18 November 2009

After not sleeping very well Monday night, I got up Tuesday morning to face this:
When we bought our home four years ago, I paid good money to have a sheister build me a fence which was non-compliant to neighborhood covenant and was not even on my property. Turns out his shovelman dug up the rebar marking the corners of the yard so he could set the posts. It took him two weeks to build the fence (a beautiful fence, I'll give him that much) and two months to make it right. Since then, I have had to disassemble and redo the entire fence and it has taken me this long to get to the last side. Between finishing school and working hard to become efficient/proficient/competent as an ER nurse, I've been a little busy. But things are finally starting to settle down, and it's time to actually do something about landscaping my back yard.
I started about 8:30am and had the whole fence down and all the posts out of the ground in an hour, that was the easy part. Then came the digging, measuring, and replacing the posts. Finished up about 4pm, tired but looking forward to a group ride in the evening. This is what the group ride looked like: That's right, it was a night time, urban-assault on mountain bikes! What a blast! Wasn't really that dark, but it was the first time I had done a night ride that wasn't on a closed course. We started out in West Columbia and rode around and through Columbia, through parks, neighborhoods, and a college campus. Definitely not a high-pressure ride, more fun than anything, but we still got in 17+ miles and I saw heart rates of 170+ on two occasions! Columbia has a couple of really good hills; east on Laurel St. from Gervais (by Cogdill Carpets) is, according to my Garmin, a 10% climb and longer than a quarter mile! Okay, it's not Mt. Mitchell, but still...
So, finished up a great ride with some awesome folks, and loaded the bike. Checked the phone and my wife had called; she knew I was a half-mile from the Krispy Kreme on Knox Abbot and wanted a donut. There went my ride, because I just couldn't make her eat a donut alone. And you know you cannot go to a KK and buy just two donuts, right? And I had to think of the kids too, right?
This has become a rarity, though, as I have nearly eliminated all sweets. I want to lose weight so when I climb Mt. Mitchell next May, I don't have to drag so much butt up those hills. Doing well, if I do say so myself. I'm down 16 pounds in the last 7 weeks, not from "dieting," just from making lifestyle adjustments. I am not a fan of "diets," as every time I have tried one, I lose 10-12 pounds in two weeks then it jumps right back on. I think it's because I make changes too fast and my body/mind can't handle it. Incremental adjustments, I think that's what'll work for me.
I had quite a day yesterday, and now this is what today looks like:I went to bed last night feeling like I was 12 years old again following the urban assault, and awoke this morning feeling like I had been assaulted! Based on my experience, riding a century has NOTHING on rebuilding a fence! I must have used muscles I didn't know I had and this morning they are all angry at me for disturbing them. This Sombra product is some good stuff though. My wife got it from her massage therapist, they have a good website, http://www.sombrausa.com/ , if you're interested. I am using the warm therapy; my wife put some on my back nearly an hour ago and I still feel like I am lying in the sun in July.
That was my Tuesday, thanks for allowing me to bore you with the details. Now, go get a donut. And one for a friend so you don't eat alone.
Be blessed, be safe.