National GIS Proposal

I finished my first Triathlon about 3 weeks ago. It was pretty much what I expected except the run, which was much harder than I thought it would be. I’ve had a few weeks now to mull over how I did. I was pleased with my overall effort and met some goals, exceeded some, and totally bombed others. I’m planning on doing another one in September so I thought I’d put down some thoughts from my first one that might help in the second.

The Swim:

Go harder. I think I held back a little too much trying to conserve when really I don’t need to conserve any upper body strength because it is really not used that much on bike and run. My legs were basically just chillin back there. Funny thing…I did backstroke for more than half of the swim! My backstroke is unusually quick, maybe even as quick as my freestyle. I was worried that I’d get off course, but I just made sure that the people behind me (who I could see very easily with just a quick lift of the head) were still headed in the same direction that I was.

Transition 1:

Forget the jersey. It took me 2 min in the first transition. Too long. Much of that time was spent getting my tight fitting jersey over my wet body. I think next time I’ll just go bare-chested. I think I’m also going to try to already have my shoes in the clips. I have the SPD clips that are kind of hard to get clipped in. I’ve heard of guys using rubber bands to keep the shoes face up then just put your foot on top of the shoe and start pedaling. Once you get going fast slide your feet in and tighten them up.

The Bike:

Put my tri bars on. There’s not much to change here except to ride a little harder and put the tri bars on. I didn’t put them on for this one because I wasn’t sure of the benefit, but all of the die hards were using them so there’s got to be something to them. I think I could have pushed harder on the bike, but I’m not sure if that will kill my run, which was already pretty bad.

Transition 2:
I was under a minute here. Felt pretty good about it. To be even faster though I can take my feet out of my shoes and just keep them on top until I get to the dismount line. That should save a few seconds.

The Run:

Train harder for the run. I didn’t do over 3 miles in training for this. I think if I do longer runs, 6 or even 10 miles, it will help my stamina for the 5K. The only gel pack I did over the entire course was right when I got on the bike. I think I should probably do another one when I start running. I’ve also heard that increasing RPMs at the end of the ride helps flush out the legs just before running. Maybe I’ll give that a try too.

On June 3rd at 4:35 am Brooks and Jacki welcomed Jordyn to the world. She came in weighing 6lbs and 14 oz and 19.5 inches long. Baby and Mom are healthy and doing well. Congratulations to Jacki and Brooks! Because you are the newest member of the Mundo family maybe we’ll name a trail after you or something.

I have always wanted to tour Europe like a vagabond. Going country to country with no amenities except for what I could carry on my back. We have all read in high school / college about the ancient cultures and wars that took place here long ago. There has always been something that has drawn me to the old cities, arenas, and the history of the old world. It seems that Americans know that nearly all of our ancestors originated from other countries across the big blue and we feel like there is a part of us that can connect with our heritage. For some reason I have a fondness for the Scots. I love the music (the bagpipes are my favorite instrument), the green pastures, the castles, and I could definitely wear a kilt. If you are thinking about taking a trip to the homeland here are a few Q&A’s. We are also in the process of incorporating the Europe scene on our Mundo Maps community site.

Note: The community site is in the “Alpha Stages” of development, so visit us often to see the progress.

Today is the American Hiking Society’s 16th annual National Trails Day. Grab a shovel, rake, and a pair of gloves and go get dirty on one of your favorite nearby trails.

If you own a pet that enjoys the woods as much as you, ticks are sure to be in your future. A few weekends ago my dog Brie accompanied us on a walk to Vickery Creek Park in Roswell. About a week later we found two ticks in her ear. After much debating and research on the matter we decided the best bet was to just get the tweezers and tug. They came out ok. After a thorough search we found 4 more on her body, two of which had blown up. Talk about the willies. I felt like I had ticks all over me for the next week or so. So here’s a few tips from research and experience:

1. Don’t use Vaseline or a match or any other crazy method you’ve heard about. That only irritates the tick and may potentially cause it to regurgitate in the host.

2. Just get your old fashion tweezers and grab as close to the head of the tick or skin of the dog/person and pull very slowly. You might hear a little pop and see a tiny bit of skin that came off too. That is a good sign. That means you got the tick plus the head. If for some reason the head didn’t come, don’t worry too much the body will in most cases just take care of it naturally and not cause any problems.

3. If there is some scabby like substance left on the body also don’t worry. Ticks secrete a concrete type substance that helps them attach. This can be washed off easily.

4. If you go anywhere near the woods or an area of tall grass check your dog and yourself thoroughly for those nasty hitchhikers.

Hang on I think I feel one on my neck…

55 years ago today, May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Since then close to 1500 people have made their way to the summit for the ultimate view. Panorams.dk has a nice 360 degree panorama view. Gratzi Google for the reminder.

I ran across a nice article a few weeks ago on Backpacker’s site: “Top Tips From Trail Pros”. I have been trying to refine the process of my outdoor adventures so that I can be on the road in a matter of hours (striving for minutes). I’ve already added a few of these tips to my travel log and they are starting to pay off.

I recently read an article in the Scouting magazine about GeoScouting and thought it was a great idea for scouting program. It is basically a combination of scouting and geocaching. Boy Scouts has been around for more than 100 years, but geocaching only got it’s start when the government turned off Selective Availability in 2000 which gave civilian GPS users 30 meters or less accuracy as opposed to 100 meters with SA on. This made it possible for geocachers to find the small treasures/caches that geocaching is all about. Geocaching now has a huge following and is the perfect activity for outdoor enthusiasts with a thing for gadgets. I am excited to see the scouting program keeping with the times and encouraging boys to use modern day gadgets like GPS units as well as the trusty ole’ compass. Now if I can just get our troop to pony up the money for some units for the boys. Don’t even think I’m letting my knuckleheaded tenderfoots touch my Garmin eTrex Vista Cx.

It’s that time again to plant a tree and feel good about your Mundo. Earth Day is a great way to keep everyone involved with the on-going movement of a cleaner, healthier environment. Kids can play a major role too. Seems that everything has gone “Green” lately. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great. I only hope that it’s not a “hip” way of letting people know that you care about the environment in todays culture, but gone tomorrow. But even if it is, it seems to be catching on… maybe it will stick.

THINK GREEN.