on a side note…
I was contacted today by Anne from the National Marrow Donor Program and she informed me that I have been selected as a preliminary match for a patient. How cool is that?
And yes, I know that it will probably hurt and take me out of commission for a few days, but I find that minuscule compared to the fight the recipient is going through. I will gladly accept if I am selected as his/her best match. A few days of discomfort for me are totally worth saving some one’s life!
Who else is on the registry? If not, why not? How would you feel if the tables are turned and you need a life saving transplant and you have a match out there, but that person is either too afraid of the pain or too lazy to get on the registry?
a quick note…
My posts have been few and far between lately. I could go into excuses about being too busy blah blah blah, but the fact is I have been lazy. My back is still giving me some trouble, so I haven’t been running like I should and it has been so cold, it is really hard to gain the motivation to get outside for endurance activities.
That being said, after (what I hope will be) a relaxing weekend with Jenn, I plan to start a 3-run-a-week schedule to get back into a routine. I only have a little over a month before my next race, a half marathon, and I am a little intimidated by that thought. Follow that up with a triathlon a month later and I realize I have a lot of work to do and that I need to be careful not to injure myself. I need to stay injury free and in shape all year if I hope to finish my first Half Ironman that I have signed up for in November!
On another note, my Grandmother, Great Mia, is in the hospital with kidney complications. Read more about it on Melissa’s post.
my new ride
After waiting to hear from the insurance company to tell me that my 4Runner had been totalled, I looked around for a replacement. I would love to have a brand new 4Runner as they changed the body style for 2010 and I like it. But, budgets have to come into consideration, so I (briefly) considered buying a sedan that would be much better on gas mileage, but I came to the conclusion that I would miss the capability that an SUV with 4 wheel drive provides. So I looked around for a good deal on a used 4Runner and even considered a Nissan Xterra. I finally decided that I would stick with Toyota, even though they are coming under scrutiny with their recent recalls, but I have confidence in Toyota as a company and especially the 4Runner. They have not been involved in any of the recalls so far and even if they are at some point, I know Toyota will come up with a fix.
And now to present my new (well 2007) Toyota 4Runner:
My New Ride
It is a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD. It has just under 60,000 miles on it and has a clean history. Was owned in North Carolina by one owner. I found it at an Infiniti dealer and they made me a good deal on it. Perhaps the flack Toyota has received recently helped me land it at more than $4,000 under NADA retail value. What do you guys think?
I feel like the luckiest guy in the world
This week has been sort of a blur. I am still trying to come to the realization of what I went through on Monday. For those that haven’t heard, I was in a car accident on my way to the eye doctor on Monday. I had just merged onto Interstate 77 and intended to merge into the second lane. I checked my blind spot like I always do and when I looked in front of me again I realized I was going to hit the car in front of me. I attempted to brake and go around the car when I acted too quickly with the wheel and lost control. I ended up hitting the car, then hit the guard rail. The car then flipped over 1 full turn before coming to rest back on the wheels, engine still running. As my brain tries to comprehend what happened, I realize things in a manner that seemed like slow motion:
My foot hurts as it is still pressing as hard as I can on the brake.
I gasp for air (I think I might have been holding my breath)
I am covered with glass and the items that used to be in my backseat.
I am in the middle of the road and thankful other drivers were able to stop/go around me without hitting me and making things worse.
I think I am okay! Nothing hurts too bad and I check to make sure I can move body parts.
The friendly motorist that came to check on me had a look of terror on his face. His wife came to give me a hug after she realized I was okay.
Luckily the guy in the other car was okay as well. He apparently spun around a time or two and then hit the guard rail as well, but not very hard.
Also luckily, I was okay even though airbags did not deploy. I would have expected them to come out in a much less serious accident. Makes me nervous about buying used cars again as I suspect it was in a wreck before I bought it and I wonder if the airbags were properly repaired.
As I said before, I feel extremely lucky. And as I commented on Melissa’s blog:
Live life to the fullest by doing what makes YOU happy
and
Don’t dwell on things that aren’t important and things that you cannot change
Good-bye my dear friend...
When I saw Jenn, Mia and Sadie later that afternoon, I gave them all the love I could.
Bear Safety
Recently, I traveled to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina where you have to realize the fact that you are sharing the space with black bears. This brings up talks of bear safety. Andrew and I have always joked that perhaps the “just play dead” technique is really a suggestion by bears themselves to make us easier targets. The bear population would put out a notice such as this:
When in bear country, remember this: if you see a bear, the best thing to do is to lie down and pretend you are dead.
Signed,
The Bears
While that theory may be a bit far fetched, it is strange and fascinating the different techniques for protecting yourself from a bear. There are products commercially available that claim bear protection such as pepper spray, noise makers designed to deter an interaction and even electrified fences that would provide a protected perimeter. I have heard that if you pee around the site where you make camp, it will deter them as well. Everyone seems to think hanging any food and items that have an odor will help keep them away while you are sleeping.
Andrew shared an article with me that prompted this post. It tells the story of how a woman fended off a bear by throwing her IPhone at it. I immediately thought of you, Melissa! It seemed to work by distracting the bear, but perhaps we should reach for something less valuable than an IPhone to throw. Perhaps a rock would do the trick? Of course, carrying a firearm with you would do the trick as well.
Finding Motivation
Lately my training has been in a funk. I am having trouble finding the motivation to get out in the cold, but even this past week with warm weather, I failed to get in good training. I chose to spend most of last weekend with my family instead of leaving for an hour for a bike ride or run. I don’t regret that decision, but I need to balance both. Since the marathon, I have been in a funk and am ready to get out of it. Melissa and I are going to run together on Saturday, and we are planning 5 miles. Hopefully that will jump start me back into my regular training going forward. Anyone have suggestions to keep motivated?
A Rant to Get Out of the Way Before Mitchell
So I stopped by the grocery store today at lunch to pickup something from the deli to eat. I paid for my food, walked outside to find a woman getting in her van watching her cart roll down the hill 2 spaces and smack into the side of my car. I have spoken about this before and it just burns me up. What she said to me only made it worse:
Me: *sarcastic tone* “Thanks for that.”
Her: “Oh, I didn’t know it was going to hit your car.”
Me: “Carts go in the cart return, you know.”
Her: *sarcastic tone* “I know.”
Me: “Next time use it.”
Her: “I ain’t gonna use tha cart return. You have a blessed day.” *smacks lips, driving away*
Me: *loud enough so people can hear* “That’s LAZY!”
Then, I have to go around, pull the cart off of my car and put it where she should have to begin with. What is it about people that think they don’t have to be kind to others? What is it that makes them think they are better/more privileged/whatever you call it that makes them not follow general guidelines of human dignity? To add insult to her kind, she leaves after being so rude with a “Have a blessed day.” What? I would only assume from that statement she is Christian or at the very least Religious. Aren’t people that follow a religion supposed to generally be nice to people? Someone help me figure this out!
Happy New Year!
Okay, so I am late with this post, but I have been enjoying the time with my family over the holidays and things have been hectic!
I will take some ideas from Melissa for an “end of year” post and reflect back on 2009 and then focus on what I am planning for 2010.
Family Changes
2009 marked the 3rd birthday of my oldest daughter, Mia. She is a wonderful girl who has me completely wrapped around her fingers. The year also marked the 1st birthday of my youngest, Sadie. She is an independent spirit who will be giving Mia hell in the coming years, I am sure. Parents turn the other cheek when it is payback, you know. My wife, Jenn, and I celebrated our 5 year Anniversary. My sister, Jenny, and her husband, Chuck, had their first baby, a boy named Cai and he is so adorable! See Melissa’s post on her experience being there with them.
Weight Loss
In the beginning of 2009, I started my weight loss journey. At the peak, I had lost about 40 pounds, but have slipped off since. During marathon training I actually saw a weight gain, which I have heard can happen. For the entire year, I lost about 30 pounds.
Running/Triathlon
In January 2009, I could not run a mile. I started the Couch 2 5K program from PodRunner Intervals and ran my first 5K with Melissa in February. I was hooked. I went on to run a 4.1 mile race in April, my first triathlon in May, a 10K in June, off-road triathlon in July, international distance triathlon in August, a 211 mile relay run in the mountains of North Carolina in September and a Marathon in December.
Hiking/Camping
2009 was a bit of a slow year in this department. I did manage to make the MitchellWinter trip with Melissa, Jeff and Chris. I also got up to the Linville Gorge for a weekend with Andrew and Chad. I was able to incorporate camping before a couple of triathlons. I hope that as the kids get older, I will be able to take them places that I haven’t yet been able to.
Special Places
You have followed some of my new special places this year, and I appreciate you all bearing with my strange sense of humor!
2010
I hope to continue the weight loss journey in 2010 and to increase my physical ability. I have already signed up for 4 triathlons including a Half Ironman in November. This will be my biggest physical challenge of my life and I have a long way to get prepared for it. I also look forward to another year of milestones with my wonderful girls and my beautiful wife!
What I’m doing
So I am testing out speech recognition on the computer and this is my first blog post that will be completely dictated. How cool is that? It is learning my voice so that it can more accurately determine what I’m saying.
Tomorrow I will attempt to squeeze in a run in the afternoon. I will try for six miles. I may even run with Jenn and the girls.
It may take some time for the computer to get used to this, or possibly I need to get used to it. So far it has taken longer to dictate this post than would have to type it! Still pretty cool though.
I have also decided to run 12 miles on Saturday so as not to possibly injure myself. At this point I don’t think that I could train anymore that would be beneficial and not risk injury.
Now I’ll start talking in a normal voice and see what it types.
Style really know what I’m going to say you’re a winner notice: rock I will even remember what I said in an mv be very very very very strange and am watching a-commercial right now and it’s not run again by and saw and it’s always someone, in eNews 20 funny find funny funny, funny funding of us know
OK that is enough.
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