First free weekend in ... Can't recall

With my time as a volunteer at Tuscobia (150-mile and 75-mile ultra) last weekend, I had this weekend as the first one in so long that I was free from any obligation.  It was something I looked forward to...  Since I quit tennis two weeks ago, my last two work weeks are closer to 50-hour weeks as opposed to the 72 I had averaged for the first 50 weeks of 2011.  Shelley was going to Nebraska, and my son is in Chile (yes, the country), so it was just me and a dog.  Not even my dog, but one who is aging like me, and we are bonding...

It was great to see these superhumans in Tuscobia. The guy's move is from Texas, and unlike others, he dressed lightly. (Note: no gloves!)  Hell, I was cold out there. But he was walking/jogging, and I was standing. I started volunteering at 1:00 PM Friday and left at about 1 PM Saturday. I got about 45 minutes of sleep between 6:45 AM and 7:30 AM. Other than that, time flew by, being around great people and good friends.
With shorter work weeks, I have gotten in regular workouts. That is good as I have been so stressed and have had a short time. I have worked out at least 30 minutes a day on average, with today being 2.5 hours. I feel fatter but better. I always feel worse for the first few weeks of working out until it becomes a habit. So, I hope that at the turn of the year, I will have three regular weeks under my belt and be able to form the habit.

A synopsis would be appropriate since I have not posted much on this blog in 2011.  Here are the bullet points highlighted:

• January, I realized my son had brought bedbugs back from his trip earlier in the year.  That was a fight...  Nothing has happened for 9 months now, so I conquered that beast.  Really sucked at the time!
• In February, I moved to Apple Valley. As many have known, I had many medical issues and decided it may be the place I lived. So I moved in with my girlfriend. (I actually am not living in sin; I live in the basement of the dwelling.  But then, does that really matter to anyone?)  But she had a wedding and other big expenses coming, so it was a great benefit for her as well.
• In April, due to the 18+ mile one-way bike ride to work, I added a Bionx Electric Assist Kit to my Cannondale Quick 5. It really allowed me to bike commute daily without needing a day's rest between the 36+ daily miles.
• Without running since Grandma's 2010, my son took me out for a 3-mile training run the week before Grandma's 2011, and then we ran it together. So my streak is now 27 consecutive years as an official finisher. He was a lifesaver and stayed with me the whole way, and we had fun. What a cherished memory that will always be!
• Moved my son (twice) to Golden, Colorado, in July.
• My girlfriend was distant as she was so busy planning a wedding (no, not me - her daughter), and that was shortly followed by a two-week trip to Italy - to visit her other daughter. (See the picture below - what a beautiful couple)
• Volunteered at the ST 100 at the 42-mile mark.  Great weather for the spectator, but the poor runner had the heat to beat the crap out of them.  My aid station looked more like an M.A.S.H. unit, but only smiles!
• I interviewed in a few locations far from here and had an offer in Idaho.  I did not accept the offer, but I have regretted that a few times.  When life is hard, and relationships are strained, a new start is sometimes the way to go, but I have not been one to run from issues.  There were 100 reasons to go and a few to stay.  Today, I regret the decision, tomorrow I may be glad I made that decision.  That is how it has been for the past month since turning down the lateral move professionally.
• December 9th - the end of USTA for me.  I bid farewell to the USTA forever.  Just like when I left baseball unpinning, I knew I would never look back and was ready to hang it up.  Over 10 years, and it was getting to be 35-40 weekends a year, I no longer enjoyed that hobby!  I learned the phrase, "You can not put a price on passion, but it only takes one idiot to take it away.  In this case, it was an administrator or two and a few parents, but they made it miserable to volunteer or be a part of the organization.
• Finished the year with 2,265 bike miles, 645 elliptical miles, and 29.2 running miles.  Did not track walking miles, but must have a few hundred?

After my last tennis event, Shelley took me to the Holiday Lights Benefit Concert at the Brave New Workshop. It was a great time, and we saw a local performer I knew nothing about. She is Keri Noble. IMPRESSED WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. Check her out. She is a great songwriter with heart and soul in her music.

As some may know, we have been four staff members short at the office. With the down economy, we could survive with two less, but four has been hard. We are getting a new staff member soon (mid- to Late January). That will help, although, as usual, this is the time of year we are less busy, so we can train them before the storm hits in March.

All in all, it seems that my body and life are changing very fast as I near 50. I think I have experienced more change in the past 18 months than in the decade prior. It almost felt like I was getting divorced all over again, but the changes were not related to other humans, just me. If that makes sense.

So now I look at 2012.  Looking ahead, I need to put the weight down.  The right knee I had surgery on feels OK, with an occasional painful twinge.  I will continue to nurse and care appropriately for my body to get me back into shape.  I do not aspire to run any races next year, but I plan on volunteering at ST 100 again. 

I will keep you all posted. Until then, carry on.

Tuscobia - here I come to volunteer

I have had very little time to work out this year, but I have been thrilled and enjoyed volunteering to aid those who can and want to run.  Tuscobia is a 50K, a 75M and a 150M.  I'm unsure how many runners there will be, but Bill and I will man a station.  It should be fun, as long as I do not give Bill's coffee away like I did in Superior...  Oops.

Anyway, took Friday off from work.  That means this week is only a 36-hour work week, almost half the average for the year...  I almost feel like a slacker for not getting a workout in this week.  I did plan, but even the best plans are only possible if I get off my oversized bottom!  Excuses are not a good idea, but it has been a depressing week!  Tennis officiating has been a huge part of my life; this is the first week of letting that go.  It is like a 12-year relationship that I broke up with, and as strange as it sounds, it is not easy.

Getting a workout on the Holiday is even harder when it is not a habit.  Will do what I can!

Did watch the Biggest Loser Finale.  The at-home winner looked kind of scary.  It was a really boring season, and I missed over half.  Anna K. was not a very good trainer, in my opinion.  Bob is still the king!

So, let's see what next week can hold.  Crap that is the week before Christmas, and I think there is something I am supposed to do.  What could that be?  Mmmmm?  Oh crap, buy presents.  Do you think if I believe in Santa hard enough the tree will have presents and i will not have to do anything.  I will think about it...

When I was married, someone else always did a great job caring for those things...  Been a long time, and I still have not broken the habit of having it done for me.  This is brought back to mind as I go through so many hours of home videos as I convert them to DVD...  Like, I need another thing to bring me down... It was a good time, and things went differently.  I was a father, and that shows...  Something no one can take away...  It may be time to grow up...  but a run sounds better!

As stated by Socrates, "As for me, all I know is that I know nothing."

Carry on...

My 3rd post in 2011...

Been a long time.  After the surgeries and other things, I am back.  This has been a tough year.  So what has happened in the past 14 months:

• My son brought bedbugs back from Germany; that was a big bummer. I eliminated the problem by freezing everything I own.  I put it outside in January for 3 weeks and moved...  No more issues!
• I moved in with my girlfriend (kind of). We really do not live as a couple. I live in her basement.
• I am finishing the third year of working at least 65 hours a week and volunteering more than 10 hours a week on average...  No wonder I have gained weight...  This year, I have averaged 76 hours a week for 2011.
• I am only 29 pounds below my 302 weight in 2005...  I gained an average of 1.4 pounds a month since 2006.
• Logged my first 2,500 bike miles per year ever.  Only ran about 30...
• Finished my 27th consecutive grandma's marathon.
• Worked or volunteered 46 out of the last 56 weekends.
• All done with tennis after this weekend.  Bittersweet...  But I have come to the point I despise the sport...  Some too many good old boys claim to be leaders but are only egomaniacs doing what they can to please their elite friends and have little care for the sport overall.
• Looking forward to next weekend and volunteering at the Tuscobia 50, 100, and 150-mile ultra.  Friday away from the office and a weekend of fun!  These ultra directors, runners, and friends are all great people who do not know what the word ego means...

I'm looking forward to a 45-hour week to start 2012 and getting a little bit of my life back that has been almost gone for so long. I'm just finishing off so many responsibilities and promises in my life.  

Carry on, my friends, carry on...

Blog Time Off

Blog posts are further and further in between. Life is so busy. So many changes coming in the next few months!

We are all busy, and life is hard for many. I have no reason to complain, as I have been blessed in so many ways. But there are so many changes that will happen in the coming months. First off, I am moving from Bloomington to Apple Valley. I have looked ahead, and the way it looks, I will not have a weekend free from Tennis or work until late May.

But the biggest issue is my health and wellness. I thought I was going to improve after my surgery in May. But the infection I have been fighting since late 2008 (which is the reason for my May 2010 Surgery) has come back many times or maybe never went away. I have been on strong Black Box Warning Medications (Fluoroquinolone plus others), and weeks later, I visited the Doc, and I got the news, IT'S BACK!

I just finished a round of four different medications 5 days ago. While on them, my chest is clear, I feel solid, and my head feels fine. After a few days without, I feel all the negative impacts return. So, I have decided not to bother friends and followers with my "bad" time. In reality, I am fine; I am just limited.

I am going to continue to work with the doctors and try to beat this, whatever it is. I know that being two weeks on heavy-duty antibiotics, then three weeks off, then two weeks on, and another three to four weeks off... I have just been in that cycle for eight months, and the end is not clear.

Anyway, that is an update and, for now, a sign-off from posting on this Blog. May we get through this winter and my spring be filled with success in beating this infection, which will not go away. Of course, one side of me says if I worked a 40-hour week for a month and reduced the stress, I would improve. But I have commitments, just like we all do, that result in more than 75 hours each week. At my full-time job, where I am just happy to be employed, we are in the hiring freeze, and with the stress of missing three (of 8) important staff members, I am killed at work, and if I miss a day, I go from being a week behind to even more and then I work a few 15 hours days to get things done...

May we all be blessed with good health and wellness as we get through a difficult time.

Carry on, my friends... Signing off and hope to be back in a few months...

New year... More photo's

Here are some photos I found that can express the way life feels for so many people right now:

A recent Dr. Visit found the following (At least that is the way the brain feels... gone):


When I come home and try to relax on the couch... even the couch overtakes me ...


Then I find the dogs have taken the credit cards... and a good life!


I had a nice two days in 2011. I'm looking forward to a good workout and a nice week. I have five straight tennis weekends, so it will be hard to get in the flow, but I will try not to stress out about it!

Carry on...