Today marked the first 5K, the 5K Resolution Run to Kick Cancer in Lexington, MA, I have run since Thanksgiving of my freshman year of college (and only the second competitive race that I have run since then).  I picked this run because it appeared to be a low-pressure, community run for a good cause.  I would recommend it to anyone in the area when it comes around next year.

Since my racing skills are out of practice, I didn't hold very high expectations.  I ran a 19:52 (6:22 min/mile).  This was a bit of an awakening as I would have expected to at least be in the high 18s.  In addition to being my first 5K in way too long, it was also the first time I have run a race in cold weather (since southern California isn't known for its cold temperatures).  Don't get me wrong; I have run in cold temperatures for the last 6 years.  However, racing in cold weather with some high school student who keeps on top of her training a lot better than me nipping at my heels reminded me that there is always room to grow as a runner.  So, enough of this, on to the lesson:

1. You need a long-sleeved synthetic for a quarter of a mile.  You need gloves for for 3.2 miles.

I planned to run the race as I always do in the winter: pull the sleeves of my synthetic outer over my hands and roll.  However, when I'm just running around casually, I don't generate nearly as much body heat as I did today during the race.  My arms started getting warm (read 'too warm') right around 1 minute and 39 seconds into the race (of this I'm sure, as I read my watch).  I rolled up my sleeves and felt better immediately.  Thirty seconds later, I tried to move my hands and they felt *crunchy*.  I solved this problem by pulling my sleeves back down and accepting that my arms would be uncomfortable for the rest of the race.  They were.

2. Pull your socks up.

I started the race.  I ran hard (too hard, it turns out, but more on that later).  I dodged some dude that fell down and felt bad for him.  I turned the first corner and my right shoe ate my right sock.  Seriously, nobody likes to run 3 miles with the upper half of their runner's sock bunched up around their instep and arch.  It's not fun.  It's not comfortable.  Consider instead making sure that your socks are pulled up and your shoes don't have teeth.  You'll thank yourself.

3. Cold air is cold to breathe.  And dry, don't forget dry.

When you run in humid weather you sweat a lot.  When you run in hot weather, you sweat a lot.  When you run slowly in cold weather, you are a little less hot.  When you run fast in cold weather and breathe really hard, you develop an immediate cough.  Well, I do.  I started coughing early and I've been coughing all day.  I'm not sure if there's anything that you can do about it.  Maybe a portable humidifier?

4. Don't start to fast.

That's a piece of advice from somebody who always starts fast.  I start fast because I hate crowds and, I mean, what if I tripped?  Ugh.  But today, I started fast as usual, was hauling, discovered that I was 20 seconds fast at the first half mile.  Whether because of the weather or because I am not used to running 5Ks for time, I started too fast.  In April I ran a half marathon and ran my first mile in 6:17, a mere 3 seconds faster than my goal.  I ran my first mile today at 5:55.  Whoa. 20 seconds fast?  At the half-mile?  Really?  It's not like I don't know how to start, so what happened?  I might be out of practice, but...20 seconds?  Out of control.  Be careful.

5. Sleep well the night before.  Wake up desiring to eat breakfast.

I didn't do either.  I don't know what to do about that; it wasn't my fault.  But, given the choice, I would have done both.

So, there you have it.  5 tips for the competitive runner returning to racing in the dead of winter.  These tips could save your life.  Well, at least maybe they could help you mot make the mistakes I did.  Happy running!

I have officially owned the Mustang for 2 months and a lot of progress has been made, with the help of a few key players.

In parallel, Ken Berry removed the engine's attachments to the car and a great group effort managed to pull the engine out of the Mustang.

The front fenders were removed and replaced.  The new fenders are in the process of being primed.

The dashboard had 5 layers of paint that needed to be removed and then primer was sprayed.  A few small touchups needed to be made and then the dashboard was sprayed with primer a second time and sanded.

The engine bay, front frame, and hidden sheet metal was sanded and primed.

The door jams were both sanded and primed.

The passenger floor pan was sanded and primed.

I hope you all enjoyed the progress update.  We made leaps and bounds and I owe a big thank you to Ken Berry, Jen Keene, Jackie, Dani Dougherty, and Liz Kneen for the help that they all provided in making this car come together.

Look forward to more updates.

So far, upholstering the seats has been the hardest work I have done on the Mustang.  I have never done upholstery work before.  The major takeaway: seat covers come smaller than you expect them to.  However, I'm very pleased with the results.

I started by separating the seat backs from the bases at the hinge and removing all the associated hardware including the seat tracks.  I then started cutting off the old upholstery and ripping out the degrading foam (on the front seats only, the rear seats don't use foam).

I then removed the wire frames that hold the upholstery and foam in place by pulling all of the old, rusty hog rings off.  Here are the bare seat frames:

Placing the frame wires into their respective new seat coverings requires a lot of patient to work around the corners.

Next came seat reupholstering.  Mostly, this involved a lot of grunting while pulling the upholstery over the foam while simultaneously trying to compress the foam and not scratch the finish on the seats.  I unfortunately couldn't get pictures of this step since it required all of the available hands to pull the covers over the new seat foams.  Once the covers were installed, it was a simple matter of placing hog rings in all the right locations.

The seat backing in place:

Finally, I assembled the front seats and viola: beautiful, comfortable, recovered seats.  The whole process took around 15 hours of work for the front seats alone.  I have to give a big thanks to my housemate, Leslie, who spent hours with me pulling the seat coverings into place and securing them. I need to finish smoothing the material and installing the seat tracks, but the seats are very close to done.  Had it been warmer outside, I would have also repainted the frames before covering them.  However, the original paint remained sufficiently intact.

The finished product, once again:

More to come on the Mustang soon!

There are a number of reasons why one would want to replace a rear window. If it is broken, scratched, or if you want a newer-style 940 window with the integrated radio antenna, then a new window is the way to go. The process is quite simple, and as with most jobs, 90% of the work is in the prep.

I hope to get more pictures of the process, but I have at the very least included what I consider to be the important steps.

Step 1 - Get a window

I got mine at one of the local yards. This article assumes that you are grabbing it out of another car. It is easiest to get the window out of a car with two people though I have done it alone before. Start by removing the trim around the window. The lower trim can be removed by pulling upward on it with a screwdriver or paint scraper. The other trim pulls away from the vehicle at about 45 degrees relative to the glass. Be sure to remove the trim slowly and evenly or else it will bow and be difficult to make straight again. Then remove all of the little plastic clips along the base of the window. 



Next, with one person standing outside the car with a razor knife, have the second person sit in the back of the car and place their feet against the window. I like to start nearest the rear of the car in the upper corner. Apply pressure over as wide an area as possible until the window begins to stretch the urethane. The person standing outside the car should then begin to cut the urethane with the razor knife. Slowly continue around the entire window without bowing the glass too much (you don't want it to break). Eventually the window will be cut free. If you are using a window with an integrated antenna, make sure you don't damage the antenna material and obtain the little controller box that attaches to it.

2. Prep the new glass

Clean the new window and brush off any remaining dirt so that you don't dirty the urethane after you prep the glass. Placing the new glass down on a surface that won't scratch it (I chose cardboard on my driveway), use a razor to cut the remaining urethane down to about 1 mm thickness. You want to have an even bead all the way around free of dirt and air pockets.






3. Take the old glass out of the car

If your window is intact, repeat step 1 on your vehicle. If your window is broken, proceed to step 4.
This was my starting place:



4. Prep the remaining urethane on the car

Once the window is out, you need to repeat the preparation process on the window frame. If the window was shattered, you will need to remove all the debris. I recommend starting on the top and working down so you don't drop glass shards onto newly prepped urethane. You basically do the same with a razor as you did with the new glass.

4b. Test fit

You don't really need to do a test fit, but if you want to practice the motions that you will use to place the window in the car, do that here. Read step 6 for the procedure.

5. Lay new urethane

Run a bead of new urethane all the way around the window frame. You don't need too much to make a seal if you prepped your frame and window well. Some research I did indicated that I should use a urethane primer for this step but most sites said that if the urethane was already bonded to the window and window frame, that simply laying a new layer of urethane between them would be sufficient. When I did it, I ended up needing to add a bit of urethane because the years of use had deformed either my frame or the new window to an ever so slightly different curvature. More on that in a bit.




6. Install the window

Before you do this, I recommend obtaining some thick pieces of styrofoam and long lengths of twine. With that ready and waiting, pick up the window and start by aligning the bottom of the glass near the urethane. Don't worry if you touch the window to the urethane as it is fairly forgiving and doesn't dry immediately. With the bottom of the window aligned, press the rest of the window into the window frame. With one person lightly holding the window in place and holding a flashlight up to the exterior of the bead, inspect the interior of the bead to find any gaps. Add a small amount of urethane to the gaps.

Now that the window is in, place the styrofoam blocks against the window and use the twine to exert pressure to hold the window in place. This will allow you to walk away and let the window set. The more pressure you place, the better, because that will help to account for any curvature variations you see. The glass is flexible enough to adopt the new curvature and the urethane is soft enough after drying that the window will not be overstressed.

I tied my length to the wheel spokes, though I'm sure there are other ways to do this. If you had something heavy to lean against the window, that would be equally effective.

7. Reinstall the trim

Once the window has dried, you can spray it down with water to check for leaks. I was lucky enough to have a solid rain after it dried, which showed the seal to be solid and effective. Reinstall the trim clips and trim and you are done. Connect the antenna if you chose a window with an integrated antenna and enjoy your handy work.


I hope it helps!