Month: March 2010

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Mile Marker

Mileage 5
Time 6PM
Location Indoors – Treadmill
Weather Clear – Cold

Another 5 miler at the hotel. They had two nice commercial Precor treadmills in the fitness center along with a few bikes and some weights. The area was small but enough room for my needs. I turned on the TV to watch some hockey (what else in Canada) and cranked up my headphones to catch up on Buzz Out Loud.

I was about 2 miles into my 5 when a couple of younger guys came in to ‘pump up’. They went right for the weight machine which was directly in front of me and began their routine, switching off on different parts of the machine.

They kept looking over at me as if they were upset that this older guy (they were at least half my age) was showing them up with my steady pace. They decided to utilize the other treadmill next to me for some walking between their weight reps. One guy would fast walk while the other one lifted.

I must confess that I obtained a little satisfaction watching them get winded on the treadmill as I was cruising along and felling great. They gave up on the treadmill after about 20 minutes of combined work.

Many runners make it look so easy that we forget it is hard work to not only run, but to do it consistently no matter if you feel like it or not. There are many things in life that we take for granted, that pros or just enthusiasts make us think are easy, that we think we can do without much effort. Some of them require athletic ability, some of them are mental and some just require you to be a good person (remember not everyone is and acts of kindness are hard for some people).

There are also times when we think something is hard and it is in fact easy if you just put in the time or at least go for it ( again, acts of kindness, public speaking, driving a Nascar).

My son has a few new goals that he has set this week that at one time he would have thought to be impossible or at least too difficult. But as we gain experience and are always given that all important encouragement, we find that the goals are not so impossible. I always try to be positive with him but not at the expense of reality. I try to make sure and express my support for his idea but also make sure to give him a few of the negatives if appropriate and how I would approach and overcome those obstacles.

Its all about putting in the time to get better and more comfortable. Those two young guys just need to put in the time running and one day they will be able to keep up with me.

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In Flight Drinks

What is your policy on airplane size bottles of booze? I will occasionally put one in my 3-3-1 bag (TSA approved) and when I get to the airport I buy a diet coke a pour the whiskey in. It makes for a nice in flight drink.

Is that taking away revenue from the airline, perhaps, but $6.00 for a 1/4 can of coke and a shot of whiskey? At least in a bar there is some atmosphere, a comfortable chair and other people to interact with.

I find it very difficult to get most people into a conversation on a plane. Although I am sometimes guilty of napping, especially on the 6am flights, I at least try to start a conversation by asking the simple open ended question ‘ Are you going away or coming back?’. That opens it up for talking about trip plans, where they are from, where they are going etc.

I have found it easier to get men to talk and maybe that is because we like to talk about ourselves, or maybe I am just too scary for the women to feel comfortable talking to a stranger.

At any rate, I will keep at it as these are lots of interesting people out there that I have yet to meet.

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Mile Marker

Mileage 5
Time 12PM
Location Indoors – Treadmill
Weather Clear – Cold

 

Did a quick 5K today after being sick for over a week. Boy did that feel good. My lungs were still a bit sore from the flu but not enough to make the run unpleasant.  I can be so hard to put the shoes on but the feeling of the full on sweat is so worth the effort. That reminds me of the old 70’s classic Smokey and the Bandit. ‘I only take my hat off for one thing’ as Burt would say. When it comes to running, I only put my Asics on for one thing.

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Olympic Swag and St. Patrick’s Day

I decided to take a walk tonight after the client site visit, to see if I could pick up some Olympic swag. The concierge at the hotel directed me The Bay department store which was the ‘official’ supplier of the gear for the Olympics. The Bay is located on the Grasnville street mall only 5 blocks from my hotel so I figured I would just take a walk and see what was available. The mall is just a five or six block length of street that is closed to car traffic so that people can mill around a bit. Although Granville itself is closed, the cross streets are open so you must still stop for traffic lights and you can’t walk the whole length without stopping.

There was still a huge roped off section of the store that housed all the Olympic gear flanked by the giant VISA advertising banners. I found it interesting that all the USA merchandise was outside the roped of section all by itself. I would like to think they were making it easier for all the visiting Yankees to find the merchandise or perhaps they just did not like all the ugly Polo clothes mixing with the otherwise attractive items.

I had little luck finding anything as all the sizes were huge. The average size was XXL with the occasional XL item mixed in. I settle for a few items for my brothers kids, the red mittens with the maple leaf on the palm and a nice mascot cap with some cute designs and buttons on them. I will probably see more items at the airport but not at the 50-60% discount that these items were going for.

On the walk back to the hotel I noticed the long lines outside all the Irish bars in downtown Vancouver. It was aandre-the-limo002andre-the-limo011 strange contrast to the streets I had seen the days before when all the bar patrons were inside the bars. In front of one of the bars I also saw two of the biggest limos I have ever seen.

If you are familiar with truck limos, they are big enough to stand up in and can hold up to 30 people at a time. Both the limos were full of partiers who were well on their way to enjoying the holiday. If your going to get loaded, that is the way to do it, with an armored designated driver.

Looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

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WestJet Is The Canadian Southwest

I had my first flight on West Jet today, from Calgary to Vancouver and it reminded me of Southwest Airlines. The flight attendants were younger, up beat and friendly, and the seating was semi cattle car. When you make your reservation on West Jet you can pay a little extra for an assigned seat or you can just try for the general boarding and hope the plane is not too full. This evenings flight was only about 3/4 full so the seat selection was pretty good for those who wanted to wing it (no pun intended). I choose to get an assigned seat as I am not the best flier and I always try, very hard, to get a window seat if I can. It is not a fear thing but a motion thing and being able to see the ground as a reference point helps me keep the motion sickness in check. Even if we are in clouds I can still see the engine or wing out the window and that helps. IMG_0346

West Jet has an in-flight magazine called UP (like my favorite Disney Pixar movie) and this months issue had a very complimentary article about visiting Cuba, something we would never get to see in the US with our policies on travel there. I always like to read local periodicals to get a different countries view of the US or read about things that we don’t always have access to in our country.

On one of my trips to Calgary last year, the in room Travel magazine in my hotel had an interesting article on buying up cheap property in the US, specifically Arizona, as a second home/rental property. At the time we were being told in the states that things were turning around, the Canadians were bring told that things would be getting worse and they should pounce on our distressed property.

Looking forward to spending a few day in Vancouver with some new clients.

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United Airlines Adds Paperless Boarding

This morning I tested the new paperless boarding that United is starting to roll out. The mobile web code (very similar to QR Codes) replaces their paper based system and allows you to use a mobile device as your boarding pass. The codes are available via their Mobile United web application (beta) on the iPhone, Blackberry and other PDA type devices.

It was very easy to get my code and the code can be used as a pass for both the TSA security line and the actual boardingUnitedMobile of the plane. All I had to do was access the United Mobile application, login with my confirmation number or email address, choose my flight, fill in an email address that I want the code sent to and request the code. An email is then sent to the address you entered at the prompt and within seconds you have an email with a link to the code. Opening your email and clicking on the link takes you to a page that displays your departure and arrival times, your seat assignment and your code.

I used he code only for boarding this morning and all I had to do was bring up the web page on my cell phone screen and swipe it over the reader at the gate. It took about 3 seconds for the reader to recognize the code and I was on my way to board the plane.

Keep in mind that in order to use this new feature, you need a data plan on your phone (it requires access to the web) and you need access to the email account that you tell United to send the confirmation link to. The code scan is only available in the following airports with more to come

• Chicago – O’Hare (ORD)
• Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW)
• Denver (DEN)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• New York LaGuardia (LGA)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Phoenix (PHX)
• Portland (PDX)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Seattle (SEA)
• Washington Dulles (IAD)

The process is pretty simple and works well. It will be nice to not have to carry another piece of paper on my trips.

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Mile Marker

Mileage 5
Time 6PM
Location Indoors – Treadmill
Weather Cold

Felt really great tonight during my 5 miler. There was a Star Wars marathon going on TV (the first three unfortunately) so I turned off the volume and listened to an episode of Phedippidations. I have not listened to Steve for a while actually since hid rant about Jenny McArthy and vaccinations in his episode # 200. He seems to be against the ropes as far as the future of his podcast (questioning his own future) but I think he underestimates the number of people who listen because he is controversial and not just a boring ‘I ran this much today’ podcaster. I for one will continue to listen as I enjoy his opinions even though I don;t alway agree with them.

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Mile Marker

 

Mileage 5
Time 6PM
Location Indoors – Treadmill
Weather Raining

I felt really good tonight during my run, until I started paying attention to what was on the TV. I usually tune into something that does not require sound, like a basketball game and then listen to my tech podcasts at the same time. Tonight my daughter was on the couch watching the Travel Channel and there was a show on profiling the 10 best sandwich shops (according to them).

As the show progressed, a common theme was becoming very apparent. Every one of the shops was serving WAY too much food, so much that is was actually sickening to see. One of the sandwiches that they profiled consisted of an omelet made with half a dozen eggs and a full pound of bacon between two thick pieces of sourdough bread. It was so big that it was impossible to pickup although everyone they showed tried to do it.

The saddest part was all the clearly obese kids and adults that were stuffing that thing into their faces with no regard for what all those calories and fat were doing to their body and their future. The sight was so upsetting that I almost had to stop running as I was getting sick to my stomach. That is not just a metaphor, but I actually felt like I was going to throw up on the treadmill. I decided I did not want to ruin my run by stopping so instead I just looked straight ahead (the TV is a bit off to the left) and I only resumed watching once that particular show was over. Here I am trying to get/stay/be healthy and the shops who don’t care are being glorified on prime time TV.

I think instead of making such a big deal out of shows like the Biggest Loser, how about giving some props to the people who put in the time every day to not get fat in the first place. Is it easy? Hell no. Is it worth the time? Hell yes.

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5 Things To Do With A Teenager In Disneyworld

On our recent Marathon trip in January, my son and I had lots of time to spend with each other before the Marathon and after the race. He is 19 years old and has been going down to Florida with us since his first trip in 1997, so you would think he has pretty much done it all in the 13 years he has been visiting Walt Disney World.

But the thing is, as he has grown up, his tastes understandably have changed. While he may have enjoyed Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and a Mickey Bar when he was 6, he now enjoys Rockin’ Roller Coaster and a Mickey Bar (the fine cuisine that is a Mickey Bar remains a favorite). Each trip down is also more about experiences for him rather than just attractions. The whole reason for the vacation was to have that time together with him and to share the experience of running a marathon together.

There are a few of the fun things we did and my favorite one was completely free.

  1. One of the best things we did on our last Marathon trip was just play catch. My son has really gotten into Major League baseball lately and he always travels with two mitts and at least one ball. We had planned ahead  and both brought our favorite mitts and a few baseballs. This is an activity you can do pretty much anywhere on property as long as you find an area where there are not any guests that would be impacted and if you don’t mind carrying the equipment around with you. We chose to throw around on the Beach Club lawn close to the walkway by the water. We were the only ones out there as it was misting a bit but that did not bother us because we were having a great time just throwing and talking. We receive may smiles and looks of approval as well as a few kind comments about our choice of activity. We talked and played catch for over an hour and would have gone on longer if the webbing on my mitt had not broken. I had that mitt since my Purdue days so it was getting old, but Matt insists that the break was because of his amazing power. I’ll give him that one.
  2. Take a walk. There are so many things to see outside the parks and all it takes is a stroll with your son to take some of them in. One of my favorites is getting up early and walking over to the Boardwalk to get some coffee and a Cinnamon Roll. We then continue on around the lake and over to the International Gateway to Epcot, which is not yet open, but it is interesting to see all the activity that goes on in the morning before the parks open. If you are really ambitious, you can walk the other way to Hollywood Studios and back again. If you are a runner, or not, most hotels have a list of the running trails/walkways around your hotel. You can choose to run them or just take a nice long walk around them. Early morning is best before everyone is making their way to the parks.
  3. Rent a Boat. As I mentioned in my Marathon Day 6 post, we did an Illuminations cruise. Although a bit expensive, I found it worth every penny for again, the experience and the memories that it produced. There are many less costly options at several resorts throughout Disney World. Call (407) 939-7529 to make a reservation for the chartered excursions.
  4. Go Shopping at Downtown Disney. You can find exclusive Disney World merchandise at one of the many unique shopping locations.
  5. Get a midnight or later snack. Many of the restaurants or even hotel can have fairly late hours, but our secret spot is the 24 hours quick service restaurant in the Dolphin hotel called Picabu. We found it on one of our previous trips and it is a must do if we are staying at any one of the Epcot resorts. If you are out late and even the bars are closed, this place can really hit the spot.

These trips are a great time to reconnect with your kids. You can just walk, and talk but be sure to listen.

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Mile Marker

 

Mileage 4
Time 7PM
Location Indoors – Treadmill
Weather Clear – Cold

Thought I would get in a few miles while I was waiting for the girls to call from Denver with their estimated flight arrival. Turns out the flight was cancelled because of fog at Midway Airport. It did not seems to bad when I checked outside but there must have been a cascading effect when the plane they were supposed to take did not even leave Chicago to pick them up.

So we try again tomorrow morning.