I've been meaning to update my blog all week but I kept thinking I would wait until Kyle Orton was traded.  It now looks like that line of thinking would have lead me to not update my blog until next season.

In shocking (to me) news the Miami Dolphins decided to sign free agent Matt Moore rather than trade for Orton.  Matt Moore of the 22 career starts and 16 touchdowns against 17 interceptions over a guy that has averaged 20 TDs and 11 INTs over the past three years.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted Miami to take Orton to free up cap space and clear the way for Tebow in Denver, not because I care about the Dolphins record this year.  I'm also not saying that Denver will be better this year with Tebow as QB as compared to Orton.  There is no way Denver is a playoff team with either QB so why not see what we have in Tebow.  Worst case (or maybe best case) we end up with the worst record and draft Andrew Luck next year.  It's only been a few days but I'm about as tired of all the trade talk as I was with Melo.

I am, however, very excited that the lockout is over and that we'll have pro football to watch this winter!  I'm also pretty happy with the Willis McGahee signing (if it is really a done deal) because I'll be happy to have a running back that can get us into the end zone from a yard away, sorry Knowshon.

On Sunday afternoon Angie, baby girl, and I got back from a wonderful 10 day trip to Montana (more about it here.)  I'm sorry to report that I did not exercise at all during the vacation and probably added on the Turner Ten.  Similar to the Freshman Fifteen but done in 10 days rather than one full school year.  Now that I'm back home I guess I need to pick up my running again.  I recently bought the Nike+ sports kit and calibrated it on a one mile run last night.  I'm trying to decide if I want to try running one mile every night or two miles every other night.  I've been doing some reading online and most people seem to be of the opinion that if you don't run for at least 20 - 30 minutes you might as well not do it at all.  I don't see the reasoning in this.  I understand that you don't get to your target heart rate until you've been exercising for 20 minutes but how can people actually say you're better off not doing it at all?  I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that are trying to be good and get some exercise that read these articles/blogs and decide that they might as well stay on the couch and not work out at all.  In my opinion any exercise is good and I think it's great just to get off the couch, even if it's only for 10 minutes.

I'm not sure if Angie's parents read this blog but thanks for being great hosts!  We had a great time and can't wait to see you again in October (if you can make it) or December.

Marathon a Month

When I woke up on Tuesday morning (the day after my 4k) I found it very difficult to muster enough motivation to even pick a day to work out again.  I figured that since I had been running every other day for a month, minus a two day break or two, I would easily be able to keep up the pace of running six to eight miles per week.  Boy was I wrong.  Even though I was planning to use Tuesday as an off day anyway I was happy when I got an email from a friend asking if I'd play on his softball team that night.  I was happy because I knew I could use the excuse of playing softball as exercise and I could put off my day of running for another day (more on the softball game later.)  I finally got on the treadmill Thursday night figuring I'd knock out 20 - 25 minutes no problem.  I was a running expert by now right?  Let me just say that I felt like I was going to die after the first 2 minutes of running.  I ended up alternating two minutes of walking with four minutes of jogging (what is the line between jogging and running?) for a total of 26 minutes and it took all I had not to quit after 6 minutes.  I'm not sure why I had such a rough time.  Maybe it was what I had for supper, maybe it was a letdown after having a goal to train for.  Whatever the reason I was pretty sure I was done with running.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon when I got the itch to get some exercise so I jumped on the treadmill not sure what to expect.  Amazing enough I felt great and, after one minute of walking, I ran/jogged for 20 minutes straight before finishing with two minutes of cool down walking.  Color me confused.  I'm interested to see what the next session is going to be like and I'm also interested to find out when it will be as we are leaving for Montana tomorrow night for vacation.  I hope to get out a few times during vacation but if not I'll have to go at it strong when we get back because my new goal is...a marathon a month!  OK, let me clarify what I mean.  I'm not going to actually run 26.2 miles in one day every month but rather a total of 26.2 miles (or more) per month.  While I was training for the 4k in June I ran 29.33 miles.  I think I actually ran a bit more than than because I absolutely believe that treadmills are not accurate when it comes to distance.  For example, to run an eight minute mile (as I averaged for the 4k) I would have to set the treadmill speed at 7.5.  I'm not sure about you but if I set the treadmill to that speed I will be in a dead sprint and plain dead after two minutes.  I recently bought a Nike+ sport kit so, once I get the shoelace sensor holder, I will see how accurate the treadmill really is.  

Softball.  The image that comes to my mind is a bunch of overweight, middle aged men drinking beer in a dugout arguing about who has to play the field.  Not because they want to play but because they want to sit in the dugout, out of the sun, watching the other guys boot ground balls and pull hamstrings.  Why, if this is the case, was I so nervous to sub for my friend's team on Tuesday night?  Probably because I knew that the team would be made up of athletic guys in their mid 20's who still think they should have made the major leagues even though they didn't make their high school team because the coach had something against them.  Don't get me wrong, my friend's team wasn't like that but I've played in enough leagues to know that other teams are like that.  Teams that have full uniforms including stirrups and eye back, with full time base coaches and a stat keeper.  Luckily the team we played against was at the same as us and were friendly.  I was still nervous not wanting to look like a guy that hasn't played softball in three years.  I played the field fine but my four ground balls (I did beat out the throw on three of the swinging bunts) left a lot to be desired.  I always forget how patient you have to be at the plate and couldn't help but swing before the ball even had a chance to cross the plate.  My legs were also SORE the next day.  I guess my 4k training didn't prepare me for the sprinting around the bases and outfield as well as I thought it would.  My arm and back were also sore from not throwing a ball for so long.  Getting old is not fun.

T minus 26 hours until the vacation starts!

Firecracker 4k

Well, it's finally over.  I just got back from running the firecracker 4k in Erie, CO with a time of 20 minutes and 13 seconds!  I was hoping for 22 - 23 minutes so I'm very happy with my time.  That comes out to an 8 minute 8 second mile and that includes a 40 second walk after 16 minutes.  It helped that for once my run started with a downhill so I wasn't completely dead after the first 10 minutes.  It was, however, rough to climb that hill at the end.  I sure the fact that I was running with other people helped speed up my pace more than when I run alone.

Congrats to everyone that ran the race (not that any of them would ever find themselves reading this blog) and thanks to Angie and Lauren for coming down to watch and cheer me on!

Happy 4th!

One day to go...

Well, tomorrow is the day I've been training for.  The Firecracker 4k.  Although I still have not yet run 2.5 miles without a walking break I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to beat my target time of 23 minutes.  This week I was able to run for 16 minutes before taking a one minute walk break.  Since most of my running has been outside I'm pretty happy with that because the places I've been running have been very hilly and it seems like there is always a steep incline off the bat to zap all my energy right away.  Although I've wanted to start walking sooner I've been pretty good at getting to a mile and a half before my walk break.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  Obviously I'd like to make it the entire 2.48 miles without walking but I won't feel disappointed in myself if I have to walk for a minute or two.

I'll do an update Tuesday morning to let you know how I did.  Happy Fourth of July!

Oh Yeah? Well Stake That!

Wow, two posts in the same month and it's only June 20th!

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks for knocking off the Miami Heat.  Thank goodness we didn't have to see LBJ hoist the championship trophy.

Congrats also to the Boston Bruins for beating the much hated Canucks of Vancouver.  I've always wanted to see Vancouver.  It's too bad the citizens had to burn it to the ground.  Silly Canadians.

I was in Baltimore a couple weeks ago for a conference and was fortunate enough to go to a Baltimore Orioles game with some of Angie's DC family.  I've wanted to see Camden Yards for awhile now and I wasn't disappointed.  It has been a dream of mine for a long time to attend a game at every major league baseball park.  I've been to Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles), Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), the Metrodome (Minnesota Twins), Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), the old Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees),  and Oakland Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland A's).  For awhile I kept my ticket stubs as proof but somewhere along the line I threw most of them away.  As I sit at my desk and look at my Orioles ticket I think I'm going to start over.  Unless I can find some of those stubs I've only got 29 more to go!

I actually kept up on my 4k training while in Baltimore and it's a good thing too because I ate a lot of junk while I was there.  My training is going pretty well and just today I went for a jog near my office and completed a 2.6 mile workout in 25 minutes and 27 seconds.  That might not sound like a very good time but that includes 6 minutes of walking.  I'm still alternating walking and jogging to build up my stamina.  I feel like I'm doing pretty well and am hopefully on pace to be able to jog most (if not all) of the 4k by July 4th.  I'd better be ready because I just registered! Gulp! I would be even further along had I not decided to try to cut my toe off.  How did that happen?  I'll tell you.

Just over a week ago Angie and I finally completed a task we have been talking about since we moved in; putting new trees in our back yard!  We knew that, at some point, the empty lots behind our house would be filled with houses and our view would change from the playground to our neighbors' kitchens and living rooms.  We put an Armstrong Maple along our back fence and three juniper trees along our east fence for added privacy.  As we were putting in the tree stakes for our maple tree I decided to use some of my weight to my advantage.  Each metal stake has two "wings" that stick out near the bottom.  I wasn't sure what they were for so I assumed they were there to push on.  I pushed with my foot a few times and didn't feel the stake move into the ground much so I put all of my body weight onto the wing.  Bad idea.  The metal wing sliced right through my shoe, my sock, and my skin.  Luckily it didn't do any serious damage (I assumed since I could still move my toe) but it was bad enough that Angie thought I should get stitches.  After having my toe numbed a few years ago I vowed to never let another needle touch my toe so I put a band aid on it, wrapped it in tape, and finished the job.  After some moaning and groaning of course!  My toe is mostly healed now although I'll probably have a nasty scar and my 4k training resumed after a six day break.

Back to work, I hope all the fathers out there had a nice Father's Day, I know I did.

Qdoba to 4k

Wow, I can't believe it has been three and a half months since my last post.  Sorry about that.  A lot has happened since my last post so I'll try to summarize the major events in one sentence each (in no particular order.)

Nuggets finally traded Melo, made the playoffs, and then exited in the first round just like they did when Melo was here.

The Broncos had a pretty good draft and addressed some of the issues on the defensive side of the ball, now let's just hope there is a season.

The Rockies got off to the best start in the majors and just finished off the worst month in the majors and there is much panic at 20th and Blake.

My baby girl turned 2 and is as cute and as sweet as ever.

I turned 33 and Angie turned...29...and she is as cute and as sweet as ever.

The folks are still in Senegal and things seem to be going well for them although we still miss them like crazy.

Two weddings in April, one in MT and the other in MN, and the weather held up for the most part.

I think that about sums up the past few months, now I'll try to do a better job of updating in the future.

I have tentatively decided to do the Erie Firecracker 4k on July 4th.  Until about 5 minutes ago I thought it was a 5k so now my training just got 1k easier!  My idea was to start training on June 4th so I'd have exactly one month to get ready but I cheated and actually started today.  I am starting off easy and combined walking and jogging (9 and 12 laps respectively) for 1.5 miles.  There is a rec center by my office and it has a running track that says 14 laps = 1 mile but i'm not quit sure I believe it because I finished the 1.5 miles in just under 18 minutes.  This means I could finish the 4k in 30 minutes with a lot of walking.  Obviously my goal is to do it all without running and I think that, by July, I should be able to do it without any issues.  I do not, however, plan to change my diet much so I'll continue with my Qdoba and sushi (not on the same day) lunches.  I wouldn't want anyone to confuse me for a healthy person!  Stay tuned for more updates as my training continues!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it....OUCH

Now that football season is over I'm finding it hard to find sports related topics to talk about although  I'm not sure why as we still have NBA, NHL, and NCAA hoops going on (as Ryan pointed out in my last blog.)

I am so over all the drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets.  Even though I'd like to keep Melo and Billups around (and get rid of JR, K-Mart, Birdman, and others) at this point I just want the Nuggets to get something out of Melo instead of letting him finish the season and move to New York in the off season.  The more I watch of the Nuggets, however, I find myself wishing they would get rid of the entire team (keep Lawson and Afflalo) and start from scratch.  Two games in a row now the No-guts have jumped to an early 15+ point lead only to lose the game due to poor shooting and even worse defense.  These guys are no fun to watch and I can usually only make it 5 - 10 minutes before I start channel surfing.

Things aren't any better for the other Pepsi Center team as the Avs have now lost 8 games in a row after last night's 9 - 1 beat down at the hands of the Calgary Flames.  There was at least something to cheer for when Peter Forsberg returned to the team but that lasted only 2 games and he is now officially retired.  The team is in serious need of a goalie and some quality veterans although at this point in the season there is no reason to add payroll.  Speaking of payroll, the Avs are second to last in the league (or right around there) in team payroll and are something like $15M under the salary cap.  Apparently the Kroenke family spent all their money bringing Josh McDaniels to St. Louis that they don't have money to spend on the Avs.

I never thought I would say this but the local college hoops teams are actually the talk of the town right now.  Tad Boyle and the CU Buffs  had a very hot start to the Big 12 season by beating ranked teams Missouri and Kansas St.  Although they have cooled off a bit of late (although a big win Saturday against Kansas St.) they still have the chance to win 20 games this year and potentially make the NCAA tourney.

Up in Fort Collins CSU is currently at 17-7 and, with a few more wins and a decent run in the MWC tourney, might find themselves in the NCAA tourney this year.  I think they still need a signature win (still have games at #7 BYU and at #6 San Diego St.) but I've been very impressed with they way they have played this year. 

OK enough sports, I need to add some reading in here for those non-sports fans *cough*Angie*cough* that read my blog.  Although snow is far from my mind right now (currently 66 F in Erie) a few weeks ago I remembered why I hate shoveling snow.  I've got nice boots and a warm coat so I don't mind the cold.  I don't even mind the back pain because at least it means I'm actually working my back.  The worst part of shoveling snow is the constant handle to the gut/crotch when the blade of the shovel hits the gap between sections of the driveway.  I often get lazy when I shovel and decide that the best plan is just to push the snow as far as I can before I have to scoop and dump.  Most of the time this involves crossing at least one gap in the driveway.  I assume the position of shovel out in front of me with both hands on the handle and the handle pointing directly toward my gut area.  It doesn't matter if it push up the driveway or down the driveway the blade of the shovel always seems to dip into the gap, stopping all forward momentum, all the while I walk into the handle.  I usually look around to see how many neighbors were watching, tip the handle down a bit to free the blade, and continue to push until...I hit the next gap.  Thank goodness I inherited a snow blower so my shoveling related injuries are at a minimum.

While I was happy to get the snow blower from my Dad I am sad that I got it because my folks moved to Senegal.  I dropped them off at the airport on Saturday morning, said my goodbyes to them and Mike, Melissa, and family, and went home to feel sorry for myself.  Luckily my sweet wife Angie decided to cheer me up with a dinner at Village Tavern and a movie.  We went to see True Grit which I thought was very good and would recommend it.  I miss you Mom, Dad, Mike, Melissa, and girls!

Thoughts and prayers to baby girl's newest friend and second cousin.  We hope you and your folks are doing well and we can't wait to meet you!