Aqualung, Superbowl, and Brussel Sprouts (long post)

"Snot is running down his nose. Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes." For those of you over the age of 40, you know where those words come from. Yep . . . that was me running yesterday. I have not quite been able to shake this stupid head cold. I know that the experts say it is okay to run when you don't have a fever but they seem to overlook the fact that I have 5 pounds of the slimey stuff in my head. Yuck. To top it off, I have never been very good at firing of "rockets" . . . some of you chuckle because you know what I'm talking about. I'm more of a snort and spit or just use the shirt kind of guy. I know-very disgusting subject. I have not been able to run the way I have wanted to the last few days. I only did 3 miles Friday night . . . just too fatigued from work and the cold. I didn't have the "spririt". Yesterday, Susan and I had planned on running 10 or 12 miles in preparation of next week's half-marathon. We went to church, trying to encourage each other about the run we were going to be doing afterwards. We were about as excited as a I get over eating brussel sprouts (more on that later). The bottom line is that Susan hasn't been feeling well either. Same symptons. She felt it would be better to totally skip the run. Okay-now I'm on my own and my encouragement level just hit the dumps. I decided to suck it up. I went home, changed into running clothes, stretched, blew the nose several times and headed out the door with every intention of doing a ten miler. The temperature was in the 50s and the sun was shining-a perfect day for a run. Somebody forgot to tell my cold that . . . my head was pounding (sinuses?), my nose was flowing, the mind was wandering and weak. I got in 4 miles and just quit. Yes, I JUST QUIT. I couldn't breathe, my feet were just slapping the pavement and I did not feel like a runner. I felt like a giant germ wandering aimlessly down the road. I did take Kelsey (my Cairn Terrier) for a little jog afterwards, which she enjoyed thouroughly. I showered up and headed back to Susan's for the Super Bowl.

Ah yes, Super Bowl. That great American tradition where most of America sits on the sofa, eats cheese dip, drinks beer and watches a bunch of overpaid men play football. Don't get me wrong. I believe in market economics and if the market supports the salaries, so be it. Actually, football isn't near as bad as baseball players . . . Can you imagine getting paid thousands of dollars for every time you stepped up to the plate. This is a GAME! At least tennis and golf are performance based . . . . you do good, you earn money. You do bad, you end up working selling shoes.

Sorry . . . that is a whole other rant. Back to the Super Bowl at Susan's. We invited a friend over-his name is Tom and he checks out my blog on occasion-Hi Tom. I got over there around 3:30 . . . just in time to start making my CHEESE DIP! Not just ordinary cheese dip. This is EXTRA FATTENING! As with any good fattening dip you start with Velveeta (have you ever read the box? It says "cheese product"). To the 1 1/2 lbs of cheese product add 1 large can of black beans, 2 cans of Rotel (hot is better), a small can of diced chillis, and a pound of ground beef that has been prepped with taco seasoning. Throw it all in a crockpot, drink a beverage of your choice and come back an hour later. Presto! Heart attack in a crock pot! Yummy. Tom got there around 5 ish so we could share our cheese product with him.

The dip was not enough, so Susan made loaf of meat (meat loaf). Before you ridicule me, think about it . . . do you say bread loaf? I think not. She used a recipe from Southern Living that was really good. She also made mashed potatoes. That would have been a fine meal for halftime. HOWEVER, she felt that we needed a vegetable. C'mon . . . this is the SuperBowl. Meat, Potatoes, Cheese product dip, beverage of your choice. Who needs stinking vegetables? If you have made it this far (I know this is a long post) you have probably guessed her vegetable of choice-BRUSSEL SPROUTS. Have I ever told you how much I dislike them. I love veggies and fruit and I usually have a pretty good love affair with most. There is just something about those ugly little green things that just don't seem right. It's not the taste. It is a typical green vegetable. It's not the texture . . . I eat all kinds of food. Maybe I'm adverse to eating something the size of a testicle or eyeball. Whatever it is, I DO NOT LIKE THEM. Tom doesn't like 'em. MA doesn't like 'em. E doesn't like 'em. Why on earth Susan made them I don't know. Of course, me being me, I felt it my duty. No, my obligation to eat some of the nasty little buggers. The look on Tom's face when I dipped up four of the lovelies was something to behold-the blank stare was priceless. Tom, being a nice guy and not wanting to hurt Susan's feelings, got one. Of course, after Tom and I got our brussel sprouts, the pressure was on MA. She wouldn't succumb easily. After seeing Tom and I making faces while chewing on them, she thought it was funny and she wanted to make faces. We told her the best way to make an ugly face was to eat a brussel sprout. Believe it or not, she did! Good for MA! E wasn't having any part of it. She didn't even want the loaf of meat. 6 year olds seem to be exempt from the social rules that structure our lives and make us a civil society. If we could all just cross our arms and shake our heads when something we don't like passes our way!

Bottom line is that we ate well and enjoyed the ball game. I really didn't have a dog in the hunt (good old southern talk) and it was a fun game to watch, though the commercials were a bit of a disappointment.

I am planning on putting in some miles this week before the half. I am feeling better (again) and hope to not have any additional setbacks. Sunday should be interesting. We'll see how Susan does in her half. First one she's run in several years. If it is not raining, I am planning on taking a camera on the run with us.