Another Stupid Thing

Well here i go again. Running with no thought regarding conditions. So Sunday, i go for my usual weekend run about 6.7 miles. i'm thinking it'll be a piece of cake right? no way, it had to be the hottest day of the year, but since i'm going to bartend that night, i go in the morning. And once again forgot to eat any breakfast. Sooo about 5 miles into the run, i'm feeling good, great pace, it's about 11:30 and the sun really starts to heat up. Then....

BAM.... i'm outta of gas. It happened so fast, i didn't have time to adjust my pace, i just stopped running. i walked for about 1/2 mile. i never walk that far, but i just couldn't seem to pick the feet up anymore.

Eventually, i found a second wind and finished fairly strong to get home. Mentally, i was mad for not adjusting sooner and allowing the long walk, so i punished myself by pushing harder the last mile.

So thinking running out of gas was due to the lack of breakfast, i ate a small bowl of oatmeal and an apple on Monday morning. Then i made sure i was hydrated for the long Holiday morning run. Then...

BAM AGAIN... My bride wants to hit the grocery store before it gets to busy. So i figure go ahead, i'll wait till you get back and then go fo my run. So about noon, she's back. 12:15 or so, i'm out the door. Oh my Gawd, the heat of the day. 90+ outside, and unbelievably humid, and no shade anywhere. See, i had decided today would be a good day to try a new route. i felt i had fallen into a rut with the old routes and i started heading towards my office.

About two miles in the run i noticed nobody was outside working and the lawns, as the drone of A/C units created an eerie sense of dread with my decision to go for such a long run.

Remember the movie "Maximum Overdrive"? i think that's the Stephen King movie There's a scene with a kid riding his bike through neighborhoods with no living souls near him. Just the sounds of the machines. That's how i felt.

Luckily, a few people had decided to water their lawns. Real dumb idea given how hot it was, the water would most likely burn the lawn. not my problem. i was able to get some relief by adjusting my route from one side of the side to another, to run through the water.

Anyway, i get to the office and thank gawd the lobby doors are open. i run in, hit the drinking fountain for some water, enjoy the A/C for a few moments and head home.

2 miles from home i run low on hydration again. So a quick detour puts me in an ice cream shop. The store clerk looks at me like i'm a moron, i am, for running in the heat of the day, but she gave me some water. i'm then out the door again. 15-20 minutes from home.

Finally, 1:30 ish, i'm home. Of course my bride has gone out looking for me cause, given the heat index and that i don't usually take so long, passing out from exhaustion is a real possibility. Fortunately, she gets home a few minutes after me.

Anyway, i had a hunch i would lose a lot of water, but i was still amused to see i had lost 5 lbs, just water, during the run. Even after stopping twice to rehydrate.

Have i mentioned i really enjoy running it those 20 -30 degree mid-winter days?

Have i mentioned what a fan of "Rescue Me" i am? Great season opener, open her, u brought her, u open her, last nite.

Have i mentioned anything about The Bible today? No. Man, it's got some real difficult sections, but i'm plugging away. i should finish up 1st Chronicles tonite. To be honest, it's been fun to read, and surpising to rediscover all the old testament kings and judges, whom i learned about it Sunday school class as a child.

Man, this post is too long. Sorry 'bout that. i must engage my filter. There is so much crap that i want to put out, but time is running short and the Piston's game starts in 15 minutes.

Larry Bird was wrong. Dwayne Wade, not Michael Jordan, is God in basketball shoes. i love the "stones" but man, Wade is good. Wouldn't it have been nice if the "stones" had a chance to draft this guy? Doooohhh!!!

ACT Question:

Darko Milicic is to the Pistons as Sam Bowie is to ...

Must... Pull.... My... Self... away from .... keyboooaard.
Must... engage... publish key...........

Cha-cha-cha...Shrek??


Here is Jimmy's latest obsession. The Chia, i can never rember if it's spelled Chia or Chea, Shrek. Ironically or more likely coincidentially, Shrek was bald in the movies. At least in ogre form.

Well, my youngest child, who loves all green skinned characters, Hulk, Shrek, Yoda..... walked away from a Christmas Mock Gift exchange with this beauty.

5 months later he still remembered we had it and, with the change in weather, the shrek planting season was upon us.

and here we are, a few days later....

of course, Jimmy thought he would just sing the Chia song over a 30 second time span and the stuff would just grow.

But everyday he would sing the song as he walked by the, ummmm i guess you call it a "planter?"

and eventually we had this.......

And i'll finish with some basic housekeeping stuff:

Haven't run since the last post, but i'm due for a good one today.

Almost done with 2 Kings and should be heading into Chronicles soon. 2 Kings is a tough read.

Later

8:50 per mile.

Super Whoppeeee!!! That was my pace for a 6.7 mile run from Tuesday. It felt great, this was a painful run and although i still do not have a stopwatch i am very comfortable with putting this time down.

i ran the fastest and farthest yet. Sub-nine minute miles are now a realized goal. i may not always run this way, but Tuesday felt great. Funny thing though, i fell. a small area of undeveloped land, through which i run, has no sidewalk. i tripped on the edge where the sidewalk started up and had to take a few minutes to dust off and check for damage and restart the MP3.

On one hand the short rest may have helped for time, on the other it was a couple minutes from my running. How should i gauge this?

On that note my current best songs to run to(top five):

1. Crazy... i actually prefer Alanis to Seal. best line "in a world full of people only some want to fly. Isn't that crazy?"
2. It's My Life... O.K. i know Bon Jovi. insert joke here. best line "i ain't gonna live forever, i just want to live while i'm alive"
3. C'mon C'mon... Detroit's own Von Bondie's. Thank Gawd "Rescue Me" 3rd season starts soon. Best line...."C'mon, C'mon" Duh!!
4. Welcome to Paradise.. Green Day. No great lines, just a kick a$$ jam, and
5. Kickstart my Heart...Motley Crue. Same as Green Day.

What no Bruce? Sorry but Born to Run is not a great running tune, at least not current top 5. But Mary Don't Weep is creeping up, best line "Moses smote the water with a 2X4, Pharoah's army got drowned"

Sorry for any misquotes.

Btw the way...hey la di, la di, la di...= pay, me my money down. i never knew that

thanks again!!

Saturday was a great day for a run.

Thank Gawd the sun is finally shining. It's been a few days since the rain has stopped and even the wind seems to have gone away with it. Saturday, Jimmy had a T-ball game and it was quite a ways from the home. Probably the farthest possible elementary school in our school district from the house without crossing M-59.

So i wore my running gear and after the game ran home. New territory, how much fun is that?! Not as many sidewalks, and since i'm a bigger fan of running on pavement, so i had to dodge a little bit of traffic trying to keep on pavement with some occasional oncomming traffic.

i don't live in the most urban area, so i'm not sure why drivers can't share 1/4 of a lane with me?

Anyway, the run was about 6.5 miles and it was right around an hour. i'll take it.

btw....i confirmed my registration in chicago, per my traing guide, the first official training day is July 2nd. Funny thing is i have a 10K race that day in Algonac... pronounced al-go-nac not al-gone-ac at their Pickeral Festival..., pronounced wall-eye not pick-er-al.

Anyway, my goal for the marathon is 9:30 per mile, about 4:08:54 total time. I guess i really just want to finish, but once i've gotten past the fact that i will finish, barring an injury, i've been thinking about pace.

i started to read 1st Kings last night. The Samuel books were good, and i enjoyed the stories, perhaps lessons, to be read regarding Saul and David. Everyone take a moment and Read 2 Samuel, chapter 7. i'd be interested in any thoughts, i.e. comments to interpretation. Any takers on this one? I have my own but would rather not share them now. perhaps later. btw...It's a short chapter.

thanks again for reading

Oh The Humanity.....

DaVinci Code... It was a great read, some neat twists and turns and i loved it. I wonder how many protestors took the time to peruse it?

Remember the islamic uproar over "The Satanic Verses"? i seem to remember christian people defending the author. i remember statements similar to it was fiction and muslims should be more accepting of different viewpoints.

i seem to remember Jewish communities anxious over the release of "The Passion..." and possible backlash over the portrayal of Jews, and anti-semitism. Again, christians spouted their superiority due to the acceptance of different views. After all, free speech must always be defended!!!

but....

Dan Brown must be the devil!!! How dare his fictional book, with just a wee bit of truth, used to add some spice, question Jesus. More than anything, i think organized religion is questioned, not Jesus. Remember, i've read the book unlike most of the protestors, who blindly follow spoutings of evangelicals who are most likely bandwagonning to further their induh..vidual careers with the personal integrity of an old west snake oil salesman.

Ironically, Karl Marx said "religion is the opium of the masses"

Notice he didn't say Faith, or Belief in God, he said Religion

i know i'm not all the way through the bible yet, so i'm no expert, nor will i ever claim to be, but i haven't come across anything yet about not honoring your religion. Not honoring God, you bet it's there, but nothing about religion itself. i'll keep looking for it though...

beginning 2nd Samuel tonite

running long tonite as well

thanks again, keep the comments coming....

It's happened again!!!

y'know here in Michigan and perhaps in other parts of the country we had been warned about the West Nile Virus and keeping our pets away from dead birds, lest our pets become infected.

perhaps the same warning regarding the bird flu wouldv'e been a little helpful.

i read it online it must be true

So anyway, i tried running with the dog yesterday. Not a great idea. Puppies tend to want to go in their own direction, and they tend to want to stop and smell everything. Maybe if i took some time and trained him it would work, but i'm getting ready to go full throttle into marathon mode. This is not a time for recreational running. i gotta focus.

i'm finding out i'm not really a morning runner. It's not as easy to get out of bed in the morning to run. i guess i'm also finding out that i prefer running in the winter. It's a bit chillier but less distractions like yardwork, golf, honey-do's, pool maintenance, on and on... to get in the way.



So i've fallen off my running routine. i will get it back this weekend.

This may seem weird to some people who know me, but i've started reading The Bible. i've always been a bit of a cynic, and bible thumping, religious right people annoy me. So, i figure if someone is going to use religous text to make a point, i better know what they're using to make a point!! i love how holy rollers use the Old Testament to justify capital punishment, "eye for an eye" while ingoring the "turn another cheek" from the New "Christ-stuff" Testament. Anyway i'm really enjoying the challenge. i started "In the Beginning" and am trying to go straight thru to "Amen".

Honestly, i would be lying, nice oxymoron there, eh?, if i didn't admit that the book has made a huge impact on my beliefs and thoughts. and i'm most likely reading the book in the wrong order. A pastor friend of mine has tried to advise me, but OCD's remember, i gotta go linear start to finish.

Anyway, i'm just about half done with 1 Samuel, and i can't seem to put the book down.

i'm sure i'll misquote something and the thumpers will come out like droves.

thanks again for reading

More information regarding Bird Flu!!!

Recent developments have given evidence that the virus has mutated to several species

As seen in the example to the left the virus has leapt to reptiles. It seemed simple enough as waterfowl, ie infected pink flamingoes and ducks must have been eaten by these animals and the virus mutated.


Floridians watch out..








O.k. new topic, back to an old topic:

i saw most of the presidents little speech on illegal immigrants. Thank Gawd it was short, but the Pistons were on and i had to bounce back and forth a lot.

i admit to agreeing with him on a few points. The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. But, there's always a but, if we do this temporary work permit so employers can hire people, i'm seeing a little problem.

It's already illegal for employers to hire illegal immigrants, and employers already hire them to avoid paying even minimum wages and taxes for the work being done.

So what's the incentive for these employers to hire a registered temporary worker? Won't they then have to pay some minimum amount, claim the work for tax purposes, etc...? Since they are already breaking the law hiring the way they are, doesn't it make more sense, i.e. $$$$, just to continue doing so?

A much more liberal viewpoint.... O.K. this goes through and we now have a sub-class of non-citizenry. Making much less, legally than citizens doing the same work. Wages are then driven down, and citizens are forced to take lower wages just to get work, and our new class in the workforce, is legal, continually allowed to be paid less, and cannot vote to affect policy.

Remember Ferris Bueller, anyone... anyone... what another term for trickle down economics...anyone...anyone.... VOODOO ECONOMICS

illegal immigration may just be the next front in class warfare being waged against the middle class??

ok....i'm paranoid

O.K. i'm obsessive-compulsive,

not about things like spelling and grammar, but the real unimportant things, like my desk at work.

Everything in my desk is placed at 90 degree angles, or 45 degree which i consider to be derivatives of 90 degrees. Not sure why it's my compulsion... i just obey.

Per Tess, see previous post for picture, i have begun to move one or two things in a more obtuse way, obtuse as in angle. i'm working on finding a balance in my life and my OCD's are getting in my way. My mother, Happy Belated Mom's day, was a borderline horder. It started with my sister and i and our mother had to keep every homework assignment, project, etc... we even did, forever. Then it evolved into just about everything.

"i don't know why i go to extremes" -Billy Joel

Thanks Billy, that song really sums me up. i'm either too high, or low, and there sure as hell are no in betweens. If i decide to take up running, what do i do? develop slowly, not me, i sign up for a marathon. If i go out and have a drink with some friends, there really is no such thing as a drink, it's gonna be drinksssss. If i buy a motorcycle, is it a nice cruiser? Not me, i get a Harley Touring class bike with all the bells'n whistles; fairings, windshield, CD player, heavy bags, plush seat, mp3 input, custom paint, etc...

i guess i'll keep looking for balance.

As predicted, i did not go for any runs during the weekend, or this morning. And i'm eating like garbage again. i find myself in a little bit of a funk.

no more of this internal revelational crap. i'm going back to the basics after this.

thanks again for reading!

O.K. i swear i'll give me little thoughts about my obsessive compulsiveness in the next post.

Today, i am thinking about my long drive to go see my daughter Allison. i haven't seen her since before Christmas and it's just been too long. It's one day really, i pick her up Saturday morning and drop her back on Sunday morning.

She'll be visiting for three weeks this summer and that will be the longest we have ever spent together. i'm not always confident that Allison really wants to spend anytime with me so i can get a little nervous before seeing her. Since she is almost 12, and nearly a teenager, i think she may begin to regret the weekends we do see each other, or the occasional weeks during the summer, because it takes time away from her friends, especially as she gets to be a teenager.

i may be able to spend some time running this weekend, in the old hometown. Not too much though, if i leave Lisa to play stepmom too long with Mack and Jimi (it's my blog, i'll spell his name anyway i choose [ 'Scuse me, while i Kiss the Sky]) things can get a little hectic.

i really hope for a relaxing weekend, but most likely it won't be that way.

thanks again for reading

i just received word that the Bird Flu has hit a trailor park!!!

It was on the internet, so it must be true. Sorry Gknee, dead pink flamingoes as far as the eye can see.

Started running in the morning today. i woke up a little early, laced up the shoes and headed out for a quick 4-5 miler. i'm not as concerned with distance anymore. It's mostly the speed right now. I ran last night, after spreaing a yard of mulch, on my medium route of 6.5-7 miles. i'm really not convinced on the accuracy of the gmaps pedometer, so i figure it's an estimate. i finished the run in 58 minutes, again an estimate. Worst case scenario a 8.92 mile pace/best case 8.28, either way less than 9 minute miles. i'm thrilled.

best case this morning, i ran in 28 minutes, and there must be some problem with my calculator that's a 5.60 mile or 6.22. No friggin' way. i'll check the math and get back on this one.

On the project 190 front. i must be getting a little quicker, because as of this morning, per my bathroom scale, i weighed in at....

1... that's right the first digit is a one. wait for it.... 198 ...btw thats pounds not kilograms.

but not a digital scale and not 100% accurate but given that per the same scale in December i had hit 240, i feel amazing. i remember 2 years ago i had gotten up to about 260. EGADS!!!

Have i mentioned to anyone that i'm obsessive/compulsive? Next time i'll write about that.

thanks again for reading!!!

What a great weekend !?

Spent the whole weekend working on the lawn, landscaping, outside stuff.

i'm not sure why i feel so energized about it. Tonite i get to spread new mulch around all the freshly torn out, re-prepped flower beds, yippee!!!

Great things that happened last week:

11th anniversary with wife, btw the steel year, and
shot a 45 at golf league, took 19 of a possible 22 pts, and
Jimi played his first t-ball game.

Grating on my nerve things that happened last week:

didn't get to really run a lot on the weekend due to all the landscaping, and
focusing on work has been real difficult, and
nearly a week gone by with no updates to the blog.

guess i gotta work on a few things.

'till later

Weight Watchers Journey

Came upon this blog while randomly looking at recently updated blogs last nite. i must say i was still running high on the fact that someone actually reads this stuff.

i don't know who Me is, or anything about her. i assume "her" because she has a thinspiration posts with pictures of women. So i assume Me is a woman.

In my minds eye, she probably isn't really as fat as she thinks. Most likely, i picture a late teen, early twenty something living in the stress-ridden world of comparing herself to all the top models, or worse, typical stereotypes of the way midwesterner/rust belt staters like myself think of the appearances of "California Girls".

My nine year old daughter is an athletic bean pole. Typical of a girl who spends her entire afternoons on her bike or rollerblades. Y'know what? She thinks she's fat. I mean she's nine and super athletic and real long and lanky. Fat?? not really in the description, is it?

Even though i don't have any real connection to Me, i'd like to encourage anyone reading to read her blog, and even offer some postive support. The one thing i've learned while marathon training is that you can do anything with positive support.

What the world needs now.... C'mon everybody sing along

O.K. my luck could be that Me is actually some 40 yr old, cop whose job is to bait pedophiles, which i am not, in those sting operations i keep hearing about on the news.

Again for the record, NOT A PEDOPHILE!!!

thanks for reading, i'll be back soon

Someone actually reads this stuff!!!!

Gotta say how much i appreciate the comment posted by to my "Happy Mawlid" post from a few weeks ago.

O.K. everyone go back, reread and then check out the well thought, with citation, comment. Then come back...

no really, go read it...

Welcome back. Is that cool or what? Thanks Mr or Ms Anonymous, and please feel free to comment anytime. i admit to not checking out the links yet, but i will. But that's not my point. i'm so thrilled that someone, someone i don't know, some random person came across this idiots site, idiot being me, and opted to peruse it. And if that wasn't enough, felt compelled to comment. And i'm not talking, writing, whatever about a "you suck!" comment. This is someone thoughtful and somewhat agreeable with me. O.K. i admit the last sentence is a little oxymoronic; thoughtful, agreeable, me.

i know i'm double dipping on my posts here today, but it's been a week. Plus, i'm real energized to keep typing away, again thanks to Mr/Ms Anonymous.

back to the running thing:

Running my 5 milers at about a 9:00 pace. i still do not have a stopwatch, so nothing is official, just estimates conservatively based on the high side. 8 milers on the weekend are about the same pace.

Weight seems to be hovering between 200-205 instead of 205-210. I think a good strong BM can bring me below the 200 mark.

Two things have gotten me worried in the past few weeks. Just about life in general.

first... some techno cop in my company has been blocking me from updating, posting, and even accessing my blog from my work computer due to some company internet policy. For christ's sake, i'm not looking at porn. Trust me, in my business i actually have to be careful opening email's from other salesmen cause that's pretty much what they send. So here i am with at least three or four people who may get an occansional chuckle or just want to see how i'm doing, and i can't seem to update anything.

second... what the hell is the world of unlimited political correctness coming too, when i must now refer to illegal immigrants as unregistered immigrants. Now if someone wants to argue the points of class warfare with me. i will. not at this post, maybe later. but...

and i'm not going to argue about borders gates and fences and blah,blah,blah, but...

There are really two ways to immigrate to the good ole US of A. Legally and, well here i go again with semantics, but Illegally. One being the legal way and the other....illegal, or not legal, ergo illegal immigrant.

Noah Webster spins like a kids gyroscope in his grave, right next to a gyrating George Orwell, Holy Newspeak Batman.

i felt the same about the 2005 dehumanizing word du jour... refugee.

one who seeks refuge, or safety, is called a refugee. That's the definition, whether it be political, economic, or a state sponsored destuction of levies to test the effectiveness of FEMA. Sorry, i spun into conspiracy theory and class warfare there.

So in the new spirit of humanizing everything it's time to rename of illegal activities to something warm and fuzzy....

My first thought Drug Dealer

Let's go with unlicensed pharmacists

I feel better already!!!

Love the new Bruce CD. Tix's are bought for the June 17th show at Pine Knob, DTE my Arse!!