Long weekend is almost over

Well, I was fortunate enough to have Friday off, so I netted a 4 day weekend. Superb!

I didn't do so well running this past week, though.

I did run Monday (with a swim there too). Tuesday, I gave blood (5:22 time, not a PR, but respectable), so no running that day. (I did get a gallon marker pin though. whoo!)

Wednesday, I don't remember where that went.

Thursday was full of family obligations, of course. I did some reflection during the time and was genuinely thankful of many things.

Friday, I did get out and ran *outside*. Amazing. So much more fun. It was nice being off so that I could run in the daylight. I put in 5 miles there, with a decent hill in the middle. Plus, my gym month's membership was up, so I delayed paying the next month's coin for a bit.

Saturday, I was the ultimate lazy bum, and didn't do much of anything but play video games. Hah. Oh, wait, no. I did get caught up on 'Prison Break'. They could have ended it. They could have had everything wrapped up, and people would have been happy. But nooooooooooooo. The writers/producers/TV people/whomever had to be greedy to make this show go on and on. Sigh.

Today was more family things. My newest nephew was baptized, so we went to the ceremony and the family get-together afterward.

And that was my week. What a blur. A good one, though.


So yeah, I was a lazy bum for exercise. But, my legs were really bothering me early in the week. I hope with the amount of rest I got, that I'll be ready to go this week. We'll see tomorrow......

Keep on rockin'!

Tiring work out

Well, I tried something different yesterday. I wanted to run 5 miles, but my legs were sort of not up for it. I did 3 on the treadmill, and probably could have continued, but decided to play it safe (which is good, because my legs are really creaky today).

I think it was 'The Transporter 2' on TV.. seen it before, but amusing enough to pass the time.

I finished my 3, and then went in the pool.

I did 18 laps, a half mile.


Let me tell you something. I was just out of gas by the end. I wasn't out of breath, but I was struggling with the swim. Do a lap, take a pause. Repeat.

I can see why they do the swim first in a triathlon. Chuckle.

Saturday at the gym

Went to the gym Saturday, and battled through 8 miles. It went like this.

- 3 miles on the treadmill.

At about 2.5 miles in, some guy came onto the treadmill immediately to my right and turned the TV on. With the volume all the way up. Thanks.

I said, "OK, this is getting dull", and went upstairs to the indoor track.

- 1 mile there.

So there, a mother decided that the indoor track was the perfect place to let her kids run around. Super.

Having had enough of that, I ventured back downstairs to a different treadmill.

- 2 miles there.

Nothing exciting to report, but I was really bored. I had been watching college football (no team preference, sorry), but everything was in halftime at that point.

Went back up to the track.

- 1 mile

The panter was there. Pant pant pant. Run run run. Pant pant pant. I could hear this guy 10 lengths in front or behind him. OK.. he's out there at least. But, he's in the same category as the grunter in the weight room, if you ask me.

After finishing that 15 laps, also mind numbing, I went to do my hip adduction/abduction.


Went back out to the track, and did

- my last mile.

Ugh. The cellphone guy was there. Yack yack yack. Loud loud loud.


They were all out at the gym that day. Oh well. Got through the 8, in not the most contiguous fashion, but they were completed.

Sunday was a rest day, and I'm debating what to do tonight. I wanted to run 5, but I'm feeling a bit creaky, so maybe it will be 3 and a swim or something.. We'll see.

Keep on rockin' everyone.

Various Miscellany

I worked out Wednesday, but it was a struggle. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and was just dying.. My legs felt awful and abused. I went and did the bike for 20 minutes, and wound up with 5.74 miles done.

Afterward, I hopped on the treadmill and did another mile, and called it a day. I wanted to do 5, but this seemed like a good compromise.

I also opted to take Thursday off, just to rest. Friday is a rest day by default, as tonight is the last night of dice baseball. The world series, baby! We'll see how it goes. Should be fun, at least.

I tried out a couple of new (to me) gins last night. Found these little bottle at the liquor store, and decided to give them a go.

First up is Tanqueray Rangpur. Tanqueray makes a very good gin to start, and the No. 10 is in my top 3 of gins. I decided to give the Rangpur a go, just for something different. It claims to have some extra citrus type things mixed in the flavor, so I said, "hey, why not?".



You'll note in the picture that I didn't put any limes in the gin. If it had extra citrus, I wanted to be able to taste it purely. Taking a sip, you definitely could taste extra things. It was as if lime juice had been mixed into the gin. The usual taste of juniper was heavily masked. Even the scent of it was very faint.

That being said, it was still very smooth. There was no need to add any limes to the gin & tonic, though.

I'd say it was good, but more of a gin for non gin drinkers. The usual bouquet that I look for was highly masked. I wouldn't turn it down, but I wouldn't hunt for it, either.


The next gin I tried was New Amsterdam.



I also started this one off without limes, just to get a taste for it. Looking at their website, it states "so smooth you can drink it straight."

Uhm, no.

Not so much.

It had more of a classic gin scent to it, but it had a fair amount of bite and it felt like a high amount of alcohol (it doesn't.. just a standard 40% ABV).

I added some limes to cut the bite, and it was better.

That being said, no, I wouldn't buy this one again. But, it certainly wasn't the worst I ever had.


I've tried a fair number of gins, and the ones I really like are:

• Hendrick's (previously discussed here)
  
• Tanqueray No. 10
  
• Bombay Sapphire
  

I also don't mind Beefeater, as it's a decent gin for a budget price. The newfangled Beefeater "Wet", however.. that stuff is absolutely disgusting. Tastes like paint thinner. Expensive paint thinner, too. That stuff was by far the worst tasting gin I've ever had. Mr. Boston tasted like sweet nectar compared to this stuff.

Alright, that's enough gin for now.

I really should get to work.. keep on rockin' everyone. Have a good weekend.

TIART - Thank Goodness for Running

Today's theme for Take It and Run Thursday is sharing reasons why you are thankful for running.

I'll do that, but also head in a slightly different direction.

Certainly, I am thankful for running. It's an escape. A chance to unwind. A chance to collect my thoughts. A chance to improve myself on a number of levels.

I also am thankful that I am able to run. That my health is such that I can, and can do so often.

What I really need to work on is that there is so much in my life to be thankful for, yet I sometimes get hung up on small pieces that didn't go quite right.

Sure, we've all got some legitimate bitch and gripe about something serious that has happened which is unfair. An unexpected medical condition. An untimely death in the family. Etc.

But to gripe because my Garmin didn't sync up with the satellites fast enough, or I only did 6 miles instead of 8, or other things like that.. those aren't real complaints. They're not really even worth voicing.

I have shoes on my feet that are under 300 miles old. I have clothes on my back that are in good condition. I can run to and from a roof over my head. I can eat & drink when I get back. All of those things right there are plenty to be thankful for.

Never mind the luxuries like the couple of nice wicking running shirts I have. Or the Garmin watch to track my mileage. Or the fact that I can sit down at a computer and blog about a run.

I have a wonderful family, a great group of friends, and I have all of the necessities of life, and more.

There's a lot to be thankful for, and it's important not to lose sight of that. Not only in running, but in life.

Why is Treat Williams in the pool?

Last night I went swimming. Wanted to give my legs a bit of a break, but still get a workout in.

There's 3 lanes in the pool, and you can fit 2 people per lane comfortably. Small pool, I know.

So, I took the middle lane. There was a guy in the left lane. The right lane was open.


So, I had finished about 3 laps, and a guy yells down, "Mind if I share your lane?"

Uhmm.. okaaaay... What about that wide open lane next to me?

So, I'm going back and forth, and back and forth. After I'd done a half a mile, the guy stops me. Looking at him, he looked a lot like Treat Williams. Granted, I have to wear glasses to see anything past a book I'm reading. And I have a bit of chlorine in my eyes. But, it really did look like him.

He proceeded to give me some swimming tips, indicating that my head was too far up while swimming, that my butt needed to be higher. I was also breathing improperly, as I wasn't rolling very smoothly.

Yeah.. Well, I'll give him that.

So, I did a couple of more laps, trying to keep my head down.. I think it helped, but my butt just doesn't float like that. I dunno. Probably a good thing, but still.

After a couple of laps, he stopped me for an update on how it felt. Better, I suppose. He then went into all of the things he *used* to do, but doesn't now. He just swims. Easier on the body.

I told him I was using swimming to cross train instead of running. That's when his credibility dropped.

He proceeded to inform me of how bad running was for you, and that you should just walk fast instead. Yadda yadda.

I didn't really want to get into a lively debate with him, plus I didn't need him turning into The Substitute and whoopin' me, so I just let him go on.

In the end, I finished up with 27 laps, just over 3/4 of a mile.

Big glasses and such

Found this glass at a closeout sale. My kind of size. Of course, I couldn't buy it as it was still a lot of dough.

Went to the gym last night.. Like most of the day, it was a battle. I started off with a 'hill workout' on the treadmill. It occurred to me that a hill workout on the treadmill is more of a series of uphills and plateaus, as opposed to up and down. Oh well.

It was the hill that never ended. Geez.

I did 20 minutes of that insanity, and then felt a sharp pain in my knee. I stopped that and switch to a flat workout, and finished off at a total of 3 miles. I went up to the indoor track and did 15 laps (one mile). Did my hip adduction/abduction and then did another mile. Called it a day.


I felt immensely better afterward. Glad I went to work out. I feel a bit funny in my knee today, so I may take the day off, or I may just swim.