So long, friend.

I don't normally believe in fate, or pre-ordination, or whatever you want to call it, but the news that my friend had been murdered last night really made me think. You see, Ryan had been kidnapped last summer by murdering thugs, and had lived to tell the tale. Now a scant six months later, and he's gone. Killed by unknown assailants. Wrong place, wrong time? Who knows. I am simply floored by the notion that violent death came calling his name, not once, but twice, in six months, in an area of our country where gun violence is almost unheard of. It's almost enough to make one give serious thought to the concept of destiny. He and I weren't close, not more than acquaintances, really, but he was one of those guys who befriended all who crossed his path. I will miss him and his maniacal laugh and his ability to turn any occasion into a happening. My sincerest condolences to his family, and to the family of his friend, who was also foully murdered.

in totally irrelevant news, I worked out for about 40 minutes this morning. Mostly HRD forms, with some lifting and weapons work. Enough to work up a good lather.

I also picked up my C/Pap machine.

Verklempt

So as I was leaving Grazing Grounds yesterday ( http://finallyafarm.blogspot.com/ ), I decided to do a little donut in the gravel near the end of the lane. #1 son looked at me with a huge grin and pronounced that "Even if I could choose any dad, I'd choose you." As everyone knows, I don't always see eye to eye with my eldest male child, so these words were like ambrosia to a parched soul. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the sentiment alive. I can't be going around doing donuts in VGFATtruck, can I?

Went about a mile today with VGFATdog. Still running the 4/1 splits, but I felt like crapola. My quads were en fuego, and I'm not sure why. It was around 30, with 15 mph winds making it feel like 20.

Gained a pound this week. Who knew that not exercising, combined with pizza for dinner twice and beer every night would have such a deleterious impact?

mother in law

So, this weekend the boss and her family are set to move the MIL into a nursing home where she can get the sort of treatment for her illness that she needs. Frankly, she's chosen not to fight, after having watched her son battle lung cancer, so I don't think the end result will be long in coming. Selfishly, we wish she would stay around for years, but not at the cost of pain and suffering. Of greater concern to me is how the love of my life will respond when the time ultimately comes. She didn't do well when her father passed suddenly. The kids were babies then, however, and I worry now about how they'll perceive it if mommy has a breakdown.

Well, so much for Friday follies. I went about 1-1/2 miles this morning walking around campus, and I hope that temperatures come back to the positive side of zero in the next few days so I can resume jogging.

#1 son, revisited.

So, my oldest son sometimes has trouble accepting responsibility when problems arise, and I, having recently lived through this to the extreme with the firstborn, tend to reign down on him like Zeus in these situations. I don't expect or demand perfection or anything close to it, but I do want him to man up and just accept it when he's at fault. The problem is that he's so damned sensitive & lacking in confidence. He tends to take my mildest criticisms as an indictment of his character, and it's especially difficult now as he's staring into puberty's gaping maw. If anyone has a blueprint for getting through this, please publish it. It's a bestseller waiting to happen.

VGFATdog and I went a little over a mile this morning. It was 31 degrees, lightly snowing, with a 20+ mph wind making it feel like 19. I lengthened my splits to 4/1 and felt GOOD!

I managed to lose two more pounds, even though I spent Sunday and Monday in slothful indolence, so we're at 4 down, hundreds to go!

Friday blues

So, call me a wuss, a wienie boy, a wimp. Mother nature made me her bitch this morning. I wilted like the girly man in pig tails and a skirt that Tom thinks I am. 4 degrees, before wind chill, and I said Hell no, treadmill be damned. Rolled back over and grabbed an extra 15 winks. Lived to run another day.

We'll see what the ultimate determinant, the scale, has to say on Monday. This weekend, it's build a concession stand (indoors, thankfully) watch the Illini, and try not to exacerbate my missed day by consuming mass quantities of beer and nachos. Mmmmm NACHOS.

Go Giants & Go Lightning Bolts!!!

nothing shaking....

I don't have a whole lot to report today. I went to the sleep clinic Tuesday night for testing with the c/pap. It didn't go too well, as every time I stirred, the wires and mask brought me fully awake. I think I can get used to it, but I'm not going back to "Dr. Frankenstein's" lab again.

Went about 1-3/4 miles yesterday afternoon. It was 35 degrees with very little wind. My arch wasn't problematic like monday so I finished the last block in an all out sprint. VGfatdog actually had to lope a bit, rather than the condescending trot she usually maintains to humor me.

Tonight is either HRD or a core/lifting session at home. Got to keep it up!

Congratulations to the Fighting Illini, who finally got a W. If we can steal these next two on the road, our season can be salvaged.

monday morning, coming down

With sincerest apologies to Kris Kristofferson...

VGfatdog and I went about 1-1/2 miles this morning. Temp was around 20, with a wind chill making it feel like 9. New dri fit undergarments really seem to keep the wind at bay, so I wasn't cold at all. I've been loosely adhering to the "couch to 5-k" training program, found at http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml and today I increased my splits. I'm now running 3 blocks and walking 1 for the duration of my circuit and I felt fine. Having a small issue with my arches, but nothing drastic. To an experienced runner, it probably seems laughable to run for only 3 blocks, but when I started last Spring, I couldn't go much farther than 1 without wheezing, so improvements have been made.

Had some dietary issues over the weekend, but Monday weigh in showed me at a net loss of 2 pounds since last monday, so that made me happy. I helped a good friend move from VG Saturday, and he rewarded us with Monicals Pizza. Some damned fine eats, and who am I to refuse when in the company of good friends, eh? He built a new house along the Sangamon, near Rts 10 & 72, and I am one Jealous individual. Great location, beautiful home. He's earned it however, and this gets him much closer to his kids, so it's all good.

The boss had a few smoky treats over the weekend as well, but she's determined to jump back on the cessation wagon today.

HRD tonight, then lifting/core workout tomorrow morning, as the cycle continues. I'm going to attempt to include a swimming evolution into my training, in anticipation of the mini triathlon this Summer. Kenney Gym is open to UI staff, and is only 1 block from my office.

progress

Well, I fell off the wagon last night, (watching Illini basketball will do that to a guy)which lead to my sleeping in instead of running this morning. If I can drag my ass out tomorrow, I'll consider this a temporary set back. I've found in the past that if I take a day off, it invariably mushrooms into weeks and months of inactivity, so I have to try to get going tomorrow.

The Illini tried hard last night, but couldn't put the biscuit in the basket, falling by ten. Sunday's game promises to be an ugly affair. I think I'll scrub the toilet or something rather than subject myself to that prolonged agony.

The "end of days" is a work in progress. The boss has had a few puffs, but hasn't gone back to two packs a day yet. The household has stood down to code orange danger level....but we live with reality that DEFCON 4 can be back at any time.

politics

So, Hillary, sensing defeat, actually allows the ice to crack a bit on national tv, and Voila', she wins New Hampshire. Here's to betting we see more waterworks than Niagra Falls leading up to Florida. To counter her newfound mommy power, Obama will probably be feasting on greens & black eyed peas as he plays the race card. The GOP is a trainwreck right now, but it looks like McCain has captured the all important center, so my guy Huckabee, who used to be a fatty like me, is losing ground like he shed tonnage while serving as Arky Governor.
( go to http://www.menshealth.com/ and enter Mike Huckabee in the search field for his story)

As to my own battle of the bulge....I didn't get home until 8 last night, so I postponed #1 son's HRD/Core workout until this evening. He was disappointed, saying he didn't want it to be like last time, where we quit working out all together. How's that for external motivation?

nothing much to report...

I had a pretty good lifting session yesterday morning. Once again I supersetted the curls & tricep extensions with some work on the heavy bag. I also incorporated some bent over rows into the set, so I was feeling pretty burnt after about 25 minutes.

VGfatdog and I went for the 1.7 mile circuit this morning. Temp was in the 30's, wind chill around 20. I felt much better this morning than I did monday, for some reason.

Tonight #1 son and I are going to review our empty hand forms from HRD, and I'll probably do some ab work, including a new beauty I discovered at menshealth.com called the Prone Cobra. I did it for about 5 seconds last night, demonstrating it, and my lower abs cramped, leaving me whimpering on the floor, much to #1's obvious amusement.

Mini me loves the treadmill. He was doing side shuttles for about 10 minutes last night.

The smoking cessation event, hereafter known as "the end of days", continues. The pets, children and I continue to tread VERY lightly, but I am proud of the boss for making it 48 straight hours.

Monday routine

VGfatdog and I logged a bit over a mile and 1/2 today and then #1 son and I went to Hwa Rang Do for the first time since the end of November. My legs are jelly, but it's a GOOD jelly.

Managed to keep my eating on track also, even though a colleague brought in some great looking Panera cookies. The boss is in day one of the smoking cessation event, so I'm making myself scarce, hiding in the lounge.

Tomorrow is lifting/core routine, then another run on Wednesday.

Friends. How many of us have them?

Friends. Ones you can depend on? (Hat tip to Whodini.)

Got a call from my bestest bud, yesterday. Come to the auction and pick up the treadmill I just bought for you. No suggestion to bring cash or the check book. Just "come and get it", because he knew I needed it and would never buy it for myself. On the way home, I started ruminating on something I heard once. In our adult life, we should consider ourselves lucky to have 3 true lifelong friends. I think for most of us this rings true. Sure, we'll all have acquaintances that come and walk beside us for a while on life's journey. True friends, however, are a rare and valuable gift. It's been said that "friends help you move. True friends help you move bodies!", and I can kind of agree with the sentiment, minus the whole "felony concealment" angle.

So here's to friends. I'll sweat to you in the morning, if I can get #1 son off the treadmill. He loves it.

entitlements, training, etc

Well, I for one am disgusted to be associated in any way with the Illini "fans" who feel that they're entitled to boo one of our players because he isn't meeting their level of expectations. I challenge any one of those people to play Chet in a little full court one on one. Their asses would be gassed in about 30 seconds. The team isn't playing as well as we would hope, but they're playing hard. They just don't seem to have the tools to succeed. Hopefully the youngsters will start seeing more PT, building for next year. As for Chet, Brian and Shawn, they're Illini and I'll cheer them until the bitter end.

Went a little over a mile yesterday. Glad it's "only" going to be 2o degrees for tomorrow's run.

Happy weekend!

due diligence

Not a lot to report, really. I went back to work for the first time since Dec 20. The office was still there. :-) I had managed to keep up on e-mail traffic so it wasn't unbearably busy. I am thankful to have a job where I can actually advocate for the students rather than oppose them.

I dragged #1 son and mini-me out to the lounge for a 20 minute core routine last night. After MUCH wailing and nashing of teeth, they settled down and did a pretty fair job. I am still worried about #1's lack of core strength. He can barely do one situp without cheating. Oddly enough, he can do planks and bird dogs pretty well. These two moves KILL your abs, especially the transversus abdominus, or side abs, so I think his front abs are where the problem lies.

Today, the dog and I are going for a mile and a half. Too cold for #1 to join us.

The first time....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI7gzXz1cHo

Thanks, Roberta.

15 degree weather? Check.
winds at 30 mph? Check.
snowfall? Check.
Fatass out running? Check.

Some times I think it's God's design for me to be a fatty. Yesterday, the day BEFORE I started running, the temp was around 40 degrees, slight breeze. Perfect for a jog. Today, snowing, blowing, miserable.

I managed to go for about twenty minutes before facial freeze drove me to seek shelter. Came home and did a good core/stretching workout. Welcome to 2008, bitches.