A few weeks ago I was on vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I wore my Soft Star RunAmoc DASH moccasins on a number of occasions.

I was completely in awe of the RunAmoc DASH trail sole's traction on the rounded boulders of the Appalachians.

Pictured here are my RunAmoc DASH on the Grandfather Mountain mile high swinging bridge, 5280 feet above sea level:



I was only able to sneak in one trail run during my vacation. I chose to wear the RunAmoc DASH since they felt so good crawling around on the rocks near the Grandfather Mountain visitor center.

I had researched some trails in advance of the trip and decided to run on the Tanawha Trail near the Blue Ridge Parkway and Grandfather Mountain. In summary, the trails were rooty and rocky and beautiful. I saw humans only once the entire time. I enjoyed the solitude.

I parked at the Cold Prong parking area (BRP milepost 299) which had a clearly marked sign to get on the Tanawha Trail, pictured here:

This infographic created by http://MedicalBillingandCoding.org is a nice reminder of why sitting all day is potentially bad for one's health:



There are also articles that report on the dangers of sitting too much.

I have certainly noticed that I feel better when I do not sit behind my computer all day. Most importantly I am not as stiff and have fewer aches and pains. I have been using Workave software for a while to remind me to stand up and take a break from sitting.

Taking this idea to the next level, I now have a standing workstation at my work cube. Our particular office furniture is somewhat modular and it was not too difficult to raise a portion of the work surface. There are other folks around here who have raised the entire work surface but I kind of like the terraced approach. With the new standing workstation, I can now sit down when it is time to take a break. Imagine that.

This is a photo of version 1.0 of my standing workstation, still in progress:

On Friday I started my new position within the University of Florida as a System Administrator in the Open Systems Group (OSG), which is part of UF Computing and Network Services (CNS).

I will be doing mostly Linux System Administration in support of many University-wide services, probably specializing in the Linux web hosting area. This is pretty cool for me since it is right in line with my interests.

My office is no longer on the main campus but is now over on Waldo Rd. at the new Eastside campus.

Here is a picture of the building:



Somehow I managed to land in the corner cubby. I like the layout of the office space. The cubes surround tables / work areas which seems to be effective at facilitating team communication. I'm learning a lot just by sitting in proximity to the team lead.




After spending just a few days with the OSG team, I am pleased with the personality of the group. I feel like I will be a good fit.

Looking forward to everything that comes next!

Last week I met my extended family in Blowing Rock, North Carolina for a week of vacation in the mountains. It turns out that Blowing Rock is a really nice area and a great place to make a "home base" for attractions near Grandfather Mountain, Boone, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We had great views from our mountain rental home:



This is a view of the backyard from the deck:

Even though the 4th of July festivities and fireworks were cancelled due to funding issues here in Gainesville, FL, another Independence Day tradition is still going strong. The 33rd Annual Melon Run (3-miler) is a Florida Track Club event that took place at Albert Ray Massey Westside Park on Monday. The race course is mostly sidewalk and streets, with a half-mile of greenway boardwalk and dirt trail.

I raced barefoot. This was my first barefoot race on (mostly) paved surfaces. Last year I ran the John Holmes 16 mile trail run barefoot but I have not been confident enough to race barefoot on paved surfaces until recently.

I'm still in the "resting" phase of my training after having an entire year of running under my belt. My legs have been telling me that they need a recovery break. Since I knew I wouldn't be racing all-out I decided to run the race barefoot and wear a goofy hat (thanks to my wife for acquiring the appropriate festive holiday attire). My main goal was to run fast but stay within the limits of my bare feet, not pushing so hard that I got blisters, focusing on form and technique. After the race I only had a few hot spots, so I feel like I accomplished my goal.

Here is a picture at the start where I am still wearing the hat:


[Photo copyright: Martin McCrory Photography]


[Photo copyright: Martin McCrory Photography]

The hat only stayed on for about 20 meters. I was wearing a du-rag under the hat which stayed on just fine for the whole race. In retrospect it was very warm to be wearing anything on my head.

This is a picture from the last 100 meters of the race, working hard to maintain form:

Thanks to dailymile I have a very nice graph of my monthly mileage for the 12 months since I started running regularly in 2010.



Training logs are great. It's pretty clear that I was able to boost my mileage after receiving my Altra Instinct running shoes in April. In May I reduced mileage but increased intensity, adding speed sessions to get ready for races.

My last race was the Memorial Day Inaugural Freedom 8k race in Green Cove Springs, FL where I won my age group (age 35-39) with a time of 32:08 (average 6:25 per mile).