One Foot In Reality

Joey's World, Chapter Two, For Love of Joey

noreply@blogger.com (mshaw) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:30:28 PST

You may remember Joey, the chosen one, from my earlier post describing how Joey came to be a part of our household. Joey knows that he is the chosen one. He is the only cat able to launch himself up to the top of the cupboards to sleep. He is the only cat able to jump onto the stackable washer/dryer to perch in the laundry basket up top. He is the only cat that waits for the dryer door to open so he can bask in the warmth and comfort of the just-tumbled clothes. Sneaking In...

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Cross Country Skiing - North Country Style

noreply@blogger.com (mshaw) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:35:29 PST

Looking out over the lake in summer 1995 was a year of change for me. My marriage of nine years ended suddenly during the fall of 1994. My two daughters, age seven and nine, began to spend every other weekend with their dad. After years of their company, I found myself alone. I spent a few weekends sitting at home before I realized that I needed to get out and do things. Errol, New Hampshire My brother owned a camp overlooking a small lake outside Errol, New...

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OFIR End of 2011 Wrap-up

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:54:59 PST

Every year I do a quick re-cap of what has happened here at "One Foot In Reality". This has been one of those years where a lot has happened: I finally agreed to knee surgery on May 17th and looking back I wish I had done it a lot sooner. I started running again although rather slowly on June 15th. On June 17th - I left teaching to join Mary in retirement Over the course of the summer I was searching for a new focus for One Foot In Reality and tried several out, but none of them seemed...

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Looking Back at My 2011 Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:22:13 PST

Every year I go back and see how I did on my previous year goals and the outcomes. #1 Determine whether or not I want to remain in Special Education as a teacher. "This is something that I do every summer - take a good long look at the job I am presently in and decide whether or not to stay. It is very stressful being a Special Educator for a variety of reasons (which I have documented in other blog posts) and I have to determine if that stress is...

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Ye Olde Christmas Tree - Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (mshaw) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:51:04 PST

. . . .continued from Ye Olde Christmas Tree - Part One. As you may recall in yesterday's post, Part One of Ye Olde Christmas Tree, Harold and I found the perfect tree out back of our house, but we gave it away to my daughter, Christie, and her husband, Sean. That left us, again, with no tree. We talked about not having a tree at all, but decided that we were not ready to go that route. We have a fake tree out in the garage, but we stopped using it a number of years ago. We...

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Ye Olde Christmas Tree - Part One

noreply@blogger.com (mshaw) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:57:31 PST

Image via Wikipedia Christmas Past Do you remember Christmas past when the snow outside the window glittered like a thousand diamonds under the winter-pale moon? Everyone hovered around the door waiting for that last family member to arrive. The holiday table in the dining room groaned under the weight of a huge stuffed turkey, mounds of mashed potato, and an assortment of vegetables - peas, carrots, corn, onions, and squash. And the Christmas tree stood in its place of honor in...

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The Difference Six Months Makes

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:33:23 PST

Crossposted at Veteran Runnah Today it has been 6 months since I walked out the door of my old job on June 17th just after 1:00 P.M. and really started my retirement - see my Fare Thee Well-LJHS post. Since that day a lot has happened and there have been a lot of changes in my attitudes, interests and perspectives during this very short time. It is what it is - Yes I am retired. Yes I am retired. It is not semi-retirement,...

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100,000 Page Views - One Foot In Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:03:13 PST

This afternoon One Foot In Reality passed a pretty monumental milestone for a small blog! As we have been coming up on this 100,000 page views, it was nice to look back at the all-time list of most viewed blog posts - it brought back a lot of memories. Evernote as a Task Manager Mobile Me Review NOOK COLOR - REVIEW JANUARY 2011 Evernote Review PAPER AIRPLANE LESSON PLAN 2010 Opus Domini - Electronic Organizer Review The Greatest Speech Ever Made - Charlie Chaplin Apple...

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Flame-out Conversations on Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:48:26 PST

By Engineering at CambridgeNo real name given This post is a bit of a tangent for me and "A Veteran Runnah", it looks at the stress that a conversation on a social media site can produce if you decide to let it go too far. Last night on Twitter I got into a discussion with someone I have talked with on several occasions about the label of runner versus jogger (which is a bit of a hot button for me) and we finally agreed to disagree and changed the subject over to talking the...

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Streaking - Not Good for Older Runners

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:24:39 PST

Cross-posted at A Veteran Runnah Streaking can get you in a lot of trouble up "heah" in Maine this time of year, blue balls, shrinkage and nippy nips, not to mention the blue lights and guys in uniform laughing at you. Yeah I know bad joke and I couldn't resist! ;-) Streaking - A bad thing? Bennie resting on his dog Stop and think about it streaking in relation to running - how can it be a bad thing? It helps motivate you to run more doesn't...

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Icebreaker Base Layer Clothing Review

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:35:17 PST

Cross-posted at: A Veteran Runnah Back on November 28th, I was contacted by a representative of the Natureshop which is based out of New Zealand, asking me if I would be interested in wear-testing some of their Icebreaker base layer clothing after reading my post on what to wear in the winter post on "One Foot In Reality". We coordinated the logistics and they sent the package out on November 30th and it got here December 6th. Unfortunately, I wasn't home to receive the...

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1988 to 2000 - The Lost Running Years

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:10:08 PST

Snow Shoeing with Dad - I don't have any running pics from this time// Cross-Posted on "A Veteran Runnah". This is a post in my ongoing series where I am looking back at over my 40 years as a runner. It still doesn't seem possible that I started running over 40 years ago, but that is how long I have considered myself a runner. No I am not an elite runner far from it, I just a pretty average one ranging from jogger to road racer. In this series you will find my recollections and...

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Sixties Backyard Skiing - It Was Simpler Then

noreply@blogger.com (mshaw) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:26:41 PST

I grew up in Berlin, New Hampshire. My parents had a home on First Avenue. It had a huge backyard that climbed up a hill to--you guessed it--Second Avenue. A brook cut across the top of the property. We had four or five apple trees, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, hazelnut bushes, and a pear apple tree. I am the one with the bandaid on my knee. This is our backyard in front of the hill I skied down. The yard was a great place for adventures. It was also a...

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Lion Becomes Snow Leopard

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:13:27 PST

Over the past few months I have become more and more frustrated with my Mac. It freezes, when using software, then the web browsers either have prolonged periods of the spinning wheel of death, "ah snapitis", other browsers just freeze for 2-3 minutes and then unfreeze. All of this was not what I had experienced on my MacBook Pro from when I bought it in late December 2009 until June 2011, when I installed Lion. Prior to Lion, my Mac was reliable, quick and did most everything that...

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I'm Back! November 2011 Running Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:14:07 PST

I AM BAAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!! SORRY for yelling. No I am really not - but I am so excited about the progress I have made over the past month that I wanted to shout it out LOUD. I had been running a little here and a little there since June, but I but I finally decided to put up or shut-up about running and my knee at the end of October and keep a log on what I am doing. This is the first month that I have been able to really run in what seems like forever, well actually since February...

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RunLog - 11/30/11 - I Ran Anyway

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:14:25 PST

Okay today was supposed to be a scheduled day off. Thanks to my compatriots on Twitter, I got the itch to run today. It was just too nice a day to take off - 54F and bright sunshine for the last day of November. I actually wore shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt with my synthetic undershirt to wick away the sweat. I wanted to run at least 3.0 and just do it easily. I ran easy and really focused on my form and forefoot striking while running. After the first 1.5 miles I had to...

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Saucony Peregrines after 60 Miles of Running

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:14:48 PST

Back on November 7th, I purchased a new pair of Saucony Peregrines, since then I have run in these shoes 19 times and have put 62.3 miles on these shoes. So how have they been? In a word: FANTASTIC Initially I was thinking that they don't have enough cushioning to be comfortable running shoes for me. As I have worked on my mid foot strike which the Peregrine promote, the need for the extra cushioning has been much reduced. The Peregrines encourages me to use a mid foot...

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Running, Dogs and Trails - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:15:39 PST

In my Running, Dogs and Trail - Part 1, I discussed meeting dogs on the trail, when running or walking and offered up some observations and tips. This post is from the other perspective having a dog with me, while walking or running on a trail and then encountering runners, hikers or walkers on trails. Sort of an open letter to Runners, hikers and walkers who meet my dog and I on the trail. Yes I have a dog and yes I walk him on trails and eventually plan to run with him on trails....

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RunLog 11/29/11 - Just Made it In

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:16:03 PST

Once again the weather is unseasonably warm. I dressed in shorts, synthetic sleeveless shirt as my base layer, long sleeve synthetic and a orange cotton sleeveless shirt for visibility. I wore gloves for the first half and then stuffed them in my shorts when I got too warm for them and my high vis ball cap. I was very comfortable for the run especially after I took off my gloves. About 10 minutes after I got in the house, just after TheWife got outside for her run, it started to pour -...

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RunLog 11/28/11 - Easy Run

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:37:19 PST

I couldn't believe it the weather today was warm enough for short and a long sleeve t-shirt! The sun was coming out just as I started running, after it being cloudy most of the day. It was a perfect day for a run. I am learning to not run, right after doing a long walk with Bennie, the immediate double workout takes too much out of me right now. Maybe when I loose some more weight and get in better shape it won't bother me, but right now it does. The run itself was good, going out I...

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Running, Dogs and Trails - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:33:23 PST

Image by FlyinPhotography via Flickr Yesterday I was out running a local trail system and had a dog encounter and to be very honest it bothered me - a lot, see my RunLog 11/27/11 post for more information. So I have decided to do a two-part series on Running, Dogs and Trails and this is the first one from the runner's perspective. Sort of an open letter to dog owners from a trail runner, hiker and walker about dogs and trails, with a few tips for when you encounter dogs on the trail. I...

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Week In Review - 11/27/11

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:03:45 PST

My Week In Review is a little early this week, but I don't think it will make much of a difference on anything. We made it through Thanksgiving without any major meltdowns or joining over-eaters anonymous as a full-time member. I had some moments of weakness and a few too many sweets (TheWife's homemade pumpkin pie - who wouldn't), but other than that I did better than I ever have. It was a really good week overall: I opened a new Facebook account even though I really, really didn't...

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RunLog 11/27/11 - Misadventures on the UMA Trails

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:58:26 PST

I try to find a trail run someplace on Sundays and today I figured it would be a good day to go to the University of Maine @ Augusta and run the trails back there. With the snow storm on Wednesday, I didn't want to beat myself too bad with roots and stuff underneath the snow that I couldn't see. Plus the snow has melted a lot since that day. The UMA trail system is where a lot of the State High School Cross Country Championships are run, so the trails are pretty smooth, but the course isn't...

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Seven Things About Me - Meme

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:58:49 PST

There has been a meme going around the Internet lately and I was reading The Balance Project blog and she tagged anyone who read her 7 Things post to do one on themselves. After reading a bunch of this kind of post over the past week, I thought it would be fun to do one myself. Here are 7 things about me that you might or might not know about me. 1. I have had mostly gray hair since I was 40 - yes I tried dying it for a few years, but finally decided to go with the distinguished gray look...

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RunLog 11/26/11 - Run With TheWife

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Shaw) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:28:20 PST

Wow, things got a little crazy and I almost forgot to post my RunLog entry for today. Today, I ran with Mary for the first time since before I hurt my knee back in February 2010. It was great to run with her again. Running together is something that we did from the time we met until I got hurt, it was an important and positive part of our relationship. It was overcast and cloudy, but it was crazy 51F and I was wearing only shorts, double layer on top, with a fleece, gloves (my hands are...

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