Marie Hickey Hiking

The Hiking Hardbargers

Earlier last week, Jennifer had to be somewhere and I had the girls for the evening. I was actually very excited about this because the usual schedule includes: them getting off the bus, doing their homework, playing with each other for a while, dinner, then bed. This day I was anxious for them to get off the bus so we could go outside and get some fresh air.

Daizi and I got ready so that when they got off the bus, we'd all have a quick snack, then hit the trails. They walked in the door and I told them about my plans. Lizzie jumps for joy when she hears the news, but Jazzy whines and says she doesn't want to. I told here that's exactly why we're doing it. :) The weather was perfect, and everybody was pretty groggy. I know that getting out into the woods always wakes me up and puts me in a better mood.

We arrived at Marie Hickey and headed down the east side of the parking lot. After about 10 minutes everybody was giggling and running around the trails. They all took turns holding my hand and it turned out to be a perfect evening. Not only did the evening turn out to be fun, but the time flew and before we knew it, Mommy was back home.

Here are some random pictures taken on our hike:

"Daddy, my legs hurt..." says Daizi.

This is one of the girls favorite spots on the trail...

Daizi found some berries...

Hiking along an incline about 3/4 mile into the trail...

Daizi runs across a bridge.

Hiking down a service road (1.5 miles)

We're all smiles now!!

Almost back to the car...

I'm raising future Trail Hackers.

Happy Birthday Daizi

Today our youngest baby, Daizianna, turns 4 years old.



She's growing too damn fast, and I just want to hit the pause button sometimes. We had a big "Beethoven Themed" birthday party here yesterday and she was the main focus. She got lots of Barbie's and dog-themed toys. It was so cute to see her so happy around her sisters and cousins.

Daizi - One day you might find Daddy's blog and I will want you to know that Mommy and Daddy love you very much! :)

Oh and Happy Birthday to you too, Mom. Thanks for... well, life. :P

2010 Indian Run 60K

Yesterday was the Hocking Hills Indian Run 60K Trail Race. I had a great experience and left everything out on the course. The weather was perfect, the park was bumpin with friendly campers, and the hills were plenty. I decided to wear my VFF's for this run. They held up great, and I didn't get torn down like I did @ Mohican last spring. I'd trained all summer in them and my body has adapted to them. I thought this would be a good time to validate all that training in them and see if they're a good option for me as a distance runner for future trail races. (cliche?) :) They are, I actually finished this race an hour and a few minutes faster than my 50k race only 5 months ago. I will continue to wear them on my training runs and future races.

Friday Night

The night before, I arrived around 7 or 7:30 and hung with my best bud, Tyler and his family. They were EXTREMELY hospitable and hooked me up with a huge dinner, pillows, blankets, and great conversation. We sat around the fire and feasted while laughing and enjoying each others company. Around 10pm, Tyler and I went into the camper and called it a night, as we had an early morning ahead of us. As it turned out, Tyler had a rough night's sleep and didn't get much sleep. So much so that he had to cancel his start of the 20k. I felt very bad for him, because he had talked about this race for a long time and he and Liz (his girlfriend) had been training for it all summer. :( Next year guys!! Next year...

Saturday Morning

My phone alarm went off at 5:45 am sharp and I drove to the visitor center to get checked in. I (literally) got the closest parking spot to the starting line. I did my stretching and configured my trunk to be my own personal aid station as I came through on each loop. Jennifer had packed me a killer lunch with ham sandwiches, gatorades, grapes, power bars, banana's, all of which was buried in a stack of ice blocks. It was awesome and kept me strong the entire race. Thanks babe!! :) I got my race number and t-shirt, then stood around and talked to some of my running buddies that came to the race.

One of the first faces that I saw was good ol' Mike Allen. This was the guy that helped me finish my first ultra marathon here 2 years ago. He remembered me and we caught up for a little bit. He told me that he shared the story of that day with many of his friends, and that it was a great honor for him to do that with me. I agreed and told him the same. It was great to catch up with him again. I swear this man doesn't age, he's just as young as I am; yet he claims he's 61 yrs old. !? :) Great seeing you again Mike!

First Loop

The race started promptly at 7:14 am. :) The ranger stated that this was the record year for the 60k turn out. This race is getting bigger every year, and I think it's great. We all did a big cheer then shuffled off into the dewey morning fog. The sun was rising and it was simply a beautiful morning to be at Hocking Hills. The first section of the loop is mostly road. All of us runners spread out pretty good along here and it was neat seeing so many runners on the road as you came to the top of a big hill. I was able to keep a pretty nice pace down RT 664 and felt real good. I had forgotten how huge the downhill was at the end of the road section though.

As I got to the bottom of the last (huge) downhill, I turned left up Steel Hill. This is a hill that goes strait up for about 1/2 mile to Chapel Ridge Road. It wasn't as bad as I remembered it, but it was still pretty big compared to other hill climbs on this course. Perhaps I just wasn't as intimidated by it this year and I approached it more confidently. I got to the top of the climb in a decent jog and kept on trucking past the water stop; my water bottles were both 3/4 full.

From Steel Hill, we winded down the road for about a mile to a service road that leads us down through across some rolling hilltops with open views of the hocking hills. This is one of my favorite sections on this course. It was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS this morning. All of the runners had spread out by this point and I found myself running alone with these panoramic landscape of the Hocking Hills. K, here goes: The dewey leaves of the rolling tree tops had a nice light fog that gracefully tucked into the valleys of these sunlit rolling hill-tops known as the Hocking Hills... What d'ya think? :) Just know that it was awfully pretty, ok? I was kicking myself for leaving the camera in the car.

Once I got out of my Shakespeare moment, I found myself in the woods running down a wide service road. I had two runners creep up on my stellar pace, Chris and Matt. They immediately started asking me questions about my shoes; most of which I didn't have the answers to: How much do they weigh? How many miles do you have in them? How long do they last? I just kept saying, "Good question" :P We talked about lots of different things and they stated that they were marathon runners. This was their first trail ultra. They have both been training for the Columbus Marathon next month and they decided to run this as a training run. They were working to PR at Columbus this year. These guys looked like some pretty strong runners, and I'm sure they're gonna kick butt next month. They took off ahead of me and I stayed back to settle back into my delicate pounces through the randomly scattered gravel rocks.

I came out to the next road section and felt real strong. The sun was out, the cars were driving by and it turned out to be a beautiful morning.

By the time I had gotten to Rose Lake, the 10k runners were starting to merge into the mix. I a nice steady jog through this section and kept my eye out for "toe crushers" (ie. roots). On my ascent out of Rose Lake, the course came onto the campground section. I was going to be passing right by Tyler's family camp site where I stayed last night. On my way through I yelled hello to all of them. They cheered me on and I kept on running. I'd be seeing them two more times today, so I didn't feel so bad not sticking around and talking with them this first time. It looked like they were just waking up anyway...

From the campground, we headed up the main road to back to the starting line (and my car). I forgot how long this road section actually was. It's a little over a mile and it's all uphill. Granted it's a gradual uphill, but it is uphill.

When I got to the car, I scarfed down two ham sandwich halves, some grapes, and I chugged a gatorade. I found enough time to snap this cool pic. --->

There were tons of runners standing around waiting on the bus to take them to the 10k and 5k starting line. I got a lot of stares at my shoes and some people asked questions about them. I think some of them were seeing them for the first time, and I felt like I looked eccentric... I'm not, really! I'm normal and love kittens. :)

A small group of guys said "Yeah, Mr. Five Finger!", I just raised my water bottles and said "Woo hoo!". :) Then took off running again feeling the stares.

Second Loop

On my second loop, I was chugging a long and a runner came up behind me and asked me if I was running the 60k. I said yes, how about you? He said he was running the 20k and I congratulated him. He then asked me how my feet were doing. I told them they were doing just fine, and then he went on to tell me that he reads my blog! I got very excited and thanked him for introducing himself to me. That put a smile on my face for a while, for I mainly post my blogs without thinking of other people reading them besides my family and friends. So "dude", :) if you're reading this post, feel free to comment anytime. It was nice meeting you!

The second loop was pretty uneventful. I ran into Matt and Chris again and we talked for a while up Steel Hill. At the top, they pushed on again and I settled back into my trot. I had a pretty good pace going (in my terms) and I didn't walk much at all the second loop, except on the crazy uphills. I tried to jog up the gradual uphills and leap up some of the smaller climbs. The course was mixed with a lot more runners by this point, as the 20k and the 40k were all in the race now. You could tell who was who for the most part. Many of them traded encouraging words, and I would always return them.

Toward the campground area, I ran into Mike Allen and we ran beside each other for a while through here. We played leap frog a few times. The first time was when I stopped into visit with Tyler's family's camp site. By this point, the entire crew was there. We chatted for a little bit and they gave me some Funyuns to send me on my way. Thanks guys. :)

After visiting with them I caught back up with Mike and we climbed up the road section together and into the checkpoint. We paused at the snack table and had some random snacks to refuel on: apple slices, pretzels, and banana halves. I got to see my Italian twin brother Luca:

I had a ham sandwich chunk in my mouth during the photo. "It's not a too-mah!"

Luca is this cool guy that runs with a lot of the same people I've run with. He and I met on a training run with Nick and his buddy, Bret last year. We cross paths every now and then, but haven't ran together since that first time we met. I would enjoy running with you again soon, Luca! Let's make it happen. :)

Third (and Final) Loop

Mike and I grabbed a frosty gatorade from my trunk and we headed back up the climb to RT 664. On our way up the climb, Mike went ahead of me and I wouldn't see him again for the rest of the race. As we wove through the hills along RT 664, I saw him getting further and further from me as I crested each hilltop. He would have a great run and I'm sure he finished strong. Great job, Mike!

This third loop was a little more difficult than the first two loops (duh, right?). My feet were pretty swollen by this point and my calves were pretty tight. I found myself walking on the crazy downhills along 664. I walked all the way up steel hill, and actually sat down at the top of Steel Hill for the first time to gather myself and give my legs a quick break. I sat there for maybe a full minute and talked to the aid station crew. They were very friendly and I was grateful for their hospitality and conversation, it helped.

I stood up and decided to trot. I tried not to walk, and only walked when I absolutely had to. This third loop was just as peaceful as the first loop. Most of the 20k runners and 40k runners had either finished, or was keeping the same pace somewhere else on the loop. I found myself running along through a lot of this loop, and I really liked it. I just let my mind wander and enjoyed the great run. I did meet a few other runners on this final loop and it was great to talk with them and hear their stories.

I didn't sit again until I got back around to Tyler's family's campsite (sounds weird?). Here I actually sat for a minute or two and they fed me a warm juicy hot dog, right off the fire. Yum!! Michelle (Tyler's wonderful Mom) filled my water bottles with ice, and it really helped! Thanks Michelle!! I left their campground with two freezing cold maracas that kept me hydrated for my final 3 mile stretch.

From the campground, I made it to the final stretch of road up to the finish line. I did quite a bit of walking here. My feet were throbbing, but I found that when I was in a shuffle/jog the pain went away. Either that or it hurt worse, and actually numbed my feet... I'm leaning toward the latter. As I made my final ascent, I got to see a lot of the other runners leaving and many of them honked and cheered for me. I just love the love. :)

The Finish Line

I finished my race with a time of:

8 hours, 33 minutes, and 1 second

There were no fireworks, no announcers, no media, no trumpets, and no elephants. It was just me and very nice lady that gave me my medal. The medal for this race is worth the $25 entry fee alone. The local elementary school kids make medals for the racers, and I have a nice little collection of them in my basement now. I can't wait to get my finishers medal next year.

In conclusion, the training has worked. I'm very happy with todays run. It was 3 minutes slower than my first time out here, 2 years ago. However, it was over an hour faster than my 50k time earlier this year. The most rewarding to me is that I ran it pert-near barefoot. I'm also very happy with the way I feel after the race. My feet hurt, and my calves are pretty sore, but other than that it's just the normal "post ultra" pains.

Next weekend, I'm going to RunWoodstock up in the great state of Michigan with my good buddy, Farley. We're running the Hippie 1/2 Marathon and the Tripin 10k (night run). This is going to be Farley's first 1/2 Marathon and I was able to talk him into a 10k too. I have that effect on people, just ask Dan. :) I have a feeling Farley's gonna crush 'em both this weekend! Can't wait, Bro!!

My Mohican Marathon

Today I ran my longest training run of the year. I ran my very own private marathon at Mohican State Park. This was my last (and longest) training run before the 2010 Indian Run 60k, in 2 weeks.

The night before, I headed to Newark and called my buddy Dan to see if he wanted to join me on a night run. He was in town for the weekend so we met up and ran 7.5 miles around the west end of Newark with our headlamps. I wore my VFF's even though my feet were still pretty bruised from last weekends run @ Mohican.

This morning, I woke up around 5am and got everything ready to head up to Mohican. Due to my bruised feet, and painful stroll around Newark last night, I decided to run in my Brooks Cascadia 5 shoes today. I've only wore them 2 or 3 times this summer, so they still kind of have the new smell. I used my CamelBak since I was going to be running solo and didn't feel like dropping water at various locations.

The plan was to park at the covered bridge and keep a gallon of water in my car for refills as I came back through off of each loop. I made it to Mohican State Park around 7am and found that the covered bridge was still under construction. This forced me to drive around the construction to the back side of the bridge and drop a gallon of water. Due to the construction, I decided to focus all of my running on the Orange loop. This little "water drop" detour took me about 30 minutes.

I made it back to the campground A parking lot and started running towards the covered bridge. This was a 4 mile run along the river. It was very early in the morning and the river had a nice fog hovering over it. It was very relaxing! When I made it to the covered bridge, I didn't fill up my CamelBak, because I hardly used any water after only 4 miles. I simply turned around and headed back to the campground A parking lot for a total of 8 miles.

When I got back to the car, I packed a bunch of nutrition bars for my 15 mile loop around the orange loop. I headed up the switchbacks along RT 3, and took a relaxing stroll through the woods. I came upon a few mountain bikers and hikers along here, and nothing too adventurous happened. I just let my mind wander from thought to thought as I shuffled over the roots and rocks.

I made it to Hickory Ridge and kept on moving. I didn't even stop to get some fuel or anything, I just strolled right on through. Somewhere after here, I turned on my iPod and listened to some music. It helped me to pick up the pace a little bit. It's amazing how music can take your mind off of the mundane "left, right, left, right". I had a few startling moments as bikers would come up behind me and yell right before they got to me. I think I yelled at one dude (politely of course) about it. It would be much better if you yell when you see me up the trail rather than waiting until you get 4 feet behind me and say "COMING THROUGH".

Towards the end of the Orange loop I ran into a Mohican runner named Ron, but I forget his last name. I'd seen him at various races here at Mohican, and we were both wearing our "Forget The PR 50K" shirts. We looked like twins. :) We traded greetings and kept on moving; he was going the opposite direction anyway. I made my way down the backside of the Orange loop to my gallon jug of water and filled up my CamelBak. It was pretty low by this point and the warm, crisp water tasted great actually. I decided to crush the gallon jug and stick it in my backpack so that I didn't have to drive all the way back around just to pick it up.

Now it was on to run along the river one last time. I'm sure the campers thought I was crazy, as I saw most of them early in the morning as they were creeping out of there tents, and here I was still running around by myself in the mid-day heat. The good thing about running this river section 3 times today is that it's no longer a sore spot for me to run along the river. I used to always dread this section because it's so technical and slow at spots and the North Rim Trail is a killer. It's no longer a bad section for me and I forced myself to appreciate it today. :)

When I got back to the car, I chugged some gatorade, ate some of my packed lunch (PB & J, Cheez-Its, Granolla bars, etc..). I was at mile 23 or so by this point, so I had 2 miles to go. My goal today was to run 25 miles... I then got to thinking, why not just make it a marathon!? I thew my CamelBak on again and headed down to Campground A. On my way down there, I saw Ron walking through the campgrounds as it looked like he was pretty well spent from his run today. I slowed down and walked with him for about a mile. He took me on a path I'd never been on before. It was great! We traded stories and talked about various things. It's amazing how many people we both knew, and even more amazing that we'd never (officially) met one another until today.

Around mile 25, I told him I was going to head back to my car and call it a day. I did just that. My walked turned into a jog and I jogged the last 1.5 miles back to my car to a make it a full marathon. I actually ran 26.24 miles, so if you want to get politically correct, I ran an Ultra Marathon today. :) Time to taper...

Red/Green Loop at Mohican

Yesterday was my longest long run of the season since my Forget The PR 50K. That race put me in a hospital boot for a week due to my poor approach to being a "minimalist" runner. Basically I had got my VFF's, decided I was going to run in them, and did. I didn't do any of the prep work that went into transitioning from a shoed runner to a barefoot runner; I just did it. Oops.

Anyway, I had trained all summer in my VFF's and it has really changed the way I run. I'm still slow, but I'm a more elegant slow now. I now land on my forefeet and watch my every step. I now lean forward with my ankles after Dan told me about some "Chi Running" book (which I still need to read). I really believe that I can run farther and less strenuous in my VFF's than I ever could in my shoes. Yesterday was my day to prove this point.

Dan (ma dood) was gonna run with me on this run. I had sent around an email earlier in the week to invite other runners, but nobody responded except for Dan. I decided to arrive at Mohican a little early so that I could drop water at Rock Point and and a few other areas. I got to the area around 7:15am and went looking for where I thought Rock Point might be. I drove around for about 20 minutes and then ran into Rob, Michelle, and Terry & Mark Lemke. I asked how to get to Rock Point and Rob told me that I was pretty much off course. He gave me directions and I started heading that way. About that time, Dan called me and said that he tried to get down to the Covered Bridge, but it was blocked off. I told him to meet me at Bridle Staging area, so I headed there to meet him. By this time it was around 8am. Dan and I drove to Rock Point to drop water, then to the Fire Tower and again where the Green loop crosses over RT97.

Old pic, but I didn't have a camera today

We got back to the Bridle Staging area around 8:20am and started our 21 mile journey through the woods. This was the first time I'd been on the "official" Red loop in a very long time. I think the last time I was on this was when I ran with Nick, Bret, and Luca sometime last spring. I forgot how cool this loop was. We did the river crossings and the water was pretty low on most all of them. The last water crossing was pretty deep and Dan tried to keep from getting his feet wet. It backfired and he actually got more wet than I did, but he spent more time doing it. :)

We arrived at Rock Point and chugged our water. Dan fixed his feet for a few minutes, then we began on the Green loop. The last time I ran the "official" green loop was at last years 50 miler. We ran into a few horseback riders and a few donkey riders as well. :) It got pretty sketchy after crossing RT97. We made our way up the hill after the road crossing and then trekked down some gravel roads to the "big hill". This is where I got a little turned around. I wasn't sure exactly which way to go, so we ventured down each of them only to realize that I STILL didin't know which way to go. We picked one and stuck with it and it turned out to be pretty close (if not exactly correct?), for we were able to make our way back to the FireTower after some long journeys along the gravel roads.

I must pause and mention that VFF's and large gravel rocks don't get along too well. My feet are pretty bruised today from walking on the gravel for so long. I'm sure Dan was a little frustrated as to how slow I had to move through here, but I (truly) couldn't go any faster. Each step hurt pretty bad. This is the one downfall to my VFF's and I may have to do some research to see if there is going to be many gravel roads at Oil Creek. If so, I may need to incorporate my Cascadia's on some of the sections...

After the FireTower, Dan and I were pretty spent. The heat was getting to us and we were drenched in sweat. Luckily the water that we dropped at the FireTower was still pretty cold so we took turns dumping it on each others head. It was so cold that it actually took my breath as it hit my neck. It definitely helped and I could feel my core cooling down after this. I'm sure the people that were playing football there thought we were quite the spectacle. :)

We journeyed from the FireTower down to the Covered Bridge and I had to hobble over more gravel through here. After the gravel sections, I was able to run, but it was a slow-go on each service road we came to. It kind of sucked actually. Regardless, we made it to the covered bridge and kept right on trucking up the road to the beginning of the Red loop. The Green loop was officially conquered and now we just had to tie up our loose ends on the Red loop. It was a 3-4 mile jog (uphill) to the Bridle staging area.

We journeyed up the hill and had to pause every now and then to allow the Mountain bikers to pass us. We did that about 7-8 times and then we were able to split off of the mountain bike trail and onto the horse trails. The horse trail was a bit more steep, but we weren't surprised by fast riding mountain bikers anymore; a welcomed change. We made our way to the section that follows RT97 back to the Bridle Staging area and I had gotten a 3rd (maybe 4th) wind. I picked it up a bit, even though the balls of my feet were pretty bruised from those damned rocks. We got back to the car with 20.37 miles. I think I did screw up the course somewhere before the FireTower, but I didn't care at this point. :) Our map can be found on my BuckeyeOutdoors.com.

Upon arriving at the cars, I toweled off my sweat, changed my clothes and then we sat in the shade to chug some Gatorade and gorge on some cold Pizza. Thank you, Dan!!

Long Runs and Race Season

Up to now, I've been running great and keeping up with my schedule pretty good. However, I must admit that I've been pampering my long runs and cutting them short for the silliest reasons. Some weekends I get a late start and have to get back to the house for some weird reason. Other weekends I decide that I can cut a 15 miler into a 12 miler because I'm doing my P90X and feel it's a fair trade. Yesterday, I went out for a 10 miler, then told myself that I could do 15. I got back to the car at 10.5 miles and I was out of water. The plan was to go up to the gas station, buy some water then come back and do 4+ more miles. Well, that changed once I got into the car completely dehydrated and drove to the gas station. I decided to just come on home and call it a day.

Starting this week, it will all change. It is officially race season and I'm going to be pushing myself on every run until I cross the finish line at Oil Creek. This weekend, I'm heading up to Mohican State Park for a 22 miler. Next weekend, I'll probably do the same for my 25 miler. The Indian Run 60K is only 3 weeks away. This is one of my favorite races and I plan to leave nothing on the course this year. Last year, I wasn't able to run it because I was in France. This year, I'll make up for lost time and plan to finish strong.

I also just confirmed with my old college buddy, Farley, that I'll be running beside him in the Woodstock Hippie Half Marathon at Pinkney State Park, in Michigan. Pinkney was where I ran my first marathon 2 years ago.

If you see me on the streets running in my VFF's, you'll know why: It's go time!

Trail Running in Vibram FiveFinger KSO Treks

I've not ran in shoes in a very long time. I have fully transformed my running style this summer, thanks to my VFF's. I used to be a knee pounding running that sat back in my stride and let my legs pull me forward. In only 6 months, I've re-taught myself how to run more efficiently.

My stride is more foot and leg friendly now. I've taken tips from a few friends, I've read many blogs from other minimalist runners, and I've also learned a lot on my own through trial and error. I've learned that posture and leaning along with toe strikes and a slightly angled lean can make anybody run more efficient.

Here is my new stride, and I must say that it works:

• Hands hanging in front of my pelvis
• Elbows slightly bent, not raised to be parallel with ground
• Chest up and shoulders back
• Shoulders relaxed against my body
• Knees bent slightly at all times (during landing and pushing off)
• Pelvis tucked in, but not too exaggerated
• Lean at the ankles, not my waist

The last tip was taught to me by my buddy, Dan. He told me about this technique from a book he read Chi Running. I've not read the book, but I've adapted Dan's explanation to me with great success.

It used to be that when I would get tired out on the trail, I used to tilt my entire upper torsoe forward and slump over in exhaustion. I would let my legs catch me as I fell forward with each step. This resulted in stomping and quad thrashing. It almost took more effort to keep myself upright with this stride.

I now keep my waist strait and tuck in my pelvis, then with my shoulders back and chest out, I tilt at my ankles. This works much better! I still fall forward, but in such a way that I can maintain my toe strike and allow my feet and knees to act as shocks while my center of gravity keeps me moving forward. I no longer rely on my legs to pull my slumped body forward. I let gravity pull me forward and I use my feet and legs to keep my from falling on my face. :) It really works and there is hardly any extra effort used with this new approach.

Injuries have not plagued me this summer with my new running style. The only "injury" related complaints that I have are from running on gravel in my KSO's. These shoes were not made for running on average-to-large sized gravel rocks. My feet get bruised and this is really the only thing slowing me down now. Therefore, if I decide to run a Gravel Marathon or something, I'll be sure to wear my shoes. Otherwise, I'm in my VFF's.

Configuring ASP.NET MVC on Window Server 2003 x64 with IIS6

I'm posting this because it could save somebody hours or days of searching. I wish I had written this before I ran into the problem... (?)

At work today, I was trying to install our ASP.NET MVC web application on a Windows Server 2003 box that was running a 64 bit version of IIS 6.0. I had set everything up just as I have for every other test server that we were using, but this particular machine was giving me big fits.

I would map everything up and no matter what I did, I would get 404 Page Not Found errors from IIS. I made sure that my aspnet_isapi.dll was mapped for a wildcard filter, but still nothing. I was able to get the site to work if I added a custom route inside my Global.asax file to use {controller}.aspx/{action}/{id}. However, I wanted an extension-less approach to our pages that didn't use the "aspx hack" (as I so call it).

After looking all over MSDN, on every ASP.NET MVC guru's blog, and scouring StackOverflow, I finally got the tip that I needed deep within a list of random comments from an old haacked blog entry:

As an additional tip, please make sure you pick the correct version of aspnet_isapi.dll when you are running a 64-bit version of Windows/IIS. Sounds obvious but trust me, it'll give you a major headache if you don't.

Erik Burger

At the time it didn't make sense to me because there's only one aspnet_isapi.dll... or so I thought. The user was very vague and provided no additional information as to what he meant. However, this comment got to thinking that perhaps there was another aspnet_isapi.dll specific to 64bit web sites. I went searching, and in less than a minute, I found that there was!

For 32bit websites use this in your wildcard mapping:

C:\WINDOWS\microsoft.net\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll

For 64bit websites use this one:

C:\WINDOWS\microsoft.net\Framework64\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll

Once I did that, things started working… You're welcome.

Software Architect or Software Developer

Not sure which is better: designing complex systems on the whiteboard or coding and debugging the implementation on my computer?

I honestly think that I like the software architecture aspect of my job more than the actual coding. Nothing beats those glorious "AHA!" moments. Sometimes they take hours, sometimes days, and sometimes even weeks to figure out. I just had one hit me that has taken me almost 2 years to figure out!!? It's not like I was trying to figure it out for 2 years and couldn't, but more like I have been blind to it and didn't give it much attention. I'd been working around my own nasty design for 2 years and I finally sat down and figured it out tonight.

This system I'm building has been extended so much over the last 2 years, and I'd complicated a particular piece of our product so much that every change I was making was adding to the headache. We are constantly adding new functionality to our product, and it's usually done is such a manner that it needs to be done sooner than later. The core foundation of our solution has been refactored a few times in the last year or so and it is very solid. I have squeezed in a week or two here and there to ensure that it is able to scale as needed. However, as things got further from the core, they seemed to get more convoluted and I was breaking out into multiple branches of (very) similar logic. Tonight I was able to doodle up the entire system on my whiteboard with letters, circles, arrows, rectangles, reds, blacks, and blues. Then once I had it all visually mapped out, I did a few swipes and connecting of objects with my dry-erase markers and was figured out!

Who am I kidding though? Tomorrow, I get to sit down and apply the code to make it happen and that's pretty damn fun too. It's always nice to see your ideas go from a concept to an actual working system. Especially when that working system is a more efficiently designed working system.

I love my job.

P90X Phase 2 Begins

Ok, so I made it through Phase 1 of P90X and I have noticed a huge difference in my overall energy levels. My shorts are fitting looser, my shirts feel looser, but best of all, I feel lighter on my feet. This is the whole reason I started P90X in the first place; to run the Oil Creek 100k trail run. I started the program at 220 lbs on July 5th!! I KNOW, AND I RUN REGULARLY!!? I'm what us distance runners call a "Clydesdale". :) Anyway, I'm now down to 205 lbs, and my running has benefited so much from loosing just 15 lbs.

The first week of P90X was sheer pain. After about 3 days into it, I didn't want to move, let alone do another workout. I only lost about 1-2 lbs after the first week, but I built a lot of new muscles. Believe it or not, I've actually been keeping up with my running schedule pretty well even while doing the P90X program. I think doing my running has actually what has helped me loose more weight than the P90X program. My upper body strength is 100% due to the program, but the weight loss and smaller mid-section is mostly due to the running I've been doing.

Some days I do my runs first, but I find it better to do the strenuous workouts, and THEN relax on a nice trail run. Sounds crazy I'm sure, but it works for me. The 2nd and 3rd weeks were hard, but not as hard as the first week. After the second week I'd dropped 8lbs (total) and after the 3rd week I was down 12lbs total. This last weekend, I weighed myself and I was down 15lbs!!

I actually did the 3rd week twice. We were in the middle of getting our house ready to sell, so on Thrusday, rather than killing myself with guilt to get in a run, a workout, clean the house and yard, write code, and also sleep, I decided to just take the 1+ hr 'workout' out of the plan. It worked out great because I was able to pick right back up where I left off after we had our open house. That next Monday was back on track so I guess you can say I got in 3 extra workouts. :)

Yesterday was my first day in Phase 2 and it SUCKED! I was weak, I was sore, and I was sweating like a fool. Today my muscles are very sore, but I feel strong. I am anxious to get into the 2nd and 3rd weeks of this Phase 2, for I know I'll be ready to keep up with the program once I get past these sore creaky muscles from week 1.

So between my P90X and my 25+ miles a week for the last month, I'm kicking butt and I'm really not that scared of the 100k race. I'm anxious, but I'm not scared like I was in June. :) By the time it gets here (October 16th or 66 days from now) I am hoping to be down to 185 lbs or so. This will mean that I'll be floating through the trails in my VFF's with 35 less pounds. I will earn this buckle:

2010 Ohio State Fair... or should I say Ohio State Fail

Jennifer took the girls to the Ohio State Fair this week to see "Aunt Morgi" in her horse shows. Jennifer's sister is 14 and was showing her horse at the fair. She is VERY into her horses and actually walked away with a Grand Champion ribbon and trophy this year! Way to go Morgan!!

One thing that surprised me is that Jennifer said it was like a ghost town when she was there. I guess the midway was nothing but tumbleweeds and rides that weren't even running. Upon further explanation, it all made sense: the prices.

The state fair is supposed to be a place where anybody should be able to take their kids. Not just the wealthy, or even middle class people. But anybody including kids that don't have a whole lot. It's a time for the city to get together in the middle of summer and have fun. Unfortunately it has gotten so insanely expensive that people are probably staying away because they simply can't afford it.

For example, Jennifer withdrew $100 to go and she said it was gone in no time. Here are some of the prices that she was telling me about:

• Admission: $10 adult / $8 kid
  
• Parking: $5
• Ice Cream: $3 / scoop
• Small Drink: $3
  
• Cheese on a Stick: $3.50
• Caramel Apple: $5
• Jumbo Drink: $13 / $6 refill!!
• Sky Ride: $4 / person
• Day Pass for Rides: $22
• Cheeseburger: $too much
• Etc..: $insane
  

I think it's safe to say that the fair has turned into a full blown money pit. It's a (damn) shame! How can they expect people to get excited about the State Fair if they can't even afford to go. I (for one) have no desire to go to the Ohio State Fair this year, or next year, or the year after... I'll wait for the Hartford Fair; prices are still high for the Hartford Fair, but not AS high.

Hardbarger Farms Open House

Jennifer and I are looking to move. However, before we can move, we have to first sell our house. We actually put it on the market last week. The reason for my post is to tell you that we have an Open House: Sunday, July 25th from 2pm - 4pm

Realtor.com: 1087 Toboso Rd., Newark, Ohio 43055

While I think that the pictures and write up from our HER Realtor is great, this doesn't give any of the goodness of what we're really selling. Here are the schematics, strait from the chickens ass (?):

Our House

We bought our house in June 2003 and we've done a lot of stuff to it. The first thing we did was waterproof it. We were in the house for about 7-8 months and we had the great 50 year flood. Jennifer went downstairs one night to throw in the laundry and she stepped in about 6 inches of water. Needless to say my office was down there, my drums were down there, all of our books, etc... We got it waterproofed that next weekend and haven't had ANY problems since. I dry as a whistle (if that's even a saying?).

That next summer we went on vacation and came home to a demolished pole barn. We tore it down and had a brand Pole Barn from 64 Metals installed. We used this barn to house all of our farm animals for years. We even had horses in here for a few months. The barn is a huge selling point to the house in my opinion because it completes the requirements for a "mini farm". It's a solid barn and houses all of our farm equipment.

After we got big into the "goat bidness", we decided it was time to build a fence. We fenced in a huge 2 acre lot for all of our goats. This fence was built by us and our friends and family. It's built real solid as well. We've kept horses, goats, and even cows in here over the years. Inside the pasture there are two small lean tos to keep the animals safe in bad weather. The one is in pretty bad shape right now, but could easily be patched up and working like new. The fence also helps sell this place as a mini farm. Anybody with any type of livestock or farm animals would benefit from this: llama's, goats, hogs, horses, cows, peacocks, mother-in-laws, etc... (just kidding Janet). :)

2+ acres of fenced pasture

It was around this time that we were expecting our 3rd child and we quickly realized that our living space was getting pretty crowded. One of my old buddy's (Corey) helped me build a little addition onto the front of our house. That project added an extra 180+ square feet of open floor plan. It really changed the feel of this house and we benefit from it everyday as we have nice meals in the dining room while we watch iCarly. The old Kitchen / Dining area was very crowded and very dated. Extending the dining room onto the front porch made a huge difference and I'm sure it will be a huge selling point when someone walks in the back door.

Last year for Jennifer's birthday, my buddy (Tyler) and I ripped up our nasty carpet in the living room and exposed some beautiful hardwood floors. Jennifer went out with one of her friends for her birthday and Tyler snuck over here and we cranked it out in about 3 hours while the girls kept themselves entertained. Needlesstosay, Jennifer came home and cried and laughed and cried and laughed. It was a great "Luc and Jen" moment. :) Not only that, but it looks really sharp in here now.

The Old

Just this past spring we had quite a bit done around here as well. We got our old 1950's bathroom updated to the 21st century. The way it was laid out before was a bit too crowded for us. The sink was too small, but the counter top that it was on was too big. We had these huge cabinets that were only being half used, and the entire bathroom was in pink / white / black tile. We got rid of the cabinets, put in a double bowl sink with a huge vanity. We flipped the toilet around to the other side of the room and slid the shower down to allow for maximum capacity in there. It opened up our our bathroom immensely and now the girls don't fight over who gets to use the sink anymore. We just love it!

The New

If you have animals, we just got invisible fence installed around our property too. We fenced in a 2 acre chunk in the front of our property. The layout gives the dogs pretty much full access to the entire living area of the property. They can protect the barn, the garage and our house. They even have a little chunk in our woods that they like to go to and dig for moles and other critters. They just love it and it's a great peace of mind for us knowing that they're not going to be wandering all over the country side, like our old dog Diesel loved to do (RIP bud). :)

This tree is gone now. :(

To top it all off, we just had a brand new roof put on top of this thing. Last month my Dad and I tore down a huge tree between the garage and the house that was getting a little too big for it's own britches. Once it was down and no longer a threat to the house, we put a brand new roof on the entire house to give it that nice "new shingle" glow. It's complete with all new gutters and warranty's.

Keep in mind that these are just the "improvements" we've made. I didn't even get into the "already kick ass" features of the property. The house off the road on a peaceful and safe chunk of land in Toboso. We are the only house for about a mile on this side of the road. I have a nice workshop style garage, complete with all kinds of "handy man" goodies. I'm a computer geek, so I only use it when I feel adventurous or Jennifer is getting on me to fix something. We live 1 mile from a state nature preserve (which I literally visit +5 times a week). We're 45 minutes from Columbus, 15 minutes from Zanesville, 15 minutes from Newark.

Oh yeah, I have to mention that we also have a killer area in the back of our property where we host our annual bonfire party. People park in the pasture and walk through the pine woods to the other side of our property to enjoy the sites and seclusion of east Newark. This is what sold the property for me 7 years ago. I still love to go up there and just get away from everything once in a while. It's relaxing to mow up there because there are no signs of life for as far as I can see...

This house / property has all the privacy and country feel that we could ever dream of. Little by little, we've turned this place into our own little log cabin. We can only hope that someone will come inside and fall in love with it the way that we did. The only reason that we're moving is because we have our eyes on the next big thing...

Swimming Milestones

We've been spending some fun times at Frosty's Lodge. This is Aunt Barbie and Uncle Doug's new place out on in the sticks. They bought a 100+ acre lot with a huge house that looks like a Ski Lodge. Their last names are Frost, so... Yeah, you get it now. Anyway they have an awesome in-ground pool that they let us use whenever we want. They live about 7 miles from our house so we make good use of it. Thanks Aunt Barbie and Uncle Doug!! :)

We've been taking the girls there on the really hot days and today was no exception. The temperatures were in the mid 90's, so we packed some lunches and headed to the pool. Today was an epic day for Lizzie and Jazzy.


Lizzie Mae (8) is able to swim in the deep end with no life jacket. Of course, I still have to be by her side at all times, but I'm literally there for moral support and have only had to "save" her 1 time. She was jumping off of the side of the pool today and swimming back to the surface. She was also able to swim from one side of the pool to the other side of the pool with no problems. GO LIZZIE!

Jazzy (7) is also kicking butt in the pool. She is able to swim from the shallow end to the deep end with her snorkel. I think that once she realizes that the floor is further from her, she freaks out and starts to panic. I had to help her to the side one time because she tensed up and got a little water in her snorkel once she got over the 'deep water'. Regardless, she did it a few times with great success and I think that both of the girls are going to be swimming by the end of the summer.

Jazzy swimming with her snorkel.

Daizi's big milestone today was that she was jumping off of the side of the pool into Jennifer's arms. She went under a few times as well and had a great time. She keeps her life jacket on the whole time and swims out into the deep end whenever she wants. This kid feels extremely comfortable in the water; so much so that it's a bit scary when she's in the deep end by herself (in her life jacket of course). I'd much rather them be comfortable, than tense in the water though...

It's great that the girls no longer have a fear of deep water. It is such a free feeling to know that if the girls fall in now, they'll know HOW to get back to the surface and not freak out. There's nothing like jumping in the deep end and just wade underwater and swim around upside down, backwards, however I want. I just love that my girls are learning to love swimming as well. I mean really holding their breath and using their limbs to stay afloat "swimming".

Congratulations girls!!

P90X Noob

I was so excited to start P90X this week. I ate right all weekend and got all the supplies I needed to get started first thing in the morning on Monday.

The night before I was to get started, I read the instructions and realized that I still had a bit of work to do in order to start the program. I still needed to take the fit test, and record all of my "before data" (weight, measurements, resting HR, etc..). It was also recommended that I do the fit test a few days before starting the actual program (assuming I pass).

I took the test and passed everything with flying colors... except the pull-up requirement. The program suggests that I should be able to do 3 wide grip pull ups. I couldn't do ONE! :'( I can do about 2 normal pull ups (shoulder width with underhand grip), but the wide angle pull ups are too much for my big 'ol butt.

Instead, I decided to just use this week to eat right, and do a few of the exercises anyway to get a feel for them. I'm glad I did, as I now realize that I can do the program anyway and use assistance on my pullups the first few weeks. I just need to use the chair technique for the more difficult pull-ups. After about 2-3 weeks, I should be able to do (at least) 1 wide angle pull up and then I'll be able to keep up for the next 10-11 weeks...

On Wednesday I did the "Chest and Back" program and it hurt bad... I'm still feeling it actually. Yesterday I took a rest day; did some situps, and ran 3 miles, but let the upper body rest. This morning I did "Legs and Back" program and... ouch. It hurt. :) Tomorrow I think I'm going to do Kempo X (it's like kick boxing), and then I'll do the Stretch X program on Sunday. Assuming I can still move. Of course, I'm still running everyday and keeping up with my training schedule.

This is the first time that I've ever really kept track of my food intake, and I am discovering that it's amazing how much CRAP we (as Americans) eat when we don't pay attention. I've been a food Nazi and eating small portions of (rather) healthy food every 2-3 hours. Even when doing this, it's putting me over the 2,000 calorie limit almost everyday. The protein bars may have something to do with it, but Sodium, Potasium, Fat, and Calories add up very quickly when you're not paying attention; even from raw fruits and vegetables (I couldn't believe it).

I start the full program @ 6am on Monday. BRING IT!

2010 Mohican Runners

I just wanted to say a quick congratulations to all of my Mohican buddies who ran the 2010 Mohican 50 or 100 Mile Trail Race. I'd like to give an extra BIG congratulations to those that fought through the pain, the sun, the darkness, the heat, the chill, dehydration, nausea, lucid day-dreaming, and (in some cases) hallucinations to actually FINISH the race.

I don't want to get into a name dropping post, so I'm just going to say that if you're reading this and was a part of the Mohican Trail Ultra, then this is me saying: Congratulations !

Hope to see you soon and put in some miles together. I can't wait to hear all the stories...

An American Hero (Still) - Van T. Barfoot

I received this in an email and thought it was worth sharing on my blog. Please overlook the formatting problems, and focus only on the content. If you are reading it directly from my blog, then you may have to highlight the words in order to read it due to the dark background:

On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg -- probably didn'tmake much news back then. Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano , Italy , Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the Army in 1940, set out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield, took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners of war. If that wasn't enough for a day's work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions. That probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of Honor. What did make news last week was a neighborhood association's quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable. He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was facing court action if he didn't take it down. Since the story made national TV, the neighborhood association has rethought its position and agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them. "In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference," Barfoot told The Associated Press. As well he should. And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he's not real good at backing down. Van T. Barfoot's Medal of Honor citation: This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano , Italy . With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. >From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of point blank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers." If you got this email and didn't pass it on - guess what - you deserve to get your butt kicked! I sent this to you, because I didn't want to get MY butt kicked. WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!