Racing and Strengthening

Yep, I'm still on the working out kick and haven't gotten back to studying anything in the networking arena. I did have a couple of big milestones this week, however.

I finally beat my 14 year old 5K record of 24:03, with a new best of 23:16. I've knocked about 2 minutes off my time in the past month so I'll keep working at this until it plateaus.

I signed up for the Chicago marathon this October. There are 40,000 entrants so it could take 30 minutes or more to pass the starting line in the open bracket. I can get moved up considerable to a preferred start by posting a 1:50:00ish half-marathon by August. This equals an 8:23 pace. My 23:16 5k is a 7:30 pace. So if I can just stretch that out from 3.1 miles to 13.1 miles, I'll have plenty of room to spare. And no, it's not NEARLY as easy as it sounds.

The interesting part about running is it is taking the place of college and CCIE studying for my need for acquiring technical knowledge. I spend probably an hour or two a week on my training plan and optimizing it for things like increased VO2 max, lactate threshold, and running efficiency. And then there's the daily eating plan, in which the struggle is typically to get enough lean protein into my diet.

On top of all of that, after 6 months of calorie restriction I decided to take a break. I was at one point within 5 pounds of my goal weight but my hunger was getting ravenous and I couldn't fight it any more. So I threw in the towel and got back with my personal trainer to go with a 1 month bulking session on my upper body and core. I now get to eat about 3000 calories a day, but have to stuff down even more lean protein, with the goal of putting on 1-2 pounds of muscle a week.

In the past month I have gained 5 pounds back. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty disheartening to be going back the other direction. But on the bright spot I bought some almost uncomfortably tight jeans right before my marathon just to have a reference point for the current shape I'm in. And even with the weight gain, the jeans are still getting looser. So that's reassuring.

Finally, after my marathon, I tried on my Air Force uniform. For the first time this millennium, it actually fit. It was a little snug in the midsection, though. I just tried it on again and it fit comfortably.

I think I can safely mark this as the time in my life I undid the 10+ years of personal abuse and am now in the best shape I ever been in.

Now it's time to keep going and see how far I can take it. Under 20 minute 5k? Less than 4 hour marathon? 100 push-ups? 10 pull-ups? And of course the original goal of washboard abs. I'm not even close to that yet and man it's still not going to be easy.

5 months later...

It's now been 5 months since I've been putting CCIE level effort into improving my health. No washboard abs yet, but I'm pleased to say I have made a lot of progress. I've lost over 20 pounds, 7% body fat, 6 inches off my waist, and now have a medal to hang next to my CCIE plaques: 2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon finisher (4 hours 55 minutes).

Here's pretty much what my schedule has turned into:
Monday: 1 hour weights at the gym
Tuesday: 4 mile easy run
Wednesday: 3 mile fast run to the gym, 1 hour weights, 3 mile easy run home
Thursday: 4 mile easy run
Friday: 1 hour weights at the gym, 20 minute sprint intervals
Saturday: rest
Sunday: long slow distance run (12 - 20 miles)

I'm still sticking with my original quest for now. In running the numbers, it looks like if I keep on track I should be in the ballpark around June.

It's been awhile, again

Yep, things have been quiet on the CCIE studying front. Work has been busy and I have a 6 month old at home now too, who keeps me even busier.

Additionally, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym trying to get rid of some of the additional "baggage" that comes along with getting 2 ccie's. It looks like it's going to take 3 months of hard work to get where I want to be. I just don't see having the energy to study while I'm wearing myself out on a daily basis. But right now that's definitely the priority.

So hopefully around xmas my name will change to "Double CCIE with 6 pack abs" lol. Ok, I probably have as much chance of that as somebody who has never seen a router passing the CCIE in 3 months. But hey, no harm in dreaming :).

MSPRP Complete

As expected, I was able to knock off the MSPRP exam without studying. A little better knowledge of XR would have been very helpful, but I had a high enough score on it and the remaining sections to carry myself through.

On to MSPVM

CCNP SP Operations Page Live

Cisco has the CCNP SP Operations page up now:

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccnpspops

CCNP SP Operations

Now it's time for me to begin working on CCNP SP Operations. This certification is not fully live yet, but the details are at https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-8149

There are 4 exams required:
642-770: Operational Foundations for Cisco Service Provider Core Networks (OFCN)
642-775: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider Routing Protocols (MSPRP)
647-780: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider VPNs and MPLS Networks (MSPVM)
642-785: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider Quality of Service (MSPQS)

All 4 show up on Vue's website, so it looks like the certification is fully live.

Now I just need to decide what to take first.
OFCN is all about processes and management tools. I'll need to study a lot for that so I'll hold off for now.
MSPRP focuses on BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS. Sounds like a great place to start!
MSPVM is the MPLS exam. Another good one!
MSPQS covers QoS. Not a bad topic but I'm a little rusty on some of the details.

So I should be able to knock out MSPRP and MSPVM by the end of August. I'll give myself another 2 weeks on MSPQS and then 6 weeks on OFCN. That would get me the CCNP SP Ops by the end of October. I like doing my CCIE studying over the winter anyway, so the timing should work out well.

CCNA SP Operations Complete

Well, I decided I'd just go ahead and take the SSPO exam 640-760 so that I can target my studying a little better. I was pleasantly surprised when I scored a pass.

The blueprint and study questions on Cisco's site are pretty accurate. I was also happy that most of the information on the exam was pretty relevant. I didn't find many of those "who the heck cares" questions. So all in all I'd say it was a pretty good exam.