Anouther Busy Weekend

Friday......ice day
11/13/08
Saturday

I crawled out of bed at 3:30 Am.....Why so early one might ask? Well I knew if I didn't get a run in at that time I would probably not get one in. 3:30 Am on the treadmill is not really my idea of a fun run but you do what you gotta.

I ran a good workout of 5 miles and watched something on Tv but honestly I can't seem to remember what it was. A cup of coffee and a quick shower later and my son and I are driving to the shop (my work) to get a large van truck. My daughter is moving today and I volunteered to do the hauling.

The drive to Farmington was about an hour and as I was turning onto her long..windy...hilly...icey...narrow driveway/road. I lost the power steering. Actually this is not good, The powersteering is pretty darn important when driving a fairly large truck and negotiating narrow windy roads in the winter.

The second problem I encountered is a small steel bridge only a slightly wider than
the truck tires and a posted sign that read 5 ton limit. My daughter said a pretty big truck plows her drive so she thought the bridge would hold me. Problem is the big truck she was talking about weighed about 6 ton....this 24 foot van with a deisel engine weighs 20 ton empty.

I figured if I drove fast enough, I should have the momentum to make it and not be on the bridge long enough to colapse it....I made it so I was half out of danger. The trip back I would be heavier with a full load of house stuff.

The road/driveway was about a mile long and had me worried a couple times on the icy hills. I was glad to crest the last one and see the old farmhouse. I stepped out of the truck and was immediately hit with a strong cold wind that seemed at least 20-30 mph. This made the morning temps feel like 20 below.

I backed up to the porch, put the hydraulic lift gate down then proceeded to remove the broken powersteering line. The right type of tools and some warmer clothing would have been a welcome asset. This place was full of tools but they were farm tools...so a lot more difficult to find something that would work.

I got the line changed and we worked our butts off loading all of her furnature. Anyone that says these moving guys have an easy job appearantly has never moved a house full of furnature. By noon we were all dragging our asses and darn glad that the last piece was packed in.

A two hour drive to Portland and we would have the pleasure of reversing the whole process. Finally the truck was empty and though normally this would be a great time to sit down and have a celibrationary beer, I still had to drive the truck back to Auburn and then work on the rental house.

So, no fun, no rest, no beer just an uncomfortable ride up the turnpike with the sun in my face. I dropped the truck off and in the process of getting out, I hit my glasses and broke the rim that holds the lense in. I glued them the best i could to allow me the privaledge of driving home instead of calling for a ride.....only problem is that the super glue somehow got all over the lense and ruined it....lucky I have another pair at home.

Once I got home, I checked out the rental house and found still no power and there was no residual warmth left inside. I had to do something or face broken water pipes.
I ran a cord 180' from my garage, squeezed the cord through an opening that used to be quite small and now was considerably larger (due to me shoving this cord through) and I wired up the furnace. I was quite relieved to hear that furnace start up.

Ok.......now I had a beer as I dropped my dying body onto the couch for a much needed rest....right now, I couldn't vision accomplishing my normal long run in the morning....I guess I will see if I can get out of bed in the morning.

5 mile run 50 min @4% grade 5 speed (9:18 pace)
crosstraining ....4-5 hours of carrying heavy objects.

11/14/08
Sunday

I woke up at 7 Am ....why is it I can't seem to sleep late? I surely could have used the rest. The temp outside was a balmy 12 degrees and I honestly didn't know if I could pull off a long run out in the cold as I still didn't feel warmed up from yesterday.

I decided to hit the treadmill again and just run as long as I felt like it. I hoped for at least a 3 or 4 mile run. As usual I set the treadmill on a 5% grade but after a second thought put it down to 4%.......this would be an easier run today.

Somehow after a couple miles, I began to feel pretty darn relaxed and my energy level was good. I ran 6.5 miles and then a half mile cooldown. I think I suprised myself. At this point I felt quite refreshed and a side of me wished I had run outside today.


I dressed, ate breakfast and then went tree hunting. This was quite enjoyable not only because of feeling the Christmas spirit a bit but because I had a good run behind me the day was still young.

Little did I know that I would be dragged to the dreaded stores and spend the rest of the day shopping......what a killer of a good mood. Oh not that I don't have some Christmas spirit.....it's just fighting with all those people.....most of them just seem to be in no hurry to do anything...merely walking around very slowly and gawking at the stores...not really buying anything. I like to buy what I came for and then leave.

There was one highlite of the day when we stopped at Ruby Tuesdays and grabbed a burger and a couple beers.....for some reason the rest of the afternoon was not so bad and I made it home in time to watch the Patriots game. Funny how the weekend just flys right by?

6.5 miles
treadmill 4% grade 5-6 speed.
1/2 mile cooldown.