Day Eighty One

Rode my bike for 15.4 miles per GoogleMap pedometer. I just love that. I play around with it all the time. It is slow with dialup but at work with the high speed internet it's alot of fun. All the routes, I've run/walked/biked, I've made maps and saved.
My ride wasn't too bad. But I realized how slow I/my bike are. I passed a group of 4 along the side of the road. They were fixing a flat on one of their bikes. About 10 minutes later they passed me like I was standing still. And within the next 10 minutes they were gone. Granted my bike is a 20 year old mountain bike, that for many a year didn't get ridden, although I maintained it fairly well. Actually, now that I think about it, the bike is probably older that those bikers that passed me. Maybe next year I'll bite the bullet and upgrade to a new, or newer at least, bike. We'll see.
Tomorrow I rebegin (begin again?) my delayed running program. No problems with my left knee or leg. Like I said yesterday I'll start out easy and work my way back into it. No hurries. Kinda looking forward to it.
OK then. Will run for beer.

Day Eighty

OK, then, we're back. We had a really nice little vacation in Michigans' beautiful U.P. Rented a cottage for a week. Just to see what that kind of life is like. It's OK. But we took a poll, on the way home, of our little group and we decided we liked our camper better. Nothing wrong with cottage life but it's not for our family. We like to move around when we've seen and done whatever there is to see and do. Staying at a cottage is too much like being home. Ah, well, we tried it.
The cottage is on Lake Michigan maybe 150 yards off the beach. Beautiful sugar sand beach and open both directions as far as the eye could see. Neighbors were there for the weekend and then it was all ours. Ours and the sand flies. Biting bastards. Actually most of the week the wind blew hard enough to keep them away but Friday had no breeze and they drove us off the beach after 2 hours. We did all the stuff we had planned to do and then some. And we relaxed. Boy did we relax. 2 days it rained. The UP is in a moderate drought this summer and the area needed the moisture. On those days we stayed in and played games, put together jigsaw puzzles, and caught up on some books. Just wonderful family time.
Rode my bike for about 50 miles while on vacation. 6 miles here 8 miles there. Didn't really track it very close or accurate. Walked on the beach several times with a total of maybe 18 miles. And no running. I'll get back to that Monday morning. I took my running shoes, for in case, but didn't get 'em out. Have not felt any pain in my leg for a week. So it is probably good to go. I'll start out slow and easy and get back up to speed.
I believe I'll start with running 14 minutes and walking 1 and take it from there. See how I hold together. Put on about 4 lbs last week so I do need to get back at it.
And will probably go for a 14 mile bike ride today (Sunday) as a welcome home treat.
Alrighty then. Will run for beer. Later.

Day Seventy One

AAuugghh!! Where'd the time go? Crap! crap! Crraap!
It's been one of 'those' days. Was going to go for a walk. Didn't get to it. Kids wanted to go for a bike ride. So I sent them on their on way. Too many things to do getting ready for vacation Saturday. Almost forgot I had to be at a meeting today at 2 pm. Busted out of the house and jumped on the motorcycle. And WTF? Dead battery. Ran back and grabbed keys for the van and had to break up a fight between the kids, wasn't even out of the yard. I was a 1/2 hour late. Then it ended early. Geez. What a waste. Even my supervisor thought could of been done in 45 minutes. Scheduled for 2 1/2 hours.
So. No exercise for the second day. Will try to at least get some walking done tomorrow. My calf muscle is tender right behind the knee. I'll just take it easy and not rush back to running. Anyway, it's not like I have a lot of spare time. Still have a couple more items to get checked off the vacation list. After Saturday and we get settled in the cabin life will slow down. I hope.
Til then. Will run for beer.

Day Seventy

Well didn't run today. Knee still doesn't feel 'right'. I hope this doesn't turn into a major setback. I don't believe it will. It's a minor muscle strain. I'll keep doing my stretching and give it a couple more days of rest. Probably should have taken it easy with the bike yesterday, but there you go, I didn't. Live and learn, eh?
In fact, I didn't do any exercise today. Once I decided not to run my youngest and I found other stuff to do. And she kept me busy until it was time for me to go to work this afternoon. The day wasn't wasted after all.
All righty then. Will run for beer.

Day Sixty Nine

Rode my bike for 4 miles. Rode with my oldest daughter, who is 11 years old. She is big, as in tall, for her age. At least, I think so. She's probably 5'6". She keeps up with me OK. But has a lot of kid type looking around to do. That's cool though. I can even answer some of her questions.
My knee didn't bother me today. Will test it tomorrow. Feels fine now. No stiffness. No apparent residual effects. Will give a shot.
Not much to say. See ya. Will run for beer.

Day Sixty Eight

Well. Then. Worked this weekend and was very busy Saturday. 16.5 hours. Sunday was a better day all around. This weather is killer for the power companies. Storms pop up out of nowhere and wreak havoc. Heat and humidity don't agree with electricty.
I don't care much for it either.
Monday morning woke up around 4:30 to bang of thunder and the flash of lightning. Got up to close windows, then sat on the sofa with my wife and watched. I didn't stay up, but my wife had to work early. Woke up at 7:30 with a wicked cramp in my left calf muscle. Hopped out of bed to work the cramp out. Went back to bed for another hour or so. The muscle felt tight but no pain. Decided I'd try and run. Did extra stretching on my left leg. Ran 20 minutes and stopped for a breather. 20 minutes! Wow. That's a first for me. A minute later I started running again. Did about 5 more minutes and had to stop. My left knee was all achy and I developed a limp. Walked the rest of the way back. I'm sure it has something to do with the cramp from this morning.
I hope I didn't do any damage. I've talked to people who've had knee and other joint problems. And things never seem to be right after the injury. I don't know why I had the cramp in the first place. I don't usually have things like that. Although Sunday morning about 4:30 or 5:00 I woke up and my right knee hurt to the touch and ached bad. When my alarm went off, though, there no pain at all. It must have been a very vivid dream.
I'll do extra stretches and keep a close eye on the situation. I don't want to be running with or into problems. Tuesday I'll bicycle and see what the response from my leg will be.
S'Later.

Day Sixty Five

Went for a bike ride today. A nice long ride. I used to think it was a 12 mile loop. At least by my truck odometer it's 12.2 miles. I was messing around in gmap Pedometer and I came up with 13.2 miles. Hmmm, so which one is right? I'm not sure but the other routes I mapped out came out OK with the mileage. Well, I'll play around with gmap some more and see if I can make it 'right'. Or drive around again. Maybe I can't add or subtract.
Don't think I'll run tomorrow unless I can squeak a little time from somewhere. Every other Friday I go to work at noon. But it's summer and the kids are around and I don't get to bed much before 2 am. So it goes. If I wake up and have the energy I'll go. Maybe a couple extra rest days will do me good.
Until Monday (probably). Will run for beer.

Day Sixty Four

One step forward and two steps back. Or so it seems. Went on my run this morning and did just fine on my way out, first mile in 10.5 minutes, ran my fourteen minutes then walked for a minute. Then nothing. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped. It took 22 minutes to get back home. Nothing in the tank, legs felt like wood. Crap. Getting up that hill was a real bitch today. And I walked most of the way up. I mentioned the other day I needed a level route to run and I'm afraid I'll have to drive to run. Look in any direction from my house and it is up and downhill for at least 4 miles. Oh well.
Maybe go the on the bike path around the bay, that way the kids could ride their bikes while I ran. Or the college in town has a indoor running track. But drive time is a 1/2 hour each way. Do I want to invest that much extra time plus gas. Gotta think about it.
Weather is really cooperative though tempature was 74 when I set out and 80 degrees when I got back. Hot but nice.
Got some pondering to do. Will run for beer.

Day Sixty Three

It didn't get as hot as the weather reports predicted. And that's OK by me. We got some clouds from the remains of tropical depression Dennis and scattered showers south of us but still warm and humid.
Good day for a bike ride. Got in 6 miles on my own. Another 1 1/2 miles with my youngest daughter. My older daughter is not too ambitious when it's warm outside. Takes after her pa, I guess.
I'd really like my kids to get up and do more. It's hard to compete with the TV though. They have books to read and we bought workbooks so they can practice their reading, writing and math skills . Just so they don't forget what they've been learning since last September. We take them camping, swimming, festivals and parades, and day trips. We'll be taking the last week of July to go up north to a cabin we rented. It is on Lake Michigan and an almost private 1/2 mile of beach. We are all looking forward to that.
Tomorrow I'll try to get my 14 minute run and 1 minute walk in. I mean I'll be running, just not sure how far yet. Time will tell.
Later. Will run for beer.

Day Sixty Two

All right. Really got with it today. Ran 13.5 minutes and walked for 1 minute. Mile one was done in 10.5 minutes. Didn't do as well on the way back, but a 1/2 mile of that is uphill. Could only run 1 minute and walk 1 minute uphill. Did get up 'er a bit quicker though. Felt pretty good about today. Overall I went 3.3 miles in 33 minutes.
Hopefully, in another week or three, I'll be able to hit that 30 minute nonstop stride. Will have to scout around for a more level route 'cause that hill just about kills me.
Thinking, while I was running that, once I reach the magic nonstop point, I'll begin adding minutes. But enough of that for now. First I got to get 'er done.
Managed to be on the road by 9am while it was still relatively cool, a balmy 72. By 3pm it hit 100 degrees at my house. And the weather report for tomorrow is even hotter. Just effing great.
See you at the beach. Will run for beer.

Day Sixty One

Moving right along. Saturday biked for 8 miles. Sunday biked for 6 more miles. Really enjoy the bicycle now that I added the padded seat. Weather was great,too. Sunday really warmed up about noon. Hit 94 at the house so we went to the beach. Great day there also. The crowd was pretty thick. Should have planned to be there a bit earlier as we parked further away than usual. Had to carry all our gear. Not too bad on way out though. We consumed most of it.
Monday back to the running game. Going to try for time and not so much distance. See if I can run 14 minutes nonstop. I will attempt to get out early as it is supposed to be hot this week. I'll set my alarm to get my lazy ass up before the temps rise to unbearable. Hope I can do it. Run the time not get out of bed.
Til tomorow. Will run for beer.

Day Fifty Nine

Didn't run, walk or ride the bike yesterday. Had planned to ride the bike but too many errands to do and not enough time in the day. I probably needed a rest day anyway.
Today I ran the first 12 minutes and walked 1, ran 2 minutes, on the way out. Part of that stretch is downhill, that's true, but for me downhill is almost as difficult as uphill. Then ran 1 minute and walked 1 minute up the hill, that took 7 minutes. Then ran 6 minutes and walked the last 2. About 2.8 miles. Not a bad day. The temp went up 5 degrees in that 1/2 hour, though, it was 71 at the start and 75 when I got home. Supposed to get into the 90's by Sunday. Oh, great. I hate it that warm.
I was reading a weather report for June, and it said we had 172 cooling days for the month versus 67 last June. Not sure what a 'cooling day' is exactly, I think it has something to do with electric power consumption. Whatta ya gonna do bout it tho.
OK then. Will run for beer. Later

Day Fifty Seven

Bad day. Couldn't run worth a damn today. 5 minutes and out. No ambition or drive. I felt fine before I started. Did my stretching and warm up as usual and hit the road. Actually the wall is more like it. I don't know what happened. No reason. Just nothing in the tank. Maybe the route I took has too much hill. Weather was not a factor, another beautiful day. So it is just one of those days I suppose. Such is life.
I haven't found the Google map info I'm looking for yet. I know it is out there just have to keep looking. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. If I see one of the IT folks I'll check with them.
OK then. Willl run for beer. Taah.

Day Fifty Six

Rode my bike for 6 miles today. Real nice day for a ride 70 and sunny. Then I went with my 8 y.o. daughter for another mile.
Discovered Gmap Pedometer today. Really cool way to map and determine distances. I use Google maps a lot for walking and running routes, then I jump in my truck and drive the routes for mileages. But it does straight lines only. Some routes I go have twists and turns in them but this is not a big deal. I've seen Google maps on other sites with routes mapped out and that is what I was looking for, the way to do that. I'm sure it is a real simple thing to do. I don't call myself lowtechdude for nothing.
Any hoo I'll keep looking for that piece of information. Will run for beer. Later

Day Fifty Five

OK. Well, I couldn't pull it off today. Couldn't go 13 minutes, that is. Did 11 minutes and walked for 1. Then ran 2 more and walked 1. Same routine on the way back home. Must a mental thing with me. If I feel the pressure of expectations, ie. run 13 minutes and walk 2 minutes, I wimp out or something. If there is no expectation to go a specific time, no problem. Hmmmm. What the hell?
When I was a youngster in school I had the same problem. On a test I would freeze up,I couldn't think. Nothing. I would get real nervous and pretty much shut down mentally. That is the biggest reason I was a C student. I feel any pressure, real or imagined, and forget it. This is also the reason I gave up college. I can do the work but couldn't handle the exams.
At work I sometimes feel stress or pressure when it gets busy. But I keep plugging away, although I do feel it in my neck and shoulders. I don't freeze up or anything like that. I think it's because it usually happens quickly with no warning, so there's no time to think about it.
Anyway, I'll try again Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll go for a bicycle ride. See if the kids want to get a little exercise. Will run for beer. Later

Day Fifty Four

Whew. This weekend is almost over. I hate when I have to work on a holiday weekend. Too much to do and not enough hours to git 'er done.
Friday I ran 1 mile in 10:30. For me that is excellent. Very happy. Only went a mile out and back. On the way way back ran most if the way but nowhere as fast. It was a beautiful day. 72 partly cloudy low humidity and a light breeze. Couldn't have ordered better weather. I know I can run for up to 13 minutes. And I'm thinking I should pick up the training schedule, I started out with, at week 8. That's run 13 minutes and walk 2 minutes for 2 cycles. Was going to shoot for Monday the 4th but I will have to see. We have a busy day planned and I work 4 to 12 shift. Also there is a good chance for rain. Rain won't be a problem but the time will be a factor.If not Monday then Tuesday for sure.
Saturday and Sunday worked my 12 hour shifts. Even though I have a sit in front of a computer job, I still get tired. By the time I get home and spend a little time with my family, it is time for bed and the cycle goes on.
OK that's enough complaining today. Will run for beer. Bye.

Day Fifty One

Made it back. Had a great time camping and going to Michigan Adventures. Hotter than hell though. Good thing there is a waterpark. Probably would have died from heat stroke. By the time we got back to the campsite and fed everyone it was bedtime for 6 kids. A couple long days but very enjoyable ones.
My wife is already planning a trip back next summer. Next up is a week, at the end of July, to the U.P. And in August to Beaver Island for my wife's birthday.
Ran Thursday morning. Tempature 72 degrees but humid. Ran most of first mile and walked most of the way back. It was a bitch for some reason. 2 miles total today.
Thinking I might try and get back to the program I started at the beginning of this thing. It sorta fell by the wayside because I couldn't run 7 minutes at week 4. Well, I can now. I'm thinking Monday, because I work this weekend, would be a good time to get back to it. Probably won't have time to go Friday either.
OK then. Will run for beer.