This is so hilarious I just had to share it … it had me in tears this morning.
It’s a post called If Celebrities Were From the Midwest Here Is What They Would Look Like. I can’t decide which picture cracks me up more … Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Aniston, Sharon Stone, the Beckhams … they’re all hysterical. You have to just check ‘em out for yourself.
You might think from the title that this is going to be a post about running … but you’d be wrong. In fact, this is the one of the very rare posts about my job.
One of the reasons I picked up my entire life and moved to Austin to come work at TACC was the chance to contribute to an organization that has the very real possibility of changing the world and making it a better place. And I still get excited every day about the amazing things we’re accomplishing. My contribution to this effort is minor, in the sense that I’m not a scientist or technologist, and I’m not actually building or running advanced computing systems. Of course, it takes good relationships and plenty of funding to make all these accomplishments possible, and that’s where I come in.
A lot of my family and friends probably have very little sense of exactly what it is we do here at TACC, so I wanted to share this article (it’s not long, so go ahead, read the darn thing!), that gives a very real picture of exactly why advanced computing, and TACC especially, is so important.
All of you are by now familiar with the force of nature that was Hurricane Ike. The Galveston and Houston areas will be feeling the consequences of this storm for months, and probably more like years, to come.
What you may not know is that all of those NOAA hurricane models that are constantly running to predict the path and severity of the storm … those models (for both Ike and Gustav before it) were able to conduct real-time forecasting using our Ranger supercomputer, which sits right down the hall from me as I write this.
For those who don’t know, Ranger is the 4th largest computing system in the world, and the most powerful system for open science research (meaning the other three are closed systems that do exclusive work for agencies like DOE, DOD, etc). And to give you some idea of the scale of this project, running these storm models together required the use of as much as 2/3 of Ranger’s full capacity … that’s 2/3 of a system which is already orders of magnitude larger than most other systems out there.
What this basically means is that TACC’s system is making this kind of forecasting possible for the first time. And when you’re talking about natural disasters, that’s not a small thing.
I just wanted to share all this, because it’s exactly this sort of research that makes me so passionate about what we do here. Working in higher ed development, there are lots of opportunities out there … there are far more development positions out there than there are qualified people to fill them. But it’s not often that you really get a chance to be a part of something this big, with this much potential for change.
It’s exciting, it’s exhausting, and in truth I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Grand Teton 50 miler … this was one crazy race! It wasn’t a success, but it wasn’t exactly a failure either. To get the full scoop, you can go to my running blog and read the race report. But here’s the whole insane weekend in pictures. Once again, some of these pictures are mine. The rest are courtesy of Olga, Larry, and Guarav.
Henry and I flew into Jackson Hole Friday afternoon, where our friend Guarav picked us up at the airport. While he was waiting for us, he took these amazing photos of the Tetons …
After leaving the airport, we headed into Jackson Hole for some lunch. Here are Henry and I on the restaurant balcony …
After lunch we made the drive up to Grand Targhee Resort, which served as home base for the the Grand Teton Races. I wish I had some pictures from dinner friday night! Daddy and Joan drove up with Aunt Leslie and Uncle Bob and had dinner with us. It was so good to see everyone. This is also the part where I have to aplogize and hang my head in shame for not calling my cousin Keith after the race. By the time I had cell phone service, I was too exhausted to make plans. But I feel terrible about it because it would have been great to catch up. Guess this means we’ll have to come back!!!
Anyway, here we are at breakfast before the race …
And at the 50 mile start Saturday morning …
And here’s the entire 50 mile crew – Guarav, Joyce, me, Jeff, Henry, and Larry (Joe had started the 100 miler an hour earlier) …
The race started with the 2.8 mile climb up Fred’s Mountain, gaining nearly 2,000 feet of elevation on the way up. Here are Jeff and I … we would spend the first 22 miles together before he smoked my sorry a**.
I wasn’t crazy about some of the race course, but the views were great …
Finally, we’re almost to the top! (and a little blurry)
Fred’s Mountain casts a BIG shadow …
After conquering Fred’s, we headed out onto the Mill Creek Loop. Here we hit a little bit of nice single track …
There were wildflowers everywhere!
I didn’t get any pictures in the woods … too busy running. :-) But after a while we had to climb this 3+ mile section of paved road …
Thankfully we still had great views …
After the road, we were back on trail. And remember that great trail through the wildflowers? Not so much fun when you’re climbing out …
Finally got back to the aid station, and I was exhausted, but we still had Rick’s Basin to cover before our first loop was done …
Meanwhile, back at base … Joe was still looking strong.
Henry and Joyce managed to stick together for the first 30 miles …
The rest of the day didn’t go so well for some of us, but Larry did great, finishing 6th overall and winning his age group …
Guarav had a great day too (so did Jeff but I don’t have a picture) …
Joe pushed on through the rainy night, with Joyce pacing him through miles 50-75 (and getting her own finish in the process) …
Sunday morning dawned, and Henry went out to pace Joe from mile 80 to the finish …
Meanwhile, after dropping at Mile 40 because my asthma was intolerable, I went back out to finish those last 10 f*#@in’ miles! Here I am at mile 45 explaining to Olga what the heck I’m doing … I wasn’t done yet!
Finally, the finish!
And here come Joe and Henry! Hooray!
After dinner and a good night’s sleep, we woke up to fog rolling down the mountains …
I abandoned my camera the rest of week when we were in Jackson Hole, but Gurava got some great shots of the mountains in the fog and snow. That’s right … it snowed in the mountains after the race!
Like I said, the race was crazy, but the views were incredible! I loved Jackson Hole and the Tetons and can’t wait to go back and visit again!
Now that it’s been a month since the race, I figured I’d finally get around to posting the pictorial report from the Headlands 50 Miler. This will be heavy on the pictorial and light on the report, since I already posted my epic narrative on my other blog. One note: I did not take all these pictures. Many of these are the work of Noelle, Simon, Olga, and others. I’m simply appropriating them for my own selfish ends. :-)
Here’s the view from the starting line on race morning …
Me, Henry, Larry, and Gabe at the start …
After a short stretch on the beach and then up a trail, we hit the road for a while. Here’s the view back down to the start/finish line …
This is the stretch of trail where I saw the gopher …
And here’s the view looking back down at the trail early in the race. You can see the trail come down from the right hand side of the picture and head toward the back …
Here’s a picture of Tennessee Valley in the fog …
The fog lifted briefly right as I turned onto the Miwok Trail. Here’s what I saw as I came to the intersection …
Then more fog heading in Tennessee Valley …
Finally I could see the Miwok Stables! The aide station was just beyond …
From there it was on to Muir Beach. Here’s the foggy view looking down at the rocks as I descended the trail …
After Muir Beach there was the long climb up to Pantoll. I got in just as Henry was leaving …
Here I am after 22 miles … It’s starting to get really hot out!
The next section was the out-and-back on Bolinas Ridge. Here’s the view and you can see the trail wind along the ridge on the right side of the picture …
Around Mile 25, I caught up to Henry. Here we are crossing the road on the ridge …
After what seemed like forever, we finally made it back to Pantoll …
Here I am fishing through my drop bag after Simon just poured that bottle of water all over me … so nice!
Coke tastes so good!
But this race isn’t going to run itself, so get back out there!
Okay, fine. We’re going …
Here’s another view of the trail. We crossed those hills way off in the distance too …
Here’s the view as we get closer to the Tennessee valley aid station …
This was more of the view as we covered the last few miles …
And finally, the paved road that means there’s only two miles to go!
Here’s the view from there down to the beach, with the finish line waaaay down in the middle right …
First I had to get down these …
And then these …
No problem! I was just so excited to be done! Here I am with Henry, heading to the finish line … my first 50 miler! Yippeeeee!!!!
It wasn’t over for Henry. He still had 50 miles to go! But he did get to see this view as the sun came up …
Hooray, he’s still awake!
And even after 91 miles, he still looks happy, running in with Mer!
And he’s done it! 100 miles! Wow!!!
Followed by his trusty pacers, Noelle and Brian …
The satisfied team at the finish …
The victorious finishers!
And the next day, relaxing over brunch in Mill Valley …
What a weekend!!!
I’m still planning to post a condensed report about my race here. I’m just waiting for the pictures of my finish. I have lots of great pics so far, but the couple of people who got me finishing the race haven’t sent their photos yet. Once I have them you’ll get to see all the fun. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a little light reading, I’ve posted the full race report on my running blog. You can find it here. For those of you not familiar with race reports, I’ll warn you that it’s loooooong.
Over the past week, sad news has come in about “Big Red” Spicer, who among other things is the director of the Palo Duro Trail Run. Red has been in the hospital for a little while now, and is currently in a coma and not expected to live more than a couple days. I won’t go into more detail than that, but suffice it to say that the prognosis is pretty definite.
Red is one of those larger than life folks, not easily forgotten even under ordinary circumstances. And of course, the only time I spent with him was far from ordinary, at least for me … because I met Red at Palo Duro, where last fall I ran my first ultramarathon … and it was a life-changing experience for me. So many wonderful things have happened in my life in this past year … and several of them I can trace right back to the experience I had that weekend in Palo Duro.
If I’m feeling this sad, I can only imagine the grief being felt by Red’s family and friends … and the entire Texas trail running community. Please keep Red and those close to him in your prayers.
I’ll leave you with this, Red’s own words. He said it better than anything I can come up with …
“Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. You can either hunker down and hope nothing hits you; or you can stand tall, lean into the wind and yell, ‘bring it on darlin’ and don’t be stingy with the Jalapenos.’”
I have been looking forward to the Austin City Limits music festival ever since they announced the lineup in April … well, actually, ever since I got tickets back in February … okay fine, ever since last year’s festival was over.
But now it looks like September is going to be even more musically memorable than I’d anticipated! My friend Michael let me know today that Kasey Chambers – one of my favorite singer/songwriter/musicians – and her husband/partner/fellow musician/whatever Shane Nicholson have written and recorded an album together and are playing here in Austin on September 13th. Not only that, but they’re playing at Cactus Café … one of Austin’s greatest music venues and one that I still haven’t experienced.
And I have tickets!!!
This is a great way to end a truly memorable week. :-)
* Nietzsche got one thing right.
I’ll go into much more detail later, when I have the time and energy … but for now, the most important part …
I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 50 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was amazing and wonderful and beautiful … and beyond exhausting and unbelievably painful and without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done.
My friends were amazing, helping me when I could barely help myself. But the best part was catching up to Henry at Mile 25 and running the entire last half of my race together (he’s still out there finishing his 100 miler as I write this). He definitely got me through … I would have finished regardless, because there was no quitting … but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much and it certainly wouldn’t have meant as much to me.
My time? 12 hours, 52 minutes, 41 seconds.
I leave for Headlands tomorrow morning! I can’t believe after all these months of training, I am actually going to try to run I am GOING TO RUN 50 miles on Saturday!!!!
Here’s my request … if you have some time on Saturday, just think of me and say a little prayer … a prayer that I finish the race, that I have fun, that I stay healthy. Pray for strong legs, fast feet, and a joyful, grateful spirit.
Even though I’ll be out there on the trail by myself, and even though I’m the only one who can run my race … I didn’t get here by myself, and so I won’t really be alone. You’ll all be with me, with every step I take and every hill I climb and every mile I cover. And I’ll keep you in my thoughts even as you keep me in yours.
Thanks.
I thought my taper for Headlands was going well, and in terms of my physical conditioning and not pushing too hard, it’s going great. My mental and emotional states on the other hand, could best be described as … unstable. Perhaps even … volatile.
I am one giant mood swing, doing relatively well one minute, ready to fly off into a world-class hissy fit the next. And the universe isn’t exactly making it better. I wouldn’t say everything is going against me … because that’s just not true. Most things are just fine, but there are those few important tasks that just seem to be taking FAR more effort than they should. And I am not reacting well when that happens.
I just feel untethered, and I hate it. I have all this manic energy, and I can’t get rid of it. I even got up early this morning and went to the early Bikram Yoga class, hoping that a hard yet meditative workout would help … but all it did was unleash a whole new wave of energy.
I know it will go away … we leave for California on Friday morning, and I’m completely excited about the race and the vacation. The fact that the highs in Sausalito are in the mid-70’s (as opposed to the triple digits we’ve had for weeks and weeks here in Austin) doesn’t hurt either.
But it cannot get here soon enough.
* I can’t take credit for this perfectly descriptive term. It’s Henry’s creation … I just stole it.
A couple of things you should know about me first …
And so …
Happy 50th Birthday to Bill Berry!!!
Berry is the now-retired drummer for REM … he’s a farmer in Georgia, how cool is that? I admit that after Berry left the band, I pretty much stopped listening to anything new from the band … until they redeemed themselves this year with Accelerate, their best album since Automatic for the People, which came out waaaaay back in 1992 (jeez I’m old!).
Anyway, I thought I’d do a little research, so I checked out Berry’s page on Wikipedia … and I learned a lot. Did you know that Berry has writing credits on some of the band’s best songs? Everybody Hurts, Man on the Moon, Perfect Circle, Driver 8, Can’t Get There from Here … yep, he helped write all of ‘em.
I was also checking out some of the work Berry did without the other members of REM, and I had such a blast from the past. Love Tractor! Berry sat in with Love Tractor! I LOVED Love Tractor! I remember when I was 16 and I drove down to Charlottesville with a bunch of my friends to see them at Trax (sadly, neither the band nor the bar are still around). I had been to big stadium concerts before, but I think that was my first time going to a bar to see a band.
In case you have never heard of Love Tractor … and that probably includes every single one of you other than my sister … they are generally credited – along with REM, The B-52’s, and Pylon – as one of the founding bands of the Athens, GA alternative music scene.
What, you’ve never heard of Pylon either? Okay, well here’s some more info … When Rolling Stone magazine called R.E.M. “America’s Best Band” back in 1987, Bill Berry said that Pylon was the best rock ‘n’ roll band in America.
Here endeth the lesson.
:-)
Just yesterday I was saying I hadn’t found any news interesting enough to warrant a blog post, and then today I came across this article in the New York Times. Turns out that in addition to things like smoke, mold, and chemicals, thunderstorms can trigger asthma attacks … yes, that’s right … thunderstorms.
I’ve definitely noticed lately that my breathing has suffered during my runs, a result of the skyrocketing mold count. But I must say, I’ve never noticed anything related to thunderstorms. I’ll have to start paying attention to that to see if I can sense any change.
Of course, it may be a while … it would have to actually RAIN here for me to be able to test this theory.
It’s interesting that when I stop using this blog to post about running-related items, it turns out I have very little to talk about. :-(
I’ve been pouring all my thoughts and experiences about my running, nutrition, etc. into my other blog, and sadly that doesn’t leave me much else to talk about. From the outside I guess my life must look pretty boring … pretty much everything in my life, including most of the people with whom I spend my time, revolves around running … but for me, it’s the happiest and most at peace I think I’ve ever been. Unfortunately, my blog pays the price. :-)
There hasn’t even been that much in the news lately that I’ve found funny, absurd, maddening … anything to give me a reason to post. And with my first two 50 mile races coming up in the next five weeks, it’s probably only going to get worse before it gets better. Although hopefully I will have some fantastic pictures to bring back with me from California and Wyoming.
I had high hopes for lots of great pics of Max & Jude from my recent weekend in Philly … but it turns out that it’s hard to actually play with three-year-olds and take pictures of them at the same time, especially when you’re spending much of that time in the swimming pool (although my awesome new camera is waterproof!). But I did get in some great time with my nephews, and even got to catch up with Daddy and Joan, who drove up from Virginia for the weekend. As much as I LOVE Austin … and after just a couple years it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else … the one thing that’s hard is being so far from my family.
The great news that came out of that weekend is that my dad and Joan are going to try to come out to Jackson, WY for Labor Day weekend, which means they’ll be out there for my race! Woohooooo!!!
I have heard horror stories about how badly runners perform when their non-running family members come to races, but I think I’ll be all right. Thankfully, I will have run Headlands 3 weeks earlier, so it won’t be my first attempt at the distance. And I’ll have Henry and other running friends out there for the race. I’ve already warned my family that even if I look like I’m about to drop dead, they still have to cheer me on and tell me I’m doing great, and to get back out there, and all that positive stuff. Apparently that’s what thwarts people when their families are around … it’s hard for our non-running loved ones to see how much ultras take out of us, and their instinct is to try to relieve the pain, not to push us back out onto the course to suffer more. That’s why we need our fellow ultrarunners around … the people who know pain is temporary, but a DNF (Did Not Finish) is forever … which means that unless something is really, really, REALLY wrong, you get your butt back out there on the course and keep on going. Tired, sore, sleepy, hungry, thirsty, etc. are NOT excuses. Aid stations can take care of the last two … the rest you can deal with when you finish.
My new favorite ultrarunning quote comes from Alice In Wonderland, which is perfect since that’s how some of my friends started referring to me last fall. It began with my sudden drop into the giant hole during a night run, and gained momentum after a few wrong turns on a couple of runs had me suddenly disappearing and reappearing on the trail. Not to mention my propensity as a newbie trail runner for almost falling into the giant sinkhole on the greenbelt on several occasions … whenever Noelle and I run by it now, one of us has to yell out “Sinkhole!”, just in case. ;-)
Anyway, I think this quote is the perfect mantra for ultrarunning …
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end. Then stop.
Pretty much sums it up.
I’m in the taper phase for Headlands right now, which means I’m getting to be much lazier than usual. I had time this weekend to go to a party on Saturday night and the movies on Sunday night! It is a nice change after all the months of training to actually have a few weekends that don’t revolve around running.
And more to look forward to … this Thursday is a reunion of sorts. My friend Stephanie is finally coming back from England (HOORAY!!!!), where she’s been living since just after the holidays. Thanks to the wonders of e-mail and blogs, we’ve actually been able to stay in touch pretty well, but that’s no substitute for actually having her around. And while Leah didn’t actually leave Austin, all her Ironman training (that’s right, my amazing friend finished her first Ironman last month!) has meant I hardly ever see her. So along with Noelle, we’re all getting together on Thursday to finally catch up and celebrate all our amazing adventures … the ones that have already happened and the ones that are rapidly approaching!
Looking for a great core workout? Well look no further! The answer is right here!
All it takes is a 2 hour trail run combined with an asthma flare-up and a high mold count! All that labored breathing is guaranteed to make your abs so fatigued you can barely get out of bed the next morning!
Salon.com is celebrating Pork Week, and they started off yesterday with an entire article devoted to BACON. It includes links to many of the various bacon products on the market … and by that I don’t mean bacon varietals. I mean bacon clothing, bacon accessories, bacon candles, bacon gift wrap … you name a product, and these days there’s one made of bacon (or at least made to look like bacon).
I’ve written in the past about bacon products here and here.
The author also tries to dissect the reasons for our enthusiasm for bacon, breaking it down into the following categories: Bacon is rebellion, Bacon is sexy, Bacon is kitsch, Bacon is an Internet joke, Bacon is a crafting trend, Bacon is funny, and Bacon is America.
The author quotes one chef who refers to bacon as the”gateway protein,”
It’s a pretty funny article, but for me it’s ironic … hence the title of this post. The ironic part is just as the celebration of bacon is beginning, I’m taking steps to move toward a more vegetarian diet, eliminating not only bacon, but all meats and dairy products from my diet.
So consider this my farewell to bacon. We’ve had a great run, but it’s time for me to move on. And you can look at it this way … that leaves more bacon for the rest of you. :-)
A while back I wrote this post about a couple of websites that I go to when I need a good laugh. At the time, I wasn’t quite ready to share MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE WEBSITE EVER. This is the one I turn to anytime I want to smile, and the one that often has me in tears of laughter. It may not be for everyone, but it makes me happy every day.
And now, I shall pass it along to you.
It’s Go Fug Yourself.
Enjoy.
I haven’t had time to post much lately, but I’ve been saving a few things that have piqued my interest. So without further ado …
O bed! O bed! delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary head
I often joke that if sleeping were an Olympic event, I would be the gold medalist. It’s not so much that I sleep a lot. I’m not one of those people who sleeps all day … in fact, if I’m still in bed after 8 a.m., I’m really sleeping in. Rather, I just always seem to fall asleep easily, sleep hard and well, and getting enough sleep is a BIG priority for me.
So I loved this article by Lesley Stahl about The Science of Sleep. It’s all about the benefits of sleep, and even more importantly, the impact of not getting enough sleep. You should just read the whole thing, but here’s a few things to think about …
The article also talks about the culture we have where it’s some sort of badge of honor to talk about how little sleep one gets. I definitely see that all around me, and I’m thankful that I’ve never bought into it. I harbor no guilt about my sleep. I’ve always thought the people who brag about how little sleep they get are nuts … turns out they may end up that way. ;-)
I am also a BIG FAN of naps … in my opinion, napping is an art form and one of life’s great pleasures. The article has this to say about napping …
What’s most important is getting your seven and a half to eight hours total, so naps can help. And brand new research is showing that long naps, including REM sleep, can even improve emotional outlook, making people less sensitive to negative experiences and more receptive to positive ones.
In case you do not have my extraordinary talent for sleep, this article called How To Nap may be of help. It gives tips on where and how to nap, as well as very nice breakdown of the different types of naps, according to length of time.
Is The Cure Worse Than The Disease?
As someone who suffers from both asthma and allergies, I am always interested in new treatments that may help ease my symptoms. But this one? … I don’t know.
Hookworms … yes, hookworms. Apparently, in a small enough amount, hookworms suppress the immune system just enough to eliminate allergy and asthma responses, without completely compromising the body’s immune system.
Part of me finds this completely fascinating.
The other part of me just lost my lunch.
As If Y’all Didn’t Think I Was Insane Enough Already …
… Now you better really watch out! It seems that researchers have found a connection between high levels of fitness and a propensity toward violent crime. Using the three basic body types – ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph – as a frame of reference, the research shows that “mesomorphs make up an unusually large percentage of the prison population, from 62 percent to 73 percent.”
The article goes on to say
“But that does not mean that being fit is a predictor of criminal tendencies. Those who are fit may have personalities that are more likely to make them violent. In essence, what drives them to be fit also drives them to be violent. It is also likely that those who are fit find themselves in violent situations more.”
Clearly they are not referring to endurance runners … even if we did have violent tendencies, we’re too tired from running for hours on end to act on them.
And Under the Category of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
This is an actual beverage product.
There’s a car in the parking lot of my office with a bumber sticker that reads “If you aren’t completely appalled, you must not be paying attention.” Well today, I am appalled.
According to an article in today’s New York Times,
The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.
The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment, the officials said.
WTF??????!!!!!!!
Apparently, this is the White House equivalent of sticking one’s fingers in one’s ears and screaming “lalalalalalala, I can’t hear you!!!”
Pathetic … and yet perfectly representative of this entire stupid administration. November cannot get here soon enough.
You may have noticed the lack of running-related posts lately (or not). Back in May I turned my old blog into an online running log (I’m not going to link to it here … you can find it if you really want to, but honestly, it is nothing but records of my workouts with additional thoughts about things like nutrition, training plans, etc.). So anyway, most of you can probably rejoice in the fact that every time you read this blog you no longer have to read about running this, ultra that, blahblahblahblahblah … but this one I have to share …
Yesterday I officially graduated from physical therapy!!!
Yep, my ankle is aaaaallll better. Actually, it’s better than that, because with all the exercises Phil has given me to do for the past several months, my ankles (and my hips and feet, which contibute to the stability of my ankles) are stronger than ever. I was actually worried about my appointment, because I twisted my ankle pretty good (the same one that I hurt back on February and that put me into PT in the first place) a few weeks ago, and was afraid I was going to have to start all over. But my exercises had still been going well, and Phil checked me out pretty thoroughly, and whatever I did when I twisted my ankle apparently didn’t affect the strength and balance I’ve gained from all the PT.
So I need to keep doing my exercises in order to maintain the integrity of my ankles and prevent future injuries … but otherwise, I am good to go. PT was a big success!!!
Yippeeeee!!!
