THE RUNNING MAN

Missing From Blog World...

2012-01-26T17:46:00.001-05:00

I don't know...should I continue to update? Should I continue to blog? Should I continue to run? I don't know...

Sunny Sunday...

2010-07-11T18:44:00.002-05:00

Workouts
6 minute Recumbent Bike
warmup

45 Minute Ellitpical
3.1 Miles

The workout went well but the problems started when I got back to the house. I started feeling very faint, weak, and just very uneasy. My blood sugar was way too low. I popped a handful of jelly beans and made a ham and tomato sandwich and after about 30 minutes I was feeling much better. I never had a problem with this in the past but I need to keep an eye on it, crazy. So, I'm feeling better now and will make some adjustments to my diet this week and add some complex carbs back in to my diet. Time for more veggies and whole grains.

After the workout I hung around the pool with Gracie and Ashli for about 30 minutes so maybe the direct sun and pool, workouts, and lack of calories didn't help. Anyway, we had fun goofing around. I'm just trying to relax at this point and enjoy the evening. I have to be at work earlier than normal tomorrow for conference call with our APAC region, should be fun.

Have a great Sunday night.

"Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will say more necessary because health is worth more than learning." Thomas Jefferson

Ahh the weekend...

2010-07-10T19:02:00.002-05:00

The weekend is here and so far it's been kind of crazy but overall going well. I finally got to the gym this afternoon and got in a decent cardio workout.

50 Minute Elliptical
3.6 Miles

My nutrition has been spot on today and this morning I'm 16 pounds lighter than last Sunday! I actually hope the weight loss will slow a bit or I'm going to have to make some changes to the diet, don't need to lose to fast. I've past up so much garbage food this week its nuts, I'm dialed in and this weight is coming off. I've also limited my caffeine this week to one can of diet cherry Pepsi a day and I've been completely off coffee for about a month now, that's a win in and of itself!

I wanted to maybe hit the road for some short runs this weekend but I think I'm going to stick to the elliptical for another week. I do need to get signed up with a decent gym here in Alabama because the apartment fitness room is a mess with a bunch of broken equipment which is really frustrating. I'll be heading down to Ft Lauderdale for 5 days in a few weeks but the hotel has a great little fitness area that I will be hitting everyday. With all the food temptation it's going to be a challenge to stay on track but I'm betting I will come out on top and stay the course.

Have a great rest of the weekend....

Success seems to be connected with action. Sucessful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don't quit. - Conrad Hilton

A Good Start...

2010-07-07T08:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a good day. In just four days I've lost 12 pounds and I'm happy to say they're gone forever. Still have a long way to go and the weight loss is going to slow which is just fine by me, don't want to lose too fast.

Went out to eat last night with my ladies and kept the food choices fairly clean. I had steak, grilled chicken, and steamed broccoli. It's amazing in just four days how much better I feel just from a cleaner diet, good nutrition can change your life. After dinner I was going to hit the elliptical for some cardio but decided to chill with my ladies instead. I will get my cardio completed this evening, probably 45 min or so. With the addition of cardio that will help stimulate further weight loss. Hopefully by next week I will be a member of a much better fitness center with access to good strength equipment. Strength training is going to be a very important piece in my journey back to being fit. I have several workouts that I do from full body to 3 and 4 day split routines, just need to dig them out.

Well, back to the grind, lots to do today and little time to do it.

"There is one grand lie - that we are limited. The only limits we have are the limits we believe." Dr. Wayne Dyer

Dialed Back In...

2010-07-06T12:16:00.003-05:00

Welcome to July! Had a good week and a few days off, Gracie and I had fun while my better half was rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite for a week! We shared time between Greenville and Huntsville.

So my nutrition is finally in check and the weight is starting to come off. The workouts really have not started as of yet. The apartment complex here in Huntsville has a small workout room that does have a few ellipticals but is really lacking in the strength equipment department. I'm going to hit those ellipticals this week and search out a good fitness center. I would like to find one that has a decent indoor pool and strength area. I think I've found a good one but I'm going to spend this week just making sure there isn't anything closer. I'm going to hold off on the running until I'm down about 25 to 30 pounds. Just need to save my knees and ankles as much as I can, no need to pound on them if I don't have to. I need to remind myself that the goal is just weight loss at this point.

As far as nutrition goes I've cut all simple carbs out of my diet and in fact most complex carbs as well. My meals consist of meats, cheeses, and veggies and will for the next few months. My body responds very well to this kind of nutritional approach.

Well, back to work, lots to do and stay tuned for some workout reports, the running man is dialed back in!

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Plan is in place...

2010-06-29T14:43:00.002-05:00

Updates to this blog will start happening more frequently! Workouts and my day to day experiences will be recorded here.

I have a plan, simple, but structured, it's the way I have to operate to be successful. I' ve had a few goals in my head for a very long time, one of which, the marathon and the reason for this blog and the others I will keep to myself until the time is right to openly discuss. The first step, lose weight and begin to build my endurance, I'm going to need it! Two very important keys initially will be nutrition and exercise and once I get some of this weight off more structured workouts will begin. Stay tuned for the journey that will insue.

I'm on vacation this week and enjoying time with Gracie and if I don't stop typing here now she is going to smack me up, her words not mine! We are headed to go get some Rita's Italian Ice, sugar free ice for me of course!

Have a great Tuesday!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau

Out of Balance

2010-06-18T15:10:00.003-05:00

Life has a way of really tossing you around. There's so much I would like to complain about but I need to avoid from doing so. In August of 2007 I was poised and half way through my marathon training and by October I had every excuse in the book to drop from my goal of running a marathon. Sure, I had plenty of reasons why I didn't run but it makes me sick to think about it. So, for the last 2 years I've been completely disconnected from a healthy lifestyle. Sure, I've had the occasional workout but everything else has just been out of whack.

So, I sit here today June 18, 2010 almost back exactly where I was in May of 2004 before my journey to fitness began. I've gained over 80 pounds and I feel every bit of it. I'm tired all of the time my body aches and I just feel generally like crap. Amazing what lack of healthy foods, sleep, and exercise can do over a 2 year period. So what is it going to take to fix? What is it that is going to motivate me to get back in the game?

What in the world am I going to do?

Weekend Workouts...

2010-01-11T09:19:00.002-05:00

This weekend I got in some good workouts and watched some good football, does a weekend get any better than that?

Saturday
60 Min Elliptical
5.7 Miles

Sunday
65 Min Elliptical
6.1 Miles

Monday
65 Min Elliptical
6.1 Miles

So far I've dropped 14 pounds mostly fluid so I expect that to taper off for January. I got up at 5am this morning to get my cardio done early and in a fasted state. It feels good to have the cardio workouts done today now I just will watch my calories.

I didn't get a chance to get back to SC this weekend so that was kind of a bummer, I miss my family but I'm looking forward to getting back this weekend. Gracie turns 7, oh man does that make me feel old! I can't believe she's going to be 7! We got her a Wii Fit which she’s been asking for and a few other things. Well, time to get to work, have a great day.

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything." Allyson Jones

Brrrrrr.....is the word of the day....

2010-01-08T10:17:00.003-05:00

It is very cold here in northern Alabama with the temp around 14 degrees. Left work a little early yesterday and went down to the gym and got in a good 55 minute cardio session and then spent the evening watching the BCS national championship game, Roll Tide.

Last night I slept like a baby and I feel great this morning. Since last Sunday morning I've lost a total of 12 pounds which is pretty much all fluid but a great start to getting myself back in shape and ultimately finishing my goal of running a marathon, one of the reasons for this blog. I need to stick with the low impact cardio here for a little bit and shed some more weight before hitting the road and pounding my knees and ankles into submission! As far as nutritionally goes I'm pretty much dialed in as I've already passed up a lot of junk I would have normally consumed like pizza, cookies, and ice cream, a big win for me there.

Well, I'm off to get some work done and plan to hit the gym later today. Make it a great day!

“When negative things happen to you in life look at them as an opportunity to better yourself and use as a tool to have a positive impact on others.”

Jason Chantelau

My how time flies...

2010-01-07T11:43:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it’s 2010, wow, so much happening with me these days. My fitness has suffered greatly over the last 2 years. I figured what better time than the start of a new year to get myself back in shape. I could blame my lack of fitness on a lot of things that have happened over the last 2 years but it's time to just look forward.

I'm back on point with my diet and losing this extra weight I've been carrying around for the last year and this journey to good health and fitness has to be a major priority in my life in 2010.

I'm still enjoying my job in Huntsville, AL. What a great company I work for and it appears the future is looking very bright. We've been acquired by a very large company in the mid west that gives us great leverage in the market place of Data Center Management. We can take our end to end management solutions to the market place with greater flexibility, giving our customers that single pane of glass they need to manage their infrastructures more effectively and efficiently. I am excited to be a part of that process this year.

I plan to keep this blog rolling back along in 2010 and oh yeah one more thing....

ROLL TIDE!

Official Slacker...

2009-08-01T14:47:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm an official slacker for not keeping my blog up to date. Lots going on in my life both personally and professionally these days.

The job in Huntsville is going very well, busy, but going well. My travel starts this month with a trip to Jersey City the week of the 17th and the very next week I will be in Shannon Ireland doing a train-the-trainer session. Ashli and Gracie are staying in Greenville for this next school year. Gracie starts first grade in just a few weeks, she says she's excited and apprehensive all at the same time....those are her words! lol

My fitness is still not consistent but much better then it was. I'm trying to get myself back to a regular running schedule but not succeeding as well as I would like. I will get back to it at some point. I'm still driving back to Greenville on the weekends but some of that will slow down once my travel starts. I will probably come back every other weekend this fall and of course the holidays. I may also be able to fly into Greenville a few times depending on my schedule.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Mileage To Report.....

2009-05-19T22:54:00.002-05:00

That's right here we go folks the running man is actually getting off his fat tailend and running. Last night I did 3.5 miles and tonight I did 3.2. It feels good to get back to it after all this time off and yes it hurts but I know it will get better!

I'm planning on another 3 miles or so tomorrow and then maybe on Thursday morning doing just a 2 miler. I'm heading back to Greenville after work on Thursday and on Friday Gracie graduates from Kindergarten! My folks will be in town for the weekend fun! I also have off on Monday of course, so it will be a nice long weekend with family and I'm looking forward to it. I'm really going to watch what I eat all weekend because I need to get this extra weight off!

Stay tuned for another update on my running for tomorrow! Enjoy your Wednesday!

Getting back to it...

2009-05-12T19:49:00.003-05:00

Getting back to the fitness life, the healthy life I once had. I plan to get at least another 7 miles in this week. I've been working a little over so far this week. Working through lunch and then about an hour over. Just trying to maximize my time learning the new environment and tool sets!

I'm slowly adjusting to this new way of life with my girls 6 hours away during the week. I'm headed back to Greenville again this weekend and then also the following weekend Gracie graduates from kindergarden and its Memorial day weekend as well. Gracie is growing up so fast! I can't believe she will be going into FIRST GRADE next year, WOW! She is such an amazing person and has such a huge heart! She is something special! I can't wait to see what God has in store for her life, amazing!

Well, I'm working hard at the job and I'm starting to get back in that fitness groove, geez I do have a marathon to run here at some point, what a slacker I am! I will leave you with this tonight....

Life goes by so quickly, embrace your loved ones, cherish every minute you have with them, love them, hug them, kiss them, and tell them you love them!

Having Fun In Alabama....

2009-05-07T18:20:00.003-05:00

So far Alabama is fun. The new company is just awesome. lots of great people. I also got in 4.3 miles of running this week and I'm hoping to get at least another 2 miles in tonight at some point. After work tomorrow I'm heading back to Greenville to see my girls, I miss them alot!

I did a short 1.5 miles Tuesday early morning and then another 2.8 miles that same evening. I wanted to get another double run day in yesterday but we had severe weather, lots of lightning and just not safe to run in. The fitness center does not have treadmills either so I was a littled upset but it's probably best I didn't run. Tonight I'm shooting for at least 2miles maybe 2.5 just have to see how I feel. Keep in mind that this is a run/walk, gotta build up to all running!

The new job is just awesome and I'm really already starting to settle in. Next week I get to work with the software engineers, well I get to play with the software so I can develop learning paths around the software. Should be a fun time, these folks like to have fun!

Have a great Thursday night.

Here I Come Alabama....A New Chapter Begins...

2009-05-01T07:33:00.004-05:00

Alabama will never be the same again! :) I'm about 90% packed and will be leaving tomorrow morning. I'm excited about my first week but I will also miss my girls and look forward to getting back home on Friday. I only have a few things left to do around the house and one more load of wash and I'm ready to go.

My fitness is going to kick back into action after a long hiatus. This upcoming week will bring some short runs and throwing some weights around. I have free access to a fitness center so no excuses! I will record my workouts and nutrition here like I did before. I'm looking forward to getting back in shape and FINALLY training towards that goal of 26.2 miles in Richmond.

So, a new chapter begins in my life with many challenges ahead. I will miss my wife and my daughter alot through each week but will cherish every second I have with them on the short weekends. Summer is coming so they will be able to come to Hunstville and hang out there often, should be fun. I guess I would call this new chapter bittersweet! The new job will have its own set of challenges as well as traveling back and forth but I'm ready for them all, I'm ready because I know this is where God wants me to be and I know I can lean on him to help me get through this time.

I'm ready....bring it on!

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything." Allyson Jones

In Transition...

2009-04-27T19:34:00.003-05:00

So much to do before I leave on Saturday morning for Alabama.

The house looks like it threw up clothes everywhere. I'm in the process of going through all my work stuff, tons of books some of which will be staying. I still need to change the oil in my car and give it a good wash. The garage needs to be cleaned out and the yard work completed before I leave. Oh yeah, I need to pack a weeks worth of stuff as well. Time is already flying on by!

Monday May 4th is my first day of work and I can't wait, should be fun! I will be getting back to the workouts and recording them here! Time to get my butt back in shape!

Jason

It's Official....

2009-04-23T20:27:00.002-05:00

I just accepted a job offer in Huntsville, Alabama and I'm wasting no time as I start on May 4th! I am a bit overwhelmed with all of this at the moment but what an amazing offer I received. I feel so blessed right now. I accepted the position of Senior Technical Trainer for a large Technology company based in Hunstville. I get to do what I love and that is teaching technology, how awesome is that!

Initially Ashli and Gracie will stay here in Greenville but with the summer coming they will be able to come to Hunstville to visit. It's not going to be easy but we will get through it and things will work out. With just over a week and half before I start there's alot to do before I leave. I feel so blessed to be able to get a job doing what I love to do....just amazing.

Time to get to work on my running too, dang! :)

Life May Be Changing...

2009-04-22T09:11:00.003-05:00

Well, here I go again with inconsistent updates on my blog. My running still continues to be nonexistent, lots of challenging stuff going on these days.

Those that have followed my blog for awhile know I was laid off from my job back at the end of July last year. In August I started my company doing computer training and while it has kept our head above water it has been a challenge. As of March my business has slowed to a crawl and made life very difficult. I've continued to apply for jobs all this time but just could not get a hit, that is until a few weeks ago.

About 3 weeks ago I had my first phone interview with this company and then a full on sit down interview a week later and now today I have another phone interview. I can't say enough about how awesome the folks are at this particular company, so nice and so easy to get along with. This job is right up my alley and would allow me to continue to do what I do best, and that's teaching. All the arrows are pointing in that direction so far so we will see what happens. One caveat.....the job is in another state, which would mean big changes to the way Ashli and I run our lives, not that we can't do it just going to be a challenge initially; however, we’re ready for that challenge.

Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for us, we need this one and oh yeah like I've said before the fitness, the running......its coming baby!

Running?? Did I say Running??

2009-03-23T16:47:00.002-05:00

Oh my, no running yet! I've been a big old slacker for sure. I have a 5 day class that I'm teaching starting tomorrow that has required a large amount of preparation. My eating has been ok but still not optimal. Man, I need to get my act together big time!

Hopefully I will have some fitness to record in here sooner rather then later! I'm getting way too fat and unhealthy! Just wanted to give a quick update, I'm still back.....just taking me longer then I expected to get rolling with the miles!

Jason

No running yet...

2009-03-15T19:47:00.004-05:00

The week went pretty well but I still have not hit the road! This weekend we got alot of rain and I spent the time studying for some up coming classes I have to teach. I have another class tomorrow but plan to get that 2 miles in tomorrow evening. If its still raining I will hit the gym and jump on the "dreadmill"!

I've spent way too much time not working out the past 5 months and I've paid for it with the weight gain. Eating way too much food will do that. I'm looking forward to getting my feet under me again and feeling good about my running. I really want to get that 26.2 goal I've had finished! I'm going to make this a very slow process, don't need any injuries along the way. I've gotten all my sugary treats out of the way now and its time to start eating better, something I always struggle with. I'm really out of shape but I know the process won't take too long, just a few months of dedication will see huge improvements. I'm looking forward to the challenges!

Make it a great Monday!

A good day...

2009-03-10T22:11:00.002-05:00

Today was a good day. I didn't get out for my run today but that's ok, the running will come. I forgot I had a class to attend tonight and also tomorrow night which chewed up most of my evening. I have a couple of classes coming up that require quite a bit of preperation to teach so my mind has been on that.

I do need to get myself into a schedule the best I can and make the workouts as part of my routine like I have in the past. You would think it would be easy since I'm running my own business now but its actually harder. With my full time job I had a more consistent schedule from day to day then I do now. Also, when I'm teaching I don't have time for any workouts during the day, it's either early morning or evening. I will get those details worked out for sure.

Well time to hit the sack and hopefully tomorrow will bring 2 miles, cool my first 2 miles in quite some time. Have a great Wednesday morning!

Fighting This Cold

2009-03-09T20:44:00.003-05:00

Man, I've been trying to fight off this virus/cold for the past week. I decided to give myself another night before getting out there and running again. Gracie had it worse then I do but she seems to be doing ok today.

So, tomorrow I was thinking I'm going to go down to the gym and get in some lifting and then tomorrow evening hit the road for a short run...you know maybe 50 feet or so! lol kidding of course. I was thinking about 2 miles, a good starting point. Time to dust off the Garmin, hope it still works, and hit the pavement for what I expect to be a difficult run! My last 3 mile run I had was sometime early last year and right around an 8:16 pace.....lol.....not gonna happen tomorrow night, it will be more like 13:00 pace but that's ok! I'm excited about getting back to it nice and easy one step at a time.

Have a great Tuesday!

New Start...

2009-03-08T22:30:00.003-05:00

Wow, talk about a break from the blogworld! I've been MIA for quite some time. My fitness....

well pretty much non existent, my running to be more specific....well, non existent. Lets just say that 2008 pretty much sucked and so far 2009 has not been fun. However, I'm not going to sit around and sulk anymore. I'm fat and out of shape and I need to get myself healthy again. I'm not going to sit here and create some elaborate fitness plan of attack. I'm just going to keep it simple...(KISS) Keep It Simple Stupid! I'm going to get my big rear end in the gym, make better food choices, and eat less of those choices. The reality is, I need to lose weight and keep it off for good.

I still have not found full time employment but my business has been keeping us paying the bills the best we can so far. It has been difficult for sure but all I can do is continue to move forward and either my business is going to take off or full time work will come my way. Well, I'm going to make every effort to update my blog here on a daily basis, even if its just to vent about something that happened during the day. I also will document my workouts and hopefully that will give me some accountability to get my chunky butt in the gym!

The Running Man is back and hopefully will be reporting on some running soon!

Goodbye October...Hello November!

2008-11-02T20:17:00.002-05:00

This past week was hard. On Sunday early morning I took off to PA for my Grandfather's funeral. I drove over 22 hours in just 3 days starting on Sunday and back home on Tuesday night.

Here is how my week looked from a fitness standpoint:

Monday
OFF - Funeral

Tuesday
OFF - Driving back home

Wednesday
REST - PHILLIES WORLD CHAMPS

Thursday
Bike 10.6 Miles

Friday
Bike 11 Miles
Elliptical 3.1 Miles

Saturday
Bike 30.7 Miles

Sunday
REST

Not bad considering how the week started and my Phillies won the World Series, YEAH! This week I pick back up with the strength training and I'm going to continue the cardio workouts. I'm going to work hard on my nutrition for November, I've been eating horribly the past week or so and I feel horrible as a result.

Gracie decided to dress up as Super Woman this year and we had a blast. She decided since she already did the boo in the zoo event that she would stay home and help hand out candy and carve a pumpkin. We aslo had some cake to celebrate Ashli's b-day this weekend and it was yummy. Well, hopefully November will be lots better then my October was. I'm going to miss my Grandfather very much.

Have a great first week of November!

Week In Review...

2008-10-25T11:47:00.002-05:00

Monday
Bike 1:55:00
32.1 Miles

Tuesday
Elliptical 9:33
1 Mile
Bike 69 Min
20.2 Miles

Wednesday
REST

Thursday
Bike 41 Min
10.4 Miles
Elliptical 41 min
3.7 Miles

Friday
Elliptical 21 min
2 Miles
Bike 65 Min
17.5 Miles

No strength training this week but will pick back after I get back from PA. I did get two decent grip training sessions in this week as well. I'm now able to close the #2 (195lb) Captains of Crush gripper.

Today I will get some mileage in on the stationary bike and a short elliptical session. Tomorrow morning early I leave for PA to my grandfathers funeral. I should be back by Tuesday evening and I'm going to hit the workouts head on.

It's going to be a difficult day emotionally on Monday but also a time to celebrates his long wonderful life, wow, 94 years. What an amazing man he was. My grandfather loved to eat ice cream, he would eat it right out of the carton. He also loved to drink coffee, nothing better to him then I nice hot cup of coffee, well, except maybe that ice cream!:) He will be missed very much. We love you Poppop!

Jason

Everett Chantelau...

2008-10-23T10:02:00.005-05:00

At 5am this morning my grandfather passed away. I'm having a hard time with this but I celebrate his life and that he is now back with my grandmother who passed away back in 2001.

What an amazing man.

Poppop, I am so proud to be your grandson and only hope to model my values and beliefs after yours. You have taught me so many things about life and faith and I will cherish them always. I will miss your smile, I will miss your laugh, I will miss your stories,....I love you.

Everett A. Chantelau

June 28, 1914 - October 23, 2008

Progress, Progress!

2008-10-14T18:36:00.002-05:00

My workouts have been very consistent so far this month. My running is still limited because of this stubborn heel problem but it is getting better. I've been really hitting the weights hard and I'm seeing some good progress. I do have some good goals to hit before the end of this year and here they are...

Weight Loss - 30pounds
Running - Run a 5k and a 10k race
Grip Training - close the #2 & #2.5
Bench Press - 245

The 30 pound weight loss is a bit aggressive but we'll see how it shakes out. Hopefully my heel will hold up and the doc doesn't tell me something I don't want to hear. I did have a great lifting session this afternoon...

Bench Press
135x10
155x10
165x10
185x10 PR
205x6
215x3

Weighted Crunches (Machine)
50x10
70x10
90x10
110x10
130x10
150x10

LatPulldown
85x10
100x10
120x10
140x6

Hammer Curls
30's x 10
35's x 10
45's x 10
50's x 10

Plate Pinching
Right - Two 10's x 10, Two 10's and a 5 plate x 10
Left - Two 10's x 10, Two 10's and a 5 plate x 10

Seated Bicep Curl
25 x 10
35 x 10
45 x 10
55 x 10

Incline Press Machine
98 x 10
118 x 10
148 x 10
188 x 8

Moving closer to my goal of benching 245 before the end of the year. I need to do a one rep max to see where I'm at. I think I'm probably at 225-230 right now, so 20 more pounds in two and half months. The consistent grip training has been a huge help to me in the gym. I'm now crushing just under 200 pounds with the right hand and about 175 or so with the left. I did get 3 new grippers for my birthday and one of those was the #2.5 from Captains of Crush a 240 pound gripper. All I have to say is wow what a nasty little gripper and it feels alot harder then 240 pounds. I've also added some plate pinching to my workouts, all you do is just grab a couple of plates, flip them around so the smooth side is out, here is a good example of plate pinching.

I'm also going to incorporate some blob training. Here is an example of blob training...

Blob and plate pinching are tools that will help forearm and hand strength and get me to my ultimate goal of closing the #3 Captains of Crush gripper and certifying.

***********Non-fitness realted news************
My grandfather is now being moved from the hospital back to his nursing home where he will get hospice care just to make him comfortable. He can no longer swallow anything and does not want any tubes with any kind of nutrition period. So now its just a matter of time, a matter that only God is in control of.

" Beware of six enemies of progress- sleep, torpor, fear, mourn, laziness and procrastination. If you win over them, you will be the king of your own wishes."

Building Strength...

2008-09-29T20:21:00.002-05:00

Today has been an ok day. On the fitness front I finally got over to the gym around 3pm for my Chest/Biceps/Core workout.

BENCH PRESS
135x10
155x10
165x10
185x6
205x4
215x2
185x4

INCLINE PRESS
98x10
128x10
148x10
168x10
188x8
208x4

Weighted Crunches
20x10
30x10
40x10
50x10

Hammer Curls
30's x 10
40's x 10
45's x 10
50's x 10

Straightbar Curls
40x10
50x10
60x10
70x10

I wanted to do more exercises both for the chest and biceps but felt like this was a good start to the change in routine. I was doing a three day full body but starting this week I'm back to a 4 day split routine.

Monday - Chest/Biceps
Tuesday - Quads/Calves
Wednesday - Shoulders/Triceps
Thursday - Back/Hamstring

I will work my core every other day and change up the exercises frequently. I love split programs far better then full body routines and I'm glad to finally be back to my 4 day split. Today's workout felt great and I'm looking forward to my Quads/Calves workout tomorrow, I love the pump I get from my quads. My diet has been spot on all day with the total calories coming in just above 2200. Diet is the thing I struggle with most of the time, I have an addiction to food. It is a daily battle for me to stay away from the junk food. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose those battles but I fight hard to stay on track every day. I'm trying to keep my calories right around 2000-2300 a day and so far so good over the last couple of days.

I've been working hard at this self employed thing. Running your own business is a very challenging process but also a very rewarding one. I've already had my ups and downs over the last few months but overall not bad. Hopefully I can continue the growth in an upward fashion over the next couple of months, so far its looking pretty good. All I can do is work really hard, and give it all I got and let the chips fall where they may.

Tomorrow will bring early morning fasted cardio and my quads and calves workout tomorrow afternoon. Have a great Tuesday.

Missing In Blogland...

2008-09-28T13:56:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I updated here. Things are going well on the fitness front. I've been hitting the weights pretty hard over the last few weeks and have been back and forth running and elliptical training. I've had some problems with my left heel and have been trying to keep the runs limited until it gets back to 100%.

This week I'm going to switch my strength training up a little bit from a 3 day full body to a 4 day split routine. I'm still trying to tweak it a little bit but it will be very similar to the 4 day split I did last summer. My grip training is going really well and I turned a corner with the Captain's of Crush #1 gripper.

CoC #1 (140lb)
Right - 10,8,7,5,4,4,2 (40)
Left - 8,6,5,4,2,2,1 (28)

CoC Trainer (100lb)
Right - 20
Left - 15

Looking forward to getting the #1.5 and the #2 (195). The #2 shows exceptional hand strength if you can crush that one and that is my goal before the end of the year. If I can get that done then in January I start to train solely to crush the #3 and certify.

In non-fitness news my 94 year old grandfather (Poppop) was found slumped over in his room at his nursing home late last week and was taken to the hospital. His kidneys are failing and he also had some infection and fluid in his lungs. Although I've not had the opportunity to spend much time over the last several years with him being so far away he has never strayed very far from my thoughts.

My Poppop is a very special person to me and an amazing man.

Poppop, I am so proud to be your grandson and only hope to model my values and beliefs after yours. You have taught me so many things about life and faith and I will cherish them always. I will miss your smile, I will miss your laugh, I will miss your stories,....I love you.

Jason The Running Man

On a Roll...

2008-08-06T21:49:00.003-05:00

Day 63

Cardio
65 Minute
Elliptical
5.7 Miles

Workout started a little rough, had a terrible headache. This month I'm trying to detox from caffeine and its proving harder then when I quit smoking. About 30 minutes in the headache was almost gone and I was able to finish the workout strong.

Tomorrow will bring on lifting, grip training and my first run back out on the road tomorrow night. I'm excited about the run and I know its going to be difficult but I'm excited anyway. It feels like its been 10 years since my last run. I think it was Feb. of this year...long time. No expectations other then to just get my running legs back slowly.

My company has now officially earned money, I pick up my first check from a customer tomorrow, hopefully the first of many. I need to run down to the bank tomorrow and open an account and get all setup with my quickbooks. I have a meeting on Sunday with another client to take on some online content managment for them so I hope I can earn their business. Things are starting to come together.

Gracie starts school in a few weeks and she seems very excited to get back to her friends from last year. Hopefully it will be a much smoother first day then last year, that was terrible. I can't believe she's going to be 6 this Jan. Time just seems to fly on by lately.

Well, time to get ready for bed. I've been up crazy hours of the night working on this business of mine but hopefully by the start of next week I can get into a regular type schedule. Have a fabulous Thursday morning....

"There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream."

Epic Workouts...

2008-08-05T18:10:00.002-05:00

Day 61

Cardio
Bike
50 Min
13.7 Miles
25 second transition
Elliptical
65 Min
5.4 Miles
Total Mileage: 19.1

Grip Training
CoC - Trainer (100lb)
Right - 8,6,4,2
Left - 8,6,4,2
3 Minute Rest
CoC - #1 (140lb)
Right - 10,6,6,4,2
Left - 9,6,4,4,2

Workouts felt great I was beat after the cardio yesterday. The last 2 miles on the elliptical were some tough miles. I got my #1 CoC gripper yesterday and it is a stout little gripper but was still able to crush with the above reps. The next step is the #1.5 and then the #2 (195lb). I'm going to look at getting a few grippers in the next purchase and start doing some heavy negatives. My goal is to crush the #3 consistently and get certified by Ironmind.

Day 62

Workout
Bench Press
115 x 10
135 x 10
165 x 8
185 x 6
205 x 2 - Probably could get 4 reps here with a spotter
185 x 4
135 x 15

Incline Bench press
100 x 10
110 x 10
120 x 10
140 x 8
150 x 8
160 x 8
170 x 6
190 x 6

Lat Pulldown
85 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 8
135 x 4

Shoulder Press
100 x 10
120 x 10
140 x 10
160 x 8

DB Front Raise
40 x 10
44 x 10

DB Hammer Curls
70 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 10
110 x 10

Weighted Crunches
4 sets of 10 @ 45lbs

What a great workout today. My energy and intensity were very high. I was beat after this one but I look forward to moving more weight as the month goes on.

Before heading over to the gym I had to make a service call at a clients location. Just a memory upgraded is needed. On the way out of the gym I got another call from a possible client and it looks I’m going to pick up a decent contract doing some online content management development. My little business is starting to pick up. I got another class from my old company which means I’ll be doing two classes in August. Hopefully the work will continue to come pouring in.

Have a great night…

"You rarely see positive results from people who do nothing but complain." Kanye West

New Month...

2008-08-03T19:45:00.002-05:00

Day 60

Cardio
65 Min Elliptical
5.2 Miles
25 second transition
35 Min Bike
10.1 Miles

Made it over to the gym this afternoon for my weekend cardio around 3pm. The first few minutes on the elliptical were a little tough because of the squats I did on Saturday. It took about 10 minutes and I was feeling pretty good.

Once I got over to the bike things changed. About 3 miles in my quads were screaming at me to stop and I was planning on shutting it down at the 5 mile mark but I pressed on to double that mileage. The last 2 miles on the bike were just brutal and when I hit the 10 mile mark I just collapsed on the bike totally spent, I love that feeling!

Like I said above yesterday I had a great lifting session and I only did a few sets of squats but I haven't done squats in quite some time so I knew the DOMS were going to be rough this morning. I went through my normal full body routine and felt pretty good about the amount of weight I was moving. Friday I did my early morning fasted cardio and another good lifting session Friday afternoon. So far August is off to a great start and it will continue. This month I'm going to do one run a week out on the road and slowly get back to running full time. Time to start building back the endurance I once had last year. I even started to show a little speed a year ago and I hope I will get some of that back. I'm going to continue the 3 to 4 days a week of lifting, 5 days of cardio and I'm hoping for another 10 pounds gone in August.

Time to start another good week...

"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open."

One Fine Saturday...

2008-07-26T17:02:00.003-05:00

Day 52

Cardio
65 Min Elliptical
5 Miles
20 second break
35 Min Bike
10 Miles

Grip Training - Captains of Crush - Trainer
Right
8,6,4,2
Left
8,6,4,2

I was having a hard time staying motivated at the gym today. About 5 minutes in I almost got off but I pressed on and had a great workout. I'm still not on my schedule that I originally setup but I will get back to it starting this week. Cardio five days a week fasted, strength three days a week, and grip training four days a week.

Tonight is Daddy and Gracie night. I'm making my pizza and Gracie and I are going to watch a movie of her choice. Should be lots of fun. Maybe even some popcorn will be consumed by me! Gracie is going to have some ice cream with cherries and whip cream...I need to pass on that but the popcorn is sounding good.

Rosie our lab puppy is doing well, I need to post some recent pics. We took her down to one of our local pet stores to pick up some treats and they have a scale you can use to weigh your pets. Yeah, 6 months old and 50.5 pounds is what the scale said! We love her and she fits us perfectly. She did great at my sisters all last weekend and even better in the car.

Well, off to make some pizza and watch a movie with daddy's girl, Gracie!

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything." Allyson Jones

Celebrate Life...

2008-07-25T20:53:00.002-05:00

This morning Dr. Randy Pausch, 47, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

My thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends tonight. If you've never watched his "Last Lecture", please click on the link above and watch. Here is a man that received news that he had less then a year to live and what an impact he had during his short time left.

Don't just shuffle through this life, live every moment!

Yes I Can...

2008-07-24T18:01:00.004-05:00

Day 50

Cardio
65 Min Elliptical
5.4 Miles

Grip Training
Right
8,6,4,2
Left
8,6,4,2

Had a great long weekend at my sister's in VA. It was good to get away from Greenville for a few days and enjoy time with family.

I've gotten my resume out to several place over the last week and I have a few opportunities to check in to. I will say this, when you have a challenge in life you really get to see who your true friends are! I've gotten alot of support from some of my old coworkers or should I say, friends. Some I didn't expect to get calls from but did and that was awesome. I appreciate all the support. Life throws those curve balls are way sometimes and support from family and friends are a great way to get through them.

Since I got laid off I've been off my workout schedule but I plan to get back to my orginal plan tomorrow with early morning fasted cardio and lifting at lunch time. Not working has been difficult over the last few weeks, it has been a long time since I've been without a job. I'm hoping that will change, no, I'm praying that will change over the next few weeks.

I have some pretty lofty fitness goals and I've had a few people tell me, basically, you can't do that! Well, can't is not in my dictionary and I WILL achieve those goals. Running in the Richmond marathon is looking like November of 2009 and that will be the focus over the next year as well as overall health and wellness. I remember several people saying to me you can't lose weight and train for a half marathon at the same time....WHAT, well, I proved that wrong by losing 65 pounds and finishing the half marathon and then I followed that up with an international level duathlon, don't ever tell me I can't and don't let anyone tell you, YOU CAN'T!

Some people have said why not run another marathon. No, Richmond is were I grew up and will be the place I complete 26.2 miles. Running a marathon or completing an Ironman has been a goal of mine for a very long time. It may take a few years but I will complete those goals.

All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose. Brian Tracy

Fun Weekend...

2008-07-18T07:58:00.002-05:00

Day 44

Training Day Off

We are heading to my sister's in VA in a couple of hours for a fun weekend. She turned 40 a couple of weeks ago so we are going to celebrate! Should be a fun time with my whole family.

Day 43 (Thursday)

Cardio
38 Minute Stationary Bike
10 Miles

Strength
Hammer Curls 4x10
DB Front Raise 4x10
DB Incline Press 3x8
LatPulldown 3x10
Shoulder Press 3x8
Bench Press 3x8

It's only about a 3.5 to 4 hour drive but we are taking Rosie with us so there may be a few more stops then normal. Should be an interesting trip but I'm hoping Rosie will spend a good portion sleeping and chewing on the new bone toy we got her!:) She does pretty well in the car and has been in the car at least once a week since she was 6 weeks old. She gets very excited when we put her harness on her cause she knows its car ride time.

Have a great Friday!

"Sometimes in life there are challenges but we must stay positive and never ever give up!" Jason Chantelau

Better Day...

2008-07-16T20:14:00.003-05:00

Day 42

Cardio
65 Minute Elliptical
5.1 Miles

Grip Training - CoC Trainer
3x10 Right
3x10 Left
BREAK
3X8 Right
3x8 Left

Ashli and Gracie went down to the gym with me today and Gracie played with her cousin Morgan in the kids area. Ashli did 1.5 miles on the treadmill and 2 miles on the recumbent bike. I then should Pam and Ashli most of the strength equipment and how to do each movement. They did really well and I hope they continue with the strength training.

This Friday we are headed to my sister's house in VA for a long weekend. She turned 40 at the beginning of this month and my entire family is meeting at her house to celebrate the big event. I remember when my Dad turned 40 because he was a minister of music at a church in Richmond, VA and the choir members and some of the church staff and friends put a huge sign in our front yard that said...Honk Dave turned 40 today! We lived on a semi busy street and all morning long the horns blew! Very funny. I promise Connie we won't do anything like that!:)

Have a great Thursday morning!

"The only real valuable thing is intuition." Albert Einstein

Frustration...

2008-07-15T20:01:00.003-05:00

Day 41

Workouts
Training Day Off

Today was going to be about cardio and strength but was more like frustration over car issues. My wife's car needs a lot of work after taking it in today to get the oil changed. With the stress of not having a job and the added expense eventually coming our way I'm officially frustrated tonight.

I'm trying to stay positive but it hasn't been easy today. It looks like I'm a go to do some Oracle training for my old company next week and one session in August so that makes things a little better but still a long way to go before I can feel more comfortable, if ever. I did apply for about 7 different jobs in the last two days and I will be hitting it even harder over the next week. Maybe, hopefully, something will come from that. Just need to keep hitting it hard and stay focused.

Something my old company needs to think about...

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein

Pizza, Cookies, & Late night Clean Up...

2008-07-13T15:04:00.005-05:00

Day 38

Training Day Off

Had a good Saturday. Ashli had a baby shower to attend so it was Gracie and I last night. We decided to make some pizza and I found a really good whole wheat crust to make it a bit healthier. We prentended to be in Italy at a pizza shop and we had fun. Then after the pizza we put in a movie, Barbie Mariposa, and I enjoyed every minute!:) We even made some cookies and she was a great helper.

Gracie wanted to sleep with us last night and at 3am she started to projectile vomit and unfortuantly she was facing me! Of course nothing wakes you faster out of a dead sleep then that sound...you parents know the one! I was running around the room still half asleep trying to find the trash can while Ashli was trying to catch with a towel, neither one of us were successful at this. Once Gracie had completed doing the technicolor yawn Ashli pulled the sheets off the bed and they took a shower. I did my best to clean but I also needed to jump in the shower as my entire left arm was, well, nevermind, you get the picture. We were all back in bed and asleep by 4am. What a night! Ahh...the memories, err....nightmares!

Day 39

Cardio
65 Minute Elliptical
5.2 Miles

Gracie was still feeling a little icky this morning but by the time I got back from the gym she was bounding around like her normal self and actually has held down some food. The cardio went very well and I'm feeling more and more conditioned as the days go by. This week will bring three lifting sessions including three grip workouts and five days of cardio.

I will leave you with this...

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." Albert Einstein

Finally Weeks End...

2008-07-11T19:49:00.007-05:00

Day 37

Cardio
65 Minute Elliptical
4.5 Miles
20 Second Break
30 Minute Bike
9.1 Miles

Grip Training
3x6 Right
3x6 Left

Had a great time today reconnecting with a very good friend of mine, Val! Thanks for the great conversation this afternoon, you rock sister! Hopefully we can get over to your neck of the woods soon or at least meet up halfway!

Gracie had a very busy day today with art camp until noon and then a birthday party from 3 to 6pm. She had a great time playing with her friends at this house that was converted into a huge playland for kids, cool stuff. Needless to say Ashli is pretty tired about now!

I actually had a decent day just hanging out at the house this morning. I took the dog for a good walk and just goofed around with her while the girls were out. I took off to the gym around 3pm and had a great workout. I'm getting ever so close to getting back out on the road for some running, can't wait. Tomorrow I'm going to do a round of lifting and save the cardio for Sunday afternoon. Things are progrssing very well on the fitness front.

Well, I think I'm going to watch a movie...is today Friday?:) I will leave you with this tonight....

He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.

B. C. Forbes

Moving Forward...

2008-07-10T18:45:00.002-05:00

Day 35

Yesterday's Workouts
Cardio
50 Min Ellitpical
3.5 Miles

Strength
LatPull Down 3x10 2x8 1x6
Hammer Curls 4x10 (Upped the weight)
Leg Extensions 3x10

I was going to just lift yesterday but the gym was slammed so I stopped and just jumped on the elliptical. Overall the day went well I was able to go up to work and get my stuff and copy all my data off. It was 10pm by the time I pulled out of the parking lot. I just have a few more things to get at the other building and it will be done.

Day 36

Workouts
Bench Press 3x10 2x8 1x6 1x4 1x2
Lat Pulldown 4x10
Hammer Curls 4x10
DB Front Raise 4x10
DB Incline Press 3x10
Shoulder Press 3x10
Leg Extensions 3x10
Weighted Crunches 3x10

Grip Strength
3x10 Right
3x10 Left
BREAK
3X10 Right
3x10 Left
BREAK
Full Close Right
Full Close Left - I was able to fully close the trainer. It looks like I will be getting the #1 sooner rather then later.

Cardio
Will be heading to the gym after Gracie goes to bed for some ellipticizing!

So far I've dropped 13 pounds in 36 days, can't complain about that. As you can see I did receive my gripper this afternoon. It is awesome and I can't wait to get the #1 once I give this trainer a good workout. Having a strong grip is so important for alot of things but especially in the weight room.

I'm doing great and have put this job situation behind me for good. Time to take a little time off and relax and spend some good quality time with Ashli and Gracie, is today Thursday?lol:) I hope everyone has a great rest of the week, I know I'm going to enjoy every minute!

A quote for you...

At home I am a nice guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far. Muhammad Ali

Life Changes Quickly...

2008-07-08T17:25:00.002-05:00

Day 34

Workouts
45 Min Elliptical
3.2 Miles

Today was a rough day. At 9am this morning I was laid off from my job do to downsizing. I can't say that I'm surprised but I thought I might have at least another couple of months. To be honest I'm taking a very positive approach about it. Life truely does change quickly no matter what the circumstance may be! In my case I will pick myself up, dust myself off, and live to fight another day.

It would be very easy to sit and sulk and cry about my situation but that solves nothing! I am actually very pleased with the package they gave me and it did ease some of the concern. I do have some built in cushion and that I am very thankful for. I will miss alot of my coworkers most have been my friends for the past 5 years and I was a little ticked that I did not have the opportunity to say goodbye but I do understand and will respect the policies that are in place, it just was a little frustrating.

I've moved on, its in the past, and time for a new start....

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson

Laptop Drama...

2008-07-07T20:11:00.004-05:00

Day 33

Workouts
45 Min Elliptical Fasted
3 Miles

Strength
LatPulldown 2x10,2x8,2x6,1x4
Seated Cable Row 3x10,2x8,2x6
Tricep Pushdown 3x10
Hammer Curls 4x10
DB Front Raise 4x10
DB Incline Press 4x10
Bench Press 3x10,2x8,2x6,1x4
Weighted Crunches 4x10

Got home tonight and Ashli's laptop took a crap, well the hard drive dumped. Looks like a corrupt boot config, nice! Of course she has pictures on the drive that need to be restored. I'm going to pick up a 2.5 inch SATA to USB enclosure and connect her drive to my PC to see if the data is still out there, hopefully it is. I'm also going to purchase a backup drive for her so we can avoid this nonsense if it happens again. I also have another laptop at home that needs a new motherboard so I may spend some time looking for a MB this week and get that back up and running. We do have a good warranty on her machine but all they would do is a full restore to factory based on the error. I'm on the list of available technicians for Dell in this area and it would be great if they sent me the ticket! Get paid to work on my own machine....I like that! I will do the work though, its really not that bad and a waste of time trying to deal with Dell for a re-image.

I'm getting the itch to get out on the road for some running. I say it won't be until August, September time frame but it may come sooner. I'm just going to go with the flow and if I feel like running I just may jump out on the road for a couple of miles!:) I may enter a race or two yet this year we shall see, you never know what I may do!

Stay Tuned.

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

Vince Lombardi

Working Hard & On Track...

2008-07-06T14:10:00.003-05:00

Day 32

Workouts
65 Minute Elliptical
5.1 Miles
20 second break
Stationary Bike
45 Minutes
11.7 Miles

It felt really good to work hard in the gym today. This week will be back to my normal strength training schedule. Despite being sick I'm glad I still got some good workouts in but I need to get back to the lifting.

The house is back to a nice cool 72 degrees today. Actually this morning I let it get down to about 68, just a tad on the chilly side!:) Just happy that's behind us and it wasn't worse then it was. Gracie starts her art classes this week with her cousin and she is excited about it. They should have a lot of fun for the next week and half. I know Ashli will enjoy the break during the day. Ashli won't start back up with her work until the fall so she can be with Gracie over the summer. I think it's very important that we spend as much time as we can with Gracie now because it will soon change as she gets older. These are such important times for Gracie as she continues to grow and learn so much, I know I don't want to miss a second of it if I can help it. Workouts and fitness will always take a back seat to Gracie and Ashli when needed. My cardio is done before she is up in the morning and my lifting done after she goes to bed. This weekend I wanted to workout more but I'm glad I didn't and I'm glad that time was spent with Ashli and Gracie. It's all about Balance and moderation and realizing what's really important!

This week will bring 5 days of fasted early morning cardio, mainly elliptical and 3 nights of lifting, Mon/Wed/Fr. The nutrition will be spot on all week and I hope to see a couple of pounds come off! Well, the holiday weekend is about to come to a close and despite a few issues I think it turned out pretty good! Have a great Sunday afternoon!

I leave you with this...

"I cannot have survival as my only goal. That would be too boring. My goal is to come back in my best running form. It is good for me to have that goal; it will help me."Ludmila Engquist (Olympic champion hurdler facing cancer and chemotherapy)

HOT, HOT, HOT...

2008-07-05T20:05:00.003-05:00

Day 31

Training Day Off

Well, this day has been fun. Yesterday afternoon the AC decided to stop working. I called our AC guy and he said he had two service calls before us but we would be the first call in the morning. At 9am I had not heard from anyone so I gave them a call. The guy said that the tech had a long night last night and was running a little later then normal but he should be giving us a call. By 1pm still no call, no show. The house was now at a hot 88 degrees and my frustration was growing. I called the main office again and the dispatch guy realized that he messed up and sent the tech to a call before us.

To make a long story short the guy finally showed up at 4 this afternoon and had us fixed in about 30 minutes. We had a bad capacitor and low freon. So, after I sold my right kidney we have a cool house again. In fact I'm going to let the house get down to about 65 tonight!! I hate sleeping when its hot in the house.:)

I guess all things considered its not a big deal and I should be thankful that it wasn't worse and the fact that I have AC to begin with.

I will leave you with this tonight....

"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia." - Charles Lindbergh

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T18:33:00.004-05:00

Day 30

Training Day Off

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Extended Weekend...

2008-07-03T16:58:00.004-05:00

Day 29

Workout
65 Min Elliptical Fasted
5.2 Miles

Cardio workout felt great but I really can't wait to start hitting the weights more consistently. I really pushed hard during my cardio and did my first mile in 11:50 which is pretty decent on the elliptical.

We have no major plans for this fine Independence Day weekend but I'm sure it will involve watching some fireworks at some point, Gracie will make sure of that! Ashli signed her up for her art day camp today which actually starts next week. Her cousin Morgan is also going to be in the classes with her and they're looking forward to it. They're going to do some really neat stuff and I can't wait to see what she creates!

For the past several weeks I've been looking into increasing my grip strength. Last night I decided to pick up my first set of grippers. I purchased the Captain of Crush - Trainer. They have several levels of grippers but the advice for beginners is to start with the trainer and work your way up the different levels. Probably in another month I will purchase the number one gripper but we'll see how I do with the trainer. Captain of Crush is the gold standard when it comes to quality grippers. I'm looking forward to receiving them in a few days and will post my grip workouts as well.

Well, on to my extended weekend of fireworks and fun! I hope everyone has a fabulous 4th of July weekend!

I will leave you with this...

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
Lance Armstrong

Feeling Better...

2008-07-02T21:32:00.003-05:00

Day 28

Workout
45 Min Elliptical
3.4 Miles

Calories
1891

Feeling much better today, finally this cold is on its way out. My calories are still a little on the low side but I will be closer to the 2100 mark tomorrow. The plan is fasted early morning cardio, elliptical, and lifting tomorrow night. I am anxious to get back out on the road to run but I must hold back, the running will come with time. I should be ready to go in another month or so but we'll see how I progress.

I can't believe Gracie starts full time school this August...where has the time gone. She did really well in k4 and loved it, once we got through that first day! We're trying to keep her busy this summer with swimming lessons at the "Y" and a fun art class that her and her cousin will be doing in a few weeks. Gracie did really well with the swimming and had no problems at all, she loved it. She completed just two sessions so far but we may put her in a third, we shall see.

Time for bed....Don't let the bed bugs bite!

I leave you with this....

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win. If you don't you won't. Bruce Jenner

A look at June...

2008-07-01T18:41:00.003-05:00

Day 27

June Totals
Elliptical Miles: 51
Stationary Bike Miles: 17.5
Lifting Sessions: 5
Weight Loss: 10 pounds

July Goals
Weight Loss: 10 pounds
Lifting: Average 3 per week
Cardio: Average at least 5 days a week

I didn't start until June 9th so I'm very happy with these numbers. July will be more of the same. The last two days I've been fighting a nasty head cold that Gracie decided to pass on to me and now Ashli has it. I'm actually feeling much better tonight then I did this morning. I was mess with a terrible sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing.

I've consumed 1897 calories today which I am happy with considering I'm not feeling that well. Usually I don't eat much past the 1500 range when I'm sick so not too bad. I will be running again but right now the focus is lowering my body fat. I'm thinking probably August/September time frame. In the mean time for cardio it will be all low impact!

I still have a date with the Richmond marathon but it will not be this year. I am looking at November 10th 2009 as the date. Really school set me back; I should have waited on the school and just kept on going with my training! Oh well, can't look back, just have to look ahead and take the right steps to get me to that finish line. Oh what a day that will be!

I will leave you with this...

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more. Brother David Steindl-Rast

Back To Work...

2008-06-28T19:58:00.003-05:00

HEY YA'LL....IM.....B A C K!!!!

Today's workouts...

55 Minute Elliptical
4 Miles

20 Second Break

20 Minute Stationary Bike
5.4 Miles

I also did a little dumbbell work with a few sets of hammer curls and front raises. The Running Man is back. Workouts started 24 days ago with the goal of building massive strength and endurance. Running on the street will not begin for another month or so. I need to get some of this excess weight off before pounding my joints.

Here is my routine:

Strength Training
3 Day a week - Full Body Routine
Mon/Wed/Fri

Cardio
Fasted 5AM Elliptical 5 days Mon-Fri
Sat or Sun - Elliptical/Bike Long cardio session

Nutrition
45 Min after fasted cardio - Protein+Fat meal
2 Hours after cardio - Carb+Fat meal
30 Min before lifting - Carb meal
30 Min after lifting - Carb meal

Cardio&Lifting Days - 2700 Calories
Cardio Days - 2100 Calories
REST Day - 1800 Calories

That's my program for the rest of this year. It's time to go to work! Total body transformation on the way boys and girls!

Later - Jason

Vacation from Fitness....OVER

2008-06-10T19:33:00.003-05:00

Workouts have started! Check back for an update soon!

THE RUNNING MAN RETURNS!

Getting Old...

2008-05-13T22:13:00.009-05:00

You know your getting old when you look forward to getting your new lawn mower!!

I just purchased this handsome Crafstman Riding mower Monday night and will be picking it up tomorrow night, ahh yes, no more pushing, life is good.

That's all I wanted to say! Have a great Wednesday! - Peace Out!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T18:36:00.002-05:00

Happy Mothers day to all you mothers out there. We had a good day!

Enjoy the rest of the evening and make all your significant others do all the work like Ashli did. She moved the carpet cleaner out into the living room and looked over at me....I'm a smart guy and knew exactly what was expected of me!:-)

Later Peace Out!

Sea Legs Attached...

2008-05-06T19:34:00.001-05:00

Wow, what a weekend. I got over to pick up my father-in-law Friday afternoon around 12:45. We met up with the rest of the crew and left Greenville around 1:30pm. A couple of hours later we were in Columbia picking up the last crew member before heading to the coast.

We stayed at a really nice resort hotel in a spacious ocean front three bedroom suite, really a great place. After getting all unpacked it was time for a late dinner so we headed over to one of the local seafood places and had a good meal. Right next to the restaurant was the Bass Pro shop and a good excuse to walk some of that good food off. We didn't get back to the suite until about 11pm; yikes we have to be up at 3am! Needless to say we didn't get much sleep and I think I finally got up around 2am, just couldn't sleep. We got everything packed and off to the dock by 4:15. We were on the boat and headed out to sea right at 4:15. Danny, our captain, explained that we were going to go a little further out right around 65 miles which meant a 3 hour boat ride, time to settle in and try and get a little more sleep. Two to four foot swells we predicted all day long and they were accurate.

We caught our first fish right around 8am and it was about a 25 pound Mahi-Mahi. Not long after that David reeled in a 50 pound Wahoo, one of the toughest fighting fish out there. He was toast for a good hour after that fight, just a beautiful fish. Things slowed down for a few hours before my father-in-law brought in a 35 pound Mahi-Mahi and then the six lines we were trolling with just fired up and we caught several more Mahi-Mahi and another Wahoo. Those were the only two types we caught all day. By 3:50pm we were still 65 miles out in the Atlantic and after catching about 20 fish or so it was time to head back.

I think we finally got to the dock right around 7pm, just about 15 hours on the boat with a constant 2 to 4 foot swell hitting us. We were all very tired to say the least and a long day for sure. We didn't leave the dock until about 9pm, it took that long to clean and divide up the meat. We had a great time all day goofing off and we can't wait for the next trip. That was the farthest I've been out in the ocean and I have to say the water is just so blue. It is a little weird to look around and see nothing but water in all directions and not much else besides the occasional freightliner passing in the distance. We got back in to town around 4pm on Sunday and I was excited to see Ashli, Gracie, and Rosie.

Check out some cool pics of the trip!

So far its been a busy week but things are going well. I will be getting back to my regular workouts sometime this century! Both lawn mowers I had crapped on me last week before I left and I had to get my landscaper guy to come out and cut the grass for me. I'm trying to find a good deal on a new mower so I can keep my grass looking good, it was looking pretty bad until he came out yesterday. Well, I need to get some things for work done I have a class I'm doing on Thursday and Friday and I need to iron out my presentation.

Have a good rest of the week. - Jason

Deep Sea & Doughnuts...

2008-05-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

Man, it has been a while since I updated my blog. Things are going well just super busy with life! Still very inconsistent with my workouts but I'm not sweating it.

Tomorrow I have off from work and what fun it's going to be. First I'm going down to Gracie's school for Dads and Doughnuts, I will not be eating,:) but enjoying the time as a proud daddy. Then I have to run a few places and pack up for my deep sea fishing journey. My father-in-law and I are headed down to North Myrtle with 4 other friends for a weekend of fishing and fun. We are headed 50 plus miles out into the Atlantic Ocean to catch, hopefully, some Wahoo, Tuna, Grouper, King Mackerel, Sail Fish, and more. Saturday morning we will be at the docks around 4:15am, ouch!, that's early but will give us more time to fish. This will be an all day event and alot of fun.

I'm really excited to spend the morning with Gracie and her class it will be blast and she is really excited. This August she will be going to school full time so life is going to change come this fall, man they grow up so fast, geez! Tonight after work I got home and decided to wash the cars and Gracie helped wash the cars and tried to wash me in the process, not that I needed a good washing!:) We had a good time playing around while Ashli and Rosie played in the yard.

Rosie is about 15 weeks and is already approaching 30 pounds; she's becoming a big girl! All I can think about is she still has a year of solid growth in her, slow down on the growing girl, geez!:) Rosie and Gracie are best buds and having a blast together. Next weekend Rosie has her first personal puppy class with a good trainer in the area. This should be a fun time and hopefully we will be able to continue the classes. Rosie does really well now and can sit, come, lie down, and shake on command, pretty good for a 15 week old. She is completely pottie trained now and that we are thankful for. She does get a little excited sometimes and piddles a little in the house but that is very rare nowadays.

Check out the new PICTURES

Ashli is going on her third week of working and seems to really like the job. Come August she will be able to get many more hours in when Gracie goes to school full time. She is the marketing and office manager for a friend of ours who has her own real estate office. I used to work for her husband and we stayed friends even after I left that company. He now owns the learning center that I used to teach full time at and we just have stayed in touch over the past several years. Anyway Ashli has really just been trying to help get her organized in the office and manages her house showings and whatever else.

Well, I have some packing and stuff to do to get ready for tomorrow, and I need my beauty sleep so I must sign off. I will be taking lots of pictures and video of the trip. Have a great weekend! - Jason

Still Sneezing....:)

2008-04-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

So far this has been another week fighting allergies. I did find some meds that seem to take the edge off a little but still not sleeping well. The pollen is just so terrible here this year that even those that don't have allergies are having problems. Last night I was planning to cut the grass because my yard looks terrible but my mower blew up so I called my brother-in-law and he was nice enough to bring his lawn mower over and he even cut my grass for me, what a nice guy!

So I'm formulating a fitness plan for myself. Basically, I'm going to go back to my 3 day a week split strength training routine and slowly add consistent running for cardio. I really think the best time for me to run is going to be in the early morning hours which is going initially be very hard for me but I like the idea of getting my running done early. Strength training will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My gym is opening a new facility about 2 miles from my house with a pool so I plan on incorporating some swimming in to the program this year as well. My diet is very strict right now with my calories being a little on the low side so I'm working to get them back up where they need to be to consistently lose 2 pounds a week. I really would also like to find a new bike this year and get back to cycling for some good cross training. It's been a long while since I spent any time swimming so I plan to get some good lessons right away before even trying on my own, should be interesting.

I'm going to keep things very light for the next few months but plan to get back to the volume I was at right around this time last year. Gotta get myself back into shape as I've already wasted too much time this year.

Make it a great weekend.

Attack of the ALLERGIES...

2008-04-10T09:34:00.003-05:00

The last three days have been spent sneezing, itching eyes, and blowing nose, I dislike this time of year because of it.

I like to be outdoors as much as possible and the allergies really make it difficult, I'm not getting much sleep because of it either. I am taking allergy meds but they just don't seem to be helping this year. No joke I sneezed 20 times in a row yesterday morning, it was terrible. Hopefully I can get some relief soon. So far with basically just diet alone I've dropped about 6 pounds in about a week and half. I will probably see a large weight loss number for April, mostly water. Now I just need to be consistent with the running and strength training and I will be dialed back in.

On May 2nd I'm headed down to Myrtle Beach again for another deep sea fishing journey on the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Hopefully this time the weather works in our favor and we can get out to the big fish. Hopefully we can catch some good size Grouper and Tuna, should be a fun weekend out on the Ocean. I will be taking some good pictures and video of the trip.

Have a great Thursday!

MIA...Blog Slacker

2008-04-07T12:44:00.003-05:00

Wow, time just flew on by without updating my blog! Man, I'm a blog slacker. Everything is going good. My running is still not consistent and I’m working on cleaning up my nutrition.

I did have to make a difficult decision at the end of March. I decided to drop out of my classes for the spring semester. To be honest it was a huge weight lifted off the day I withdrew. Lots of things going on at work and my school started to affect my job. I was also really missing my time with Ashli and Gracie. I will finish the program probably in 2009, we will see how things shake out.

With that off my plate I can now get myself back into my normal running schedule and get myself back into shape. Not totally consistent with my running yet but looking forward to getting back out there. I've put on some weight over the last 6 months and its now time to shed those excess pounds. I will document my new journey here.

Gracie is doing great at school and we always get great reports from her teacher. Starting in August she will be going full time. Ashli started back to work last week and I think is enjoying having conversations with someone older then five!:) Rosie is doing fantastic and growing like a weed, she doubled her weight in less then two weeks! Gracie and Rosie get along great and are best buds.

This morning I had a hard time getting up. These are the hardest months for me because I have a bad allergy to pollen. I got to work around 7:45am and met up with the guy that is teaching a week long class I setup. After getting him settled and the class started I was able to slow down and catch up on some emails and relax. I do plan on getting out for a short run tonight with no distance in mind, just walk out the door and start running!:) I’ll wait until Gracie is in bed and fast asleep so probably won't start my run until 8:30 or so. I can't wait to get back to the shape I was in last summer right around that 8 minute per mile mark. I'm going to get back to updating alot more frequently this month.

"LOOK UP, GET UP, AND DON'T EVER GIVE UP!" "You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don't ever give up." - Michael Irvin

Later - Jason

On The Road Again...

2008-03-10T21:03:00.003-05:00

That's right back out on the road again. Tonight I decided to hit the pavement if only for one mile. I did one mile in 12:12, man how you lose your cardiorespiratory conditioning quickly. I wanted to do more but decided to stop there and build on that. Overall I felt like I knew I would, like someone who hasn't run in 6 months. Tomorrow I will get back out there and do it again and try to build back that conditioning nice and slow. One mile at a time is all I'm thinking about right now. It's kind of funny how long one mile felt when just 6 months ago 3 miles felt like nothing.

We got some really good pictures tonight of Rosie playing in the yard, she is growing and doing very well, already up to 10 pounds. Gracie and her are really getting along well.

As you can see here Rosie fell asleep with Gracie last night. Gracie is having a bad hair day!:) They played off and on all Sunday afternoon, Gracie had a blast. This week her class is working on the letter "R" so Friday Ashli is taking Rosie in for Gracie's show and tell, I'm sure they will have a blast. Rosie has already learned to sit and come, is working on stay, and is almost potty trained, smart puppy.

Looking forward to this weekend. My father-in-law and I are going with a few other friends down to the car show in Myrtle Beach. Me and our friend Russ are going to camp out for the weekend and the older folks are going to stay at Hotel Jimmy's!:) Jimmy is one of my father-in-law's friends that lives down there. Russ and I decided to camp out. Hopefully I will be able to get up early Saturday morning and head out on a short run, will see. This will be the second year in a row taking my father-in-law's 71 Buick GS and Russ's 71 GSX. I will be getting lots of good pics of lots of nice cars.

Well, I look forward to now building my mileage and it really felt good to get back out on the road again even if it was just one mile. Make it a great Tuesday!

Lucky Guy...

2008-03-04T07:41:00.004-05:00

Last night I didn't make it to class but what a night it was. Gracie and I got a chance to play outside before dinner, what a blast. After we ate we all went back outside and played on Gracie's play set and chased Rosie around. What great time we had together as a family.

After a couple hours of that I was sitting in my driveway feeling very blessed and thankful for everything I have. It's so easy to take things for granted and last night I took a moment to just look around! Wow, look at everything I have to be thankful for I have no reason to complain about a thing. There are people risking their lives for my freedom right now, there are people who don't know where their next meal is coming from, there are people who have no roof over their heads, and I'm complaining about stupid things like gas prices! What a joke.

After we came inside we all watched Lady and the Tramp together before Gracie's bedtime. We had a good night together as a family, including Rosie since she is part of it now and I'm looking forward to more precious family time. I really wanted to get out and run but I was in the bed before 9:30 last night and a sleep before 10. Sleep was way more important then running last night. Tonight I have my annual HOA meeting from 7 to probably 8:30 or so, should be a good meeting with our community and maybe I can get out on a run afterwards.

It's so easy to get caught up in the busy routines we all have that we miss what's really important in this crazy thing we call life. I know what mine are and I'm one lucky guy!

Make it a great day. - Jason

New Schedule...

2008-02-27T10:09:00.005-05:00

Rosie is adjusting well to her new home as our we to her. Gracie just loves playing with her and holding her, when Rosie lets her!:)

We setup Gracie's old pack and play for her to sleep in and some nice soft blankets to lay on, she loves it. We did pick up a crate on Sunday and are in the process of crate training. We are letting her go into it on her own time. She's a very smart pup and is already letting us know when it's potty time and we haven't had too many accidents in the house. She is also doing well with the lead and the car rides and even starting to take to some basic commands. I was glad to see her appetite pick up the last two days as well. She loves to bite and chew so plenty of toys are going her way instead of our hands and feet!:) Gracie like to run and jump on the sofa before Rosie gets her feet, their having fun!

Work has been very busy the past few weeks and the rest of this week is no exception. I have a class starting on Monday that requires a lengthy setup which I hope I will be able to start on tonight. I also have three custom classes that I need to deliver before the end of April that require me to develop courseware and I'm a little behind on one of them. I don't mind being busy makes the time go by but I have not had the chance to study all that much for school and the next round of tests are coming.

How is my running coming along? What running? That's right no mileage to speak of yet but that is going to change. The last few days I've been really trying to get my time managed more effectively and reorganize some things and change some things. One of those changes is the time I wake up in the morning. I am now up and going around 5:30, alot due to having to take Rosie out to do her business but that's ok soon she will be able to join me for a run every morning but until then I will take her out, put her back to bed, and then take off for a run before work. Rosie is now my new alarm clock!:)

I wanted to just mention something that happened in our town this past week. Andrew Thrailkill, 18, was hit by a car and died while out running Sunday night not too far from my house. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends, what a terrible tragedy. Please be very careful while your running out there, it's so easy to get lost in your thoughts during a run.

Jason

New Family Addition!!

2008-02-23T20:15:00.005-05:00

Well, we have a new addition to the Chantelau family as of 11am this morning.

Meet "Rosie" our 5 week old yellow lab pup! We've been looking to get a dog for quite some time but could never find the right one for us. This beautiful girl will be my early morning running partner once she grows up a little. We surprised Gracie with her this morning and she went bananas. Rosie is quite the sweet girl and is doing really well. We took her over to PetSmart and got her a new collar, lead, food bowl, food and some good chew toys, she's lovin' life. Here's a few more pictures from today.

Here she is checking out her new yard!

Gracie and her getting to know each other.

She is fast asleep in this picture after chewing on that toy for 30 minutes. She has me wrapped around her little paw already.

Its been a long day and Gracie and Rosie are fast asleep. Rosie has been sleeping for like 40 minutes then playing for an hour since we got home around 2pm. She is such a sweet girl and what a joy to finally have our girl. Should be a fun day tomorrow just playing around with her and getting her fully adjusted.

Make it a great Sunday! - Jason

Long Night

2008-02-21T10:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was able to jump out of work a little early and head over to school to get in some cardio. I did 40 min on the elliptical and I noticed that my heart rate was elevated more so then normal. I did however reach a steady state about 4 minutes in and had no discomfort, always a good thing.

Class started around 6pm and it just moved at a snails pace. The topic was about the different energy systems and the role they play during exercise. I will spare you the details now however it is very cool stuff, it was just presented in a very dry boring manner and we discussed this in detail last semester so it was a lot of review. Good stuff to hear more then once but our instructor's presentation of it was painful. That was the first class that ends at 7:20 and then we get a 15 minute break before starting the second class. The second class is a short lecture and then we move over to the gym and workout. Again we hit the core with a variation of trunk flexion and extension movements. Some of my favorites were using the exercise balls, man; I thought I was working my core using the machine at the gym, not! I like the ball because it adds the instability factor, great workout. We broke up in teams and basically worked each other out. So, the night did get a little better and occasionally we would check out the lunar eclipse!

Class didn't end until about 9:45 and I got home a little after 10pm. I still had some things to do for work so I was up until about 1am. I'll only have one semester to go before completing the program, can't wait to finish. Yesterday was hard because I left before Gracie and Ashli were up and I didn't come home until 10pm, Gracie was already asleep. I didn't get a chance to have daddy time at all, that sucked. It really upsets me, but the weekend is coming only one more night. I will be glad when this semester is over and I get that little break through the summer, it will be nice. Gracie woke up just before I was leaving this morning and gave me a big hug, man I needed that.

Tonight is my nutrition class which usually only goes until about 8:45. The instructor is fantastic and makes the time just fly by. This weekend I do have a board meeting for the HOA on Saturday morning and then my time is for Gracie and Ashli, should be a good weekend.

Make it a great Thursday! - Jason

More of the Same...

2008-02-19T19:46:00.002-05:00

It's been another crazy couple of weeks. Exercise is still not consistent but at least I'm getting some in. I'm really disappointed in myself for not keeping up my fitness like I should but I can't sit around and sulk I need to find that motivation I once had to get out there and run. Last night I did get 55 minutes in on the Elliptical and a good core workout so not all is lost.

I strained a muscle in my neck a few days ago and I can't seem to get it 100% and its getting annoying. My diet has been off and on as well and again it's about not being consistent and it has to change if I want to achieve my fitness goals. So, the last few weeks for me have been about searching, searching for that motivation, that thing that got me out there day after day. Did I find it? No, not yet but I will.

School is going very well and I'm learning quite a bit in all areas of fitness. I did well on all three tests last week, so looking good there. Gracie is doing well and growing like a weed. She really loves school and last week was in her first school play, she did awesome. All the kids in her class did a really great job. I also have several things going on with the homeowners association which should start slowing down in the next few weeks, I hope.

Well, off to get some studying done, make it a great Wednesday! - Jason

Busy Life...

2008-02-06T22:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, my life is super busy right now. Tests all week in school and work is just crazy. I did get 5 miles in this past Saturday and it felt great until I got up for church Sunday morning, wow was I sore but by early afternoon it was gone. My nutrition class is going really well, and in fact tomorrow night instead of class our teacher is taking us to go hear Dr. Oz speak. Our teacher is a VP up at one of the local hospitals and Dr. Oz is speaking to the staff. Should be alot of fun and I'm looking forward to it.

We did finally find a good church home at Crossroads Community Church. We've been really looking to find a good church home for some time and from the first visit we knew it was the right fit for us. We love everything about it and we look forward to Sunday! Gracie seems to really like it as well.

Even though I'm back to running its not nearly as consistent as before but with a little time management I will get myself into a good schedule of running, no programs or plans just going out and putting in some miles. I'm still doing about 2 days a week of strength training and a short flexibility program that I got from one of my classes. You gotta keep at the flexibility or you will lose it very quickly like the cardio even more so then cardio actually. I'm only getting about 2 days a week in the running department and I can't wait to increase that. I miss it.

Well, off to bed to get some rest for another long day ahead. Have a great Thursday. - Jason

Ungrateful Nation?

2008-01-29T09:45:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have seen this already but I thought I would post anyway.

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....
"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.
Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and Provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?
Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S, yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane! Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Jay Leno
2007

A Week In Review...

2008-01-23T09:53:00.000-05:00

Wow, its been over a week since my last post. Talk about a slacker! Last week went well in the workout department with 4 Elliptical sessions and 3 strength training sessions. I've dropped about 7 pounds for Jan.

I had off from classes this past Monday night but got back to it last night. Feels like its been a month since I had a class. Last Thursday my nutrition class was cancelled due to the snow and ice storm we had last week and Wednesday night we left early, so its been a week. I wish I could say I did get some studying in but I admit the books did not get opened much at all during this past week.

Last Thursday we got about 3 inches of snow and Gracie and I went out and made two fabulous snowmen or as Gracie said, snowboy and snowgirl! I posted some pics in the photo blog of the snowboy and snowgirl. We had a blast playing in the snow and just goofing around. This past weekend was just the three of us hanging out as a family and I enjoyed every minute of it. We had a great time. We did get Gracie enrolled in the K5 program at Southside Christian this past week. I think this will be Mon-Fri from 8am until 2:50pm. Ashli has been talking about getting back to work once Gracie starts K5 which I think she is kind of excited about. Her last 5 years have been dedicated to Gracie, just an amazing job she has done and we are both glad she was able to stay home with her. Gracie is doing fantastic in K4 and we are very proud of her and how far she has come.

I will not be able to run in the Greenville News Rundowntown this Saturday due to a prior commitment. Also, Saturday afternoon my parents will be strolling in to town for a few days which Gracie is excited about. I'm looking ahead to February and may run in the Green Valley road race 8k but will just have to see how things go. Gotta get out and start on the mileage before I can run any race and hopefully that will start this week, no it will start this week! I can't believe I let myself go this long without consistent running or even more so then that I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by, Phew! Time needs to slow down some!

One setback last week was my wife's car. We had three ignition coils and a leaky valve cover gasket, $500 LATER we are driving again! Ouch! Then early this week I noticed another ignition coil is down and maybe a bad sparkplug. Probably will be another $300 or so before the car gets back to normal. Not fun to have those kind of surprise bills popup. I will say we've had the car for about 4 years now and it really has been a good car so I can't really complain....on second thought, yes I can!:)

Last night I got on the treadmill after class and went 2 miles and was a minute faster per mile then the last little test I did. Glad to see the improvement so quickly. After the short run I did some negative resistance training or Eccentric muscle training (lengthening of the muscle). Doing negatives is about resistance through the entire movement, with a bench press its doing a two seconds up and three seconds down movement. This type of training can help push you past a strength plateau but may also leave you with some DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) and probably only should be done once or twice a week at the most. I've been stuck at a few different plateaus and hope this will help and yes I'm sore this morning.

I'm going to try and squeeze a workout in somewhere today even if its running late tonight. Have a great rest of the week! - Jason

Weekend Fun...

2008-01-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

Had a great weekend...

Saturday morning I had a homeowners board meeting that went well. We've been using a management company over the last two years to pay our bills and keep up with the general finances. Last week we decided to dissolve our relationship with them and do our own thing. So, lots of things to setup and organize with that before March 15 when we are on our own.

After the meeting I headed over to the gym and got in 65 minutes on the elliptical and then another 30 minutes hitting the weights. My conditioning is coming back very quickly. I was very happy to see I really haven't lost that much strength over the last few months and was able to throw up some respectable sets. I still have a ways to go but not as far down as I thought I was. I will be doing at least three days a week strength training and 5 or 6 days of LISS (Low intensity steady state) cardio. Cardio will be a mix of running, cycling, and elliptical.

After the workout I headed home and met up with Ashli and Gracie, they just got back from shopping with her mother, and we all went out to eat, had a blast. Then after dinner we went over and got some ice cream for Gracie, of course she loved that! I really enjoyed the time with just Ashli and Gracie. Sunday was about football and just hanging out and relaxing. I also finished up my reading and homework for this weeks classes. I am much more organized this semester and the extra day is really making a big difference. I'm also doing a much better job of managing my time which is essential with everything I have going on. I'm ready for week number two.

I will be getting my cardio done at lunch today and my strength training tonight during and after class. Since my last class tonight is Effective Strength Training we do a lab (workout) after the lecture and then I hang out for a little longer afterwards to get some extra work in. So far so good on my classes and I'm shooting for "A's" in all three. It's all about managing my time correctly to get through this semester.

This week is Gracie's 5th birthday, wow, time has just flown on by. Saturday night I said to her, wow Gracie you are going to be 5 this week, what do you think? She gracefully replied, well...sigh...I guess its time to stop watching cartoons and start watching the news!:) She paused for a few seconds and said...na I don't have to watch the news until I'm 65!! :) What a kid. She is too funny. I'm trying to cherish every moment I have with her! She is the best daughter in the world, happy birthday bean, daddy loves you. She shares a birthday with another girl in her class and is going to take goodies into school on Wednesday to celebrate both birthdays. Also this week is my 1 year anniversary of this blog...wow a year already! See, time does fly by way too fast.

Hope everyone has a great Monday! - Jason

Busy Day...

2008-01-09T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today has been a busy day. Worked all day and then school at night.

I did get a decent cardio workout on the Elliptical tonight. Just trying to build back that conditioning. I left the house around 7:30 this morning and didn't get home until 10 tonight, makes for a long day. Work went ok just seemed to drag on forever today. School went really well most of what was covered I was already familiar with so a good start there. Tomorrow night I've got my Nutrition class, looking forward to it.

My nutrition is spot on and the pounds are coming off, down another two. Hopefully I can squeeze out at least 10 pounds or more for January, most of which being water weight. Two pounds a week would be great. I should be close to my lowest weight ever come the start of summer, will see.

Well, it's already after midnight and I'm still up! Still need to work on getting more sleep. I'm off to bed, have a fantastic Thursday morning! - Jason

Semester Two Begins...

2008-01-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

Friday night my advisor calls to get me registered for the spring semester. I explained to her that I only wanted to take one class this semester. She explained that in order for me to take advantage of the Education lottery dollars I needed at least 6 credit hours otherwise I was going to have to come out of pocket for the spring semester.

So, instead of doing just the one I'm stuck doing at least two and when I looked at the schedule I decided to just enroll for the three classes.

Fitness Assessment - Mon&Wed 6pm-7:20
Effective Weight Training - Mon&Wed 7:30pm - 9:50
BIO240 Nutrition - Thur. 6pm-8:50

Instead for 4 nights a week it's only three and most of the material covered in these classes I've already had exposure to. I've been working with weights for many years and have studied most approaches to building strength. I've been studying nutrition on my own since 2004 and after looking at the book it should be a good class and it's only one night a week. The fitness assessment class will work hand in hand with the weight training class. We will design training programs for all different kinds of folks and then implement those programs in the weight training class.

Last night I had my first two classes and thankfully we got out much earlier so I went over to the gym and jumped on the treadmill for a quick fitness test on myself. Wow, I did a mile and it wasn't too bad but I lost alot of conditioning that I worked so hard for last year. Tonight I will get out on the road and just run as long as I can at a nice slow easy pace. I also did a small strength test just to see where I'm at and I obviously lost some strength but not as far gone as the cardio. One day, one step, and one mile at a time I will be right back to it.

My nutrition is in check and I'm staying super strict, very clean. I've lost about 7 pounds already but most of that being water weight. I've been able to stay away from the junk food and will continue to do so. Again, staying away from the junk food isn't as much about losing weight as it is being healthy. I don't eat it because I think I will gain weight, because a small piece here and there won't make me gain weight, but it's not healthy. I can make much healthier choices.

So far so good on the new journey, I'm committed and I will succeed. Have a great Tuesday! - Jason

Let The Games Begin...

2008-01-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

Today my new journey begins. Today the clean healthy eating starts. Today the running starts for 2008. Not sure how far I will go, just going to get out there and see where I stand.

My clean eating isn't as much about losing weight as it is achieving better health. I will be counting calories, fat, saturated fat, carbs, sugars, and protein. I've kinda been doing that all along just not very consistent as of the past 4 months. Well, it's back to very strict eating and calculating. It will be back to all natural mostly organic foods, lots of veggies, whole grains, and fruit. I still need to drop some weight so I will be restricting my calories for the next 6 months, need to get this holiday weight gain taken care of! I've also quit all caffeinated beverages as of today and the only liquid I will be consuming is water. Of course I still take my pharmaceutical grade multivitamins every morning as well.

First race for 2008 will be the Greenville News Rundowntown 5k on 1/26. I ran this race last year and really enjoyed it, very large race for this area at least it was last year. I will be running in as many races as I can between now and June. Once June hits my focus will be on only one race, the 26.2. I'm also starting back on a split strength training routine that I will post once I'm done setting it up.

I will not falter and I will not fail. One day at a time, one step at a time, one mile at a time! I'm going to stay disciplined and on track 100%. - Jason

Happy New Year...

2007-12-31T22:21:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a great New Years day. I have so much to be thankful for from 2007.

2007 Achievements:
Two 5k's
One 8k
One Half Marathon
One International Duathlon
40 pound weight loss
First semester of school completed with a 3.0

Very pleased with 2007 and I'm looking forward to what comes in 2008. More weight loss and 26.2 is on the agenda. Should be a fun year. Be safe! - Jason

New PICS posted.

Merry Christmas...

2007-12-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas. We had a great time today as a family and Gracie was bananas all day.

I updated the pics blog, check'em out.

Enjoy your Wednesday! - Jason

The Grades are in...

2007-12-19T13:46:00.000-05:00

I was very happy when I logged into the school system this morning and saw my final grades from last semester. I got a "C" in Exercise Physiology, wahoo! My GPA for semester one came out to a 3.0. Very pleased.

This morning Gracie's class had their Christmas show for us and it was really fun to watch all the kids, they did a fantastic job. My little girl is growing up fast and I wish sometimes I could just freeze time. I'm one proud daddy! We took plenty of pics that I will get posted up this week on the picture blog. Ashli and I are so thankful that God has blessed us with such a wonderful child. She is the best kid in the world. We love you bean!!

Only two more days and I'm done work until the new year. I'm looking forward to every minute of it and I will be getting those all important first few runs completed.

Make it a great Thursday! - Jason

Back To It...

2007-12-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

The weekend went really well. I did get some things done around the house but for the most part I vegged out all weekend and pigged out. Today it is back to the better nutrition and so far its amazing how much better I feel eating clean whole foods in proper servings!:)

I still do not know my final grades for the other two classes but should find out by Wednesday. Hopefully it's all good news. Completed all my Christmas shopping and have strategically hidden all of Ashli's gifts around the house. Ashli and I also finished shopping for all of Gracie's gifts and the other family presents. Gracie is just going crazy, she wants to know what she has coming. Patience is a hard thing at 4, heck its a hard thing at 34!:) It should be a really fun Christmas this year.

Still no running yet but its coming and I'm looking forward to hitting the pavement. It's been about a month and a half since my last run and I miss it. Last night I had to dust off the Garmin and check to see if it still worked, its been that long! Anyway, the new journey has begun and I'm ready. Bring on the pain, bring on the mileage, bring on the fun!! I need to pick up a few things for this winter of running, one being that reflective vest that I never got, gloves as it looks like I may need it, and shoes. This morning it was 27 degrees, brrr. I actually don't mind running in the cold, feels great. I'm going to start out slow and ease back to it. My first run will just be a short test run to see how I feel and how far down on the conditioning ladder I've gone. I'm expecting a painful experience so will see how it goes.:)

It should be a fun easy week at work. I have to say that since my last final last week my stress level has dropped dramatically. It's amazing how stressed I was even just last week. I think I have a few more grey hairs to show for it too! Feeling much better now though....ahhh! Time for another shot at this marathon thing and this time I will achieve success.

More fun PICS added check'em out.

Make it a great Monday!! - Jason

Completed Semester One...

2007-12-15T01:13:00.000-05:00

First semester is officially in the books. Took my last final Thursday night and it wasn't too bad. The only one I know officially about is my "A" in Anatomy & Physiology. Hopefully I'll get my other two final grades by next week.

When I walked out of there Thursday night it was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm sure glad that first semester is in the books. Next semester will be one class, BIO 240 Nutrition, which will only be on Thursday nights from 6-9. It should be alot less stressful for me next semester and I'm looking forward to the nutrition class. I've done quite a bit of research and studying on my own over the last three years on nutrition so I'm going in ahead of the game. Should be a good class. Still have yet to get out on a run but its coming. I may just veg out this weekend and get some things done around the house. One more week then its a good week off from work.

Thanks for all the encouragement through this first semester it was much needed and appreciated.

Have a great weekend! - Jason

Falling Apart...

2007-12-11T21:30:00.000-05:00

Well, lets see. I was up until about 3am this morning studying and didn't wake up until 8am, which made me late to work this morning.

Work was really busy for some reason today which was probably a good thing because it kept me awake. I'm getting only a couple hours of sleep a night, just having issues trying to get to sleep when I finally do go to bed, not a good thing.

Last night I had my last lab test in Anatomy & Physiology and I'm happy to report I aced it. I also got an "A" average in the class which means I'm exempt from the exam tomorrow night, one less final to study and stress over. Tonight I had my final in Exercise Physiology and I needed to do well in order to pass the class. I got a low "D" on my last test which really brought down my average. In order to pass the class you need to have a 70 average and as of last Thursday I had a 67. I feel like I've been working hard but why do I have such a low average? Well, I'm not the only one in the class that seems to be struggling, it seems others are having similar problems. The problems are with the instructor, hes not well organized and never seems to stay on point. Very hard to follow his lectures, he's all over the place. The book is not well put together which makes reading all the more difficult. In talking with one of my classmates tonight after the final she was telling me that his other classes are really struggling with his teaching and not doing well. So, needless to say I've been really stressed about this final exam I took tonight and I studied the best I could which is all I can do. I feel like I did OK but will just have to see. I'm stressing big time over it and I need to let it go. Because of his poor teaching skills I may take the class again down the road, will see.

So, I'm really excited that I don't have to take tomorrow nights final because my brother is coming into town tomorrow afternoon for the night before he heads up north to see the parental units for Christmas. We'll have a good time!

One more final left to take and it will be finished at least until Jan. It's really a good thing too because I'm really tired and worn out. Tonight I just fell apart, hence the title above, just too much. Besides the family, job, and school stuff there has been alot going on with the homeowners association that I'm in charge of. Its been quiet for the most part since I started classes but just in the last 3 weeks stuff started cropping up that needed attention. I feel like I'm having an emotional breakdown, I feel like things are caving in on me and I have no control of my life right now, just really overwhelmed. I'm really looking forward to some much needed time off where I'm not having to study for a test or worry about deadlines at work. I will be off the entire week after Christmas and will enjoy every minute with Ashli and Gracie. This week has been especially hard because when getting home from work and running around to get ready to run out the door to school Gracie has been crying for me to stay, it just breaks my heart into pieces to pull out of that driveway and see her standing in the doorway crying and waving at the same time. Ahh, thank goodness next semester will be only one night a week, now that's more like the correct balance of priorities.

One thing I'm really starting to miss is running. I can't wait to get back to a normal schedule of running, what a good stress reliever. I miss it and will be back to it very soon, I mean I am the running man for crying out loud!:)

Check out the new pics! - Tired Jason

Blah...Blah...

2007-12-07T01:19:00.000-05:00

Tired, worn out, not eating right, not sleeping right, no workouts, and just not fun...I'm burned to a crisp right now. It's 1:30 in the morning and I can't study anymore and I'll be lucky to get to work on time.

All my time has been spent working and studying and taking tests and I'm really tired of it at this point. One more week....just one more week.

I really like the new pics I posted, especially the one of my baby! - Jason

Brain Hurts...

2007-12-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

Tests, tests, and more tests....studying, studying, and more studying.

Lets see, I had a test last night got home around 9pm ate my last meal of chicken noodle soup and my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and watched about 15 minutes of the football game before cracking open the books and studying.

I have another test tonight on 3 chapters in Exercise Physiology and then Wednesday night I have 2 more tests on 4 chapters in my Anatomy & Physiology, well one is a makeup lab test on the cardiovascular system. On Thursday I have a test in my Concepts of Wellness & Fitness that I've not begun to study for. My time has been spent on the other two classes.

I was up until about 2:30 this morning until I decided I could read no more. I will be studying today at work when I can. Then I have final exams next week!!!! One good thing though is I have an A average in my A&P class and if I can keep that through until next Monday I will be exempt from that final! So, I got have A's on the two tests tomorrow night.

This is why next semester it will only be one class for me. Three classes and four nights a week with a full time job and a family is just too much.

New pics added to the pic blog!

Off to study! - Jason

Final Exams Approaching...

2007-11-30T21:18:00.000-05:00

Well, final exams will be here in one more week and actually I have a test every night next week and then three final exams the following week. I'm still fighting this virus, especially at night when the coughing starts which makes sleeping difficult.

My weekend will be filled with trying to study for the tests next week and my final exams. I decided to only take one class next semester which will give me more time for family and workouts. Much more manageable then three classes! I have to say that my favorite class is the Anatomy & Physiology. The human body is such an amazing thing. I'm especially intrigued by the brain and also the heart and I'm looking forward to learning more.

Last night I got a really good 20 minute HIIT session on the elliptical before class and a great medicine ball workout after class. I used a 12 pound ball and did variations of the squat, lunges and presses which lasted about 30 minutes with a good warmup and cooldown included. I've been really trying to incorporate some balance and flexibility into my workouts and I'm finding these different ways to build my health and skill-related fitness levels. My flexibility is horrible and I'm really working to improve that by incorporating a good static stretching program. For balance I'm finding the BOSU ball works really well and one heck of a workout!

My diet is still not totally dialed in yet but not terribly bad. Diet and nutrition is a daily battle for me and something that I have to pay very close attention to. I will be working very hard to keep myself in check every day.

I did start a new blog for pictures and will continue to update with new pics when I can, check it out if you want. The slideshow out there is from Thanksgiving and the recent pics were some random stuff just playing around with the new camera trying to get it dialed in, enjoy.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday. - Jason

Feeling Worn Down...

2007-11-26T13:37:00.000-05:00

Had a great Thanksgiving holiday with the family. We went up to my sister Connie's house in VA. We ate like kings and I my nephews beat me up outside playing football.

The only downside to the long weekend was when I woke up on Thanksgiving morning I had a terrible sore throat and almost no voice. It only seem to get worse as the weekend went along. It progressed to a really bad cough and just a general worn down feeling. It probably wasn't smart playing football outside in the cold but I had fun with my brother and nephews goofing around. We got back in to town on Saturday night, Gracie slept the entire way home and crashed when she walked in the door. All day Sunday I struggled with this virus and was up all last night coughing so I decided to stay home from work today and will probably miss my class tonight. I gotta get myself better.

We did get some good pictures of the fun weekend despite me not feeling 100%. Early in the week Ashli purchased a new digital camera that takes amazing pictures. She got the Olympus EVOLT e-510 dSLR. This is something that she has been wanting for quite some time. She takes really good pictures but never really had a good quality camera and now she does. We are looking forward to using this camera and so far all I have to say is wow, amazing. I will post some pictures this week once we get them downloaded. We got a really good two lens group, case, and 1GB compact flash card, everything you need to get started. After researching the dSLR cameras out there we decided on the Olympus because it has some features the others did not have like "live view" and image stabilization, plus Olympus has an amazing set of Zuiko lenses that you can build up too. Gracie and I have been told to keep our grubby fingers off!:) I can't wait to see the pics that Ashli takes once she gets this camera dialed in.

My nutrition this weekend was just horrible. I planned on cutting loose on Thanksgiving day but I just carried that through the entire weekend, it was disgusting! Back to healthy eating and workouts this week. Workouts were limited to the back yard football games and just running around with the dogs. Worked up a good sweat several times as my 10 (David) and 12 (John Edward) year old nephews tried to catch me, they did a good job! My older brother Alan, 41 year old, was smart and was always all time quarterback, limited running in this role!:) Anyway it was fun and I had a blast.

Gracie played with her cousin Ellie the entire weekend, they were inseparable and played really well together even though Ellie is 8 years old. I think my sister Connie was probably enjoying the peace and quiet in her house yesterday after three days of us all being there!

Well, after milking this extended weekend one more day due to this virus it's back to the grind of work and school. I have at least two tests this week and I've done very little in the way of studying. Make it a great week! - Jason

TURKEY DAY...

2007-11-21T19:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm so thankful for many things but one that comes to mind is my family. I have the best family in the world.

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving day! - Jason

I'm Tagged....

2007-11-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

I was tagged by my good friend Mendy.;)

Rules:-- link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog-- share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird-- tag 2 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs-- let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. In middle school I flunked three classes...

6th Grade: Reading - Went to summer school and got an "A".
7th Grade: Math - Went to summer school and got an "A".
8th Grade: English - Went to summer school and got an "A".

Guess I liked spending my summers in school then!

2. I ran a pool hall when I lived up in Pennsylvania and competed and did well in several 9-ball tournaments. I also played in several 8-ball leagues one of which won first place out of 100 teams.

Anyone want to play maybe for a little cash, maybe some "one pocket", or "straight" pool.:)

3. I was a first chair alto saxophone player in Middle school.

4. My dad is an ordained minister...yeah that's right I'm a "PK", (Pastor's Kid). We're the worst ones I know. He's now a chaplain at a large retirement community in Lancaster, PA. Love ya Dad! "REVDAC"

5. I watch Hanna Montana...and I like it! :)

I tag....

Ashli
Rob

Well, I'll just tag the two! Peace Out! - Jason

Life Goes On...

2007-11-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

Another week in the books, literally. The work week went well as did the school week. Gracie is doing really well in school, but they've been passing this nasty virus around that has Gracie coughing, sniffling, and sneezing. She seems to be doing better now though.

This weekend was our 6 year wedding anny! Ashli deserves a gold medal for putting up with me for six years!! Love ya hon. We really didn't do anything special, we did go eat at our favorite mexican place last night and had a good time. Hard to believe its been six years! Ashli is one lucky girl....I mean...I'm one lucky fellow....yeah that's it!:) I'm sure that will bring a comment from Ashi!:) No, really, all kidding aside I am the luckiest guy in the world!

Yesterday morning I headed over to my buddy Russ's house to help swap the carburetor out of my father-in-laws 71 Buick GS. Russ has two other 71 Buicks one of them being a GSX. Once the carb install was complete we decided to take some pics of the three Buicks. I've been a car enthusiast since I was probably 7 years old. I especially love the classic cars and this was a good opportunity to line them up and get some good pics. It was a good time hanging out with friends and goofing off. Russ is also redoing a 72 Firebird in honor of his son "Rusty" who passed away earlier this year. For those that have been reading my blog for a while you may remember when I posted about that terrible day. Russ and his son were restoring that car together before tragedy struck. It will be a sweet day when Russ completes that car. Anyway, here are a few pics I thought I would share.

I'm looking forward to the short work week. We are headed up to my sister Connie's house for Thanksgiving. It should be a fun time and I'm looking forward to running this 4 mile flat trail that I ran last Christmas right down from her house. Depending on the amount of food I eat I may need to run it more them once!:) Gracie is looking forward to playing with her cousins, should be a good time!

Have a great Sunday! - Jason

A little Sad...

2007-11-10T00:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I should be in Richmond right now fast asleep getting ready to run my marathon...but...not to happen this year. I'm still very disappointed but know I made the correct choice.

I can't believe how fast a year has come. I signed up for tomorrows marathon 1 year ago today. Man how time just flew on by. Well, one of the reasons I'm still in South Carolina and not Richmond is because of the decision to head back to school. This week was especially difficult with two mid-terms and one lab test. I escaped with some really good marks and overall I'm very pleased, just wish I was in Richmond. Work was especially busy this week too, with no shortage of work the days are short. Hence the reason that year flew by so fast!:) Hopefully things will start to slow down after Thanksgiving.

Gracie's cousins from LA are in town until next week and she is having a blast. I haven't been able to visit with them too much due to my busy schedule but should get some good time this weekend. We did all go out to eat tonight and we had a great time. I had some frozen yogurt with peanuts that was really yummy!:) Ashli has yet to download the pics from Halloween but hopefully I can convince her to do that this weekend so I can post some good pics of the fun time we had.

I have yet to get any good running in and this is by far the longest I've gone without any mileage in a year and one month. I've been doing a good job of getting in at least 3 days a week of strength/core work and flexibility, I'm lacking in the flexibility department and decided to work on a 3 day a week flexibility program. My diet has been less then perfect but overall not terribly bad. Just trying to maintain until Thanksgiving and then I'm going to really buckle down and work on some very specific weight loss goals to get myself in gear for 2008.

Well, I wish all those that are running tomorrow best wishes for a great race and a solid finish. I will be there in spirit and will run that race in my mind. I know the course well and will be thinking about it all day tomorrow. Just wish I was there, man I'm bummed out! Oh well life goes on and the next race will be here before I know it.

Peace Out - Jason

October In The Books...

2007-11-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

This week seemed to really drag for some reason. Had a good time taking Gracie trick or treating, she was a fairy this year and got lots of candy. Will post pics this week.

This weekend I spent some time actually working. I had a large report that had to be completed by this morning and I didn't get much time during the week to work on it. Glad that is done. I also got some good quality time with Gracie. Saturday morning we got up around 8:30 and went down to McDonald's and had breakfast together, what fun. We then went down to the local auto parts store to just look around, she loves the auto parts store, too funny. I enjoyed the daddy daughter time very much.

Playing hookie from school on Thursday night means that my midterm is going to be tomorrow night, which I'm not ready for but then again I never feel ready for test. I did some studying this weekend but not nearly enough, somehow the time with my family was just more important to me. Looking forward to getting some good studying in tonight in my other class since we do have another test on Wednesday. Shouldn't be too bad though.

My diet on Saturday and Sunday was horrible. Sunday being worse the Saturday. I pigged out on Pizza last night while watching football. I also dove in on the candy and had a nasty McDonald's breakfast. Oh well back to the healthy eating this week. No worries. I have yet to get any kind of decent running in but hopefully that will change this week.

As far as workouts this week just two strength training sessions again. Been working on muscle strength and endurance utilizing different modalities. One that I found real challenging was using the BOSU ball. Man, what a workout that was, I was whipped after that one. It really works on your balance and you can do strength and endurance muscle training with it. I thought I had some strength until I did that workout!

Well, off to start another week of fun. My brother-in-law, his wife and two kids fly in from LA on Wednesday and Gracie is excited about paying with her cousins. Two test and a full week of work are on my list of things to do. I'm going to try and get two 3 mile runs in this week, gotta start back somewhere. Make it a great week! - Jason

Blog Slacker...

2007-10-26T18:03:00.000-05:00

Yeah, that would be the correct title for this post! This past week was super busy with teaching a class during the day, school at night, family, and workouts. All meaning not much time for blogging.

In fact, next week will be as equally as busy because now I need to get caught up on all the administrative stuff at work and I have two test next week one of which being a midterm. Spare time will be spent studying. The first test is on Monday night covering a few tough subjects, the nervous system and the endocrine system. I have a whole new respect for endocrinologist...pheww...tough stuff. Thursday night is my midterm which will be on the first 9 chapters in my exercise physiology class and I need to do well on this test. Right now I have a "C" average in that class and I really want to do better then that.

The class I taught this week went really well just seem to drag on forever, in fact, the entire week seemed to drag on but alas it is finally done.

Workouts have been going well in the strength department with a couple of good dumbbell sessions. Running has been nonexistent in the past couple of weeks and I'm missing it and look forward to getting back to hitting the pavement. I've been maintaining my weight well...that means eating well:) but no major weight gain. Life is moving very fast right now and I need to find a way too slow it down!

Gracie is doing really well at school and got the best marks you can get on her first little report card. We had a parent teacher conference and her teacher just raved about how well Gracie is doing. Daddy is proud. She's been suffering with her asthma this week at night and having a hard to controlling her coughing but seems to be doing better now. She does fine during the day just night time coughing. She was supposed to have her first field trip to an apple orchard on Wednesday but it got rained out and they are going Monday instead. Gracie is more excited about riding on the bus with her friends!:) Ashli is going to go and she asked Gracie if she wanted to just leave with her when they were done or go back on the bus and she picked to ride the bus back to the school...too funny. Today she picked out her Halloween costume and decided to be a fairy, cute little costume and I will be sure to take some good picks of trick or treating next week.

This weekend will be spent with my nose in the books and my nose under the hood of my mustang replacing my spark plugs. I will probably go for a short 3 miler in the awesome cooler temps as a release from studying. Ahh...I love fall weather! Have a great weekend! - Jason

A few pics to share....

Daddy's Girl

Life Changes Quickly...

2007-10-12T18:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, another super busy week in the books.

I had my second round of tests all last week in school and felt really good about my grades. Things are going somewhat smooth in the school department. Work was again another week of teaching a class for our Desktop support and Store tech support teams. I had some good folks that caught on quickly and did really well which makes the week go by much faster. Next week I need to get caught up on my administrative responsibilities which will take some time.

Well, I have some news that I would like to share. Over the last several weeks I've had to battle a very difficult decision. It is with great frustration and sadness that I've decided to drop out of my marathon. As I said a very difficult decision. Between family, work, running, and a full time school work load it has been too much. I've had a goal to run in a marathon for a very long time and to be this close and have to walk away is very agonizing. Family, work, and school is a much higher priority, in that order. Finding the time for the increased mileage along with my daily responsibilities was a real challenge. For me, as I've said before, I will not sacrifice time with my family which is far more important then getting in any long run. To be honest, it was somewhat of a relief when I finally decided. Not because I didn't want to do it but because I can now concentrate on more important things. See, the quest and journey will continue. I will be registering for the Richmond marathon in 2008. I know other marathons are sooner but I want to run my first in the town I grew up in, Richmond.

I haven't stopped running, that will continue. I haven't stopped strength training, that will continue. I haven't stopped my nutrition, that will continue. I haven't lost my passion for fitness I've only delayed one goal for one more year. For those who have been so encouraging I thank you. I know I would not have made it this far without it. I will continue to document my journey to 26.2 here until the mission is accomplished. I know without a doubt that I've made the correct decision and I'm at peace about it.

So, onward and upward I go pushing towards my dreams and goals one day at a time. There's a large pot of gold somewhere at the end of my rainbow and with my determination and passion I will succeed in its discovery...ya know...I think I've already discovered mine...

These are the most important things, this is my pot of gold. - Jason

Catching Up...

2007-10-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

The sun peaks out on the early morning hours on Saturday September 29th. We're on the cool waters of Little River in Little River, South Carolina.

We arrived at the dock around 5:45am and loaded the gear onto the boat and we were on the water by 6am. Our captain, Danny, before shoving off explained that the gulf stream was going to be pushing serious swells by late morning and there was no way we were going to be heading that far out. He did explain that the day before he took a crew out about 14 miles and they caught several nice big king mackerel and that we should give that location a try. The big question mark was how rough the ocean was going to be that far out. As captain Danny said...don't know until we get there!

On the way out it was very apparent we were going to be in for a wild ride. Around the 3 mile mark we were already in 3 to 4 foot swells but we moved on. Around 10 miles out the swells were in the 6 foot range and by the time we hit 13 miles out we were in 8 to 10 foot swells....we were a rockin'.

We started to troll the rough water around 13 miles out and within about 5 minutes or so we hooked our first fish a big king mackerel. We were able to pull in 2 more smaller king mackerel but not without falling around the boat. The swells made fishing a real challenge, just getting back to the rods was treacherous. We had several swells that were probably over the 10 foot mark that really shook us good.

As the time passed captain Danny realized that it just wasn't working with the swells as large as they were. No fun trying to reel fish in and falling all over the place. So he made the call to start to head back towards the shoreline.

So we packed up the rods and secured all the gear and started our way back closer to the shore line. Danny put that boat full throttle and we rode those swells all the way back into the coast, what a wild ride with waves crashing down on us.

Here are a couple more pics from the rougher section about 14 miles out on the ocean. It's amazing how small you feel when your that far out and you see no land in all directions. I love being on the water though, what a blast.

The picture on the right is when we first started to head back in closer to the coast. You can see some of the spray coming from over top the boat.

As we moved closer inland the swells decreased significantly in size. We decided to go all the way in and fish right off the beach. Once we started to troll the water the fish started to bite. We caught about 45 or so Spanish mackerel which are much smaller then the king and don't fight much at all. The water was still a little rough but compared to what we were in earlier it might as well have been like glass. It's amazing how quickly you adjust to the rough water, well at least all of us did. Our captain did an amazing job navigating his boat in that rough water. I found out later he was in a really bad storm a couple of years back and experienced and survived 30 plus foot swells, his boat getting shredded, dodging sharks, and being rescued by the coast guard. It's good to have a guy of his experience level navigating the boat for you.

Captain Danny is the second one from the right and from this picture you can see how much calmer the water is from when we were further out.

On the right is our fish stash building and you can see the big king mackerel in the center of the cooler and the smaller Spanish mackerel all around. It stayed nice and cool all morning and we had a blast. We decided to only do a half day instead of the full we originally planned due to the wind advisory. After being in 8 to 10 foot swells I know I want no part of 20 plus foot swells.

We started to head back to dock right around 12 noon. It was a great ride all the way in to the dock. I loved just being on the boat as much as I did fishing. I took a few pictures on the way in.

Once we got back to the dock and got all our gear off the boat and to the car we went down and helped captain Danny clean and cut the fish. Even though the weather did not play well we still had a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it. My father-in-law got some great video in the rough water and is making a fun movie out of it. In the video you really can feel how rough it was out there.

We loved it so much were thinking about another trip at the beginning of December and then maybe one around late April. I want to get out in the gulf stream and try and catch some large Tuna and Mahi-Mahi, something that will put up a good fight. We got back around 4pm on Sunday afternoon and then Monday it was back to the grind. I had tests in every class, it was a very busy week.

I will update on the running front tomorrow. I hope everyone has a safe Saturday and a good Sunday morning. - Jason

Family Times...

2007-09-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

Run: 4 Miles
Time: 40:28
Pace: 10:04

Before I get to my run this past weekend was a lot of fun goofing around at my sister's (Marcy Krueger) house.

See, Marcy Krueger, my sister, asked me why I never put her name (Marcy Krueger) on my blog. So, there you go Marcy Krueger!:) My other sister Connie Wolfe asked the same question. Ok, family tree time, Marcy is married to John whos only flaw is the fact that he is a USC (Gamecock fan) and a Green Bay Packer fan. Marcy and John have three kids, John Edward, David, and Ellie. Gracie had a blast playing with her cousins all afternoon. Connie came with her buddy "Hank", 10 year old black lab. My brother Alan also made the trip over to Marcy's house. He resides in the sunshine state and is proudly an Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers fan like myself. See, you don't understand we were born Philly fans!:)

Anyway, it was really nice to be able to spend time with family and I hope we didn't get the kids to "jacked up" for you Marce and John? Thanks for the afternoon!

Yesterday was back to the grind, with a full day of work and class at night. Got out of class right at 8pm and raced home and was out pounding the pavement by 9pm. What a great night for a run with the temp right around 77 degrees and a slight breeze. No ipod, just me and the open road. I did experience some slight knee sorness right around the 3.5 mile mark. After my cooldown and stretching it seem to go away and is not giving any trouble at all this morning. I hope tonight's run will go just as smooth. I probably won't get home tonight until 10pm so it will be a late run by moonlight!

My nutrition was super clean yesterday with 65% of my calories coming from carbohydrates. I am still dropping weight and hope to be down under the 200 pound mark by the end of the week. I'm looking to drop at least 10 pounds for the month of October and 5 additional pounds before the race on the 10th of November. I have very carefully calculated my food intake and will not be afraid to up the calories if I start to suffer on my runs. I will be eating a surplus of calories for my long runs with the additional days severely cut back. Again, I will not be afraid to change that if I start to suffer. With the calories a little low yesterday my run went really well last night.

I'm getting excited about the fishing trip this weekend and Friday can't come fast enough. I'm really looking forward to running my 12 miles on flat ground Sunday morning. Should be a fun weekend. Well, back to work I must go, have a great Tuesday. - Jason

Ups & Downs...

2007-09-21T22:02:00.000-05:00

Well, another week passes and all is ok. I'm a little behind on my mileage and I would not be telling the truth if I said it doesn't bother me, it does.

Right now I can go out and run between 10-13 miles and my training plan has me at 16 this weekend. I could sit here and blame that on the addition of night classes and busy work schedule but there is no excuse not to get out and get those runs in. Reality is 26.2 is just around the corner and I refuse to fail. These next 50 days are going to go by very fast and before I know it I will be standing at the start line ready to tackle 26.2.

Tomorrow we are headed over to my sister's house which is about an hour and half away to hang out with my two sisters and brother. My brother got there tonight to spend the weekend. He lives in Orlando, FL and was in Columbia, SC for a conference and decided to pop over to spend the weekend. It should be a fun time hanging out with everyone. Gracie really enjoys playing with her cousins. Sunday is my long run and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to run the full 16 but will be happy to get in at least 14. I'm going to start out early and give it 100% effort.

I'm really excited about next weekend. My father-in-law and I are going deep sea fishing off the coast of North Myrtle Beach with a few other friends. I will be taking my running clothes to get my Sunday long run of 12 miles done....I'm looking forward to flat road down on the coast!:) We are going to be on a 40 footer about 40 plus miles out all day Saturday. We leave the dock around 6am and come back in around 5pm. I've never been deep sea fishing and I'm looking forward to it. I will be taking lots of pics of the weekend fun. We leave around 3pm next Friday and come back early Sunday night.

I don't have to teach a class next week which will be a nice a break and give me the chance to catch up on some of my other work. Normal class schedule next week Mon-Thurs night with one test on Wednesday night. I will be studying some this weekend to prepare. Then on to spend the weekend out on the water. It will be another busy week but what week isn't busy anymore?

Gracie is having a lot of fun at school and is doing really well. I really enjoyed being home tonight and getting a chance to actually spend some quality time with her. Every minute is so precious now because I don't get a chance to spend a lot of time with her Mon-Thurs and it really breaks my heart. It's so hard to get home after work and rush around trying to get ready for class with her not wanting me to go. Walking out that door never gets easier for me. By the time I get home she is already fast asleep. I feel like I'm missing so much and I sometimes question why I'm doing what I'm doing with these classes. Is it worth it? If it is, why does it hurt to walk out that door every night? When I get into class and start to soak up all this new knowledge it feels like I'm doing the right thing, it feels like, yes, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Still, when I walk out of those classrooms all I want to do is get home and be with Ashli and Gracie. It has been an emotional roller coaster for me the past 2 weeks. I do know that without my faith and family I wouldn't have made it this far.

So, I move forward, taking one day at a time and at the end of every night I pray and ask God for the strength to do it all over again. - Jason

Time is Flying Away...

2007-09-14T07:46:00.000-05:00

Had my last test last night at least for a couple of weeks. I think I did ok on it at least I hope I did. I Did really well on my first two Anatomy & Physiology tests and I just hope I can keep that up.

Running is going great and I've added two days a week of strength training and the shoulder seems to be holding up. My strength really didn't drop off that much over the last month, I wish cardio fitness adapted as well as muscle fitness. I'm glad to finally be in better control of my time management. Next week I'm teaching another week long class so my nose will be in books all day every day.

Gracie is doing so well at school and her teacher told Ashli the other day you would never guess she had such a hard time that first day. Such a proud daddy I am! This morning Gracie told me her class is going eat green eggs and ham but she was very quick to tell me not to worry because it is just green food coloring and they will still taste ok! lol! She's excited!:)

I've been able to maintain my weight really well even through my vacation and now I'm starting on a good downward trend. I really don't have that much more weight to drop so the slower the better over the next two months. I can't believe my marathon is only two months away. This year has seemed to just fly right on by. I have a feeling these next two months are going to go by just as fast. Well, I better get back to work, so much to do and I've already wasted too much time this morning. Make it a great Friday! - Jason

Running Forward...

2007-09-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

Wow, already a crazy week. This past Saturday I was able to get my 13 mile long run in. Of course, I decided to run in the hottest part of the day, I will never learn!:)

Once I hit mile 5 it was more of a run walk and by mile 10 it was mostly walking. By mile 13 both my calves cramped up and it was all I could do to hobble into the house. Actually my in-laws house. I ran from my house to theirs. It was really a nice change from running an out and back. There were some really nice hills along the way too. I'm going to do it again this weekend however it will be in the early morning hours. I rested on Sunday and did some light strength work, specifically core work on Monday night after class.

Tuesday I did some light strength work with hammer curls, tricep kickbacks, bench press, lat pulldown, dumbbell lat raises, dumbbell front raises, decline press, straight bar curls, cable chest fly, dumbbell chest press, cable tricep pushdowns, and seated cable row. Several exercises there but only 2 sets per and lower weights were used. Today I did 4 miles at lunch, I'm scheduled to run 7 today but I only had time for 4 miles so tonight after my class I will do the remaining 3 miles. Tomorrow is another 4 mile run with Friday being my rest day and I will do my 15 mile run either Saturday morning or Sunday morning, haven't decided yet.

I got a 77 out of 100 on my first Exercise Physiology class which I'm really happy with. The test was really difficult and I probably only studied about an hour. Hopefully I can do lots better on the next test with more studying. I will find out the results of my first two A&P test tonight. I feel I did ok on those. I'm starting to get into a good routine with school and hopefully that will lead to better time management for studying, fitness, family, and work. Not in that order!:) Family is always first!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday night! - Jason

On the road again...

2007-09-07T22:54:00.000-05:00

Last night I actually got a decent run in. I decided to leave the Garmin at home and just go out and run, no time, no distance just me and the road. I need to do more of that. I just hate not knowing how far I've run but that was not the point last night. I'm taking this weekend to clear my mind and get refocused on this 26.2 that will be coming my way very soon.

Ashli took Gracie to the Doctor's yesterday and they found what we thought might be her problem with this coughing....Asthma! Hopefully its virus induced asthma and not the full blown variety. Got the correct meds and viola last night she did not wake once through the night and I actually got 6 hours of straight sleep! What a relief for Gracie though, I know it was very frustrating for her and Ashli.

My second test last night in Exercise Physiology was probably one of the harder tests I've taken. Test was on the Bio Energy Cycle and the direct source of energy for muscle contraction, ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) both for anaerobic and aerobic production. Sounds like fun huh!? I won't bore you with the details! Anyway, the second class last night is my wellness and fitness class which is a lot of fun. Last night we spent about and hour doing different body weight workouts, was a lot of fun and a great stress reliever for me. The run after that was even better. Monday night I have my second Anatomy and Physiology test on the first four chapters. So, this weekend will be some serious studying. I've gotten through chapter one during breaks and lunch at work and just have three more to go.

Hopefully I can get myself refocused here this weekend and get my runs completed. It's gut check time, how bad do I really want it? Marathon is less then 70 days away and I'm only sitting at the 10 mile distance in my training. It's time to go to work.

Enjoy the weekend! - Jason

Moving Forward...

2007-09-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

This week has been really crazy so far. I had my first test tonight in Anatomy and Physiology and I feel like I did really well. I'm learning quite a bit, just makes for a long day. I have another test tomorrow night in Exercise Physiology and it will be a challenge.

Gracie still has this really nasty cough that seems to start later at night and sometimes last for an hour. Ashli is going to take her in to see the doctor tomorrow just to make sure there is nothing else going on. I've been going on about three to four hours a sleep a night for the past week and Ashli has had less then that a few times. Gracie did have her first day back today since being sick and there were no tears as she just kissed Ashli and walked right into her classroom, no issues! She is really starting to like school and has a blast while she's there. Now if we can just get her cough under control we will all get better sleep.

My diet has been really in check over the last week or so but the running has not been there, that changes this week. I have been working out which is part of my Wellness and Fitness class on Tuesday and Thursday nights, some of which was running but mostly more circuit training in nature. We also completed a few fitness assessment test which I feel I did pretty good on most but found I was really lacking in the flexibility department. Hopefully I can improve over the next several months with that.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday and I will update again before the week is out. Jason

Overwhelmed...

2007-08-31T08:36:00.000-05:00

So, I wish I could report that my running is going ok. So far I have yet to run this week, that's right, the big goose egg!

Gracie has been sick all week with a terrible virus that has her up coughing most of the night. I felt totally helpless last night watching her suffer so bad with the coughing, it was awful! Hopefully today will be better for her.

Lack of sleep, full time job, school at night, and a sick kid has me very overwhelmed at the moment. At least I've been able to keep my nutrition in check over the last week. I'm a little stressed about my first three test I have next week. Not to mention I'm trying to prepare for a week long class that I'm teaching at work next week. This weekend will be filled with reading text books....happy labor day to me! Did I sign up for this?:) I do feel like I'm learning quite a bit and I just hope I'm able to retain what I'm studying now for the tests.

I'm not going to worry about my missed runs and just move forward one run at a time. My plan is still to get the majority of my runs done in the early morning hours. Hopefully the sleepless nights will end so I can get up early enough to get them done. I'm so glad it's Friday and I'm so glad there are no classes tonight and the only place I need to be is home. Yeah, that sounds good. Ashli probably feels the opposite since shes been home with Gracie all week, cabin fever starting to set in! I also run the homeowners association in our neighborhood and I will have to do a few things tonight for that but otherwise I will be just trying to relax tonight and hit the books this weekend. Hopefully I will find some time for a good run!

I haven't had a chance to catch up with every ones blogs so hopefully I can do some reading this weekend as well and I hope everyone has a great labor day weekend! - Jason

Busy Days...

2007-08-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

Last week was just crazy. Between my work, night classes, and training it has been crazy. I am happy to report the Gracie is doing great at school. Ashli took her in last Wednesday and there were a few tears but no drama. On Friday she went right in to the classroom with no problems. That is a huge relief for us and I'm so happy Gracie is enjoying herself.

Saturday morning Gracie woke up complaining of a sore throat and she really didn't eat much through the day because of it. By Saturday night you could tell she was in a lot of pain. She really didn't sleep well at all and was up at 4am Sunday morning. Our doctor agreed to see her Sunday morning which is really super nice of her. Our fear was that Gracie had strep throat and we wanted to get her tested. The doctor ran the rapid strep test and thank goodness it came back negative.

When we left the doctor's office yesterday Gracie seemed to be in good spirits but by the time we got home she was really feeling crummy (those were her words:)) We took her temp and she had a 103.7 temp. We kept a close watch and took her temp every hour or so and by late afternoon it was down to 101 and by early evening it was 100. She was very restless through the night and finally broke her fever early this morning. Now she has a really stuffy nose and slight cough but thankfully no fever. However, no school for her this morning and believe it or not she was upset about that which is a great sign!:) Ashli started feeling the same symptoms yesterday and this morning her throat is really bothering her....uh oh...here we go! I've been popping my vitamins and doing some praying that I don't catch this virus....knock on wood!

My classes are going well and my professors seem to be real good guys. Doing a lot of reading both at work and at home. I'm getting ready to teach a class at work called A+ Certification for our store technicians and desktop support folks. For those that don't know A+ is a certification course for PC Support technicians. It teaches you how to repair and build computers from the operating systems to all the hardware inside. This is a course that I used to teach full time but it has been a couple of years and the objectives for the course have changed a little and I need to prepare. So, its reading by day and reading by night.

I'm really enjoying the Anatomy and Physiology class and have already learned a ton of information in just two classes. Not an easy class and will take a lot of time learning all the new terminology. I also have Exercise Physiology and Concepts of Wellness and Fitness this semester and both courses are very well put together. The Exercise Physiology class will relate well to my A&P class and in the Wellness & Fitness class we actually spend 30 minutes working out. That class will have us testing several different modalities from BOSU balls to strength bands, should be fun. My classes are only Monday through Thursday and I'm home by 9pm on Mon. & Wed. and 10pm on Tue. & Thur. I'm learning to love the early morning runs and to be honest I haven't been 100% successful at it yet. I will get myself adjusted to the new early morning training schedule. Each day will get easier...I hope!:)

My diet has not been that great over the last few weeks, no major damage just not the best choices. I have to get myself back on my healthy plan, no excuses. With all the running it's so easy for me to use that excuse to eat more and eating more is good just not good when its empty calories! Yesterday after the doctors visit for Gracie, Ashli and I made blueberry pancakes and we pigged out...I guess I was carb loading....yeah that's it. Man, were they good. Getting back on track is really important right now. I only have a little over 2 months and I still need to shed about 15 pounds before the big day. Plenty of time but I can't fool around, its "GO TIME".

I will be posting some cool vacation pics sometime this week as soon as we get all the pics downloaded. Make it a great Monday! - Jason

Back to the Grind...

2007-08-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

Wow, it feels like I haven't posted in forever. We got back home around 10pm Sunday evening. Due to traffic and slow food eating places it took us over twelve hours to get home. It normally takes us about ten hours. We were all very tired and Monday morning was Gracie's first day of K4.

We got to the school right at 8am yesterday morning and Gracie was in good spirits right up until we had to leave the room. She screamed and cried for us not to leave, it was terrible. She was so scared and we were so upset. The school does the ""peel and stick" method in these situations. They peel her from us and stick to her until she calms down. It was very hard to walk out of that classroom and we stood in the hallway for 20 minutes listening to her scream. It felt like our hearts were ripped right out of our chests. After a few minutes standing in the hallway her teacher came out and reassured us that Gracie would be fine and for us to go ahead and leave.....yeah right, not happening until we see her not crying and screaming. After a few minutes Gracie had calmed down and started to participate, so we left in full tear mode....

You have to understand, Gracie has been with us or one of us since her birth she has had the occasional time with grandparents and her weekly gymnastics class but for the most part she has not left our side. She also walked into a completely non familiar environment with non familiar faces and without us. I think I would have been scared as well....

So, Ashli and I walk out of the school and get into the car and sit for about 20 minutes in the parking lot. That was the hardest thing I think I have ever had to go through in my life. Her teacher is really awesome and told us that she would not let Gracie just sit and cry and that she would call us if things got worse. Around 10am Ashli's phone rings... its Ms Peek, Gracie's teacher, calling to let us know that she is doing great and just got a sticker for having the biggest smile in the room, phew, man, was that call relieving or what, and that she is doing really well now. That was the call we needed. Ashli and I headed out and got some coffee and just talked for a couple of hours until it was time to pick her up. Of course, Gracie came running out with Ms. Peek...big smile and very excited. She had a great time playing with the other kids in her class and she did very well the rest of the morning. Happy ending indeed!

I didn't think it would be as difficult as it was....but....

she's my baby girl, she's my life, I want to spend every waking minute that I can with her, and now I have to share her? No way! It's not fair! That's right its not fair, its not fair to her! Gracie has so much to offer, she's compassionate, funny, and intelligent and her smile is infectious, she is daddy's girl...

very difficult indeed. I love my Gracie!

Well, besides dealing with that I also started night school last night. I'm enrolled in Greenville Tech's Personal Training and Nutrition courses and last night I had my first class to attend, Anatomy and Physiology. This is something that I have been wanting to do for the past 3 years but just didn't follow through until now. My goals are to open my own personal coaching practice and help those folks that are in the same situation I was in back in 2003. There are alot of good personal trainers out there but alot of them don't combine nutrition as part of their training plans, just exercise. Also, alot of doctors don't have a clear understanding of how to develop the right nutrition plans. When you have all the right tools losing weight and getting healthy is not difficult and I want to make sure people have the right tools.

This is a certification offered by the school and once I complete my classes I will also be getting some national level certifications. There are several organizations out there but here are the ones I am looking to get. Amercian Counsel on Exercise (ACE), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). I will have this education completed in 2 semesters.

My life just got really busy. So, I will be shifting my runs to the glorious AM hours or lunch time fun depending on the schedule. I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed but I'm going to take one day at a time and I will not sacrifice time with my family.

Getting back to the grind has been a little crazy but actually a little welcomed. Work has been a little crazy this morning but not too bad. Just looking forward to getting into my new routine with classes and my running. Here are my workouts for this week.

Tue: 3 mile - easy
Wed: 6 mile - easy
Thur: 3 mile - easy
Fri: REST
Sat: Cross Training
Sun: 12 mile - long

I did eat a very relaxed diet while on vacation but was able to get in some good running. Friday I got a good 5.2 mile run through my old high school, very cool and the temp was only 74 degrees, man was that nice. Looking forward to my runs this week.

I think the best part of my vacation was visiting my 93 year old grandfather. He is doing well and it was a great visit. We took him out by the little pond they have and watched fish swim around and shared some really good cookies and coffee. He eats like a horse!:) Ashli got some good pics that I will share this week. He's doing well and was in good spirits. Something that I needed to see. It was very difficult for me to walk out of his room and leave but I know he's in God's hands. I love you Poppop!

We have a connection, something special that is hard for me to explain. Even though I only get to see him once a year he's always in my thoughts, like he's right there. He's now in a wheel chair full time to get around and that was kind of hard to see. This is a man that was walking a few miles a day at age 91, he loved his walks. We also had a great time visiting with my Uncle George, Aunt Sandy, and my cousins Mare and Suze. Mare's youngest son Rueben is adorable, sorry if I misspelled Mare, and Gracie loved playing with him. Every time we get together with them we spend alot of time laughing and goofing around, great time! Wish we lived closer to spend more then once a year! Saturday night I caught up with a good friend of mine Brian talking over coffee and Gracie always enjoys goofing around with "Uncle Bubba". All in all a great time away and a good release. Glad to be back and rolling! Make it a great Tuesday! - Jason

Vacation Time...

2007-08-15T20:12:00.000-05:00

So far vacation has been good. We had some car issues on the drive up. The ignition coil went bad on the car right when we hit Greensboro, NC. The car will run with a bad coil but is basically down a cylinder, so lacking power. We drove 635 miles with a bad coil and made it safely to my folks.

This morning I got up and started making some calls to get a new coil. I was able to buy the coil and the boot for a good price and my Dad's mechanic said he would put it in for FREE!!! Wow, what an amazing guy!!! Such a rarity in today's world. We will be sending him a card and some goodies when we get back. Now we can enjoy the vacation without the stress of worrying about the car.

Tonight I was able to get out for a 3 mile run after dinner. The temp was in the low 80's but was still somewhat humid. My legs felt very heavy through the entire run and couldn't find a good rhythm at all. Even though I struggled, as strange as this sounds, I did enjoy the run. It felt good to get out and sweat and workout.

Run: 3.11 Miles
Time: 31:52
Pace: 10:15

I had to get a sub tonight from my favorite Italian restaurant, Super Italian with the works! Not the best food to run on and probably why I struggled but man I only get that once a year and it was yummy. My weight has been up a little but with all the running I'm doing I'm not concerned!

Tomorrow we will be going to Boyd's Bear shop where they make their teddy bears. Gracie has been collecting these bears since she was an infant, well I guess we started it and she really loves these bears. So, I will be in teddy bear hell...did I say that, I mean...heaven!:) Anyway, Gracie will sure be in heaven and that's all that matters. I will also be doing my 5 mile run sometime tomorrow as long as the storms hold off. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. It's been really nice getting away and Gracie is having a blast, grandparents spoiling like mad...as you can imagine.

Have a great Thursday! - Jason

Weekend Fun...

2007-08-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a wild week. Ashli took her niece to the airport at 5am Saturday morning for her flight home. We had a great time with her while she was here. Baby Charlie and momma are home and resting, both doing great.

I took the advice from David and Chad and decided not to worry about the two missed 3 mile runs from last week. Thanks guys for reminding me of the importance of recovery!;) I did however know I couldn't and wouldn't miss my long run this weekend.

Run: 10.2 Miles

Time: 1:48:19

Pace: 10:39

Well, completed my first double digit run since my half back at the end of April and did it without tossing my dinner and without stopping! The first 6.5 miles felt strong but I really started getting fatigued by mile 7. Mile 8 through 10 were up and down. I did take 20oz of water with me and didn't take any fluid on until mile 8. Since I didn't start my run until 9pm I had no sun bearing down on me and while still humid it didn't seem to terribly bad. Very happy and a good quality long run.

Vacation time is almost here. Just a couple of work days and then off to PA for a good relaxing time. Looking forward to the time away. Here's how my runs shake out for this week.

Mon: REST

Tue: 3 mile easy

Wed: 5 Mile easy(In PA)

Thur: 3 Mile Tempo (In PA)

Fri: REST

Sat: REST

Sun: 7 Mile long...I may move this run to the following Monday. Sunday we will be on our way home and driving for 10 plus hours will probably take it all out of me.

That following Monday morning will be Gracie's first day of school and we are excited for her and a little sad. It's amazing how fast they grow up. Seems like just yesterday I was holding this little baby in my arms. I guess she will always be that little baby to me....daddy's little girl always I guess.:)

Hope everyone has a great Monday! - Jason