Almost There!

I can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel! 

My last 2 essays were handed in this past week. I have my English final exam on Thursday and my Histroy final exam next week (Monday, Aug 8). I will have all of August off. We'll be able to actually do fun stuff...not that writing essays is not fun...but given a choice, I'd rather be golfing! On a bright note I now know what "verisimilitude" means!


What's next...my left calf is cooperating nicely so I will resume my 1/2 marathon training program. Tons of golf with Carter and Jackie. We have the first 2 weeks of August out at Sioux Narrows...unfortunately I will be back and forth from Winnipeg due to my last 2 lectures and exams. We plan on a lot of kayaking, beach sitting, golfing, bike riding and BBQ'ing. There may even be some adult beverages involved! 

P90X has kind of been the odd man out in all this. Jackie and I have been finding it difficult fitting in the workouts. Life can be busy, even when you think you shouldn't be too busy. I think that instead of working out 6 days a week it will most likely morph into a workout as much as we can fit in kind of program. It's not that we have a lack of commitment...it's just flat out hard to logistically fit the workouts in. (I guess instead of blogging I could...)



Luckily, I do not feel like the dude who is sitting down in the cartoon! 

Golf Weekend

With both Jackie and Haley away for the weekend, the boys went golf crazy!

Friday Carter and I played Harbour View in the AM, then The Meadows in the PM. Saturday we played Steinbach Fly-In Course (27 holes!) Then on Sunday I played Granite Hills while Carter visited with Nana and Grampa Chudley.

The weather was hot and sticky, the golf was actually very good. My ball striking off the tee is out standing...it's the best it's ever been. My iron play is solid...not perfect but solid. Where I am struggling is around the greens. If I miss a green I am having trouble getting the ball up and down. My chipping is not very sharp. I end up having 5-6 footers for pars. While I do manage to make many of them, missing them means a bogey! The focus of my practice will be on the short game the next while. When you don't play/practice much this is the one area of your game that suffers. I am very confident that I will get the feel for the short shots perfected again, it will just take some work.

This week I have to finish a history paper (due Friday). Other than that, Carter and I will be out at the course (probably everyday!) working on our chipping and putting. We may do the beach one day. Next weekend we are camping at Falcon with some friends, should be fun!

Tired...so tired!

Week one of P90X is in the bag! I feel a little stronger up top...which is encouraging. I'm working on getting rid of my neck! (hahaha) Jackie and I have been trying to get up at 5am to do our workouts but It seems we hit snooze until 5:30 then sit on the deck drinking coffee until 6:30! What can you do...quality time! I've been getting my workouts in usually in the afternoon and Jackie is tearing it out in the evenings. (yeah us!)

The KONA is in the bike shop getting some much needed TLC...new chain, new rear cogs cluster, new bar tape and BRAKES! So I am stuck commuting to university on the old TREK mountain bike...I just need a turret and I could be a tank. On the positive side, it's a good leg workout.

Running has been strong. Haley and I went 10km on Sunday and I managed to tweak my left calf when Haley decided to swerve hard left to see some golden retrievers. I should have seen it coming...my fault! It was at about the 9.5km point and I was just cruising nicely not really paying as much attention as I should. You see running with a dog is much more interactive than just hitting the road and turning your mind off (which I can do very well!) It seems you must spot things like fences, poles, bunnies and other dogs before your partner does! I let my guard down and bang...sore calf. We are going to start slowly upping our weekly mileage over the next couple of weeks so in anticipation I went out and bought Haley a backpack! She will have to hydrate along the way, now she can carry her own water and fold-able dish, not to mention poop bags! I have to post some pics of her in it...she looks pretty tough!

Saw "Transformers - Dark of the Moon" (3D) today with Carter, it was....OK. Not as good as the original. Very violent...and very 3D.

I should be getting an English paper and test back tonight. Fingers are crossed!

That's it for now,
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Carters crazy train

Yesterday I watched a video called barnwars. It was funny, take a look at the link. I went to Fun Mountain for my birthday party. we went on water slides, ate hot dogs, and ate cupcakes!

good-bye.
Carter 

The maiden post of an 9 year old! Thanks for that Carter! The link he's included is actually kind of funny. 

Well, week one of P90X is just about over....my hamstrings are killing me (kind of feels like after my first full marathon!) We did about 300 lunges the other day. The nutrition plan is going very nicely. I have noticed a little decrease in NRG due to the reduction of carbs (this is a very short term reduction...only 3 weeks or so.) The program puts your body into a ketosis state. Again this is only for a short time. I don't think I would like to live like this long term (eating 60% protein, 20% carbs and 20% fat). I have noticed my reliance on coffee in the AM has diminished as well...not sure why!

Today is a massage day! YIPPEE!!

That's it for now,
Scott

...BRING IT!

Jackie and I started the P90X system this past Friday. For those of you that do not know what the P90X system is check this LINK out. This system has been around for a few years now and people genuinely have spectacular results. There is nothing crazy about the system...just a lot of hard work (6x a week) and a very sensible nutrition plan. We have been eating very health for the past 5years so this part is not a stretch for us. What will be difficult is the workouts! 

Here is what we face over the next 3 weeks:

Weeks 1, 2, and 3

Day 1 – Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X

Day 2 – Plyometrics

Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 – Yoga X

Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6 – Kenpo X

Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

The workouts revolve around about a million push ups per session, pull ups, free weight work, squats of various variety and a lot of high heart rate movement.

Plyometrics...is essentially "jump training". You load and unload the muscles you're working in a very "quick" manner.  

Ab ripper X is a 20 minute ab workout that will make you cry like a baby!

Kenpo X is based on kick boxing, karate and a crazy amount of CARDIO!

Updates will come much faster now that the school year is over and all I have to focus on is parenting, domestic stuff (I'm trained well!) and working out...oh ya and university until the end of July! Keep an eye open for my before pictures which may appear soon. (uggg!)

See you next time!

A New Start!

After much consideration...(and weight gain ~ 20lbs!)...I've decided to get back into the running game. I haven't run much since Christmas. This hiatus was due to an unfortunate combination of a very, very busy school program (the IT course) and a major lack of motivation. Well we all know what happened to the IT course and now that the school year (read: job) is winding down I think it's time to get back in the saddle. Pictured above are my great new shoes...NIKE LUNARGLIDE +2...size 9 (if you're curious!). I have a very willing running partner now as well, her name...HALEY! TO motivate my daily running I've signed up for the Imagine Run it's a half marathon (21.1km).

I've started the Running Room training plan (half marathon target time 2hours), on tap for this week:

Saturday: 6km (done)
Sunday: 0
Monday: 4km
Tuesday: 4km
Wednesday: 4km
Thursday: 5km
Friday: 0
Saturday: 9km

It's kind of funny, I look at the half marathon plan and think to myself - piece of cake! The last training plan I was on for last years full marathon was brutal...the bulk of the long runs were 25km+...my longest run on the half-mary program will only be about 20km! So these "short" runs are a welcome treat. I figure that with my fitness loss the past couple of months it should take me about 3 weeks to build up to my previous speed. I did today's 6km in 38 minutes...it usually should only take me about 35 minutes.

Poor old GPS...complete with teeth marks courtesy of Haley!

On a negative note: Haley ate my Garmin Fore Runner GPS watch over the winter. As a result I'll I think I'll be doing much of my training with my heart rate monitor...old school!!

I received my latest essay marks late this week:
English: B+ (79%....one percent away from an "A", c'mon!!!)
History: B (74%) 

I was hoping for an "A" on the English paper so I'm a little disappointed with the "B+". The History paper on the other hand was much more difficult...so all things considered I'm OK with the "B"...of course I would like a higher mark, but given the stringent criteria required to get an "A" in Dr. Perrun's class, a "B" is very, very good.

Also be on the look out for the debut of my son's blog posts. It will be a weekly chronicle of his summer adventures! He has decided to name it: "Carter's Crazy Train!" under the banner of:

It should be interesting...not sure if I'll let go of the "parental controls" too much!

See you next time!
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Oh my, have ever I fallen behind!

Blue Shirts represent Brain Tumour Survivors (that's me in the orange hat)!

bus·y:

[biz-ee]   

adjective, bus·i·er, bus·i·est, verb, bus·ied, bus·y·ing.

–adjective

 

1. actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime: busy with her work.

2. not at leisure; otherwise engaged: He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.

3. full of or characterized by activity: a busy life.

4. (of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.

5. officious; meddlesome; prying.

6. ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy: The rug is too busy for this room.

 I have been all of that...and more. Let's see this past week I had:

1. a history paper due (Topic: What did the Seigniorial System do for Canada, and what did it not do?)
2. an English paper due (my Topic choice: Compare and contrast the voice of Gwendolynne Brooks' "We Real Cool" and Thomas Hardy's "The Ruined Maid". Who is the speaker and what does it make the reader, see, feel, think etc, etc, etc!) 
3. History seminar summary due (summary of 5 in-class discussion questions)
4. the Spring Sprint on Sunday
5. Oh ya, it was also my Birthday!

Life has a funny way of slowing you down even if you can't do it yourself. As adults we take on many roles, we wear many hats, we over extend ourselves and not understand why we feel like crap some mornings. If you stop to listen that "feeling" is your body saying: "slow down there big fella". Well, some of us can listen to that inner voice, some cannot. I'm one who has trouble listening to the little voice. So, in an unfortunate twist of fate, a higher power decided to slow our lives down for us. Carter has been sick all week. As an adult it's easy to ignore signs and symptoms of exhaustion, but when one of your little chidlins becomes ill, all bets are off. It forces you to slow down, take time off, put things aside and take care of the most important thing! The doc says he thinks it's just a "virus"...code word for "I have no clue!" (don't get me wrong our doc ids the best, we love him, but sometimes even they just don't know!) So, as a result of this short pause in life, I'm able to get back ahead of the game and little Chudley gets to drink litre upon litre of Gatorade!

 

The Spring Sprint:

This is a walk/run event that I'm involved with in support of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. We managed to raise just over $46,000 this year! It goes without saying I'm very, very proud to be part of the organizing committee that came together to pull this one off! I hope that we can retain all our committee members moving forward. We had 9 tremendous people involved this year. Unlike last year, I actually felt relatively calm before the event! 

What's up next? 

My courses at U of M continue until the end of July. Carter, Jackie and I are planning on playing a ton of golf this year. (with the Spring Sprint out of the way...we can focus weekends on that, yeehaa) I am sneaking up on some minor projects around the house as well. This year on my short list are:

1. ceiling hung storage for the garage
2. a walk way from our front sidewalk to our back gate at the side of our house 
3. paint the shed in the backyard
4. become a good golfer...again
5. Play some golf tournaments
6. Paint the basement ceiling white, before I finish the drywall
7. finish the drywall (maybe next summer!)
8. I think I'd like to be a runner...so start running!!

It feels strange not to be feeling the pangs of nervousness I've felt the past 3 years as the Manitoba Marathon looms large on the horizon! It's almost comical to see the people in our area hitting the pavement on "training runs" getting the old body ready for the super run, the 10k, the relay,  etc...people you never see all year out there..."training"! Then, once they cross the finish line, they fall back into the obscurity and comfort of their vehicles, warm with the glow that they "ran the marathon, sort of!" I need to start running again...I'm getting way to sarcastic!