having lost 40 minutes of typing i will try again. got home too late to blog yesterday and what i have found is that since being back in the usa the day's are filled with more normal stuff than in the uk, but that trying to get months of stuff into a couple of weeks while trying to carry on some normal things is somewhat frustrating. what has lost out so far is sleep and that will change as i laid out a better plan with more organized priorities.
yesterday i got up in time to squeeze in 4 slow and easy miles as a way of being outside while also trying to recover a bit from the week's runs. less miles this past week, but several decent efforts of either speed or hills. less walking but just as much time on my feet while working on the house stuff. was out pretty early and saw nobody else while i was out. basically went up to the water fountain just past the five mile mark and did a quick stretch and turned back home.
got home and stretched some more and then walked the garden to see what i wanted to do with it today. quick light breakfast and threw clothes into the washer while i mowed the back yard and moved some potted plants around. pruned what i could and then planted some small replacement shrubs i had gotten. watered the new stuff and stopped.
spent some time practicing pitch shots(about 100 shots)in the back of the house and short little shots over the bunker i had built sometime back. it is always lots of fun practicing out back using different wedges and hitting high and low shots and practicing flops and different spins. is taking some time to regain some touch and feel, but it is coming.
off to the range to hit some balls and do some longer chipping and putting. but first i stopped at the garden center and bought some stone. i9 am determined to finish my rock garden and don't want to wait until we are back for good to get going again. would have gotten a little more for the same money at the rock and gravel place, but the ride would have taken too much time. loaded the car and went to the range.
practiced for awhile on the green. several golfers i knew were there and we set up a little putting competition to add some pressure. my putting went well yesterday as i get used to the new putter and to putting on grass again; same for the chipping- short game will come back faster than my swing because it was always better and i know more about what i am doing. also my tightness doesn't get in the way.
hit 150 balls and took some time to help a couple-scott and christine- who were hitting next to me and are just starting. turns out christine works for billy casper golf. was fun working with them and they seem like a nice couple who will enjoy golf.
i hit ok and can see some progress. not consistent yet, but at least i feel like i know what i am trying to get to even when i don't get there. got gas on the way home and did a quick stop at 7-11 to get a paper and some diet cokes. basically home in time to clean up, eat a little, glance at the paper and try to get some sleep.
morning heart rate was 46 as the new day dawned and i talked to gail for a bit and then headed out on the trail in semi-darkness. sun should have been coming up, but it was very cloudy. headed up the trail north towards the 8 mile mark determined to get 10 miles in today. warm-47 degrees and headed towards 63 or so, but i was dressed for warm and had bottle and a half of water before i started out. about 50 minutes into the run the sun's yellow ball came up as i approached dyke marsh and the tide was also out. a pretty little area as i have probably said before.
got lucky at the 8 mile turn around as a woman pushing a baby jogger was right there as i turned and we hooked up and ran back down to the 5 mile water fountain together. she had lived in london three years ago and her husband was from Guatemala so we bantered on about the prices in the uk and how cheap her husband thought everything in the usa was. ah, perspective. especially the gas. have i mentioned that petrol was over 410 a gallon in the UK?
pushing that baby jogger certainly didn't seem to slow her down much and while i was able to talk so i knew the pace wasn't that bad, my heart rate was climbing quickly. this part of the run also included the really big hill at the 6 mile post and that helped. left her at the water fountain and was determined to keep it going. and did! even went past waynewood blvd and down to the three mile marker just to add a little.
at home i was determined to get the blog done and did, but somehow the pc lost it. how frustrating that was, but i was out of time at that point and had to get the front lawn cut and the stones all put into place as well as plant the last of the plants and get some short game practice in. then paid some bills and headed out to run some errands and then over to the range. i want that swing to work, but it is determined to stay hidden for a bit.
short game went really well. two fellow melanoma survivors were there and we chatted some about our latest checkups and our drs. always looking to add insight, especially when it might save my life.
hitting was up and down-the good was really good and the bad wasn't that bad, but it wasn't right. will keep working at it. i did get more insight and kept at it for two buckets and then headed to safeway.
and then home - almost forgot: today 41 years ago i left for viet nam. with the rest of my company we flew to california to meet the ship we would sail on and stopped at the denver airport to change planes. funny, we were in uniform and carrying our weapons. must have looked pretty funny to the other people in the airport and i still have the pictures i sneakingly took of friends posing with their m-14's at the airport.
nothing like spending 30 days at sea on a ship with 2800 guys. truly horrible powdered food and salt water to shave in. what more could you ask for? how about sleeping 4 decks down with lots of guys who had never been on a ship before and didn't like the waves and the back and forth of the ship- won't bore you with the rest other than we stopped at okinawa and picked up guys who had deserted. while there i also got a bad sunburn- little did i know that years later this would lead to my skin cancer. at the time i just suffered it rather than go on sick call as it would have been a court martial offense if i could not have stood guard that night.
so the ides of march is almost over and caesar is still dead. how long ago was 44bc.? AU is in the tournament. spitzer is gone. hope mrs spitzer is ok. why do people feel the need to judge her? don't get it. so much judgment and so little empathy. is ,love blind as they say or does love force rationalizations?
all this in a world where paris hilton can charge $50k to come to your party as -paris hilton. i wake up everyday wondering what paris and nicole and brittany were out doing while i was asleep. hang in there lindsay!
and 3987 military are dead in the useless war we are mired in. who is judging that? is someone out there designing a memorial right now? love the troops and feel sorry for their family's loss. glad i came home.
and GW talks about how romantic it would have been for him to have been able to fight in a war. every time i think he couldn't say something more stupid he fools me. mr i am just a simple little president and don't understand the economy.
we can have 8 more years of this if we elect john i want to be george bush too
mccain.
but i am tired and need to get up to be at burke lake to run in the morning. my first attempt at this blog was better i am sure, but this is it for now.
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