Hagrin.com

Here's a quick tip post that will help those doing web development on an Apache web server and cannot see their .htaccess which FTPing. If you use Filezilla as your FTP client, by default, Filezilla may hide the .htaccess file during a remote directory listing. To view the file using the Filezilla FTP client, click on Server and make sure the "Force showing hidden files" option is checked. Your .htaccess file should now be viewable in the remote directory.

After having issues installing Magento on a GoDaddy Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), I had two clients that wanted Magento installed on 1and1's Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting package. After struggling with this process, I decided that I would document that process.

1. Log into your 1and1 Control Panel.
2. Click on Domains and setup your domain as necessary. This will link your domain to your hosting package.
3. Click on Server Administration -> Server Access Data. Here, you will find all the login information needed to login to your Virtuozzo and Plesk control panels as well as your SSH login.
4. Login into the Virtuozzo control panel. Click System Services and then drill down into the psa and mysqld services to make sure they are started and that auto-start is enabled.
5. Login into the Plesk control panel. Click Domains -> Create Domain. Fill out the domain information as necessary and create your FTP account at the bottom of this page. Click Next when done.
6. On the resulting page, uncheck the option for PHP safe_mode. Click Finish at the bottom of the page.
7. Upload the Magento files to the webserver. You can most easily do this by FTPing using the login you created when setting up the domain in the Plesk Panel. You can also SSH into your server, upload the Magento tar and untar the archive into your /var/www/vhosts//httpdocs directory.
8. Try loading your domain in a browser. If you try to load your site in a browser and you get a "Whoops" error stating that you have an invalid PHP version, this is due to the fact that when 1and1 images your server they use an older version of PHP. Therefore, you have to update your version of PHP and you should continue with these steps. If not, try to install Magento and disregard the following steps.
9. SSH into your server and type the following command - wget -q -O - http://www.atomicorp.com/installers/atomic.sh |sh
10. Type yum update to check the available updates, but choose No to install these updates.
11. Type yum update php and choose Yes to all the prompts.
12. Type yum update mcrypt* and choose Yes to any prompts.
13. Type yum update mhash* and choose Yes to any prompts.
14. Type yum update php-mcrypt* and choose Yes to any prompts.
15. Type yum update php-mhash* and choose Yes to any prompts.
16. Type /etc/init.d/httpd restart to restart Apache.
17. Re-load your domain in your browser and you should be able to install Magento now.

Hopefully, this guide helps everyone get their Magento installation up and running with little effort on 1and VPS hosting.

Yesterday, I ran a somewhat successful Long Island marathon as I completed the race in 3:35:12 which was good enough for a 95th place finish. Considering I had run 70 miles only 3 weeks ago at the McNaughton 150 and was battling some right foot problems, I am generally happy with how I ran and how my body held up.

Race Overview
The LI marathon is built to be a fast marathon - it's held right at the beginning of May before it gets too hot, has an 8am starting time, has very little elevation change, has fewer runners than most races and hasn't been very windy the years I have been out on the course. However, the LI marathon isn't without its faults having one of the more mind numbingly boring courses I have ever been on and the sheer lack of spectator enthusiasm when compared to other races. Personally, I despise running this race and its ~12 mile Wantagh Parkway section, but I do it because I have friends who run the race and I should definitely support my local races more.

Newton Running Shoes
After reading some interesting emails on the Ultra List and seeing Pam Reed where them at the 6 day race here in NY, I decided to purchase a pair of 2009 Newton Neutral Racer shoes. While these shoes are on the expensive side, I have to say that they are worth every penny. These shoes are lightweight and help to improve and force runners to foot strike with the correct part of the foot. There is a pronounced red "lug" that really helps runners to learn to midfoot strike as opposed to heel striking. These shoes really protected the bottoms of my feet as the bottoms of my feet tend to get very sore when road racing, but are still very lightweight at ~8.6 ounces. I have to say this is the perfect shoe once you get used to the different feel of the shoe's bottom and I definitely recommend this product to anyone looking to improve their foot striking and running technique.

Actual Race
Before the race I had decided that I couldn't run this race slowly as my right foot really couldn't take the extra pounding of going slower (somewhat counter intuitive, but that's how my foot felt in warm-ups) so I had told my running partner, Allegra, that I was going to go out at a much faster pace than she had planned on running (more on this later). My first 4 miles put me at sub 7 minute pace and I was definitely holding back as I could have definitely run that section much faster, but I was worried my foot wouldn't hold up. By the 10K mark, I was somewhere in the 7:15 range (maybe faster) and was generally feeling pretty well. I went through the half marathon at ~1:37 so I was definitely making pretty decent time considering I wasn't really trying to run at 100% effort (I had run a 1:35 first half in Miami in January where I was going out at 100%). By this point I was still feeling pretty good and the cool mist that had existed since the race start was starting to turn into a light drizzle.

This put me about 3 miles into the section of the course I dread - the Wantagh Parkway where there are basically no spectators, there are basically no turns and it's nothing but empty parkway. Being used to and in love with trail running, I can only describe this section as depressing. However, having run this race before, I was ready for it and just tried my best to zone out. By mile 18 I was starting to fall apart with the pre-race injury in my right foot really starting to act up. In addition, my running partner Allegra, who had planned on running 10 minute miles, zoomed right by me at mile 19 running 7:30 pace leaving me as if I was standing still (so much for running slow huh?). At that point I was pretty demoralized and decided to shut it down and save myself for the 50K I will most likely be running in 6 days. Between miles 20 and 24.5 I mailed it in just sort of plodding along, but with less than 2 miles left I decided to pick up the pace knowing I could still run sub 3:40. Unfortunately, the only runners in front of me were also kicking pretty hard so there was no one to pass in the last 1.5 miles and I crossed the finish line with the announcer yelling out someone else's name. Allegra ended up finishing in 3:21 and placing in the Women's Overall group while running a PR - not bad for someone who had planned on running "10 minute mile pace".

The normally festive post-race area was a little mellow this year due to the fact that it had turned pretty cold and the rain was coming down more heavily at race end. The race does a great post-race setup where you get your medal, protective heat wrap and goodie bag which I honestly haven't opened yet. I'll probably be back again next year with a goal of running a 3:30 or so depending on my ultrarunning schedule.

I tend to not write race reports for race I DNF, but this was such an unique experience that it's definitely a story that needs to be told. The short version is that I felt I was running maybe my best race ever, but I DNF'd at the 70 mile mark due to swelling and pain on the top of my right foot.

Pre Race
I flew from LGA to Pekin International on Thursday morning and picked up my rental SUV and headed off to the race site to get a good understanding of the race's location. When I arrived, I was the first person at the start/finish so I started unpacking my gear into the back of the SUV and then took off to find a supermarket. After purchasing food for the next few days and fluids, I went back to the campsite to see a few tents had been setup. I set my tent up to the right of the start/finish line which I highly recommend for those who aren't tempted by sleep - if you have issues with sleeping too much during races, I wouldn't suggest setting up so close and I would instead rely on your start/finish drop bag. Everything was great on Thursday until night came and with the darkness came unrelenting rain. McNaughton has been known for its thick, peanut butter like mud and the rains signaled that the first few laps of the race would be sloppy at best. The rain continued throughout the night and even up until the start of the race where runners wore their best rain gear and just enough to fight the cold temperatures.

Loop 1
I was definitely overdressed for the first loop, but luckily I kept a pace that wouldn't cause me to sweat too much. I wore long windpants, long sleeve Under Armor, a long sleeve tee shirt and two rain jackets (one too many for sure) with a Nathan hydration vest. I found it odd that I was one of the few who wore a hydration vest considering that, with the mud, climbing up muddy slopes and carefully navigating steep downhills could require both hands to be free - especially when dealing with the "rope climb". I would recommend a hydration vest/waist pack strategy over handheld water bottles where you only fill up your vest at the start/finish and supplement your fluids at the aid stations.

Loop 1 was generally unremarkable except for the fact that two deer shot out in front of me missing Tracy Thomas and I by about 10 feet. I took the course very tentatively knowing I would have to run this same loop 14 more times in order to finish. I had wanted to run a sub 2 hour loop, but ended up crossing the start/finish line in 2:03 - a little slow, but generally right on pace.

Loop 2
It was still raining at the beginning of Loop 2 and the course had gotten progressively worse now that ~60 runners had already covered the muddy ground. Loop 2 was uneventful until about mile 17 when something very ... "interesting" happened. A little back story here - my normal trail shoes were taken out of my gym bag a week before the race so I scrambled to find trail shoes that I had worn before and in my size. I found 2 pairs of North Face Arnuva 50 Boa trail shoes. I had used these when I ran Umstead and some other races and they were fine, but I had stopped wearing them because they severely overpriced. One of the stores had 2 pairs in my size so I bought them and decided I was going to run in them. Well, after Heaven's Gate, the laces that are "made from 19-strand aircraft-grade steel, Boa® is renowned for its durability in snow, water and ice" snapped on my left shoe when running over flat terrain. Obviously, there's a reason why "mud" isn't mentioned on their website. Congrats North Face, your $125 shoes lasted all of 17 miles. I was left to run the last ~3 miles of Loop 2 barefoot carrying my left shoe in my hand. Let me tell you - there is nothing like a creek crossing and having your toes "smoosh" into some cold, slimy mud for 3 miles during a race.

The effects of running with one shoe on was negligible - I did experience some tightness in left calf for the rest of the race, but it really didn't affect the outcome. I didn't lose much time, but now I had a problem. The only other pair of trail shoes I had were the NF Arnuvas and let's just say I lost all confidence in them. The only other shoes I had left were my cross trainers that I wear when I walk around. I opted for the cross trainers thinking the trail was soft enough I could get away with them and started out.

The Rest of the Race
I ran most of Loop 3 with Phil Rosenstein whom just astounded me with his running experience. As he was telling me about all the 100s and races he had finished, I face planted on completely flat, rootless mud. Poor Phil must have been wondering what he got himself into when we started running together. I passed Phil after the rice patty field by Heaven's Gate and kept a pretty good, steady pace going. Loops 4 and 5 were pretty unremarkable except for the fact that I spent a really nice 2 mile section with the runner with her own category (the "Late Early Special 100") Varsha. Her company definitely got me through the section of the course I hated most due to the still sloppy, thick mud right before the start/finish line.

As I waiting to start Loop 6 (and waiting for my hamburger to cook - burger was more important than running at that point), a volunteer came up and told me I was just outside the Top 10 and that I should get moving. Also, to my surprise, I met my pacer whom I had never met before, but sent him to bed telling him I would need him when the sun rose and to wake up in 6.5 hours. During loops 6 and 7, I felt and must have looked strong because I wasn't passed during these loops, but did pass quite a few runners including a runner who already had looped me (while he slept upside down at Heaven's Gate which was really funny to see - I think his name was Adam?) and quite a few people commented on how strong I still looked (and not that condescending "Looking good!" compliment you get from well-meaning people, but you know is a complete lie). Looking at the times, I really ran a strong couple of loops in a row and for me to post times like that is something of an anomaly as I consider myself a back of the packer. However, closing in on 70 miles, I felt great - was still running, no blisters, no soreness, full range of motion, etc.

And then it all ended in a split second.

There was a 1 foot little stream that I jumped over and because I had track shoes on, slipped and heard something snap in my right foot. "Boy, that didn't feel right." I still finished Loop 7 strong, but sat down to clean the small pebbles out of my shoe and to change socks. Unfortunately, that's where my race ended. By the time I changed socks, my foot had swollen to the point I couldn't get the shoe back on. That was it - with no hyperbole, THE best run of my life ... over. I have DNF'd before - in fact, I'm quite good at it, but all my past DNFs I could "see" coming. You know when your body is just completely finished or you're mentally over it, but this one ... I'm still in an unsettled daze from. It may seem a little melodramatic and I'm pretty blahzay about running to be honest, but this one cuts real deep because it was the "perfect" (for me) run for 70 miles.

After 70 miles, it looks from the online splits that I was 13th and moving up very quickly as my split times were faster than those runners running ahead of me (sans the elites of course). Overall, I covered 70 hilly, muddy miles in 19+ hours with over 32 hours left to complete the last 80 miles. I am definitely disappointed by the overall outcome despite how well I felt after such a long distance.

I'm not sure I would do this run again for a couple of reasons with expenses being the driving force. I also think that this course becomes more a survival race if the weather turns poor than a race testing your running prowess. In addition, the race director has since moved to Vermont and I would probably end up doing that version of this race in the coming years.

Splits

For the last 5 days, I have been encountering an error when trying to automate the creation of an Excel document through a scheduled SQL Server job. The error I was receiving was -

Exception from HRESULT: 0x800A03EC

Let's take a step back. The same code I had written worked on my development machine, worked on other target servers while scheduled as SQL jobs, but the code would not work on the following target server -

• Windows Server 2008 Standard
• 64-bit platform
• SQL Server 2005
• Excel/Office 2007 Professional

After adding some StackTrace code to my program, I was able to determine that the EXE was failing on the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.WorkbookClass.SaveAs line. After trying multiple iterations of the SaveAs command (a quick Google search provided some potential solutions), I continued to get the same 0x800A03EC error code. I went down the road of thinking it was a problem with my 32-bit development environment and had our Sysadmin build me a 64-bit virtual machine for me to compile my application; however, this also yielded the same error. I made sure that the Excel assemblies on the development environment and the target machine were the same version. On the target server, I went to dcomcnfg, selected the Microsoft Excel Application entry and made sure it was using the "interactive user" and still no luck. I made sure that, for testing only, all the SQL services ran under my domain admin account to account for SQL security differences and still nothing.

At this point I decided that I was spinning my wheels and I would call Microsoft and use one of my MSDN support cases.

After speaking to several departments, I finally reached the Office department who tried to help. After explaining my issue quite a few times over and over, I finally got the response I had dreaded - it can't be done that way. Ugh. I had feared I would get this response after reading that using Open XML to create Office documents was the recommended approach and that using the Office COM references was no longer supported (if it ever was) and Windows 2008 has additional security that prevents the old approach from working properly. Well, I guess that explains why it wasn't working.

So where do I go from here? Even though Microsoft support couldn't provide me with sample code or a link to some code, I was able to find this knowledge base article detailing how to to create Excel files using Open XML. Hopefully, this approach will work on my target server environment.

Recently, a client wondered how they could add an external document to a document library that existed on their Intranet. The problem with just saving their document and uploading it to the Intranet is a matter of document "freshness" as changes are made by the document owner. Therefore, creating an external link to that document is a much better solution. However, adding a link to a document library would seem difficult on its face.

To get around this issue, I took the following steps -

1. Create a TXT file.
2. Open the TXT file and add the following HTML -

<html>
<head>
<title>External Link</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
window.location = "http://www.SomeExternalLink.com"
</script>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>

3. Save the file as a HTML file.
4. Upload to your Document Library.

You now have a working JavaScript redirection to the external document in your document library.

I signed up for the 2008 Knickerbocker 60K on a somewhat thoughtful impulse. I had already run the 2008 Grindstone 100 and was about to run the 2008 Mountain Masochist 50+ Miler, but decided I should really try and run the ultras closer to home as opposed to driving to Virginia. I also let the existence of this race slip to my two gym running buddies who just finished their first marathon and were eager for more so I was pretty much forced to run. However, my expectations for my performance were pretty low since my toes are still numb from Grindstone and I've put quite a few race miles on my legs these last 6 weeks. I've also been battling a left groin strain that starts to hurt 30 minutes into all my runs, but doesn't really prevent me from running hard. My goals for the race were 1) to stay uninjured, 2) to run a sub-6 hour and 3) to hopefully beat my gym buddies (my competitive streak).

The Knickerbocker 60k is run in Central Park. There is a 1.46 mile "out and back" to start the race followed by 9 3.98 mile loops. There is a timing mat at the start/finish and 2 aid stations - one at the start of the loop and one on the other side of the park halfway through the loop. The race starts at the 90th street East side gate and the loops are run down to 72nd street, across the park, up to 102nd street, across the park and back to the start/finish.

As the race started, I was a little confused as to what pace I should run - should I try and run with my friends or just go off on my own. I decided about halfway through the out and back that I was going to just run my race and see what happens, but I probably lost a minute running the wrong pace to start. I settled in pretty well though and ripped off 3 pretty quick loops and finished the half marathon in ~1:44 which is much slower than I had been running in training, but pretty good considering the distance.

However, on the 4th full loop things started going horribly wrong. I never, ever have to go to the bathroom during runs of this distance and I found myself dangerously close to a Grete Weitz moment. I picked up the pace to the aid station and proceeded to lose about 6 minutes taking care of business. While the lost time is bad enough, the time spent crouching in the cold Port-a-Potty caused my legs to stiffen up very badly and I didn't find my stride again until the last loop of the race. The 5th loop was decent although I really fought my body through leg stiffness which I think caused some pretty bad stomach issues for full loops 6 through 8 in effect causing some pretty poor lap times. I was taking water, some Gatorade and S-Caps, but nothing was helping my stomach.

As I crossed the mat finishing Loop 8, I heard a volunteer ask if I wanted some soda. I knew right away that was the "missing piece" and took down two cups and decided to try and run a decent last lap. My last lap ended up being my 5th fastest lap so I definitely had plenty left in my legs and I wish I would have sorted out my stomach issues out sooner. After finishing in 5:44:55, I was pretty disappointed with my run mainly because both my buddies beat me, but also because I felt as if I left a lot in the tank and ran a pretty poor strategic race. To my surprise, I went to get my finisher award and was awarded with a 12th Overall Male trophy and I finished 17th overall with 110 runners signed up. Below are my split times by lap (remember, first lap is the short out and back) -

I will definitely run this race again next year and as long as my training is going well, I am going to shoot for a 5:15 finish. Excellent race - highly recommend running it if you are in the area.

Pre-Race
My preparation leading up to the inaugural Grindstone 100 was the best I have had for an ultra in my short ultrarunning career. I finally made it through training without picking up an injury, I was able to run 70+ miles consistently per week, all of my miles were fast, quality miles and I was able to do more cross training/weight training than previously. I sincerely felt as if I had done as much as I had possibly could have in preparation for this epic run.

Starting my solo drive from Long Island, NY at 10:30pm after a short gym workout, I arrived at Camp Shenandoah a little after 4am Friday morning. Since it was pitch black out, I decided to forego setting up the tent and just crawled up in the backseat and passed out. I woke up just in time for the 1pm pre-race meeting where Race Director Clark Zealand and David Horton talked about the race, the logistics, the course and gave out what seemed like 30 raffle prizes (runners are automatically entered). David’s description of the course sufficiently scared me even though I was already expecting an extremely difficult course which definitely humbled my approach to the race. After the meeting ended, I went back to my car, packed my drop bag, got dressed and tried to sleep knowing I would be running into the second night even if my race went well. I woke up at 5:30pm, went to the starting line and 30 minutes later we were off.

     

     

The Race – The Beginning
The first challenging aspect to the Grindstone 100 is the somewhat odd 6pm starting time. About 75 runners left the campsite and started the run around the campsite and then out onto the trail. The terrain to the first aid station (Falls Hollow – mile 5.71) is some of the gentler, runnable trails you will find during the race. After crossing the double railroad tracks, I reached the first aid station and decided that with only another 15-20 minutes of usable daylight that I would forego picking up aid and continue right on the trail and would suggest this for most runners. The road to the second aid station is a long 9.53 mile section that starts with some easier trail, but then leads to an extremely steep climb up a loose gravel road. The terrain here is extremely poor, but somewhat better on the extreme right or left side so the climb here was slower than your normal steep incline. After the gravel road, you have to bypass a right onto the trail, which you will take later, and continue up the hill to get your first hole punch which was located on the fence. The road from here leads to a very rocky, steep decline and into the Dry Branch Gap aid station at mile 15.24. By this point, I had slowed down significantly due to the night time running and having the batteries in my headlamp fade and then die causing me to kick a few large rocks.

The next two sections, to Dowells Draft (mile 22.89) and Lookout Mountain (mile 31.24) were sections that I would consider your normal, technical trail running with some rocks, some roots, but only has one major climb that is shorter than the others in the race. I ran pretty consistent 15 minute miles through these night sections which I am happy with considering I probably needed to carry more light with me. My pace slowed some more with the climb to the North River Gap aid station (mile 36.69), but I was staying pretty well hydrated with no cramps and no pains outside of the rock kicking I did in the early miles. These last three sections were very non-descript for me as they were just nighttime trail running and I plodded along as best possible.

North River Gap (mile 36.69) to Little Bald Knob (mile 45.44)
However, the race started to take its first turn for the worse once I got to the North River Gap aid station. This is the only aid station in which your weight was measured and the scales said I was down 5 pounds which was basically impossible since I wasn’t sweating, I had consumed about 100-150oz. of water and was still eating peanut butter and jelly sandwich squares at every aid station. I checked my feet which were starting to fall apart, but I didn’t stay long enough to really take care of them as I was starting to get cold and tight. On the way out, I stood by the fire for a minute and then took off after 2 runners who were also leaving. Still under darkness, we almost missed a turn onto a very small “bridge” which then turned into a major uphill climb. This climb was extremely long and goes from a single, technical track trail that is moderately rocky to a more wide open trail that is easier to run, but still somewhat steep. During this climb my left ankle was starting to bother me and my pace slowed enough that I dropped to the lowest place I would all race long.

I walked into Little Bald Knob (mile 45.44) and thoughts of dropping started to creep into my mind due to the pain in my feet. This aid station and its volunteers saved my race … twice. I sat down by the fire and a volunteer, J.B. (who I owe my finish too), came over to check my feet. At the same time, the volunteer’s dog Diesel came over and licked my face and came and sat down right next to me and didn’t move as if he realized I was in pain. As a dog person, this little interaction really boosted my spirits and took my mind off the pain while J.B. wrapped my left ankle in an ACE bandage. I left the aid station after being down about 20-30 minutes, taking 4 250mg Ibuprofen and hobbled out of the aid station renewed, with my mp3 player for additional support and the sun now shining.

Little Bald Knob and Back (mile 59.94)
As many ultrarunners know, the lows of a race are accompanied by highs as well. Miles 45 through 86 would be an extended high for me. I started to run out of Little Bald Knob with a pace I hadn’t had at any point during the race yet. I was able to run the flats and downhills very easily and aggressively walk the uphills. While I didn’t reel in many runners ahead of me, I definitely felt like I was making up time on the bottom half of the field so that my finish would at least be respectable. At Reddish Knob, I dropped my pack and proceeded up the paved road to the flagpole where, on a trailer, there was a second hole punch and some very good looking female James Madison University students. Inspiration comes in all forms and I suddenly found that good, upright running form as I trotted passed them. I took some photos with the photographer before heading down back to the aid station where I picked up my pack. Most of the way down to Briery Branch Gap (mile 51.99) is downhill paved road which I ran well and led me to the third and final hole punch. I headed back to Reddish Knob for the third time, took a picture of the aid station and headed out still running well, but not having caught any runners during this time. This part of the course, although paved road, was very enjoyable to me because of the quick intervals between hitting aid stations.

The run back to Little Bald Knob signaled that I was starting to move back through the course to aid stations I had already visited. I got to Little Bald Knob and J.B. once again performed miracles on my feet by taking care of a bad blister on right heel and on the inside of one of my toes. Being an ultrarunner himself, his foot care expertise was invaluable to me and I wish I could thank him more. He patched up my right foot and I was out running again. The trip back to North River Gap proved to be the first part of the race where I would start to climb back up the standings. The road, in this direction, is much, much easier and enjoyable than the other direction earlier in the race. I was able to run the downhills, which aren’t very rocky, with some pretty good pace. I believe that the live tracking calculated these splits incorrectly as the mileage was changed due to aid station placement causing the distance between North River Gap and Little Bald Knob to be an additional 2 miles. While I did run out of water 30 minutes out from the aid station, I strolled into the station (mile 68.69) at the same weight as the last time I was weighed and in great shape having caught 4 runners.

North River Gap (mile 68.69) to Dry Branch Gap (mile 86.14)
However, out of the station, I didn’t see the turn back onto the trail which I probably should have, but was rightly confused. On the trail tree was a glow stick (it was still daylight) and the road marking, which was white, had been smudged into a streak and I ignored it taking a 5 minute detour up the road before coming back and seeing the glow stick finally. Outside of this one marking, the race was marked amazingly well with reflective strips, pink streamers, glow sticks and painted floor arrows. The slight detour didn’t slow me down though and I continued to run well through the Lookout Mtn. and Dowells Draft (mile 79.49) aid stations. On the road to Dowells, I was dreaming of a post-race hamburger and I was pleasantly greeted with a hamburger at this aid station – the tastiest hamburger I have ever eaten.

I left renewed yet again, but a few miles out found myself trekking uphill and starting to fade into a second darkness as Saturday, 7pm started to roll around. I took a picture of the second sunset fighting the mental hurdles of the approaching night. I drew on my experience pacing at the Vermont 100 this year and how I watched my runner wilt as the night sky approached even though he was physically fine. After a very long, steep climb, there is a rapid descent that seemed to go on forever until I reached the Dry Branch Gap aid station knowing I only had one more major climb in front of me. By this time, I had caught 13 runners since Little Bald Knob and was running in 42nd place. I was feeling great, but as most ultrarunners know, your race can change in an instant.

Disaster Strikes 14 Miles from the Finish
The climb starts immediately out of the Dry Branch Gap aid station and is very steep. Only 100 yards out of the aid station, I felt a pop in my right ankle (front middle) and my ankle immediately started to swell. I figured I had turned it slightly and it didn’t hurt too bad – maybe a 2 on the 1-10 pain scale. I continued uphill, but as I started to encounter very rough, rocky sections the pain started to increase. Near the top of this climb, the terrain is extremely difficult as the rocks are plentiful and all different sizes. Unfortunately, the pain levels started to increase no matter how many Ibuprofen I shoved in my mouth. Eventually, I hobbled my way to the top of the hill, through the short, somewhat flat trail section and then was greeted with that lose gravel road I had climbed the night before. On a good day, I would have had trouble negotiating this decline as the footing can only be described as ridiculous and comical as many pre-race jokes about the “Best Blood” award coming from this section were mentioned. Unfortunately, my ankle barely allowed me to descend at all, no less quickly as I had to step almost perpendicularly to the road to limit the pressure on my ever swelling ankle. I finally negotiated the gravel road and made it to the easier trail section, but by this time I was in a full out death march. I was done.

I walked into the final aid station at Falls Hollow (mile 95.02) fully intending to drop. To me, I had nothing left to prove. I was 5+ miles out with over 7.5 hours to go so a finish was clearly possible, but the idea of death marching and possibly damaging my ankle further was destroying my desire to push forward. When I got to the aid station, I think the volunteers there thought I was crazy for wanting to drop and basically never even entertained my dropping ideas. Instead, a relocated NYC woman helped ice my ankle some and they sent me on my way after being down about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the ice didn’t help and the full out “limpfest” was on. Looking at the race results, my pace for this final section was a miserable 47 minutes/mile as I just couldn’t put any weight on the ankle. Nearing the finish, before the lake, I even had to sit down and slide down on my butt to negotiate even small, steep declines. Finally, the lake appeared and the lake mist started covering my body in a cold, wet precipitation that caused me to start shivering. I must have looked like a mess to Clark and the volunteers as I crossed the finish line just under 34 hours shivering and wanting nothing else than to have a doctor check out my ankle. Clark woke up a doctor for me who diagnosed the ankle as “ultrarunner’s ankle” which is a type of anterior tibial tendonitis caused by repetitive ankle bending and possibly tying your top shoelace too tight – something that the volunteer J.B. from Little Bald Knob had warned me about. It took me 7.5 hours to go those last 14 miles otherwise I probably would have finished 3-4 hours earlier.

     

Overall, I was very happy with my race. My quads and calves were not sore at all meaning that my training was proper although unorthodox for most ultrarunners (all my running training is performed on treadmills). However, I definitely need to learn three lessons about the “art” of ultrarunning – night running, shoe tying and foot care if I plan on not letting my training go to waste. Grindstone is a great race and I will be back next year since I want that LUS Beast Series trophy which I’m going to miss out on due to a flat tire on the way to Holiday Lake (ugh). Clark Zealand put on a great race, the aid stations were well stocked and, more importantly, knowledgeable and the trail was marked very well and very fair although extremely difficult. If you don’t like night running, rocks or hills, you may want to pass on this race, but if you’re looking for one of the toughest 100 mile races on the East Coast, Grindstone is the race for you. Thank you to all the volunteers – I tried to remember to thank you on the way out of every aid station, but if I missed some of you thank you again – without you, there would be no race.

Recently, I was given a consulting project to develop an e-commerce site and I immediately thought of Magento - an open source e-commerce solution written in PHP. Magento is one of the better pieces of software that goes widely unknown by many since very few people develop e-commerce sites (as opposed to say Drupal where everyone and their kids are bloggers).

However, upon installation of Magento on my GoDaddy Linux Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), the installation will stall on the mcrypt dependency. The mcrypt library stores several algorithms that help secure your e-commerce site's data. Unfortunately, by default, the GoDaddy VDS package does not have the mcrypt library installed. To install mcrypt, follow these steps -

1. SSH into your VDS with your favorite SSH client or the SSH Java applet offered by GoDaddy.
2. Login with your credentials.
3. Su to the root user.
4. Type "yum install mcrypt*". Say yes to the prompts.
5. Type "yum install mhash*". Say yes to the prompts.
6. Type "yum install php-mcrypt*". Say yes to the prompts.
7. Type "yum install php-mhash*". Say yes to the prompts.
8. Restart the server.

Once the server has restarted, you can re-run the Magento installation and you will be able to successfully complete the wizard.

Recently, I decided to go through my work computer's event log to see if I was racking up any errors and found one error repeated quite frequently -

Now, I have Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 installed on my work machine for development purposes and the error seems to be directly related to the Reporting Services functionality. After looking at the help for this error in the Help files, Microsoft's web site and even a few search engine searches, I couldn't find the full answer anywhere. However, I finally fixed the error and here's how to do it.
Reporting Services Configuration Manager

1. Open up the "Reporting Services Configuration Manager" by going to Start -> Programs ->Microsoft SQL Server 2005 -> Configuration Tools -> Reporting Services Configuration.
2. On the left hand side, click on "Database Setup". (there should be a red "x" to the left of Database Setup.
3. Choose the appropriate Server Name.
4. For the Database Name, click "New" and do not use the default name "ReportServer" since it's possible a .MDF file was already created with this name. I used "ReportServer2".
5. Make sure to choose the "Credentials Type" and enter the account information for a user who has create database permissions.
6. Click "Upgrade". Make sure you get all green check marks (even a warning message means the process probably didn't complete properly).
7. Click "Apply" at the bottom.

You should now be good to go and no longer receive this error in your Event Log.