Watch out for that hole

Yesterday was quiet.  I went for run / walk which I messed up: 15 minute fast walk, followed by the 31 minute 5k training.  However, because I just paused my Garmin rather then stop it completely, the two times were added together.  The end result was that it looks like I took almost 24 minutes to cover one mile.  Ouch.

My left shoulder's sore.  I think I strained it while lifting a case of 12" x 24" tile too high to put on the shelf.  Yes, I also work with tile and sometimes you need to lift the cases almost 5 feet off the floor.  Or, possibly, this just might be a sign of old age.  There's no getting around the fact that we do get aches and pains as we get older.  It's how we deal with them that's important.

I'm scheduled to work for the next 2 days.  Yippee.  They've done a change on how our personal sales numbers are reported.  New fiscal year, you know?  Changes always happen then.  Where as before our sales were compared to other specialists in the district, now it appears they've given us all a goal to strive for.  So far we've received no communication as to whether this goal is just weekly, or cumulative.  I will admit to being a bit surprised at how high the goal was for this time of year, and if it is cumulative, are we all going to end up going deeper and deeper into the hole?

And what about those spineless Republicans?  They're running head first towards their own hole.  How are they doing this?  Secret vote on whether to keep Cheney in her leadership position, voice vote on Marjorie Taylor Green.  Secret votes are honest, voice votes are meant to please their base.  The problem here is that they're desperately trying to hold onto their base.  And, like most stupid people, they see the hole in front of them, however they can't keep themselves from falling in.  You see they look at the total votes Trump got in 2020 and never ask themselves why, they just see that total figure.  Over the past 40 years, the winning party has lost seats in Congress.  They see his total number of votes and believe this is going to happen again in 2022.  They totally ignore the fact that he created an insurrection and that people died.  That fact has already fallen into the hole.  Moderate Republicans are angry, American's are furious, and those facts have also fallen deeply into the hole.  All they understand is that 74 million people voted for Trump.  This is why they're going to fall into the hole.  Sheer stupidity.

 Reuters gave us a list of every Republican who voted to investigate the 2020 election.  However, when asked if the election was stolen from Trump, only 10 said no, the rest declined to answer either 'yes' or 'no.'  Many of these names will be voted out of office.

Taste This

I began the new year by working.  There were a number of customers until around 2 (PM), and then the thinning began.  An hour later our aisles were fairly empty.  In the morning, however, we had a number of customers.  Honestly, I wasn't surprised that much.  We just ended a year in which many might have considered a bad case of the runs just another day in a really shitty year, so for them, yesterday was just another day.

On Monday, in Pennsylvania, they're supposed to be lifting restrictions.  If that happens, I've plans to go to the movies on January 8th to see the new Wonder Woman movie.  I understand it's entertaining.

Being the new year, I decided to adjust my workout mileage.  Last year I set my goat at 2500 and ended up doing 2130.  I adjusted my cycling to 2250 and added 200 for running.  The idea is to challenge myself, but not set an unreachable goal.  The difficult part will be over the next eight or nine weeks since they are what I consider the 'quiet' months, when I will have to work hard to keep from entering the hibernation zone.  

One change I did do recently was to start using honey as a sweetener in my morning oatmeal rather than brown sugar.  Taking things a step further, I decided to use honeycomb, rather than the processed honey you buy in bottles.  I was surprised by how much sweeter it was.

It does take a little longer to cook my oatmeal, but boy is my breakfast tastier.

I saw Biden's message was uplifting, talking about the challenges facing our country, including vaccine distribution which is another thing our outgoing sack of shit screwed up.  And, speaking of that loser, he released a video on Twitter in which he bragged about his failed accomplishments.  Quite a number of people on social media pointed out that this asswipe talked only about the past... not one syllable about the future.  This might be the closest thing we get to a concession speech.

The Republican Assburning

Well, today I get rid of my weight bench and one of the two attachments I still have, the other went out front to be recycled some time ago.  As I slowly empty and rearrange my computer / workout room, I realize just how much space I really have there.  The room is becoming quite minimalized.  As we get older, that we should begin to aim for.   I know people who are my age who just can not seem to stop adding to the clutter surrounding them.

I understand the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is dealing with quite a bit of legal bullshit.  But then this is to be expected.  He began his career as a Tea Party Republican, and like most Republicans, loved wallowing in his own selfishness and greed.  Of course, he became a fanboy of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Yesterday the Supreme Court presented him with the gift of shit, and they didn't even wrap it nicely with a bow.  Nope.  Why did he go to so much trouble for a failed president, offering the courts a baseless lawsuit?  I'm betting he's hoping for some sort of pardon.

Yesterday, in the lunchroom, one of the fascists' supporters of the Idiot Jerk said, "Biden will never be president, and I'm so glad Texas took the imitative to got to the Supreme Court."  This was about an hour and a half before the Justices stood up for Democracy.  I did not see this fool after the decision, not that I would have said anything if I had, sometimes there is great joy in just smiling wisely at someone who's just had their ass burned.

And finally, as most of you know I like to be interactive when I workout.  While cycling, I use Tacx and ride all over the world.  Well, running (or slow jogging) has the same sort of thing.  This run is in New Zealand.  Nice... huh?

 

Run with This

 We had a dusting of snow this morning... if you want to call it that, not enough to even get a second look.  The temps are cold, but not Cold.  

I got my Red Hot calendar yesterday and I share some of the months but this is a PG - 13 blog, language at times but no nudity.  If you want to see what I'm looking at, you can always purchase one, I understand a % of the revenue goes towards testicular cancer.

My car is going to be paid off very soon, so yesterday I splurged and ordered a T303 treadmill to use in conjunction with the cycling.  It does not have a lot of bells and whistles, and is non-interactive, meaning you don't have to sign up for Ifit or some other online, subscription training program.  I actually had to purchase it from Horizon rather than on Amazon, which is fine. 

And the Supreme Court rejected another bad case by those terrible losers, the Republicans.  Evidently Texas filed a case, too, asking them to throw out the results from Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.  Someone needs to tell these Biden has already crossed the finish line and the race is over so they can stop running laps.  

I can only sit and wonder how so many Americans have fallen so out of step with reality.  Perhaps it is because of their longing for the old days that they believe this liar and cheat offers them what used to be considered 'core values' back in the late 50's and very early 60's.  He's never been anything more than a charlatan, a man who frequently weaponized the lower courts to beat down those whom he had wronged.  Now his attorneys are laughed at.  Republican judges his administration approved have called his charges fraudulent and baseless.  The truth is that he's always been a terrible businessman who fictionalized his success rate in order to feed his ego.  He always found it better to lie and run over the truth then let it jog his reality.  Now, instead of being America's CEO, he's the GOP's biggest loser.  This is Karma. 

Reconstruction

For a second, I thought today was Friday and that I'd missed the chance to celebrate my Hump Day...  what a relief, it's only Thursday.   Woohoo...
I did go for a 13.59 mile ride last evening.  Not bad.  I'm planning on riding again this evening.
My friend Steve, he's the one who runs about 100 miles a week... or I guess I should say ran, told me he thinks he may have done some sort of permanent damage to the tendons in his foot.  He'd pulled something a while back and gave it about 2 weeks to heal...  and then for a few weeks he'd tell me that once he starts running the pain goes away.  As someone who's had to recuperate from serious injuries I can tell you that never happens.  Yesterday he said he was probably going to be giving up running for good and focusing on cycling.  This is how life is, the question is will he learn his lesson in regard to cycling?
And, of course, now everybody knows about Boris and the Queen.  He's one of those fools who is so set in his beliefs he will do anything to make them come true, even destroy the British economy.  What he doesn't understand, and the chances of a no deal Brexit being in any way successful are slim, is that when this whole thing is over, if he's wrong, he may lose his head... maybe literally.  By then it may be too late for him to learn anything.
The Idiot Jerk's administration is making it more difficult for children of naturalized citizens born over seas to claim citizenship.  It's the purity of race shit they got going around inside their heads.  I checked, but I didn't see an corresponding policy in regard to foreigners having babies in the US.  You know, like the Russkies going to Florida in order for their children to have dual citizenship?
And, finally, the debate stage just got smaller.  It's about time!  I'm glad Steyer didn't make it.  We do not need another billionaire businessman in the oval office.  Now, all those who didn't make the cut need to run for the Senate.  There are 3 candidates getting double digits in the polls, Biden, Sanders, and Warren so I'd say the odds are good that one of those 3 will be the president to begin the reconstruction of America.

Emma, Brexit, and Runner's delight

After saying that Emma Watson gave the weakest performance in Beauty and the Beast, I thought that perhaps I should see if she's done anything, other than the Harry Potter movies which was anywhere close to being successful.   Nope.  Figures.
I saw that Idiot Theresa May initiated the UK's exit from the EU.  I find it interesting that during the voting the majority who approved of this mistake tended to be middle and lower class citizens, many blaming immigrants, saying they were stealing jobs.  Sound familiar?  In case you're stumped, think Mexicans.  This is interesting because and article in The Guardian makes it pretty clear that Brexit will not stop this influx.  That's funny.  I'd read earlier that a number of the financial institutions now locate in the UK will move to the continent taking jobs with them.  Oops.  The sad thing is that both there, and here in the US, there are a number of people who believe that these nationalistic tendencies are going to pave the way for better wages.  Wrong.  There will always be a lower class gripping and complaining about money.  Nothing is going to change that.  It's simple economics.  Wages go up, so prices go up.  Prices are never going to go down because the prices you pay, are somebody else's wages.  This is how it goes.  No one is going to skip their yearly raise just so your prices stay the same.  Yet all these people believe that both the Idiot in the White House and Brexit are going to make this happen.
On the really bright side, I'm probably go for a run at Planet Fitness tomorrow in the AM.

On the Monday after joining, I decided to use one of their treadmills.  Well, I hadn't been on a treadmill in almost 16 years, and I didn't know how wobbly I would be - remember, my lower three vertebrae are fused because of the arthritis.  However, one of their associates, a very nice ginger man with a beard patiently showed me how it works - quite similar to the Eliptical I have here at home.  I had no problem putting in 30 minutes at 3 miles per hour, so tomorrow morning I'm going to give it shot.  That's right... I'm going to run.  

Running shoes, the losing side of Dick's

A long time ago, when I went into the US Navy, I was surprised that at 8.5 D my shoe size was rather small for a 5'11" man, in fact, I think I had the smallest feet in my division.  This was no big deal, I mean, feet are feet, the vast majority of us have at least 2.  However, over time, as I matured into middle age, my feet changed.  I now wear a size 9 E.  The new shoe size shouldn't be a problem, should it?  Well, it is.  Evidently we people with wider then average feet are a minority in the world, and as such, retailers tend give us short shrift.  Let me give you an example.  Two days ago I went to Dick's Sporting Goods planning to purchase a new pair of running shoes.  Guess what?  I spent fifteen minutes crawling around on the floor, pulling out shoe box after shoe box, looking for a pair that was not sized a D.  No luck.  So I went on line and looked.  They don't give customers an option.  They list one standard size.  Now I could order a pair of those running shoes if I wanted to, but I can tell you they wouldn't even come close to fitting my feet.

Only average sized shoes here

A rule of thumb when ordering running shoes, or training shoes, or any kind of shoes on line is to add to your shoe size, so if you wear a 9 you should order a 10.  Excuse me, but am I not the only one who thinks this is a bit crazy?  I checked out Zappo's, which offers wide shoes,  and then looked at the same sized, wide shoe at Amazon and most of the comments were "not big enough, order a size larger."  True, there were a few comments praising the shoe, but there were not that many.  Feet are like people, they are not all the same.  Unfortunately, I suspect most manufacturers and retailers prefer to focus on the average because it's more cost effective, thus leaving us wide footers out in the cold.

 

Healthiest Cities horse crap

I saw this article on the Healthiest Cities for men in the US and had to chuckle.  Do you live in one of these cities?  I don't.  Like most of these studies, there really is not a lot of concrete evidence given to validate the assertions.  Research has not been carried on for years and years and, obviously, there weren't any blind studies completed.  All you have is opinion, and we know what that's worth.  I've never been to Boise so I don't know how good the cycling is there, I do know two things,  it's a conservative state and they get a lot of snow.  Oh, and a third thing, which may be more of an assumption, they have a lot of guns out there (that can't be too healthy).

Since I've always felt runners were outstanding candidates for knee replacement surgery in their older years I ride bike.  From what they say, there is a lot of cycling going on in Boise.  Geographically, I would suspect it to be rather hilly as well, which makes the cycling even better.  As for the snow, I always tell people it's free cardio, get off your ass and go out and shovel.  Every time I see some lazy ass out pushing a snow blower I can't help but think, 'hey, you dumb shit, if you shoveled that snow you'd have more muscle mass and your life expectancy would probably be a little longer.'

Hills are good.

Harrisburg, how healthy is it?

I live in Enola, a suburb of Harrisburg, PA which, itself, lies in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley.  What this means is you have flat land on one side of the east shore for about 1.5 miles and hills on the west shore starting about 500 feet back for the shore line.  I'm on the west shore, and I have hills.  This is the place to live if you don't like climbing.  We do get snow, six inches yesterday.  My dog loved it, so did I.  So, what I have going for me is probably the same as the guys out in Boise, except for the guns, though I suspect we have a lot more in Central Pennsylvania then I might want to believe.  This means Harrisburg is probably a fairly healthy place if you cycle (or run) and like to shovel snow.  I don't believe it was even considered when the Healthiest city list was being put together.  This is kind of sad.  If you're putting together a list you should include all cities.

Legs, the engines of the body.

Legs are the engines of your body, so I’ve been told by Shaun S. a former Wellness Coach. He’s right.  Your legs contain the largest muscle groups of your body and as such burn more calories then other muscle groups and put the ‘C’ in Cardio.  They are also the biggest pain in the ass to work out, which is why so many people ignore them.   You know who I’m talking about, those guys with a 48” chest, 22” guns and abs that run for miles sporting themselves around on a pair of flamingo legs. Your legs do let you know you’ve been ‘working’ your quads after a really good set of dumbbell squats and lunges, and of course later there will be the pain and suffering during your recovery period.  Stairs can be horrendous.  How bad can it get?  I have a friend who always gets quite religious after a leg workout, I know because he always seems to be muttering “oh, Jesus” under his breath.  The only thing that helps is the knowledge that once you get into a routine recovery speeds up a lot.  Instead of suffering through agony you merely pass through discomfort.

For the faint of heart there are alternatives to lunging and squatting, I know, I rarely do either.  This is one method.  I can pop either as little or as much weight I want on this baby.  Three times a week and you’re set.

And this is another way.  I can ride for miles and miles on a pair of these.

As for running?  I don't.  I've met too many people who ran in their twenties and thirties who now, heading into their sixties and seventies, find out they're going to need to replace knees and hips.  

Oh, by the way, the legs at the top?  They're not mine.  Mine are in much better shape.