The William Hammock

When Melissa and I lived in Nicaragua for a year, right outside our room at the hostel was this hammock. It had the name William knitted into the side of it in 8" letters. We always wondered what the story was behind this hammock--why William was sitting right outside our door.

I couldn't find a photo showing the William part of the hammock, but here's the rest of it. Lucy the squirrel is resting, perhaps waiting to jump on me.

It must have made more of an impression on Melissa than it did me. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that she chose the name William for our child...

The Chia Gel

Iskiate is a refreshing energy gel consumed by the Tarahumara (running people) indigenous population in Mexico, and the Aztecs before them. I was fascinated by the description of this chia seed gel from the book Born To Run:

Months later, I'd learn that iskiate is otherwise known as chia fresca--"chilly chia." It's brewed up by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime
...
As tiny as those seeds are, they're superpacked with omega-3S, omega-6S, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home.

Okay, so there's probably a bit of hyperbole in there, but nonetheless, I had to try some. Local health food stores like Strawberry Fields and Common Ground Food Coop sell chia seeds (at a hefty price), and they're also available on the internet for a little bit cheaper. The good thing is that a small quantity of seeds goes a long way.

I turned to the internet to figure out how to make it and found the results quite lacking. I ended up using the basic directions on the chia seed packaging I got from TheRawFoodWorld (chia and water only). Then I added sugar and lemon or lime to my liking. Here's a brief instructional video I made.

I tried adding the sugar and lemon/lime both before and after the chia seeds. I think it works a little better adding the chia seeds before the sugar and lemon/lime. I've tried both lemon juice and lime juice for flavoring, and I prefer lemon.

I eat the gel sometimes with breakfast, and I've been eating it from a gel flask during my long weekend trail runs for about 6-8 weeks or so. I'm not sure it's a perfect replacement for traditional energy gels (like Hammer gel), but it's a very good compliment. I've really enjoyed my homemade chia gel during my long runs. It's a lot easier on my stomach than Hammer gel.

The Most Adorable Fit I've Ever Seen

Last night was the neighborhood holiday party. We dressed Will up in the Santa outfit Uncle Brad gave him. Shortly thereafter he threw a little fit that, in that particular outfit, was rather adorable. I couldn't help but to preserve the moment.

Anyway the holiday party was a success. Will received a great deal of attention from the mostly-grandparent-aged crowd. We left just a couple of songs into the singalong so we could get Will home to bed, but we were there long enough for everyone to enjoy themselves.

The Strangest Marathon

I was moving along at an easy pace. The guy in front of me had just taken a downhill section of the trail very gingerly and nearly tip-toed across a creek crossing. I passed him on the uphill section on the other side of the creek and began to pull away. Then, out of nowhere, I hit the wall. Well, not exactly. I'm not talking about the glycogen depletion "wall" where my fuel reserves have run dry. This was something entirely different and unfamiliar to me. This small incline got my heart beating so fast I was gasping for air only to find I was physically unable to maintain my modest pace. My worst fears had come true. I stopped to walk up the hill. By the time I reached the top I was seriously contemplating dropping out of the marathon.

This was at mile four.

One week prior I was in great spirits, having wrapped up my long training runs and raced fairly well at the FOLEPI River Trail Classic. I showed up at work on Monday feeling as good as possible and left work that evening with a sore throat. My throat got worse through the night and was a full blown illness by Tuesday morning. I went to work (even though I clearly shouldn't have) only to discover my coworkers were already sick.

By Wednesday my throat started to get better, but the snot and sinus pain got worse. By Thursday evening I was finally starting to feel like I was getting over the sickness. I still wanted to race. I trained really hard for Tecumseh and I wasn't going to let the sniffles take that away from me.

Friday I travelled to the Nashville, IN area with fellow Buffalo Ken, Brian, and Jen. We stayed at the same paintball/cabin place as last year (though with far fewer people this time). Despite feeling back to normal that morning, by Friday night I felt terrible again. Ugh.

I awoke Saturday morning before the race feeling as fresh as a daisy. Whatever I had seemed to finally work its way out of my system. I thought. We drove to the race finish area, picked up our packets, and loaded up onto the buses to the starting line miles and miles away.

Last year I started way faster than I wanted to, but it was kind of necessary because of the congestion on the single track trail that started 2-3 miles into the race. I vowed to start off slower this year. I ran nice and easy the first mile only to look down when my GPS beeped to read 7:20. The exact same time as last year (and faster than my first mile at the Rockford Marathon where I ran my PR in May). That was the bad news. The good news was that I felt spectacular. Even though that pace felt super easy I made a conscious effort to slow down anyway. For the trail was not nearly as congested as it had been the previous year at this point. Despite the superior weather conditions (sunny rather than snow storm) everyone else was moving slower.

I hit the second mile at 7:29. So much for slowing down. It still felt really easy. I was barely exerting any effort. Still, I decided (once again) to consciously slow down. I hit the third mile in 7:23. Oh, come on. This was too easy. That would be the best I felt all day. We entered the single track trail through the woods, ran down a hill, over a creek, and started back up the other side when my world began to fall apart. This was not going to be my day.

After the first miserable uphill I walked I tried to shake it off and continue on like nothing had happened. I got back up to a comfortable pace on the flat sections of the course, but on the next uphill I found myself gasping for air and walking once again. If after four miles I wanted to quit, then after six miles I really wanted to quit. At this point I decided to stop racing. At the current rate I couldn't possibly have finished. Instead I slowed down (a lot) in the hope of just dragging myself to the finish line, regardless of time or place. Tecumseh was now a training run. Or so I told myself.

I ran super slow the next four miles, frequently stepping aside to let people pass me on the trail. At the 10.6 mile aid station Ken passed me. Prior to the race I was voted by the others the mostly likely to finish the fastest of our group, and as such I was entrusted with the only key to Ken's car. Here, 16 miles from the finish and still slowing down, I quickly whipped out the key from my back pocket and handed it to Ken, who kept it for the remainder of the race.

I ate a banana at this aid station and it actually started to bring me back to life. For the first time in many miles I didn't feel like I was about to die. Ken pulled quite some distance ahead as I walked up the next few hills. Once I got to the flat and downhill sections I just ran a comfortable pace and I actually caught back up with his pack. The thought entered my mind that I might actually be able to keep up with him until the end. Of course, the next uphill section would put that thought out of my mind and I fell behind again. But what goes up must come down and before I knew it we were together again (briefly) at the 15.8 mile aid station. We were running different races, but by not keeping up with him I had just kept up with him for five miles. We ascended once more, and once more I was alone.

Prior to this point I just felt bad for much of the race, but around miles 16-17 I actually started to get tired. I wasn't picking my feet up, and as a result I stumbled a few times. I almost went down around mile 17, though I was able (with great determination) to stay upright. But this came at the cost of both calves, both hamstrings, and my right hip cramping at the same time while I tried to catch myself. Shaken, I walked for a bit with my head hung low. After a couple minutes I heard someone yell at me from behind, "Hey, you missed the turn."

You have to pay attention.

I got back on the trail and started running, fighting cramping muscles. There was a big hill at mile 19, a moderate hill at mile 21, then it was mostly downhill to the finish. I got another banana in me and, again, it brought me partly back to life. I was able to pick up the pace a little and before I knew it I had caught up with and passed Ken... just in time to trip and go down. I remained on the ground long enough to work out the cramp in my calf. Then I was back up and moving quickly again.

I had to concentrate really hard through a short, beautiful section of pine forest where the tree roots stuck up really far from the trail. As much as I had been dragging my feet I thought for sure I was going to hit the deck again. I didn't.

My pace continued to increase. I wasn't running for a faster time. I was running to get to the finish faster so I could stop running sooner. People often joke about doing exactly this, but I'm completely serious here. I took a short break to walk up the final hill with less than a mile remaining then ran all the way through the finish. Heading into the chute I caught up with a young woman who heard me cough right behind her and took off that last few meters. I congratulated her on the fast finish after the race at which point she informed me she thought my cough sounded like a woman and she really wanted to keep her top 10 finishing place. Ha!

I finished in 4:20, my slowest marathon yet (by a mere two minutes). Last year, on the same course, in the snow storm, I ran 3:54. That was a really great race for me. I knew I didn't have the fitness for the same performance again this year, but (given the better conditions) I thought for sure I would be able to equal that time. No dice.

This was a very strange race for many reasons, perhaps the strangest I've ever run. I felt great, then crappy, then okay, the crappy, then just fine (and so on). I ran fast, then slow, then moderate, then slow, then fast (etc). I was freezing, then comfortable, then hot, then cold, then hot, then cold. I actually ran about 8 miles wearing a single glove because my left hand was cold but my right hand was not.

The really strange thing, though, is that none of these dichotomies coincided with each other. I ran fast while feeling good. I ran fast while feeling bad. I ran slow while feeling good. I ran slow while feeling bad. I was hot while running slow. I was cold while running fast. And every other permutation of the aforementioned states.

Anyway, I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of this race, but I did finish and I did learn some valuable lessons. Namely, you can't run as fast when you're sick as you can when you're healthy, AND trying to do so will make for a fairly unpleasant experience.

The End of November

Photo of the Day

Running

I ran farther in November than any other month this year, averaging over 10 miles per run. This is mostly due to my long weekend trail runs. I also had a pretty good race at FOLEPI.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.34 Mile	10	10.934 Mile
February	55.83 Mile	7	7.97571 Mile
March	108.792 Mile	10	10.8792 Mile
April	74.85 Mile	8	9.35625 Mile
May	64.5669 Mile	9	7.1741 Mile
June	7. Mile	1	7. Mile
July	0	0	0
August	16.3 Mile	5	3.26 Mile
September	39.78 Mile	7	5.68286 Mile
October	42.52 Mile	7	6.07429 Mile
November	112.5 Mile	11	10.2273 Mile
Total	637.258 Mile	76	8.38498 Mile

Cycling

The only thing worth noting about my cycling is just how out of shape I am on the bike. Just three long rides were enough to make me ponder how my cycling can suck so bad when I'm in such great shape for running...

November 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	61.2 Mile	16	3.825 Mile
El Fuego	20.78 Mile	1	20.78 Mile
Pocket Rocket	45.25 Mile	4	11.3125 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	91.97 Mile	2	45.985 Mile
Total	219.2 Mile	23	9.53043 Mile

January - November 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	595.35 Mile	135	4.41 Mile
Big Red	12.07 Mile	4	3.0175 Mile
El Fuego	75.2 Mile	8	9.4 Mile
Pocket Rocket	329.78 Mile	44	7.495 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1791.58 Mile	43	41.6647 Mile
Total	2803.98 Mile	234	11.9828 Mile

Walking

I supplemented my short marathon training schedule with many hours of walking, mostly to and from work, but also around the neighborhood with Will. I really think getting all these extra miles in my legs has helped tremendously.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	3.75 Mile	2	1.875 Mile
March	0	0	0
April	8.51 Mile	4	2.1275 Mile
May	6.7 Mile	4	1.675 Mile
June	11. Mile	3	3.66667 Mile
July	29.52 Mile	10	2.952 Mile
August	35.02 Mile	14	2.50143 Mile
September	29.82 Mile	12	2.485 Mile
October	19.42 Mile	9	2.15778 Mile
November	41.17 Mile	12	3.43083 Mile
Total	184.91 Mile	70	2.64157 Mile

The FOLEPI River Trail Classic

On Saturday morning I ran the FOLEPI River Trail Classic 4-mile race in East Peoria. This is a race that I had run once before (in 2003) and I liked it. This race is quite unique in that it is a point-to-point race which is almost entirely downhill (at railroad grade so it's not steep at all, just fast Fast FAST). Since we were in Peoria for Thanksgiving I decided to give it another shot.

As Melissa pointed out to me before the race, yes, I am running a marathon next weekend. I've done very little speed work this fall, instead focusing on long distance. Still, what's the worst that could happen?

Will and Rob pre-race

In my warm-up confusion I somehow caught the very last bus to leave the finish/registration area to head to the start. We arrived after the designated start time, though fortunately they waited. I hurried to the start line just in time to... stand around. After several minutes of waiting with little-to-no instructions a young woman (parade queen?) very softly said "Ready, set, go" at which point, I assume, the race started. I wasn't really sure. My GPS had turned off during the long wait, so it was just as caught off guard as I was. I eventually got it going about 50 seconds into the race.

Every race has a handful of people who want to start at the very front who really have no business starting at the very front, and this race was no exception. In fact there seemed to be a greater number than usual, as it took me quite a while to pick my way through. I thought this would do well to slow me down, but it didn't so much. The first mile was completely flat (the only flat part of the course) and I kept reeling in the fast starters. I crossed the 1-mile mark in 5:32. Hey, that's the fastest mile I've run in probably six years. And I still had nearly an entire 5K race left to go.

On the one hand I thought I was probably going too fast. On the other hand I knew the next three miles were all downhill. That would help, but would it be enough? Instead of easing back I pushed on. I reeled in a few more fast starters with a 5:38 second mile. I hadn't slowed down as much as I expected, but it took a lot out of me.

The third mile was much the same, slowing down a little bit to 5:43. As soon as I crossed the 3-mile mark a couple guys I passed earlier passed me back. Uh-oh. I was slowing down and the trail was starting to flatten out a bit. It was all I could do to not completely crack in the last mile. It wasn't pretty, but I eked out a 5:51 4th mile. There were a few more runners hot on my heels by the finish, but nobody else passed me.

So, I'm guessing my final time was somewhere in the ballpark of 22:44. Sure, it was mostly downhill, but still not bad for very little speed work. We left for Thanksgiving with my family right after the race ended, and the results haven't been posted yet, so I don't know my placing. Melissa and I both estimated somewhere around 15th place or so. In 2003 I ran 22:24 for 6th place, so the competition was much stronger this year. Anyway, I like this race for the sheer novelty of running three miles downhill, if nothing else.

Update: The results have been posted. I finished 15th overall (good estimate) and 2nd in the 30-34 age group.

The Super Secret Storage Room

When Melissa & I were looking for a house we were intrigued by the "bonus storage room" listed for the house we eventually bought. This is an unfinished room above the garage that happens to be quite large (24' x 8'). The terminology for this room has evolved from bonus storage room to extra bonus storage room to extra secret storage room to super secret storage room and all other permutations of these words. In fact, I'm not sure we've ever used the same name twice.

Anyway, it's a great room, in that we can store lots of stuff in there. Conversely, it's a horrible room that allows us to accumulate lots of stuff and cram it in there with no organization whatsoever. Hoping to allow for better organization I started building shelves in this room about nine months ago.

This morning I finished.

What, it's not like I haven't been busy.

Anyway, the shelves are 24' long and stretch all the way down one side of the room, and they include an 8' work bench.

The Thorn

If you don't have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain't getting them. -Born to Run

The Tecumseh Trail Marathon is coming up on December 5. Rather than the typical 16-week training program I would follow for a big road marathon, I adopted the less conventional 5-week crash course training program for this race.

I ran this race last year and it was incredibly difficult. The course is very hilly, with thousands of feet of ascents and even more of descents (it's a point to point course with a net loss in elevation).

I'm not terribly worried, for a few reasons.

I feel no pressure. This isn't like the 2001 Chicago Marathon or 2009 Illinois Marathon, where I worried about the race for months and choked on race day. This is more like the 2008 Tecumseh Marathon or 2009 Rockford Marathon where I didn't concern myself with place or time and just went for a run. Those were two of the best races of my life.

I feel better on the long runs than I ever have before. This is fairly surprising given that I took the summer off from running and ran only short distances in the early fall. By mid-October I decided to push myself and run 11 miles (the farthest I had run in 5 months) on the Allerton trails and I was sore for a week. Somehow things just magically came together.

Since the Allerton Trail Race I've alternated long runs at Lake Mingo and Forest Glen, running 14.2 at Mingo, then 16 at F.G., then 21.3 at Mingo, then 16 at F.G. These are 2-3.5 hour long runs on fairly challenging trails, yet the miles have passed so easily for me... easier than they ever have before.

Forest Glen 11 mile loop and 5 mile loop

Lake Mingo 7.1 mile loop

The past month or so I've been paying a lot more attention to my diet, eating a lot more higher quality, natural, unprocessed food--lots and lots of vegetables and fruits. My blood pressure has dropped noticeably, I've shed a couple of excess pounds, and I don't feel like crap after meals.

I've drawn a tremendous amount of inspiration from reading the book Born to Run. It's incredibly well written and covers everything from history and science to tips on form/training/nutrition/life, all while building up to the story of the "greatest race the world has never seen." I couldn't put the book down and when I finished I read it again. I haven't felt this hungry to be out on the trails since I was in high school.

The only thorn in my plans so far has been, literally, a thorn in my foot. 9 miles into my 21 mile run last weekend I stepped on a thorn, which isn't all that rare. This thorn, however, went all the way through my shoe and into my left foot. I felt the pain and immediately hopped on my right foot until I could slow down and stop. At first I thought it was just poking me so I gave it a tug and the thorn broke off flush with the bottom of my shoe. Then I tried to take my shoe off, but that required sliding my foot out, which I couldn't do because the thorn was still stick in both my foot and my shoe.

After about five minutes of trying to get a grip on the fraction of a millimeter of the thorn still sticking out I eventually just shoved a stick in my shoe (like a shoe horn) and pried my foot away from the shoe enough to get the thorn out and slide my shoe off. It was fairly unpleasant. With the shoe off though I was able to pull the thorn out of it and continue on down the trail. I didn't know whether I'd be able to walk, let alone run. It was tender for a couple hundred meters then I forgot all about it. I ended up running 12 more miles before calling it a day.

I thought my problems were all over, but after the 45 minute drive home I couldn't even walk on it my foot hurt so bad. I limped all day Monday and even stayed home from work on Tuesday. By Wednesday I could walk short distances, and by Thursday it felt just barely not-horrible-enough to walk to work. By Friday the pain was virtually gone.

Now that this scare is over I'm headed full steam ahead. It's still early to tell what's going to happen at Tecumseh, but I feel pretty good about it.

"Don't fight the trail," Caballo called back over his shoulder. "Take what it gives you." -Born to Run

The Gift of Brownies

Simpsons episode CABF14, Trilogy of Error:
Homer: Oooo! Can I have a brownie?
Marge: They're for after dinner.
Homer: Oooo! Can I have dinner?

I am a brownie fiend. You all know it. I was fortunate to receive a very unique gift for my birthday a couple weeks ago, a gift certificate to an online gourmet brownie store (Vermont Brownie Company). I ordered a box of their Signature Brownies and a box of Peanut Butter Brownies.

Oh. My. Goodness. Are they ever delicious.

The first couple I ate cold, directly from the fridge, and they were good. But then I started to microwave them for 25-30 seconds, which is so much better.

Anyway, I love the brownies. Thanks so much to Michelle, Mark, & Logan!

The Foliage

or as Marge Simpson would say, foilage.

The End of October

Photo of the Day

---

Running

My running finally appears to be getting back on track. I had a decent race at Allerton. It's only three days into November and I've already run half of my total October mileage. I might as well run another marathon, right? Don't worry, it's a trail marathon (Tecumseh, December 5th) so it won't beat me up as badly. At least, that's the theory under which I am presently working.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.34 Mile	10	10.934 Mile
February	55.83 Mile	7	7.97571 Mile
March	108.792 Mile	10	10.8792 Mile
April	74.85 Mile	8	9.35625 Mile
May	64.5669 Mile	9	7.1741 Mile
June	7. Mile	1	7. Mile
July	0	0	0
August	16.3 Mile	5	3.26 Mile
September	39.78 Mile	7	5.68286 Mile
October	42.52 Mile	7	6.07429 Mile
Total	540.568 Mile	66	8.19043 Mile

---

Cycling

Yikes! 10 months into 2009 and I still have less than half the mileage on the bike as I did in 2008. I need to get on the ball here.

On the bright side, I bought a new bike frame for racing in triathlons and time trials. It's titanium and it weighs three pounds. Now all I have to do is buy the remaining components, assemble the bike, sell my old Litespeed (which you'll notice does not even appear in the table below, meaning I haven't ridden it a single time this year). Oh, and train so I don't totally embarrass myself.

October 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	61.2 Mile	16	3.825 Mile
El Fuego	20.78 Mile	1	20.78 Mile
Pocket Rocket	45.25 Mile	4	11.3125 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	91.97 Mile	2	45.985 Mile
Total	219.2 Mile	23	9.53043 Mile

January - October 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	566.35 Mile	129	4.39031 Mile
Big Red	12.07 Mile	4	3.0175 Mile
El Fuego	75.2 Mile	8	9.4 Mile
Pocket Rocket	326.18 Mile	43	7.58558 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1730.17 Mile	41	42.1993 Mile
Total	2709.97 Mile	225	12.0443 Mile

---

Walking

Unfortunately, the cold weather has kept me from walking as much with Will as I did during the summer. I have started walking to work a couple times per week in order to get a few extra non-running miles into my legs before this trail marathon.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	3.75 Mile	2	1.875 Mile
March	0	0	0
April	8.51 Mile	4	2.1275 Mile
May	6.7 Mile	4	1.675 Mile
June	11. Mile	3	3.66667 Mile
July	29.52 Mile	10	2.952 Mile
August	35.02 Mile	14	2.50143 Mile
September	29.82 Mile	12	2.485 Mile
October	19.42 Mile	9	2.15778 Mile
Total	147.74 Mile	59	2.50407 Mile

The Tale of Two Trails

The Allerton Trail Race was this morning. As you may recall, I've been scouting the course the past two weekends.

On the 11th the course was flooded pretty badly in four places. Everywhere else the trail was muddy, but runnable. The water came right up to the edge of the trail.

On the 18th the water was a couple feet lower and there was no real flooding.

On the 25th (race day) the right height was, well, this chart speaks for itself.

The water was 3.5 feet higher than it was when there was serious flooding. Half the trail was literally under water. Fortunately, the race organizers changed the course to keep this a running race rather than a swimming race. The new course used some parts of the old trail, but added a few new parts that have never been used before.

Despite my best intentions of starting out easy, I started out fast. I quickly settled into 10th place before the end of the first mile. We crossed the big meadow where the finish line is located, but we were just getting started. The big rolling hills slowed me down, but they slowed everyone else down too. We ran back into the woods towards the minotaur before heading down a large set of stairs, only to immediately turn around and run right back up them.

A short distance later we hit water. This wasn't a crossing, it was knee deep standing water on the trail. For 200 meters. I leaped through it only to find the trail very uneven and root-covered under the water (where I couldn't see it). After a couple hundred meters the people in front of me finally decided it was better to run through moderately dense brush beside the trail than to brave the water any longer. I followed suit, as I'm sure did everyone behind.

With the frigid water behind my wet calves were now numb and I was running even slower. As we approached the Sun Singer I noticed the leader was heading back down the trail towards me, having already circumnavigated the Sun Singer. I thought this was peculiar because some of the race volunteers informed me that the new route included a half mile section of road... but the only road around was straight ahead (i.e. not the direction the leader was running). This meant one of two things, either my good friends gave me incorrect information, or the leader was off the course. Ugh.

As I reached the Sun Singer I witnessed a bit of chaos. A few people had run all the way around it and were now wondering where to go. The volunteers did not know. When I got half way around I noticed painted arrows on the road indicating a turn which none of the first 5-6 runners took. I was in a group of 4 who all made that turn.

Further chaos ensued about a half mile later when the 3 new leaders (who were not the original 3 leaders) continued down the road past another painted arrow on the road indicating a turn. Again, the group of 4 I was in made the turn. Suddenly I was in the lead pack. One of the runners from the lead pack (who had been off the course twice at this point) turned around and quickly caught up to us, while the others disappeared.

Here's a (time-accurate) comparison of my 2008 (red) vs. 2009 (blue) Allerton trail race. Something funky happened with my GPS in the last half mile of the 2009 race. I didn't cut the course, I swear!

I finished the race reasonably well. I almost caught up to the guy I had been chasing (10 meters behind) since the half mile mark. I barely edged out (by split second) a challenger from behind. I finished 5th place. I probably deserved 10th.

I have mixed feelings about the results. On the one hand, from the sportsmanship point of view, other racers deserved to finish ahead of me. On the other hand, trail racing is not like track or road racing. You really have to pay attention to the course markings. All of the turns the lead runners missed were marked. Granted, the course was new and nobody had run it before.

I won a hat for finishing 2nd in my age group. Fig seemed to like it.

The Five Stages of a Fit

The iPhone App

You may recall that I was slightly busy from shortly before Will was born until early October. Well, my big project was finally released yesterday. The Wolfram|Alpha iPhone application is now available in the iTunes app store.

The app has generated quite a lot of buzz over the past 24 hours, mostly because the price is significantly greater than the vast majority of iPhone applications. While I was intimately involved in the development of the application, I am completely in the dark about the business and marketing side of the product. On the bright side, most of the reviews speak relatively highly of the app itself, even though many are quite critical of the price.

Since I work primarily on Mathematica, I've been fairly uninvolved with the Wolfram|Alpha project prior to this iPhone app. I'm still not an expert on innards of Wolfram|Alpha but I do understand the big picture a little better than I did before.

If you've never used Wolfram|Alpha before, go ahead and give it a try on the website. It's kind of hard to describe what it does, simply because it's not like any other application you've ever used before. Despite certain visual similarities to web search engines like Google or Yahoo, Wolfram|Alpha is not a search engine. It doesn't find web pages that might be related to your query, it computes factual answers to your query (except when it doesn't).

Typically this means your query must be constructed in a slightly different way (perhaps using slightly different language) than you would use for a search engine. It's worth taking the time to experiment to see what works and what doesn't work. Perhaps my best description of Wolfram|Alpha is that it is a combination of a calculator and an encyclopedia.

The iPhone app features optimized input and output for the interesting and useful Wolfram|Alpha computation engine.

W|A knows all sorts of interesting facts. For instance, Robert was a more popular given name than William in the U.S. for most of the 20th century (though William recently overtook Robert... a sign of things to come?).

The app provides a number of ways to share the interesting results you find. Click the "share" button in the upper-right corner, or press and hold on a result.

The app also has numerous built-in examples to help you get started.

It also contains a complete history of all your queries.

Many of the computations have parameters that can be fine tuned for more precise results.

So there you have it. The app was a lot of fun to write, even if the release schedule was a bit hectic. The next version should be even better.