Further Thoughts on Fitness

It’s been about a year since I started exercising with more intensity than I had for, well, a very long time. I kept with it for quite awhile. By the time summer arrived, I'd put on a few pounds and that was good. And, by a few pounds, I mean something like ten. I did slack off a little with summer when time was consumed with other activities like mowing the yard, building bookcases, and even taking vacations. Honestly, I'm hoping to put on another ten. That would put me close to my BSU graduation weight.

Fast forward a bit. I had my annual physical a few weeks ago and everything looked good with the exception that my HDL cholesterol (the good kind) was a little low. To fix it, I can a) stop smoking, b) maintain a healthy weight, or c) get regular exercise. Since I've never smoked and my weight is good, that narrowed the options down quite a bit. Anyway, I’m back at exercising and, in addition to re-hitting the weights, I picked up running again.

The running has been good. So far, I've managed to work up to around 3 miles in a run. I'm slow but I'm doing it. I did run cross-country in high school. By that, I mean I participated. I was never very good. I’m still not a big fan of road running, preferring grass, trails, etc. I've been circling the local school grounds in the early, early morning hours. It's actually pretty cool. I can stop for pull-ups on the playground between laps and there's also a good tree line that provides both a good slalom course and zombie-dodging practice. I'd really like to get in a 5k trail run race sometime. There's one locally in October but I’m not sure the schedule will allow for that. Maybe next spring. I probably won’t shoot for much more than a 5k…maybe a 10k. I think I'd find a fast 5k/10k more fun than a marathon. And, let's face it, I'm really training for the zombie uprising. If I haven't made it to a mall/farmhouse/prison/hospital/outpost/etc. within 5k, I'm going to have to stop and make a stand.

Speaking of zombies, the one drawback to the exercise is that I'm hungry all...the...time.

Cha..Cha...Changes

Yet another long gap in blogging. I am still around. Honest. Here's the rundown on the last few months. I'll keep them brief with the plan to post more on each later.

1. Here's the big, big news. We're having another baby! That's right. Number Three is due in early November. Our oldest was born in late November 2006. If you do your math and Baby Three is reasonably on time, we'll have three kids under the age of three for about a month. Yikes!
2. Denisa and I went on vacation. We spent a few days in Michigan's Beach Towns while the boys stayed with my parents. Everyone had a blast. And we very much appreciated the time.
3. I'm constructing built-in bookcases to surround our fireplace. The first (of two) is nearly complete. I'm in the middle of working on the second. I hope to have everything except the doors done by the end of the September (of 2009).
4. I have a couple other creative projects in the works. Some writing. Some woodworking. Some artwork. A lot of general awesomeness.
5. Speaking of awesome, I wrote a Mission Statement. Here's the short version: Bring the Awesome. I'm debating whether or not to post the longer one.
6. I'm doing a six-week study at church based on Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. I read the book awhile ago. The study has been a good supplement.
7. I started running again. Not a lot but I'm steadily able to run longer, faster, and with less pain.
8. I've been reading some good stuff:

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
• The Silver Chair by CS Lewis
• The Last Battle by CS Lewis
• Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
• Story by Robert McKee
• The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman
• Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
• The 39 Steps by John Buchan
• Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
• Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias