Training, Day #2: Windwhipped

As I type this, I am unable to feel my nose, lips, and most of the top layers of skin on the front of my body. Frankly, I'm not even sure if my nipples are still intact 'cause I can't feel them, either. Today's run was difficult, and yes, bitterly cold. It was a four-mile jaunt today, and the first half went very well. I felt great, had a ton of energy, and as I approached the half-way mark, I felt as though I could fairly easily complete the run.

And then I turned around.

As I began the second-half of the trek, I realized why the first-half was easier. I had the 20-30 mph wind at my back! Now, I was forced to take Mother Nature head on for two miles while she struggled to get her temperature to ten degrees. It was a tough one today, folks. I ended up having to walk around six or seven blocks, but what motivated me to get moving again was the fact that my sweat-soaked clothes were beginning to freeze to my skin, and then I tried to spit and sort of slobbered all over myself because my lips were frozen. Not good.

But, I'm darn sure not giving up that easy. I'll keep plugging away, and I may even be more motivated than ever. I did learn that I need to invest in some decent running clothes that will help keep the moisture away from my skin. I hear Under Armour is supposed to be some pretty good stuff, although kind of expensive. Anyone else have suggestions?

I'll be back at it on Friday with day #3. Until then, anyone have any nipple cream?????

Training, Day #1, Take Two

Nope, I didn't make a mistake in the title. Today actually was the first day of the sixteen-week training regimen leading up to the marathon as there has been just a slight change in plans. Originally, I was going to make Sundays the first day of the new training week, thus, last Sunday would have been the first day. In doing so, the longest runs of the week would have fallen on Fridays. That would have been all good for at least awhile, until those long runs started creeping over six, seven, eight, and all the way up to eighteen miles. Since Mandi goes to work on Friday mornings, and doesn't come home until just before I leave for work, long runs on Friday would have meant getting out of my warm, cozy bed at the crack of dawn in order to get the run in before the day begins. Now, mind you, I don't mind running in the early morning, I just don't think I would have had the time to make it happen.

In addition, since the marathon is on a Sunday, making that day the long run of the sixteenth week of training, it only seems logical. Plus, neither Mandi or I work on Sundays, so I have more time to run. Even more logical. You see, logic tends to escape me at first, and sometimes for quite awhile. Had I just turned the whole training schedule creation over to my wife in the first place, I wouldn't be writing this because she would have nailed it on the first try. Someday, I will learn. Someday.

So, my official start to training today was a good, three-mile run. Although it's a mere ten degrees out with a windchill of about zero (the weather channel says it feel like three below, and I believe it!), I still worked up a good sweat and feel great! Tomorrow, I will run four miles, then take a day off. Friday will be another three mile run, and finally the long run of the week on Sunday, which will be five miles. I'll keep you posted!

Training, Day #1

Today launched the first day of the sixteen-week training regimen designed to get me to the point that I can run the Lincoln Marathon in May. Today's run was a three-mile one, and I was able to accomplish it without too many problems. I was slowed a bit by a stiff wind, which I didn't even realize was blowing until I made my way around Oak Lake and was in the wide open. Once I reached the half-way point of my run and turned around, that's when the wind smacked me in the face for quite awhile. I pressed through, though, and made it all the way with no stopping. For those of you reading this who are regular runners, three miles is most-likely nothing. Maybe even laughable. While it presented a bit of a challenge to me, I am looking forward to getting to the point where I, too, can say three miles isn't much. God willing, it'll happen!

I will run again on Tuesday (four miles, I believe) and will post my thoughts again then. I'm excited to have pushed myself to undertake this process, and am looking forward to seeing the ongoing results of my training!

T-minus 4 Days

Including today, I have but four days left of preliminary training before the sixteen-week training regimen leading to the Lincoln Marathon on May 3rd. The goal of the preliminary training was to be able to run for thirty minutes without stopping. I have achieved that goal, and will run twice more this week before beginning the "real" training. At that point, the training will be based on miles rather than time.

As I've mentioned in the past, I'm certainly not looking to set any speed records throughout this entire effort. I am simply setting out to finish the marathon, and I have every confidence that this goal will be achieved. It's going to take lots of effort, lots of patience, and lots of understanding from my family in the way of needed time to train. I am looking forward to the challenges which lie ahead, and will continue to post updates during my progress.

My only request is for continued prayers for strength, endurance, and a little luck. The strength and endurance are obvious, but I need the luck to avoid the injury bug. I will make the commitment to do all of the proper stretching both before and after my runs, but will still need a touch of luck to avoid becoming injured. Thanks in advance for your blessings!!

What a Team!

I offer my deepest apologies and regrets. I knew going into this Husker football season, with all of it's anticipation, questions, wonder, and excitement that something important might get ignored. Husker volleyball was put on the shelf as I poured myself in the goings on of the football team. Again, I offer my apologies, because I was ignorant. I wrote the Lady Huskers off at the beginning of the season because the team lost four, yes four, All-Americans and head coach John Cook red shirted a whole bunch of talent that could have potentially contributed to this year's campaign. I figured they would be good, but not great. I was wrong. Very wrong.

All the Ladies did was storm through the season undefeated until a shocking upset on October 29th at Colorado. They picked themselves up and kept steamrolling, then were defeated at Texas about three weeks later. Total losses on the season - two. Nothing short of amazing. After defeating Liberty and UAB in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, it was on to Seattle for the regional semifinals. In the first match, the Huskers blasted Michigan three sets to none, then faced Washington. The Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 lead, putting the Huskers in a must-win situation over the next three sets to win the match. And that's exactly what they did. Even down 9-3 at one point in the final set, they battled back to defeat Washington and return to Omaha for the final four.

Their first match was against an incredible Penn State team, who was not only undefeated during the regular season, but hadn't even lost a set. 109 straight sets the Nittany Lions had won coming into last night's match. And they made it 111 straight after beating the Huskers convincingly in the first two sets. Once again, the Huskers' backs were against the ropes. It was Washington all over again, only this time they faced a much better team than Penn State. And once again, I made the mistake of writing them off. I've learned my lesson, ladies and gentlemen. The Huskers smoked Penn State in the next two sets to tie the match at two sets apiece, and came out firing for the fifth and final match to move onto the championship match. It was an amazing set, and the Huskers fought valiantly as they had all season. Penn State, thought, was too much this time and flexed their muscle to take the final set and advance.

So the Lady Huskers wrote the final chapter of their incredible 2008 season last night. A season which was much more than anyone, myself included, predicted. I can only imagine what next season will be with all of the talent Coach Cook has in store. Wow. And I make my solemn vow to never ignore this team again. Congratulations, Ladies!

GO BIG RED!!

I'm baaack!!!

Yes, I am still alive, if you can believe it. It's been nearly a month since I last had anything to say, so in case you were wondering, I still exist. At least in my mind. It's been an exciting few weeks with lots of events, some of which I will get to in a bit.

But first, I need to address the topic of my last post regarding the macaroni and cheese. A good friend bestowed upon me the secret to mastering the preparation of this traditional gooey favorite, which was to add a touch of oil to the water before adding the pasta. The oil, supposedly, would prevent the foam on top of the water which tends to eventually boil over and create havoc for macaroni lovers everywhere. I tried it the very next week after my last post, and it failed miserably. The water still boiled over, and I still had a mess. I have no idea where to turn next, because I've tried it all. I've tried turning the heat down, I've tried the oil trick, and nothing, oh nothing, seems to be working. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am doomed to macaroni and cheese preparation HELL!

But I digress.

In the weeks since I began my blogging sabatical, we have enjoyed Thanksgiving with Mandi's folks in their new home in Weatherford, OK. It was a fantastic trip, and a memorable one. The kids have never been on such a long trip (about eight hours), but were entertained by the new portable DVD player, and other various activities we brought along. They did remarkably well, and much better than expected. We had a wonderful time with Mandi's folks, and of course, feasted heartily.

Another event, which was also taken in at the in-law's abode, was the regular-season finale for the Husker football team. I had expected them to handily defeat the Buffaloes of Colorado, but it was a much closer game which came right down to the wire. Some good ol' Husker excitment with an intercepted pass returned for a touchdown sealed the last-second victory for the Huskers. They finished the season 8-4, and very much improved from the last few years. The Huskers are going bowling on New Year's Day, and will battle Clemson in the Gator Bowl. Should be a good game, and I'm looking forward to one last hurrah for the season, then beginning the off-season chats, predictions, etc.

It seems impossible that we are approaching the end of the year already, but our house is decorated and ready for Christmas. We had an especially adventerous time putting up the decor this time, as we had of course never decorated this house. We just sort of went for it, and the house looks great! The outside lights have fallen a bit short, since many of the icicle lights were out or not working. I have replaced them with new ones, but have yet to complete the task of getting them on the roof. I finally had some time this morning, but as luck would have it the snow has fallen significantly making it tough to scale the roof, or the ladder for that matter. (Although, I did try. Once I was up on the roof, however, I realized just how stupid that decision was. I didn't stay up there for long as pictures of broken legs, arms, and other such appendages floated around in my bean.) Maybe another attempt will come this weekend, if it gets warm enough again to melt the fallen snow.

Well, that sort of catches you up a bit. I am forever coming across topics I would like to write about, but just have such trouble finding the time. Frustrating, to say the least. But I guess that means I'm busy, which means I have things going on, which means I have a life and am blessed with family, friends, and good health. Can't complain about that!

Merry Christmas, all!

The Ancient Art of Cheese and Macaroni Preparation

In my continuing quest for culinary mastery of Kraft Cheese and Macaroni, I have reached a stage in which said mastery is seemingly within my grasp, yet forever elusive. It has become rather frustrating, yet for some reason, the pursuit of this mastery is irresistible. I liken it to the bug and the bug light concept. The bug sees the bug light, and simply can't resist being drawn towards it, all the while knowing that death is imminent. In much the same way, I am so close to achieving complete mastery of Kraft Cheese and Macaroni preparation, yet it's the final step, which I will get to in a minute, that does me in every time. But even knowing that I will be once again foiled by the final step does nothing for my resistance to trying.

Seriously, people, this is not something at which to laugh. It has been a long, hard journey towards striking just the right balance with macaroni and cheese. The first step was simply realizing there is no other boxed macaroni and cheese that compares to Kraft Cheese and Macaroni. Period. The competition is laughable, at best. I discovered this shortly after my dear wife began helping (demanding might be a better word) me to engage in a more frugal lifestyle. Some corners, I learned, just can't be cut. One such corner is quality boxed macaroni and cheese, for there is simply no substitute for Kraft unless it's strictly homemade. I now demand nothing else but Kraft when my wife goes shopping for groceries, and while she probably rolls her eyes and shakes her pretty little head behind my back, she also figures that if spending a few extra pennies on the good stuff will make me happy, than I'm a pretty easy fix. Whatever.

The next step was a painful one. You see, with three children in the house, one learns very quickly how to be quick and efficient in virtually every facet of life. Multitasking isn't just a desirable trait when raising multiple offspring, it's a necessary survival skill. This, of course, includes the ability to churn out meals in mere minutes. In my efforts to accomplish this feat, I began to realize the time-saving advantage of scrapping the measuring cups and spoons for the so-called "scant-measure" logic. Adding a quarter cup of milk to the macaroni and cheese no longer meant taking out the measuring cup and measuring, but rather just dumping what I estimated to be a quarter cup of milk into the pot. Sweet. Nice time saver. No more measuring the butter, just scoop a hunk out of the butter tub and toss it into the mixture.

Well, I soon realized just how crappy the macaroni and cheese tasted. It was either too runny, or too chunky (from the processed powdered cheese and not enough milk), or one of several other such maladies. Thus, lesson #2...ALWAYS measure the ingredients exactly per the directions for mac and cheese perfection! Hey, these Kraft folks have been doing the mac and cheese thing for years. They know how exactly how much butter and milk to add to the final product, and there's no room for cutting corners. As proof to my argument, my wife hasn't quite followed in my footsteps when it comes to precise measurements, and the kids know it. She'll even admit her mac and cheese isn't as good as mine. It's all about following the recipe.

So what exactly is this elusive last step to which I have alluded? Actually, it really has nothing to do with the overall final taste. Rather, it's about that damn white foam which forms on top of the boiling water while cooking the pasta (any pasta, actually - not just macaroni) and always boils over unless tended to constantly. I am not knowledgeable enough to know where this foam comes from, or why pasta seems to produce it. What I do know is that it's a nuisance, to put it nicely. A big pain-in-the-ass, to put it not-so-nicely. I've learned that if I blow cool air on the foam as it approaches the boiling-over point, it will recede for a short time, but it doesn't take long to return to the boiling-over point. So how the hell do you stop this stuff? What's the answer????? Anyone???????????????

I will continue to reach deep within my inner-Kraft-Cheese-and-Macaroni-yen until I discover the hidden mastership of this art. I will not fail. And when I succeed, it will be a glorious day. Until then, I shall press forward in pursuit of knowledge.

(As a side-note, I began typing this post before work yesterday and was unable to complete it. When I got to work, I was told by a co-worker that the white foam could be avoided by adding some oil to the water. Thoughts? I will try this trick next week when mac-and-cheese day comes around again.)