Long Term Travel Tip #2

International Shipping, you need to budget this expense.

If you are going to travel for an extended period of time, you don't want to be burdened by carrying around the various things you will ultimately purchase. Thus, many travelers figure they will simply ship things home as they go, but rarely do such travelers budget for this expense. Granted, shipping costs will vary depending on where you go, but depending on the size and weight of the box, you can easily spend in excess of $100-$200 to ship items back to the U.S. For myself, this expense caught me a little off-guard, you know it is going to be expensive, you just don't anticipate that international shipping will be "that" expensive. I would have to double check, but when I was gone for 9 months, I shipped items back 4 times, and I think I spent a total of close to $800 for shipping cost.

Travel light, travel far.

Some Travel Pics

Ok, I have been a little lazy about posting recently, so here are some travel pics from Italy

Mountain retreat, near Molveno

Ahh, Florence

Ancient street side eatery, Pompeii

Weekly work out summary

Not much to report this week:

Monday, June 23

5 super sets consisting of (in case you don't know, super sets are performed with no rest between each exercise, but with a short rest, as needed, between each super set).

-Walking Lunges, x20r ea.
-Power Push-Up, x30-20-15-15-20
-Crunches, x20r ea.

Tuesday through Sunday I was sick; I caught a strange bug. Monday night I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and aches, so I didn't sleep too well. Tuesday's symptoms consisted of mostly a fever (chills) and body aches (it didn't help that I was sore from Monday's workout) that came and went throughout the day and night, but otherwise I had no other systems, and it was difficult to sleep that night. On Wednesday I felt pretty good, just mild aches, but no fever or other symptoms. Then Wednesday night the congestion started, again making it difficult to sleep. Thursday was chest, nose, and sinus congestion accompanied by a mild cough, and these symptoms have persisted until today, Sunday. Also, around Friday, late afternoon, my voice went, so I can hardly talk (which doesn't bod well for Monday since about half of my day is spent on the phone).

Anyway, what an odd week. This week was to be a growth week for miles. I was going to run more total miles and my average miles per run was going to increase; also, I had some great runs planned for the weekend.

Elk Meadow Park

On Saturday, I decided to go for a trail run, so I drove to Elk Meadow Park which is located north of Evergreen, CO; and was about a 30 minute drive. The park is 1657 acres with 13 miles of trail.

The west side of the park is lined with low hills covered in Douglas Fur trees that provide flickering sunlight to pass through to the ground. Running in this section is quite enjoyable, except that you should wear high contrast sunglasses or you may not see the various rocks and roots that jut out from the trail.

The park's namesake lies to the east; a large, grassy meadow that is a lake of green in spring and summer. Running in this section is pleasant enough, but exposed; so it is best to arrive early in the morning to avoid the full force of the sun and heat.

I ran a loop route consisting of the following trails, Meadowview to Painters Pause to Sleepy S. The loop is approximately 5.6 miles. The 1st mile is a 300 foot climb; you should start slow to get a rhythm and to avoid spiking into anaerobic exertion. The 2nd mile is up and down but overall is another 120 foot climb. Miles 2-4 are an energetic 500 foot decent. For those that have trouble on downhill (myself included) this is a good trail for downhill training. At mile 4.1, you start the 300 foot climb back to the starting point. It is this final climb that really makes this run challenging, after trashing your legs on the 500 foot descent, the transition back to uphill is maddening.

Cons: Meadowview is a busy park. Even early in the morning you will run into other runners, hikers, and mountain bikers; and the east side of the park is bordered by Hwy 74. Thus, as you run along Painters Pause trail, you are only a couple hundred yards from the Hwy. So, you don't get that "isolated" feeling that many seek for trail running.

Overall, the park is a nice retreat from Denver, and provides both intermediate and advanced difficulty runs. If you want more challenge, you can run the Bergen Peak trail which will give you 1700 ft of elevation gain (ouch) in 3.7 miles.

Weekly work-out summary

Posting daily updates can be a bit boring, so I will probably just start summarizing my work-outs on a weekly basis.

Monday: June 16
General Aerobic Run: 3.45 miles

Tuesday, June 17
General Aerobic Run: 3.40 miles
Super set x4: Power Push-up x12r, and Squats 15r

Wednesday, June 18
Recovery Pace Run: 4.90 miles

Thursday, June 19
Super Set x4 of: Overhead Squat 10r; Shoulder Press 10r
Crunches x3-35r, Flutter Kicks x2-15r (4 count),
Jump rope x100r

Friday, June 20
Speed run: 3.40 miles

Saturday, June 21
Trail Run 5.55 miles

Work Out of the Day

Saturday, June 14

Recovery Pace Run: 7.15 miles

Weather: Sunny, 70+, Calm

Work Out of the Day

Friday, June 13

General Aerobic Pace: 3.60 miles

Weather: Clear, 47, calm (a tad chilly)

Work Out of the Day

Thursday, June 12

Warm - up: Jump rope, about 300+ reps, misc variations.

3 Super sets of:

--Walking Lunge: x 38r
--Overhead Press + Tri Extension x 16r (w/ 22.5 lbs Medicine ball)
--Laying Back extension x 20r

Work Out of the Day

Wednesday, June 11

General Aerobic Pace: 5.20 miles

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 50, Calm

Work Out of the Day

Tuesday, June 10

General Aerobic Run: 4.90 miles

Weather: clear, 49, calm.

Running Question of the Day?

For those runners that travel extensively for competition (or even the occasional trip to a new area), there is often a concern about how changes in altitude will effect performance. Although there are no "absolute" rules, we can draw some general conclusions based on FAA and Air Force research.

Most reasonably fit individuals should be able to tolerate any change in altitude within sea-leval to 5000 ft without suffering any meaningful loss in performance. Reason being, the change in the partial pressure of Oxygen (O2) within that band has a negligible affect on your bodies ability to absorb O2. I won't go into the technicalities of partial pressure etc, but realize that as the partial pressure of O2 decreases (as you increase altitude), your bloods ability to absorb oxygen decreases. The body eventually will adapt and create more hemoglobin to make-up the short fall. That process is known as acclimatizing which is term very familiar to mountaineers, but most runners do not have time.

However, within the 0-5000 foot band, the change in partial pressure is negligible and most runners should not have trouble with the "altitude". More common, when runners change altitude and experience performance problems, the likely culprit is change in humidity and temperature.

Work Out of the Day

Monday, June 9

Warm-Up: Jumprope x3 minutes

Overhead Squat x3, 20-15-15r
Power Push ups x3, 25-20-15r
Flutter Kicks x3, 15-15-15r (4 count)

Perform as a superset.

Work Out of the Day

Saturday, June 7

Recovery Pace Run: 6.10 miles

Weather: Sunny, 54, Calm (very nice morning to run).

Work Out of the Day

Friday, June 6.

General Aerobic Run: 4.25 Miles

This run was tough, my legs did not want to move, probably because of the heat and time of day.

Weather: Sunny, 80, calm (ouch).

Work Out of the Day

Wednesday, June 4

General Aerobic Pace Run: 3.40 miles

Pull-up x3

Weather: Clear, 52, calm.

Work Out of the Day

Tuesday, June 3 (AM)

Recovery Pace Run: 4.80 miles

Weather: clear, 56, calm.

Movie Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This flick was a fun movie; very reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is hard to believe that the first move, Raiders, was made in 1981, I am getting old.

In many respects, this movie followed the same basic story outline and action sequences of Raiders; great vehicle chase scenes, creepy environments, over the top bad guys (in this case, bad girl played by Cate Blanchett, who incidentally, reminded you of the creepy Nazi SS guy from Raiders), intellectual curiosity etc. Thus, even though it re-hashed that basic story of Raiders, since such movies are rare these days, it was a nice change of pace and a fun movie.

I had some issues. Note, it is hard to discuss this movie without discussing plot spoilers, but I will try. In the end, this I.J. movie went X-Files with its plot, which was a little disappointing. Also, some of the action scenarios pushed credibility. Granted, pushing action sequence credibility is a hallmark of the I.J. serious, but there were a few sequences that truly defied reality.

Nevertheless, this movie is a nice culmination to the serious and I rank it as the 3rd best I.J. movie. My ranking is (1) Raiders, (2) Last Crusade, (3) Crystal Skull, (4) Temple of Doom. But Raiders, Last Crusade and Crystal Skull are all very close to each other, but Temple of Doom is a very distant 4th.

Work Out of the Day

Sunday, June 1.

Recovery Pace Run: 6.00 miles.

Weather: Sunny, 68, calm. :)

Baker Street Pub & Grill

Review of Baker Street Pub & Grill:

I decided to have lunch at the Baker Street Pub & Grill located in the Belmar area of Denver. Baker Street touts itself as an English Pub, which is fine, I can deal with an "Americanized" version of an English pub, but despite their attempt to recreate the character, it lacks the history. After all, in a real English pub, when it has an airplane propeller on the wall, that propeller probably came from a shot down Luftwaffe Stuka that was discovered in a field nearby the pub, whereas in the U.S, the propeller is just a prop. Of note for lawyers, they appear to have the full set of the Corpus Juris Secundum (probably an old set), among other law books, but nevertheless, if you need a quick reference article, you could probably pull the book off the shelf.

In any event, the beer selection was adequate, but nothing special. They had Guinness, Bass, Harp, etc; but nothing truly exotic. The food was pretty good and fairly reasonably priced, I opted for the fish and chips to see how they did with "traditional" English pub food, and the fish was good, but the chips were a little lacking, too thin and dry. But they provided tartar sauce, ketchup and Malt Vinegar. Otherwise, the menu consisted of Burgers, lower quality steaks, traditional English pub food, and some Mexican dishes.

The lunchtime atmosphere actually reminded me of Ex-Pat pubs in Southeast Asia; many older, overweight patrons getting their fill of comfort food. I get the sense that night time is probably a better time to visit. There is a small stage for a band and they have some nice beer cocktails (Black & Tan, Red & Black, etc).

Not a bad place, but at the same time, nothing to go out of your way for.

Movie Reviews

Cloverfield:

This is the movie that War of the Worlds should have been. Cloverfield stayed with the "everyday person" perspective throughout the movie without over-heroising the characters, i.e. the hero did not save mankind. However, the camcorder perspective was a little tiresome, but nowhere near as bad as Blair Witch. All in all, this movie was very compelling and worthwhile.

****
4 out of 5 stars

I am Legend:

Interesting concept, but this movie fell short for me. There was some good psychological drama and they made an effort to be realistic about how a person, surviving alone for 3+ years, would probably react, but in the end, the movie was somewhat formulaic. The hero dies in the end to save mankind.

***
3 out of 5 stars

National Treasure 2, Book of Secrets:

This movie is what it is, a big budget, intellectual action movie that was interesting and entertaining to watch. Thankfully, this movie did not get as carried away with the Davinci'esq codes as the first National Treasure, but the ultimate "find" seemed to be an afterthought; as if the writers really could not figure out how to end the movie so they just picked some old legend. And, of course, they left plenty of room for a sequel.

***
3 out of 5 stars

Bankruptcy Tip of the Week

What IRS Taxes can be discharged in bankruptcy?

Context: I am discussing personal tax obligations which come in two varieties, 1040 Income Tax, or the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty ("TFRP"). You small business owners may run afoul of the TFRP if you didn't pay your Federal Tax Deposits relative to your employee withholding (Form 941) and therefore you get assessed personally for the withholding portion of your 941 Withholding. However, TFRP is easy in BK, the TFRP CANNOT BE DISCHARGED IN BK. But, there are some options with regard to personal income tax debt.

Discharge Rules for Taxes

So, the #1 questions, what Federal Income Taxes can be discharged in BK? There are basically 4 rules:

1. The 3 year rule. An income tax can be discharged if the Tax Return Due Date is 3 years prior to your BK petition filing date. This rule assumes the tax return was filed.
Example: ALL 1040's are due April 15. Thus, the most recent tax you could discharge this year (2008) would be income taxes from tax year 2004 because the due date for that return was April 15, 2005 and that date is more than 3 years ago.
Caveat: The extension date COUNTS. Thus, if you filed an extension for tax year 2004 so that your return was due in October, that same tax debt WOULD NOT be dischargeable until November of this year. Also, the time runs from the Due date, so if you filed your return early--say Feb '05--you still must wait 3 years from April 15.

2. The 2 year rule. For taxes that meet the 3 year rule, but you filed a LATE return, you must wait 2 years to discharge the tax from the date you filed that late return.
Example: You owe for 2002 (hence, Due date was Apr 15, 2003 satisfying the 3 year rule), but you did not actually file the 2002 1040 until April of 2006. That IRS debt can be discharged NOW because you filed the return more than 2 years ago and the due date of the return satisfies the 3 year rule.

3. The 8 month audit rule: If you are audited and ADDITIONAL tax is assessed, you must wait 8 months before you can file a BK petition to discharge that additional tax.

4. The fraud rule: The IRS can challenge the discharge of tax debt if you committed any sort of fraud. Keep in mind, BK fraud is less strenuous than regular fraud in that the creditor normally need not prove "actual" intent.

Work Out of the Day

Friday, May 30

General Aerobic Run: 5.30 miles.
Hilly course. Climb: 310 feet in 1.25 miles

Weather: Cloudy, 78, humid, ugggg!

Work Out of the Day

Wednesday, May 28

General Aerobic Run: 3.50 miles

Work Out of the Day

Tuesday, May 27

Tempo Pace Run: 3.50 miles.

Work Out of the Day

Sunday, May 25

General Aerobic Run: 5.25 Miles

Felt a little sluggish, probably because I have not been working out in the morning.

Weather: Sunny, 55, calm.

Some movie reviews

Golden Compass: This quasi sci-fi movie was a snore fest, enough said. I could not even stay interested in watching it so I can't remember how it ended. I like Daniel Craig, but he was barely in the movie.
1 out 5 stars.
*
Charlie Wilson's War: I rented this DVD because the story is interesting. However, the movie was not very good and relatively boring. The acting was fair enough, but there was nothing compelling about the movie. The behind the scenes features on the DVD were more interesting to watch than the movie.
2 out of 5 stars.
**

Work Out of the Day

Thursday, May 22

General Aerobic Run: 5.45 miles
Hilly course
405 feet in 2.80 miles.

Long Term Travel Advice I

Background:

I would not consider myself a hardcore backpacker; when I spent 9 months traveling, I did not set out to travel on $25 per day, or any such nonsense; but, I did try to budget about $100 per day, for 2 people. However, that $100 budget was awfully tight and was impossible to maintain in Europe, that budget barely held-up in New Zealand, but went quite far in South East Asia. Also, I think that budget was unrealistic for my age; if I were 19, I could probably accept some deprivation, but at 33, a quiet, comfortable place to sleep is a requirement.

First, long term travel is actually hard work in the sense that you are always planning the immediate future and have to learn and figure things out in a country where you don't speak the language (and in South East Asia, cannot even decipher the language). Also, if you are on a budget, you can't really just sit back in your hotel or hostel if you wanted to rest and kick back; after all, those places are not the best places; they serve there purpose of providing a bed, but you would not want to hang out and linger (at least not always). Thus, you are always figuring out where to eat, what to do to pass time, and how to get to your next destination. Although it sounds romantic and adventurous to "let the wind take you where it will," the practicalities of travel/living can ware on you.

Some tips:

1. You need to factor in what I term "admin days". Admin days are when you spend time doing laundry, arranging travel to and lodging at your next destination, shopping for necessities, etc. If you are traveling on a whim, like we did, Admin days can sometimes occupy the entire day. Aside from our arrival and departure cities for any particular country, we had no plan as to where we were going to go in that country.

2. Don't pack white clothing, or at least don't pack whites that will absorb color. This tip, I think, is fairly obvious, but given a limited budget and the practicalities of doing laundry, you want to do as few loads as possible.

3. Build in a "vacation from traveling". If you are going to be gone for more than 6 weeks, go to a location where you can spend an extended period of time to give yourself a break from the rigors of travel. Our first destination was New Zealand, we moved from place to place about every 3-4 days; that schedule gets tiring and we were in New Zealand for 2 months. By the time we hit Southeast Asia, our average stay in any particular location was 6-7 days, and we lodged 12 days on Tioman Malaysia, and nearly 3 weeks on Phuket, Thailand to simply take a break from moving around. We did the same thing in Italy, we lodged nearly 3 weeks in Molveno, Italy out of a 2 month trip to Italy. One nice thing about spending that amount of time in one location is that you really get a better sense of the area, the people, the culture, and the lifestyle.

4. Again, although it can seem romantic to just show-up in a location without any ideas, a guide book is helpful to get your barrings. Unless you speak the language, getting things figured out can be daunting. Note: more people spoke English in Southeast Asia than in Greece or Italy.

5. Touts: relying on touts is country specific. I would never rely on touts in an Asian country, it is just too risky. However, the touts in Greece were actually quite reliable. Some of my best stays and deals in Greece were as a result of touts. Just be sure to negotiate, ask questions and don't be afraid to say no.

As I think of more nuggets of knowledge, I will post.

Iron Man Review

There was nothing particularly great about IronMan, but it was still an entertaining movie. It was interesting to see Robert Downy Jr. in a mainstream role but Gwenyth Paltrow phoned-in her performance.

On the one hand, the story was a typical man has regular life, man suffers, man becomes superhero; but there were some interesting story layers that kept the plot moving foward. Also, as with any superhero flick, there was the usual humor.

Special effects were good and not too overwhelming.

All in all, 3 out of 5 stars.

Work Out of the Day

Sunday, May 18

General Aerobic Pace Run: 4.90 Miles
--relatively flat course

Weather: Sunny, 70, calm.

Work Out of the Day

Friday, May 16

Aerobic Pace Run: 4.60 miles
Climb: 308ft, in 1.25 miles.

Work Out of the Day

Thursday, May 15

Warm-up: Jumprope x5 min

Misc Rows x4, 10-10-8-5
Walking Lunges x2, 30-30
Crunches x3, 20-20-20
Leg Raises x2. 10-10
Back Ext. x1, 15r
Jumprope x1, 40 alternating feet.

Work Out of the Day

Tuesday, May 13.

General Aerobic Run: 4.60 miles

This run was more strenuous than expected as the course was more hilly than anticipated.

Its Official

I am now a Colorado resident. I received my CO drivers license in the mail.

I was a little taken-back by the fact that they actually sent the license in the mail. In Las Vegas, the cards are made on-the-spot. The DMV was not too bad, CO liberally spreads the buildings throughout the city and designates certain locations for certain task; thus, if you just need a drivers license, you go to one address and for vehicle registration, you go to another address.

The CO drivers license are somewhat flimsy and don't look all that great, but oh well.

Work Out of the Day

Monday, May 12

Jump rope x5 min

4 rounds of:
Overhead Squat: 20-15-15-15r
Power PushUp: 25-20-15-10
Crunches: AMRAP

Jump rope x60 hops

AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible

Work Out of the Day

Sunday May 11.

Recovery Pace Run: 4.85 miles

I haven't worked out since Tuesday as I apparently over-did-it. I had a really sore lower back for about 3 days. I guess those walking lunges took a toll.

Weather: Sunny, 60, slight breeze

Ahhh, Greece

I was watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show, and this week he went to the Greek Isles. Thus, I could not help but think of my time in Greece. I think for many US tourists, Greece is an afterthought, but Greece is a truly wonderful experience.


As Anthony found out, the food is simple but superb, and the people truly love life. Lamb is the mainstay ingredient and I have not found fresher vegetables anywhere. To this day, I cannot find fresher fish or better food.

Obviously, Greece has much to offer in the way of history (mainly ancient history), but the more interesting aspect of Greece is the recent influences to their culture, e.g. Turkish occupation, the world wars etc, all of which are tragic times in Greek history and go a long way in shaping their current culture. More than anything else, Greeks appreciate each and every day.

If you truly want an adventurous and interesting European vacation, skip the obvious ports of call...England, France, Germany, etc....head to Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Turkey.

Fishing village of Mithimna, Island of Lesvos

Bankruptcy FAQ for the Day

What is Pacer?

PACER is the bankruptcy court systems case filing database. Pacer is primarily used by bankruptcy attorneys and bankruptcy trustees but it is a public database. Pacer contains all bankruptcy filings and allows anyone with an account to view any document that is filed with the bankruptcy court. For the individual bankruptcy debtor, it is usually a good idea to apply for a PACER account as doing so will allow you to monitor everything that is filed in your bankruptcy case.

However, PACER is not, strictly speaking, a national database; although all bankruptcy districts use PACER, you cannot register on PACER for national coverage. When you register for a PACER account, you must select a specific bankruptcy district.

However, a word of caution, PACER is NOT free. If you are obsessive compulsive or otherwise a worry wort, PACER is not for you as you will run-up tremendous charges simply checking on your case. In any event, you can find out more by visiting the PACER website.

Work Out of the Day

Tuesday, May 6

Jumprope x3 min, warm-up

3 rounds consisting of
--Walking Lungers x2, 32r (100ft) ... Air Squats x1, 20r
--Misc Rows, x3, 8-10r
--Dips x2, 8r ...Push-up x1, AMRAP
--Jumprope 60 hops

Cool down.

Work Out of the Day

Monday, May 5

Aerobic Pace Run: 3.40 Miles

Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 70, no breeze

Dodgers vs. Rockies

This afternoon we made our first trip to Coors Field to watch the Dodgers play the Rockies. For us, going to Coors Field would be like Roosevelt going to Tokyo in 1942, into the belly of the beast. Despite moving to Denver, we still have a distinct loathing of nearly all Denver professional teams; the Rockies, Broncos, and Avalanche are all at the bottom of the list. I suppose the only team we will give a pass too is the Rapids (the soccer team). The Dodgers beat the Rockies on Friday, 11-6 and Saturday, 12-7; so it figures that the day we go and see the game, the Dodgers lose 2-7. In any event, the game started off sunny and warm, but as clouds rolled in, the temperature cooled and the climate became more comfortable. Even though we are not familiar with Denver, we actually figured out a way to get to parking with zero traffic hassles, which was nice. Since the Dodgers lost, I can't say we really enjoyed ourselves, but it was still a fine afternoon. The seats seem tighter than Dodger Stadium, but we managed.

Work Out of the Day

Sunday, May 4.

--Walk: 4.40 miles.

Legs were sore, so I took it easy today and simply walked. I don't really consider walking "exercise", but at least it is something.

Bankruptcy FAQ for the Day

Question: On your Bankruptcy Petition, must you list creditors to whom you owe NO money (e.g. credit cards with a zero balance)

Answer: NO, Section 101(10) of the Bankruptcy Code defines a Creditor as "(A) Entity that has a claim against the debtor that arose at the time of or before the order for relief concerning the debtor..."

And, as I am sure your next question will be...

Section 101(5) defines a Claim as..."(A) right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured..."

Translation: A creditor, for BK purposes, is someone who "actually" can "claim" something is owed to them by the debtor at or before the time the bankruptcy petition is filed. Thus, a credit card with a ZERO balance at the time of filing has no claim against the debtor; hence, that credit card is not a creditor for BK purposes and need not be listed on your bankruptcy petition.

However, there can be dire consequences for intentionally omitting creditors to whom you owe money. Chase V. Harris, First Circuit.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, when your listing your creditors, you should list every conceivable creditor. Even if you have zero balance on a credit card upon filing BK, odds are that account will be closed when that creditor does a routine inquiry of your credit report and discovers the bankruptcy.

Work Out of the Day

Saturday, May 3
--Recovery Pace Run: 3.35 miles
--Misc. Stretching.
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 62 Degrees, Slight Breeze

Deconditioned Doldrums

In the realm of personal training, there is a phenomenon known as Deconditioning or Detraining. Most folks would simply understand those concepts as being "out of shape", but the word detraining or the phrase 'out of shape' implies that you were once trained or "in shape". In any event, I find myself significantly deconditioned. About this time last year, I ran both the L.A. Marathon and Big Sur Marathon. Since then, I have essentially stopped training. Sitting here today, I don't even really have a good explanation as to why I stopped training, but I suppose it was a combination of weather (e.g. running in Las Vegas when it is HOT is very tough), and lack of motivation (e.g. I had a achieved my goal so I was lacking any goal-based motivation to continue logging the long miles).

Thus, here I am, a little over a year later, and detrained. Being detrained, I believe, is mentally tougher than having been sedentary; reason being, as you start exercising again, you know and feel that your performance is not what it once was, and you run a greater risk of injury because you are likely to train more intensely than you should. I used to be able to log 18-22 mile training runs, now I barely want to run more than 4 miles; also, I am slower and my effort more labored. Granted, those results are to be expected as a result of being detrained, but still, it makes it very difficult to get up and go.

This blog may help somewhat in that I will post my daily workout; so, out of pure embarrassment, I will want to have at least something posted most days. :) This time around, I am going to focus on the Half-Marathon and work on getting faster. When I trained for L.A. and Big Sur, the goal was more about completion, but now, I really want to improve my performance. I have never really been a "fast" runner, even during my time with the Naval Special Forces, I was one of the slower runners (by comparison). Also, my schedule does not lend itself to loging the distance I would need to 'really' train for a full marathon.

Work Out of the Day

Today's work out (Friday, May 2nd).

--Jump-Rope 3-5 minutes to warm-up + misc Stretching
--Overhead Squat x3 sets, 15r each, w/bar
--Push ups x3 sets AMRAP
--Crunches x2, AMRAP
--Leg Raises x1, AMRAP
AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Decided to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science today, and I also caught the IMAX film The Alps. The museum is about what you would expect, numerous life-size displays of various animals and habitats along with some other stuff. The educational quality is so-so...the museums of Europe provide more in depth knowledge. However, since the DMNS appears to cater mostly to school age children, the information was probably adequate. The taxidermy was top notch and they had some very good mineral and gold displays. Tips: if up go on a weekday, show up after 2:00pm so as to avoid the school field trips. But, the museum is located on the western end of Denver's City Park, so if you go early, you can take in the park and then go to the Museum.

The IMAX feature The Alps was interesting, but not as good as Everest. The story was not as compelling and the footage did not really take you into the climbing experience, but having been to the Italian Alps, the film made me long for a visit back to the mountains of Northern Italy. The film is largely shot in Switzerland and recounts a story of son who attempts the north face of Mt. Eiger (the most difficult climb of the Alps) on which his father died 40 years earlier. The soundtrack featured music for Queen, so that was good, but all in all, I would rate this IMAX feature as average.

Crystallized Gold

Work Out of the Day

Friday, May 16

General Aerobic Pace Run: 4.60 miles
Hilly course.

Coffee Snobbery

The cafe's of Italy have turned me into somewhat of a coffee snob, I ashamed to admit. I used to drink coffee but was never really that anal about it and I never really got into the cappuccino/mochaccino thing. However, after visiting Italy for 2 months, I can no longer drink standard, drip coffee; doing so is quite disgusting. I still don't go in for the cappuccinos and other "exotic" coffee drinks, but I like my espresso's and very strong, rich, dark roast coffee. The challenge is how to get that in the U.S. without spending $1,000 on an espresso maker or going to an expensive coffee shop.

Luckily, Italy gave me the solution in the little Bialetti coffee makers. In addition, I have resorted to grinding my own coffee beans. The other challenge, of course, is finding fresh coffee beans, but that aspect of coffee snobbery is a bit more forgiving as you can still make a fine cup with higher-end brands you can buy at a regular grocery store; no matter what you may think of Starbucks, their whole bean packages are pretty good (get the French Roast, Espresso Roast, or any of their Indonesian varieties).

When I do go to Starbucks, or any other coffee house, I will order a Cafe Americano. The one thing about Italian coffee lifestyle is that the espresso's and cappuccino's are morning drinks and not designed to be lingered over. The men come into the cafe, order and pay for the drink and usually some pastry, and then shout their orders to the barrister. Then they will drink their coffee and eat their snack, converse with whoever is around the bar, and then leave. My first time in a real Italian cafe was a bit unnerving (mostly because I did not speak Italian) and it is very fast paced. But after a few tries, picking up some of the language, I could at least order what I wanted without getting the "hurry up" sneer from the barrister.

Ciao

Note, that picture is at Positano, Italy

You must travel too....

In 2006 I traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia...and of all my travels, this spot was one of the most interesting places. Siem Reap is both on and off the beaten path in a sense. Most people in the U.S. would never consider traveling to Cambodia, but Siem Reap has a well developed tourist infrastructure, but still maintains a rustic Southeast Asian feel. There are a handful of 5 star resorts (Raffles, Le Meridian), but there are numerous places to stay to fit any budget.

The people are truly friendly as I feel they have not been as influenced by the travel trade as has Thailand and Malaysia; so in a sense, Cambodia is the true land of smiles (which is Thailand's claim to fame). Rarely do you feel like the locals are taking advantage of you, and a nice kicker to your stay is that you will get a personal driver for you entire visit (regardless of where you stay). However, do not be afraid to switch drivers, the quality of your stay is largely dependant on the quality of your driver. I still remember by drivers name, Ni (not sure on the spelling).

The obvious draw to Siem Reap is its proximity to Angkor Wat, so that is why I say it has a well developed tourist infrastructure. You will see the Northern Asian tour companies bringing bus loads of tourists to the major temple locations, but still, the town, the atmosphere, the shopping, all make a trip to Siem Reap worthwhile.

The dinning is actually quite good; there are plenty of European Ex-Pats to satisfy your need for comfort food. The local food is about what you would expect, pretty much standard Asian fair, but there are the eccentric tastes, fried spiders and toads, etc.

Siem Reap is best visited with friends and I highly recommend you make at least a 4 day stop in the town. Siem Reap makes a good side trip to a resort stay in Thailand or Malaysia.

New in Denver

I moved to Denver about 2 weeks ago from Las Vegas, so I am in the process of learning the ins-and-outs of the town, which I am sure will take some time.

The area to which I moved, Lakewood, is nice; I am about 200 yards from the Bear Creek Trial so that should allow me to resume my running.

In any event, I will post first impressions soon as well as other thoughts.