Status Quo - All Quiet Except the Weather Forecast

Not much going on, and I really should get cracking on Christmas preparations since we're hosting this year. Malcolm's daycare had their Christmas concert this evening and the kids did an amazing job and had a great time. Three of the older kids performed a great version of the song "The Polar Express" with what I can only assume were completely unintentional harmonies, but it worked so well!

Tomorrow will be a snowy snowy day in the T-Dot, and I will not be biking to work. This means that I will not be swimming, and I missed my lunchtime swim today because my manager took us all out for lunch, and that was awesome.

Tonight I did some more chin ups, this time doing 10-10-10 pull ups and 10-10-10 chin ups for a total of 60. I think I have to start getting past that 10 barrier if I am ever going to get to 20...

Swimming, Potluck, and Chinups

Last night I changed the back wheel on my bike and now I feel a bit safer. The other wheel was pretty old and saw me through my bike courier days and beyond, almost a decade! The new wheel works great and I am back in business for the rest of the winter, but am seriously considering going to a fixed gear track bike in the Spring for simplicity's sake.

I did get to the pool at lunch today and managed 2000m non-stop, though at about the 400m mark I was having real doubts that I would manage to finish. My shoulders were aching like crazy, most likely from all the push ups I've been doing.

Tonight saw us at Owen's Beaver Potluck Christmas Dinner, which is a mouthful to say and to eat. It was fun, the kids ate lots and behaved well. What more can a parent ask?

We got them home and in bed a little late, and then I did some more chin ups. I managed 8-8-7-6-6 pull ups and 8-8-7-6-6 chin ups for a total of 70. That's the most I've managed in one round since I started, but I am still having real trouble believing that I'll be able to do 20 in a row anytime soon.

A Good Weekend

The weekend, all told, was pretty good for us. Owen recovered well enough to go skating with me yesterday afternoon. We were out at the local outdoor rink for an hour and a half at least, so I guess we're both OK! Decent leg workout too, if not too much of a cardio one.

I also did some more chinups. 7-7-6-6-5 pull ups and 7-7-6-6-5 chin ups for a total of 62. I am not going to the max in any of these, but will start incorporating max sets this week if all goes well.

Other than that, we spent Sunday shopping for Christmas stuff, and I am beat. Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Swimming and Dripping

Yes, I've managed to catch another cold (that's the dripping part, BTW). Bummer, but I suppose things could be worse.

That didn't stop me from going swimming at lunch, though I was pretty tired and weak and had difficulty staying motivated to swim the entire planned 2000m. I managed in the end, but had to break up the second 1000m after completing the first 1K straight. I did some "easy on the brain" descending sets with about 20sec rest in between - 400m-300m-200m-100m - and then got out of there...

Tonight I still did some chin ups, once more keeping the exhaustion sets out of the equation since I am feeling run down and weak. The sets went 6-6-5-5-5 pull ups, and then 6-6-5-5-5 chin ups for a total of 54 "ups".

Doing pretty much nothing but push ups, chin ups, and swimming is great and all, but I really can't wait to get back into running, you know!!! All the great race reports I've been reading from the running bloggers have got me really itching to get back out there, but alas I am weak below the ass... The foot better start behaving and get better, though I do think that in the last two days it's been getting slightly, just slightly, almost imperceptibly, agonizingly, annoyingly, infuriatingly, confoundedubadebadibidily better...

Back at the Chinups, and Car Mods

I got back on the chin up plan today, though I decided to change things up a little and not go to exhaustion with every set. Also, I feel like I am coming down with something and feel a little weak as a result. It's funny how your body holds off on getting sick until after something important that you've been working on, and stressing over, has come and gone. Case in point, I handed in my final paper on Monday, and today I am feeling ill!

I did 5 sets of 5 pull ups and then 5 sets of 5 chin ups for a total of 50 "ups". They were pretty easy to do this way. I think that when I feel a bit better I might try something similar to the push up program and do a set to exhaustion at the end of a bunch of shorter and easier sets.

Also tonight I couldn't help myself and just had to go tear apart the inside of my car to install that auxiliary input for my IPod & Satellite Radio. I had all the bits and it had to happen. The install was not super easy, but it wasn't difficult either. I had to take off a panel down low in front of the gear shifter, unscrew a couple of bolts that held the climate control and radio unit, and then pull that thing out. That's the part that was hard, and even though I didn't need any tools to pry it out my fingers were in pain and little bloody at the end. Once everything was out I plugged the aux unit into the CD Changer port at the back of the radio, attached the grounding wire to a metal screw on a piece of metal chassis, and then used ties to hold it all in place and keep it from moving around. I also had to take out the little cover that sits in the hole where the fog light on/off switch would normally be if the car had any fog lights, and then drill a hole in that thing so I could fit the aux input through. This is all that is visible in the car and it's right beside the 12-volt power socket, nice and convenient. I then put it all back together, reattached the battery (I took off the negative lead on the battery to avoid a nasty shock), typed in the anti-theft radio code, and WOOT WOOT! The thing works like a charm!

Here's a picture of the way it looks that I found on the Internet - though it is not my car it looks exactly the same as mine. It's also where I got the idea for installing it like this. I added the arrow and words just so we're all clear on what the heck I'm talking about:


The next step is to install the Satellite Radio cradle somewhere convenient and run the wires for the power supply and antenna so that they are not visible and hanging all over the place. I also want to split the 12-volt socket in behind the dash so that I can plug the power adapter for the radio out of sight and still have the power socket on the dashboard for other things.

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. I find that when I get going on these projects I just focus and doing anything but the task at hand seems like a waste of time. I didn't even realize that I didn't take any pictures until after it was all done!

Oh yeah, no lunch time swim today. The weather was nasty in the morning so I didn't bike to work and, therefore, had no reasonable way to get to the pool on time.

Bustin' a Flat

This morning was hurried and crazy, but it seems every morning is like that for our family and we still somehow get the kids to their schools on time. I know I'll look back upon these days years from now and wonder how in the world we did it? I'm also certain that all parents of little kids face the same morning challenges, with the possible exception of those in warmer climes who have no idea what it's like to have to deal with snowsuits, boots, hats, scarves, mittens, mufflers, long underwear, t-shirts, long sleeved t-shirts, turtle necks, sweaters, vests, lip balm, balaclavas, blah blah blahvas...

Anyway, as I was saying, this morning was hurried as usual. Mon got the older loin-fruit to the bus, and I managed to get the younger one to school on time. All was going according to plan until I was about half-way to work and BAM!, my back tire blew out. I pumped it up with my hand pump hoping it was a slow leak and could still get me to work where I could deal with it at lunch or something, but no - I made it about another 100 metres (11o yards for the American readers) before the thing was flat as a Chinese diver's chest. (Nothing against flat chests, mind you. It's just what came to mind...)

I stood there for a minute wondering whether to walk to work or head home. For some reason I didn't have a patch kit in my backpack! I decided to walk home, which took me a half-hour, and fixed my flat there. Naturally, I was pretty late for work, but at least now I have a spare inner tube and some patches in my backpack for the next time. It seems like there is more glass on the roads this year than ever before. I used to go for months at a time when I was a courier, biking 8 or 9 hours per day, and not get any flats. Now it seems to happen more frequently, and I only commute!

Anyway, I still managed a lunchtime swim, though I was really tired. my shoulders are so tired! I did 1000m straight, then 5X200m with 20 seconds rest for a total of 2000m in about 32 minutes.

Tonight I also managed some more chin ups. I think I have to back off a bit on these as I am feeling weaker and weaker, which is not a good thing. I managed 10-8-6-8 wide grip overhand, and only 8-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 56. I guess going to exhaustion with every set is not going to cut it and I have to do some shorter sets with maybe an exhaustion set at the end, or something...

Another Regular Day

Yup. Nothing much to report other than another regular lunchtime swim and a set of chin ups.

The swim was status quo: 2000m in 30 minutes. My left hand totally cramped up at the end, which was a bit weird. Why not the right? Gross guy in the showers also put me off a bit, and that's where I'll leave that little story, in your collective imaginations...

The chin ups were done while my wife (whose taste in most things I respect, but in this I simply cannot!) was watching The Biggest Loser. Guess how I felt given that I'll never have that time back? The chin up sets: 10-10-10 wide grip overhand, 10-9-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 65. I go to failure with each set, and it seems odd that I can go to pretty much the same failure point each time. Perhaps I need to rethink this and do it more like the push up challenge with some sets that are shorter and easier and then the last one to failure. I am making strides, though, so maybe I shouldn't mess with it at all. Mentally it would be easier to not have to go to failure with every set.

Foot still hurts, but the pain doesn't really set in until late in the day so I guess that's a good sign. Before it just hurt all day long. I guess I'd better go stretch and ice a bit now...

A Belated Birthday Party

Yes, Owen turned 7 a month ago, but it wasn't until yesterday that we managed to have his party with his friends. We are loser parents, but the excuse is that his birthday falls the day before Halloween and parents are usually overpartied around that time, so we typically wait a couple of weeks for his party. This year it went a couple of extra weeks, but the kids had a great time bowling and our ears are still hurting from all the screaming and yelling...


Later in the evening, after coming down from the sugar high of the birthday cake, of which I had too many pieces, I attempted another set of chin/pull ups. At the beginning I felt really weak and I was really doubting my ability to do anywhere near as many chin ups as last time. However, I surprised myself a bit and did 9-9-9 overhand wide grip and 9-9-9-8 underhand narrow grip, for a total of 62. At this point I think the 100 push up challenge looks much more feasible than the 20 chin up challenge since I seem to be stuck at 9. The lats and shoulders give out, that's true, but more than anything my forearms are weak! I start losing grip at about the 7th or 8th chin up and have to readjust while hanging down, wasting precious energy. I have to start doing some hand and forearm strengthening on the off days I think.

The foot is still hurting a bit, so it's status quo on that front. Today is a day devoted to working on my final paper, and I am hoping to have the first draft finished by this evening so I'd better get to it.

What a Year!

The other day, when we were driving home from picking up our "new" used car, I started thinking about all the things that we've accomplished in 2008, or will accomplish shortly. It was one of those "taking stock" moments born of being tired of the constant barrage of chores and things "to do" that weigh on you, especially if you have little kids and have to juggle living with parenting, etc. So, even though it is not Thanksgiving in Canada, in the spirit of appreciating all that we have here's my list of stuff I'm thankful for in 2008:

• selling our house, which involved two weeks of hell getting it ready
• buying our current house, which gave us and the kids more space, and a private driveway!
• Owen completing Grade 1 with flying colours
• Owen winning the championships on two different baseball teams, and (more importantly) having a great time, learning sportsmanship, and making friends
• Malcolm improving tremendously in his speech, with the help of Monica and the speech therapist Lisa putting in a tonne of hours
• getting rid of our crappy car and replacing it with another one (we did not want to go through another winter with the doors always freezing on us, and a litany of other problems!)
• finishing my Masters Degree (in two weeks!)
• Monica getting a new job!
• Monica and I getting back into an exercise routine and losing some weight
• running our first ever races!
• Owen taking up running and competing in a couple of races (1 and 2) of his own!
• my Mom getting over some health issues and back on the road to recovery
• my Dad and his partner taking control over their health, losing weight, and looking great!
• and, most important of all, our family staying healthy and happy together. I'm so lucky!

So, that's a short list as I have many other things to be happy about, but looking back on the year we accomplished quite a bit. I look forward to a strong finish to the year, and a terrific 2009!

This afternoon I was once again bumped from my lunchtime swim by a High School swim meet, so instead I went riding my bike. I headed straight uphill for a bit, the route taking my North on University Avenue, Avenue Road up to St. Clair. There is one section there that goes up pretty steep for a decent distance, and it certainly got my heart rate up so I feel like I didn't waste my time. On the way back to the office I stopped by my physio's office, said hi to Karen, and picked up a copy of a receipt that I'd misplaced and still hadn't submitted for reimbursement.

Tonight, I did another round of chin ups, and although difficult I am making progress. I managed 9-8-7 overhand wide grip, and then 9-8-7-6 underhand narrow grip for a total of 54 "ups".

Tomorrow morning I am planning to make up the swim since they have the long course pool open from 7am until 9am and Monica has graciously agreed to deal with getting the kids to school.

Swimming and Chinning

Official Day 2 of my self-imposed period of convalescence and, as I sit with my foot in a bucket of ice water, I am left wondering just how this non-running period will affect my weight. Specifically, I will have to pay a little more attention to eating better given that the running thing has allowed me to eat more pizza in recent weeks than I've eaten in a long long time.

This afternoon I managed a lunch time swim. I felt pretty weak and tired for some reason. I usually can do 2000m straight without stopping, but today I had to rest for a few seconds after 500m, then I stopped after another 500m and decided to mix it up a bit and started doing 100's on 1:30. I managed 8 of these before missing the interval time and finished the swim off with an easy 200 for a total of 2000m.

Tonight I managed another set of chin ups and the lethargy was still present. My sets were 8-7-6 wide grip overhand, 8-6-5-6 narrow grip underhand for a total of 46. The last set was more than the second last because I was once more distracted and lost concentration. I really must learn to block everything out when doing these...

8km Run, and a "new" car

This morning it took me a while to get out of bed, mostly because I was not rushed to get running and partly because it was -9 when I woke up. I guess that's somewhere in the teens Fahrenheit, and I certainly had never run in that kind of temperature. I figured it wouldn't be that bad, though, since I've skied and biked in much worse. Anyway, I finally got outside at about 8am and started in on my planned 8k. The foot doesn't hurt at all while I am running, but certainly has been achy in between, and this keeps me from pushing too hard since I know it would mean more pain. I basically just ran on feel, and discovered that I layered too much since the last few kilometres I was overheating a little. The inside of my old jacket was wet around the ends of the sleeves, and for a guy that doesn't sweat at the best of times this came as a real surprise. It will take me a bit of experimenting to find what works as far as attire in winter goes...

The run itself was fine. I completed the 8k in 42:45 for an average pace of 5:20/km. My fastest split was 5:12 (the last kilometre) and the slowest was 5:30, so I kept the pace pretty even. Given that it was really cold and my legs felt very tight at first I am a bit surprised that I managed the first K in 5:29, but I guess it was just my body trying to warm up.

The foot is hurting a bit now, but I attribute that more to the fact that we pretty much spent the entire day in the car than anything else. After my run, and breakfast, we cleaned out the old car and drove up to Bolton to pick up the 2001 Honda Civic. Paying for it took a bit of time since we had to call our bank and get authorization to make a debit payment above the daily limit, and that process was a bit of a pain. By the time it was all completed an hour at least had passed.

A bit of an aside: The new car seems to be running great! The dealership put a new set of all-season Michelin tires on it and they improved the already good ride that we experienced on our test drive. When we picked up the car we were presented with a copy of the safety inspection certificate, and emission test, a newly cleaned car ready and waiting, and the salesman went out and transferred our plates without even us noticing! My opinion of Pickard Lane Leasing couldn't be better at this point - a real pleasant surprise every step of the way.

Then we drove to Barrie, about an hour away, and had lunch with the Boys at an OK Chinese buffet restaurant. On our way there we stopped in Alliston, coincidentally where all Canadian Civics are assembled, and bought some floor mats at the Canadian Tire since the car didn't come with any.

Lunch completed, we drove to Hardwood Hills, a cross country skiing venue, and enrolled the boys in a season of lessons! Monica and I got a stack of passes for ourselves and we'll be going every Saturday morning for the entire winter as long as things work out. Should make for some great cross-training, not to mention a lot of fun!

This evening I did another chin up routine and now I must off to ice the foot. The chin ups went 9-7-6 wide grip overhand, and 7-7-6-5 narrow grip underhand for a total of 47. The first set of reps underhand was a low number, but I got distracted by my 4 year-old and couldn't maintain concentration. It's amazing how that can affect your ability to do this exercise!

Garmin don't lie.


View Larger Map

Unintentional day off, sort of

This morning I woke up to learn that the roads were really slippery since the plows and salt trucks are not yet working, and so decided (partly at the urging of my sweet wife, who is concerned for my safety for some reason) to not bike to work. This is all well and good, except it meant that I would not be able to go for my usual lunchtime swim since the walk is too far and the whole process would take too long. Tomorrow I will make it up, but the pool will be short course (25m long, for those not in the know) rather than my preferred long course (50m). Lots of flip turns I guess...

This evening I am awaiting a person who answered my classified add for a set of four old steel rims and tires to come by and (hopefully) buy them. We've had these things for years from a car previous even to this one that we just traded in, and it's about time I got rid of them. I'd rather they go to someone who will use them rather than give them for nothing to the dealer.

While waiting I did my chin up routine. In case I didn't make it explicit, the goal I've set out for myself is to complete 100 consecutive pushups and 20 consecutive chin ups by Christmas. Tonight's set was 8-6-5 overhand wide grip, and 8-6-5 underhand narrow grip, for a total of 38 chin/pull ups. I'm suprised I was able to do more than I managed on Tuesday, and figure it's mostly improvement in technique. But hey, that's important too!

Now I just have to find some reason to motivate myself to do more sit ups! I find them exceedingly boring, no matter what variation I've tried. If anyone has any good tricks for ab workouts that are not necessarily easy, since that would defeat the purpose, but at least easy on the brain I'd love to hear about them.

A Mostly Uneventful Day

Not much to report other than:

1. I got my flu shot today, and my shoulder feels like someone punched it a little bit.

2. I got in the pool at lunchtime again for another 2000m, this time in about 29 minutes.

I should mention that last night Monica and I started our own little 100 push up challenge. I did 14-18-14-14-35. The goal is to loosely follow the 100 push up challenge of Internet fame and to achieve 100 by Christmas.

Added to this I have started doing lots of pull ups since I put the chin up bar in the door to our bedroom (is there a difference between a "pull up" and a "chin up"?) Pretty much every time I enter or leave the room I do 5, though this is not likely to continue. However, I did a set tonight that consisted of 7-5-4 wide grip overhand, and 6-5-5 close grip underhand. Later I will get some ab work done, and do another easy and short set of lunges. The last time I did this (sometime last week) I only did 10 lunges on each leg and I definitely felt it the next day. Pathetic, I know! But that is why I have made a commitment to improving my leg strength over the winter.

Right now I have to keep moving my foot from ice water to hot water, so g'night! Tomorrow? Another 5k, perhaps even in the morning...