Thanksgiving Day Run

A quick post...went for a 2 1/2 mile run Thanksgiving Day and SURVIVED!!!! Went really slow, but managed to run (I'm going to call it "run") the whole way. My Achilles was a little bit sore, but I think if I'm careful I can start putting in some miles now and then. It's colder than I want (about 8 degrees this morning), and I have a nasty cold that I picked up from someone, but when it warms up a little bit and I'm healthier I'll start hitting the trail.

YAY!

Relay for Life

We (the radio station) did the Relay for Life last weekend. It was kind of fun...I wound up walking non-stop for about one hour and forty five minutes at about a 4 mph pace. It doesn't sound like much, considering I've gone on runs that were almost that long, but it almost killed me.

I did find out that my Achilles is definitely not in any kind of shape to exercise for an extended period of time. It wasn't as bad as when I run, but it wasn't exactly a stroll in the park either. I'm now really worried about my upcoming elk hunt...I won't be able to do anything to get in shape, and I'm afraid I won't be able to be as mobile as I need to be to really enjoy the hunt. Guess we'll just have to see wait and see what happens!

4 Weeks

It's been 4 weeks since I last ran...and the same amount of time since I last posted. My Achilles has improved quite a bit, especially in the last week. We had to get 6 tons of hay last week, and it bothered me after we finished, but hasn't hurt at all the last couple of days. I think I'm at the point where I need to be very careful...I want to go for a run, but don't think that that's a wise choice. I'm afraid that if I succumb and head out on the trail, I'll re-injure the stupid thing and be back to where I was a month ago.

I only have two months until we leave for the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho, and my physical condition is not really conducive to climbing around at 8500 feet. I need to do something to get my legs and lungs in shape, but I'm hesitant to risk straining my Achilles again. I think the best course of action is to follow Laurie's 6-6-6 advice...wait 2 more weeks, and then go for a very short, slow run and see what happens.

I probably won't write again until after that...so if you're holding your breathe waiting for my next post, you'll have to hold it for about 2 weeks.

Limping Along

I went for another little jog last night on the OC&E trail, and other than the fact that I'm extremely out of shape actually felt fairly good. I headed west from the parking lot on Reeder Road so I'd have the wind at my back on the return trip (it was a pretty stiff wind), and ALMOST felt like a runner. My Achilles only hurt for the first 200 yards, and my right knee loosened up after about 600 yards. It wasn't what I would call pleasant, but I felt that MAYBE I'd be able to continue running on a more consistent basis. When I got home I still felt good...no major pains, no stiffening up...good signs that perhaps I didn't do too much too soon.

Today is another story. I just walked the 2 1/2 short blocks from our parking area to the office, and it was brutal. My Achilles is definitely not healed. In fact when I got to the office, I seriously considered calling my wife to see what doctor I should make an appointment with. I probably won't visit a doctor, but I don't know that I'll be running for awhile.

I was planning on an every other day running schedule for a couple of weeks...maybe I should back it off to every third day, or every fourth day, or maybe just wait 6 months and hope that I don't look like a hippo by that time.

Any advice?

Back in the Game!

It's been almost 1 1/2 months since I last posted, and it HAS been a full 1 1/2 months since I last ran. I felt pretty good when I got off work today, so I thought I'd go for a little run when I got home. My Achilles has been kind of tender, but hasn't been bothering me like it was earlier in the year.

My run, if you can actually call it that, almost killed me. I went really slow, and I didn't go very far (3 miles total, with about 1/2 mile walking in the middle) but because I've turned into a blimp and haven't done anything since the last part of April I have no wind and no endurance. It's pretty brutal to try to push my big belly into the wind on the OC&E Trail...I'm really glad there weren't too many people out there to see me.

Right now the attachment point for my Achilles is pretty swollen, but it doesn't hurt too much so I'm hoping I didn't do any lasting damage. I'll see how it feels in the morning, but I think that I might actually be back in the game! Wouldn't THAT be sweet! It's amazing, but running really is addicting. I wish that I had started at an early age, instead of waiting until I was 39! Looking back, that was really pretty young...it's hard to believe that almost 16 years has gone by since we left Newport and moved to The Dalles. I don't remember being as attached to riding as I am to running, even though I know I rode quite a bit over the years.

We'll see what happens in the morning...if it's not bothering me tomorrow, I'll try to go for another little trip. Here's hoping!!!

Still Hurt

I think I'm permanently crippled! I ran last week, and haven't been able to do much of anything since. My Achilles felt okay while I was running, but hurt quite a bit after I sat for awhile (yes Laurie, I stretched after I finished my run!). Since then it's been very tender, and takes some time to be able to walk without limping. When I got up this morning I considered going for a run at lunch because it's raining and I love running in the rain, but when I walked the 2 1/2 blocks from our parking area to the office I decided that that was probably foolish. But then I started looking at our blogs, and after reading Laurie's blog I got excited about going for a run again, so I might actually give it a shot. We'll have to see what happens.

Back on the Road Again

Great news!!! I went for a little run today, and 9 hours later my heart is still beating! I decided that I've been on the injured reserve for way too long, so my lunch break today consisted of a 2 1/2 mile run on the OC&E Trail. Because of a jacked-up Achilles Tendon I haven't been able to do much of anything since Presidents' Day...and I'm back to square one as far as being in shape. I managed to put back on all the weight I lost when we did the Basin Belly Buster, and in fact added a pound or two. I'm a great example of what eating 2 full pounds of See's Dark Chocolate Buttercreams between the Valley River Center and Klamath Falls will do for one's physique!

I'm kind of anxious to see if I can run again tomorrow... right now my Achilles is kind of tender, and my hip on that side hurts quite a bit too (I'm afraid that I was running more lopsided than normal to try to not strain my tendon, and may have screwed something else up). Getting old definitely isn't something to look forward too, and I'm not doing it gracefully.

I don't have any idea how fast I ran the 2 1/2 miles, and at this point don't really care. The important thing is that I was able to run the full distance...and didn't wind up dead in the ditch along the trail.

Nothing to Write About

Well sports fans, it's Sunday evening, and I have nothing to write about. I still can't run, so I can't blog about my workouts, and I'm determined not to complain about work so won't even mention that. Guess that leaves my general state of health.

I'm a little worried about my Achilles tendon. It feels stiff and is tender when I get up, but has improved enough that I can walk on it without limping. By the end of the day, however, it hurts to the point that I'm limping noticeably (sp?). I ran about 10 steps this morning while I was feeding the horses just to see how it felt, and think that maybe I should wait another week or two before I try to go for a run.

Since it's been over a month now since I was last able to go for a run, it will be almost like starting over when I actually do get to go. I'll have to be very careful, because I have a tendency to try to do too much too quickly, and I don't want to aggravate my injury.

Since I know that Laurie and Tom are the only ones that read this blog, do you guys have any suggestions to combat my injury? Do I completely forget about running until there's no hint of pain? Or should I try to run, and hope that exercise will help it heal? As I mentioned a post or two ago, the pain is where my Achilles attaches to my heal...it's not higher up on the tendon itself. Do you think it may just be an inflammation, or maybe some type of tendonitis? If that's the case, do you think a healthy dose of ibuprofen would help? Or would that just temporarily deaden the pain and heighten the risk of exacerbating the damage?

Help, please! I need your advice.

Slacker......

Well it's been a full 2 weeks since I last posted...and it's been almost 3 weeks since I last ran. What a slacker!!!

My last run was on President's Day, and I was definitely not in good shape then because of inconsistent work outs. When I start running again (maybe I should say IF I start running again), it'll be brutal.

I actually have a legitimate excuse for not running...my Achilles tendon is toast. I'm not sure exactly how I injured it. I was playing basketball with Doug at the church, and didn't have any problems while we were playing, but by the time I got home it was very tender and hurt to walk. We drove up to Eugene right after playing ball, and when we got out of the car at the Valley River Center it was stiff enough that I couldn't walk without a pretty severe limp. (Not even a trip to See's Candy cured it!!) That was on February 21st...two weeks ago...and I STILL can't walk without limping. This strain is different than ones I've had in the past, because it hurts right on my heel, instead of up higher towards my calf. Hopefully in the next week or so the pain will subside enough that I can start running again.

Things at work are not the best. We've hired a 40 something friend of Greg's who calls him to complain about us. We were told the week before she got hired that because of the economy we weren't going to be doing any hiring, and then presto chango...Greg's worthless friend comes to work. I'm starting to get fired up just thinking about the situation, so I think it's time to quit writing. I'll post a little more information when I'm in a better mood...time to quit!

Wicked Wind

I just got back from another little jaunt on the OC&E Trail, and it was BRUTAL!!! I haven't gone for a run for over a week...the day I last posted was the last day I ran, and that was a really short (2.5 mile) run. I haven't been running consistently since before Christmas, so I haven't gotten in very good shape...and today I found out just what being lazy will do for your conditioning.

The weather in Klamath has been pretty miserable for the last week. We've had snow, rain, temperatures in the 20s, rain, grey skies...it's best described as BLAH! If you've read any of my prior posts you can gather that I look for any excuse not to run...basketball games, practices, missionary discussions with Ed, wind, cold, heat, church, too late, too early, work...the list is endless. I didn't go Friday because Doug had a game, didn't go Saturday because it was cold, didn't go yesterday because of church and I had a killer headache, and wasn't gonna go today because the weather is nasty. But when I got up this morning, I knew that if I didn't run I probably wouldn't run again until March, and even though I'm not in good shape I'm in better condition than I was in October prior to running. It's easier to stay in some kind of decent condition than it is to get there from scratch, so that motivated me to get out of the house and go.

So how did the run go? Right now the temperature in KFalls is 34, and I've been home for over an hour. The wind is starting to die down, but we have gusts that are still reaching 25 mph. The sun is hidden behind a thick layer of clouds...no one in their right mind is on the bike path. I started out going into the wind, which was blowing directly from the east (the OC&E Trail at this point runs directly east and west). I knew that since I'm not in the best condition, I'd never make it back to my truck if I went the directon I normally go...I needed the wind at my back on the return trip. I planned on going out 1.5 and turning around, but almost died just short of the halfway point and wound up walking the last 50 yards to the mile marker. I don't like being a quitter, so decided that I would go 50 yards PAST the marker before I started back to make up for walking...and wound up walking half a mile past it instead. I felt foolish walking, but couldn't force myself to run into the wind anymore. The run back was pretty nice...2 miles of flats with a steady 20 mph breeze at your back lets you feel pretty good about running!

I ran into Ron Smith about 3/4 mile from my truck, and stopped to talk to him for at least 30 minutes. He is planning on giving up his head coaching job after this season...mainly because it's not fun to deal with the idiot AD at Henley (see my post on Northly News). Smith talked about Stephanie quite a bit, and told me to tell her "Hi"...so if you read this Steph, Smith says he'll really miss coaching you this year. He also asked about the rest of the North brood, so other than Tom (who was too lazy to run and played baseball instead of doing track) he wishes you all well. He mentioned that he thinks Tim Cleland probably won't make it through the baseball season this year...and told me that he'll be trying to recruit Doug if something goes wrong with baseball.

Since I managed to hit the trail again, maybe this can be a starting point for a little consistency. I think I need to look for reason TO run, instead of looking for reasons NOT to run. If Laurie or Tom were here I could use them to motivate me...but since Laurie's stuck in Eugene, and Tom is in Happy Valley I'll have to depend on their blogs.

We'll see how I do the rest of the week. Doug has a game tomorrow night, Ed and the missionaries are coming for dinner Wednesday, I have no excuse yet for Thursday, Doug has a game in Phoenix Friday, we're going to Eugene Saturday, McMinnville on Sunday..............

Excuses, excuses, excuses!!!!

Well sports fans here it is again....Friday! And guess what...I haven't run since LAST Friday! That's just freaking great! A whole week of getting out of shape... sitting on my backside getting fatter and fatter. 6 full days of making up excuses why I couldn't go for a run. Here's the list I used this week by day: Saturday: I ran 6.5 last night, so I can't run today because I hurt too much...Sunday: I'm not supposed to run on Sunday because it's the Sabbath and I might want to read scriptures...Monday: It's too dark, and there's not time to run before we have to pick Doug up...Tuesday: Doug's basketball game got in the way...Wednesday: The missionaries came at 6:30 and stayed too long...Thursday: I'll stay home tonight and go for a longer run tomorrow to make up for it....Friday: ?? I haven't come up with one for tonight, but I'm sure I'll think of a good one.

All of the excuses are good ones...they're all legit...aren't they???

I read Laurie's blog a few minutes ago, and I have to admit that it motivates me to get off my butt and run....at least while I'm reading it. If I could only figure out how to take my computer with me while I'm driving home............

Pounding the pavement....

Friday!!!! No remotes...no work...nothing I have to do...!!!!!!!

Janet and I just came home from a quick little run on the OC&E Trail, and it was really nice. Don't know what the temperature was when we started, but right now it's 29. There wasn't any wind that I could feel, there weren't any clouds, and the moon gave just enough light that I could see the trail if I looked really hard (after the halfway mark it was at my back, and I could barely see my shadow). Since I didn't run yesterday, I felt pretty good, and wound up running 6.5. I wasn't sure where the turnaround point mile marker was and was afraid I'd miss it because I was running so fast, but I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was speeding down the trail and managed to turn around and head back to Reeder Road before I hit the Jackson County line.

To be truthful, I have no idea how fast I ran tonight. I'm sure it was somewhere around 10 minute miles, which is really slow, but the good thing is that I managed to fun the whole 6.5 miles without collapsing in the ditch along the trail. I think I'm starting to get in shape, because around the 4 mile point I realized that I wasnt' breathing hard...and I was able to do about an 8 1/2 minute mile pace the last 1/2 mile (I'm just guessing on that...the way the wind was rushing past my ears I'm sure that's how fast I was going!!).

Janet wasn't able to run tonight because her foot hurt too bad (she ran Wednesday night), but she walked a little bit more than two miles. It's amazing how quickly your body starts to break down after you hit 50...little aches and pains turn into major ones, and it takes a lot longer to recover from minor injuries.

Regardless of the pains, I actually ran far enough that the endorphins kicked in...it was a really nice night. Another positive thing...the Trailer Trash Terror must have been enjoying a beer with his master tonight...there was no sign of him.

Trailer Trash Dog

This is just a quick little update, since I'm at work and have a ton of stuff that I need to do.

Monday's run was pretty nice...although when we pulled into the parking lot on Reeder Road I noticed that the temperature had dropped from the balmy 28 when I left the station to a nippy 22. It makes for an interesting run when you have the severe risk of freezing your nose off. Except for the fact that is was a little chilly, everything was really nice...there were no clouds, no moon, no rotting cow crap aroma, minimal breeze (what little wind that did blow of course was in my face on the way back to the truck) and no one else on the OC&E Trail except Janet. I only went 3.5, but picked up my pace a little bit, so it was a pretty good workout.

I spent most of the run trying to pay attention to what I actually think about when I run, in response to Laurie's inquiry on her running blog (you can find it at LaurieHiggins.blogspot.com.....if anyone outside of my family chances across this one). I don't suppose that was actually fair...because I was trying to think about what I think about all kinds of stuff went through my brain. When I finished I came to the realization that the majority of my thoughts center around how much running sucks!!!

Janet and I ran again last night, and because I need to drop a few more pounds before the final Belly Buster weigh in (tomorrow's the day! :) ) I went 5.5. At one point I actually considered stretching the run out to 6.5, but fortunately came to my senses before the do-or-die turnaround point near Madison, and stayed with my original goal.

Last night's run was pretty uneventful, except that I was attacked by the trailer-trash mongrel that lives near Highway 39. The beast is some kind of inbred German Shepherd/Rottweiler/Collie mix, and has teeth that are approaching 4 inches long. The first time he attacked me I thought I was dealing with a Saber Tooth cat, until I actually saw the size of his body. He probably doesn't weigh more than 30 pounds, and I'm sure that I could tear his head off if I tried, but he's really annoying. He's the kind of dog that's afraid to confront you head on...he lurks underneath his trailer, and then tries to sneak up from behind...a genuine cowardly bastard! I'm sure that if I didn't stop to deal with him he'd sink his teeth in my calf. At any rate, he's a major pain in the butt...those of you who run know that it's not pleasant to break stride to wait for cars or deal with a Wal-Mart shopper's dog.

Other than the rabid dog, the run was really nice. I might actually go again tonight......but then again......

New Week...New Attitude???

Well here it is, Monday again...the beginning of a new week! I'll try not to be too negative...I've made a resolution that I won't dwell on things that aren't positive and uplifting. (Yeah, right!)

I didn't go for a run like I'd planned last Thursday...I thought of all the reasons why I shouldn't go, and finally came up with one that was acceptable. Janet and I did manage to go on Saturday, and I was able to get in about 5.5 miles. The first 5 miles were okay...the last 1/2 mile almost killed me. That was partially because Janet finished her power walk and got back to the truck when I still had a half mile (uphill, into the wind, in the dark) to go. It wouldn't have been bad, but when Janet got in the truck the lights came on and I could SEE how far I had left to go...and I was hurting a little bit.

It's interesting the way your body works...you get used to running a certain distance, and when you decide to go a little bit farther, everything seems to try to convince you otherwise. On this run, once I got to about 4 miles I suddenly started having little pains that I've never had before. My middle toe on my left foot started having sharp pains in the round part on the very end...no blister, nothing in my sock sticking me...just sharp little pains like someone was sticking me with a pin. That lasted for about 100 yards, until I noticed that my back hurt more than my toe...so my toe quit hurting. With about 1/4 of a mile to the parking lot the little toe on my right foot felt like it was getting a blister (which actually happened). Shortly after that my right knee started to hurt. I guess the best thing to do would be to run somewhere else...someplace that I'm not familiar with and don't know distances. Either that, or I could just grow some cajones and put up with the little discomforts I feel when I run (most of them are in my mind anyway) and enjoy the fact that I'm actually starting to get in shape!

I plan on going out for a little jaunt again this evening. I don't know whether or not Janet will be joining me, but the skies are clear, it's not TOO far below freezing, and it should be a good night for a run.

Struggling with Running

This week is going by pretty quickly...here it is Thursday morning already! :) I'm looking forward to the weekend, but unfortunately, have 4 hours of remotes that I get to sit through.

Things in Klamath Falls are not exactly what you'd refer to as stellar...one of our major car dealers has closed, McMahons Furniture is out of business, Gottschalk's has filed Chapter 11, and quite a few little restaurants have shut their doors. It might be really interesting around here the next year or so. Hopefully our new administration will figure out some way of improving the economy.

I went for a little run with Janet last night after work. I decided yesterday afternoon that it was time to get back into a regular running schedule. I ran Monday, but skipped Tuesday, rationalizing my laziness by saying to myself: 1) I'm 54 2) my knees are shot 3) my back hurts when I run 4) one leg is shorter than the other one 5) it's dark 6) someone might attack me 7) I might get a blister on my toe 8) if I collapsed and died I might not be found until the next day (mainly because no one at home would miss me) 9) running is too much work...I'll lift instead (fat chance of that!!!) 10) it's too cold 11) there's a rabid dog just before the 1.5 mile marker 12) the run is uphill into the wind...both ways. All of them are good excuses, but that's just what they are...EXCUSES!! With that in mind, I told Janet that I was gonna go for a run...and then headed home to sit on my backside and watch TV. Fortunately, Janet decided that she was going with me, so when I walked through the door she was ready to go...so much for being lazy!

The run started off badly...my knee hurt, my back hurt, I couldn't catch my breath...pretty miserable. I almost started walking before I hit the first mile marker, and decided that my total run would only be 2 miles...after all, we had to pick Doug up from practice, so there wasn't enough time to go farther. By the time I hit the turn around point for 2 miles, I had decided that it was time to quit making excuses and just run. I wound up running 4.5...the last 2 miles actually felt pretty good. Those of you who are runners (I guess we can include cyclists in here too) know that there are days where everything feels good...you feel like you're running like a gazelle, and you notice birds singing, bees buzzing, the blue skies...everything is wonderful. Then there are days where you feel like crap...you're wearing lead shoes, mosquitoes attack you, you have a 40 mph headwind, every house you pass has a vicious dog, everyone you see on your run points at you and laughs...everything sucks. That's how I felt last night. That's when you need to suck it up...put all the excuses to rest and just GO!! Now that the run is done, I'm glad I went...and I can hardly wait to go again.

Monday......

Blah! Monday!! The start of a new week! I guess maybe it's not good to start off my post on a negative note, when in the grand scheme of things everything for me is pretty peachy. I'm employed in a job that doesn't really take a lot of work and pays pretty well, my wife walks on water, I have 6 great kids, a fantastic son-in-law, a daughter-in law who is so much like my wife it's scary, and 4 grand kids who I'm certain will turn out like their parents. My health is good...except for the fact that my BMI says I need to lose about 30 pounds, my blood pressure is so high that the moon's gravity pulls on me more the earth's, and my heart skips about one in every ten beats. So in reality, there's really no reason to be negative. But it's MONDAY! And MONDAYS SUCK!!!

I just got back from a little jaunt in the dark, and decided that running in the dark IS better...at least when you're out of shape. I ran the same route I usually do (about 3.5...give or take a few hundred feet) and it didn't seem quite as long as Thursday's run. It could be because on Thursday there were pockets of CH4 I ran through that were so heavy if I'd lit a match I wouldn't be posting, or it could be because I'm slowly getting in shape, or it might be that I'm senile enough that I can't remember what it felt like to run last week. At any rate, I actually enjoyed tonight's run, and I'm looking foward to going again tomorrow. We'll see if I manage to go again, and how I feel when I finish.

I sometimes wish that I had people in Klamath who liked to run, but since I'm anti-social and really competitive those thoughts are rather fleeting. In the past when I've run with people they've been younger, faster, and in better shape than I (the last two characteristics include everyone in the world that goes faster than a walk)...and for some reason think that when you go for a run you need to talk. Screw that!!! Who in the hell can carry on a conversation when your heart is pounding so hard it's on the verge of breaking ribs, you breathe 10 times to every step, and all you can taste is blood? With that thought, I'm better off running by myself. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.

On the Trail Again!

Here it is, Friday morning...I've managed to make it through another week! It's gotten to the point that I dislike my job so much that I spend all my time wishing it was Friday evening. Maybe I should start working hard, instead of wishing some long lost rich relative that I've never heard of would die and will me a bunch of money!

Yesterday was our next to the last weigh in for our Basin Belly Buster, and just like I thought, I let our team down! (Not that I really care...but as in everything else I do, I'm competitive, and want to actually lose more body fat than some of the others on my team.) When I finished my little jaunt in the fog Wednesday night, I determined that if I actually wanted to weigh less for this weigh-in than the prior one, I should probably run again to try to drop a few more pounds. With that in mind, I tossed my running stuff in my truck yesterday morning, and headed back out to the OC&E Trail for lunch. My run was successful...at the weigh-in I managed to lose a pound from the prior one.

I was originally only going to go 2.5 miles, but felt pretty good when I hit the halfway mark so wound up running 3.5. Things weren't too bad...my knee has been bothering me quite a bit, but after about 400 yards it quit hurting, so the actual run was pleasant. I guess that's not quite true...there are some conditions on the trail that sometimes make the runs challenging. First of all, the trail is made on an old railroad bed...which means that the freaking thing is as straight as an arrow. What's wrong with that you ask? Well, nothing...if you're in good shape, and can run forever! On the other hand, if you're like me and you're fat and OUT of shape it can be real torture. You're running along, feeling good, and get to the turnaround point. Then you get to look back to where you have to go, and when your body is telling you it's time to quit, you still can't see where you parked....all you can see is miles and miles and miles of trail...fading off into the distance. It can be really discouraging....I hate running on straight trails! The second nasty condition that I hadn't noticed prior to yesterday, are the different odors you encounter as you run. Since we've had fairly cold weather (everything has been pretty much frozen for the last two months) I hadn't really noticed that there are lots of cows along the trail. Yesterday the sun was shining, and things were starting to thaw out...and because cows aren't really concerned about where they relieve themselves and tend to congregate along fences, the pastures paralleling the trail are covered with tons of crap, with the vast majority within 30 yards of the fence. As the crap thaws out, the odor increases...and with nothing to do while I run but think, it occurred to me that odors are made up of molecules of whatever causes the odors...so I was inhaling cow shit. I tried to run the last half mile without breathing, but to no avail...I'm just not in good enough shape.

My conclusion after the run? Forget running in the sunlight...it's much better to be in the fog (or dark)!

I Survived!!!!

Okay...I'm at work, and I'm obviously not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but that's too bad. I seriously doubt that the 5 minutes I'll spend posting this morning will make much difference in whether or not our Klamath Falls radio stations hit their sales goals for the month. Especially in light of the fact that our economy is pretty much in the toilet, and we have businesses dropping like flies.

This post is just to alleviate any concerns that any of you might have if you read what I wrote last night about getting lost in the fog. (Is it arrogant to think that anyone actually gives a crap about me getting lost in the fog? I think Laurie is probably the only one that reads this thing anyway...so Laurie, I didn't get lost!)

Last night's run was actually kind of fun. The temp was 27 when I left my truck, the fog was really thick, and the OC&E Trail was covered with ice. It wasn't normal ice...at least not the stuff that forms when snow melts...this stuff was a result of the freaking fog freezing. I guess it was kind of like the nasty crap you deal with when you have to contend with freezing rain. At any rate, it made the run really interesting. I had no traction (which means that I couldn't run my normal 5 minute mile pace!!) and because the fog was so thick I couldn't see the trail. I did wear a headlamp, which made things even more exciting. The light from the headlamp did a really good job of lighting up the fog, but made it really tough to see the trail. Every time I exhaled the lamp would light up my breath...which made it even more of a challenge to see. On the plus side, because I was focusing (sp?) on staying on the trail and not slipping too much the 3.5 mile run went by pretty quickly.

Today is the next to the last weigh in for the Belly Buster, and I'm screwed. I'm pretty sure that I weigh more than I did when we weighed in December... although I dropped a couple of pounds last night, I don't think it was enough to get me below my previous weight. Oh well...I have two weeks to lose a little bit more weight.

Just as a side note, if anyone has any suggestions to make the layout of this blog more appealing, feel free to share your opinions. I'm open to anything...just remember that I'm computer illiterate, and things that are fairly simple that others might be able to do easily could possibly be well beyond my abilities to accomplish.

For those of you that give a crap about your BMI, I added a metric conversion table so you can figure out your height and weight in centimeters and kilograms. (Thanks, Laurie!)

Well that's about it for now...I should probably actually try to do something work related while I still have a job!!

Hitting the OC&E Trail Again

There's not much to write about today, but if I don't write something I'm afraid that this blog will get so rusty I won't be able to open it when I DO have something worthwhile to say.

It's time to start trying to get back in shape, so when I finish rambling I plan on trekking out to Reeder Road and going for a quick run. Tomorrow is the next to the last weigh-in for the Basin Belly Buster, and I'm afraid that I've actually added a few pounds since the last one. That won't be good...if it were an actual competition like the "Biggest Loser" I would have been voted off a long time ago, but since it's the radio station's promotion I'm exempt. I was doing fairly well until just before Christmas...I'd lost about 15 pounds, and was to the point where I could run 3 or 4 miles without dying...but I managed to pick up some strain of a combination of leukemia, tuberculosis, measles, and West Nile virus that made it so I couldn't run for almost 3 weeks (I think I got it at work...the Troll that sits next to me is a carrier of almost every disease known to infect mammals, and a few others that are specific only to arthropods). Anyway, it's past time to go for a run.

Right now it's about 28 degrees, and the fog is so thick you can't see more than 50 feet. That should make my little run tonight more interesting...when you can't see where you're going you forget about the cruddy shape you're in. I just hope I don't get lost...

Taking the Plunge!!

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Northly News
Just the happenings of Dick & Janet, Laurie & Dan, Jeff & Breein, Tom, Donald & Kayleigh, Stephanie, and Doug
Friday, January 9, 2009

Taking the Plunge!!!
Well folks, as is said at the beginning of Nintendo 64's Mario Bros., "Here we gooooooo!"This is my first post in my brand new blog...fairly close to the start of a new year. I'm not really sure what I expect to accomplish with this blog...I don't really have a purpose in mind. This blog probably won't be like my daughter Laurie's running blog (Laurie's Running Log Blog), in which she focuses on her adventures in "Track Town USA". I also don't plan on baring the dark side of my personality like my son Tom (The Rants of Tom), although I'm sure a little negativity will creep in to my posts from time to time. I have too many interests to really want concentrate on one hobby other than hunting and I doubt that anyone really cares to read about my mis-adventures in the field, so I probably won't venture too far in that direction either. So what's the point of this blog? I guess it's to give my wife, kids, and anyone else that's interested a chance to read what few thoughts I managed to eke out when I put to pen to paper (maybe "peck out on keyboard" is more appropriate).At this early stage it's almost impossible to predict what will happen...we'll just have to wait and see.
Contributed by Dick at 4:38 PM