Archive for the 'Getting Fit' Category

Quick Hits

  • My Colorado Avalanche managed to make it through the first round of the NHL playoffs. Now they have the pleasure of playing the possibly unstoppable Detroit Red Wings in the second round. In truth the Wings have looked fairly human this season, especially in the playoffs. We shall see.
  • The Wife and I are suddenly both able to jog something like 2.5 miles continuously. This is a big jump from where we were. I definitely believe a course change is the prime contributor to the improvement.
  • Since September of 2007, I’ve manage to whittle myself from around 220lbs to 190-ish. I only have this to say: It’s a lot of friggin’ work.
  • I cannot tell you how excited I am about GTA IV. The multiplayer action looks like a flat out hoot. Email me if you want my Xbox Live gamer tag. ;)
  • Meanwhile, The Wife is all about the Karaoke Revolution on the 360. They’ve been all over adding downloadable songs to it. It’s really pretty impressive so far. Not to mention tons of fun.
  • I’m really sick of the Democratic primary garbage. I’m still backing the liberal black man, though.
  • My Ma has a fancy new deck on her house. It’s totally sweet.
  • I really need to sand & stain my deck this year (just like I have for the past couple years). Boo.
  • Went to a DeRailed (the Denver Rails user group) meeting last night. They covered interesting material, but I ended up leaving early anyway. It was definitely what you’d expect, demographically. ;)

New Shoes

Literally.

The Wife and I went to an actual running store and bought actual running shoes yesterday, so that we might continue our attempts at jogging with perhaps a bit less agony. Given that I haven’t called myself a “runner” since high school, and The Wife never has, we popped into our local Road Runner store to take full advantage of their know-how on the subject.

I had gone in with a strong recommendation from my mother, whose duck feet I was dubiously fortunate enough to inherit, so I told our friendly shoe salesman that I needed to try on a pair of Brooks Beasts and that my dear spouse might need a bit more help in finding the right gear since she’s a former ballerina and nobody really understands what’s going on with her feet.
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Hit ‘Em Again

Here’s to having MLK Day off from work!

Going for my walk/run today in 15 degree (F) temps wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. Until my calf started cramping. That had nothing to do with the cold, though. It was ready to go from the activity earlier in the weekend.

Junk I’ve run across:

The Weekly-ish Update

Random tidbits once again:

  • I’m really pleased with the results of my latest slate tile project. Now I’m itching to switch into woodworking mode. I’m super excited about the new episodes of the New Yankee Workshop: Norm is building kitchen cabinets. I plan to eventually build cabinets for the mudroom and perhaps the garage (as practice for the potential “big job” of the actual kitchen). I think I’ll go ahead and buy the DVDs.
  • I’m gradually building up my home entertainment system to match the new TV. I’ve gotten a fancy HDMI-switching receiver and a fairly cool iPod dock thingy. Next on my list is a TiVo HD. Then some surround speakers of some sort (I’m still living in stereo, folks…). And then maybe an Xbox 360, finally. (Still holding out for GTA4 on that one.)
  • On the fitness front, my weight dipped below 200 pounds for the first time in a while yesterday. It’s back above today, but we’ll assume that’s temporary. I’m going to join a climbing gym soon, I think. A great new motivator I have is the Garmin Forerunner 205 I got for Xmas. It’s not as sexy as the new 405 everyone is drooling over, but it’s pretty darned cool. Of course, now I’m obsessed with tracking the slightest walk / jog / jaunt to the mail box. When The Wife teased me about it I quipped, “Are you kidding? I’m gonna track my trips to the bathroom from now on!”
  • Lots of interesting gossip about former coworkers and new coworkers. That’s about all I’ll say about that, I suppose.
  • I’m still an Obama cheerleader, though I don’t generally like to air my politics on this site. I like the look of things right now.
  • Trent Reznor isn’t exactly excited by the results of the Niggy Tardust experiment.
  • TV sucks almighty ass right now. I know there’s a writer’s strike going, but why aren’t networks taking better advantage by replaying some of the good stuff we might have missed previously? Example: AMC’s Mad Men? (Ooh! There’s an encore starting Jan 21. Nice.) At least I always have books to read.

So yeah… What’s new with you?

You want I should freeze or get down on the ground?

For the record, my legs have chosen the first option, though the second could be imminent the way things are going. (Also for the record, there’s no point to this post. I’m just whining about how hard it is to get in shape after letting myself become a fat bastard. Feel free to ignore or tease as you see fit.)

You see, some stupid section of my stupid brain decided my walks weren’t good enough and that I should try to jog for as much of it as I can. At this point, I’m walking/jogging a loop that is just under 3 miles and all of my jogged chunks add up to a mile or so. I do this on the weekends only, because the days are so short now that it’s pitch dark by the time I get home, and my little loop lives in unlit open space with coyotes and junk running around in it.
Continue reading ‘You want I should freeze or get down on the ground?’

Stuff and Junk

Firstly, it’s worth noting that The Mother-in-Law has a new dog. Molly is a blue heeler mix of some sort. She’s really sweet, though a bit crazy and fairly untrained. We’re hopeful, though, since Australian Cattle Dogs are in the top ten for dog breed intelligence. ;)

Next on the docket are the mighty Rockies. Now, I’m not a baseball fan. I root for the Red Sox on principal alone. But c’mon! Who doesn’t love a “hometown underdog does good” story? Best of all, I know one Phillies fan who is an extremely sore loser. This could be fun.

In general, Autumn is upon us. The transition seasons always get me fired up in one way or another.

The Wife and I are taking a lot of long walks with Mingus to try to shed some pounds and keep the dog happy.

I’ve barely been on the Bonneville this year, but it’s OK. My favorite riding time is now, so hopefully I’ll get in the saddle at least a few times. I wish I was like these guys.

I’m itching to start a home project or a woodworking project (or both) soon. Updates when I do.