I went with two bottles of spray and roll-on from Amazon

Posted: August 24, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: shameless plug | Tags: | Leave a comment »

[Shameless Amazon affiliate product linking to support my Biofreeze habit]

The spray version seems to have the highest concentration, although the roll-on works the best for no mess application, and the plain gel for best coverage.  I would recommend against getting the large bottles of the gel because it loses its effectiveness too quickly and the pump doesn’t do a good job of dispensing.  Use the smaller squeeze bottles if you go for the original gel form.

Message rules to filter automated messages and subscriptions

Posted: August 18, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Office | Tags: , | Leave a comment »

My word/phrase list:

  • unsubscribe
  • to stop receiving
  • subscription preferences
  • as a web page
  • this message has been sent to
  • like to opt out
  • online privacy policy
  • do not want to receive
  • you no longer wish
  • prefer not to receive
  • to opt out
  • this email was sent to

Advice:

The space allowed for rules is VERY limited. You can have roughly 40 rules active at a time [sometimes far fewer]. It’s best to lump all the sorting of one specific type into the same rule, because the search terms do not seem to take up as much space as the rules themselves do.

While you can right-click and “Create Rule…” on every message type you want to filter, you will run out of rules space very quickly. Maybe in minutes.

Step-by-step:

I worked through some rules that helped greatly reduce the amount of newsletters, etc., that show up in my in my main inbox.

I started by creating a new rule [Tools->Rules and Alerts->New Rule…]

I started from a blank rule…

Select a blank rule

Next, I needed to match messages “with specific words in the subject or body”. [Really just the message body]

Look for messages with specific words in the subject or body

Click on the “specific words” text to bring up a pop-up where you can specify the words.

Pop-up to specify search text

Type words in an click “add” until you’ve added all the phrases to search for:

Finished search list

Next, check “move it to the specified folder” and click the word “specified” in the bottom part to tell Outlook where to send the messages.

Move to specified folder

Optionally, you can specify exceptions [such as internal e-mails].

Exceptions step

Be sure to check the rule’s checkbox in the “Rules and Alerts” window to enable it.

If you want to run your newly created rule on existing messages, click [Apply] then [Run Rules Now…] and check the rule to run.

5k PR streak ends – Komen Race for the Cure Kansas City Race Report

Posted: August 9, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: race report | Tags: , , | Leave a comment »

My training has been higher mileage–up to 83 miles in a week the week before last–and geared toward the Chicago Marathon on 10-10-2010.

This past week, I ran 30 miles in three days and then took off for vacation in Kansas City.  I had signed up as a timed runner for the Komen Race for the Cure in Kansas City.  I was concerned with the number of participants being a problem for a good run–planned 28000–but I ended up not having to fight through a crowd or do much weaving the entire race–usually a problem for even the medium-sized 5Ks at the start.

The results:

My streak of 5k PRs is broken after 8 consecutive PRs.

21:02.42 [+:36 to my PR], 6:47/mile, 5/116 in my age group, 71/1869 out of timed participants.

The good:

  • Ample parking was available within a block or so of the 5k start.
  • After the finish line of the race were booths of large marathon expo quantity, except that the vendors at the booths were primarily interested in targeting “people” instead of just “runners”. It was nice to see a little variety in the products and giveaways being offered–I have enough marathon brochures.
  • Starbucks had coffee, iced tea, and VIA instant coffee samples.
  • If you were a timed runner, getting goodies and leaving the parking area traffic free was painless.
  • The separation of “timed” runners, and untimed 5k participants and 1 mile participants prevented the 28000 participant from creating a crowd for any runner targeting a specific time.  In fact, the pace areas from 5-9 all compressed due to the thinness of the crowd in that area.

The bad:

One complaint: Nothing resembling a restroom was available within 2 blocks of the start line.  There were ample porta-pottys at the finish, which was at least 3 blocks away.  A handful of Assurant Health employees managed to use the restroom in their own building, along with many many non-employees slipping through the unlocked doors.  I had mild cramping as a result, and was tempted to use an office building as a tree.  [No, I didn’t.]
The course:

The course is your typical run-a-5k-downtown course.  However, they somehow managed to add the extra component of hills (that’s about 3% average incline the whole time):

Kansas City Race for the Cure 5k course and elevation

Compare this to my 20:52 5k time in similar weather last year, which about half the elevation change:

Gaslight 5k course and elevation

The report:

I had a clear view of the starting line when I lined up in between the 6 and 7 minute pace markers. Just before the gun went off, the first 4 minutes of pace areas compressed toward the start line and I crossed the line at about 2 seconds after the gun.

My first 1k was strong, despite running mostly uphill. By the 2nd kilometer, I really started feeling the burn of running uphill. The first long downhill was welcomed, but didn’t last through the 3rd kilometer prior to heading uphill again.

At this point, I was feeling wobbly legs and started overheating a little bit.  In the 4th kilometer there was a false top with a quick descent prior to climbing one last hill.  That all but broke me.

I received limited benefit from the long downhill in the 5th kilometer, and barely broke a 7-minute pace. Toward the finish line, there was small hill.  I practically jogged it, as the 0.05 mile after the 5th km lap triggered on my Garmin indicates.

That was the hottest run that I’ve experienced in which I didn’t purposely seek out hot weather.

1 – km paces:

  • 6:14
  • 6:40
  • 6:30
  • 7:04
  • 6:54
  • leftover (about 0.05 mi)- 8:06