TGI(W)F
2006-11-22, 2:40 p.m.

Day 822 TGIW

NaBloPoMo #20

Friday on a Wednesday! Even better than Wednesday on a Tuesday. Is this a great week or what!

Could not get my butt moving this morning. Finally crawled out of the sack near 6am. Shaved, got my gym bag together, took care of some typical early morning bidness and headed out. Decided today would be a treadmill day. Cranked out a 5K with a 0.5 degree slope (supposed to match outdoor running more betterer), then headed off to do upper body on the Nautilus gear.

One thing I noticed (ok, 3 things) about running on the treadmill:
First, my right foot goes numb sooner.
Second, this morning I got a teeny little twingy feeling on the outside of my right knee. Didn�t hurt, but felt like something was straining to keep up.
Third � I must run with a weird gait. On my left shoe, on the top rim of the cushy part, just to the front of the ankle bone there is a blue stain on the (brand spankin� new) white fabric/leather. The blue is from the sole of my right shoe. I don�t recall ever actually hitting my ankle bone, but I gotta be coming veeeeerrry close if I�m hitting that part of my shoe. In looking at my older shoes, there�s actually a hole in the fabric in that same spot.

That weird gait (pronating maybe?) could explain the twingy knee. In general (knock on wood) my knees have been solid. Never a real problem. I�ve used them and abused them, they keep coming back for more. For a guy who�s 39 years old (with 8+ years of experience), that ain�t bad.

For now, think I�ll stick to treadmill work maybe once a week, just to keep an eye on things, and to keep a feel for what sort of pace I should run in the real outdoorsy races. Never noticed any of this stuff outdoors. In the spring, I�ll head to a local store that specializes in running and get my gait analyzed. There are shoes that can correct minor pronating and the gait analysis will determine if that�s necessary. In the end, if it helps my knee, it�s all good. Plus I think (hope) the analysis is free. I know what�s bugging my foot and am afraid the answer is either surgery or cortisone. I don�t relish either, but would prefer the cortisone if it would work. At least it wouldn�t keep me from running for weeks on end.

Did the meeting thing last night. Cindy practically escorted me out of the house. Not in a kind way either. It was with a slightly caustic, sarcastic remark. Then I got the ol� evil eye as I exited the garage while she was out there smoking her butt. Kept a civil tongue and still went though. One of the tenets of the program is the �kill them with kindness� theme. Maintain your dignity, maintain your calm, maintain your respect for the alcoholic (this is the hard one), and eventually, slowly, the alcoholic may notice the change and be swayed into getting themselves the help they need. Sort of leading by setting a good example. Of course, nobody says how long to try this. Guess that�s up to the individuals situation. The one thing the program does stress is to take no drastic actions (separations, divorce, screaming ultimatums, etc.) for the first 6 months.

Now. Since I have never really started �working� the program stepwise, I�m figuring my 6 month ticker hasn�t officially started. Not like I�m going anywhere in a hurry anyhow. There are certain things lacking in our relationship I definitely miss (some rather desperately), but the bottom line is the commitment I made oh, those many years ago (25 of them actually) . . . in sickness & in health . . . till death us do part. I�m sure at some point I�m going to have to be willing to call it quits if she never develops any intentions of straightening her ass out, but I don�t know when that is yet. Besides, I�m in no hurry to re-enter the dating game, and most of the women I know (3D, 2D, here, IRL, everywhere) within 10 years of my age are either married or in a committed relationship already. Hmm � maybe they have eligible friends? Don�t want to fall victim to that whole �grass is greener over there� syndrome. Besides, there�s always the, the, hmmmm, the fine ladies that advertise on Craigslist, right? Just pick some that don�t sound too trollopy. (Is TOO a word.)

Terrible topic for the day before Thanksgiving.

Coming tomorrow � how we smoke turkeys around these parts, the Thanksgiving day menu at La Casa de Brian, and a short list of things I�m thankful for. In the mean time, check out the list over at BigDicksPlace. It�s irreverent, crude, NOT politically correct, and well, kinda scary. Not everybody likes Dick, but he never fails to get his point across. I just admire the way he can turn a phrase. A skill I�ve noticed is peculiarly high amongst Texans. You guys got something odd in the beer down there?

Happy Turkey day to all y�all. See y�all again tomorrow. (It�s that damn Texas stuff rubbing off!)

Updated stats:

Weight start: 206.5 on 1/1/06 (265.0 on 1/15/05)
Current weight: 188 on 11/4/06 (Out of the rut, but in the wrong direction)
Next weigh in: 1/25/06 (if I dare)

New target � Aim is 180, by Christmas. Better get the rear in gear.

The Keep on Truckin goal: (miles piled up on elliptical trainers and/or running)
Miles at speed 11/16/06: 936.40
Miles with cool down: 1029.97
Target for 2006: 1000 miles at speed (cool down miles don�t really count)

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