If you have more photos of your pets than your children, then this write-up is for you.

For More info on Carpet Cleaning Nassau County Please read on:

The President of High quality Carpet Cleaning asked me to write an write-up on pet odor and like all fantastic writers I was looking for inspiration.  Then it came.  One fateful Saturday morning, after I got out of bed, showered, dressed, splashed on my $80 Allure cologne from Chanel, donned my Olex watch (they gave me a $9700 discount because it was missing an “R”) and prepared to leave for work, my wife summoned me towards the garage.  And no, I am not a famous movie star being paid to endorse goods.

For More info on Carpet Cleaning Nassau County Please read on:

Upon entering the garage I said, “Hurry and tell me what you want, it smells in here.”  She stated, “Exactly.”  I found my inspiration!

It was a “present” left by my very best friend.  And within the spirit of play he deposited it in a multiple of locations just to make it more fascinating for me.  The odor was so poor I could taste it for hours.  I used half a gallon of Pine-Sol just so I could remain within the garage lengthy enough to clean up the mess.  I used Brawny paper towels and they did not fall apart.

As I was cleaning, I looked over and my dog was just sitting there wagging her tail.  I was feeling guilty more than my initial thoughts and wondered if the Pine-Sol was bothering her.  I could only blame myself if it was, as it was I who was searching for inspiration.  We all adore our pets!

Characteristics of Pet Urine (Dog or Cat)

    Dogs and cats don’t sweat like we do.  It comes out in their urine which adds a high salt content.
    Urine starts out sterile on the acidic side and modifications to an alkaline, which means old urine is different than fresh urine.
    Urine does not dry because the alkaline salts attract moisture and breed bacteria which continuously create odor.
    Urine can bleach out and permanently stain carpets.

How We Treat Pet Odor

We use a 3-step procedure which safely kills the germs and bacteria that cause the odor. This process is secure for pets and provides the best odor removal results.

Our technicians carry moisture sensors which can locate unseen pet odor sources for best therapy results.

For severe instances of urine our technicians are equipped to replace the pad under the affected areas of your carpet and treat the floor also as the carpet if necessary.

Please note that urine can leave permanent stains, discoloration as well as bleach the color out of carpets.  If we can’t get the stain out, nobody can.  In such cases we can frequently patch the region having a piece of carpet from a remnant or from an inconspicuous region like a closet.

House Remedy

Take ½ cup of white vinegar and two cups of water and spray spot and blot up as a lot as you can.  Do not scrub or agitate.  Then treat with an enzyme (like Nature’s Miracle) as per instructions on the bottle.

PowerPro Carpet Cleaning NYC

1-800-CLEAN-MY CARPETS

1-800-253-2669

http://holidays-and-accommodation.co.uk

There are other solutions that I’ve reviewed before, such as Stabilicers and Yak Trax, but until I heard about Ice Spikes my favorite solution was to just drill sheet metal screws into the bottom of my shoes. They’re both cheaper and more effective than anything else I’d tried.

Having used Ice Spikes for a couple of Winters now, my conclusions from 2010 still hold true. Sheet metal screws aren’t as effective as Ice Spikes and they don’t last nearly as long. However, they are a lot cheaper.

How much you run and how much traction you want will determine which solution is better for you, and if you’d like to see all the pros and cons of both solutions then click here to see my full summary.

There is one thing for sure, however, and that’s that if you can get your Ice Spikes on sale or for free, then there’s no contest about which is a better option! Ice Spikes has been kind enough to sponsor quite a few races here in Southern Maine, one of which I direct and a few put on by my trail running friends.

How To Win a Free Set of Ice Spikes

They’ve also been kind enough to provide some of their product for me to give away right here at Run to Win! I’ll be giving them away throughout the month, starting today. If you are paying attention, then this weekend you can just leave a comment here on this page and you’ll be entered into a random drawing. Be sure to leave a valid email address (it won’t appear on the site) so that I can get in touch with you if you win.

As I type this, it is Saturday morning on December 3rd, 2011. This contest will stay open until noon on Sunday, December 4th (Eastern Time.) One fast acting commenter is going to get a free set of Ice Spikes to use this Winter, and you’ll still have time after the contest to buy a set with a 15% discount from their website.

If you buy anything on their website by midnight tomorrow, use coupon code stocking stuffer and you’ll get 15% off of your order. Just go to: www.icespike.com

To enter the contest: Just leave a comment below.

The last time we had run a marathon together had been in 2006, so we were overdue to meet up at a race and chat for 26.2 miles.

Please excuse the small bit of coughing left in my video; I cut out over 10 minutes of the really painful coughing. I didn’t know it at the time but I went into the race with a cold so starting a few hours after we got done running I got treated to a week of a very annoying and persistent cough that kept me home from work for a few days.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO7famNp0J4

Video Transcription

Click Here to Read the Transcript

Unfortunately, I wound up getting hurt in late 2010, so my 5 months of training turned out to be 4 months of barely any running and 1 month of no running whatsoever.

So thankfully, I had decided to run the New Jersey Ultra Distance Festival, which had a Marathon, a 50K, a 50 Mile, 100K, and 100 Mile options, so I was able to drop down to the marathon.

I flew in Friday night, so we didn’t go to the pre-race party. I wound up driving in the morning of the race with a friend of mine from the City. It was kind of nice dropping down to the marathon, because that meant that I got to run with my friend John. It was his third marathon, and it was the first time that he got to do a race where there are ultra events going on, and a trail marathon. So it’s a much different crowd than at the New York City Marathon, which is the only race that he’s run before.

So we drove out early on Saturday morning, and that was the weekend that we had the Super-Moon, which made the moon appear really large in the sky. That would have been a lot nicer up here in Maine, but driving from New York City towards New Jersey with that yellow haze just was kind of a sickly hue to it. But it certainly provided a lot of light. I’m sure it was great for the runners that started while it was still dark.

We showed up about an hour before our race was set to go off, so we got to see the 50K start. Then we went in. The race had these great yellow duffle bags for all of the runners, that had our race shirts in them, and listed on the side, what event you were doing and what you got along with the race in terms of post-race party, finisher medals, and anything like that.

So we lined up for the run. The start-finish area was all outside of a local church, which provided a great facility for the race headquarters to be.

The course was shaped like a “T” with 2 main out and back loops, a western side and an eastern side. For the longer races such as the 100 miler, all of the western side out and backs were run first, since they had to have that section closed off before it got dark, and then the eastern side loops would be done after that.

For the marathoners, what we did was a short 1.2 mile out and back, that was separate from those two. And then we did the western loop, and the eastern loop.

Most of the trail was on rail trail, so it was just soft gravel and some dirt. There was very little to trip over other than curbs when you’re crossing some roads. There was a little area where you’re running though a field, and that actually had a slight rise to it, especially on the way back. But for the most part, it was a very flat course. Anybody that doesn’t like hills, this is definitely the race for you.

There was more than enough aid for people running the race, especially if you’re carrying your own water. There were 3 main aid stations. The first one is at the start-finish area, which had all kinds of food laid out, and some coolers where you could refill your water bottles. And then each of the two main loops had an aid station where you could hit it on the way out, and on the way back in.

My buddy and I just went out, ran at a comfortable pace the whole way. We stopped and chatted with people at the aid stations and didn’t worry about stopping for a few minutes here and there.

On the western side, there was plenty of company while we were running because all of the long-race people, as I’ve said, they were doing each of those western loops first before going to the eastern side. So we were constantly passing people, or getting passed, or crossing paths with people going in the opposite direction. And once we got to the eastern side, there were not quite as many people. We were still passing people, especially crossing people from the out and back, pretty regularly, but not nearly as often as we had been on the western side.

Then once we got to the finish line, you cross through. It was chip timed, so you were able to just go through. They had your name come up, and the race director Rick was there cheering everybody in, giving you your finisher’s medal.

So once you’ve finished, you had full access to the aid station again. All the cars were parked right there at the race HQ, so it’s easy to get in and get some dry clothes on.

The weather was very nice for the run. It was a little bit breezy, and it was nice and cool down in the 30′s. The original forecast had called for it to be the same temperatures but raining, and that would have been really uncomfortable. But given that it was sunny out, it was actually quite pleasant to run.

John and I both ran 3:33 for our finishing time. We both had a good time, and I’m hoping that schedule works out so that I could get back next year and maybe run that 100 Miler that I wasn’t able to do this year.

If I can make it out there again next year, then hopefully I’ll see you there, and if not you can just check RunToWin.com and find out where I will be running.

More Info: NJ Trail Series -- Full Results -- My Photos

Just before I continue I would like to make it clear that this is by no way my line of business; I am in fact involved in various projects to do with various industries including providing cheap calls and offering advice on training for foster carers and selling composite doors.

A few days ago a friend of my step-daughters came round to our house to play. They are both twelve years of age and have known each other since primary school. This friend also stopped at our house for her evening meal and while at the dining table, eating her food, she started up quite an interesting conversation. She asked my step-daughter if she would be interested in joining her to take part in a survey which would be about the subject of childrens banking.

I started to ask this girl, who is called Emma, what would be involved. Emma replied that a woman would be visiting her house on the next Saturday morning and that she would be asking her some basic questions with regards banking; banking that is for a twelve year old. The lady continued to explain that they would earn £20 for attending the meeting that would last approximately ninety minutes. If she then also kept a form of diary for a week, she would then receive another £10.

My step-daughter suddenly became very interested and asked me whether she would be able to go as well, I told her that she could.

Emma then told our family that she regularly took part in these surveys and had been introduced to the idea by a friend of her mothers. She stated that on average she made around £100 a month from taking part and completing these surveys, not bad for a twelve year old. I joked by asking her whether I could also go around on the Saturday. Emma replied that this survey was only aimed at schoolchildren but that her parents also regularly took part in other surveys and that she would let me know when the next one was going to take place.

The Saturday arrived and I took my step-daughter to Emma’s house. I started talking to her parents while I waited for the meeting to finish. Her parents stated that they also take part in these types of surveys and that the additional money comes in handy. They also stated that it also helps them to pay some of their household bills each month.

After the registration fiascos of the past 2 years, I wrote an open letter on how to improve the Beach to Beacon with a few suggestions on how to improve the process (many of which were implemented this year.)

And with this year’s improvements, registration closed once again in record time. Technically, registration is still open for the 1500 lottery entrants, but of the first-come, first-served entries, all 600 of the Cape Elizabeth entries were snatched up in 21 minutes on Friday, and the 4,000 open registrations were all claimed within 32 minutes on Saturday morning.

I didn’t have any personal experience with the registration process this year, as I was out running at Pineland Farms. From what I’ve heard, though, the process wasn’t quite as horrible for everybody as it was last year, although it was still far from ideal.

Many people still had to contend with server errors, although I haven’t heard of nearly as many people thinking they were registered and not actually getting through, or of people getting double billed and/or double-entered.

If you haven’t yet registered for the race and still want to run, there are 1,500 bibs still up for grabs in the lottery. Lottery requests must be received by March 21^st, with the winners being announced on the 22^nd.

You can register at the race website: BeachToBeacon.org

If you are a Cape Elizabeth resident, you can register tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. and can avoid trying to beat the rush of the other 10,000 people that want to run for 24 hours (or at least until the 600 reserved slots are registered.)

Everybody else can try to register on Saturday morning.

Here are the full details direct from the folks at B2B:

This year, there may very well be the existing 1 peak and an additional 5 peak or 8 peak option, and you could help find the routes that will be used!

This Saturday and Sunday some Trail Monsters will be combining with Tri-Maine to explore the trail systems and ski slopes at Sunday River in order to map out a few new courses for this year’s Mountain Epic in October. A group of us will be leaving Portland around 7:00 on Saturday morning and running once we arrive.

You can participate by joining me and some other Trail Monsters on Saturday 6/20 or Sunday 6/21. If you would like to run both days and stay overnight at Sunday River I can provide free accomodations — please contact me ASAP.

Saturday — Meet at the Back Cove parking lot on Baxter Blvd across from Hannaford in Portland by 7am. It will take about 2 hours to drive up there. We will all meet at the South Ridge Lodge at 9:30am near the wooden bear to go over the courses and split up into groups (if needed).

Sunday — Meet at the South Ridge Lodge at 9:30am near the wooden bear.

Requirements: You must be self-sustained for the entire trip and be prepared for foul weather — wind, cold, and rain. This means you must carry enough food and water and proper clothing. The terrain is rugged and trail shoes with a good grip are necessary. Two-person minimum per group. At least one person in a group must have a cell phone. Since one of the main points of this endevor is to document the trip please bring your GPS, digital or video camera.

If you are interested in joining us then email Erik@tri-maine.com for more information.