OK, More changes...

Well I am getting really tired of blogger.com losing its connection to my ftp server so I dont get all the comments. I have started working on Wordpress to try to get it going. Hopefully sometime soon I will have it working.

If you want you can see my work in progress here. Keep in mind it is a WORK IN PROGRESS and I dont get a whole lot of time to work on it.

It seems that this change will lose all my older posts, well, not lose them but I will have to link to the old blogger version in order to see them. they wont show up in the archives of the new one.

I ran Sam, Sam I am!

I did it! I finished the Silverton Alpine Marathon!

I completed the 26.2 mile, 3800 vertical feet course in 5:04:05, nearly an hour ahead of my goal time! Out of 58 official finishers I came in 23rd, so better than half!

The first 8 miles are relatively flat only about 380Ft of gain, and actually went by rather quickly. Once we started climbing, I began to really get into it. I tried to set a fairly slow pace but the adrenaline just kept me going and I ran probably the best 5 miles of my life. I ended up passing about 4 people on the way up, I never had to stop, and was feeling WAY better than I expected to be. It was then I knew I would finish and that this was probably going to be one of the greatest experiences of my life.

The last few flat miles and the beginning of the climb:


I think the bridge is out:


BTW, I took these pictures the day before, so no, I didn’t bring my camera on the run...

The next section was the toughest of the whole thing. 1400Ft in 2.5 miles, lets just say that I didn’t see anyone in front of my running up so I didn’t feel so bad when I had to walk.

The tough climb, the top is the ridge you see in the distance:


16.2 miles in I reached California Pass, 12,890Ft, it is all down hill from here (or so I thought.) We turn down hill and drop a good 800Ft into the basin only to turn the corner and run back up another 300Ft! Then it really was all down hill, but after that many miles even down is a lot of work, and I was starting to feel the pain. Somehow, after the reaching the top my mind just shut off for awhile and the next 8 miles just disappeared. All I remember was asking the person at the aid station what mile I was at, 19.8, she said. I only have 6.5 to go! I do that every day! I also asked her what time it was, 12:00, she said. Sweet, not only do I only have 6.5 miles left, but I have 2 hours still in order to beat my goal of 6 hours! That pumped me way up, so I dropped off my Camelback (which was empty) and plowed on. As soon as I saw the 21 mile marker though that bit of energy stopped. I was dead, all the joints in my legs were in incredible pain, my legs had no energy left, my back and shoulders were very sore, and what made it all worse was my mind had come out of whatever trance it was in before so I was aware of it all. The last 4 miles felt like 10, they just kept going. I would see the 22 sign, and soon afterward I would be thinking "I’ve got to be at nearly the 24 by now" (not every mile was marked, so I never knew exactly how far I had gone), I would keep running and come around the corner only to see the 23... Come on!! This has got to end soon! I passed some spectators, "Only 2.5 miles left and it is all downhill, you are doing great!" All downhill! Tell that to all the joints in my legs who have been taking the beating of a lifetime for the last 8 downhill miles, downhill sucks! I turn the final corner to see the finish line and a bunch of people cheering, It was all I could do to not break down in tears at that sight. I stumbled across the finish line, glanced up at the clock, 5:04, I had done it, I was done.

The overall results:


The only problem I discovered was that none of my friends that I had asked to come and watch me finish we there, not even Mike and Sadie, who came to Silverton with me and camped the night before. But I didn’t care, it wasn’t there fault, I just ran too damn fast. I had told everyone that if I finished before 1PM I would be extremely impressed, so when I crossed the finish line an hour early, they were still off doing their own thing. I think the reason I ran so fast was the night before Sadie helped me remove some excess wind resistance.

I got home around 8, turned on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and was passed out before the battle of Hoth was over.

Sunday turned out really fun as well. Mike called me @ 10:30Am (I was still in bed) and asked how I was feeling? "Well, my legs dont work but fine otherwise", "Great! because all you have to do is sit in the sun while we cruise around Lake Navajo on Brians boat." Needless to say I went, it was awesome.

Mike in front, Brian, Jezzibelle (the dog,) and Lindsey in back:


We grilled up some dogs and burgers on the houseboat and had a wonderful time just hangin’ out.

Captain Brian, and the houseboat:


Later, we went on a mission to find a good place to kneeboard, but on the way out the boat began to overheat and stranded up in the little cove while it cooled down. Oh well lets do some cliff jumping!!

Mike and I jump the cliff:


We finally got the boat started and limped back to the marina. Ahh another good day.

PS, I put up all the pictures I took in the Photo Gallery

Randomness..

First off I want to point out that this is post #150, not that it is entirely significant but I am amazed that I kept it going this far! yay for the great blogosphere!

So heres the story. Last night my friend Mike and I were saving the world from the rampant 10 year old kids that seem hell bent on destruction (AKA Playing Halo 2 Live) in our almost weekly battle to rise up in the ranks of online play. While getting pounded by all those 10 year old kids, my phone rang. "Faith" came up on the caller ID.

About 6 months ago I got a call from a wrong number, a few times actually. After the second random call we began chatting. A few weeks of attempted meetups that never seemed to work out went by and that was the end of it, I never heard from her again. Her name was Faith.

I didn't answer the phone, because if I did I would have been killed by some 10 year old and I didn’t want that embarrassment on my mind, so she left a message. The message is that she will be down @ Lady Falconburgs for the evening, and because we had not met she was inviting me down. I tried to call back but no answer so I assumed she was down at the bar already. Given my recent luck with such random encounters recently (another story for another time) I decided to head down and scope the place out. Now neither of us knows what the other looks like and she has no cell to reach her so the chances were slim of actually meeting, and we didn’t. she called me back when she got home trying to describe where she was in the bar, but I had no idea who she was. Anyway... That’s not really the story I am trying to tell, but it is fun anyway right?

So I’m down at the bar hangin’ out by myself and I run into Holly, my old roommate. Hmm what are the chances of running into someone I know at a bar that I always go to? *end sarcasm* We are enjoying out cocktails and I was admiring all the beautiful girls walking by (hoping one of them had a giant nametag "Hi My name is Faith.") As two particularly good looking ladies walk by I am struggling to get the nerve to say something witty, but all that comes out is "man, I’m such a pansy." Holly heard this and proceed to bet me that I could not get a phone number and a solid date to meet one of these girls again. Being in the slightly inebriated state I was I agreed to the bet.

I was off, I had a mission and I was not going to fail. On my first lap around I came across the two girls the prompted the bet. I suppress all my inner geeky inhibitions and walk right up. Somehow, to my surprise they liked whatever I said (I really have no idea what it was) and we got to chatting. So not only did I get one girl I got them both, all to myself!

Well, it turns out they are from out of town and are leaving tomorrow, pssht I guess that’s my luck, but Ill keep talking to them anyway. Hey, I need the practice! After a round or two (who really keeps count) we all decided to leave. I offered a ride home and they accepted it. As we are walking to my car one of them points out "Hey that’s the Motor Trend Truck of the year" (Keep in mind I am as much of a car geek as I am a geek geek) Now, I knew that, because I’m a car geek, but who else would really care? Especially these girls? As we are chatting on the way to their hotel she hands me her business card. "I know this is tacky but... my cell number is on the back." So, not only did I meet to hot girls that seem to enjoy my company but I look at the card and it says Motor Trend! A car geek meets two girls that work for the biggest car magazine out there. Man everything was in place for a perfect date! With either of them!! (or both, he he he).

It’s just too bad they don’t live here. Just my luck I guess. It was super fun to try anyway.

PS, I did get a text message from them after I got home saying "We think ur so sweet. Thanks again." That just makes one feel good.

What should I do with her phone number?

Stressin' out

Why is it that thing goes in waves? Life is great for awhile, not many worries, not may things to stress about. Then all of a sudden EVERYTHING happens at once!

1. Im buying a house - Thats self explanitory.
2. Most of my team at work has quit so it is down to two of us to complete the work of 5 in the next few weeks.
3. I am running my first marathon next saturday and due to previous 2 items have not had the time to train as much as I would like to.
4. Unresolved issues with good friends that seem to never end (see Previos Post).

I just wish I could shut off my conciosness for a few weeks untill I get through all this.

New things...

Ive been thinking of adding a few more sections to the sidebar -->

as you can see Ive already added one, my reciently Dugg stories @ Digg.com.

I am asking you if you think I am just cluttering things up or if you might actually like this content. Other thing I was thinging of adding were:

The same old favorite links that everyone else has.
Current Podcasts Im listening to.
Current Netflix movies (AKA what Im watching).

Would these things be annoying or maybe kindov interesting? I would try to make them as dynamic as possible, Like the digg.com thing where it updates automatically when I click on one of the stories over there.

Quick Bits

I have two quick little bits to let you guys know today..

1. I got my first Comment Spam!! That must mean Im a real blogger now! I deleted it already so unless you saw it over the weekend you all missed out.. too bad.

2. Remember my shameless plug? yea Ill do it again, my friend Lauren has decided (with only a little encouragment from me) to publish his book as a Podcast as well. If you havent heard of podsacting, It is as cool as blogs only better. Check out Odeo.com probably the best Podcast site out there. search for Sermons on Little Known Gods and you can find his cast. Or you can use the direct link to the feed I posted in the sidebar -->

Or you can click one of these links:
Odeo: Sermons

50 Biggest nerds of all time.

I came across this while digging through Digg.

50 Biggest Nerds of all time

Im a big fan that MacGyver is on there @ #17, Natalie Portman #21, Millhouse Van Houten #14.

I disagree with some of them, but then I remember that geeks and nerds are different and I would say they all qualify as nerds.

Heres my argument, Fred Durst - Listed on the nerd list @ #10!! He is no geek, he has no clue how much of a nerd he is and people make fun of him for it, thats what makes him Nerd. Now MacGyver is well aware of the fact that he is a nerd and Uses that fact to his advantage, therfore he is a geek, and pretty high on the list I would say.

Luckely the article said Nerds so they have covered themselves well.

I'm So Tired...

Sleeping problems are not uncommon for me, but recently it has been excessively bad. I have not experienced any of Kate’s Signs You Might Be Sleep Deprived but I am sure they are not far away. Anyway I have just been stressing out about this house, the deal is done and the house is under contract so it looks likely that it all going forward. The problem is that it is a big risk I am stretching my self fairly thinly to make this work (I have some reserves left but not much) That in itself is not too big of a deal, but people that I work with keep quitting and I keep hearing rumors of more people leaving, my team is getting smaller and smaller. I’m sure this will all work out in the end but it is just allot to worry about right now.

I am also tired of getting treated like crap by one of my (supposed) friends Kristen. I do everything I can to be honest with her and she has absolutely no respect for that or me. I’m tired of blowing it off and pretending that I am not upset about it. This is a girl that I have been very attracted to for awhile. She knows this because I have told her. She was/is not interested in any relationship right now (with me at least). Great, fine, I can deal with that, the problem lies in that she cant even give me the respect to treat me as a friend, or even as a normal person with any feelings. We had a pretty big falling out over this issue when I came back from Hawaii. I wrote her a letter explaining/apologizing to her, but also was a little harsh when it came to her treatment of me and this situation. I gave her this letter just before she left for 3 weeks to take a class in California. I never heard from her while she was gone (as I expected) and I doubt I would have even know she was home except for a random encounter on the river. During this encounter we were both polite and nicely skirted the issue. As she was leaving she said "Ill call you." That was a week and a half ago. Granted, I understand if she doest want to deal with it or talk to me, but give me the respect to not lie to me, tell me the truth, tell me to fuck off, tell me I am stupid for thinking the way i do, or better yet actually sit down and discuss it! I know she is in the middle of moving and is a very busy person, but it takes exactly 30 seconds out of her day to call or write an email to let me know that knows I’m alive or cares even. I think she is a good person and I didn’t want to lose her as a good friend. But right now, if this is the way she is going to treat her friends (Maybe I’m not a friend anymore, because I know she has talked to all her other friends), I can’t see that happening.

I know this is pretty mean to her because I’m pretty sure she reads this, but I’ve been wanting to write about this for awhile now (I have before but with absolutely no details of the problem.) and just need to get it off my chest. I think it is justified for how shitty she makes me feel though (and she knows she does it because she told me), so there. None of this should be new to her, it is the same problem that has always existed.

Man Im slow at this!

Sorry, but I have had so much going on lately that I just havent had time to update this. Anyway the major news is that I am working on buying a house here in Durango. What a pain in the ass, not only are houses here extremly over-priced but buying a house in genereal is a level of stress that I dont think I have had to handle before.

I plan on making an offer soon so I will let you know how it goes.

Here is a Google Maps Link to see the area around the house. It is the last house on the right side of the road. All the land on the side was just purchased by the city and is going to be a mountain park, wich means that nothing will get built there!

Also here is a link to a picture of the house: Outside - Inside

UPDATE: Mr A.R. Leith do you need a place to live when you get back in town? I have an extra room, and I think you will like the place!!

Twin Peaks

Because my internet @ the house is down I have to post this tomorrow @ work (I should have Internet back at my house on Thur) I cant do it the way I want either, my connection @ work is very limited so I cant access my server to put the pictures in the post. I did put up the pics in the Photo Gallery so you can take a look there. The Album from this weekend is 2 Peaks. I also put pictures from climbing Engineer from last year to get the idea of that peak (Engineer July 2004).

Anyway Just wanted to let you know of the awesome weekend I had.

Brendan came into town on Friday, Saturday Morning we got up and climbed Engineer Mt (12960Ft.) We wanted to beat our old record of 1H 50Min Car->Summit->Car but neither of us were feeling very good on the way up (Maybe it was the Cinnamon Roll for breakfast?) so we ended up @ the summit about 10 Min behind schedule. We sat up there and rested for about 20 minutes before we headed down. We got back to the car in 2:20 so if you don’t count the 20 Min rest we were only 10 Min slow.

This didn't Satisfy us so we got back in the car and headed to Ouray to climb the 14er Mt Sneffels (14150Ft.) We took a different and more technical route op the peak that I had before. Way more fun, more exposure, more scrambling up the rocks, just more exciting. We made it to the summit just before a storm came rolling in so we only spend a few minutes up there but the view is incredible. 2 peaks in one day... 5000Ft of elevation gain = Great day.

On Sunday we got up early again and went on a 30 mile road ride. It was an awesome ride but as sore and tired as we were from the day before it soon became a good suffer fest for me. When we returned from that we decided that whatever we did for the rest of the day was going to require little or no energy. So we grabbed some inner tubes and jumped on the river! Our own personal water park! The water was warm, the weather was perfect, way fun. The only problem turned out to be that there were HUNDREDS of people on the river, we got passed by at least 10 FULL commercial raft tours. I guess the other problem was we only had 4 cans of beer for the 3 of us going down the river (there needs to be at least 2 each for the short section we did) and we could not get any more because it was Sunday, Oh well.

Shameless Plug for a friend of mine

My friend Lauren has written a book, and has asked me to read it and write a review. Now, I rarely read so it will take me awhile to finish it (I started about a month ago and am on pg 68.) So far I have very much enjoyed it, and I promise I will put a full review up when I finish it. But untill then go get yourself a copy and review it for yourself! The book is called Sermons on Little-Known Gods. Dont let the title scare you, it is a book full of some great stories, very funny and they make you think. Here is a link to part of one of the stories (it happens to be my favorite so far) Yori in the Highway.

So go check it out!! (or buy it preferrably!)

You can get it at Lulu.com, (recommended) Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com

I going through withdrawls...

I have lost my internet connection from my house... This is not a good thing. Hopefully I will have it back up soon and will be able to update you on all the things going on.