Sunday, November 23, 2008

It's been a long time...

since my last post. School has been keeping me very busy and I just haven' t had a great deal of time to spend blogging. I've also been in somewhat of a doldrum period as far biking goes. Just haven't been riding a whole lot.

This has pretty much been my life since Friday evening. Report cards and conferences. I have a couple of 12-15 hour days coming up on Monday and Tuesday. Conferences are always a drain, both physically, and emotionally. I finish up at noon on Wednesday and then it's "North" for Thanksgiving with my parents.

I was up visiting them a week or so ago and that was a difficult thing. It's hard to see your parents becoming old and frail. More on this topic another time.

As far as working out goes....


It's been very inconsistent to say the least. I have been doing more running now which I enjoy. Especially on those crisp, cold mornings. Running takes me back to my roots in athletic endeavors. It makes me think of the days back in college, running track and cross country, and also the days of marathons. The ability to go out for a nice 15 miler has eluded me for some years now, but who knows...maybe I can get back into it.

Spin classes get attended when I can, but those have been attended with less frequency than I would like. What I need to do is get my ass back on the bike and ride outside. The old road bike is sitting on the trainer in the basement, but I would much rather watch paint dry then get on that thing.

Friday was my best day in two weeks. I was at the club by 4:30 A.M. and got in a nice hard 40 minute run before Matt's spin class. The spin class was great. A lot of sustained time in high AT with very little recovery. Yesterdays class with Kristin was very similar. Today I'm hoping to get out on the bike after a run. Then of course it's finishing up report cards.


Another thing I've doing a good deal of is reading. If you like the outdoors and the outdoor lifestyle I would highly recommend Peter Leschak's books. Pete is an old acquaintance from up north who has had several books published. Most are collections of essays written about life up north, fighting forest fires for the National Forest Service, and many of Pete's experiences on his journey through life. Very good reading in my opinion.

Last night, we finally got out of the house to get together with friends and celebrate a friend's 50th. We went to the Italian market "Buon Giorno" and then to the Italian restaurante "I Nonni" for cocktails. It was a good deal of fun and the food and conversation were great.

2 comments:

Doug said...

I was starting to wonder what you were up to.

I think I know what you're talking about with your parents. My parents were up for a visit last month. They are in their mid-70's. Very fit, but slowing down a lot. What got me was their talk of selling their beloved retirement lake home because they are having a harder time keeping up with all the maintenance. It is really hard to see them getting old.

On the other hand, I'm very lucky to still have them both around.

Ali B. said...

Glad to hear from you Vito. It is so difficult to see parents slowing down. I think ..for me... it reminds me of my own mortality & I tend to want to ignore things like that. Hm :) Only 3 days to go this week, hang in there!