Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Mom and Dad out for a visit.

My life gets completely turned upside down when we have relatives visit. My office at home is the guest bedroom, so I end up working all over the house and I don't get as much work done. My folks were in town from last Wednesday until this morning.

It's great to see them. They are in their 70's with some health issues. So, the routine is they get out here and we sit around the house for a week. They're not up to going sight seeing or even to a restaurant. So, no spring training, no hiking, no zoo, no restaurants, no movies, no malls, no mountians, no museums. You get the picture.

But, we had a great time. Amy did take my mom to play bingo at the Gila River Casino which they both enjoyed. I think bingo is the devils game, so I stayed home with dad. Luckily, we got to see Ohio State beat Georgetown and lose to Florida in the Championship. Not exactly the outcome we wanted, but it was fun to watch on TV. We got to see the Suns beat up on the Dallas Mavericks, we got to see the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies and we got to see our beloved Cincinnati Reds win on opening day against the Chicago Cubs. We had some great home cooking. My dad, mom and Amy all took turns cooking. My dad taught my daughter how to make his special cheesecake. It was awesome. All in all, it was a great visit.

I took them to the airport this morning. Not sure if or when they'll get to come out to Arizona again. I think they would be just as happy if we made the trip to Ohio to visit. Which we will in July.

So, today April 3rd, 2007 is the start of my 2007 Summer Training Program. A five month program to get my weight under 200 pounds, my 5k time under 29 minutes and to prepare for when the temps start to fall again.

The last two weeks have been for rest and renewal. I needed to get over the aches and pains that have built up. I tried running, but could only make it about 20 yards with pain in my left knee every time I came down on that side. I ended up walking twice for about 2 to 2.5 miles each time. On Saturday, March 31st I went for a run around 11 am. It was a beautiful day, the temps were pushing 80, so I'll have to start running at night or early in the morning until the weather breaks (read October). I started running and noticed that my left knee did not hurt and the run felt good. I ran for about a mile and then took a walking break. I did ran/walked for a total of 4.14 miles and only stopped because I didn't want to over do it. And my wife was unloading the groceries from the car with my 73 year old mother. It would have looked bad if I would have waved to them and kept on running. I helped them unload and was very happy with the run. Sunday,Monday and Today I had no pain and I am looking forward to running tonight.

The next five months I am going to:

  1. Strenghten my running muscles, so that I don't have any more knee problems.
  2. Get my mileage up to 25-30 miles per week.
  3. Watch my diet. Eat more veggies and fruits.
  4. Lose 6 pounds a month.

3 comments:

J~Mom said...

WOOHOO!! I am in! I am started fresh this week as well! My goal is to exercise five times a week and watch portions as well as food in general. We can do it!

Glad you had a great visit! I was hoping you were selling all of these houses on my block but the visit does sound nice! :>)

Jenniferlyn said...

Way to go Pat!!!!! :) I too am starting over if you will... but I am literally starting over! ;)

I want to get in shape - loose the weight, increase my mileage, and get a good pace going, in time for teh Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon, and the 10 mile Crim, both in August.

I hope we get a nother chance to run in a race together!

Irene said...

Your folks sound just like my dad. :) They don't want to do tourist stuff, just sit around and visit, which is okay -- to a point. It's all good though.

Nice list of goals for the next 5 months! My question: To achieve these goals, what (more specifically) are you going to do?

Enjoy the rest of your week! :)