This is the most fun I have had in my many (well, ok 3) years of running races.  If you are a beginner, the course is nearly flat so you have none of those scary hills to contend with.  There is incredible crowd support; there are thousands, maybe even 10s of thousands of people lining the streets cheering you on.  There is live music, bands so close together that as soon as you are out of sound range of one band, you can hear the next one.

This is a huge race and a lot of fun to watch since it is as much a costume block party as it is a serious race.  The winners typically finish in 25-27 minutes…roughly running faster than 5 minute miles.  There is also a contest where they pick a runner at random before the race (months before) and based on their previous finish times, give them a head start on the course.  If the selected runner finished ahead of the ‘real’ racers, they are awarded $2,000, however, if the racers finish first, the selected runner gets nothing.  How hard would you run for $2,000?  Would you run for $2,000?

This will be my third running of The 10k and I am really excited.  Even though I am pretty certain that my time goal is out the window because of my lack of serious training, I am certain to have a good time. I know I will be running with some good people and I know it will be a challenge.

If you want more information about this and many other races in and around Richmond, check out the Sports Backers website.

I later went to call someone and realized that ALL of my contacts were missing.  The entire “Contacts” screen just showed empty, like a new phone.  Don’t get me wrong I like new stuff but having all of this data gone like that was just crazy.

To make it worse, when I tried to manually sync the data on the phone with my gmail account (since all my phone numbers were still there) it would fail.  I also got an error when trying to add a new contact “Sync is currently experiencing problems, it will be back shortly.”

So, long story short, there is an issue when the phone’s internal memory gets too low (not the SD card the phone’s memory), the contacts go bye-bye.

The fix: go through your applications Settings > Applications > Manage Applications and make sure that all the downloaded apps are running from the SD card.  You do this by clicking on the app and pressing the button “Move to SD Card.”

I hope this helps someone else, I know it frustrated me!

I was building a website for a club.  I don’t want to share the name or type of club because they are so specific that it would be pretty easy to sort out who they are.  Anyway, our first few meetings were at the club president’s house, he was very organized and used a digital camera to take pictures of everything.  He had set up directories for all of his images that made them easy to find what you were looking for and was very thorough with his naming convention.  So imagine my surprise when I asked him if he had received my email with the layout images I was proposing for his site and he navigated to “C:\images\emails\ClubWebsite\FromChuck\March\SiteLayout\EmailText.jpg” and pulled up the digital image he took of the screen with my email open on it.  At this point I wasn’t surprised when he opened the next few images in the directory which were, yes, digital pictures of his monitor with the different layout images open.

A friend of mine from an earlier generation was cursing his new cell phone because before he could focus on the screen or read the small print the “darn thing just shuts off.”  As it turns out, the screen timeout was set for 10 seconds.  Now the issue is battery life, I showed him how to change the timeout and he changed it to “always on” which eats batteries like there is no tomorrow.

I am a firm believer in customer service. I typically will not give second chances to companies that show me bad customer service in my personal life.

This leads me to the real start of this rant.  We used to use a hosting company, let’s call them Verio.  We hosted a number of websites and databases on a nice little shared server that gave us mediocre performance.  We really only used the hosting plan for some databases and a couple of small sites, the performance was offset by a light load so everyone was happy…until about 2 weeks ago.

I received a call from a customer asking why their site was off-line, little did I know the turmoil that my week would become starting with that one little question.

You see, in the world of web development, there are really only a few things that would take an otherwise functioning website down: a web server issue, a database issue or hackers (I know that is over simplifying it so my fellow geeks out there, just humor me here).  I know this customer and they are so nice to everyone that I immediately ruled out hackers, besides their monthly unique visitor count hovers right around 1,500.  I also ruled out the web server since the error clearly stated “database actively refused connection.”

Problem solved, right?  The site told you what the issue was, just restore the database and be done with it.  You do daily backups and the hosting plan has a service agreement that they do daily backups offsite so no big deal. Not even close.  After 4 days on the phone, each day with at least 2.5 hours speaking to a tech support person who spent more time trying to make me prove that I had authorization to even discuss the issue.

Keep in mind that I was calling to report a database server offline.  This guy spent at least 90% of each call telling me that he could go no further unless I could prove to him that I had authorization to be on the site.  The options he gave me all included me accessing our control panel and retrieving the secure password that we have.  However, since there was no database for the site to connect to, I was not able to access the control panel…do you see where this is going?

Let me take a slight tangent here…If I owned any type of company and someone called in to tell me that part of my company was broken, damaged, on fire, flooded or didn’t look right, I would FRIST look into what they were saying before trying to determine if they were a customer.

As it turns out, not only was our database offline, it was gone.  No backups. No mdf files. No SQL access to the server at all.  It was as if someone uninstalled SQL completely and then deleted all of the associated directories that would have been left in place.  Even the directory that we had FTP access to where we dropped out backups (should we ever need them) was gone.

The remedy we were offered? Nothing.  The choice we were given for when to restore the data from? None.

There was no person in the 10+ hours I spent on the phone with them that could offer any type of reasoning for why an issue like this would take place.  I think the thing that bothered me the most is that they were not willing to take any responsibility for the problem that was, with any doubt, their fault.  Even a simple “I’m sorry” would have been great.

I do love a happy ending so let me do that here.

We have since taken all of our business away from that awful company. We have restored all the data, as best we could, onto another server that we have with a different company.  A benefit that we didn’t expect is that our internal wiki, that we used to complain about less than lackluster performance, is now blazingly fast.  To put it in the words of one of our developers “it is not downright usable.”  In fact, every site and database that we moved off that old server has seen huge performance gains.

There, I feel a little better.

<system.web>
   <pages>
    <controls>
      <add tagPrefix="uc1" src="~/UserControls/ControlLoader.ascx" tagName="ControlLoader"/>
    </controls>
  </pages>
</system.web>

Then create the following user control:

<%@ Control Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false" CodeFile="ControlLoader.ascx.vb" Inherits="Controls_ControlLoaderControl" %>
<asp:PlaceHolder ID="PlaceHolderForLoadedControl" runat="server"></asp:PlaceHolder>

And the following in the code behind:

Partial Class Controls_ControlLoaderControl
    Inherits System.Web.UI.UserControl

    Public ControlPath As String = ""

    Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
        Dim userControlID As String = ControlPath.Split("."c)(0)
        Dim targetControl As Control = PlaceHolderForLoadedControl.FindControl(userControlID)
        If targetControl Is Nothing Then
            Dim userControl As UserControl
            userControl = CType(Me.LoadControl(ControlPath), UserControl)
            userControl.ID = userControlID.Replace("/", "").Replace("~", "").Replace("\", "")
            Me.PlaceHolderForLoadedControl.Controls.Add(userControl)
        End If
    End Sub

End Class

Now, instead of having to call any future user control and register it either on the page or in the web.config, you just use the following:

<uc1:controlloader id="SomeID" runat="server" controlpath="~/UserControls/AccountLeftNavigation.ascx" />

I hope this helps someone else. This immediatley became one of those things I add to a project right at the start.

<asp:LinkButton ID="lnkExcel" runat="server" OnClick="exportToExcel">Export to Excel</asp:LinkButton>
<div> style="display: none;"

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" class="listing">
    <tr class="listheading">
        <td width="20%">
            <h4 class="head4">
                Order Number</h4>
        </td>
        <td width="20%">
            <h4 class="head4">
                Order Date</h4>
        </td>
        <td width="20%">
            <h4 class="head4">
                Customer Name</h4>
        </td>
        <td width="20%">
            <h4 class="head4">
                Order Total</h4>
        </td>
        <td width="20%">
            &nbsp;
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="5">
        </td>
    </tr>
    <asp:Repeater ID="rptOrder2" runat="server">
        <ItemTemplate>
            <tr>
                <td>
                    <asp:Label ID="lblOrderNumber" runat="server" Text=""></asp:Label>
                </td>
                <td>
                    <asp:Label ID="lblOrderDate" runat="server" Text=""></asp:Label>
                </td>
                <td>
                    <asp:Label ID="lblCustName" runat="server" Text=""></asp:Label>
                </td>
                <td>
                    <asp:Label ID="lblOrderTotal" runat="server" Text=""></asp:Label>
                </td>
                <td>
                    <asp:Label ID="lblViewOrder" runat="server" Text="" Visible="false"></asp:Label>
                </td>
            </tr>
        </ItemTemplate>
    </asp:Repeater>
</table>
</div>

the Code behind:

Protected Sub exportToExcel()
        Response.Clear()
        Response.Buffer = True
        Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=finance.xls")
        Response.Charset = ""
        Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel"

        Dim stringWrite As New System.IO.StringWriter()
        Dim htmlWrite As System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter = New HtmlTextWriter(stringWrite)
        '     Your Repeater Name Mine is "Rep"
        rptOrder2.RenderControl(htmlWrite)
        Response.Write("<table><tr><td><h4>Order Number</h4></td><td><h4>Order Date</h4></td><td><h4>Customer name</h4></td><td><h4>Order Total</h4></td><td></td></tr>")
        Response.Write(stringWrite.ToString())
        Response.Write("</table>")
        Response.[End]()
    End Sub

I imagine that if you are returning a huge dataset, this would not be the ideal way to go about this, but for records in the hundreds (or even thousands), it worked pretty good. I also used some initial limiters in the data to make sure the initial set was small enough to not have a performance hit but also large enough to be useful.


'ddldays is the ID of the asp:dropdownlist in my application.
'first we clear the current selection, this prevents an error where the application thinks you are trying to select two things at the same time.
ddlDays.ClearSelection()
'now set the selected value by the text of the item
ddlDays.Items.FindByText("90").Selected = True


I know, it isn’t rocket science but if I don’t post it here, I will pull out my hair next time I need it!


Dim tb as TextBox = TryCast(asprepeaterID.Item.FindControl("headerTextBoxID"), TextBox)


I was running in my VFFs along a path near the James River here in Richmond, VA and stepped on a large, sharp rock right in the middle of my right foot.  I felt immediate pain but thought it just because I stepped on the rock the wrong way.  As it turns out, I had broken my 5th metatarsal (the bone that goes back into your foot from your little toe).  I was in a boot for 4 weeks and not allowed to run for 2 weeks after that.  It was aweful to be stopped like that, my ortho was not on my friends list at that point but I listened to her.

When I started training for the Marine Corps Marathon the first time (when I got the ok from the ortho) I thought I should start wearing shoes with more padding to prevent another break.  Since switching to those padded shoes I have had more injuries and discomfort than I want to go into here.  I have stuck with those shoes since then and over the last couple of weeks have been eyeing my VFFs that are sitting in my closet waiting patiently to be reunited with my feet.

Ok, enough with the history lesson.  My plan is to run with the VFFs when it is dark out and barefoot when it isn’t.  The reasoning here is that I am pretty confident that the only rocks I will encounter are very small (pea gravel from driveways) and I will be able to see broken glass, etc when it is daylight.  At night the VFFs will keep me from cutting my feet on that glass…make sense?

I’ll provide updates here and pass along anything I learn the hard way.

0430 comes pretty early, even if you are anxiously awaiting your first marathon. For every long run I did during training for this event, I had a routine that I followed without fail. I did not follow the routine for the morning of the marathon. It didn’t hurt me by any stretch, it just felt different. Lesson1: stick with your regular routine.

The weather was C O L D. I did purchase a pair of 3/4 length running tights at the expo the day before the race. I am so glad I did. They made all the difference in the world. Most of my running shorts are pretty loose fitting and having that extra layer proved to be invaluable. Lesson 2: make sure you are dressed for the weather.

We stood around for the better part of 2.5 hours before heading over the starting corrals. That is something I will not do again. My legs felt really tired after standing that long and the muscles were shivering. I could just have easily sat down on a throw away towel or trash bag. Lesson 3: sit down if you can before the race, don’t stand for extended periods.

The race was long, I know what you are thinking “no kidding, it is 26.2 miles, dummy.” Seriously though, it felt long, the last 7 miles felt just as long as the first 19.2. I wasn’t prepared for that at all. I think the longest long run should be in the neighborhood of 23-25 miles to adequately prepare for a marathon both mentally and physically. Lesson 4:
run long in training.

Miles 1-6 – the start

There is great crowd support at the beginning of the race and then you are treated to some nice scenery as you travel through the Roslyn part of the run. The first hill you get to is leading up to the Key Bridge that takes you into DC about mile 4. It is early enough in the race that I had plenty of energy and felt strong here.

Miles 7-20 – the meat:

After the bridge into Georgetown (or NW DC, I think) there is a short out & back loop that treats you get to see the stairs from the movie “The Exorcist.” You know, where the priest rolls down them? Sorry, off track a bit. About mile 6.5 or so starts the only big hill on the course. It seems to never end and even has a switchback in it that makes it seem steeper and longer than it probably is. Just before mile 9 was a construction site that had 2 porta potties…these seemed to be pretty popular with most of the runners. I didn’t use them since they were behind a fence but thought it notable to point out that you might find it useful and/or necessary to use what is available in a time of need.  Lesson 5: take any opportunity to get relief.

Coming out of Georgetown you run past the Kennedy Center on Rock Creek Parkway and head to Haynes Point and the halfway point of the run. This goes around the East Potomac Golf Course and is a peninsula that is surrounded by the Potomac River.  It seems pretty lonely as you venture south towards the southern end of Haynes Point but there was a huge crowd right at the halfway point that was very motivating.

As you head back north towards the long loop around the National Mall and the monuments the crowd support grows.  This is where I saw my favorite signs; there were many variations of “Worst Parade Ever” which I found to be hysterical and laughed at every one of them for some reason.

At mile 16 my sister and I parted company.  We had been doing a Galloway style run-walk up to this point.  The problem was that my knees started to hurt whenever we would walk and hers hurt when we would run.  Rather than both of us suffer in pain we agreed to meet up at the finish.  We wished each other well and went on.  Even with the crowds of cheering people chanting my name (I had “CHUCK” on a bib pinned to the front of my shirt for extra motivation), I still felt alone.  I almost went back for her and stuck it out with the pain…almost.  Lesson 6: if you want to feel like a champ, pin your name to your shirt, it helps!

I think the hardest part for me was leading up to the bridge at mile 20.  You see, if you don’t make it to the 14^th street bridge by a certain time, you are removed from the course and forced to take a bus across the bridge since they open it back to traffic.  For people of my speed, this is a major concern.  Fortunately, I made it with plenty of time to spare, well, I really don’t know how much time, it just sounds better when put that way.

Miles 21 – 26 – the second half (at least if felt like it):

Once I got on the bridge I had the most unusual feeling I have ever experienced.  My legs stopped working.  There was no real pain, they just stopped.  I, literally, could not take another step.  I told myself that if I could just make it to where the paramedic was standing, I would have her take me to the end, I was done.  The problem was that I could not make it over to her.  She was only about 50 feet away from me and it seemed like several light-years.  After several seconds that lasted years, I was able to take one step, then two; then I could walk – not run.  I decided to go to the far end of the bridge and see how I felt then.

I met up with a man, a Patriots fan, with whom I talked about sitting down with a cold beverage after the marathon.  The thought of a comfortable couch and a cold beer seemed to be all the motivation I needed to pick up the pace again and before I knew it, I was running again.  After crossing the bridge and hitting mile 22 and 23 in Crystal City I had a surge of confidence and by the time I went back past the Pentagon, I had the emotional realization that I was going to finish this thing!  I started thinking about all of the setbacks that we, as a family, had experienced over the past couple of years while I tried
to train for this moment and I could feel the tears rolling down my face.

At mile 25 I set one final goal: I would run, no, sprint the last .2 miles.  I jogged slowly for the first half of mile 25 and walked from 25.5 to 26 to make sure I had plenty of energy for this last burst effort.

The last two tenths:

Going from a very painful and slow walking pace to an all-out sprint is not an easy task when you have no fuel left in your body.  I remember crossing mile 26 and thinking that I had to run so I began the painful transition from walk to jog.  There is a slight downhill at this point on the course which helped me to convince myself that gravity was helping me to build up momentum.  By the time I reached
the base of the hill leading to the finish and the last 200 yards I was in a dead sprint on numb jelly legs.  My mantra was playing over and over in my head, thundering so loud that I could not hear the screams from my body “MOVE FORWARD, DON’T QUIT!”

The crowd at the finish was huge. Isn’t it interesting that I know they were yelling and cheering for each runner yet, looking back, I don’t remember any sound at all…just dead silence.  All I see in my mind is a clear, yet blurry vision of people on either side of the road and the strip across the pavement where my chip would register that I had finished.

I should point out that when I hooked up my Garmin to my computer and looked at the speed with which I ran that last .2 miles, it wasn’t that fast.  In fact, it was little more than a
quick jogging pace.

No matter, I know that I left it all out there and I am now one of a select few that can call themselves a Marathoner.  That is something that I will have for the rest of my life.