Exercise Stats

January 1 - 5, 2013
Walked, ran, biked and swam 36.06 miles
Walked 56,722 steps
Burned 2712 calories
Weigh 147.1 pounds

Loki walked 3.80 miles

This week's clip art preview:

Trying Blogger for Android

Test post from phone.

Auspicious start of my 41st year

First, gratuitous dog photo:



Loki running in the snow. He was running toward the door to get back inside after taking care of business. I guess he wanted to catch a few snowflakes on the way. Snow is a rare treat in these parts. Texas A&M will be delayed until 10:00 am tomorrow. This is assuming I even feel like going in at all. I celebrated my 41st on Sunday; in addition to some neat gifts, birthday greetings and hearing an excellent dharma talk, I got a cold.

I have plenty of sick leave and my work is not so terribly important that its worth infecting others.

Today, I felt like getting dressed and off the couch. Even stood on the porch to film the snow. Yesterday, it was bed or couch. The oddest thing about yesterday is that I channel surfed for hours and did not catch one bit of Law & Order, not even one little donk-donk. I made up for it today by watching part of an episode of Law & Order: SVU.

I tried to watch some Olympics because I've become rather fascinated by curling but all the NBC-Universal stations that my cable provider carries were acting up.

Would it kill NBC to have a commentator explain curling or at least provide a crawl with a definition of terms & how the scoring works? I suppose I could drag my laptop to the couch and look up this stuff while watching but I don't feel like doing that and what about the viewers without wireless networking?

I become fascinated by curling every four years because of the absurdity of the sport.

This blog got a shout-out from uuworld.org: the interdependent web.

Exercise Log: February 7 - 13

I walked and ran 33.52 miles, burned 3592.1 calories and weigh 139.9 pounds. Loki walked 1.61 miles.

Monday: run - 4.43 miles in 44:50
Tuesday: elliptical - 1.22 miles in 15:00
Wednesday: run - 6.17 miles in 1:00:00
Thursday: run - 4.45 miles in 44:44
Saturday: run - 8.10 miles in 1:18:25.28

Exercise Log: January 10 - 16

This week I walked, ran, biked and rowed 58.03 miles, burned 5228.1 calories and weigh 139.1 pounds.

Sunday: Run - 20.09 miles in 3:25:19.90
Monday: Bike - 8.91 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: Run - 4.31 miles in 45:00
Wednesday: Walk - .61 mile in 15:20.45
Thursday: Run - 6.94 miles in 1:05:00
Friday: Row - 1.92 miles in 15:00; Run - 1.92 miles in 20:00; Bike - 4.32 miles in 20:00
Saturday: Walk - .70 mile in 19:57.63

There are other walking miles with Loki and during the work week not listed above that are part of the total. Loki walked a total of 3.42 miles.

Tomorrow, I start my taper for the Miracle Match Marathon. 12 miles on the agenda.

Will enjoy my 3 day weekend.

Good luck to everyone running in the Chevron Houston Marathon tomorrow. You can do it!

Exercise Log: January 1 - 9

This year so far I walked, ran & biked 44.04 miles, burned 3782.8 calories and weigh 141.3 pounds.

Loki has walked 5.62 miles. He had a great time today walking off leash in the woods and park.

Less than a month until my marathon in Waco. Tomorrow, I run my final 20 mile training run. Then I taper. Thinking about running by time rather than distance tomorrow. Maybe run 4 hours and see how far I go.

Jan. 2: walk, 1.08 miles, 23:36.25
Jan. 3: run, 8.31 miles, 1:24:42.48
Jan. 4: bike, 9.18 miles, 35:00
Jan. 5: run, 6.20 miles, 1:05:00
Jan. 7: run, 5.38 miles, 51:52
Jan. 9: walk, 2.82 miles, 1:04:53.98

Exercise Log: May 24 - May 30

I did the 100 push ups.

I walked, ran, and biked 35.28 miles, burned 2747.8 calories and weigh 142.1 pounds. I also did a lot of fishing and some canoeing.

Loki walked 2.98 miles. He enjoyed the fishing holiday.

Exercise Log: May 10 - 16

My poor blog is getting neglected because of the attention I've been giving the new things: Facebook & Twitter.

Sunday: 46 push ups
Monday: ran 3.58 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: biked 9.41 miles in 35:00, completed 172 push ups (42 max)
Wednesday: ran 5.06 miles in 50:00
Thursday: biked 11.59 miles in 50:00, completed 186 push ups (46 max)
Friday: ran 6.58 miles in 1:05:00
Saturday: walked/ jogged with Loki 1.26 miles in 20:15.89, completed 202 push ups (52 max)

Loki walked a total of 4.5 miles this week.

Exercise Log: April 19 - 25

Since joining Twitter and Facebook, I've neglected the blog.

This week I ran, walked, biked and rowed 38.23 miles, burned 3199.8 calories and weigh 139.7 pounds.

Sunday: walked Loki 1.5 miles in 35:00
Monday: rowed 3143 meters in 15:00
Tuesday: ran 3.5 miles in 31:23
Wednesday: biked 3.49 miles in 15:00
Thursday: ran 3.5 miles in 35:00
Friday: biked 7.0 miles in 31:16
Saturday: walked and jogged with Loki 3.72 miles in 1:05:52. Threw in some plyometrics.

Monday completed 68 push ups (20 max); 168 crunches (60 max); 185 squats (64 max)
Wednesday completed 77 push ups (23 max); 212 crunches (84 max); 231 squats (89 max)
Friday completed 87 push ups (26 max); 248 crunches (101 max); 278 squats (113 max)

Monday jumped rope 7:03.60
Wednesday jumped rope 7:17.28

New addition

Mary Worth returned to her comic strip after a 15 day absence.

Our family has new addition, a cockatiel named Janie. He was advertised on Craig's List as a female but he has the coloring of a male. So far he gets along well with Salvador, not so well with Edgar. I will post pictures soon.

We are thinking about giving Janie a different name. It was not his original name. The person we got him from acquired him when her brother put a birdcage outside to dry and Janie flew into it. This is the fifth story I've heard about a cockatiel just picking a person to live with. Unfortunately for Janie the person is allergic.

Janie did come with a lot of accessories that I'm trying to integrate into the surroundings.

Loki's training is going well. Today he pretty much ignored the little yapping dogs from across the street even though they were in our yard and one of them nipped at Loki's tail. He looked at the little nipper and then turned away to sniff around for something more interesting. The neighbor's dogs are becoming way too territorial.

I live in an all-male household.

Dog Training

Last night, attended the orientation session for Loki's obedience class. It went well but he will have to stay on the opposite side of the class from two of the other dogs until we know how he will react.

I look forward to the next 8 weeks. I'm working on my current assignment: teaching Loki to associate clicker with treat. I think he has it.

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I got up earlier this week. I'm able to walk Loki in the morning, make breakfast and lunch, get dressed and make it into the office close to 8:00 am. Do this for three more weeks and it will become a habit. Ugh. I've found that I have a major bout of sleepiness from 9:00 - 10:00 am. I might attempt a 15 minute nap to see if that helps. I have a phone and people walk into my office. Maybe I can get 5 minutes uninterrupted.

Hooray for the weekend. I can catch up on sleep.

Exercise Log: November 17 - 22

This week I walked, ran and biked 31.33 miles, burned 2264.4 calories and weigh 145.1 pounds.

Monday - walked Loki 2.04 miles in 34:28
Tuesday - ran 3.86 miles in 38:44
Wednesday - biked 9.11 miles in 38:56
Thursday - ran 3.39 miles in 35:00
Friday - biked 6.58 miles in 30:23
Saturday - ran 6.35 miles in 65:00

Push ups:
Monday - Max 21, 81 total
Wednesday - Max 21, 96 total
Friday - Max 23 - 115 total

The Funnies

Someone drew a comic about our last fishing trip. Except we did not drink all that beer.

Loki gets mostly dry dog food and table scraps. He made children happy on our walk last night until an adult got scared and shooed the children away. Look, lady, if he was going to maul your children he would have done it before you shooed them away.

No, Royboy, it is not the universe, just Pluto, still irritated about the demotion.

Crop Walk

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Brazos Valley participated in CROP Walk today. See if you can find the minister in this photo.

Compare this photo with the list from Stuff White People Like and see how many you can check off.

Numbers 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 27, 34, 35, 39, 42, 47, 49, 50, 53, 55, 76, 77, 83, 84, 88, 99, 108, and 109 apply to me. Not all of it is based on the photo, of course.

A very exhausted Loki after the walk. That is water on the pavement. The tongue is 3 inches wide at this point. He can fit the whole thing in his mouth occasionally.
A Saint Bernard named Suki. She and Loki played a little but mostly sprawled out on the concrete together.The church raised over $1,700. I managed to raise $70 of that. I did not pursue sponsors as vigorously as I did last year. Walter participated for the first time in many years. I need to get a t-shirt and a hat made that has Walter's picture on it for events like this. That way he can be in the group photo even though he is taking the picture.

More pictures from the Bryan/College Station CROP Walk can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22287142@N02/sets/72157608394510096/

Dog pictures

When Loki relaxes the tip of his tongue sticks out of his mouth. When we replace the floor covering we will take a picture of Loki with us to insure that we pick something that contrasts with his coloring.
Economic crisis? Wake me when you have something to eat or want to pet me.
Beware of dog, you might trip over him.

Poke Mary in the eyes!
Mix those metaphors ladies!

At least I was able to stay awake for the duration of the Vice-Presidential debate. My first thought afterwards: "Boy, Sarah Palin is loud."

Package v. Reality and other Photos

When I was in college InterVarsity Christian Fellowship were the nerdy, kind of goofy people who happened to be Christians (I was turned on to Star Trek while a member) and often befriended nerdy, kind of goofy seekers while Campus Crusade took everything a bit more seriously. InterVarsity members would have appreciated the humor in the room schedule. I'm not sure how Campus Crusade members would have reacted.

I've been contacted via mail by the current InterVarsity staff person to provide support as an alumni and join an alumni organization. I'm curious but also afraid to send in the post card. I wonder if InterVarsity still attracts the nerdier students.

Some bonus Loki photos. It was a rare moment with good lighting and contrasting flooring. These were taken in the exam room while we waited for the vet.

That tongue is about 3 inches wide. Thankfully, Loki is not much of a kisser.

Loki waits for the doctor to enter. He surprised the tech that walked in. She saw the name on the chart and expected to find a Lhasa Apso who is a frequent patient. My Loki is the complete opposite of a Lhasa Apso.

The Texas Hall of Fame had a dessert theme in its concert bookings.

Today's lunch (these were part of a special - buy four and get a bunch of other food free). The package:

The reality out of the microwave:
My boss' dog followed me to my office after I cooked this thing. The smell of peanut sauce was too tantalizing for a Jack Russell Terrier to ignore. I let her lick the plate. With all the people in the office feeding her bits of food she will gain five pounds by the end of the semester.

Doctors say the darndest things

Walter had a check up a couple of days ago. I saw the same doctor a few weeks ago to deal with something on my skin. This doctor doesn't see me as often as he does Walter.

My low heart rate (48 when I went to the doctor - 45 when the dentist checked a couple of weeks ago, normal is 60 - 80) came up as a subject of discussion with the doctor. He told Walter not to startle me when I'm at rest because it could lead to fainting. According to the doctor being startled leads to a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate and since both my blood pressure and heart rate are low, I'm vulnerable to fainting if startled. So I guess instead of telling me to sit down, I should run a few laps before receiving startling news.

I've been thinking about this too much for the past two days. Sort of bracing for something unlikely to happen. I know part of Walter wants to test the doc's assertion. I kind of want to test it myself. I haven't read any articles about runners having this problem.

I have an appointment to give blood on Friday. I will find out if the blood pressure is too low for the Red Cross. I have given three times since taking up running.

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Loki likes wearing his life jacket but he really does not care for riding in the canoe. I need to get a picture of him modeling his jacket. He did last 5 minutes longer than his previous trip but we won't do anymore canoe trips with Loki because it puts stress on both Loki and Walter. I wouldn't mind taking him on a camping trip if a safe place were available for him to be while we paddled around in the canoe. He loves to ride in the truck and play at the lake.

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Maybe Mary Worth has given up appearing in her comic strip for Lent. Wrong season in the real world but at the glacial pace that Mary Worth time moves it could be the Lenten season.

Help is on the way

The AC repairman is on his way. Our AC went out last night. Fortunately, it is relatively cool right now (highs in the low 90's, lows in the upper 60's). I'm sitting in the hottest room in the house writing this blog entry.

It was nice to be able to sleep in and then run in the daylight, today.

This week I biked and ran 23.53 miles, burned 2369.4 calories and weigh 149.3 pounds.

Monday: ran 3.47 miles in 41:18
Tuesday: bike 3.09 miles in 13:57
Wednesday: ran 6.09 miles in 1:07:21
Thursday: ran 2.41 miles in 26:32
Saturday: ran 8.47 miles in 1:35:42

I skipped Friday because it was so pleasant in the shade and I did not feel like going to the gym. I had talked Walter into a sunset canoe trip but his head hurt and we went out to dinner instead. I did get Loki into his life vest and was able to make adjustments. I may need to make some more adjustments to make it easier for him to urinate. He doesn't mind wearing the jacket.

We will attempt an evening canoe trip on Sunday.

Exercise Log: August 24 - 30

This week I canoed, ran and biked 27.48 miles, burned 2492.1 calories and weigh 149.9 pounds.

Sunday: canoed .5 mile
Monday: ran 2.15 miles in 24:14
Tuesday: biked 2.96 miles in 13:53
Wednesday: ran 1.14 miles in 15:00 and 6.08 miles in 1:05:00
Thursday: ran 2.01 miles in 24:37
Friday: biked 4.02 miles in 18:46
Saturday: ran 8.62 miles in 1:43:52

My canoe experience was short because Loki accompanied us. A half mile was all he could handle his first time out so I took him out of the canoe and walked with him while Walter paddled some more. I let him go off leash in the swimming area and he had a good time splashing in the water and chasing turkey buzzards.

I bought a life jacket for him for our next trip. Hopefully, he can last a bit longer in the canoe and maybe learn to swim.

Ms. Kitty's Kitty

When I saw this cartoon at Chron.com, it reminded me of a post about Ms. Kitty's cat, Maxie and dealing with his hunting instinct. Looks like a 6 or 7 point buck. At least she does not have to worry about field dressing Maxie's kills.

Speaking of adopted pets, two years ago today Loki went from being a foster dog with two unsuccessful adoptions under his collar to permanent member of the family. Right now, he is becoming one with the floor.