0-30 and Then to 50

Inching ever closer to the thirty mile mark for a week is where I currently sit in this little endeavor. Not to pat myself on my back but I am very happy with myself. It doesn't seem like that long ago when I couldn't run two miles without my lungs burning. Onward and upward. 

Helpful Hints

I learned or had verified three important facts in the past 24 hours. Let me hip you to 'em.

1) According to the great soothsayer John Tesh based on a new report from the Harvard School of Medicine using using the snooze alarm is HORRIBLE for your sleep patterns and thus your training and/or health in general.

2) Cross training burns more fat and builds muscle faster than cardio training alone. (Most people I believe already know this but its worth mentioning.)

3) The belief that we are innocent until proven guilty in the United States is simply that a belief. As we see from the multitude of court cases where people are tried and convicted in the court of public opinion the situation is quite the opposite. Most people are believed to be guilty until proven innocent and even when found innocent the damage to their personal persona and reputation has been done. The seal has been broken. I bring this point up due primarily to the idiocy of post-death persecution of Michael Jackson. He was never convicted of anything and yet the majority of us are insistent that he's been touchy feely with the kids. None of us will ever know at this point and it seems that its best that way. We are simply left the memories of his music. Let it go people and just dance.

The Simple Things

Perhaps I'm simple at heart or perhaps I have learned with age to appreciate the simpler things in life. In a week that has seen people killed in the streets of Iran just for the right to vote in a fair election. Our president taking his healthcare message directly to the American people. People still falling prey to swine flu and Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet and (maybe) Michael Jackson all dying, all I can think about is that I really love my wife Michelle because she loves and understands how the simple things really excite me. I have been preoccupied with web design, Chirunning, and watching the grass grow. Yes I did say watching the grass grow.

As you know we built the wall and landscaped the "new" backyard. In the last two weeks in the midst of the monsoon rains we spread topsoil and seeded the lawn. I feared that the little fellas would not make it through the monsoons but lo and behold its growing. I couldn't be happier.

I Eat Therefore I Ran

Guess what? Its raining again. Whatever you say...I concur. Its old news. As much as it rains its still not deterring me from running and now also from biking. Things are going well, so in a shameless plug directed at everyone who refuse to get out of their own way when it comes to their health. I urge you to go find where the following film is playing and SEE IT. In my humble opinion at least half (probably more) of the health problems that manifest themselves in people's lives can be directly attributed to the food we eat.

So one again. GO SEE THIS FILM and make some changes.

Oh My Aching Back...I Mean Neck

Well, the road bike has finally made a new appearance. I ride a Specialized Allez. Blue. Its quite nice and has served me well through good rides and bad wrecks. Of course none of my wrecks have been close to what my friend Joe has gone through but of course I never want to compete on the pain and agony scale. Anyway I took the road bike out for the first time since last year before the ankle/knee...before the wall, before the bacterial infection. It was quite eye opening.

Its not like I haven't been riding. We have a trainer in the basement. The problem with that is Michelle does not like the clip pedals so we go old school inside. That being the case we attach her bike which is a hybrid. Nice ride but totally different than a road bike. So for the past few months since I got off the I.V. I have been riding down in the basement. It was good to get my legs back up to speed before beginning running. I thought my legs were in pretty good shape for riding. Indeed they were. The problem was/is my neck muscles are very, very, very weak. Leaning out and over the bars on the road bike means you have to hold up your head. I guess I have a lot of rocks in my head because it felt like it weighed about 10 pounds more than it used to.

Oh well, one more tiny hurdle to overcome. The bike helps the run...without a doubt.

This is the newest version of my bike (in the wrong color of course).

Not To Jinx Myself But...

I woke up today to not quite sunny skies but of course it wasn't raining. Not only was it not raining this morning but it even held out all day. A typical June day. A little humid. Chance of thunderstorms. About 78 degrees. I put in my miles (which now include about a quarter mile uphill run at about  a 25 degree angle.) Worked out and then yogafied myself.

A pretty damn good day if I say so myself.

Stop Asking Fogerty

Quite simply the question I have been asking myself for some time now. The answer is, I have seen it. You have seen it. The whole freakin' northeast of the United States has seen it. It just won't stop.

I think we are being punished. But I still gotta run.