Follow the Footprints

Living in another culture can be so interesting. Just before Christmas our daughter came home to spend Christmas with us in Kenya. I was in the US for a meeting when she arrived and before I returned, my wife and Stacey drove to the Kenya coast to visit some friends before we took a few days of vacation on the Indian Ocean coast. When I returned, I flew to Mombasa to meet up with them.

When I arrived at the Mombasa airport (Moi International Airport), we deplaned on the tarmac. As we headed to the terminal, the airport employee who was directing us told us to just follow the footprints and we would get to the right place. Sure enough....It was funny but effective.

Hmmmm. Life lesson here. If you follow the right footprints, you end up in the right place. Whose footprints are you following? (Joshua 24:15)

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Why Do They Call It a "Dashboard"?

Earlier today, a co-worker was explaining a new online process for our personnel to use in accessing and tracking budget information. The new finance program, FE, uses an online dashboard. This co-worker did an excellent job of explaining how to use the process but then posed the question, Why do they call it a dashboard? I wish I knew. He quoted the definition from Wikipedia which only referenced the Dashboard module of the Macintosh operating system (OS X). Since I had struggled with the concept, I thought I might be of some help.

He said it helped him. So, perhaps, though not running related, this will help someone else. Here's my response to him:

More, I'm sure, than you want to know -- way more -- but when I saw the trailer on your note [his question and the Wikipedia definition], my geek side kicked in. This is a layman's understanding and may not be a technical explanation:

"Dashboard" was a confusing term when I first encountered it in computer usage. It helped me to think about the dashboard in a vehicle. It contains gauges or lights that give the driver information about the state of the vehicle -- speed, miles, RPM's, heat, fuel remaining. Newer or more expensive vehicles give even more information -- my daughter's Civic tells her when to change her oil; my mother-in-law's Buick shows her the air pressure in her tires and real time MPG. The dashboard also contains some "items" that are interactive, allowing the driver to control various aspects of the vehicle -- cruise control buttons, audio system controls, HVAC controls, One Star controls, etc.

In computer terms, dashboard is used in the same sense and it's used in a lot more instances than just the Mac OS X. For instance, web hosting sites use the term dashboard or control panel to talk about a web page where a user goes to get information about or to manage his/her account. The page will most often display icons that link to pages relating to various aspects of ones accounts. For instance, for the [regional] web site, my dashboard/control panel shows how much of my allotted disk space I've used, how many e-mail accounts I've set up, and icons for setting up e-mail accounts, setting up automatic forwarding, managing FTP sites, controlling filtering, managing files on the server, etc.

Every person who has a gmail account has a Google dashboard, that gives the user information about the overall account and allows him or her to manage settings for various accounts (Gmail, Calendar, Analytics, Blogger, Picasa Web Albums, Web History, etc.) under their Google account umbrella. Those who have a Blogger account (another Google "service") have a dashboard that shows all the blogs that one is managing and allows one to customize the appearance of the blog, manage settings, post/edit blog entries, etc.

In the Mac OS X, the dashboard is the virtual desktop that, when activated, shows mini-programs (widgets) that do various things. Though I can't recall the term that Microsoft uses, Vista has a similar functionality with some differences in implementation. On my Mac laptop, I have a bunch of those widgets installed: a program that shows the status of my battery, one that shows the status of my network connections and the heat output of various components of my laptop, one that gives baseball scores and division standings, one that shows the weather, one that shows keyboard shortcuts, one that will compute my running pace, etc. So, the concept is the same as Google or web hosting dashboards -- the dashboard contains programs that either give information or allow the user to manage various aspects of the computer.

Sounds like FE has adopted that usage of the term, dashboard. The dashboard is where the user gets information and manages, in this case, reports related to his/her finance account with the company.

Ahh. Forgive me. Now back to real work. :-D

There you have it. I hope that's helpful to someone. Now I really do need to get back to real work. I'd rather be running.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Everyday Traffic in Nairobi

Great blog post from a Daily Nation (Nairobi) writer. This kind of traffic is not an occasional thing but an everyday occurrence. It starts about about 6:30 AM and continues until 9:00 PM or later. The only day it's not like this is Sunday. Now showing on Nairobi roads

Because of the crazy traffic, I have to run at 6:00 AM or put my life at the mercy of some of these people.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running Is Good for Your Back

(DISCLAIMER: I'm reporting a study and my own experience. I'm not a doctor, physical therapist, certified coach, or anything other than an amateur runner.)

I don't have major back trouble. Several times in my life, I've misused or overstressed muscles in my lower back and have been down for a day or two. And, I have a small twinge in my lower back from time to time. Over the last 6+ years of running, though, I have experienced that I have much less trouble with my back when I run than when I don't. In fact, in those 6+ years of running, I have not had a single incident of my back going out. I also know that my twinge is much less likely to appear on the days I run than on days I don't run. A lot of that is probably attributable to the fact that I'm many pounds lighter than in my pre-running days.

Runner's World's Peak Performance reported on a study that showed that running is an efficient exercise for backs. So, there is a study that corroborates my experience. It's good to know that I have been doing something good for my back as well as my heart, lungs, and waist.

Here's the link to the actual study report:

Trunk muscle activation during moderate- and high-... [Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2009] - PubMed result

All that being said, though, December has been a wash for me as far as running. I had some upper thigh issues around Thanksgiving and took 8 days off. Then, when I ran again, I was extra sore. Add in the rains, a trip to the US, vacation here, and now a cold -- I could count on one hand the number of runs I've had in this month. That will change -- not only do I like to run but I like to eat. :-D

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Stinky Shoes

Ashland Dave talked about stinky shoes in his podcast of 26 September 2009 -- it was somewhere in the first 15 minutes of the podcast:

Running in the Center of the Universe

Stinky shoes are a real problem for me. I am a profuse sweater, so my shoes are always pretty soggy when I finish a run. They are relegated to a place on the porch when I finish running. They do all right until...

...until I run in the rain. For some reason, that seems to push them over the edge. Even though I take out the insoles and stuff the shoes with newspaper to get them to dry, getting them soaked that way seems to bring out the smell and make it permanent. I can wash them and, while it helps, they still stink. I've tried to spray them with Fabreeze and that works until I run again.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Until I find a solution, though, Shoes, you stay outside!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Runner-Friendly or Unfriendly?

While I'm sure there's more to the story than this particular take on it, Portsmouth, NH doesn't sound like a runner-friendly place to run RW Daily: Portsmouth to Runner: Drop Dead!

As I read the story, I was reminded of how fortunate I was to have lived in the Far West End of Richmond, VA for 4.5 years. Not only are there a lot of friendly runners there, it's definitely a runner-friendly place -- wide streets and courteous drivers. I only recall two aggressive drivers and they had probably just had a bad day. I did have to dodge a couple of school buses. Nothing like Portsmouth, NH.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Exercise Prepares Our Bodies for Stressful Situations, Study Indicates - Mind Hacks - Lifehacker

Interesting. We runners knew this, naturally. After a long run, we're so stress-free that nothing fazes us except having to move out of the recliner.

Of course, one logical conclusion from this study would be that running only makes you calmer when you get dunked in cold water -- if, that is, you're a running rat.

Exercise Prepares Our Bodies for Stressful Situations, Study Indicates - Mind Hacks - Lifehacker

I'm taking a few days off from running -- 8-10 days. I have some fairly minor aches and pains and just don't have the want to that I've had. This will be the first planned break in 6.5 years.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Key Factors in My Running

I took off this morning intending to do 5.5+ miles. For some reason, I just couldn't do it and ended up cutting it short a bit. Lately, more often than not, my runs have just been hard. I think I have to face the facts.

OK, yes, I'm running at altitude (5500'+) and every run is hilly (there's just no flat run here). But, I'm also running more slowly than I did at sea level -- 8:00-8:30 at sea level, 8:30-9:05 at altitude -- so I shouldn't feel completely wiped out. Also, I'm bored with my routes -- without driving somewhere else in town (which I'm loathe to do), my options are limited. I'm used to the 300+ routes/variations I had access to in Richmond.

But, I think there are two factors that are probably more important than those -- weight and base mileage. Basically, I'm 12 pounds +/- heavier than when I was running my best. So, I just need to get rid of it. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, my mileage has slipped. Rather than running 30-35 miles per week (or even more when getting ready for a race), I'm running 15-20 miles per week. That means a 5 mile run is 25-33% of my weekly mileage now but was only 14-17% 6-12 months ago.

So, I think I have some work to do.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

RW Daily: One Gift You Don't Want to Unwrap

For all of you runners who have wondered what to give your family and friends for Christmas, check out this Runner's World article. Somehow, I don't think my family or friends would have much appreciation for my race picture on a mug.

RW Daily: One Gift You Don't Want to Unwrap

I did 5.6 miles in the mud this morning at a slow pace of 8:54 mpm. One water puddle covered the whole road! And these are paved roads (in Nairobi)!

Run well, y'all,
Bob

For the West End (Richmond) Runners

This post is dedicated to my friends and running pals who ran the Suntrust Richmond Marathon and the McDonalds Half Marathon yesterday. You are my heroes -- I saw some good times in the results. Maybe these thoughts from Meb will resonate with you:



(Stolen from Half Fast who stole it from Running is Funny who stole it from ...?)

The words for the week are: rest, recover, refuel. Then enjoy running.

I got in my longest run to date in Kenya -- headed out after our worship service for a slow (relative, I know) 6.38 miles in 58:21. With the altitude and the hills, I figure that ain't too bad.

Run well, y'all,
Bob A

Our "Home" City, 2005-2009

This is a shout out to my homies in Richmond -- John Rolfe 10K Training Team, John Rolfe Patrick Henry Half Marathon Training Team, Posse running group -- many of whom are running either the Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, or 8K next weekend. Good luck -- you all are so ready for this. (Don't worry -- that's the end of my attempts at urban language.)

From May 2008 until July 2009, we lived in Richmond, VA. While we would have preferred to have been overseas, Richmond was a good place to live and a great place to run. This video gives an overview of some of the reasons for that (we didn't do all that's rapped about in the video) -- and it's a fun look at the city.



Run well, y'all,
Bob

It's No Wonder...

It's no wonder that weight has become such a problem in the US among most age groups -- 34% of US adults over age 20. (See state-by-state trends here.) Browse through this selection of tempting desserts offered at American restaurants. Who would think that one could consume such huge quantities of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium in a single serving of anything!

Slideshow: 15 Worst Desserts | Eat This, Not That

(Note: This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an endorsement of Men's Health magazine.)

Note that the better recommendations in the slideshow are not particularly healthy, but they are less bad than the worst offenders.

Those of us who run or engage in other types of strenuous exercise must be very careful to avoid the fallacious thinking that because I run, I can eat whatever I want. If I'm maintaining my weight with my normal amount of eating and current level of running miles, it would take an additional half marathon -- actually 13.28 miles to counter the calories contained in Romano’s Macaroni Grill New York Cheesecake with Caramel Fudge Sauce (1660 calories -- more than 3 Big Macs -- and the saturated fat equivalent of 57 strips of bacon).

A huge part of who you are physically (pun intended) is what you eat.

Off to run 5 miles or so.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Kenyans in America and an American in Kenya

I've swapped places with Kenyan runners, Robert Cheruiyot and James Kwambai. Well, OK, that's a bit of hyperbole but they were in the US for the NYC Marathon and I've returned to Kenya, though certainly not to run a marathon.

The following is an interesting article on the final week of preparation by Cheruiyot and Kwambai for the NYC Marathon:

How the Kenyans Take On New York

It's interesting from a runner's perspective but also because of some of the cultural tidbits like this:

Later, at a buffet breakfast at the hotel...both drank hot tea with milk, and Kwambai poured in packet after packet of sugar, as if building a sand castle in his cup.

Chai -- hot tea, usually cooked in half mile and half water and with lots of sugar, is the national drink of Kenya. Every Kenyan I know, except those who are battling diabetes, puts tons and tons of sugar in their chai. Yet, most Kenyans don't like desserts because they are too sweet. Go figure. Those kinds of anomalies always make me wonder what kind of quirks we Americans have in our culture -- I'm absolutely sure there are many.

Enjoy the article.

I'm back in Kenya after a couple of weeks in Richmond for meetings. I enjoyed the boost of going from high altitude to sea level but now am back at 5700' above sea level and having to readjust. It's tough for an old guy! :) Did 5.2 miles this morning in 46:51. Not too bad especially considering that I woke up at 1:30 after only 3 hours of sleep -- thanks to jetlag.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Running Styles

For the last 2+ years, before we moved back overseas, I ran regularly with a great group of runners in the far West End of Richmond, VA (Short Pump) -- we called ourselves The Posse. Our twice-a-week group runs -- early Wednesday morning and longer runs on Saturday -- provided some needed variety to my running.

An interesting outcome of all those miles together was that I got to where I could recognize people by the way they ran, even in the dark.

I came back to the US last week for a meeting. On my first Saturday back (24-Oct), I didn't get up in time to run with the group but still ran fairly early. Sure enough, even though I couldn't see their faces (we were on opposite sides of a 4-lane street and my glasses were sweat-covered), I recognized several folks I know just by the way they ran. I wondered at the time if my running style was distinctive enough to identify me -- Naw, probably not -- I just run "normal".

This past Saturday, I did make the group run and really enjoyed catching up with family news on this group of friends. After I finished running, I was stretching and one of the ladies finished her run. We were chatting a bit and she mentioned that the previous Saturday, while she was running with some folks, she did a double-take when she saw me. Then the clincher: I recognized you by the way you ran -- you have a unique running style.

Well, there you have it. Now, I wonder, when Mary Beth said I have a unique running style, is that good-unique or strange-unique? I was so surprised by her comment that I didn't think to ask until later. I'm thinking, old-guy shuffle or you look like you're dying out there, about to keel over style of running. So, Mary Beth, if you're reading this, which is it? (Or, maybe I don't want to know! GRIN)

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Can Climbing Steps Be Fun?

This is certainly a good attempt to make climbing steps more fun and, thus, more appealing than using an escalator. Maybe this should be part of President Obama's health care initiative -- preventive care by enticing people to choose heart healthy alternatives.



Run well, y'all,
Bob

Longest Run in a While

On a misty, cloudy Halloween morning, I got to run with some of my Richmond running group. NICE! Turned out to be about 3 smaller groups -- one group running a quick 13 miles getting ready for a half marathon, another group running a slower 12 prepping for a marathon, and then a couple of us at my pace.

I seriously doubted my ability to do 12 miles -- I haven't run more than 6.5 miles since July. But I did end up doing 8.8 miles at an average pace of 8:32 mpm. It felt really good -- temperature was about 59° and it was misty, so the weather conditions were pretty pleasant.

I ate a banana about an hour before we ran and then a Gu (Chocolate Outrage -- my favourite) about 10 minutes before. I carried my 22 oz bottle with Gatorade and ate another Gu at about 6 miles. The fuel and hydration seemed to be just perfect. There was no point in the run when I felt like I needed to quit and it's possible that I could have done the full 12. A good start to a Saturday.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Where Did That Come From? :)

I didn't sleep really well last night and knew that I had a full day of meetings ahead, so I felt like I really needed to run to get my adrenaline going. But, I wanted to cut back my miles a bit. My plan was to do about 4 miles but to push the pace a bit just to see. I've been running at high altitude (5500') for the past 6 weeks and have been back at sea level this week.

So, off I went at 5:15 AM. I hadn't mapped the route first so could only guess at the 4 miles. I really didn't feel like I was running particularly fast (for me -- yeah, I know I'm not an elite runner -- GRIN), so when I finished at 39:34.74 minutes, I figured I had ended up doing about 4.5 miles. Well, I mapped it and it was just under 5.1 miles -- a pace of 7:47. I haven't run that fast since mid-June when I ran 5.7 miles at 7:56. I'm pumped!

Tomorrow, I'm running with my old running group (well, old as in the group I used to run with -- all but one or two of them are 20+ year younger than I am). They're all prepping for a marathon and doing 12 miles. We'll see what happens -- it's been a long time since I tried that distance.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Observations at JKI Airport (Nairobi)

I'm looking forward to getting in a couple of runs in Richmond with my old running group, the Posse. Having been at high altitude (1 mile+) for the last 6 weeks, sea level should be fun.

I started my trip last night and thought somebody might be interested in my observations.

Though I'm certainly not new to Kenya or Nairobi, since we have come back after a 4.5 year stint in the US I've made a conscious effort to pay attention to things. Having worked with new employees, trying to help them get ready to move overseas, we are much more aware of the things that new folks see and experience. So, here are some of them from last night.

Last night, it took only 45 minutes to get from Hampton House to the Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport -- traffic through Nairobi wasn't too bad at 7 pm. That trip can take 20 minutes at 4AM and 2-4 hours at 4:30PM. Consequently, I was there almost 30 minutes earlier than necessary. The good thing about that was the ability to check-in and get through immigrations in a relaxed, rather than frantic and push-shove manner.

First thing was to go through the first of 5 security checks -- yes, 5. So, as I handed my boarding pass to the guard at the door into the terminal, he noticed that I was traveling to the US. He asked me to greet Obama. :) Well, OK ... President Obama, if you become my friend on FB or you happen to see my blog (in which I'm sure you can find some sage advice on international relations or life or ... whatever) and see this note, Pokea salamu za huyo askari!

I don't meaning to be giving you TMI or WTMI, but when you're checked in for a flight 3 hours before takeoff, there are certain necessities that must be taken care of, so off I went. First thing ... who in the world designed these stalls?! It is impossible to get inside and close the door -- or open the door from the inside to come out -- without straddling the porcelain fixture. IMPOSSIBLE!

Graffiti artists, budding poets, and generally strange individuals seem to get some kind of kick out of writing on stall doors. A small selection of the available reading material:

• God is a life
• IMB Going (As best I could tell, it really said that. Why? How do I answer that?)
• Chris was hia (This one you have to read outloud with an African accent, which mean the "i" in "hia" is a long-e and the "a" is pronounced "ah".)

Earlier, I mentioned 5 security checks. I am flying BA, so it's true:

• X-ray bags and go through metal detector to enter the departure terminal
• Immediately have at least one bag searched by security personnel
• X-ray carry-ons and go through metal detector at the gate
• Immediately go through another identical security X-ray of carry-ons (they wanted me to take off my belt for this one) and go through another metal detector between the entry to the gate area and the actual waiting area
• Immediately have carry-ons hand searched by security personnel

Now that I've arrived at Heathrow (London), I had to go through yet another security check between the arrival and departure areas and I expect I'll have to go through yet another at the gate itself. Then, after immigrations and customs in Chicago, there'll be another. After all that, I'm probably not a security threat to myself -- I will have been checked 7-8 times!

Oh, the joys of international travel!

Run -- and travel -- well, y'all,
Bob

Extreme Motivation

While not a recommended reaction, it's certainly understandable why University of Anchorage cross-country runner, Auston Ellis, ran a bit faster than normal a couple of weeks ago. UAA runner races a grizzly and gets lucky | Northwest News - The News Tribune (Seattle-Tacoma News)

Shared via AddThis

My run this morning was a bit more prosaic. It was rainy, cool, and messy-muddy but I slogged through 5.5 miles at a pace of 8:40 mpm. I think messy-muddy is going to define most of my runs for the next few months as we're supposed to be having El Nino rains. The last time that happened in Kenya (1997-98), we had 72" of rain from October to March and 116" of rain in the year, October to October.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Noisy Neighbours

We are very fortunate in that we don't have noisy neighbours. In fact, the house next door to us is empty right now, so things are pretty quiet. However, we've lived in downstairs apartments and know what it's like to experience this: Things That Go Bump in the Night.

If you have -- or ever have had -- noisy neighbours, you'll appreciate that blog post. (I'm not responsible for any of the language in the comments.)

Run well, y'all,
Bob