the.heat.is.on

Janice, a runner friend of mine, joined me for a two hour heat training. This is a way to acclimate a runner's body to the demands of running an ultra-marathon (which  in my country means you'll be subjected to extremely hot and humid conditions). So as part of my preparation for the upcoming Bohol 50miler I have no choice but to run under the hot summer sun. And while its obvious that I don't enjoy running when its hot, it proved to be a new experience that is weirdly enjoyable for me. It was also a good opportunity to try out the new Salomon XA+ cap and Pearl Izumi arm coolers I ordered online (both of which  proved their worth). We did an hour of running then re-hydrated, then rested a bit and after that I decided to do an additional 38mins or so of running under the scorching summer heat (35.5°C). I'm still hoping the weather conditions during the actual race day would be cool and cloudy but if its not, then at least I'm partially ready to take on the heat!

btw, I just came across this blog and is surprised that Haruki Murakami is a runner (well, he's a marathoner/ultramarathon/triathlete!)


and for some bizzare yet inspiring news >> Paralyzed "bionic" woman completes London Marathon!

dream.big.run.strong

Here's something the Move for Move guys came up with, a cool video of The Bull Runner Dream Marathon (2012) experience. It pretty much sums up the whole thing, and if anyone of you wants to run their first (or second) marathon then this is the race for you. I will try to find the time to blog about my TBRDM experience next time. I am preparing for my first ultramarathon (a 50miler) which will happen in about 3 weeks. Wish me luck!

the.pangolin.rolls

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) is officially released and ready for download (but please use the alternate servers/torrents for now as we don't want to swamp their servers)

This is an LTS (Long Term Support) release which means its supported longer than usual releases. The best part is that starting with v12.04 it will be extended to 5 years for both desktop and server editions.

And just to make sure you're downloading the real thing, do check the md5 hashes:

md5 Hash	Version
9fcc322536575dda5879c279f0b142d7	ubuntu-12.04-alternate-amd64.iso
bcee4c03b704a9b62988505b7d8f3069	ubuntu-12.04-alternate-i386.iso
128f0c16f4734c420b0185a492d92e52	ubuntu-12.04-desktop-amd64.iso
d791352694374f1c478779f7f4447a3f	ubuntu-12.04-desktop-i386.iso
f2e921788d35bbdf0336d05d228136eb	ubuntu-12.04-server-amd64.iso
32184a83c8b5e6031e1264e5c499bc03	ubuntu-12.04-server-i386.iso
d4aa1eb1131bacd46317dad1afc59ff6	ubuntu-12.04-wubi-amd64.tar.xz
33452f884d1017aadde0ec468b83264c	ubuntu-12.04-wubi-i386.tar.xz
9813c75c0ef631942b4c9f989588ab85	wubi.exe

For the complete md5 hash list check this >> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes

Back.to.blogging?

Its been more than two years since my last blog, and I probably have lost most of my avid readers in the process. But no worries, it has been a busy two years for me as well, formed my own startup company, being a father for the 3rd time, moving to a new house, a lifestyle change, and quite recently distance running. I aim to rekindle my love for blogging and with the changes happening lately I might be able to write more, and hopefully make even the mundane interesting. That said, I'll be tackling broader topics this time. I will definitely be writing about my passion for running, while still keeping the geeky stuff we all love. I'll be posting articles on Django/Python development as well as this have been my favorite things to tinker with lately. Ubuntu will definitely be discussed specially since the new LTS version is out and I'm convinced that this might be the best version yet (noticed that I didn't post Ubuntu related stuff after Karmic...because nothing much has changed!). Blogger has been pretty busy as well, so I'm taking the time to try the templates out, trash the old ones and loving the new UI enhancements. Stay tuned guys, this will be fun!