Writers block...

Well not really - it is just that by the time I get in from the gym I have little desire to sit up here and chronicle my time at the gym. PLUS new tv has started so that seems to take up an hour here and there. OK - Monday through Thursday - I am going to have to weed something out sooner or later.
So the new bike is still going strong. I am enjoying it. However I am fearful the hills etc on the course Sunday may be a bit more than the trails I have been riding. Plus I am not 100% sure if they are closing the road or not. I don't like that... I don't want to deal with cars.
And on that note... when at the park - etiquette requires an "on the left" announcement as you pass pedestrians etc. Well of course when I am on 2 wheels and find myself on the left hand side of the trail... I forget that left is not right in this part of the world... You should be in the car with me when I forget that in parking lots :)
The pool - I needed to get back in the water. I had slacked off on that recently. Well imagine my surprise last week when I went to the gym... Changed into my bathing suit headed out the pool and WOW there were a lot of people out there.... Kids everywhere... Parents sitting in chairs watching the kids.... Parents sitting around reading books... Some even working on their laptops... And here I am strolling out in my bathing suit. Can you say deer in headlights? Seems with the start of the school year there is also the start of more formal swim lessons and swim teams. Next week I will need to review that more to get a better handle on my workouts going forward - after the race.
Overall the swim went good. I think I may go with the breast stroke for the event. Not that I can go faster with breast stroke. It just seems easier. I don't get as winded. I don't take in odd amounts of air that make me want to belch. So I think Sunday will be the breast stroke.
And then the run.... HAH! I still can't run... I did however impress myself this past weekend while on a treadmill. In the 3.4 miles that I covered I did not run very much... But I ran enough... I was surprised... I was out there running and then all of a sudden realised - hey I am still running. It was a good feeling.
I will do a few more things tomorrow and Thursday.
Friday my mom and Andrea arrive. Oh and let's not forget the work outing of paintball...
Saturday we are walking the Race for the Cure... Pick up my number and go check out the race site. Oh there is a 5 year old birthday in there too. I have been reminded to stay away from the kegorator...
And then Sunday - the big day!
I was going to take Monday off.... But have you seen the news... No rest for the weary on that one...

I forgot pictures...

I mean if I am going to mention one of the world's most handsome men I should throw in a pic or 2 right?
OK - so if you were to give him some velcro sneaks... he kinda would look like my dad... Or vice versa.
When I was a kid my parents liked to go to the Poconos to watch racing. No not NASCAR - YICK. IRL is it? I haven't grown up to be a big fan of any of it. However one time I do remember going along. And Paul Newman was racing. And my mom and I walked down to the bottom to get a better view of Mr. Newman as he sped by in his #33 Nissan. Funny the things you remember.
I think THIS will be the movie I watch this evening. Originally I said The Sting but I don't know this one.... A fun story - I love when they have to jump off the cliff into the river below and The Kid doesn't know how to swim.
And finally the triathlon relevance... Although I have to do some research to reference the exact movie. Joanne Woodward plays a mom maybe in her 40s maybe older - it has been a while since I have seen the movie. Her character decides that she is going to run a marathon. And at the end of the movie and hours after everyone else she finished her marathon. In talking with others I have referenced movie numerous times as being part of my inspiration. So when I come over the finish line hours after everyone else next Sunday it will be OK... It will have lots of meaning and symbolism etc etc...

Cool Hand Luke

Around father's day there was a story / rumour that Paul Newman had cancer. Ironic for a man that gave so much to the cause of fighting cancer? Or inevitable for someone who lives so long?
I always said it would be a sad day when Paul Newman died. I guess because of my mom's thoughts of my dad looking like him. This whole coll hand luke think and all. And when my dad dies I thought well hey at least Paul Newman is still alive. Just call that an odd coping device. So today that is not the case. And I was right - it is a sad day....
I think I may just have to stay in this evening and watch a Paul Newman movie or 2...

Nothing today...

Perhaps it was the bon fire last night that prompted me to not want to do anything today.
Or the fact that the sun never came out.
OR that in my mind I would call it cold outside.
But I didn't do much of a workout today.
I did watch the Panthers and they sucked. Perhaps I should have stayed the course of my previous Sundays and gone for a bike ride.
Well we are still dog sitting but maybe after he goes home I will go out for a walk.
Or maybe I will just rest.
Tomorrow I think I need to hit the pool.
I am not going to concern myself too much with the whole run thing. But I do want to make sure I can do the swim and bike bit...
We are down to the wire.

Swim Time - OOOPSSS!

So I needed to update my swim time by today. I thought I had today to do that.
NOPE - I had until 8am today to update the swim time.
Which I did not realise.
So now I will be starting in the back of the line! I think I register as barely knowing how to swim with the time I gave at the initial registration.
Well the good thing about that is I will be at the end of the line.
And when it gets lonely out there with no one else around it will be because of my pecking order and not entirely because I am so not the triathlete.
I am curious to see what they tell me my start time is....

eight again

so i went to the park again today with my bike... gosh i almost feel outdoorsy...
i did the whole 8 miles... of course i had to keep the positive self-talk at an all time high on the 4 miles out... well i could turn around at 2 miles and go for a total of 4 - perhaps my legs need a rest from yesterday... i would turn around at 3 and do 6 - that's still a good showing... 3.5 would get me to 7... maybe i'll stop at the bottom of this hill instead of the full 4 - do i really want to do this hill... well i did the hill and i did the whole 4 out... and you know what - the 4 back were so much more fun... there was no chatter in my head about turning around - i was already turned around... and the only thing i needed to do was get back to the car... which i did in about 55 minutes... i wonder why i go longer in a shorter period of time on the stationary bike... i assume it is because i am not dragging my body weight along for the ride... who knows...
i am just glad to say i got that done today
i did not do the swim or run but i still feel good about it

big BRICK tonight...

After this week I needed to get to the gym and I made sure I stayed on task.
I did 10.10 miles on the stationary bike. I did 3 - 3.3 loops that had a pretty intense grade at the beginning of each loop. I thought that would be good prep for these uncertain hills on the real course. I kept the gears/tension pretty high throughout. Again trying to build up some endurance for the uncertainty of the ride.
From there I switched to the treadmill... colder tonight that it was the other night so I didn't go outside.
I did 1.7 miles on the treadmill. No, I did not run. But I am not complaining...
AND I did work in the 10+ minutes of stretch time. So I am pretty happy with myself.

Now tomorrow I wanted to do all 3 sports - we shall see how that goes.
KP and I have definitely talked about swimming. I hope to get the bike to the park as well.
The walk/run thing will probably take some motivation on my part.

I will keep you posted.

I have to wonder...

Am I the only one that thinks there may be a connection here....

The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.[citation needed] Some provisions such as Regulation Q that allowed the Federal Reserve to regulate interest rates in savings accounts were repealed by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980. Provisions that prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed on November 12, 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act signed by President Bill Clinton.[1][2]

Perhaps I don't know my markets and banking as well as I think I do.... But I have to wonder...

7.5 miles

I have not made it to the gym all week. Tonight my head felt like it might just fall off. It is amazing the stuff I have done this week. Mostly calling people trying to make sense of things. And the last thing my brain wants to do is get refreshed by heading to the gym...
But tonight I forced myself. I am glad I did. I did clear my head ever so slightly.
I did 7.5 miles on the staionary bike again. I think I was on there a little over 35 minutes.
I did some stretching - this gym is very condusive to the stretching part of the workout.
And home I came.
Stopped to get gas. My normal gas station - did not have gas. I finally went in town and for a reasonable price I could get 10 gallons worth.
So much going on - best not to think about it.
To put my brain at more rest I watched Bones - hey did you see it was about dog fighting? They had some beautiful pups on there. Bacchus still wants a "Mini Me". If only I had the time and money.
And on the subject of dogs - his buddy from down the street is coming to stay again tomorrow. They really enjoy hanging out together. So it will be fun... or something...

What's with all these ends...

Sure the implosion of the Club Met meant the end of something. But gosh that was looking for an end as long as I knew about it.
The end of Yankees Stadium. Sure that too is sad.
But this week has really hit this geeky girl hard... I used to pretend as a kid that I was working at Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith. No really... Sure other people play dress up and I would play stock broker. I would look up tickers in the newspaper. Watch them run at the bottom of the tv screen (oh what a gem cable was)...
I have always found the market and the economy and politics of it all so interesting.
This week sure is a big study in all that...
I wonder how it will all pan out.
And I hate to say this - but this is one of those moments I miss having my dad around to talk to about it. Sure my mom and I had an interesting talk on it all.... But he would have had an interesting spin to it - with just a little more doom and gloom than I would care to hear.

Nothing today...

I came home from work - made some left over whole wheat linguine (which is OK once you get past the texture of it) with lots of veggies and watched the tv. Oh I threw on some fleece pants and a long sleeve tshirt as well - I know it is bloody hpt out there but it felt good on my leg muscles. I did some reading for work and now I am off to bed...

HUnger Relief

It has been a while since I have made mention of anything with respect to the foodbank... It has been some time since the need to food has been on such an urgent level...

Friend,
As the destruction of Hurricane Ike becomes clear, we urgently need your help to rush emergency food and supplies to the devastated areas.
The hurricanes have nearly depleted our Disaster Relief Fund and emptied the shelves of many of our food banks!
We must get 17 truckloads of food and emergency relief supplies to victims of Hurricane Ike immediately.
Every penny you give today will go directly to helping the men, women, and children left reeling in the wake of these recent disasters.
Your neighbors need you. There is no time to waste. I hope I can count on you today to help provide emergency food and supplies for those in need.

Sincerely,
Vicki EscarraPresident and CEO

P.S. Many victims of Hurricane Gustav still need our help and now Ike has brought a new wave of need to our doors. Please give what you can today!


____________________________America’s Second Harvest is now Feeding America
As of September 1, 2008, America’s Second Harvest will be called Feeding America. Research has told us that making this change will not only make our mission of fighting hunger and feeding Americans in need relevant to more people, but it will allow for increased awareness of a problem that is hidden to most — 35 million Americans facing hunger. As our new name suggests, our mission is the same as always — to feed America’s hungry.
Look for our new name and logo in future communications.

Every Day is Like Sunday

Did anyone ever suspect that a Morrissey song would be used in an NFL promo? I mean first New Order and M&Ms and now this. It takes all those years of alternative rock and makes it main stream... How crazy. I won't complain - you will just find me hunting through my old collections to find some of the songs... Or hours sucked into iTunes looking for downloads.
So far it has been a prosperous Sunday. Let's see how the Jets and Pats do with 1 quarter to go. Not too sure who to cheer for - the retired quarterback coming back to play for a new team (who happen to reside in NJ) or the new starting quarterback put into play as a result of last week's injury.... I am on the fence.

Impressed myself

I am most impressed with my ability to get that bike rack back on my car. whoa - that's not an easy task... these straps here, these here, tighten this first, then that... and on it goes...
I never got to the bike trail yesterday. I went with KF and family on the light rail to the Blues, Brews and BBQ street party. It was fun. Somthing different to do.
But today I did make it out. KP and I finally hit the trails. Thank goodness. I think we both needed to get out there. Can you beleive over all these months this is only the second time that we have worked out together... Once at the pool and now.
So we did the 8 miles at the park. It was a lot easier than I anticipated and a lot more fun. Perhaps because I had someone to chat with over the 8 miles.
From there - in the midst of lapse of reason - we donned bathing suits and headed over to the pool near her new home. And we swam!!! I wanted to do 500 yards - stopped at 450. She was somewhere just behind me. I haven't been in the pool in a while. I like the whole swimming thing. I may not be able to attempt it without slowing down or stopping for more air but who knows.
I am feeling more confident on it at the moment.
I may feel real sore tomorrow and all confidence will be shot to hell... but for now...

Another new trail

SH called earlier in the week and wanted to go walking this morning. We were going to check ou the new part of the trail I found last week for the bike. Somehow in the early fog of our morning we ended up not turning to head towrds that part of town. I remembered that the other part of the trail now extends all the way to trader joe's so we headed there instead. We parked in the shopping center and walked across the street to the path. I have to say I was surprised by the amount of people that were out there. I thought there would be fewer people. we walked for a little over an hour. SH ws thinking it was a little over 4 miles. I can't find the trail exactly on MMR but my guesstimate (and of course their underestimate as so frequently pointed out by JC) had us at a little over 3 miles. I am thinking that is closer to true than the four miles. I definitely was not walking at a 4 mile and hour pace. Come one when have I ever got to the 4 mile and hour pace in all this blogging. 16 minute walking miles maybe.
Whatever the case it was a new trail and it was an hour + of moving so I am happy with that.
Now what to do with the rest of my day... USNWC anniversary is today ... could head there... there is a jazz festival AND a blues brews and bbq...
I may just end up reading the 5 proposals sitting on the island in my kitchen... these will be the opposite of that book i found so rivetting the other day...
AND I do need to go back out to the park at some point and get my butt on the bike..

WW@W revisited

Did I mention they extened the WW@W program. It is now going to run until the company Christmas (yes - we are not politically correct) party. I guess they added another 12 weeks or so. The cool thing is for the next 5 weeks every pound lost WW will donate a pound of food to a local food bank. Our company has decided to start a food drive for the cause as well. Anyone who wants can contribute food to our new bright red LARGE collection bin in the office. I am going to do a pound of food for every pound lost and a can of food for every 60 minutes of exercise. I needed to add that last little motivator because I have learned/proven this week that it has more to do with the exercise than the diet. OK - diet does count to some respect but my body is pretty accustomed to eating healthy in the first place. It's this exercise thing that is really going to get me where I want to go.
So far I am up to 2 pounds of food and 4 cans... I will probably just hit up Costco at the end of the 5 weeks...

TRIVIA

from the gym, i met my friends out for trivia night... i would have to say that was one of the more fun times out at a bar that i have had in a long time... OK i did go out a few weeks ago and that was fun too... this was a different fun... it was neat to exercise my brain... well we all know i gravitate to that more than the physical fitness side of things - so me going to a triva night shouldn't come as a surprise... we all had a good time... and i won the music round for the team - does that come as a surprise to you all? we were in a 3 way tie - thankfully i knew who billy corkin (sp?) was as well as mark knoffler (sp?) and someone i managed to determine he also did the soundtrack for The Princess Bride - ahhh some movie trivia in there as well... of course i also know oddities like - perry farrell chose that name because it sounded like peripheral and doesn't j mascis have a tatoo of a praying mantis? too many odd things in this head of mine
it was fun
i am sure we will do it again

7 Miles on the bike

It took me most of the day on Thursday to talk myself into going to the gym after work. The staying up to 1am to read that book really threw me. Perhaps that's why I try to stay away from reading too much on a daily basis. Sleep sometimes takes the back burner.
The good thing is I DID talk myself into going to the gym and it was well worth it.
I went to HX again - it is so close to the office, convenient in size, clean, not very crowded. An enjoyable experience compared to others. I found myself on the stationary bike again http://www.expresso.com/ . And this time I tried the video format or whatever you want to call it. I did the "sunset bliss" ride... It was a little over 2.3 miles and I road it 3 times for a total of 7.1miles in 42 minutes. I was happy with that. AND it did simulate hills which I needed to help build my confidence in that area. So overall it was a good workout. I was pleased.
I know I need to get to 9 miles on my bike. And I will.. I have 3 weeks - UGH!

Tired today

I need to get out the door - but need to suck down some coffee first. I watched Fringe last night - oooh it looks good... and not just because of Joshua Jackson. And then I went upstairs to read for a little bit. You know just a little. I was entering into the "battle" scene of the book and knew I probably wouldn't be able to handle it all. Ah - WRONG - instead I read through the entire heart wrenching and sad battle. I was on the edge of my seat (well except I was lying in bed reading). I didn't want to put it down... So the battle ends and I think - I can't put it down here - I can't go to sleep and just let him lie there all night - midnight rolled around - and then it was I can't go to sleep now and let him dehydrate - 1AM rolls around... FINALLY I just had to put the thing down. Wow - it is gripping. Very well written. Sure I had a hard time envisioning some of the Afghan landscape that they discussed but the battle sequence etc was very well written.

Zumba

It's like the macarena of aerobics. We are inundated around here with infomercials on it. I am surprised you haven't seen it. It has been around for a while now - good music, dance oriented steps (with a latin feel), and I suppose it is considered low impact. It also makes for a good laugh if you find you have 2 left feet.