Month: May 2014 Page 1 of 2

This past weekend we painted Sunny Crossing in our neighborhood (Sunnyside).  In conjunction with the Village Building Convergence we had a great turnout and painted and street partied all day long.

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Music, parades, lots of food (2 Brothers Cafe donated ~20 full meals of Cevapi). The kids had a great time and I was reminded again how special it is living in Portland.

We have plans to add a bicycle repair station and a little library. I’m on the hook to design and build both, but I’m not sure of a design – specifically for the bike repair station. I have a few sketches and some requirements (small shelter to protect users from the rain, etc.). We didn’t finalize permits by last weekend, so we’ll need to continue later into the summer. I’d also like to build in a few features to make the intersection a little more sticky, e.g. allow pedestrians and cyclists to linger.

I had no idea that people came from around the globe to participate in the VBC events in Portland. There was a women who traveled from Japan and was participating in many of the activities throughout the city – and of course there were the grizzled veterans of past VBC projects who showed up with their own gear (paint brushes and knee pads) and immediately got to work.

It’s a great excuse to have a block party every year to take over the street and repaint Sunny Crossing.

It was amazing seeing cyclists stop, smile, and admire the painting.

https://vine.co/v/MpzJVWdFguE

https://vine.co/v/MpW6m9UPPYD

https://vine.co/v/MpWap11TpUq

{dude can’t you see i’m vining this amazing painting?}

http://www.strava.com/activities/147056541

Get to a clearing, look around…see that highest point. Run up it.

Having a very difficult time throttling back the intensity this week. I purposely brought my running shoes home from work today so that I can’t *accidentally* go running tomorrow.

I think this will be my last tempo run in this taper. Racing next Sunday. I was going to go easy today, but my Thursday schedule is such that I have a huge chunk of time just before and just after the lunch hour, and if I time it right, I can escape for a long-ish run. I first considered the Balch Creek run up to Pittock and through the Japanese Garden… then I found myself engrossed in a design that I was working on and couldn’t pull myself away – so I was late getting out the door… even then!!! I considered running up and over Council Crest to the Zoo and back through Washington Park. It was a full on crazy moment of perpetual optimism. My mom used to always say I had no concept of time (thank goodness!).

As I made my way up Council Crest today feeling rocksteady I still considered going up and over… I set up a data page on my watch so that I can see elapsed time, HR, pace and mileage in one view. Even as I popped out of the woods at the radio tower I *still* thought about just dropping down the other side, crossing 26 and picking up Wildwood at the Zoo even though I knew I would be 10 mins late getting back to the office.

It took quite a bit of restraint after circling the top to drop back into the woods and return the same way I came up. Super fun dropping down on twisty singletrack. I haven’t done that downhill in months and I would typically run that section around mile 15… not so fresh… today it was perfect.

Starting to do some visualization about the race – it’s two loops of the 25K course, with aid stations about every 5 miles, so I don’t think I need to carry a pack/hydration bladder  – maybe just one bottle and refill as needed at the AS. We’ll see, generally pretty relaxed about it – although with 7500 ft. of climbing, the second time up Hamilton Mtn is going to be *the suck*. Looking forward to it.

(this post is sponsored by the 80s … all of them.)

Starting to taper for Beacon Rock and feeling karate strong. Overall mileage is coming down, intensity is staying level.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826HMLoiE_o]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk-SDreueMw]

This is a good example of a design team that has too many things going on.

In a past design of the Twitter web app, the “collapse entry” icon was located in the header bar (I think it even said “Collapse”). It has since been moved down into the feed attached to specific stream entry. Where previously it was a common, centrally located icon used to collapse all open entries, there is now an explosion of similar and confusing icons + mismatched labels. The icon (historically an “open new window” icon) is doing the work of multiple actions.

It says to me that no one is minding the gap … by which I mean there is some communication or process issue that leads to this kind of design. It’s also an example of how hard icon design can be…  from memory, I recall that the past collapse icon may have been a hamburger menu… which may not been the best choice either.

I’d love to see the data that lead to removing the collapse control from the header, but I think the explosion of iconography indicates some other issue. I have a hard time believing that users grasp the distinction between all of the above icon/label combinations.

Many times a designer’s job is to create a solution based on an identified need within a pre-determined set of constraints. In the context of designing for business – the constraints can be a release schedule, a product launch or simply the evolution of a larger strategy.

One interesting scenario that I’ve encountered is in fact the deconstruction or the dismantling of software within the context of a larger system. Feature extraction. The constraint manifests in designing a feature out of the software. Think of an old house that needs to be remodeled. The first step is to take all the walls down to studs and then begin the remodel.

So much effort goes into planning, researching, designing, communicating, iterating *building* … but it’s rare as a designer to consider how your design will be dismantled or “undesigned”. Most of the work that we do is creating; not elegantly destroying. This type of design is some of the most complex design I’ve ever done. It’s more like surgery in fact.

A distinction we often make in designing software is that it can simply be thrown away. There is no material cost. Software products die or are abandoned. Features are left unfinished (this is UX debt in a large system). This issue is probably more salient in industrial design where the designer considers materials and the environmental impact of design decisions (hopefully … the track record of mobile device manufacturers is abhorrent). Hardware isn’t cool , it’s fucking dirty…but I digress.

There are many metaphors to describe the process: swapping out the engine as the car is driving, building the rocket ship as it’s launching, etc. Deconstruction design is all about minimizing impact, making sure everything is patched up as you design interactions out, slowly backing up to the door, exiting and closing it behind you.

With no bike commute downtown to work, I took the entire weekend off! Unbelievable. It really felt like I was on vacation. The last few weeks have been heavy mileage for me. I never post my cycling miles, but a regular commute week is about 30 miles of riding … pushing  50 + miles of running, my legs are tired.

The point was to have a stressful training block – and then back off to recover. I was starting to feel my hip flexors and my heels were bothering me. Not much other than that – didn’t run anything very fast, just piling on mileage. That was 11 days straight with no rest days.

Worked on a few house projects that had been lingering. I replaced 3 basement windows 2 years ago 😉 (reframed / new pressure treated bucking / new windows) and never finished the exterior trim… worked on that on Saturday and then started to get the pop-up ready for camping season.

I always take the magnesium anode out of the hot water heater over the winter when I drain the water lines, so I had to put that back in and sanitize the water tank and lines with diluted bleach. The battery is questionable. It will be fine for a weekend, but it hasn’t been conditioned in a while so I’m not sure how much life it has left.  At 7 years old it still holds a good change – last year in the North Cascades I was able to keep it at 12v for almost a week using one 15w solar panel.  Maybe I’ll replace it after this trip – ideally with 2 @ 6v golf cart batteries wired in series (for 12v + more amp hours than a single 12v deep cycle).

The battery powers the water pump, LED lights (super-efficient) and the fan on the furnace. The refrigerator, stovetop, furnace and water heater (6 gallons) run on propane. On a long trip, the water pump is getting heavier use if we’re taking showers (outside shower hookup). I got a Weber baby q grill for Father’s day last year and with the cast iron griddle, I can cook every meal on it (no cooking in the camper). I make a mean huevos rancheros.

If anything, managing daily activities on 12volts and solar for an extended time give you a new appreciation for your energy usage. Plus it’s just rad living off the grid 😉

I’ve still been researching Sprinter vans and found these guys out of Cali – Habat Vans. Love the little 2500 High Top.

http://www.strava.com/activities/141589649

The most difficult thing for an athlete to admit is…

My right heal has been “of concern”  for about a month or so… maybe longer. It’s funny b/c you almost go through the Kübler Ross stages – if it’s just a little ache, it’s easy to just power through and ignore it. The injuries that are completely debilitating are really the only ones that can be fessed up to, because it’s difficult to deny an injury that takes you out completely.

Cool nature

This one started on a descent through the woods from Council Crest. When I popped out of the woods at Marquam shelter I though I had stepped on a rock and my heal was bruised. I wrote it off – for months.  Cutting to the chase – it’s called plantar fasciitis.  The plantar fascia is the tendon/ligament/fascia that runs from the bottom of your toes to your heel on the bottom of your foot. It typically presents as a sore heel.  It is in fact a distance running malady.  I’ve been researching it for about a month and trying various fixes. I’m only writing because I found the one that worked. More on that in a moment.

First I want to talk about zero-drop shoes, calf injuries, plantar fasciitis and compression sleeves – because (imho) they’re all related. Most people don’t have the correct biomechanics or ligament / musculature to run in a zero drop shoe (the drop is measured in mm from the heel to toe). The closer to zero the drop, the closer to barefoot the shoe will feel.  Not considering the barefoot /  toe shoe lawsuit that a company settled this week (was it Merrell)? I was thinking on my run yesterday about cave men. That I am a caveman firstly,  but also that all the paleo diets and caveman rock lifting workouts and barefoot running … that guess what? The average lifespan of a caveman was about 16 years (don’t quote me on that). Maybe that entire testosterone-fueled movement needs a re-think. The thing that just kills me is seeing really heavy guys wearing a backpack and barefoot running shoes..on concrete sidewalks. Dude; I’m crying for your knees and your feet. It’s painful to watch.

My particular issue is mostly around the carbon fiber orthotics that I don’t want to wear in my running shoes. Why? They slide in my shoe on descents b/c they’re only mid-foot to heel orthotics and not full length.  As they slide, they burn through the shoe. For realz. That and my podiatrist said to just put them in on top of the insole that comes with the shoe. This is stupid advice (I didn’t tell him this) because it adds too much lift and increases the chance of a high ankle sprain in technical terrain. The past few months were mostly an experiment on my part to run a bit more natural – sans custom/aftermarket insoles. The experiment ended as of today.

Mt. St. Helens from the Arboretum in Forest Park. Hazy today.

I have 3 pairs of Superfeet insoles in various pairs of running shoes and I pulled a pair and ran with them today. No issues at all. They provided just enough arch support that my plantar fascia wasn’t over-flexing while ascending or descending.  It was pure joy running with no little nagging ache in my heel. Super. I’ll keep them and maybe pick up a new pair.

Buff trails in Forest Park. So. Damn. Fun.

Good soul run today. Not fast – pretty mellow. I carried a single bottle w/water, but couldn’t find my handheld strap, so I just hung on to it (only dropped it once).

“Too cold to start a fire, I’m burnin’ diesel, burnin’ dinosaur bones.”
http://www.strava.com/activities/141072593

Had some flex in the schedule this morning, so I went for it. I’ve wanted to run my commute this way for a while, but never had a window. It’s going to be hot today (close to 90), so I’ll cower in the air conditioning through the afternoon and bus it or Car2go home. Oh and I carried the Nikon in a case on my shoulder strap.

The heaviest thing I had in my pack was my lunchbox and I was thinking about the caloric density of each item and the effort it took to carry those items up the hill. I think one of the most calorically dense food are oils (olive oil, lard) and I recalled an Antarctic climbing expedition that I read about years ago where the climbers were eating olive oil instead of gels.

For the most part, many people can live a very comfortable life adhering to the status quo. In fact, in order to maintain the status quo, it takes *most* people to maintain an certain (un)exceptionalism. I pondered for a couple of miles this question, “is what you’re doing worthy of your attention?” Your time is limited, your attention is the most valuable thing you have. Is it pointed at the right thing?

Found. A happiness rock (zoom to read).

This is why Portlandia.

From the top – looking toward downtown and Hawthorne Blvd. (my next stop).

Mt. Hood coming down the backside of Tabor.

And into downtown. On on.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtbuUlSGXzc]

http://www.strava.com/activities/139698866

From about 5 miles to 9 miles, the trail is very muddy (after crossing Fire Lane 1). The kind of muddy that makes you consider checking for leeches when you get back. Out past mile 10 – the trail looks like this:

…and it just goes and goes. I really felt in some cosmic way that I was being rewarded for the risk,  I was (for me) in uncharted territory never having been out this far from my origin. I wondered if the trail could continue to get more beautiful…in perpetuum. For about a mile I thought about that… what is that? Is that perfection? I have no idea what that would look like or feel like.

The most amusing self-talk of the day was when I said aloud somewhere on the Maple trail, “I have no idea where I am.” I tried to triangulate my position based on mileage, trailheads I passed, memory… and finally concluded that in fact I was on Earth. “Earth…still on Earth.”

Calories

• slice of toast w/almond butter + honey before pushing off (plus coffee)
• 60 oz of unflavored Tailwind in the hydration pack
• 22 oz of lemon Tailwind in the bottle
• 1 pack of Strawberry Clif bloks
• 1 espresso Clif shot

Gear

• Pearl Izumi EM M2’s
• Pearl Izumi arm warmers
• OR speed sensor gloves
• Hind drylete compression shorts
• Smartwool socks
• Nike Dri-FIT t-shirt
• REI visor
• UD SJ Ultra vest (bottle in one side, camera in the other)

I ran out of fluids again – but not until about mile 17 when I finished up the last remaining ounces and ate the caffeinated Clif shot to carry me home the last 4 miles. The Clif bloks go down very easily and satisfy the calorie deficit for a little while. I can feel the bump from the calories after about 20 minutes. The espresso Clif shot is what it is – kind of like jet fuel on empty stomach. I’m sold on Tailwind – my trial packs are gone, but I preferred the mild taste of the unflavored I drank on this run.

I’m finding that my system is relatively shocked after returning from these long runs. I’m actually not that hungry when I get back – I’ve been slowly stoking the fire again with some simple carbohydrates – half a bagel or a handful of nuts until I my appetite comes back, then I try to eat some soup, a yogurt, crackers. Nothing complicated for a few hours.

Shoes rocked again. I had to stop a couple of times to get mud and rocks out, but other than that – they felt great the entire run. Smartwool trail socks are a waste of money – I’m regularly throwing them away after these runs as the toes burn through. Darn Tough or the Injinji’s seem the way to go. No more Smartwools. First time in t-shirt and arm warmers – really nice combination – I was cool but not cold and my arms and hands stayed warm all day. I rolled them down a few miles from home as it began to warm up – it was kind of like rolling the windows down – felt nice. No chafing issues – body glide head to toe and compression short are de rigeur for the long runs.

Repeated the ice bath when I got home. Like: clear out the ice machine, fill the tub to waist depth with cold tap water, sit down (yowza!!) then dump in the bucket of ice. I sat for about 15 minutes…mostly thinking about warm sunny beaches. I’m finding that any soreness I would have had is reduced/eliminated and I can run the next day with no issues. And I did.

This is my 16 mile turnaround tree. 8 out from Lower Macleay. I stop to give this tree a hug when I run by. I love this tree. There is this piece of bark on the side…

…I could go on, but I won’t.

Cool nature.

I stepped over a few of these guys on the trail; the only fauna I saw for the day except a little mouse who was zipping ahead of me zig zagging down the trail trying to lose me. And he did when he zipped off the trail back in the woods. We ran together for about 15 seconds – long enough for me to think about taking my camera out and filming a mouse running in front of me. Mouse and man. Running through the woods.

The last 2 runs I’ve focused on biomechanics. Recording all the data in Strava, I can see that the training effect is kicking in as my heart rate goes down and my speed increases. I’m becoming more efficient. It all just feels like practice…practicing movement in a certain way – becoming more efficient with more practice. The more efficient you are, the longer it takes fatigue to set in.  That’s the plan anyway.

In skiing the proper biomechanics are to stack up: the concept is to stack your skeletal system so that it absorbs the most energy, keeping your head over your core and spine and your knees slightly bent (leaning slightly forward). Everything is aligned just over the center of your feet all the way to the top of your head.

While running, I’ve been mentally focusing on my hip flexors, pushing my hips just slightly ahead of my core – it keeps my momentum forward in an efficient way. Upper body very still, eyes looking about 8 -10 feet ahead on the trail; monitoring the trail 2-3 feet ahead for obstacles. If I feel my hips drop back, I consciously move them slightly forward, no matter uphill or downhill, just keeping my hips slightly forward.

One strange thing that I can’t figure out is my left hand gets colder than my right. I’m not sure if it’s because my watch is ever so slightly cutting down blood flow or if I have more vertical oscillation in my left hand than my right and the air is making it colder. I literally grab my left hand with my right sometimes to warm it up. I didn’t have gloves running in the rain today … I would have put them on if I did.

I was thinking today that proper biomechanics are a lot like good design. There is an efficiency, a lack of the extraneous… there are a lot of parallels. When design works well, it ceases to be something detached from the experience. The experience and the artifact merge. In many human activities that use a constructed artifact – playing a musical instrument, riding a bicycle, driving a car… badly designed artifacts become a hindrance to the experience. There is a reason that well-designed objects are expensive – it takes more care to design, construct and maintain them…thinking about musical instruments out of tune or a badly tuned bicycle. It’s the same with biomechanics … except the artifact being tuned is the human body. The most amazingly designed system that has ever existed.

The forest was beautiful today. Rhododendrons and azaleas are blooming throughout Forest Park. Explosions of red, purple, pink and white. Although it was pouring rain at times, the canopy is so dense that there are long stretches of trail that are perfectly dry. I have a camera that I may start carrying – it’s a Nikon Coolpix aw110 that we bought before we went to Peru. I think I could attach it to my waist. There are so many beautiful shots that I could take if I only paused for a moment. We’ll see.

One of my favorite books is The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell.  In particular how the oral tradition of storytelling retold over time begets legends and mythology. Sometimes just with a image – and there is always a story behind the image. This is always the image I think of:

And when she’s older, we’ll tell her the story of how she got to the top of that peak.

What each must seek in his life never was on land or sea. It is something out of his own unique potentiality for experience, something that never has been and never could have been experienced by anyone else.

– Joseph Campbell