Tuesday, July 30, 2013

After Google Reader Left... My Recommendations

I admit that I was one of those that was upset that Google Reader was terminated by Google. I had used Google Reader since it was first introduced. I used it from any web browser and I had even purchased iOS apps to be able to view the feeds without advertisements.  So, of course I was disappointed when Google announced earlier this year that it would discontinue Google Reader as of July 2013.

As it approached the date to discontinue Google Reader, I started looking for other options.  I did the usual of doing searches to find out what others recommended.  I tried out a few and finally settled on two that I would import my feeds to and begin using.  Both of which were web based and could also be accessed via a app on my iPhone.

The first site I tried was Feedly (http://www.feedly.com/). This was one of those sites that was recommended from other sites.  Feedly was preparing for the influx of Google Reader users that would have to find another option to read their feeds.  The other site I tried was the Digg Reader (http://www.digg.com/).  Unlike Feedly that had been around for a while, Digg had not been in the feed game before Google Reader announced they would discontinue their service.  Digg has been around for years as a way to recommend articles, web sites, etc. to others via a social medium.  When Google announced they would discontinue their service, Digg stepped up to build a rss news feed from scratch.

So, I tried both of these for a few weeks.  Both allowed access from a web site and both did have iOS apps (as well as other phone types) for accessing the news.  In the end, I ended up using Feedly as my daily source for news.  It is fast and I can easily share news via Twitter or Facebook.

A friend and I had a discussion about this and he decided to go with one where he pays for the service.  I went the free route simply because it was there and I do not see a need to pay for something that is free.  As he indicated, it is only a matter of time before Feedly, Digg, and others start introducing advertising on their sites.  Google did advertising on their site when accessing through a web browser, but that did not deter me from accessing their site to view the feeds.

If you are looking for a easy to use service for reading your daily news, I recommend checking out Feedly. Happy news reading....

Saturday, July 20, 2013

BolderBoulder in Denver, CO

Picture of Haverty Running
Headed to the finish line.

What a great event! We had such a great time running in this race. Seems like just yesterday, but it is already almost two months ago. The summer is winding down and I am in a slump with running. We will get to more of that later.

First of all, I would like to say I cannot believe it has been about two months since my last post. The last time I posted was about a week before we left for Colorado for this race. I had plans of posting on a regular basis through the summer months on my status with running, races, and of course summer. You can see how far I got with the posting part of that, but I have been happy with my running and races ... for the most part!

The last race I ran was the BolderBoulder in Colorado. Up until about July 3, I was running and exercising on a regular basis. I was running a minimum of three times a week and sometimes four times. I was doing a spin class three times a week. Since July 3, that came to a halt. Having holidays in the mix tend to cause issues with my exercise routine. Then, once the holiday is over, I lose the energy to keep it going. I did manage to get back to spin class twice this past week. No running since July 3. I do intend to start running again tomorrow. I am not planning on doing anything crazy, but just a nice easy two or three mile run.

Back to information about the race.... It was a beautiful Memorial Day weekend in Denver, Colorado. Brenda, Carrie, and I drove out to Colorado for the race. We met our friend, Javier, in Colorado. Javier and I ran the race while Brenda and Carrie walked. I did not have problems with race at all. I felt good throughout the run and it was exciting finishing the race running into Bolder football stadium.

Javier and I broke apart from one another about the two mile marker. I did manage to find him again at the finish line. I ran the race in 1:11:48.74. While I had only run a 10K one other time leading up to this race, I was hoping for a little bit faster. I trained using a Couch to 10K app which worked great... Taking a few breaks through the months leading up to the race, I did not account for enough time to finish the app and race time. So, I only had the one real 10K run leading up to race day. That first 10K I ran in about 1:09 and it was in my neighborhood. So, I was only a little disappointed with 1:11 for the race. I think a lot of that had to do with the number of people running. There were water stations at each mile marker which was great, but the number of people stopping to get water made it so that I had to walk into those areas to get water. Not that I was complaining though as I was winded and thirsty at those times, but it did slow me down a bit.

Overall, I was happy with the results and it was a race that I would definitely run again. We are talking about doing it again next year, but so far, we have not made reservations for hotels or gone beyond the talking point. If we are going to do it again next year, we need to book our hotel as they filled up fast!

Post Race Picture
Javi and I enjoying beer after the race.

The festivities following the race were a lot of fun too! Of course there was beer and there were all kinds of vendors. We picked up all kinds of swag and sampled all kinds of sports foods as well as delicious beer. One of the things we tried was a PowerBar. I had tried PowerBar years ago and did not care for it at all. Well, let me tell you they have come a long way in the R&D on nutrional bars. It was actually gummy type of things that PowerBar was providing as samples and they were so good! Much better than the "chocolate" bars I had so many years ago.

Being in Colorado is always fun! It is so beautiful out there and the weather is always great too. It was rather a quick trip as we went out on a Saturday and went back home on a Tuesday. Definitely worth the trip! I did manage to take some pictures while we were out there, but not a lot. We managed to get around to sample wine and beers while we were out there. A brewery that we went to two years ago when we were out there too was Upslope and we went back there again this year too. Good beer and I love their bar/brewery.

I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been thinking about making posts on some technology type of issues, but I am still pondering exactly what to post about those ideas. There are the Royals that I could post about too, so I might do that as a way to keep my site at least some what active.

Until my next post, have a great rest of the summer...