- You Suck Blogger
- 523556
- Looking Back and Forward
- A Pat on the Back
- Finding Inspiration in an Undefeated Season
- Loving Lolo
- Confidence
- Stress
- Too Much Rest?
- Big Race Day
Sites of Interest
- HRC
- hollywooodfarmgirl
- Ross the Intern
- michaelmoore.com
- margaret cho
- meebo.com
- cinematical.com
Archives
- April 2004
- May 2004
- June 2004
- July 2004
- August 2004
- September 2004
- October 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
- August 2009
- September 2009
- October 2009
- November 2009
- December 2009
- January 2010
- February 2010
You Suck Blogger
I received this little tidbit from Blogger just a few minutes ago. This is a slight oh crap moment. While I understand their reason from a professional standpoint in regards to server processing etc this basically means I'll have to move my blog to another software platform. Ideally I would like to create my own PHP blog but we'll see how much time is involved with that and if I have the patience. I couldn't find any posts on Blogger about what happens to the old site if I don't migrate over but I think it will still work and serve as a good archive.
Time to start fresh!
Dear FTP user:
You are receiving this e-mail because one or more of your blogs at Blogger.com are set up to publish via FTP. We recently announced a planned shut-down of FTP support on Blogger Buzz (the official Blogger blog), and wanted to make sure you saw the announcement. We will be following up with more information via e-mail in the weeks ahead, and regularly updating a blog dedicated to this service shut-down here: http://blogger-ftp.blogspot.com/.
The full text of the announcement at Blogger Buzz follows.
Last May, we discussed a number of challenges facing[1] Blogger users who relied on FTP to publish their blogs. FTP remains a significant drain on our ability to improve Blogger: only .5% of active blogs are published via FTP — yet the percentage of our engineering resources devoted to supporting FTP vastly exceeds that. On top of this, critical infrastructure that our FTP support relies on at Google will soon become unavailable, which would require that we completely rewrite the code that handles our FTP processing.
Three years ago we launched Custom Domains[2] to give users the simplicity of Blogger, the scalability of Google hosting, and the flexibility of hosting your blog at your own URL. Last year's post discussed the advantages of custom domains over FTP[3] and addressed a number of reasons users have continued to use FTP publishing. (If you're interested in reading more about Custom Domains, our Help Center has a good overview[4] of how to use them on your blog.) In evaluating the investment needed to continue supporting FTP, we have decided that we could not justify diverting further engineering resources away from building new features for all users.
For that reason, we are announcing today that we will no longer support FTP publishing in Blogger after March 26, 2010. We realize that this will not necessarily be welcome news for some users, and we are committed to making the transition as seamless as possible. To that end:
o We are building a migration tool that will walk users through a migration from their current URL to a Blogger-managed URL (either a Custom Domain or a Blogspot URL) that will be available to all users the week of February 22. This tool will handle redirecting traffic from the old URL to the new URL, and will handle the vast majority of situations.
o We will be providing a dedicated blog[5] and help documentation
o Blogger team members will also be available to answer questions on the forum, comments on the blog, and in a few scheduled conference calls once the tool is released.
We have a number of big releases planned in 2010. While we recognize that this decision will frustrate some users, we look forward to showing you the many great things on the way. Thanks for using Blogger.
Regards,
Rick Klau
Blogger Product Manager
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
// posted by stacey on 12:28:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, January 25, 2010
523556
So it's real now, I've laid out the money and registered for my guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon, there is no going back. I could have waited a bit to register but wanted to get it over with so no fear or panic would keep me from doing so. For the record, I registered an hour and a half after reg opened so technically I did wait a bit.
I'm excited about this and what it means for me. I recently pulled out of the Miami Half because I just wasn't able to get the training in due to too much holiday reveling and cold weather. I know that if I really wanted to run this race I could have slogged my way through it, but I didn't want to do this race just for the sake of doing it and I didn't want risk injury. While I'm bummed because I love the city of Miami a lot, I need to be smart in regards to my goals for the spring and summer.
I did get accepted into the NYC Half Marathon and my training has already begun for that. It was difficult at first to get back into the swing of training consistently. Even my short runs felt sluggish and I really thought I was shaped like a piece of pie on a couple of them. But things started to click this past week. I'm getting used to running in complete darkness with the help of my teeny tiny flashlight and taillight. Feeling confident with running in the dark has let me concentrate on the actual running part and I feel stronger than I have in a long time. This week, I can start pushing my pace and really focus on my goals for 2010.
Now you'll just have to deal with me obsessing about running even more!
// posted by stacey on 2:41:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Looking Back and Forward
In many ways I'm sad to see 2009 come to a close but in many other ways it can't end soon enough.
The year started out with my confidence dragging a bit. I had made such incredible strides the previous year that I didn't know what to do with the inevitable plateau that I landed on. Even though I had some pretty lofty goals with my running I wasn't too sure how I was going to accomplish them. Who knew my chiropractor would be the one to get me out of my funk and propel me in the right direction, with the help of a wellness coach.
During this time my workload increased dramatically with not only the number of conferences I was working on but new web application development as well. I truly believe that with everything I was doing for my health - the running, strength training, nutrition, and yes, even socializing - kept me strong through that challenging time at work. Combine that with deepening my friendships and meeting new, wonderful friends and you have the valedictorian of wellness in front of you.
Being that valedictorian of wellness did not save me from everything that came my way. It was also during this time that I allowed myself to get caught up into another person's deception/drama involving their relationship. I now know that I let this person "in" too easily and let my guard down so that when many people started to say something was going on between us, even when there wasn't, I started to think that maybe there was a future with this person.
It wasn't too long after I had this thought and even a discussion about this that the lying, self-centeredness, and manipulation became more evident and the relationship became more toxic. That relationship has ended and thankfully with only a bruised heart on my part and not a full out broken one.
One reason for my successful break from that person is because of the incredible friends I have. They rallied around me when I needed them most and that is why I am looking forward to next year. These are the people I want to have around me as I look forward to accomplishing my goals for 2010.
These goals are big but totally attainable. First and foremost the number one goal is to continue living my life the way it needs to be lived and according to my truth and no one else's. When I do this not only do I become a better person but a better friend.
I want to continue to excel in my professional life and so far that is off to a good start with a lot more web application development and more conferences to work with. I am truly excited about my job and what I can accomplish this year.
Of course, this would not be my blog post without a mention of running. I have three goals in that aspect of my life. The first is to run a consistent 10-minute mile. That will be accomplished by working hard and reuniting with my running coach Jim. Next up is to complete my first marathon and finally to log at least 1000 miles.
I'm on the right path and know that I will be able to accomplish everything and anything I want because no matter what I am still the valedictorian of wellness.
// posted by stacey on 4:39:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Pat on the Back
When my running coach would send us our weekly workouts he would often remind us to give ourselves a pat on the back. He would urge us to look back on where we started and what we had accomplished. For me, that is usually easier said than done.Not today.
I am back from an incredible weekend of running where I accomplished a huge goal. All that training for the Philadelphia Half Marathon paid off big time! I honestly don't think I have run a better race or felt more mentally prepared. Going into the race I knew I was going to PR, that was how confident I was. My goal was to finish in 2:40, which would have shed 3 minutes off my previous PR. I finished in 2:37.
Beforehand while all of us who were going to Philly kept a watch on the weather we knew we were going to have ideal conditions. It was a bit chilly in the starting corrals and that forced me to keep moving and stretching so my old muscles wouldn't tighten up but when the starting horn sounded and we got to mile two I was all warmed up and the gloves came off.
I ran without my music, by choice this time, and without any baggage. I think I ran with a runner's high for 11 miles, that is how good I felt. I remember passing the 10 mile marker and smiling because I knew I had it in the bag. Like most of my training runs I felt so strong during and after the race.
I've got some more half marathon's coming up and of course my plan is to run in the 2010 NYC Marathon but today, I am resting and celebrating (what Liz calls me) being a Philly Phinisher.
// posted by stacey on 2:56:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Finding Inspiration in an Undefeated Season
Completing an undefeated season in team sports is very rare, unless you play women's college basketball. This it seems to happen a little more often in you are Tennessee or Connecticut.Coaches have mixed feelings about these undefeated seasons. For many teams as they are going along the season they can become more focused and have a feeling of invincibility. Coaches love this part. Other times, that invincibility can have a downside where the players lose sight of the overall goal and don't think that they have anything left to learn. That drives coaches nuts. Seeking perfection can be hard.
While training for the upcoming Philadelphia Half Marathon, I have felt as though I have been on my own journey of an undefeated season. My training for this half began back on September 20 and I can honestly say that after each run I have felt so much stronger. That is not to say these training runs haven't been challenging. If you're doing speed and hill work and they don't challenge or hurt you, you're not doing them correctly. Doing all of this has made my shorter easy runs seem almost effortless and some of my longer runs seem less daunting.
One of the upsides of this is that I have been able to do this training without injury, unlike the training for the NYC Half this past August. About half way through that training I ended up straining the lower part of my hamstring on my left leg. That pretty much put an end to any speed or hill work. I spent most of that time making sure I got enough rest but to also allow me to get the necessary long runs completed. I still ran a good race that day.
During this time I have only run in one race where I had a chance to see how this training was going. I often use these races as motivation to keep pushing myself and finding some sort of inspiration along the way. That race, the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff, did show me that the training is paying off and that if I really was on my game I could have done even better.
This training cycle has also given me the opportunity to find the best source of inspiration one can have and that's my fellow FRNY teammates and in particular the SloHoMos. Watching them all run in last weekend's NYC Marathon was incredible. I got to see them run their fastest ever marathon and to run in their first ever marathon. While on my long runs I often think about team SloHoMo and all the work they put in. They inspire me to keep pushing and working harder to meet my goals and that is how I'm going to make it to Philly undefeated.
// posted by stacey on 6:11:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Loving Lolo
The 2008 Olympics in Beijing was not the shining moment that Lolo Jones thought it was going to be. She had been touted and promoted as one of the US track stars to watch; how could she not be with the name, the looks and of course the talent. She ran very well in her qualifying heats in the 100 meter hurdles and was expected to win gold. In that final heat as she was pulling away from the pack she clipped the penultimate hurdle and ended up finishing seventh. As a former track athlete in junior high I know how high those hurdles can be. Let's not forget that tremendous amount of technique that is required. It's not just the technique of getting out the starting block properly but the number of steps that each hurdler takes between jumps. The next time you see a track and field hurdling event on TV pick a runner to watch and count their steps. If the race is going well it will be the exact amount of steps each time. They will always jump off on the same foot, land on the same foot, and start all over.
Lolo's 2009 season had it ups and downs with a successful indoor track season only to be followed by a hamstring injury and never quite being able to catch up for the outdoor season.
I had a nice opportunity to meet Lolo this past Friday where she was signing autographs at the Asics store grand opening in NYC. I got there a little bit before the official signing was supposed to start and that afforded the few of us who there that time to have a real conversation with her. My time with her totaled about 8-10 minutes but it ended up being a very inspiring 8-10 minutes. While she was signing my poster we talked about her training, nutrition and marathons.
Training and Nutrition - October is her off month and during this time she has been eating a lot of cheeseburgers and chocolate cake. Next month she will go on an almost all fish diet as her training picks up again. She said that when she starts craving the cake during her training she will be able to look back onto this splurging as a way to help get past that craving.
Marathons - She asked me if I was running in this year's marathon and for some reason I said not this year. She picked up on that right away and asked if I had run before to which I said no but that perhaps one day I would and mentioned that every time I finishing a half marathon I have problems of wrapping my brain around 26.2 miles. She agreed with me on the mileage and said that after her track career she wants to do a marathon. She even admitted that she would walk parts of the course and that her fear was that whenever she started walking a PA announcer would see her and let everyone in crowd know that Olympian Lolo Jones was walking by.
I can't tell you how much that encouraged me to seriously rethink this marathon thing. While I don't think that Lolo would actually walk parts of the marathon course, I think she's way too competitive to let that happen, it was encouraging to hear her just talk about that.
So now I will make the official announcement that I am seriously thinking about doing a marathon. I think I may have two in me. Part of my gut tells me that I don't want to NY to be my first but some other locale where I can go it alone. The other part says NY has to be my first because it will fit into my schedule better and I won't have to go it alone.
Just in case and I repeat JUST IN CASE I have signed up to volunteer as a course marshal at the NYRR Holiday 5k in Prospect Park on December 12. This means that I will not be running in that race, a race I wanted to run in. You have no idea how huge that is for me. My stomach is churning right now.
// posted by stacey on 10:08:00 AM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Confidence
Tomorrow I am running in the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff. I ran it
last year and really enjoyed it although it is crazy crowded. This
year it has sold out so I am expecting it to be more crowded than usual.
Most of my training as of late has been geared towards the half
marathon, so much so that I almost forgot that I had this race on the
calendar. I really didn't start to think about any goal specific
training until last weekend. Ooops.
Instead I tries to cram in the race prep. I was reminded that it
doesn't work in running like it does for a history test. But at least
somewhere way back when I plotted out the half marathon training
schedule I did include this race in those plans. At least my brain was
functioning at some point during September! This thankfully allowed me
to be a bit more flexible and get some five mile race specific
training in.
Yesterday, I got that 10 mile long run that I postponed from last
Sunday. Like most of the running I have been doing I have been feeling
strong afterwards. They may not be easy runs, but that strong feeling
is so important and a huge confdence boost. Yesterday's run was no
different.
I ran in Central Park which I haven't done since the Fitness Magazine
four mile race in September. I took all of the hills with gusto and
conquered them. Confidence rising for tomorrow. My five mile split was
under my previous five mile PR so again another confidence booster.
This is what I have been needing since all week I have had a gut
feeling that the race is not going to turn out as planned. But
interestingly enough that feeling has nothing to do with the running
but external things. It just may mean that I run in a pissy mood. But
I am hopin that my gut is wrong and those external things come
through. I need that confidence boost too.
Sent from my iPhone
// posted by stacey on 3:39:00 PM // |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
