Some Random Thoughts....

It's been a very busy week but I felt like I wanted to get a post out to keep myself honest and keep my fan (Hi Mom) up to date.

First, the baby update.

We had another checkup today and all goes perfectly, still. My wife didn't like the part where the doctor said "Things are moving along very nicely toward your due date". She was looking for something more like "IT'S CROWNING"!!

My weight has been dropping very slowly but steadily. I'm down about 7 lbs but still want to take off at least another 15 lbs before my daughters wedding in mid July. No sweat. ;-)

As for my workouts:

I've worked out at least once a day, every day, for the past 3 weeks, so you can imagine how tired I was last night when I went to bed.! I had convinced myself I was going to sleep in this morning. I was SO CLOSE! Just walk up those steps and get in bed Kevin!

But NOOOOOOO Not me. I had to check my computer and read some of my favorite blogs.

So I read about Jen's 12-a-day workouts that include swimming, running, biking, and lifting. What's wrong Jen! No time for skeet shooting!!?? :-) Reading her daily workouts will make you feel like a wimp, no matter what you are doing. So, up I got at 4:40 am this morning for my 6 mile run. No skeet shooting today though. So if you are sitting around on your butt too much, check her out at http://runningstories.blogspot.com/ but be prepared to feel lazy! Jen is just one of my inspirations.

Still need more inspiration? Click on over to see what Maddy's got planned. The girl just ran a 12k last Saturday and is now talking about entering a half marathon in Charlotte on March 10 already! I say GO FOR IT MADDY!

Or how about Susan who will run her final training run tomorrow as she tapers for her first MARATHON this Sunday!

And if reading about all this exercise is making you as tired as me, check out MarathonChris. Working full time, raising 2 daughters and running wasn't enough for her. So now she's going to add podcasting to her resume!

So you can see what I was talking about when I started this blog. I warned you all up front I was a user! Just look back at my first few post's if you don't believe me! I am using these people, and of course my other hero's, Steve, Adam, and Nigel to get what I want! And I want to stay motivated to eat better, work out more, and make darn sure that I live by my favorite quote ever, from Fdip,

"Life is short, but it should be long enough"

But now, after reading what all these cool people are doing.....

I'm Sleepy

mir-uh-kuhl

mir·a·cle Pronunciation[mir-uh-kuhl]
–noun
1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.
4. a wonderful or surpassing example of some quality: a miracle of modern acoustics.

5. SEE PICTURE AT RIGHT!!

A little jelly on the end of a magic wand and PRESTO! A movie in real time of a miracle!!


During our now weekly visits to the doctor yesterday, he wanted to make sure the baby was "in position" so he sent us for one last ultrasound where we found out that the baby WAS in the right position and was rather large. 6 lbs, 9 oz with just shy of a month to go.


Everything went perfectly! The heartbeat was good and strong and all the measurements were normal. The only bit of bad news we got at all was.... get ready for it..

ADULT DISCLAIMER: The next line is meant for adults only. If you are not of legal age, please do not read further!

The only bit of bad news we got at all was, "The cervix is closed!" ( I can't believe I just said that).





Other than the little miracle thing, my diet and running have been going good. Hitting the gym every day for either a run (5.72 miles this morning) , an hour on the elliptical, or lifting weights. I'm starting to love my Garmin 205 almost as much as my iPod, which is a lot!

Some Vacation Day!

While I had "intended" on spending my day off Monday relaxing and getting a nice run in, things didn't turn out like I had planned.

The weather, although improving, wasn't warm enough to melt the ice on my streets, so it was just me, my iPod, and the elliptical machine for an hour first thing in the morning. Nothing like spending an hour with some close friends like Nigel. Makes the time fly by!

But then I decided to tackle the chore of putting together some of the new baby things. I started with our new baby stroller. OOPS! Sorry! How careless of me! It's no longer a "baby stroller". Somehow it's now called a "Travel System"! It reminds me of when we built our new home a couple of years ago and I found out that I no longer had a "garage" but now have a "motor room". Even funnier than that, my "bedroom" is now the "Master Suite"! They must have built this room for my wife because I am the Master of NOTHING in that house.

I am guessing it's now a Travel System so the manufacturer can justify sending a manual with 110 pages! I kid you not. I wasn't sure I even wanted to take the baby out of the house after I saw that!

Two hours and 1200 four-letter words later, we now have a fancy new "Travel System" all ready to hit the road. I still need to call my insurance man to get collision coverage.

On a lighter note, has anyone seen Adam lately? Is it proper to ask someone who puts together a FREE podcast, using his own money, during his own free time, where he has been and if he's OK? My guess is he's been up to his eyeballs in REAL work lately but I really need my Adam fix soon!

Partial Success!!

Well guess who is this weeks "Featured Blog of the Week" on Phedippidations? Huh? Guess... yep, you got it, ME, Yo, Je, Ich, 私 , Mim! You get the idea.

This is ether very cool, or I REALLY need a life (Which, by the way, is JUST what's about to happen in about 5 weeks!)!!

I was SO excited that I ran out and downloaded all but the last 2 copies of Fdip from Steves website! Once they are gone, that's it! But I will be offering my copies for a small fee! So click HERE for details before they are ALL gone forever!!

But I am considering this a "partial" success only. Although I've managed to attract some VERY cool people like Steve Runner, Marathon Chris, Jen, Cory and IrishBlue (Beatle Fan!), there are still some others who are conspicuous by their absence ** COUGH Adam COUGH Nigel COUGH**.

So I will keep plugging away until the entire Blog world is all MINE! MINE I TELL YOU! Oops.. sorry.

But I digress...

If you have read this far in my latest post, I ask you, do you think the 45 minutes I did on the dreadmill this morning has had any effect on my brain???

Will I EVER run outside again?

I ask you, does THIS look like the kind of weather a half-smart person would run in? For those of you who answered "yes", please click

HERE

I was able to at least get to the gym for an hour on the elliptical. It didn't take too much effort to talk myself out of the dreadmill. Since the weather report is calling for another week of zero or below temps around here, this ice and snow will stick around on the streets and sidewalks, so that means I'm gonna be ticking off my Garmin 205 again!

On a better note, I was able to drop about 3 pounds in the past week! I think the healthy eating is making ALL the difference, but it would do my head a LOT of good if I could get outside.

All still going PERFECT on the baby front! We are into week 35 now, which means the babies physical development is pretty much complete and he/she will spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Oh what a life!

Our due date is March 21st (the day after my twins boys will turn 23) but I'm shooting for St. Patty's Day and have only contribited very Irish names :-)

May you get all your wishes but one,

So you always have something to strive for

YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?????

This past Saturday my 34 week pregnant wife and I waddled into the hospital for "Curious Couples" classes and all I can say is it's a DARN good think men do NOT have babies!

Now I have NO idea what having a baby is like, but from where I sit, running a marathon is a WALK IN THE PARK! So to any woman who has experienced this miracle I say I AM NOT WORTHY!

During the class, when we were repeatedly asked if we had any questions, I was SO proud of my gorgeous wife for not raising her hand and blurting out WHAT WAS I THINKING???

Don't get me wrong, None of this was new to me, I went through this many years ago with my older kids, but it never ceases to amaze me what women have to go through to have a baby. If men had been chosen to bear this awesome responsibility, the highways would be far less crowded I promise you!

That having been said, this baby stuff (from MY seat) is the coolest thing ever! Things have come so far since my last children where born 23 years ago! Listening to the heartbeat and watching ultrasounds like it was nothing will never cease to amaze me. And all the cool "STUFF" they make for babies now! I almost chocked on my gum when I saw the stoller, uhm, I mean the "Travel System", had an MP3 input for my iPod! SOLD!

On a much lighter note, I ate SO much better last week and lost somewhere around 4 pounds! I am only checking my weight officially once a week, but I did cheat a couple of times and peaked.

I was also able to head outside this morning for 5 1/2 miles too! Very good thing I did. Another 3-6 inches of snow is forcast for this afternoon and tempts falling back to zero after that storm passes.

Oh well, it could be worse. I could be 34 weeks pregnant!!

SELF TORTURE!!

If this weather doesn't break soon, and I can head back outside, I'll, I'll.. Well lets not even go there!

Another day of zero ( ZERO! As in nada, naught, nil, nix, nothing, null, void, zilch, zip) degree temperatures! Now I have been running for 23 years, and have run plenty of times in this weather, but the snow hasn't had a chance to melt yet, and the sidewalks where I run are still covered. I'm a nut, but not nutty enough to run in the streets ate 5:00 am in the pitch dark!

Anyway, I plugged away at a 9:40 pace for 40 minutes with Nigel, who, by the way, got a new mic and sounds much better.

It's been a very good week in the eating arena. Cut back on the calories, tried to eat much healthier, and seem to have lost a little over a pound. Dang it's lot more fun gaining than losing this weight!

It's supposed to reach all the way to 30 degrees this Sunday, and I've promised my Garmin 205 I'd take him for a run. Something for us both to look forward to.

OUCH!

Because of this COLD weather and THE WHITE DEATH, this picture represents the entries in my running log this past week... A BIG GOOSE EGG!! AHHHH!


Per "Motivator Dave", I have cut may calories way back this week and added lifting to my aerobic training. I even took Sweetie Chris' advice and bought some "tasty carrots" to munch on. So far, so good except...

This morning was my second day of this week to lift and all was going great until it was shower time and I had a little difficulty lifting my hands high enough to WASH MY HAIR! OUCH! But it was one of those good kind of pains.

I'm trying hard not to weigh myself every day. My weight just tends to fluctuate so much I was afraid I'd get discouraged. I did weigh in last night after a very good day of exercise and great eating. I was kinda sad when I say I lost only 1 pound!

Now I KNOW that's not bad at all! Dave says I am shooting for a very healthy 1.5 pounds per week to reach my goal of being the hottest 50 year old new daddy at my daughter wedding in July. I have to get over this idea that when I work very hard one day, it doesn't mean I will lose 5 lbs!

OK, I have to stop now. My fingers are sore :-(

Wanna buy five copies for my mother!!

So I was thinking... If I want to use this BLOG to be accountable, I need someone to READ it, right? So how do I get the word out? Hmmmmm....

Anyone remember how Dr. Hook got on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine?

Maybe if I tried that same technique, I can get someone to mention my blog!! Maybe Steve Runner, Adam Tinkoff, Dave O, or Nigel!

Hey! It could work!!!

(P.S. It's already working! That sweetie Chris already linked my blog to hers!)

And I'm OFF!

If I am successful at this, (which I WILL be!) I will look at yesterday as my first day.

My eating was very good, but not as good as my new motivator Dave O says it should be, so I make even more changes today. As I have said, I do a lot of aerobic exercise, but not weight training. So this morning at 5:30 am, there I was starting my new weight training! My plan is to start by doing a full body routine twice a week and see how that goes, assuming I'm not too sore to get out of bed tomorrow morning!

"The White Death" (about 6 inches of snow) is predicted later today and tonight, and the temps are still near the zero level, so tomorrow will be another lovely day on the treadmill. But I'll be there with bells on. Well, shorts, shirt and shoes too of course. ;-)

"I'm A User"

I'm a user

I'm a user

And I'm not what I appear to be

What I mean by this is that I use Podcasts and Blogs to help me get what I want. I listen and read anything I can that will help me walk away from the refrigerator. I grab my iPod as much as I can when I'd rather grab a Snickers bar.

Check out my favorite people under my "Favorite Podcasts and Blogs" links. These people are great! They inspire and make me laugh. They make he feel guilty and they give me hope. They will do the same for you.

Give them a shot.

Lets Get To It

So, if I am going to make good use of this BLOG, I will need goals. I'll need to define what I want from myself, and this blog, and a time frame. So lets get on with it...

First of all, I'll be 50 in April, with new bouncing bundle of poop. That means less sleep than I get now. Maybe less time to exercise. Maybe a lot of changes from the way my life is today. To make this work, I'll need ENERGY!! Lots of it too!

Although I don't have energy issues now, I don't have my new he/she either! And I can't imagine having the energy I'll need in my present condition. Huh? My present condition you say? Oh, well.. here's the scoop on that.

I'm 49, 5'10" and 220 lbs. I'd LOVE to be 185 lbs but I'd kiss a pig to be 195! That's 25 lbs. No big deal huh? Right Mr. Tinkoff?

I currently run 4-5 days a week for 5 to 6 miles a stretch. On days I do not run, I'm on the elliptical trainer for an hour.

So I think we can agree that my aerobic training is OK. So whats the deal with my weight then?

Well first of all, I KNOW I don't eat right. In addition, did you see anywhere I mentioned weight training? Me neither.

So my plan is going to be to adjust my eating, and start lifting weights!

My plan will be to do my aerobic exercise on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I'll lift on Tuesday and Thursdays, and spend Saturdays changing diapers.

I am hoping that, by noting my progress, or lack thereof, I'll have the drive to get into Daddy shape as soon as I can!!! Not to mention my daughter is getting married in July and I don't want to rent a tent as my tux!!

So there you have it, send me whatever help you can, and say a little prayer for me.

Lets Get To It!!

OMG!!

OK, I'm a running nut, having been doing it for 23 years now an average of 4 days a week, but the weather here in Cincinnati has dropped like a rock and wind chills were 25 BELOW zero this morning! Sorry, but that is just too cold to run!! So it's on to the elliptical again! And since the temps are supposed to stay below 5 all week, someone HAS to help me figure out how I can run on the treadmill for more than 30 minutes without going crazy! HELP!

Can I do this???

So here I sit, 7 weeks from being a new daddy, 9 weeks away from turning the BIG 5-0, 6 months from my oldest daughter's wedding, and.. and.. well HELL, isn't that enough!!

So I'm thinking this blog deal may be therapeutic in some way.

So here I go.... First things first...

I'm 49 (yes damn it, still just 49!!). I have 4 great kids from a previous marriage that are all grown, kinda, sorta. Two girls, 26 and 24 and twin boys, 23.

Two years ago I remarried, to a younger, gorgeous woman of childbearing age. Yes, you can see where this is going. Where the heck were you two years ago? Huh?

So soon I will be able to do this all over again, only MUCH wiser!! Get get to re-father!!!!! How cool is that?

The other therapeutic thing I do, that keeps me somewhat sane is to run. I've been running for over 20 years now, and I used to be fast! But I don't care about the whole "fast" thing anymore, and just being able to head out of the door, just me and i (my affectionate name for mu iPod) keeps me going.

I have recently found podcasts, like Burning 20 and Phedippidations and am SO hooked! How cool is it to listen to these guys for a few hours and suddenly realize they are your Friends, and you have never met them?

So anyway, there's a tad about me. Hang around and you will learn more as we go along, or I Blog-Fade....