Monday, October 13, 2008

A Hyper Productive Weekend

And it all finished with Yvonne finding her earpiece this morning at school. Needless to say, she's been a basket case since Saturday afternoon.

Yesterday was full of household chores, mostly centered around "winterizing" things for the change in weather. So I cleaned, sharpened, and oiled all the outside tools. Got the snow shovel and window scraper out. And cut the grass. I also washed the mower, my car, and Yvonne's van. Prepped the weedeater, leaf blower, and lawn mower for winter. And painted a piece of scrap wood for Yvonne to mount her iron holder to in the laundry room. I would have mounted it yesterday, but the batteries for the cordless drill are totally shot, so it'll take me time to use them or scrounge for the corded power drill in the shed.

Yes, I'm working my way backwards to Saturday. We did the usual grocery shopping and errand running. Yvonne's phone has been acting up, so she should be getting a new battery in the mail soon. And now that she's found her headset, she'll be able to drop that off to get fixed.

And yes, I've finally arrived at the highlight of my weekend. The local 5k race I ran Saturday morning. As you saw earlier, I did a great job at not only beating my primary goal (finishing it), but also my secondary goal (finishing in under 45 minutes). In fact, I crushed my secondary goal with a time of 35 minutes, 20 seconds. A full 4 minutes faster than what I ran it in last weekend.

Elizabeth and Yvonne walked (and ran some) the race in an hour and 5 minutes. Not to shabby for a four year old. Everyone was pooped and hungry for doughnuts, but I wanted to stick around to see where I placed in the race. Specifically in my age group (30 to 39). Which meant I had to wait until they finished calling out the top three finishers in each group. Which meant I got my answer faster than expected.



I got second place. Not too bad for a fat guy.

So there, Paulie, Kelly, Stone, and Melissa. There's your motivation that you can set a goal and accomplish it.

And my loving wife? She was very proud. Then she proceeded to tell me to "buckle down" so I win a cash prize at another race. Such love.

8 comments:

Trina said...

That's awesome, TK!

I used to run every day--great way to burn fat and keep it off. I also found it to be a great stress reliever because when I ran, I didn't think about anything except my breathing and pacing.

After we moved, I just never got back into it. I kind of miss it.

Neil Richard said...

Trina - Thanks! I haven't run on a regular basis since high school (14 years ago). I tried to pick it up in college again (on my own, not a team) and never had the motivation to run further than the nearest eating establishment. But with old age, more weight, and plenty of stress, I figured I needed to "buckle down."

Anonymous said...

I am jealous....running is one of my fitness goals...not even distance running, I'd just like to be able to move a little quicker than a shuffling shamble!

Paul Abbamondi said...

Great job! But don't eat the trophy, good sir. :P Put it somewhere where everyone can see it and drool!

Neil Richard said...

Stone - You helped inspire me, so maybe I can return the favor. I felt very much like the Sta-Puff marshmallow guy and I readily admit to walking a lot of it. So while I may have "run" it felt more like a "plod."

Paul - I already know it's not chocolate under that shiny gold. And while I think Elizabeth should have gotten a trophy for being the younger to finish, I'm not willing to share mine.

-Melissa- said...

That is awesome! Now I need to get my butt in gear and start running. No more excuses! :)

1979 semi-finalist said...

Congrats! That is just awesome. I can't imagine even running in a race, let alone placing! Awesome work...!

Neil Richard said...

Melissa/Kelly - Thanks. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to get a trophy. And until I see it in print, I still won't believe it.