RunningRamblings

Financial Aid Information

Faplogo

Listen up those of you with kids.  You know who you are – hopefully.

 

I’m sure you all have put some thought into sending your spawn to institutions… of higher education.  I’m also sure that thoughts of funding that venture have caused you some anxiety.  While I don’t have a solution for that, and that speeding train is almost upon me, I can suggest something to help with your planning – the Financial Aid Podcast (FAP).

 

In my vernacular, calling someone a “geek” means they have a passion for something.  I am a proud mobile/handheld technology geek, but some of you might be car geeks, golf geeks, scrapbooking geeks, etc.  Anyway, being geeky is good in my world.  Fortunately for a lot of people, Chris Penn is a geek when it comes to financial aid.  FAP, a service of the Student Loan Network, hosted by Chris, offers information, news and advice on all things financial aid, along with some pretty good music.

 

The show I would like to bring to your attention is FAP677: Scholarship Expert Shayla Price Interview.  From the show notes; Chris interviews Shayla Price, a senior at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Shayla has the unusual distinction of earning more than $100,000 in renewable scholarships, effectively paying for her complete education without student loans or a dime of her own money.  Shayla and Chris discuss the process she used to find those scholarships, her lessons learned, and some innovative ideas for using today’s technologies in a scholarship search that could net even greater awards.

 

Of all the shows I've heard, FAP677 was probably the most informative from a practical perspective.  Hearing techniques and tips from someone who managed to navigate the financial aid morass and finance 100% of their education with scholarships is truly invaluable.  It's one thing to hear from academics and financial advisers, but Shayla's experience was very relevant to parents and students.  You can really use this interview to map a plan of action and identify appropriate roles for you and your kid(s).  I cannot recommend this episode enough.

 

Okay, but what is podcasting?

 

A podcast is a digital file of audio and/or video content.  Think of it as a radio or television show downloaded to your computer or portable media player.  While it is a “computer file”, podcasting is not techie, as evidenced by the vast amount of subject material available.

 

The beauty of podcasting is that most are free, there is one for subject matter you can imagine, and you don’t need an iPod to participate.  As long as you have a computer, you are good-to-go.  I use iTunes as my podcast aggregator since Apple makes the process simple and they have a directory of probably thousands of podcasts.  You can also download episodes of specific programs from a shows websites.   From the FAP website, here’s how simple it is:

1. Download and install iTunes (it's Free!).
2. Click the Add to iTunes button.
3. Enjoy!

The Christmas Season Officially Starts (For Me)

Ever since I was a little kid, I would never feel that the Christmas season truly began until I heard Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song.  Some of my earliest Christmas memories include hearing

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

it on the radio of my mom

playing it on a record (remember those?) and it always gave me a warm feeling.  One season a few years ago I didn't hear it until Christmas Eve, I think, and that year I never really got into the spirit of things.  This year was the opposite in that I heard it a few days before Thanksgiving.  Now in my book, Christmas music should only be played between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a few other songs thrown in until New Years Day.  So hearing my ultimate Christmas song before Thanksgiving was a bit disconcerting, but since stores have had Christmas displays up since what seems like March, I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Anyway, I found this very good video on YouTube and thought I'd put together a quick little post to share it with whomever is interested.  Enjoy!

Charlie Brown Christmas

Oh, and in case any of you have forgotten what Christmas is all about, here's Linus to break it down for you.

2007 Turkey Chase 10K

Turkey-Chase-25

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2007!!

Turkey-Chase Turkey

Turkey-Chase Logo

One of the great things about being a runner in this area is that on any weekend there is always a race to do, generally within 30-miles of where you may happen to be.  Thanksgiving is no exception and this morning I started turkey day with a nice, pre-dinner 10K run with 7,000+ fellow runners in Bethesda, MD at the

25th YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Chase.

The first time I participated in this race was last year after being too lazy

Turkey Chase Pre-Race

to get up that early the past few

2007 Turkey Chase

years.  Actually, it wasn't the getting up that was the problem but me being a chicken (turkey?) about the chilly weather.  However, I had so much fun last year, despite the cold, that I decided to run it annually.  My run went pretty well in 2006 with a 34th place finish out of 247 in my age group (151th out of 1,033 men, and tied for 174th out of 1,882 overall) at a time of 46:18 (avg. 7:28 min/mile).  My personal record for a 10K is 44:29 (avg. 7:10 min/mile) set earlier this month at the Rockville 10K/5K.

Staging Area

Race Prep

Today was just perfect weather-wise.  About 60 degrees and partly sunny at the start my myself and over 7,000 fellow turkey chasers.  This race is the largest in Montgomery County and represented by many families.  About 3,600 were registered for the 10K and a similar amount for the 2-mile walk/run.  I wasn't expecting to do much today since I hadn't been eating well (for racing) and my training the past few weeks had been poor (very long runs on the weekends and almost no running during the week).  Last night and the night before I woke up with really bad phantom pain in my hamstring, a left over for my injury a few months ago.

Turkey Chase Pre-Race

This race had a wave start (6:30/mile and faster, 6:30-8:00/mile half-fast, haha, and 8:00/mile and beyond).  My plan was to start with the 6:30-8:00 group and see how it went.  The course is very hilly and I knew that I'd probably start out too fast, which I did.  Miles 1 and 2 went by in 6:45 and 6:56 respectively.  Once the hills began, and I started to run out of steam, I did miles 3, 4, and 5 in 7:18, 7:46, and 7:24.  The final 1.2 miles are pretty flat and I was able to pick up the pace to 7:03 and a major sprint for the last 0.2 at a 5:31 pace.

Turkey Chase Pre-Race

Around the start of mile 5, I heard a guy running next to me encouraging a fellow runner but I didn't see anyone.  Then I noticed that a tiny girl (12-years old and maybe 80lbs) was running next to him.  Now we were going at a good pace, so it was pretty impressive to see this kid.  She was running with her firefighter dad and he was pacing her.  I thought there is no way I'm letting this girl finish ahead of me but she was flying.  Ultimately I pulled ahead and crossed the finish line about 7-seconds in front but, wow, what a race for her.  Her chip time was only 1-second slower then me!  My sprint to the end was driven by a 15-yeard old girl, who was determined to beat me.  I had other ideas and we ran the last 0.2 miles shoulder-to-shoulder and she matched every bit of acceleration I threw in.  However, in the end, she too went down and I beat her by literally 2 or 3 steps.  My chip time was about 8-seconds faster.  How pathetic is it that I'm getting any satisfaction out of finishing ahead of little girls?!?!?  Man, am I lame. :-) 

Turkey Chase Pre-Race

Speaking of kids, this race encourages participation of high school kids.  When you register, you can select a school to sponsor and I did Northwest, Bria's school.  It was interesting to see all the kids in my starting group and the number that passed me in the first few miles, only to run out of gas later in the race.  All of the kids I'm speaking of looked like they ran track and were in good shape.  I attribute most of their performances to lack of experience in pacing.  It's so easy to let your adreneline get the best of you in the early stage of a race.  Nevertheless, it was great to see so many kids in the event.

So how did I finish?  Well I think I either set  a PR or missed it by a few seconds (the results haven't been posted yet).  My watch time was 44:37 with an average pace of 7:08/mi., so that would mean I missed a PR by 8 seconds, but this course is much tougher then the one in which I PR'ed.  With the results now posted, I placeed 171 out of 1,748 men (34 out of 435 in my age group) in 45:57-gun time and 44:37 actual time.  Overall I was 185 out of 3,317 finishers.  So I did in fact miss a PR by 8 seconds, but that's just fine considering I didn't expect to run so well.  The 2007 Turkey Chase was a great way to start the day and I'm looking forward to the 2008 event.  Gobble, Gobble!!

Kevin Reeves - Free Music

Kevin Reeves - It's About Time

Kevin Reeves - Shine

If you are interested in obtaining a very good album for free (legally), check out "It's About Time" from Kevin Reeves.  Kevin is taking a Radiohead-like approach and offering the album to his fans as a gesture of good will and a middle-finger salute to the RIAA.

"Shine" is one of my favorite songs from the album.  Give it a listen and if you like it, downlaod the whole thing from his website and sign-up for his mailing list for the lastest info about his upcoming Spring album, tentatively called, "Headspace".

Beware Wayward Cars

I’m fortunate where I live to have long stretches of uninterrupted sidewalk on which to run.  As great as that sounds, it’s not like being alone in the country.  In fact, one road is actually a highway.  Well, it’s called a highway but I think that’s more so the state can get federal highway funding.  While the speed limit is 55, it doesn’t look like any highway I’m used to and congestion often keeps the speed down.  However, when traffic is light, people fly and every once in a while you see proof that the road is of no help when a cars speed exceeds the ability of its driver to control it.  That being said, you always need to keep an eye open and your reflexes sharp in case you need to dive out of the way of a hurtling mass of metal. 

 

Runner's Beware

Yesterday morning I was out on my long run, 14.5-miles which included part of this road, and listening to Phedippidations 122: Performance Eating.  At the start of the show, Steve was doing a skit based on the Prairie Home Companion but set in his hometown of Oxford, MA.  In it, the townsfolk are dismayed because Little Johnny Runner (Steve's son) keeps buying all of the blueberry muffins that Doris Crasher can produce, leaving none for anyone else.  To stop the problem, someone asks if Johnny is a runner and Oxford resident, Donnie Collision, suggests at the Road Runners Hunters Group that, if he is a runner, they could add him to the list of targets, since they only run down runners.

 

So as I’m listening to all this talk about hitting runners with cars, I look up and, BAM!, immediately see this sign on the so-called, highway.  Now I’ve run by this spot hundreds of times and until this morning, never noticed that sign before and it was right in the middle of the “target practice” discussion.  How’s that for coincidence?  I found the whole thing very humorous but have no idea what the sign means.  Any ideas?  Sounds like they need something like this in Oxford.

Mourning a Runner

Ryan Shay

I just wanted to write a quick little something to remember a great runner who's life was tragically cut short today during the US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC, site of the New York City Marathon to be held tomorrow.  Ryan Shay was only 28 years old and one of the top distance runners in the country.  He was known for his ability to endure, or ignore, pain and that helped him push himself and his fellow runner to the limit.  The running world will miss Ryan and what could have been.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.