helped me immensely. They called our group to the corral.</p>
<h2 id="swim">Swim</h2>
<p>I lined up to the far left of the swim wave where it’d be lighter traffic. Ironically, one of my Strava friends who I’ve not yet met in person, Bruno Salcedo, was standing right next to me. It was nice to meet him in person, since we’d met his wife Dayana Kibilds at packet pick-up. The countdown to the start was swift. We were off! I pulled hard for a minute to keep ahead of the fray, since there were several courses of swimmers lined up behind me. My dislike of being run over and kicked motivated me to start strong. I was careful to not go out too hard, and my main goal was to no stray too far to the left and have to make up the distance. I stopped a few times on the outbound leg to check my direction. The leg was otherwise uneventful and I found myself rounding the buoy at the far end of the course.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZwY1MFvoeY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZwY1MFvoeY</a></p>
<p>The current was slightly in my favor for the return leg, and I hugged the buoy line on my right. I even ran into it once, the coarse rope becoming temporarily tangled with my leg. I passed a few swimmers in my group here too, providing me with motivation. I encountered a pod of my swim wave in front of me, so I veered to the left to get around them. It was shortly after this that I found a real rhythm, practicing the things I learned in Total Immersion swim training, breathing bilaterally and being genuinely relaxed. I dare say I was enjoying myself!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/141188-009-012h-e1502360169793.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Swim, done!" title="Swim, done!" /><p class="stickyNote">Swim, done!</p></div>
<p>Thud. I stopped to see what I’d run into. It was the prow of one of the kayaks there to keep us safe. In my head I thought, “What the f$#k?” Thinking the kayak was too far in the course and had accidentally hit me. Nope. The kayaker had zoomed into my path to intercept me, and she kindly advised “You’re off course.” So much for my Zen-like state. I apologized and swam a tangent back toward the buoy line. I was quite far to the left, and in a few minutes had made some progress getting back toward the main group of swimmers. The rest of this leg was uneventful, but I couldn’t help cursing myself for adding distance to the part of this race I like the least. There are no extra points in triathlon for adding to your distance! A huge thank you to the volunteers, especially those that make sure we don’t add too much distance to our race!</p>
<h2 id="bike">Bike</h2>
<p>Transitioning to the bike was smooth and fast, though I was very winded. I awkwardly got my wetsuit off and slipped on my bike shoes (I’d been training without socks). Helmet on. Sunglasses on. Did I remember everything? Transition can be such a fog. I jogged my bike out to the road and struggled to maintain my balance as I got on. I heard Tara Masters say some encouraging words, but I felt dizzy enough that I would have been a convincing drunk on a Friday night. Transitioning is so hard, and when your heart is beating fast, appearing lucid can be tough. I was mostly recovered and ready to ride hard after a few minutes of moving my legs and taking a few sips of Tailwind from my bottle. I strongly pedaled north across the bridge to make my way up Route 89.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/141188-092-020h-e1502359794819.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Starting the ride" title="Starting the ride" /><p class="stickyNote">Starting the ride</p></div>
<p>I shouted words of encouragement as I passed Amy on the northbound leg. There are some nice downward-sloping stretches here, and I barreled into Sheldrake at a satisfying clip. Once on the Sheldrake flats, I enjoyed the views of the lake to my right while plenty of homeowners cheered with cowbells from their properties on the left. A quick climb out of Sheldrake brought me back to 89 and the southbound leg. I focused on turnover, since there are some obnoxious stretches of almost imperceptible climbing. Soon I was able to enjoy the speed of the final descent into the park. The road is closed here and several of the bikers around me were challenging me to go faster and faster. I hit just over 40 MPH as the road leveled out and the park entrance loomed on the left. The volunteers implored us to slow down, dismount, and enter transition once more.</p>
<h2 id="run">Run</h2>
<p>Another quick transition. Bike shoes off. Running socks and shoes on. I traded my helmet and sunglasses for a handheld of Tailwind and my Brooks “Run Happy” hat. My legs seemed to transition well from biking to running, but my stomach was feeling rather off. It felt kind of like a bowling ball rolling around where my stomach should have been. As I approached the entrance to the base trail to Taughannock Falls, I had the presence of mind to jump into one of the port-a-potties that are always at the parking lot there. A helpful runner yelled “This way!” thinking I was going off course. I quickly started running again after my brief pit stop, remarking to several spectators, “God, that felt good.” It did, but I still had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8953.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Close to the finish, or the beginning of lap 2?" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/141188-175-009h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Passing the falls" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/141188-225-032h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="89 Underpass" />
</div></div>
<p>As I usually do, I found a few pacers among the runners to try to keep up with. One seemed a particularly good choice, but it turns out he was 45 years old (based on the number on his calf) and was on his second loop. As he turned toward the finish line, the ever-colorful Joel Cisne beckoned me enthusiastically to start my second loop. I headed out on the course for a second time. My stomach was starting to improve but was not yet ideal. I thought along this stretch about the word “endurance.” To endure. When you endure something, it’s not usually a pleasant thing. I endured a colonoscopy. I endured the obligatory ceremony. I endured the 2-hour company mandated HR meeting. I endured the remainder of the run. As I came into the home stretch toward the finish line (actually, before making the final turn) I found reserves I did not know I had. My stomach issues were now gone and I literally sprinted the final hundred yards. Where the hell did that come from? I could have had a far stronger run had I found those reserves sooner. Maybe a mile sooner? Two? No time to backseat drive (and no point, really) now that I was done. I worked on catching my breath and spotted Jon Shaff in the distance. The guy giving the pre-race instructions had a bit about hugging a volunteer when we were done. A big sweaty hug. I knew Jon could handle it, so I gave him the biggest, sweatiest hug I could muster and thanked him for helping out.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/141188-264-032h-e1502359919443.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done!" title="Done!" /><p class="stickyNote">Done!</p></div>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<p>I wandered up the finish chute near Joel Cisne and watched runners approaching the end of the race. Next up was Elizabeth, who finished her relay. Then Amy, who finished her second intermediate triathlon. Finally Xander, who finished the youth distance. All of them looked strong. All four Dawsons had crossed the finish line. We’d all run different races, but had a wonderful shared experience to carry us through the rest of the summer!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8978.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="4 Dawsons: 4 Finishers!" title="4 Dawsons: 4 Finishers!" /><p class="stickyNote">4 Dawsons: 4 Finishers!</p></div>
<p>After some post-race Wegmans lunch (so good) and Ithaca Beer (so, so good), we headed home to quickly unpack our triathlon gear and pack up our travel gear. We had planned a trip to New York City for Monday and Tuesday. We headed out the door at 2 p.m. for the 5-hour drive to the city, sharing stories back and forth along the way about this year’s Cayuga Lake Triathlon.</p>
<h2 id="cayuga-lake-olympic-triathlon%3A-by-the-numbers">Cayuga Lake Olympic Triathlon: By the Numbers</h2>
<p>The swim killed me this year. Probably due to getting off course, but without a GPS track I can't know how much farther it was! Lack of swim training definitely factored in. Transition times were solid, but I could have transitioned to running a few seconds faster. Bike time was really consistent with last year. Running was clearly a strong suit for me this year, having come off a huge race earlier in the season.</p>
<p>9/17 age group M40-44<br />
52/136 male<br />
63/213 overall</p>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Olympic Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/">2019</a></td>
<td>2:37:33</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779253/overview">31:51</a><br />(2:07 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:53</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779380/overview">1:14:34</a>
<br />(19.55 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779469/overview">47:44</a>
<br />(7:42 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2018-olympic-distance/">2018</a></td>
<td>2:38:18</td>
<td>34:51<br />(2:19 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:51</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052368/overview">1:13:51</a>
<br />(19.74 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:43</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052471/overview">46:02</a>
<br />(7:25 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">2017</a></td>
<td>2:43:40</td>
<td>35:54<br />(2:24 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:26</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575512/overview">1:14:51</a>
<br />(19.47 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:50</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575728/overview">49:39</a>
<br />(8:00 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016-olympic-distance/">2016</a></td>
<td>2:40:28</td>
<td>31:34<br />(2:06 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:29</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667999049/overview">1:14:44</a>
<br />(19.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:22</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667998576/overview">51:19</a>
<br />(8:17 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
Mazamas Mountain Running Camp (MRC) 20172017-08-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/mazamas-mountain-running-camp-mrc-2017/<p>Sarah Bradham is my sister-in-law. She’s very active in the Mazamas, and in early 2014 asked me and Amy for some feedback about a new running camp she was spearheading. She thought we’d be good to ask for an initial reaction to the camp since we were both runners and Mazama members. I read the prospectus for the camp and replied:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would totally do it, and the price point is unquestionably good. Checking into a hotel for 2 nights to use their gym would be more expensive, and that doesn't include meals. Sounds like a great schedule, too!</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="signing-up-for-the-mazamas-mountain-running-camp">Signing Up for the Mazamas Mountain Running Camp</h2>
<p>Fast-forward to March of this year, when my wife Amy emailed me and proposed a mini-vacation. This year’s <a href="https://mazamas.org/education-classes/mountain-running">Mountain Running Camp</a> (the 4th annual) fell mostly during a week where Xander was away at camp, and Elizabeth was old enough to stay home with her shiny new driver’s license. We talked about it as a family. Elizabeth was comfortable with staying home alone, spending time with grandparents, having a friend over and picking up her brother from camp. Oh, the joys of another licensed driver in the house!</p>
<p>On the camp’s registration questionnaire, I completed a few of the open-ended questions as follows.</p>
<h3 id="why-are-you-interested-in-this-camp%3F">Why are you interested in this camp?</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>We LOVE Oregon, and the chance to spend a few days running at Hood sounds like an ideal active vacation. Plus, Sarah Bradham's pretty cool.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="what-do-you-hope-to-get-from-the-camp%3F">What do you hope to get from the camp?</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>I want to get some tips for running trails better, and have a great time doing it.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="what-are-your-specific-running-related-goals-for-the-end-of-2017-or-2018%3F">What are your specific running-related goals for the end of 2017 or 2018?</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>I'll run Cayuga Trails 50 earlier in 2017, so will focus on the other extreme in the end of the 2017 season: adult XC. That, and maintaining a good base of fitness trail running.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="welcome-to-portland!">Welcome to Portland!</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8753.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Hello, PDX!" title="Hello, PDX!" /><p class="stickyNote">Hello, PDX!</p></div>
<p>The next four months flew by, and we were on our way to Oregon for camp before I knew it. Thankfully, we were leaving the monsoon-like weather in upstate New York behind for a drier, sunnier Oregon climate. It had been so wet and humid in late July, it was as if we lived in a rainforest climate! We connected from Syracuse to Portland by way of JFK in New York. Our Thursday evening layover was just long enough for us enjoy a dinner at Terminal 5’s “Loft” restaurant, where you order your meal using an iPad. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a beer, some guacamole and chips, and a burger with fries. Our flight to Portland boarded on time. As we settled into our seats, Amy and I cast each other doubtful glances as a family with a restless baby sat across the aisle in our row. The poor child was in distress for the first hour of the flight, though we had noise-canceling headphones to help dull the noise. We watched a few episodes of the Ozarks on Netflix to pass the time. The flight from East to West is always frustrating, as it’s longer due to having to fly against the jet stream. We arrived just before midnight, got a picture of the PDX carpet for good measure, and retrieved our bags. There were no delays for us this trip, and Sarah picked us up to drive us to her house for a restful remainder of the night.</p>
<h2 id="camp-day-1%3A-mazama-lodge-and-silcox-hut">Camp Day 1: Mazama Lodge and Silcox Hut</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8757.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="When in Portland, we MUST have Whole Bowl!" title="When in Portland, we MUST have Whole Bowl!" /><p class="stickyNote">When in Portland, we MUST have Whole Bowl!</p></div>
<p>We took advantage of our free Friday morning at Sarah’s house to pack just what we needed for camp and do some Les Mills on Demand BodyFlow (yoga). Stretching felt so good after being cramped in a plane for so long! At lunchtime, we dropped Sarah off at the Mazama Mountaineering Center (MMC) and went out to get some Whole Bowl for lunch. We brought hers back to the MMC while she was checking people in for camp, and we walked our lunch over to Laurelhurst Park to enjoy it at a picnic table. We wandered slowly back to the MMC as the warm Portland sun shone down. We enjoyed talking with our fellow campers as they arrived, and met instructors Yassine Diboun and Jason Leman too. Once we’d all arrived, we loaded into nondescript white cargo vans for the drive to <a href="https://mazamas.org/lodge">Mount Hood’s Mazama Lodge</a>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8858.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Welcome to the Mazama Lodge!" title="Welcome to the Mazama Lodge!" /><p class="stickyNote">Welcome to the Mazama Lodge!</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8789.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Mazama Lodge" title="Mazama Lodge" /><p class="stickyNote">Mazama Lodge</p></div>
<p>Yassine introduced us all to Charles, the Mazama Lodge’s caretaker. The building is rustic yet beautiful. There are several sleeping rooms upstairs with common bunks, so Amy and I chose two adjoining bunks on the bottom level so we could sleep near each other. We spread out our gear and clothing on a third unused bunk. The vans shuttled us 5 miles uphill to Timberline Lodge, where we hiked another mile up to Silcox Hut. The views of Timberline and the Cascade range to the south are spectacular from this vantage point.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8760.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ascending to Silcox from Timberline" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8764.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Facing South from Silcox" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8769-e1501967495255.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Our instructors get to know us at Silcox Hut" />
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<p>We were close to the Palmer Glacier where the kids have gone to summer ski camp, and I enjoyed seeing the groomers going up and down the mountain, preparing for the next day of skiers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifkE8tNSos8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifkE8tNSos8</a></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8773.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Running back to Mazama Lodge after Silcox" title="Running back to Mazama Lodge after Silcox" /><p class="stickyNote">Running back to Mazama Lodge after Silcox</p></div>
<p>We sat at the back of Silcox Hut as the sun started to set, going around the group introducing ourselves and sharing embarrassing stories. I had a PG story ready to go, but when people before me had set the stage with stories of bodily functions gone bad, I shared about Xander getting sick at one of Elizabeth’s piano recitals. Truly a gross memory to recount! The group ran back down the trail to the vans, and Amy Sproston (one of the instructors) said she was going to continue running down to the lodge. She had several takers, including Amy and me. It was almost 6 miles of downhill, on pavement no less, and we found our quads a bit worse for wear as we walked into Mazama Lodge for the evening.</p>
<p>Dinner was fabulous. The kitchen staff served up portobello mushroom burgers, trout and salad. I chose a bowl of Maui Waui sherbet for dessert. We’d had our fill, and were ready to wind down for the evening. We all gathered around the common area for a quick orientation. Sarah reminded us all that our camp registration came with a t-shirt, but sadly they weren’t able to get one together. Instead, she surprised us all with <a href="https://www.leki.com/us/trail-running/poles/2754/micro-trail-vario-115-130cm">Leki Micro Trail Vario</a> running poles and <a href="http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-houdini-windbreaker-jacket/24141.html">Patagonia Houdini</a> jackets. These sponsors had come through for the camp in a HUGE way! The value of the camp swag was not lost on the participants, and we all gleefully tried our our poles and donned our windbreakers before turning in for the evening.</p>
<p>Sarah asked where we’d set up our sleeping bags, and then told us that we could spread out. We moved our stuff to a smaller room called the Ape Cave that had 3 bunk beds. It would turn out to be a private room for us for the weekend, complete with a power strip so we could charge our phones and sport watches.</p>
<h2 id="day-2%3A-boot-camp-and-education">Day 2: Boot Camp and Education</h2>
<p>Sleep was somewhat elusive given the time change and bunk accommodations, but I did get a decent night’s rest regardless. I was up at 4:45 local time naturally, due in large part to the schedule I keep back home. “Sleeping in” until 7:45 would be luxurious! I put on some shorts and headed downstairs to the lodge’s expansive common area. Nobody else was around, and since the windows had been open all night, it was cold. 50 degrees. I got a sweatshirt, put on a pot of coffee, and set about doing the things I like to do daily: the daily New York Times crossword mini, stretching, pushups, finding cool people to follow on Twitter, Spanish on Duolingo and some reading. Amy came downstairs and I prepared an iced coffee for her, filling a mug to the top with ice and pouring the hot coffee on top. Presto!</p>
<p>The rest of the lodge awoke and we headed out on our scheduled dawn patrol run. Since it was a chilly start, I opted to wear my new Patagonia Houdini. We set off in two groups, and I chose the somewhat faster one. We’d shoot for an hour of running, out-and-back. I kept pace with Amy Sproston, reveling in the opportunity to “keep up” with an elite runner as she no doubt ran a conservative pace. I felt the same way when Yassine Diboun had been in Ithaca doing a hill running clinic a few years prior. We ran a downhill stretch together, and it was sheer bliss to run with such an experienced, knowledgeable athlete. When we arrived back at the lodge, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of French toast, bacon and eggs. And of course, more coffee.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8782.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="US Forest Service plates" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8779.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Dawn patrol run" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8784.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="So much breakfast!" />
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<p>We broke into two groups for the rest of the morning. Amy and I grabbed our fleece blankets for the indoor portion, since it was still in the 50s. Amy and Jason talked us through ten essentials for trail safety. Since we’d been hiking so much as a family, not much of this came as a surprise to us, but it was cool to see the advances in technology, especially with water filtration. We used to use a clunky mechanism with a hand pump, and now you can literally drink through a straw using something like the <a href="http://lifestraw.com/">Lifestraw</a> or the <a href="https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter">Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System</a> that we had back home in our camping gear.</p>
<p>We headed outside next for boot camp with Yassine and Joelle Vaught. After a few minutes of dynamic stretching in the sun we headed into the shade to work with tossing medicine balls and cycling through stations for dips with torso extensions, walkout pushups and step-up knee raises. We also ran down a trail to another spot to learn about the unweighted iron cross, something I’ll definitely be adding to my fitness regimen. You should try it: it’s harder than it looks! After all of that, we enjoyed a little volleyball before being called inside for lunch.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8791.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-siesta, outside" title="Post-siesta, outside" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-siesta, outside</p></div>
<p>Did I mention how cool it was that they had a kitchen staff preparing super healthy and delicious meals? We were treated to a homemade carrot and tomato soup, salad, and sandwiches with meat, cheese, lettuce and avocado. It was only appropriate that after such a fantastic lunch we’d be treated to a siesta time. I spent the hour hanging out in an Adirondack chair in the shade. I read, drew for a bit, and enjoyed the sounds of nature.</p>
<p>We were in groups again for the afternoon, starting with working with our new Leki poles. Amy and Jason walked us through the basics of clipping in and out of the poles, and how to use them for running up and down hills. Then we stashed our poles away and headed out with Yassine and Joelle to work on uphill running (and power hiking) technique. We came together as one big group again and went out for a longer run up and down hills near one of the many nearby ski lifts. On the way, we came across a campsite with a bag chair, an axe in a log and half a liter of rum. It was so random that we had to get pictures! With our afternoon workout complete, we ran back to lodge. I enjoyed running and chatting with Yassine as we headed back.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8793.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Jason and Amy" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8801.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Yassine and Joelle" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8800.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Me, with an axe and a bottle of rum" />
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<p>The day’s activities were not yet over, though. We hopped in the vans again and drove a short distances to Trillium Lake. The views of Mount Hood are spectacular from here, and I was sweaty enough to want to jump in the water with my running shorts on (I neglected to bring a bathing suit). After toweling off, Amy and I sat together and took in the scenery, along with a few mountain selfies. We retreated into the woods for about an hour with the group before leaving, using the time to talk about training plans, running philosophies and life lessons with the four instructors.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_6470.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="See the mountain?" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_6480.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Yeah, goofing around" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_6472.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Trillium Lake was gorgeous" />
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<h2 id="dinner-and-a-movie-(or-six)">Dinner and a Movie (or six)</h2>
<p>Dinner was a fantastic blend of two varieties of rice noodle stir fry, homemade spring rolls with peanut sauce and chocolate-dipped fortune cookies. It was movie night, so we settled in on a comfortable couch and watched a few shorts featuring some of the instructors. If you have the time, these are all fantastic and inspiring:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/7iRzzrNn9pw">Zion Traverse FKT with Amy Sproston and Joelle Vaught</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/2YmA1lCZ9QE">UTMB: Endure with Amy Sproston</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/AaXum47XJxs">Mt. Marathon (Salomon TV)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/05sUhlxFBk0">Trail Dog (Salomon TV)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2175746/maroon-belles-running-group-carbondale-colorado-thriving">Maroon Belles: a Thriving, All-Women's Running Group in Carbondale, Colorado</a></li>
</ul>
<p>We finished movie night with a final feature of Yassine and friends setting the assisted record for running Oregon’s stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail (see <a href="http://www.oregonpctproject.com/">One Step at a Time</a>). Ultra running campers were here for movie night, too, but they had to be up early in their morning for a 42-mile circumnavigation of Mount Hood. We mountain running campers would be doing a shorter 14-mile run from Timberline Lodge to Ramona Falls. Off to bed we went, especially tired due to the time change.</p>
<h2 id="day-3%3A-timberline-lodge-to-ramona-falls">Day 3: Timberline Lodge to Ramona Falls</h2>
<p>After another quasi-restless night of sleep I was ready for another day in the mountains. I was up about the same time and enjoyed coffee and quiet time down in the lodge’s common area before everyone else woke up. There was no pre-breakfast run today since we’d be running long. I enjoyed eggs with spinach, sausage and English muffins before getting ready to head up to Timberline. Once up at Timberline Lodge <em>(and if you haven’t put it together, 1980’s <a href="http://www.timberlinelodge.com/the-shining">The Shining</a> used aerial shots of Timberline Lodge as part of its opening scene, and exterior footage for the fictional Overlook Hotel)</em> we separated into two groups again. They wanted a fast group, and a not-so-fast/cool group. I stepped over to the fast side with 3 others. Since the forest service rules state you can’t travel in groups larger than 12, we needed to equalize things a bit. We managed to coax 8 others to our fast group. Now that we were all grouped up, we were off!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8811.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Starting out on the PCT" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_6484.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Our fast group, ready to go" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_6485.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Waiting to start after using the facilities at Timberline" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8809.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Beautiful" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8816.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ridgeline facing Hood" />
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<p>The longish run from Timberline to Ramona Falls was the main event of our camp. I thought it’d be easy since I’d finished Cayuga Trails 50 (and the requisite training) not long ago. I was wrong! The elevation gain, while modest, added up to 1,748 feet, and the trail had a lot more twists and turns compared to trails back home. I loved every minute, though. Early in the run we crossed Little Zigzag River where I’d <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/timberline-to-zigzag-canyon-paradise-park">seen the stream “start” during a prior hike</a>. I tailed Amy Sproston the entire run, enjoying watching her foot placement and keeping up with her cadence. Ascending to Paradise Park was a workout, but we were rewarded with tons of wildflowers and spent some time taking silly jumping shots with Hood in the background.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8839.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Selfie on a ridgeline" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8835.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Wildflowers!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/08/IMG_8880.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Wouldn't you jump at the chance?" />
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<p>At one point we approached the ridge overlooking the Sandy River. It was quite a drop-off, and somehow we missed the turn of the PCT. It was dangerous hiking along the sandy ridge line, so we dropped into the woods to do some cross-country hiking. I pulled out my Gaia map after a few minutes to get us oriented. It was so nice to have a GPS fix along with a topo map!</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8840.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Cooling my feet in Sandy River" title="Cooling my feet in Sandy River" /><p class="stickyNote">Cooling my feet in Sandy River</p></div>
<p>We were back on the PCT in short order, descending to the Sandy River. There was no practical way to get across without getting wet, so I just embraced my inner trail runner and traversed carefully through the water. In doing so, my shoes had so much silt deposited in them from the force of the river. On the opposite bank, I found a rock to sit on and squeeze out my socks. I had a near-tragedy when I dipped my shoe in the water and almost lost it! Luckily I was not in the main part of the stream and it was easy to retrieve my shoe before it traveled more than a few inches. Once we were all assembled, shoed up and hydrated, we continued the short remaining distance to Ramona Falls.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8841.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Sandy River" title="Sandy River" /><p class="stickyNote">Sandy River</p></div>
<p>Ramona Falls is such a beautiful, cool place so we didn’t mind lingering and taking in the scene. It wasn’t too long before the other group (the one with the cool kids, including Amy!) arrived. We got a few pictures before heading out once more, with just 3 level miles between us and the parking lot.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_6505.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ramona Falls" title="Ramona Falls" /><p class="stickyNote">Ramona Falls</p></div>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJxsm7iIr-A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJxsm7iIr-A</a></p>
<p>Cheribundi and chips waited for us all as we arrived at the end of the trail. It was a delicious end to our run! We said our goodbyes as people loaded into vans for the ride back to Portland or the lodge. Amy and I were happy to get a photo with Yassine.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8853.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy, Yassine Diboun and me" title="Amy, Yassine Diboun and me" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy, Yassine Diboun and me</p></div>
<p>Yassine got his start as a professional trail runner while living in Ithaca, so we have a special kinship with him. He’s a generous guy: not only is he so humble and interested in the lives of others, we saw an interaction he had with another camper that showed us what we already knew. The other camper had a shoe mishap, so Yassine had lent him a pair of <a href="https://www.inov-8.com/us">Inov-8</a> shoes for the run. Inov-8 sponsors <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yassinediboun">Yassine</a>, so he has a lot of their gear! Yassine asked how the shoes were, and then asked if the camper wanted to keep them. Of course he did! Such a classy guy, and we’re happy to know him.</p>
<p>Since we were staying an extra night at the Mazama Lodge, we got dropped off at Mt. Hood Brewing Company in Government Camp (affectionately “Govy”). Given that we were on foot for the afternoon, it wasn’t hard to convince Amy to split a pitcher of beer. She opted for chili and I got a cheese and fig platter.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8855.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-run beer!" title="Post-run beer!" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-run beer!</p></div>
<p>After our indulgent lunch, we walked through Govy to get some snacks for hiking the next day. We passed the afternoon quietly at the lodge since the ultra runners were out on their all-day run. We were basically alone to nap, play piano and read. As evening approached, we drove with Sarah up to Timberline to help shuttle ultra runners back down to the lodge. Amy Sproston had finished her circumnavigation after leaving us at Ramona Falls, so I was fortunate to get a picture with her. Back at the lodge, we enjoyed a late dinner of Mexican food with churros for dessert (mmm).</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_6669.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Amy Sproston after her circumnavigation of Hood" title="Me and Amy Sproston after her circumnavigation of Hood" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Amy Sproston after her circumnavigation of Hood</p></div>
<p>Our last morning in Mazama Lodge had arrived too soon! We’d be flying back on the redeye, but had a day of hiking and hanging out ahead of us. Sarah let us borrow her car, and we hiked to Tom, Dick and Harry via Mirror Lake. It was a wonderful hike with fantastic views, and the Leki poles were fantastic for hiking!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/08/IMG_8885.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panoramic view of Mount Hood from Tom Dick and Harry Mountain" title="Panoramic view of Mount Hood from Tom Dick and Harry Mountain" /><p class="stickyNote">Panoramic view of Mount Hood from Tom Dick and Harry Mountain</p></div>
<p>Lunch was atypical for us: we had Joe’s Donuts and some Starbucks coffee to help usher in our return to civilization. Back at Sarah’s house, we got cleaned up and did some laundry. She had us meet up with her at the Patagonia store in Portland, where we got to see Yassine and Kriss Moehl once more.</p>
<h2 id="adult-summer-camp-(you-were-over-too-soon!)">Adult Summer Camp (you were over too soon!)</h2>
<p>We said several times during the weekend that this was just like adult summer camp. It really should have its own hashtag: #AdultSummerCamp. If you’re a runner and enjoy the mountains, you can’t go wrong <a href="https://mazamas.org/education-classes/mountain-running">reserving a weekend with the Mazamas</a>. Many thanks to Sarah Bradham for organizing such a top-notch event, to the staff at the Mazama Lodge for making us feel so welcome, to our instructors Yassine Diboun, Amy Sproston, Joelle Vaught and Jason Leman for a positive, informational, experience-jammed weekend, and to our fellow campers for all of the fun and fellowship. Run on!</p>
<p>You can read <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/trail/mazama-mountain-running-camp">Amy's recap of camp over at skirtrunner.com</a>. I love that we have these shared experiences!</p>
<h2 id="jacob-raab-photos">Jacob Raab Photos</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobaraab/albums">Jacob</a> took some great photos during the weekend, too! Here are a few of my favorites:</p>
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<h2 id="strava-tracks">Strava Tracks</h2>
<p>If you'd like to see where all of this magic went down, here's a recap of the Strava tracks we laid down:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112569782">Hike to Silcox Hut</a> (1 mile hike)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112570128">Quad Killer: Silcox Hut to Mazama Lodge</a> (6 mile run)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112570439">Dawn Patrol Run</a> (4.7 mile run)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112571033">Hill Training</a> (3.4 mile run)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112572794">Timberline Lodge to Ramona Falls</a> (14.2 mile run)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1112573299">Tom, Dick and Harry</a> (6 mile hike)</li>
</ul>
Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20172017-06-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2017/<p>The 2017 Gorges Half Marathon in Ithaca loomed large on the calendar, just 2 weeks after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">my finish at Cayuga Trails 50</a>. Two years ago I did this race just weeks after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-first-50-miler-cayuga-trails-50/">my first 50-miler</a> and it went well, so I was hoping for the same! After having run 30-70 miles a week for the prior 24 weeks, I took these interim weeks really easy, focusing on listening to my body and making sure I didn’t overdo it. The first recovery week was 16 miles of easy running, a bike ride and a hike. The second recovery week was 13 miles of running with a day of tough track intervals thrown in. I took the day before the half marathon totally off from running. Amy and I enjoyed a carb-loading lunch at Viva Taqueria after we picked up our race packets at Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_1542.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pre-race stretch" title="Pre-race stretch" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race stretch</p></div>
<p>The four of us - Amy, Elizabeth, Xander and me - were all running in this race and we all had different goals. Amy was pacing her friend Christina, and Elizabeth and Xander wanted to finish strong. I wanted to be competitive with my half marathons from last year, coming in around the 90-minute mark. This was a point-to-point race, so we stashed a car in Ithaca Friday night for the return trip and drove our other car to the start. Over 600 people were racing this year! We arrived at the start area on a stretch of country road with way too few porta-potties. Luckily a homeowner nearby took no offense when we used his hedgerow as an impromptu bathroom. One guy waited patiently behind me as I watered a tree. I told him it was a great spot: no ticks!</p>
<h2 id="the-start">The Start</h2>
<p>The first mile of the course was on level road, followed by five miles of downhill packed cinder bliss on the relatively new <a href="https://blackdiamondtrail.org/">Black Diamond Trail</a>. Soon we were on our way after Ian blew his traditional ram’s horn to start us off. I opened up my stride and focused on speed, knowing I’d want to take advantage of the downhill course profile as long as I could.</p>
<p>I had a wardrobe problem about a half mile in. I had opted to attach my race number to my Ultimate Direction waist belt, in which I was carrying a phone and our car keys. The belt was too loose, so I reached down to pull the strap to tighten it. The strap is awkwardly positioned beneath the bib when it’s attached, so when I pulled it, my bib came unattached on one side! It was flapping in the breeze at my side, reduced to a single point of failure. I was carrying a <a href="https://www.nathansports.com/exoshot-replacement-soft-flask">collapsible Nathan flask</a> filled with <a href="http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/">Tailwind</a> and tried in vain to re-attach the bib as I ran. It was not working.</p>
<h2 id="black-diamond">Black Diamond</h2>
<p>As we turned onto the Black Diamond Trail, I stopped to address the situation. I probably lost 20 seconds in doing so, but now my belt was tight enough and the race number secure. I leapt to a run again, trying to make up the ground between me and a few runners that passed me by during my stop.</p>
<p>I made a decision throughout the race to NOT look at anything other than elapsed distance on my watch. I was not concerning myself with pace, opting to run by feel instead. The shaded canopy over the Black Diamond provided a nice respite from the sun, yet the humidity came through just fine. It was going to be a hot one. Looking back on my run, these first miles flew by at a blistering pace for me: 5:50, 6:08, 6:20, 6:35, 6:25, 6:35 and 6:34.</p>
<p>I focused on the runner in front of me during the last two miles of the trail segment. He was less than 50-75 feet ahead and I tried to keep that interval between us. I passed <a href="http://goatfactorymedia.com/">Ron Heerkens Jr</a> taking photos, and this was where he captured the wonderful picture at the top of this post. As I emerged from the trail into the bright sunlight drenching Cass Park, I saw my friend Jon Shaff with a crowd of spectators. I veered to my right and reached out my hand to him. <em>“Power me up, Jon!”</em> We high-fived and I was on my way, feeling the boost from human contact.</p>
<h2 id="sun-drenched-waterfront">Sun-Drenched Waterfront</h2>
<p>Now that we were on level ground without shade, it took more effort to sustain the pace I’d been enjoying. I backed it off, now running just over a 7-minute mile. As we approached the aid station just before Cass Park, I saw that I was gaining on the man in front of me. I didn’t need to stop since I was carrying and still had liquid, but he was stopping! An aid station worker stepped across the narrow path to help him out, and I yelled (as nicely as I could) <em>“Coming through, coming through!”</em> She quickly dodged out of the way and I continued onward. I got passed by a few people on the stretch by the inlet and kept trading places with the man that had been in front of me.</p>
<p>As we crossed the inlet bridge to get on the waterfront trail, I heard a man on the corner shouting out numbers. As I passed, he yelled, <em>“thirteen!”</em> I was in 13th place? Lucky 13. I liked that, and resolved to not let go of it. My bottle was mostly empty now. The next aid station was my chance to refill, but I didn’t have long. I unscrewed the cap, yelling <em>“Tailwind? Tailwind?”</em> as I entered the aid station. The race advertised the very product I’d been using for ultramarathon training, so I was psyched. However, nobody answered me. I ran up to a young kid near the end, and asked hopefully, <em>“Tailwind?”</em></p>
<p><em>“No, it’s Gu,”</em> he said.</p>
<p><em>“I’ll take it.”</em> He filled my bottle quickly. I screwed the cap on as I started sprinting out of the aid station. I wondered how the sweet drink would taste since I was unaccustomed to it in training. As expected, it tasted nasty so I sipped small bits as I proceeded past the Ithaca Farmer’s Market. A small group of spectators stood at the small bridge that marked the turn towards Stewart Park, so my humorous self asked them enthusiastically, <em>“Is this it? This is the end?”</em> Ha. More miles to go, sir.</p>
<p>I weaved through several turns as I approached the bouncy bridges marking the entrance to Stewart Park, passing a pair of <a href="http://ithacah3.org/">hasher spectators</a> foretold by “BN” (beer near) chalked on the sidewalk. They had a cooler with them, clearly prepared to pour some hoppy refreshment for their hash-running brethren. After dodging the ever-present goose poop on Stewart’s blacktop paths, I saw Joe Reynolds marking the exit from the park. I was so distracted by saying hello to him that I missed a subsequent turn, losing a few seconds as a runner behind me yelled, <em>“This way!”</em> I sprinted a diagonal back to the proper path and ran through the next aid station. I returned the favor to the person who helped me get back on course, as he started to take a wrong turn after we exited the aid station.</p>
<h2 id="the-final-miles">The Final Miles</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/19221763_10155785003556789_1916056697385932841_o.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Passing Jeff Holbrook (thanks!)" title="Passing Jeff Holbrook (thanks!)" /><p class="stickyNote">Passing Jeff Holbrook (thanks!)</p></div>
<p>We were getting close now. Just a few ups and downs as I passed Ithaca’s High School, and then I was on the home stretch. A dozen or so city blocks were all that stood between me and a chance to catch my breath after finishing. I stole a glance behind me. The closest runner, the man I’d been jockeying with for position, was at least 50 yards back. I knew if I kept my current pace there’d be no way I’d lose 13th place. I passed Jeff Holbrook, wearing his characteristic smile and positive attitude as he directed traffic. He took a picture of me as I passed. I passed the infamous Shane Eversfield who gave me a Shaka sign as I went by. Mahalo, man.</p>
<p>I crossed the finish line, gratefully accepted a bottle full of cold water and dumped half of it on my head. It felt so refreshing! I hung around the finish for a few minutes and enjoyed talking with friends: Ellie Pell, Pete and Hayley Kresock, and Allison Usavage, who was taking some finish line pictures.</p>
<h2 id="post-race">Post-Race</h2>
<p>Mostly recovered, I used my Find My iPhone (a.k.a “stalk my spouse and kids”) app to see where the rest of my family was. Amy was not carrying her phone today, but I could see that the kids were near Stewart Park. Elizabeth was behind Xander. I started to walk back along the course, committing to running back with whoever was behind. I enjoyed shouting encouragement to runners and seeing some familiar faces. I made it just over ¾ of a mile back when BOTH kids came into sight, running together! I asked if they knew where Mom was, and they said that she was still behind them with Christina. Elizabeth had caught up with Xander somewhere in Stewart Park and encouraged him to start running again. It filled my heart that they were together, and I asked if it would be okay if I ran in with them. They were totally cool with that, so we ran the remaining distance to the finish together. Amy and Christina finished shortly after, and we were all together again!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_1551.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race family photo" title="Post-race family photo" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race family photo</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_1550a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Ithaca Beer" title="Ithaca Beer" /><p class="stickyNote">Ithaca Beer</p></div>
<p>One really cool thing about this race is the after party. We made our way across the street to the Ithaca Commons and grabbed a group picture. I helped myself to more water, some yogurt and delicious homemade energy squares. Further along, a full brunch was available along with Ithaca Beer. I loaded my plate with pulled pork, salt potatoes, eggs and fruit, and grabbed a Cayuga Cruiser from the Ithaca Beer tent. We all sat together and enjoyed the post-race brunch, telling tales from the trails and roads we’d just traversed. The celebration was not long-lived, since we had to get Xander back up the hill for a birthday party he was invited to. As we walked back to where we’d stashed the car, I got a text from my friend Jenny that I’d won something! She was nice enough to grab the envelope for me. I’d won the prize for 1st Masters.</p>
<h2 id="seconds-matter">Seconds Matter</h2>
<p>It was only after looking at the results at home that I realized just how close this race had been for me. The man I kept trading places with? He finished 20 seconds behind me. He’s 41 years old. Twenty seconds was all that separated me from 1st Masters and 1st in my age group. Practically speaking, my aid station strategy of only stopping when I needed a refill made all the difference in my placement. I’m so happy with how I did in this race, especially after having done a 50-miler two weeks prior. It’s the second-fastest I’ve ever run a half marathon, besting all of my half marathon races from last year and just 1:41 slower than my personal best from Corning’s Wineglass Half Marathon in 2014.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:28:02<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 13 of 663<br />
<strong>40-44:</strong> 1 of 26 (1st Master)</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1041009776/embed/4f09c02bdd795ce99e59112d7f3a00c4dfc9905f" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Infographic: Training for a 50-Mile Race2017-06-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/infographic-training-50-mile-race/<p>I had a great training cycle leading up to Cayuga Trails 50 in 2017, following <a href="http://amzn.to/2rJzJLA">Krissy Moehl's training plan in her book</a>. Post-race, I was inspired by <a href="http://www.tylerfinck.com/runfograph/">Tyler Finck's "runfograph"</a> to create my own! Once I figured out how to <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/export-strava-workout-data/">export data out of Strava</a> it was really fun to summarize it and figure out how best to present it.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/CT50-Training.jpg">Get a closer look at my 5-mile training infographic</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-mile-trail-race-2017-training/">Read about my training</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/">Read my Cayuga Trails 50 race report from 2017</a></li>
</ul>
Cayuga Trails 50: A Second Helping2017-06-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-2017/<h2 id="race-eve">Race Eve</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_6101.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Pre-race double burger at Atlas" title="Pre-race double burger at Atlas" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race double burger at Atlas</p></div>
<p>After running this distance the first time two years ago, I vowed that the next year would be the “year of the half marathon” for me. The race really chewed me up and I needed a year away from long distances! After a year away from long trail runs, I felt a strong desire to perform better than I did in 2015. I signed up as soon as registration opened, bought <a href="http://amzn.to/2rLeN7s">Krissy Moehl’s book</a> and started training in mid-December. This weekend was a busy one for our family, too. Elizabeth qualified for the girls state golf meet so she’d be away at Bethpage for three rounds of 18 holes. Amy, Xander and I went to <a href="http://atlasbowl.com/">Atlas Bowl</a> in Trumansburg for a pre-race dinner. I ate and drank my fill (and then some). I knew I’d need the calories for race day! The dry mid-60s weather was going to be near perfect for an ultra. I had a feeling this was going to be good.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_8433.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pre-race fooling around at Atlas!" title="Pre-race fooling around at Atlas!" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race fooling around at Atlas!</p></div>
<h2 id="race-morning">Race Morning</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/01.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pre-race with Xander and Ray" title="Pre-race with Xander and Ray" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race with Xander and Ray</p></div>
<p>I woke at 4:15 and had a bagel with peanut butter, orange juice and coffee. I had packed my drop bag for the halfway point the day prior, and also laid out all of my clothes. Amy and Xander were starting their day volunteering at the Old Mill AS, so they came with me to the start. My father-in-law Ray was there to help send me off. It was so nice to have great support at the start! I was really nervous about time, though, since there were just a few minutes before we’d be underway. We had stopped at the Old Mill on the drive down to use the bathrooms there, since it was on the way to the start, but they were still locked! Luckily the bathroom line was not too long at the start and I was on time for kickoff. Ian’s pre-race instructions were entertaining as usual. He was explaining the pink flagging and arrows that marked the way. “If you get lost, it’ll be mostly your fault. Partly my fault, but mostly yours.” He blew his traditional ram’s horn and we were off on my second <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/CayugaTrails">Cayuga Trails 50</a>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/02.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Hey, that's me! It's early." title="Hey, that's me! It's early." /><p class="stickyNote">Hey, that's me! It's early.</p></div>
<p>I chose to not carry a handheld this year, opting instead for a Nathan hydration pack filled with <a href="http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/">Tailwind</a>. I had extra Tailwind powder stashed in my pack along with a drop bag with more for the halfway point.</p>
<h2 id="3.7-miles-in-0%3A38-%E2%80%93-old-mill-as">3.7 miles in 0:38 – Old Mill AS</h2>
<p>From the start, I tried to set off at a conservative pace, just under 10 minutes per mile. The ascent to the top of Treman was quick. Ian added on a 1-mile loop before we got to the Old Mill AS, so the distance there was 4 miles. We’d bypass that on the way back, meaning the last leg would be 3 miles. I’d never run this loop before, and there was a very nice level stretch in here with soft footing. I came into the Old Mill feeling great. I was so happy to see Amy and Xander there helping out. Xander got some great video of me throughout the day, too!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPUdYbhUPcY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPUdYbhUPcY</a></p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/flrc-at-the-old-mill-e1496835319288.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander, Amy and Ray at quiet Old Mill AS at mile 4. Photo Credit: Stephan Meyer" title="Xander, Amy and Ray at quiet Old Mill AS at mile 4. Photo Credit: Stephan Meyer" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander, Amy and Ray at quiet Old Mill AS at mile 4. Photo Credit: Stephan Meyer</p></div>
<h2 id="4.4-miles-in-0%3A46-%E2%80%93-read-signs-much%3F">4.4 miles in 0:46 – Read Signs Much?</h2>
<p>I chatted with a few runners as we made our way up a Jeep road after the first stream crossing. They were both from out of town and said I was lucky that I could run on these trails. I told them I did most of my training at Taughannock, but I’d been on these trails a few times during my training cycle. It was nice to be familiar with them! At that point, the pair took a sharp left into the woods as I started to continue up the road. Here I was, talking about being the knowledgeable local, and I didn’t see the sign to turn! I made fun of myself, mostly in my head, and I enjoyed a few miles running with this pair as we began a delightful descent on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT).</p>
<h2 id="6.2-miles-in-1%3A04-%E2%80%93-follow-the-xs">6.2 miles in 1:04 – Follow the Xs</h2>
<p>I pulled off the trail to water a tree for a moment, and when I got back on the trail I fell in behind a lithe bearded runner. He was wearing <a href="http://www.2xu.com/us">2XU</a> shorts and socks, and I kept seeing the large X’s on his socks as targets to follow. The FLT descended quickly and we bombed some parts of the steep trail. It felt so good to let the legs turn over quickly over the technical descent! Soon we were at Underpass AS. I didn’t linger too long and headed onward to another shallow stream crossing and a first climb up Lick Brook.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/climbing-lick-brook.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Stephan Meyer took this over his shoulder. He was just in front of me on the Lick Brook climb." title="Stephan Meyer took this over his shoulder. He was just in front of me on the Lick Brook climb." /><p class="stickyNote">Stephan Meyer took this over his shoulder. He was just in front of me on the Lick Brook climb.</p></div>
<h2 id="10.4-miles-in-1%3A49-%E2%80%93-pancakes%2C-anyone%3F">10.4 miles in 1:49 – Pancakes, Anyone?</h2>
<p>We emerged from the woods to find ourselves at the top entrance to Buttermilk Falls State Park. 2XU said it would be awesome if they had pancakes at the aid station, specifically Buttermilk pancakes. I thought that would be cool, too, and shared that I knew the <a href="https://trailsroc.org/">TrailsROC</a> crew at the aid station had cooked up a truckload of bacon for us. I came up alongside him since we’d been running together for awhile now, and we started chatting more. <a href="http://activesteve.com/">Steve Meyer</a> hails from Ottawa and is an adventure runner and engineer. He was camping at Treman with his wife, who he expected to see at the Buttermilk AS. He checked in on his pace chart and told me that we were on pace for a sub 10-hour finish. I knew at that point that I’d better back off, since a 10-hour finish would be, as I put it to him, “a dream.” We arrived into the aid station together and then he continued as I lingered a little longer, using the fine facilities at the park entrance.</p>
<h2 id="13.9-miles-in-2%3A26-%E2%80%93-bear-trail">13.9 miles in 2:26 – Bear Trail</h2>
<p>Most of the ascent out of the park is stairs until you get to the Bear Trail. I saw Steve up ahead again after I finished that climb and we were soon talking again. The miles ticked by as we talked. He took a bad fall at one point, and I made a mental note to keep an eye on my own feet. When I get tired, the first thing I start doing is kicking roots. He was okay, fortunately, and shortly we were into the woods heading back down to Lick Brook.</p>
<h2 id="17.2-miles-in-3%3A00-%E2%80%93-what-did-i-say-%E2%80%98bout-kicking-roots%3F">17.2 miles in 3:00 – What Did I Say ‘Bout Kicking Roots?</h2>
<p>We came upon a female runner and we ran as a trio for a bit. At one point I kicked a root and stopped myself from falling, taking some wildly long strides to keep myself upright. I said to nobody in particular one of my favorite Top Gun references, <em>“Nice recovery, Mav.”</em> The woman running behind me said, <em>“Nice recovery, indeed!”</em> I paused for a moment shortly after and let her pass to run with Steve. Keeping with my own promise of backing off a bit and stunned from my near-miss, I naturally let them get ahead of me. We were starting a steep descent down Lick Brook with tons of roots, and I resolved to not fall. Hitting the dirt here would really be painful. At the stream crossing before Underpass AS, a photographer was hiding in the bushes. He pulled his camera out to snap a photo as I entered the water. I was so startled! I thought he was an animal. I hope there’s a picture of that when the race photos go up. I refilled my hydration pack at Underpass AS, dosed it with Tailwind and started running alone into Treman again.</p>
<h2 id="22.4-miles-in-4%3A02-%E2%80%93-kisses-for-the-runner">22.4 miles in 4:02 – Kisses for the Runner</h2>
<p>I was alone for much of the traverse to the top of Treman, though I did trade places with a few runners and exchanged some casual words of encouragement. The marathon runners had been crossing my path for awhile and they were very encouraging. After getting my feet wet in the creek again at the top of Treman, I glanced at my watch. It was just about 10 a.m. and I knew Amy and Xander were done volunteering then. Maybe I could catch them! This gave me a little pep in my stride and I sped into the Old Mill AS. To my delight, they were still there! Xander was shooting video, and Amy was recording runners as they came in. I gave her a big hug and kiss. It was such a nice surprise to run into them twice during the morning!</p>
<h2 id="25-miles-in-4%3A30-%E2%80%93-halfway-point-pit-crew">25 miles in 4:30 – Halfway Point Pit Crew</h2>
<p>I got back to the start and found a spot in the shade to change out my socks and my shirt. It felt so good to be in drier gear, at least for the moment! This change took just under 10 minutes, but I was happy to have taken care of myself. I happily walked to the AS table and the volunteers were eager to see if I needed anything. I helped myself to a bowl of chocolate covered coffee beans (delicious) and said <em>“Well, now that the fun run’s over, the race can start!”</em> Truer words were never spoken. The second half of the race would prove to be the toughest.</p>
<h2 id="28.1-miles-in-5%3A17-%E2%80%93-damn-muscles%2C-behave">28.1 miles in 5:17 – Damn Muscles, Behave</h2>
<p>I was in the middle of that 1-mile loop before Old Mill AS when I felt my quad start to nag at me. I stopped next to a tree and did some stretches. My leg muscles were all SO tight! I remembered writing my blog post about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/sodium-for-runners-how-much-is-enough/">Sodium for Runners</a>. Despite the Tailwind, I was sure that some extra salt would go a long way to fending off further cramping. At the Old Mill AS, I asked about pickle juice, since that topped the list of sodium options. Yes! They had a huge jar of it. I took about 6 ounces in my collapsible cup, chased it with water and went on my merry way.</p>
<h2 id="32.1-miles-in-6%3A10-%E2%80%93-no%2C-i-don%E2%80%99t-want-a-horse%2C-and-certainly-not-two">32.1 miles in 6:10 – No, I Don’t Want a Horse, and Certainly Not Two</h2>
<p>I was happily buzzing along on a flat, needle-covered stretch when I caught a root and went flying forward. As I hit the ground, my feet had both flexed outward (like if you pointed your toes away from you), triggering the most excruciating muscle spasms I’ve had in awhile. I tried in vain to get the charley horses to release their grip on both of my calves and foot arches, but it was so painful! A few runners in the marathon event were serendipitously passing by and stopped to help. One of them helped push my left foot back toward me as I worked on my right. Luckily the spasms stopped and one woman offered some pure salt she had stashed in a bottle. I was so grateful for these Trail Samaritans! I awkwardly stood again feeling a bit like a baby deer, trying not to flex any muscles. I feared another fall like that would end my race, if my muscles didn’t do me in first. I had to get myself to Underpass AS, less than a mile away.</p>
<h2 id="32.6-miles-in-6%3A22-%E2%80%93-double-dosing-tailwind">32.6 miles in 6:22 – Double Dosing Tailwind</h2>
<p>I had more pickle juice at Underpass AS and helped myself to their impressive array of fruits, too. The sun was getting hot and I was getting tired, so I refilled my pack with a double-dose of Tailwind. I believed that whatever magic those packets contained would be even better in a higher concentration. I chose one flavored and one unflavored packet. The only problem was that I let the powder sit at the bottom of the pack for a bit before getting water in there, so things were clogged a bit until I had another half mile behind me. Running and jostling your hydration pack seems to be a great way to mix Tailwind properly!</p>
<h2 id="33.6-miles-in-6%3A40-%E2%80%93-pie">33.6 miles in 6:40 – PIE</h2>
<p>I made my way up Lick Brook a second time, almost as quickly as my first ascent. Near the top, I naturally fell in with another couple of runners, and we ran close to each other as we approached Town Line Road. Ian, the race director, has a tradition of hiding little prizes along the course, but usually they go to the faster runners. This year, Ian resolved to put them out randomly throughout the day. Just before the road, I saw one! It was for a pie. I pocketed the card, smiling at my good fortune. Xander would later redeem my card for a delicious blueberry pie. My muscles were still hanging in there, too. The super-concentrated Tailwind and pickle juice seemed to be working.</p>
<h2 id="36.7-miles-in-7%3A19-%E2%80%93-muddy-residue">36.7 miles in 7:19 – Muddy Residue</h2>
<p>The grassy singletrack traverse before Buttermilk was pretty beaten up by the many feet that passed over it. There was one stretch that was now a veritable bog: 6 inches of water and mud that extended at least 20 feet. You could call it a tepid, unrefreshing stream crossing, one that’d leave a nice muddy residue between your toes. Delicious. I crossed paths with <a href="http://www.yassinediboun.com/">Yassine Diboun</a> near this stretch too. He and I both shared our opinion on the “mess” we had to navigate. <em>So muddy!</em> On the road at Buttermilk, I came up between those two runners I’d caught up with a Lick Brook and we exchanged tired pleasantries. To my surprise, they didn’t keep pace with me as I sped just a little, enjoying the non-technical nature of the road. I left them behind as I began my descent into Buttermilk.</p>
<h2 id="37.9-miles-in-7%3A36-%E2%80%93-pizza-rollers-are-good-muscle-rollers">37.9 miles in 7:36 – Pizza Rollers Are Good Muscle Rollers</h2>
<p>I enjoyed the downhill and spied my Dad in the distance taking pictures. He tried to catch up to me as I sped by towards Buttermilk AS. He must be a pretty good runner, since he wasn’t far behind me when I crossed the timing mat! I needed more salt, so I enjoyed more pickle juice and a few slices of bacon.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/03.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="I enjoyed ~30 ounces of pickle juice over the second half. Mmm." title="I enjoyed ~30 ounces of pickle juice over the second half. Mmm." /><p class="stickyNote">I enjoyed ~30 ounces of pickle juice over the second half. Mmm.</p></div>
<p>Amy Schwartz Lopata lent me a roller for my legs, too. I had to laugh. It was a Pampered Chef pizza roller, the same kind I have at home. I’ve never thought to use it as a muscle roller, but it works great! My Mom and Dad were with me, taking pictures and being good sports about me not wanting to talk about anything other than where I was at the moment.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/06.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Drunk? Nope. Running an ultra." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/04.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Pizza roller, muscle roller" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/05.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ready for the last 12.5 mile push" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/07.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Told my Mom to come down to my level." />
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<p>Two years ago I felt like dropping at this aid station. This year I felt fantastic, and grateful that my cramping was under control after the earlier mishap. The <a href="https://trailsroc.org/">TrailsROC</a> crew was awesome, as usual. I was off again, eager to get this over with.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/08a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="I have no idea what I'm doing with my hands, but off I go from Buttermilk" title="I have no idea what I'm doing with my hands, but off I go from Buttermilk" /><p class="stickyNote">I have no idea what I'm doing with my hands, but off I go from Buttermilk</p></div>
<h2 id="41-miles-in-8%3A24-%E2%80%93-hello%2C-columbia">41 miles in 8:24 – Hello, Columbia</h2>
<p>I ascended Buttermilk alone. I started playing mental games with myself. I’d pick geographical markers in the future and set them as my sole goal. I was no longer focused on finishing the race, just making it to the next marker. After exiting Buttermilk, the next marker was my friend Columbia Warren who was volunteering at the intersection with West King Road. I ran up to him with a big smile and told him that <strong>he</strong> was my goal. He asked what my next goal was, and I told him it’d probably be Underpass. As I started running, I told myself, <em>“Nah, Underpass is too far away. Get to Town Line Road.”</em></p>
<h2 id="43.3-miles-in-9%3A00-%E2%80%93-time-for-a-bath">43.3 miles in 9:00 – Time for a Bath</h2>
<p>I descended Lick Brook again without tripping or falling, for which I was immensely grateful. I hit the stream crossing before Underpass. A rail trestle goes above it and the afternoon sun shone beautifully. I was the only runner around and two spectators sat on the trestle above me. I waded into the creek and stopped halfway, leaning down for cupfuls of cold water. It felt so refreshing to splash it on my salt-caked face and arms! I resumed my run to Underpass AS, filled my pack again with Tailwind and ingested more pickle juice. I talked distance with one of the aid station workers: she said just 4 miles to the Old Mill, then 3 to the finish. I was going to do this! As a reward, I pulled out my earbuds, since I’d been without music the whole race. I chose a Pitbull album and started enjoying the distraction in my head.</p>
<h2 id="45.8-miles-in-9%3A35-%E2%80%93-pitbull">45.8 miles in 9:35 – Pitbull</h2>
<p>It’s all mental at this point. My body was starting to feel broken but I resolved to not stop my forward progress. If it was downhill, I’d run it with an intense focus on where I placed my feet. If it was flat, I’d run it. If it was uphill, I’d walk it. Those were the only choices. I was soon at the massive staircase by Lucifer’s Falls and took them one-by-one. Near the top, I saw a runner sitting dejectedly on the stone wall. He was beaten up but after I talked to him (perhaps coincidentally) we both got going again. I told him as we ascended the rest of the stairs that I was rewarding myself with some Pitbull. He stopped and said to me, <em>“Wait, you’re getting a dog as a reward?”</em> I had a good laugh about this. Yep, I ran a good race. Let’s go puppy shopping! I said, <em>“Nah, it’s the rapper, Pitbull.”</em> I stopped to rest at the top and he took off up the trail.</p>
<h2 id="47.2-miles-in-9%3A55-%E2%80%93-family-reunion">47.2 miles in 9:55 – Family Reunion</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/09.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Hey, Dad!" title="Hey, Dad!" /><p class="stickyNote">Hey, Dad!</p></div>
<p>I saw my Dad in the distance again with his camera, snapping away. I knew my family would be at the Old Mill just several hundred yards away, and I would be so happy to see them. My Dad ran behind me again, commenting how it was easy to keep pace with me so late in the race. Just to prove a small point, I picked up my pace discernibly enough to make him laugh, saying “or not!”</p>
<p>I pulled into the Old Mill AS to see Amy, Xander and my Mom. My friends Tim, Melissa and Walter were also there for an afternoon shift at the Old Mill, as many others had been throughout the day for Finger Lakes Running Club. I had my last taste of warm pickle juice for the day and lingered only for a few minutes. I had one last milestone: the finish!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/10.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Wet feet, but a happy heart. Almost done!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/11.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="With Amy and Xander" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/12.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="A nice spread of aid at the Old Mill" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/13.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="My legs, cleaner, after the latest stream crossing" />
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<h2 id="50-miles-in-10%3A26-%E2%80%93-all-good-things-must-come-to-an-end">50 miles in 10:26 – All Good Things Must Come to an End</h2>
<p>I was so happy it was mostly downhill from the Old Mill. As soon as I took the left turn off the main trail onto a Jeep road, it would be all <em>grassy</em> downhill. I was even happier about that! As the finish line rolled into view, I saw Amy and Xander and flew past them with a huge grin. I was about to finish this race for the second time, ~2.5 hours faster than 2015! As I approached the sun-drenched finish line, I started pumping my fist and yelling, “Yes, yes, yes!” With the race completed, I did only what came naturally, crouching down with fists clenched and biceps flexed, uttering the most primal yell I could muster. I had done it.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/cover.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Primal finish." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/14.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="All smiles at the finish line." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/16.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="This felt so much better than two years ago!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/06/17.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Amy and Xander, and beautiful afternoon sunshine" />
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<h2 id="the-end">The End</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/18.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="A sweaty reminder" title="A sweaty reminder" /><p class="stickyNote">A sweaty reminder</p></div>
<p>The only thing sweeter than a stainless finisher cup is the ability to fill it with Ithaca Beer’s Flower Power. Amy, Xander and I enjoyed hanging around the finish area while I drank my beer, stretched and talked with other runners. The trail running community is truly wonderful. No matter the outcome of the day, everyone was smiling and talking. We enjoyed every part of it. The three of us had dinner at Ithaca Beer before heading home for the night. Sadly, my stomach was not cooperating and I had just a few slices of pizza before getting the rest to go. It would serve me well the following morning for breakfast.</p>
<p>Many thanks to Ian Golden and Red Newt Racing for putting on such a quality event! It wouldn’t be possible without the many volunteers that come together to work on all aspects of the race, either. A very, very special thank you to Amy, Elizabeth and Xander, for putting up with my long weekends of training and varying temperament leading up to those big runs. Thank you to my Dad for the great pictures, and to Xander for the video. <strong>You’re all awesome. Thank you!</strong></p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/CT50-Training.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Training infographic" title="Training infographic" /><p class="stickyNote">Training infographic</p></div>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 10:26:44<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 49 of 164<br />
<strong>Men:</strong> 38 of 122<br />
<strong>M40-44:</strong> 8 of 19</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1019847961/embed/3178eac60916c0866de794b8bc62a1d12962330b" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Cayuga Trails 50: Take 22017-05-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-trails-50-mile-trail-race-2017-training/<p>I started officially training for my second 50-miler in the depths of this past winter. I ran my first race at this distance at <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-first-50-miler-cayuga-trails-50/">Cayuga Trails 50</a> two years ago, after having fractured my little toe yet having a good training cycle up 'til then. It was a tough race, with a 5-hour split followed by an 8-hour split. My nutrition was messed up and I almost dropped out. My answer is simple when I'm asked <em>"Why are you doing this again?"</em> Easy. <strong>I know I can do better.</strong></p>
<h2 id="the-50-mile-training-plan">The 50-Mile Training Plan</h2>
<p>I followed an online plan two years ago, but after having attended a running clinic with Krissy Moehl I was thrilled to see that she had published a book. The title gears it toward first-time ultra runners, which I'm not, but I wanted the book for the goldmine within: the 50-mile training plan.</p>
<p>I loved the structure Krissy provided in her plan, and I grew to love some of the tougher workouts. Notable favorites were hill workouts, done on the steepness of Taughannock Park's paved roads while the ground was still (partially) frozen.</p>
<p>Halfway through the plan, I was feeling really great, though my biggest miles were ahead of me.</p>
<p>The rest of the plan went like clockwork. I trained with some homemade rice balls I made for energy, along with generous doses of <a href="http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/">Tailwind</a>. I hit some huge weeks (for me), maxing out at 77 miles in week 19. I was surprised by my body's ability to adapt to the big mileage weekends, with back-to-back runs totaling 40-45 miles. Probably the most epic <em>(stupid?)</em> stunt I pulled was running a 25-miler on a Friday and jumping into Saturday's May Day 5K after "warming up" for 12.1 miles at Taughannock. I'm surprised I didn't get hurt running a fast 5K after 37 miles of trail running! It was worth it, though, since my kids and I were on a team together for the 5K and we won as a team!</p>
<h2 id="let's-rock-and-roll">Let's Rock and Roll</h2>
<p>I'm ready to go. The months and miles have flown by. The proverbial hay is in the barn.</p>
<p>Looking back, I am tempted to following Tyler Finck's lead and create an infographic of just what went down during this 24-week training cycle. He created an excellent graphic of a year of his running (see <a href="http://www.tylerfinck.com/runfograph">Runfograph</a>). That'll give me something creative to do while I'm recovering after this weekend.</p>
<p>This Saturday. <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/CayugaTrails">Cayuga Trails 50</a>. If you want to see me at any point to make me laugh or hear me cry, I geeked out on a <a href="https://goo.gl/h4CsNN">pace chart</a>. I'm pretty sure I'll be somewhere in the middle, at least that's the plan.</p>
<p>Happy trails, and see you on the other side!</p>
May Day 5K 20172017-05-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5k-2017/<p>I always love the May Day 5K, and it’s not just because my wife Amy is one of the race organizers. It’s literally around the corner from my house and follows the same running route I use for many of my training runs. Plus, it’s a community race, so I can always count on seeing many friends and their families there. It’s such a great event! May 13, 2017 would be bittersweet for our family, since Amy and her co-organizers had decided this would be the last year they’d organize the race. It benefits the school district in so many ways, and I know they struggled with the decision to move on to focus on other things after organizing the race for 7 years.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/treman.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Part of Saturday 'warmup'" title="Part of Saturday 'warmup'" /><p class="stickyNote">Part of Saturday 'warmup'</p></div>
<p>I opted for the 5K distance this year (there’s a 5 mile distance offered, too) since I’d be in the midst of training for my second go at the 50-mile distance at Cayuga Trails 50 just 4 weeks later. The race fell at the end of one of my last “big weeks” of training, where I’d log over 60 miles. I’d have to see how my legs held up trying to run fast while having run a lot of slower trail miles in preparation. The 50-mile plan calls for a lot of back-to-back long runs on the weekend, and this week was no exception. I needed 25 miles and 12 miles for this duo, and I decided that I’d rather have the 5K on the 12 mile day. I took Friday off from work so I could spend the morning on the 50-mile course at <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/983037797">Buttermilk and Treman</a>.</p>
<p>Amy spent the bulk of Friday at the school managing the packet pick-up process. I drove Xander to his play performance of <em>Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat</em> and then headed to see if I could help with packet pick-up. Amy, Elizabeth and I enjoyed spaghetti dinner takeout from the race’s companion fundraiser dinner. Right around the end of packet pick-up, it started to rain. Not a great harbinger for the next day! We spent a few hours at home before Amy and I headed back to Newfield to pick Xander up after his performance.</p>
<p>I decided to get my remaining mileage in before the race on Saturday. That way, I’d be DONE when I finished the race, having run a total of 12 miles for the day. I headed to Taughannock at 6:30 for <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/984516899">8.9 miles on the rim and base trails</a>. These trails were the bread and butter of my training, and I especially enjoyed being on them this morning. The weather had looked iffy for the day, threatening rain in the forecast. Despite a few sprinkles during my trail run, it did not materialize! On the way home, I drove the 5K and 5 mile routes, placing mile markers at the appropriate spots.</p>
<p>This was the first year they’ve offered teams at this race, so I signed up with Elizabeth and Xander to form a family team. We called ourselves the <em>Leapin' Lizards</em>. I really enjoyed walking around and talking with friends before the race, and there was ample time to do that. Xander sang the national anthem again this year, just before the fun run kids shot off for their short run around the school grounds. Soon it was our turn, and I lined up near the front, just behind the group of optimistic kids toeing the start line.</p>
<h2 id="the-race">The Race</h2>
<p>The first hundred yards were interesting, as usual, jockeying for position and bobbing and weaving around the kids. The pecking order was a bit clearer by the time we rounded the first curve. I tried to make out who in front of me was a 5-miler and would was in my 5K race, but it’s impossible from behind. As we approached the first mile, the 5-milers would head off to the left for an out-and-back part of the course. I spotted friend Columbia Warren ahead, and I knew he was out for 5 miles. I made it a goal to catch him to say hello before he turned. After the turn, Keith Eggleston of Groton was the only runner remaining in front of me. He was moving right along, and I knew I couldn’t run any faster. I made it a goal to not lose too much ground to him, and to not get caught by the next runner.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/34612061046_b297f7eb49_o2-e1498730659302.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Keith and me, seconds after I finished" title="Keith and me, seconds after I finished" /><p class="stickyNote">Keith and me, seconds after I finished</p></div>
<p>I crossed the finish line in 19:07.7, hundredths of a second off of my 5K personal best (19:07.62) set at the <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/212009318">Chris Bond 5K in 2014</a>. I’m may be getting older, but I’m still keeping up with my prior self! Xander and Elizabeth were not far behind: Xander finished with a 23:09; Elizabeth with a 24:35. As the awards came out, we were thrilled to have placed first as a team!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/35180789976_8d7ac0b95e_o-e1498730731346.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Leapin Lizards with the team win!" title="Leapin Lizards with the team win!" /><p class="stickyNote">Leapin Lizards with the team win!</p></div>
<p>Post-race was as fun as pre-race, with plenty of high-fives, smiling families and good food. I hopped in to help scoop ice cream to a never-ending line of dessert seekers. My friend Torie and I were a good team, serving up all types of Neapolitan combinations. Behind us, Dr. Jon Hamm of <a href="http://www.lifeismotionchiro.com/">Life is Motion Chiropractic</a> was working the kinks out of racers. After I hung up my ice cream scoop, I decided to give chiropractic care a try with Dr. Hamm. OH MY GOSH. He stretched my legs in ways they’ve not been stretched before. I’d never seen a chiropractor before. The weekend’s mileage had left my leg muscles in a tight mess, and just the press of a finger in the right (wrong?) spot made me shriek in (good?) pain. I won an initial consultation with him in the silent auction the following week, so I’m in for more of the same sometime soon.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/06/IMG_8047-e1498730934104.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Chiropractic fun" title="Chiropractic fun" /><p class="stickyNote">Chiropractic fun</p></div>
<h2 id="the-race-lives-on">The Race Lives On</h2>
<p>In the weeks following the race, Amy and her co-organizers lobbied some parents who they thought may be interested in continuing the race to benefit the school. Their persistence paid off, and there will be a May Day race in 2018! What they’ve built is nothing short of spectacular. The May Day race is a wonderful fitness-centered community event that I consider the unofficial start of Spring. Plus, the race has raised tens of thousands of dollars to improve the Trumansburg schools. If you’re looking for a fun 5K to train for next year, I highly recommend this one. I’ll see you there!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 19:07.7<br />
<strong>Age Group:</strong> 1/17 (1st Masters)<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 2/259</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/984516771/embed/6da351aeb701d9336019d252d3b861a6c4076467" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Flower City Half Marathon 20172017-04-30T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flower-city-half-marathon-2017/<p>I’ve been training for Cayuga Trails 50, so this half marathon fell at a really bad time to be in shape to race it. Including this half marathon, my weekly running mileage would top 77 miles, my biggest ever weekly mileage total. Like in my life. Just the day prior I did 30 miles in Taughannock Falls State Park, making six circuits of the rim and base trails. However, my long lead-up to this week in training meant that my body was handling these weekly beatings quite well. I was feeling great!</p>
<p>Amy was going to race this half marathon (read more about her experience), and Elizabeth and Xander were also going to run. Xander needed to rest for an afternoon and evening rehearsal for a show he’s in, and he’s quasi-injured from a running perspective. I asked Elizabeth what her pace goals were for the race, and they were aligned with mine: 10 minute miles. I had a running partner!</p>
<h2 id="ideal-forecast%3F-not.">Ideal Forecast? Not.</h2>
<p>As we were driving to Rochester, the spectre of rain came up in conversation. I knew with a huge crowd that we’d all want to have our phones on us to reunite post-race. Luckily we were able to find enough Ziploc bags in the car for the three of us, despite the slim 20% chance of rain. Clouds loomed on the horizon, though, so I feared that percentage was a bit low. We found street parking just a few blocks from the start line and exited into the 40-degree air. Man, it was cold. I had opted for longer running shorts and a long-sleeve tech tee I’d gotten from the New York City marathon. I completed my ensemble with my white <a href="https://ithacatriathlonclub.org/">Ithaca Triathlon Club</a> hat and neon yellow gloves.</p>
<h2 id="and-...-we're-off!">And ... We're Off!</h2>
<p>I said goodbye to the ladies as they headed to the start line. I was going to do a 1.9 mile warmup. I’m kind of a mileage geek, and my plan called for 15 miles for the day. I made a large circle back to the Blue Cross Arena where everyone was staged from. I made a quick pit stop in the bathroom and noticed that Xander was awake at home (he had tweeted one of his daily drawings). I called him to say good morning! Just as we finished the call, my phone rang again. It was Elizabeth, calling from deep within the throngs of runners behind the start line.</p>
<p>“Dad, where are you?”</p>
<p>I told her I was on my way, and looked at my watch. It was just under 5 minutes until the start. I’d probably cut it too close to make it through thousands of people crammed in a mass, anticipating the start signal. You think? I weaved my way through people as the announcer counted down the minutes. I passed Amy, who was shocked to see me coming through just now. I wished her luck and kept making my way back to the 2 hour pacer, where Elizabeth said she was waiting. I got there and lifted up on my tiptoes trying to see if I could find Elizabeth. No joy. This would have to do, as they were about to start. I had some headphones in my ear in case Elizabeth wasn’t feeling chatty. A few seconds after we started, I got a call as I settled in running behind the pacers.</p>
<p>“Dad.”</p>
<p>“Yes?”, I said, running lightly amid the other 2-hour hopefuls.</p>
<p>“I’m behind you. I see you.”</p>
<p>“Well, you’d better catch up!”</p>
<p>I realize in hindsight it was kind of a shabby thing to say to someone you were pacing. Still, it was also a bit of father/daughter ribbing that was probably okay mid-race. I slowed down a bit and she was beside me in no time. We chatted casually and made our way past smaller groups. We settled into a nice 9-minute mile pace. I checked in with her a few times as the miles clicked away, and she asked me to slow down a few times for her. I needed her pacing me just as much as she needed me! Our first miles were 9:10, 8:44, 8:47 and 8:56. Pretty consistent! Just after mile 3, I had a great laugh with another runner who hadn’t reset her phone from a prior run. Her phone announced loudly, “Three-point-one miles. Congratulations on your run!” A few of us chuckled at the prospect of thinking we were done. We were just getting started!</p>
<h2 id="a-few-sprinkles-never-hurt-anyone">A Few Sprinkles Never Hurt Anyone</h2>
<p>Around the 4 mile mark, light rain sprinkles filled the air. We both took some time to secure our phones fully in their zippered pouches as we ran. By the time we made the turn onto Park Avenue, it was solidly raining. I was suddenly grateful I had anticipated chafing and applied some of this little round band-aids to my chest. I’ve been caught a few times without them, and when it rains and my shirt soaks, it gets bad … quickly. I carried a small water bottle filled with Tailwind, and jogged slowly past aid stations as Elizabeth got water. Before we knew it we were ascending Goodman on the way to Highland Park. One spectator shouted, “The hill’s almost over!” I yelled back at her, “What hill?” I was feeling really good, and my legs were turning over nicely after being abused all week.</p>
<p>Once we’d gotten up the hill into the cemetery, we picked up the pace a bit as we rolled up and down, back and forth along the meandering path. The sun was partially out, and sprinkles were now intermittent. As we approached the exit to the cemetery, I asked Elizabeth if she’d like to play a game. It’s a wonderful running game invented by the late Alexander Pickemov, a Russian runner. I delighted in making up this back story, and reveal that Alexander loved to “pick ‘em off” near the end of races, referring to the runners in front of us. I don’t think Elizabeth was having any of it, but I like to think that it made her laugh. She was working pretty hard, but we were almost done.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/05/IMG_0560.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Before the torrent, plenty wet already" title="Before the torrent, plenty wet already" /><p class="stickyNote">Before the torrent, plenty wet already</p></div>
<p>As we neared the the bridge across the Genesee River just after mile 12, a more persistent rain had resumed. Halfway across the bridge we were treated to a thunderous clap. I said out loud to anyone who’d be listening, “Oh boy, here we go!” The skies opened, unleashing a torrent that quickly filled the street and fully soaked my clothing. We were just a mile from the end, but as we continued splashing through standing water on Exchange Boulevard I had one thought running through my head.</p>
<p>I turned to my sixteen year-old daughter and told her my feelings. “This <em>fucking</em> sucks!” Then I added for good measure, “And yes, that’s the proper use of that word!” She wryly smiled at her quirky and seldom profane Dad, but we were both miserable. Our hands were freezing, our socks and shoes sodden, and the finish line was approaching far too slowly despite our closing pace of 9:43. I urged her on, and soon we were there. Beyond the lines of hardy spectators, I saw that the finish area was pooled deeply with water. It sadly would affect the timing equipment, making hard work for the timers, but their loss was my photo opportunity. I splashed in that finish line puddle like I was a kid on the playground. I felt that way, too!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/05/IMG_0562a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finish line splashing FTW" title="Finish line splashing FTW" /><p class="stickyNote">Finish line splashing FTW</p></div>
<h2 id="time-to-thaw">Time to Thaw</h2>
<p>We quickly made our way inside to thaw our extremities and have some of that delicious post-race pizza we all love. It felt good to take off my wet gloves, and soon I was feeling comfortable despite my dripping clothing. We were reunited with Amy after a quick phone call, and we spent a few minutes drying off a bit and talking with Donna Meyer, Elizabeth’s childhood pediatrician. We always see her at ski races and running races!</p>
<p>It was time to get warm. We left the arena to get to the car and the rain persisted. We ran as quickly as we could, yet just yards from the car another deluge swept in. It was like a movie set that called for a totally rain-soaked scene. I fumbled with my belt to get the car key. My fingers were freezing. As we shut ourselves in our car, we each took care of ourselves as the water beat down on the roof. I kicked off my shoes and peeled my socks off. I peeled off my soaked shirt and started shivering. Elizabeth had the foresight to pack a towel in the car. After she dried off and put herself into a warmer top, I gratefully draped her towel over my shoulders. I looked like I’d just dried off at the pool!</p>
<p>We all have wonderful stories to tell about this race, but those are mine. I learned a few things. First, it’s wonderful to be in a race and spend time caring about another person, and have enough gas in the tank to look around and enjoy the surroundings. Second, pack some dry clothes, even if the forecast is for 20%.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Chip Time:</strong> 2:02:26</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/964815183/embed/c9efa960350de7a20c701f345c67cb7bfc62a452" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
How I Got Faster, Cheaper, Better Broadband Using a Bill Negotiator2017-04-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/got-faster-cheaper-better-broadband-using-bill-negotiator/<p>We first heard about <a href="http://billcutterz.com/">billcutterz.com</a> recently on <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/bill-fixing-brothers-turn-consumers-mental-pain-their-gain-n497576">NBC Nightly News</a>. In short, they have a team of savings experts that call service providers and get you lower rates on your bills. I submitted a request for both my bill with AT&T (cell phones) and Time Warner (high-speed Internet). Sure, I could have called both companies myself, but that would have taken far longer than the ten minutes it took for me to upload my most recent bill for both companies, along with a few personal details they’d need to speak on my behalf.</p>
<p>The communication with Billcutterz was quick and professional. It turns out my corporate discount with AT&T is quite preferable, and they were unable to do anything more in reducing that bill. Time Warner (now Spectrum), however, was a different story. I received this delightful email just a few days later:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have some great news for you today! I was able to save you $15.80 per month for the next 12 months on your Time Warner Cable bill, and you will now get 100mbps instead of the current 15mbps. When your discount is about to expire, I will be contacting you again to extend the savings.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Phenomenal!</strong> I wouldn’t have known that any of this was an option, and Netflix and Hulu have been flaking out lately. I wondered if that was due to the lower speeds. BillCutterz splits the savings with me 50/50 for a year, so that meant I’d need to pay them $15.80 x 6 months, or $94.80. I chose to pay this to them all at once and enjoyed an extra 10% off that price. Definitely worth it for me with the time savings, and worth it for them, since they’re pros at negotiating with these companies.</p>
<h2 id="lower-bill%2C-new-hardware">Lower Bill, New Hardware</h2>
<p>Spectrum sent me a new cable modem, yet after plugging it in I wasn’t getting the advertised throughput. It took a few back-and-forth phone calls with Spectrum and a tech visit to adjust the power levels, and I was in business! I had an older router sitting between the modem and my computers. I turned to another of my favorite services, <a href="http://thewirecutter.com/">thewirecutter.com</a>, to research what the latest recommendations were for wireless routers. I chose the <a href="http://amzn.to/2ps14BD">TP-Link Archer C7 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (AC1750)</a>. After installing that, my speed test told the amazing story. For a monthly discount of 22%, I was getting 117 Mbps vs. 17 Mbps. No more stuttering on my streaming video consumption, either. I went from broadband slower than 62% of the US to broadband faster than 87% of the US (credit: <a href="http://speedtest.net/">speedtest.net</a>).</p>
<p>If you have any utility bills you’d like to try to reduce, I highly recommend a service like <a href="http://billcutterz.com/">billcutterz.com</a>. Just the savings for the one bill that they were able to negotiate made the whole process worthwhile!</p>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20172017-04-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2017/<p>I'm in the midst of a 50-mile training plan, and fortunately this race fell at the end of a fallback week in my training. The ultramarathon plan is structured with three weeks of increasing mileage followed by a recovery (fallback) week. I had planned on conservatively running any races during my training, but since I had rested a lot, I figured, "Why not race it?"</p>
<p>I've been running outside all winter long. Heck, it was an easy winter to do that, with incredibly mild temperatures and very little natural precipitation. I hit a treadmill for the first time in early March due to torrential rain. This would be my fourth running of this early-season race, and each year the weather has been different. I would have been <em>okay</em> with freezing temperatures, given my winter running. I would have been <em>unhappy</em> with rain: too much chafing! I would have been <em>unhappy</em> with oppressive heat. As with most things serendipitous, today's forecast was a nice blend: not too cold, not too hot, and dry.</p>
<p>All four of us had signed up for the race (kids run free!) but Xander was going to stay home and relax before his noon call time for the school play. It'd be too tight for any one of us to get him back in time after running the 10K. Amy, Elizabeth and I headed off into the sunny morning and got to Barton Hall about a half hour before the race started. The temperatures were ideal for running in shorts: mid-50s and slowly warming. I wouldn't need arm sleeves today! A few other people were wearing tights and long sleeves, and I was sure I'd regret it if I made that choice. I enjoyed catching up with other runner friends before the race, did a few laps around Barton's beautiful new indoor track to warm up, and hit the bathroom a few times. The men's room line is always funny at a running race. None of us is used to waiting long when nature calls, but running races and rock concerts test our mettle.</p>
<p>I got outside just five minutes before the start and said a quick hello to Steve Gallow. He always takes wonderful photographs at races. I found a spot at the very front. I enjoy toeing the line. It gives me really good energy and I don't like stutter-stepping behind other runners in the mass of shoes and laces in a big race start. Running friends Mark Jacquet and Pete Kresock were near me, and we asked each other what our goals were. I hadn't thought much about mine, knowing that I have a fast PR that'd be tough to beat, and not knowing how my body would respond to being asked to race fast in the midst of long-distance training. I told them I was hoping for an hour and a half, which is the same estimate I'd given Elizabeth. She had wanted to know when to look for me, since she'd have finished the 10K by then. All I wanted to do was race myself. My evergreen goal is to continue to age gracefully and still do well among my age-group peers.</p>
<p>Joel Cisne yelled out some entertaining pre-race directives and Ian Golden sent us on our way. I locked into a fast pace and enjoyed watching some rabbits run by me, far faster and destined for winning their age groups. After a mile, a woman started running my pace right beside me. We were definitely not running a conversational pace (~6:45) so we didn't even exchange greetings, but we pushed each other hard. I kept wondering in my mind: am I pushing her, or is she pushing me? Or is it a little of both? It was nice to have a pacer alongside to keep challenging me, and the next few miles clicked by quickly.</p>
<p>I had decided to not carry water though I'd used a small handheld in the past. I thought that since it wasn't so hot, and since the course had four aid stations, I'd be fine. At the first aid station near mile 4, I ran toward the first outstretched hand and grabbed a refreshing glass of ... yellow <em>Gatorade</em>? Yuck. I stopped short, knowing that my stomach would regret it if I swallowed the sports drink. I turned around and ran ten feet back to the table. "Water?" Yes. There it was. I resumed running, but by now my fellow pacer was 50 feet ahead and charging toward the next duo of runners. I was on my own.</p>
<p>I passed a few others in the next miles, but mostly the middle part of the course was a mental pacing game. My average pace hovered between 6:45 and 6:52. I did some quick math (always entertaining while running) and was sure that if I kept my average pace under 7-minute miles, I'd hit my estimate. I tried to take advantage of the downhills and my long stride, but never really closed the gap to the remaining small group in front of me. I took water at the second aid station and dumped it on my neck to cool off. So refreshing! At about 9 miles I saw that one of the guys in the group ahead had fallen off his pace. I set an intention of passing him. A half mile later there's a short but significant hill. I put my head down and charged up, one foot in front of the other. As I crested the hill I pulled alongside him. With a burst of speed as gravity began assisting, I passed him as we ran past mile marker 10. We exchanged brief "attaboys" and I kept up the pace, trying to make sure I wasn't passed again.</p>
<p>At this point, we half marathoners start running past the slower participants of the 10K race. I shouted encouragement to runners, and delighted in the few kids that were out today, probably doing their first 10K races. It made me think of Xander and how far both of my kids have come with running. Soon I was back on Cornell's campus, and my mantra became "It's all downhill from here". Gradual, but downhill. I saw Elizabeth on the side of the road taking pictures with her cell phone. I was almost there! As I turned the corner and the finish line came into sight, I put in an extra burst of speed. I crossed the line at 1:28:55.</p>
<p>I had no idea exactly how I'd done in this race in prior years, but I knew it'd be close. It was very close, actually. I ran the course 20 seconds faster than any of my prior races. A course personal record! Elizabeth and I grabbed some post-race food and walked up the course a bit to see Amy and her friend Christina come in (<a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2017">read more about Amy's Skunk Cabbage 2017 race</a>). I enjoyed watching and encouraging other runners as they approached the finish. It felt so good to sit on the cool curbside in the shade of a tree.</p>
<p>We all went back inside Barton and enjoyed socializing with other runners. It's such a great community, and everyone is super friendly. We stuck around for awards. Elizabeth won second in her age group and I won second masters. The first master, turns out, was 6 minutes faster than I was. Impossibly fast for me! I was really happy with the outcome, and the gift card for Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company was a sweet reward.</p>
<p>Just eight weeks left until <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/CayugaTrails">Cayuga Trails 50</a>. It'll be my second go at the distance. The training is going so well, but there's some big-mileage weeks ahead. No rest for the weary, and yes, a few more races! Before the big one, I am going to run in the <a href="https://mayday5k.org/">May Day 5K</a>, Rochester's Flower City Half, and the Tri for the Y.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> <a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/images/2017/04/2017_Skunk_Cabbage_HM_Results.txt">1:28:55</a> (course PR!)<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 16/535<br />
<strong>Age Group:</strong> 1/33, 2nd Masters winner</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/935220156/embed/e73ae59f0e738d1a5d43e7b436b730a7fa589b79" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Create a Custom Post Type in Wordpress with Database Content2017-03-27T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/create-a-database-driven-custom-post-type-in-wordpress/<p>I built a custom customer management system for my wife’s <a href="http://www.emoticakes.com/">Emoticakes</a> business. Based on MySQL and PHP, it helps her manage her orders and gives her a complete picture of her customers and their orders. When we re-platformed the public-facing part of her web site to Wordpress, there were a few features that used data from her customer database. To preserve those features, I implemented a custom page template that would retrieve data from the database using Ajax. Here’s how I created the <a href="http://www.emoticakes.com/gallery">cake gallery</a>. The gallery uses data from custom database tables I added to the Wordpress database and administer from the customer management system.</p>
<h2 id="step-1%3A-create-a-custom-page-template-in-wordpress">Step 1: Create a Custom Page Template in Wordpress</h2>
<p>Create a custom template for the database-driven page in the root directory of the active theme. It doesn’t matter what the file is named, but it is important to start the file as shown in the code sample below with the template name. For further detail, read <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/06/wordpress-custom-page-templates/#a-step-by-step-guide-to-creating-custom-page-templates">Smashing Magazine's comprehensive step-by-step guide to creating custom page templates</a>. Here’s what my <code>template/gallery.php</code> template file looks like:</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/57144bc69f0f85a1b7215cc016fb98bf.js"></script>
<p>Upload this file via FTP to your theme’s root directory. In the Wordpress admin console, create a blank page to hold the gallery. When editing that new page, choose the new gallery template under page attributes. You won't need to add any other content to the page, since everything we need is in the template.</p>
<h2 id="step-2%3A-server-side-code-to-query-data">Step 2: Server-Side Code to Query Data</h2>
<p>In the theme’s functions.php file, I added instructions at the top to include jQuery and also a custom JavaScript file called <code>gallery/script.js</code>. My page issues an Ajax request to <code>get/gallery/data</code>, which after checking the validity of the nonce makes a query based on the Ajax request's parameters. I've removed some of the code to build up the SQL since it's not directly relevant to the purpose of this post, but you can see how you could build up a complex query based on the selections.</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/9fecc876c198f3a1eaf7bb61568294ca.js"></script>
<h2 id="step-3%3A-client-side-code-to-request-and-render-data">Step 3: Client-Side Code to Request and Render Data</h2>
<p>I include all of the details needed to request and render the data on the front end in <em>gallery_script.js</em>. This includes making an Ajax request when the page loads and when attributes change, and rendering the results into the gallery grid.</p>
<script src="https://gist.github.com/scottpdawson/72a7fb2ebcde1bc8e631386405c489d4.js"></script>
<h2 id="parting-thoughts">Parting Thoughts</h2>
<p>The code above should get you started, but I did add some nice bells and whistles to the interface after I had it all working. You'll see a custom overlay for more details about a cake, and also use of <a href="https://github.com/tuupola/jquery_lazyload">jQuery Lazy Load</a>, a fine plug-in for a gallery like this that scrolls on for a bit. Overall, I was quite pleased with how nicely this integrated with Wordpress, and gave me a way to deploy custom database-driven content fairly seamlessly. I also used the same technique on the Emoticakes testimonials page, again pulling in custom database content.</p>
Using CSS to Responsively Embed Vimeo on Wordpress2017-02-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/using-css-responsively-embed-vimeo-wordpress/<div class="rt sm">
<img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/02/IMG_7874_iphone6_gold_side2.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Vimeo embed on mobile" title="Vimeo embed on mobile" />
</div>
<p>When you <a href="https://en.support.wordpress.com/videos/vimeo">embed a Vimeo video on a Wordpress web site by using a short code</a>, there's only an option to pass in a static width and height. In this responsive world, I tried this out using 100% as the width, but that didn't work. My wife's <a href="http://emoticakes.com/">emoticakes.com</a> Wordpress site had a video that looked great, but on mobile the video's fixed width blew it out of the content area, rendering the text around it incredibly small.</p>
<p>My solution uses CSS as a workaround. This snippet of code, if you add it to your Wordpress theme's CSS, will make the video scale to a maximum of the container's width. Further, since the video letterboxes if the aspect ratio doesn't match the video player's dimensions, it sets a maximum height if the viewport is less than 600 pixels wide. The result, shown at right, is oh-so-sweet.</p>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/PWedqx?height=300&theme-id=light&default-tab=css" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Reflections on Resilient Web Design2017-01-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/reflections-resilient-web-design/<p>If you are tenured professional or somebody just getting started off with web design or development, a little context can go a long way. Jeremy's book does a wonderful job giving the historical context of the web. He wrote Resilient Web Design over the course of 14 months. In the true spirit of the Internet, he is sharing it with everybody -- for free. Even the web site it is hosted on is open: he put all of the files on Github. In mid-December, I put the book on my Kindle using the .mobi version he published. Knowing I’d have some swaths of time while ferrying the kids to and from ski training and races, I was excited to have the book along for the ride. I finished it during weekend training on Sunday, and it made me smile in so many places. You can read it at <a href="https://adactio.com/journal/11608">https://adactio.com/journal/11608</a>.</p>
<h2 id="resilient-web-design%3A-post-read-reflections">Resilient Web Design: Post-Read Reflections</h2>
<p>Jeremy rolled his first HTML in 1997. That year was my second on the job at Citibank. I had started working in HTML in 1996 during my graduate year at Cornell. So, we were both working in this medium from very close to the beginning. It was simpler then. I remember seeing <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a>’s first homepage, not knowing the impact it would have -- and evolution it would undergo -- over time. I remember when using different colors of beveled bullet images was en vogue. As a designer and developer in 2017, I’m concerned with so much: browser compatibility, performance, responsiveness, information architecture and the subjectivities of design. When Jeremy wrote that "the web is a hot mess” he wasn’t kidding.</p>
<p>Web design is one of those pursuits that, if you do your job well enough, people won’t notice. They won’t appreciate the amount of work that you put into the project to make the experience as seamless as possible. There are so many disciplines and skills that must conspire to achieve this result. I think that’s why I enjoy working on web projects so much! The goal is to thrill and delight the user with the fact that their experience matches with their expectations.</p>
<p>Jeremy has a great discourse on the use of tables as a layout mechanism. I remember this vividly, how you could achieve myriad layouts by using a table, along with 1x1 transparent GIF images to force table columns and rows to specific heights and widths. He talks about how we should avoid the deception of using one material as a substitute for another. It’s a metaphor that goes far beyond the browser page, but is a direct nod to the availability of layout techniques using CSS, leaving the "table" tag to fulfill its destiny and display tabular data only.</p>
<p>In talking about browser widths and designer consensus on a proper viewport width to universally target, Jeremy had a great quote: “There's a great comfort to be had in believing a reassuring fiction, especially when it confers the illusion of control.” The quote really resonated with me. It transcends the web and has meaning in other parts of my life. In short, we as designers thought we were doing the <em>“right thing”</em> by believing this fiction that by designing for a commonly-accepted width, we’d be doing our users a favor while conforming to a falsehood. This is no longer the prevailing wisdom. <strong>The only thing you can count on is that there will <em>not</em> be uniformity in how people experience your web site. Their technology, their environment, their cognitive backgrounds and their goals and motivations will all vary so much.</strong></p>
<p>I remember when I was working at Citibank, I’d intensely focus on taking a designer’s work and replicating it in a browser with pixel perfection. Those days are definitely over! I shudder when I see someone use the term “pixel perfection” in a resume. Websites look different in different browsers, and today on different devices people will see some things in some places differently than others. And that's totally okay and expected.</p>
<p>In my current job, I’ve had great success designing in the browser. Continuing the thread of pixel perfection, one of the drawbacks of using Photoshop was the very first step: determining the dimensions. I use a mobile-first framework like Bootstrap to help speed in-browser design. Jeremy is correct to note that in-browser design is seen by pundits as too constraining, and I’d agree to a point. However, it is priceless to be able to quickly iterate and get feedback in close to real time from my business partners. I emphasize that I start in analog with pencil and paper for all but the simplest of design work. This frees me from the constraints of HTML and CSS to set an unconstrained design direction. It’s proven to be a good idea to validate the information architecture and broad page layouts before going to digital.</p>
<p>Jeremy wrote about the BBC News web development team and their approach to building, called “cutting the mustard.” It’s named so because they start with a core experience contingent on the barest of technical requirements. Then, as they detect that a browser is capable of doing something more sophisticated (ie. “cutting the mustard”) they enrich that core experience. Users without those advanced capabilities are not left out in the proverbial cold.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The increasing popularity of mobile web browsing, and the availability of responsive web design has forced my team to refactor how we think a modern webpage should be built. Our product is the future of BBC News online. It’s responsive, works on everything, looks great and is very fast. – BBC News developers at <a href="http://responsivenews.co.uk/post/18948466399/cutting-the-mustard">responsivenews.co.uk</a></p>
</blockquote>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/backwards-clock.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Backwards clock" title="Backwards clock" /><p class="stickyNote">Backwards clock</p></div>
<p>Grace Hopper, the inventor of the first compiler, famously said “Humans are allergic to change.” There’s a comfort in doing things the way we’ve always done, because it “just works.” My wife and I have been a part of several organizations that just refused to change, and so we left to expend our efforts elsewhere. There’s a huge danger in not evolving, in being complacent with things as they are. Change for change’s sake is not the answer, but all change is not bad. The ability to recognize the need to change and evolve is what helps organizations – and technologies – level up. Grace’s <a href="http://amzn.to/2jg0W61">clock that runs counter-clockwise</a> is a reminder to fight this aversion to change.</p>
<h2 id="inspired-by-resilient-web-design">Inspired by Resilient Web Design</h2>
<p>This book has inspired me to approach web site building in a new way. By focusing on the core functionality and expanding it based on available features, I’ll ensure the most accessible site I can. Resilient web sites can give a core experience that’s meaningful, but progressively enhance that experience based on technical capabilities. Gone are the days of trying to shoehorn something I’ve built to be able to work in Internet Explorer 8. I’m using this approach on a project I have in the pipeline. I cannot wait to show you all.</p>
<p>Thank you for the inspiration, Jeremy!</p>
<ul>
<li>Read <a href="https://adactio.com/journal/11608">Resilient Web Design</a></li>
<li>Find Jeremy on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/adactio">@adactio</a></li>
</ul>
Whitney Cummings' Tips for Being Productive While Working from Home2017-01-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/whitney-cummings-tips-productive-working-home/<p>When I go for a long run, I reach for podcasts more often than I reach for music. When I’m running long and slow(er), I find my brain delights in hearing spoken word. I turn the ideas presented over in my head and they linger long after the run is over. As someone who has worked from home since 1998, I found a particular segment of this podcast interesting, and so have written some down as a form of “CliffsNotes”, dear reader.</p>
<p>The podcast, <em>“Return of the Money Shot”</em>, was presented by Whitney Cummings as part of Tim Ferriss’ series. Unlike many of Tim’s podcasts, this was a session with just Whitney and the questions she’d selected. It was as if I’d stepped into her kitchen and we were just hanging out, talking. Such a great format to get into the mind of such a creative and talented comedienne and actress. You can learn more about Whitney Cummings at <a href="http://www.whitneycummings.com/">whitneycummings.com</a>, but here’s what she had to say about staying productive while working from home.</p>
<p><strong>RITUALS:</strong> She believes strongly in them. They’re important since they help avoid distraction and procrastination. Whitney uses mediation as a ritual to start off her day. Set a specific intention for the day. What do you need to focus on?</p>
<p><em>Me: I totally believe in the power of ritual, both personally and professionally. I don’t know where I’d be without my calendar, where I put everything that’s scheduled. More importantly, I use the <a href="https://streaksapp.com/">Streaks app</a> to make sure I’m doing things I’ve committed to do weekly. Each day my wife and I have a very specific ritual to start the day: coffee and a half hour of writing, packing lunches and sharing breakfast as a family, watching the prior night’s news with the kids and doing physical therapy stretching for running. In the summertime we make sure we take time at lunch to walk around our neighborhood together. I get crabby when I need to skip a ritual. Therefore, they rarely get skipped!</em></p>
<p><em>At work, too, I set an intention for the day. It’s awful when you get to the afternoon and emails and phone calls have taken up all of your time. <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/momentum/laookkfknpbbblfpciffpaejjkokdgca?hl=en">Momentum is a great Chrome extension</a> that’ll replace your homepage with something beautiful, asking “what is your main focus for today?” Every morning, answer that question. When you open up that browser tab to go to yet another Internet-based source of distraction, your stated intention greets you and gently reminds you to stay on task.</em></p>
<p><strong>PREPARATION:</strong> Getting “ready” to work is important, regardless of whether you’re an office or at home. If you’re working from home, don't stay in your pajamas. Get up, brush your teeth and put on some real clothes. Put on your shoes and wash your face. Don’t be a slob! Pretend that you <em>are</em> going to the office.</p>
<p><em>Me: I’m somewhat guilty of this. Not pajamas, mind you, but workout clothes. I usually fit a run in sometime during the day, usually morning. Then I can get cleaned up and put on some real clothes. I’ve had some days, though, where I’ve spent most if not all day in workout clothes. At least they’re comfortable!</em></p>
<p><strong>ENVIRONMENT:</strong> Make your space nice. Light a candle. Flowers your thing? Put ‘em in your home office. She’s read a lot about color therapy, too. Find out what your power colors are and surround yourself with those colors. Things like candles, books and other tchotchkes are great ways to incorporate color.</p>
<p><em>Me: I do not yet know my power colors, but it sounds like a nice idea. I have a dedicated home office, and in establishing the space I made sure I used materials and wall colors that fit well with the vibe I was going for. It turned out really nice, and I truly enjoy the space each day.</em></p>
<p><strong>PLAY:</strong> Awaken your inner child: play with your pets throughout the day. It’ll help re-energize you and help you come up with creative ideas.</p>
<p><em>Me: If you don’t have a pet, I highly recommend one. We had eschewed pets for a long time, but acquired a rabbit whose owner is a teacher in our local school. She was having a child, so was looking for a new home for her classroom's pet. This white rabbit quickly acclimated to our family of 4; I’m lucky to share my office with “Snowball.” Since he’s diurnal, he sleeps for part of the day. It’s so nice to get down on his level sometimes, scratch his ears and pet him, and evaporate any stresses. I’m not sure how much creativity he kindles in me, but he does make me smile and get out of my head several times a day. It’s priceless.</em></p>
<p><strong>Listen:</strong> <a href="https://overcast.fm/+BmGWg81Ac/52:20">The Tim Ferriss Show: #215: The Return of the Money Shot</a> (52:20 in) <strong>Whitney Cummings on Twitter:</strong> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/whitneycummings">@whitneycummings</a></p>
A Ski Racing Family's Weekend at Killington World Cup2017-01-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ski-racing-weekend-killington-world-cup/<p>It was a nice summer morning on June 28th when I saw the news hit Twitter. Killington would host the first World Cup ski race in the East in 25 years! I dashed a quick note off to Amy, knowing that we’d make this happen if we could. The Killington World Cup race would be a relatively short drive for us, between 5 and 6 hours, and the chance for the kids to see some of the icons of their sport? Well, that would not be something to miss.</p>
<h2 id="the-beginning-of-our-ski-racing">The Beginning of Our Ski Racing</h2>
<p>We started the kids on skis when they were 8 and 5 years old. I wasn’t far behind, with Amy having taught me how to ski as an adult at Bristol Mountain in the winter of ‘99. I’d always been a cross-country skier. I quickly embraced this new gravity-fed, adrenaline-fueled pastime. I had some awkward moments getting started. One palpable memory is a few years later at Greek Peak. I crashed while skiing at night. Amy had already skied to the lift, and I was out of sight around a bend. I kid you not: it took me 15 minutes to put my skis back on, due to the pitch of the slope. She thought I’d died.</p>
<p>We enrolled the kids in ski lessons through Greek Peak’s ski school. They sold lessons as 3-packs, and they were an incredible bargain. In short order, each of my children went from not skiing at all to making it down the mountain in one piece. The instructors were wonderful with them! Xander, my youngest, was in a racer chaser for a few weeks. I felt like Santa driving his sleigh when we went down the hill together. We put the racer chaser into a garage sale pile a few short weeks later. Xander truly figured out how to turn on his own when Amy had him follow her down the bunny hill: she was skiing backwards in nice, curving arcs, and he followed her tracks. She’s such a talented lady!</p>
<p>We enrolled the kids in Greek Peak Ski Club for the 2009-2010 season. One of Elizabeth’s friends was going, too, and we thought it’d be a great way for the kids to amp up their skiing game. I remember when Amy suggested we get into ski racing. I remember feeling overwhelmed with everything: equipment, training and racing time, money, and knowing how to wax and sharpen skis. We dove in headfirst and managed just fine. Even the waxing and sharpening skis (a skill which I continue to hone, pardon the pun). The people in this community make it fun. Greg Brown at Greek Peak was the first to welcome us, and he turned out to be a constant source of positivity throughout our time there.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wanted to welcome the Dawson family to the Greek Peak Ski Club and the ranks of ski racers. Elizabeth and Xander should find this to be a very fun and exciting time in their ski lives. If nothing else, skiing all day will not only improve their skiing but send them home tired after each training day. My kids were usually asleep before leaving the parking lot when they were at this age. I think you’ll find that the gatebuster/forerunners have a lot of fun and great times with their group. The coaches at this level stress fun and skiing more than racing. However, they do manage to take several runs through the NASTAR course on Cristy’s Run each Saturday. I know the introduction to ski racing can be a little confusing and overwhelming at times, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. – <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-brown-95b90159">Greg Brown</a></p>
</blockquote>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/01/skiing-at-whiteface.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Family trip to Whiteface" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/01/skiing-at-greek.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Season 1 at Greek Peak" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/01/greg-brown-presenting-ski-awards.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Greg Brown handing out trophies" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/01/xander-lifting-award.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Xander feeling rather victorious" />
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<p>Fast forward 8 years, and we’ve raced four seasons at Greek Peak and are in our fourth at Bristol Mountain. Bristol is just a slightly longer drive for us in an opposite direction, and we started skiing there in the 2013-2014 season. We moved to Bristol for a variety of reasons, most notably for a change of pace after Greek Peak was sold, and Bristol’s penchant for artfully making tons of snow and maintaining two high-speed quad lifts. All of that considered, an extra 15 minutes in the car just made sense.</p>
<p>We’ve learned so much as adults, too. While the kids are off with their coaches and fellow racers, we’ve enjoyed time skiing together. It has made us better skiers. We’ve learned many race jobs, and as a consequence, appreciate watching ski racing more. Between the two of us, we’ve been race administrators, gate judges, starters, hand timers, start and finish referees, course maintenance, bib collectors and all manner of jobs in between. It takes a village, and then some, to run a proper ski race!</p>
<h2 id="time-for-tickets">Time for Tickets</h2>
<p>I was ready at my computer when Killington opened ticket sales at 8 a.m. on July 5, 2016. I snapped up 2 days of grandstand seating and a weekend of preferred parking. We watch a lot of World Cup skiing on NBC Sports Live, and the grandstand seating seemed like a good idea. At $40 per person for the weekend, Killington was doing a great job making this race financially accessible. There would be no charge for standing at the base of Superstar, the race hill for this event. The parking, at $20 per day, also seemed a no-brainer, since preferred parking must be preferable to something else! I also got us into the Hampton Inn in Rutland, VT for a very reasonable rate. I thought perhaps they weren’t aware of the chaos about to descend on the small Vermont town, and hadn’t yet adjusted their rates.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_receipt.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="killington_receipt" title="killington_receipt" /><p class="stickyNote">killington_receipt</p></div>
<p>We had an uneventful drive, but were pretty hungry by the time we approached the New York/Vermont border. We set a course for Druthers Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs, reasoning that Rutland would be a mob scene with the spectators in town. The wait at Druthers was insane, though, so we soldiered on to Rutland, making another dinner plan on the way. We drove straight to the <a href="http://hopnmoose.wixsite.com/hopnmoose">Hop’n Moose Brewing Company</a> where the wait was only ten minutes or so. We enjoyed a quick dinner before heading to bed.</p>
<h2 id="killington-world-cup-women%E2%80%99s-gs-race%3A-november-26">Killington World Cup Women’s GS Race: November 26</h2>
<p>I was inspired to write down our experiences with this weekend after reading Bill McCollum’s <a href="http://skiracing.com/">SkiRacing.com</a> feature <em><a href="http://www.skiracing.com/premium/view-from-the-mosh-pit-at-the-killington-world-cup">"View from the Mosh Pit at the Killington World Cup"</a></em>. Bill retired from Killington Mountain School in 1998 after producing three Olympians, more than 34 D1 collegiate skiers and 13 U.S. Ski Team members during his tenure. Sure enough, in Bill’s article’s feature image (which I’ve used for this article as well), we’re front and center in the grandstand at skier’s left on Day One (<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2017/01/killington_world_cup_stands.jpg">zoom in for the full view</a>).</p>
<p>We waffled about whether to bring our ski equipment so we could ski and spectate. True, Killington had been making a ton of snow, but they’d been making it on the race hill and had just a few other runs open. In the end, we decided to make it easy and removed skiing from the equation. We’re really glad we did, since after we arrived and saw the throngs, we could not have imagined adding in a few runs for what would have been a few extra hundred dollars.</p>
<p>As we drove in, we passed tons of people waiting for shuttles, walking, and parking in lots clearly farther from the venue. Attendants waved us onward as they saw our parking pass. We were so grateful for when we pulled into a parking spot near the entrance to the K1 Gondola area. What a deal! We were literally minutes from the entrance. A short walk through security and we were in. We had our lanyards on for access to the grandstands, so we found our seats shortly after negotiating a massive crowd slowly making its way to the base of the race hill.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_kids.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Kids in the stands" title="Kids in the stands" /><p class="stickyNote">Kids in the stands</p></div>
<p>While we waited for the first run to start, we took it all in. It felt to us like a theatrical production. You had your stage, with the finish chute and places for the “audience.” You had a jumbo television with high-quality graphics and live shots of the audience being broadcast all over the world. There were roving interviewers plying crowd members with questions like, “What do you think of World Cup in Vermont?” You had the <a href="http://vtsports.com/killington-king-spring">“King of Spring”</a> walking around in underwear and not much else. Thousands of people did “the wave” during commercial breaks. We enjoyed listening to announcers who were incredibly confident in their trade. A deejay who traveled with the World Cup circuit enveloped us all with rhythms that fit perfectly with the high octane of the occasion. And yes, there was a guy with a t-shirt cannon, and enthusiastic recipients of fodder shot from said cannon. The only thing that seemed not pre-ordained was how the athletes would fare as they ran through the course.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_adults.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me in the stands" title="Amy and me in the stands" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me in the stands</p></div>
<p>After a short delay in the start, we started to see athletes racing in this historic event. It was amazing. You’d see these women in the start building on the television, as they were just out of sight over the top of the hill. Shortly into their run, they’d crest the hill in synchronicity with their digital counterpart, yet from a different angle. There were so many entertaining ways to watch, and the first run seemed to go by so quickly.</p>
<p>And it was <strong>cold</strong>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_kids_car.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lunch break in the car" title="Lunch break in the car" /><p class="stickyNote">Lunch break in the car</p></div>
<p>We were prepared clothing-wise, but were really grateful to have brought lunch and a place to eat it. We reasoned that with the crowds, the food options would be overwhelmed, and warm seating options even more so. So, we returned to our car during the lunch break, fired it up, and sat in the warmth to enjoy our lunch and talk about the day.</p>
<p>We were slightly concerned about the second run starting on time, due to the fog rolling in. When we got back to inside, we headed to the grandstand at skier’s right, closer to the television. We brought a huge blanket to sit on, which made the seats much more comfortable.</p>
<p>The second run is a flip 30 only, which means that instead of running the entire field of 60+ racers once more, they run only the fastest 30 from the first run. They run them in reverse, so the fastest racer from the first run goes last in the second run. This makes for a VERY exciting time, since all things being equal, you’d expect the run times to get increasingly faster. The announcers and the crowd got totally into it, and the combination of sport and theatrics made for a very entertaining afternoon. The video below starts off with Mikaela Shiffrin’s GS run from the first day, and also captures Mikaela Shiffrin and Resi Stiegler’s SL run from the second day. Spectacular fun.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewEo77yR_Y">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewEo77yR_Y</a></p>
<h2 id="autograph-session">Autograph Session</h2>
<p>One of the highlights of the schedule was the US Ski Team autograph signing. The queue for the 4-5 p.m. session started promptly after the conclusion of run 2. We got to the line at 2:15 p.m., and waited in close quarters while listening to O.A.R. entertaining crowds off to the left. It was a really uncomfortable wait. We began to suspect impending chaos when security came out and looked suspiciously at the scene. We were waiting in a mass, narrow near the stairs and fanning out at all angles creating a funnel.</p>
<p>When they opened the doors to let us in, we four tried to stay close to each other as we all shuffled forward for our turn at the stairs. I was separated from Amy and the kids in the squeeze play. They were up ahead somewhere when the line suddenly stopped. We texted each other: Amy and Elizabeth were together inside, Xander was behind them in inside, but out of sight from them, and I was still outside. Several minutes later, they announced to us outside that it would be unlikely that we’d be able to get in. There were too many people inside already. I thought, “At least the kids got in.”</p>
<p>The line inside was barely moving. I could tell by the texting inside (gotta love group texting) that Amy and the kids were worried they wouldn’t get signatures. Security came out at 4:45 and told us that there’d be no more signing, that they were at capacity. The police were on hand to deal with unruly people, and there was some ugly language but not bad enough for a trip to the local sheriff's office. I patiently waited outside for the rest of my family to come out. Xander was one of the last people in the building, and one of the last to get a signature. The athletes were really accommodating, posing for selfies with the kids and taking time to talk with them. I’m not sure what Killington will do differently next time to accommodate more people, but this didn’t work at all.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, Mikaela Shiffrin inexplicably arrived 20 minutes late to the session, and then with 20 minutes left in the session, left to “prepare” for the next day. I’m all for making accommodations for people at the pinnacle of their sport, but I feel she had a duty to her fans to stay the whole time. The rest of the women’s US ski team racing Killington that day stayed the whole time, and the kids really appreciated that. Had she not been injured and raced today, I was sure Lindsey Vonn would have stayed the whole time. The kids each left with an autographed poster and with Resi Stiegler’s signature on their helmets. Thank you, to each skier who stayed and made this part of the day enjoyable for the kids.</p>
<p>Back at the hotel, we enjoyed wine and some appetizers we bought from the grocery store next door (grapes, cheese, crackers, salami, hummus). Sometimes, that’s the best kind of dinner! Skiing, or spectating skiing for that matter, really makes us tired. We hit the bed a bit earlier than normal and prepared for another fun day at Killington.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_grandstand_wave.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Doing the wave while waiting for the start on Day 2" title="Doing the wave while waiting for the start on Day 2" /><p class="stickyNote">Doing the wave while waiting for the start on Day 2</p></div>
<h2 id="killington-world-cup-women%E2%80%99s-sl-race%3A-november-27">Killington World Cup Women’s SL Race: November 27</h2>
<p>For Sunday’s slalom race, we repeated our routine from Saturday. We made the short drive from our hotel in Rutland and enjoyed the same preferred parking at Killington. After the quick security check, we made a beeline for seats in the far grandstand. We enjoyed lunch (and warmth) in the car between the runs. Just like Saturday, we immensely enjoyed ourselves. The disciplines are so different and fun to watch in their own ways. If it was possible, the crowd was even louder at the end of the second run. Mikaela Shiffrin won the race and clinched her 21st World Cup slalom victory and 22nd World Cup overall win.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2017/01/killington_grandstand.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Smiles on day 2" title="Smiles on day 2" /><p class="stickyNote">Smiles on day 2</p></div>
<h2 id="driving-home">Driving Home</h2>
<p>After the conclusion of the second run, we waited a bit in the grandstand for the crowds to thin. On Saturday, there was huge glut of fans trying to negotiate a narrow passage between the finish area and the K1 base lodge, and it took forever. Today, however, we were quite cold. We ventured into the departing crowd after a few minutes. The close proximity of people helped to warm us up a bit. After the awards ceremony was over, things began to move, and we were driving westbound in no time.</p>
<p>I had scheduled a business trip Monday and Tuesday in New York City, so had reserved a bus seat from Albany. Amy and the kids dropped me off at the bus terminal in Albany and continued their drive home. The bus experience was a debacle all by itself, and warrants a separate story if ever. In my mind, it was made far less stressful by the memories of a weekend with family at a really fun race venue, witnessing some of the best skiers in the world at Killington World Cup.</p>
<p><em>Header Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.skiracing.com/premium/view-from-the-mosh-pit-at-the-killington-world-cup">Ski Racing Magazine Inc.</a></em></p>
Positive Mental Attitude: The Service of PMA the Moose2017-01-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/positive-mental-attitude-the-service-of-pma-the-moose/<p>The virtues of a positive mental attitude are well documented. Search for the phrase and Google will helpfully offer up 469,000 results. With many books and blog posts extolling its virtues, it’s not a new or a unique concept. PMA, however, has special meaning for me.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Positive mental attitude is the philosophy that having an optimistic disposition in every situation in one's life attracts positive changes and increases achievement. Adherents employ a state of mind that continues to seek, find and execute ways to win, or find a desirable outcome, regardless of the circumstances. It opposes negativity, defeatism and hopelessness. Optimism and hope are vital to the development of PMA. – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_mental_attitude">Wikipedia</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>There’s that acronym: <strong>PMA</strong>. <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-childhood-battle-with-osteomyelitis/">Doctors diagnosed me with osteomyelitis in 1987</a> after I had difficult walking. I would be in the hospital for a long time, and endure massive doses of antibiotics and the accompanying IV changes. My path to recovery was not certain. My grandmother, Clara Pierson, brought me a plush moose. His name? <strong>PMA</strong> (puh-ma), or Positive Mental Attitude. It was a daily affirmation that I needed to lift my chin and think positively. No matter how despondent I felt, PMA was there. He reminded me that a positive attitude would help me far more than a negative one.</p>
<p>My story has a happy ending. I recovered fully (<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-childhood-battle-with-osteomyelitis/">and wrote about the whole experience here</a>) and went on to enjoy using my legs for all kinds of active pursuits: skiing, running and racquetball. PMA had done his duty, but his tour was not yet over. PMA has been called to action many times after I married. He wears a set of cards around his neck to document the reasons for his travels: osteomyelitis, tonsillectomy, hernias, births, heart surgery, cancer surgery and therapy, hand surgery, eye surgery, knee replacements, Guillian-Barre Syndrome and all manner of injuries to toes and ankles. At the time of this writing, his cards tell the stories of no fewer than <strong>50 times</strong> where he’s been there for someone.</p>
<p>The psychological factor is one that our society is just beginning to understand. I remember reading <a href="http://amzn.to/2iW6dLj">The Secret</a>, whose premise is that truly believing something true will eventually deliver that truth. In other words, thinking positively will bring about positive things. Some medical research delves into Positive Mental Attitude, where it has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19637498">shown to aid cancer recovery</a>, and where the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4292610">concepts of hope and spirituality were correlated with chronic kidney disease sufferers undergoing hemodialysis</a>. In sports, it’s been shown that those who succeed have the tools of mental toughness, positive attitude and positive self-talk in their toolbox.</p>
<h2 id="critics-of-positive-mental-attitude%3F-bah.">Critics of Positive Mental Attitude? Bah.</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/hospitalbed.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons! " title="I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons! " /><p class="stickyNote">I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons! </p></div>
<p>PMA has his critics, who say that positive mental attitude is a byproduct of success, not a contributing factor. It’s an area that surely warrants more study. It would be amazing if there’s a way for us to <em>harness</em> the benefits of PMA for people who are suffering.</p>
<p>A positive mental attitude did <em>not</em> stem from amazing things happening to me as a boy in a hospital bed. I thought negative thoughts. I felt scared. The ability to focus on something positive made all of the difference for me. A positive mental attitude helped me see myself getting better, and I did.</p>
The Whole Bowl with Tali Sauce2016-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/whole-bowl-tali-sauce/<p>We fell in love with the concept of a rice bowl when we visited Portland, OR and went to <a href="http://thewholebowl.com/">The Whole Bowl</a>. Since then, we've had great success making it at home. We've honed our process, and the latest improvement is to make a TON of the Tali sauce (a vegan, creamy, mustardy, curry sauce) and freeze it. In the picture above, I've made a <strong>quadruple</strong> recipe and used a 1-inch cookie scoop to freeze the whole batch. They have enough stiffness when you put them on a cookie tray with parchment or a Silpat to keep their shape. Once frozen, they go right into a freezer bag. When we want a whole bowl, it's easy to add one of these to our ingredients and enjoy it minutes later.</p>
<p><strong>The Whole Bowl with Tali Sauce</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>For the bowl:</strong></em></p>
<p>brown rice<br />
black beans<br />
cheddar cheese<br />
avocado<br />
salsa<br />
fresh cilantro</p>
<p><em><strong>For the sauce:</strong></em></p>
<p>1/4 cup almonds<br />
1/4 cup olive oil<br />
1/2 cup garbanzo beans<br />
3 garlic cloves<br />
1/4 cup large flake nutritional yeast<br />
1/4 cup water<br />
1 T whole grain Dijon mustard<br />
1/4 cup lemon juice<br />
1 tsp curry powder<br />
1 tsp onion powder<br />
1 tsp turmeric<br />
1 tsp chili powder<br />
1 tsp cayenne</p>
<p><em><strong>Directions</strong></em></p>
<ol>
<li>First, make the Tali sauce by blending the almonds, olive oil, garbanzo beans, garlic, nutritional yeast, water, mustard and lemon juice.</li>
<li>Once blended, add 1 tsp of each spice. Blend until combined.</li>
<li>Add a tablespoon (more or less to your liking) to the bowl ingredients, and serve hot.</li>
</ol>
#365DayDraw: Challenge Completed2016-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/365daydraw-challenge-completed/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/12/31.gif?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>With a stroke of my flair pen this morning, it was done. I called the project #365DayDraw, but since 2016 was a leap year, I churned out 366 days of drawings. When I first <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">started this project</a>, I didn't know how it would turn out, or what I'd learn. It turned out great, and I learned a ton.</p>
<p>Along the way, I discovered I was playing by some implicit rules, and learned some very poignant things.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Consistency of materials.</strong> I started on some small pads that I had laying around, and graduated to <a href="http://amzn.to/2hzBxym">Moleskine pocket notebooks</a> (I filled three of 'em). I always used <a href="http://amzn.to/2iPB8Jj">Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens (Medium)</a>.</li>
<li><strong>No revisions. No pencil. Just a flair pen and the paper.</strong> With a few exceptions (I remember two), the final drawing was the first drawing. I trashed a few pages since it started off SO awful, but I really thought about what I'd draw most times, and if it didn't start off well, I tried to EVOLVE it 'til it finished well. Sometimes that resulting in some interesting abstractions.</li>
<li><strong>No judgment.</strong> I wasn't trying for a masterpiece each time. The lack of pressure helped my creative process. I always found it interested each month when I had people vote: the one they chose was typically not the one I would have chosen. Art is subjective, and this voting process reinforced that for me.</li>
<li><strong>The magic of storytelling.</strong> The monthly story was pure improv, and quite magical. Each month's winner, once I had done the vectorized color version, inspired a story with a common thread. When I sat down on Medium to write, I hadn't done anything but refresh my memory of what I'd written in prior months. I don't know what it says about me that my storyline evolved into one where a woman who was very lonely and hurt ended up finding happiness through adoption (I'm not lonely, or hurt, or a woman, and I have two wonderful children), but there you have it. When I'm improv acting, it always surprises me when I can "jump into" someone else's mind and "be them" for a moment. It brings happiness, sadness, and perhaps a sliver of understanding. It's magical. You can <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">read all of the stories on the original #365DayDraw page</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>With rare exceptions, I remember the circumstances around each drawing: where I was, what I was thinking, and if the accompanying quote on twitter preceded or was inspired by the drawing. My commentary on my drawings were sometimes trite, sometimes humorous, and sometimes deep. As I went through each month, I realized that the project was less about the art and more about inspiring conversation. I enjoyed engaging with different people about the drawings, and also the chance to share my work in person with whoever I thought would enjoy a particular day's subject matter.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/12/IMG_7723-e1483197316866.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>I have to hand it to the <a href="https://streaksapp.com/">Streaks app for iPhone</a>, an Apple Design Award winner in 2016. The app helped me keep focused on my daily goal, along with doing preventative physical therapy for running, having a good flossing habit, daily pushups and practicing my guitar. I got great satisfaction in "checking off" these items daily. If you want to form a habit, it's a super simple app and I highly recommend it.</p>
<p><strong>Thank you for following along.</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/12/365daydraw.png">View all of the drawings at once in this larger montage</a></li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">Read about the project and see the monthly winners and stories</a></li>
<li><a href="https://365daydraw.netlify.app/">Check out the app</a>. You can view a month at a time, search, and read the stories.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="art-shows">Art Shows</h2>
<p>My #365DayDraw project exhibited at Gimme Coffee in Trumansburg during the month of June 2019.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2019/06/365DayDraw-at-Gimme.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="#365DayDraw at Gimme Coffee in Trumansburg" title="#365DayDraw at Gimme Coffee in Trumansburg" /><p class="stickyNote">#365DayDraw at Gimme Coffee in Trumansburg</p></div>
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fscott.dawson%2Fposts%2F10157168231689840&width=500" width="100%" height="440" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>Using Handbrake to Optimize Movies for Uploading to Vimeo2016-12-30T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/using-handbrake-to-optimize-movies-for-uploading-to-vimeo/<p>I subscribe to Vimeo Plus, which limits my uploads to 5 Gig per week. Normally that amount of capacity does the trick, but I've also been doing some videos of my town's school music concerts. When those all come in a single week, whoa! I researched the options with Vimeo to upgrade or otherwise allow more upload capacity temporarily, and their response helpfully directed me to a section of their site that talked about optimizing your videos before uploading. You can check out their video on how to use <a href="https://handbrake.fr/">Handbrake</a> (download it, it's free!) prior to uploading your video. In my testing, I saw my file sizes drop by 60-80%, which is quite amazing when you have a 7 Gig video that you obviously can't upload with a 5 Gig cap. You can <a href="https://vimeo.com/24008730">check out the whole video here</a>, but I also wrote down the salient points and circled the options in the (as of this writing) Handbrake interface.</p>
<ul>
<li>Codec H.264</li>
<li>Framerate same as source</li>
<li>Average bitrate 5000</li>
<li>2-pass encoding yes</li>
<li>Audio 44.1 sample, 320 bitrate</li>
</ul>
Trail Love: Where to Find Your Favorite Trails in Central New York2016-12-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/trail-love-where-to-find-your-favorite-trails-in-central-new-york/<p>I love running the trails in and around Ithaca, NY. Mostly I hit the routes in Taughannock Falls State Park, but on Strava I see so much more of what my fellow runners head out on in Ithaca. Monkey Run, the South Hill Rec Way ... these are trails I haven't known how to find, until now. Here's a list of some great resources for trail enthusiasts.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Ithaca Trails</strong> Trail listing within Greater Ithaca and Tompkins County. Filter by activity (hiking, biking, horseback, etc). Has a great interactive map. <a href="https://ithacatrails.org/">ithacatrails.org</a></li>
<li><strong>Finger Lakes Trail Interactive Map</strong> Find the Finger Lakes Trail, access points, shelters and camping places along the trail in your region. <a href="http://www.fltconference.org/trail/go-hiking/interactive-map-segmented/interactive-map-fullsystem">fltconference.org</a></li>
</ul>
5K Chili Challenge 2016 (My Running Tribe)2016-12-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/running-tribe-5k-chili-challenge/<p>On November 6, while <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/new-york-city-marathon-2016/">Amy was running the NYC marathon</a>, I planned on running the <a href="http://www.5kchili.com/">5K Chili Challenge</a> for the first time with my son Xander. The race is at Taughannock Falls State Park, just minutes from our home. We had picked up our packets earlier that week and had the chance to meet (in person) Gary and Wendy, an amazing couple who started this race in 2006, and are incredibly active in the local running community.</p>
<p>Race morning dawned cold, yet dry. We set about packing some options for clothing and headed down to the park. Despite the cold, we both decided to run in shorts and t-shirts, and had warm-ups for post-race. As we waited for the run to start, the cold wind relentlessly whipped off the lake, but there was no chorus of protest. The cold weather practically begs for the field to be stocked with the hardiest of runners, definitely my tribe if there is one. Which reminded me of this wonderful segment from <a href="https://twitter.com/ajoneswilkins">Andy Jones-Wilkins</a> (AJW), an elite ultra runner and educator, from a recent episode of the <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/2016/10/trail-running-is-more-than-just-running">Trail Runner Nation</a> podcast. Here's my paraphrase of AJW talking about community:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This community sucks people in because they lack community elsewhere. They find like-minded people here, sure, but many of our other institutions in our civilization that we may have counted on 25, 50 or 100 years ago are not around anymore. This one is alive and well; we really do have a tribe, we really do have a family. We really do have a feeling of, you know, yes, we're friendly competitors, but my gosh, when you see runners at the end of a race hanging out with one another? ... The community is <strong>here to stay</strong>, that's the bedrock.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As we were preparing to run and after we had finished running, I felt at home, enjoying talking to fellow runners who I know from many circles in life. It truly is a tribe, a community. As we continued talking over delicious chili and coffee, the smiles on everyone's faces told the story. Running is good for the self, and the community is good for the soul. It's all good.</p>
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<h2 id="my-first-chili-challenge%2C-by-the-numbers">My First Chili Challenge, By the Numbers</h2>
<p>19:32<br />
4 of 528 overall</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/767960337/embed/00dc4fef11447debee9f3d36da273ce4113dae34" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<hr />
<p><em>Many thanks to <a href="http://danielelswit.com/">Daniel Eslwit</a> and <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Ian Golden</a> for the action photographs from the run!</em></p>
A∪L: Art Intersects Life2016-11-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/art-intersects-life/<p>This is a short story about intersections. It's a story about a boy who, in 1988, was scared to death of losing his leg. It's a story about an actor, who in adulthood, was reunited with someone who was part of that 1988 saga. It's a story of the connections we have in life, knowingly or not. We are all intertwined; related. You just may not know in the moment how close that relationship truly is.</p>
<h2 id="a">A</h2>
<p>Last month, I played the role of Lionel Stander in a staged reading of <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/acting/are-you-now-or-have-you-ever-been/">Are You Now or Have You Ever Been</a>. As Lionel, I stood up to the withering questioning of a congressional committee hell-bent on rooting out Communist influence in Hollywood.</p>
<h2 id="l">L</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/bonescan.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Bone scan" title="Bone scan" /><p class="stickyNote">Bone scan</p></div>
<p>In 1988, I was diagnosed with <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-childhood-battle-with-osteomyelitis/">osteomyelitis in my right femur</a>. At the time, it's my understanding that there was no known cause, and no known cure. It scared the crap out of me, but thanks to the talents of doctors and support of friends and family, I made it through.</p>
<h2 id="a%E2%88%AAl">A∪L</h2>
<p>After the staged reading finished, my mother came up to me, eager to ask a question.</p>
<p><em>"Do you know Dr. Costello?"</em></p>
<p>Admittedly, I'd not learned many names of my fellow actors, due to the compressed rehearsal schedule. <em>"Dr. Costello was one of the doctors who diagnosed and treated you ... in 1988".</em> Here I was, 28 years later, and Dr. Costello was one of the congressional investigators in the play, trading lines and barbs with me as I sat at the witness stand. We had been in a room together on several occasions, for hours at a time, and neither the wiser to our encounter so much earlier in our respective lives.</p>
<div class="rt sm">
<img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/11/costello.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Dr. Costello" title="Dr. Costello" />
</div>
<p>We talked backstage after my mother remembered us to each other. He casually talked about how osteomyelitis is treated now with antibiotics, almost a normal matter of course. I suspect medicine has advanced exponentially in the last 3 decades, and that my memories of it being alarming at the time were quite warranted. We shook hands, happy to have acted together for an evening, but I also quite grateful for the role he played in that hospital so many years ago.</p>
<p><strong>Intersections.</strong> We are all born. We all pass on. And in the middle, we intersect with each other. It's within those intersections that I find so much meaning. Chances are, as is the case with the <em>"Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,"</em> you might not be so far apart from the stranger at your side.</p>
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (Lionel Stander)2016-11-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/are-you-now-or-have-you-ever-been/<p>This was a staged reading of the play written in the 1970s about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee">HUAC</a> hearings in the 1950s where Hollywood actors, directors, producers and writers were summoned to Washington to <em>"call out the Communist propagandists in the American Dream Machine of Hollywood."</em> Artists were forced to testify about associations going back 20 years. Such questioning resulted in the infamous Hollywood Blacklist. The damage done to the reputations of good men and women was immense and in most cases irretrievable.</p>
<p>I had the pleasure of playing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Stander">Lionel Stander</a> in this staged reading under the direction of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Hertzler">John G. Hertzler</a>.</p>
Chris Bond 5K 2016: On Life, Love, and Winning2016-10-23T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/life-love-winning-chris-bond-5k/<p>I’ve won (by the strictest definition) a few things in my life. As a teenager, I won a Robert Palmer tape from the local radio station. I won Jingle Ball tickets from Z100 when I was living on Long Island, commuting to New York. I won a trip to Utah from Men’s Health, along with an unhealthy amount of Diet Coke Plus. In races, I've gone home with a few Masters prizes given my late arrival to the sport. This day, however, I’d actually win a <em>whole race</em>. First place.</p>
<p>After the Wineglass Marathon and some pretty busted-up toes, I’ve healed and have re-focused my efforts on winter maintenance. I’ve been focusing for a few weeks on cross-training - biking, swimming, yoga, stretching, weight training (BodyPump) - and running. I am grateful for a lot in my life, but one of the things I’m most grateful for at the moment is being able to do the physical things I can do. The “post” feeling - post-run, post-bike, post-anything that got my heart rate up - is fantastic. True love for the dopamine drop, you could say.</p>
<p>It was in this spirit that I signed up for the Chris Bond 5K. Rarely a same-day registrant, I grabbed the opportunity to run again in this local race, where my 5K PR continues to stand. My son was at youth group, my daughter would be volunteering with her cross country team at race intersections, and my wife had traveled to Rochester to run with her adult cross country team.</p>
<p>With the kids where they needed to be, I got ready to run with a quick loop around the Trumansburg track and a jog to the start line, where I enjoyed catching up with neighbors Lynn, Glenn and Christina, and also Sue Kitts, one of my high school classmates. It was COLD (low 40s), and I had left my warm-ups in the car, anticipating an on-time start. The start was not on-time, but we passed the delay quickly with conversation, huddled behind a leeward wall.</p>
<p>Soon we were on our way. I quickly turned over my legs to set a fast pace, and realized that I was right out there in front. Nobody ran in my periphery. I heard the jingling of Todd Robinson’s dog on-leash behind me, which spurred me on as we made the turn up Whig. At this point in prior 5Ks on this course, I’d be chasing someone or jockeying for position within a group, and younger kids who blew off the line would be losing steam as they climbed the first of two moderate uphills on the course. At the turn, Jessica, one of my daughter’s XC teammates, was clapping. “Go runner, good job.” Then, “Oh, that’s SCOTT! GO SCOTT!” I smiled broadly, gaining some energy from that.</p>
<p>Continuing on South Street, I focused on consistency as my watch told me my average was 6:30. Not too fast for a 5K based on my past races, and certainly not my fastest out of the gate. I routinely struggle with going out too fast and blowing up! I stole a glance backward, and the nearest runners were a ways back. I fought the urge to slow and conserve energy, focusing on racing myself and my prior times.</p>
<p>My brain started working overtime. As I realized the likelihood of winning, I thought of all the caveats and footnotes: turnout was low due to weather, not many students, XC races elsewhere, sports teams taking a rest day … it all went through my brain. As I approached the turn onto Pennsylvania and my daughter and friend Megan were cheering my on, I looked backward and saw nobody around the curve. I smiled and said out loud to my daughter, “I think I might win!”, almost trying to convince myself. As I rounded more corners, I received more encouragement from the cross country girls. It was truly classy that they were out on this cold morning, volunteering their time helping as their community ran in a sport they all eat and breathe this time of year.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/10/IMG_7332.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Bling" title="Bling" /><p class="stickyNote">Bling</p></div>
<p>The final downhill on Whig sealed the deal. As I approached the finish, I saw the clock steadily approaching 20 minutes and I put in an extra kick to be sub-20. I crossed the line at 19:55.10 to a few clapping spectators and some blessed water. I thought to myself, “Well, that’ll never happen again.” I realized that this race was a small model of many things in life. Your performance - whether you’re measuring against yourself or others - is <strong>YOUR</strong> performance. How you do relative to others is all about who shows up. It just so happens on this day, faster runners didn’t show up. It happens in a local 5K. It happens in the Olympics. And it happens everywhere else. Caveats aside, it was a legit win.</p>
<p>In my book, though, I think that <strong>we’re ALL winners</strong>. I may never <em>technically</em> win another race in my life, but <strong>I will win all of those that I run</strong>. From the first finisher to the last, and to those who try and fall short, we continue to show up and run.</p>
<p>To try is to win.</p>
<p><strong>Here’s to winning.</strong></p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Official Time:</strong> 19:55.10<br />
<strong>Place:</strong> 1 of 93</p>
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Corning Wineglass Marathon 20162016-10-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-marathon-2016/<p>For my own mental health, I should just eliminate the term "BQ" from my vernacular. After all, it's just TWO letters! Let 'em go. <strong>As a runner, it's not that easy.</strong> For me, a Boston-qualifying marathon time would mean something <em>really</em> special; that I was in a special group of marathoners who had "made the cut." Despite the fact that I classify myself as a "casual" runner (after all, when you factor in work and parenting, I'm really running 25-30 miles a week during PEAK training), I had this lofty goal of having my third (healthy) marathon be the BQ charm.</p>
<p>Amy and I arrived in Corning on marathon morning in time for a stress-free parking experience and a quick walk across the bridge to the buses that would carry us to Bath. We enjoyed chatting with a few runners as we waited in the quick-moving line. Once on the bus, I said to Amy, "You know, one of four things will happen to me today."</p>
<ol>
<li>I manage to qualify for Boston, with enough margin I can actually RUN in the race. So many people BQ in a given year that my qualifying time of 3:15 would actually need to be <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/boston-marathon/2016-boston-marathon-cut-off-is-228-under-qualifying-marks">2:28 faster (in 2016, for example)</a> for me to gain entry into the race.</li>
<li>I manage to quality for Boston, but not within the margin to gain entry into the race. But hey, I'd still BQ.</li>
<li>I set a PR (personal record) for the marathon.</li>
<li>I don't set a PR, but finish.</li>
</ol>
<p>I didn't think much more of it, but I had resolved to stay with the 3:15 pacer the whole race, guaranteeing me at least my secondary goal. We were at the start area early enough for a few trips to the bathroom, to check our drop bags with UPS, and to wish each other good luck.</p>
<h2 id="the-race">The Race</h2>
<p>I lined up just in front of the 3:15 pacer, and behind the 3:05 pacer. I decided in the moment that I'd check out how I was feeling, and NOT go out as fast as I did last year. Once the race was underway, I settled into a ~7:15 pace, about 10 seconds per mile faster than the pacer. This would put me into the finish with about a 3:12, which would make my first goal. I enjoyed a few running partners during the first half of the marathon, most notably a guy from Denver who was, like me, not running with music. We chatted about running and skiing, and mostly dialed ourselves into what were some pretty consistent splits.</p>
<p>It was 60s and humid, and while it was comfortable, I felt the need to get water at each aid opportunity. At mile 18, though, something started to feel "off." Like history repeating itself, I started to cramp up and grabbed some Gatorade at the next aid. I did some quick calculating, and despite my pace dropping, I could still keep my secondary goal in sight if I could just keep going. I just had to keep my average pace above 7:27. I walked through aid at mile 23, and then tragically had to step off the course at 24 and 24.8 to stretch my legs. My hamstrings and quads were really straining, and I felt that one wrong move would seize at least one of them. Stretching became a means to the finish, quite literally.</p>
<p>The last two miles of the race were some of the hardest running I've ever done. Legs so tight, finish so close. I set my sights on outcome #3, a PR, and managed to pick up the pace to a 8:50 for the final mile. I loped into the finish chute, pained, with a 1:51 PR over my prior best. I didn't linger at the finish, as I was in such discomfort every cell in my body was yearning to lie down; to be home. <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/wineglass-marathon-2016/">Amy had her first DNF</a>, and I was so sad to see her at the finish when I came in. I've DNF'd before, and I felt sad knowing what emotions she was feeling. Amy was a great driver getting us back, after which I crashed and napped for awhile. The hot tub at the gym was a nice recovery later in the afternoon, too. Top it all off with a delicious dinner at Viva, and the day was complete. I managed to stop beating myself up about the BQ, and relished in the PR that I had.</p>
<h2 id="qualifying-for-boston-is-one-tough-nut">Qualifying for Boston is One Tough Nut</h2>
<p>For males 40-44, you have to run 3:15. But here's the really cool thing: I'm 43. A July birthday. If I sign up for a Fall marathon in the year of my 45th birthday, I get a VERY SPECIAL GIFT. 10 minutes. For males 45-49, the qualifying time becomes 3:25. I think I can hold onto 10 minutes for a few years, don't you?</p>
<p>After all, <strong>I still love to run</strong>, and that's not going to change anytime soon.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> Shannon, a fellow runner, told me something I didn't know after reading this post. The qualifying times are based on your age when you'll run Boston, not when you qualify. I did not know that! The BAA web site says "qualifying times are based upon each athlete's age on the date of the 2018 Boston Marathon (April 16, 2018)." So ... if my birthday was before April 16 (it is in July), I would have qualified for Boston 2018 with THIS run! Interesting ... still, perhaps a year off from marathoning would do me good!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Official Time:</strong> 3:21:48<br />
<strong>M40-44 Age Group:</strong> 16/121<br />
<strong>Males:</strong> 92/784<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 121/1918</p>
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Lucifer's Crossing 20162016-08-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing-2016/<p>I made a decision the morning of the race to run it again, since my marathon training plan called for 8 miles for the day, and this would give me at least 6.66 of 'em. I ran Lucifer's <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing-2015/">last year</a>, and in the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing/">inaugural year</a>, and it's really great. The distance is short enough to go all out on flat and downhill stretches, but the wicked elevation helps keep the pace in check, too. I arrived a few minutes early to warm up and same-day register, and enjoyed talking to a few fellow runners before we got started at 10 a.m. Here's how Ian describes the race on the RNR web site:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>6.66 miles w/ devils in the details. Just short enough to push hard. But how to do it. The first 3 miles which takes you up 1,400 feet w/ countless stairs….the calf and lung burn tapered only by the beauty of the trail and waterfalls you'll pass? Or save it in hopes of letting it all go on the final flowing 3 miles of single-track…rolling as fast as your quad's breaking will allow you to move.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I had an 18-mile training run the day prior, but my legs were feeling pretty good so I green-lighted a strong effort for the day. Ian threw in a small loop in the beginning to give us a true 6.66 mile experience, which was nice. I started out fast on the first half-mile, which was flat and on pavement, but scaled things back as we started to climb. I knew what was coming! It's been incredibly dry this year, so the first water crossing at the road barely got me wet, but Butternut Creek, about 3.5 miles in, got my feet fully doused with about 6 inches of water. My footing was sure for most of the race (including the carpet of roots a few miles in), but one particular bend in the course had me on my hands and knees before I regained my balance with the help of a tree. No scrapes or bruises today!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/LBRR8628.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Lucifer's is always a good time!" title="Lucifer's is always a good time!" /><p class="stickyNote">Lucifer's is always a good time!</p></div>
<p>As always, I enjoyed the downhill single-track sections, and someone did a fantastic job with a brush hog keeping vegetation away from the trail margins. I watched the remaining distance tick down on my watch, and was grateful to make the final pitch down to the campground area for the finish, some much-needed water (I carried about 12 ounces with me and used it all) and some delicious watermelon.</p>
<p>All in all, a fantastic day on the trails courtesy of <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/">Red Newt Racing</a>! I came in 7th out of 117 with a 1:00:08. After getting back home, having a copious amount of coffee and watching the replay of the women's triathlon in Rio (amazing ...), I drew <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson/status/767447300641808384">this gem</a> as part of my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">#365DayDraw project</a>. Seems I was influenced just a <em>bit</em> by the race's title.</p>
<h2 id="gps-track">GPS Track</h2>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/684042107/embed/f816fa7fa67d807da0fb9c34d6584e3d8489552b" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p><strong>Cover Photo:</strong> <a href="http://www.theascendcollective.com/">The Ascend Collective</a></p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20162016-08-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016-olympic-distance/<p>After five years doing the sprint distance at the <a href="http://cayugalaketriathlon.org/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a>, Amy and I decided to up the ante this year with the Olympic distance. The Olympic distance is a 1.5K swim, 24.3 mile bike, and a 10K run, so double the sprint in everything except the bike (which is <em>almost</em> double). I had a <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/intermediate-triathlon-training-cayuga-lake-triathlon/">really great training cycle</a> for this race, so I was really looking forward to it! Plus, with Amy doing the Olympic, Xander doing his second youth triathlon and Elizabeth (biking, running) doing a relay with her friend Jessica (swimming), it would truly be a family affair.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>It's been kind of a ritual to go to Taughannock Park's Summer Concert Series the night before the race. Transition is all set up, and it's a really nice way to get even more excited about the following day. We enjoyed relaxing and listening to music and chatting with Simon, Jessica's Dad, as the sun set and the temperature turned cooler. The race morning temperature was forecast to be in the mid-60s, rising into the mid-70s during the race. I took this as a good sign, as despite the persistent humidity, the water would be somewhat warmer than the air, and the bike would be when it was just starting to warm up. We turned in after the concert, having packed all of our race paraphernalia the night before, and woke at our customary 5 a.m. time for a coffee and a bit of a show before waking the kids and getting out the door.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/IMG_6775a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Dad getting me marked up" title="Dad getting me marked up" /><p class="stickyNote">Dad getting me marked up</p></div>
<p>We got to the park around 6:45 a.m. and were happy to be parking pretty close to the transition area. We're really LUCKY to live just minutes from the park, so it's the most stress-free race we participate in, excepting the May Day 5K and Chris Bond 5K, which are right in the village. We got our bodies marked by Ed and Jean, and headed off to our respective numbered spots in the transition area to get ourselves organized.</p>
<p>Amy remarked, and I agree, that the intermediate distance is really great because there's very little time for stress to accrue. After we had our transition set up, we had only about a half hour until she started her race, and 50 minutes until mine. It was barely enough time to go to the bathroom, socialize a bit, and have a chance to warm up in the lake before our wave went off. As I did a few strokes in the warmup area, I noticed that my usual butterflies had flown off somewhere else. My <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">Total Immersion swim training</a> was also mental training, and the part of my brain that gets all nervous had clearly taken a chill pill. I was ready!</p>
<h2 id="swim">Swim</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/IMG_6776.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Checking out the swim course before the start" title="Checking out the swim course before the start" /><p class="stickyNote">Checking out the swim course before the start</p></div>
<p>In talking with Simon Prosser just before starting the swim, I got a really timely piece of advice. We were talking about the fray at the start, and how it'd be good to stay off the buoy line and make more of a tangent for the turnaround point. After all, over 750 yards, the added distance of a tangent would be negligible. In the prior year, I had tried this and failed, since I pushed to the right by swimmers at my left. This year, I went FAR to the left so only one guy was to my left. I had a front row seat, and I confirmed with my fellow swimmer that he, too, had the same strategy. Just a few minutes went by and the whistle blew: we were off!</p>
<p>And here's the miraculous thing. I NEVER contacted another swimmer at the start, and that has always been the core concern of mine with the swim. I just settled into a really good rhythm, kept trying to gauge my distance off the buoy line as I progressed, and never got too taxed to have to really slow down. The outbound leg was against some light wave action, but that too I was prepared for having training in far worse conditions in the lake. As I rounded the turnaround buoy, I looked at my watch for time of day. I had been swimming for 17 minutes, and I knew I'd have a bit of a boost on the return leg, going with the wave action. One of the things Shane taught us was that the purpose of Total Immersion wasn't to make you <em>faster</em> per se, but to make you more efficient, saving your energy for the bike and the run. Last year's sprint took me 17:11, and that's where I was at the halfway point.</p>
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<p>The return trip was blissful, and probably the main reason I think the swim was my favorite of the three disciplines this year. I focused on efficient gliding, balance and hip-snapping, and enjoyed the feeling of passing other men in my wave, and some men from the prior wave. The way back proved to be minutes faster than the outbound section, and before I knew it I was at the beach, up on my feet and stepping through the parking lot to get into transition.</p>
<h2 id="bike">Bike</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/IMG_6781.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Starting the ride. Photo credit: Tom Garby" title="Starting the ride. Photo credit: Tom Garby" /><p class="stickyNote">Starting the ride. Photo credit: Tom Garby</p></div>
<p>As I entered transition, my wetsuit was half off, and I quickly got the rest off as I sat on my crate next to my bike. I got my cycling shoes on quickly (no socks, and I'd trained that way), downed a quick gel and was out pretty quickly. The sun was out, and the air was not too hot. As I began the ascent on Route 89 out of the park, I was grateful to have practiced on the course and figured out the best gearing and sit/stand ratio to be efficient up the hill. The bike was rather unremarkable otherwise. I enjoyed ripping down the hill into Sheldrake, taking that hill at 36 mph and setting a personal PR on the flat segment at Sheldrake. A quick hill to get back up to Route 89 and I was southbound.</p>
<p>My friend Adrian Western passed me shortly after we got on Route 89, and I enjoyed trading places with a few bikers on the return trip. I had another gel and consumed more water on a few of the flatter stretches. It was really nice to see homeowners on their lawns cheering us on with their cowbells and voices. My all-time favorite part of this ride is the descent back into the park, and this year did NOT disappoint. I hit my top speed of 41.2 mph on this section, passing another racer in the final half mile. It's the fastest I've ever been on my bike. Woohoo!</p>
<h2 id="run">Run</h2>
<p>Again into transition and, in an effort to be quick, I put on my running shoes without socks. I'd regret that, but had another efficient transition. My legs turned over pretty well after the repetition of the bike, and I setting into a run pace in the low 8-minute mile range. The run was quickly difficult, most notably mile 2, where I had to work to diagnose and remedy a bad cramp that went the entire front of my ribs, from left to right. I was carrying water, and consuming that and some of the aid station Gatorade had that problem licked by the 3 mile mark.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/IMG_2774.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finishing has never felt SO good" title="Finishing has never felt SO good" /><p class="stickyNote">Finishing has never felt SO good</p></div>
<p>Heading back to Taughannock's base trail for the second half of the run, I became aware of some hot spots on my left foot. Socks! Man, I wish I had 'em now, because something on the shoe was doing a job on my foot. Having to live (well, run) with that decision, I soldiered on, and managed to negative split the remaining miles of the race. The crowd support and aid station support was so nice to have on the trail, as it made time FLY by. I was excited to hit the falls and begin my return trip, knowing I'd finish soon enough.</p>
<p>Crossing the finish line, my first order of business was to get my shoe off and assess the damage. It was just a pair of smaller blisters, nothing major, and I enjoyed slipping into my Crocs to see Amy, Elizabeth and Xander all finish their races!</p>
<p>Post-race amenities at this race are awesome, and this year was no exception. We enjoyed Ithaca Beer, Wegmans wraps, and Purity ice cream. Plenty of delicious samples were on hand, too. We enjoyed sitting in the shade as a family, chatting about the race, and were soon headed home to put our gear away and enjoy the rest of the day! Here are a few post-race pictures with Ed, Jean, Ray and Diana, and with Jessica, who relayed with Elizabeth. Many thanks to my Mom and Dad for taking some of these great pictures!</p>
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<h2 id="cayuga-lake-olympic-triathlon%3A-by-the-numbers">Cayuga Lake Olympic Triathlon: By the Numbers</h2>
<p>One difference this year was the lack of an open amateur wave, so there were some really GOOD athletes in my age group. That said, I'm so happy with the results! Compared with last year, my swim pace sped up from a 2:23 per 100 yards to 2:06 (thank you, Total Immersion!); my bike pace was <em>exactly the same</em>, and the run this year was tough given the hour and 45 minutes of working hard beforehand. My run pace slowed from a 7:36 last year to an 8:17 this year (I'll chalk that up to the cramping, too!) Drink more water next time, bud. However, I <em>really</em> sped up my transition times, basically cutting them in half.</p>
<p>5/9 age group M40-44<br />
38/135 male<br />
40/213 overall</p>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Olympic Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2019/">2019</a></td>
<td>2:37:33</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779253/overview">31:51</a><br />(2:07 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:53</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779380/overview">1:14:34</a>
<br />(19.55 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2591779469/overview">47:44</a>
<br />(7:42 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2018-olympic-distance/">2018</a></td>
<td>2:38:18</td>
<td>34:51<br />(2:19 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:51</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052368/overview">1:13:51</a>
<br />(19.74 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:43</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1752052471/overview">46:02</a>
<br />(7:25 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2017/">2017</a></td>
<td>2:43:40</td>
<td>35:54<br />(2:24 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:26</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575512/overview">1:14:51</a>
<br />(19.47 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:50</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1120575728/overview">49:39</a>
<br />(8:00 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016-olympic-distance/">2016</a></td>
<td>2:40:28</td>
<td>31:34<br />(2:06 per 100)
</td>
<td>1:29</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667999049/overview">1:14:44</a>
<br />(19.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:22</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/667998576/overview">51:19</a>
<br />(8:17 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
<h2 id="next-year">Next Year</h2>
<p>Given this first experience with the Olympic distance, I think it is a GO for next year. I really enjoyed the training, and the friendly feel of this race is not to be missed. Onwards!</p>
<p><strong>Related:</strong> Please also enjoy <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/bike/intermediate-cayuga-lake-triathlon-2016/">Amy's post about her first Olympic triathlon</a>!</p>
Intermediate Triathlon Training for Cayuga Lake Triathlon2016-08-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/intermediate-triathlon-training-cayuga-lake-triathlon/<p>Well, in just a few days I'll step into Cayuga Lake for my first intermediate (Olympic) triathlon! I thought I'd write a bit about my intermediate triathlon training, since I approached this with the same rigor as training for my first <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/finger-lakes-50k/">50K</a> and first <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-first-50-miler-cayuga-trails-50/">50-miler</a>, and that started with a <strong>plan</strong>. I found an <a href="http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/tno_18wOly.asp">18-week Intermediate (Olympic) Distance plan from tri-newbies</a> and followed it pretty closely. I did not do the extra workouts in weeks 9-17 mostly due to lack of time, but I feel really prepared for the triathlon based on the whole training cycle! In aggregate, I have 145 hours of training leading up to this event! The <a href="http://cayugalaketriathlon.org/cltrace/">Cayuga Lake Triathlon</a> will have me swim 1.5K, bike 24.3 miles and run 10K.</p>
<h2 id="intermediate-triathlon-training">Intermediate Triathlon Training</h2>
<p>One of the things I really like about <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/6904418/training/log">tracking my workouts in Strava</a> is the ability to look back and see trends and totals of my training. Charting the amount of <em>time</em> spent each week working out for the 18-week period (plus the week prior), it's clear what the plan accomplished: three building periods, punctuated by fallback weeks (for recovery), a final "quality phase" designed to build speed, and a final taper. In a typical week, there'd be three of each discipline, so yep: a few double workouts each week. Some creative scheduling got it all in, though!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/08/triathlon_training_chart.gif?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Intermediate Triathlon Training Chart" title="Intermediate Triathlon Training Chart" /><p class="stickyNote">Intermediate Triathlon Training Chart</p></div>
<h2 id="intermediate-triathlon-training---swimming">Intermediate Triathlon Training - Swimming</h2>
<p>I'm actually looking forward to the swim for the first time since I started competing in sprint triathlons several years ago! Despite the extra distance of the intermediate, my secret weapon is that I've been through Total Immersion with Shane Eversfield. I found that swimming <em>(barring the disdain I have for errant seaweed)</em> is really quite fun and not as taxing as it used to be. I wrote about <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">my experience with Total Immersion</a>, and if you're curious, you should definitely check it out. The plan called for some specific workouts, especially during the quality/speedwork phase. However, I stuck to simply <em>swimming by feel</em>, given my relative inexperience with swimming as compared to running and biking.</p>
<p>I'm so grateful to our friends Kathey and Bruce for graciously allowing us use of their dock and kayaks for lake swimming. That part of the lake has a mostly seaweed-free route! A kayak escort provided additional visibility to boaters and a virtual "buoy line" for me to follow. Amy, my Dad both of my kids are fantastic kayak escorts; I'm so grateful to all of them for the help. It's really nice to have the company, and despite a few workouts with really choppy conditions, I can say that without exception I enjoyed each and every swim! My longest lake training swims (2 of 'em) were 2.4K, well past the 1.5K of the race. In each of those, I exited the water feeling like I had room for more, so that's good. This training cycle included a total of 27 hours of swimming.</p>
<h2 id="intermediate-triathlon-training---biking">Intermediate Triathlon Training - Biking</h2>
<p>Amy and I have really enjoyed the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/new-year-new-rides-thank-local-bike-shop/">upgraded bikes we bought</a>, mainly for this triathlon (and those in the future). I did most of the training outside, but did do some indoor workouts on a Keiser bike if it was necessary. The longest ride was a 50-miler that Amy and I did together, which was quite fun. There are some really great bike routes between Cayuga and Seneca lakes. I rode a lot on the triathlon course itself, too, between Taughannock Park and Sheldrake.</p>
<p>I did do the quality rides, which called for intervals of 3-6 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, with a 30-minute warm-up and cool-down. I did these mostly on a three-mile loop around our neighborhood streets, which wasn't as bad as you'd think. The focus on the intervals and effort kept the looping ride from being too boring. The most <em>epic</em> ride I had was a 40-mile day where I decided to stay close to home, since the forecast was sketchy. It rained the WHOLE time, but provided good training for the body <em>and</em> the mind. This training cycle included a total of 80 hours of biking.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIfcTVKAWU9/">https://www.instagram.com/p/BIfcTVKAWU9/</a></p>
<h2 id="intermediate-triathlon-training---running">Intermediate Triathlon Training - Running</h2>
<p>I came into this training cycle after a commitment to <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/2016-year-half-marathon/">run a bunch of half marathons</a>. I averaged 25-30 miles a week of running before starting this plan. Running was curtailed quite a bit to allow for building in the swimming and cycling disciplines. Most of my weekly totals were in the mid-teens, with my peak weeks having mileage in the low-20s due to a half marathon thrown in there.</p>
<p>I spent a lot of time on the trails at Taughannock, mostly because I love the effect the vertical has on my training. The triathlon run will be 6 miles, all on mostly flat grass or trail. The quality days for running had me at the high school track doing varying numbers of 880 (half-mile) repeats. These were tough, but I (a) enjoyed them and (b) didn't get injured, which has been a problem in the past. So, chalk one up for a successful training cycle containing running speed work! This training cycle included a total of 37 hours of running.</p>
<h2 id="what's-next%3F">What's Next?</h2>
<p>After the triathlon, I'm taking a week off from fitness, which coincides with VACATION. It'll be nice. However, Corning's Wineglass Marathon looms in the calendar, and there'll be just 8 short weeks to prepare. I'll be jumping into the middle of one of Hal Higdon's famous marathon training plans. I'll bang out 30-40 miles a week, but severely curtail any swimming or biking. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm sure I'll sneak in a ride or swim here and there!</p>
2016: Year of the Half Marathon2016-07-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/2016-year-half-marathon/<p>After gutting out my first 50-miler last year and paying for it until the snow flew in winter, I felt I needed to switch things up, so I declared 2016 my "year of the half marathon." I signed up for 5 that would work with my schedule, and started training from January onwards. It really is the <em>half year</em> of the <em>half marathon</em>, now that we're in July and they're all done, but it's catchy either way. I'm in triathlon training now and then marathon training for Corning Wineglass, but here's a fun recap of what made these races, and by extension the first half of the year, fun! I never came close to <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-half-marathon/">my half marathon PR</a> (maybe in the future, but I think that's optimistic), but adjusting for weather and elevation, I had pretty consistent results that I was happy with.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">Syracuse Half Marathon</a> After a harrowing drive up Route 81, an even <em>more</em> harrowing race (well, "SyraCRAZY"), with freezing temperatures, lake-effect snow and a writeup in Runner's World. I made it into a video that got over a half million hits. Ah, fame.</li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2016/">Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon</a> A family race, with the kids running the 10K and Amy and I did the half marathon. Xander ran his first solo 10K, with nobody to pace him. The thing I love about racing as a family is the stories we all have to tell!</li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/flower-city-half-marathon-2016/">Flower City Half Marathon</a> My third half marathon in 21 days. Amy came to run with me at the last minute, so it was a bit like a date! The 1:30 pacer provided good inspiration to keep digging deep, and I managed my best time of the year.</li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/bostons-run-to-remember-2016/">Boston's Run to Remember Half Marathon</a> Xander's first half marathon while Amy paced him, and Elizabeth and I raced. Wonderful support from the Boston community, and super-high energy! Really fun destination race for the family.</li>
<li><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2016/">Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</a> Back on home turf for the second running of this great race. Xander's second half marathon (he liked the first one, must be!) and Elizabeth paced him. Started and finished at the Ithaca Commons, and unmatched post-race food and Ithaca Beer. Very Ithaca, and very fun!</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>What's next?</strong> Well, next year I <em>may</em> have another go at the Cayuga Trails 50. I know I can do better than I did with smarter training and nutrition. We'll see ...</p>
New Year, New Rides, and a Thank You for Our Local Bike Shop2016-06-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/new-year-new-rides-thank-local-bike-shop/<p>Earlier this year, we decided to upgrade our bikes in anticipation of intermediate-distance triathlons. We worked with Anthony Lester at <a href="http://cayugaskiandcyclery.com/">Cayuga Ski & Cyclery</a>, who deftly shepherded us through the process of selecting, road testing and ordering bikes that turned out to be perfect for us.</p>
<p>Anthony was patient with our questions, and helped guide us to a pair of bikes: the Giant Defy Advanced 2 and the Liv Avail Advanced 2. After a few months of triathlon training, we are SO happy with our purchase.</p>
<p>From start to finish, Anthony was wonderful. He noted that our clipless pedals from our old bikes were better suited for leisure biking or mountain biking, and so we also purchased pedals and shoes more suited for our upcoming riding. He took great care to explain the differences in the clipless pedals they carried, and we opted for a pedal from <a href="http://www.timesport.fr/">Time</a>, which has a pre-open clipless system like a ski binding: once you slide your foot onto the pedal, it snaps your cleat into place like a mousetrap. A very nice improvement over what we used to have!</p>
<p>We were also impressed by the 90-day tuneup included with the bike purchase, where Anthony made sure the bike was adjusted properly after a break-in period of riding. He also helped us by properly fitting our kids onto their second-hand bikes.</p>
<p>If you ever need any kind of service, parts or are in the market for a new ride, <a href="http://cayugaskiandcyclery.com/">Cayuga Ski & Cyclery</a> is the place to go!</p>
A Most Creative Way to Give a Gift Certificate2016-06-23T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/creative-way-give-gift-certificate/<p>This Spring I had the pleasure of recording Trumansburg Central School's Band and Chorus concerts. My daughter sings in the high school chorus, plays percussion in high school band and jazz band, and my son sings in the middle school chorus and plays saxophone in the middle school band. Additionally, my daughter accompanies the choruses on piano. I found myself in a position to enjoy a perch on the catwalk and video these performances. If you want to check them out, <a href="https://vimeo.com/channels/trumansburgmusic">see my Music from Trumansburg Schools<br />
channel at vimeo.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Hope Lewis</strong> (High School bands) and <strong>Jenny Henion</strong> (High School chorus, vocal jazz and Middle School chorus) bought a gift certificate for me (which was totally not necessary!) and presented it in an incredibly creative way. One of my favorite mealtime hangouts is <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">Viva Taqueria</a>, and they give out their gift certificates in $5 increments (which I think is awesome). It inspired Hope and Jenny to make me earn 'em, or in musical parlance, "sing for my supper."</p>
<h2 id="the-invitation">The Invitation</h2>
<p><strong>Text from Jenny:</strong> Dear Sir or Madam - over the next ten days you will receive one (1) image of a $5 Viva gift certificate in varying locations, totaling $50 in Viva gift certificates after the tenth day. You must earn each $5 gift by identifying the location of the image.</p>
<p><em>So, this was going to be really cool!</em> Over the ten days, my wife and kids got in on the action, wanting to see the picture before I could get to it. The challenge was so fun! See if you can figure days 1-9 out from the picture above before scrolling down too far. Then, enjoy this miniature tour of Ithaca and Trumansburg, as seen through the travel experiences of some very cool $5 gift certificates!</p>
<h2 id="day-1">Day 1</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Little Venice" title="Little Venice" /><p class="stickyNote">Little Venice</p></div>
<p>Your first challenge is: identify this location.</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Now that's really cool idea, so thoughtful! It reminds me of this time when I was LITTLE and won a trip to <a href="http://www.littlevenicet-burg.com/">VENICE</a>!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Hooray! You have earned one (1) $5 certificate. Stay tuned tomorrow for your next challenge. 😁</p>
<h2 id="day-2">Day 2</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Parking lot near Viva" title="Parking lot near Viva" /><p class="stickyNote">Parking lot near Viva</p></div>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> I'm not sure where that is, but I do know I'm sad they're putting a new building up on top of the PARKING LOT near <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">VIVA</a>!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Hooray! You've earned $10 in Viva certificates.</p>
<h2 id="day-3">Day 3</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_3.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Wegmans" title="Wegmans" /><p class="stickyNote">Wegmans</p></div>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Did you know that one of our criteria for a place to build our house was that we could get to <a href="http://www.wegmans.com/">WEGMANS</a> on a regular basis?</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Now that's just smart. And you've earned $15 in viva rewards!</p>
<h2 id="day-4">Day 4</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_4.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My daughter at Island Health & Fitness" title="My daughter at Island Health & Fitness" /><p class="stickyNote">My daughter at Island Health & Fitness</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Hey little girl, want some viva bucks?? Where are you?</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> The smart money's on the girl who knows that <a href="http://www.islandhealthfitness.com/">ISLAND HEALTH & FITNESS</a> is the best place to get your pre-Viva <a href="http://www.lesmills.com/us/workouts/fitness-classes/bodypump/">BodyPump</a> on.</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Congratulations! $20 towards a Viva night out!</p>
<h2 id="day-5">Day 5</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_5.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Buttermilk Falls State Park" title="Buttermilk Falls State Park" /><p class="stickyNote">Buttermilk Falls State Park</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Where is today's Viva gift certificate?</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Oh so you thought that'd be tough but it was not the BEAR (TRAIL) you thought it'd be. Amy and I both got this one independently! We're as smooth as fresh <a href="http://www.visitithaca.com/attractions/buttermilk-falls-state-park-216">BUTTERMILK</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Haha did Amy want me to know she actually got this one? Hooray! $25 you've earned!</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> She sure did! This is SO much fun.</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> And you're half way there!</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> By the way, I think this is an incredibly creative way of giving somebody a gift, and if it's OK with you and Hope, when it's all over, I was thinking about writing about it on my blog</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Of course! I'm glad you have such a positive attitude about being forced to earn a gift after already going above and beyond providing a service 😄</p>
<h2 id="day-6">Day 6</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_6.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Black Diamond Trail" title="Black Diamond Trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Black Diamond Trail</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Today Viva gift is lost. Can you help?</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> I think I can help, but first we must note that if the certificate were darker, like a lot darker, it'd be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trails_in_Ithaca,_New_York#Black_Diamond_Trail">BLACK DIAMOND</a> in the rough. On-on!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Congratulations! You've earned $30 in viva bucks. AND you used <a href="http://ithacah3.org/about/hashing-101/">hashing language</a>! On on!</p>
<h2 id="day-7">Day 7</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_7.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ithaca College" title="Ithaca College" /><p class="stickyNote">Ithaca College</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Viva is refreshing and so is this landmark!</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Some people like mountains, and some people like FOUNTAINS. I think the Ithaca College seniors are particularly fond of the one outside <a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/photos/724/?image_id=65026">DILLINGHAM</a>!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> That's $35 in viva bucks! You can almost taste the margaritas now!</p>
<h2 id="day-8">Day 8</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_8.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ithaca Children's Garden" title="Ithaca Children's Garden" /><p class="stickyNote">Ithaca Children's Garden</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Where are your Viva bucks now??</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> This turtle has a hard shell, but not the same kind of shell I'd fill with tofu and calabacitas. No sir. But I could get my taco to go and lounge in the <a href="http://ithacachildrensgarden.org/">ITHACA CHILDREN'S GARDEN</a>!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Good one! I wondered how you'd fare with this one! Well done! $40 in viva buck to you my good sir!</p>
<h2 id="day-9">Day 9</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_9.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Robert H. Treman State Park" title="Robert H. Treman State Park" /><p class="stickyNote">Robert H. Treman State Park</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> It doesn't get much more refreshing than this!</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Uh-oh. You may have gotten me on this one, since Ithaca's GORGES and WATERFALLS are plentiful. So many choices! Did you wander from the trail a bit at BUTTERMILK?</p>
<h2 id="day-9-(try-again!)">Day 9 (Try Again!)</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_9a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The Old Mill" title="The Old Mill" /><p class="stickyNote">The Old Mill</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Here's a hint. When I stepped back, I saw a little more scenery:</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Oh, God bless you for the extra context, for now I know that you are standing before the <a href="http://tremanparkfriends.org/">OLD MILL at TREMAN</a></p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Hooray! You've earned $45 viva bucks! Only one day left of the challenge!</p>
<h2 id="day-10">Day 10</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/vivataqueria_10.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Friends Rob and Chantelle at Viva!" title="Friends Rob and Chantelle at Viva!" /><p class="stickyNote">Friends Rob and Chantelle at Viva!</p></div>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> And on this, the final day of your Viva challenge, an easy one. The place where all your dreams come true. The place where it all began. The one. The only.</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Oh, that's a slow pitch across the center of the plate, for sure. I hope y'all have some chips, salsa and guac while you're waiting for a table at <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">VIVA</a>! And, get yourself another round, Chantelle. Looks that that margarita glass is half empty (yes, I'm a pessimist when it comes to margarita volume). This has been super fun, Jenny. Thank you!</p>
<p><strong>Jenny:</strong> Truth be told, this picture was taken 10 or so days ago when the challenge began. It has been waiting for this finale! Congratulations! Your $50 in Viva bucks await!</p>
Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20162016-06-18T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2016/<p>This was the second running of the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon, and it turns out we'd ALL run this one, as Xander was "all in" after having run his first half marathon in Boston a few weeks prior. Amy wrote about her race and the kids over at <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2/">skirtrunner.com</a>, too. I committed to run a bunch of half marathons this year, and this would be my fifth and last (planned) half of the year. I would have liked to run Catharine Valley later in the summer, but alas, vacation awaits! As was the case last year, Ian Golden of <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/">Red Newt Racing</a> did a great job setting up this race. From start to finish, from packet pickup to the post-race party, it was all good, all fun, and all Ithaca.</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>I was coming into this race after having raced a LOT since April: four half marathons, a triathlon, the May Day 5M and the Ithaca Festival Mile. Starting around mid-April, I had shifted from primarily running to full-blown triathlon training, reducing my weekly running mileage from 25 miles a week to about 15. I was swimming and biking a lot more, of course, so my overall training <em>time</em> per week was just about doubled!</p>
<p>Despite the 7:30a race start, Amy and were able to wake on our normal 5a schedule, have coffee and breakfast, and have a rather chill morning. We woke the kids a bit later and all enjoyed our pre-race routines, finding comfortable parking near the Ithaca Commons, and milling around the start talking with friends beforehand. It was really nice having the start ON the Ithaca Commons. There were plenty of places to hang out, and it was not a problem lining up near the front, given my aspirations to run a strong race from the start.</p>
<h2 id="the-race%3A-gorges-ithaca-half-marathon">The Race: Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</h2>
<p>I saw <a href="http://www.cayugamed.org/PTcontent.cfm?profileID=15&serviceID=95">Brian Lee</a> near the start, and felt obliged to sidle up and tell him about the last time I swam, when he was in the lane next to me. He's a really great athlete, and I was intimidated when he started swimming next to me, managing 25 yards in the pool before I could get 2/3 of the way there. I told him so, and he was gracious ... but it's true. It's amazing that whatever level you're at, there's always something to aspire to!</p>
<p>The timers asked us to come closer to the start pad, and nobody was really moving much. I started to shuffle forward, saying under my breath that I didn't want to be <em><strong>that</strong></em> close, and I think Brian said, "Well, you are now!" As this <a href="http://galleries.theascendcollective.com/2016-gorges-half-marathon-rnr/p/NTU0NjE0NDE3-MzkxODA0MDU0NA/">great photo from theascendcollective.com</a> shows, I was right up there, second from the right in bright yellow, five racers toeing the line.</p>
<p>We're off! The half marathon distance it interesting. It's short enough that you can pretty much go at a pretty good clip and know that you're not going to hit a wall, but it's long enough that you have to put up a good mental fight to keep that endurance for the entire 13.1 miles. As we ran through the first miles along the inlet, I spent a few minutes running next to Brian Lee, who would go on to take 3rd overall. No way could I keep his pace, and as we entered Cass Park, I dropped back. Heading South again on the other side of Route 89, it was inspiring to see the other runners heading into Cass. I think at this point I was in 5th place, and we were spread pretty thin. The Cayuga Waterfront Trail was a really nice stretch, with water views and boaters. Heading into the Farmer's Market area, though, I sensed a pack behind me, and while it spurred me on, I knew I'd have to govern my speed a bit to make the entire race work. Scotie Jacobs was in the pack, and urged me to keep up the pace. I really appreciated the friendly encouragement, and probably took this entire stretch a bit faster than I'd like. But hey, it's a race.</p>
<p>Heading up Renwick into Cayuga Heights was a mental beast. I put one foot in front of the other and made it up, but not before getting passed by a few more runners who were handling the climb better than I was. Strava tells me I did this split in 8:38, my slowest of the race but pretty fast in hindsight. It's funny: in the moment it feels sluggish and uninspiring, but those tough parts of the overall effort contribute more than their fair share to your sense of accomplishment. We skirted Cornell's West side, running past where I used to love waiting in late-night lines for <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/02/the-hot-truck.html">Hot Truck</a>. I bypassed the hasher table of beer as I turned onto Dewitt Place, and relished the twisting downhill that was Cascadilla Park Road. As I negotiated the tight turns, I couldn't help but think I could be on some narrow cobbled street in a small European hillside town. Beautiful.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/scotie-fist-bump.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Me and Scotie Jacobs, photo by Allison Usavage" title="Me and Scotie Jacobs, photo by Allison Usavage" /><p class="stickyNote">Me and Scotie Jacobs, photo by Allison Usavage</p></div>
<p>The last pitch of Cascadilla spit me out onto Linn Street, and I was especially grateful for the course crew here that ensured traffic was stopped. I sure wasn't planning to, given the gravity-assisted speed I had in this stretch (mid 5- to low 6-minute miles). Just a bit more than a mile left, and probably the most uninspiring mileage of the course. That is, until the finish line is in view, and you can almost taste the Ithaca Beer on your tongue as you approach the crowds. It was over. I gave Scotie Jacobs a fist bump, chatted up Brian Lee, and walked off what had been a very good race. I took a side trip to the car to put my finisher plate back and grab a bag to hold my water bottle, keys and phone, and returned to the finish to enjoy post-race and watch for Amy and the kids.</p>
<h2 id="post-race%3A-gorges-ithaca-half-marathon">Post-Race: Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/KJPM7794.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race deliciousness!" title="Post-race deliciousness!" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race deliciousness!</p></div>
<p>Amy finished with friends Christina and Jenny, and the kids were soon after. As with last year, the post-race accommodations did not disappoint. We got in a short line for some Ithaca Beer, and some delicious (early) lunch from Yellow Truck Catering. It was all on the Ithaca Commons, so we were quite comfortable with places to walk around and sit, and enjoy seeing other runners. Thought it was tough (as half marathons are), Xander was really pleased to have finished his second half marathon (he was the youngest runner!) and Elizabeth did a good job pacing him. I am sure it will be my turn next year, and the Dawson men will rock a half marathon together for sure.</p>
<h2 id="the-kids">The Kids</h2>
<p>At the age of 12, Xander was the youngest racer this year, which was really cool! As the kids finished, Ian Golden (on the tailgate of the white van, announcing) made a big deal of this. Ian also announced "The Dawson family is all in!" Racing together as a family is SO much fun, and we'll be doing plenty more of it!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/ABHS9784.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Elizabeth and Xander" title="Elizabeth and Xander" /><p class="stickyNote">Elizabeth and Xander</p></div>
<h2 id="the-route-%26-results">The Route & Results</h2>
<p>Here's my Strava route as captured by my TomTom watch.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/613040085/embed/d758b7e5c7cd3822d5d03cb212d37f5fb6b7fbd6" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>Though the course was different in this second running of the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon, I did beat last year's time by about 5 minutes! I won first in my age group (40-44) with a 1:32:43, while Scotie Jacobs, also in my age group, took the Masters win in 1:29:17 (I saw him last by the Farmer's Market). Brian Lee, also a super athlete in our age group, took 3rd overall in 1:23:57 (I saw him last at mile 2, when <a href="http://galleries.theascendcollective.com/2016-gorges-half-marathon-rnr/p/NTU0NTE5MDYw-MTE5NjgxNDk0OA/">I was vamping for the camera and he was working hard</a>).</p>
<p><strong>Overall:</strong> 16 of 512<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 15 of 214<br />
<strong>Age Group 40-44:</strong> 3 of 46</p>
<h2 id="oh%2C-and-the-post-race-post-race%3F-mmm.">Oh, and The Post-Race Post-Race? Mmm.</h2>
<p>I'd be remiss if I didn't fast-forward a few hours. The kids had a piano recital in the afternoon, after which we headed home for some delicious homemade Mexican (our favorite), grilled sweet corn and some refreshing mango margaritas. I'll just put this picture here and make you hungry. See? Racing = Fun.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/IMG_3960.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Grilled sweet corn and some refreshing mango margaritas" title="Grilled sweet corn and some refreshing mango margaritas" /><p class="stickyNote">Grilled sweet corn and some refreshing mango margaritas</p></div>
Ithaca Festival Mile 20162016-06-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ithaca-festival-mile-2016/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Ithaca Festival Mile 2016 on June 3, 2016 in a time of 5:41.</p>
<iframe height="405" width="100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/597544618/embed/0b61dcc785d7bf54788d9875650bff423c4ca686"></iframe>Boston's Run to Remember 20162016-05-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/bostons-run-to-remember-2016/<p>My <em>"year of the half marathon"</em> rolls on, this time with a big out-of-state race! We rent our home for Cornell graduation, so found ourselves in need of a trip. We looked initially at Buffalo for the marathon, but the kids would have to spectate. We found Boston's Run to Remember as a half marathon option, and as a bonus there was no age restriction. So, this <em>could</em> be Xander's first half marathon! Xander and Elizabeth both trained for the race, enough so that they'd be able to finish it in a respectable time, and we packed our bags.</p>
<h2 id="before-the-race">Before the Race</h2>
<p>We spent Friday evening visiting my brother, his wife Sophie and son Marcus. We had a really nice homemade Ethiopian dinner and enjoyed a bottle of wine before talking and turning in for the evening. Saturday morning we headed into the city after a breakfast with them, and were able to get to the expo and our hotel for a comfortable check-in and packet pick-up. We stayed at the <a href="http://www.seaportboston.com/">Seaport Hotel</a>, which had the added bonus of being right at the start/finish line of the race, and right across the street from the expo.</p>
<p>We headed out into the relatively scorching heat of the day on foot. Saturday's high was 95 degrees, while respite would come overnight for a race temperature Sunday morning in the mid 60s. We walked a total of about 8 miles throughout the day in Boston, stopping at Faneuil Hall, Government Center, Anna's Taqueria in the Back Bay, Lederman Park, the Science Museum (a great iMax movie about the <a href="http://nationalparksadventure.com/">National Parks</a>, plus <a href="http://www.bostonducktours.com/">a ride on a duck tour</a>, something new for us), Galleria Mall (Starbucks, anyone?), and then back to the Seaport Hotel after some delicious pizza at <a href="http://www.crushpizza.com/">Crush</a> on State Street. Whew!</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/IMG_6280.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Dinner at Crush" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/IMG_6279.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Dinner at Crush" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/IMG_6281.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="The American flag" />
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<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<p>Race morning came quickly, and I really enjoyed the lack of pressure provided by the location of our hotel! We planned to get downstairs just 20 minutes prior to the start of the race, opting for the luxury of our hotel bathroom compared with the port-a-potties scattered throughout the start area. We cleared through a security line quickly, took a few family pictures, and bid adieu to each other.</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/FullSizeRender.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Four Dawsons, ready to run!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/IMG_6291.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Amy and Xander" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/06/IMG_6293.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Me and Elizabeth" />
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<h2 id="boston's-run-to-remember">Boston's Run to Remember</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/IMG_6295.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Lining up at the start" title="Lining up at the start" /><p class="stickyNote">Lining up at the start</p></div>
<p>I headed off to line up near the beginning, since my goal was consistent with prior half marathons this year, with a pace between 6:30 and 7 minutes per mile. Elizabeth lined up at her pace, and Amy and Xander lined up together since they were running together. The pre-race remarks and national anthem were quite nice, and a nice commemoration of first responders who had lost their lives in the line of duty. A poignant occasion, given the loss of two officers recently. There were a lot of runners wearing shirts from their police and fire departments. Soon, we were off and running across the bridge on Seaport Boulevard, heading into the heart of Boston.</p>
<p>I didn't look at my watch until mile 3, running along Beacon Street. I was flagging a bit, and felt my pace dropping. I am much better at perceiving pace now, and as I look back, I dropped 20 seconds per mile in that stretch. I reached for some water at the next aid station, and felt a good surge from that. In my haste to pack for the weekend, I didn't pack a handheld (would have been nice) or any kind of nutrition. I reached for a gatorade at the tail of the aid station before starting running again, and a runner blew by my right side, brushing my hand back and and away from the cup. He was apologetic, but that really sucked. I wanted what was in the glass. I started running again, and the ticker tape in my head scrolled by, saying <em>"No electrolytes for you just now, young man."</em></p>
<p>We took a right on Harvard Bridge, crossing the Charles to begin the two out-and-back sections of the course along Memorial Drive. Right around mile 6, police cars lined the street, lights flashing, with officers in front of their cars clapping for US. I felt an adrenaline surge as I clapped for THEM, and shouted "thank you!" as I ran by. Soon we turned again heading back toward the Harvard Bridge, and I saw Elizabeth pass by me going the other direction. She looked really strong, and was smiling. It was nice to see family amid the thousands of runners!</p>
<p>Shortly after the second turnaround and after seeing Elizabeth, I came upon an aid station handing out Gu! Oh, the serendipity. I had neglected to think about packing something for after an hour of working out, and as I grabbed the Gu (strawberry banana, mmm) from the volunteer, I was SO happy for the fortunate timing! I even featured it in one of my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/">#365DayDraw sketches</a> a few days later.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/IMG_6297.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done! " title="Done! " /><p class="stickyNote">Done! </p></div>
<p>It must have been about mile 10 that I realized I was running with someone. I'd been trading places with some of the runners around me, but as was the case with the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-half-marathon/">Wineglass Half</a> where Jason Husted and I started running together, leading to my PR, I was in lockstep with the woman beside me. From the results, I learned she was Sarah Pandiscio (we finished at exactly the same time), and I think it was a mutual pacing effort. We didn't talk too much, just an unspoken impression that we were going to keep turning over as quick as we were and make it to the finish. I quickened by 10-15 seconds per mile for the last five miles, solely due to having her push from the side. She had recently run the Brooklyn Half, and was really happy to be pushed as well. Despite the fatigue I felt, I kept thinking two things during the last 3 miles: a) your body is trained and can take this kind of abuse, and b) the abuse is <em>temporary.</em> Soon we were across the finish and shuffled into the expo hall for medals and post-race victuals.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/IMG_6336-e1464805199141.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Four bibs, all from the same BIG race" title="Four bibs, all from the same BIG race" /><p class="stickyNote">Four bibs, all from the same BIG race</p></div>
<p>Again, it was SO cool to have our hotel right across the street. I was able to get cleaned up and back over to the expo to see Elizabeth, Amy and Xander after they finished. We all had a great race, and especially Xander who finished with a sub 10-minute mile average pace! <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/bostons-run-to-remember">You should read all about his experience on Amy's site</a>. We enjoyed our trip home after a stop at my brother's house, a recovery walk around Walden Pond and some refueling at <a href="https://www.beerworks.net/">Framingham Beer Works</a>.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<ul>
<li>Time 1:29:51</li>
<li>18/596 in the M40-49 age group</li>
<li>116/6,214 overall</li>
<li><a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/16/ma/May29_Boston_set1.shtml">full results</a></li>
</ul>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/593244751/embed/e457c7fba93eb95a1b7e4625afa3c8a9c10466e7" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Trumansburg May Day 20162016-05-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5m-2016/<p>I was really excited to run the May Day this year, since I had to sit out last year after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-tale-of-woe-fractured-toe/">breaking my toe</a>. No such bad luck this year! This race is always a family affair since Amy co-organizes the race, and she does such a great job with it! We had gotten delivery of hundreds of t-shirts and water bottles, put out sign boards on Main Street, and kept the social media pipeline full leading up to the race. There's that, and so much more she does behind the scenes!</p>
<p>Race morning, I drove around after dropping Amy at the school and put out the mile markers. Later in the morning, I'd be running by these, but paradoxically I wouldn't notice them. I know the route really well, and at a 5-mile distance, it's pretty much an all-out effort the whole time. Pacing? Nah. Elizabeth and Xander would be running today, too, the 5M and 5K distances respectively.</p>
<p>Pre-race we had access to the elementary school cafeteria and bathrooms, so I enjoyed milling around inside and outside talking to friends. My son Xander sang the national anthem on the tailgate of a truck, just before he toed the line for his own race.</p>
<p>I lined up right on the start pad (a new feature from the timer this year, and well worth it!) We were off quickly, and I glanced around to see who was nearby, as it was a mix of 5K and 5M.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/26741671260_dddff32318_o-e1464800190783.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Approaching the bottom of Rabbit, the eventual winner on my heels" title="Approaching the bottom of Rabbit, the eventual winner on my heels" /><p class="stickyNote">Approaching the bottom of Rabbit, the eventual winner on my heels</p></div>
<p>At the Rabbit Run split, we 5-milers were on our own, and as we approached the lowest elevation of the course, I had taken over the lead, just in time for my Dad to snap a picture at the turnaround. I lost the lead going uphill, though, and focused on not having that gap grow any larger over time.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/27125705251_1791c906a9_o-e1464800420709.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Approaching the finish" title="Approaching the finish" /><p class="stickyNote">Approaching the finish</p></div>
<p>I was grateful to get past the fairgrounds back entrance onto mostly level ground again, and felt my legs get a bit lighter. Turning back onto the main course with the rest of the 5K racers provided a bit of an extra boost, seeing all those runners and bobbing and weaving. I tried to keep my eyes on the two 5-mile leaders now. No way to catch them, but a quick glance behind me and I knew that unless something catastrophic went down, I'd be in third. I held that place all the way to the end, really pleased to have a fast, downhill finish and some great post-race amenities!</p>
<p>Post-race was like pre-race, walking around and talking to people, everyone pretty happy with their race. It's such a family-friendly event, with a lot of kids and multi-generational groups working together toward a common goal. The icing on the cake was collecting my masters price from Amy: it's not every day you get to kiss the race organizer!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/06/26948324241_ef52335c21_o-e1464800268349.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="You don't get to kiss the race organizer every day!" title="You don't get to kiss the race organizer every day!" /><p class="stickyNote">You don't get to kiss the race organizer every day!</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<ul>
<li>Time 32:55 <em>(5 seconds slower than my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5k-5m-2014/">2-years-younger time</a>, not bad!)</em></li>
<li>1/7 in the M40-49 age group <em>(master's winner)</em></li>
<li>3/53 overall</li>
</ul>
Ithaca YMCA Tri for the Y (2016)2016-05-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ithaca-ymca-tri-y-2016/<p>Since Amy and I are stepping up to the intermediate distance for the Cayuga Lake Triathlon this year, I'm taking training a bit more seriously, and have been biking and swimming a lot over the last few weeks, in addition to a pared-back running schedule. We signed up for this early-season triathlon to support the <a href="http://www.ithacaymca.com/">Ithaca YMCA</a>, and it's a great race to kick off the season! The morning dawned with a subpar weather forecast, with race temperatures in the mid-40s. That's really cold (for me) for a bike ride, so I carefully considered what to wear. I chose to swim in tri shorts, add thermal running tights, a long-sleeved tech shirt, windbreaker and gloves for the ride, and then to ditch the gloves and windbreaker for the run. As we pulled into the parking lot, it started to sprinkle lightly, yet it gratefully didn't stick around.</p>
<p>This triathlon starts in the pool with a modest 400 yard swim, followed by a 15-mile bike ride and a 4.2 mile run. There's a max of 12 people in each 15-minute staggered heat, due to the pool capacity. Amy's heat went off at 8:30, after which I had a 45-minute period of hanging out and getting ready for my heat. I found one of the few guys I knew in my heat, <a href="http://www.cayugamed.org/SMcontent.cfm?profileID=23&serviceID=95">Adrian Western,</a> and told him something I'd thought of when I learned we'd be swimming together: I asked if we could share a lane, since I wanted to have the lane to myself for part of the swim. He's a really competitive triathlete, and I knew he'd be getting out before me! I plunged into my lane, got my swim cap on and went to put on my goggles. The strap <em>snapped off</em> and I was holding a broken pair of goggles! Luckily, I was able to snap it back together, as the plastic had not broken. <em>Whew.</em> After we did a few warmup laps, Adrian and I talked before getting started.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/05/tequila-shot-cinco-de-mayo-her-sweat.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>Hey, this water is kind of briny. It's like a chlorine/brine combo. You know what would be really cool? They could have tequila shots at one end of the pool, limes at the other, and we'd have our salt during the swim. Then by the time we're done we'd really be <strong>ready</strong> for the cold bike.</p>
<p>We were having fun, like an opener trying to warm up a comedy club crowd before they hit the 2 drink minimum. Or rather, like trying to warm up our bodies in a cold room. He said he heard it was really, really hot outside. I said they were pulling people off the course for heatstroke. We spread the word up and down the line that it'd be important for people to keep hydrating, and to especially watch their electrolyte levels. That's really important, you know, when it's 40.</p>
<p>Enough playful witty pre-race banter. It was time! For the first 2 of 8 laps of the swim, I kept up with Adrian. I realized quickly that this would not be a good long-term strategy, and held back a few seconds at the far end of the 3rd lap. I focused my efforts on recalling what <a href="https://kaizen-durance.com/">Shane</a> had taught me during Total Immersion, and found myself calming, focusing on my strokes and gliding. I was at the far end of the pool as Adrian exited, so I was about 25 yards behind him. Not bad. I finished the swim in 6:56, good for 18th of 86 racers and a solid improvement over my only other go at this triathlon in 2008, where I notched a 9:14.</p>
<p>Ours was quite a competitive heat, and it seemed that we all exited the pool at roughly the same time. We were all fighting the cold of the parking lot to transition to biking, but I had quite the wardrobe change to accomplish with cold, wet skin. I got it done fast enough, and was eager to get out on the bike course. It felt so good to get my legs moving, and soon I was cruising through the back roads near the airport and further east. At about mile 3, I got passed by <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/274797">Craig McManus</a>, who shouted some words of encouragement as he passed. He'd be the only one who passed me on the ride, which I was really happy about. The 7th mile was an unrelenting uphill section, and I found myself standing most of that time, trying to keep a good pace but also get through it quickly. Turning westward again, gravity was my friend but the wind was not, and I was grateful to have a windbreaker. I made my body as small as possible, and managed to enjoy some good stretches in the mid-20 mph range during the second half. I cruised into transition after enjoying some fast sections of Warren, Cherry and Triphammer with a time of 52:53, 11th of 86. In 2008, the same ride (different bike, a <em>mountain bike</em>) with Amy took 1:23:41. I didn't mention the bike yet - Amy and I upgraded our bikes this year, and I got a Giant Defy Advanced 2. Anthony and the crew at <a href="http://cayugaskiandcyclery.com/">Cayuga Ski and Cyclery</a> were great, both with our new purchases and with making sure the kids were fit well onto their hand-me-down and second-hand bikes.</p>
<p>I felt really good heading out for the run, opting to leave my tights on. My watch wasn't picking up satellites for some odd reason, so I only have data from after the first quarter mile. I made good time on the uphill stretch, and once I turned left onto Warren, I settled into a good pace, right around 7-minute miles. Ironically I managed to pass Craig again, which got me thinking about one of the cool parts of this race, that everyone has their strengths. I've been running a lot through the winter and this spring with half marathons, and it showed. I ended up passing a lot of people on the run, including some from the prior heat. My bike and swim can get better with time, but when you combine the three events, it equalizes things just a bit. Everyone was so friendly, by the way, racers and volunteers alike. Another reason I LOVE racing - it's socially a very good time. I finished the run quite out of breath but with a lot left in my legs had I slowed a bit, ending up with a run time of 31:19, 8th of 86. In 2008, Amy and I ran together in a 52:21.</p>
<p>Amy and I quickly got cleaned up to head back home to a Mother's Day celebration, but not before enjoyed some post-race food and talking with friends. Definitely a fun race to start off the season! Overall, I had a time of 1:31:08 <em>(about 55 minutes faster than 2008)</em> and won a medal for 1st in the M 40-44 age group. I'm pretty excited for Cayuga Lake Triathlon, and the upcoming training on my calendar!</p>
<p><strong>Related:</strong> <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/tri-y-2016/">Read Amy's race report over at skirtrunner.com</a></p>
Flower City Half Marathon 20162016-04-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/flower-city-half-marathon-2016/<p>My "year of the half marathon" rolls on, this weekend with the Flower City Half Marathon in Rochester, NY. After the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">"Syra-crazy" half in Syracuse</a> and <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2016/">Skunk Cabbage in Ithaca</a>, I wasn't sure how it would go <em>(my third half marathon in 21 days)</em>, but I have been enjoying the results of having run all winter and maintaining a base of fitness perpetually ready to run a fast half. I have some breathing room before my final two half marathons of the year: Boston's Run to Remember on May 29 (all four of us are running, including the kids) and Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon on June 18.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/04/IMG_6081.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me, pre-race" title="Amy and me, pre-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me, pre-race</p></div>
<p>I convinced Amy to come with me and run at the last minute, and I was really grateful she did. We enjoyed our drive together, and same-day packet pick-up was a breeze. We spent some time stretching before it was time to get to the start line, and it turns out we both had erred on the wrong side with the "what to wear" decision. The sun was out, which made the 36 degree start feel a lot warmer, and it only got more so as the race progressed.</p>
<p>The energy level was really great at this race, with music and announcers keeping us energized before starting. I said hello to my friend Wendy, a Fleet Feet 2:00 pacer for the day <em>(a week after running Boston, impressive!)</em> and also saw Scott and Laura Voorhees on their way to the start. Right on time we were headed out onto sun-drenched vacant streets. I set a brisk 6:30-ish pace for the first six miles of the race: between miles 3 and 6 I was running with a younger woman who was a really great pacer, but alas, I could not hold on. As the race course ascended on Goodman Street and looped up in to Highland Park, I dropped into the low 7-minute miles and really lost some confidence, getting passed a lot as we entered into the cemetery.</p>
<p>In the Mount Hope cemetery, there's was an awesome sight in one of the earlier turns (there were many). It was a mausoleum (or columbaria, I'm not sure) emblazoned with the surname "Strong". Yes, I was tired, and I would need to be STRONG to keep on track. That, and I knew the 1:30 pacer, Mike Rizzo, was not far behind me. During one of the turns, I saw him about 50 yards back, and I set an intention to NOT let him pass. If I could manage that, I could set a season PR (on a tough course), besting my Skunk time of 1:30 flat. I was getting really HOT at this point, too. My thermal tights seemed a poor choice, as I'd taken off my gloves and arm warmers and was just running in a t-shirt on top. Couldn't change much about that now! As we came down out of the cemetery onto the Genesee River path (never-ending, it seemed), I quickened my pace again and managed the last 3 miles at a 6:50, 6:59 and 6:45. The crowd energy was really great as we approached the finish chute, and I smiled as I saw the clock when I crossed: 1:29:18. I was really happy to have challenged myself and made it, just under my goal.</p>
<p>I enjoyed cheering Amy into the finish and we enjoyed the post-race pizza before heading back home, content that our fitness was in the bag for the day. We were both really happy to have raced, and to have had such a good time.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Chip Time:</strong> 1:29:18<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 50 of 2119<br />
<strong>Male 40 to 44:</strong> 2 of 105<br />
<strong>All Male:</strong> 43 of 866</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/555597861/embed/97c08f7e0f0ba1e8e582cccf358b457a975b4359" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20162016-04-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2016/<p>Just a week after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/">the "Syracrazy" half marathon in Syracuse</a>, we had all signed up to run Skunk Cabbage as a family! The kids were tackling the 10K, while Amy and I opted for the half marathon. I was grateful for quick recovery from Syracuse, as my hamstrings loosened up just after a few days and some good stretching and rolling at home.</p>
<p>We had a full day in store, with the race followed by acting rehearsals for the boys and baking for Amy. We dropped a car off at Island so we'd have two vehicles in Ithaca, and arrived at Barton Hall a comfortable half hour before the half marathon started at 10. It was nice catching up with running friends while we all kept warm inside. It was like a spring-time reunion, though the start temperature was a non-balmy 28 degrees. We all thronged to the start line just before 10, so the race held a few minutes to allow everyone to get into place. The kids would keep warm until their start time at 10:15. I lined up next to <a href="https://ellieslicesbagels.wordpress.com/">Ellie Pell</a> at the start <em>(though that would be the only time I'd see her; she'd go on to set a course record and win 1st female)</em> and we exchanged a few encouraging words before we were off.</p>
<p>It was such a refreshing change from last week. I was wearing Brooks PureFlows, enjoying the dry pavement and the corresponding traction, and the lightness of the shoe. I set off just under a 7 minute mile, and tried to keep it steady through the first 5+ miles of moderate climbing. After a few miles, I started running with Gerrit Van Loon, whose endurance is remarkable both in road races and ultras. We chatted sporadically, but mostly spurred each other on through the latter miles.</p>
<p>It seemed far warmer than I thought it would be. The gloves came off first after a few miles, then about halfway through I lost the arm warmers. It was an odd feeling to be running in thermal tights and a light tech shirt, but it worked out just fine, and my temperature never really got uncomfortable. Well, at least until I stopped running at the end ... then I was FREEZING!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/04/IMG_6013.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Masters Winner!" title="Masters Winner!" /><p class="stickyNote">Masters Winner!</p></div>
<p>The last four miles, while flat and moderately downhill, were really where I had to focus on my pace. Someone who looked close to my age (he was 38) was on my heels, and I had kicked a bit to get ahead. Keeping my head engaged, despite the physical discomfort, worked wonders in this case. With the downhill assist, I negative split these miles at 7:03, 6:54, 6:39, 6:22 and a final tenth sprint at 5:14. I was so grateful to cross the line, and EXACTLY at 1:30:00. I tried really hard to sprint it out at the end so there'd be no seconds beyond 1:30, and I wasn't sure if I'd done that until they posted the results. While looking at the results, although I didn't set a course PR for myself, I found out that I was the masters winner! There were three veteran (50-59) winners that finished before me, so I have a feeling my fastest days are in front of me!</p>
<p>Elizabeth had a great race, getting third place in her (huge) age group of 20 and under, and Xander ran his first solo 10K, with nobody to pace him. They both had great times, and they enjoyed the post-race socializing just as much as we did. The thing I love about racing as a family is the stories we all have to tell. They came out during our dinner and breakfast conversation the next day, and I'm sure there'll be more. There are no action photos of Elizabeth running since she was the first to finish and became our unofficial photographer, so we can't wait to see the ever talented <a href="http://stevegallow.smugmug.com/Sports/Skunk-Cabbage-FLRC">Steve Gallow's photographs of the event</a> when they're ready!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> 1:30:00<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 30 of 619<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 27 of 309<br />
<strong>Age Group:</strong> 1 of 30</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/541765023/embed/6ba983c646c554bcb5ccef6292cc18478c5c8d00" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Syracuse Half Marathon 20162016-04-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/syracuse-half-marathon-2016/<p>The fourth running of Syracuse's half marathon was <em>supposed</em> to be more temperate, as the organizers moved the race forward a few weeks after some brutally cold races. This year, Mother Nature had something else in mind. The forecast was accompanied by a winter weather advisory AND a wind advisory, so I could count on this race being <em>memorable</em>. I thought as I was running, though, that if Dickens was running this race, he would have summarized it thusly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was the best of times (ahem, wait, NO!), it was definitely the worst of times.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I arrived early after a harrowing drive up Route 81. Starting in Dryden, the roads got so bad, and had not yet been treated, that driving felt more like driving antique cars on a track at the fair. There was a single lane to travel, right in the middle of the road. I love our Honda Pilot, which steadfastly fulfilled its duties and got me there safely. Exiting into a snow-covered parking lot, I decided to trade my Brooks Pure Flows for Altra Lone Peak trail shoes. Turned out to be a wise choice.</p>
<p>I'll cut to the chase and get to the race. It started right on time, and we were off on a slush-covered route that ran straight northeast from the start. I marveled at the commitment of the volunteers and photographers that were out in the horrible conditions (26 degrees and wind). I had opted for a compression top, compression thermal tights and a lime green windbreaker, along with a hat and light gloves. I was glad for this, as around mile 6 the weather turned WORSE. A driving wind and hail had us running heads down, trying our best to shield our faces from the onslaught (I was in a group of people at this point, running side-by-side).</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/04/IMG_5975.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Syracuse Half Marathon Post-Race Photo" title="Syracuse Half Marathon Post-Race Photo" /><p class="stickyNote">Syracuse Half Marathon Post-Race Photo</p></div>
<p>The hail turned to a full-on lake-effect snowstorm that did not relent 'til the finish, and only then because I got in my car to change into dry clothes. At times during the last half of the race, I turned my windbreaker hood to the side to protect the side of my face from the wind and snow, which turned out to be quite effective. For most of the second half, Syracuse's snowy streets were interrupted only be a straight single-track line, where all runners had run the same steps. I could only sympathize for those behind me that had to deal with this compressed track as it further iced over. We might as well have been running on trail!</p>
<p>I was so grateful to finish, and felt like I'd been through something truly unique. These were the worst conditions I've ever run in. I had ice in my eyebrows and weighing down my eyelashes, and men with beards were sporting chunks of ice as they wandered into the On Center, eager for warmth and pancakes.</p>
<p>The post-race food was good, but sparingly given. I had a pancake (singular), slice of bacon, medallion of sausage and a small slice of pizza, but also indulged at the less stringently monitored table of bagels, bananas and chocolate milk.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>This was NOT a day to have a personal record. The lack of traction and inclement weather made me grateful to finish as strong as I could. We'll save the PRs for later, okay?</p>
<p><strong>Net Time:</strong> 1:39:50 (I pushed it at the end to get under 1:40)<br />
<strong>Age Group (40-44):</strong> 13/143<br />
<strong>Men:</strong> 122/1289<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 152/3730</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/534851548/embed/65e56a6340fa763a18bcf7b8c81b9ebd4a671d67" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<h2 id="update%3A-syracuse-half-marathon-in-runner's-world">Update: Syracuse Half Marathon in Runner's World</h2>
<p>Well, this race was SO extreme it ended up in <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/races/watch-syracuse-half-marathon-runners-go-through-hail">Runner's World</a>. There's a video on the page by a spectator near the end of the race, and it took several viewings to realize it was ME in the lime green windbreaker leading the pack 40 seconds in. What are the chances?</p>
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsteveandkris%2Fvideos%2F10207979237513051%2F&show_text=0&width=267" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>
<hr />Floating Footer Notification2016-04-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/floating-footer-notification/<p>Sometimes a full-blown confirmation page is way overkill, and a JavaScript alert box is passé (and obnoxious). In certain circumstances, after an Ajax event completes, for example, a passive notification that appears long enough to read and then disappears can be quite effective. This floating footer notification code sample shows it at the bottom of the page, regardless of the user scroll, but you could put it anywhere in the page that's visible to the user. Just one CSS class and one JavaScript function is all you need.</p>
<h2 id="floating-footer-notification---css-and-javascript">Floating Footer Notification - CSS and JavaScript</h2>
<iframe height="400" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/KpRWQR?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Quick Tip: Don't Forget Birthdays and Anniversaries2016-02-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/quick-tip-dont-forget-birthdays-and-anniversaries/<p>I'm horrible with dates. We've tried several ways to keep track of the birthdays and anniversaries in our lives, but I recently came upon the best, relatively low-tech (and free) way to help me <em>not forget</em> those special days.</p>
<p>We've long been using either Evernote or a Google Doc to keep track of gift ideas and gift history for birthdays and anniversaries, but how best to be proactively reminded of an upcoming special day, and know the answer to the question, <em>"how many years have they been married?"</em></p>
<h2 id="use-a-google-sheet-to-keep-track-of-birthdays-and-anniversaries">Use a Google Sheet to Keep Track of Birthdays and Anniversaries</h2>
<p>I created a Google Sheet for the second question, and you can <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WGeRyb5vb1pLMYIsTR8sojXCHbprLXqclUwlK8tciZc/edit?usp=sharing">access it and make a copy for yourself</a>. The formulas are all in place, so all you have to do when you add new rows is fill the formulas down. Fill in the name, occasion and the date, and columns D-G will tell you:</p>
<ol>
<li>When's the <em>next</em> special day?</li>
<li>How many days until that next special day?</li>
<li>How old / how many years as of now?</li>
<li>How old / how many years as of the next special day?</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="get-reminders-for-birthdays-and-anniversaries">Get Reminders for Birthdays and Anniversaries</h2>
<p>With this in place, I looked for a way to be reminded proactively of upcoming events. I found the perfect solution in <a href="http://www.mominder.com/">moMinder.com</a>. It's a free service, and does exactly what it advertises: sends you an email reminder 7 days <em>(enough time to order and send a present or card)</em> before your event, then another in 3 days <em>(enough time to call ahead)</em>, and another on the day.</p>
Classroom Tech: Teaching Math with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil2016-02-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/teaching-math-with-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil/<p><strong>March 2020 Update:</strong> See Amy's new posts about virtual teaching when your school is closed, summarized at <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/virtual-teaching-in-the-age-of-covid-19-and-coronavirus/">Virtual Teaching in the Age of COVID-19 and Coronavirus</a></p>
<p><strong>February 2018 Update:</strong> Amy is back with an updated post on her Math teaching blog. A lot has changed technologically in two years, but with iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, Apple TV, ForScore and other apps, you can almost always come up with more ways to use technology to teach! <a href="https://mathista.org/2018/02/24/using-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil-for-teaching/">mathista.org: Using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for Teaching</a></p>
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<p><em><strong>This is a guest post from my wife Amy, who used an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil in the classroom with great success.</strong> She used a combination of apps with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, and shares her story here. You can find more of her posts over at <a href="https://mathista.org/">mathista.org</a>.</em></p>
<hr />
<p>This fall I took a long-term substitute job in my kids’ school district. I have been out of the classroom for over a decade, and during those years curriculum and technology have changed a great deal. I knew the learning curve would be steep when I stepped back into the classroom, but I was ready for the challenge.</p>
<p>Luckily the classroom I entered had a broken <a href="http://education.smarttech.com/">Smartboard</a>. Did I say <em>lucky</em>? <strong>Yes!</strong> This is how I felt as I started the job of teaching Algebra and Math 8 students in late October. Because they weren’t used to being taught using the Smartboard, this would be one area that I would have some built-in time to get up to speed. My own kids (grades 9 and 6) promised they’d help me learn to use the Smartboard as soon as it was up and running.</p>
<p>As the weeks went on, I got my teaching sea legs back and was eager to start using the Smartboard. After all, we’d entered a graphing unit in one of my classes and this technology would make things A LOT easier for teaching. The major problem with the board was that it wouldn’t calibrate. This means that when you write, what you are writing shows up an inch or more away from where you actually wrote it on the board. One day after school my kids helped try to calibrate it, and we thought we had it working. However, after a day of trying to use it in my Algebra class, I quickly realized that it was still enough off that it wasn’t very helpful.</p>
<h2 id="using-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil-with-apple-tv">Using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil with Apple TV</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/02/IMG_0060.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>So, the Smartboard was still broken, but I realized that I could use my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and connect it to the Apple TV in the classroom (which is conveniently displayed <em>on</em> the Smartboard). I used the <a href="https://www.fiftythree.com/">Paper app</a> and pulled up a blank note of graph paper. With my Math 8 classes, we started to graph lines on the grid and we worked on solving problems using the multi-colored pens available in the app.</p>
<p>Paper was great for what I was doing at the time. We were graphing lines in the y = mx+b form and the graph paper of 10x10 in the app worked very well. However, I knew that as we progressed into larger values, it would be a problem for me. I wished I could use Google Drive for any document and have it be interactive the way Paper was.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/02/IMG_0059.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Using Paper with a combination of apps with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to show algebraic substitutions" title="Using Paper with a combination of apps with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to show algebraic substitutions" /><p class="stickyNote">Using Paper with a combination of apps with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to show algebraic substitutions</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/02/Screen-Shot-2016-02-16-at-9.38.47-AM.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="forScore" title="forScore" /><p class="stickyNote">forScore</p></div>
<p>My daughter is a musician and she uses the <a href="http://forscore.co/">forScore</a> app for her piano music (<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/web-design-development/ipad-pro-for-pianists-up-and-running-with-forscore/">read more about her initial iPad Pro for Pianists review</a>). She recently purchased an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil for her music. One day while I was out for an afternoon run, I had a <strong>GREAT</strong> idea! I’d seen her annotate and pull in music to forScore using screen shots of paper music. <em>Could I use forScore for my math classes?</em> I mentioned it to her and she said, “of course ... you can pull anything in there!”</p>
<p>Soon we were taking screen shots of Google Drive documents, graph paper and even blank paper for notes. forScore pairs with <a href="http://www.docscannerapp.com/">DocScanner</a>, so there are times that I scan in a document that I have a printed copy of. I’m able to use all the annotating features; highlighters, different colored pens, the eraser, text box etc. The Apple Pencil is fantastic paired with the iPad Pro. There's no lag when writing, so it feels very natural, just like a real pencil on paper. However, when writing on the Smartboard, there's a bit of a lag which can interrupt your flow.</p>
<p>The Smartboard has since been updated and a new projector was installed. It now calibrates properly so I am able to use it as intended, connected to my desktop computer. However, because I was forced to find this solution and think outside the box, I now have this option as well.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/IMG_3676.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="iPad Pro projecting to SmartBoard via Apple TV" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/IMG_0057.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="forScore with graph paper" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/IMG_0058.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="forScore with a scanned worksheet" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/IMG_0056.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="forScore with a scanned worksheet" />
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<h2 id="teacher-tips%3A-using-the-ipad-pro-and-apple-pencil">Teacher Tips: Using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil</h2>
<p><strong>Formulas</strong> - The Google Drive app doesn’t work well with math formulas. Even if you have created a document on the Google Drive desktop using formulas, when you open it in the app, formulas don’t show up. As a result, you can’t take a screen shot of a document with formulas in Drive. To use documents with formulas, use DocScanner to scan the paper copy and pull it into forScore.</p>
<p><strong>Erasing</strong> - The eraser in forScore can’t change size the way it can in some other apps. You can use the side of the Apple pencil to make your eraser larger than if you just use the tip.</p>
<p><strong>Organizing Documents in forScore</strong> - To organize your documents, give them a title and then label them by composer. For example, some of my “composers” are: <em>Module 3 Lesson 3</em> and <em>Graph Paper</em>.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/02/IMG_0055.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="My composer list in forScore" title="My composer list in forScore" /><p class="stickyNote">My composer list in forScore</p></div>
<p><strong>Airplay</strong> - Some of the challenges I face with this method are that I’m using Airplay. It kicks me off the network frequently and the screen on the Smartboard goes dark if the iPad goes to sleep.</p>
<h2 id="be-prepared">Be Prepared</h2>
<p>Here are some tips for working around issues with the network and the display:</p>
<ul>
<li>If you are working with the iPad and Apple TV for one class try to use that same combo for the other classes. In my classroom, it is tricky to switch the input from one to another quickly between classes. I find that I am more successful when I plan all the lessons to either use the same technology OR to use the technology for one group and then in the other class I have a no technology day.</li>
<li>To avoid having the screen go dark and having to re-enter the passcode many times during a class period make sure your iPad settings are to 10 minutes or longer for sleep during inactivity. The downside to this is that it will drain your battery more quickly, so remember at the end of use to put it back to a reasonable length of time.</li>
<li>Do have backups of the problems/notes you plan to use in case the technology fails. You probably already have individual copies of notes for the kids if you are using it for notes so it is easy to simply switch to the whiteboard. If you are doing something with individual whiteboards it is easy enough to write your problems up on the whiteboard or chalkboard. Using word problems? It is not a bad idea to have 4-6 copies of what you are using so that you could put the kids into groups and have them work through the material with hard copies. There’s nothing worse than having an entire lesson derailed because the technology doesn’t work.</li>
</ul>
#365DayDraw: Sketching Each Day in 20162016-02-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/365-day-draw-sketching-each-day-in-2016/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/02/01.gif?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="" title="" /></div>
<p>It wasn't a grand New Year's Eve pronouncement, or long-considered project. It started January 1st, when I picked up a flair pen and drew a cupcake in a seldom-used pad with the form factor of a detective's notebook.</p>
<p>I thought it was kind of cool, and thumbed through the remainder of pages in the pad. <em>All blank.</em> In my office, I had <em>two</em> more refill pads. What if I drew something, anything, each day of the year? Certainly, that could evolve into <em>something</em> interesting.</p>
<p>At the end of January, I had 31 sketches of a variety of things, concrete and abstract. I put it to a vote, and when the poll closed, the close voting had a sketch of a ski boot edging out the others. Here's my creative plan: I call it <em>"slow improv"</em>. The coolest part is the role you all play in this creation.</p>
<h2 id="slow-improv%3A-2016-edition">Slow Improv: 2016 Edition</h2>
<ol>
<li>Each month, you'll choose the winner of the sketches I draw that month</li>
<li>I'll do a vector-based rendering of that sketch, and use that refined final product as the inspiration for – and title image of – a chapter of the story</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Story? Yes!</strong> I'm going to write a chapter of a story each month, inspired by the chosen sketch. I'm not sure what I'll do with the final product, but it'll be something cool, I assure you. I will add each month's story here when it's completed, and as with any improv, I have no master plan for the story. It'll evolve as I draw, you choose, and the world goes on all around us. We'll see where we end up!</p>
<h2 id="the-drawings">The Drawings</h2>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-0.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="January" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-1.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="February" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-2.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="March" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-3.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="April" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-4.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="May" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-5.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="June" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-6.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="July" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-7.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="August" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-8.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="September" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-9.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="October" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-10.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="November" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2016/02/sketch-to-vector-11.png?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="December" />
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<h2 id="the-stories">The Stories</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>January (Ski Boot)</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-1-headwall-3df4f888a2f4#.aydwkx3xi">Chapter 1: Headwall</a></li>
<li><strong>February (Cheese)</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-2-darkness-3e077ea8500">Chapter 2: Darkness</a></li>
<li><strong>March (Candle)</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-3-illumination-55f5c58cb340#.20rqo2s25">Chapter 3: Illumination</a></li>
<li><strong>April (Pasta):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-4-pasta-no-more-5456171d9794">Chapter 4: Pasta No More</a></li>
<li><strong>May (Fish):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-5-school-of-thought-a76138beb664">Chapter 5: School of Thought</a></li>
<li><strong>June (Boat):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-6-lila-jane-ae44d93ebc1c#.mi2zvnlyj">Chapter 6: Lila Jane</a></li>
<li><strong>July (Picnic):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-7-the-picnic-c2ca37cdf97d#.35gk5vx2z">Chapter 7: The Picnic</a></li>
<li><strong>August (School Bus):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/maternal-me-a827ebbde1ed#.rpws70cha">Chapter 8: Maternal Me</a></li>
<li><strong>September (Heart):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-9-awakening-b736e0482969#.b3jk9glh2">Chapter 9: Awakening</a></li>
<li><strong>October (Music):</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-10-samuel-5b3134f342b9#.a8inm8m7p">Chapter: 10: Samuel</a></li>
<li><strong>November:</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-11-the-big-vote-8ddfb1fe5913#.hlq581swy">Chapter 11: The Big Vote</a></li>
<li><strong>December:</strong> <a href="https://medium.com/@scottpdawson/chapter-12-winter-bliss-cd3383fb484#.fhs0b7q56">Chapter 12: Sweet Dreams</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="follow-along-and-join-the-journey">Follow Along and Join the Journey</h2>
<p>If you want to follow along with my daily posts, you can <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson">follow @scottpdawson on Twitter</a>, and see the full feed of sketches, which I tag with <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Ascottpdawson%20%23365daydraw&src=typd">#365daydraw</a>. I'll announce the monthly poll several times on Facebook and Twitter, and keep it open a week. You can also subscribe to this blog's updates on this page to get notified when I post chapters. Thank you for being a part of this creative experiment!</p>
<h2 id="update%3A-january-2017">Update: January 2017</h2>
<p>Well, it's all over. I've drawn for a year and told the stories. Thank you for following along. Please do <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/365daydraw-challenge-completed/">read my project recap</a> and <a href="https://365daydraw.netlify.app/">poke around the app</a> to see a month at a time, search the entire work and read the stories.</p>
Out of the Blue (Improv)2016-01-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/out-of-the-blue-improv/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/01/OOTB-Logo-Only-for-Social.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Out of the Blue Logo" title="Out of the Blue Logo" /><p class="stickyNote">Out of the Blue Logo</p></div>
<p>I had the pleasure of being a part of this amazing group of singers, actors and dancers. We got together in the Fall of 2015, rehearsed for 3-4 months, and had our debut performance at Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, NY on January 21, 2016. I loved practicing and performing improvisation with this group, whether it be spoken, sung or danced. As I like to say ...</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Improv is playtime for my brain, and nourishment for my heart.</p>
</blockquote>
Total Immersion Level 22016-01-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/total-immersion-level-2/<p>I swam in the pool twice in the two weeks that followed my <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/total-immersion-level-1-4th-quarter/">last Level 1 class</a> on November 3 last year. Then, without any kind of plan in place, I unconsciously took a break from making time for swimming and continuing to put into practice everything I'd learned. So, when I saw that Shane was offering a Level 2 class starting shortly after the New Year, I double-checked our calendar, figured out how it would work schedule-wise, and signed up! I'll write about my Session 2 on this page, adding to it with each revelation (or frustrating lack thereof). Let's swim!</p>
<h2 id="january-4---class-1">January 4 - Class 1</h2>
<p>I was excited and nervous for the first class. It turns out that none my fellow swimmers from Session 1 were taking this class, so it was a sea of new faces. Everyone was really nice, though, and with only eight of us, it wasn't too crowded in the pool. After a few dryland exercises, we were in the pool, using different combinations of 100s and 50s to focus on different aspects of our swim stroke. As always, I love Shane's approach to thinking about our sessions. His weekly email summary summed up the goal of our sessions perfectly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Growing more aware of your relationship with the water. I am not your coach. The water is your coach.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We got into a stretch of swimming where we were challenged to be mindful. I had trouble focusing on the <em>suite</em> of things I knew I needed to monitor, and instead found my attention wandering from one thing to another. I was closely tracking my strokes-per-length (SPL) as a sign of efficiency, and was fairly consistent at 18. That said, there were times when I knew I was losing focus, and I bled into the 19/20 range for a few lengths. As Shane notes: <em>"Typically, our mindfulness and neural endurance are the first to deteriorate and slow us down: We become less efficient."</em></p>
<p>Shane also introduced the "torpedo kick drill", where we pushed off the wall, put our arms on our thighs, kicked one leg, paused, and then kicked with the other. The goal was to rock our body side-to-side, but I felt like a heavy raft. No, there wasn't any rocking going on! I stood up mid-pool and laughed maniacally, which elicited a good reaction from Shane, who helped me find the proper form for the drill. I have a feeling this one will always make me laugh.</p>
<p>We finished the class with yin/yang drills, where the first length was slow with long stroke lengths, and the return length was a rapid cadence, still focusing on good technique. I LOVED this return length. It's like running speed work, but in the pool. I couldn't possible keep it up without the "yin" to calm things down, but I really enjoyed the feeling of plowing through the water.</p>
<h2 id="january-8---practice!">January 8 - Practice!</h2>
<p>I have a goal of getting in the water at least ONCE in between classes. We ski and have a busy winter schedule, so we'll see how this goes. Normally a Friday night is BodyPump night, but I had done something to a muscle (or two) in my right hip while skiing some pretty bumped up terrain, and so opted for the pool after some yoga earlier in the day. This half hour session went pretty well, and I continued to mostly hit an SPL of 18 while focusing on keeping my arms separated and parallel to my torso.</p>
<h2 id="january-11---class-2">January 11 - Class 2</h2>
<p>I had a few revelations from this class, which followed the same formula as the last. First, we had a drill where we'd monitor our SPL with breathing only on one side. I found that my SPL with left-side breathing was consistently 18, and my right side was consistently 19 or 20. Shane surmised correctly that I breathed naturally on my right side, and that my body was accustomed to "reaching for air" on that side, affecting my efficiency. I also noticed that while breathing to my right side, my left arm wasn't quite as patient as it should be, meaning I'd lose efficiency and glide. Something to work on!</p>
<p>We then got into kick drills, which for me is a bit like walking and chewing gum!</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Two-Beat Kick in Torpedo</strong> The drill that made me feel like a raft last time!</li>
<li><strong>Two-Beat Kick with Arms Extended</strong> This was new, and made me feel like a disabled manatee. I did finally get my body to rock a bit, but I have a feeling this one will continue to plague me!</li>
<li><strong>Freestyle Swimming with Dolphin Kick</strong> Wearing flippers, I tried to be mermaid-ish, kicking both legs together while swimming. I had moderate success with this, but managed to source the movement from my knees, not from my pelvis as it should be. Again, something to work on!</li>
</ul>
<p>Shane's iPad is being all persnickety, so perhaps in some future classes we'll have some video to post. In the meantime, I'm paying good attention to the poolside coaching and observations. Onwards!</p>
<h2 id="january-13---practice!">January 13 - Practice!</h2>
<p>I did this 20-minute workout after a 5-mile treadmill run, and it went SO well. I focused on the kicking drills in the water, with and without fins, and did a lot of laps trying to be mindful. I also did a few of those yin/yangs I love so much. The breakthrough for me came when I just turned off my tempo trainer and started trying to feel streamlined and long in the water. I don't know what the tempo was, but for the last 200 I did in the pool, my SPL went from 18 to 15! I didn't believe my count at first, and REALLY focused on counting for the last 150. There's something about the mechanics of my stroke during those sessions, and I'm going to try my best to figure out what it was next time I'm in the pool. It felt SO good, and I can't wait to get back and see if I can replicated it. I felt a bit like a fish.</p>
<h2 id="january-18---class-3">January 18 - Class 3</h2>
<p>Well, this was my first missed class. It was Martin Luther King Day, so with the kids out of school we decided to go skiing as a family. Turns out the conditions were tough, with the cold and wind combined with waning daylight, we were rather uncomfortable and managed 8 runs over 2 and a half hours. Shane kindly offered me a makeup class Thursday, but I'm in an improv performance so will consider this a "bonus week" of training!</p>
<h2 id="january-19---practice!">January 19 - Practice!</h2>
<p>I went to the gym in the morning, ran 5 miles on the treadmill, then headed to the pool. It was excellent timing, since I was in the next lane over from Shane, who was getting his morning workout it. Watching him swim is so cool, as he flip turns at both ends and was basically swimming for the whole time I was practicing. For several lengths, I set an intention to start with him at one and and follow his cadence to the other. It was very relaxing to do this, and I was successful! On my own, I went through the progression of drills, and as I found with my last practice, I was hitting SPL of 15-16. Shane asked me what changed, and I told him I was spending a lot more time in skate position. This is true, but after thinking about it, it's a confluence of things. I AM skating much more, this is true, but I'm also focusing a lot more on not dropping my left arm for right-side breathing, lengthening my lead arm, and keeping a calmer lower body, unless kicking to flip my torso on each stroke. I only practiced for 20 minutes, but much of that WAS swimming, so I feel very encouraged!</p>
<h2 id="january-21---practice!">January 21 - Practice!</h2>
<p>This period of self-discovery continues. After going through some warm-up drills and continuing to hit my new range of 15-16 SPL, I turned on the tempo trainer and adjusted it after each 50 to match the cadence that I'd been maintaining, which was 150 (a stroke every 1.5 seconds). I had been going at 1.33 (a stroke every 1 1/3 seconds), so it's a bit slower. It's so wonderful that in the pool, slow can mean fast, more mindful can mean more energy left in reserves. Just 20 minutes and I'm dialed in for the rest of the day. Ahh.</p>
<h2 id="january-25---class-4">January 25 - Class 4</h2>
<p>There were just four of us for this class, which I understand from Amy happened to her in the depths of winter. Schedules and weather conspire to keep some of us away, as it did me last week. I was encouraged by my practice, though, and enjoyed this session, right up until Shane introduced the grip/press. Oh no! Something new would surely have my house of cards come tumbling down. I'll save the lengthy discourse of what this new focus called for, but we drilled on it for the last half of the class. The goal was to get your forearm vertical, and use your shoulder to press your vertical forearm back until it won't be vertical any longer. Here's a slow-motion drill of Sun Yang doing this technique:</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XvM3JYC--hM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>Pause Drill (Pause-to-Get-a-Grip), and then Pause-to-Get-a-Grip-with-Fist. Have you ever swam with your fists clenched? I managed to continue forward motion, but how frustrating, and how much more difficult to get my breath! It's important to get this, but it's also subtle, and I'm sure practicing this in the coming weeks will prove to be a bit difficult. Bring it on!</p>
<h2 id="january-27---practice!">January 27 - Practice!</h2>
<p>After a 5-mile treadmill run, I spent 20 minutes practicing in the pool, not wanting too much time to elapse since class and that dreaded grip/press. Oh my! Sun Yang's video helped immensely, though, and I consider this 20 minute session time well spent. I sure do need more practice, but there were times where I felt like I "got it" and, more importantly, I didn't freak out during the Pause-to-Get-a-Grip-with-Fist drill, which I did for 50 yards.</p>
<h2 id="february-1---class-5">February 1 - Class 5</h2>
<p>We had a nice group in today's class with 6 people. After our dryland drills (we got to do front quadrant walk: my favorite), we got into the pool and started our focal point drills. I got to do my favorite (not) Pause-to-Get-a-Grip-with-Fist drill, but seriously my most favorite drill was focusing on extending my arm from the poise point just before driving my hip forward. It feels like a wonderful chain reaction, using my hip motion to continue driving my arm to the focal point. Shane gave us some nice feedback as we went through the various drills, and I have two takeaways for work in the coming weeks:</p>
<ol>
<li>Making sure my head does not come up when I breathe. If I maintain a laser lead, my mouth will reach the surface <em>faster</em> than if I tilt my head upwards like I used to breathe.</li>
<li>Driving my arms <em>not</em> quite so deep. You can see it in the attached video, but I struggle with the depth of my head and the depth of my focal points. I need to keep everything light and near the surface.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwnqBn2mQJs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwnqBn2mQJs</a></p>
<p>I'm still having a great time, learning a lot!</p>
<h2 id="february-11---class-6">February 11 - Class 6</h2>
<p>I couldn't make Monday's class, but Shane invited me to attend his Thursday night "Kaizen" class instead. We were a small group, as it was bitterly cold outside (not sure if that's the reason), but it was a really great session. The most helpful aspect of the evening was video, and not just any ordinary video ... <em>underwater</em> video! Shane has ordered a new iPad, and as such, put the waterproof enclosure of his current iPad to the test. He shot underwater video from the side and from the front, and as we watched the videos in the hot tub afterwards, it was SO revealing. My focal point targets are SO low in the water. I thought that after the feedback from the last class that I was fixing that, but the video doesn't lie. Light and near the surface, that's the goal for me. So, onwards!</p>
<h2 id="february-18---class-7">February 18 - Class 7</h2>
<p>After a week of feeling sub-par and not getting into the pool (or doing any other fitness for that matter) I went again to Thursday night's class. I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, and am focused more on honing different skills as I do subsequent laps. For example, tonight I was curious about the intersection of strokes per length (SPL), perceived rate of exertion (PRE) and TIME. I hadn't measured how long it took to swim a length, so I used my tempo trainer to experiment with different settings from 145 down to 130. I found that I could drop my time by increasing the cadence, only dropping SPL by a stroke or two. My rate of exertion wasn't too bad with the increased cadence either. I was only doing 50s and 100s while experimenting with the clock, so the next step is to practice with these combinations doing 200s ... and something to write down my findings with. Shane shot underwater video again tonight, and I found another thing to work on, still, with raising my head to breathe. When I do so, my spine arches, which drops my legs <em>(first right-side breath in the video below)</em>. I need to keep that strong laser lead and rotate the head to the side to breathe, keeping my spine straight. The video did reinforce that the timing of my breath is right on <em>(second left-side breath)</em>, as I have my breath as my arm exits the water and begins re-entry. So, that was good to see!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82dC7_cHwaM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82dC7_cHwaM</a></p>
<h2 id="february-25---class-8">February 25 - Class 8</h2>
<p>Ah, the last class of Session 2! I have really enjoyed this next step in re-training my brain and body to have a more efficient swim stroke. This class was all about repetitions, and didn't disappoint. Shane had us do 200s with varying foci, and it was a really good workout. I definitely am getting better at managing my exertion level, and keeping my arms higher in the water as I extend them to the target after entry. The BEST part about this class was swimming with Shane at the end. He matches the cadence and style of each and every swimmer in the class - a true testament to his skill - and being a part of that is just magical. Here's our dual swim across the pool, capping off the 8th and last class of this series.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHhe0f1Vax0&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHhe0f1Vax0&feature=youtu.be</a></p>
<hr />
<p>This is part of a series on my Total Immersion learning experiences. If you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
Brand Identity for Emoticakes2016-01-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/brand-identity-for-emoticakes/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/01/emoticakes-color.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Emoticakes" title="Emoticakes" /><p class="stickyNote">Emoticakes</p></div>
<p>I have worked on several iterations of <a href="https://emoticakes.com/">emoticakes.com</a>, but the brand identity has stood the test of time, integrating well with each web site design, but also versatile enough to fit within different form factors, be they signage, business cards, stickers or invoices.</p>
<p>Custom cakes are are not only delicious, they are fun, playful and personal. This identity conveys that theme with character-based "flowers" emanating from the diacritic of the "i". The choices of colors represent the variety of options you can combine with your own custom cake.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2016/01/IMG_5716.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Emoticakes stickers" title="Emoticakes stickers" /><p class="stickyNote">Emoticakes stickers</p></div>
What If Kids Behaved Like Parents at Sporting Events?2015-11-24T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/what-if-kids-behaved-like-parents-at-sporting-events/<p>Every time we do an officials clinic for ski racing with USSA and NYSSRA, a favorite set of videos to start the day come from Hockey Canada and Little League. They tell a great story, and if you're a sports parent, you'll probably really enjoy them. What would it look like if kids behaved like parents at sporting events?</p>
<h2 id="hockey-canada-psas%3A-relax%2C-it's-just-a-game">Hockey Canada PSAs: Relax, It's Just a Game</h2>
<p><strong>Grocery Store: Go over there and give ‘er a good smack</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FZM4RO1ty3E" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p><strong>Traffic Stop: What are you looking’ at, loser?</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZxduazZp7bo" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p><strong>Potato Sack Race: I want a urine sample from this kid</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RuWw2j6Tr0g" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p><strong>Pin the Tail on the Donkey: I can’t believe I missed pilates for this</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wbcEZxq6uqA" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p><strong>Hide n’ Seek: C’mon, get in. Hustle!</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xu9LIPPIEzI" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2 id="little-league">Little League</h2>
<p><strong>Why can’t you be more like Jimmy’s Dad?</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed//_36OpchdG6w" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<p>So, on a serious note, I came across this video titled “How Kids Want Parents to Behave at Youth Sports Events”. What kind of spectator are you?</p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lW_y8Mff5D4" width="100%" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>iPad Pro for Pianists: Up and Running with forScore2015-11-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ipad-pro-for-pianists-up-and-running-with-forscore/<div class="rt sm">
<img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/elizabeth.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Elizabeth Dawson" title="Elizabeth Dawson" />
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<p><em><strong>This is a guest post from my daughter, who was a disciplined saver with a goal of buying the iPad Pro for her piano playing, among other things.</strong> She met her savings goal and was able to order the iPad Pro the first day it was available. It arrived yesterday, and she is happy to share her unboxing story with you: iPad Pro for Pianists.</em></p>
<hr />
<p>As I opened my new iPad Pro, I was so excited! I have saved up my money from teaching piano lessons, babysitting and allowance, and my grandparents added some money as birthday and Christmas presents. As I walked up to the box, two things crossed my mind. One, how excited I was, and two, how big it was! The iPad Pro is 12.9 inches tall and 8.6 inches wide. It is extremely thin at 6.9 millimeters. I wanted the Pro because of the size. I mostly use the iPad for sheet music, so the bigger the better. I was previously using the iPad 3 which was quite a bit smaller. I was looking forward to some new features such as the Touch ID. I really like how quick and easy it is to get into the iPad.</p>
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<p>I love the four speaker sound, too! It really turns the iPad into a good sound system. The camera is so much better on this iPad. The photos come out very crisp and have a great resolution. It is a great device to look at and take pictures on. It's really awesome!</p>
<p>I am currently waiting for the Smart Keyboard that attaches to this iPad to arrive. Right now, I am typing this story on the iPad’s on-screen keyboard and I love that it is big enough to feel like a natural keyboard! I also plan to use this iPad with the keyboard as a laptop for writing school papers and sheet music.</p>
<p>For music on my iPad, I use an app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/forscore/id363738376?mt=8">forScore</a>. With an app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/turboscan-document-receipt/id342548956?mt=8">TurboScan</a>, I scan music into the iPad and then open the electronic music into forScore. ForScore also lets you open a PDF of any sheet music and load it into the app. For me the challenge of the app was the music page turns. I have a hard time with playing and using my hands to turn the page. I got a device from <a href="http://www.airturn.com/bluetooth-pedals">Airturn</a> (a refurbished BT-105) which connects to the device and lets me turn the pages with my feet.</p>
<p>I think the bigger design will really help with drawing, typing, and music. I didn't buy the Apple pencil because I don't draw very much, but if you are into drawing, it really helps be more precise and helps add details to the drawing. For me, the biggest perk of the larger design is how much it will help me with the music. This iPad has been great to use so far, and I look forward to getting to use it more!</p>
<h2 id="ipad-pro-for-pianists%3A-video-with-airturn">iPad Pro for Pianists: Video with Airturn</h2>
<p>Check out the video of me playing. The page turns are triggered from my foot, so I can keep my hands on the keys!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlF19mhTSCA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlF19mhTSCA</a></p>
Integrating Bounce.js with Angular.js2015-11-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/integrating-bounce-js-with-angular-js/<p>I have been posting links to things I find useful on Twitter, and one lately was <a href="https://github.com/tictail/bounce.js">bounce.js</a>. A <a href="https://twitter.com/runxc1/status/664571808578867200">follower challenged me</a> to think about whether it could be integrated with <a href="https://angularjs.org/">angular.js</a>. I use Angular at my day job, but had not integrated an animation library with it. Of course, "integration" is a term open to interpretation.</p>
<p>So, my goal was to integrate bounce.js with Angular.js, in particular, with ng-show directives. When I want to show or hide an element in Angular, I use a Boolean scope variable or an expression in conjunction with ng-show or ng-hide. Rather than set this scope variable directly with ng-click (for instance, on the buttons in my example), I can instead call a function that applies the animation in <em>conjunction</em> with this scope parameter change.</p>
<p>Showing is easy: set the scope variable to <strong>true</strong>, ensuring the element appears, and apply the bounce animation to the element. Hiding is more complex, and involves a jQuery promise (then) to get the scope and set the scope variable to <strong>false</strong>, just after the animation is completed.</p>
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Monster Drawing Workshop: The Walking Dead (Rabbit)2015-11-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/monster-drawing-workshop-the-walking-dead-rabbit/<p>When I'm looking for creative inspiration, a <a href="http://lynda.com/">Lynda.com</a> course by Von Glitschka invariably pops up! Just before Halloween this year, I found the <a href="http://www.lynda.com/Illustration-tutorials/Monster-Drawing-Workshop/379653-2.html">Monster Drawing Workshop</a>, with this description:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Monsters, like our imaginations, follow no rules. They can have eight legs or five eyes, horns or wings. This monster drawing workshop, hosted by illustrator and <a href="http://lynda.com/">Lynda.com</a> fan favorite <a href="http://www.glitschkastudios.com/">Von Glitschka</a>, is designed to help new artists drop their inhibitions around drawing and let their creativity take over. Von is there every step of the way, breaking down each monster "part" bit by bit, so students can build the monster of their dreams.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My wife and I have been watching a fair amount of <a href="http://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead">The Walking Dead</a> lately <em>(no spoilers, we're on Season 5!)</em>. I also have a live-in Florida White rabbit in my office. So, mash 'em up and you've got yourself a project! So per Von's instructions to name our beast and describe it, I give you <strong>Snowball</strong>, "turned" <strong>Snowpocalpysiball</strong>, a zombified Florida White rabbit on the wrong side of a zombie apocalypse that afflicts the cutest of the animal kingdom.</p>
<h2 id="the-process">The Process</h2>
<p>Von's course provides plenty of step-by-step instructions, and some great examples, too! I watched all of the videos, then started planning out my 'lil zombified friend. I started by sketching the pieces that I'd assemble.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/IMG_5216.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Sketching the pieces" title="Sketching the pieces" /><p class="stickyNote">Sketching the pieces</p></div>
<p>I was a bit unsure of logistically how it'd fit together, so I did a quick paper model before committing to cutting the shapes out of the chipboard.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/IMG_5246a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Paper model" title="Paper model" /><p class="stickyNote">Paper model</p></div>
<p>With that out of the way, I traced the shapes onto the chipboard and cut them out, using some good scissors and an Exacto knife.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/IMG_5247.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Chipboard cutouts" title="Chipboard cutouts" /><p class="stickyNote">Chipboard cutouts</p></div>
<p>Then I inked the borders and interior outlines, using a brush pen and a flair pen. Treating the highlights with a white colored pencil gave the piece the final bit of pop. That, and a red tongue.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/IMG_5248.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Inking and pencil work" title="Inking and pencil work" /><p class="stickyNote">Inking and pencil work</p></div>
<p>The last step was to assemble it, which I had already done to test fit the slots earlier. I found that the body wavered too much from side-to-side, so I made a late decision to put a "shim" piece just before the tail to help keep the entire center piece roughly centered between the legs. It worked out great!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/IMG_5251b.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Assembly" title="Assembly" /><p class="stickyNote">Assembly</p></div>
<h2 id="art-supplies">Art Supplies</h2>
<p>Von's course has a great materials list, and I took this opportunity to do a little shopping for future projects. Here's a list of the things I added to my arsenal.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IEEV/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00006IEEV&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=WW55GBOGYQEPQK7H">Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencil, Set of 48 Assorted Colors (3598T)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E67Z16/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001E67Z16&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=H4WGLITWERYL344X">Staedtler Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IPNMVTM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00IPNMVTM&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=CEV5KFWZDP2WHADW">8.5"x11" Chipboard Pad Brown Kraft Sheets .022 Thickness (Pack of 100ea.)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004C5RX1I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004C5RX1I&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=COLXFSX5XC57FGYJ">Pilot Pocket Brush Pen, Soft (P-SV-30KS-B)</a></li>
</ul>
Total Immersion Level 1 (4th Quarter)2015-11-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/total-immersion-level-1-4th-quarter/<p>The last class has come and gone, and the first level of my Total Immersion journey is complete! The final two classes introduced little new material, and we focused on the essentials, both outside and inside the pool. We slowly built our <em>"house of cards"</em>, originating our movements from the body's core (BodyPump FTW!) and focusing on proper shoulder articulation and poise points.</p>
<p>In the pool, we progressed through several drills to sharpen our focus on different aspects of our stroke. For me, it looked like this:</p>
<ul>
<li>stealthy sleeve-like entry with the arm (closing my eyes for entry)</li>
<li>even <em>more</em> shoulder articulation</li>
<li>skate and breathe (w/ flippers)</li>
<li>patient lead arm</li>
<li>splitting my vision while breathing</li>
<li>breathe and glide (alternate side breathing)</li>
<li>add in tempo trainer at different tempos, from 140 down to 160, then 140 up to 125</li>
</ul>
<p>I found that I need to continue to focus on shoulder articulation, and on maintaining a laser lead with the crown of my head while breathing. If I keep my face pointed to the bottom of the pool, when I turn my head to breathe my mouth will be in the best possible location.</p>
<h2 id="imprint-this">Imprint This</h2>
<p>This whole process has been centered around <em>re-programming</em> our brains. As Shane says, we're working on <em>imprinting</em> these new behaviors we've learned. I was joking with Jia before the last class that I couldn't make the next 5-week class series, but that was probably good. I said, <em>"I really need time to imprint this."</em></p>
<p>At that moment, my mind's eye brought me to one of those tongue-in-cheek ideas that won't go anywhere, but certainly was fun to think about at the time. I think we could all get <em>"Imprint This"</em> t-shirts and have a grand time sporting them around Ithaca!</p>
<h2 id="week-7-video">Week 7 Video</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/11/tempo-trainer.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Beep, beep! (tempo trainer)" title="Beep, beep! (tempo trainer)" /><p class="stickyNote">Beep, beep! (tempo trainer)</p></div>
<p>I swam with my <a href="http://amzn.to/1MFY1Ms">tempo trainer</a> at 130, and found that I really enjoyed snapping my hips at the same time as the trainer's "beep". As Shane notes, I need to continue to focus on getting my shoulder out front. It was really funny, as at the beginning of this class, he stopped me and asked why my head was so far below the water. I didn't know! I smartly replied that I was trying to be like a dolphin, and then quickly fixed that problem. That's the thing I loved about this class, that if I picked up a bad habit (like that one) during practice, it was easily pointed out and rectified in the next class. <strong>No sense practicing the wrong thing!</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cizzm3Agn4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cizzm3Agn4</a></p>
<h2 id="week-8-video%3A-swimming-with-shane">Week 8 Video: Swimming with Shane</h2>
<p>In week 8, after progressing through our drills, I had the great pleasure of swimming with Shane in my lane. He swam with each of us, matching our stroke count and breathing. During class, I had found that my optimal tempo was around 133-135 (a stroke every 1.33 to 1.35 seconds), resulting in a stroke count of about 17 and a low perceived rate of exertion. It was really cool to see Shane adapt his stroke to each classmate's style. After the class, we all headed to the hot tub to spend time reviewing our videos.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dsh5dX0WpY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dsh5dX0WpY</a></p>
<h2 id="summarizing-my-total-immersion-journey">Summarizing My Total Immersion Journey</h2>
<p>All in all, I'm <strong>so</strong> pleased with how I've progressed these past 8 weeks. I've gone from a swim style that totally beats me up to one that I feel is sustainable over the long haul. We'll see how it translates to open water swimming ... as soon as we get through this winter. I am doing the intermediate triathlon next summer, my first at that distance, so I'm looking forward to a Level 2 TI class in my future. In the meantime, massive gratitude to <a href="http://www.zendurancecycling.com/shane-eversfield.html">Shane Eversfield</a> for his quality instruction and good humor. It was truly a pleasure.</p>
<hr />
<p>This is part of a bi-weekly series on my Total Immersion learning experiences. If you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
Total Immersion Level 1 (3rd Quarter)2015-10-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/total-immersion-level-1-3rd-quarter/<p>Classes 5 and 6 are in the bag, and the first level of my Total Immersion journey is 75% done! These classes introduced little new material. Instead, we focused on building our "house of cards," starting with dryland exercises and progressing through pool exercises, focusing on different aspects our our new swim mechanics.</p>
<p>I had just one practice session between classes 4 and 5, and made it to the pool twice between classes 5 and 6. During these sessions, I focused mostly on breathing (my achilles heel). After a frustrating session, I went back and re-read Shane's summary email (I love that he sends summary emails after each session) and read about timing the breath with the entry and extension of the lead arm. This was my focus for the next two practices, and I could sense some good improvement.</p>
<p>During class 6, Shane handed out some tempo trainers for us to try, before videoing us. <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/swim/total-immersion-week-7/">I remembered when Amy got her first tempo trainer during her class</a>, and was really excited to try this out. It was, as with any new drill, revealing to me how different things are when you change your focus. By focusing on snapping my hips with the beat (set every 1.4 seconds), I found I had a more precise stroke, and felt that my legs did less flailing than they usually do.</p>
<h2 id="bring-on-the-video">Bring on the Video</h2>
<p>Video feedback is going to be great. Shane awed us when he paused the playback while we were watching each other's videos in the hot tub, and proceeded to draw on top of the video so we could see the points he was making. Very cool. Very professional. My video is below, and I am taking away two things that I kind of knew, but were <em>really</em> reinforced by seeing. Seeing is believing!</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Engage my shoulders <em>even more</em> for the entry and extension of my lead arm.</strong> I think more dryland will help here, and a renewed focus as I swim on doing this.</li>
<li><strong>Not dropping my lead arm too soon after I breathe.</strong> My patient lead arm is not quite patient enough, especially when I breathe to the right. Again, will focus on this as I practice.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb8wynKCkp8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb8wynKCkp8</a></p>
<hr />
<p>This is part of a bi-weekly series on my Total Immersion learning experiences. If you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
Xander's 20+ Mile Hike: Treman, Lick Brook, Buttermilk2015-10-11T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/xanders-20-mile-hike-treman-lick-brook-buttermilk/<p>This is a guest post from my son, Xander, who planned and executed this hike to help fulfill some of his rank advancement and Hiking merit badge for Boy Scouts. Amy and I accompanied him on this hike, and he did a great job! He got some compass and map work in, planned and packed the meal, assembled his personal first aid kit and endured the 20.75 mile hike with some nice, even splits! Enjoy the post ...</p>
<h2 id="before-the-hike">Before the Hike</h2>
<p>Before the hike we packed a first aid kit so that if anyone got injured we could treat that on the trail. We also were prepared in the sense that the sun sets at 6:30 p.m. so if we finish late we brought headlamps. I also packed a lunch for my family which contains a sandwich, chips, an apple and some trail mix if we got hungry before lunch. I also packed a whistle in case we got lost and a compass too. I was also going to be the navigator for this hike so I would be using the compass to tell where we are. I also was going to use a map on which I highlighted our trail on so that we'd know where we are at all times. Lastly, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/buttermilk-hike-plan.pdf">I prepared a plan for our hike</a> so we would be able to look at what we planned at any time. I also packed a jacket for any time I get cold so that I can put it on at any point in the hike.</p>
<h2 id="the-hike">The Hike</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_5111a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Finger Lakes Trail (FLT)" title="Finger Lakes Trail (FLT)" /><p class="stickyNote">Finger Lakes Trail (FLT)</p></div>
<p>Once we got going on the hike it was a lot of fun! We started at Treman State Park and we saw some beautiful sights. At 1 mile into the hike we saw a heron. It was so cool because it was my first time seeing a heron. After that we resumed our hike. We were almost off the Treman Trail when we saw a cool outdoor shelter and missed the turn onto the Finger Lakes trail. Thankfully we found another entrance to the trail and got on it. We walked through all the leaves on the trail until we saw a bridge and had to cross over it. Finally we made it to our next part of the hike which was Lick Brook.</p>
<p>As we started into Lick Brook it felt like 100 degrees as we were in the sunlight but then as we got into the trees it was cool. Then we confronted a river. There was no way we could cross that so we hiked on the train track. Before we did we looked and listened for any trains. Then we crossed the train track which was very scary because directly under you is water and the fear of getting hit by a train is really scary.</p>
<p>Finally we were done with all of the obstacles and we hiked until we hit a very steep uphill which was very hard to climb and it was like a mile long. After we got through that it was a steady flat for a while. As soon as we were ready to start the next part of the trail we saw a sign that said that the trail was closed due to hunting season which was really annoying. We had to hike on road for a mile until we got back to the trail. On the road people in cars were just staring at us like we were crazy for hiking on the road. Finally after hiking on the road which felt like forever we got to the trail again.</p>
<p>We got to Treman Lake which was beautiful and crossed the bridge into Buttermilk Falls State Park. We hiked a while on the Bear Trail until we got hungry so we stopped for trail mix. Finally we got on the rim trail at Buttermilk and we hiked down it. The leaves changing were so pretty and it was so fun to walk through that section of the trail. Once we got to the bottom of the trail we stopped at a table and had a picnic. We had our lunch, went to the bathroom and headed back out to do the same thing we just did, but backwards.</p>
<p>We started hiking on the rim trail with a bunch of tourists who were hiking at the speed of molasses. Finally we got off that trail and got back on the Bear Trail. Then we made it to Treman Lake again and were able to see where we were with landmarks we had seen when we hiked there the first time. Then we made it back into Lick Brook after hiking on the highway again and we got to do all the downhill we had gained going up. There were so many leaves on the trail that it was not visible and we had to really rely on the white blazes.</p>
<p>Finally we got back on the Finger Lakes Trail which took us to Treman again. We were almost done on the hike when we looked at our mileage and saw we were going to have to add more mileage. My Dad showed us a trail and said he had been on it before, so we took it. By the end of the trail I was dead and felt like I needed to sit. We got in the car at 20.75 miles feeling tired.</p>
<h2 id="post-hike-dinner">Post-hike Dinner</h2>
<p>After the long hike we wanted to go to Ithaca Beer but the wait was 1 hour wait so we ordered pizza from Little Venice. When we got home we shared all of our stories with my sister and we ate pizza and chicken wings. It was amazing tasting because it was the only warm food I had had all day! Then we went to sleep.</p>
<h2 id="first-aid-kit">First Aid Kit</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_5122.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="First Aid Kit" title="First Aid Kit" /><p class="stickyNote">First Aid Kit</p></div>
<p>In my first aid kit for my hike I packed</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Tweezers</strong> - In case anyone gets a splinter or tick on the hike</li>
<li><strong>Gauze</strong> - If anyone got a cut that was severe</li>
<li><strong>Blister band-aids</strong> - If anyone got a blister and we needed to get something on it to treat it</li>
<li><strong>Band-aids</strong> - For minor cuts and scraped if someone got a cut on the hike</li>
<li><strong>Antibiotic ointment</strong> - For someone who has a cut to put it on with the band aid</li>
<li><strong>Antibiotic towels</strong> - To wipe off dirt off a cut</li>
</ul>
<p>We did not use any of these items on the hike because no one got hurt!</p>
<h2 id="photo-gallery">Photo Gallery</h2>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_8426.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Let's hike!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5108.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="There's a heron flying in the middle of this picture!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5109.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="With Mom at turnaround bridge at Treman" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5110a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Beautiful scenery" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5112a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Climbing Lick Brook" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5115a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Bridge at Lake Treman" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5116a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Lunch at base of Buttermilk" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5118a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Waterfalls coming back from Buttermilk" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_8427.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Picture with Dad at the Treman turnaround bridge" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/10/IMG_5120a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Done!" />
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<h2 id="gps-track">GPS Track</h2>
<p>Here's the GPS track as recorded by Gaia GPS and imported to <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/410408916">Strava</a> using Gaia's GPX export.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/410408916/embed/05f12ae154ce522eada0731801e53efebe93c9d5" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Total Immersion Level 1 (2nd Quarter)2015-10-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/total-immersion-level-1-2nd-quarter/<p>Shane's class always starts off with dryland exercises, which are preceded by some really good banter (in Week 3, about trail running) and helpings of zen. I really loved one quote that I'm going to slaughter, but this is how my brain encoded it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is difficult. You're going to have times that you feel like an utter failure. You'll have times where you feel like a downright gifted, know-it-all Total Immersion sage. When you have either feeling, remember ... that feeling will pass.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="week-3">Week 3</h3>
<p>We progressed through the third class building up all of the exercises and skills we'd learned thus far, layering up until we were in the pool and actually swimming. We did dryland "wing night" and what I term "zombie walking", and I enjoyed getting a rise out of onlookers in the jacuzzi who wondered just what the heck we were up to. I said we were rehearsing for a zombie movie. I wonder if they believed me? In the water, we floated in glide, switched to skate, and all the time focused on having a "laser lead." Shane suggested we think of a laser running the length of the pool, and that our head, neck, spine and legs would all be aligned to that plane. I processed this, but then as I was swimming kept thinking of Mike Myers in this classic scene. Yes, folks, we are sharks with laser beams!</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bh7bYNAHXxw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>We did some forearm painting to focus on shoulder articulation, and then we headed to the warm pool for some exploration of what it feels like to enter and extend your arm in the water with minimal disruption. We closed our eyes, focusing on the <em>sensation</em> as our arms entered the water. Yes. Meditative.</p>
<p>Then, a curveball! Shane spent the last few minutes of class talking about <em>breathing</em>. To date, we had been swimming until we ran out of breath, then stopping before resuming. Now, we talked about proper head position for breathing, and he asked us to play with it. I consider myself a violent water breather, so I have a feeling that this house of cards we just built up ... will soon crumble. I can't wait to figure out how to get better at this part!</p>
<p>Due to the Wineglass Marathon on the Sunday between the third and fourth classes, and a killer weekday schedule, I had just one session in the pool this week for practice, but it was a good one. 45 minutes of dryland and swimming, followed by breathing exploration in the warm pool. I managed some good laps while experimenting with getting my breath, but at no moment did I feel like a sage. We'll see if we can change that up!</p>
<h2 id="week-4">Week 4</h2>
<p>I was embarrassed to be late for the fourth class, since I had signed up for a massage at Finger Lakes School of Massage as a post-marathon recovery. The massage was great, starting at 5:20, and I was sure I'd be out in time to get to class. I was shocked to look at the clock when it was over, though, and see 7:02 ... <em>gulp!</em> I was supposed to be poolside already, and I was 8 minutes away from Island! A quick (safe) drive and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich later, I walked sheepishly into the pool area just in time to catch the tail end of Shane's introduction and join in with dryland exercises. This time, we incorporated rotating our heads to the side during "front quadrant walk" to simulate breathing.</p>
<p>I was counting on the breathing giving me a challenge, and I was right! We did our routine warmup with SG, swimming, and also spent time doing laps focusing on different things: patient lead arm, shoulder shrug, forearm painting and sleeve slipping. I found this refreshing, to focus on one thing at a time. I got feedback from Shane that my lead arm could stand to be straighter, that I was still bending too much at the elbow. I focused on that for awhile, and will have to remember to practice that along with using my shoulder to help extend the lead arm further.</p>
<p>I loved the next drill, where we put on fins and got into a skate position, breathing to one side as much as we liked. I took on my fair share of water during skate and breathe, sputtering a few times and having to reset. I am a violent swim breather, cranking my head into position and then violently bringing it back into the water after an explosive exhalation and inhalation. <em>Time to inject a little more zen, Scott.</em></p>
<p>My <em>"aha!"</em> moment for breathing came when he had us do the Breathe-and-Glide Drill with a <em>pause</em> when we took a breath, and I was focused <em>only</em> on the breath. The exhale/inhale cycle is just a quick out and in lasting just a split second, not explosive, but focused. After taking a breath, I need to focus on getting my head downward, but not waiting for the stroke again to do so. This drill is supposed to help break the association of breathing with the lifting of your arm, and I think I'll get it solidly after a few more pool sessions. So I'll be focusing on these to help nail these extra breathing cards for our house of cards:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Skate and Breathe</strong> With fins, skate to one side and hold that position, breathing as much as I like just to one side. Reverse the position on the way back (always face the same wall)</li>
<li><strong>Breathe and Glide</strong> With fins, swim, but every four strokes (or three if bilateral breathing) take a breath with your recovery arm pausing on your thigh. After breathing, when your head is facing downward, resume swimming by bringing your recovery arm up and continuing the pace.</li>
</ul>
<p>Breathe and Glide was tough the first time (oh, that pause!) but the second lap <em>I got it</em>. I was embarrassed but also happy when Shane had me go on another lap to show the technique. It's kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head, but I like games like that!</p>
<hr />
<p>This is part of a bi-weekly series on my Total Immersion learning experiences. If you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
Corning Wineglass Marathon 20152015-10-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-marathon-2015/<p>My second big challenge of 2015 was a full marathon. This would be my third full marathon. My first (Rochester) was unpleasant, as I was plagued by IT band issues. My second (<a href="https://scottpdawson.com/new-york-city-marathon/">NYC</a>) went really well, yet I missed my goal of a Boston-qualifying time (BQ), which bummed me out. My third, this race, was in Corning, practically in my backyard where I enjoyed a Master's win in the half marathon last year. Would this be the year for a BQ for me?</p>
<h2 id="preparation">Preparation</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_5087a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Packet pick-up" title="Packet pick-up" /><p class="stickyNote">Packet pick-up</p></div>
<p>Going into this race, I was not as prepared as I could have been. I had a lackluster training cycle, mostly due to poor recovery from my 50-miler in May, and from also almost messing my knee up while trying to water a plant while standing on a "<em>spinny chair</em>". Note to self: don't do that again! I fell pretty hard and yanked my knee about, resulting in about a 2-week period of discomfort and scaled-back training. I did have a few bright spots in training, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-corning-hansons-brooks-distance-project-2x6/">one that I blogged about I was so enthralled</a>. Despite all that, I had a sunny mental disposition about this race, daydreaming about what it would feel like entering the finish stretch with a BQ in sight, practically leaping with joy!</p>
<p>We went to packet pick-up on Friday after work, so we could enjoy Saturday without having to take a trip down to Corning the day before the race. The expo was quite well-organized, and we enjoyed some pizza we picked up from <a href="http://www.scuteriscannoliconnection.com/">Scuteri's Cannoli Connection</a> in Watkins Glen on the way back home. Saturday night we had a wonderful pasta dinner at home, and talked about race day logistics. Xander was staying with my parents during the race after sleeping in at home, but Elizabeth (14) would be racing her first half marathon without Amy pacing her, which was going to be a big deal.</p>
<h2 id="race-morning">Race Morning</h2>
<p>I don't think any of us slept that well before the race, which is nothing new. We were up around 4, had our coffee and some light breakfast food and out the door at 5 for the hour-long drive to Corning. I am continually amazed that my 14-year old doesn't need much prodding to get out of bed early. She is very independent, and I'm sure that ski racing has prepared her for these early starts as much as anything else. We brought bagels with peanut butter along for the ride, since we wanted to eat just 2 hours before the start.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_8355a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Before boarding our buses" title="Before boarding our buses" /><p class="stickyNote">Before boarding our buses</p></div>
<p>We were in Corning before long, and parked at the YMCA. I realized I forgot my phone in the car (really, Scott?) after we reached the buses, so I ran back to get it while Amy waited up for me. Elizabeth got in the snaking line for the half marathon in the meantime. We boarded buses for the longer ride to the marathon start in Bath, NY. We were kind of bummed about seating: all of the seats on the bus at least had a single person in them, so we couldn't sit together. We did share snippets of conversation across the seats but it was mostly a quiet ride.</p>
<p>The half marathon start is SO much nicer than the marathon start. At the half, everything was self-contained and there was a school with a track. For the marathon, we found a DPW building that was open for runners, so that provided some warmth. They wanted to have us go 100 yards down the road closer to the start, though, where there were more facilities and tents. We mostly walked around, though, after checking our bags with UPS (and saw our mail carrier, Lisa, helping!) Other runners were eyeing our bathrobes, and I was grateful that Amy had picked them up at the Salvation Army to help us keep warm before tossing them aside.</p>
<h2 id="running-the-wineglass-marathon">Running the Wineglass Marathon</h2>
<p>Nerves were not a problem for me this year. I usually have a quickened heart rate before a start, but this year I stood among the throngs of runners not feeling much. Just a readiness to get out and run! I told Amy earlier in the week that I didn't know if a BQ was attainable, but I was going to put all the cards on the table and go for it. I wasn't going to get caught up in the beginning and go out too fast, either. These thoughts replayed in my mind briefly, and then we were off!</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/wineglass-marathon-splits.gif?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Wineglass marathon splits" title="Wineglass marathon splits" /><p class="stickyNote">Wineglass marathon splits</p></div>
<p>My goal was to stay ahead of the 3:15 pacer, who would be running 7:27 splits. I settled into a good pace for the first mile, a 7:26. Good, not too fast. I had to fumble a bit with my iPhone since it was stuck on single-track repeat (really?), and soon I had it set to I could listen to my carefully-crafted playlist. Being a bit facetious here, since I threw it together in about a half hour the day before the race!</p>
<p>I came upon a pack of runners that had an unofficial race goal of 3:08, and the two guys pacing were right on target. This would be a BQ pace for me, with 7 minutes to spare, and I found that through mile 17, I hung with them pretty easily. I was really happy with the consistent splits and felt really fresh.</p>
<p>I knew I could back off a little, so when I walked through an aid station to drink water, I wasn't worried when they pressed on. This part of the course also featured a headwind, and without their pack to break the wind, I felt this to be the most oppressive part of the course so far. I pressed on, toward the part of the course I really dislike. It winds through neighborhoods and turns a lot, and seems to never end. At mile 23-24, I was feeling quite miserable, and my quads had tightened noticeably, shorting my stride. My pace started to fall quickly, and my heart fell when that 3:15 pacer passed me at mile 24. He was so kind, encouraging me to keep with him, yet I don't think I could have, even if he had a briefcase with a million dollars. I was physically shredded, and despite my mind WANTING to go faster, my legs would no cooperate.</p>
<p>I quickly chose a secondary goal: having a personal best. I calculated that if I could do under 10-minute miles for the rest of the distance (only a 5K!) I could do this. For the last 3 miles, I laid down a 9:46, 10:04 and a 9:26, giving me a PR by 3 minutes, 31 seconds. I don't think I mustered much of a smile as I approached the finish, as I had nothing left to give. I knew my daughter was in the crowd somewhere, and she quickly found me in the finish area.</p>
<p>My legs hurt so bad, and I had a lot of trouble walking. Elizabeth was worried about me, and I think I used some colorful language (yep, I'm sure of that) to describe my discomfort. She snapped me out of it pretty quickly as she told me to calm down, and I found a chair to lightly massage my legs back into shape. She was so helpful to me, getting me pizza (I fought the nausea and got it down) and some Gatorade. She even got me my drop bag with warm clothes, which felt SO good to put on.</p>
<h2 id="post-wineglass-marathon-thoughts">Post-Wineglass Marathon Thoughts</h2>
<p>It's barely a day later, but I think my post-race thought is still valid. I do NOT have any love in my heart for the marathon distance. I love trail running, ironically, and love going beyond 26 miles there. I have had three tough marathon performances, but there is that 20-mile wall to consider. I really pushed myself, set ambitious goals, and came out the other side having learned some lessons. I know there's training I can do to help endure those last 6 miles with a better outcome. Is heart-rate training the answer? I do know that for most of this race I was securely in Zone 4, which is beyond lactate threshold and a recipe for disaster over long distances. So, I'm not writing the marathon off ... yet. We'll tangle again in the future, maybe when I'm 45 and go up an age group. For now, I'm thinking next year might be the "year of the half marathon". And an intermediate triathlon. Yeah, I like the sound of that.</p>
<p>So, ski season? I'm ready for you now. Bring it on.</p>
<h2 id="wineglass-marathon-by-the-numbers">Wineglass Marathon by the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>Men 40-44:</strong> 21 <em>of</em> 111<br />
<strong>Gender:</strong> 102 <em>of</em> 727<br />
<strong>Overall:</strong> 128 <em>of</em> 1,927</p>
Improve Your Backyard: Install a Shade Sail2015-10-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/improve-your-backyard-install-a-shade-sail/<p>We love to have shade on our back deck, but have gone through more umbrellas than we can count. Whether they disintegrated, fell over in strong wind or were casualties of other outdoor activities, we never kept an umbrella longer than a year. We were traveling in Oregon and saw shade sails used in outdoor spaces, and thought <em>"why not try to install a shade sail at home?"</em> Well, it's easier than you'd think, and quite affordable. At $140 for the materials, it's far cheaper than buying a new umbrella!</p>
<h2 id="planning-a-location-for-your-shade-sail">Planning a Location for Your Shade Sail</h2>
<p>There are a lot of guides online for how to attach your shade sail, and most suggested we strongly anchor the corners using metal posts cemented in the ground. I had something less invasive in mind, so planned to attach two corners to our house, and attach the other two corners to trees in our yard that were in the right locations. I'd use stainless steel uncoated wire rope to provide proper tension across this expanse. Using twine, I <em>"prototyped"</em> how this would look in my backyard. This helped me to know exactly the locations on the trees for the anchors, and also how much material I'd need to buy for the wire rope.</p>
<h2 id="parts-list-for-shade-sail">Parts List for Shade Sail</h2>
<p>I got all of the materials I needed for this job from Home Depot, including a really nice, heavy-duty shade sail. Add in some decorative lights from <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a>, and I would have a really nice outdoor space that would be good in daylight and as dusk approached.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/ShelterLogic-ShadeLogic-12-ft-x-12-ft-Square-Sand-Heavy-Weight-Sun-Shade-Sail-25722/206154147">ShelterLogic ShadeLogic 12 ft. x 12 ft. Square Shade Sail</a> - $63.14<br />
<em>Includes 4 turnbuckles and enough material to anchor all four corners to a short anchor point, but I used wire rope on two corners to go farther. <a href="http://www.shelterlogic.com/CategoryDetail.aspx?CategoryName=SunShadeSails">Check out the full selection of shade sails at shelterlogic.com</a></em></li>
<li><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-8-in-x-125-ft-Stainless-Steel-Uncoated-Wire-Rope-810050/204471267">Everbilt 1/8 in. x 125 ft. Stainless Steel Uncoated Wire Rope</a> - $37.97</li>
<li><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-13-16-in-x-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Extension-Spring-2-Pack-15608/202045475">Everbilt 13/16 in. x 4 in. Zinc-Plated Extension Spring (2-Pack)</a> - $3.98</li>
<li><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lehigh-3-32-in-1-8-in-Wire-Rope-Thimble-and-Clamp-Set-7300S-24/100152727">Lehigh 3/32 in.-1/8 in. Wire Rope Thimble and Clamp Set</a> (4) - $7.92</li>
<li><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-National-Hardware-1-5-8-in-Stainless-Steel-Large-Screw-Eye-Bolt-V2016-8-LG-SCREW-EYE-SS/204588907">1-5/8 in. Stainless Steel Large Screw Eye Bolt</a> (1) - $0.88</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1P99djQ">25-Foot G40 Globe String Lights (Indoor/Outdoor)</a> - $24.99</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="installing-the-shade-sail">Installing the Shade Sail</h2>
<p>The shade sail came with hardware for me to be able to make the connections to the house pretty easily, including thimbles for the included nylon rope (which I used for the house connections) and turnbuckles to tighten the rope after installation. Here's how the house connection looks once in place. I used the springs to provide relief during periods of high wind <em>(we've had a few bad storms while this sail was in place, and it handled them with aplomb!)</em></p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_4995-e1443799039669.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Corner of the sail" title="Corner of the sail" /><p class="stickyNote">Corner of the sail</p></div>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_4998.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Corner of the sail" title="Corner of the sail" /><p class="stickyNote">Corner of the sail</p></div>
<p>From the opposite corners, I assembled the proper length of wire rope (I borrowed some heavy-duty bolt cutters to make the proper cuts) with the thimble and clamp for the end, and attached to eye bolts in the trees with a turnbuckle to tighten the span. Once I had these four anchor points established and installed, the shade sail was in the proper position and I could tighten all four anchor points to get the desired tension.</p>
<h2 id="the-finished-product!">The Finished Product!</h2>
<p>All-told, installation took just a few hours. The result is so nice, instead of constantly having to move an umbrella, the shade provides nice cover for outdoor dining at lunch and dinnertime. My wife and I also think the shelter makes us feel more comfortable while dining outside, as it feels more like an outdoor room.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_4994.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The shade sail, all installed!" title="The shade sail, all installed!" /><p class="stickyNote">The shade sail, all installed!</p></div>
<h2 id="lighting-the-shade-sail">Lighting the Shade Sail</h2>
<p>We like to entertain outside, and thought some globe string lights would be a nice enhancement. We ran an extension cord up to one of the house anchor points and used the included clips on the lights to attach them to the sail corners, and then along the span leading to one of the trees. This 25-foot string lights up the night quite nicely, providing a nice ambiance for outdoor entertaining.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_5011.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Our shade sail illuminates the deck at night." title="Our shade sail illuminates the deck at night." /><p class="stickyNote">Our shade sail illuminates the deck at night.</p></div>
<h2 id="2018-may%3A-update">2018 May: Update</h2>
<p>Well, after a few seasons of shade sail use, I have a lesson to share. Don't use the nylon rope! It just doesn't hold up. Despite not having it outside in the winter, it frayed and snapped this spring. I also had a turnbuckle fail on me, mostly because I think it was too small and the screw threads just plain failed. So ... I've updated the connections to the house to a) remove the spring (there's enough slack in the sail given the distance to the far posts and b) replacing all connections with metal (substantial turnbuckles and S-hooks). With these improvements, the sail is looking better than ever!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/10/IMG_E0794.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Don't use the nylon rope!" title="Don't use the nylon rope!" /><p class="stickyNote">Don't use the nylon rope!</p></div>Total Immersion Level 1 (1st Quarter)2015-09-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/total-immersion-level-1-1st-quarter/<p>I'll be writing about these classes every other week, so with an 8-week class that breaks down to a nice quarterly check-in. First things first, if you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
<p>Good. Back with me now? Here we go!</p>
<p>Amy told me that I'd not only get the swimming instruction, but also a weekly dose of zen. I figured with the stresses of life, zen would be a welcome addition! Shane started off our first class with an orientation of sorts. We sat haphazardly around a monitor and soaked in the essence of Total Immersion's principles, most notably the concept of effortless power, and how we can harness <em>gravity</em> as a means to propel us forward. Shane talked about balance, streamline, and propulsion, and how it would be unnatural at first to balance ourselves fore and aft in the water. I thought to myself, <em>"how on earth can I balance myself in water if my center of gravity is at my chest?".</em> The answer was revealed soon enough ... keep your arms in front of you to redistribute your mass, as uncomfortable as that can be in the water. We introduced ourselves to the group, then got down to business.</p>
<h2 id="sharpening-the-axe">Sharpening the Axe</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. — Abraham Lincoln</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This was by FAR the most impactful quote of the evening. We were going to spend a lot of time getting our axe ready to cut, or in swimming parlance, making sure all of the principles of balance, streamline and propulsion were aligned and in proper working order before getting down to SWIMMING.</p>
<h2 id="play%2C-play-and-play">Play, Play and Play</h2>
<div class="rt sm">
<img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/saulbh-e1443468316885.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Bobblehead!" title="Bobblehead!" />
</div>
<p>I enjoyed the exercises in this first class, aimed at playful exploration of our body's relationship with the water. First, keeping my head totally relaxed, face down in the water. I saw Shane do this first and ask a student to push down on his head. His head bobbed up and down in the water and I thought, "<em>bobblehead</em>! How freeing to do this myself in the water, just letting my arms out front and my head just bob about.</p>
<p>We played with pushing off in this mode, arms out front, in a Superman/Superwoman glide. Again, so freeing and relaxing!</p>
<p>We added a transition to skate (or the hammock, as Shane calls it) with a lateral rotation, just a shoulder sticking out of the water with that hand down on the thigh. We had flippers on, and while I initially struggled with the desire to get myself horizontal, it turned out to be a lot of fun to propel myself while my body was at an angle.</p>
<h2 id="moving-through-water-without-moving-water-around">Moving Through Water Without Moving Water Around</h2>
<p>I've always thought of swimming as being 100% about propulsion. Keep those fingers together! Move the water underneath you with each stroke! Power in the shoulders! Kick, kick, kick!</p>
<p>Not so. Not even close! The principles I'm learning here will result in the ability to move through the water, not moving around <em>in</em> the water. I practiced twice between the first and second class. Once I embraced Shane's admonition against racking up yardage in the pool, I was fine. This was playtime. Serious play, for sure, but this was going to be fun.</p>
<h2 id="it's-all-about-the-arm">It's All About the Arm</h2>
<p>We started the second lesson with a discussion about the mechanics of transition from skate on one side to skate on the other. We would minimize the amount of time in this transition state, focusing on keeping ourselves in skate on either side. We were NOT going to work on breathing yet, which was a good thing, per Shane. He expected us to stop when we needed air; allowing our brain to reset and resume the practice of perfect technique. Plus, air keeps one afloat. So, I enjoyed holding my breath (mostly) while practicing during class.</p>
<p>We learned about the timing for transitioning our arms, and how to keep our forward arm patient, waiting for that transition from skate to skate to move. We learned about not extending our arm backward past the scapular plane (a common source of swimmer injury), instead using our shoulder to lead the arm up and into a recovery posture in our peripheral vision (our "poise point"). I admit feeling a bit like a zombie with both arms extended in front. I was poised to strike! This visual did help me, adoption a zombie-like posture as we did our front-quadrant walk around the pool.</p>
<p>We did more first-week drills in the pool, and I got a helpful bit of correction as we started transitioning skate positions. My x-y coordinate (target) of my lead arm was not low enough, making my feet sink. Indeed, in practice I'd play with this more, learning that having my arms lower made my feet go higher, and having my arms higher would make my feet go lower. Playful!</p>
<p>We headed over the warm pool (thank God!) for some more drills, focusing on using our shoulder to lead our recovery arm out from its position after transition. We did forearm painting through the water, though in practice our arm would be transiting <em>out</em> of the water. We worked on various ways of switching skate positions, with our forearm both in and out of the water.</p>
<p>I practiced twice again this week, and really enjoyed the progression from bobble-head to full-on swimming (albeit without taking a breath, stopping instead). I'm excited for tonight's class, to see what cards we'll add to our "house of cards!"</p>
<h2 id="tim-ferriss%3A-smash-fear%2C-learn-anything">Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything</h2>
<p>The first week, Shane recommended this TED video. I enjoyed listening to Tim’s anecdote about learning to enjoy swimming, after he was introduced to Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin.</p>
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<p>This is part of a bi-weekly series on my Total Immersion learning experiences. If you arrived here and are wondering what Total Immersion is or why I'm doing it, <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/swimming/">read about my swimming and who inspired me to take this on in my early forties</a>.</p>
How to Find Your MAHR (Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate)2015-09-09T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/find-your-mahr-maximum-aerobic-heart-rate/<p>I was intrigued by an article in <a href="http://trailrunnermag.com/training/training-plans/1901-heart-rate-training-train-slow-race-fast">trailrunnermag.com</a> about training easy with heart-rate training. After a thorough read, I think I’ll give it a try after my Fall marathon to help build a strong aerobic base during the winter and spring. The summary of the story was that many runners end up training anaerobically (not intentionally), at a heart rate above their MAHR. According to Phil Maffetone, "<em>95-99% of the energy used for endurance sports, including competition, is derived from the aerobic system</em>." You’ll burn through glycogen in your muscles and liver (2-3 hours’ worth) if you’re training or competing above MAHR, but if you can stay below it, in the aerobic zone, you rely on fat stores (good enough for 100+ hours of activity).</p>
<h2 id="find-your-mahr-method-1%3A-phil-maffetone%E2%80%99s-180-formula">Find Your MAHR Method 1: Phil Maffetone’s 180 Formula</h2>
<p><a href="http://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/">Phil Maffetone suggests a formula</a> of 180 minus your age, with several adjustments based on your training history <em>(see link above for adjustments)</em>. For me, the 180 formula asks me to add 5 if I have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed <em>(again, see the link above for details)</em>, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.</p>
<p>For me, this is 180-42 = <strong>138 + 5 = 143</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Your MAHR] must be the highest heart rate for all training. This allows you to most efficiently build an aerobic base. Training above this heart rate rapidly incorporates anaerobic function, exemplified by a shift to burning more sugar and less fat for fuel.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="find-your-mahr-method-2%3A-friel%E2%80%99s-30-minute-workout-method">Find Your MAHR Method 2: Friel’s 30-minute Workout Method</h2>
<p>Elite coach Joe Friel, author of <a href="http://amzn.to/1K9dCRr">Fast After 50</a>, recommends using a workout to find your MAHR, during which you run at the "maximum, consistent effort you can sustain for 30 minutes. I headed out for a 5-mile run at marathon pace, which was about the pace I could do on this hot and humid morning. Friel suggests using a lap counter after 10 minutes to signify the start of the heart rate data capture. After 20 more minutes of sustained effort, stop that lap counter and calculate the average heart rate.</p>
<p>I uploaded my whole workout to Strava, since it was longer than 45 minutes. I exported the GPX file, deleted some of the data in a text editor to get the 20 minute span I was interested in, and re-uploaded it to have Strava do the heavy lifting of calculating the average heart rate. You could just as easily capture the 20 minutes during your workout, by starting a new workout after 10 minutes, then stopping that workout 20 more minutes in.</p>
<p>I found that my average heart rate for this span was <strong>159 bpm</strong>. Multiply that by 0.9, according to running-specific charts in Friel’s book, <a href="http://amzn.to/1K9goX0">Total Heart-Rate Training</a>, I’d get an approximation of my MAHR: <strong>143.1 bpm</strong>. That’s uncannily close to the <strong>143</strong> I got using the 180 formula!</p>
<h2 id="how-does-this-correlate-to-my-running-assessment%3F">How does this correlate to my running assessment?</h2>
<p>I got a running assessment last year from Cayuga Medical Center, and got a personalized report of my heart rate zones as part of the VO2 max test. The MAHR calculation jibes well with this report, with my <strong>Zone 2</strong> (aerobic) between <strong>120</strong> and <strong>139</strong>. So, if I stay below <strong>143</strong> I’ll stay in this zone and reap the benefits of aerobic training. We'll see how it goes!</p>
<p><strong>Zone 1, Recovery: HR <125</strong> HR<50% VO2max, RPE <12: Easy training zone with purpose of absorbing heavier training days and minimize risk of overtraining</p>
<p><strong>Zone 2, Base Training Zone: HR 120-139</strong> HR 50-60% VO2max, RPE 12-13: Aerobic zone of moderate intensity. Most of off season training should be spent in this zone with the goal of building a training base.</p>
<p><strong>Zone 3 Ventilatory Threshold: HR 140-155</strong> HR ~60% VO2max, RPE 14-15. Training in this zone will increase your tolerance to lactate and raise your anaerobic threshold. Individuals can remain in this zone for less than 1 hour. This zone is usually typical race pace.</p>
<p><strong>Zone 4, Interval Training Zone: HR 156-186</strong> HR 75%-100% VO2max, RPE 16-19. Can sustain training within zone for 90 seconds to 5 minutes. This zone is beyond lactate threshold and increases VO2max and enhances anaerobic metabolism.</p>
<p><strong>Zone 5, High Intensity Training Zone: HR 187</strong> HR 100% VO2max or higher, RPE 19 or 20. This zone is at or above VO2max and can only be sustained for short bouts of approximately 30-90 seconds.</p>
The Road to Corning: Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2x62015-09-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-corning-hansons-brooks-distance-project-2x6/<p>There are just 4 weeks left until the the Corning Wineglass marathon! It’ll be my third marathon, after an injured race in Rochester and a windy race in New York City. I enjoy reading about different workouts in the various trail and road running magazines and web sites we subscribe to, so it was fortuitous that <a href="http://competitor.com/">competitor.com</a> wrote about a 12-mile workout as their <em>workout of the week</em>. I had to do 12 miles this weekend, so I set out to do the <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2015/09/training/workout-week-2-x-6-miles_115113">Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2x6 workout</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To me, if you can be tired but run somewhat controlled and hit your splits, then you are in a good position. Some people will feel amazing and that’s OK too; however, if you feel sluggish and tired but can ‘toughen up’ a little on the second of the six miles, then I think you get a real idea of where you are for strength. It gives you a good idea of what you are going to have to do in the later parts of the marathon. — Luke Humphrey, head coach of <a href="http://hansonscoachingservices.com/">Hansons Coaching Services</a></p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="hansons-brooks-distance-project-2x6">Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2x6</h2>
<p>The 2x6 calls for a warmup run, followed by form drills and strides, then a run for 6 miles at a pace 5 seconds faster than marathon pace. I hope to get my BQ at this race, and my qualifying time should have a 7:26 overall pace or better. I can’t be on the wrong side of that, so am aiming for a 7:25 MP. So, 6 miles at 7:20 should do it. Then take a 10 minute break and do the 6 miles again! I chose to run this on my normal 3-mile route, which has some ups and down, none extreme, and would closely approximate the mild grades (mostly downhill) of the Corning course.</p>
<p>I had my doubts, especially after indulging in too much dinner the night prior. However, I am pleased to say that I nailed the workout today, and am feeling great! I am grateful for my TomTom GPS watch, which I was able to set to warn me if I went outside of a 7:15 (too fast!) or 7:26 (too slow!) pace. I chose a 2-mile warmup since it’s so incredibly humid today, ending up with an 8:58 pace. Then I did a series of <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2014/06/training/video-3-drills-for-a-better-running-stride_61766">ABCs</a> in my driveway before shedding my shirt, grabbing a small handheld and heading out for the first interval.</p>
<h2 id="interval-1---7%3A18-average-pace">Interval 1 - 7:18 average pace</h2>
<p>I was really happy with this, but tempered my happiness with the realization that I’d have to do it again! <em>Splits: 7:24 7:22 7:12 7:19 7:19 7:14</em></p>
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<h2 id="interval-2---7%3A18-average-pace">Interval 2 - 7:18 average pace</h2>
<p>After mile 2, I really felt tired, but I got my head in gear and realized that while it was going to be uncomfortable, it was not going to last forever! I had a tired 3-mile split and 5-mile split, but I shifted into high gear for mile 6 and hit my goal pace! <em>Splits: 7:22 7:15 7:25 7:16 7:27 7:04</em></p>
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Lucifer's Crossing 20152015-08-22T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing-2015/<p>I had too much fun in <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing/">last year's inaugural Lucifer's Crossing race</a> from <a href="http://www.rednewtracing.com/">Red Newt Racing</a> <em>not</em> to do it again. This year did not disappoint! There was amazing weather for this year, similar to last year, although we didn't have the soaking rains the weekend prior, meaning the trails would be nice and dry. I arrived just a few minutes early, in time to calmly retrieve my bib, get my Dirty Girl gaiters adjusted, and have some great conversations with fellow running friends before getting started.</p>
<p>Last year's start was further along the course than this year's start, due to some pretty epic flooding. This meant that we got the pleasure of not one, but TWO water crossings this year. To be fair, the first crossing is across a roadway where, by design, a creek crosses with 3-6 inches of water. Shortly after Ian blew his traditional ram's horn to start the race, we were splashing our way through this waterway and then began the ascent of the North side of the trail. I had lined up near the front, and found myself quickly out of breath as we climbed through the woods. My heart rate spiked to 170 at this point, and never backed off until the end of the race, when it was a hoppin' 185. I struggled to get my shirt off while running, and was happy to do so without having to stop (ungraceful as it was). The humidity was really bad!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4866.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="First stream crossing (taken post-race)" title="First stream crossing (taken post-race)" /><p class="stickyNote">First stream crossing (taken post-race)</p></div>
<p>I walked some of the longer runs of stairs, making a point to keep on moving as much as I could when the trails resumed. For flights of 5 or fewer stairs, I tried to bound up them quickly. Before too long I was as the long flight of stairs adjacent the falls, which was quite a sight. Again, last year this part of the course was re-routed due to damage from the flooding. Still the same big elevation gain, though (my watch reported 874 ft over the race).</p>
<p>After the Old Mill, there were a few delightful minutes running narrow, level singletrack with foliage tightly packed on both sides. Then we were at the top water crossing, a deeper crossing that got my feet nice and wet, and even a few splashes up on my shorts. I was grateful to not slip here, and quickly mounted the bank on the other side and kept on running.</p>
<p>The remainder of the run was really, really fun. There was more "up" than I remember from last year, but after it rolls a bit, it really starts to go downhill. There was one turn where the runner in front of me missed the flags and I started to follow him. I caught a cluster of flags in my periphery, though, and stopped short in time to make the turn. The runner behind me passed me at this point, and I yelled "Turn!" at the runner in front of me who had missed it. We ran tightly as a pack of four to the end, jockeying for position as we went, taking turns leading and following. I really enjoyed certain parts of this, most notably those that were steep, curvy downhill pitches. What fun to use the terrain to keep your body upright, running at a super-fast clip! Again, grateful to NOT fall.</p>
<p>And then it was done! The trail spits you back onto a gravel road that, after 100 yards or so of downhill, leads to a grassy stretch to the finish line. I took a few minutes to gather my breath, had one of the most <em>delicious</em> peaches I've ever had, and then enjoyed encouraging other runners and talking with more people who mingled around the finish area.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4868.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Done!" title="Done!" /><p class="stickyNote">Done!</p></div>
<h2 id="gps-track">GPS Track</h2>
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<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>Finished overall 12th of 92 runners in 57:34. I shaved 8 seconds off last year's time, which made me really happy since this year's course was ~.2 miles longer!</p>
Ramona Falls to Bald Mountain2015-08-15T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/ramona-falls-to-bald-mountain/<p>This was the last major hike of our Oregon trip. With some pretty good distance and elevation for the kids and four stream crossings (two of them I'd describe as epic), it would also turn out to be the most memorable. We planned to hike to Ramona Falls, then make the ascent to Bald Mountain via the Timberline Trail.</p>
<h2 id="ramona-falls">Ramona Falls</h2>
<p>We got an early start, arriving at Ramona Falls' typically busy parking lot before it was too full. We loaded up our packs and enjoyed a mostly level hike to Ramona Falls. We first had to negotiate an unmarked wash, the result of heavy flooding, and I was grateful that Sarah and Adam were with us to find the way. We took the more scenic route to the Falls, tracing the mossy banks of Ramona Creek. I was fascinated by the scenery in here, stopping to take a few pictures of the "shag carpet" of moss. Before long, we were at Ramona Falls proper, taking a few family pictures with Adam and Sarah before leaving the throngs behind for the longer portion of our hike.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4799.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Crossing a log bridge in the wash" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4801.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Beautiful forested trail" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4800.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ramona Creek, with mossy banks" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4802.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Shag carpet moss!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_3113.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Amy, the kids and me in front of Ramona Falls" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_3109.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Sarah, Adam and the kids in front of Ramona Falls" />
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<h2 id="timberline-trail">Timberline Trail</h2>
<p>We started climbing from the base of Ramona Falls, and after .6 miles of uphill trail came to a junction with the Yocum Ridge trail. We had considered this as a destination for the day, but chose Bald Mountain instead. We took the wandering path around the ridge on the Timberline Trail, pausing periodically to look at some of the amazing foliage, like thriving <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Club">Devil's Club</a> with leaves bigger than a child's torso with thick, spiny stems.</p>
<p>Some of the Timberline Trail was close to washing out, with very steep slopes up to our right, and steep slopes down to our left. When water crossed the trail, we really had to watch our footing! The kids really handled the exposure well, though, and soon the grade lessened and we knew we were approaching Muddy Fork.</p>
<h2 id="muddy-fork">Muddy Fork</h2>
<p>Now that I read the book closely, <em>after</em> doing the hike, I see how we could have been warned in advance. However, given the dryness of the PNW this winter and summer, we thought we'd be in good shape for the stream crossings. Boy, we were wrong! The guide book says that Muddy Fork is <em>"a milky, glacial outwash river."</em> It continues to note that the <em>"bridgeless crossing is tricky in June and on summer afternoons, when snowmelt swells this two-branched torrent."</em> Hmm, them's fightin' words!</p>
<p>We would pass over three branches of Muddy Fork, according to my topo map. The first branch was interesting, as we could traverse on rocks or relatively unstable, small trees. We all seemed to make it across in our own way, as it was not that great an expanse. Shortly thereafter we came to the next fork, and it was almost laughable. Just a few hops on rocks and we were across that. We were so confident that the first branch had the most potential for trouble, and we felt good about that until we reached the roaring third branch. This picture says it all ... oh my! You really needed to be there to see how swift and deep this water was.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4806.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="How are we going to get across and stay dry?" title="How are we going to get across and stay dry?" /><p class="stickyNote">How are we going to get across and stay dry?</p></div>
<h2 id="crossing-muddy-fork">Crossing Muddy Fork</h2>
<p>This was by FAR the most exciting part of this hike. It's true, the most challenging things are often the most rewarding. We spent the greater part of an hour trying to figure out a dry way across, mostly because of the kids. Rock crossing upstream? Downstream? How about throwing rocks in to make a path? Nope, water's too swift. Adam and I found a crossing downstream that would be suitable for adults with long limbs, so we took it and scouted the other side for materials. We found some logs that we could carry and tried to lodge them in place to no avail.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4807.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A tall order to build something for a dry crossing." title="A tall order to build something for a dry crossing." /><p class="stickyNote">A tall order to build something for a dry crossing.</p></div>
<p>The scenery here was fantastic in the meantime. Hood was shrouded in cloud, and periodically we'd see the tip of a waterfall further upstream. Adam and I decided that we'd go with a backup option, using the crossing that we'd taken. We've both gotten our feet wet before, and I had most recently done a 50-miler with 8 creek crossings, all of them getting my shoes and legs sufficiently soaked. We stood at strategic points in the stream, making sure we were stable at all times with our hiking poles, and filled in the gaps to help the rest of our party across. The steps were complex, especially for little arms and legs. Hands down on the first rock with feet on the bank, then step to a small rock with your left foot. Right foot to the rock your hands were on, then a BIG step to another rock with your left foot. Then another manageable skip to the opposite bank.</p>
<p>Elizabeth went across first, and then she got to work taking pictures with my iPhone, which I had left over on the far bank while scouting materials. I think Amy's face says it best in the last shot, that while we were stressed about this, the plan worked out just fine and we were relieved to make it across!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4816.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Relief!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4818.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Taking in the view while drying our socks." />
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<p>We took a break on the other side, enjoying some snacks while Adam and I squeezed out our socks and laid them on rocks to (partially) dry. At one point, we saw some hikers go by who were prepared with water shoes for the crossing. We totally could have done that, but didn't think of it. It was entertaining nonetheless to watch them dutifully change their shoes on both sides of Muddy Fork, and even more entertaining to watch them cajole their dog into making the crossing without being carried (which he did with aplomb!)</p>
<h2 id="bald-mountain">Bald Mountain</h2>
<p>We were off to Bald Mountain now! We hiked the remaining few miles to a beautiful overlook, taking in the peak of Mount Hood, now only partially clouded. The miles and stream crossings behind us were still fresh in our minds, but it was totally worth it.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_3120.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Mount Hood from Bald Mountain" title="Mount Hood from Bald Mountain" /><p class="stickyNote">Mount Hood from Bald Mountain</p></div>
<p>We could have stood here for a very long time, taking it all in. The sun was shining, and the quietness and nature around us was quite a scene.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4821.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Xander, Elizabeth, Amy and Adam" title="Xander, Elizabeth, Amy and Adam" /><p class="stickyNote">Xander, Elizabeth, Amy and Adam</p></div>
<p>The clouds were mesmerizing, and I took a time lapse of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orographic_lift">orographic lift</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPzzPbry1vA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPzzPbry1vA</a></p>
<h2 id="there's-just-one-more-thing">There's Just One More Thing</h2>
<p>As Steve Jobs used to say at the end of Apple keynotes, there was just one more thing to come. After descending two miles down the PCT back toward the start of the Ramona Falls trail, we came to Muddy Fork again, much farther downstream. There used to be a nice bridge here, but we believe it was a casualty of flooding. Instead, we found a felled two-trunk tree that someone had rigged rope to on the top side. We could shimmy across with our feet on the bottom trunk and our hands on the rope. My only concern was for Xander, since his relatively little legs had quite a reach to get down to the bottom log. We went across together, though, always with three points of contact on this improvised bridge. Soon we were across and enjoying the brief hike back to our cars!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4836.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and Adam on the third creek crossing" title="Amy and Adam on the third creek crossing" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and Adam on the third creek crossing</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%3A-ramona-falls-to-bald-mountain">By the Numbers: Ramona Falls to Bald Mountain</h2>
<p>I used the <a href="https://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS app for my iPhone</a> to track this course, and subsequently loaded it into <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/371463063">Strava</a> using the GPX export. Total mileage for the day was 15.25 miles <em>(2,574 feet of gain as reported by the track after importing into Strava)</em> with about 5.5 hours of hiking. With the stream crossing and subsequent break, we spent 7:45 on the trails, though.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/371463063/embed/ce2101f4309db157b9f3dcc7c9a1a04b17ce68b7" width="590" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>This is <strong>Hike 69 (Ramona Falls to Bald Mountain)</strong> in <a href="http://amzn.to/1KumNZm">100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington</a>. There's a great description and map in there. Enjoy!</p>
Pole Creek to Camp Lake (Chambers Lakes)2015-08-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/pole-creek-to-camp-lake-chambers-lakes/<p>Amy and I greatly enjoyed this hike together. It was just the two of us, and we’d just checked out of our short-term rental in Sisters, OR. We enjoyed the short drive to the Pole Creek trailhead. This area was burned in 2012, so we’d be hiking through some of the burned area. In fact, the fire had destroyed four cars at the trailhead and had campers and hikers improvising other ways out of the Three Sisters Wilderness. Lightning caused this fire on Sept. 8, 2012 and burned about 40 square miles, costing $18 million to put out.</p>
<p>The guidebook describes the first 4.6 miles of this hike as “miserably dusty, viewless miles.” Written before the fire, it was no longer accurate, at least the viewless part. We enjoyed views of North Sister almost immediately through the burned-out trees. The trail did ascend quite a bit through this burned area, and we stopped to marvel at the effects fire has on the forest. Massive destruction to be sure, but to see the life in the landscape - wildflowers and new trees - it was clear that there is a circle of life at work here.</p>
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<p>We came to a junction with Soap Creek after 2 miles of hiking, where there was a fair amount of lush greenery and flowers prospering. After another 2.6 miles, we came to a far larger crossing, that of the north fork of Whychus Creek. Muddy and turbulent, this creek is the result of glacial runoff, and we soon saw those glaciers as Middle and North Sister loomed into view.</p>
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<p>The demarcation of the fire line was quite sharp. One moment we were among the hulking sentinels of burned out trees, and the next we were in blessedly shaded forest. We took a break for lunch after switchbacking up a large ridge, took a quick lunch break with a great view of South Sister, and proceeded along the ridge towards the Chambers Lakes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_3085.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="South Sister came into view. A side of the mountain we hadn't seen!" title="South Sister came into view. A side of the mountain we hadn't seen!" /><p class="stickyNote">South Sister came into view. A side of the mountain we hadn't seen!</p></div>
<h2 id="the-three-sisters%2C-all-together">The Three Sisters, All Together</h2>
<p>I’ve never been in a spot where I could get a brilliant panorama of all three mountains, but here I was. Just one stretch of trail where the trees parted and I had an unobstructed view of all three peaks. Simply stunning.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4784.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panorama" title="Panorama" /><p class="stickyNote">Panorama</p></div>
<h2 id="camp-lake">Camp Lake</h2>
<p>We came upon Camp Lake just when we were beginning to doubt the mileage. Camp Lake is the most accessible of the Chambers Lakes. There are more, but our schedule wouldn’t permit us to explore further. Just over 7.5 miles into the hike, the lake stood out as a deep blue patch through the trees. Just a few more minutes on trail and we were there.</p>
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<p>There’s a wonderful rocky beach, and we thought that if we lived there longer, we’d walk in with camp chairs, lunch and some good books and spend the afternoon just relaxing in that very spot. The lake was crystal clear and cool, and we sat and took in the view for a few minutes.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4787.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panorama" title="Panorama" /><p class="stickyNote">Panorama</p></div>
<h2 id="leave-no-trace">Leave No Trace</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4793.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Two water bottles." title="Two water bottles." /><p class="stickyNote">Two water bottles.</p></div>
<p>As we arrived at the beach, we saw that some inconsiderate people had left two water bottles sitting right on the shore! We lamented their carelessness, crushed up the bottles and packed them out with us.</p>
<p>If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re not the type of person that would leave plastic bottles lying around the wilderness. We were happy to be able to help keep this corner of the world clean!</p>
<h2 id="hiking-through-the-pole-creek-burn">Hiking Through the Pole Creek Burn</h2>
<p>I took this panorama on the return portion of the hike, about 2 miles from the trailhead. This is almost a 270-degree view, and you can see what it's like right in the middle of a heavily-burned area.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4791.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panorama" title="Panorama" /><p class="stickyNote">Panorama</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%3A-pole-creek-to-camp-lake-(chambers-lakes)">By the Numbers: Pole Creek to Camp Lake (Chambers Lakes)</h2>
<p>I used the <a href="https://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS app for my iPhone</a> to track this course, and subsequently loaded it into <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/371463879">Strava</a> using the GPX export. Total mileage for the day was 15.32 miles <em>(2,259 feet of gain as reported by GPS)</em> with just over 5 hours of hiking.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/371463879/embed/346a3ca41938f4e413892406eb1cbc15739ea693" width="590" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>This is <strong>Hike 50 (Chambers Lakes)</strong> in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981570178/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0981570178&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=EIVKMR62E7X4L7HU">100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades</a>. There's a great description and map in there. Enjoy!</p>
Scott Trail to Four-in-One Cone, Obsidian Trail2015-08-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/scott-trail-to-four-in-one-cone-obsidian-trail/<p>We stayed in a short-term rental in Sisters, Oregon during this week. It was a really great place, and Sarah and Adam came down to join us for an evening, and this day hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness! I knew I'd really enjoy this hike, especially given the eponymous trail name we'd start out on.</p>
<p>We enjoyed the short, winding drive up to McKenzie Pass, pulling off at the trailhead at Scott Lake. We were the only car in the parking lot, which I took to be a <em>brilliant</em> sign. I love hikes that are not too crowded, and we wouldn't see another soul on this hike until about 2 hours in, when we'd see some overnight campers on their way out.</p>
<p>After crossing the road to begin the hike, heading east, we steadily gained elevation as we crossed several lava flows. These flows were punctuated by several forested islands, and soon enough we were at Four-in-One Cone, a series of four cinder cones right next to each other.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4725.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Stretching and smiling!" />
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<p>We climbed the trail to the top of the largest cone, enjoying the sweeping views of North and Middle sister. We also picked out the profiles of both Little Brother and Broken Hand, which we hiked during past trips. Using our Gaia GPS app, it was really cool to see the tracks we’ve laid down in the past while in this massive wilderness. Each hike is so different, and the mountains have such different views depending on your vantage point. You can see on this map many of the hikes we've tracked this way: this particular hike is the large loop at the left side of the map.</p>
<p>We left the cinder plains after descending the cones and proceeding to hike across a large meadow to arrive at the junction with the PCT.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4729.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and Sarah, just before the PCT trail junction" title="Amy and Sarah, just before the PCT trail junction" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and Sarah, just before the PCT trail junction</p></div>
<p>We decided to extend our hike to return to the trailhead via the Obsidian trail, so we ventured South on the PCT. While on the PCT, I saw some amazing things: the massive Collier Cone, some amazing lava formations, and a really gnarly tree with a bushy top that gave us all pause to consider <em>how</em> it grew like <em>that?</em></p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4733.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Switchbacking down on the PCT." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4734.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Lava formation. Once in a lava tube?" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/09/IMG_4737.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Check out this gnarly tree with a bushy top!" />
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<p>We paused at a .7 mi trail connector to the Obsidian trail to show Sarah and Adam where we’d been the time we camped during the Little Brother weekend. It was cool to see where we’d set up our tent and where we’d gotten water.</p>
<p>The descent down Obsidian was pleasant, and we made good time and had nice conversations. We passed the same lava field again, this time farther to the South, remembering having passed this way in a prior year with the kids.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4738.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Passing through lava island on the Obsidian trail" title="Passing through lava island on the Obsidian trail" /><p class="stickyNote">Passing through lava island on the Obsidian trail</p></div>
<p>I took a photo as we passed from the massive lava island back into the forest. I absolutely love how quickly you can transition from the starkness of lava into the lushness of forest.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4739.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="I love the dense forests in Oregon" title="I love the dense forests in Oregon" /><p class="stickyNote">I love the dense forests in Oregon</p></div>
<p>Soon enough we were back to the Obsidian trailhead, and then took a short spur trail to get back to the Scott Trail parking lot, where we’d started.</p>
<h2 id="panorama">Panorama</h2>
<p>I took this panorama from the top of Four-in-One Cone. North and Middle Sister dominate the skyline in the middle.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/09/IMG_4724.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panorama" title="Panorama" /><p class="stickyNote">Panorama</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%3A-scott-trail-to-four-in-one-cone%2C-obsidian-trail">By the Numbers: Scott Trail to Four-in-One Cone, Obsidian Trail</h2>
<p>I used the <a href="https://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS app for my iPhone</a> to track this course, and subsequently loaded it into <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/371464889">Strava</a> using the GPX export. Total mileage for the day was 16.28 miles <em>(3,116 feet of gain as reported by GPS)</em> with just over 5.5 hours of hiking.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/371464889/embed/c927623c77d6c59220b41017e6f014f475f00741" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>This is a blend of <strong>Hike 43 (Obsidian Trail)</strong> and <strong>44 (Four-in-One Cone)</strong> in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981570178/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0981570178&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=EIVKMR62E7X4L7HU">100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades</a>. There's a great description and map in there. Enjoy!</p>
Timberline to Zigzag Canyon & Paradise Park2015-08-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/timberline-to-zigzag-canyon-paradise-park/<p>The kids were starting their week at Mount Hood Summer Ski Camp, so Amy and I selected a hike from Timberline through Zigzag Canyon and then to Paradise Park. We’d all be on the same mountain, but doing different activities! Here are some of the fantastic views of Hood from Timberline.</p>
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<p>The start of the hike couldn’t have been timed any better: we were able to see the kids going up the lift for the first day of their camp. Elizabeth is a bit of a veteran, but this was Xander’s first time and it was cool to see him and his sister riding the lift together.</p>
<p>This was a very light snow year for Hood. After a roaring start to their winter, the weather pattern shifted and they never got the late winter snow volumes they traditionally get. We actually got a call several days before our vacation started, saying that the camp would have to be canceled! Then, a few days later, the good news that the mountain would stay open for the week, provided we could get the kids there a day early, which we could! They normally arrive on Sunday for Monday through Friday of skiing, but we got them there on Saturday, which included skiing. They would be able to ski Saturday through Wednesday and get a full week in. It would turn out that the mountain's last day of operation would be their last planned day of camp, so the timing worked quite well for all of us.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V8WpDQgBqc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V8WpDQgBqc</a></p>
<h2 id="let's-hike!">Let's Hike!</h2>
<p>This hike starts on the PCT and winds its way clockwise around Hood. The first part of the trail is quite dusty, no doubt due to a combination of the dry weather and the trail's popularity. We descended first into a gully with Little Zigzag River in it, but the riverbed was dry. Before too long, we were at the crest of Zigzag Canyon, with dramatic views and a 700-foot descent to the riverbed.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4713.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Hood, from the crest of Zigzag Canyon" title="Hood, from the crest of Zigzag Canyon" /><p class="stickyNote">Hood, from the crest of Zigzag Canyon</p></div>
<p>After many switchbacks, gratefully shaded by stately trees, we reached Zigzag River. It was full of water, but not so much to make for an eventful crossing. We ascended the other side of the canyon, and took a right at the junction to make our way up into Paradise Park.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4711.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The view from Zigzag Canyon" title="The view from Zigzag Canyon" /><p class="stickyNote">The view from Zigzag Canyon</p></div>
<p>There was still a lot of vertical gain after the trail junction, but we steadily made progress and eventually emerged into a meadow with dramatic views of Hood. At this point we checked the time, and we really wanted to make it back to Government Camp in time for a late lunch at a taco joint we fondly remember. We decided to take a left off of Paradise Park Loop on a smaller connector trail that short-circuited the longer loop by about 2 miles, saving us about 45 minutes.</p>
<p>The return trip was equally beautiful, and we starting passing more people as we approached Timberline. It’s a very popular trail! At one point we had good cell service and got a text from Elizabeth, asking where we were. We wrote back "on Hood!", and snapped this picture for her. Xander, having hiked this trail with us in prior years, guessed right away that we were on the Zigzag hike.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4712.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Shortly after trail junction in Paradise Park" />
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<h2 id="the-little-zigzag-that-could">The Little Zigzag That Could</h2>
<p>The key highlight on the way back was seeing Little Zigzag River start flowing. The heat of the day warms the snow further up the mountain, and that’s what makes the smaller rivers start flowing more heavily (or at all!) in the afternoon. Our timing was perfect, as we saw a modest rivulet of water flowing from left to right, turning the dry creek bed into a river, right before our eyes. I circled the “start” of the river in red. Such a cool event to see!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4714.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A modest rivulet of water flowing from left to right" title="A modest rivulet of water flowing from left to right" /><p class="stickyNote">A modest rivulet of water flowing from left to right</p></div>
<p>Before long we were back at Timberline, and saw a few skiers making their way back to the parking lot. I recognized the red and pink ski packs instantly - our kids! We ran a bit down to the parking lot to catch up with them and find out how their morning was. It was very cool to see them on the way in, AND on the way out! We would make our way that afternoon to Sisters, our base for hiking for the next week, so it was nice to bid them farewell and continue our journey!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%3A-timberline-to-zigzag-canyon-%26-paradise-park">By the Numbers: Timberline to Zigzag Canyon & Paradise Park</h2>
<p>I used the <a href="https://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS app for my iPhone</a> to track this course, and subsequently loaded it into <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/371465262">Strava</a> using the GPX export. Total mileage for the day was 10.6 miles <em>(2,316 feet of gain as reported by GPS)</em> with just about 3.5 hours of hiking.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/371465262/embed/4174c6b35ec6d909fec6a25c39da6616a5f216b0" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>This is <strong>Hike 77: Timberline Lodge Trails</strong> in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939312000/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1939312000&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=G7LCUJOU434YIRPS">100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington</a>. There's a great description and map in there. Enjoy!</p>
Mount St. Helens: Windy Ridge to Loowit Falls2015-08-07T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/mount-st-helens-windy-ridge-to-loowit-falls/<p>This was our first hike of our 2015 trip to the West coast, and what a great way to start! Mount St. Helens is an amazing place to visit. The starkness of the landscape and evidence of the massive eruption can't help but humble you. We had gone to the Visitor Center on a prior trip, and opted this time to go directly to another location on the mountain. In fact, you can't get to the Visitor Center from the driving route to Windy Ridge!</p>
<p>It was a long drive from Portland, where had stayed the night. The road at times was windy, and unfortunately my eldest became carsick just 6 miles from the trailhead. We pulled over and helped her stomach recover, and then drove the remaining miles to an ample parking lot at an overlook. You can take a short hike up flights of stairs at the far right of the parking lot to what I imagine is a very nice view, but we opted to hike this day! At the left end of the parking lot is a gated road. The trail climbs for a bit along this road and then opens up nicely with views all around.</p>
<p>Just a few miles into the hike, we passed two women with a lot of gear around them. I commented that it looked like an aid station, they said "It is!" Turns out the <a href="http://www.bigfoot200.com/">Bigfoot 200</a> was running that day through the area, and there was a good chance that we'd see some ultra runners. How cool!</p>
<p>We continued making progress toward our goal of Loowit Falls, taking note of the race signage pointing the way on several signposts. We passed through several gullies, breaking up the otherwise homogenous post-eruption landscape. Being a drier-than-normal year, I think the wildflowers that normally dominate this landscape had not come out. The starkness was still something quite amazing to see, and the minutes ticked away as we hiked.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4683.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ascending a gully" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4682.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Big Spring" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_3054.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ascending a gully" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_3052.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="At a signpost" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_3049.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Helens' crater" />
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<h2 id="loowit-falls">Loowit Falls</h2>
<p>Shortly after we got to the spur trail that leads to the Loowit Falls, we got our first glimpses of them. I was instantly reminded of Taughannock Falls near our home, despite the lack of lush greenery around these particular falls. After a short hike, we were at the trail's end, overlooking a deep chasm carved by the water with the falls in the distance. We took a break for some trail food before turning back to retrace our steps back to the parking lot.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4686.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Loowit Falls" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_3058.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Amy and the kids at the falls" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4688.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Jerky!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4691.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Looking back at Spirit Lake" />
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<h2 id="bigfoot-200">Bigfoot 200</h2>
<p>On our return, we were passed by several runners going our direction. One of the leaders looked a bit lost by the route through Big Spring, so I helped him out by shouting that he was, indeed, on the right track. It was a bit of a challenge to find a dry way across the foliage-covered creek, but we all did it on the way up, and were able to point the way.</p>
<p>One runner who passed us did so on a stretch of trail that, as we understood the signage, he shouldn't have been on. The race photographer, perched high on a ridge, saw this too and yelled out to the runner. We caught up to these guys and told them that the guy probably got off course at one of the signs that was unfortunately flapping a bit too much in the breeze. One of the people at the aid station came down to help the runner get his bearings, and we walked a bit up the hill with the photographer, chatting a bit about the race. We arrived at the aid station and talked with them about the signage. In doing so, we realized that one of the volunteers was Janet, who had paced my sister-in-law Sarah at Western States several years ago! Well, this was just ironic, but not at all surprising in the PNW to see people you know. We were sharing stories and smiling as the photographer walked about taking photos of us. Long story short, we're in the official race photos of the Bigfoot 200, and we weren't even in the race!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4860.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Bigfoot 200 race photo with Janet" title="Bigfoot 200 race photo with Janet" /><p class="stickyNote">Bigfoot 200 race photo with Janet</p></div>
<p>On the way out, the kids hiked quickly in front of us at times (probably looking forward to the ride back to Portland!) We had stunning views of Mount Adams, and enjoyed looking back at the landscape we had just traversed. We drove due south to make our way to Hood River's <a href="http://www.doublemountainbrewery.com/">Double Mountain Brewery</a> for a delicious dinner before heading back to Portland.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_3048.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="View of Mount Adams" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4680.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Leaving by the way we came" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4693.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="The kids raced ahead!" />
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<h2 id="panorama">Panorama</h2>
<p>I took this panorama after starting the return hike from Loowit Falls. The falls is far left, with Spirit Lake at right and a view of Mount Adams at far right.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_4692.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Panorama of Helens" title="Panorama of Helens" /><p class="stickyNote">Panorama of Helens</p></div>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers%3A-windy-ridge-to-loowit-falls">By the Numbers: Windy Ridge to Loowit Falls</h2>
<p>I used the <a href="https://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS app for my iPhone</a> to track this course, and subsequently loaded it into <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/windy-ridge-to-loowit-falls-371460323">Strava</a> using the GPX export. Total mileage for the day was 8.85 miles <em>(1,157 feet of gain as reported by GPS)</em> with just over 3 hours of hiking.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/371460323/embed/bc0cdaa5c087b5416c007517aa8e3bb6b5d0f260" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>This is <strong>Hike 28: Windy Ridge</strong> in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939312000/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1939312000&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=G7LCUJOU434YIRPS">100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington</a>. There's a great description and map in there. Enjoy!</p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20152015-08-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/<p>This year was my fifth sprint distance triathlon at the Cayuga Lake Triathlon. It's SO nice that it is practically in my backyard, as the logistics are so much easier. It always strikes me how much gear I need to get together and organized before the race. The sprint distance is a 750 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and a 5K run. It was a beautiful morning for a race, but probably just a touch too warm to nab some personal records. The energy of the community around this race is always so infectious, I think I walked around with a smile all morning!</p>
<p>Mom and Dad helped again this year with body marking, and we got some nice pre-race pictures with them. Xander also did his first triathlon - the Cayuga Lake Triathlon youth distance - and got to enjoy the full body marking experience, too! Ray and Diana were great cheerleaders along with my parents, as they all took up spots near the swim start to see us go in, and come out of, the water.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/fanclub.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Ed, Jean, Ray and Diana are always great cheerleaders!" title="Ed, Jean, Ray and Diana are always great cheerleaders!" /><p class="stickyNote">Ed, Jean, Ray and Diana are always great cheerleaders!</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_3030.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Mom and Dad helped with body marking again this year" title="Mom and Dad helped with body marking again this year" /><p class="stickyNote">Mom and Dad helped with body marking again this year</p></div>
<h2 id="swim">Swim</h2>
<p>As I waited for my 9:00 swim start, I noticed with some trepidation the choppiness of the water. The wind also made a huge arc in the buoy line we were to follow, and I watched some of the smart intermediate swimmers create a tangent straight to the turnaround point. Really smart. Less distance to travel, that way. This was my first year wearing a wetsuit, and I was grateful to have had the chance to practice with it, albeit not as much as Amy. With the production of The Music Man I was in, work demands and an untimely summer cold all hitting at once, I wished I had more opportunity to practice. I did a few laps in the warmup area, noting that the water, for the first time, felt quite comfortable. It was 72 degrees, and with the wetsuit I had none of the goosebumps or teeth chattering I've had in prior years.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4660.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Beast mode!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_1635.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Hmm. Choppy." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_1621.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Still choppy." />
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<p>My wave was men 44 and younger, which made me quite nervous. I was near the top of that bracket at 42, and some of the younger guys (and sure, older!) would be far faster than me. I tried to figure out if I should line up in the back, on the side, or somewhere else to have a smoother start, but decided that NOT making a decision was the best course of action. So, it was no surprise when I found myself toeing the proverbial line, right up front. I could push hard, get out of the fray quickly, and enjoy the swim.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_1643.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The herd. I'm in there somewhere! " title="The herd. I'm in there somewhere! " /><p class="stickyNote">The herd. I'm in there somewhere! </p></div>
<p>Right. When we went off, I tried to sight straight to that last buoy. With the waves crashing and arms flying to my right and left, the effort was futile, though. I had started 25 feet to the left of the buoy line, and just a few minutes into the swim, the herd had pushed me all the way INTO the line. My right hand came down on the yellow rope, surprising me! I realized I was in this position for the long haul. No way to get left without getting trampled, my feet were getting brushed by the guy behind me, and the guy in front of me was going slightly slower than my pace. Oh no! I felt like a car on the Mass Pike, boxed in by semi trucks.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/132147-025-034h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="All done!" title="All done!" /><p class="stickyNote">All done!</p></div>
<p>There was a blessed break in the logjam a few minutes later, and I seized the opportunity to jump left and pass the guy in front of me. I ended up passing 2 more people on the stretch to the turnaround buoy, which gave me a much-needed boost. The way back was SO nice. The waves were now at my back, and I got into such a good rhythm. At times I felt the surge of some of the bigger waves push me like a body surfer, and it felt so good.</p>
<p>Before I knew it I was back at the beach, high-stepping my legs and starting to unzip my suit. After a quick jaunt across the pavement to transition, I was on my way to the bike.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_1654.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="To transition!" title="To transition!" /><p class="stickyNote">To transition!</p></div>
<h2 id="bike">Bike</h2>
<p>I love this bike ride. The climb, while intimidating, is over quickly enough, and I got onto my large gears quickly for the rolling grade to the turnaround point. It was uneventful enough, as I had plenty of breath in me and no muscle issues or cramping. I was intent on maximizing my pace, and enjoyed bombing down the last pitch back into the park. Strava tells me that I hit my top speed of 38.3 mi/h as I came to the bottom of the hill. What a THRILL! Average speed of the ride was 19.3 mi/h.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/132147-056-019h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Event photograph of the start" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_5108.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Starting the thrilling descent!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_1667.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Re-entering the park." />
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<h2 id="run">Run</h2>
<p>After finishing the bike, I started the run. It's always a challenge to get my running muscles to engage, but this year it didn't take too long. I set a good pace around the park, under the bridge and onto the base trail. Taughannock's trails are like home to me, and I smiled as I ascended the brief pitch to the familiar trail, remembering running there in the snow, the rain, and the sun earlier this year. Taughannock has many faces, and I've seen a lot of them. I shouted kudos to runners coming back my way, turned around at the falls and enjoyed the last half of the run. Before I knew it I was back to the finish, crossing in just under an hour and a half. Xander had just started his swim, so after a big drink from my new water bottle (what a great idea, handing out full "finisher" water bottles at the finish!) I headed over to see how he was doing.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/132147-103-033h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Run" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/132147-176-030h.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Finished!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/IMG_4658.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Ithaca Beer!" />
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<p>We enjoyed the post-race festivities, including a complimentary beer from Ithaca Beer and a delicious box lunch from Wegmans. The organizers, volunteers and community all pull together so nicely to make Cayuga Lake Triathlon one o the highlights of the year! Sadly we boys couldn't linger longer, since we had to head up for a 1 p.m. call time for The Music Man, but we had our fun and REALLY enjoyed the morning!</p>
<h2 id="cayuga-lake-triathlon%3A-by-the-numbers">Cayuga Lake Triathlon: By the Numbers</h2>
<p>My swim time was a nice improvement over last year, for which I'll credit my wetsuit. The conditions were poorer, so compensating for that, I think I was definitely faster. It's funny, though, my fastest swim was my first, in 2008. Ah, youth. That, and a glassy surface, Amy reminded me. I'm looking forward to taking Total Immersion with Shane at Island Health & Fitness this fall, as it is sure to make me a better swimmer in all conditions!</p>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Sprint Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/">2015</a></td>
<td>1:29:39</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361044698/overview">17:54</a><br />(2:23 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:55</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992701/overview">43:00</a>
<br />(19.53 avg mph)
</td>
<td>2:15</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992638/overview">23:35</a>
<br />(7:36 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/">2014</a></td>
<td>1:27:16</td>
<td>18:25<br />(2:27 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:40</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">41:54</a>
<br />(20.48 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">22:46</a>
<br />(7:21 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/">2013</a></td>
<td>1:35:47</td>
<td>19:33<br />(2:36 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:36</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">47:32</a>
<br />(17.87 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:30</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">24:56</a>
<br />(8:03 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/">2012</a></td>
<td>1:38:04</td>
<td>19:12<br />(2:34 per 100)
</td>
<td>4:06</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">46:02</a>
<br />(18.26 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:54</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:50</a>
<br />(8:39 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/">2008</a></td>
<td>1:39:44</td>
<td>17:11<br />(2:17 per 100)
</td>
<td>3:58</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">51:24</a>
<br />(16.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:00</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:11</a>
<br />(8:27 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
<h2 id="next-year">Next Year</h2>
<p>Next year, both Amy (<a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2">read her report from this year, too!</a>) and I think we're ready to step up to the intermediate (Olympic) distance. It's a 1.5K swim, 24.3 mile bike, and a 10K run, so double in everything except the bike. I'm looking forward to the extra challenge! A very special thank-you to my Dad and Stevan Knapp for the great pictures! A few are from the event photographers, but most are from my Dad, and a Steven took some great bike shots. Thank you!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/08/IMG_1805.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The four Dawsons" title="The four Dawsons" /><p class="stickyNote">The four Dawsons</p></div>
The Music Man (Mayor Shinn)2015-08-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/the-music-man-mayor-shinn/<p>Mayor Shinn provided quite a bit of comic relief during this performance. His bluster and bombastic lines made him a pleasure to play!</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2015/08/11760237_10153532491653894_1282144486438959098_n.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Caption" />
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</div></div>Finger Lakes 50K 20152015-07-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/finger-lakes-50k-2015/<p>Well, that's my first drop! I made it through 7.25 miles of this beast of a course before prudence won out in my mind. My left IT band has been aching for a few weeks now after some speed work, and I just knew that continuing would have been a poor choice. I'll live to fight another day, but this day, I got my fair share of mud. Good luck to everyone still gutting it out in the course!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/07/muddy_shoes.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Muddy shoes" title="Muddy shoes" /><p class="stickyNote">Muddy shoes</p></div>Sodium for Runners: How Much is Enough?2015-06-29T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/sodium-for-runners-how-much-is-enough/<p>**Update from Jan 29, 2015: I listened to a fantastic podcast episode from <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/">trailrunnernation.com</a> titled "<a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/2015/12/is-supplementary-salt-needed-in-a-race-with-coach-andy-dubois/">Is Supplementary Salt Needed in a Race?</a>" Coach <a href="http://www.mile27.com.au/">Andy DuBois</a> presents the latest research on the topic of sodium consumption, but also gets into SO much more. I learned that being a "salty sweater" means that I have an excess of sodium in my body, mostly due to diet, that the body eliminates via sweat. The <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/2015/12/is-supplementary-salt-needed-in-a-race-with-coach-andy-dubois/">podcast</a> is chock-full of fascinating answers to some of these questions, so check it out. Original post follows below ...</p>
<ul>
<li>Is there a correlation between cramping and low salt consumption?</li>
<li>The placebo affect?</li>
<li>Will rinsing your mouth with a brine solution do anything?</li>
<li>What can we do to avoid cramping?</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>Sodium is important in races several hours in length or longer. I’m a salty sweater, so this research into optimal sodium for runners was worth doing for me. When your sodium levels get low (called <em>hyponatremia</em>), you can get nauseous, disoriented and experience muscle cramping. I’ve been getting emails from Cayuga Medical Center leading up to the Cayuga Lake Triathlon, and in a recent message the topic of cramping came up. Here’s the quote that led to my writing this post:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you think you might benefit from extra sodium to help with muscle cramping, aim for about 500 to 1,000 mg of sodium per hour of exercise — Cindy Milner, MSEd, RDN, CSSD, CDN Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Sports Dietitian, <a href="http://www.cayugamed.org/CCHL">Cayuga Center for Healthy Living</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cindy suggests drinks, gels and chews that contain sodium, but as you can see below, the amount definitely varies. Salt tabs are a good option, but don’t overdo it with them.</p>
<p>Salty foods (a staple of ultra aid stations) such as broth, pretzels, jerky, salted potatoes, crackers and pickle juice are also options. Lastly, she suggests trying these suggestions out in training first. Trying something new on race day is not likely to work out in your favor!</p>
<h2 id="sodium-for-runners%3A-how-the-products-stack-up">Sodium for Runners: How the Products Stack Up</h2>
<p>In order of increasing sodium per serving, here's a sampling of what's out there on the market.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1GHNirs">Clif Shot Bloks</a> 3 blocks = 50mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1LxUeOp">Clif Shot Gel</a> 1 packet = 60mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1Ntu0Lq">Sport Beans</a> 1 packet = 80mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1RLxB92">Fig Newtons</a> 2 cookies = 110mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1LxUrkG">Endurolytes Extreme</a> 1 capsule = 120mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1eUQiv4">Kettle Sea Salt & Vinegar Chips</a> 13 chips = 210mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1GHNyqz">SaltStick Caps</a> 1 capsule = 215mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1Ntul0H">Gatorade Endurance</a> 12oz drink = 300mg 1.5T powder = 290mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1HpZQbP">Nuun</a> 1 tablet = 361mg</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=371303">Wegmans Kosher Dill Pickles</a> 1 pickle = 440mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1GHNQxN">Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels</a> 18 pretzels = 450mg</li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/1LxUPzF">Gatorade Gatorlytes</a> 1 packet = 780mg</li>
<li><a href="http://www.goldenpicklejuice.com/">Pickle Juice Sport</a> 8 ounces = 890mg</li>
</ul>
Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon 20152015-06-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon-2015/<p>This was the inaugural running of the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon, and I am SO glad that Amy and I signed up! The route was challenging, mostly due to complications with Ithaca construction and the permitting process, so this is probably the one and only year it'll ever have the hills this course had. What a badge of honor for those who ran! Definitely not a course to have a personal best time in the half marathon, but instead a scenic course to challenge the body and make us all smile. Ian Golden of <a href="http://rednewtracing.com/">Red Newt Racing</a> did a great job setting up this race, and as usual, it takes a village. Hats off to all of the volunteers who helped at packet pickup, traffic control, aid stations and the post-race party!</p>
<h2 id="pre-race">Pre-Race</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/06/IMG_6115.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Hamming it up at home, pre-race" title="Hamming it up at home, pre-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Hamming it up at home, pre-race</p></div>
<p>I was coming into this race just two weeks after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-first-50-miler-cayuga-trails-50/">my first 50-mile trail race</a>. Despite having just two runs since then, I was feeling pretty good, but knowing the difficult of the course, had no idea what to expect. Amy and I woke early after being up late the night prior (our daughter came home late from a school trip to NYC), ate our breakfast, applied our <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/store/">performance-enhancing Kokopelli tattoos</a> and headed out the door in time to take a team photo with some of our fellow FLRTC runners. The forecast was for high 60s, low 70s, and so we both opted for our race singlets. I carried a small water bottle to quickly refill at aid stations, too.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/06/IMG_6116-e1434328653928.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Pre-race with some of my FLRTC teammates!" title="Pre-race with some of my FLRTC teammates!" /><p class="stickyNote">Pre-race with some of my FLRTC teammates!</p></div>
<h2 id="the-race%3A-gorges-ithaca-half-marathon">The Race: Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon</h2>
<p>There wasn't too much time to get nervous, since we parked just blocks from the start and didn't have much to do logistically before heading to the start. I posted a picture of our team on Facebook, stowed my phone in my armband and headed toward the front of the start line for the start. Ian blew his traditional ram's horn to start us off, and we were underway right on time at 9 a.m. Shortly into the race, Sara Leavens (15 years old) was running beside me and asked what our pace was. I checked and told her we were doing a 6:30, and reminded myself that while I wasn't banking time per se, I'd be slowing soon enough as we started the ascent to Cornell University via Remington, a hill that seems bigger going up than it is coming down. Sara took off in front of me, and I never caught up with her again. Impressive!</p>
<p>A quick loop around Stewart Park and we were climbing soon enough through the roads of Cayuga Heights, making our way to Cornell's campus. I slowed a bit on the climbs, fully aware that I'd blow out considerably sooner if I expended too much energy. I made up for it on the flats, and knew that as we started heading North again once on Cornell's campus that the uphills were mostly over. Heading back downhill, I leaned my body forward, as if a giant joystick, and gravity helped propel me quickly back to the start line elevation.</p>
<p>It was demoralizing to enter Stewart Park again after the hills - up and down - and realize that I still had 3 miles of flat racing to go. I think this is where ultra training ultimately helped me, though, since as soon as the thought entered my head it was gone. Just one foot in front of the other, even cadence, focusing on good form, and I knew that I'd be at the finish soon enough. As I crossed the finish line, I was really happy. It's SO nice to run a race like this practically in our backyard, the sun was shining, and a festive post-race atmosphere was waiting for us all!</p>
<p>I walked back on the course a few blocks to encourage other runners and cheer Amy and Jenny in, as they were running together (<a href="http://skirtrunner.com/race-report/gorges-ithaca-half-marathon/">see Amy's race report</a>). After they passed, I ran back to the finish area where we enjoyed catching up with friends, eating some great post-race food (veggie burgers, salt potatoes and corn) and some delicious <a href="http://ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a>.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a fun early-season half marathon, please do come to Ithaca and join us next year. You won't be disappointed!</p>
<h2 id="photos">Photos</h2>
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<h2 id="the-route-%26-results">The Route & Results</h2>
<p>Here's my Strava route as captured by my TomTom watch. The distance measures short, but Amy's watch did the same thing, too.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/325468866/embed/c9c4ab487647616e0bfd0228a92e7e836ce7de0d" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<p>I was pleasantly surprised to place first in my age group (35 male runners aged 40-49) with a 1:37:25. Two of those runners placed before me, but got stripped off as master's winners. Overall I placed 23rd of 620, so I'm super psyched! Next up on my schedule is the Finger Lakes 50K in 4 weeks. Onwards!</p>
My First 50-Miler: Cayuga Trails 502015-05-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/my-first-50-miler-cayuga-trails-50/<p>This particular journey, my first 50-miler, started <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-journey-to-cayuga-trails-50-miler/">20 weeks ago with a single step</a>. With snow starting to melt, my training was about to shift to trails with <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-75-days-left/">75 days left</a>. Then, with 30 days left, the unthinkable: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-tale-of-woe-fractured-toe/">I fractured my right 5th toe</a>, on my <em>couch</em> no less! I have been injured before and pushed it, so I heeded the medical advice (thank you, Dr. Getzin!) and got my toe in working order, just in time for this race. I really missed trail running during the last 4 weeks of my plan, but did some working out in the form of a 5K with my son and some tough endurance elliptical workouts. So here I found myself, Sunday, May 31, 6 a.m., toeing the line at the Cayuga Trails 50, the USATF 2015 50 Mile Trail Championship.</p>
<h2 id="getting-ready-for-cayuga-trails-50">Getting Ready for Cayuga Trails 50</h2>
<p>Friday before the race, Amy and I went to <a href="http://ithacabeer.com/">Ithaca Beer</a> for a gathering of racers and volunteers. It was so fun! We got to sample a special brew, Lucifer's Steps, made just for the race. We spent a pleasant while talking with a trio of runners from New Jersey. Delicious food, beer, an incomparable natural setting and the chance to meet new people made it a wonderful evening.</p>
<p>Saturday I picked up my number, tracking chip and a new Ultimate Direction 20 oz. handheld at <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company</a>. I enjoyed a carb-loading dinner at <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/">Viva Taqueria</a> <em>(our favorite!)</em> before heading home to make final preparations for Sunday's race.</p>
<p>I decided that I would run with a handheld instead of a hydration pack, given the short distances between aid stations. I've found that the pack weighs heavily on my shoulders, and later miles can be uncomfortable. I was thinking about also using a light pack to carry dry socks, but instead opted for a drop bag that I could access at 4 points during the race, at Underpass. My drop bag had a change of clothes, socks and spare Fig Newtons.</p>
<p>Race morning I awoke at 4 a.m., had a bagel with peanut butter, coffee and orange juice. I loved reading all of the supportive comments on Facebook, and had a surprising text from my Dad just then, who wanted to wish me the best while I was eating "my Wheaties." Very cool. <em>Now, back to bed, Dad!</em></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/06/IMG_4375.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Lacing up" title="Lacing up" /><p class="stickyNote">Lacing up</p></div>
<p>Amy drove me to the start, arriving at about 5:30, where I checked in and found a far-off bathhouse with no line. The weather was cool (50s) with a chance of rain, which I thought would be pretty good for the day! I glanced at the sign that would welcome me back to the start at mile 25 before heading out for another loop. It would prove to be a deciding factor later in the race.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Welcome to North Shelter. 1st Time: 25 miles. Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever. 2nd time: That's a good day.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="loop-1">Loop 1</h2>
<p>I have not run this entire loop before. I ran the Treman segment at Lucifer's Crossing, and the Buttermilk segment at the Tortoise and the Hare, but not the connector of Lick Brook. We had hiked Lick Brook as a family, and to say it's steep is an understatement. My first loop average pace was ~12:30, completing 25 miles in just over 5 hours.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/06/IMG_5100.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Buttermilk" title="Buttermilk" /><p class="stickyNote">Buttermilk</p></div>
<p>I enjoyed running with a lot of different people this loop, and the pace was good and conversational. I had a BIG smile coming into the Buttermilk aid station at mile 12.5, where Ray and Diana were waiting with their own smiles. I said hello to them, got myself some food and headed back out for the return to the start. Along the way I knew I'd hit the Old Mill at mile 22, where <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/musings/cayuga-trails-50-as-an-aid-station-volunteer/">Amy, Elizabeth and Xander were volunteering for the day</a>. About a mile out from there, I saw Ian Golden who asked me how it was going. I told him it was tough! He nodded thoughtfully, remarking <em>"It ebbs and flows ..."</em> Later in the race, I'd think to myself there was more ebbin' than flowin', but no matter!</p>
<p>Soon the Old Mill was in view, and there were my kids! It was so good to see them, and they ran me in to the aid station where Amy and the other volunteers helped me out. My parents Ed and Jean were there, too, taking some great pictures and giving me encouragement.</p>
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<p>One embarrassing story: remember that new handheld bottle I bought? For the first 15 miles, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to drink out of it. I joked with one runner (who had a different brand and couldn't help) that it was like nipple confusion. I resorted to unscrewing the cap when I came to steep pitches and drank that way. At mile 15, with a sharp tug of my teeth I figured out that the spout has an "in" and "out" position, and from then on it was just fine. Talk about feeling stupid, though.</p>
<p>I was feeling really good as I came to the halfway point, though near the end my quads and calves were getting a bit thrashed. I was so happy with my salt levels (no cramping, which has plagued me in the past) and my stomach. I was keeping things down just fine.</p>
<h2 id="loop-2">Loop 2</h2>
<p>I arrived back at the start for some more refueling, a quick tune of my muscles with a stick that someone had in their drop bag (why didn't I think of that?) and then headed back out for the last 25 miles.</p>
<p>At this point my legs were pretty much done and I was slowing considerably. My mind never went negative, though, and I kept putting one foot in front of the other. My 5 mph average pace slowed to about 3, and some quick math made me tell Amy when I saw her at mile 28 that she'd better grab some dinner on her own, since I wasn't going to be done until 6 or later. Elizabeth and Xander ran me in to the Old Mill aid station at mile 28 (video below), and I was a man of many words when my Dad asked me how my toe was holding up.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBjxa3ZpbAc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBjxa3ZpbAc</a></p>
<p>I kept on going, having some good talks with fellow FLRC runner <em>(and club president)</em> Joel Cisne and others as I made my way over to Buttermilk again. A few miles out from there, I began to feel, well ... weak. That's about the only word I could use to describe it. I was getting light-headed and a bit hungry, and realized that I probably should have been eating MORE. Believe me, I was consuming what I thought was appropriate, but it clearly wasn't. My Mom and Dad were at Buttermilk, and saw me at my lowest. I seriously considered dropping out here, after 37.5 miles of running, but then I thought back to the sign at the start. Yes, quitting is forever, and I wasn't done yet. Through the assistance of my parents, Amy Schwartz Lopata and Joe Reynolds (and a very comfortable chair), I spent probably 10-15 minutes reloading with whatever they'd bring me: broth, Swedish Fish, Oreos, Fig Newtons, peanut M&Ms, salty Terra chips ... and I'm sure there was plenty more. I felt good enough to steel myself for the last 12.5 miles, got off my ass and headed out of the aid station.</p>
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<h2 id="the-home-stretch">The Home Stretch</h2>
<p>This last stretch I enjoyed the company of a few runners hitting the pace I was, one gentleman from Pennsylvania in particular. He and I fast-hiked and ran much of the remaining distance together. It's always nice to know when someone is going through what you're going through, and we were definitely in the same boat. My nutrition had been sorted out, but my legs were thoroughly fried. Each step was one step closer to the finish, and that's what we focused on. Amy was still at the Old Mill at mile 47, and I reveled in telling her and our friend Jenny Henion, <em>"I'm going to do this!"</em> Near the end, it was more a hike than a run, but as the rooted trail turned into soft grass, I felt compelled to run again. The last mile, as I approached the final turn to the finish line, I beamed inside. I <em>was</em> going to do this! I ran across the finish line at 13:01:50, feeling both an amazing sense of accomplishment, and a need to sit down and take my shoes off.</p>
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<h2 id="aftermath">Aftermath</h2>
<p>Amy whisked me away to the car after a few photos, where I promptly took my shoes and socks off, laying my wet, wrinkled feet on a blessedly dry towel. There had been 8 creek crossings (one thigh-deep) throughout the race, and I did change my socks mid-way through the second loop. Still, my feet were hurting but not damaged, and it felt SO good to sit. Believe it or not, my previously-fractured toe let out not a whimper the entire time. I had buddy-taped it to its neighbor, and it held up marvelously. Even now, 2 days later, it's feeling fine with no evidence of further trauma. <em>Yes!</em> I enjoyed the brief drive home with Amy, who had brought the kids home earlier in the afternoon. They had made wonderful signs and some delicious peanut noodles for dinner. I felt (and feel) so blessed to have a wonderful, supportive family!</p>
<h2 id="cayuga-trails-50%3A-my-gps-track">Cayuga Trails 50: My GPS Track</h2>
<p>The GPS vertical is off, but the miles sure aren't. The race advertised 9,000+ feet of elevation gain, and I felt every single one of 'em. A huge thank you goes out to Ian Golden, Red Newt Racing, Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company, TrailsROC and everyone who came together to make Cayuga Trails 50 such a wonderful event!</p>
<iframe src="https://www.strava.com/activities/316093157/embed/d5eef522c7448fc5e4f9dfe337de40a6e7e082dd" width="100%" height="405" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
The Road to Cayuga Trails 50: Tale of Woe, Fractured Toe (supposed to be: May Day 5 Miler)2015-05-02T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-tale-of-woe-fractured-toe/<p>So I signed up for the <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-journey-to-cayuga-trails-50-miler/">Cayuga Trails 50 miler</a>, started training in January, and have kept up with my training plan without issues. With <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-75-days-left/">75 days left before the race</a>, I wrote about the impending trail thaw and my highest mileage week of 48.2 miles. Now, with just 30 days left, I have 3 more 50+ mile weeks in the bank, and was set to run just three more long runs of 20, 20 and 26 miles before the race on May 31.</p>
<p>Sitting at my desk last night, I got up to leave the room and stubbed my right 5th toe on my couch. Now, I've done this in the past, but this time it <em>really</em> hurt. I slept well, but after buddy taping the toe and trying to run on it briefly, it became clear something was wrong. The bruising on the bottom of the toe foretold of something beyond the norm, too. Worst case, a fractured toe, best case something that could be re-aligned on the spot. I've been hurt in the past and made the mistake of being stubborn, continuing my training. This time, I called <a href="http://www.cayugamed.org/SMhome.cfm">Cayuga Medical Center Sports Medicine</a>, and luckily got an appointment a half hour later with <a href="http://www.cayugamed.org/SMcontent.cfm?profileID=3&serviceID=95">Dr. Getzin</a>. As a competitive triathlete earning All-American status with USA Triathlon the past four years, Dr. Getzin is well-positioned to know that injured athletes have, in addition to whatever physical ailment is sidelining their training, emotional issues to attend to when their plan goes off the rails.</p>
<h2 id="the-diagnosis%3A-non-displaced-fracture-of-the-fifth-right-toe">The Diagnosis: Non-Displaced Fracture of the Fifth Right Toe</h2>
<p>I had various x-rays taken of my toe <em>(both normal and injured, since it seems I have one less bone that some in my 5th toe)</em>. They are SO efficient at CMC Sports Medicine; within an hour, I was on my way with the diagnosis, and a plan. He spent 20% of the time talking to me about the injury, but 80% talking about the plan, and how to adjust so I could still meet my goals, albeit with a fractured toe. That's what I LOVE about this type of medicine: it treats the WHOLE patient!</p>
<h2 id="the-plan">The Plan</h2>
<p>The good news is the proximity of this event to the race. The injury will heal fine on its own, being non-displaced. We agreed that I should <strong>not run</strong> while I have a limp, since as a byproduct of compensating my running mechanics would change and potentially result in a secondary injury. I'm having to forego the <a href="http://mayday5k.org/">May Day 5M</a> and the <a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/trail-runs/thom-bugliosi-trail-runs/">Thom B</a> runs on my calendar, but that's better than injuring myself further. So, here's the silver lining, straight from Dr. Getzin:</p>
<ul>
<li>No reason I can't do the race: even if I don't run another step beforehand</li>
<li>Cross train (hello, elliptical + Netflix!) to keep cardiovascular fitness</li>
<li>When pain-free walking is possible, consider easing into some running</li>
<li>In my (Dr. Getzin's) experience, people sometimes even do <strong>better</strong> as a result of the <strong>forced taper</strong> and the more conservative approach to the race.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>I have already resolved that the last point is going to be me!</strong> I was <em>devastated</em> to learn that I had a broken toe, and am lamenting that I cannot run the two races leading up to May 31, but ... I am feeling positive about the adjustment in the plan, embracing the change, giving my body time to heal, and rising to the challenge of Cayuga Trails 50 in four weeks!</p>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20152015-04-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2015/<p>This was my second running of the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon (<a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/road-races/skunk-cabbage-classic/">more about this race</a>), and my first race of the 2015 race season! It was a really sunny morning, and while there was frost on the rooftops of my neighborhood when I woke, I was ready to run at 10 in just shorts and a singlet, lamenting just how warm it had gotten. My ideal racing temperature is just about 40 degrees and overcast, and it was probably 50 and sunny at this point. That said, given the winter's duration and the recent spat of rainy weather, I could not help but smile.</p>
<p>Amy and the kids were running the 10K, starting just about 10 minutes after the half marathon start. I wished them good luck and lined up at the front. I don't like having to jockey for position as we start. We were off right on time, and I settled into a good pace. The route itself is unremarkable this time of year. There are no leaves on the trees, no greenery in the woods, so I focused mainly on the road in front of me. I did have a period where some birds were shouting loud encouragement high up in the treetops, so that grabbed my attention. If you look at the race profile, it's basically a gradual climb for the first 5 miles, gaining just under 400 feet. Then there are some really nice downhill stretches, particularly at miles 5.5-6.5 and 8-9. The rest of the route, save a brief uphill jaunt, really lets one stretch out the legs and make up for some of that tough uphill work. Mid-race, I found myself running alongside Columbia Warren, who I know from growing up. He and I helped pace each other, and stuck together mostly to the end. It's nice to have someone to spur you on when all you want to do is <em>stop running</em>, and that's exactly what he did for me. Few words, but just the knowledge that <em>"you're not in this alone!"</em></p>
<p>I didn't have much time post-race for hanging out, since in just an hour I had to be at the Trumansburg Elementary School for the final production of Spoon River. I also have the acting bug, so coincidentally I was running a half marathon and doing a matinee performance, all on the same day! I made it in time, and due to some strategic post-race hydration, avoided the post-race dry cough I sometimes get!</p>
<h2 id="family-photos">Family Photos</h2>
<p>It was really cool to run a bigger race together as a family! Amy ran the 10K with Xander, and Elizabeth ran the 10K by herself, tacking on a few miles at the end to get her training load for the day. She's training for a half marathon coming up soon!</p>
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<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>I finished the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon with a 1:29:13, 2nd in my age group (of 27) and 33 of 266 men running this distance. It was a nice improvement over my time last year, and I'm really pleased with that!</p>
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Spoon River (Various Characters)2015-04-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/spoon-river-various-characters/<p>Spoon River was satisfying on so many levels. I enjoyed getting to know my monologues, and then knowing the nuances of speech that could change their intonation in a heartbeat. Add in some entertaining costumes and each character sprung to life on the stage. An immensely fun production, and ironically one where I had no lines with any other characters! Bryan Root of <a href="http://www.motherlode-pix.com/">Motherlode Pictures</a> created a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGXqBLnuQTY">fantastic film of the production</a>, and I've excerpted my roles below.</p>
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<p><strong>Franklin Jones</strong> <em>11:30-12:06</em></p>
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<p><strong>Indignation Jones</strong> <em>22:15-23:43</em></p>
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<p><strong>Enoch Dunlap</strong> <em>48:25-49:32</em></p>
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<p><strong>Many Soldiers</strong> <em>54:30-55:52</em></p>
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<p><strong>Knowlt Hoheimer</strong> <em>58:25-59:04</em></p>
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<p><strong>Song - Hard Times Come Again No More</strong> <em>1:32:30-1:35:45</em></p>
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The Road to Cayuga Trails 50: 75 Days Left2015-03-17T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/the-road-to-cayuga-trails-50-75-days-left/<p>I started <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-journey-to-cayuga-trails-50-miler">training for Cayuga Trails 50</a>, my first 50 miler, on January 12. It was amid cold temperatures and snow (and some incredible skiing competing for my training time) that I started this journey, and now that I'm about halfway there, it's time to take stock.</p>
<p>The snow is starting to melt, and I'm really looking forward to the trails being clear enough to shift most of my training there. I did enjoy some great trail running in winter, but February really socked the trails in and made them all but impassable for me, with just a few exceptions. I've hit treadmills only when I felt it was too cold to be outside, so most of the training has really been on road.</p>
<p>Emotionally I'm feeling somewhat distanced <em>(pun intended)</em> from Cayuga Trails 50, or any racing for that matter. It doesn't seem real. I think in a month it will, though, since I'll be able to log some serious trail miles during that time, and hopefully plenty of them on the actual course at Treman and Buttermilk. Also, I have <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/race-schedule/">3 races to get myself in the mood to race again</a>, with Thom B being the most representative of a trail with elevation. The other factor is just how much I (and my family) <strong>LOVE</strong> skiing. It's been a great ski racing season, so the snow melting always brings some sadness and lament. As my son would agree, I wish the snow would all melt NOW, with no trace, so that Spring could just visually BE HERE ALREADY. Alas, we'll be waiting a few more weeks!</p>
<h2 id="next-stop%3A-cayuga-trails-50">Next Stop: Cayuga Trails 50</h2>
<p>To summarize and leave this on a positive note, I've kept up with my plan, injury-free, through good and bad weather days. Here's to a similar second half to the training cycle for Cayuga Trails 50!</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p><strong>48.2</strong> - high mileage week (many more of these to come!)</p>
<p><strong>286.2</strong> - miles run year to date</p>
<p><strong>40+</strong> - hours putting one leg in front of the other</p>
Lizerd (Lizard) Stickers2015-03-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/lizerd-lizard-stickers/<p>These stickers are my first foray into the world of illustration. I've had Adobe Illustrator on my desktop for some time, but only recently started to put it to use. I was massively inspired by <a href="https://twitter.com/Vonster">Von Glitschka</a>'s <a href="http://lynda.com/">lynda.com</a> course titled "<a href="http://www.lynda.com/Illustrator-tutorials/Drawing-Vector-Graphics/109450-2.html">Drawing Vector Graphics</a>". It was both a practicum in how to set up my Illustrator program for maximum productivity, but also in identifying the process of going from concept to reality with your illustrations.</p>
<p>I have several projects in the pipeline, but this one is near and dear to my heart. It started as a brainstorming session for a nickname for my daughter Elizabeth, who loathes being called "Liz", and her initials, "ERD". Therefore, the moniker "Lizerd" came to life!</p>
<h2 id="step-1%3A-sketch">Step 1: Sketch</h2>
<p>I started with some sketches, iterating a few concepts before arriving at the one I would get to work with in Illustrator. Here's the scanned sketch, after tracing over pencil with a PaperMate flair.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/03/lizerd-sketch1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Scanned sketch, after tracing over pencil with a PaperMate flair" title="Scanned sketch, after tracing over pencil with a PaperMate flair" /><p class="stickyNote">Scanned sketch, after tracing over pencil with a PaperMate flair</p></div>
<h2 id="step-2%3A-digitize">Step 2: Digitize</h2>
<p>I had a lot of fun in Illustrator getting the paths right, and then working with different color combinations that really made the design what it is. The final sketch, fully vector illustrated and colored:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/03/lizerd-final.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="The final sketch, fully vector illustrated and colored" title="The final sketch, fully vector illustrated and colored" /><p class="stickyNote">The final sketch, fully vector illustrated and colored</p></div>
<h2 id="step-3%3A-order">Step 3: Order</h2>
<p>I decided to get a variety of sticker sizes for my daughter to use. <a href="http://stickermule.com/">stickermule.com</a> was terrific, both with composing sticker sheets that had different sizes, and with a nice quality product!</p>
<p>You can find more of my illustrations over at <a href="https://dribbble.com/scottpdawson">dribbble.com/scottpdawson</a></p>
Running Tips: High- and Low-Tech Tools of the Trade2015-02-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/running-tips-tools-of-the-trade/<p>My first foray into running races was in September 2007 at the Rochester Half Marathon. My wife and I had started choosing an annual fitness challenge, and that was the challenge for 2007. I'd recommend <em>choosing an annual challenge</em> as the most important of these running tips, actually. Since then, my interest in running has increased steadily, becoming fervent in the past few years as I became a running ambassador for my local running store, <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company</a>. It can be tough to set a goal and stick to it, but over the years I’ve used some tools and techniques to help keep me on track. Here’s a list of my running tips!</p>
<h2 id="set-ambitious%2C-achievable-goals">Set Ambitious, Achievable Goals</h2>
<p>The first step in staying on your fitness track is to determine where that track goes. Make a plan! Select a target race (or races) and sign up. You should choose a goal that’s a bit of a stretch, but not absurd. If you can walk for a half hour, make a goal to run for a half hour. If you usually run 5Ks, find a 5-miler to sign up for. If you really love half marathons, then make it your goal to run a faster half marathon.</p>
<p>Once you’ve made a plan, tell the world about it. Or at least your friends and family. You’ll love the benefits of having others aware of your plan and the encouragement that comes from that. Tweet it. Share it on Facebook. Encourage others to join you. But make sure that you tell somebody.</p>
<p>Lastly, figure out how you’re going to execute on your plan. I have read a few books about marathoning and a lot of online resources for running longer trail races, and use those resources to work backwards from the race date and plan out my workouts week-by-week. Write them in a day planner, online calendar or a calendar on your fridge. Whatever works for you!</p>
<p>For example, I signed up for my longest distance yet this year, a 50-mile trail race in Ithaca, NY (I’ve also selected a second big goal event, a fall marathon). I made the plan, signed up, and <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/my-journey-to-cayuga-trails-50-miler">told the world about it</a>. Then I figured out how I was going to work up to that level of fitness in time for May 31, using iCal as a way to document it. I’ve actually <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/race-schedule">roughly worked out my entire year</a>, so after May 31 I’ll start a detailed plan for my second big target of the year, the Corning Wineglass Marathon.</p>
<p>To summarize:</p>
<ol>
<li>Make a plan</li>
<li>Tell the world</li>
<li>Figure out the execution of the plan</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="low-tech-running-tips">Low-Tech Running Tips</h2>
<p>Before we get into technology, there are some running tips that are mainly social, helping to motivate you as you go through the weeks leading up to your event. If you prefer to run solo, join some social running networks to share your training successes and comment on other runners’ successes. I use <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/6904418">Strava</a>, <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/profile/81809">MapMyRun</a> and <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/spdawson">dailymile</a>. Whatever tool you use, you’ll find quickly that there’s a lot of motivation to be gained by posting your own workouts and reading and commenting on others.</p>
<p>It’s not all about running, either. Like any good financial plan, diversification of your fitness will help you leaps and bounds with running. Good, efficient running emanates from a solid core, so I try to make a group fitness class called <a href="http://www.lesmills.com/workouts/fitness-classes/bodypump">BodyPump</a> each week. We have a core group of fellow fitness enthusiasts who attend (and some teach) the classes, and the fellowship that comes from that is a nice accompaniment to the resulting core strength. I also do some yoga each week, and also have a set of stretches that I do twice weekly.</p>
<h2 id="high-tech-running-tips">High-Tech Running Tips</h2>
<h3 id="gps-watch">GPS Watch</h3>
<p>I used to run just with a sports watch so I could capture elapsed time of my runs, but found that I liked the idea of not having to map out my routes in advance to know the distance. I bought a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JD4TG2M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00JD4TG2M&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=3PN6DV737BHSSKZ5">TomTom Multisport GPS watch</a>. They also have a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7LN7K4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00D7LN7K4&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=Q5S6ETUU4C3VW6IY">runner-specific model</a> that doesn’t have the heart rate monitor or swimming capabilities. Here are the things I love about having a GPS watch:</p>
<ol>
<li>I can find out my average pace and real-time pace as I’m working out.</li>
<li>Interval workouts are SO easy to set up, either time-based or distance-based intervals.</li>
<li>I can run random routes and not far exceed my planned mileage for the day.</li>
<li>When I’m done, I plug the watch into its dock and it syncs to Strava and MapMyRun automatically.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="ical-or-other-online-calendar">iCal or Other Online Calendar</h3>
<p>I also use iCal to keep track of my workout plan. Each day I can see what my goal workout is for the day, and also figured out a way to connect Weather Underground weather to iCal so I can adjust my training plan for the week’s weather (really important in the winter). It’s nice to see everything in one place so I can organize fitness, work and social obligations.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2015/02/Screen-Shot-2015-02-11-at-3.51.20-PM.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="View 10-day weather along with fitness in your calendar" title="View 10-day weather along with fitness in your calendar" /><p class="stickyNote">View 10-day weather along with fitness in your calendar</p></div>
<p>If you want to do this, here’s the step-by-step instructions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to Weather Underground’s “classic” site, as it still has iCal links in it. For example, <a href="http://classic.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=seattle&wuSelect=WEATHER">here’s the link for Seattle, Washington</a>.</li>
<li>In the upper right corner, right click the green iCal button and select “Copy Link Address”.</li>
<li>Go to iCal (or other calendar application) and go to File … New Calendar Subscription. Paste the link there and click OK.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="running-tips-for-motivation">Running Tips for Motivation</h2>
<p>How can you stay motivated when you’re in your plan, or if you’re between plans? Here are some running tips for staying motivated:</p>
<ol>
<li>Hook up with some group runs at your local running store. You’ll meet some great people.</li>
<li>Volunteer at a local race. Watching other people compete is highly motivating, and they'll be so grateful for your volunteerism!</li>
<li>Participate in <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/top-twitter-chats-for-runners">Twitter chats with like-minded runners</a></li>
<li>Post your past bibs and finisher medals in a prominent place. We have a fitness room in our house, and the wall is plastered with race bibs, pictures and medals from my entire family’s fitness exploits. Super motivational!</li>
<li>Check out what your workplace or insurance provider has to offer. For example, my workplace had a fitness challenge last year and gave everyone a pedometer to log their mileage each day. It was cool to track it, and even more cool to win a $25 gift card at the end, since I walked/ran a lot! Oscar Insurance, a <a href="https://www.hioscar.com/faq/new-jersey-health-insurance/">health insurance company in New Jersey</a> and New York, is giving their members a mobile app and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G9N3I7O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00G9N3I7O&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=VMFBLFCIR75JWQUK">Misfit band</a> to set personal goals: if they meet their goal they get cash rewards. Your insurance company may offer wellness programs and health assessments, so do look around and see what's available!</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="running-and-my-personal-health">Running and My Personal Health</h2>
<p>I used to get sick quite often, especially in the wintertime. I’ve noticed a remarkable thing, though. Since incorporating a regular fitness routine into my life, I’ve seldom needed to go to the doctor. I get the occasional cold symptoms, and if my body demands it, I take a break from my fitness while I recover, but it lasts days, not weeks. Just be sure to remember you don’t have to “catch up” on your plan after missing a few days. Just jump right back in where you should be, and don’t worry about the missed miles. It’s not directly related, but I’ve found that using a clove of garlic as a lozenge works wonders when I’m feeling a cold coming on.</p>
<p>The more remarkable benefit of regular running, and for me, longer distances (half marathon and more), was a <strong>huge</strong> positive impact on my cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in my family, but since keeping track in 2000, my total cholesterol dropped from 203 to 193, my HDL rose from 44 to 53, and my LDL dropped from 146 to 121. This year’s numbers are the best they’ve ever been, and I attribute that to eating right, not snacking too much at night, and mostly - regular exercise.</p>
<p>I hope these running tips are inspirational to you, whether you’re starting off on a fitness plan for the first time, or are a seasoned runner. I'll see you out there on the roads and trails!</p>
My 50-Mile Journey Starts ... Now2015-01-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/my-journey-to-cayuga-trails-50-miler/<blockquote>
<p>The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ― Lao Tzu</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this case, fifty miles, but I digress.</p>
<p>In just 20 weeks I'll toe the line at <a href="https://www.cayugatrails50.com/">my first 50-mile trail race</a>. I'm getting ready now, and I took that single step out my door <em>today</em> after a few weeks of off-plan cross-training. Sure, it's still winter out there, but it'll take me those 20 weeks to ramp up mileage and get my body ready for what is sure to be a punishing, yet <em>rewarding</em>, journey.</p>
<p>I hope you're join me in following along, motivating me, keeping me honest with my plan and not <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/driver-vs-runner-learning-on-the-run-with-the-trumansburg-police/">running me over</a> (though when the weather turns nicer I'll be mostly on the trail)! If you want to do some training runs with me, get in touch! And if you want to talk me out of it, well, I'm afraid my mind's made up. One thing I know for sure: it's going to be something to write home about.</p>
<h2 id="won't-you-follow-me%3F">Won't you follow me?</h2>
<ul>
<li>Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson">Twitter</a></li>
<li>See my workouts on <a href="http://www.strava.com/athletes/6904418">Strava</a></li>
</ul>
Javascript and CSS for Making a Top Ribbon Visible on Scroll2014-12-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/javascript-and-css-for-making-a-top-ribbon-visible-on-scroll/<p>I needed to add an extra ribbon of navigation and content to the top of a web page as the user scrolled vertically past a certain point. The UX reasons for this are simple: for a lengthy page, this section would help reinforce the page that they're on by repeating content from the H1 tag or other key titling elements on the page. This pen shows the concept, stylistically simplified, where an element is shown after scrolling 100 pixels vertically. Hat tip (HT) to <a href="http://mashable.com/">mashable.com</a> for the interaction inspiration behind this, though the JavaScript is all mine.</p>
<iframe height="400" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/QwEwZV?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Winter Runnerland2014-12-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/winter-runnerland/<h2 id="running-in-the-winter%3A-preparedness-%3D-fun">Running in the Winter: Preparedness = Fun</h2>
<p>There's something magical about the snow for me, and this was my first time doing a longer run in the deep, white stuff. The trails at Taughannock Falls State Park were virtually empty, with just a few tracks made by hikers before me. I ran the base to a beautiful winter cathedral, up the camp road and the North Rim, partway down the South Rim and then reversed it for a total of 8 miles.</p>
<p>The uphills were slow going, what with the light snow providing little traction. The flats were blissful, like running on soft clouds. And the downhill? I could run down snow-covered downhill trail all day long. Felt like running down an avalanche of down-filled pillows. No pesky roots or rocks protruding to foul my footsteps. I think I even hollered <em>"Aw, yeah!"</em> on one stretch.</p>
<p>So, here are my <strong>winter running tips</strong>, in no particular order.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Good hat.</strong> I wouldn't go anywhere without a <a href="http://interlakenreformedchurch.org/steeplechase.html">Steeplechase 5K hat</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Gloves.</strong> Not too heavy, not too light. I have some <a href="https://www.spyder.com/mens/accessories/stretch-fleece-conduct-147232.html?color=001-BLACK">Spyder fleece ski gloves</a> that are just right.</li>
<li><strong>Plan.</strong> Tell someone your plan and route. Always wear your <a href="https://www.roadid.com/">RoadID</a>, though. Just in case.</li>
<li><strong>Info.</strong> Knowing your pace and mileage is really nice. My <a href="http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/products/your-sports/tomtom-multi-sport-gps-watch/dark-grey/">TomTom</a> keeps me informed.</li>
<li><strong>Warmth.</strong> I'm wearing a solid long-sleeved insulated top, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QM989C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004QM989C&linkCode=as2&tag=lunchtaker-20&linkId=C4K6L5ZIGC7OXQDL">CW-X tights</a>. Those tights also come <a href="http://cw-x.com/ExploreProducts.aspx?gender=mens&product=tights&by=collection&sub=insulator&id=1706">insulated</a>, but I don't have those yet.</li>
<li><strong>Traction.</strong> I could have used <a href="https://www.yaktrax.com/product/run">YakTrax</a> today, but chose not to. Instead, my <a href="http://shop.pearlizumi.com/product.php?pc_id=31&product_id=1982414">Pearl Izumi Trail N2s</a> had plenty of grit on them to get the job done.</li>
<li><strong>Dryness.</strong> What better way to keep snow (and in summer, dust and rocks) out of your shoes than some trail gaiters. I have a pair of <a href="http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/">Dirty Girls</a>, and love them.</li>
</ul>
<p>A practical question you might ask: <strong>why on earth am I running in these conditions?</strong> Well, first, 'cause it's fun. But more importantly, this Spring I'm running my first 50-miler at the <a href="https://www.cayugatrails50.com/">Cayuga Trails 50</a>. The race is May 31, so there's just shy of 6 months to get ready. My training plan starts on January 6, but 'til then I'm running varied terrain for ~25 miles per week, throwing in a lot of cross-training for good measure. With solid training this winter, I should have a strong foundation to ramp up for May's race!</p>
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</div></div>Driver vs. Runner: Learning on the Run with the Trumansburg Police2014-11-21T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/driver-vs-runner-learning-on-the-run-with-the-trumansburg-police/<p>I'm no stranger to close encounters with drivers who either don't understand the rules of engaging with pedestrians (runners or walkers), or don't care about the rules. When running on the road, I rarely zone out, constantly scanning for threats to my safety. On today's eight-mile run, just a mile in, that threat was straight in front of me.</p>
<p>Here's the setting: I'm running on the left side of the road, on the white line. There's no sidewalk on this stretch of road. There's snow and ice in the narrow gravel shoulder to my left, so I'm as far left as I can be to run safely. An older-model pickup truck was coming toward me in my lane. There must have been traffic in the opposing lane, since he braked and stayed in his lane (as he should have done). However, he threw his hands up in the air in disgust and yelled something I could not discern through his closed windows.</p>
<p>I ambled past the truck, the driver glaring at me the whole time, and then he accelerated off, still animated with his hands, looking at me in his rear view mirror. I stopped and turned around, and he stopped his truck. I was so shocked by his reaction to a pedestrian causing him to stop briefly that I put MY hands in the air and yelled, <em>"I have the right of way! You needed to yield!"</em> I'm not sure he heard me or not, but he drove off and I thought that was the end of it.</p>
<p>Two miles later, I'm approaching the center of the village and then the same pickup truck turns onto the road where I'm running, again driving in my direction. He sees me, pulls abruptly into the closest parking lot, and GETS OUT OF HIS TRUCK. I'm thinking two things here: first, <em>I'm glad we're around other people</em>, and second, <em>where is this headed?</em> He speaks first, yelling across the road.</p>
<p><em>"Why didn't you get off the road!?"</em></p>
<p><em>"Because I didn't have to,"</em> I said. <em>"I am a pedestrian, and you have to yield to me."</em></p>
<p><em>"You could get hit that way, not getting off the road when a car is coming. All you had to do was jump into an inch of snow and get out of my way",</em> he continued.</p>
<p>Irked, I replied, <em>"The only type of person that's going to hit me is someone like you."</em></p>
<p>I then noticed that the parking lot we were standing in was for the police station and village offices. Perfect. I suggested we take up the matter with the authorities, and he told me that he was on his way to do that anyway. He was seriously going to tell a police officer that there was a runner out there, not jumping out of the way of oncoming traffic, who had a death wish. He was asking them to go <em>find</em> me and save me. Oh. My. Gosh. As we walked inside, I told him that it'd be good to straighten this out, that I might learn something (I was certain I was right, though). He offered the same, that he might learn something too. At this point, I was just grateful that the conversation hadn't devolved into a deeper altercation.</p>
<p>Police were all out on patrol, so a village clerk called one in. While we were waiting in the vestibule, I asked, <em>"What's your name, sir?"</em> He gave me his first name, and when I asked for his surname, he replied curtly, <em>"I don't think that matters."</em></p>
<p>I extended my right arm to shake his hand, introducing myself.</p>
<p><em>"I'm Scott Dawson."</em></p>
<p>His face warmed immediately, and then he quickly offered up his full name. We KNEW each other. He was involved as a parent in scouting when I was growing up. I know his son very well. This just got a lot more interesting. He didn't know I had moved back to the village where I'd grown up. We exchanged several more minutes of idle conversation, and it became clear his concern had morphed into concern for my well-being, and less about his inconvenience at having to stop. In short order, a police car arrived and an officer heard his appeal.</p>
<p>The officer responded the way I thought he would, and it was <em>beautiful</em>. What could have been a parking lot fight was elegantly turning into a one-on-one educational session on a driver's responsibilities and obligations when interacting with pedestrians. The officer explained that as a moving pedestrian, I had a legal right to be in the road, as far left as safety allowed. The onus was on the driver to slow or stop to avoid an obstruction in the driver's lane. Additionally, if that obstruction was to cause the driver to swerve into oncoming traffic, that driver would be cited at fault for causing that accident. The only cases where the onus was on the pedestrian was if I was entering a crosswalk without warning, too quickly, or turning from one street onto another without yielding.</p>
<p>The driver asked once more about how hard it would have been for me to get over into the snow when I saw him, which was an opening for me to tell him a few things.</p>
<ol>
<li>The shoulder was filled with snow and ice, and had I ventured there, I could have slipped and fallen into the oncoming traffic lane, putting myself at MORE risk.</li>
<li>In fairer weather, I do step into the shoulder for oncoming traffic when I know it's safe to do so. But also, I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so my only clue that there's two-way traffic is slowing traffic in my lane.</li>
<li>Lastly, had he NOT slowed or stopped, I am <strong>ALWAYS</strong> prepared as a pedestrian to jump out of the way, and have had to do so in the past.</li>
</ol>
<p>We also talked about bicycle safety, since that was a concern of his. Of particular concern were bikes that ride two abreast taking up the whole lane. I was interested to learn that this was legal: if a cyclist can maintain a speed +/- 15 mph of the posted speed limit, they may take the lane. So, in a 30mph zone, a cyclist riding 15-20mph is within their rights to take up any part of the lane, and drivers must yield.</p>
<p>Before long I was back on the roads, continuing my run. I thought about the encounter for much of that run, and just how <em>wonderful</em> it was that something that could have been quite confrontational had turned into something educational. I didn't get an apology from the driver, but I did get satisfaction from him learning a thing or two. Who knows, it might help another runner down the road.</p>
<h2 id="by-the-numbers">By the Numbers</h2>
<p>Pedestrian and cyclist safety continues to be a big concern, and both pedestrians and drivers bear responsibility. I'll cite some statistics from the NHTSA on pedestrian fatalities and injuries from 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2012, 4,743 pedestrians were killed and an estimated 76,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. On average, a pedestrian was killed every 2 hours and injured every 7 minutes in traffic crashes. The 4,743 pedestrian fatalities in 2012 represented an increase of 6 percent from 2011 and were the highest number of fatalities in the last 5 years. — <a href="http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811888.pdf">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In addition to this sobering statistic, I looked up a thing or two about pedestrian and cyclist safety. I found that the guidance may vary from state-to-state, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Each State should develop and implement a comprehensive pedestrian safety program that promotes safe pedestrian practices, and educates drivers to share the road safely with other road users. — <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/PedBikeSafety.pdf">Highway Safety Program Guideline No. 14</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>For New York State, the relevant parts of the law for this discussion were as follows, first from the driver's perspective:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Drivers to exercise due care.</strong> (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, pedestrian, or domestic animal upon any roadway. — <a href="http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$VAT1146$$@TXVAT01146+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=15801435+&TARGET=VIEW">New York State Vehicle and Traffic (VAT) Code, Title 7, Article 26, Section 1146</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>And then from the pedestrian's perspective:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Pedestrians on roadways.</strong> (a) Where sidewalks are provided and they may be used with safety it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway. (b) Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall when practicable walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction. Upon the approach of any vehicle from the opposite direction, such pedestrian shall move as far to the left as is practicable. — <a href="http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$VAT1156$$@TXVAT01156+&LIST=SEA2+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=15801435+&TARGET=VIEW">New York State Vehicle and Traffic (VAT) Code, Title 7, Article 27, Section 1156</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of this last section, I was most interested in the term "<em>when practicable"</em>, as I think this terminology would have resulted in a lively debate today. Should I jump to my left at every oncoming car? Was that practicable? Certainly not on the stretch of road I was running, and there was no sidewalk, I'll add. However, it seems that the <em>Drivers to exercise due care</em> terminology trumps all.</p>
<p>Please share this with others if you found it helpful!</p>
<h2 id="further-reading">Further Reading</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/local-programs-bureau/pedestrian">NYS DOT: Summary of the Vehicle and Traffic Law for Bicycles and Pedestrians</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dot.ny.gov/display/programs/bicycle/safety_laws/laws">NYS DOT: Bicycling in New York</a></li>
<li><a href="http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$VAT1146$$@TXVAT01146+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=15801435+&TARGET=VIEW">Drivers to exercise due care: NYS VAT, Title 7, Article 26, Section 1146</a></li>
<li><a href="http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$VAT1156$$@TXVAT01156+&LIST=SEA2+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=15801435+&TARGET=VIEW">Pedestrians on roadways: NYS VAT, Title 7, Article 27, Section 1156</a></li>
<li>NHTSA: <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/pedestrian-safety">Pedestrians</a> and <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/Bicycles">Bicycles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.injuryclaimcoach.com/pedestrian-hit-by-car.html">What To Do If You’re an Injured Pedestrian</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="additional-resources">Additional Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.parkslopeparents.com/Safety-in-the-Slope/pedestrian-safety-tips.html">Pedestrian Safety Tips to Teach Your Kids</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/10/25/daily-circuit-teens-distracted-driving">8 Tips to Stop Your Teen’s Texting & Driving Habit</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.fattiretours.com/guide-to-bicycle-safety">The Breakaway Guide to Bicycle Safety</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/senior-health/art-20046397">Senior Drivers: 7 Tips for Driver Safety</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/remember-safety-while-driving-with-pets/">Tips for Driving With Your Pets</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/05/top-10-most-bikeable-downtowns.html">The Top 10 Most Bikeable Downtowns</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.healthline.com/health-news/tech-texting-while-walking-causes-accidents-031014">Texting While Walking More Common, More Dangerous</a></li>
</ul>
Interlaken Steeplechase 5K 20142014-11-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/interlaken-steeplechase-5k-2014/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Interlaken Steeplechase 5K 2014 on November 8, 2014 in a time of 19:48.</p>
New York City Marathon 20142014-11-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/new-york-city-marathon/<h2 id="acceptance-and-training">Acceptance and Training</h2>
<p>The New York Marathon has seemingly been a long journey for me. Amy and I both put in for the lottery last year, and the luck of the draw had me running and her spectating. I have such mixed feelings about the lottery, as once you're in, you're in! So, I added this marathon to my training plan and got to work.</p>
<p>Early on in my training cycle, I thought briefly about trying to qualify for Boston using one of the plans in our "Run Less, Run Faster" book. The paces seemed really tough, though, so I put that on the back shelf in my mind. I had a really great training cycle after <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/finger-lakes-50k/" title="Finger Lakes 50K (32.9 miles)">this summer's 50K</a>, and also <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-half-marathon/" title="Corning Wineglass Half Marathon (1:26:23)">a great half marathon in Corning</a>, so was feeling really good about this race. In fact, I had convinced myself that a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time was in reach. I'd ran one of my 20-mile training runs at an average 7:24 pace, 2 seconds ahead of BQ. There was a big caveat, though. When I put in for the lottery (a year ago), I optimistically at the time put an estimated time of 3:45, but my current training put me at a 3:15. I was assigned a corral with the 3:45 runners, though, so I had no idea how that would affect my race.</p>
<p>The most important thing to me, though, was that I had trained healthy. No issues to speak of, so that was progress from my prior marathon (more on that below).</p>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
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<p>Thursday, I began looking at my options for getting from my hotel in Jersey City (we booked it when we put in for the lottery) to the Whitehall Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. I was shocked to find out that the PATH service to Manhattan was still shut down on the weekends (it was supposed to be done) and the only viable option for me was to get a hotel shuttle to another PATH station in New Jersey, take a train up to 33rd Street in Manhattan, then a subway down to the ferry. It would have taken more than an hour, and I had to be on the ferry at 7a! No way.</p>
<p>Thank God for the Internet: the Best Western in lower Manhattan had a room for us, within walking distance of the ferry, and the room was ... cheaper than the one in Jersey City? Yes, please.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/11/IMG_1761.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Rocking my pre-race attire." title="Rocking my pre-race attire." /><p class="stickyNote">Rocking my pre-race attire.</p></div>
<p>Saturday was a rainy day in New York. As the race morning was forecast to be in the low 40s, I had procured an amazing pre-race outfit of a black robe and pajama pants at the Salvation Army a few days prior. The only thing left to do was pick up my packet and shirt at the Javits Center in the early afternoon, wander the Expo a bit, and then enjoy the rest of our Saturday. We did some light shopping at Macy's and headed back downtown to get organized for the next day.</p>
<p>We had a lovely pre-race dinner at Il Brigante. It was cool to see other runners there, too. It was a quaint Italian eatery with delicious entrees, and was also a quick walk back to our hotel!</p>
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<h2 id="the-race">The Race</h2>
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<p>Getting to the start on Staten Island couldn't have been more efficient. I woke (quite naturally due to daylight savings time) at 5:30a, donned my <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">FLRTC</a> singlet, downed a bagel, some pizza and coffee, and applied my <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/resources/performance-enhancing-kokopelli/">Kokopelli tattoo</a>. I said good-bye to Amy and the kids and had a nice walk to the ferry terminal. I walked right on and enjoyed a scenic ride to Staten Island. We disembarked, boarded buses to the start, and then had a thorough security check by the NYPD counter-terrorism unit. The start villages were cold, but well-organized, and I enjoyed chatting up a couple from Utah, a gentleman from Holland and a runner from DC. It wasn't long before my Wave 2 was called, and I found my way to Corral A.</p>
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/11/IMG_3483.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="At the start line, ready to go!" />
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<p>I was able to get into the front of the Corral, so after we slowly moved our way to the start line, I found a surreal scene. Beyond the start line, the Verrazano Narrows bridge was empty. Lighter bits of clothing swirled around in the wind, and it was something from a post-apocalyptic movie where we were all about to run for our lives across a deserted 2-mile bridge. A quick national anthem, and we were off. It was downright surreal. In front of me, just about 10 runners on a desolate stretch. At one point, a runner in front of me took an article of flying clothing in the face. A particularly strong gust blew me to my right in mid-stride. We must have looked like drunken runners! It was nice to come off the bridge into the relatively sheltered streets, and I got into a good groove as we ran the streets of Brooklyn. I was on my numbers (a bit ahead of them, actually) and was feeling great.</p>
<p>The crowd support in Brooklyn was amazing - the best of the entire race. I got to see Amy and the kids at Mile 8, which was super cool and quite a lift!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkGKGSXWEh0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkGKGSXWEh0</a></p>
<p>The only personal complaint I have is the sheer volume, not from the crowds, but from the bands. The music was SO loud at times, and it felt rather ridiculous to have my own earbuds in. I am a very introspective runner, and not once in this race did I feel like I really focused on myself. And that's when things got tough and my wave assignment affected me. I caught up with the tail of Wave 1, and suddenly found myself dodging walkers and slower runners, some of whom were running side-by-side like a slowly-moving roadblock. I think this really took its toll over time, and the 59th Street Bridge was the toughest part of it. So many obstacles to dodge, and by the time I made it over, I was really looking forward to a push up 1st Avenue.</p>
<p>Still on my pace, 1st Avenue was a turning point. I saw my friend Joe taking photographs, which was also really cool. Beyond that, though, 1st felt like a long, gradual climb and I really started to tire. Those winds did not abate, and I found myself fighting really, really hard to keep my pace. I naturally fell off of it, partly due to wind, but partly again due to the pace of the runners around me. <em>"If only I had been in the correct corral!"</em>, I told myself. Shortly after we entered the Bronx and I saw my average pace dip below 7:26 did I bittersweetly bid adieu to my BQ aspirations. I convinced myself to keep up the fight and see if I could keep it under 3:30, using whatever steady pace I could sustain and by NOT walking.</p>
<p>After what seemed like an eternity, we finally entered Central Park and I mentally dug deep to keep those legs moving. A slurp of Gatorade every mile helped, and the crowds started to thicken here, too. Then, an uphill tenth of a mile to the finish, and I was done! Secondary goal accomplished, finishing in 3:27:10. I smiled, and shuffled with the other runners towards our medals and water.</p>
<h2 id="yes%2C-help.-please.">Yes, Help. Please.</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/11/IMG_3486.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race, in the medical tent." title="Post-race, in the medical tent." /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race, in the medical tent.</p></div>
<p>This post-race walk was in some ways HARDER than the marathon itself. It was an eternity before I arrived at the tables where they were distributing bags of water/apple/gatorade and space blankets. I was feeling light-headed and my legs were killing me, and so I sat on the side of the fencing. Red Cross was on me right away, asking if I needed help. <em>"No, but thank you. I just need to sit down."</em> They pointed to a white tent in the distance. <em>"Can you get up and walk over there? You can't sit here."</em> Sure, I said. I think so. When I got to the tent, a sign told me it was the medical tent. I didn't need medical attention! Another 50 feet past the entrance, I turned back and found a volunteer because yes, I did need medical attention. They ushered me into a very well-organized medical tent with tons of staff, cots and provisions. Before I knew it was I lying down, feet elevated, with saltines, Gatorade, and a very nice man who was doing delightful things to my calves. They took such good care of me, and after about ten minutes I was on my (happier) way.</p>
<p>After the warmth of the medical tent, that space blanket might as well have not been there. My teeth were chattering, and as I exited the park, I had forgotten that one of the perks of not checking baggage at the start was getting a finisher "poncho". They put this around hooded luxury on me just a few blocks South of my exit on Central Park West, and I've never felt so grateful. We did all look like blue-clad zombies, shuffling off to wherever we had agreed to meet friends and family. Our meeting place was a pizza joint on Amsterdam, which I quickly found and was reunited with Amy and the kids. They had a great day spectating, and we couldn't wait to tell each other all of our stories!</p>
<h2 id="my-family">My Family</h2>
<p>I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of my family. Amy and the kids were so great, both with supporting my training and coming to cheer me on race day. I love you all! <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/musings/nyc-marathon-my-spectators-story/">Amy wrote a great post about her spectating experience</a>, and here are some pictures of them cheering me on in Brooklyn!</p>
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<h2 id="the-final-result">The Final Result</h2>
<p>With a 3:27:10, my prior (and only other) marathon result was crushed, a 4:42:00 in the Rochester Marathon in Sept 2012. I was coming off an IT injury that shortened my training cycle, so finished that marathon in pain, both physically and emotionally. I'm really happy with this performance, but am super psyched to hit trail running again in the Spring!</p>
Chris Bond 5K 20142014-10-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/chris-bond-5k-2014/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Chris Bond 5K 2014 on October 19, 2014 in a time of 19:07.</p>
My Childhood Battle with Osteomyelitis2014-10-10T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/my-childhood-battle-with-osteomyelitis/<p>It's amazing to think about how an event that happened 26 years ago could have had such an impact on me as I grew, and influences how I run today. There's rarely a time when I'm out running or working out that I don't think back to this time, to how much of a challenge it was, but also how grateful I am for everyone who helped me through that 54-day span of my life. I know this was an immensely challenging time for my parents and brother, but I'm old enough that I'm interested in recapping what happened and sharing the story. Here's my boyhood tale of perseverance.</p>
<h2 id="the-journal">The Journal</h2>
<p>All right, so I kept a <em>journal</em>. Not a diary: that's what my mother keeps. My journal was invaluable for putting together this chronology, since the passage of time had me remembering this ordeal being far LONGER than it actually was.</p>
<h2 id="the-beginning-(days-1-5)-feb-16-20%2C-1988-%E2%80%94-5-days">The Beginning (Days 1-5) Feb 16-20, 1988 — 5 days</h2>
<p>This is the first day (a Tuesday) my leg started to hurt. It was a pain at the top of my right femur. I had been cross country skiing the day prior, and had fallen in an awkward position, but thought nothing of that until days later. I got a headache, nausea and fever Tuesday evening and hit the sack early. I would spend the rest of this week at home sick, sleeping a lot. Friday, my "cold" symptoms were abating, but I still had a fever and my leg was really starting to hurt badly. I wrote, <em>"My leg is really starting to hurt again. I hope it will heal soon so I can walk normally."</em></p>
<h2 id="diagnosis-(days-6-7)-feb-21-22%2C-1988-%E2%80%94-2-days">Diagnosis (Days 6-7) Feb 21-22, 1988 — 2 days</h2>
<p>Sunday. Temperature 103.4. Leg pain excruciating. Time for the emergency room. Blood drawn. X-rays taken. I wrote, <em>"... was admitted for an indefinite time: scared."</em> I remember very little from the first few days in the hospital. However, I apparently kept up my kind affect, as the doctor wrote of my physical exam at this time, <em>"Pleasant, very nice young man."</em> Primarily I was afraid of the <strong>unknown</strong> during these few days. I had a bone scan on Monday, and they decided to operate on my hip. They had diagnosed osteomyelitis, and I went into surgery Monday at midnight. Dr. Daniel I. Yale was the doctor I remember most, and I understand he was the one who had diagnosed the rare infection. My friend Sarah's Dad, Jim Boyer, was also in the OR that night, so that gave me comfort.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/bonescan.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Bone scan" title="Bone scan" /><p class="stickyNote">Bone scan</p></div>
<p>Two radiologists reviewed this scan, showing increased uptake of radiological markers in the area between the femoral head and trochanter. Layman's terms, osteomyelitis in that bone.</p>
<h2 id="inpatient-treatment-(days-8-23)-feb-23-mar-9%2C-1988-%E2%80%94-16-days">Inpatient Treatment (Days 8-23) Feb 23-Mar 9, 1988 — 16 days</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/hospitalbed.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons!" title="I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons!" /><p class="stickyNote">I got a lot of cards, flowers and balloons!</p></div>
<p>Tuesday morning, post-surgery, I awoke to a drain from my femur to help eliminate the byproducts of infection, and was started on massive antibiotic therapy. If you read more about this infection, it's kind of scary. No specific cause, and no specific cure. The infection was literally hollowing out my femur bone, and it needed to be stopped. I needed to be an optimist, though (more on that in a future post), and had great support (in the form of visits, cards, flowers and balloons) from my family, classmates and community. During this time, I kept occupied with books, daytime TV game shows, playing my portable keyboard and listening to music (I particularly remember a <em>Men Without Hats</em> tape from Chris Mount; I listened to <em>Pop Goes the World</em> many, many times). I also grew to loathe injections. Countless IV changes and blood draws are what gave me my adulthood aversion to needles.</p>
<p>On Day 15 (March 1, a Tuesday), I walked on crutches for the first time! Then on March 5, I got dressed for the first time in 2 weeks. Oral medication started on March 7, and I was told I'd be rid of the IV the next day, and I'd be headed home! Wednesday, March 9, I was able to go home after one more <em>(unfortunately, not the last)</em> blood test.</p>
<h2 id="outpatient-treatment-(days-24-54)-mar-10-apr-9%2C-1988-%E2%80%94-31-days">Outpatient Treatment (Days 24-54) Mar 10-Apr 9, 1988 — 31 days</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/crutches.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Rockin' my crutches (and bowl cut) at home." title="Rockin' my crutches (and bowl cut) at home." /><p class="stickyNote">Rockin' my crutches (and bowl cut) at home.</p></div>
<p>I was <strong>thrilled</strong> to be home. I was still absent from school, relying on the great work that my teachers put forth to get me work to do to keep up. On Monday, March 14, I went back to school again, sporting some nice crutches and also an increased dosage of the oral antibiotic <em>(something was not working right, if they upped the dosage, right?)</em>.</p>
<p>The hammer dropped on Monday, March 21. My entry for that day says it all. When Scott's pissed off, he's <em>really</em> pissed off:</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/journal.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Diary entry" title="Diary entry" /><p class="stickyNote">Diary entry</p></div>
<blockquote>Oral medication not working; have to have my IV put in; that really pissed me off. Cried. Feel scared of needles.</blockquote>
<p>Two days later, I got a hep-lock in my forearm so I could get my antibiotics intravenously before school, which continued for the next 18 days. My Dad would take me to the hospital each of those mornings, I'd get my IV antibiotics, then I'd head back to school for a full day there. The increased dosage through IV did the trick in totally clearing the infection and giving my femur a chance to fully re-calcify. Wednesday, April 6, I said good-bye to my crutches, and then 3 days later, the hep-lock came out.</p>
<h2 id="fast-forward-26-years">Fast-Forward 26 Years</h2>
<p>That was it. Since then, no physical issues. I fell in love with running just within the last decade, but I always look back on this experience for having made me stronger. I am grateful for the strength it gave me: not just the physical healing, but also of the mental toughening. When the going gets tough, I can dig deep, think of coming out the other end of this experience, and keep on running hard.</p>
Corning Wineglass Half Marathon 20142014-10-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/corning-wineglass-half-marathon/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/IMG_3334a.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Ready to go at 5 a.m." title="Ready to go at 5 a.m." /><p class="stickyNote">Ready to go at 5 a.m.</p></div>
<p>I knew with a 35-degree start, one of two things would happen: (a) I would be so chilled at the start I'd have a horrible race, or (b) the cold would play in my favor and my body could do more before slowing down, and special things would happen. So ... (b) happened! I am SO happy with this race, mostly because it is a stepping stone on my journey to the NYC Marathon on November 2 and it went so well.</p>
<p>Amy and I woke at 4:30, enjoyed a coffee and peanut-butter covered pancakes, put on our <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company</a> singlets <em>(Go Team FLRTC!)</em> and left the house at 5:30. Corning is an hour drive for us, and when we got there, we were greeted with a LONG line for the buses to the start (you have to take a bus to the start, no drop-off options this year). We made it to the start without a lot of time to spare, just enough to go to the bathroom and shed our cold-weather gear. UPS always does a great job handling the drop bags and getting them efficiently back to us at the finish! We walked the .2 miles to the start line, wished each other luck, and I lined up near the front with some very lithe looking college runners.</p>
<p>When the start horn blew 10 minutes later than planned (remember that LONG bus line?), we took off! The young runners set a really fast pace, and I looked at my watch a quarter mile in and saw a 6:00 mile. Wowza! On a hot day, that would be unsustainable for me, but today? I told myself, <em>"We'll see how long you can keep this up!"</em></p>
<p>Around mile 5, Jason Husted from Elmira came alongside me, and we ended up staying together for the balance of the race. We didn't talk much: we laughed a bit when we caught the truck putting out traffic cones for our safety. I said, <em>"I guess you know you're movin' when you catch the cone truck."</em> We had a good laugh about that! At mile 11, I saw someone over my shoulder getting close enough to pass me, and was pretty sure he was a Master, too. I asked Jason how old he was, glad to hear he was 32. I told him what was up, asked him to <em>"get me home before the guy behind us"</em>, and he looked back and said, <em>"You got this."</em></p>
<p>I carried water with me for this race, so only had to stop once to get a small refill. Turns out that decision made all the difference: that next male master finished just 12 seconds behind me. Massive thanks to all of those runners around me, especially Jason, for providing the pacer motivation to keep running when the brain stays STOP! I knew I could do it, but the last two miles took some diggin' deep to find the mental strength. I was consistent in this race, with my mile paces varying from 6:23 to 6:43 (mile 11). Looking at the splits, I'm smiling that my last mile, the one that was so hard, was my fastest. I shaved just shy of 7 minutes off my PR from the prior year at the Red Baron Half, and finished first in my age group (100 runners) and also was the first male Master's finisher!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/10/IMG_1424.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me, post-race" title="Amy and me, post-race" /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me, post-race</p></div>
Lucifer's Crossing 20142014-08-23T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/lucifers-crossing/<p>I made a last-minute decision yesterday (August 23, 2014) to run in the inaugural Lucifer's Crossing trail run at Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, NY. This is one <em>honest</em> trail race, including steep ascents, slippery descents, leaping over small brooks, wading through foot-deep rushing water, quad-busting stairs and blissful singletrack. I'm contemplating running a 50-miler next summer, and this is part of that course. Preview time! Ian Golden's Red Newt Racing organized this event, and once more I laced up my trail shoes, put on my Dirty Girl gaiters and slipped into my <a href="http://www.fingerlakesrunningco.com/">FLRTC</a> singlet from some amazing trail running.</p>
<p>We've had a lot of rain locally lately, so I should not have been surprised to come across a "Road Flooded" sign on the way to the race (road cleared, thankfully), followed by a one-way stretch due to half the road being, well, gone. It was a good guess at this point that the trail would be wet! About thirty of us toed the line at the start, which was on the opposite side of the base area's stream as advertised. The park had shut the gate to this stream, creating a potential choke point for runners that the race organizer wanted to avoid. On a positive note, that meant I could keep my feet dry until later!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/08/lucifer_map.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="A steady incline almost the whole way, and then a nice downhill finish! Creek crossing at far left of map." title="A steady incline almost the whole way, and then a nice downhill finish! Creek crossing at far left of map." /><p class="stickyNote">A steady incline almost the whole way, and then a nice downhill finish! Creek crossing at far left of map.</p></div>
<p>The race is short in distance, just 6.3 miles, but it more than makes up for that with the challenges it threw my way. The first stretch is a Jeep road that quickly gains elevation and then meets up with the hiker trail. We crossed a footbridge and bam - there were the fabled Lucifer's steps. I took most of them two-at-a-time, using my hands on my quads to help keep my upward momentum. They weren't that bad, but then again I only had to do them once. We hit the Old Mill at the top, near where I was able to fill my handheld and have a gel. I traded places with a few runners during the next mile, as we first ran through the creek crossing (easier than I thought: just run right through it!) and then up and down some short ravines. Soon after, I was enjoying some level running and was able to really hit a good stride. The trail began pitching more downward, and I had some nice gravity assists on the way back to the finish line.</p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/08/photo-1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Before the start" title="Before the start" /><p class="stickyNote">Before the start</p></div>
<p>This was advertised as a low-key event, and I liked it that way. In the words of Red Newt Racing: <em>No race shirts. No prizes for winners. This is about sharing a run on beautiful trails, and a wonderful trail running community.</em> Nice. The finish atmosphere was jovial. Runners with mud-caked legs and big smiles milled about, high-fiving, talking about the race, and cheering in runners. This is what I love about the trail running community. It's downright fun.</p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20142014-08-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Cayuga Lake Triathlon 2014 on August 3, 2014 in a time of 1:27:16. Facial hair explanation: yes, that's for a role! I played the role of Bill Sykes in <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/acting/oliver-bill-sykes">Oliver!</a> that afternoon.</p>
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<h3>Compared to Other Years: Sprint Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/">2015</a></td>
<td>1:29:39</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361044698/overview">17:54</a><br />(2:23 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:55</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992701/overview">43:00</a>
<br />(19.53 avg mph)
</td>
<td>2:15</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992638/overview">23:35</a>
<br />(7:36 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/">2014</a></td>
<td>1:27:16</td>
<td>18:25<br />(2:27 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:40</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">41:54</a>
<br />(20.48 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">22:46</a>
<br />(7:21 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/">2013</a></td>
<td>1:35:47</td>
<td>19:33<br />(2:36 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:36</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">47:32</a>
<br />(17.87 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:30</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">24:56</a>
<br />(8:03 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/">2012</a></td>
<td>1:38:04</td>
<td>19:12<br />(2:34 per 100)
</td>
<td>4:06</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">46:02</a>
<br />(18.26 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:54</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:50</a>
<br />(8:39 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/">2008</a></td>
<td>1:39:44</td>
<td>17:11<br />(2:17 per 100)
</td>
<td>3:58</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">51:24</a>
<br />(16.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:00</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:11</a>
<br />(8:27 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
Oliver! (Bill Sykes)2014-08-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/oliver-bill-sykes/<p>Bill Sykes stretched my vocal talents, requiring a rough-around-the-edges, intimidating performance. I'm not that person in real life, so having to be rather terrifying, especially with kids around, was an acting assignment indeed! I additionally enjoyed playing Bill Sykes opposite my son, who played Oliver in this production!</p>
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</div></div>Fillmore 5K 20142014-07-26T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/fillmore-5k/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Fillmore 5K 2014 on July 26, 2014 in a time of 19:09. The kids ran it with me!</p>
Finger Lakes 50K 20142014-07-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/finger-lakes-50k/<p>The night before this race, I tallied the miles I ran since signing up on January 1. I trained 918 miles over 6 months for THIS RACE. <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson/status/485194644339560450">No pressure</a>. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and in various venues, told people that I hoped to win (<em>really, Scott?</em>), or at least place in the top 10. In my head, though, my true baseline hopes were simple: finish strong and don't let the wheels fall off.</p>
<h2 id="race-prep">Race Prep</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_2865.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Finger Lakes 50s sign" title="Finger Lakes 50s sign" /><p class="stickyNote">Finger Lakes 50s sign</p></div>
<p>The afternoon before the race my plan called for a 30-minute shakeout run, so I did that amidst July 4 at my parent's pool.</p>
<p>We headed home and enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner after a trip to the National Forest to get packets and see where the aid station was where my wife and kids would volunteer.</p>
<p>I organized my gear for the following morning, and we hit the bed shortly before 10. I typically sleep horribly before a race, but for some reason I didn't sleep too badly before this one. We set alarms for 4:15 a.m., I had Kashi cereal, orange juice and coffee in me at 4:30, and Amy and I watched the prior evening's news before getting the kids up. Michael Boggs, who helped at the aid station (thank you!) arrived around 5:40, and we were off to the start.</p>
<p>Amy dropped me off at for check-in and continued on to her aid station. I had a nice time milling about, dropping off my post-race bag with a spare shirt and Croc sandals, and hit the bathroom one last time. I saw many familiar faces, including Wendy (who I haven't seen since college) who runs for Fleet Feet in Rochester.</p>
<h2 id="loop-1%3A-thrill">Loop 1: Thrill</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/Screen-Shot-2014-07-05-at-3.57.00-PM.png?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finger Lakes 50s map" title="Finger Lakes 50s map" /><p class="stickyNote">Finger Lakes 50s map</p></div>
<p>The race consists of 2 loops.</p>
<p>The race started after some final instructions, and we were off. Here was where I made my first mistake: the group was going (I thought) way too slow, and there was one lone wolf out front, Ian Golden from Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company. I caught him and we ended up running close to each other for the first few miles. I should have known something was not right when he was surprised at my pace. Definitely went out too fast.</p>
<p>The rest of the first loop is kind of a blur. I didn't do much hiking at all, enjoyed seeing my family at the aid station, didn't stop much at any other aid stations (I carried my own water and sugar) and chatted up a runner from Rochester. And I did that all in third place. Oh, the foolhardiness of going out too fast. I cover the first 16.5 miles in 2 hours, 18 minutes, an 8:21 pace. That's a road pace for me, not trail. Uh-oh.</p>
<p>And the mud? Bad. Especially near the top. Think about soaking your yard for a few weeks so it's nice and spongy. Then invite a herd of cattle to mill about for awhile, making nice 6-8 inch holes. Then fill those holes with water. There was nowhere to step without getting soaked, so get soaked, I did. My feet dried off pretty quickly, though.</p>
<p>I arrived at the mid-point having to go to the bathroom badly. They announced, <em>"And in 3rd place, here comes Scott Dawson from Trumansburg, New York!".</em> I made a gesture like I was going to make a 30-second pit stop, closed the bathroom door, and heard the announcer continue, <em>"...and since I have a microphone, I can tell you that Scott Dawson is going to the bathroom! We should time him ...".</em> EMBARRASSING. But still funny.</p>
<p>I ran out of the aid station still in 3rd place, but not for long. I was passed shortly after another mile was up, and loop 2 turned out to be NOTHING like the first.</p>
<h2 id="loop-2%3A-agony-(but-not-defeat)">Loop 2: Agony (but NOT defeat)</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_1428.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Serious doubts at mile 20.5" title="Serious doubts at mile 20.5" /><p class="stickyNote">Serious doubts at mile 20.5</p></div>
<p>During loop 2, I stopped at EVERY aid station. For awhile. And I stopped on trail, too. My knees were my friends, helping support my upper body while I tried to catch my breath. At miles 20.5 and 23.5 I saw Amy and the kids. The first stop, they wisely got electrolyte pills in me (my calves were cramping badly), potato chips and a Twizzler. I sat down on a lovely-looking rock. Probably would have sat their longer had Amy not said, <em>"You probably shouldn't sit TOO long."</em> Sage advice. Legs, don't fail me now.</p>
<p>Another three miles and I had looped back to see them again. This time Amy ran down to see me, and I almost cried. They were tears of happiness: I was SO happy to see someone who I knew I could rely on, as I was having trouble. Any other aid station worker would have seen a stronger face, but when I see my family, I fall apart when I'm having a tough time. I got a banana, more electrolytes, a few M&Ms and headed out again.</p>
<p>I did a fair amount of walking and power hiking from here on out. And talked VERY negatively to myself: the randomness of a tired mind took hold.</p>
<p><em>"You suck."</em></p>
<p><em>"You REALLY suck."</em></p>
<p><em>"You don't belong here. All these other people? They're RUNNERS."</em></p>
<p><em>"Stick to making web sites. That's what you CAN do."</em></p>
<p>... and then ...</p>
<p><em>"Ooh, look! A pretty yellow butterfly! That would be SO cool to fly"</em></p>
<p>A horse whinnied in the distance.</p>
<p><em>"We should TOTALLY get a horse. That would be SO cool."</em></p>
<p>I live on a quarter acre. Reality check, please.</p>
<p>At the library aid station, one worker asked what he could get me. <em>"I don't know. There's so much crap in my stomach, I don't know if it's coming up or going down."</em></p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_2870.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Finishing felt SOOO good." title="Finishing felt SOOO good." /><p class="stickyNote">Finishing felt SOOO good.</p></div>
<p>Finishing felt SOOO good.</p>
<p>And then I kicked my own ass - hard - at mile 27. I told myself I trained for this. HARD. With commitment. I was going to finish this. I remembered two things I had learned at <a href="http://animalathleticspdx.com/">Animal Athletics</a> hill training (it served me equally well on flats).</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Stay in your bubble.</strong> I looked nowhere but 6 feet ahead. Virtual bubble around me. There's no hills, up or down. No other runners. Just you. One foot in front of the other. Speed? No matter. Get it done.</li>
<li><strong>Hold the chips.</strong> It's easy to clench your fists or forget you have arms or hands at all. Imagine holding light, delicate (and delicious) chips between the thumb and index finger of each hand. Don't break them, sir. They will be delicious when you're done. Keeps your upper body light and relaxed. And made me think of chips.</li>
</ol>
<p>This little game held me well 'til the end. I picked up the pace once I headed South again toward the finish. The last three miles went quickly. I consider myself fortunate that my very favorite stretch of trail is at the end.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_2869.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Y'all want to see some muddy shoes? And happy feet. " title="Y'all want to see some muddy shoes? And happy feet. " /><p class="stickyNote">Y'all want to see some muddy shoes? And happy feet. </p></div>
<h2 id="end-game%2C-lessons-learned">End Game, Lessons Learned</h2>
<p>In the end, I'm so happy with the raw numbers. Despite the second loop's difficulty, and probably due to the insane pace of the first loop, I finished 12th overall, 1st in my age group (after the masters winner got stripped off 40-49 age bracket), with an overall time of 5:40:22, overall pace of 10:20 per mile and 2,828 feet of elevation gain over both loops. And I got a super cool sign for winning my age group. It'll be hung with pride next to my bibs on the wall at home. Yes, it's nice to be 40.</p>
<p>But oh, there are <em>lessons</em>. First, <strong>don't go out too fast</strong>! I CONSTANTLY struggle with this one. Second, <strong>don't get negative</strong>. I also struggle with this one, especially when I'm struggling. It's not helpful. Third, <strong>remember why you run</strong>. There was a point late in the race (around the bubbles and chips and such) where I said, <em>"Screw it. I'm going to finish this, and I'm going to finish it strong."</em> After all, I love to run. So I did.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_2871.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="First thing I did at home? Laid on the foyer floor." title="First thing I did at home? Laid on the foyer floor." /><p class="stickyNote">First thing I did at home? Laid on the foyer floor.</p></div>
<h2 id="thank-you">Thank You</h2>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/07/IMG_1434.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Amy and me, post-race." title="Amy and me, post-race." /><p class="stickyNote">Amy and me, post-race.</p></div>
<p>I am SO grateful for everyone who helped me on this journey. <a href="http://skirtrunner.com/">My wife Amy</a> gets the first shout-out: she's been SO supportive of my training since the beginning of the year, and she's totally going to rock her first 50K in just a month's time at GLER. Second, my kids have put up with their Dad preparing to run, running, talking about running, having them run ... and I see my love of running rubbing off on them (they're out running right now, incidentally). Third, to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FLRTC">Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Company</a>. I've enjoyed being a part of the ambassador community for the store, and having the social support and gear that comes along with that. And last, but certainly not least, to the myriad people who worked so hard to organize and run this wonderful event. <a href="http://www.wsar.org/">Syracuse's Wilderness Search and Rescue</a> team was out in force, making sure we were all safe. The race organizers made sure the course was well marked, stocked with aid, and ran an efficient and enjoyable event. The volunteers were remarkable, from registration to aid stations and everywhere in between. My wife and kids worked at South Beach aid station, and I had the distinct pleasure of being able to see them four times during my journey. Here's a little set of pictures from the fun that they had supporting the race. Thank you!</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/07/IMG_1431.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Inventive sandwiches!" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/07/IMG_1432.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Xander (in blue) and another volunteer." />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/07/IMG_1430.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Elizabeth and Jocelyn" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/07/IMG_1429.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Michael Boggs" />
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<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2014/07/IMG_1426.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Michael and Elizabeth" />
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Week in Review: June 23-29 (24.82 miles)2014-06-30T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-june-23-29/<p>The countdown is in the single digits: just 6 more days ’til race day! Hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago, my weekly mileage was DOUBLE what it is now in taper. I focused on doing some cross-training this week in addition to my running plan, including a 14-mile bike with Amy, Skier’s Edge, yoga and a lot of leisure walking (16+ miles) during a pleasure trip to New York City.</p>
<p>I had a variety of running workouts this week, all relatively modest distances, but different focus areas:</p>
<p><strong>6 mile Easy Run @Taughannock:</strong> Humid! Enjoyed doing 2 rim loops at Taughannock, using the camp road instead of the stairs on the North side each time.</p>
<p><strong>5x500 Hill Repeats @Taughannock South Rim:</strong> Disgustingly humid and wet! These were my LAST hill repeats of my plan, so done is done.</p>
<p><strong>1:30 Timed Run @Taughannock:</strong> Rim/base/rim x 2, including the camp road. Wet, humid ... and surreal! It was dawn and foggy/cloudy, and under the treed canopy the trails were quite dark. It gave me an appreciation of what 100 milers must feel as the sun sets on their first day, knowing that darkness is imminent, their headlamp is going to need to come out soon, and they're only halfway done with their run. Thank goodness mine was only 90 minutes this morning!</p>
<p><strong>Midday 5K (Fast):</strong> Made up a 5K run on the roads around my neighborhood. Ran at high noon with the sun beating down, but I only needed to be in it for ~23 minutes, so that was some consolation.</p>
<p>Just 4 more running workouts before 50K day ...</p>
Week in Review: June 16-22 (33 miles)2014-06-23T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-june-16-22/<p>I was traveling for most of this week in New York City, but made the most of it by exploring Central Park each morning. One morning I made it all the way to the north end of the park, and asked a passerby: <em>“Is the park over?”</em>. She smiled and said yes, and I said <em>“I’d better turn around, then!”</em> I did 24 miles over the 3 days, and had a good business trip too!</p>
<p>Since I’m tapering now, <strong>Saturday</strong> called for a half hour of easy pace, so I had the pleasure of running the rim with my daughter, Elizabeth! We had a nice time, and got to flank the run with dropping off Xander at a birthday party and helping Amy and Jenny with aid during their 22 mile run.</p>
<p><strong>Sunday</strong> called for a 10K race. Without one handy, I made my own! Two loops around Taughannock is 5.83 miles, so I ran it hard. I hit 23:30 for the South/North route, and 23:47 for the North/South route, with an aggregate 962 feet of gain. Both beat my 23:51 from last week, so I'm really pleased about that!</p>
<p>Just 8 more running workouts over the next 2 weeks until I toe the 50K line on July 5! Getting excited ...</p>
Week in Review: June 9-15 (29 miles)2014-06-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-june-9-15/<p>What a wet and humid week it was! My weekly mileage is dropping now, partly due to taper for July 5, and partly due to a (wisely) skipped workout.</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday's</strong> hour-long run was at Taughannock, and then <strong>Wednesday</strong> I decided to hit Taughannock's rim for hill work. It supposed to be a 70-minute effort, but I decided instead to do 2 rim circuits, HARD. First rim repeat was counter-clockwise and I had a good time of 27:52.</p>
<p>Then I decided to really go all out and hit 23:51, a PR for me. I was quite grateful for hill training, since I didn't lose too much time on the uphills for both of these circuits. <strong>Thursday</strong> I opted to NOT run, since the weather was lousy and I wasn't feeling up to it. Hindsight being what it was, this was a good choice. It definitely dropped my weekly mileage down even further, but it saved my legs for Saturday!</p>
<p>My plan called for a half-marathon for this weekend, so I signed up for the <a href="http://tanglewoodnaturecenter.com/tanglefoot">Tanglefoot Trail Run 20K</a> in Elmira on <strong>Saturday</strong>. Turns out the distance was 10.5 miles instead, but everyone kind of knew that, and the course terrain made up for it, and more! It was either up, or down, but NEVER flat. Over these 10.5 miles, I gained 2,075 feet of elevation. Ugh! I did finish 9th overall, so was really happy with that!</p>
<p>I closed out the week with an hour-long run on <strong>Sunday</strong> at Taughannock, where finally the sun started shining again!</p>
Tanglefoot Trail Run2014-06-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/tanglefoot-trail-run-20k/<p>This race report is long overdue, but better late than never! This was my last tune-up race before the July 5 50K, and it proved to be quite a challenge. Held Saturday June 14 at <a href="http://tanglewoodnaturecenter.com/">Tanglewood Nature Center</a> in Elmira, NY, this race was advertised as a 20K but actually measured 10.5 miles <em>(everyone knew it, so I guess that's okay!)</em></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/06/tanglefoot-1.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="The End? Indeed." title="The End? Indeed." /><p class="stickyNote">The End? Indeed.</p></div>
<p>I made it 5 miles from my house before I realized I forgot my hydration pack <em>(whoops!)</em>, so turned around and met my daughter at the mailbox with my pack. An auspicious start! As I was driving to the race (just about an hour away), a light rain was coming down with overcast skies. As I thought more about this, I felt that the weather was ideal: as long as it didn't downpour (it didn't).</p>
<p>At the venue, I got my number and headed to the car to get myself settled (it was COLD out, and I was wearing my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FLRTC">FLRTC</a> singlet). The nature center has a nice exhibit area, too, so I spent some time in there looking at snakes and other wildlife. I headed to the start line just before the start, and before I knew it we were underway! I settled into a good pace on the first, mostly flat, stretch, but then there was a steady climb to a transmission tower at the top of a hill (the highest point on the course). After that, it was a mostly steady downhill through singletrack, soggy mowed paths and Jeep road to the lowest point. The most daunting feature of this run was the last mile of the course, where we regained almost all of the elevation lost in one long SLOG uphill. I was never so happy to see the finish line, but then urged my legs to keep going for the second loop!</p>
<p>I lost a few places on the second loop to a few guys with fresher legs, but things held together pretty well. Nutritionally things went well, too: I carried gel and water, and think I only used one gel during the run. I was thinking during the second loop about the irony of running. Most of my training is alone, and I like the camaraderie of racing because of the people and energy around me. The first loop I had someone in front or behind me the whole way, gutting it out all together. During the second loop I saw not a soul, we were so spaced out. At one point, I thought I was <em>hopelessly</em> lost (the fog of the run), but I kept the flag markings in sight and stayed on the course just fine. All said and done, I was 10th overall, having covered 10.5 miles and 2,075 feet of elevation gain.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/06/tanglefoot-2.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="All post-race pizza is good pizza" title="All post-race pizza is good pizza" /><p class="stickyNote">All post-race pizza is good pizza</p></div>
<p>After the race there was good pizza (all pizza is good after a race) and beer (yes!). I got really COLD again quickly, with a wet singlet and 50-degree temperatures, so a quick change into a dry shirt made the post-race festivities all the more bearable.</p>
<p><strong>Results:</strong> 10th place overall, 1:33:57, 8:56 pace</p>
Week in Review: June 2-8 (56.5 miles)2014-06-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-june-2-8/<p>The race is just four weeks away now, and I decided to shift fully to trails for the week to see how it went, and to get some good practice time on the race course in the Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF). What a week!</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Monday</strong>: Off</li>
<li><strong>Tuesday</strong>: 6 miles on the south half of the race course</li>
<li><strong>Wednesday</strong>: 10x500m repeats up a hilly stretch of Taughannock's South Rim</li>
<li><strong>Thursday</strong>: 10.25 miles in the FLNF again, this time on the northern half</li>
<li><strong>Friday</strong>: BodyPump core fitness at Island Fitness</li>
</ul>
<p>It could have gotten interesting on <strong>Saturday</strong> for my long run, the longest my plan calls for. I took it easy on lunges and squats in Friday's BodyPump class, opting for nothing more than body weight, but somehow did something to my right calf that made it sore. Probably squatting TOO deeply, which would have been easy without any weights! Anyway, I managed the entire 26.2 miles of the run without having any mechanical problems. My biggest problems were (a) nutrition (had a mild bonk at 20 where I needed to seriously psych myself out to keep going, and (b) a GPS fail where the TomTom lost satellite for a good 3 miles, meaning my map had a straight line where there should have been nice undulating curves, and (c) arriving at my car with 2 miles left! That was the hardest part: doing smaller loops within proximity of my getaway car. I probably ran 27 miles, but can't be sure. I'll go with where I stopped the watch at 26.2, which seemed a serendipitous marathon-like number to get to.</p>
<p>I just wrapped up <strong>Sunday's</strong> medium-effort recovery run in the shade and light wind of Taughannock's trails, and will very much look forward to a day of rest tomorrow. Next Saturday I'll be doing the Tanglefoot Trail run (a 20K) down in Elmira. After that, just 3 weeks until race day!</p>
Week in Review: May 26-June 1 (51.65 miles)2014-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-may-26-june-1/<p>Week 11 of 16 all done! My <strong>Tuesday</strong> run was a great 7-mile random route, which I really like. Just head out the front door and see where my legs take me. <strong>Wednesday's</strong> 9-mile hilly run was also good, but I ran during the dinner hour (always a tough proposition for me) and while Xander was at track. I finished but felt kind of “off”, which was a harbinger of <strong>Thursday’s</strong> 9 mile run: I had felt AWFUL the entire day and debated whether or not to run. I know I can skip a workout and should do so without regret, but my Type A tendencies to completely fulfill my plan won out and I ended up lacing up. <strong>Friday</strong> erased whatever bad feelings I had about Wednesday and Thursday, paving the way for an AWESOME <a href="http://animalathleticspdx.com/">Animal Athletics</a> Mountain Goat Hill Running Clinic at Buttermilk Falls State Park.</p>
<p>Amy and I both went to the Animal Athletics clinic, which was a terrific way to spend a Friday evening. There was a good amount of non-running work with warming up, doing some footwork drills and instruction, and then we did a total of 3.5 miles of uphill, downhill and circuit running, practicing our new skills all the way. This trail running clinic was SO good, and it was amazing to get advice and tips from some amazing trail runners: <a href="http://krissymoehl.com/">Krissy Moehl</a> (2 time Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc champion), <a href="http://www.yassinediboun.com/">Yassine Diboun</a> and <a href="http://williegmcbride.blogspot.com/">Willie McBride</a> (both ultra runners and founders/owners of Animal Athletics).</p>
<p><strong>Saturday’s</strong> long run was shorter than normal since it is a fallback week, just 16 miles. It's amazing what can change in a month. Four weeks ago, I did this same workout in 2:29, and Saturday I ran it almost a minute per mile faster! From the house to Taughannock, rim/base/rim 2x, and back to the house. It was beneficial to have had hill training on Friday, as whenever I encountered a hill (up or down) I focused on what I learned. Pretending Yassine was right behind me spurring me on helped, too! I closed out my week <strong>Sunday</strong> afternoon with a 7.15 medium-effort in the sun, thinking mostly about how a number of athletes I knew were gutting it out at Buttermilk/Treman for the <a href="https://www.cayugatrails50.com/">Cayuga Trails 50 Mile race</a>. Amy, the kids and I volunteered most of the morning at the Old Mill aid station. If these runners could go 50 miles in the heat, I could certainly run a few miles around my house.</p>
<p>Next week is the biggest week yet! 26 for the long run, which will be the longest of this training plan. BRING IT ON!</p>
Top Twitter Chats for Runners2014-05-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/top-twitter-chats-for-runners/<p>I joined Twitter for web design and development, but as I became a more active runner and fitness ambassador, I found a huge community of like-minded runners and athletes. I also found four recurring Twitter chats that I've added to my calendar! If you've never done this before on Twitter, it's easy: search for the hashtags below using the Twitter client of your choice, and join the conversation. When questions are being asked (for example, "Q1" for Question 1), make sure you include "A1" and the hashtag in your response so it can be found. If you want to follow me, I'm at <a href="https://twitter.com/scottpdawson">@scottpdawson</a>. Happy chatting!</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Hashtag</th>
<th>Who? (m = moderator)</th>
<th>Day, Time</th>
<th>Web Site</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BibChat?src=hash">#BibChat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/BibRave">@BibRave</a></td>
<td>Tuesdays, 9p ET</td>
<td><a href="http://www.bibrave.com/">bibrave.com</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegrunchat?src=hash">#VegRunChat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/VegRunChat">@VegRunChat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ForkstoFeet">@ForkstoFeet</a> (m)</td>
<td>Sundays, 9p ET</td>
<td><a href="http://www.vegrunchat.com/">VegRunChat.com</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ultrachat?src=hash">#ultrachat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/trailsandultra">@trailsandultra</a></td>
<td>Sundays, 9p ET</td>
<td><a href="http://trailandultrarunning.com/">trailandultrarunning.com</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RunChat?src=hash">#RunChat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/therunchat">@therunchat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/iRunnerBlog">@iRunnerBlog</a> (m) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunningBecause">@RunningBecause</a> (m)</td>
<td>2nd and 4th Sundays, 8p ET 1st and 3rd Sundays, 10p ET</td>
<td><a href="http://therunchat.com/">therunchat.com</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BqChat?src=hash">#BqChat</a></td>
<td><a href="https://twitter.com/BqChat">@BqChat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RunnersResolve">@RunnersResolve</a> (m) <a href="https://twitter.com/HalfMarathonGal">@HalfMarathonGal</a> (m)</td>
<td>1st & 3rd Wednesday, 9p ET</td>
<td><a href="http://bqchat.com/">BqChat.com</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Week in Review: May 19-25 (56.4 miles)2014-05-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-may-19-25/<p>The miles really added up this week! <strong>Tuesday’s</strong> run was an hour timed effort, and I logged 7 miles on the Black Diamond trail. I explored a bit too, and found a side trail that heads up to the hospital just after the power lines cut West. Really nice small waterfalls along the trail there. I had my nemesis workout <strong>Wednesday</strong>, hill repeats, BUT they turned out to be not so bad! My body is getting used to it, I guess. I did 9x500 repeats on Rabbit, and while I’m sure I was slower by the end, I was by no means totally spent. <strong>Thursday</strong> was also a timed run (1:30), and I used Xander’s soccer practice time to get 10 miles in, from the school in Trumansburg to Taughannock’s rim/base/rim combo and back.</p>
<p><strong>Saturday’s</strong> long run made me nervous given the length and that they were solo miles, but it was really good. It was cloudy and moderately cool, so the weather was perfect for my planned 24 mile run. We are staying at MacQueen’s guest cottage on Cayuga Lake while our house is rented for Cornell graduation, so I started with a half mile uphill jaunt to Route 89. I hooked around to Taughannock Park via Kingtown, Seneca, Curry, Rabbit and Falls Road, and did the rim/base/rim combo. I varied my route back a bit, heading up Cemetery, and at mile 16, had the serendipitous run-in with Amy and the kids having breakfast at Falls Tavern. They had just gotten their food, so I stopped in and helped myself to a few hash browns and a bite of blueberry pancake. Heavenly. Back to Main Street, South Street, a run by my house, and back out to Curry to loop back to the start on the route I came in on. I enlisted a small cheering section by calling my parents a minute before I got to their porch, and they greeted me with cowbells and encouragement.</p>
<p>I ran <strong>Sunday’s</strong> hour-long run with Amy. We did 7 miles in just a few minutes over an hour, and enjoyed the sun and good conversation together. With just 6 weeks left until the 50K, I only have one longer run than this week’s - a 26 miler - and the rest is maintenance and taper. Looking forward to a great race!</p>
<p>Sunday afternoon I also did a bit of <em>cross-training</em>: Xander and I kayaked to Taughannock Falls from MacQueen's together, just about 6 miles in 2 hours round-trip. The concession stand ice cream made for a nice respite at the turnaround point.</p>
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</div></div>Week in Review: May 12-18 (45 miles)2014-05-18T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-may-12-18/<p>What a study in contrasts this week was, weather-wise!</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday</strong> was hot and humid, and my evening run on the Black Diamond trail felt SO difficult as a consequence. My pace felt 1:30 faster than I actually ran, the way my body was feeling. <strong>Wednesday’s</strong> run was better, mostly because I chose a route I’d never done before: all road, from Ithaca Mall down through Cayuga Heights to Ithaca High, and then back up. <strong>Thursday’s</strong> temperatures moderated a bit and I enjoyed that while running the trails at Taughannock. Thankfully the week’s weather washout hit <strong>Friday</strong>, where I was able to stay dry on my rest day. Amy and I did take in a BodyPump class Friday night, though, which provided a much-needed core workout. Chased that up with some good margaritas and burritos with friends at Viva!</p>
<p><strong>Saturday’s</strong> long run was just 16 miles, since this is a fallback week for me. It was a great run! I ran from my house to Taughannock, rim/base/rim, rim/base/rim reverse, and back to the house. The falls' mist at the base was amazingly refreshing both times, and I had fun playing in the puddles on the base trail. Wore my compression socks and Dirty Girls too, and they kept me nice and debris-free. <strong>Sunday’s</strong> medium-effort hour-long run was just bearable, since I bookended it with a lot of yard work. My legs are SO spent as I write this! <em>No amount of beer is going to help, but I’m going to test that hypothesis anyway.</em></p>
<p>More to come next week!</p>
Week in Review: May 5-11 (50 miles)2014-05-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-may-5-11/<p>This week’s mileage put me at 49.8, so let’s just call it 50 for a dramatic headline, shall we? My running week started <strong>Tuesday</strong> with a timed run from Ithaca on the Black Diamond trail, and it was really fun: my first time on this trail. I planned to come back to it, which I did on the weekend (with a vengeance). Hill repeats on <strong>Wednesday</strong> (8x500), for which I was grateful to have a watch that would do counting for me, since basic math goes out the window when my heart rate passes 160. <strong>Thursday’s</strong> timed run of 1:15 rounded out the weekday runs, and I admit … I was NERVOUS about the weekend. My longest training run yet - 22 miles!</p>
<p>For <strong>Saturday</strong>, I planned a route from my house, down Rabbit to the Black Diamond trailhead at Taughannock, and then Black Diamond all the way to Ithaca. Easy, right? Reverse it for 22, and it was a plan. Things did not bode well when my shoelace broke as I was getting ready, but a quick square knot did the trick. New shoes are next on my list! The run to Taughannock was great, but then the first mile of the Black Diamond trail was mostly mud. I promptly soaked my shoes, and regretted that later on in the run when I had some issues with pain in the sole of my foot. Turns out my feel got all waterlogged (like when you've been in the pool too long) and got creased, which hurt (oh, the pain!) I actually took my shoe off at one point 'cause I thought I was bleeding. The stones from the old rail bed are HUGE in spots, making footing tricky, too. Oh, one more thing. I screwed up my nutrition somehow, and the last few miles were unbearable and then I really had a problem with my stomach at home. I couldn't bring myself to eat dinner, so opted for a banana and ice water instead. My own little post-race aid station! So ... I learned some things to not repeat for my next long run, but I'm SO glad I was able to do this distance. Mechanically, all is well.</p>
<p><strong>Sunday</strong> I went out for my plan’s medium-effort hour-long run, which went surprisingly well in spite of Saturday’s pain. I wore my singlet due to the heat, and it put a big smile on my face. For the next 6 weeks, I alternate between step back weeks of 16 miles on the weekend with increasing the distance four more miles, first to 24 and then to 26. And THEN, the taper for July 5th’s 50K!</p>
Week in Review: April 28-May 4 (44.3 miles)2014-05-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-april-28-may-4/<p>This was a pullback week in terms of the long run being 4 miles shorter than last week; the coming week has me shooting for a 22-mile long run on the weekend!</p>
<p><strong>Monday</strong> was a much-needed rest day, so my week's workouts started with an hour and a half timed run on <strong>Tuesday</strong>. I do love running to Taughannock's Rim Trail from the house, and count on that for a good hill workout when my run is supposed to be 9 miles or longer. <strong>Wednesday</strong> was a 45-minute easy pace, which Amy and I got in together after dark, with headlamps. The day's rain broke long enough for us to have a mostly dry (well, misty) run, and it was really nice to catch up. <strong>Thursday</strong> I did an hour of hill work over on Curry and Searsburg, racking up another 7.5 miles. <strong>Friday</strong> was another much-needed rest day, gearing up for my second time wearing my <a href="http://fingerlakesrunningco.com/">FLRTC</a> singlet at <strong>Saturday's</strong> May Day 5M.</p>
<p>I did a <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5k-5m-2014/" title="Trumansburg May Day 5M (32:50)">post-race report on the May Day 5M</a>, which was a family affair. I was so proud of my wife Amy (one of the race co-directors) with her 1st Female Masters in the 5K, and I was also proud of myself for the 1st Male Masters in the 5M. Both of my kids got in on the action, too, with wonderful performances by both of them. It's always a great community race. If you're in the Ithaca & Trumansburg area for this race, you should totally add it to your calendar. Check out more details at <a href="http://mayday5k.org/">mayday5k.org</a>. Since I raced 5 miles on Saturday, I counted that as my Sunday medium-effort 1 hour run, and chose to get my 16-mile run in on <strong>Sunday</strong>. It was difficult, being lunchtime and all, but I got it done, and wrapped up week 7 of 50K training.</p>
Trumansburg May Day 20142014-05-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/trumansburg-may-day-5k-5m-2014/<p>My wife co-organizes this race along with Christina Luglan and Jodi Latini, so the anticipation builds for this race so much more than any other race! They did a <strong>fantastic</strong> job this year, the first that they offered both a 5K and 5 mile distance. I opted for the latter, and it was a tough course! This race, held in my hometown of Trumansburg, has such a nice, small-town feel despite the 400+ racer turnout. So many familiar faces and fun people to talk to!</p>
<p>It was a cold start, around 50 and overcast, and I wore my FLTRC singlet without anything underneath ... I was really feeling the cold! I went out fast, but managed to keep all of my mile splits within 50 seconds of each other, so that was good. The low temperature definitely played into being able to do this!</p>
<p>After 2 miles (and the down/up of Rabbit Run) I urged two teens with water to splash me, which they did. Downright refreshing after the climb, and I'm sure it was fun for them, too. After a 1.9mi out-and-back on Rabbit Run, the 5M course rejoins the 5K runners and walkers for the duration, so I ran past walkers and 5K runners chasing the runner who passed me on Rabbit Run. I held an overall 3rd place until mile 4, where I got an incredibly uncomfortable stomach cramp and lost some pace. I got passed here, which motivated me to pick up the pace again despite the pain and finish strong.</p>
<p>I was first male master for the 5M with a 32:50, and Amy was the first female master for the 5K. Some nice symmetry there! The kids also both ran this race, turning in great performances. The local 5K is always fun for me, both because of the home-field advantage <em>(hey, I train on these streets!)</em> and the friendly local faces.</p>
Week in Review: April 21-27 (47.5 miles)2014-04-27T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-april-21-27/<p>This recaps week 6 of my 16-week 50K training plan. So far, so good! I work from home most of the time, but had to travel to NYC for a business trip the first half of this week. I worked running into both of my mornings Tuesday and Wednesday.</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday</strong>, I ran from Wall Street up the Hudson River Greenway to the Intrepid Museum, which was 10 miles of fun. Once I was out of the lower Manhattan concrete jungle, the Hudson River Greenway was packed with runners. It was like an out-and-back race, except nobody was wearing numbers. I even saw an <em>"Ithaca is Gorges"</em> shirt along the way! <strong>Wednesday</strong> I headed out over the Brooklyn Bridge for a few laps, making just over 5 miles.</p>
<p><strong>Thursday</strong> night I was back home for hill repeats (ugh!) which I would have rather NOT done. I was not in the right frame of mind, but I got it done nonetheless. <strong>Saturday</strong> I hit the roads for a 20-mile long run which was amazing. I broke it into 2, 3 and 5 mile loops, and felt great afterwards. <strong>Sunday's</strong> 7 mile shakeout revealed no nagging joints, so all is good on the running mechanics front.</p>
Week in Review: April 14-20 (45.5 miles)2014-04-20T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-april-14-20/<p>This week's wacky weather made for an interesting start. I had to split <strong>Tuesday's</strong> run into two parts: the first, aborted stretch was just over a mile due to plummeted temperatures and hostile winds that kicked up just a half mile in, and the second was a treadmill run made pleasant only by the presence of Seinfeld.</p>
<p>This running "low" was made better by <strong>Wednesday's</strong> trail run at Taughannock, which was so good it inspired me to write more about it (see: <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/rave-run-taughannock-post-april-snow-showers/" title="Rave Run: Taughannock, Post April (Snow) Showers">Rave Run at Taughannock</a>). <strong>Thursday's</strong> run was also good, a 10 mile run during a more moderate time of the day, temperature-wise.</p>
<p>I was really nervous and restless about my long run on <strong>Saturday</strong>, since it's the longest I've run, but I had nothing to be nervous about. I got out at 6:30a, and did two round trips from my house to the base of Taughannock. 12 miles on road, 6 on trail, and it went really well. We spent a few midday hours volunteering as a family at the Tough Turtle on Saturday, too, which was good fun. <strong>Sunday's</strong> hour-long run also went well, rounding out week 5 of the 16-week training plan I'm in!</p>
<p>This week I also started training in earnest on the Skier's Edge (downhill ski cross trainer) and yoga. Inspired by the checklist I made for the kids, I made my own checklist to make sure I'm doing these things each week. Otherwise, time just gets away from me!</p>
Rave Run: Taughannock, Post April (Snow) Showers2014-04-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/rave-run-taughannock-post-april-snow-showers/<p>Maybe it was last night's demoralizing treadmill run that made me appreciate this trail run all the more, but I'm so glad I made it to Taughannock today for my hill workout. I went out for a 55-minute effort, descended both rims to the stairs and back. Along the way, I was treated to several things that made me feel particularly blessed to be a runner today:</p>
<ul>
<li>Started off in brilliant sunshine.</li>
<li>Thawed trails with a half-inch covering of powdery snow made for slip-free, crunchy footfalls.</li>
<li>Just a handful of locals on the trails, no throngs of tourists today.</li>
<li>Random slips of mud that didn't take me out, but rather gave my feet a refreshing, cool splash.</li>
<li>One point where the gorge filled with flying snow, making for poor visibility and swift blowing snow across my path.</li>
<li>Ended in brilliant sunshine.</li>
</ul>
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</div></div>Week in Review: April 7-April 13 (41 miles)2014-04-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-april-7-april-13-41-miles/<p>This week started off with SORE legs, a post-Skunk Cabbage Half symptom I would have rather done without. I see more stretching and yoga in my future! I spent my Monday walking down stairs "funny" and also taking in <strong>Monday</strong>-night BodyPump (which WAS good fun with Jess calling me out - yes, it turns out I like that).</p>
<p>I kicked off the race training week <strong>Tuesday</strong> with a 45-minute treadmill run - tactical, nothing fancy, but also not fun. <strong>Wednesday</strong> brought no respite from training drudgery, with 5x500 hill repeats. Sure, they kicked my ass, but I was beginning to wonder if this was worth it. Then <strong>Thursday</strong> arrived, and oh, the wonder of trail under these now-refreshed legs. I banged out ~8 miles on the trails at Taughannock, taking special care to step IN the mud puddles along the way, now that I have some proper trial gaiters. I also took special satisfaction in not having to stop on the way up the North Rim, except for those pesky stairs. Must be all that LesMills BodyPump I'm doing at Island Health and Fitness. <strong>Friday</strong> was a rest day, but that didn't stop me from our happy hour BodyPump followed by a much-needed dinner at Viva, where we celebrated my wife's birthday amid servings of nachos, margaritas, and burritos stocked with tofu and <em>calabacitas</em>. I love saying <em>calabacitas</em>. So fun.</p>
<p><strong>Saturday's</strong> long run was epic for me, mostly because it was the longest I've run in years, save the marathon last year, since I was injured and couldn't train past 16. I ran 16+ solo miles on road and trail, between my house and Taughannock's trails. I rounded out the week with an hour-long shakeout run <strong>Sunday</strong>, and am now plugging next week's training in to the calendar. So, week 4 is in the books, and week 5 beckons!</p>
Week in Review: March 31-April 6 (43 miles)2014-04-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-march-31-april-6-43-miles/<p>Week 3 of 50K training and feeling strong! <strong>Sunday</strong> I did a lifting session at the gym (no running, except a quick 1/2 mile treadmill warmup). Also managed to get in the pool for 1,000 yards, which will come in handy for the triathlon this summer.</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday’s</strong> run was fun: we juggle schedules so the kids and Amy can have piano lessons amidst Elizabeth’s dance lessons. It’s crazy, but it works. Amy and I usually hit the gym as part of this, but I opted to run from Trumansburg to Island Health & Fitness, a 10.3 mile run. It was good training for the Skunk in retrospect.</p>
<p><strong>Wednesday’s</strong> run was standard fare, but <strong>Thursday</strong> was CRAZY! Amy had to get her long run in, and there was weather coming in Friday, so I suggested a nighttime run Thursday night. She thought that was pretty cool, so she banked 14 between 8p and 10:15p, and I joined her for the last 6 with a headlamp to help light our way. It was surreal, with warm temperatures and really calm streets. It’s pretty fun to run at night! I headed out <strong>Friday</strong> for my last run before the Skunk Cabbage Half on Sunday, and also took in Friday night BodyPump at Island.</p>
<p><strong>Sunday’s</strong> Skunk Cabbage Half was AWESOME. I got to meet and run alongside my teammates from Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Company. It felt so cool to be part of a team, and our singlets are great. <a href="https://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2014/" title="Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon">I wrote about the run in this post</a>. I came in 1:34:08, 7th in my age group, with 7:12 minute miles, and was really happy with the run (and the post-race massage wasn’t too shabby either: what a perk).</p>
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 20142014-04-06T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/skunk-cabbage-half-marathon-2014/<p>This was my first race with with Team FLRTC (Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Club) at the <a href="http://fingerlakesrunners.org/wordpress/road-races/skunk-cabbage-classic/">Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon</a> in Ithaca, NY.</p>
<p>I debated whether to wear shorts or tights, given the 37 degree start, but thankfully opted for shorts. I had Brooks arm warmers that were also a wise choice. After getting myself together, I mingled with other blue singlet wearers in Barton Hall before the start, and we got our first team photo.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/04/Team-FLRTC.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Go Team FLRTC!" title="Go Team FLRTC!" /><p class="stickyNote">Go Team FLRTC!</p></div>
<p>We assembled near the start, and it wasn't long before we were underway. My GPS watch wasn't even ready yet, so I spent the first 20 seconds of running waiting for it to catch up. The first 4 miles were pleasant, and I caught up with Jim Hodges, a friend from ski club. We spent the next few miles catching up, which was cool. I jumped ahead in miles 6 through 8, taking advantage of my long strides and some nice downhills. I realized now that my PR was within reach, if I could continue to push it hard through the remainder of the race. There were some uphills that were not too bad, and I felt really strong until the end. It was really great to see so many blue FLRTC singlets out on the road, and to hear the encouraging words traded back and forth. Around mile 9, there was an aid station offering beer or water, and given any other circumstances, I would have had the beer.</p>
<p>The conditions were really great. The sun put on a nice show, the air was not humid (oh, we'll get that later, living in upstate New York) and the tone of the race was really positive and fun, down to the themed aid stations. Post-race, I grabbed a few bites, got in line for a really great sports massage, and then turned out an extra mile as a cooldown on the way back to the car. My training day called for 14, so 14 I did!</p>
<h2 id="the-numbers">The Numbers</h2>
<p>I came in 1:34:08, 7th in my age group, with 7:12 minute miles. I missed my Red Baron Half PR by :48, and was psyched out by my watch pace, which said I would beat it. I guess there's definitely variation in my route vs. the actual measured line, which adds up over 13.1 miles. I'll take it! It was a great way to kick off the local race circuit.</p>
A Bookmarklet for Confining Google Search Results to a Specific URL2014-04-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/a-bookmarklet-for-confining-google-search-results-to-a-specific-url/<p>We were looking for a simple way to search a web site from a specific path, not just from the root. For example, <a href="http://www.strava.com/athletes">www.strava.com/athletes</a>. Google supports this by using the syntax "site:<a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes">https://www.strava.com/athletes</a> {search_term}", but rather than have to type that in each time, I created a bookmarklet that does the same thing, and more.</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to the page you want to search from.</li>
<li>Click the bookmarklet you installed from below.</li>
<li>Enter your search term at the prompt.</li>
<li>From the Google results page, you can click the bookmarklet again to change the search term: no need to go back to the prior page.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="bookmarklet-code">Bookmarklet Code</h2>
<iframe height="400" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/Ltigl?height=400&theme-id=light&default-tab=js" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Week in Review: March 24-30 (39 miles)2014-03-30T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-march-24-30-39-miles/<p>Week 2 of 16 is in the bag!</p>
<h2 id="weekdays">Weekdays</h2>
<p>I took <strong>Monday</strong> off, and did a timed run for <strong>Tuesday's</strong> workout. Tuesday called for between 45 and 60 minutes, so I just went out on an unplanned route and ended up splitting the difference at 53 minutes. <strong>Wednesday</strong> was repeat day (groan). I found a stretch of Rabbit Run that is approximately 600m of uphill, and did the 3 repeats up, jogging back down. <strong>Thursday</strong> was too cold to be outside, so I took advantage of time when Elizabeth was a dance class to bang out close to 9 miles on the treadmill. I got in my 12.5mi long run outside on <strong>Friday</strong> morning, since the weekend called for skiing. The Friday forecast was RAIN, and while I dressed for it, it never materialized. Friday night BodyPump at the gym was followed by a delightful date with my wife at ZaZa's Cucina.</p>
<h2 id="weekend">Weekend</h2>
<p>We skied 9 runs as a family <strong>Saturday</strong>, and had the foresight to bring our gear home in case Sunday was a bust, which it was: while an overnight storm brought a bunch of snow, we didn't feel up to skiing in wet, heavy snow so slept in Sunday. The streets were plowed well enough for a nice <strong>Sunday</strong> afternoon run, though, which I just got in from: 7 miles to cap off the week.</p>
Week in Review: March 17-23 (30 miles)2014-03-25T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/week-in-review-march-17-23-30-miles/<p>This was my first week of 50K training, and I think the next 15 weeks are going to challenge me more than any other fitness regimen I’ve done! This week pales in comparison to what I’ll see at the end of the program, but overall I feel positive going into this.</p>
<h2 id="monday">Monday</h2>
<p>Off</p>
<h2 id="tuesday">Tuesday</h2>
<p><strong>5.78 mi easy pace:</strong> The sun was out today, shining brightly! I was supposed to go out for 45-60 minutes, so I made up my route as I went along, heading back home when I was getting close to finish time.</p>
<h2 id="wednesday">Wednesday</h2>
<p><strong>4.73 mi hills:</strong> Started out on the Taughannock Rim but quickly realized that would be catastrophic. Lousy with ice and packed snow, so I did a bit of cross country through the woods to make it out to Gorge Road. Continued to the base, up the park road (non-stop, attaboy), and did a few smaller loops in the hills at the top to wrap up 45 minutes. Also added core work with BodyPump. I convinced my Dad to join me at BP Community Corners tonight, and he did a great job! He kept up really well with all of the moves. I was spent, as usual, by the end. We enjoyed some relaxing minutes in the sauna when all was said and done.</p>
<h2 id="thursday">Thursday</h2>
<p><strong>9.16 mi easy pace:</strong> Supposed to be out today for 1:15-1:30, so this was perfect. Stashed water and gel in the mailbox for midpoint, and was delighted when it started lightly snowing and I caught some on my wagging tongue.</p>
<h2 id="friday">Friday</h2>
<p><strong>10 mi long run:</strong> Got it in before nastiness comes in the form of rain tomorrow. Early in the run, I was startled by what turned out to be a sheep. Also added core work with Friday night BodyPump.</p>
<h2 id="saturday-%2F-sunday">Saturday / Sunday</h2>
<p><strong>Skiing:</strong> A weekend of skiing stood in for a post-long run recovery of a medium effort. After next weekend, I’ll get into a routine of long Saturday run, recovery run Sunday. Looking forward to that, actually, as it’ll also be WARMER.</p>
So, here's the plan (for 50K training)2014-03-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/so-heres-the-plan-for-50k-training/<p>When I signed up on New Year's Day for the July 5 Finger Lakes 50K, I knew I needed a plan to get ready. I quickly found a 50K plan over at <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/training/going-longer-how-to-train-for-your-first-50k_61887">running.competitor.com</a> that seemed like it would work well. I calculated backwards that this plan would start the week of March 17 (this week!), but I would be starting at a base of 32-33 miles per week, which I also needed to work up to.</p>
<p>On January 1, I started an 11-week marathon buildup based on Hal Higdon that started me at 19 miles and ended at 30 miles per week. That training has gone incredibly well (despite my addiction to downhill skiing, which also went incredibly well given our winter), and I'm ready to start the "official" plan I chose!</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/training/going-longer-how-to-train-for-your-first-50k_61887#9Crx6roPZ0SLVejx.99">Article: Going Longer: How To Train For Your First 50K</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cdn.running.competitor.com/files/2012/11/46_nat_r1.pdf">Plan: 16-Week First 50K Training Plan</a></li>
</ul>
Hardwin Music City Trail Ultra2014-03-15T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/hardwin-music-city-trail-ultra-25k/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/03/map.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Course Map" title="Course Map" /><p class="stickyNote">Course Map</p></div>
<p>My friend Eric and I wanted to find a time to meet up and hang out for the weekend, since we no longer lived in the same town. Given my plans for a summertime 50K, I put a few options out there with the caveat that we had to run as part of the weekend (have to keep up with the training plan!). Nashville was on the list, and we decided to meet up for the <a href="http://hardwinadventures.com/music-city-trail-ultra/">Hardwin Music City Trail Ultra</a>.</p>
<p>After some initial emails from the race organizers, we were a bit worried about ticks and snakes. Apparently the prior (inaugural) year of the race, held in later months where the grasses were taller, these two critters were a problem. We promptly bought 12-inch socks, and made sure to have bug spray with us. We also started training in earnest for some elevation change (for the 25K, that's 3,300 feet of aggregate gain).</p>
<h2 id="arrival">Arrival</h2>
<p>We arrived at the starting area about an hour beforehand, in time to warm ourselves by the fire. It was 40 degrees at the start, but the day's high was forecasted into the high 60s. There was a great pre-race vibe, and a very tight-knit feel to the groups of runners arriving. After some pre-race instructions, a skit with scantily-clad gladiator and promises of keg stands on Mount Olympus for finishers, we were ready to start!</p>
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<h2 id="waypoint-1%3A-the-pasture">Waypoint 1: The Pasture</h2>
<p>I started off across a pasture, keeping an easy pace and being mindful of the random deposits of horse manure. We hung a left into the woods, and were immediately confronted with a pretty good uphill. Hello, power hiking! The footing was relatively easy with no exposed roots, though the trail was covered with leaves.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-2%3A-uphill-death-march">Waypoint 2: Uphill Death March</h2>
<p>This part of the trail was well advertised on Facebook. It's main feature was a steep downhill, quick stream crossing, and then a massive uphill climb. Click to zoom in ... see the colored dots on the far side of the image? Yep, those are people. I think I might be one of 'em.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-3%3A-easy-double-track">Waypoint 3: Easy Double Track</h2>
<p>This was probably the most pleasant part of the run. I settled into a really good groove along a Jeep road heading gradually up, down and up again. After the power hiking uphill, it felt really good to stretch my legs here.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-4%3A-woohoo!">Waypoint 4: Woohoo!</h2>
<p>Now this is my FAVORITE part of trail running. Narrow singletrack, pitched downhill, undulating left and right. I resisted the urge to hoot and holler (though I should have), focusing intently on not rolling an ankle while keeping a good clip. Time flies when I'm in these conditions, enjoying every strategic footfall. Great fun.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-5%3A-crossing-the-stream">Waypoint 5: Crossing the Stream</h2>
<p>Unlike Ghostbusters, crossing this stream wasn't a problem. Barely an inch of water here. I was carrying my own water, so bypassed the aid station and headed down into another stretch of woods, where I was greeted with a few more easy stream crossings.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-6%3A-middle-earth">Waypoint 6: Middle Earth</h2>
<p>This was the out-and-back section of trail. At the terminus (for us 25K-ers; 50K runners went beyond) there was an aid station with water, bananas, Skittles and bars. I thought the Skittles were M&Ms so picked up a cup. Not wanting to discard it after realizing my error, I covered the top with my hand and ran with it shaking it like a maraca. I ate one every so often and it provided me with a nice energy boost. I was also carrying Shot Gel, and consumed two of those on the hour during the race.</p>
<p>I <em>love</em> out-and-back sections. It's so nice to give and get encouragement from other runners. The stream crossings in this section were deeper, giving my feet a cold yet refreshing bath each time. I saw one poor guy slip and dip one side of his body in the water. It was cold, but maybe refreshing, too? On the way back, I got off course a bit and was instantly grateful to the organizers for giving us the waypoint file in advance. I was using an app called <a href="http://www.gaiagps.com/">Gaia GPS</a> for the iPhone, and it saved my butt here. I paused, took a picture, and then oriented myself back to the proper trail.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-7%3A-solitude">Waypoint 7: Solitude</h2>
<p>With the out-and-back section behind me, this section opened up onto a rutted road, followed by a brief stretch on a gravel road, and then back into the woods toward the first aid station. This was <strong>lonely</strong>: nobody in front, nobody behind. I turned on some music to keep me going, as my motivation was waning. I felt good as the aid station came into view, and was grateful for the volunteers to help keep us pointed in the right direction.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-8%3A-watch-out">Waypoint 8: Watch Out</h2>
<p>Still alone, this was uphill again out of the aid station. I power hike a bunch of this stretch, and had to hop off the trail at one point to allow an oncoming dirt bike to pass. I think he missed the sign that said "Foot Traffic Only", or maybe I misread that. Before I knew it, I was back on that gravel road headed south for a brief bit.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-9%3A-almost-done%3F-not.">Waypoint 9: Almost Done? Not.</h2>
<p>I hadn't been using the GPS for anything but orienteering, so had no sense of my pace or duration throughout this race. So at this point, when the gravel road cut east to head back to the start, I foolishly thought I was almost done. <em>Nope!</em> This was the beginning of the longest stretch (mentally) of the race for me.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-10%3A-solitude-no-more">Waypoint 10: Solitude No More</h2>
<p>I started catching up to some of the 10K racers ending their loop, and had a 25K racer catch up to me. He helpfully pointed out that there was just a mile left, but I doubt the accuracy of that in hindsight. Definitely more than a mile, but nice to have the lift at the time anyway.</p>
<h2 id="waypoint-11%3A-this-must-end-soon">Waypoint 11: This Must End Soon</h2>
<p>There were some big up- and downhill pitches before the end, each more demoralizing than the previous. I thought several times that the end was just around the corner. After the swing to the south again, I was right: almost done. I came across another runner walking around as if he'd lost something, and then I realized I'd lost it too: the trail! Again, the GPS to the rescue, and we both headed off down the last leaf-covered hill, switching back and forth until we hit the flats of the horse pasture once more.</p>
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<h2 id="the-end">The End</h2>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2014/03/tongue.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Done. Exhausted!" title="Done. Exhausted!" /><p class="stickyNote">Done. Exhausted!</p></div>
<p>Eric got a great picture of me as I was crossing the finish line. The expression on my face tells the whole story: relieved to be done! The post-race festivities were great, though. Where else are you handed a pint glass at the finish, then guided over to a keg to fill 'er up? I caught my breath, wiped the salt off my face, and enjoyed the rest of our time there catching up with other runners and talking about the race. Oh, and those ticks and snakes we were warned about? Neither in sight, thanks to the moderate March temperatures and lack of foliage. I was really thrilled with my results: I came in 12/55 overall, 3/16 in my 40-49 age group. The thought of doubling the distance, though, which I'll do in July at the <a href="http://fl50sultraz.blogspot.com/">Finger Lakes Fifties</a> this summer, made me realize that the next 16 weeks of training are crucial. I'm sure that with the effort that goes into the impending training, the 50K will be the right distance at the right time for me.</p>
<h2 id="related-links">Related Links</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://hardwinadventures.com/music-city-trail-ultra">Hardwin Music City Trail Ultra</a></li>
</ul>
Use Bookmarklets to Access the Same Web Page in Different Environments2014-01-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/use-bookmarklets-to-access-the-same-web-page-in-different-environments/<p>If you have several environments that you develop and test in, you may find it useful to create <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmarklet">bookmarklets</a> for frequently-accessed pages.</p>
<p>For example, let's say I have four environments: local, development, integration and testing. For each, I may want to easily get to one of six pages with a complex path, without having to navigate to that path. I <em>could</em> create six bookmarks for each environment, but who wants to create 24 bookmarks?</p>
<p>I can <strong>create a single bookmarklet</strong>, and use it to get to the corresponding path on the site I'm signed into. Here's the syntax (replace /path with the specific path you're bookmarking):</p>
<iframe height="200" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/igqdB?height=200&theme-id=light&default-tab=js" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<p>Once you have the bookmarklet in your browser, sign into the environment you're testing in, and then click the bookmarklet to jump to that path.</p>
<p>Want to find out how to add a bookmarklet to your browser? Type "add a bookmarklet to" into Google, and check the suggested search completions for the browser you're using.</p>
What's in a Shape? Signal Strength, the Ubiquity of iPhones and Nomenclature Collide2013-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/whats-in-a-shape-signal-strength-the-ubiquity-of-iphones-and-nomenclature-collide/<p>When I upgraded to iOS7, it was with little fanfare. Everything went fine with the upgrade, and the new aesthetic, while a big leap, took only a little getting used to. It was only after a car trip where we drove through some dead zones did I realize a far bigger impact than the flat design or dynamic backgrounds. Those bars ... were now circles!</p>
<p><strong>Amy:</strong> Do we have any bars yet?</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Nope, not yet. Actually, probably never again.</p>
<p><strong>Amy:</strong> Huh?</p>
<p><strong>Me:</strong> Well, they're circles now.</p>
<p>It got me thinking about design, and how decisions we make (bars, dots or something else for signal strength) impact how people speak about the product. It is similar to (but not the same as) how we associate company names with the products they promote, and suddenly these become nouns and verbs in everyday speech: Google, Xerox, Hoover and Polaroid.</p>
<p>Change is hard, though. I'm so used to saying I'm going to "Google" something, it's difficult to change that verb to "Bing" or "Yahoo". But, I have no problem sticking with "looking something up on Wikipedia", either, as it's a more focused search. We don't think about Ricoh'ing something (photocopy?), or Dyson'ing the floor ('cause that happens a lot with kids in the house).</p>
<p>So maybe it's a dot, a four leaf clover, or an ace of spades in that upper left corner of the iPhone.</p>
<p>But it's still a bar to me.</p>
Creating a Variable-Width Modal Dialog Using Bootstrap 32013-10-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/creating-a-variable-width-modal-dialog-using-bootstrap-3/<p>I've enjoyed using Bootstrap 3 lately, but was limited by the fixed-width of the modal dialog boxes. I wanted to override the default Bootstrap modal so it was variable-width and height-optimized.</p>
<p>I created CSS classes to handle the width, and the optional introduction of a scrollbar for extra-tall content. Then, I just add "modal-wide" to the main modal div. In the example below, I'm using 90%.</p>
<p>This works fine as-is, as long as the height of the content in the modal dialog is not too tall. If that's the case, we need to introduce a max-height to that content area. I use jQuery to calculate this based off the browser height. The result: the modal will be only as tall as necessary, and will provide a scrollbar if needed.</p>
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A Journey of Recovery: Sad Mac to Happy Mac2013-09-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/a-journey-of-recovery-sad-mac-to-happy-mac/<p>After several odd Spinning Beach Ball of Death (<a href="http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html">SBBOD</a>) moments and a neighborhood power failure, my hard drive was clearly sick. I feared for the worse, but had a theory that I had some bad drive sectors. Disk Utility's verify process told me about my drive's <strong>"Invalid Node Structure"</strong>, and gave me a dreaded notification: <em>Disk Utility stopped repairing "Macintosh HD" - Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.</em></p>
<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2013/09/disk_utility.png?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Skeumorphism" title="Skeumorphism" /><p class="stickyNote">Skeumorphism</p></div>
<p>For fans of skeumorphism, it's alive and well in the Disk Utility interface. Unless, of course, you can REALLY use a stethoscope to troubleshoot.</p>
<p>This was frustrating, because I had just done this to try to resolve the problem, but I missed a key step. When you erase your drive, you must select "Security Options" and select at least the first secure option, which not only writes zeroes on the disc, but it also marks bad sectors as such so they would no longer be used. (See: <a href="http://mac.tutsplus.com/tutorials/os-x/the-master-guide-to-formatting-a-hard-drive/">Security Options</a>)</p>
<p>Here are the steps that I took to resurrect my sad Mac.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Reformat and "Zero" the Drive (Attempt 1)</strong> You can't do this if you've launched Disk Utility from the partition you're zeroing. I got a "<a href="http://osxdaily.com/2013/06/14/resolve-a-couldnt-unmount-disk-error-in-disk-utility/">Couldn't Unmount Disk</a>" error that made this clear to me. <em><strong>Solution:</strong> create a USB Boot Drive.</em> I had another Mac with which to do this, but if you don't, I would highly recommend doing this while you can. It's a good thing to have in your bag of tricks. I had a tough time finding a family member or neighbor with either a DVD-R or thumb drive with the requisite 8 GB of space, but a quick trip to Staples solved that problem. I found great resources at <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/apple-in-the-enterprise/how-to-create-a-bootable-usb-to-install-os-x/">TechRepublic</a>, <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/1161069/make_a_bootable_lion_installer.html">MacWorld</a>, another <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/1160124/osxflashdrive.html">MacWorld</a> page and <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2012/07/25/building-an-os-x-mountain-lion-installer-thumb-drive/">TUAW</a> to help with this process.</li>
<li><strong>Double-check in Terminal</strong> While I waited for the USB boot drive to finish creating on the other computer, <a href="http://www.reslabs.com.au/journal/invalid-node-structure">I ran a file system check (fsck) from Terminal</a> just to be sure. As expected, I found the same errors that Disk Utility had reported.</li>
<li><strong>Reformat and "Zero" the Drive (Attempt 2)</strong> After rebooting, holding the Option key while doing so, I selected my USB boot drive and loaded up Disk Utility again. This time, the erase process (make sure you go into Security Options and select at least the first level of zeroing) was smooth, taking just a few hours for my 1TB drive.</li>
<li><strong>Restore Data</strong> Finally, I was able to <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427">restore my entire system from my Time Machine backup</a>. It took eight hours, but my machine greeted me in the morning as I'd left if, pre-crash. <strong>What a relief!</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>As a last step, I ran Disk Utility Verify once more. Happiness.</p>
<p>I'm sure that the bad sectors are indicative of a broader problem with the disk, so I'll keep an eye on that by looking at Disk Utility periodically. Then, I'm sure I'll be in the market for a new drive!</p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20132013-08-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Cayuga Lake Triathlon 2013 on August 4, 2013 in a time of 1:35:47.</p>
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<h3>Compared to Other Years: Sprint Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/">2015</a></td>
<td>1:29:39</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361044698/overview">17:54</a><br />(2:23 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:55</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992701/overview">43:00</a>
<br />(19.53 avg mph)
</td>
<td>2:15</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992638/overview">23:35</a>
<br />(7:36 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/">2014</a></td>
<td>1:27:16</td>
<td>18:25<br />(2:27 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:40</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">41:54</a>
<br />(20.48 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">22:46</a>
<br />(7:21 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/">2013</a></td>
<td>1:35:47</td>
<td>19:33<br />(2:36 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:36</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">47:32</a>
<br />(17.87 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:30</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">24:56</a>
<br />(8:03 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/">2012</a></td>
<td>1:38:04</td>
<td>19:12<br />(2:34 per 100)
</td>
<td>4:06</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">46:02</a>
<br />(18.26 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:54</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:50</a>
<br />(8:39 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/">2008</a></td>
<td>1:39:44</td>
<td>17:11<br />(2:17 per 100)
</td>
<td>3:58</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">51:24</a>
<br />(16.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:00</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:11</a>
<br />(8:27 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
Counting down with jQuery or CSS3 (or, Puff the Magic Countdown)2013-07-14T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/counting-down-with-jquery-or-css3-or-puff-the-magic-countdown/<p>I've been playing <a href="http://www.ea.com/uk/real-racing-3-ios">Real Racing 3</a> on iPhone lately, and as you change places during the race, your place number at the top right corner has a cool puff effect to animate the place change. I wanted to replicate this effect on a web page, so went about it using two different techniques: jQuery UI (puff transition) and CSS3 animation of transition, transform and opacity.</p>
<h2 id="jquery-ui-(puff-transition)">jQuery UI (puff transition)</h2>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/zFlej?height=300&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<h2 id="css3-animation">CSS3 Animation</h2>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/Gzwbl?height=300&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<p>In the CSS3 version, I noticed a full-screen white flicker on Chrome when the animation cycled. A few searches later, I found a combination of CSS that removed the flicker, applied to the element being animated. You'll see this code commented in the pen.</p>
<pre><code>-webkit-perspective: 1000;
-webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;
</code></pre>Dot Matrix: Just for Fun2013-05-28T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/dot-matrix-just-for-fun/<p>I had a lot of fun putting this together! It was just a personal project to see if I could do it. I envisioned a matrix of dots that, when hovered, would flip their color and slowly fade away. It works like a charm on the desktop. You can use keyboard shortcuts to change the color, and the CSS :hover attribute and CSS3 transitions make the effect work quite nicely.</p>
<p>My hope was to have it work just as well on mobile. In the end, I got it working most of the way, though there are surely some performance optimizations I can make with the speed of determining whether a drag action occurred through a dot or not. I would also love to have it support multiple concurrent touches. I didn't use any kind of framework like Sencha, though that would be a logical next step.</p>
<p>You can <a href="http://codepen.io/DawsonMediaD/full/rtjcI">see this in a separate browser window</a>, or check out the Pen below. Fun stuff! <em>Full disclosure:</em> something's off with this in Firefox, but it tests out in Chrome and Safari.</p>
<iframe height="600" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/rtjcI?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
A Delicious, Depth-Responsive Design (analog)2013-04-13T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/a-delicious-depth-responsive-design-analog/<p>I stepped away from my computer to build something special for my wife's birthday. Inspiration struck during a recent shopping trip, and it's clear to me (in hindsight) that I do think in pixels!</p>
<p>For this project, I started with 23x18 canvas, and my materials called for 0.85 dpi. It's not very good resolution up close, but when you step back, it works quite well! It's not responsive to width or height changes, or orientation change for that matter, but is probably the first responsively-designed Z axis. As you eat, it responds by decreasing the pixel depth.</p>
<p>I think in a few weeks time, it'll become the flat design that is all the rage in some circles now.</p>
<p>For those inclined to try this out on their own, I used six bags of kisses, a flat board, some of the kids' school glue, and a level to keep the bottom edge straight. And there were no (ahem) leftovers.</p>
<h2 id="update%3A-four-weeks-later%2C-to-the-day-...">UPDATE: Four Weeks Later, to the Day ...</h2>
<p>Well, our family of four made this gift stretch out and last for a full month! Now that's the way to savor a birthday treat. It helped that it was somewhat painstaking to remove the chocolate while leaving the wrapper intact, since we wanted to be able to take these "after" photos. Delicious!</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2013/04/kisses-all-gone.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Aw, no chocolate left ..." title="Aw, no chocolate left ..." /><p class="stickyNote">Aw, no chocolate left ...</p></div>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2013/04/kisses-litter.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="We have just a bit of confetti left over, too!" title="We have just a bit of confetti left over, too!" /><p class="stickyNote">We have just a bit of confetti left over, too!</p></div>Simple CSS for Disabled Buttons2013-03-19T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/simple-css-for-disabled-buttons/<p>I frequently observe discrete interface problems that, in isolation, are minor, but in aggregate, equal BIG problems. "Death by a thousand paper cuts," you might say. I came across an update in CSS3 that gives developers more control over the cursor, which can be another tool to help communicate state or affordance to the user.</p>
<p>Imagine a page that contains a button that is enabled only after the user takes a specific action, like filling out required fields on a form. In this case, you can use <code>cursor: not-allowed</code> on the disabled button to help communicate its non-clickable state. Of course, you'll still need to ignore the click until it is active, but when the user hovers over it, they'll have a clear indication that it's not (yet) interactive.</p>
<p>Hover over the disabled button in the example below. If your browser supports CSS3, you'll see a nice indication on the cursor:</p>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/Dqrck?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
Sass versus LESS for CSS2013-02-16T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/sass-versus-less-for-css/<p>I just finished a great <a href="http://lynda.com/">lynda.com</a> course titled <a href="http://www.lynda.com/CSS-tutorials/CSS-LESS-SASS/107921-2.html">CSS with LESS and Sass</a>, and really enjoyed learning more about these CSS pre-processors. As I went along, I created two pens over at <a href="http://codepen.io/">codepen.io</a> to try out the different syntaxes, and took note of a few things along the way.</p>
<h2 id="less">LESS</h2>
<p><a href="http://lesscss.org/">LESS</a> was presented first, so a lot of my comments are about how Sass differs from LESS. I found the syntax quite comfortable to read and write.</p>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/Fxkqf?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<h2 id="sass">Sass</h2>
<p>I found <a href="http://sass-lang.com/">Sass</a> to be similarly comfortable to read and write, with a few exceptions (below)</p>
<iframe height="300" width="100%" src="https://codepen.io/scottpdawson/embed/zJAxv?height=600&theme-id=light&default-tab=result" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<h2 id="comparison">Comparison</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Sass @mixin/@include syntax made for more text in my file, but I found it was easier to decipher what was a mixin. So, this was a toss-up for me.</li>
<li>For Sass, I found in my testing on Codepen that a @mixin needs to be defined <strong>before</strong> it was used in the file, unlike Less, which let me define it anywhere.</li>
<li>Sass @mixin doesn't support $arguments like LESS does, again a minor point.</li>
<li>Sass contains the <strong>if</strong> statement, but I found I could mimic that logic with LESS guards. That said, LESS doesn't support conditionals or looping.</li>
<li>LESS has an interesting concept of pattern matching, which Sass doesn't seem to have (see sample Less pen above)</li>
<li>Sass has a few more features and functions, for color (grayscale, complement, invert), math (abs, min, max), and has more OOTB formatting options.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="conclusion-and-references">Conclusion and References</h2>
<p>I think I'll use a bit of both in some real projects, starting with LESS. I did install the <a href="http://wearekiss.com/simpless">Simpless</a> compiler, which seems easy enough to configure to "watch" for changes in my LESS files and convert to CSS. I know that there are equivalent functions for Sass, so I'll see which I prefer. I'm also going to look around for some mixin libraries, in addition to those cited below.</p>
<ul>
<li>For Sass/SCSS: <a href="http://compass-style.org/">Compass</a> / <a href="https://github.com/matthieua/sass-css3-mixins">matthieua's Sass Library</a></li>
<li>For LESS: <a href="http://lesshat.com/">LESS Hat</a> / <a href="http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/">Bootstrap</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gist.github.com/wilmoore/820035">Sass and LESS Comparison</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gist.github.com/wilmoore/820035">Sass and LESS Library comparisons</a></li>
<li><a href="http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2011/09/09/an-introduction-to-less-and-comparison-to-sass/">Smashing Magazine: An Introduction to LESS, And Comparison to Sass</a></li>
</ul>
Transforming an Entire Page with jQuery and CSS3 Scale Transforms2013-01-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/transforming-an-entire-page-with-jquery-and-css3-scale-transforms/<p>I've seen this transition used in Keynote, and I wanted to see how I could accomplish the same effect with jQuery and CSS3. I use jQuery for the animation, and CSS3 for the scale transform of the entire content area. The effect is one where the content area ducks into the background and a new content area slides in (from one of four directions, depending on the button you press). I tested this out on Chrome, where it is really quite smooth. Firefox and Safari on the Mac are a bit jittery with the animation, so that's something to look at before using this in a project. Certainly could use some re-factoring, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://jsfiddle.net/spdawson/Y4uc4/embedded/" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowpaymentrequest="" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Practically, this could be used to enhance a site where the entire page content is being refreshed using Ajax, but illustrating a nice transition within the page after the Ajax request is finished.</p>
Celebrating a Happy New Year with littleBits2013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/celebrating-a-happy-new-year-with-littlebits/<p>We had some good fun tonight with littleBits. Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMjRQ97HRuI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMjRQ97HRuI</a></p>
<h2 id="littlebits-used-...">littleBits used ...</h2>
<ul>
<li>Power module</li>
<li>Light sensor</li>
<li>Pulse module</li>
<li>Light wire</li>
<li>Electrical tape</li>
</ul>
<p>Want to learn more about what you can do with <a href="http://littlebits.cc/">littleBits</a>? Visit <a href="http://littlebits.cc/">littlebits.cc</a> for a complete list of their modules, and some project inspiration!</p>
Three Methods for Creating Beveled Corners: CSS, CSS3 or jQuery2012-12-08T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/three-methods-for-creating-beveled-corners-css-css3-or-jquery/<div class="rt"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 317 317'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2012/12/beveled_corners.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=317" alt="Beveled corners" title="Beveled corners" /><p class="stickyNote">Beveled corners</p></div>
<p>I had a recent need for beveled corners with superimposed images, and wanted to accomplish the effect with as little manipulation of the images as possible. Sadly, I was unable to find anything that fit the bill, but did learn about three different ways of accomplishing beveled corners, each with pros and cons. The effect I was going for was an image over an image background, where the foreground image has beveled corners. Like the composition at right (done in Photoshop). I didn't find what I was looking for, and ended up doing something different, but what I learned is still post-worthy.</p>
<p>Below, I have three sample implementations to show the same effect using jQuery Corner, CSS Borders and CSS3 Gradients. Each has their pros and cons, listed below the code samples.</p>
<h2 id="jquery-corner">jQuery Corner</h2>
<iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://jsfiddle.net/spdawson/nxnCD/embedded/" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowpaymentrequest="" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<h2 id="css-borders">CSS Borders</h2>
<iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://jsfiddle.net/spdawson/HhZQe/embedded/" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowpaymentrequest="" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<h2 id="css3-gradients">CSS3 Gradients</h2>
<iframe width="100%" height="300" src="https://jsfiddle.net/spdawson/3Tc8S/embedded/" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowpaymentrequest="" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<h2 id="in-summary">In Summary</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://jquery.malsup.com/corner/">jQuery Corner plug-in</a> <strong>Pros:</strong> simple to implement; <strong>Cons:</strong> reliance on jQuery (is that really a con, though?), and you have to have a solid background (a deal-breaker for this job).</li>
<li>CSS Borders <strong>Pros:</strong> probably the most cross-browser compliant of the bunch; <strong>Cons:</strong> Interior image cannot full bleed fully to the bevel edge, plus unnecessary markup. You'll need to position your content absolutely if you want to have it bleed into the beveled edge.</li>
<li><a href="http://lea.verou.me/2011/03/beveled-corners-negative-border-radius-with-css3-gradients/">CSS3 Gradients</a> (adapted from Lea Verou's post on the topic) <strong>Pros:</strong> simplified markup, but must be a solid interior color (can't use an interior image); <strong>Cons:</strong> depending on the browser, you sometimes get an interior vertical line where the gradients match up.</li>
</ul>
<p>The bottom line ... if you have need to (a) bevel a solid color box over a background image, <strong>CSS Borders</strong> and <strong>CSS3 Gradients</strong> are good choices. If you need to (b) bevel a box with an image over a solid background color, <strong>jQuery Corner</strong> is a great choice. If you need to do both, however (box with an image over an image background), you'll probably need to break out Photoshop. Maybe there will be a time soon where a W3C specification allows for client-side image masking ...</p>
This Site, Responsively Designed2012-11-04T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/this-site-responsively-designed/<p>I've been reading up on responsive design using media queries, and spent some weekend time applying the principles to this site. It wasn't that difficult - the most vexing problems for me came during the testing phase (more below). All in all, a great success, and an experience I can start to leverage for other web sites.</p>
<h2 id="learning-about-responsive-design">Learning About Responsive Design</h2>
<p>There are a ton of resources out there, but here are a few that I found most helpful.</p>
<ul>
<li>I read about a lot of approaches in <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/category/responsive-web-design">Smashing Magazine's articles on responsive design</a>. I found the breadth of approaches really helpful to selecting one for my site.</li>
<li>Ben Callahan's post <a href="http://seesparkbox.com/foundry/how_should_we_write_media_queries">How Should We Write Media Queries</a> post was really helpful to me. I used his structure for the project, which calls for a base CSS file (which contains print styles in a media query), then a separate CSS file for the other media queries (not print, braille, embossed, speech, tty), and lastly a conditional comment for older versions of IE, since they don't support media queries.</li>
<li>During testing, I found a problem with landscape iPad browsers (both Chrome and Safari) keeping the device-width the same width as portrait view. Gary Bacon wrote about a solution at <a href="http://garybacon.com/post/viewport-bug-in-mobile-safari-on-iphone-and-ipad/">Viewport Bug in Mobile Safari on iPhone and iPad</a>, and it solved this problem for me. Many thanks!</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="the-process">The Process</h2>
<p>I approached this not from a device perspective, but from a layout perspective. My site is coded for a maximum width of 975 pixels, centered, so my initial media query breakpoint was to have that scale proportionally for narrower widths, down the point where the navigation bar would no longer have room for all of the options (right around 63.75em). In addition to scaling elements down, I also dropped a graphic element from the footer.</p>
<p>Then, I had another break point at 46em for narrower devices like iPhone, where the navigation is simplified even more, with links centered below the logo, and the footer dramatically simplified.</p>
<p>Lastly, I spent a few minutes with print styles, which are in a media query in the main CSS. I tested out the changes with Safari, Firefox and Chrome on the Mac, Safari and Chrome on iPhone and iPad, and IE 7, Firefox and Chrome on Windows XP. I'm pretty satisfied with the result, although I did come across a pesky issue with Google Fonts not rendering on iPhone's Chrome (Safari works fine). If anyone has an idea for why that's failing, let me know!</p>
Thoughts From a Confessed Cord Cutter2012-10-12T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/thoughts-from-a-confessed-cord-cutter/<p>As it turns out, some breaking up isn't hard to do. It took awhile to lead up to some of these changes, but I wouldn't change a thing in hindsight. As I take a look at my tech inventory (the tech I have, and the tech I use), it's been pared down quite a bit. Here's how I did it.</p>
<h2 id="phone">Phone</h2>
<p>My wife and I designed and built our home eight years ago, and one of the most important things to us (at the time) was a wired infrastructure: Cat-5 in all the right places, and two hard-wired phone lines (one for business, one for home). Over time, I moved my business line to Vonage (voice over IP) to save money for my company, leaving one of our lines dormant. During this time, we had a shared cell phone, and resisted giving up our home phone line in case of emergency or power outage (those things still work when the juice is off!).</p>
<p>We asked ourselves what it would be like to forego our land line in favor of two iPhones, and ran some numbers. It was compelling, especially in light of a near net-zero cost difference when combining the move with cutting cable (more on that below). We made the plunge, and were pleasantly surprised when AT&T said they'd be able to port our land line number to one of the phones - no need to tell everyone about our new number!</p>
<p>Having cell phones as our only phones is quite freeing. It helps our businesses (<a href="http://www.emoticakes.com/">emoticakes.com</a> and Dawson Media Design) be more transparent, as we can make and receive calls on the go. Other niceties about having a smart phone is the other features that help us stay organized: calendar, weather, contacts, web (+ GPS tracking of downhill skiing: we'll save that for another post!). We text each other, too, which is really convenient. I'm sure when the kids get older, we'll have more to say about youths and what happens when they can access the same tools, but we're not there yet.</p>
<h2 id="cable-television">Cable Television</h2>
<p>We've had varying levels of cable plans through our college years and into early married life. Since kids entered the picture and our consumption dropped, though, dropping cable seemed to make more sense. Spending time in a hotel with basic cable always reminds me why we don't miss our cable. I find it's hard to turn it off once it's on, but it's a time suck. You're watching a show you hadn't planned to watch in the first place, and suffering through commercials to boot. The thing that made me laugh most was when my youngest was watching Cartoon Network in a hotel room, and asked me why the show was so weird. Turns out, it was the period of commercials between two shows at the top of the hour, and he didn't know what a commercial was. Ah ... ignorance is bliss.</p>
<p>The enabler was the original Apple TV: a silver hotplate that got us thinking. We realized that with our limited viewing, we were watching more streaming Netflix and DVD than we were watching broadcast television. Unfortunately, we live in an area where over-the-air signals prohibit us from getting any broadcast channels. The price point of the black AppleTV was the tipping point for us. We called our cable provider, returned our hardware, and resigned ourselves to the fact that without cable, we'd give up watching <em>current</em> programming … not true! We bought season passes for several of our favorites from the iTunes Store, and watched the episodes the day after they aired. We've also recently started one cool habit: we watch the nightly news podcast each morning with our kids before they head off to school. We're very happy with our new (cable-free) media life.</p>
<h2 id="reading">Reading</h2>
<p>Technically, this is adding a cord, but it's a change in how we consume media, so worthwhile to discuss here. We have a lot of books, use our local library quite often, and eschewed e-readers for awhile. That changed late last year, when we started looking at the Books app on an iPad and compared with other e-readers. We latched onto the Kindle, and now all four of our family members have their own. I'd say that it has further <em>increased</em> our reading due to the convenience factor. It's so easy to travel with a variety of books. It's also nice thing to be able to read books concurrently with other family members (unless it's a borrowed book). Both kids have really enjoyed looking through the Amazon library for books they'd enjoy, too. Sadly, our school has a blanket policy against having these devices out during reading time (paradoxical, right?) due to the fact that some of them can have games installed. We opted for the Kindle model that lets you read and not much else, which has been working great.</p>
<h2 id="learning-%26-professional-development">Learning & Professional Development</h2>
<p>We (obviously) have Internet access in our home, which has enabled us to take advantage of online learning and professional development opportunities. Without the online resources, we'd turn to books, seminars or conferences. I've been a <a href="http://lynda.com/">lynda.com</a> subscriber for several years, and enjoy keeping pace with new technology and techniques with the engaging video and tutorials. I also really enjoyed <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs193p">CS 193P through Stanford University on iTunes U</a>, which led me to <a href="http://minigolfer.net/">develop an app for the iPhone</a>. It's really interesting to hear about how major universities are teaming up to make higher education more accessible. It's exciting to imagine what our kids will have access to from anywhere in the world. Amy has found some great technique-oriented sites like <a href="http://craftsy.com/">craftsy.com</a> for her <a href="http://emoticakes.com/">emoticakes.com</a> bakery. The kids have started really getting into online learning, too, as a supplement for their regular school. Some of their favorites include <a href="http://khanacademy.org/">khanacademy.org</a>, <a href="http://ixl.com/">ixl.com</a> and <a href="http://xtramath.org/">xtramath.org</a>.</p>
<h2 id="social-media">Social Media</h2>
<p>Probably our most extreme case of cord-cutting was Facebook. Both of us had friend lists pushing 500, but it was deceptive to us: a Facebook friend does not equate to a real-live friend from the neighborhood, work or in between. We both just dropped out of the Facebook-sphere (our businesses still retain their presence there). The news feed was all-consuming, and we just got ... well, tired of it. So we turned it off, signed out, and haven't been back. Are we missing out on some things? Surely. Random pictures from someone's office party, news from people we don't speak to very often. But no, we're not missing it all all. I professionally stay on Linked In and started up on Twitter to help keep up with trends in technology, but that's about where I draw my social line.</p>
<p>So that's it! Not exactly a seismic shift in how we consume media and interact with the world, but certainly a set of tweaks that, taken collectively, have made us happier than we were (a) without spending a whole lot of money, and (b) saving us a whole lot of time.</p>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20122012-08-05T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Cayuga Lake Triathlon 2012 on August 5, 2012 in a time of 1:38:04.</p>
<div style="position: relative"><img class="lazy" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 700 400'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="/images/2012/08/triathlon-with-amy.jpg?nf_resize=fit&w=700" alt="Post-race with Amy" title="Post-race with Amy" /><p class="stickyNote">Post-race with Amy</p></div>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Sprint Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/">2015</a></td>
<td>1:29:39</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361044698/overview">17:54</a><br />(2:23 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:55</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992701/overview">43:00</a>
<br />(19.53 avg mph)
</td>
<td>2:15</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992638/overview">23:35</a>
<br />(7:36 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/">2014</a></td>
<td>1:27:16</td>
<td>18:25<br />(2:27 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:40</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">41:54</a>
<br />(20.48 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">22:46</a>
<br />(7:21 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/">2013</a></td>
<td>1:35:47</td>
<td>19:33<br />(2:36 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:36</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">47:32</a>
<br />(17.87 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:30</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">24:56</a>
<br />(8:03 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/">2012</a></td>
<td>1:38:04</td>
<td>19:12<br />(2:34 per 100)
</td>
<td>4:06</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">46:02</a>
<br />(18.26 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:54</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:50</a>
<br />(8:39 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/">2008</a></td>
<td>1:39:44</td>
<td>17:11<br />(2:17 per 100)
</td>
<td>3:58</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">51:24</a>
<br />(16.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:00</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:11</a>
<br />(8:27 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
Cayuga Lake Triathlon 20082008-08-03T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/<p>I didn't write a race report for this one, but I ran the Cayuga Lake Triathlon 2008 on August 3, 2008 in a time of 1:39:44.</p>
<div class="main-carousel" data-flickity='{ "fullscreen": true, "wrapAround": "true", "autoPlay": "3000", "pauseAutoPlayOnHover": true }'><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2008/tri-prerace.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Pre-race" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2008/tri-transition.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Running out of transition" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2008/tri-walking.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Post-race, greeting the family" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2008/tri-waving.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Waving goodbye" />
</div><div class="carousel-cell">
<img src="https://scottpdawson.com/images/2008/tri-tickle-xander.jpg?nf_resize=fit&h=800" title="Tickling Xander" />
</div></div>
<h3>Compared to Other Years: Sprint Distance</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Overall</th>
<th>Swim</th>
<th>T1</th>
<th>Bike</th>
<th>T2</th>
<th>Run</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2015/">2015</a></td>
<td>1:29:39</td>
<td><a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/361044698/overview">17:54</a><br />(2:23 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:55</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992701/overview">43:00</a>
<br />(19.53 avg mph)
</td>
<td>2:15</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/359992638/overview">23:35</a>
<br />(7:36 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2014/">2014</a></td>
<td>1:27:16</td>
<td>18:25<br />(2:27 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:40</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">41:54</a>
<br />(20.48 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:31</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">22:46</a>
<br />(7:21 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2013/">2013</a></td>
<td>1:35:47</td>
<td>19:33<br />(2:36 per 100)
</td>
<td>2:36</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">47:32</a>
<br />(17.87 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:30</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">24:56</a>
<br />(8:03 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2012/">2012</a></td>
<td>1:38:04</td>
<td>19:12<br />(2:34 per 100)
</td>
<td>4:06</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">46:02</a>
<br />(18.26 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:54</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:50</a>
<br />(8:39 per mile)
</td>
</tr><tr class="current">
<td><a href="https://scottpdawson.com/cayuga-lake-triathlon-2008/">2008</a></td>
<td>1:39:44</td>
<td>17:11<br />(2:17 per 100)
</td>
<td>3:58</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">51:24</a>
<br />(16.5 avg mph)
</td>
<td>1:00</td>
<td>
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities//overview">26:11</a>
<br />(8:27 per mile)
</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson)1991-03-31T00:00:00Zhttps://scottpdawson.com/acting/guys-and-dolls/<p>I began to come out of my shell as a junior and senior in high school. After singing Whitney Houston's <em>Greatest Love of All</em> (yes, really) in my audition, I landed the role of Sky Masterson, opposite the immensely talented Christine (Emsley) Cole as Sarah Brown.</p>