Geez . . . has it been a week?

Yep. A week since the last time I talked to you. Time flys when you're having fun. Or something like that.

I have not cycled this past week. Too many other activities going on. I am still amazed at how poor I am at managing my time. I have been selfish the last several weeks and have been playing golf Thursday afternoons after work with a group of guys from my office. One of my buddies who plays with us lives out of town so I've been letting him crash at the house Thursday nights.

I have been doing some short runs. The upside to this blogging thing is that I use it as my diary and log. The downside is that if I don't update it daily, I tend to lose track. Either I need to go back to keeping a log or do a better job keeping this updated. I ran Sat, Sun, Tues. I was supposed to run last night but a thunderstorm decided to park on top of my neighborhood yesterday afternoon. Not complaining-we need the rain. I'd normally run in the rain but it was accompanied by vivid lightning and ground strikes so I figured it would be better to stay indoors. A chance to catch up on laundry, etc.

I am not sure what has happened to Susan's blog. I'm just getting a blank screen. Either she has taken it down or she hosed something up trying to update it with photos of MA's new puppy.

I'll see if I can help her figure out what is going on. Golf this afternoon if it doesn't rain. I'm going to try to get in several runs over the weekend . . . I'll let you know.

Lunchtime thoughts

I am sitting here at my desk, eating lunch (turkey and lettuce wrap . . . no mayo and no cheese) and talking to you. Whoever you are.

I'm still trying to run and bike and get the fatman under control. I am officially out of the jeans I wore during the 06 marathon season and I am pissed at myself for letting it happen. No excuses. I definitely have some kind of self-destruct character flaw that I have not been able to get my hands around. It seems the only way I can motivated is to be self-denegrating. It may take a while, but I will get it back.

I was talking to one my neighbors last night and he is building nicely towards marathon season. He is on his 8th 30 mile week and will be bumping up to 35 miles next week. He is nice and trim and helps me want to get it back.

Last Saturday I did a 51 mile bike ride with the normal group. I averaged 15.9 mph. That sucks! Last year I would have been riding with the lead pack. Now I am riding in the "slow" group. The ride did not totally wipe me out but I knew I had been working.

I ran 4 miles Monday afternoon and it felt pretty good. It was hot and slow but I had my MP3 tuned into Aerosmith and that got me through. I also ran 3 miles on Tuesday. Would have liked to have done more but I had schedule restraints. Besides, my legs were dead from the bike ride.

Wednesday afternoon I did a 35 mile bike ride with some of the group after work. The first 15 miles or so was very hot and we couldn't seem to find our way out of the sunshine. However, the second half started cooling off (to the high 80s) and we started finding some shade along the way. I didn't ride strong but I can tell my legs are finally startnig to come back and my riding is improving. Maybe by the end of summer I'll be back in some kind of decent shape.

Jim gets a do-over!

No, not a make over, though I probably need that also. A do-over. Remember when you were a kid and struck out because it was somebody else's fault . . . you got a do-over. Or if you couldn't perform some supernatural feat on your first try . . . you got a do-over. If you've been following my rantings over the last several months you know that my situation at work is far from ideal. The Dilbert executives that I work for have decided to relocate engineering to the plant sites . . . . very lonely remote areas in the southeast. I didn't have a problem so much with the thought of relocation . . . it was the way they went about informing (or not informing) us. As I have said, it is the fourth realignment or reorganization that I have been caught up in in the last five years. ENOUGH ALREADY . . . LET ME DO MY FREAKING JOB!!! Needless to say, I have been disheartened with the thought of having to sell my house, relocate, move away from family and my relationship with Susan and her girls. It has been so much fun at work that we all started a new game . . . we kept a running list of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs regarding this latest realignment on a large marker board. Here's a list of words that I have contributed. I chose to use "dis" words . . .



disband

disconnect

disimprove (yes . . it is a word)

disorganize

disunite

disperse

dislimb

dislocate

disassemble

disrupt

dissolve

disintegrate

disjoin

dismiss

disown



All that being said, I got a phone call regarding a do-over. I had applied for a job next door with another subsidiary of the same parent company but felt that my present employer might try to block my exit since they are losing people left and right. Prayers are answered because I was offered a position doing what I do now for the same pay. Good enough for me. I wasn't exiting for more money or fame-I just wanted to be able to do my job. Now I get a chance to "do-over" my career. I am officially leaving nuclear and will be working on environmental projects.



Now that this has happened, it feels like a thousand pounds have been lifted off of me. I still have to deal with the actual weight I have gained due to my emotional eating but my professional do-over also leads me into a running do-over. I feel so much better and relaxed and I can now focus on a somewhat normal life and routine.

Vacation does not mean lazy

Hey. Yes, I am blogging during my vacation in Hilton Head, SC.

We had a fairly uneventful trip over and Susan's girls did surprisingly good for a 7 hour trip. I guess it helps to let them out of the car to pee after they've begged for 15 or 20 minutes. Seems to make 'em happy :). Just kidding. We left B'ham at 6 am and stopped between Atlanta and Macon for breakfast (about 2 1/2 hours). Then we drove to Soperton on I-16 (only locals would know about this place) and stopped for gas ( another 1 1/2 hours). After that, we pushed all the way to HHI with a 3 hour leg. We arrived in HHI about 3:00 local time and went straight to the villa. We made it all in one piece.

Sunday morning I awoke to a VERY stiff back. Nothing worse than a bet that is too soft. Instead of running, I went for a short bike ride. I took Susan's girls along and we did about 4 miles. Of course I could have (and should have) done more but the young one, E, was starting to fade and getting a little bit bored with the whole thing.

Monday morning I got of bed, did lots of stretches and gathered Susan and the girls together so they could ride while I ran. I ran a very quick 3 miler with all three girls riding my tail. It was cloudy, warm and 100% humidity. It had rained all night and the lagoon next to our villa was up by about 8 inches. We timed it perfectly and after parking and locking the three bikes and getting inside, the bottom fell out. It rained all morning and we spend the better part of the day going to local shops and outlet malls just to get out. Monday evening we took the bikes to the beach and rode for several miles.

Tuesday morning . . . . not rest! I am on vacation and that means that this is MY time and I am going to enjoy as much of it as possible. After reading and doing a little work, I rousted the three girls who think that vacation is for lounging. We all jumped on the bikes and got in a nice 7 miler. This was good for E and she seems to be improving with every ride (remember . . . she's only been off her training wheels for a couple of months).

Tomorrow morning I'm going to get up early and try to get in 6 miles before anyone gets up. Then I'll ride bikes with the girls.

I'll let you know how it goes!