Gonnachange

Today's workout was leg dominant so I'm not going to run. Yeah, somewhat of an excuse.

Dinner tonight is going to be pizza and a salad. One pie will have roasted eggplant on top of a tomato sauce and the other will have the same sauce topped with sautéed onions and garlic.

Gonnachange

I went to bed feeling fine and woke up with a bad sore throat and feeling a far cry from fine. Accordingly, no exercise for me today. Hydration and rest will be priorities and hopefully whatever ails me will leave as quickly as it came.

Gonnachange

It was mostly a lost weekend for me; out of nowhere I came down with the aforementioned cold on Friday and was in bed by around 6. I barely made it out of bed on Saturday, mainly sleeping the day away, trying to hydrate, and get some food in me. Obviously no gym or any exercise and I stayed away from a party Saturday night that I was looking forward to for some time. No doubt it was the right decision. Sunday was much the same as Saturday, but I could tell toward the end of the day that my condition was starting to improve. That said I was in bed by 8.

I woke up this morning almost feeling normal so it seems as if the darn thing left as fast as it came. There was no doubt I was going to the gym and the workout went fine. I definitely started wearing down toward the end, but I can live with that as it was almost expected and certainly no reason not to show up.

Dinner tonight is going to be a white clam sauced served over a combo of spaghetti squash and linguini. I'll also serve a salad on the side.

SoberLeigh

Glad,that you are feeling better, GC!

Gonnachange

Thanks SL. The way it came and went was odd.

Today

It's going to be a relatively low key exercise day. I walked 2 miles this morning and will take dear dog for a similar length walk this afternoon.

Dinner it going to be baked chicken thighs with corn as a side.

Gonnachange

I was on my usual Wednesday schedule which meant getting to the gym about 5:45 for some stretching and then a group workout. Four rounds of four exercises of 60 seconds followed by four rounds of four different exercises for the same duration. It was mainly lower body dynamic stuff, but there were a couple of shoulder and core exercises thrown in for good measure.

After the gym I normally go food shopping and the store's parking lot is generally bereft of cars. Not today as there were many folks running into to do their Valentine's Day shopping: balloons, flowers, cards, cakes, etc. It made me glad I took care of all that already. Speaking of said holiday, I think this is the 36th my wife and I will be spending together and with one exception I've always cooked her a meal at home. The one exception was very early in our relationship and we went to a nice restaurant that was overwhelmed so we had an underwhelming experience. Tonight we're going out with some friends and I hope that the experience is better than what took place 30 some odd years ago.

Gonnachange

Any concerns I had about a mediocre over priced restaurant experience last night were entirely founded. The service, portions, quality of food, and price were all excellent. We also had a very nice time dining with a few gym friends and their spouses, a couple of whom wifey and I met for the first time.

Today's gym fun consisted of 3 rounds of:

Standing Db shoulder presses
Kb goblet squats
Db 2 point rows
Planks with hip touches
Jumping rope

Followed by 3 rounds of:

Heavy ropes
Rowing machine
TRX table top rows

I'm happy to write that I achieved a new PR on the rowing machine.

Dinner for tonight is undecided. Firstly, everyone in the house had big rich dinners last night so we're all a little bloated and still semi full and secondly I'm not sure who will be home. Could be 5 (dear daughter's BF is with us) or it could be 4 or it could be 3 or 2. Conceptually, what ever is served will not be very rich and won't take a lot of prep/cooking time.

Gonnachange

Today's a total planned rest day.

There were 5 around the dinner table last night and I wound up making breaded baked chicken leg quarters with a side of roasted cauliflower. Tonight is going to be beef bottom round that I'm going to indirectly cook on my kamodo and a side salad.

Gonnachange

A very busy and good weekend is behind me. I was at the gym Saturday, Sunday, and this morning for three solid workouts. Tomorrow I plan on running. Also, we got eight inches of snow Saturday night so I dealt with that before the gym on Sunday.

Saturday night we hosted a ten person dinner party that was a lot of fun and I was able to use the leftovers for dinner last night so there was that bonus.

SoberLeigh

I am certain that you were the perfect host, GC!

SoberLeigh

Congrats on the PR!!!!

(What is PR - at myself)

SoberLeigh

A special meal at home is exponentially better imho!

Gonnachange

Thanks.

If I'm allowed to pat myself (and my wife) on the back, all went very well. I'm usually my worst critic when it comes to the food, but was happy with how everything turned out.

One thing I have noticed over the past couple of years is that although we have our entertaining down to a science after having thrown so many parties, it's becoming harder to recover from the efforts. That written, we were both at the gym Sunday morning and I shoveled eight inches of snow before going there.

Thanks. I don't row regularly row and it's taken me a while to hone in on good technique, but the persistence is paying off.

I agree with you which is why we've almost never done something like this before. To be honest, the meal and service were very good and we had a good time with our group of friends, but it felt more like a night out for dinner than Valentines Day. All things being equal I'd prefer to cook at home next year.

Gonnachange

6 AM Wednesday fun at the gym. Burpees, squats, TRX rows, ball slams, high planks, Turkish get ups were on the menu.

Dinner tonight is going to be crab cakes and a salad.

Gonnachange

Today's exercise focus was mainly lower body: variations of squats, box jumps, lateral sprints, etc. I used this as an excuse to not run afterward; that it was 40F and raining was a contributory factor. Wimpy? Yes.

Dinner tonight is going to be meat loaf and a to be determined veggie.

SoberLeigh

Fantastic dinner selection!!!!!

SoberLeigh

Wimpy? No!

Smart? Yes!

Gonnachange

Thanks. It was enjoyed by all.

I'm cutting myself some slack for now; soon, if all goes well, I'll be running regularly and will do so regardless of the weather.

Hint: that means I'm thinking of running a fall marathon. :-)

Today

Fridays are my dedicated rest day and I'm sticking with that protocol. Six days of exercise a week are enough. I needed some routine work done on one of my cars and out of nowhere the overweight service rep starts talking to me about exercising, eating properly, and how hard it is to maintain a modicum of decent health/fitness now that he's approaching 40. I've never met this person in my life and have no idea why he was talking to me about this topic, but I chimed in with some thoughts, especially how it doesn't become easier as the years go by. His comeback that it was easy for me was dashed on the proverbial rocks when I told him that I'm about to turn 60.

The kids won't be home for dinner; I'd prefer to stay home, but my wife may have other ideas. The fail/safe time for the beef we didn't have last night is tomorrow.

In other food news, at the request of the family I'm making another batch of beef jerky.

SoberLeigh

Would that be the NYC marathon?

Gonnachange

If I say, "Yes", and I am, you'll be the first person to know about it. :-) I haven't even told my wife yet. I wanted to run it last year, but due to some medical issues had to defer and although I haven't run with any regularity in over a year I'm willing to give it another go. It's my favorite marathon and if my marathoning career ends on Nov. 4 with me crossing the finish line I won't have any regrets. Or maybe the insanity will kick in and I'll do others :eyeroll:, but right now I'm not thinking too far into the future.

Okay, it's out there and now I have to deliver. Big talk from someone who hasn't run 26.2 miles in total in the past 12 months.