A quick last post of 2008. It’s been a great year and I’m convinced 2009 is even going to be better! For those already in 2009, Happy New Year! The rest of us: see you all on the flip side! Remember: be safe and don’t drink and drive…

Tomorrow I’ll be in the Bay area. First we are going to visit the acupuncture school in Oakland and see if it’s any good. Afterwards we’re invited by David to go to the Green Festivals in San Francisco.

A speaker at the Green Festivals is Chuck D. of Public Enemy, one of my teenage heroes but unfortunately he spoke today… too bad. I’m sure there are lots of other things to do and I’m looking forward to what Joey Shepp has to say about The Green Web: Advancing Sustainability on the Internet. Could be interesting.

I’ll have my camera ready and will have some pictures up by Sunday!

It took me 23 days to finally clock some miles after finishing the C25K. I though my muscle strain wasn’t that severe but it kept me from running for a straight 3 weeks. This morning I had a good feeling. Walking wasn’t a problem anymore the last couple days and when I was walking the dog I tried a few sprints in between. No problem.

So this morning I hit the track again along the creek and ran for a 5K. My first K was way too fast since I just got of the injury. I slowed my pace down to a 10’45″ /mi. I was amazed I actually could run a 5K! Haven’t run for 23 days and being a couch potato just 3 Months ago I was pretty happy with the result.

I finished the 5K in 32’27″ which was faster I was aiming for. Anything close to 35 minutes was my goal. Maybe a short run tomorrow?

Best Presidential Election 2008 FAQ so far…

Mircosoft is pulling the Seinfeld ads off the air. MS only aired two episodes and they were horrible! Valleywag:

Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about “phase two” of the ad campaign — a phase, due to be announced tomorrow, which will drop the aging comic altogether. Microsoft’s version of the story: Redmond had always planned to drop Seinfeld. The awkward reality: The ads only reminded us how out of touch with consumers Microsoft is — and that Bill Gates’s company has millions of dollars to waste on hiring a has-been funnyman to keep him company.

Update: In a phone call, Waggener Edstrom flack Frank Shaw confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings’ spin that the move was planned. There is the “potential to do other things” with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still “possible.” He adds: “People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.”

There ya go Microsoft, No soup for you!

Today Steve Jobs revealed the new iPod nano (8BG and 16GB) and a new version of iTunes. A new feature is ‘Genius’.

Say you’re listening to a song you really like and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. The Genius feature finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. It’s like having your own highly intelligent, personal DJ.

iTunes 8 is not yet available as a Software Update but you can download it directly from the Apple’s website.

I ended Week 7 of the C25K on a high note. So much better then the previous two runs. Although I had a fairly long walk of 3.11 miles friday night my legs were in good shape this morning. I got up at 6:30 and started my run at 7AM. Temperature was a ‘cool’ 68F (20C), nothing compared to the high 90′s I ran on day 1, 2 and the day 2 encore (see previous post).

I ran along the old familiar route of the Santa Rosa Creek, just outside my door. No need to drive my car first which is so much more convenient. The trail has some elevation but I consider it as a plus these days.

click to enlarge

Its only an elevation of 12.6 meters over a 2.5 mile course so not too bad. The above image is from runningmap.com, a website were you can create free custom maps with some pretty cool features. One of them is the elevation display. There are a ton of free mapping services on the web but I like the clean look of runningmap.com

I also changed my powersong on my Nike+: Guerilla Radio – Rage Against the Machine and it got me fired up in my last 5 minutes of the run! Check the stats in the right-column. I’m ready for week 8!

The infamous Day 3 of Week 5 is in the books! Fellow C25K runners know what this day means: jumping from an eight minute interval on day two to a 20 minute run on day three. I finished with flying colors! I still can’t believe I ran for 20 minutes straight! Especially after missing my target by 40 seconds on day 2. I guess it really motivated me to finish day 3.

When I arrived at the trail I noticed the amount of cars parked along the side of the road. My initial thought was that people in Santa Rosa are running en masse on Saturday morning but later I found out that there was an actual race later that morning. The trail was packed with runners!

At first I was a little bit intimidated by all the runners. Lean and toned bodies all over the place, running warm-up laps with a pace I only can dream of (for now). But I was on the track to run my own race! During my stretching a slightly overweight guy passed me and I noticed he had the same pace I normally would run. A perfect target! Once in my 5 minute warm-up I saw him 300 meters in front of me. Perfect!

My 20 minute run started and the first 2-3 minutes are the hardest for me. My legs already start feeling sore but within 5 minutes everything went into auto pilot. My pace was perfect, my breathing controlled and my focus on the guy in front of me was sharp.

Every now and then I would lose sight of him due to some curves in the trail but I was gaining ground on him. I was afraid of going to fast and I would pay a price at a later time in my run. But everything felt good! My heart rate was steady at 149 Bpm with no extreme fluctuations, even the uphill parts!

My podcast notified me the 15 minute mark and I was a few feet behind the guy! I was about to past him! He was huffing and puffing and I knew exactly what he was going through. A few weeks back I was doing the same thing! I showed no mercy and once past him I excellarated with 4 minutes or so to go.

I knew my last minute would all be uphill but because of the guy I felt like a million bucks. Slowly I ran up the hill with one minute to go. And there it was, a little chime in my podcast telling me the race was over. I finished my 20 minute run! I was smiling ear to ear.

I couldn’t have picked a better day for my W5D3 run. The morning fog was about to burn off with a temperature of 63F (17C) and cool breeze. The guy in front of me was a blessing as well. Also my virtual running mate Daisy ran her W5D3. She is running on different continent but we are on the same running schedule. Once again congratulations on finishing your W5D3!

Last but not least a WordPress plugin for the Nike+ sports kit. My stats are now automatically visible in the right column. Sweet… On to week 6!

I kinda gave up on the search for podsafe music. Sure, there are a bunch of websites with podsafe music but I simply don’t like the tunes. Last thing I need is being annoyed by the music on my iPod. The podcasts I’m creating are for personal use only… sorry. I wish I could share it with you all but knowing the RIAA is on a witch hunt I’m trying not to end up with a fine or jail time…

However! I still can provide you with links to some excellent (free) music! Most of them are house/techno related (which I love) so if you’re interested keep on reading.

This week two links. One of my old friends is getting big in the house scene. I use to live above the record shop he was working at and had a fair share of beer and french fries runs during the weekends. Break 3000, the dutch part of the german based Dirt Crew kept me jumping in the early 2000′s. He’s offering some free downloads from their gigs worldwide. Check out Dirt Crew’s download section. If you feel the need to support their music head over to beatport.com and purchase some of their awesome tracks!

Second link are ‘the end club recommends’ series. 10 free songs every month with some big names (Carl Craig etc.). Volume 5 just came out but I advise to download all 5 sessions. It’s worth it!

No doubt that music is a big motivator for me when running. I was thrilled to find some of my ‘lost’ mixes online. My hard drive crashed twice on me with the result of losing most of my music. Today I found a link with the DJ mixes most precious to me. It’s radio mix by dutch female DJ 100% Isis. She used to be big early 2000 and not sure how she’s doing right now. Most of my dutch friends are into the Dance and DJ scene and having Isis play at my friends house was a trip. Kinda like a private session since only 10 people were present.

The site has also all the Essential Mixes (1993 – 2000) from the UK. If you need to fill up your iPod or other mp3 player I strongly recommend lekkerlui.nl