Wordless Wednesday - Football Season!

Augh! Skunk!

Coming soon ...

OK, my Wordless Wednesday post is scheduled to go in about 12 hours, but I wanted to post this real quick just because, I guess, this is my fitness blog ... mostly.

I ran tonight. I skipped my race last Saturday. I wasn't feeling my best. Even so I thought I could have done it and would have done OK. I ran tonight. This is my first run since the Cotton Row, whenever the heck that was ... months ago? So I'm accustomed to the first mile feeling like hell. And I didn't walk as long as I usually do to warm up because it is getting dark sooner and I didn't want to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. I ran my neighborhood, complete with wild animals, as the sun was going down. I think I went a mile and a half, maybe 2. It wasn't a long run by anyone's standards. A paraplegic could run farther and probably faster. I had no energy, no speed, and no lung power at all. Blah. I was wheezing like a beginner. I never really fell into a good groove like I usually do. For a moment I thought I was going to, but the sun going down convinced me to turn for home early. As I did I had to jog (I hate that I'm a jogger now instead of a runner) up a small hill. It was no big deal. I mean, for a decent runner this hill wasn't even a pimple in the road. But I was wheezing along like an asthmatic old pensioner. And most pathetic of all, even as I told myself that I wasn't going to stop at the top of the hill and instead go on to the same spot where I started running I stopped and walked. I didn't even get up to the top of the hill. I was like 3 feet from the top when I stopped. That is TRULY pathetic. I love hills. I love conquering hills. I couldn't even keep going long enough to reach the top of this tiny bump in the road.

And then I saw the reason all the animals in my neighborhood have been so nervous and on edge for the past few weeks. As I passed a driveway I saw something  coming out of the pipe that crosses underneath the driveway apron. It was a big old black skunk. And there was something odd about it. It was standing  there facing me, but it's tail was still sticking out of the pipe. No wait, it was two skunks! No wait, it was a family of skunks living in the pipe! Aaaaah, now I get it. My cats can smell these things and know they're around. This is why they don't want to go outside anymore. And this is probably why no one has reported seeing the bobcats in awhile. Ah well, it's a trade-off. The skunk looked at me and hunkered down like he was getting ready for trouble, but I guess he could tell I was wheezing like a soon-to-be-dead moose and decided I was no threat. I kept walking. He ignored me.  And I went  home to take a shower and die.

I have the Warrior  Dash coming up in 3 weeks. 3 weeks!!!! I'm so totally not ready.

Mom, is that you? Maybe we should follow you home just in case.

Meme

What would you choose to be famous for? 
I think it might be nice to be famous for being the richest man in the world currently married to supermodel Marisa Miller. That would be my choice. Or Brooklyn Decker. I'm easy. Whichever one is nicer and easier to get along with.

If you have a webcam, are you ever paranoid people can see you? 
I suppose it's possible, but all any hacker is ever going to see from my webcam is a pile of junk gathering dust and a 100-year-old clock that is most likely showing the wrong time because I've apparently adjusted it slightly too fast and it is just rocketing along. My computer is on my desk and my desk is in a room that was once intended to be attic, but got transformed into a bonus room/attic. So now it has things to do, but only if you can get around all the junk in there.

Do you find it difficult to sleep at night? Any reason(s) why? 
When I hit puberty it hit me back. I suddenly had rampant insomnia. My parents responded to my inability to sleep by beating the crap out of me in the mistaken belief that being beat up would help me sleep. The idea of taking me to a doctor never crossed their minds. Of course, the time I dislocated my ankle and they had to drive for an hour to come get me for the specific purpose of taking me to a hospital somehow also never made it cross their mind to take me to a doctor. They took me home and told me to just 'get over it.' Luckily, that insomnia problem seems to have mostly gone away now. Most  nights I can fall asleep within 15 minutes of laying my head upon  the pillow. Insomnia gone.

If you had to go on a game show, which would you choose? 
I don't know much about modern day game shows, I haven't seen one in years, but one  thing I know for sure is that I would never go on any Japanese game shows. They do truly horrible things to their fellow man just for the fun of it and seem to feel no compassion or remorse whatever. It's a little scary seeing this side of them, but it does give you some idea of why our soldiers during WWII hated them so much.

What about if you had to go on a reality show? 
I only know one and that is "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." I suppose if I say I'd go on that show you'd expect me to say it is because I want to have sex with Kim Kardashian. But the fact is I'd really rather be with Kourtney. Of the three, she seems the least irritating. Granted its a TV show so there is really no telling what, if any, similarity there  is between their TV persona and the real person. Still, I'm sticking  with Kourtney. Their show is the only reality TV show i know anything about.

Which would you choose then?  
I'd choose the reality show. You might win $10,000 on a game show, but you can make millions being a Kardashian.

Tell me about your favorite TV show: 
I hate to say this, but it's summer and we're in reruns for the most part so my favorite show, whatever it is, won't be back for another few weeks. Maybe it was Grimm? Or possibly The Big Bang Theory? No, it is Community! How to describe the show "Community"?? A bunch of screw-ups are going to a community college. The dean is a flaming homosexual, and if you watch the show you know I'm not even exaggerating. If anything I'm understating it. He's a riot. One of the male characters is possibly insane, but mostly harmless. His best friend is a nerd, but he's a bigger nerd. 2 of the female characters are extremely good looking, but never seem to have a date because they're so quirky that no one is sure what to do with them. Chevy Chase plays an old Baby Boomer who is going back to college and doesn't seem to realize that he's not young anymore, so he tries to hit on the good-looking girls, but they hate him. A guy named Chang got the job of security guard and used this lowly position to take over the school, kidnap the dean, replace him with a theater student done up to look just like him, and build an empire. There was an episode that consisted entirely of them in a video game, another which was entirely claymation. There is NOTHING they won't do on that show. It's genius and it is the funniest thing on television. Unfortunately their stupid network executives keep running it opposite "The Big Bang Theory" so no one ever sees it and it has nearly been cancelled several times.

Why were you last irritated? 
Because everyone in traffic today seems to be insane and cranky at the same time.

What time did you get up this morning? 
2 am to pee. 4 am to pee. 6 am to pee, shower, eat breakfast, get dressed and drive to work amongst a sea of insane and cranky people.

The last city you were in: Where was it and do you like it there? 
I went  to Nashville, TN, to see an exhibit at the Frist Center featuring a ton of Art Deco era ultra-rare automobiles. It was really, really cool. If you get a chance to go and see it I highly recommend it. But you'd better hurry. It ends soon.

Do you like the countryside? 
Yes, and at the moment I live there, so it's good that I don't hate it or anything.

If you see someone yawn, do you often yawn as well? 
I normally do. Considering how tired I just said I am you'd think I yawned while writing this, but I didn't. I'm actually too tired to yawn.

Recommend me a good movie: 
Oh hell, normally I have some new movie I just saw that was surprisingly good and yet I don't think most people have seen it. I know I have seen something recently, but I can't think of what. I'll say this, then, if you have Netflix rent the movie "Trucker" with Michelle Monaghan. Don't get all excited thinking  it's going to be the next Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It's a really quiet indie film. But it caught me by surprise. After that, she did a mystery called "Gone Baby Gone" and it was even better. Then she did "Mission Impossible III," because apparently Tom Cruise realized she kept doing good movies and I guess he wanted some of her magical 'good movie' powers to bless his sequel. If Michelle Monaghan doesn't do it for  you, rent "The Kings Speech." The DVD sitting next to me on the couch right this moment is "Water for Elephants." I haven't seen it yet. You tell me, is it good?

Do you think you’d make a good model? 
A model? Not a role model? Well, I used to do photography and would occasionally seek out models, so I believe I'm pretty good at knowing what to look for in a good subject to photograph. I don't think I'd choose myself as a model for my own photography, so I can't see why anyone else would. My niece is a professional photographer. She often recruits me to photograph her and her family because she trusts my abilities behind the camera. But she has never once asked if she could photograph me. I photograph her all the time. She was a model for a few years. She is Emily Blunt's long lost twin. I'm not joking. I posted a photo I took of my niece together with a photo of Emily Blunt in an identical pose on Facebook and challenged anyone to guess which was which. The only person who knew which was which was her brother, and even he wasn't entirely confident of his choice.

Would you ever want to be one? 
Considering that good models make well over $100,000 before they even reach 18 years of age, while lesser models make nothing and pose simply for the hope of being discovered or even just for the heck of it, no, I see no point in my ever wanting to be a model. No one is ever going to pay me to pose for them.

How often do you change your hairstyle? 
Not often. I try to get women to cut my hair who have definite opinions about what works for me and what doesn't, and who seem to know what  they're talking about. But lately I haven't been able to do that. The last girl quit to go home and raise her babies. She was a beautiful, world-traveling surfer, but she got married and had 2 kids, so I understand her decision. Now I'm just searching. It's OK, though, because as I get  older my hair seems to be changing on its own. I don't know how this works exactly, but it looks different every day. It doesn't matter how I comb it or what I do, it does what it wants. I don't think what it does would qualify as a hair "style" per se, but at least it's hair and it's on my head. That's about all I can say about it.

What does it look like now? 
Depends on its mood. I think it is probably as tired as me so it probably looks tired and flat.

Do you have a favorite day of the week? Which is it? 
If I do it would be something tied to the weekend. Friday requires me to go to work, but then I am free after that and have 2 more days to remain free. That is an important thing because the stress comes first and then goes away, whereas Sunday starts off stress free and then grows increasingly stressful as the day reaches its end and you know you have work tomorrow. Saturday often involves me being told that I have "chores" to do and then getting yelled at for not having done enough of them, which is a lot like being at work. Hmm, I'm going to go with Friday. I might as well get paid for being abused.

Are you alone? 
More than I ever wanted to be.

When is the last time you were on the phone after 2 am? 
I think it was over a year ago. Does anyone reading this remember a blogger named JLee? She used to comment on Fingers "Whine Guide" blog. We used to talk on the telephone for hours. I miss that.

Cotton Pickin Tired

Yesterday I wrote about the 5K race I was scheduled to run today. I said I'd update my blog to tell if I'd run or not.

I did not run.

OK, OK, stop it, stop it! I had a hell week. By the time Friday came around I was passing out at my desk. I don't know what exactly is going on, but I am just collapsing. So Saturday when my alarm went off for me to get up and run, I turned it off, briefly grew painfully aware of how incredibly tired I still was after a full night of sleep, and passed right back out again. I got up later and went downtown to see how things came out.

Here's a photo of all the people wandering around after the race looking at craft tables and a big car show:

Click on the photo and make it larger. Do you see the 2 girls in the lime green t-shirts with 5K written on it? Those are the shirts people got when they registered for the race. I'm supposed to have one, but I never got my race packet, so I don't know where it is. Looking at those 2 girls I can't help but think "I could have beat them, even as tired as I am." Yeah, especially if they ran with the child on their shoulders and the shopping bags. Every little bit helps. 

When I first arrived downtown half the people there were wearing their race shirts. But the runners cleared out pretty quickly and went home  to recover. I wanted to see the cars. Even if I had run, I would have stuck around to see all the cars. I just would have been scary looking and deathly tired as I did it.

OK, I don't have a good excuse for not running. I didn't train at all. I was afraid of an injury. I was worn to a frazzle from working all the time. I haven't found a way to get to the gym with this job, but somehow I'm going to have to. Either that or I'm going to have to change jobs again. No one is paying me well enough to sacrifice my health just for  the 'privilege' of working for them. Once you lose your health its a monster trying to get it back.

So, it wasn't a bad day. I spent hours and hours looking at everything downtown. It wasn't too hot, either. It would have been a good day for me to run. I should have run. I didn't. What more can I tell you?

2 more wearing their race shirts

Friday the 13th - Pre Race Day

Well, it's the day before my next race, the Cotton Pickin 5K. How much have I trained for this race you ask? I'm so glad you asked me that.

I have not trained one single bit. I have been so totally overwhelmed at work that I don't have any hope of training during lunch. By the time I get home  from work it's after 7, sometimes after 8 or 9, and dark outside. There are no streetlights around here, or not very many, and it's dangerous to run at night here for that reason, as well as because of the wild animals.

I joined a gym about 5 miles or so from my house. It's the closest gym I could find. But I haven't been even once. I've worked and worked some more, but not found any time for working out.

Tomorrow's race starts at 8:30 in the morning. I'm no morning person. All week long I have steadily grown dramatically more tired. I have fallen asleep at work while typing. Today I fell asleep while drinking coffee. I'm not even kidding. That's how tired I am.

Odds of my making it to this race are not good. Odds of my making it to this race, picking up my race packet, pinning on my number and running the race from beginning to end are even worse. But that doesn't mean it won't happen.

If by some miracle I wake up tomorrow morning feeling peppy and ready to run, there is the added, er, problem of the car show that is going on after the race. I go to this car show every year. I spend hours there. I get sun burned walking around looking at all the cars and taking photos. If I make it to the race and actually run then I know that I will be limping around the car show for hours, smelling like a really nasty pair of old men's underpants and looking like death. But I will still go to the car show, take photos, and get sunburned.

Come Sunday I will be a disaster. But there is work to do around the house, including mowing. And my car needs the front rotors replaced. This falls to me. I have the rotors. What I don't have is the desire to do them just now. The sidewalk and driveway needs edging. And the last time I started my motorcycle it rain very badly and then stalled, which means I need to get serious about cleaning out that carburetor.

If you're at all interested, I'll try to update this blog this weekend and say whether or not I did or did not run. Otherwise, what's the point of writing this post, right?

Of course.

New Gym

OK, I've joined a new gym. I haven't gone to it yet, at least as far as a workout is concerned. I did spend a half hour there discussing computers with the owner while I signed my new membership. It's a pretty bare bones gym, but it has treadmills to run on, ellipticals for when my knees or calves are torn up, and free weights for all the workouts I haven't done in a long, long time and now need to start catching up on. Lately my triceps have been giving me a hard time - I think they call it atrophy and it hurts - because they want me to go and do some heavy bench presses, dips and nose busters. Funny how my biceps never do this. Then again, my biceps have never been nearly as strong or well developed as my triceps.

Penny just kicked Sheldon out of  her car. Sorry, watching TV while I type.

I've been reading the book "The Wizard of Oz" just for the heck of it. It's a bit different than the movie. For one thing, Dorothy is a lot younger than in the movie. For another, there is a lot of story left after the Wizard accidentally floats away in his balloon, leaving Dorothy stuck in Oz.

I have a race in a week and a half and I've done exactly no training whatsoever for it. The odds of my ending up injured are pretty high. The odds of my not even getting out of bed and going to the start are even higher. Time just got away from  me and this  is a race I've never run before. Setting a personal best for a race is easy if you've never run it before. Whatever time I do it in, that'll be my personal best for that race. Don't want to set the bar too high right off the bat, see?

My car is filled with dead grass. Apparently when I mow the grass ends up all over the driveway right next to my driver's door. Every morning when I crawl out to the car to get in and drive to work grass must be sticking to my feet and climbing into the car with me, where it jumps off and hides in the floor while I go on inside  to work. I can't blame the grass for not wanting to come all the way into work with me, but it would sure make my life easier.

They're trying to force Sheldon to get his own driver's license.

Anyway, I'm going to stop here.

Wordless Wednesday - Stick a Fork in Me