Time for an update!

  It's been almost 13 years since I posted here.  Maybe more.  No more biking.  No more running. Spinal Stenosis and out of alignment L4 and L5, corrected by a very successful surgery, put an end to the bike, and bad knees put an end to the running.

That's okay  - a regimen of low-impact cardio as well as strength training (with free weights) have me in better shape than I was in back in the running days.

I really don't know if anyone ever reads blogs such as this.  Perhaps I write for my own enjoyment, and maybe someday someone will find something interesting here.

So since the last post:

• Earned my MBA from George Mason University
• Taught at the University of Alabama
• Had 2 different jobs in northern Virginia
• Moved back home to Tuscaloosa, AL in August of 2013
• Taught full-time at UA for 2 years
• Sold Toyotas full-time for 9 months
• Worked as business development manager for a staffing company for 7 months
• Promoted to and worked as regional director for the same staffing company for 2 years
• Stopped teaching (online)
• Joined a consulting firm, where I remain to this day - almost 4 years now

November of 2019 had the surgery - up until that point I had terrible pain in my lower back and hip, and had numbness in my left toes.  Mark Hadley, neurosurgeon extraordinaire, corrected that problem 

I am now pain free.  I can do almost anything, although the road bike and any really heavy lifting are off limits.

COVID happened.  What a debacle.  I've had 3 Pfizer shots, had the actual virus (wasn't bad), and fought mask mandates.  As a result of COVID, and no in-person church services, we found Church of the Highlands online services, and the Holy Spirit led us to become a part of that family.  We loved our family at Calvary - it was just time to do something different.  We love serving at Highlands, and we've made more good friends than we've ever had in the past.

I had to move my Mom and Dad out of their home of 47 years, into assisted living.   What a shock for them, but their health dictated the move.  Then we moved them from that original place to a new place, right in the midst of COVID.  So here you have 2 people who were very independent, now living in a small apartment, and not able to get out and socialize. Thankfully the lock-downs are over, and they can get out and interact.  That said, the damage to them mentally is undeniable.

My time at Chesapeake Consulting has been very rewarding.  I'm a certified ACT Job profiler; certified John Maxwell Leadership trainer, coach, and public speaker.  I'm certified by TTISI in DISC and Emotional Quotient (and working on more.)  We are heavily involved with law enforcement as well as prisoner re-entry.

I've been through Freedom at Highlands, and have co-led a group.  The Freedom conferences are life-changing.  My relationship with The Lord is better than ever, and I can see Him working in my life, and it brings so much joy.

We have a racial harmony/unity group that is doing amazing things.  We've had 2 Community Unity events and are currently gearing up for our next 2.

My relationship with my wonderful bride - the love of my life, and my best friend - Karen - is better than ever and we are enjoying life with the kids successfully making their own way and having their own families.  We are 'parents' to 3 feline kids...Gus, Flick, and our most recent add, Nemo.

We are so blessed.  Not with material riches (although we are fine in that arena), but with relationships.  Surrounded by people to "do life" with - people who enrich our lives just by being around.  My mentor and co-worker/boss, John Covington, records his blessings.  Considering the challenges he had been forced to deal with, recognizing blessings is amazing.  His daughter Leigh, my friend, sister, former co-worker, former boss, has suffered through life-changing illness, and John has managed that situation so gracefully.  Clear evidence of the Holy Spirit in his life.  And his wife Linda's back surgery.  And the financial struggles brought on by COVID.

It's hard to recap 13 years in a short blog post, and this post by no means accomplishes that.  It's good for me to write down some of the highlights, though.  And maybe going forward, I can be more intentional about using this blog to record blessings, much like John does.

Much has progressed

Goodness - it's April! Last week was vacation - had a great time just being with the family, culminated by a wonderful Easter with most of Karen's family.
While off, I managed to get in 160 miles of riding - all but 15 of them on the 'rapida bicycleta', my Fuji. On a rainy day I took out Pepe, my 'little mule', 'cause he can handle the rain better.

Biked in today - looking forward to heading back home......

Pray for our Country

And pray for President Elect Obama. This long, painful election is over and history has been and is going to be made. America chose what made her 'feel good' - I pray that all I have discovered about Senator Obama isn't true.

My family is not 'rich.' We work hard for our income and it doesn't go far - now I have 8 straight years or more of my children in college and I can't afford Obama's tax and spend plans. As of right now, the Senate has 56 Dems with 4 seats still undecided - I just pray that they don't get 60.

Lord, please guide us through the years ahead. And please guide President Obama - give him wisdom and help him to lead. We need You now, more than ever!

Update - just found out what we are roughly going to owe this year on taxes. Oh, my. I guess retirement just got pushed off another couple of years.

Greetings from San Francisco

What's this got to do with my bike or running? Absolutely nothing! I'm just sitting here in the airport in San Francisco - it is 7:25 PM local time - 10:25 PM back in my world - and my flight doesn't leave for another 3 hours.

I'd complain about the crazy 'red eye' flight, but I planned it on my own.

So here I sit. Tired. Hoping I can sleep on the plane. 4 hours to Chicago....a 90 minute layover then 2 hours to DC. Get into DC at 8:48 AM. I plan on taking the metro home, grabbing a shave and shower, then heading to the office. I know, I know, that's crazy, but I feel like that'll make me acclimate back to the correct time zone and sleep better Friday night. Of course, I won't be riding my bike to work!

Speaking of that, I am now commuting by bike 3 days a week. It's not a 'green' thing - it isn't to save money on gas - no, I do it because it allows me to get in 20 miles of biking in a day without taking any time away from normal activities. I can make the commute one-way in about the same time as a drive - maybe 10 minutes longer by bike.

Northern Virginia cold weather might put a damper on it, but I expect I'll ride as long as it is above 35-40 degrees.

Last week I rode 101 miles. Had my first flat. Rode 8 miles with my son (wish he'd ride with me more).

Oh, I want a new bike!! I want a 'cyclocross' bike - built like a road bike - drop bars, light frame - but beefier wheels and tires. Some even have disc brakes. Still, with it looking like Chairman Mao Obama will be annointed President and the crazy stock market, plus 2 birthdays (Alayna wants a laptop like her brother), Christmas, and a wacky stock market, I don't need to be spending $1000 on a bike. I'm watching Craigslist in hopes I'll find one that I can pick up cheap and do my own fixup.

While I've been typing (I'm a fast typist) only a few minutes have passed. I still have a long wait. I'm in the Red Carpet Club, United Airline's premium club. I bought a one day pass for $50. It was worth it. Comfy chairs, no crowds, free snacks, juice, coffee and soft drinks and a free high speed internet connection.

I tried my best to get on an earlier flight home - it just didn't exist. So I sit here and type and watch the planes come and go.

I guess that's about it for now. Miscellaneous ramblings by an exhausted traveler.

I miss my family. I love my family. I remember now something I don't love - traveling.

If you have somehow stumbled onto this page and are reading this, please know that I do not drink alcohol - I'm totally sober - I'm just tired. And God Bless You for sharing a few minutes with a lonely, family loving, bike riding 50 year old man who can't wait to see his family tomorrow.

It's been a while

I often realize that I am blogging to myself - that's okay - if anyone reads this they'll hopefully understand my motivation. Since I last 'blogged' about biking, MUCH has changed......
Karen bought a Fuji Roubaix road bike for me for our 20th wedding anniversary and it has changed my world as related to biking. I've already logged almost 400 miles in 6 weeks on this bike - I've commuted to work on it 5 times. Yesterday, I put a 34 mile ride in and had strength left.

Biking is cool. I love it.

Running has changed to Biking

I used to scoff at bicyclers - after all, the only real heavy duty cardio workouts that burn serious calories are swimming and running, right? Wrong. I've surrendered to the reality of joint pain and embraced the change to biking - not the 5 MPH cruiser on a Saturday afternoon, but the hybrid road bike 'blasts' that elevate the heart rate to 145 and above and leave my legs feeling like noodles. The calorie burn per hour is about the same - I can just go farther and see more and do less damage to my feet and knees. My longest ride so far has been 20 miles, but as I type this I am looking forward to stretching out to 22 today. I believe that a serious road bike is in my future, but for now my Giant OCR3 is doing just fine. Exercise is fun again!

Back Running as of Yesterday

So much has happened since I ‘blogged’ my running experience. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years – I managed to keep running with my two ‘bad’ toenails, but my heart just wasn’t in it. For 5 years I’ve run and watched my weight, and I was struggling to continue. Then in late January, we decided to get out of our apartment and, in an act of pure faith, purchase a home in Northern Virginia even though the house in Georgia had not yet sold. God is good – He provided a way and a great home to purchase and great financing from a solid company. Then He brought a buyer for our home in Georgia – and even though the home STILL hasn’t closed, the buyer is living in it and paying me for the use of the house. Hopefully it will close late this month (June) or early July.

With all that going on, I just lost interest in running. Sure, I knew that I needed to keep exercising, but decided that a shiny new hybrid bike was the ticket. Yes, I ride it often, but it simply isn’t the workout that is running. Stopped watching what I eat – watched my weight shoot up to higher than it has been in 4 years – but still well shy of my peak back before my radical weight loss.

I think it was just pure fatigue – mental and physical – so much has happened in the past 18 months –new job, commuted Atlanta – DC for 6 months – moved my family into a hotel, then apartment, then new home – new schools for the kids (who adapted and did great and made me more proud of them than ever before) – new job for Karen – just on and on.

But yesterday – I laced up my shoes. 6:30 AM – 65 degrees on a beautiful Vienna, VA day. And off I went – and it all came back. Sure, I was slow – I could feel the extra 17 pounds that weren’t there the last time I ran. I only ran 2 miles and, even though I could have gone further, I knew that was enough. But wow, did it feel good. It was enjoyable – no goals, no training, no stress over the next race – just running because I finally wanted to again. It felt great to work up a “runner’s sweat.”

Today – same thing. 6:45 today – out the door heading in another direction – running in areas that I trained in before, but seeing them in a different way. Today I went 3 miles – and it was not a chore – I did ‘feel it’, but my body didn’t protest. Ran my heart rate up waaay too fast, but even that felt good because I know my sleeping cardiovascular system is waking up again.

So there you go – after a long absence, the running is coming back into my life. Thank you Lord, for being patient with me!