Welcome

December 10, 2006

Due to the cost of running this site, I've had to move from my current host to a server I used to operate on a while ago. The site may be on and off until I get everything checked out. Sorry if you encounter any error pages!

Tags [?]: Server Move

August 31, 2006

This, unfortunately, may be the last post I have for a while. Tomorrow I am leaving home and moving much closer to Chicago. I probably will not have internet service for a few days while I am getting settled in my new place. Even worse, this also means that I will no longer have the nice gravel trails and forest preserves to run in. So, until I am able to jump back online, happy running!

Tags [?]:

August 22, 2006

Extreme Makeover: Log Edition

I am giving the log a small make over. Instead of just showing how far I ran or walked and how long it took me to do it, I am going to show you what I did during my work out. I find that I am doing more than just running. Below is the first preview of what the new logs will look like. All the old logs will remain in their current cosmetic condition.

Run Tracking

Day	Workout	Miles
Monday	20 min hill walking, c/d	1.40 mi
Tuesday	17 min hill walking, 3 min run, c/d	1.55 mi
Wednesday	15 min hill walking, 5 min run, c/d	1.72 mi
Thursday	5 @ 1 min walk / 5 min run, c/d	2.52 mi
Friday	Rest Day	0.0 mi
Saturday	5 @ 6 min run / 1 min walk, c/d	2.65 mi
Sunday	Rest Day	0.0 mi
Totals	136 min	9.84 mi

How To Read the Log

Workouts: All workouts are easy or tempo running.
3 @ 8 min / 1 min: "3 sets of running for 8 minutes and walking for 1 minute."
X/T: Cross training day (activity is stated)
c/d: Cool down (warm-up is implied)
Rest Day: A day of no running or cross training
Miles: Distance covered during workout.
Totals: Total time and miles completed during workouts.
mi: Abbreviation for miles.
min: Abbreviation for minutes.

Tags [?]:

August 12, 2006

I have not been taking the time to updating the site as often as I should be. I am working on some new additions to the site and also just have some general announcements to make.

• Inspiration. One of the original posts I wrote said that I was going to help motivate other people to run. I found that running is difficult when you lack motivation. To help, I am going to start collecting stories and images to help inspire rookie and experienced runners alike get their feet moving. This new section has yet to be named. Currently, I am thinking about giving it a title of "Trail Tales" or something similar.
• Resource Reviews. I have been using some great tools online to help with my running. I would like to take the time to start reviewing some of these resources so that others can see what the services are like before using them. If you have any resources that you enjoy using, post them in the comments or drop me an e-mail!
• Moving. As some of you know, I did get a job far away from my home. Therefore, I will be moving. I am currently in the waiting period of finding out if I have a new place. I should find out by the beginning of next week. Sadly (yet happily), I will be moving closer to Chicago. So, I will not have my local forest preserve to go running to. I will be working on new trails around the city and scouting out routes along Lake Michigan (it will only be a few blocks away from where I hope to live!).
• Linking. I have not taken the time to explore the internet for other running sites. However, I did write someone and we exchanged our links! If you have a blog and want to be linked on the RP Resource page, just let me know. I just politely ask for a link in return.
• Trackbacks. I am thinking about enabling trackbacks for my blog. These allow other bloggers to easily link to the posts that I write. However, with my personal blog I used to keep in college I found that I got lots of spam that way.

For those of you who keep track on what I have and have not updated, please know that I am still looking for the right script for the contact form. I have never had this much trouble looking for a contact script that I like! Oh well, I guess I am just getting pickier with my coding requests.

Until the next post...

RP

Tags [?]:

June 10, 2006

I have made some site structure and navigation changes. If you find a 404 error, please let me know. Here is what I did.

• New Blog Index. Now when you visit RunPete.com you will immediately see the blogs instead of seeing the homepage. I realized that there was not too much point to the homepage. However, this connects to the next change.
• Welcome Message. There is now a welcome message. If you visit the site for the first time you will see a box that directs you to the welcome message (the old homepage). After your first visit you will not see the box again (unless you fail to visit the site again within 30 days). I am still using the cookie to help me with this. Again, it stores no personal information about you!
• FAQ Updated. The green box no longer asks you if you want to see the box again, go to the blogs, etc. Therefore, questions relating to that have been removed. Also, I have added a question and answer about the tags that are listed in each post.
• Site Pages (non blogs). These pages can mostly be found under the site root (/) or in the content directory (/ct). This separates them from the blog pages (which should be found in the archive directory /yyyy/mm/file_name).

Those are all the updates I did with the site. Again, send me a message if something doesn't work!

RP

P.S.: For those of you who have posted comments on Running Tip #3, worry not, I will get to them soon!

Tags [?]:

June 5, 2006

It won't cost you any money to subscribe to RunPete.com. I have placed two feeds on the left hand side of the page. You can subscribe to this page via RSS XML or Atom XML. If you use Firefox, look in the address bar for a small broadcasting logo. Click on it and it will ask you if you want to subscribe to my site. I will add more subscription types as the requests come for them. Enjoy!

RP

Tags [?]:

May 31, 2006

Yes! The resources page is finally up! The link to it (and the archives) can be found on the left hand side of every page. Getting to the archives was a pain so I put the link of the left where everyone can easily find it.

What happened to the Social Blog? You may have noticed that it is no longer on the left side and footer. I am going to be taking that one down. That has been the blog I have updated the least. (Even this blog is updated more than that one is!). So, eventually, it will fade out. The menu bar at the top will be updated as well. However, I lost the original PNG file for the navigation bar and I want to make sure my fonts match. I don't remember which font I used.

So, again, the resources page is open and ready for you to use. Feel free to suggest links to place there. Feel free to send me your links and I'll do my best to put them up!

Next big update: online contact form. :-)

RP

Tags [?]:

May 29, 2006

For those of you who inch across every nook of this site have seen at least one big update: the FAQ is online! The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is online and can be accessed by clicking on the FAQ link in the upper right hand section of any page.

The Resources page is still under construction and not mentioned anywhere else on the site but here. I have been asked by a few readers to make a page that has links to other running sites, running tools (like Favorite Run), book recommendations, top gear, etc. I can confirm that this page will be up within a few weeks (giving myself a large window). However, it may not remain a page and may become a blog at some point. Yet, I do like the idea of having a centralized list of links, book recommendations, etc.

So, keep coming back and see the updates. These are generally a result of your e-mails so don't be afraid to send them my way!

Tags [?]:

May 3, 2006

Good evening everyone!

The site updates continue like a well-oiled machine. Here are some of the latest updates.

• Site Search: You can now search all four blogs. There are more search options available than just searching by keyword. For now, however, I would like to keep it as just keyword searching. I will add the other features at a later time. Just so you know, you can only search the blogs and nothing else. That is okay. Besides software and images, there are only a few non-blog files on this site.
• Comments: The comments are up and running. All the templates have been applied to all of the comment responses (I hope). Also, please be aware that your comment will not be immediately posted. I will receive an e-mail any time someone posts a comment. I then have to approve your comment before it will appear. If you are posting comments, please allow at least 12+ hours before it shows up on the site.
• FavIcon: For those of you who do not know what this is, look at the address bar in your browser. Hoepfully you will see a little running person. That is the "FavIcon." I put one up because my error log was filled with requests for one. I like to keep my error logs clean.
• Error Pages: Yes, I finally have error pages. Hopefully you will never see these. Most of these were put in place so that people would not go snooping around directories to see what fun files are in there. So, if you get a 403 error, back out! :-)

That pretty much wraps up what I have been doing the past few days. Stay around because things are just getting started!

Tags [?]:

May 1, 2006

Good evening everyone!

I have been busy this night working on the site. Here are some of the updates that I have done to the site over the past few days.

• Images: If you pay close attention you will see that the banner image changes on most pages. The program is supposed to randomly select an image. Hopefully you'll be able to see all of them. I think one day I will have a contest to see if you can tell me how many images there actually are.
• Links: I have updated most of the links so that they actually work. Hopefully they all go to where they are supposed to go. I got into a habbit when first coding the site not to include the full path to the address. So I have had to go back and check for any of those links. I think I found them all.
• Site Map: Yes, I made a site map. Use it when you get lost. Link is at the bottom of every page.
• Standards: I am doing my best to make sure all code is up to standard. I think there are some errors here and there. But, for the most part, it is looking good!
• Google Adsense: Just trying it out. They are small and only appear on the blogs. If they get too annoying, I'll pull them off. Until then, they are helping me keep this site alive and running.
• Title Images: Almost every page has a matching title image now. These are the images in the upper left underneath the navigation bar. For example, the one of this page should say "The Blogs." They will change depending where you are on the site.
• Archives!: I have made an archives page. I am working on it still so do not expect it to be fully funcitonal just yet. The link can be found on the site map page. I also have to look at the coding for it. For example, the blogs are set to only display the last X number of posts. Yet, the archive is set to load the blogs so that it shows all posts. A slight conflict there. All this means is that if you look at the archive for a blog, it won't show you everything.

I'm exhausted from all of this work! I'll keep posting on the updates as they come along. Keep me informed if you find anything broken (excpet for the comments page, I know about it).

Tags [?]:

April 21, 2006

...with the web site that is! I am trying to decide what I really want to add to the site. I have quite a few ideas but I would like some input from those who would be visiting the site the most. Many of you I see everyday. For anyone else I would not mind seeing your comments. Here is what I would like to do:

• Polling - I would like to add a weekly poll to my site. At first it would just be general questions. As I get into shape, it will be deciding what to do on my weekend run or form of exercise. Should I go run 5 miles at the park or go kayaking on the Des Plaines River?
• Navbar - There is no doubt that this is already on the way. I just need to make one that fits the design of the site and makes sense to everyone who would be using it.
• Over Tracking - Essentially, you will be able to monitor way to many details of my health. Current weight, daily calorie intake, daily calorie output, etc. Plus, you can compare the current information to previous information!

I will put more up as I think about them. This will become the offical update section until the official site launch.

Tags [?]:

April 18, 2006

I am currently playing around with the design of the site. Hopefully by the time I begin the official launch I'll have something that I'll actually be happy to display on the front page of the site!

Tags [?]:

April 17, 2006

Let Me Introduce Myself

What is RunPete.com? To answer that question you will need to know a little about me. My name is Pete. I'm about to graduate from Illinois State University. The years were stressful, entertaining, and unhealthy. The last part is what I have a problem with.

When I was in high school, I ran nearly 5 miles a day and close to 30 miles a week. I went swimming three times a week. I went to the weight room after every running session I had. I maintained an excellent body and had outstanding health. Yet, I lost almost all of that during my freshmen year at Illinois State. By the end of my freshmen year, I gained nearly 40 pounds going from 165 pounds to 204 pounds. I realized how unhealthy that was and decided to change it.

In the summer of 2003 I decided to start running again. I carefully watched what I ate and managed to run at least 3 days a week. It did not work as well as I wanted but in the end I was back to 185 pounds. Not bad for just three months work!

I did my best to keep in shape while at school but utterly failed. Now, I am 215 pounds and starting to develop breathing problems. Find me in the middle of the night and you might be surprised that I am still alive for a person who is not breathing.

What I Plan to Do

With only weeks to go until I graduate I have realized, yet again, that I need to get back in shape. Not only for my personal health but also for my summer job. I am going to be a lifeguard.

You should be asking yourself, how is a web site going to make Pete healthy? The last thing he needs to do is stay in front of a computer! Well, right you are! Yet, it has been shown that people need motivation and support to successfully lose weight and keep it off. That is why this web site is here.

This web site will track how far I run each day, how much weight I lose, and most importantly, serve as a motivational tool for myself and others to use to get them back into shape.

As I become healthier, I am going to let people tell me what to do. Should I run 5 miles today? Maybe I should go kayaking. It will be up to my web guests to decide!

My Goal

I did set a goal when planning all of this. My goal is to get back to my 165 pounds within 10 months. It is healthy, from what I read, to lose anywhere between 1 and 2 pounds a week. If I stick with a healthy routine, I know that I can do it! It is 50 pounds to lose in a matter of 40 weeks. If I lose about 3-4 pounds in the first week, that leaves me with 46-47 pounds to lose over 39 weeks. Something I think is reasonable.

If what I am doing is not keeping me healthy, you can guarantee that my goal will change so that it is reasonable and safe.

Until Then...

I will begin this site soon enough! Just let me finish the last two of my most stressful weeks. Hopefully my launch date will stay true.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you on RunPete.com

- Pete

Tags [?]:

Weight Tracker

Starting Weight	230 lbs
Current Weight	192 lbs
Total Lost	32 lbs

It's All About...

About RunPete
What is RunPete? Why was it started? Your questions about RP are answered!

About Pete
See Pete run is our slogan. But you are still asking, "who is Pete?"

The Blogs

Running
Following the trails I run, the activities I do, and the latest in my running adventures.

The Log
An updated section of my miles run, pounds lost, and calories taken in.

All On RunPete.com

Resources
Book recommendations, links to running sites and personal blogs.

Archives
An archive of all previous posts made on the blogs.

Most Recent Posts

• Server Move
• Gym Log 3
• Gym Log 2
• Gym Log 1
• Running Tip #6: Winter Running
• Log 7

More archives are available on the RunPete archive page.

Site Search

Search the RunPete Blogs

Subscribe to our Feed

• 
• 

The Rest

• 
• 
  
  This weblog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Brought To You By