Laptop Drama...

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...

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...

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!

Day 30

Training Day Off

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Extended Weekend...

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...

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...

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