Everyone's advice is to "simplify". I fully realize that at times my life is pretty much the beast that I have created and I agree that I have to simplify. I've had my GI and my cardiologist both tell me this past month that my body is not adapting well to stress. DUH. I wouldn't say that it is out of control but I've been letting too many outside things influence me. Working on changing that. Tougher to do than running. Speaking of which-
I've been running since my last post. averaging about 4 miles a day at least 4 days a week. I'm still not having fun doing it . . . can't figure out why my inner man is fighting with what usually brings me comfort and security. I'll just keep plowing through and I'm sure I'll have that break through eventually. The weather here is finally fabulous . . . afternoons in the highs 60s and low 70s with evening getting down into the 40s. Typical of Alabama . . . it's 90 degrees one, a front blows through and the temp is 60. We don't get our fair share of spring and fall. I'd prefer a more temperate climate . . . maybe I'll find somewhere to go that better supports my pursuit of outdoor activity.
I went to my neighbor's house for a cookout last night. Last week, my dear friends and neighbors, Todd and Kathy, announced that they are leaving us . . . moving to Atlanta for Todd's work. Big bummer. We decided to get together along with my other friends and neighbors, Jim and Karen, who were celebrating their anniversary. When I got over there, Karen and Kathy were attempting to untangle this horrible mess of yarn (they both knit) at the island in the kitchen. Apparently, the normally nice and neat skein (sp?) was not so nice and neat and Karen refused to take the loss on $40 worth of yarn. Personally, I'd chunk it and have a do-over but you know how women are. Anyway, after a couple of hours of messing with the yarn and slowly getting it untangled and balled up, they were victorious just as I was bringing the steaks in from the deck. We all sat at the table and had a great time laughing and cutting up. My dog Kelsey always goes to visit with Todd and Kathy and she was under the table begging for food. After a while she got quiet and then she started growling and tumbling around. We all figured she gave up begging and found a toy to play with. Well, that is sort of what happened. Somehow, she managed to get the ball of expensive yarn and had commenced to undue all the work that Karen and Kathy had accomplished earlier in the evening. Fortunately for Kelsey's health and Karen's sanity, it was only unrolled and not tangled. No blood, no foul.
I've been debating on keeping this blog going. I've also been thinking about a total revamp and renaming. My neighbor Jim said something that struck me as funny and deep on many levels and I asked him if I could use it. While he was playing with the fire in the chiminea, he so very obviously burned himself. His qoute was simple . . . "I'm a man, I'll cry later" struck a chord in me. I'll let you know if and when I decide to start my new blog under my neighbor Jim's mindset.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
just the facts, ma'am
Today is Tuesday. wow. Notice the lack of capitalization. I've been in a bit of a funk for a while and I'm really needing to get over it. Probably because I have not run in several days. The headcold I was complaining about last week hung on through the weekend. Amazing that something that I used to plow right through now takes a toll on me. I'm sure it's more a state of mind than anything else. However, I did have a fever one day. 101 degree to be exact.
On another front . . . . I had an endoscopy done yesterday morning. I had been having some problems similar to my past history (don't ask) so my GI suggested "we" take a look. "We" were not involved with it. My half of "we" was fast asleep thanks to good drugs. Karen, my next door neighbor was kind enough to haul my sorry butt to the hospital at 6:15 yesterday morning after she got in late from a weekend trip to Chicago. Susan offered to take me but she had teacher stuff and meetings to do so I didn't want to take from her time. Karen is an executive so it really doesn't matter what she does (sorry to all you executives out there).
After getting prepped and the Dr and nurse telling my bye, I magically ended up in a wheelchair in a room full of recovering patients. Very surrealistic . . . . I woke up long enough to look around and having this strange dream that I was in the movie Saw 3! Somewhere between my brief conciousness in recovery and my sofa at home, I remember getting in a car and staggering up my sidewalk. I have to trust Karen's word but she told me that I did and said things I don't remember. Don't know if that is a good thing or bad thing. It's just good to know that she is a good enough friend that she won't tell a soul!
I finally started waking up around 5 ish when the phone started ringing. I had several friends call to check on me and Karen and her husband Jim brought dinner over. Very much appreciated . . . THANKS! After eating and dozing through the first half of Monday night football, I crawled in bed and slept straight through until the alarm went off. Lots of good, drug enduced sleep. Just what the Dr ordered. According to Karen, the Dr said everything was fine and that I need to relax. Most of my problems are probably stress induced. Imagine that.
I didn't run tonight simply because I didn't feel like and I was pushed for time. Susan had some volunteer work to do for the "rich ladies of unnamed community" so I agreed to keep the girls. Another effort to hone my pseudo parenting skills. That's a whole new subject all by itself . . . I'm sure Phil knows where I am coming from. Let's just say that we're working on sorting out our skill sets and trying to figure out where we are going.
My plan is to run an easy one tomorrow and Thursday. Hopefully, Susan and I can run and play tennis on Saturday before we become couch potatoes watching UAT vs UT and AU vs LSU.
I also noted that I approaching my 200 post. Wow, hard to believe that I have bored you all that many times. Maybe I'll do something special . . . maybe not.
On another front . . . . I had an endoscopy done yesterday morning. I had been having some problems similar to my past history (don't ask) so my GI suggested "we" take a look. "We" were not involved with it. My half of "we" was fast asleep thanks to good drugs. Karen, my next door neighbor was kind enough to haul my sorry butt to the hospital at 6:15 yesterday morning after she got in late from a weekend trip to Chicago. Susan offered to take me but she had teacher stuff and meetings to do so I didn't want to take from her time. Karen is an executive so it really doesn't matter what she does (sorry to all you executives out there).
After getting prepped and the Dr and nurse telling my bye, I magically ended up in a wheelchair in a room full of recovering patients. Very surrealistic . . . . I woke up long enough to look around and having this strange dream that I was in the movie Saw 3! Somewhere between my brief conciousness in recovery and my sofa at home, I remember getting in a car and staggering up my sidewalk. I have to trust Karen's word but she told me that I did and said things I don't remember. Don't know if that is a good thing or bad thing. It's just good to know that she is a good enough friend that she won't tell a soul!
I finally started waking up around 5 ish when the phone started ringing. I had several friends call to check on me and Karen and her husband Jim brought dinner over. Very much appreciated . . . THANKS! After eating and dozing through the first half of Monday night football, I crawled in bed and slept straight through until the alarm went off. Lots of good, drug enduced sleep. Just what the Dr ordered. According to Karen, the Dr said everything was fine and that I need to relax. Most of my problems are probably stress induced. Imagine that.
I didn't run tonight simply because I didn't feel like and I was pushed for time. Susan had some volunteer work to do for the "rich ladies of unnamed community" so I agreed to keep the girls. Another effort to hone my pseudo parenting skills. That's a whole new subject all by itself . . . I'm sure Phil knows where I am coming from. Let's just say that we're working on sorting out our skill sets and trying to figure out where we are going.
My plan is to run an easy one tomorrow and Thursday. Hopefully, Susan and I can run and play tennis on Saturday before we become couch potatoes watching UAT vs UT and AU vs LSU.
I also noted that I approaching my 200 post. Wow, hard to believe that I have bored you all that many times. Maybe I'll do something special . . . maybe not.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Greetings to all. I know it's been awhile since I've blogged . . . does that give you a hint about my ability to commit? ;)
The last several weeks have been so-so. I've been running when I can but have failed to keep my promise to myself of getting my a$$ in gear and getting back onto schedule. I'm still a limp wristed girlie man who is too easily swayed from my "training" schedule. It's not like I have other commitments to live up to . . . I just find it too easy to find reasons to blow off my runs. Somebody PLEASE tell me to toughen up.
I have not run since Monday. Somehow, somewhere, I managed to catch a cold or at least something mimicing a cold. Started off with a sore throat, then headache, then fever. As of this morning, the fever is gone but the congestion has moved into the chest so now I have a nasty cough. My body tends to do this to me. I'd rather have all the symptoms at once and get it over with but fate would prefer to drag it out over time, one symptom at a time. I'm not going to run until this weekend. No sense in challenging my body just yet.
I am chomping at the bit to get out there . . . the weather has broken (again) and we are finally getting some more seasonal weather. The last couple of weeks we were still hitting high 80s and low 90s. More like September weather than October weather. I love this time of year . . . there is no better smell than that of leaves burning and fresh mown grass . . . I LOVE that smell. I also love that slight chill in the air as the sun goes down and the breeze picks up. I am so looking forward to the next couple of months!
Last Saturday, Susan and I ventured into new territory. We played tennis. Actually, we just volleyed some ground strokes just to get the feel of it. We ran a couple of miles and then walked to the tennis courts near her house. I used to play, ages ago. She played a little bit, ages ago. Surprisingly, we did not kill anybody else on the adjacent court nor did we injure ourselves . . . AMAZING! Since it was in the low 90s, we only hit and chased balls for about 45 minutes. I think we're going to start working this into a weekend routine as the weather cools.
The last several weeks have been so-so. I've been running when I can but have failed to keep my promise to myself of getting my a$$ in gear and getting back onto schedule. I'm still a limp wristed girlie man who is too easily swayed from my "training" schedule. It's not like I have other commitments to live up to . . . I just find it too easy to find reasons to blow off my runs. Somebody PLEASE tell me to toughen up.
I have not run since Monday. Somehow, somewhere, I managed to catch a cold or at least something mimicing a cold. Started off with a sore throat, then headache, then fever. As of this morning, the fever is gone but the congestion has moved into the chest so now I have a nasty cough. My body tends to do this to me. I'd rather have all the symptoms at once and get it over with but fate would prefer to drag it out over time, one symptom at a time. I'm not going to run until this weekend. No sense in challenging my body just yet.
I am chomping at the bit to get out there . . . the weather has broken (again) and we are finally getting some more seasonal weather. The last couple of weeks we were still hitting high 80s and low 90s. More like September weather than October weather. I love this time of year . . . there is no better smell than that of leaves burning and fresh mown grass . . . I LOVE that smell. I also love that slight chill in the air as the sun goes down and the breeze picks up. I am so looking forward to the next couple of months!
Last Saturday, Susan and I ventured into new territory. We played tennis. Actually, we just volleyed some ground strokes just to get the feel of it. We ran a couple of miles and then walked to the tennis courts near her house. I used to play, ages ago. She played a little bit, ages ago. Surprisingly, we did not kill anybody else on the adjacent court nor did we injure ourselves . . . AMAZING! Since it was in the low 90s, we only hit and chased balls for about 45 minutes. I think we're going to start working this into a weekend routine as the weather cools.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
