Photos And Running

It's Music Monday - here today to expand your music listening horizons.

• Totally F****d - This song is from the Spring Awakening soundtrack. This song has a great beat, and if you're looking for an angry song, then this might be a good song for you.


• Stronger - This song is from Kanye West. Another great song to listen to mid run. The last time I heard this song while I was running I found my pace pick up a bit.


• Joker And the Theif - This song is from Wolfmother. Yes you might have heard it in a few movies ("Shrek the Third" and "Shoot 'em Up" come to mind).
  

I hope you enjoy this week's selection.

While I was going through my RSS feeds today, I stumbled on several photography tips that I'd like to share with you.

The first is about entering the photography business. Something that I didn't know, is that the turn over rate in photography is around 85%. Here is the link to the article.

There was a great forum posting about taking pictures in black and white. Very interesting reading, now I have to experiment with that in the next few days. Here is the link to the article. Also they make reference to the "zone system" in several of the posts, here is something to help you figure out what that is exactly.

Do you strain your eyes when looking at the screen? How about when you're adjusting your photos for hours on end? Then read this article, and it should help you adjust the contrast so that you can see everything clearly. I just tried it and wow, I didn't realize that my monitor brightness was set so high.

If you're need a portable flash stand for your photography setup, check out this article. They go into details, like you can put a flash on the stands, but not a strobe. They are a lightweight substitute for a flash stand if you're on a budget.

To round out our tips, if you need some protection from the elements for your camera, check out this article (and the suggestions at the bottom of the page).

The kind folks over at Endurance Base Camp (or should I say the guy ...), has a great idea on how to get your friends motivated to work out, and a chance for you to raise some money for charity. Of course it's his idea for his own charity. I think it's a great idea, and I'm interested to see how many businesses help donate to the cause.

Check out his blog entry here: Facebook Friend/Fan Challenge, 5k’s and Charity?

Tomorrow is Race Day. Whoop! Is it me or is there more runners out there today? I swear I saw more people running today, maybe it's the race coming up, or it is a nice day for a run. The Red Rock Half Marathon/Marathon is tomorrow morning, and I have to tell you something, I'm slightly nervous.

It's not the distance, that part doesn't scare me. I haven't been putting as much miles in as I was when was training for the past marathons, and walkers are welcome, so I know I'll finish with plenty of time to make it to the finish (that's what I enjoy about the Calico Events - walkers welcome). I have a feeling that I will not post a time that I will be happy with, and that is one of the things that scare me. That I might be resentful with my friend. I know it's my issue to work out, and I'm sure when the event is over I won't hold any grudges or anything.

I actually ran with my friend during the Thanksgiving 12k Turkey Trot, although he sent me ahead after a sometime and I was by myself for part of the race. I didn't hold any resentment then. Maybe because I knew we were both training just as hard for the event back then. This time around he hasn't had as much time to train due to travel and illness, so I can't fault him for not training.

Maybe these are just normal fears that people have when running with people. I don't know, I just know that is how I'm feeling at this particular moment.

On other news ....

The race itself goes around Red Rock Park - which is almost 13 mile loop. When you drive the loop, it is a down hill drive for most of it. So of course how do you make a race difficult, make it uphill - so we are running the loop backwards. Red Rock is a very nice area, and we should get some nice pictures from the event.

To aid the emergency crews that might need to help people in the race, they have not allowed people to drive into the event. We actually have to park at a near by casino and we have to get bussed into the event. Not a bad idea. They also have the option to AirVac someone out if they need to, but I'm sure they'd like to avoid that if possible.

The catering will be done by the Salvation Army Emergency Services Canteen. They put on a good spread the last Calico Event I ran (Running From an Angel - 2010). I'm hoping for more of the same... Good Food, Good Meat, Good God Let's Eat!

The weather itself is predicted to be windy (10 mph winds or so), with a chance of showers throughout the day. Should make for an interesting run. Now I just have to remember to pack my running pack tonight and I'll be good to go.

Talk to you after the race.

Have you tried fasting as a form of a diet? I have tried the Master Cleanse (which is a 7 day program) a few times, and I could never make it past a specific point. (About Day 4 into the fast, I need REAL FOOD!!!).

Fasting is quite a chore if you're not prepared.

There is a great post about intermediate fasting listed at fitness spotlight.

Yes Yes, it's late. I do find that music helps start the week.

Here are my picks of the week.

I am putting up a poll, to find out what more of you would like to read more about? Please take a moment and vote in the poll on the right side of your screen.

Thank you,

Your humble webmaster

I was getting updated on my blog feeds, and I came across a post for this:
Human API Videos

It's a Heartrate monitor/recorder for the iPhone with GPS tracking. The GPS portion is handled by the phone.

This is a really great concept. Since I have the body bugg that I use for regular working out, one of the features that it lacks is the heart rate. With this however that feature is taken cared of.

Imagine, being able to join all of the data that you're recording into one spot, that you can access later. If you look online for posts about the body bugg, you'll see that people are having trouble deciphering the data that is being recorded by the system.

A few thoughts on improvements...

off load the GPS tracking onto the arduino hardware - the GPS in the iPhone causes the battery to drain too quickly.
off load all of the data recording to the arduino hardware - this will allow the phone to just display the numbers that it receives. When you need to access the data after your exercise, plug the memory card into the computer and grab the data then.

Of course I just found this link: WIN Monitors Health - but I believe it is out of the price range of many users.

Think about the possible applications you can get with this product - You can uses it for sports training. By knowing what your heart has been you can tell if you're training effectively. If you happen to be tracking the calorie expenditure, then you know how much fuel your body needs to replenish at a pit stop. The applications for this could be interesting.

Of course you could just get data overload and just not think about it again.

Signing off for now - Until Next Time.

How to take better low light photos

I personally use a point and shoot camera, and my low-light photos come out great, but I use the sports mode (ISO 3200). It seems to work great in those low light situations. I do not have a steady hand when it comes to shooting, so I don't try to use the other modes too often when I'm shooting.

I found a post on one of the message boards that I frequent where they asked what was the music that you need on a run. Well given that my playlists are usually set for hours on end, it's difficult to get those songs on any one run. The ones that I listed are:

What happens to your body when you go for extended periods of not running? Extended periods being a week. You have been a couch potato for the past week or you have been on vacation, in both cases, making your runs have been difficult.

After about a week of no exercise, your exercise base (stamina) that you have built up over the past few weeks, goes down drastically. The first time I stepped on a treadmill after a week of vacation (having run a marathon before the vacation), I found that my body had a hard time running. If you could have only seen me trying to run, a sight for sure.

One of the things that I read in a recent Runners World magazine article, was that if you sit on your duff for a few days and not do anything, you will suffer a similar fate to what had occurred to me. However if you mix in weights with your training (and over your vacation period), you can prevent the erosion of the running base that you built.

My workouts currently occur during my lunch period, which allows for a 20 minute training session. At the moment I have not doing any exercises outside of this training program (starting Saturday and next week will be a different training program - which will include more runs outside of my lunch training sessions)

Monday: Treadmill Running - Incline 1.0 - 20 Min

Tuesday: Upper Body Weights/Core Work
- Chest Press
- Pull Ups
- Dips
- Lateral Arm Raises
- Weighted Running Man Arm Pumps - Grab some light weights, put your arms as if you're running and put one foot in front of the other, almost like you're starting a race, Rock your arms back and forth as if your running, but keep your feet planted.
- Reverse Jack Knife Crunch with Balance Ball
- Alphabet Plank movement - Grab the balance ball, put your elbows on the ball and remain in plank position, begin performing the alphabet with your elbows.

Wednesday: Treadmill Running - Incline 1.0 - 20 Min

Thursday: Lower Body Weights/Core Work
- Squats
- Lunges
- Leg Curls
- Leg Extensions
- Calf Raises
- Heel Pushes
- Leg Raises (Core Work)
- Ball Crunches

Friday: Treadmill Running - Incline 1.0 - 20 Min

Saturday and Sunday - Off

Starting this upcoming week, my work out is getting updated, so my body doesn't get used to doing the same thing, so I will be packing on the miles again. I will give you an update as my workout changes and I will be posting photos of the upcoming weekly runs that I run with my Local Hashing group. I have been on hiatus for the past few weeks (missed most of December and all of January).

Until Next Time.

Today I was browsing around one of the forums that I frequent, and one of the topics was where do I run? - and that was it.

To the mysterious poster, please provide some more information. Where are you located, for instance running in the freezing snow vs running in the heat are completely different, so if you're located where there is snow, will make a difference vs if you are located where it's sunny everyday, and you live in paradise.

You also don't list the possible restrictions that you have when you're running, what you don't like about your current running environment, etc. So for us to just begin listing places for you to run is probably not going to be helpful to you at all.

My suggestion was that you can lace up your shoes and just take off in a direction. When you get bored of that direction, change directions and keep running, if you're tired, turn around and go back. Half of the runs that I do are not a planned route. Usually, I calculate the distance after my run.

If I need some extra motivation to go running, I find a running group in the area and follow them around. Some groups are fun, some groups drink beer and sing songs, some groups are serious about their training.

Anyone can run almost anywhere, you can run in place, up and down stairwells, around the mall parking lot, in the park, or around your neighborhood. Get out there and do it. Stop wondering and get out side and put one foot in front of the other.

Many apologies about the rant. Maybe I should use this for motivation.

A friend of mine posted a website to our group recently, and it pretty much describes us as a group. Check it out: Warrior Dash. There are crazy costumes, Beer, fire leaping, and a cool helmet. It seems like a good time to be had by all, now the next question is to figure out which one to sign up for.

I don't know how many mornings I lay in bed knowing that I can get up, but refusing because I don't want to face the cold air. So I decided to look up some reasons to work out, and maybe it will help me.

31 ways to motivate yourself to exercise
Top 10 Shallow Reasons To Workout

Ever since my recent vacation, where the house was 61 degrees pretty much all day, I have noticed my motivation to train is not there. I need to find something to motivate me to exercise. The sad thing is that since I already ran a marathon, the half marathon that I have scheduled doesn't motivate me as much as it should (plus it's little over a month away - maybe that reminder should help).

Saturday March 6th - The Red Rock Half Marathon.

I'll be sure to mark my calendar, maybe with a countdown alert to remind me to get my butt up in the morning.

Oh I found a neat little site: http://www.halfmarathons.net/

One of the suggestions that I saw on one of the websites, was to write down your reasons that you had when you first started working out.

My biggest reason for working out was so that I would not finish last in my races. I also workout so I can look good, I would not be satisfied if I was a couch potato, although it is nice to 'veg' out.

Maybe I can sneak a few workouts in during the day? A set of pushups as I'm walking through the house, working out during lunch for a quick boost of power, I can stretch during TV commercials or while watching those reality tv shows, where's more fun to listen to. Point is there is a lot that I can do to work out and make it look fun.

Point is, today is a new day, You can't change yesterday, but you can work towards a better tomorrow today (cheesy I know).

So I'm throwing down my gloves and I'm going to start my new workout frenzy.

Until Next Time.

Are you tired of geotagging your photos? Or just uploading the photos online? How would you enjoy a camera that handled the photo upload for you.

I received my eye-fi card from a google promotion that they were running a few weeks ago, and I have finally taken a few photos with the camera that I can say I feel pretty comfortable with the functions that the eye-fi has to offer.

Once I had everything on my computer configured, all you do is turn the camera on (and make sure that it doesn't go into power save mode) and forget about it. Luckily I have rechargeable batteries, so the full battery drain doesn't bother me that much. I take my pictures and turn the camera on when I get home and forget about the camera until the next day when I need to check on the photos.

The photos remain on the card until you remove them yourself, so once you have verified that the photos have been uploaded, you can remove the photos from the card by using the delete function on your camera. The other nice thing is that the camera remembers what files have already been uploaded, so you do not end up with uploaded duplicates until you remove the photos. Truly a set and forget piece of equipment.

A small note about the geotagging portion. The geotagging service is brought to you by skyhook, which uses the existing wireless access points to determine your position in the area. Now this is pretty nice by itself, but when you are in the remote places where you do not have a wireless signal, or if your wireless signatures are similar to those of another location, the photos may get confused. I have taken several photos where there were no existing wireless signals around, so no location data is available for those shots. Understandable. However, when I stuck at an airport, we had a waitress take a photo for us, and the photo was tagged for a completely different city/state than where we were located.

Overall this was one of the best purchases that I have made for my camera and photos. If you're one of those people that does not upload photos because it takes effort just to go through them, then this might be a great gadget for you and your camera.