solar squirrel

I love that the days are getting longer and the birds are singing in the morning.  I am sooooo excited for this spring and summer - this will be the first time in several years that I can actually ENJOY the longer days and the nice weather.  (No more school + job I love = HAPPY AMIE)

I’ve slowly started getting back into a more regular workout routine.  This past week I managed to hit the gym (lame disgusting Bally’s) 2 times and get up to Mayfield for swimming with my pal Brian R. plus run with some of my great friends this am.  I think I did somewhere around 9 miles with them.  They ran more, but I decided that it was in my IT band’s best interest not to go any further.  It didn’t hurt - but I could tell that it still wasn’t quite right.  I wore my compression strap just to be safe.  I’m not sure how long I should continue to wear it.  I figure I’ll wear it anytime I do speed work or longer distances than I’m used to.  9 miles today was more than I’ve done in quite a while (at least several months).  It did feel good, though and I can definitely tell that I’m out of shape!  Running up the hill at N. Chagrin res. I could barely keep up with Laura - who by the way is several months PREGNANT!!!  Sheesh…talk about humbling.  But it’s all relative and I’m just SO THANKFUL that I have the ability to run…and walk…and breathe!

Tomorrow I’ll likely swim and then try for at least 2 days of running at Bally’s on the dreadmill.

Todd’s been spending almost all of his spare time working on our reef tank.  It has become so beautiful - its our own mini-ecosystem.  Today we got two more fish:  a Falco Hawkfish and a Firefish Goby.  I LOVE the Hawkfish - it is SOOOOOO cute!  Here is a picture that Todd took -

Falco Hawkfish

Firefish Goby

It’s really fun to watch them and see how they interact and change.  I think we’re up to about 25 different types of coral too - plus an anemone and mushrooms.

I’m excited for another blog I’m probably going to start, too.  It’s going to be a blog about different local (Akron and Cleveland area) restaurants and opinions on the food, atmosphere, service, vibe, etc.  Due to my incredible appetite and love of food I think this will be a really fun project.  It’s not going to just be me, though - there will be 3 other ladies involved in the project.  We all will add our own interpretation and area of expertise.  I’m still trying to narrow down the domain name and how we’re going to organize the blog, but hopefully it will come to fruition soon!

At seven miles, today was the highest mileage I’ve completed in a while.  Todd was going x-country skiing so I figured I might as well get my lazy butt out and try a run.  Sand Run metropark is our backyard, so I decided that was my best bet since the towpath is too snowy and I hate running on the road.  I cut over to the Sand Run multi-purpose trail via the road so that the terrain would be easier than if I took the buckeye trail.

The multi-purpose trail was still covered in snow, which made it pretty slippery to run on - but it was fairly even snow cover and I was able to run comfortably.  I wore my miracle compression strap on my IT Band.  I love it.  It allows me to train while still recovering.  I really think the reason it has taken me so long to recover is because for the longest time I refused to run or do any physical activity with my legs at all.  This was a bad move.  What I should have done was continue to cross train and include very short, slow runs to keep the blood flow and muscles active.

My pace was super slow - around 9:15 - but I felt comfortable and I figured part of the reason I was going so slow was due to the slippery factor of the snow.  My last half mile was on the road and that was closer to 8:20 pace but was at the same effort.  During my run someone said ‘Hi Amie’ to me but I was zoned out concentrating on my running gait and didn’t recognize who it was.  That’s the thing:  I think I have retrained myself on how to run since the IT band injury.  I take much quicker, shorter steps now as well as focus on keeping my legs from bowing in.  I imagine this controlled form will slowly deteriorate if I run to the point of exhaustion which is why I’m trying to keep my running slower until I can build up a better base.  I need to get ready for track workouts again!  I can’t wait!

The seven miles were pretty much pain-free.  Maybe had a few seconds of 1 on a scale from 1-10, but still felt good.

FINALLY!!!

I received a notification from the post office that I had a certified piece of mail from Case.  I went to the post office and picked up my ‘large envelope’ which contained my MBA diploma.  It seemed so informal to receive it like that…like - all my time, money, and effort and there I am picking up an envelope at the post office.

I’ll be going to the graduation ceremony in May as well which will be more ‘official’, but I had to mark the occasion with a photo.

Now it’s time to focus on my career and my fitness.  Look out 2010.

So - this post has nothing to do with running, biking, swimming, or reef tanks.  [Stop reading now if you are bored by renewable energy or discussion of the legalities behind renewable energy credits].  This post does describe something that is funny that happened with First Energy (NYSE: FE).  Read on if you want to hear about something that they just recently did that was countered and finally withdrawn.

As part of my job I’m responsible for filing applications with the state of Ohio for getting the renewable energy projects that my company develops certified as renewable energy resource generating facilities.  (The name of the application I fill out is ‘Application for Certification as an Eligible Ohio Renewable Energy Resource Generating Facility’).  The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has an electronic-based system where you can file these applications online using their docketing system.  The system is sort-of bureaucratic, but for the most part quite efficient and the people who I’ve spoken with are very nice and incredibly helpful.

As a way to stay on top of the applications, I opted to receive a daily email that summarizes the activities for the day.  So, every day at around 5pm I receive an automated email which summarizes the days events and the different items that have been submitted to the PUCO online system.  I only elected to receive info on the renewable energy projects (REN).  Typically there will be new application filings, affidavit filings, updates, and finally the granting of the certification by PUCO.  Boring stuff, I know, but it’s good to know what’s going on and I like to see the different types of renewable energy projects that are being applied for.  It’s not just solar pv and wind, but also things like biomass (i.e. gas from a landfill), fuel cells, geothermal, and hydroelectric power.

Recently an application was submitted by First Energy for a Biomass facility.  Wow! I thought - way cool - I hadn’t seen any biomass applications so I opened up the application and checked it out.  Generally you are required to include pictures so I wanted to see what it looked like.  (I was hoping for a biodigestor or something of that nature).  Well wasn’t I surprised when this was the photo enclosed in the application:

Wait a minute - that sure looks like a coal-fired power plant to me… Upon reading the application further, I realized that the photo is indeed a coal powerplant.  It’s located in Oregon, OH.  It’s called the Bayshore Plant.

First Energy was trying to apply for certification as a renewable resource generating facility by claiming that they were using biomass along with the coal for use in this plant.  OK, fine, but after reading a bit more I also realized that they were only going to be utilizing a very small percentage (0-5%) of the fuel as biomass, and on top of that, who knows the source of the biofuel, how it’s collected, etc.

What if the source of the wood in the birquette is from half way across the world from trees that were better off not being chopped down?

Interestingly enough, I am not the only one who had these questions.  Several organizations, including the Ohio Environmental Council had the same questions and concerns and filed with PUCO to intervene.

Today my usual daily summary email arrived shortly after 5pm, and wouldn’t you know it - First Energy withdrew their application!  I was so surprised!  I wonder why they withdrew…maybe it was just not worth it for them to go through the process of documenting the details of the sources of the so-called ‘biofuel’ that they were going to be using in collaboration with the coal?  Who knows - but this is good news for all of us who are actually working to get REAL renewable energy working in Ohio.  And by real I don’t mean saying that your facility is a renewable energy facility if it has a small fraction of it’s power coming from something that may or may not actually be considered biomass.