Moving fast,

Well, I am sleeping on the couch tonight. Damn cough and cold. I suppose it's ironic that the last two nights I have snored and coughed loud enough to keep a two week old baby awake all night. And her mother. So in order to restore some sanity to the night, I am on the couch. At least its comfy. I have had this damn thing for three weeks now. After a great run over the weekend this thing came back for round three. I have spoken to three of my peers who had the exact same thing occur; weekend workout after feeling better from the cold, it comes back.

Now its just stupid sinuses, some post nasal drip and the slight cough. Damn cough. I did get a workout in yesterday but Mistress put her foot down today. No training with the cough. Yes Mistress.

Both kids are doing well. Mae has a slight cough only when she cry's so she is going in for a check up tomorrow. It doesn't sound like a cold type so probably some asthma or allergy issue. Mo has a pre-season flag football game this weekend, so expect some photos of that soon. He will be a Steeler this year. Um, sort of hard to root for that team after the NFL version beat the Arizona Cardinals in the superbowl. But the coach is good and Mo looks to be in fine form.

Simple math with heart.

Who isn't up for a challenge? There are those who of course shy away from the opportunity to challenge them self. And who hasn't at some point doubted the choice they made to push their limits, to think that perhaps they are trying to reach too far.

In the end the only person who can set your goals is you. Sure educated folks like trainers and coaches have the technique to make your goals a reality but the inspiration, the impetus, the action all come from within. Whatever crafty devices and insane programs they develop if within you is not the heart to succeed, then you surely will not. It is not what you do for the one, two or three hours a day you do your training, its the twenty-one plus hours you must control your own reality that tests your heart the most.

And you will surely, surely fail. For a moment, a meal, a day, a week. These are blips compared to the years of disservice you did to your health. What is the gorging of a singular gluttonous meal in a week of healthy eating compared years of that same food on a daily basis? None physically. But emotionally and mentally it feels like a complete failure.

Take heart, reader. Rome was not built in a day and your goals will not be reached in such time either. But realize this, it took you years to become the deconditioned, out of shape person that finally, painfully took the first steps toward physical fitness. These can be reversed in months.

In mathematical terms, if your GOAL is the sum total, the equation is CONSISTENCY + INVESTMENT + SACRIFICE.

Consistency is the amount of days you exercise and practice proper nutrition. The closer to 100% you are the better. The investment is into coaching and education. Sure you can reach your goals without investing in professional services, but the investment almost guarantees faster results. Sacrifice is what it is. I have often said that with nutrition, if you just paused a second before putting something in your mouth, there will be a voice in your head that unconsciously tells you this is good or bad for you. If you listen to that voice you sacrifice short term pleasure for long term health. You will sacrifice sleep and time with your family and those alone can trump investments and consistency.

In the end its simple math. What are your goals worth and what are willing to do to reach them.

There's treasure everywhere.

bad timing

A few weeks ago I lamented my flu like symptoms. At least where I live, this thing has gotten pretty big. I started feeling better every day last week and strung together some good trianing days.

I went for a run Sunday afternoon and just a bit later starting feeling my sinuses swell again. Overnight I developed post nasal drip. Today I feel set back a week.

I think, hope, its a one day deal so no workout today. Rest and fluids is the plan. Back at it tomorrow.

There's treasure everywhere.

Fits and Starts

My life seems to be always in a premature state. I am much to impulsive. I wanted to be able to train again so badly, so I got my start date moved up by a couple months. Then I got a lung infection and then we our baby was born. Have no fear though I am still, Mr. Determined.

I write that as I stare at my $56 box of Girl Scout cookies on the desk across from me. Yup. I support the Girl Scouts. Too bad they don't sell protein cookies or carb gels but nevertheless. Have no fear, GS cookies have no hold on me. I will perhaps have a few Somoas over the weekend but the vast majority are for Mistress and my folks.

My nutrition is actually pretty good, even if my training is not as consistent as I ever want it. 85% of my intake would be considered great, its the 15% that gets me in trouble and keeps me at roughly the same weight. As strong as my willpower is 22 hours a day, I have a seriously lapse in judgment usually between 8p-10p at night.

As much as exercise is important for goals and just a healthy and productive life, nutrition really is about 75% of the plan to get there. All the exercise in the world doesn't matter if the total number of calories is incorrect. Its just sabotage to plow through a sleeve a cookies or handfuls of potato chips when its just indulgent, weak eating.

So as I begin, once again, to string progressively more advanced training sessions together on a consistent basis my nutrition is a minute to minute gut check. No pun intended.

A run in the books.

A surefire way to derail a new workout program is a lung infection bricked with a newborn baby. It had been ten days since I updated my training log with something of substance. Believe me, I was going crazy in a good way.

I possibly could have included some exertion, unfortunately there is not a spot in my online log to track 3 hours of yard work and citrus tree pruning, holding a baby in your left arm for two hours, (which I swear to god is as painful as doing 300 dumbbell arm curls), waking up and down stairs with said baby and whatever else I am supposed to have with me or lugging around a heavy car seat one handed with the baby in it and getting new bruises on the sides of my thigh.

All kidding aside, Mae has been a perfect baby for us. Mistress looked at me on her third day and said that on this night with Mo she was spending the first of many nights in the hospital with him. Not so with this one. She eats healthy, looks healthy, cries for food only and sleeps well. And Mo has been the best big brother we could have ever imagined. So far he has been nothing but helpful and courteous and loving to his sister. Not a hint of jealousy or acting out for attention.

Good all round.

Well who would have thought that writing a blog post would come in so handy. My newborn just soiled a diaper and Mistress asked me mocked me into changing it. "But honey...I'm writing a post." Funny enough, it worked.

I am feeling much better after a week of being very sick and 24 hours on antibiotics. The doc wasn't sure if I needed a Z-pac but with a newborn, better safe than sorry.

I have some more pictures of Mae, but first a comment about Mighty Mo. Today was his last session of Saturday football camps for ages 5-12. At the end of the practice the head coach huddled up the fifty remaining athletes from the eighty that started he went through the usual platitudes of how they well everyone progressed and their hard work will pay off for the session that starts next week.

The entire speech lasted five minutes, but he spent one minute praising Mo. Saying that not only was he the youngest player in the clinic but he show up for every practice. All five coaches agreed he was the most improved player and hardest working kid who giving 100% hustle for every drill, every practice. That was pretty cool.

Baby Mae

There is actually a very funny story regarding if I was technically in the room with baby Mae was born at 12:37 pm on February 12. I will leave that for later, though no woman I know IRL is going to let me forget it for now.

Mistress had a pitch perfect labor and delivery. The nurse staff was ecstatic at such an easy process. She dilated perfectly and in fact did not even know Mae had started to come out until a nurse was doing a visual and saw her head. A mad rush ensued to get a doctor in the room and two pushes later, 20 inch, 7 lb, 12 ounce girl started crying for her mommy.

Mother did not have a single tear or cut or issue. Mae came out perfectly with zero signs of medical issues. She passed all the tests perfectly, peed and had a BM within the first five minutes. She latched quickly and is well fed.

Of course more pictures to follow over the coming days.