Missed it...

I missed the mini marathon. My knee is still sore. Total sucko. I am swimming and getting lots of muscles on my chest and arms, spending time at the gym, but I can't run at all. I am in the midst of a running and cycling hiatus to let the healing get started on my knee. I tried to maintain the strength and stamina that I had built up training hard over the winter, but I think it only served to prolong my injury.

I am still going to compete in the triathlon on June 8th that I signed up for, even if I have to walk the last part. The last part (the running section) is only 2.4 miles, which is not even that long of a walk, really.

Quick explanation of the triathlon that I signed up for: 400 yard swim, 9 miles on a bike, 2.4 mile run - in that order. I don't plan on winning, but I will finish the race for certain. Good times, I can't wait!

Not running much, but I can swim now.

I am still not running. I think there is little chance that I will be able to run the half marathon in Indy since I can't complete more than three miles without getting re-injured. Sucko.

I keep trying to test out my knee and finding out that I am still injured. I am not sure how long I should wait to test it out again. I wait until it feels good for a few days, then give it a try. It feels good for a while, and I go at it easy. The knee feels great when I am done. The next day, I am still feeling good, but just to be sure I rest and sit on the couch anyway. Two days later, I try running easy again and I am suddenly back to square one, icing an injured knee and sleeping with pillows under my leg. It's driving me nuts, really. I would be happy just to be able to run five miles three or four times a week, but I can't get past three without walking home to find an ice pack and a pillow.

Other news: I signed up for a triathlon (swim, bike, run) in June since I don't need to run much to do one. I bought a wetsuit from a guy who lives on the north side of town and I mentioned that I was a terrible swimmer. It turns out he is a masters swimmer and used to be a swim coach. He even offered to teach me how to swim for free. He gave me a video and met me at the gym for almost two hours of swim instruction. At least now I know I can complete the swim portion of the triathlon without drowning. (Wetsuits are cool for two reasons: 1. They make you float really well, so it is much harder to drown. 2. They make you sleeker and faster in the water so you swim with much less effort.

Karen might get a road bike to ride with me, too! Sweet!

More running...

I ran a mile in therapy on Thursday, last week. On Sunday, I ran two miles. On Tuesday, I ran three miles. Tomorrow, I am going to try for four miles. Wish me luck!

My knee is not 100%, but it is getting better. It still gets sore the day after I run, but it feels great while I am actually out running.

Diet update: Karen has now lost about ten pounds, and she looks great, but I am gaining ground. I have now lost about two pounds. Whoa! That only took a month and a half of starving! At this rate, I should be able to shed another four pounds just in time for next Christmas! Bring on the holiday salad!

One mile...

I was able to run one mile today while I was doing my physical therapy. It didn't hurt at all for most of it, and my knee only tightened up a little at the end. The best part is that I was not in pain afterward. Progress is good, but it has been slow.

I am really excited that I may be able to run a little more. Maybe I will be back in running shape soon! I have been fairly depressed about the whole thing, so this is a really good day for me. I have not been able to run since February 9th, so today was a real victory. YAY!

Still not running... Maybe tomorrow???

My knee is still messed up. MRI says no issues a few weeks ago, and I have been to physical therapy three times. I go to my last physical therapy session tomorrow, but I still can't run on it. I get to try to run tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes. The therapist figured out that I had a muscle imbalance, which caused the initial problem. I got a brace to enable me to run while I was retraining the weaker muscle, but I made the brace too tight and it hurt my iliotibial band trying to run (the muscle on the outside of our leg) and that injury has been healing for three weeks. I am afraid to try to run on it and find out that it is still messed up. I hope it gets better soon so I can still run the Indianapolis half marathon in May. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Absolute horror story!

CUSTARD'S LAST STAND IS CLOSING IT'S DOORS TOMORROW. LIFE IS JUST NOT FAIR.

Perhaps I am being a little over the top, but Custard's last stand was one of our favorite places in the world, like Greek's Pizzeria in Valparaiso. We went there often and we really enjoyed it. We even made jokes about the fact that if we ever moved away from Kansas City, we would have to come back to visit our friends and buy an entire case of Custard. We are very sad and we will definitely go there tomorrow to get our last round of Custard. So long Custard, we really enjoyed you and we will miss you.

My knee makes me sad...

We all know I like to run. I am currently injured, and I can't run much at all. I can walk fine, but when I run more than half a mile at a time, my knee hurts so badly that I am lunging for the STOP button on the treadmill to avoid falling over. This is after I took a week off from running to let the healing start. I am really bummed, and I have no energy at all since I can't exercise. I can't even ride the bike trainer until this dumb thing heals up. If it does not get better, I will be going to the doctor very soon. This really sucks, and it is quite literally depressing me. Darn.

Big day!!

My sister and her husband are expecting the birth of their first child today! She is a little past due, so she is being induced today. Say a prayer with me for the three of them and and I will post more information as soon as I know it!

Sickos...

James and I are both sick. He has an ear infection, and I have a sinus infection. We played in the basement this evening and I don't think either one of us could sit still for more than ten minutes without needing a tissue to wipe a runny nose. He made me some eggs, french toast, yogurt, and a piece of pizza for breakfast. I must have been very hungry, he made me lots of food.

I actually went to the doctor today to get a prescription so that I could alleviate some of the sinus pressure and hopefully not be sick all weekend. It was a good thing that I went because by the time I was done at the doctor's office and filled my prescription, I felt pretty awful. All I wanted to do was sit and wait for the antibiotics to work their magic. It has been about seven hours since I went took my first pill, and I have yet to feel much better. Decongestants helped with the stuffiness, but my face still really hurts from the sinus pressure. Enough whining...

We are going to the Dana's house tomorrow after we get done at our favorite BBQ joint, Oklahoma Joe's. We are planning to play some Guitar Hero 3 in their basement, and I am really looking forward to it. I have not played GH3 since we got home from Indiana. It's definitely time to get a tired pinkie finger and practice my high-speed strumming skills. I can't wait. I need to get my GH3 set up in the basement so I can be prepared for the next time we have a gaming session.

Tough decision?

My car is old, but it works fine and requires zero maintenance. It has 95K on it, and it is eight years old, but it has never seen the shop. If I sell it, I will probably not get very much out of it. I am, however, very tired of my car. In fact, it is really not even my car at all. The Civic was purchased by Karen, for Karen to drive around. I just got the Civic when James was born and Karen got my little truck, which she then traded in for the minivan we have now.

I want to buy a new car, but there is really no financial justification for it at all. The smart thing to do would be to wait for the old Civic to start giving me problems, and then get rid of it, but I am tired of it. I want to get a new car. We can afford a new car without stressing the budget, but it is definitely not a financially wise decision; it is really a giant waste of money. With the price of cars, it seems silly for me to buy a car right now, but I want to get one.

I drove a 2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE V6 6-speed manual on Saturday. It was really sweet, to say the least. It was quiet, fast, and really comfortable - three things that the Civic is not.

I want one.

Still mulling it over...

Funny stuff?

I found this terribly amusing, take a look and see what you think. It reminds me of riding my bicycle with baseball cards in the spokes. Some dude just spinning his wheels...

Home again, and new year's resolutions?

We are back at the homestead in Kansas again. It was a great vacation holiday, and we had a great time. The only thing that I would have changed about the entire thing was that I would have left a day earlier to avoid the giant snowstorm.

Christmas with the family was wonderful, and it was really awesome to see the little ones (mostly James and Neil) get all excited about opening presents and playing with new toys. We had a great time, but we missed Jay and John terribly around the holiday. (But we get to go see them very soon!)

We drove home in a pretty healthy winter storm. It was so bad that we were going 25 MPH for many miles on I-65 and could still not really see the road in front of us. The
country roads that we went down to try to get out of the storm were so windblown with deep drifts that it stuffed a bunch of snow into the front grill of the van. Everything was white, so we couldn't even tell where the drifts were. We would be driving along and all of a sudden "POOF!" the snow would explode from the front of the van and make a huge white cloud all around us. Not that it wasn't snowing heavily already, it just made an obviously denser cloud around us, and you could feel the van slow down when it hit the drifts. I counted 25 cars in ditches, and one tractor-trailer. No big accidents, just a whole bunch of spin-offs. I was glad not to become one of them. It was a very long drive home; the trip took a few extra hours due to the weather.

The only cool thing about the drive was Karen's new GPS. (remember the commercial - "there's the moose again, give a give a give a give a garmin...") It led us down a bunch of country roads to get from I-65 over to I-57, and there was no traffic on any of them, so we did not have to worry about getting hit by people in a hurry. I love the GPS, it is really a cool toy.


New Year's resolutions:
1. Don't gain weight
2. Don't stop eating fairly healthy
3. Keep exercising as usual
4. Don't start smoking

Any ideas for resolutions for me? I can't think of anything that I need to stop doing, and I am not in need of major weight loss. Is there anything that I need to do or to stop doing? What are you planning to do for the new year?

The Raygun show recap...

My friend Joel and I got to see the Naked Raygun show on Saturday, December 22nd at Reggie's Rock Club in Chicago.

The show was a DVD release party, and we were one of the first 100 through the door, so we got free signed copies of the DVD. How cool is that?!?!?

The evening started out kinda slow, the doors opened more than an hour before the DVD was played, and the DVD was pretty long when you're waiting for a concert. Don't get me wrong, the DVD was cool, but I was there to see the band play. I had not seen the band play in about 13 or 14 years, so I was really looking forward to it.

After the initial wait was over and the DVD was played, it was time for the show to begin. The 33 year old in me wanted to stand in the back of the club back and watch the show from a safe distance, so that was where I started. Halfway through the first song, the 17 year old in me took over and I made my way into the crowd. I pushed and shoved my way up to the stage and stayed there for the entire show. It was a blast. I was in the front row, just a little to the right of center, directly in front of the Michael Stephens, playing the guitar. The band played all of my favorite songs, and the sound was tight and pretty polished. They played stuff off of all of their albums, and even played a cover of "Suspect Device", originally written by Stiff Little Fingers. It was a really good show, if you ask me.

Highlights for the night:
1. The show was insane, it was just way too much fun.
2. The club was nice enough and the sound was excellent.
3. We got free DVDs and I got to talk to the band, as well as shake hands after the show was over.
4. They played "Suspect Device" which I have never heard them play live.

Not so good:
1. Joel's glasses got accidentally knocked off and smashed right at the end of the show. That sucked. He also lost his ticket for his free DVD, but I begged the bouncer for another ticket and explained the whole situation. She took me over to the club manager, and he gave me another ticket, so Joel at least got his DVD. Thank you, Val Capone and thank you to the manager of Reggie's Rock Club.
2. I got mashed against the stage pretty hard for several hours. The pit was pretty intense, approaching "meat grinder" during some of the songs. My ribs are banged up and sore today. I have had bruised ribs many times, but they seem to heal slower as I get older, and it hurts to breathe a little today. I am sore, but it was completely worth it.

Naked Raygun!!!

After about 15 years, my favorite band from high school is back together and making music again. They have a DVD release party and a concert scheduled for Saturday night, and I AM GOING! I can't wait to see it. I wonder what all the punks and skinheads will look like 15 years later.

Thanks, Chris, for letting me know that the tickets were on sale!

The ice storm from last week

I took a really nice picture of the ice storm last week. This was made without a flash, late at night, with a 1.5sec exposure time, and no tripod. I got it all right, except the darn focus. I let it do the focusing, which was a mistake.

Row, row, row your bum...

Gently across the room...

Tonight I made my second purchase from Craigslist. I got a used rowing machine for $50. It is strictly manual, no electrics to speak of, but it is a durable model. I wanted something that I can do on nights when I either can't or don't feel like running, and this should fit the bill.

Other news: Karen and James and I drove to the southern end of town to watch the meteor shower tonight. Unfortunately, James was upset about sitting still in the van, so we did not get to see the meteor shower at all. Bummer. Maybe Karen and I will get to see it a little later this evening from the window.

Monthly update?

I have the best intentions about updating this blog often, I just never seem to do it. Here's the latest:

Craigslist: What can I say, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you have the time to wait for what you want, you can find really great stuff for almost nothing. I am going to go look at a rowing machine in a few days that I found on the list. It was originally a pretty expensive model, but it is now a relic - just like I like them.

Craigslist does have its down side. You can accidentally find things you really don't need to have, like a 1972 Triumph Bonneville 750. The engine needs work, but it ran when it was parked fifteen years ago. I thought it was perfect! How cool would that be! An old bike that I can get for almost nothing, it needs work that I (and James) love to do, and it would be a really sweet bike once it gets rehabbed! I almost jumped on it until Karen reminded me that I actually need a spot to park my car. Maybe getting a motorcycle is a bad idea anyway, I might shoot my eye out. (If this makes no sense to you, it may be because it is a line from the movie "A Christmas Story".)

Next on the list of updates: I crashed my car into another car. I got cut off, and lane changed without looking. I bumped into a pickup truck in the next lane and it creased my car a little. There was no damage to the truck, but there was obvious damage to my poor civic. Oh well, life goes on. I can hardly justify getting my car fixed when it is eight years old and has almost 90K on it. Now my car has more character, or herpes, or something...

Craigslist and electrics

Karen said it best. My name is Fish, and I am a craigslist junkie. I gave up Youtube in favor of the massive junkpile that beckons from craigslist. I can surf for hours to look at all the stuff that people no longer want, need, or can afford. It's like a garage sale, but I never have to leave the couch. I like it.

Now, on to the electrics... James and I changed out four switches in the kitchen, dining room, and living room. Our lights now work independently, and there are no more "master switches" that you have to turn on to make the other light switches work - except for the ones by the front door... Maybe I will have to ask James to look at those switches tomorrow afternoon?

New Treadmill...

You may have already heard my story, but a few may have not heard it yet. I bought a treadmill off of "craigslist" last week for $50. It is less than ten years old, and it looked like it had pretty low mileage on it. It originally sold for about $4,500.00 when it was new, and it is designed for heavy duty running or light commercial use. When I got it, it did not run at all, and some of the electrics were pretty well toasted. I replaced a bad fuse, cleaned the motor and drive system up, replaced a bad fuse holder, and I also cut out and soldered past a badly toasted connector. I now have a very fancy treadmill that works fine for less than $60 invested.

I found out that this particular treadmill had a recent recall, because a few of the thousands that were sold had actually caught on fire. I called the service department to set up the recall and just as I was about to give them my address, I asked them what the recall was for. They said it was to cut out the toasted connector that I had already removed, so I opted to pass on the recall. No reason to bring a repair guy out here for nothing.

Tomorrow, the treadmill wax ($9) and the teflon dry lube ($6) are supposed to arrive, so I should have my new mill up and running by the weekend. My Dad is also coming out this weekend to help me install a dedicated power line in the basement for my new treadmill, so Karen and I can both run at the same time - until the old treadmill completely croaks.

I am pretty dorky, I get excited about resurrecting nice stuff for little or no money. I guess that is why I pick lawnmowers out of the trash, fix them up, and then sell them. Maybe I should start up a new business next summer collecting mowers and selling them on craigslist? I think it is about time James learned how to fix mower engines. He knows how to use a screwdriver (pronounced screwdriber) and his wrench turning skills could use a little work. He already knows how to change the oil in the mower, just ask him. My next book will be called "How to pay for college, one mower at a time."

My name is Fish, and I am a YouTube junkie...

I am officially addicted to youtube. If I am at home, and I am on the net, I am probably wasting time on youtube. I have see people laughing, people shocking each other with tasers and stun guns, exploding produce, car crashes, a tiny camera mounted on a childrens "geo trax" toy - playing "crazy train" while driving around the track. I have seen people experimenting with ipecac syrup (it makes you sick to your stomach, in a most unpleasant way, apparently). I even saw two guys beat each other up, repeatedly. You can see almost anything on YouTube, even some stuff you don't even want to see. It has it's own search engine, too. I even learned how to remove the "ink tag" that our local JC Penney left on my shorts after I purchased them. I managed to remove the tag in about thirty seconds, with no damage at all to my new shorts.

I think I am watching the beginning of the next generation of entertainment. I would totally buy a subscription to a TV station that would allow me to watch my favorite shows or stories about stuff that I want to see when I want to see it. Not to mention you can see tons of music videos any time you want to, since MTV is no longer relevant, and doesn't play videos any more. I would trade in my satellite dish any day for that kind of entertainment.

What do you think? Have you seen YouTube? Am I nuts?

Running Update: After almost three solid years of running, I have finally started doing "speedwork". This basically means that I have started running harder to try to increase the maximum speed that I can run. For years, I have been an advocate of running slow and easy, but the speed increases were very slow and disappointing, so I am trying something new. I still only run three or four times a week, but I try to run faster for part of those runs. So far, it seems to be working. I ran my first sub 7-minute mile last week. The down side of running fast is that it increases the likelihood of injury. So far so good, no problems to report. I will keep my fingers crossed.

James just saw a spider in the bathroom and very calmly told Mommy about it. Mommy saw it and yelled for me, with a note of urgency and fear in her voice, scaring James. James freaked a little and screamed like mad for Daddy, since he saw that Mommy was scared, now James may be a little afraid of spiders. I may have spoken too soon. Apparently, he was not too scared. He is yelling for me to come over there and wipe his butt. -I can't complain, wiping butts is way better than trying to gracefully get a poopoo out of underpants without soiling the rug.