like the rain in england the humidity becomes pretty standard here in alexandria. went out and headed north on the trail while waiting for gail to join up. down to the half mile from the house bridge and back and there she was. we definitely had different goals for today as i had run about 18 days in a row, guessing a bit here, but at least 16 anyway and i could use a short and easy day. we headed back north and i figured i might do the east blvd loop if i felt ok by the 4 mile marker. moving slowly but moving ok. at the alexandria st. bridge gail kept going north and i turned and ran to the loop course.
ran all the way down to the parkway and turned back north to see if gail was coming yet, but no luck. guessed that she had turned back to the water fountain and guess right, but now had added almost two extra miles. turned for home.
back across the parkway and picked up the pace slightly to catch up to the runner in front of me to have some company. caught up and we ran all the way back to our street together. was nice to chat about the upcoming marathon season rather than run alone at this point. up waynewood i went and home. 8 miles done and 55 for the week. not bad but not much quality either. too tired too much of the time now and tonight will be another late night again.
the rest of the day in a nutshell went like this- work in the garden planting and moving plants; getting 8 bins of rubbish together to go out; two loads of laundry; some short chipping and putting practice; moving more of the laundry room out to the shed or the attic. tossing out more stuff(1/3 rule still working); some dinner; and then off to the range and hit some balls and do some longer chipping and putting. back home at 10 to deal with the rest of the rubbish going out and read some of the sunday paper. quick snack and some of the 11 o'clock news and then a short blog session. tomorrow i will try to do some email in addition to getting ready for the work crews coming this week.
an ok day with lots of work and some play also. gail made her first pizza in a year and that was nice. thinking of what didn't get done doesn't really help right now. at least we bought a couch this weekend and made some decisions on the bathroom. now to get the downstairs done.
monday is a track day and i need a longer long run this week. the legs are tired and need some rest. will see how the week unfolds. figure i will take two days off this week and do a long run and also try and join the golf group on thursday and play, but that depends where they go.
i love the garbage about hillary's people voting for palin. is that a joke? can moderately liberal people really vote for the far right conservative just because she is a woman? do the issues really not matter at all? he would have done better taking Rice. people would have understood that more. what a joke this has become---but what do i know?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
run, shop and golf
up a little later than normal and out the door into the humidity. had almost decided not to run, but wanted to go out and figured i could turn it into a walk if need be. but i was running ok actually and joined up with lisa from conover st who was training to run the MCM with her sister as her sister's first marathon and celebration of her 40th birthday. that kept me going for awhile and then i turned back to the trail as she went home and i ran some hilly sections and bumped into a guy also training for the MCM and running his first 17 mile. we ran a couple of miles together and by now i had almost 8 miles in and headed home myself as i could feel the best part of this run was now behind me and yesterday's 11 mile effort was starting to weigh me down. quit before it did me in.
then home to do some more clean out work and then head off to the tile/carpet store to pick out tile and talk to the scheduler about changing the schedule for the next two weeks of work. will see how that goes once the new thoughts get to the work crews, but i need some time to get stuff done and have a little life.
a quick trip to pick out some bathroom appliances and buy a few on sale plants and then off to search for a new sofa as the mold did the other one in. that sofa had survived several moves(once in a hurricane) and a tornado and was done in by a little flooding and mold, but i had it for a pretty long time -almost 20 years. certainly got my money's worth. hope we found a new one and will know more once the guy who cuts them up and puts them back together tells us whether he can do it again with this pick. nice to live in an old house with small doors and hallways.
then home for some dinner and a quick trip to the driving range to hit some putts and chips and a bucket of balls. went ok mostly and it is starting to come back to me a bit.
and another day done after some laundry. not exciting, but got a few things done and had a nice little run and hit some balls. more of the same tomorrow--; need 4 miles for 50 this week.
then home to do some more clean out work and then head off to the tile/carpet store to pick out tile and talk to the scheduler about changing the schedule for the next two weeks of work. will see how that goes once the new thoughts get to the work crews, but i need some time to get stuff done and have a little life.
a quick trip to pick out some bathroom appliances and buy a few on sale plants and then off to search for a new sofa as the mold did the other one in. that sofa had survived several moves(once in a hurricane) and a tornado and was done in by a little flooding and mold, but i had it for a pretty long time -almost 20 years. certainly got my money's worth. hope we found a new one and will know more once the guy who cuts them up and puts them back together tells us whether he can do it again with this pick. nice to live in an old house with small doors and hallways.
then home for some dinner and a quick trip to the driving range to hit some putts and chips and a bucket of balls. went ok mostly and it is starting to come back to me a bit.
and another day done after some laundry. not exciting, but got a few things done and had a nice little run and hit some balls. more of the same tomorrow--; need 4 miles for 50 this week.
Live to 43 or 86? Depends on where you live - Health care- msnbc.com
interesting bit about being born in glascow.
Live to 43 or 86? Depends on where you live - Health care- msnbc.com
Live to 43 or 86? Depends on where you live - Health care- msnbc.com
Friday, August 29, 2008
the smell of cedar on an 11 mile run
as much as i would like to sit here and write for hours i have but a few minutes. the day started ok despite the rain, an england kind of day but i went out anyway and kept moving. gail and i ran about an hour of a big out and back loop around the neighborhood doing all of the hills we could and then i dropped her at the house and kept going. stayed out long enough to get 11 miles in though it was not a worthy run for sure. just continuous forward motion with a few good stretches and legs that should not have been as tired or sore as they seemed to be. but at any rate i stayed out and will try and see if i can run through this or need more rest. hardly seem to be running much really compared to england but am doing more stuff the rest of the day and i know cutting down the trees and digging out the trenches took a lot out of them.
then home so gail could go to school and i could stay with the work crew. in a nutshell they split the day in two and the afternoon group was 2 hours late so they finished at 8pm and i got screwed out of my golf practice. and one door got put on backwards and now the electric switches have to be moved. there is lots of negotiations coming up in the next few days as i need more say over what happens and when.
in between i did several loads of laundry; started to clean out the laundry room; threw out today's allotment of stuff;hit a few chips and pitches in the backyard; weeded a little; and did some admin type stuff. not the way i had pictured the day and we will have to get a lot done in the next few days -
and now i need some sleep. in a couple of minutes it will be tomorrow and we have two days to be ready for the next group that comes on monday. still hoping to catch up eventually and i will, but the work crew schedule means shopping and buying the things they need to install, etc. all good but can be very frustrating. reo, meatloaf and roxette provide tonight's musical background. listened to MANA all day long the past few days. seemed like a good idea at the time to provide music.
nice choice by mc same today. will be interested to see what happens. i can hear europe laughing now wondering what the hell is going on here. half our country is wondering too i bet.
almost forgot: one of the nice things on the run is that the rain made the cedar trees give off a nice smell going in both directions and it stayed with me for quite awhile while i ran. not sure why, but it was very pleasant on a very humid day.
then home so gail could go to school and i could stay with the work crew. in a nutshell they split the day in two and the afternoon group was 2 hours late so they finished at 8pm and i got screwed out of my golf practice. and one door got put on backwards and now the electric switches have to be moved. there is lots of negotiations coming up in the next few days as i need more say over what happens and when.
in between i did several loads of laundry; started to clean out the laundry room; threw out today's allotment of stuff;hit a few chips and pitches in the backyard; weeded a little; and did some admin type stuff. not the way i had pictured the day and we will have to get a lot done in the next few days -
and now i need some sleep. in a couple of minutes it will be tomorrow and we have two days to be ready for the next group that comes on monday. still hoping to catch up eventually and i will, but the work crew schedule means shopping and buying the things they need to install, etc. all good but can be very frustrating. reo, meatloaf and roxette provide tonight's musical background. listened to MANA all day long the past few days. seemed like a good idea at the time to provide music.
nice choice by mc same today. will be interested to see what happens. i can hear europe laughing now wondering what the hell is going on here. half our country is wondering too i bet.
almost forgot: one of the nice things on the run is that the rain made the cedar trees give off a nice smell going in both directions and it stayed with me for quite awhile while i ran. not sure why, but it was very pleasant on a very humid day.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
day in the rain oxford style
up and out early enough before 7am and got a slow and easy 8 miles in going both north and south on the trail; not actually easy, just mean no attempt to run any pace other than slow; the morning heart rate was 44 so that indicated some sort of recovery, but the legs were really sore from taking down the oak tree yesterday. still, a little exercise was good and the rain made it easier still. seemed like any day in oxford- the trail was empty and saw only one bike rider.
the plan had been to try and meet my friends and play a quick 9 holes of golf but it was pouring now. would anyone show up and was it worth going? off i went to find out. seven of the 14 signed up came out and it was good to see some of the guys again. and we headed out in a light drizzle. i started off horribly but got untracked after 2 holes and played bogie and par golf the rest of the way despite the quality of my shots. but i did get up and down a few times and also hit the green twice from 188 and 185 and that was nice. learned a few things along the way and also found out more about where i needed to focus my practicing. jack, ralph and i played in a threesome and that went really fast; the other four stopped when the rain got harder and it was up and down all day, though we managed to get 18 in. jack had a bunch of birdies and ralph and he both chipped in. i chipped and putted ok, but was very disappointed in how short i had become. can work on that some, but age is catching up quickly.
the golf over i headed off to safeway and then home. still, no work crew had shown up. after some laundry and work around the house we headed off to the carpet and tile place and spent some time there and then over to the paint store to see how dark the colors really were and pick up $247 worth of paint. had found out while we were at the store that the crew had shown up at our house and would wait for us. no pressure.
but hurry back we did and they worked until past 8pm getting the walls ready and the 11 new lights in. tomorrow the doors and whatever else will happen while i get to spend another day at home cleaning out the other two rooms they will start on next.
they promise to be all done by sept. 19th and what a way to spend the first two months at home.
anyway- after they left i hit some balls in the backyard to wind down some and the rain came back. we played musical cars getting ready for tomorrow's day of gail going to school.
and life goes on. somewhere in denver Barack is telling the world why he is the "one". i am off to read a little cormac mccarthy for my bookclub. busy day ahead tomorrow. eventually i will catch up with the 79 emails i am behind on and the rest of everything, but for now i just live tired. better blog tomorrow he promises once again.
-congrats to my brother who bought a house today.
the plan had been to try and meet my friends and play a quick 9 holes of golf but it was pouring now. would anyone show up and was it worth going? off i went to find out. seven of the 14 signed up came out and it was good to see some of the guys again. and we headed out in a light drizzle. i started off horribly but got untracked after 2 holes and played bogie and par golf the rest of the way despite the quality of my shots. but i did get up and down a few times and also hit the green twice from 188 and 185 and that was nice. learned a few things along the way and also found out more about where i needed to focus my practicing. jack, ralph and i played in a threesome and that went really fast; the other four stopped when the rain got harder and it was up and down all day, though we managed to get 18 in. jack had a bunch of birdies and ralph and he both chipped in. i chipped and putted ok, but was very disappointed in how short i had become. can work on that some, but age is catching up quickly.
the golf over i headed off to safeway and then home. still, no work crew had shown up. after some laundry and work around the house we headed off to the carpet and tile place and spent some time there and then over to the paint store to see how dark the colors really were and pick up $247 worth of paint. had found out while we were at the store that the crew had shown up at our house and would wait for us. no pressure.
but hurry back we did and they worked until past 8pm getting the walls ready and the 11 new lights in. tomorrow the doors and whatever else will happen while i get to spend another day at home cleaning out the other two rooms they will start on next.
they promise to be all done by sept. 19th and what a way to spend the first two months at home.
anyway- after they left i hit some balls in the backyard to wind down some and the rain came back. we played musical cars getting ready for tomorrow's day of gail going to school.
and life goes on. somewhere in denver Barack is telling the world why he is the "one". i am off to read a little cormac mccarthy for my bookclub. busy day ahead tomorrow. eventually i will catch up with the 79 emails i am behind on and the rest of everything, but for now i just live tired. better blog tomorrow he promises once again.
-congrats to my brother who bought a house today.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
another fast post
out at 6:30 am but did a walk and run 6 miles giving the legs a break mostly. it was a pretty morning and not that hot. the legs were beat up some. all i can do at this point is hang in there and get past the house stuff and back onto a decent schedule. at least i am getting in some running and some, though very little actual golf practice.
the day was spent cutting down an oak tree and a maple tree and then cutting them up. then planted some stuff and weeded and pruned. cleaned out the laundry room some and then met with the contractor manager to go over the next days of work schedule and what we could and couldn't do. that took almost two hours and we reached a schedule that will have it all done by mid-september. i see my future and it is a frustrating one, but the UK has rubbed off on me and i will cope quietly.
after our meeting i decided to just go hit some balls and when i got there i saw a chance to play a few holes before the night league started. skipped the first few holes and started on #6 with no warmup at all. flared a tee shot slightly right that held the edge of the green and two putted for a par. then played 7 more holes and had some nice shots and some out to the right. everything wants to go right these days. good drives on 7 and 9. nice 5 wood on 8. a couple of blocks out to the right also. ok irons and good chipping and putting. was nice to play on grass, but wondered to myself whether i wanted to spend the next year trying to re-find the swing i once had. time will tell.
hit a small bucket afterwards- not well except for the 6 iron. then home to work on cleaning out stuff. and on we go. am about 30 emails behind and will try to catch up some over the next few days but we have house stuff that must be done by tomorrow night and then again by monday.
and now off i go. will get better soon but absolutely have so little time to get it all done so you just do what must be done and sigh at what you don't get done.
waiting for my next stimulus check---and why is gas $.30 cheaper in philly than virginia?
stay well all.
the day was spent cutting down an oak tree and a maple tree and then cutting them up. then planted some stuff and weeded and pruned. cleaned out the laundry room some and then met with the contractor manager to go over the next days of work schedule and what we could and couldn't do. that took almost two hours and we reached a schedule that will have it all done by mid-september. i see my future and it is a frustrating one, but the UK has rubbed off on me and i will cope quietly.
after our meeting i decided to just go hit some balls and when i got there i saw a chance to play a few holes before the night league started. skipped the first few holes and started on #6 with no warmup at all. flared a tee shot slightly right that held the edge of the green and two putted for a par. then played 7 more holes and had some nice shots and some out to the right. everything wants to go right these days. good drives on 7 and 9. nice 5 wood on 8. a couple of blocks out to the right also. ok irons and good chipping and putting. was nice to play on grass, but wondered to myself whether i wanted to spend the next year trying to re-find the swing i once had. time will tell.
hit a small bucket afterwards- not well except for the 6 iron. then home to work on cleaning out stuff. and on we go. am about 30 emails behind and will try to catch up some over the next few days but we have house stuff that must be done by tomorrow night and then again by monday.
and now off i go. will get better soon but absolutely have so little time to get it all done so you just do what must be done and sigh at what you don't get done.
waiting for my next stimulus check---and why is gas $.30 cheaper in philly than virginia?
stay well all.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
today's rambling
today was just a tired day all around. was out at 6:30am to run and it wasn't even that hot, but i had no legs at all and barely managed my way around about 7 miles and called it a day 3 miles early. didn't make sense to keep going and beat myself into the ground. not enough sleep for sure and barely ate yesterday so had little in the way of carbs to help and frankly, i need some rest.
came home and did the rip up the garden thing and planted the new stuff and did some laundry and dealt with some drywall, while the crew showed up and fixed the phones and cleaned up in general so they could keep mudding and blocking and prepping. they say the prep work will all be done by friday including the painting. i say only if gail finalizes the color selection we have already made and she is having doubts about.
eevn went and hit some balls after a very unusual for me late afternoon nap. had to run some errands that i had promised to run once the crew left and so i took a few clubs along and stopped and hit some balls. went so-so but was good to hit again.
and then back home to do more laundry and clean up some and get the laundry started for the guys to deal with next before the two bathrooms. it will end sometime i know.
and then back to my goal of getting rid of 1/3 of everything i own by next week. almost hate to get rid of stuff just because there is no room for it in the house but so be it. we have put out 5-7 cans of rubbish every week since we are back and also 3-4 cans of lawn waste.
and tomorrow will be another day. all good and moving in the right direction. no run in the morning- may walk or may sleep-will see when i get up. the crew comes back at 9am. i have to deal with the wasp nest stuff- a story i didn't write about, but a nest i had to deal with anyway.
enough for now. need to finish the laundry and some other stuff. tomorrow is 4 weeks since we are home. the flood is gone and so is the mold. the house is being put back together. two cars are running and ok; the third is running but needs inspection. the bills are mostly paid. the new ac/heating system is in. we even have phone service again. the tv's are working also now, though i don't watch hardly at all-thank you england. have my new headphones and now to get a printer and an ipod. the papers are being delivered and the bank accounts are back in business. cancelled two appts today and rescheduled them. will worry about the eye stuff later.
and away we go- thank you jackie gleason. haven't seen a minute of the convention and won't. can 27% of the people really be dumb enough to vote for mc cain because they are mad about hillary's treatment. can they realllllly be that dumbbbbbb? would you stab yourself in the foot because your dentist made you mad? mc cain is on gthe wrong side of every issue; every single one!!!! do they want a court of thomas's and no roe/wade because they are mad at obama wrongly? do they love war that much and want to attack russia or iran or china or wherever else they tell mc cain to attack? do they want $10 gas and an economy that sucks? do they not care about education or social security or medicare or healthcare so much that would vote for mc cain? can they be that dumb?
but someone voted for bush for a second term.
and i must be wrong i know......
hillary will give a great speech tonight- count on it!!!!!!!!!!!!
the future of the world could depend on it.
who will do the most good for the most people?
say no to mc cain.
came home and did the rip up the garden thing and planted the new stuff and did some laundry and dealt with some drywall, while the crew showed up and fixed the phones and cleaned up in general so they could keep mudding and blocking and prepping. they say the prep work will all be done by friday including the painting. i say only if gail finalizes the color selection we have already made and she is having doubts about.
eevn went and hit some balls after a very unusual for me late afternoon nap. had to run some errands that i had promised to run once the crew left and so i took a few clubs along and stopped and hit some balls. went so-so but was good to hit again.
and then back home to do more laundry and clean up some and get the laundry started for the guys to deal with next before the two bathrooms. it will end sometime i know.
and then back to my goal of getting rid of 1/3 of everything i own by next week. almost hate to get rid of stuff just because there is no room for it in the house but so be it. we have put out 5-7 cans of rubbish every week since we are back and also 3-4 cans of lawn waste.
and tomorrow will be another day. all good and moving in the right direction. no run in the morning- may walk or may sleep-will see when i get up. the crew comes back at 9am. i have to deal with the wasp nest stuff- a story i didn't write about, but a nest i had to deal with anyway.
enough for now. need to finish the laundry and some other stuff. tomorrow is 4 weeks since we are home. the flood is gone and so is the mold. the house is being put back together. two cars are running and ok; the third is running but needs inspection. the bills are mostly paid. the new ac/heating system is in. we even have phone service again. the tv's are working also now, though i don't watch hardly at all-thank you england. have my new headphones and now to get a printer and an ipod. the papers are being delivered and the bank accounts are back in business. cancelled two appts today and rescheduled them. will worry about the eye stuff later.
and away we go- thank you jackie gleason. haven't seen a minute of the convention and won't. can 27% of the people really be dumb enough to vote for mc cain because they are mad about hillary's treatment. can they realllllly be that dumbbbbbb? would you stab yourself in the foot because your dentist made you mad? mc cain is on gthe wrong side of every issue; every single one!!!! do they want a court of thomas's and no roe/wade because they are mad at obama wrongly? do they love war that much and want to attack russia or iran or china or wherever else they tell mc cain to attack? do they want $10 gas and an economy that sucks? do they not care about education or social security or medicare or healthcare so much that would vote for mc cain? can they be that dumb?
but someone voted for bush for a second term.
and i must be wrong i know......
hillary will give a great speech tonight- count on it!!!!!!!!!!!!
the future of the world could depend on it.
who will do the most good for the most people?
say no to mc cain.
Monday, August 25, 2008
another quick blog
already late so this will be quick; eventually i will settle down into a better routine, but am a captive audience to the house repair right now;
did get up and out to run at just past 6:30; was already humid and very warm- my morning pulse had been a high 47 and the legs were a bit tight but i warmed up a little more than usual; i need to do a standard warm up i know but i just ease into it so i can stretch better along the way; started with 8x 100 doing each one a little faster and jogging the 100 recovery; at least the sun was not up yet; then i ran a mixture of 100, 200 and 400's trying to use the right leg a little more than lately and getting into my old breathing pattern of breathe 234;; that went well; at 7:20 pace my pulse was where it should have been and even at the little bit of 6:40 pace i ran it was still pretty good. stretched and warmed down some; went through 3+ bottle of water doing this workout of about 3 miles of some type of speedwork-plenty warm, though not as bad as it could have been; still breathing was not as easy as it usually is.
and then home and the wall guys - mudding today i believe they call it; i worked on the laundry room and my office and the garden -planting, pruning and weeding and watering; then hit about 100 chips and pitches and putted some; then back to clearing out stuff--
eventually the guys were done for today; the phone repair guy never did show up so we are still without phone service; a quick light dinner and off to the range to hit some balls; did some long chipping and hit about 100 balls after some longer putting; was 93 when i went to the range; and another day done; read the paper a bit and cleaned up some of the downstairs-
will do it all again tomorrow- mudding, sanding and priming to come-
short and sweet tonight; a light run in the morning i hope- gail is off to school so it is me to be home all day; have lots i want to get done;
btw; i used my new 64 degree cg-12 wedge tonight and it is sweet-
back tomorrow; missed the convention tonight; the mccain signs are going up and gail wants to go find a obama sign to make sure people know they live in a diverse neighborhood; no matter how bad i think a mc cain presidency will be we have survived nixon and ford and both bushes; we are totally broke and hated by the world and china owns us and we will be even worse off when the boomers collapse social security and medicare, and the glaciers will melt but we may survive it all somehow as long as we can print money; hope i live long enough to see how it plays out as it can be very discouraging if you think about it at all; are we as a country really dumb enough to want a third bush term? i believe we are and that is scary enough-
hope gordon found some decent places to live in scotland
did get up and out to run at just past 6:30; was already humid and very warm- my morning pulse had been a high 47 and the legs were a bit tight but i warmed up a little more than usual; i need to do a standard warm up i know but i just ease into it so i can stretch better along the way; started with 8x 100 doing each one a little faster and jogging the 100 recovery; at least the sun was not up yet; then i ran a mixture of 100, 200 and 400's trying to use the right leg a little more than lately and getting into my old breathing pattern of breathe 234;; that went well; at 7:20 pace my pulse was where it should have been and even at the little bit of 6:40 pace i ran it was still pretty good. stretched and warmed down some; went through 3+ bottle of water doing this workout of about 3 miles of some type of speedwork-plenty warm, though not as bad as it could have been; still breathing was not as easy as it usually is.
and then home and the wall guys - mudding today i believe they call it; i worked on the laundry room and my office and the garden -planting, pruning and weeding and watering; then hit about 100 chips and pitches and putted some; then back to clearing out stuff--
eventually the guys were done for today; the phone repair guy never did show up so we are still without phone service; a quick light dinner and off to the range to hit some balls; did some long chipping and hit about 100 balls after some longer putting; was 93 when i went to the range; and another day done; read the paper a bit and cleaned up some of the downstairs-
will do it all again tomorrow- mudding, sanding and priming to come-
short and sweet tonight; a light run in the morning i hope- gail is off to school so it is me to be home all day; have lots i want to get done;
btw; i used my new 64 degree cg-12 wedge tonight and it is sweet-
back tomorrow; missed the convention tonight; the mccain signs are going up and gail wants to go find a obama sign to make sure people know they live in a diverse neighborhood; no matter how bad i think a mc cain presidency will be we have survived nixon and ford and both bushes; we are totally broke and hated by the world and china owns us and we will be even worse off when the boomers collapse social security and medicare, and the glaciers will melt but we may survive it all somehow as long as we can print money; hope i live long enough to see how it plays out as it can be very discouraging if you think about it at all; are we as a country really dumb enough to want a third bush term? i believe we are and that is scary enough-
hope gordon found some decent places to live in scotland
Sunday, August 24, 2008
took 6 days to part two/not worth it
just could not find time to blog this week and must admit that my schedule and myself are a little out of control right now. there is so much to be done and only so much of it is anything i have say over it seems. let's start with the easy stuff- ran everyday even if i could not get the miles in i wanted and despite drs appts and contractor meetings and workers at the house and losing power and having no phones working as the drywall guy put a screw through the connection. but i digress-
did find time to order new headphones and dell delivered them in two days; nice so far- got 44 miles in this week; 15 less than a typical week in oxford and i want to say i will up that but this week i have 3 dr appts and people coming everyday to work on the house so i will see- i did get in some short speed workouts with 3 days on the track- total for the week was 36 x 200; 1 x 400; 13 x 100 and a 5k time trail. also got some harder running in when i ran into people on the trail. so it wasn't a bad week running wise. i also wrote up a long run schedule while at my mom's and will try to get that going this week.
the rest of the week included my skin cancer checkup- the checkup itself was very thorough and found no new cancer. fortunately the lymph nodes were good also. BUT, seems like there is always a but here, my dr is referring me to a oncologist for further study. with 5 primaries the likelihood of another primary is very, very high- almost impossible not to get one. my dr wanted me to stop running outside and not play anymore golf. said to move to Montreal and live under ground- kidding i hope. gist was that any sun i get is bad for my cells and that it would not take much to have another primary. i already try really hard not to get sun and run at b6:30 am most days and always overdress and use block when i run, golf or just go outside. will think about where i can be even more careful.
the work on the house continues but there is so much more to do. anyone working with contractors, even nice people and conscientious people like we seem to have always run into problems - like the drywall people showing up 3 hours late and then breaking the phone lines for example. but we will keep moving on and trying to get it done. i have drywall to go move when i am done typing this and a laundry room full of stuff that has to go somewhere but where?
with three rooms of furniture stacked around the rest of the house and all of the stuff from England continuing to be in the way it can be hard to move around though this house even in the present condition is not the house on binsey lane and in time it will return to normal i hope.
run wise i can see from the workouts where i am and where i am not. the reality is that i will end up in the high 23's or low 24's if i can keep going. the workouts for a 22 -5k are out of my range right now. the 200's i have done in the mid-to high 40's still show some speed, but not on a continuous run basis. will need to add more strength and longer speedwork. will see.
golf wise-nothing. have not hit a ball in days and not played in two weeks i think. with the Dr's appts this week i am still a week away from trying. will live with what backyard chipping and dry swings i can find time for.
went to philly this weekend and it was nice to see my mom again and some good old philly food despite a 5 hour ride there. we made it back in 3 hours and that was better.
hope for a productive week ahead. and also that my dr is wrong and that i don't have glaucoma. all good- have been frustrated but figure out a better plan while i was doing laundry and dealing with the garden and rubbish collection tonight. more drywall tomorrow also. should be fun. can use some rain. never said that in oxford.
gotta go- once my blogs seemed interesting and were cathartic, but not right now. now they feel rushed and in between things. will start my quiet time and dancing balance bear this week. very 60's stuff. also that gail and i did our run on the very same track where i won my first 50k some 20 years ago. old stories and old tee shirts....... will work on creating new ones soon.
peace- notice- not a thing on politics- all so sad really i don't even want to deal with it right now. was impressed by a 2:06 marathon in the Olympics. would be impressed with some sleep right now.
did find time to order new headphones and dell delivered them in two days; nice so far- got 44 miles in this week; 15 less than a typical week in oxford and i want to say i will up that but this week i have 3 dr appts and people coming everyday to work on the house so i will see- i did get in some short speed workouts with 3 days on the track- total for the week was 36 x 200; 1 x 400; 13 x 100 and a 5k time trail. also got some harder running in when i ran into people on the trail. so it wasn't a bad week running wise. i also wrote up a long run schedule while at my mom's and will try to get that going this week.
the rest of the week included my skin cancer checkup- the checkup itself was very thorough and found no new cancer. fortunately the lymph nodes were good also. BUT, seems like there is always a but here, my dr is referring me to a oncologist for further study. with 5 primaries the likelihood of another primary is very, very high- almost impossible not to get one. my dr wanted me to stop running outside and not play anymore golf. said to move to Montreal and live under ground- kidding i hope. gist was that any sun i get is bad for my cells and that it would not take much to have another primary. i already try really hard not to get sun and run at b6:30 am most days and always overdress and use block when i run, golf or just go outside. will think about where i can be even more careful.
the work on the house continues but there is so much more to do. anyone working with contractors, even nice people and conscientious people like we seem to have always run into problems - like the drywall people showing up 3 hours late and then breaking the phone lines for example. but we will keep moving on and trying to get it done. i have drywall to go move when i am done typing this and a laundry room full of stuff that has to go somewhere but where?
with three rooms of furniture stacked around the rest of the house and all of the stuff from England continuing to be in the way it can be hard to move around though this house even in the present condition is not the house on binsey lane and in time it will return to normal i hope.
run wise i can see from the workouts where i am and where i am not. the reality is that i will end up in the high 23's or low 24's if i can keep going. the workouts for a 22 -5k are out of my range right now. the 200's i have done in the mid-to high 40's still show some speed, but not on a continuous run basis. will need to add more strength and longer speedwork. will see.
golf wise-nothing. have not hit a ball in days and not played in two weeks i think. with the Dr's appts this week i am still a week away from trying. will live with what backyard chipping and dry swings i can find time for.
went to philly this weekend and it was nice to see my mom again and some good old philly food despite a 5 hour ride there. we made it back in 3 hours and that was better.
hope for a productive week ahead. and also that my dr is wrong and that i don't have glaucoma. all good- have been frustrated but figure out a better plan while i was doing laundry and dealing with the garden and rubbish collection tonight. more drywall tomorrow also. should be fun. can use some rain. never said that in oxford.
gotta go- once my blogs seemed interesting and were cathartic, but not right now. now they feel rushed and in between things. will start my quiet time and dancing balance bear this week. very 60's stuff. also that gail and i did our run on the very same track where i won my first 50k some 20 years ago. old stories and old tee shirts....... will work on creating new ones soon.
peace- notice- not a thing on politics- all so sad really i don't even want to deal with it right now. was impressed by a 2:06 marathon in the Olympics. would be impressed with some sleep right now.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
catching up-part one
next time i will be more careful about what i wish for- so we are home! and still almost overwhelmed by how much there is to be done. when i had thought that we would be getting the cars in shape and getting the needed furniture and signing up for classes and dealing with or very little piece of the world, i had looked forward to that, and seeing family and friends of course also and eating out in nice little favorite restaurants and going to shows and maybe playing golf again. who was i kidding?
and now i spend my time talking to contractors and deciding on floors and walls and ceilings and doors and recessed lighting and clearing out flooded rooms and cleaning up mold and smelling like bleach and tip toeing around crowded spaces because there are three rooms of stuff that have to go somewhere. and i have hit half a bucket of balls in the last 4 days and haven't seen any friends or family and am halfway through cleaning up the mold and the guys start wed. to rip out the walls and we go to pick new doors tomorrow and hope the two we have now will last just a little longer and funny how burned out lightbulbs don't seem like a big deal now. and the lawnmower needs a new sparkplug. but we have -for only $2700 - gotten two cars passed inspection and registered and have one more to go. and for another 8grand we have anew ac system so i suppose we are making progress and i don't mean any of this as a whine; it is what it is. what i mind is that it is now what i want to be doing, that's all. but for awhile we will keep at it.
and i may not play golf, but i am still running as i promised myself that it all gets done after the morning run, that little piece of sanity still there in my life.
and so i ran 11, 9, 8 and 6 the past 4 days since i last blogged a run. they have been decent enough runs, though not as interesting as running in oxford. as i said before i knew that i would miss the running a great deal and i have. besides running in hot and humid weather the runs are very similar as opposed to a new adventure each day. i will spend some time spicing them up in the future, but now i do them knowing i have someone coming to talk or work on the house and must get home.
today it was the drywall guy and we ran a track workout of sorts. gail did a nice long 400 series, but i limited myself to 200's and ran 14 x 200. then threw in one 400 and 4 x 100's at the end. very hot and humid - the times were ok. the legs were tight and the sun rose too quickly. with my cancer checkup this coming friday it would be nice not to get much sun this week.
yesterday's run was 9 miles of hills. not a hill workout but the route i took was up and down mostly for the entire run. where is flat oxford these days? went ok though i could still feel some of saturday's 8 mile run with several 6 minute pickups along east blvd. friday i simply ran 11 miles on the trail up to belle haven and back mostly. got 50 miles in last week with 2 track days and some striders and fartlek. no real long day, but had 3 runs of 9, 10 and 11. will ramp up one good one soon.
and missed my book club mtg here. could not help it as it was on a sunday and i had hoped to fit it in, but just couldn't. will figure out a better strategy for the next time. hope to get to philly this next weekend if my appt friday doesn't turn into unexpected surgery. dinner bell tolls, back a little later.
and now i spend my time talking to contractors and deciding on floors and walls and ceilings and doors and recessed lighting and clearing out flooded rooms and cleaning up mold and smelling like bleach and tip toeing around crowded spaces because there are three rooms of stuff that have to go somewhere. and i have hit half a bucket of balls in the last 4 days and haven't seen any friends or family and am halfway through cleaning up the mold and the guys start wed. to rip out the walls and we go to pick new doors tomorrow and hope the two we have now will last just a little longer and funny how burned out lightbulbs don't seem like a big deal now. and the lawnmower needs a new sparkplug. but we have -for only $2700 - gotten two cars passed inspection and registered and have one more to go. and for another 8grand we have anew ac system so i suppose we are making progress and i don't mean any of this as a whine; it is what it is. what i mind is that it is now what i want to be doing, that's all. but for awhile we will keep at it.
and i may not play golf, but i am still running as i promised myself that it all gets done after the morning run, that little piece of sanity still there in my life.
and so i ran 11, 9, 8 and 6 the past 4 days since i last blogged a run. they have been decent enough runs, though not as interesting as running in oxford. as i said before i knew that i would miss the running a great deal and i have. besides running in hot and humid weather the runs are very similar as opposed to a new adventure each day. i will spend some time spicing them up in the future, but now i do them knowing i have someone coming to talk or work on the house and must get home.
today it was the drywall guy and we ran a track workout of sorts. gail did a nice long 400 series, but i limited myself to 200's and ran 14 x 200. then threw in one 400 and 4 x 100's at the end. very hot and humid - the times were ok. the legs were tight and the sun rose too quickly. with my cancer checkup this coming friday it would be nice not to get much sun this week.
yesterday's run was 9 miles of hills. not a hill workout but the route i took was up and down mostly for the entire run. where is flat oxford these days? went ok though i could still feel some of saturday's 8 mile run with several 6 minute pickups along east blvd. friday i simply ran 11 miles on the trail up to belle haven and back mostly. got 50 miles in last week with 2 track days and some striders and fartlek. no real long day, but had 3 runs of 9, 10 and 11. will ramp up one good one soon.
and missed my book club mtg here. could not help it as it was on a sunday and i had hoped to fit it in, but just couldn't. will figure out a better strategy for the next time. hope to get to philly this next weekend if my appt friday doesn't turn into unexpected surgery. dinner bell tolls, back a little later.
Friday, August 15, 2008
hard finding time to blog
funny how life seems all out of whack right now. it is actually friday now and i have to be up in 5 hours.. just cannot get into any kind of routine at all. anyway- skipped the run today as i had to go to toyota and find out my water pump was bad and my timing and drive belts were also bad and my brakes were bad too. add in some other stuff and a short 3 hour visit turned into all day- and got out just in time for the big thunderstorm so i skipped any thought of maybe hitting some balls at the range.
and did lots of house stuff instead and bank stuff also. not a wasted day but not what i wanted for sure. yesterday was more wasted as the 3 hour round trip to the drs proved futile. wouldn't take my insurance and for hundreds of dollars they would see me and then add on anything i needed done. could not do that and will go back to the hmo and deal with the appt i finally got for next week and see what's up. then make a decision during open season. customer service and or care ????? what can i say?
tomorrow somehow has to include decisions about the basement and doors and bathroom and other stuff. joy in mudville----
did run 10 miles on tuesday and then ran 36 x 100 yesterday. my mileage is way down but the intensity is up some. doing a little longer speedwork and a bit more often. the morning heart rate is down and i can go a little faster at a lower heart rate than when we were in oxford. will get in what i can these next few days and then go back to my schedule of 3 hard days and three easy and a day off with two days off if i play golf. long and short trackwork with a long run and 3 so called easier days. the torn muscle is healing i think; still some surprise pain when i turn unexpectedly. will add all of the stretching and weights back into my schedule and when the house is done look for a yoga class to take. weight is up one pound since we are back. can get it down where i want it eventually.
running is not as much fun here actually as the trail, despite its' beauty and convenience is not the adventure that oxford was. though i do like having the track so available if i keep an eye on the lacrosse and soccer days.
not an exciting entry as none have been lately. still adjusting to being back-some good and some bad- will all work out as long as i can stay healthy. nobody hates being old as much as i do-
more soon- do miss ending the runs at eggs, etc. and i was thinking that my book club was meeting tuesday night and i was not there, though i sent in my comments and cath emailed me back with what happened. life goes on for now..... nice comeback by the eagles tonight.
and did lots of house stuff instead and bank stuff also. not a wasted day but not what i wanted for sure. yesterday was more wasted as the 3 hour round trip to the drs proved futile. wouldn't take my insurance and for hundreds of dollars they would see me and then add on anything i needed done. could not do that and will go back to the hmo and deal with the appt i finally got for next week and see what's up. then make a decision during open season. customer service and or care ????? what can i say?
tomorrow somehow has to include decisions about the basement and doors and bathroom and other stuff. joy in mudville----
did run 10 miles on tuesday and then ran 36 x 100 yesterday. my mileage is way down but the intensity is up some. doing a little longer speedwork and a bit more often. the morning heart rate is down and i can go a little faster at a lower heart rate than when we were in oxford. will get in what i can these next few days and then go back to my schedule of 3 hard days and three easy and a day off with two days off if i play golf. long and short trackwork with a long run and 3 so called easier days. the torn muscle is healing i think; still some surprise pain when i turn unexpectedly. will add all of the stretching and weights back into my schedule and when the house is done look for a yoga class to take. weight is up one pound since we are back. can get it down where i want it eventually.
running is not as much fun here actually as the trail, despite its' beauty and convenience is not the adventure that oxford was. though i do like having the track so available if i keep an eye on the lacrosse and soccer days.
not an exciting entry as none have been lately. still adjusting to being back-some good and some bad- will all work out as long as i can stay healthy. nobody hates being old as much as i do-
more soon- do miss ending the runs at eggs, etc. and i was thinking that my book club was meeting tuesday night and i was not there, though i sent in my comments and cath emailed me back with what happened. life goes on for now..... nice comeback by the eagles tonight.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
very short posting
will re-do this tomorrow i hope; just don't have enough time to get everything done-in a nutshell today i ran 10 miles; practiced some golf; cleaned up the garden some more; we caught a mouse; didn't catch the chipmunks; the contractor door guy came and started us on the path to fix the two broken doors; threw out lots of stuff; did laundry; went food shopping and to the bank; and did a short ride to unwind a little. this sounds so simple putting it down like this, but it seems like it took awhile. maybe because i also spent 30 minutes trying ti deal with my cancer checkup tomorrow. that took 12 phone calls. almost hard to believe that organizations can be that inefficient. can't wait until all of the boomers join in.
off i go. more to follow tomorrow let's hope. all depends on the dr appt i may or may not have but will have to drive 40 miles to find out. i am a happy camper. yes i am. i think i played more golf in England than here at home.
off i go. more to follow tomorrow let's hope. all depends on the dr appt i may or may not have but will have to drive 40 miles to find out. i am a happy camper. yes i am. i think i played more golf in England than here at home.
Monday, August 11, 2008
another two days
funny how little time i seem to have here. we spend so much time dealing with the house and trying to deal with contractors and also trying to have a little life that time just keeps flying by. one constant had been my running, though i overslept yesterday and decided to rest the leg and ride the bike instead. did 40 miles worth of spinning and got some exercise in without any pounding. worked out ok in the long run i guess, though i was disappointed. ran several errands and worked on the garden some while also cleaning out some more of the flooded mess and putting out 2 large and 6 smaller trashcans of stuff. i am determined to clean this mess up.
took a break and went to the range as i hadn't been there lately and ran into my friend richard and we hit some balls together and tried different clubs and worked on swing plane and balance. went ok actually. in hindsight now it went better than today did. only had a little time for some chipping and a little putting. will do more soon.
today we were up early and went up to the track. ran a nice workout of 6 x 400; 8 x 200; and 6 x 100. went pretty well actually and had less right leg pain than usual. then did the work on the house stuff for awhile. just a lot of issues i won't bore the blog or readers with.
then off to the therapist to find out what was wrong with the right leg. turned out to be a torn abductor magnus muscle. doesn't hurt when i go straight but turns are like being stabbed in the leg. the treatment today was helpful, but very painful also. i go back in two weeks for more. time will tell. have high hopes for it though.
more shopping afterwards and some yard work and then off to the range. am determined now to keep up the running and at least some golf while we deal with the house. will catch up on everything including emails later this week.
ahead this week still are the door guy; a skin cancer checkup; the drywall guys; and the carpet people. lots more other stuff. what can i say? two more weeks and will settle down some. figure three months to be where we need to be.
more soon. need to get going........
took a break and went to the range as i hadn't been there lately and ran into my friend richard and we hit some balls together and tried different clubs and worked on swing plane and balance. went ok actually. in hindsight now it went better than today did. only had a little time for some chipping and a little putting. will do more soon.
today we were up early and went up to the track. ran a nice workout of 6 x 400; 8 x 200; and 6 x 100. went pretty well actually and had less right leg pain than usual. then did the work on the house stuff for awhile. just a lot of issues i won't bore the blog or readers with.
then off to the therapist to find out what was wrong with the right leg. turned out to be a torn abductor magnus muscle. doesn't hurt when i go straight but turns are like being stabbed in the leg. the treatment today was helpful, but very painful also. i go back in two weeks for more. time will tell. have high hopes for it though.
more shopping afterwards and some yard work and then off to the range. am determined now to keep up the running and at least some golf while we deal with the house. will catch up on everything including emails later this week.
ahead this week still are the door guy; a skin cancer checkup; the drywall guys; and the carpet people. lots more other stuff. what can i say? two more weeks and will settle down some. figure three months to be where we need to be.
more soon. need to get going........
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
this old house, two good runs and a missing lob wedge
on some kind of everything has to go wrong spiral, but fighting it -- will sit down over the weekend and come up with plan c. easy for me to decide what needs to get done but not getting any help from the people who have to do the work. in a nut shell the past two days have gone like this-
decided i was going to run no matter what everyday- it is the only 60-90 minutes that seem to make sense right now. so off to the track we went to run a little workout. ran 9 x 200 and 4 x 400. ran them ion pretty decent times for me these days and despite the heat and humidity. stopped when i did as i felt i was not holding my form and couldn't see haven't something else get hurt. did a long slow cooldown and then went home.. gail ran her 400's pretty well also so all in all the track went ok. then back home to wait for the ac/heater unit guys.
they showed up on time, but they were a different crew than we had expected and given the warning we had been given i was a little leery, but we needed to have the work done so gail went off to st mary's and i stayed home and they worked. nine hours later they were done and left. skipped ahead a bit here huh? i spent the day working on the house - cleaning out the flooded area and throwing things away. working on the garden, paying bills and making appts.
gail was still at school when they finished so i went over and hit some balls at the range. did drills as my right hand last two fingers have some how gotten bruised and swollen. not good while holding the club. had chipped and putted some and that went ok except for the lob wedge. needs time - hit so-so and gave away the last of the balls and went home. arrived in time to find out the electric in the kitchen was not working. tried for awhile to figure it out but didn't. my dumb as it turned out, but mostly from being away for so long i had forgotten the kitchen was on a dual system and to protect the refrigerator the gfi kicks in and shuts down.
had the tech guy come today and he didn't figure it out for awhile either and i ran around helping him check it out and learned some electricity stuff. then the lights went on in a bad pun sort of way and he finally had an idea that there was a gfi protecting a dual system. anyway- seconds later it was all working again.
this was way after this morning's 9 mile run on the river trail on a pretty morning and one which was not quite as hot as yesterday. ran north for several miles and then turned south to see if i could run into any of the people i knew. first up i ran into adrian who told me her and her husband paul were getting ready to go off to england and we talked about oxford and cambridge for awhile. paul is from oxford but they have hopes of living in cambridge some day.
then i ran into john and they were getting ready to go to paris soon. the world grows smaller everyday. i had seen john on the trail and ran back towards him to catch up some and add two more miles. both worked out and ended up running a decent 9miles though i was tiring some at the end. and it was getting warmer but never as bad as the last few days.
back home i did some normal house stuff and went off to the lumber yard to check on replacement doors for our front and back doors as they are in bad shape and not working well. the back door has swelled up since the flood and the front door has just broken down after 52 years. doubt we will find doors as good as everything seems to be of lesser quality these days. got soem info at the lumber yard and will go over it with gail later. also have a guy coming to the house to talk about doors on tuesday.
then stopped at the flood repair place and went over soem choices and prices, but didn't have the quotes yet from the guy who will tear down the walls and ceiling.
quick stop at the bank and post office and the stone yard to get stone for the new pipes to drip into. and then home again to wait for the electrician and to do laundry and cut the grass. another fun day.
and then i looked around for the new lob wedge i just bought but it has disappeared from sight. has to be in the house somewhere doesn't it? i took it out of the plastic on friday last week and gone---who knows where/////
hit some pitch shots in the back yard and called it a day- have run 28 miles in the last 4 days with two track workouts including the 5k time trial. will up the miles soon but need to get past the daily appts first.have 6 more set up for next week and that doesn't include picking out new tile or carpets. also have to reschedule the bathroom work and the driveway re-paving. and need to decide about the oak tree in back-stay or go?
off i go- still have stuff to do before any sleep time. have put golf on the back burner for now. will get in what i can but need to get things done. the house is barley functioning and we cannot use the downstairs, one bathroom and one door at all. what i haven't thrown out from the family room in clogging up the laundry room and with everything going on it is still a lot easier to be in this house than the tent in oxford. do miss the people there and the thames and canal. oh well.
so life goes on- what could i have done with the wedge? any semblance of routine will wait. for now we are only dealing with house junk. next week the drs appts start. not looking forward to that.
in my next life i will choose between a trade school or a way to make more money or become a hermit in a one room cabin somewhere in france.
decided i was going to run no matter what everyday- it is the only 60-90 minutes that seem to make sense right now. so off to the track we went to run a little workout. ran 9 x 200 and 4 x 400. ran them ion pretty decent times for me these days and despite the heat and humidity. stopped when i did as i felt i was not holding my form and couldn't see haven't something else get hurt. did a long slow cooldown and then went home.. gail ran her 400's pretty well also so all in all the track went ok. then back home to wait for the ac/heater unit guys.
they showed up on time, but they were a different crew than we had expected and given the warning we had been given i was a little leery, but we needed to have the work done so gail went off to st mary's and i stayed home and they worked. nine hours later they were done and left. skipped ahead a bit here huh? i spent the day working on the house - cleaning out the flooded area and throwing things away. working on the garden, paying bills and making appts.
gail was still at school when they finished so i went over and hit some balls at the range. did drills as my right hand last two fingers have some how gotten bruised and swollen. not good while holding the club. had chipped and putted some and that went ok except for the lob wedge. needs time - hit so-so and gave away the last of the balls and went home. arrived in time to find out the electric in the kitchen was not working. tried for awhile to figure it out but didn't. my dumb as it turned out, but mostly from being away for so long i had forgotten the kitchen was on a dual system and to protect the refrigerator the gfi kicks in and shuts down.
had the tech guy come today and he didn't figure it out for awhile either and i ran around helping him check it out and learned some electricity stuff. then the lights went on in a bad pun sort of way and he finally had an idea that there was a gfi protecting a dual system. anyway- seconds later it was all working again.
this was way after this morning's 9 mile run on the river trail on a pretty morning and one which was not quite as hot as yesterday. ran north for several miles and then turned south to see if i could run into any of the people i knew. first up i ran into adrian who told me her and her husband paul were getting ready to go off to england and we talked about oxford and cambridge for awhile. paul is from oxford but they have hopes of living in cambridge some day.
then i ran into john and they were getting ready to go to paris soon. the world grows smaller everyday. i had seen john on the trail and ran back towards him to catch up some and add two more miles. both worked out and ended up running a decent 9miles though i was tiring some at the end. and it was getting warmer but never as bad as the last few days.
back home i did some normal house stuff and went off to the lumber yard to check on replacement doors for our front and back doors as they are in bad shape and not working well. the back door has swelled up since the flood and the front door has just broken down after 52 years. doubt we will find doors as good as everything seems to be of lesser quality these days. got soem info at the lumber yard and will go over it with gail later. also have a guy coming to the house to talk about doors on tuesday.
then stopped at the flood repair place and went over soem choices and prices, but didn't have the quotes yet from the guy who will tear down the walls and ceiling.
quick stop at the bank and post office and the stone yard to get stone for the new pipes to drip into. and then home again to wait for the electrician and to do laundry and cut the grass. another fun day.
and then i looked around for the new lob wedge i just bought but it has disappeared from sight. has to be in the house somewhere doesn't it? i took it out of the plastic on friday last week and gone---who knows where/////
hit some pitch shots in the back yard and called it a day- have run 28 miles in the last 4 days with two track workouts including the 5k time trial. will up the miles soon but need to get past the daily appts first.have 6 more set up for next week and that doesn't include picking out new tile or carpets. also have to reschedule the bathroom work and the driveway re-paving. and need to decide about the oak tree in back-stay or go?
off i go- still have stuff to do before any sleep time. have put golf on the back burner for now. will get in what i can but need to get things done. the house is barley functioning and we cannot use the downstairs, one bathroom and one door at all. what i haven't thrown out from the family room in clogging up the laundry room and with everything going on it is still a lot easier to be in this house than the tent in oxford. do miss the people there and the thames and canal. oh well.
so life goes on- what could i have done with the wedge? any semblance of routine will wait. for now we are only dealing with house junk. next week the drs appts start. not looking forward to that.
in my next life i will choose between a trade school or a way to make more money or become a hermit in a one room cabin somewhere in france.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
stress? what stress?
another day in the life--- up early to run on the trail and be back in time to drop off the car in lorton to get then windshield fixed while gail had her car towed to the accura dealer for what needed to be done - the run went ok despite the heat and humidity, much worse than yesterday. throw in some hills and yesterday's track work and it wasn't a fresh legs day but it was nice along the river and several other people were also out early. down and back south and then out and back north keeping an eye out for the tow truck. and then off to the windshield place.
dropped the car off and took a taxi to the driving range. figured i could try and relax a little by practicing and maybe get 9 holes in, which is what i did. went ok and got to see mary and spend some time with her there before gail came and picked me up as her car was finished first. had played really so-so and not up to my usual level but it was nice to play again and get use to hitting off of grass again. did some things well and i still think it is getting better. time will tell. just didn't feel comfortable as it usually does and i still have issues as they say. hit about 180 balls and chipped and putted for awhile. was a captive audience as the car would not be ready until late.
so back home and ran some errands and worked on the garden, did laundry and cleaned out some of the "stuff'. goal is to get rid of lots of stuff. will keep at it tomorrow as the a/c and heating unit all get placed as well as getting new pipes. today was only $900 and tomorrow will be almost $8k. then friday the flood and mold people will be back. just having too much fun for words. then the emissions inspections. just the day to day stuff. all good.
did order new orthotics today. mine are so shot. gotta go. people coming at 8 and i want to get to the track before that. a day at home while the house gets worked on and gail goes to school. a new year begins.
the day to day small time drama of fix the house will continue for awhile and the chore of finding funding to fix it all will go on also. we still have the unusable bathroom that has fallen aside while the the other stuff goes on. and car inspections and whatever else, but it will get dealt with. time to figure out the next part of life as well. what good is an air-conditioned house if it is the wrong house in the wrong state in the wrong country?
dropped the car off and took a taxi to the driving range. figured i could try and relax a little by practicing and maybe get 9 holes in, which is what i did. went ok and got to see mary and spend some time with her there before gail came and picked me up as her car was finished first. had played really so-so and not up to my usual level but it was nice to play again and get use to hitting off of grass again. did some things well and i still think it is getting better. time will tell. just didn't feel comfortable as it usually does and i still have issues as they say. hit about 180 balls and chipped and putted for awhile. was a captive audience as the car would not be ready until late.
so back home and ran some errands and worked on the garden, did laundry and cleaned out some of the "stuff'. goal is to get rid of lots of stuff. will keep at it tomorrow as the a/c and heating unit all get placed as well as getting new pipes. today was only $900 and tomorrow will be almost $8k. then friday the flood and mold people will be back. just having too much fun for words. then the emissions inspections. just the day to day stuff. all good.
did order new orthotics today. mine are so shot. gotta go. people coming at 8 and i want to get to the track before that. a day at home while the house gets worked on and gail goes to school. a new year begins.
the day to day small time drama of fix the house will continue for awhile and the chore of finding funding to fix it all will go on also. we still have the unusable bathroom that has fallen aside while the the other stuff goes on. and car inspections and whatever else, but it will get dealt with. time to figure out the next part of life as well. what good is an air-conditioned house if it is the wrong house in the wrong state in the wrong country?
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
left my free time back in the UK;another 2 days
where did that nice easy day to day schedule go? life has been pretty hectic since we have been home and it will only get more so in the weeks ahead. yesterday i actually ended up working at the gold course from 7ish until just past 1pm.that went as ok as it could given the heat and the crowds and just not having done it in almost a year. had hoped to play afterwards, but the course was too crowded so i opted to just practice some rather than go home and work on the house some more.
this proved to be a good decision as each day i practice i get a little closer to being me again, and the house turned into a disaster area later anyway and so i didn't get to practice today. seems the heater and a/c system just about died and the hose sprung a major leak under the house behind the furnace room. this led to a subsequent flood throughout the lower level and the complete loss of the family room. and a day of contractors in the house trying to assess the damage and cost of repair. for $8k the system and pipes will be replaced this thursday, losing another golf outing also. the rest of it will be determined on friday or saturday but we're looking at really big bucks to take down all of the walls and the ceiling and replacing the rugs and flooring. should be interesting and the future plans of redoing the laundry/mud room are gone for awhile. will see how it all works out.
and though i had to skip the run yesterday to work and the day off probably didn't hurt, i did run today. we went up to the track at 6:40 am and i ran a 5k workout in 26:45 all by myself on the track in hot and humid conditions. once again with very little warmup i started and ran each mile faster than the one before and though it wasn't as fast as the last one, it was much hotter and at least i ran pretty steady and each lap of the 3rd mile was faster than the preceding one. heart rate at the end was 163- just about 8%. btw, the morning heart rate was 45.
following the 5k and a little recovery i ran 16 x 100 under 7 minute pace and that was ok. with some cooldown was able to get 8 miles of effort in before heading home to meet all of the people coming to give estimate and answers.
spent the rest of the day running errands and working on the house and dealing with "mold". was it just last week we were in oxford?
anyway- tomorrow i take my car in to get a new windshield and gail has her car towed to the dealer to have it worked on. then we will need emissions inspections and regular maintenance.
took a little break and read for awhile tonight just to relax some. can still get almost 6 hours of sleep if i head off right now so away i go. will catch up eventually but i think it will take 4 months. somehow i need to settle myself down into a little better routine, but it will take some time. haven't signed up for my classes yet, but have scheduled the drs appts and now need to get to the stores and get the furniture we still need. will throw out even more over the weekend.
enough blah blah for now. will get it in gear. at least i manage to get some running in though nothing long. will try and squeeze in something very early in the morning and go longer later. sometime real soon i will work out the schedule for the next three months to include the races i have entered.
am really tired of the the election garbage for sure. change my rear end. these guys are like the rest of them, though mc cain will still be a disaster for the world.
later.......
this proved to be a good decision as each day i practice i get a little closer to being me again, and the house turned into a disaster area later anyway and so i didn't get to practice today. seems the heater and a/c system just about died and the hose sprung a major leak under the house behind the furnace room. this led to a subsequent flood throughout the lower level and the complete loss of the family room. and a day of contractors in the house trying to assess the damage and cost of repair. for $8k the system and pipes will be replaced this thursday, losing another golf outing also. the rest of it will be determined on friday or saturday but we're looking at really big bucks to take down all of the walls and the ceiling and replacing the rugs and flooring. should be interesting and the future plans of redoing the laundry/mud room are gone for awhile. will see how it all works out.
and though i had to skip the run yesterday to work and the day off probably didn't hurt, i did run today. we went up to the track at 6:40 am and i ran a 5k workout in 26:45 all by myself on the track in hot and humid conditions. once again with very little warmup i started and ran each mile faster than the one before and though it wasn't as fast as the last one, it was much hotter and at least i ran pretty steady and each lap of the 3rd mile was faster than the preceding one. heart rate at the end was 163- just about 8%. btw, the morning heart rate was 45.
following the 5k and a little recovery i ran 16 x 100 under 7 minute pace and that was ok. with some cooldown was able to get 8 miles of effort in before heading home to meet all of the people coming to give estimate and answers.
spent the rest of the day running errands and working on the house and dealing with "mold". was it just last week we were in oxford?
anyway- tomorrow i take my car in to get a new windshield and gail has her car towed to the dealer to have it worked on. then we will need emissions inspections and regular maintenance.
took a little break and read for awhile tonight just to relax some. can still get almost 6 hours of sleep if i head off right now so away i go. will catch up eventually but i think it will take 4 months. somehow i need to settle myself down into a little better routine, but it will take some time. haven't signed up for my classes yet, but have scheduled the drs appts and now need to get to the stores and get the furniture we still need. will throw out even more over the weekend.
enough blah blah for now. will get it in gear. at least i manage to get some running in though nothing long. will try and squeeze in something very early in the morning and go longer later. sometime real soon i will work out the schedule for the next three months to include the races i have entered.
am really tired of the the election garbage for sure. change my rear end. these guys are like the rest of them, though mc cain will still be a disaster for the world.
later.......
store closings-- crooks and liars
So Much for Our Retail-Based Economy…
Posted: 04 Aug 2008 07:00 PM CDT
The Centre for Research on Globalization (Canada) has some very un-pretty numbers. I’ll be watching for another announcement from the President that we’d all better go shopping. But where, Mr. President?
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide
Talbots will close all 78 of its kids and men’s stores plus another 22 underperforming stores.
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores
Foot Locker to close 140 stores
Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. The 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Levitz - the furniture retailer, announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910.
Home Depot store closings 15 of them amid a slumping US economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world’s largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store.
Movie Gallery – video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall as part of bankruptcy.
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations to close with 4,000 employees following 5,000 layoffs last year.
Wilsons the Leather Experts – closing 158 stores
Bombay Company: to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.
KB Toys closing 356 stores around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization.
CompUSA (CLOSED).
Posted: 04 Aug 2008 07:00 PM CDT
The Centre for Research on Globalization (Canada) has some very un-pretty numbers. I’ll be watching for another announcement from the President that we’d all better go shopping. But where, Mr. President?
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide
Talbots will close all 78 of its kids and men’s stores plus another 22 underperforming stores.
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores
Foot Locker to close 140 stores
Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. The 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Levitz - the furniture retailer, announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910.
Home Depot store closings 15 of them amid a slumping US economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world’s largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store.
Movie Gallery – video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall as part of bankruptcy.
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations to close with 4,000 employees following 5,000 layoffs last year.
Wilsons the Leather Experts – closing 158 stores
Bombay Company: to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.
KB Toys closing 356 stores around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization.
CompUSA (CLOSED).
Sunday, August 03, 2008
quick summary of the last two days
in about 5 minutes it will be tomorrow and 3 days since i last posted. funny but since we are back we have been going crazy trying to catch up with all we need to do and also to get ready for the next school year and everything else we need to have done given all of the travel coming up. biggest problem right now is still the basement as we cannot use it at all and have to try to avoid it actually while the asbestos and mold do their thing. will see what the "people" say this week when they come. also have the heating and ac guys coming as that system is downstairs also. add to that the storm damage to the roof and shutters and it was a fun thing to come home too. won't bother to list the long string of errands we have run and we have completed 20 of the 53 things we must do and that doesn't count just living each day or running, etc.
but no complaints. it is what it is and we will get it done i think. the cost of the basement was not exactly expected so that will change some things but hey- the plane didn't crash and eventually the house will be ok.
it is now monday and i am due at work in 7 hours as the golf job begins again. usually it is fun in a weird sort of way and i expect it to be again as they have the nicest people there but the timing could be better. still, the staff there have been very good to me and it is payback time.
the last two days of running including 9 miles yesterday on a slightly cooler day than friday and gail and i ran the east blvd loop and i added some extra at the end going down the path towards ft hunt park. always enjoy the loop around east blvd as i get to see the gardens of the wealthy and also run past the american horticulture center, which is right on the potomac river and always pretty. shame we missed the big spring sale we like to go to and i am hoping that they have a second sale in the fall like they do sometimes. the run was ok if not slow from the day before and the heat wasn't as bad but much worse than any day in oxford.
the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the house and garden while shopping for food and everything else and then hitting some balls at the range for the first time in days. made arrangements for several contractor visits and for the cars to have work done and inspections, etc. the new windshield will go in also next week, now this week i guess. have not seen or talked to anyone except don and got the one text from beth who was on her way to costa rico, evidently a little recovered from her most recent medical adventures.
gail has been going back and forth with emails to oxford regarding the house and the lease and the deposit, etc. a little messy right now as everyone remembers things differently. the management people and the landlord treated us so badly that it is hard to feel forgiving, but the two nicest people we sub let from deserve better and we will work with them to make it all turn out ok for them i hope.
has been nice eating at home and having some of the food we were unable to get in the UK. but tomorrow i will start getting back to race weight. today we were up pretty early and went up to the track to do some speed work, but there was a 7am soccer match so we got shut out and decided to drive to my vernon's track about 5 miles further away. was a little worried about the sun now as the temps were closing in on 90. with two checkups coming up in the next couple of weeks it is no time to get sunburned after being so careful for the last year. i do miss oxford's weather.
but the track was opened and there were a few joggers and several walkers there already as everyone is trying to go as early as they can to avoid the worst heat. i did a short warmup and ran 1.5 miles in 12:25, not bad for not much warmup and in the heat and after yesterday's run. then ran 2 more 400's in 1:50 and followed that up with 12 x 100 as the track was getting crowded with walkers spread across the lanes and it was not much fun running around them. i always love the i pay taxes and this is my track too like that covers the lack of track etiquette. they pay taxes when they are driving their cars also so i guess they can drive on either side of the road. plus as tax payers they get to pay for the track more often if they run down the inside lanes so the track has to be resurfaced so they can run their meets there. but i digress... not in an angry tone i should add, but more of an informative one.
anyway- we did the home depot, tj maxx and all of the other stores we needed to go to, weeded away in the lawn, collected about 9 bags of trash as we cleaned out everything on our way to more minimalist lives and i snuck over and hit some balls just to relax a bit and then home to do laundry and deal with the garden and the palm tree (a new addition) and the basement stuff , etc. all ok and i remind myself that it will be months before we are caught up.
and life goes on. more to say and i will rant later. i can see in retrospect how much of a vacation oxford really was and what a nice little routine i was in there. not here yet and this week with work and all of the contractors coming and the car stuff and then next week with the dr appts and hopefully no surgery we will fit in a new schedule.
did see some of the women's british open as we call it here, the open as they say there. sunnydale looks like a nice course and it was fun to watch great play on a pretty course. i will play golf again sometime i hope. the little practice i am getting in is helping and i am putting and chipping ok and getting used to the speed again while actually practicing on grass, though i have to remember not to feel like i need to rush home and work on the house. and i have not played yet but that will come i hope. too busy right now.
off i go- have had some nice emails from oxford. as easily as we can just get back into living here as we are in our own house and neighborhood and everything is basically the same as it was a year ago, there is something missing. i did buy the two books for the oxford bookclub and will be a long distance member for awhile as long as there are people who remember me still in the club and Cath runs it.
more soon- i can still get 5 hours of sleep if i hurry. the weather for the week ahead sounds horrible. who needs 100 degrees?
but no complaints. it is what it is and we will get it done i think. the cost of the basement was not exactly expected so that will change some things but hey- the plane didn't crash and eventually the house will be ok.
it is now monday and i am due at work in 7 hours as the golf job begins again. usually it is fun in a weird sort of way and i expect it to be again as they have the nicest people there but the timing could be better. still, the staff there have been very good to me and it is payback time.
the last two days of running including 9 miles yesterday on a slightly cooler day than friday and gail and i ran the east blvd loop and i added some extra at the end going down the path towards ft hunt park. always enjoy the loop around east blvd as i get to see the gardens of the wealthy and also run past the american horticulture center, which is right on the potomac river and always pretty. shame we missed the big spring sale we like to go to and i am hoping that they have a second sale in the fall like they do sometimes. the run was ok if not slow from the day before and the heat wasn't as bad but much worse than any day in oxford.
the rest of the day was spent cleaning up the house and garden while shopping for food and everything else and then hitting some balls at the range for the first time in days. made arrangements for several contractor visits and for the cars to have work done and inspections, etc. the new windshield will go in also next week, now this week i guess. have not seen or talked to anyone except don and got the one text from beth who was on her way to costa rico, evidently a little recovered from her most recent medical adventures.
gail has been going back and forth with emails to oxford regarding the house and the lease and the deposit, etc. a little messy right now as everyone remembers things differently. the management people and the landlord treated us so badly that it is hard to feel forgiving, but the two nicest people we sub let from deserve better and we will work with them to make it all turn out ok for them i hope.
has been nice eating at home and having some of the food we were unable to get in the UK. but tomorrow i will start getting back to race weight. today we were up pretty early and went up to the track to do some speed work, but there was a 7am soccer match so we got shut out and decided to drive to my vernon's track about 5 miles further away. was a little worried about the sun now as the temps were closing in on 90. with two checkups coming up in the next couple of weeks it is no time to get sunburned after being so careful for the last year. i do miss oxford's weather.
but the track was opened and there were a few joggers and several walkers there already as everyone is trying to go as early as they can to avoid the worst heat. i did a short warmup and ran 1.5 miles in 12:25, not bad for not much warmup and in the heat and after yesterday's run. then ran 2 more 400's in 1:50 and followed that up with 12 x 100 as the track was getting crowded with walkers spread across the lanes and it was not much fun running around them. i always love the i pay taxes and this is my track too like that covers the lack of track etiquette. they pay taxes when they are driving their cars also so i guess they can drive on either side of the road. plus as tax payers they get to pay for the track more often if they run down the inside lanes so the track has to be resurfaced so they can run their meets there. but i digress... not in an angry tone i should add, but more of an informative one.
anyway- we did the home depot, tj maxx and all of the other stores we needed to go to, weeded away in the lawn, collected about 9 bags of trash as we cleaned out everything on our way to more minimalist lives and i snuck over and hit some balls just to relax a bit and then home to do laundry and deal with the garden and the palm tree (a new addition) and the basement stuff , etc. all ok and i remind myself that it will be months before we are caught up.
and life goes on. more to say and i will rant later. i can see in retrospect how much of a vacation oxford really was and what a nice little routine i was in there. not here yet and this week with work and all of the contractors coming and the car stuff and then next week with the dr appts and hopefully no surgery we will fit in a new schedule.
did see some of the women's british open as we call it here, the open as they say there. sunnydale looks like a nice course and it was fun to watch great play on a pretty course. i will play golf again sometime i hope. the little practice i am getting in is helping and i am putting and chipping ok and getting used to the speed again while actually practicing on grass, though i have to remember not to feel like i need to rush home and work on the house. and i have not played yet but that will come i hope. too busy right now.
off i go- have had some nice emails from oxford. as easily as we can just get back into living here as we are in our own house and neighborhood and everything is basically the same as it was a year ago, there is something missing. i did buy the two books for the oxford bookclub and will be a long distance member for awhile as long as there are people who remember me still in the club and Cath runs it.
more soon- i can still get 5 hours of sleep if i hurry. the weather for the week ahead sounds horrible. who needs 100 degrees?
Friday, August 01, 2008
could use some of oxford's rain
95 degrees here today. no wonder i like england's weather. was up early with morning heart rate at 45. not bad after yesterday's hard workout and subsequent outside working in the heat. went out to run alone as gail wanted to get back on her schedule routine. ran north on the mt vernon trail and just moved along until some of yesterday's stiffness eased it's way out of my legs. was disappointed to be going so slowly but was moving along. the morning was pretty enough along the river and the tide was in so the water was high and dyke marsh was beautiful.
ran and up and down the small hills knowing i had to come back up the big hill on the way home. went all the way down to just past the 7 mile marker so i could get almost 9 miles in. ran alone to this point and spent the time concentrating on my right leg as usual and the broken toe on my left foot. miss running on the dirt trail of the thames but the new shoes are helping. stopped at the 5 mile water fountain and met andy there. he is training for the chicago marathon in october and was out doing 20 miles today. he had 5 in when we hooked up and i ran the next three back to my street with him. was pleased to see that i could pick up the pace and still carry on a normal conversation, though my heart rate had climbed to almost my 85% level, turning a slow easy recovery day into a last hard three miles, but it was a good opportunity to test whether i can run faster with faster people.
will have to break down and find a way mentally to take more rest and recovery days. i missed about 24 days last year and will look that up in the log tomorrow, but i will need more time off to get harder, faster runs in. ran andy down to the 3 mile mark at almost 2 minutes faster a mile. can feel it now as i type this and tomorrow will be some sort of recovery day. might have ridden the indoor trainer but cannot go into the basement right now due to the damage down there.
have not hit a golf ball since i am home and that is almost funny as i was hoping being home would let me play more golf, but the reality is that with temps in the 95-97 range it is hard and we are also so busy getting life and the house set up again. have a ton of people coming out next week to help start the fix the flood problem and also to get the ac and heating unit back in shape. then the new windshield goes in and gail's car will get towed in and hopefully fixed ok and pass inspection at some point. a lot of fun ahead. this is all a prelude to knocking down the kitchen wall and the laundry room wall. more fun waiting for us.
and life goes on one busy day at a time even without a job to go to ha ha. it all seems so unimportant. more soon -
ran and up and down the small hills knowing i had to come back up the big hill on the way home. went all the way down to just past the 7 mile marker so i could get almost 9 miles in. ran alone to this point and spent the time concentrating on my right leg as usual and the broken toe on my left foot. miss running on the dirt trail of the thames but the new shoes are helping. stopped at the 5 mile water fountain and met andy there. he is training for the chicago marathon in october and was out doing 20 miles today. he had 5 in when we hooked up and i ran the next three back to my street with him. was pleased to see that i could pick up the pace and still carry on a normal conversation, though my heart rate had climbed to almost my 85% level, turning a slow easy recovery day into a last hard three miles, but it was a good opportunity to test whether i can run faster with faster people.
will have to break down and find a way mentally to take more rest and recovery days. i missed about 24 days last year and will look that up in the log tomorrow, but i will need more time off to get harder, faster runs in. ran andy down to the 3 mile mark at almost 2 minutes faster a mile. can feel it now as i type this and tomorrow will be some sort of recovery day. might have ridden the indoor trainer but cannot go into the basement right now due to the damage down there.
have not hit a golf ball since i am home and that is almost funny as i was hoping being home would let me play more golf, but the reality is that with temps in the 95-97 range it is hard and we are also so busy getting life and the house set up again. have a ton of people coming out next week to help start the fix the flood problem and also to get the ac and heating unit back in shape. then the new windshield goes in and gail's car will get towed in and hopefully fixed ok and pass inspection at some point. a lot of fun ahead. this is all a prelude to knocking down the kitchen wall and the laundry room wall. more fun waiting for us.
and life goes on one busy day at a time even without a job to go to ha ha. it all seems so unimportant. more soon -
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