Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to get healthy again. I ran a 10 miler last Sunday with very little pain, until a big ass thorn punctured my shoe and foot after my run (ouch!). I missed Tuesday's run due to swelling in my foot from said thorn but then on Wednesday I ran 8 miles with almost no pain whatsoever. Just an occasional pinch or pull in the buttocks region. I remember feeling a pinch at .8 of my first mile and realizing that I just ran .8 without any pain. Things are looking up!
So I put together good runs three days in a row now and my butt is only sore when I sit on it too long. Tomorrow, I'll run 12 or 13 and if all goes well I think I'll be ready to start training for Akron, which is only 16 weeks away.
Now, can we do something about this heat? 90+ degrees two days in a row. Yesterday's run was just brutally hot. Luckily, I was meeting the family and friends at the pool so I was able to run straight to the pool and cool off. But seriously, this August weather in June just isn't right.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Juno
Most of you already know that we have a Netflix subscription which we use primarily as a means to watch shows at our leisure and without commercials. Last summer, we went through the entire Alias series, however many seasons they made. We've also had good luck with The Closer and we are currently watching season 3 of Weeds. We very rarely watch movies. Partly because most movies they make these days really suck and partly because we just don't have enough time to sit through an entire movie in one sitting.
Somehow, and for some reason, my beautiful wife snuck Juno into the top of our queue. I knew nothing about the movie, had no desire to see it and never would have seen it if not for my wife. I'm surprised and happy to tell you that Juno is actually a pretty darn good movie. We had to force ourselves to turn it off the first night after already staying up way past our pathetically early bed time. I won't get into the plot. Just take my word and rent Juno. You'll be glad that you did.
Somehow, and for some reason, my beautiful wife snuck Juno into the top of our queue. I knew nothing about the movie, had no desire to see it and never would have seen it if not for my wife. I'm surprised and happy to tell you that Juno is actually a pretty darn good movie. We had to force ourselves to turn it off the first night after already staying up way past our pathetically early bed time. I won't get into the plot. Just take my word and rent Juno. You'll be glad that you did.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Turn Out The Lights
The party is over. Hillary will be giving her concession speech tomorrow night. It was a good fight. It got ugly at times. It exposed Hillary as a candidate willing to do whatever it takes to win, which was noble but was also sometimes ugly, if not embarrassing. I still believe she would make the better president but it looks like Obama is the one who can get the most votes. And at the end of the day, getting the most votes is the most important thing, especially this year, with the right wing sporting another mental midget as their candidate. Our country just can't afford another 4 years with an idiot at the helm.
As I've said before, there was a time when I would have considered voting for McCain, but the McCain that I would've considered voting for has left the station, never to return. I don't recognize McCain '08, and I doubt that he recognizes himself anymore. Which might be a big reason why he keeps screwing up so royally when he speaks in public. He has flip-flopped so much and kow-towed to his party's wants and desires so much that he no longer knows who he is, or was. So when he is out there speaking on the stump, it appears that he is confused, because he is. But is it senility? Or is it just too hard to differentiate between what he believes in and what he's been "told" he believes in in order to become the neocon candidate? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. He's a goner.
Which brings me full circle back to Hillary. I have this vision in my mind of Hillary taking the stage tomorrow, withdrawing, conceding, and ACCEPTING the VP nomination. Holy cow, happy days are here again! But I know this will not, can not happen. Although this would make perfect sense for our country and for the democratic party, I'm sorry to say that ego's will prevail. Sadly, I just can't see Hillary ever settling for #2. And maybe it's for the best. For if Obama is really going to be able to come in and change America, it is probably best that he comes in with a team of fresh faces, new believers, champions for the cause. I firmly believe that a major part of the Duh administrations' failures stem from Duh filling his cabinet with a bunch of old timers bent on reacquiring the power that they once had then lost when they were in their prime. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely. See exhibit Duh.
As I've said before, there was a time when I would have considered voting for McCain, but the McCain that I would've considered voting for has left the station, never to return. I don't recognize McCain '08, and I doubt that he recognizes himself anymore. Which might be a big reason why he keeps screwing up so royally when he speaks in public. He has flip-flopped so much and kow-towed to his party's wants and desires so much that he no longer knows who he is, or was. So when he is out there speaking on the stump, it appears that he is confused, because he is. But is it senility? Or is it just too hard to differentiate between what he believes in and what he's been "told" he believes in in order to become the neocon candidate? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. He's a goner.
Which brings me full circle back to Hillary. I have this vision in my mind of Hillary taking the stage tomorrow, withdrawing, conceding, and ACCEPTING the VP nomination. Holy cow, happy days are here again! But I know this will not, can not happen. Although this would make perfect sense for our country and for the democratic party, I'm sorry to say that ego's will prevail. Sadly, I just can't see Hillary ever settling for #2. And maybe it's for the best. For if Obama is really going to be able to come in and change America, it is probably best that he comes in with a team of fresh faces, new believers, champions for the cause. I firmly believe that a major part of the Duh administrations' failures stem from Duh filling his cabinet with a bunch of old timers bent on reacquiring the power that they once had then lost when they were in their prime. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely. See exhibit Duh.
It's Just A Fantasy Part 2
I play fantasy football and fantasy baseball in a marathoners league with other runners from around the country. As a rule, runners are very competitive people. So, I really like to do well in these leagues. I won the baseball championship last year and I finished 2nd in football, losing the championship by 1/3 of a point. (insert sad violin music here). Admittedly, if I spent the same amount of time analyzing stocks as I do analyzing baseball and football statistics, my bank account might be overflowing. But hey, happiness has always trumped money in my book. I digress.
This baseball season, I jumped out to a 2 game lead with a 6-1 record, only to lose the past 2 games and fall to 6-3, but still a game in first place. I know I have a strong team, I just have to be patient.
One of my problems is my team is actually too good. I have guys on my bench who are just too valuable to let go of. This prevents me from taking chances on young guys who might end up having great seasons, but might be total busts.
Don't believe me? Here is my bench. Tell me who exactly I can afford to cut.
Ryan Doumit C Pittsburgh Pirates
Carlos Pena 1B Tampa Bay Rays
Rickie Weeks 2B Milwaukee Brewers
Rafael Furcal SS Los Angeles Dodgers
Vladimir Guerrero OF Anaheim Angels
Every one of these guys is a starter on any other team. Patience, grasshopper. Your repeat championship season will come.
This baseball season, I jumped out to a 2 game lead with a 6-1 record, only to lose the past 2 games and fall to 6-3, but still a game in first place. I know I have a strong team, I just have to be patient.
One of my problems is my team is actually too good. I have guys on my bench who are just too valuable to let go of. This prevents me from taking chances on young guys who might end up having great seasons, but might be total busts.
Don't believe me? Here is my bench. Tell me who exactly I can afford to cut.
Ryan Doumit C Pittsburgh Pirates
Carlos Pena 1B Tampa Bay Rays
Rickie Weeks 2B Milwaukee Brewers
Rafael Furcal SS Los Angeles Dodgers
Vladimir Guerrero OF Anaheim Angels
Every one of these guys is a starter on any other team. Patience, grasshopper. Your repeat championship season will come.
It's Just A Fantasy
Between playing Wii Baseball and Fantasy Baseball, my six year old is starting to show an interest in the sport. He doesn't quite grasp the scoring system in fantasy baseball but not a day goes by when he doesn't ask me to show him his team, tell him how they are doing, make a trade offer, pick up a player off of waivers, etc. Most recently, he decided to claim Cincinnati Reds 21 year old future superstar, Jay Bruce, off of waivers. That move is looking like pure genius as Bruce has put up hall of fame caliber numbers during his first week in the big leagues.
However, teaching baseball, and more specifically, fantasy baseball to a six year old can be a challenge. Emotions run high and everything is just great when he is in first place. But then his team started getting depleted by injuries. At one point, he had 5 players on the disabled list. As a result, his team briefly fell to 7th place in a 12 team league. He was really upset about it and asked me to check his scores about 30 times a day. I kept trying to explain to him that the baseball season is long, that his team is really good and they will be winning again as soon as the injured players get healthy, and most importantly, that the top 6 teams make the playoffs, so he doesn't have to be in first place right now, he needs to concentrate on building the best possible team come playoff time. He kind of gets it but he also just wants to be in first place. He wants the online trophy.
So his team is back up to 4th place after beating the first place team 6-4 last week. Needless to say, he left for school happy this morning. Me? I have to stop doing this. I get people involved in fantasy sports and then I feel obligated to make sure they win. I got my Dad involved in fantasy football last year and then I spent the whole season worrying just as much about his team as I did about mine. He made it to the league championship and ended up finishing 2nd in his first fantasy league ever, which was great and amazing and all, but I still felt like anything less than the league championship was letting him down. This year, he's on his own!
However, teaching baseball, and more specifically, fantasy baseball to a six year old can be a challenge. Emotions run high and everything is just great when he is in first place. But then his team started getting depleted by injuries. At one point, he had 5 players on the disabled list. As a result, his team briefly fell to 7th place in a 12 team league. He was really upset about it and asked me to check his scores about 30 times a day. I kept trying to explain to him that the baseball season is long, that his team is really good and they will be winning again as soon as the injured players get healthy, and most importantly, that the top 6 teams make the playoffs, so he doesn't have to be in first place right now, he needs to concentrate on building the best possible team come playoff time. He kind of gets it but he also just wants to be in first place. He wants the online trophy.
So his team is back up to 4th place after beating the first place team 6-4 last week. Needless to say, he left for school happy this morning. Me? I have to stop doing this. I get people involved in fantasy sports and then I feel obligated to make sure they win. I got my Dad involved in fantasy football last year and then I spent the whole season worrying just as much about his team as I did about mine. He made it to the league championship and ended up finishing 2nd in his first fantasy league ever, which was great and amazing and all, but I still felt like anything less than the league championship was letting him down. This year, he's on his own!
All-Star Worthy?
This was in the Post-Gazette this morning and adds credence to my claim last week that all 3 of the Pirates starting outfielders are worthy of All-Star consideration:
The Pirates' outfield of Nate Mclouth, Xavier Nady and Jason Bay is the most productive in baseball as the trio leads major league outfields in average (.308), slugging percentage (.569) and homers (34) and is also second with 114 RBIs (batting as outfielders). The group is on pace to hit 100 homers and drive in 335 runs. For some fun and comparison's sake the Pirates' 1991 primary outfielders, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke -- the last year all three were together -- batted .287, had a slugging percentage of .485, hit 60 home runs and drove in 299 runs.
The Pirates' outfield of Nate Mclouth, Xavier Nady and Jason Bay is the most productive in baseball as the trio leads major league outfields in average (.308), slugging percentage (.569) and homers (34) and is also second with 114 RBIs (batting as outfielders). The group is on pace to hit 100 homers and drive in 335 runs. For some fun and comparison's sake the Pirates' 1991 primary outfielders, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke -- the last year all three were together -- batted .287, had a slugging percentage of .485, hit 60 home runs and drove in 299 runs.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Poking Myself With A Sharp Stick
I had just finished my 10 miler this morning in the heat and humidity. It was a tough run but it felt good. I was walking toward the house when all of a sudden...PAIN! I had just stepped on something and it pierced right through my shoe and into my foot. I hobbled a couple of steps on one foot as I tried to get my tired legs to stop wobbling so that I could try to pull out whatever was sticking into my foot.
It turned out to be an extremely sharp, 3 inch long thorn that was still connected to a tree branch that had fallen onto the street. The pain subsided as soon as I pulled the thorn out and I went in the house to inspect the damage. I took my shoe and sock off but I didn't see any damage to my foot and couldn't even see where the thorn had pierced it. Upon inspection of my sock, there was a tiny speck of blood where the thorn had gone through.
I shook it off. Showered and took the family to the pool. My legs were sore and I was looking forward to a good soak in the cold pool. Everything was fine for the first 40 minutes or so but then all of a sudden my foot started to hurt. It got progressively worse to the point where I was in some serious pain. It was bad enough that I decided to sit and rest while the family swam for the last hour.
We came home and I took advil and iced the foot. It was noticably swollen. I was debating whether or not to go to the hospital. I decided to take a nap and see how I felt when I woke up. When I woke, it was still sore but not nearly as bad as it had been at the pool. I continued to ice and hoped for the best.
As of right now, my whole foot is swollen and my little toe and the area around it is quite sore. I'm hoping that it feels better in the morning but I'm not all that optimistic at the moment. Fortunately, I'm not scheduled to run tomorrow and hopefully by Tuesday I'll be back to normal. It's always something...but what are the odds that a thorn would pierce my shoe and go into my foot? Argh!
It turned out to be an extremely sharp, 3 inch long thorn that was still connected to a tree branch that had fallen onto the street. The pain subsided as soon as I pulled the thorn out and I went in the house to inspect the damage. I took my shoe and sock off but I didn't see any damage to my foot and couldn't even see where the thorn had pierced it. Upon inspection of my sock, there was a tiny speck of blood where the thorn had gone through.
I shook it off. Showered and took the family to the pool. My legs were sore and I was looking forward to a good soak in the cold pool. Everything was fine for the first 40 minutes or so but then all of a sudden my foot started to hurt. It got progressively worse to the point where I was in some serious pain. It was bad enough that I decided to sit and rest while the family swam for the last hour.
We came home and I took advil and iced the foot. It was noticably swollen. I was debating whether or not to go to the hospital. I decided to take a nap and see how I felt when I woke up. When I woke, it was still sore but not nearly as bad as it had been at the pool. I continued to ice and hoped for the best.
As of right now, my whole foot is swollen and my little toe and the area around it is quite sore. I'm hoping that it feels better in the morning but I'm not all that optimistic at the moment. Fortunately, I'm not scheduled to run tomorrow and hopefully by Tuesday I'll be back to normal. It's always something...but what are the odds that a thorn would pierce my shoe and go into my foot? Argh!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
