In case you were unaware, I turn 30 this year. One of the things I decided I wanted to do for myself to celebrate this milestone was to run a half marathon. I knew it would be a hard task for me to follow through on but I was determined to do it.
Keep in mind that I haven't run consistently for years so I was a bit nervous when I started running again this past January. It went well, all things considered (I was a smoker for 15 years, was running on a treadmill, and had no endurance.) My breathing gradually got better and I started to build up an endurance. Then about a month ago I started to get shin splints. The pain grew so bad that I couldn't run as much as I had been able to so off I went to a shoe store to get a new pair of shoes that would help me with the dreaded splints. Once I got the new kicks home I couldn't wait to try them out and get back to training for the half. Imagine my surprise when I took them out for their first test run only to find that they did nothing to help my pain. I was pissed to say the least. I specifically bought the shoes because they are made for my type of step. This didn't stop me though, I kept at it, thinking I had to break em in.
So here I am, two weeks later. Still in pain every time I run. So I've made the decision to head to a local running store to seek their advice. Until this time, I'm no longer going to run. I don't want to cause any damage and I can't take the pain any longer. It's very disappointing because after two months I finally felt like I was making some progress in my training. Hopefully it will turn out that I was given bad shoe advice in the first place. That's why I'm hoping for.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Name Is Me
I thought bugs only flew into your car at night. The little buggers are supposed to be addicted to light. So why was the front of the car covered in bug carcass when I got home from Indiana this afternoon? To top it off, I spent two hours yesterday cleaning that car so that it was spotless. Then upon returning to it after a nice game of tennis I find it was used as target practice for a flock of birds with what had to be a nasty case of the runs.
Do you ever drive a certain way so much that you could probably do it asleep? That's the drive to and from Adam's mom's. I did it alone today and when I looked back on it this afternoon, I realized that I was in a complete daze for about half of it. Parts of it are a complete blur. Kinda scary.
Remember said tennis game mentioned above? I kicked ass. Well, not kicked ass so much as won a hard fought game. I have to give thanks again to Andrea for teaching me. I get more addicted every time I play.
Do you ever drive a certain way so much that you could probably do it asleep? That's the drive to and from Adam's mom's. I did it alone today and when I looked back on it this afternoon, I realized that I was in a complete daze for about half of it. Parts of it are a complete blur. Kinda scary.
Remember said tennis game mentioned above? I kicked ass. Well, not kicked ass so much as won a hard fought game. I have to give thanks again to Andrea for teaching me. I get more addicted every time I play.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
When In Rome
The bus dropped me off outside St. Peters Square. I knew right away that the first thing I would do is visit the famed Church and Vatican Museum. Knowing that there was a dress code I made sure to have a short-sleeve button down and jeans on even thought it was forecast to be 90 degrees in Rome that day.
I made sure to see all the major parts of the Basilica but what I really wanted to do was climb all the way to the top, to the cupola. When I finally reached it via the 1.5 ft. wide stairwell I was drenched with sweat but I didn't care. My reward was all around me. I could see a lot of Rome and all of Vatican City. It was such an awe inspiring moment for me.
After I descended those small stairs again, I hurried over to the Vatican Museum and to the famed Sistine Chapel. The curators of the museum are smart, the chapel is at the end of the self-guided tour. So after what seemed like statue after statue and painting after painting I could feel the excitement build as I made my way to the entrance to the chapel. When I walked in my mouth dropped. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It had this old musty smell, like your grandparents basement. I found a place along the wall to sit and I stared upwards for what seemed like hours. I marveled at the fact that I was there, in the Sistine Chapel. Words fail me to this day as to how it moved me.
Upon leaving Vatican City I decided that I had enough time to navigate my way to the famed Trevi Fountain. After countless wrong turns I finally turned a corner and there it was. It was packed with people...tourists, locals, and people selling all kinds of things. After a few pictures I made my way up to the edge of the fountain and got out three Euro pennies. There is a saying that if you toss three pennies into the fountain it will ensure your return to Rome. The first two I threw right in but the third I held onto for just a second. As I held that penny I thought of my dad who had passed away three months earlier. He knew how much I loved to travel and always told me that I had the best job because I had the ability to travel all over the world. So as I threw that penny in I said "this is for you dad...I'm doing what I love." I smiled as I watched it land in the water and sink to the bottom because I knew he was looking down at me with a smile on his face.
I slowly made my way back to St. Peters Square where I'd catch the bus back to the cruise ship. Rome is such an amazing city with it's small streets and bustling Piazza's I didn't want to leave. But throwing those pennies in the fountain ensured I would return one day but if that doesn't do it I know my dad will help get me there again.
I made sure to see all the major parts of the Basilica but what I really wanted to do was climb all the way to the top, to the cupola. When I finally reached it via the 1.5 ft. wide stairwell I was drenched with sweat but I didn't care. My reward was all around me. I could see a lot of Rome and all of Vatican City. It was such an awe inspiring moment for me.
After I descended those small stairs again, I hurried over to the Vatican Museum and to the famed Sistine Chapel. The curators of the museum are smart, the chapel is at the end of the self-guided tour. So after what seemed like statue after statue and painting after painting I could feel the excitement build as I made my way to the entrance to the chapel. When I walked in my mouth dropped. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It had this old musty smell, like your grandparents basement. I found a place along the wall to sit and I stared upwards for what seemed like hours. I marveled at the fact that I was there, in the Sistine Chapel. Words fail me to this day as to how it moved me.
Upon leaving Vatican City I decided that I had enough time to navigate my way to the famed Trevi Fountain. After countless wrong turns I finally turned a corner and there it was. It was packed with people...tourists, locals, and people selling all kinds of things. After a few pictures I made my way up to the edge of the fountain and got out three Euro pennies. There is a saying that if you toss three pennies into the fountain it will ensure your return to Rome. The first two I threw right in but the third I held onto for just a second. As I held that penny I thought of my dad who had passed away three months earlier. He knew how much I loved to travel and always told me that I had the best job because I had the ability to travel all over the world. So as I threw that penny in I said "this is for you dad...I'm doing what I love." I smiled as I watched it land in the water and sink to the bottom because I knew he was looking down at me with a smile on his face.
I slowly made my way back to St. Peters Square where I'd catch the bus back to the cruise ship. Rome is such an amazing city with it's small streets and bustling Piazza's I didn't want to leave. But throwing those pennies in the fountain ensured I would return one day but if that doesn't do it I know my dad will help get me there again.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Rise And Shine
It's 0404. I've been up since 0340. Why? I am not a morning person yet I work the mornings so that I don't have to work the evenings or late nights. Weird huh? Every single morning when that alarm goes off this early, I want to throw it against the wall. So far, I haven't actually followed through.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A Day In The Life
You have a migraine while on the airplane. Add to the mix a bed that feels like it is made of concrete. Said bed has a sky blue velvet comforter on it that clearly is from the early 80's. You lie down to take a nap only to receive a phone call with disappointing news. From that point on you are unable to sleep because of the sharp pain behind your right eye and constant thinking of the disappointing news. You get out of your sky blue bed and get dressed to go eat at the Rotisserie Buffet. Hoping your love of food will wipe away your blues and behind-the-ear pain you pile food onto plate after plate while consuming three Coke's and two glasses of water. You then pour three spoon-fulls of strawberry sauce onto your sugar free cheesecake. After you eat the strawberry covered cake you feel worse than you did when you left your room two hours earlier to go to said buffet. You get to your room and think that you just may vomit but you don't. You say things to the person you love that you wish you hadn't and realize that the both of you are in the same situation together. You watch Dancing With The Stars and almost cry when Marlee Matlin does her dance. Wow, she amazes you. You listen to your iPod during commercial breaks of DWTS hoping to calm yourself down. You succeed. Your show ends and you go to sleep in your sky blue bed thinking of how well your day started off and how it's ending.
Monday, April 07, 2008
My Morning Rock
A great way to start off the week and my day. Some classic Journey, Survivor, and Fleetwood Mac all in a row while driving to work this morning. Combine this with the fact that I had the moon roof cracked at 5am and I'm a happy man.
Have a good week everyone!
Have a good week everyone!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Serve It Up
Last summer my friend Andrea talked me into playing tennis with her one summer afternoon. Having never played before I was nervous to be playing against her since she'd been playing for years. I decided that if nothing else, it was a great way to get a tan and a good workout, so off we went to out local park.
Imagine my surprise when I found that I wasn't too shabby of a tennis player. I had no back hand and my serve was inconsistent as hell but all in all, I held my own. One of the things I found was that I could take out any aggression or stress I was feeling on the tennis ball. Putting all my strength into returning that serve helped me relax. It was great. While my skill didn't improve all that much over the rest of the summer/fall we continued to play as much as we could. Save for a bad sprain, my first summer of tennis went off without a hitch.
This past weekend was the first nice one of the spring for us here in Chicago. I'm happy to say I played tennis twice and already have plans to play again very soon. One of the things I hope to learn this year from my tennis pro Andrea is how to actually play the game. I never thought I'd be a fan of tennis but I think the sport just got another one.
Imagine my surprise when I found that I wasn't too shabby of a tennis player. I had no back hand and my serve was inconsistent as hell but all in all, I held my own. One of the things I found was that I could take out any aggression or stress I was feeling on the tennis ball. Putting all my strength into returning that serve helped me relax. It was great. While my skill didn't improve all that much over the rest of the summer/fall we continued to play as much as we could. Save for a bad sprain, my first summer of tennis went off without a hitch.
This past weekend was the first nice one of the spring for us here in Chicago. I'm happy to say I played tennis twice and already have plans to play again very soon. One of the things I hope to learn this year from my tennis pro Andrea is how to actually play the game. I never thought I'd be a fan of tennis but I think the sport just got another one.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
She Played Ball Like A Lesbian
Finally, my new computer has been purchased. I'll now be blogging to you from my new macbook. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more frequently. So, without further ado, here we go folks.
Why hasn't America put a stop to Dick Cheney? I'm sure most of you are aware of his answer to a question a reporter asked him regarding the majority of American's wanting our troops out of Iraq. His response? "So?" Are you freaking kidding me? The Vice-President says, "So?" We all know that this administration does whatever it wants to but for him to say that is a slap in the face in my opinion, regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq. I'm not looking forward to another cold Chicago winter but I'll tell you, January 2009 can't come soon enough for me.
I saw a news clip today and they were interviewing a lady who had purchased a ticket on an airline that just ended service. She was without a way to Cancun and there was no one to help so understandably she was upset and angry. There was a certain look on her face like it was intentional that she was left in Chicago and that the airline could care less what happened to her. While the situation is horrible she shouldn't blame the airline entirely. Why isn't anyone in our government doing anything about the price of oil? This particular airline couldn't operate anymore because of the high price of oil and loss of a service contract. What other options did they have. They had absolutely NO money left and no way to get new funding.
After I reread this post, I've realized it isn't a very good one so I apologize. I'm a bit rusty.
We're off to Vegas tomorrow to see Sir Elton John. While I hate the city, I'm really looking forward to seeing the show. So, for the first time in a long time, I'm actually excited to go to Vegas.
Why hasn't America put a stop to Dick Cheney? I'm sure most of you are aware of his answer to a question a reporter asked him regarding the majority of American's wanting our troops out of Iraq. His response? "So?" Are you freaking kidding me? The Vice-President says, "So?" We all know that this administration does whatever it wants to but for him to say that is a slap in the face in my opinion, regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq. I'm not looking forward to another cold Chicago winter but I'll tell you, January 2009 can't come soon enough for me.
I saw a news clip today and they were interviewing a lady who had purchased a ticket on an airline that just ended service. She was without a way to Cancun and there was no one to help so understandably she was upset and angry. There was a certain look on her face like it was intentional that she was left in Chicago and that the airline could care less what happened to her. While the situation is horrible she shouldn't blame the airline entirely. Why isn't anyone in our government doing anything about the price of oil? This particular airline couldn't operate anymore because of the high price of oil and loss of a service contract. What other options did they have. They had absolutely NO money left and no way to get new funding.
After I reread this post, I've realized it isn't a very good one so I apologize. I'm a bit rusty.
We're off to Vegas tomorrow to see Sir Elton John. While I hate the city, I'm really looking forward to seeing the show. So, for the first time in a long time, I'm actually excited to go to Vegas.
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