Best Shape of My Life

Six months ago, almost to the day, I decided that it was time to get in shape.  Those of you who follow my blog or know me in real life probably know the goals I set for myself...

-10 pull-ups
-50 sit-ups in 2 minutes or less
-Run 3 miles in 30 minutes or less
-Swim a mile
-Achieve a first class Marine Corps PFT (physical fitness test)
-50 push-ups

Today I achieved the most difficult goal... a first class Marine Corps PFT.  To put this in perspective, I haven't done a first class PFT since I was 19 or 20.  Furthermore, the PFT standards are a bit more stringent today than they were when I was on active duty.  With this in mind, I am declaring myself in the best shape of my life (age adjusted, of course).

Unintentionally Artsy

Over the weekend, I purchased a Suma S108G indoor helicopter.  It's a replica of the Marine Corps' AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter.  I bought this exact model because I worked on them during my two deployments while I was in the Corps and I've always thought they were cool as shit.

I took a couple of pictures immediately after taking it out of the package.  I was really impressed with the pics.  If you use just a bit of imagination, it almost looks like the real thing.

I like the silhouette of the first shot, and the background of the second picture.

Rim Job

In the summer of 2006 I bought a new Sportster.  It was a baseline model, but I had wanted a Harley for many years, and the time was right.  This picture was taken the day I picked up the bike.

Since then I've done a few minor modifications along the way... a passenger seat and backrest, a windscreen and saddlebags, but nothing major.  Despite owning the bike for several years, it had remained very close to stock.  Things changed over the last summer though.  I did a bit of engine work, and increased the horsepower, and I had the rims customized.  You can't see the engine work, but trust me, you can feel it.  The rims, however, turned out far better than I had expected.  Check it out...

What do you think?

I've owned this bike for almost seven years now, and I still love it!

Traditions

Back in 1994, I was hanging out with Greg and Darin, a couple of close friends that I've known since grade school, talking about the old days.  Hanging out with them in and of itself wasn't anything noteworthy; we got together quite frequently.  On that particular day though, we started talking about our time as boy scouts, and at some point we mentioned that we kind of missed camping and canoeing.  Greg, in his infinitely pragmatic way, asked why we didn't just do it.  Next thing we knew, we had planned a long weekend canoeing the Upper Iowa River.  1994 was a long time ago, so I don't recall many details from that particular trip, but we had enough fun that we decided to do it again the next year... and the next... and the next... and so forth.

Yesterday, Greg and I were planning this year's trip when it hit me... this is our 20th trip.  You read it right, this year will mark the 20th annual Boys' Trip.  The excursion itself has grown and changed a lot over the years.  We rarely hit the same river twice (though we do have a fondness for the Upper Iowa) so the scenery always different.  We spent several years whitewater kayaking until Greg and Darin decided to hand up their spray skirts.  We've island hopped in the Boundary Waters and Turtle Flambeau.  We even went to Las Vegas one year.  We've had several people that have accompanied us over the years, and recently we even opened the trip up to our family, which was a big change to the long-standing boys only rule.  We started out going over Labor Day weekend, but once we figured out that the water was consistently better over Memorial Day, we changed our weekend.  We used to take pride in our ability to rough it for a week straight.  Now, in a nod to our advancing age, we allow ourselves a few creature comforts.  One thing that's remained constant is that we always have a great time.

When we started this, none of us expected it to turn into a tradition.  But now that it has, I'm proud to say that it's my longest-standing tradition.  It's no longer restricted to boys only, but it was, is and ever will be referred to as the Boys' Trip.  Here's a not to our 20th annual, hoping to keep the tradition alive until the last one of us expires.

Plateaus, Pain and Perseverence

A few of you may recall that I started exercising about five months ago.  Today's post is an update on my progress.

I'm happy to report that I'm still exercising.  This in itself is quite an accomplishment.  Historically, I've never made it more than three months before losing interest.  I think that I've learned enough from my previous false starts to stick with it this time.

At the outset, I set a series of goals for myself...
-10 pull-ups
-50 sit-ups in two minutes or less
-Run 3 miles in 30 minutes or less
-Swim a mile
-50 push-ups
-Successfully complete a First Class Marine Corps PFT

I hit all of the goals except the push-ups and PFT in very short order.  After that I hit a plateau.  For a couple of months, I've been stuck at 12 pull-ups, 60 sit-ups and my run time barely improved.  The one area where I made major strides was in swimming.  I can swim two miles without thinking about it.

Additionally, I've had problems with my running.  When I started this whole thing, I decided to radically depart from my past attempts in a couple of fundamental ways... one departure was minimalistic running, using shoes that effectively provide no support.  The idea is to run as close to barefoot as possible, taking shorter strides and landing on the ball of the foot instead of long, heel-striking strides.  I've tried diligently to make this work, but I keep straining my right foot, and haven't done a three mile run for about two months, because I keep straining my foot.  And yes, I rest after any strain.

Like I said though, I'm not going to quit.  I went out earlier this week and bought a pair of standard running shoes, from a genuine running shop.  I had to order the shoes, because they didn't have my size.  (I tried 1/2 size smaller and loved the way they felt.)  They arrived today.  I tried them out by running three miles, and knocked 45 seconds off of my previous best time, despite having gone a VERY long time without running three miles.  By the way, I'm still focusing on a mid-foot landing, so I don't kill my knees or get shin splints.  I'm going to rotate these new shoes and the minimalist shoes, with the goal of eventually being a minimalist runner.  I may or may not reach that goal.  Either way though, the new shoes are awesome.

I'm also going to focus on push-ups for a while, with the hope of breaking the plateau and hitting another goal.  I had hoped to complete all of my goals within 6 months.  I may or may not meet that deadline, but it's been a rewarding journey.  I think that I may do a 10k or triathlon sometime down the road, but I'm not committing to it yet.

A Facebook Faux Pas

A Facebook friend of mine posted the following yesterday, and I've got to address it...

I have met some great people in my life time and met some great people on here also BUT that said i probably will lose some friends over this BUT PLEASE everyone has there own believes and there is a place for everything but PLease quit posting GOD quoates and all the pics of jesus on my face book please he has his place in church not knocking on my door at home or all over my facebook page please and thank you if you feel u need to delete me by all means do so.... ty very much

Dude, you're missing several serious points here. I would be remiss if I didn't call you on them. You may choose to unfriend me as a result, but if that's how it has to be, then that's how it has to be. Considering that I play my faith pretty close to the belt, I'm reasonably confident that you weren't hinting that it was me that offended you with all of my religious dogma. So please, don't think of my words as a knee-jerk reaction to your post. I've given my rebuttal some serious consideration. with that said, here goes...

-In my specific case, I have a (relatively) small circle of facebook friends. The overwhelming majority of my friends, you included, asked ME to be their friend. You are in this group. With this in mind, why should I be the one to censor my words, when others asked to join my circle of friends?

-In America, we have freedom of speech. This is a right that we hold very dear. Somewhere along the line, some idiot got it into their mind that he had the right to not be offended. This was the birth of the politically correct movement. Believing that you have the right to not be offended is a mistaken belief. I have freedom of speech. I do not have the right to never be offended. These rights are mutually exclusive. Either we all sensor what we say, thus minimizing the likelihood of offending others, or we say what we mean and occasionally piss others off. I, for one, choose the latter.

-One critical aspect you're missing on your diatribe is the likelihood that you're mistaking how Facebook posting works. While I COULD post something directly to your wall, I usually don't. Generally speaking, when I have something to say, I post to MY wall, and every one of my friends can choose whether or not to read what I've written, or look at the pictures I post. To use a loose analogy, my Facebook page is like my house. My friends can drop in and see what's up. If my friend doesn't like what's going on, that friend can leave, but nobody has the right to ask me to cease that behavior in my own house.

-As part of the Christian faith, followers of Christ are asked, nay commanded, to spread the word of Jesus to the world. Never discussing God is violating a pillar of Christianity. Even restricting this talk to within the walls of the Church, as you requested, is a violation of the faith, because if we did that, we would be talking amongst ourselves, which in no way spreads the word. This, in my opinion, is an unreasonable request. Once again, I have the right to say what I wish. You do not have the right to never be offended. You do, however, have the right to walk away from the conversation.

-From an intellectual standpoint, I like to have many differing opinions. This challenges my own belief systems, which serves two purposes. If I'm right, then my own belief system is strengthened as a result of standing up to a challenge. If I'm wrong, then my own belief system is strengthened as a result of learning that there are better ways. This applies to religion, politics, ethics and education. Choosing to shut out anything that doesn't agree with your own belief system is precisely why our government is so incredibly hyper-partisan.

-I will concede that there are a few things about Facebook that drive me nuts... daily requests to join such-and-such a game... people who post every stupid cute picture that comes their way... all of that chicken soup for the soul drivel... but at the end of the day, it's up to ME to choose whether or not to unfriend someone. It's my responsibility to choose whether to tolerate the game requests, pictures and drivel. Asking everyone else to cater to my whims and desires would be passing the buck, combined with self-centered egotism.

Like I said, I'm not trying to be an asshat here. You may not like what I've said, but I felt the need to say it. Now, the choice is yours... take what I said and learn from it, or delete me as a friend. Because the fact is, I'm not going to change my behavior.

Car-ma

I believe that I mentioned my younger daughter turning 16 and getting her license back in September.  Being a self-motivated young lady, and not wanting to drive the boat that the Mrs. and I had purchased for the kids' use, she went out and got a job, and within a couple of months had saved enough money to purchase her own car.

As with any first car, it's an inexpensive used car, and it's got a couple of issues here and there.  Nothing major, just stupid little shit.  I'm not sure how, but the passenger door came out of alignment and wouldn't open, and I arranged a trip to the body shop for a realignment.  (The body shop folks said that the most common cause for this type of problem is wind-related.)

We took the car into the body shop, and I told my kid that she could use the boat while her car is in the shop.  Wouldn't you know it?  She wrecked the boat.  She's fine, and the car's still drivable.  The problem is, I have an arrangement to sell the boat to my older daughter.  The boat WAS a nice car.  Now, it's a mode of transportation for someone who previously had none.  I thought about fixing the damage, but for that price, I might just as well give the car away, because the repair would cost almost as much as I'm charging the kid for the car.

So, what I'm going to do is cut the price of the car in half.  This way my older daughter still has a car to drive, she's still getting a reasonable deal on the price, and I'm done with the headache.  Meanwhile, my younger daughter is getting off relatively easy.  Her car is still undamaged, and the only financial consequence of her accident is the higher insurance bill.  That pain may last longer, but it won't be felt for until renewal time, and that pain isn't the same as having to come up with a large chunk of change all at once.