Erik on Software

Rave Run: Ridges Road in Door County (Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin)

As explained in an earlier post, one habit that I picked up on the road as a consultant over the years is always inquiring about local running paths while visiting unfamiliar locales for the first time. And I find running a pleasurable way to explore new places. So in the spirit of a regular spread in Runner's World magazine called Rave Runs, I began a series of posts here to share interesting routes with other runners.

While visiting Door County again this year, I set aside some time retracing my running route to take some photos of landmarks and terrain for the posterity of other fellow runners. Centered around a favorite stay called Bailey's Harbor Yacht Club Resort on the self-proclaimed quiet side of the peninsula, this running route is worth sharing with others because of the natural beauty and varied view across just a few short miles that keeps my interest between extended legs of runner meditation and reflection.

While creating maps of this route to post here, I noticed that neither Google Maps or Yahoo! Local Maps is complete, even though the roads involved are not new, and in this case even the shoreline is slightly different. So to provide a complete map and as an exercise to demonstrate that electronic maps should always be used with some element of caution in conjunction with other media, even though I am a fan of Google Maps, below are results provided by these two sources. Since these maps are subject to change, I purposefully chose to create snapshots rather than embed on this page. Links are provided for those interested.

Yahoo! Local Maps

Google Maps

The focus here is shore-hugging Ridges Road (incorrectly labeled Ridges Drive on Yahoo! Local Maps), which starts at State Highway 57 on the west end of the route, and includes Lake Shore Drive, Harbor Lane, and Toft Point Road (curiously absent on Google Maps). If you are like most visitors to the area, you will approach Ridges Road from the south on State Highway 57 after driving through Bailey's Harbor. Ridges Road would be easily missed if it were not for a Rustic Road marker directing the driver to the east.

The savvy visitor to this blog might notice a difference in image quality between each of these photos. I took the liberty of using a couple past photos in my archive because as great as my Droid Pro phone might be, the camera that it provides is not my Canon Rebel XT DSLR.

The lower rangelight on the north side of Ridges Road is probably the most noticeable landmark welcoming you to the Ridges Sanctuary, the oldest private nature preserve in Wisconsin. The lower rangelight is connected to the upper rangelight via a boardwalk. A series of unpaved trails are linked by the boardwalk, but care must be taken when using them for running because they are narrow and hikers frequent these trails during daylight.

About midway between the beginning and end of Ridges Road, just before Bailey's Harbor Yacht Club Resort, is Toft Point Road. Although Ridges Sanctuary provides a welcome relief to the runner from the pavement, unlike those trails this light gravel road is closer to the crushed limestone to which I am personally accustomed to traversing on the Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trail. Unfortunately, during my recent late-July visit I only ran about half the length of this beautiful forested road due to the heavy mosquito population.

Returning to Ridges Road, and working your way east, you will come to the only fork in the road on this route. Referring back to the maps above, you can see that the two will merge to the east of Bailey's Harbor Yacht Club Resort, but if you choose the right leg you will be rewarded with the following views.

On your return back west, you can always take the other side back. During the early morning hours that I normally run, this area was frequented by fog, and was eerily quiet. But the deer that crossed the road in front of me one morning on this visit reminded me that I am not alone.

Rave Run: Buffalo Bayou (Houston, Texas)

While my travel as a consultant has been much more limited in recent years due to Midwest client focus, one habit that remains with me while traveling is always inquiring about local running paths when visiting unfamiliar locales for the first time. Some of the best exploring can be done while running, and I am starting this series of posts based on a regular spread in Runner's World magazine called Rave Runs.

This past weekend in Houston, Texas I noticed that the closest parks to the Magnolia Hotel were several blocks away, but had no idea what to expect. What I stumbled upon is a system of trails along the Buffalo Bayou waterway that will eventually provide 20 miles of running, walking, and biking. From the hotel, I made my way down Texas Avenue and worked my way to the west. For more information on the project, check out the Guide to Buffalo Bayou.

Bridges traverse the waterway in several places. The trails are hilly, but only minimally so and will be surmountable by the average runner. All along the section of the trails that I made my way is a lot to see, including the entire breadth of the Houston skyline, but most of my attention was focused on the landscape architecture, including the enourmous amount of groundcover planted all along the shore.

Unfortunately from the perspective of a runner, the trails are paved. Bikers will need to pay attention to the frequent turns and relatively high number of walkers. Houston has taken what could easily be an eyesore and turned into not only something beautiful, but practical. When I am down in Houston again, I will definitely plan to revisit these trails. This past Saturday, it was a bit of a shock to go to a humid climate with temperatures in the low-80s (°F) from temperatures in the high-20s (°F), so next time it will be great to traverse these trails during more optimal running weather.

Anima Sana In Corpore Sano: Part 2

In my last Google Analytics post, I mentioned that "I find it humorous that my entries on running are among the most popular", with my entry on last year's ASICS advertising campaign at the top of the list. I have been noticing the new ASICS advertising campaign in Runner's World magazine in recent issues, and thought it would be a good time to post on this topic again.

Although I mentioned in that earlier post that ASICS was my running shoe brand of choice for many years, I also mentioned in a follow-up post that it had lost favor with me due to recent evolution of the specific model I have been purchasing. Regardless of whether I am still running with this brand of shoe, their new advertising campaign, which furthers their "sound mind sound body" translation of "anima sana in corpore sano" by including the line "running releases more than just sweat", continues to lead the pack.

And just like last year, ASICS created an absolutely phenomenal television commercial called "Shedding" in conjunction with these magazine advertisements that you can find here. Anxiety, sadness, stress, and worry are still being shed by running, but I actually like the new campaign better because of the natural environment that surrounds each runner, unlike the laboratory feel of last year's campaign.

 

Treadmill Maintenance

While running on my Smooth Fitness 5.25 running treadmill in the early morning hours a week ago, the rear roller completely blew out. The Smooth Fitness 5.25 was replaced by the 5.45 and most recently the 5.65, so you may want to take note of this blog entry if you own or are considering purchase of any of these three treadmills.

It had been several months since I had regularly run on my treadmill, since I prefer the local Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trail that are literally only a couple blocks from my house, but now it is mid-Fall, and while afternoon temperatures might be great running weather, sub-freezing temperatures are not unlikely during the early morning hours before work when I am most likely to run.

The treadmill that I had remembered to be initially incredibly quiet had grown to be annoyingly loud in a brief period of time, so I ordered the Deluxe Treadmill Care Kit, which was only $5 more than the standard care kit (although as I soon found out, both kits are incredibly expensive at around $50 each). Following the instructions provided in the included "maintenance instruction guide" did not alleviate the loudness (there was no noticeable functional degradation).

Working through the guide, it became clear that it did not provide the same instructions as the treadmill user's manual, so I made sure to address all the points made in both documents. The initial confusion began when both documents indicated how seemingly easy the side rails can be removed from the treadmill for cleaning, with absolutely no instruction on how to perform the removal, so after some deliberation I chose the brute-force method of removal.

In other words, manually pulling the side rails from the body of the treadmill. And when I say brute-force, I am talking quite an enormous pull to remove each that left me thinking I had damaged the treadmill to a point where reattaching the side rails would not be possible, all for the purposes of cleaning and lubricating the walking belt (the surface on which one runs).

Amazingly, neither side rail broke. But cleaning and lubrication only barely lessened the noise after some test runs, even though the treadmill continued to function adequately. Interestingly enough, while both treadmill documents focused on certain aspects of treadmill maintenance, neither spoke to the root cause of the issue. After some additional test runs, the rear roller began to smoke. Nice dummy light.

For comparison, the following are shots of the original and new rollers, respectively:

The second photo of the new roller above is actually one of three rollers purchased immediately following the blow-out. Since the blow-out occurred early on a Sunday morning, and Smooth Fitness was not open, I took a look at the alternatives available for roller replacement, and happened across an eBay auction that offered a "Buy It Now" purchase option (that negates the need for an auction), and made the purchase (consisting of both front and rear rollers) for only about $40, quite a deal especially when considering the cost of the treadmill care kit.

This purchase was followed by another attempt to contact Smooth Fitness the following day (several calls were made that Sunday because the website listed hours for every day of the week), and surprisingly, I soon found when speaking with a customer service representative that my call was being made literally a day before the end of my three-year warranty! A rear roller was sent to me free of charge, which ended up being received the same day the eBay shipment was received (Friday that same week).

Unfortunately, there are no instructions on how to replace a roller. First, the end caps need to be removed (there are two, one at each end of the rear roller). This can be performed simply with a Phillips-head screwdriver:

After lifting out the original roller and installing the new roller, the tightness of the walking belt needs to be tuned with a hex key (Allen wrench). In this case, the treadmill manual provided some helpful guidance by indicating that the belt should be tightened just beyond the point where it slips while in operation, and that tightening should be performed in 1/4 turn increments. So after a dozen or so iterative tightenings and test runs, I was able to get to a point where tuning was complete.

The end caps can then be replaced. The side rails can be replaced before or after tuning. The photos above were taken retroactively for this blog post since I did not want to undo the work I had performed. The benefit you might get from waiting to replace the side rails is that the walking belt might slip during testing, and it is easier to get to the walking belt when the side rails are still off.

By the way, it became quickly apparent following my brute-force removal of the side rails that they can be removed extremely easily by sliding them off following removal of the end caps. None of the Smooth Fitness documentation says anything about how to remove side rails, and the instructions that are made available by the company seem to imply that they can be removed easily without performing any other steps (such as end cap removal in this case). My hope is that you read this blog post before causing any damage.

The end result of my roller replacement is that the entry level Smooth Fitness 5.25 that I purchased three years ago is operational and incredibly quiet once again. The new rear roller I installed was the used roller I acquired via eBay, so I additionally have the replacement provided by Smooth Fitness as a backup. The same strategy is recommended to other treadmill owners. What is often true for car warranties is apparently true for treadmill warranties: issues tend to arise as soon as accompanying warranties end. Would love to hear about similar experiences from other treadmill owners.

Copycat Advertising Campaign

First of all, some readers of my blog might be curious as to why the category tag cloud in the upper right hand corner of the page includes "running" as a category. Where does running fit within a blog entitled "Erik on Software"? I eluded to an answer within my first post in this category. The answer is simply that the mind is software, and the body is hardware. Personal interest in the human mind crosses over from my fascination with software designed and created by humans. (And interestingly enough, two of my three posts on running are now #1 and #6 as the most viewed by visitors here, something that I find humorous since the subtitle of this blog touts "musings on business and technology".)

Posting on this topic has been light, mainly because I am so much more intimately involved in the latter category of software in the workplace, although of course I interact with other human software systems every day. My two last posts on running were associated with the ASICS brand of running shoes. In the first post, I discussed my long-term ASICS brand loyalty and raved about this year's ASICS advertising campaign ("The Cleansing Power of Sport"), and in the second post, I discussed my (only recent) disillusionment with ASICS mainly because of the latest iteration of its Gel Nimbus line of running shoes.

The trail running I normally do each morning for work has taken a backseat to the treadmill recently due mainly to the long commute I currently take to and from work each day to my new client, and one of the new channels I typically bounce between while running (CNBC, CNN, and Fox) played an advertisement by UnitedHealthcare during a commercial brake this morning that I had not previously seen. And the advertisement, part of a new "Health in Numbers" campaign, showed a runner eerily reminiscent of the runners in this year's ASICS advertising campaign. Check out the print version of this ad:

And here, re-posted for your convenience from my first post, is a close-up of one of the ASICS advertisements from earlier this year:

While words - in this case, associated with sadness (the other three ads of the campaign are associated with anxiety, stress, and worry) - flow away from the ASICS runner as part of a seeming exorcism-through-run, numbers congregate around the UnitedHealthcare runner like an aura (the company claims that they "use information and numbers from across the health care system to help you access health care that is simpler and more responsive").

Perhaps these two campaigns were created by the same advertising agency. Let's see. The ASICS advertising campaign is apparently being run by Vitro Agency. The UnitedHealthcare advertising campaign is apparently being run by Ogilvy & Mather. Uh-oh. You might have read in my bio that I worked for a company which is now global marketing intelligence firm Synovate. As an individual with both advertising and marketing research experience from that company, the similarity between these two campaigns is too close for comfort. What do you think? Send me your thoughts.

Switching from ASICS to Brooks

After many years, I recently made the switch from the ASICS brand of running shoes to Brooks. Back in April of this year, I posted how loyal I have been to ASICS since my high school running coach recommended the brand to me, but unfortunately the Gel Nimbus model I have been purchasing has quickly evolved over the last couple years to a point where it no longer suits my needs.

One of the aspects of the Gel Nimbus 11 that ASICS touts as a benefit is the large toe box that has been incorporated into the shoe, but this is not something that agrees with my feet. I view the new offset lacing that the shoe provides as a benefit, but the traditional lacing never bothered me, and the large toe box outweighs this aspect of the shoe.

Of course, there is always the option of wearing thicker socks, but I moved away from Thorlos years ago after deciding that the Neutral Plus shoes I was purchasing had more than enough cushioning, and it makes no sense to purchase such expensive running shoes if one needs to rely on socks for a proper fit. Before I discuss my positive experience with Brooks over the last few weeks, let's take a look at some recent pairs of ASICS I've worn over the last few years: Gel Nimbus 6, Gel Nimbus 8, and Gel Nimbus 11.

ASICS Gel Nimbus 6

I still remember when the Gel Nimbus 6 was delivered to my place. The shoes seemed very flashy at the time. This aspect of the shoe is hard to tell now, because the shiny silver embellishments have long since worn out. I also did not much care for the large blue heel that boldly declared its possession of I.G.S. (Impact Guidance System) that ASICS describes as "linked componentry that enhances the foot’s natural gait from heel strike to toe-off".

However, the shoes grew on me rather quickly, and one of the reasons they are so worn out at this point is because I have been wearing them so frequently on weekends since I put them into retirement from running. I do not choose running shoes based on appearance, but it does not hurt if shoes are still viable for casual wear after their brief lifespan on the trail.

ASICS Gel Nimbus 8

The Gel Nimbus 6 and Gel Nimbus 8 are my all time favorite running shoes because of their fit and durability. I also like these two incarnations of the Gel Nimbus because they let me feel the trail when running. This aspect of these two shoes is comparable to a sports sedan that does not hide the feel of the road from the driver. Notice that the front portion of the side of the shoe shows quite a bit of wear. Enough wear that a hole is forming. And this shoe is obviously newer than the Gel Nimbus 6 depicted above.

While this is a form-fitting shoe, a benefit of the shoe that ASICS touted and I enjoyed, they wore much more quickly than the Gel Nimbus 6. Even though I tend to wear a pair of running shoes for the trail longer than is recommended, I was forced to stop running in these shoes much earlier than expected. And because of the color (this copper color happened to be the best choice in my opinion for the Gel Nimbus 8), they have no relevance off the trail.

ASICS Gel Nimbus 11

 

The Gel Nimbus 11 is a great looking shoe. And when these shoes were delivered, I remember being pleasantly surprised by the offset lacing, which was a bit awkward at first but ended up being one of the few benefits of the shoe beyond appearance, which I mentioned earlier is not a reason I ever purchase a particular running shoe.

The increased amount of Gel in the heel is obvious in comparison to the Gel Nimbus 6 and Gel Nimbus 8. However, the increased amount of Gel significantly raised the level of cushion awareness, and unlike the Gel Nimbus 8 the sports sedan is no longer present. The extremely large toe box is extremely annoying, to the point that I need to tie my laces extremely tight to avoid movement in the toe while running.

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that I purchase Neutral Plus shoes. In case you are not familiar with running shoe categories, take a look at this guide. The Neutral Plus category is designed for men who have high arches, and are 180+ lbs in weight or run over 25 miles per week. The problem with the Neutral Plus category is that it is one of the smallest categories in terms of available running shoes from all the available brands.

There are no brands in this category that I consider serious running brands outside of ASICS, Mizuno, Saucony, and New Balance. However, New Balance shoes have a reputation for being clodhoppers. And Saucony is, well, Saucony. So when it was time to purchase a new pair of running shoes a few weeks ago, I opted to try out Mizuno WAVE Creation 11.

Immediately on opening the box after delivery I was fairly certain that the WAVE Creation 11 would not be the right shoe for me because of the humongous toe box that is even larger than the toe box of the Gel Nimbus 11. Trying the shoes on and walking in them a few minutes quickly killed any probability that I might adopt them. What other shoes are left? It was time to consider the Neutral running shoe category.

Unfortunately, this shoe category has been overrun with shoes that do not suit my needs, beginning with the fact that this shoe category is technically intended for men who have high arches, but who also weigh less than 180 lbs and run less than 25 miles per week. But I happened to come across the newly redesigned Brooks Glycerin that seemed to straddle the Neutral Plus and Neutral categories, so I thought I would try it out.

Brooks Glycerin 8

On first checking out the Glycerin 8 online, it seemed to be a long-shot pick. Compared even to the Gel Nimbus 11, the shoe immediately looks bulkier. Dare I say clodhopper? And customer reviews of the shoe are all over the map, unlike the Gel Nimbus line of shoes which gets fairly consistent positive reviews. People seem to love or hate this shoe. The biggest complaints seem to be that the shoe does not have enough cushion, and that the shoe is too heavy.

On unpacking the shoe after delivery, it did seem that the shoe was slightly heavier than the Gel Nimbus 11, but the weight is just barely past the JND for that aspect of the shoe. The shoe also did not appear to be as clunky as that depicted online in all the reviews and shoe retailer websites. My amateur photograph above is arguably better than many of the other photos I have seen, which just do not do the shoe justice, although I do admit that, like the Gel Nimbus 6, I was not particularly fond of all its embellishments.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier in this post I do not purchase shoes solely because of their appearance. After a couple days of contemplation as to whether I should hit the trail with the Glycerin 8, it was time to try them out, so I set out on one of my shorter routes that combine time on both the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail. I could already sense the difference between the Gel Nimbus 11 and the Glycerin 8 during the first mile of my first test run. The fit was much better, I could feel the trail again, and after running the first several miles I noticed that I was using less energy to run than with the Gel Nimbus 11.

The additional "bounce" that positive reviewers of the Gel Nimbus 11 often seem to rave about in my opinion is not a benefit at all. Since running is good for one's knees (I still recall the Runner's World article from a couple years ago that supports this conclusion), and the supposed additional bounce actually causes more energy to be consumed, perhaps the Glycerin 8 is the way to go. After several weeks running with the new Glycerin 8, my affair with the ASICS Gel Nimbus line of shoes has ended. For now.

It is important to realize that shoe categorizations such as Neutral and Neutral Plus can only serve as rough guidelines for fit. There are so many variations within each category across all of the brands and models. And weight categories that use an artificial threshold of 180 lbs can be misleading, especially since there is no upper limit in the 180+ lbs category, and there are many runners such as myself who are on the border line in weight.

As for the 25 miles per week threshold, I will have to wait and see, because I run significantly more than 25 miles per week. I will plan to provide an update later this year on my further experiences with the Brooks Glycerin 8, but I would love to hear from other runners in the meantime on their shoe choice experiences.

Anima Sana In Corpore Sano: Part 1

The ASICS brand has been my choice for running shoes ever since my high school running coach recommended it to me. I had started running competitively in third grade, and had not exhibited loyalty toward any brand until experiencing ASICS. At the time of my switch to ASICS, I had been wearing Nike, during which time I had developed a microfracture in one of my feet. Quite some time has past since high school, and no other injuries have arisen since (and I continue to run every morning on a daily basis, even though I have not run competitively since high school).

The current advertising campaign for ASICS is absolutely superb, touting the English translation of the Latin phrase for which the ASICS acronym originated, "anima sana in corpore sano", as "sound mind sound body". The four separate magazine advertisements show male and female runners running off anxiety, sadness, stress, and worry (and I find it interesting that the two males are touching the ground while the females are not). Running has always proven to significantly reduce stress for me, and is one of the reasons why I continue to run despite the competition that so many other runners seem to require in order to keep up the habit.

In addition to these magazine advertisements, ASICS created an accompanying television commercial that is absolutely phenomenal.

Note: a follow-up post on the subsequent ASICS advertising campaign was submitted on January 30, 2011: Anima Sana In Corpore Sano: Part 2.

I'm a Runner

Some visitors here might be interested in knowing how my habitual daily running is related to "business, technology, and philosophy", because, after all, it should be rather clear by now that I have no interest in creating anything that resembles a stereotypical social networking page. The title of today's post originates from the back page "I'm a Runner" feature in Runner's World that has captured my interest ever since the magazine's relatively recent makeover (and with which I was not initially pleased).

Because I started running at an early age (starting with my school involvement from third grade through high school, and continuing with my noncompetitive years following that time period), running has been important throughout much of my life, and it has helped enable some perspectives that I would not otherwise been able to acquire (more on this in future posts), so "philosophy" is not limited to the classic love-of-wisdom definition, but way-of-life in the sense that life in general is a race for me.

The October, 2009 issue of Runner's World interviews Poet Laureate Kay Ryan. In some sense, several of the runners featured in the "I'm a Runner" series share this philosophy to some degree, but none have expressed this so explicitly until now. My favorite remark by Ryan here, in response to the question "What are your goals in running?" is as follows:

My only ambition is to continue running-forever. It's worked out so far. I've known too many people who are so intense with their running or other things that they burn out and never do it again. I want to avoid that. I want running to always bring me pleasure.

Interestingly enough, Sir James Dyson, inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner (sorry Dyson, I have an Oreck), in the September, 2009 entry for this Runner's World series, responds as follows to the question "Do you ever get ideas for new inventions while running?":

It's very difficult not to think about work, but I don't think I have ideas in that sense. Running focuses my mind and allows me to think around a subject. I still need a workshop to make discoveries, but I might think of a new avenue to explore on a run.

As a consultant, I can completely relate to Dyson. There are two mental activities in which I engage while running: meditation and problem solving. I have been asked on a number of occasions throughout my life why I run, somewhat reminiscent of the movie Run, Fat Boy, Run, in which the main character is asked this question repeatedly as he runs to lose weight, but while physical fitness is obviously a benefit, running means mental fitness for me. For example, I have solved some rather tough logic (including programming) problems for clients during long runs.