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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