Knee Surgery

Knee surgery is complete. It was more "surgery" than I expected. Last time they scoped my knee and all I had was 3 tiny stitches. This time I have a 4-inch incision and 10 stables holding it all together.

I haven't talked to the doctor since the procedure, but Andrea told me he located the mass, which was a cyst. She also said the doctor felt the surgery went well.

I'm in a lot more pain that last time. I USUALLY don't take pain medications prescribed to me, but this time I've needed them.

During the pre-assessment the doctor told me I would be back to work in ten days, but I find that hard to believe. Only time will tell.

Best Ride, EVER

Steve joined me for a 36-mile bike ride. We looped Lake Houston, which is similiar to the Lions ride route... without Will Clayton Parkway.

I felt great today. My legs felt powerful and my endurance seemed endless. Usually, I'm struggling to stay behind Steve, so it was nice to finally take the lead.

Half way into the ride we caught up with 3 females riders. We all rode together for 5-6 miles at 20-25 mph!!! Ok, ok... I confess, there was an aggressive tailwind. With less than 5-miles to go I had a flat tire. Before the flat tire my rear cassette came loose and half the rings came off. Both issues were an easy fix and did not hamper my ride.

Road Bike:
36.01 miles
2:06:13
17.12 mph

I've been invited to be a Coach with Power in Motion. Tonight is our first Coaches' meeting and I can't wait. I'm excited to return to the program where all my running started.

It's a good day.

New Bike Gear for the Girl

I finally decided to address the seat and fit issues with Andrea and her bike(s). Today she bought a new Terry seat, LOOK pedals, and new cycling shoes. She also got a new handlebar for her trail bike. The guys at Performance always take care of me and today was no different.

The shop guys installed all the equipment while we waited. When everything was installed they put her on a trainer to size her and make appropriate adjustments.

Once we got home we went for a short ride before picking up the kids. Andrea looked a lot more fluid and FINALLY seemed comfortable on her bike. We only cycled around the subdivision. With all the turns and stop signs, we didn't have the chance to hold any great speed. This was simply a ride to see how everything felt. I'm hopeful this will help, because she isn't nearly as excited about cycling as I am.

Road Bike:
9.56 miles
39:54
14.39 mph

I've fallen off the wagon in regards to my diet. Even though it was somewhat scheduled, it has been a hard 4-days. Before falling off, I was obsessing about food and constantly feeling hungry. It is strange how nothing really gave me the "fix" I was looking for. Today was the best meal by far (Marti Gras platter from Papadeaux's). I'm ready to get back to work. The scale was extra hard on me for the last few days. With a little luck the true damage won't be nearly as bad.

Lions Club Bike Ride

For a few months I've known about the Lions Bike Ride, which starts a few miles from my house. Andrea and I had talked about riding, but we didn't make our final decision till the last minute.

As usual, I'll give my critique of the tour. There were multiple routes, which included a 47-mile and 55-mile distance. The routes listed above were both routes I have cycled several times before, so there wasn't any new scenery. I've always liked the routes, but I was hoping to see something different.

The aid stations where top notch. Lots of friendly, smiling faces with all the typical food and drinks. My favorite aid station was the one located on HWY 90, which was serving breakfast tacos!!! I saw the sag wagon and ride Marshall's often, which made me feel secure that they were keeping a close eye on the riders.

Now for the bad.... We arrived early for race day registration. We signed up no problem at the last minute. I was a bit disgusted to pay nearly TWICE the price and did not receive the goody bag. Those who pre-registered seemed frustrated as well. The line to pick up race packets was long and slow. With less than 10-minutes till the start time there was easily 100-people still in line trying to get their packets. Thankfully for those people in line, the race didn't start on time. I'm always frustrated when a race is scheduled for a "rigid start time" and THEY can't seem to enforce the rules they established. The first wave departed about 20-minutes late. Most riders couldn't even find the start line. There were no signs, cars, or ANYTHING stating the start line location. The only way I found it was by talking to another rider, which rode the prior year. As we got in place we found a single guy shouting out instructions at the front. Well, I guess that is what he was yelling. The bikes were stacked 50 yards wide and 100+ yards deep and he didn't have anything to amplify his voice.

The other issue was one of safety. The police were a hit-and-miss at the intersections. About 50% of the intersections were blocked beautifully for riders, 25% had police in the area, but the police didn't stop traffic for riders, they merely kept a watchful eye. The final 25% had no police support. Of the final 25%, a few were significant intersections.

Andrea had a rough ride. With less than 10-miles to the end we stopped at the final aid station. As she was getting off her bike her foot got hung on her pedal cage, which resulted in an ugly fall. During the fall her right knee struck the asphalt and left her with a significant avulsion over her knee.

We cycled the 46.5 mile route. At the end, my bike computer read 47.8 miles. I had a good ride. Part of me wanted to take off, but I couldn't leave Andrea behind. She was having issues with her seat and I could tell she was not comfortable. I still had a good time cycling for a respectable distance.

Road Bike:
47.8 miles
3:11:46
14.96 mph

Back filling a trench is a lot of work!

Finished the drain pipe project. The project would have been finished sooner, but the broken sprinkler lines needed attention. The lawn sprinkler damage wasn't as bad as I initially thought and it went relatively fast. On the other hand, back filling the massive trench was a huge chore. Even though my hands and lower-back are aching, the 'working end' of a shovel provides a great cardio workout.

As soon as Andrea got home from work we cycled around the subdivision. My legs felt good, so we increased the effort.

Trail Bike:
7.14 miles
31:53
13.46 mph

Another dreaded weight training session in the gym. I'm going to change up some exercises and see if the problem is boredom. The BOSU balance trainer I ordered should arrive this Friday. I'm eager to see how creative I can be with the new toy.

Weight training:
Mid-body

Tempo Trail Bike Ride

Woke up early so I could cycle before the long drive to Galveston. My legs felt great, which enabled me to maintain a respectable pace the entire time.

Trail Bike:
11.16 miles
51:21
13.05 pace

The conference was uneventful today. Lots of great thoughts and ideas from progressive departments. Unfortunately, proactive change is met with resistance when I get back to the station. I get all fired up at conferences, but usually within a matter of days 'they' have taken the wind out of my sail.

The lack of motivation to lift weights is growing. Does anyone have any ideas how to get fired up about lifting weights? I'm enthusiastic when I'm in the gym, but getting in there is like pulling my own teeth. Either way, I got it done.

Weight Training:
Upper and Lower Body

...time to watch Biggest Loser on my DVR!

Jerry Markbreit

I'm currently attending the Southwest Fire and Rescue Conference in Galveston, TX. The guest speaker for the opening ceremony was NFL referee Jerry Markbreit. He is without a doubt the best speaker I have ever had the opportunity to listen to. I'm not the typical football fan, but very little of his speech was about football. He has a way of linking his extraordinary profession to events we all experience in life. He is both funny and motivating. More importantly, he is a great story teller. Needless to say, I was impressed and awe struck... after meeting him. Ironically I sat one row behind him for an hour (before his speech) and had no idea who he was. Lots of great stories, like how he is Jewish, but attended Catholic Mass before every game. Of course, there is a funny story why.

Below is a brief overview of his career:
Jerry Markbreit (born March 23, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football referee in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game [1]. Markbreit officiated football games for 43 seasons. From 1965 to 1975, Markbreit officiated college football games in the Big Ten Conference. He then joined the NFL in 1976 as a Line Judge before being promoted to the head referee position in just his second year. His uniform number in the league was 9, which is now worn by Mark Perlman. Until he retired from the NFL after the 1998 season, Markbreit officiated in two wild card (1991 and 1994), ten divisional (1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1997, and 1998), eight conference championship (1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1996) playoff games, one Pro Bowl (1978), and four Super Bowls: Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXI, Super Bowl XXVI, and Super Bowl XXIX and was an alternate in Super Bowl XIX, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVIII [2][3]. To date, he is the only NFL head referee to officiate four Super Bowl games.
Books by Markbreit
The Armchair Referee—500 Questions and Answers about Football (ISBN 0-385-08089-1)
Born to Referee: My Life on the Gridiron (ISBN 0-688-07938-5)
Last Call: Memoirs of an NFL Referee (ISBN 1-58382-030-2)

It took me 3-hours and 30-minutes to get home due to a high speed chase by HPD that resulted in a roll-over. I don't cope well with traffic. Traffic has a way of stressing me out faster than almost anything else. I did a fair job at dealing with the stress, but my workout was cut back due to time constraints. As soon as I got home I ran one mile. I'll do my weight training tomorrow. The run felt good and it was a continuous run.

Run:
1.08
10:50
10:02 pace

BOSU Balance Trainer

The day went by freakishly fast. It seems like I just woke up a couple hours ago.

Now that I've filed my taxes Andrea helped me purge my 2008 files, which is something I dread every year. After the two-hour task we biked 8.5 miles on our trail bikes. Afterwards we both hit the gym. I'm still lethargic in the gym. Not sure what the deal is!?!?!

Trail Bike:
8.66 miles
41:32
12:52 pace

Workout:
Mid-body

The girls bought Andrea a 'Basic Yoga' DVD for Valentines Day. The video includes five different workouts, each lasting 10-minutes. I joined Andrea on the first workout to see what it was like. I was surprised how hard I had to work. In the short ten-minutes I worked up an impressive sweat.

Yoga:
10-minutes

I ordered a BOSU balance trainer tonight and I can't wait to use it! I've been watching a bunch of videos on YouTube and it seems awesome. They seem overpriced, but I'm optimistic I will use it. Time will tell....

Gimme Some Sugar 10k

My initial plans was to cycle 60-miles in Katy at the "Pedaling the Prairie" tour. The weather forecast seemed uncertain, so we opted for a running event. With only a couple options to pick from, we naturally choose the closest.

Andrea and I ran the inaugural "Gimme Some Sugar" 5k & 10k. The course was a lot better than I expected. We ran the outside perimeter roads of the Sam Houston Horse track. The 5k route was a single loop and 10k participants simply added a second loop.

At first the race seemed very small, maybe less than 100 people, but closer to the start time the numbers grew to approximately 250-400 people. Looking at the times it appears the majority of the people ran the longer race.

Fellow Strider's Steve Bezner and Ruben were also in attendance. Not sure about Steve's performance, but Ruben placed in his age group, even after a small error. Funny story; About half a mile into the race I saw Ruben running in the opposite direction wearing his sweat pants and wind jacket. Ruben was out running a warm-up and thought the start time was 8am and not 7:30. Ruben ran to his car, changed clothes, ran to the start line, and STILL won 2nd place. In reality, Ruben CLEARLY won his age group, but the race results awarded gun time, not chip time for overall winners.

It was a good race. I ran an 8.5-9 effort and stayed inside my comfort zone. I ran by feel this morning, which resulted in a lot more running than walking.

Run:
10k
1:04:24
10:22 pace

Andrea also had a good race. She said she wasn't in top form, but felt good nonetheless. Andrea told me she wishes she would have run the 5k. After looking closer at the results she would have easily placed in her age bracket for the 5k. It seemed every woman there was in her age bracket and running the 10k.

Andrea finished 9th out of ~30 runners.

Andrea Run:
10k
57:21
9:14 pace

It was hard, but I still got my ass in the gym. I was lacking both energy and motivation after the race.

Workout:
Upper and Lower body

PARTY

A couple pictures from Alison's first 5k Celebration Party:

Another Project Almost Complete

Finally finished the replacement of the sewer line project. By 7am me and two day labors were back at work. Unlike the two men from yesterday, these guys were ready to work.

By noon we had dug out the remainder of the line, laid the new pipe, and started back filling the trench. I left approximately half the trench open so I can fix the broken sprinkler lines later this week. When I THOUGHT we were done I walked out front to check the mail. As I caught sight of the street I could see four telephone company trucks. I found one of the workers and asked what the problem was. When he said they had 4 service calls for outages, I told him I might be able to help him find the problem.

Yep, you guessed right... we nicked the telephone cable. The nicked cable turned into a huge ordeal, but most of it was out of my hand. I've been so bothered by the issue that my stomach has been upset.

I'm glad my drains are functioning properly again, but I'm worried about the financial burden of damaging a telephone line. In an attempt to take my mind off the matters I went for a leisure bike ride with Andrea and Taylor.

Trail Bike:
5.55 miles
33:17
10:01 pace

After the bike ride I worked out. I was fatigued from the "out-of-the-ordinary" working. I still managed to complete today's and yesterdays scheduled workout.

Workout:
Upper and Mid-body

A Different Kind of Workout

At 6:30am this morning I placed an ad on Craigslist for help to dig out my old drainage line, which is clogged with roots. Within 1-hour I had 30-40 phones calls. I picked one of the first callers and took my chances.

I was greatly disappointed in the work ethic of the two men that showed up. I spent more time digging and cutting than either of the HIRED HELP. Originally, I had dreams of hiring someone to dig out the pipe, while I went for a run and finished up some smaller projects around the house. It was apparent these men weren't in any rush, so I put on my gloves and went to work.

The line was 3-4 feet deep and the roots were horrible. I think we spent more time with the axe than we did with the shovel. It was disheartening to only clear a couple feet of line every hour. Again, a lot of this was because the hired labor stood outside the trench smoking cigarettes, watching me dig. At 2:30 I left to pick up Taylor from school. I was gone for an hour and when I got back they hadn't done any work. Just as I was about to make a comment they took it a step further and stated they were done for the day. They quit with only half the job done. They really pissed me off when they expected full pay. Against my better judgment I paid them just to get them out of my hair.

After 5-hours of digging I was too tired to get in a workout or any cardio. I figured I worked enough to cover the needed deficit.

After getting cleaned up I attended the Strider Club meeting at St. Arnold's Brewery. It was a fun night. During the meeting we elected new board member and participated in an activity called; "Getting to know your fellow Strider". Like most Strider formal meeting perks, there was FREE Star pizza and St. Arnold's Beer.

Tired of working TWO jobs

Trail Bike:
8.9 miles
41:38
12.83 pace

Working at Jersey Village FD tonight. I squeezed in a lower body workout and went for a small walk on the treadmill.

Workout:
Lower Body

Walk:
1.63 miles
30:05

Day After

At work today.

Today I'm lethargic and my legs feel heavy. I must have run harder yesterday than I had originally thought.

Walk:
3.5 miles
51:08
14:37 pace

Mid-body workout

Kingwood Bridge Fest 5k

What a day!!!

I'm not sure if the year was 1999 or 2000, but that was the year I ran the first race of my life. The race was the Kingwood Bridge Fest 5k, which I ran with Hugo. This morning I found myself at the start line with my 7-year old daughter, who was about to run her first 5k race at the exact location where I ran my first race. Some people might not understand, but this was very special to me.

Alison has been BEGGING me to run a distance longer than the typical "kid fun run" (1-mile or less). After listening to her plead her case for months, I finally decided to let her run a 5k. All week she has been excited, almost like it was the week before her "first marathon".

The experience was so amazing I'm struggling to put the moment into words. Running with Alison is like nothing else we have done together. To simply say I'm proud of her is an understatement. She did everything I asked and met every expectation. Alison was able to properly seed herself at the start line and she held a consistent pace. During the last half mile she struggled, but she NEVER gave up. Today was the first time I've seen her work that hard for something she wanted. I felt her pain as I listened to her grunting out loud to finish.

TODAY WAS HER MARATHON.

The only thing that put a damper on her run was the finish. I didn't want the feeling to end, but it did. When we finished I found myself with another issue. Let me try to explain. The kids race(s) took place before the 5k. We watched from the sidewalk as ALL the kids received a finisher's medal. When Alison finished the 5k, the only thing she found at the finish line was a guy willing to take the timing chip off her shoe. I could tell she was sad. She wanted something tangible to show that she had accomplished something HUGE. Alison was even hopeful that she would place top 3 in her age group, but the age bracket was tough. She ran in the 12 and under bracket. Unfortunately for her there were a lot of middle school kids at the 5k, so she didn't stand a chance competing against kids 5-years older than her.

Andrea, being the wonderful woman she is, was the hero of the day. She walked Alison to the YMCA desk and asked them if they had any extra finisher medals. As luck would have it they happily gave Alison a medal. Later we learned she didn't place in her age bracket. In her defense, I didn't see any other girls her size finish before her. She deserves to feel special and I know she was one of the fastest 7-year old females on the course.

I have every intention of throwing her a small party to celebrate her accomplishment. Again, let me explain. An exceptionally emotional moment for me was watching her slowly walk by the awards table and stare at each of the trophies with a special light in her eye. At that moment I would have sold my soul to the devil to see her win one of those trophies. I can honestly say I was chocked-up by watching her. I suppose in due time she will win more trophies that I can buy, but no one ever said I was patient. It's a glorious feeling to be a dad, but sometimes it is really hard.

Alison
5k
33:41
10:40 pace

Bill
5k
33:42
10:40 pace

Andrea and Josh also ran this race. Andrea said she was going to "push" herself and see what kind of pace could manage. Also debuting at the 5k was my friend Josh. He wasn't chip timed due to registering on race day, but he was about 100-yards in front of Alison.

Andrea
5k
26:51
8:30 pace

The times above are estimates (the best I can recall). The times were posted at the YMCA, but I can't find them online.

I took a couple pictures when we got home and I will post them soon.

Later that afternoon Andrea and I biked 3.5 miles to Alison's baseball practice. Alison had a great practice. When she was done, I stole a bunch of hugs & kisses from her. From there Andrea and I biked back home. At home we hit the gym.

Upper body workout.

Oh, forgot to mention. I also had a great run. My legs had a lot more in them, but my dad duties superseded my desires to run faster.

It was an "Athletic Day".

It doesn't get any better than this!!!

Needed Recovery

At work.

My legs are dead.

I ran (and walked) 5 miles, followed by a lower body workout. I'm looking forward to tomorrows day off from exercise. My legs are in desperate need of recovery.

Run:
5.03 miles
1:04:07
12:45 pace

Lower body workout

Segmented Cardio

Today's cardio workout was broken up into three different segments. This morning I rode 5 miles on my trail bike. In the afternoon I walked 2-miles. And finally, when Andrea got home we went for a 5.5 mile bike ride followed by a workout in the gym.

Beautiful weather makes it easy to stay outside...

Trail Bike:
10.75 miles
52:00 minutes
12.2 mph

Walk:
2.15 miles
33:51
15:45 pace

Mid-body workout

New Bike Route

What a great day to be outside. Steve and I decided at work yesterday to go for a ride today. Steve is still recovering from his first marathon, but he couldn't resist the temptation to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Speaking of the weather, it couldn't have been more perfect. I was a bit worried about the cold temperature when we took off, but I ended up with the perfect amount of clothes for the ride.

We also decided to try a different route. On West Lake Houston Parkway near Beltway 8 we found a fuel station to park. From there we rode to Duessin Park, then Eisenhower Park, and finally we turned around near the end of Sheldon Road. By East Houston standards, this route had a few rolling hills.

The ride went well and I feel like we maintained a respectable effort the entire time.

Road Bike:
19.88 miles
1:14:52
15.93 mph

We worked our tails off during the final miles in an attempt to get our average speed above 16 mph. We rode 19-20 mph for the last two miles, but simply ran out of road.

At home I did an Upper body workout.

3 miles

At work today.

Run:
3.0 miles
34:37
11:32 pace

Josh joined me for the first two miles. I walked 2.5 minutes and ran 2.5 minutes. My legs are sore again.

Lower body workout.

Month 1, DONE

This year is off to a good start. In the first 31-days I have lost 19 pounds. January's cardio included:
Walk: 43.92 miles
Cycle: 153.61 miles
Run: 30.28 miles

I tried to take the kids for a bike ride, but mother nature made us turn around half a mile from the house. After dropping the kids off at Erin's I walk/run for 5 miles. The run felt good even though it was muggy from the rain.

Once again I split the running and walking, compliments of my garmin watch.

Run:
2.81 miles
26:50
9:33 pace

Walk:
2.25 miles
35:35
15:50 pace

Now I'm headed to my home gym for a mid-body workout.