I am still here
I keep forgetting that people like to read my blog and I have been slacking. My bad.
This 'off season' if you can call it that, I have been doing more long distance running on the treadmill and weights for the legs and upper body. I try to get in some training at least 3 days a week, but no more than 5. Rest is very important for us old timers. So far so good. No real injuries from running. I did have a really sore left hip last week that was self induced. I wrapped a rope around a very heavy piece of pipe to get it "out of the way" and I moved it OK. But two days later the top of my hip was really mad and caused me to skip a couple of my running work outs. Back to normal now. I ran a mile last night at 8:34 pace on the treadmill and then did some leg weights. So I think I am healed up. I am staying in pretty good condition and my fitness is good. I have been slowly inching up the speed on my treadmill runs. If I do not run at a faster pace, the heart rate struggles to get above the 95% level where I like to finish each cycle if possible.
My project list is 'fixing to' explode in the next couple of weeks. Linda and I finally got the house refinancing done and cashed out some money to finish the kitchen remodel. I have purchased a auger from the coop to get the rest of the dirt removed from the crawl space so I have access to the wiring and plumbing under the kitchen. The auger is a huge overkill for this project, but I like a workspace that has room to move freely. I will hire some help to reroute the gas lines under the house and a lousy crawl space might make getting work done a lot more pricey. There is also some heating duct work that is not within reach currently and needs attention. The burrowing animals in the days before we arrived, dug out their burrows and piled up the dirt in the crawl space and eliminated access to a couple of important ducts. The auger (40 feet) will make getting access to the ducts a much simpler and quicker operation. And the dirt removed will be useful in leveling the yard. Certain yard sections are hopelessly unmanaged.
I will be in Atlanta next week for an interview with the US Government to get my Global Entry approval. This program allows much quicker and simpler border crossing for me when I travel to Mexico and Canada for work. My future work schedule will include frequent trips across the border and this program will speed entry to the US by 80 to 90%. This is huge during Spring Break! Since I will be in ATL, I will stop at the IKEA on the way back and start buying cupboard sections. Once we get this started, we are off and running on the kitchen. We will be doing some cupboards, new stove and a hood that carries the smoke outside. The current hood vents the smoke over your head and the smoke alarm is a huge annoyance when cooking nearly anything. The smoke deal is a massive downer for both of us.
Later in the month, Linda and I are headed to Aruba for a week of vacation in the sun. We looked at a lot of different places and the prices are relatively the same in the US or Aruba. Southwest flies there and that made the choice much simpler. Many people whom had previously been to the island indicated the locals leave you alone and the dollar is OK for currency. Plus, it is sunny a lot in the winter with temperatures in the low 80's. That should be enough to make for a fun week. We are planning on some fishing and since it is a small island, fishing should be pretty simple to do.
After the vacation, it will be time to think garden and yard, an early season race, and off we go again.
This 'off season' if you can call it that, I have been doing more long distance running on the treadmill and weights for the legs and upper body. I try to get in some training at least 3 days a week, but no more than 5. Rest is very important for us old timers. So far so good. No real injuries from running. I did have a really sore left hip last week that was self induced. I wrapped a rope around a very heavy piece of pipe to get it "out of the way" and I moved it OK. But two days later the top of my hip was really mad and caused me to skip a couple of my running work outs. Back to normal now. I ran a mile last night at 8:34 pace on the treadmill and then did some leg weights. So I think I am healed up. I am staying in pretty good condition and my fitness is good. I have been slowly inching up the speed on my treadmill runs. If I do not run at a faster pace, the heart rate struggles to get above the 95% level where I like to finish each cycle if possible.
My project list is 'fixing to' explode in the next couple of weeks. Linda and I finally got the house refinancing done and cashed out some money to finish the kitchen remodel. I have purchased a auger from the coop to get the rest of the dirt removed from the crawl space so I have access to the wiring and plumbing under the kitchen. The auger is a huge overkill for this project, but I like a workspace that has room to move freely. I will hire some help to reroute the gas lines under the house and a lousy crawl space might make getting work done a lot more pricey. There is also some heating duct work that is not within reach currently and needs attention. The burrowing animals in the days before we arrived, dug out their burrows and piled up the dirt in the crawl space and eliminated access to a couple of important ducts. The auger (40 feet) will make getting access to the ducts a much simpler and quicker operation. And the dirt removed will be useful in leveling the yard. Certain yard sections are hopelessly unmanaged.
I will be in Atlanta next week for an interview with the US Government to get my Global Entry approval. This program allows much quicker and simpler border crossing for me when I travel to Mexico and Canada for work. My future work schedule will include frequent trips across the border and this program will speed entry to the US by 80 to 90%. This is huge during Spring Break! Since I will be in ATL, I will stop at the IKEA on the way back and start buying cupboard sections. Once we get this started, we are off and running on the kitchen. We will be doing some cupboards, new stove and a hood that carries the smoke outside. The current hood vents the smoke over your head and the smoke alarm is a huge annoyance when cooking nearly anything. The smoke deal is a massive downer for both of us.
Later in the month, Linda and I are headed to Aruba for a week of vacation in the sun. We looked at a lot of different places and the prices are relatively the same in the US or Aruba. Southwest flies there and that made the choice much simpler. Many people whom had previously been to the island indicated the locals leave you alone and the dollar is OK for currency. Plus, it is sunny a lot in the winter with temperatures in the low 80's. That should be enough to make for a fun week. We are planning on some fishing and since it is a small island, fishing should be pretty simple to do.
After the vacation, it will be time to think garden and yard, an early season race, and off we go again.
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