Mid-Week Slump

The middle of the week seems to be reserved for mundane tasks. I spent the night doing laundry and eating a couple of Dac Biet (spelling butchered) sandwiches at Pho Dac. I didn’t eat Las Tortas Locas for dinner because my lunch companions wanted to go there for lunch, and while I could have eaten it twice in one day, I chose not to do so. After getting home I flopped on the couch and turned on the television (realizing that my satellite signal is still too weak) to watch Top Chef Masters. The night ended with me washing dishes, putting the laundry away prior to falling fast asleep around midnight.

It Sounded Faster When I Said It
One of the things I’ve been doing at physical therapy is running on a treadmill. Last time at physical therapy I ran for ten minutes at a pace of 6 miles / hour. I knew that I wasn’t burning up the treadmill, but I thought I was doing really well given the fact that I’ve not been running much and even less since the accident.

I thought : “6 miles / hour? For me? That’s faster than I’ve run in some time.”
My PT said : “6 miles / hour? That’s ten-minute miles. Very good.”

Ten-minute miles? Damn, that sounds so much slower than running at a pace of 6 miles / hour. My only consolation was that’s the same fast/slow pace that I was running prior to the accident. Now I need to do it for much longer than ten minutes. Of course it would be nice if I could eliminate the pain and my hip snapping first.

I’m Taking Clothes, A Book, And My iPad
I’m traveling “light” for this trip. In addition to the clothes — which I still need to pack! — I know that I’m bringing my iPad (kit) and The Laws Of Simplicity for reading on the plane. I’m still debating whether or not I want to bring my camera on this trip; I probably should so that future blogs aren’t photo-free (see also today’s blog).

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather in Raleigh (Durham, Chapel Hill) cooperates so that we can take in a minor league baseball game. If not I’m sure we’ll find ways to entertain ourselves.

Tying Time To Thoughts
This thought goes along with my musing about missing Spring the other day. While driving down Ormewood Drive grousing about the heat yesterday I flashed back to that first snow day in January when I trekked up that same street on foot while people sledded down the hill. “Could that really have only been a few months ago?” I thought. It seemed like such a distant memory.

The same thought passed through my mind when I thought about going to Raleigh today. The last time I was up there it was February, it was cold, and I was forcing myself to go out for training runs. That too seems like such a distant memory even though it was only four months ago.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – like I should be much more prepared than I am currently
Current Music – listening to this week’s “FLOSS Weekly” podcast
Website Of The Day – For obvious reasons lately I’ve been thinking about travel, specifically booking three-day weekends this Summer. While I’ll probably wait until Fall one place I want to spend a weekend is at The Hostel in the Forest in Brunswick, Georgia.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – stairs, 12 flights
Morning Weigh-In – next week, when the batteries are recharged

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)

Vegetarian Days – 1
Carnivorous Days – 7

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

June Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Get back on a bicycle
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least once
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than five days
– Lose three pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Finish The Laws Of Simplicity and read another book

2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two one half-marathon
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]