101 Not Out

Well I'm home. It's odd but every time I go away for the week, Gavin seems to have grown. Needless to say I'm very happy to be back.

So happy that I decided to get the pushup challenge out of the way and go for the 100 today. It made sense to get it over with before getting into my running this weekend.

So I started off and my arms felt a little tired from yesterday, but once I hit 10 I found a rhythm. That carried me through 25 (quarter of a way there) and before I knew it I was passing 40 and then 50 - over halfway. I was still feeling good as I passed 70 (my previous best) and once I got up to 80, I knew I was going to do it (only 20 more to go). Things got a little harder once I passed 90 - I guess my arms suddenly woke up and realized what I was doing to them - but I hit that magic triple digits, and did one more for good luck before collapsing.

Needless to say, I was very happy with myself. Big thank you to Steve for coming up with the hundred pushups website in the first place, and for all his encouragement along the way. I can now proudly display my "I did the 100" banner.

We're off to celebrate at the Red Robin.

Last Day of the Pushup Challenge

Pushup Challenge : Week 6 day 3
Plan : 27, 27, 23, 23, 23, 23, 20, 20, at least 56
Acual : 27, 27, 23, 23, 23, 23, 20, 20, 56

Just a quick post to celebrate the fact that I've just completed all 6 weeks of the pushup challenge without any repeats. All that's left to do is the final challenge - can I do 100 of them in one go? Come back in a few days time and find out.

Last evening in Dallas - I'm off to the pool.

Summer Sunsets of the Soul

Pushup Challenge : Week 6 day 2
Plan : 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 22, 22, at least 56
Actual : 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 22, 22, 56

I'm sitting by the window in my hotel room in Dallas watching one of those late summer sunsets that takes your breath away. The sun is about to drop below the horizon beyond the Interstate and is a huge red ball in the sky. From time to time birds glide and fly in front of it and are briefly silhouetted in its glow. Watching from my vantage point as the city crawls home beneath it is very uplifting. I was lucky enough to witness the same glorious spectacle while driving up yesterday evening, and to me it signifies the coming onset of Autumn. And that definitely makes me happy.

I've had a very pleasant evening. I got back to the room and got the pushup challenge out of the way (I did 260 pushups tonight - how????) and then took my book and headed off to the fitness room. Did a good 45 minutes on the bike and headed outside for a swim/relaxing float in the pool. Then I dried off on one of the loungers while listening to jazz music softly piped through the outdoor speakers. Having worked up an appetite, I strapped on the snout and trotters, attached the curly tail and headed off to the Chinese buffet. They have the absolute best Crab Rangoon - I think I ate about 5 of them and am now suitably stuffed and happy. At least I didn't spot Saddam this time.

I am currently reading "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" - John Berendt's almost-poetic ramble through the eccentric characters of Savannah, Georgia. Much of the book is intertwined with the music of Johnny Mercer and evokes old world Southern Gothic imagery in a style similar to Anne Rice's New Orleans. This is a book I've been wanting to read for some time, and so far it's not letting me down.

And speaking of books, I talked to Nancy on the phone tonight and she told me the Karnaze book has arrived. Apparently she is enjoying it. Hope she finishes it by the time I get home otherwise I'm going to steal it!!!

The Circus is in Town

We visited the circus last night and Gavin had a great time. He had never seen elephants or tigers before and everything was new and wondrous. For me, it was slightly different. The ringmaster looked like Apollo Creed, the tiger master like Al Bundy and I really don't like the idea of these proud and majestic animals being paraded around and made to perform silly tricks. I love tigers and it was sad to see. To add to all that, I was feeling pretty rotten - I haven't been feeling great all week, not been sleeping and I was really struggling last night. The clowns were annoying and the acrobats impressive, but to be honest I was glad when it was over.

So we got home around 11pm and I was still feeling nauseous and unable to sleep. My stomach was bothering me, I had a headache and was just miserable. I finally drifted off somewhere in the wee hours only to have a very vivid dream involving my being chased by a rabid dog. Isn't is strange how realistic dreams seem when you're not feeling well? This one was so realistic that I woke myself up with what my wife described as a "little schoolgirl scream". Very embarrasing. I finally woke up this morning feeling the same way but had to make myself go to work because I had some meetings I couldn't miss.

I'm still feeling under the weather this evening, but I had the pushup challenge exhaustion test to get out of the way. Didn't feel that confident going in, but managed to do 70 good form pushups to keep me in the top group going into the final week. Suddenly the 100 pushups doesn't seem that unrealistic.

I'm hoping I can shrug off whatever this is by the weekend because I have a full running program lined up. Round Rock Fit kicks off again on Saturday which marks the start of my official running season. I will be helping to do setup, signing people up and then making sure everyone gets around the 3 mile course.

Then Sunday is a trail run followed by a downtown run with my work group.

Pushup Challenge : Week 5 day 3

Plan : 18, 18, 16, 16, 14, 14, 12, 12, at least 40
Actual : 18, 18, 16, 16, 14, 14, 12, 12, 40

I'm taking a little longer than usual to recover from this weekend's race, not helped by the fact that I had trouble sleeping last night. I guess running all night throws off your body clock - I was really tired, but just lay there tossing and turning for hours.

But I finally made myself get back into the pushup challenge and finished out week 5 with some difficulty. Onward and upward.

Tomorrow we're taking Gavin to the circus for the first time. He's really looking forward to seeing the lions and tigers. Should be a fun trip.

Preparing some Ultra Nosh

My parents make a dish they call "pastie pie" - it is basically a corned beef hash baked into a pie, and pretty damn tasty too. Tonight I made a slightly jazzed up variation of it as individual pasties. Compact, filling, yummy, portable - I will experiment snacking on them during Saturday night's 12 hour all-nighter with a view to using them at Bandera and Rocky Raccoon. Though they look similar to my wholewheat cornish pasties recipe from a few months ago, they are completely different.

Mark's Ultra Pasties (makes 12)


Crust
2.5 cups all purpose flour
3oz olive oil spread
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
4 tbsp iced water

Filling
1 tin corned beef
2 cloves garlic
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 medium potatoes

Instructions
Peel and chop the potatoes and steam or boil for 30 minutes.
While they are cooking, make the dough for the crust. Combine the flour and mustard powder and cut in the olive oil spread until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix until it all starts to come together. Make into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Peel and chop the onion and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until softened.
Chop the corned beef and add to a mixing bowl along with the potato, onion and garlic. Beat until thoroughly mixed (can also use a food processor).
Roll out the dough and cut into 6" circles (I use my pasta machine and take it all the way down to thickness level 4). Spread the filling on half the circle, moisten the edges with water, fold over and seal. These are great tools that make this part super easy. I got mine in a cookery store in Cardiff but have also seen them sold locally.
Arrange pasties on a baking tray. Before putting into the oven, brush them with milk.
Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for a further 20 minutes.
Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the crust to soften.
Eat immediately, or wait until cooled and wrap with clear plastic.
Guard against roving spouses and 3 year olds.

In preparation for Saturday I started carb loading tonight with some yummy spicy chinese noodles. Chinese in the sense that I made the sauce out of peanut butter, soy sauce, white vinegar, sugar, garlic and cayenne (for a nice kick). Threw in some stir fried chicken and mushrooms and the result was one yummy carbolicious pasta dish.

Pushup Challenge : week 5 day 2
Plan : 20, 20, 18, 18, 15, 15, 14, at least 40
Actual : 20, 20, 18, 18, 15, 15, 14, 40

The pushup challenge seemed a lot easier tonight. Even though it has progressed to 8 sets with only 45 seconds rest in between, there are less reps. Pushed out 160 and didn't really feel it too much. Confidence is high going into the last day of the penultimate week. Still not sure I'm up to the 100 though.

Laughter - a Great Core Workout

Pushup Challenge : week 5 day 1
Plan : 40, 32, 30, 25, at least 40
Actual : 40, 32, 30, 25, 40

I recently DVRed a yoga show on PBS called "Wai Lana Yoga" and tried it out this evening. To be fair, let me say first up that it was a very good stretching routine (something I could definitely do more of) and I found some of the positions (especially the lotus) challenging. Having said that, part of the difficulty stemmed from the fact that I was shaking with laughter most of the way through. Picture the scene - camera fades in on tropical Hawaiian beach where we find bizarre pseudo-hippy yoga yoda lady, complete with comedy voice and wearing some kind of baggy clown jumpsuit - WTF???? Half way through we fade to fish swimming peacefully and when we get back to bliss beach, she's doing a happy dance. Oh, manna from heaven for this cynical Brit. I can't take it any more. Unable to stop laughing, my abs haven't been this sore in years. Any more of this and I'll have a six pack to rival the one in my fridge.

Classic stuff.

Once I'd recovered from that I had a crack at week 5 of the pushup challenge. Wow, this program has ratcheted up suddenly. I forced myself to grit out the final 40 and just about made it, but it was close. 167 pushups tonight - I think this is going to be a hard week.

We had our Round Rock Fit coaches meeting last night at the Main Street Grill, an upscale restaurant in downtown Round Rock. Wow, that place serves great food. It is located in an old bank and one of the tables is actually inside the old vault - very cool. There were about 15 of us in the group and we shared a whole bunch of yummy appetizers. We filled out and signed all the required paperwork and then socialized. I haven't seen some of these folks since marathon day back in February and it was great to catch up with old friends over a few glasses of red wine. I can't believe the new Round Rock Fit season starts up again in less than two weeks. Happy days.

Ready Set Play

Pushup Challenge : Week 4 day 3
Plan : 30, 22, 22, 20, at least 29
Actual : 30, 22, 22, 20, 50

Felt really good tonight and pulled a great 50 pushups out of the last set to round out week 4. I feel like I'm getting stronger, but I've got another exhaustion test up next before going into week 5 so we'll see.

Nancy and I had the day off today and had great plans for it. We took Gavin to daycare as usual then headed over to Bull Creek to run a loop of Kens. We don't get to run together very often so it was nice to get the chance. We met up with a friend and enjoyed a relaxing run and great start to the day. We picked Gavin up around midday and we all went to Freebirds for lunch. They do fantastic burritos and was a favorite haunt of Nancy's back in her Aggie days.

Then the fun really began. We took Gavin to "Ready Set Play", an inflatable toy playhouse in Round Rock full of bouncy castles, slides and climbing walls. Wow, this was the best $8 we ever spent - we had such a great time and Gavin played himself out. To see the look on his face and the squeals of delight as he came down the slides or climbed the wall was awesome. We were there for over three hours and both Nancy and myself got to play on the slides and bouncy castles too. I will always remember the magic moments when Gavin wanted me to chase him through the obstacles, play in the castle or go down the slides with him, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I don't think there's a better feeling in the world than playing with your little boy, and I'm nothing but a big kid myself. We got home and he fell asleep around 6:30 in Nancy's lap watching the Muppet Movie. I put him in our bed - I suspect he'll be down for the night.

What a great day.

Pushup Challenge : Week 4 day 2

Plan : 27, 21, 21, 18, at least 25
Actual : 27, 21, 21, 18, 30

We're getting there. It doesn't seem to be getting any easier, but I'm still going.

Put a Sock in it

Pushup Challenge : Week 4 day 1
Plan : 27, 20, 20, 17, at least 27
Actual : 27, 20, 20, 17, 29

It's official - I found myself on the participants list for the Bandera 100k and the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler. It's kinda strange to see my name on these lists - makes it seem all the more real somehow. I can't believe I'm actually going to attempt to run 100 miles in less than 6 months time.

The Great Sock Review
About a month ago, I set out on a crusade to find the best pair of running socks. Since then, I've been running in my new array of socks and comparing them. I've tested them with different shoes and on varied terrain in a bid to find my favorite. Here are the results:

Asics CoolMax 3-pack : 3 pairs of running socks for less than $9, could they really be any good? Surprisingly the answer is yes. They are soft, comfortable, wick very well, and do a good job. The one concession to price seems to be a pronounced seam in the toe, but it didn't really bother me. Ideal midweek running socks, they would do a good job for weekend long runs too. Unless you're a sock snob.
Price : $8.95 for 3 pairs
Value : 10
Comfort : 6
Rating : 7

Balega Trail Buster : Super stretchy, light, seamless, soft, comfortable. Provides just enough cushioning without being too heavy, I love the Balegas - my feet feel like they are coated in sock royalty!!! They look good too.
Price : $8.95
Value : 8
Comfort : 10
Rating : 9

Drymax Trail Running : Very thick socks, more for winter running as they tend to "squelch" in the summertime. I bet they'd be great running socks for the nighttime portion of Bandera and Rocky Raccoon though. Not a very high rating based on wear so far, but I think they will come into their own in the winter.
Price : $8.95
Value : 7
Comfort : 6
Rating : 6

Injinji Tetrasok : aka the socks with the toes. You either love them or hate them, and I fall into the latter category. They just feel strange and my toes feel trapped and constricted. I've never had problems with blisters between my toes. If I had, maybe I'd feel differently.
Price : $11.95
Value : 4
Comfort : 6
Rating : 5

Wigwam Ironman Tail Wind Pro : seem a lot more rugged than the triathlon socks and no seams on the toes. They are very comfortable, if a little pricey. Time will tell how well they stand up to the strains of trail running.
Price : $9.50
Value : 6
Comfort : 8
Rating : 7

Wigwam Ironman Triathlon : my long-standing sock. Been running road in these for years, but they don't stand up to trail very well and tend to tear easily. Add in a seam at the toe and heel, and they are average at best.
Price : $6.95
Value : 6
Comfort : 5
Rating : 5

Wrightsock Double Layer Coolmesh : has two layers, but still very light. The inner white lining is super soft and they are wonderful to run in. The moisture wicking works really well and they are very comfortable.
Price : $7.99
Value : 9
Comfort : 10
Rating : 9

The Winners
It's a tie between the Balegas and the Wrightsocks. Both pairs of sock feel wonderful and I don't know which I prefer. Here's the best idea - buy a pair of both and decide for yourself.

Back Home

Pushup Challenge : Week 3 day 3
Plan : 30, 22, 22, 20, at least 27
Actual : 30, 22, 22, 20, 30

This was the hardest day of the pushup challenge so far - the first time that I wondered if I would complete them all. But I did and am now officially at the halfway point. I did 124 pushups tonight - bring on week 4. I also realized that I've been cheating myself and only taking 60 seconds break between sets for the last four weeks (day 2 of each week is supposed to get 90 seconds and day 3 gets 120 seconds). That will teach me to read the rules properly.

Anyway, I'm back home in Austin, but not without one of my "idiot" moments this morning. As my hotel room had a fridge, I bought a carton of milk on Monday evening. I figured I'd better finish it off before I left so I grabbed it and took a big swig from the carton. Unfortunately, unknown to me, the fridge was not working and the milk was off - and I mean way off. I ended up with a mouth full of clear liquid and a whole bunch of solid yuck left at the bottom of the carton - nice.

But I had a nice relaxing drive back from Dallas this afternoon. Made pretty good time - just over 3 hours. I put a Patricia Cornwell audiobook in the cd player as I left the parking garage in Dallas and it finished just as I was turning into my neighborhood. It was nice to spend a few days away, and I met a good bunch of folks, but it's nice to be back home too. I'll be headed up there again at the end of August.

And it was nice to find the air conditioner working again. Not so nice to see the $500 bill for fixing it though. Oh well. The DVR is still not quite right - it seems to have developed some kind of timing issue on startup between the backend, the database and the client (I wonder if little fingers have been pressing buttons). I managed to get it up and running by inserting a 30 second delay into its boot up time while I figure out what the problem is (don't see anything in the log, so maybe the database just needs a reorg).

Tomorrow morning I have to get up early to do my run with the work group I'm coaching for the marathon relay. I've split up the groups into 2 runs, and I plan on going out with the 10k group and getting back in time to go out with the 5k group as well.

I also have the coach's meeting with Round Rock Fit coming up in a few weeks at the Main Street Grille in Round Rock. Looking forward to seeing all my friends again, and Main Street put on a really good spread last year. Should be a fun night.

And Sunday I'm back into cheerleading mode as Nancy is doing the Jack's Generic triathlon. It's at the Texas ski ranch and is her favorite triathlon of the year.

Let Loose in the Big City

I'm in Dallas for the rest of the week for work. Right now I'm sitting here in my hotel room putting off going downstairs to the gym. I really need to because I made an absolute pig of myself at the chinese and mongolian barbecue down the road. I think the owners were fearing financial ruin every time I went back to the buffet line.

But there's something lonely about getting a table for one at a restaurant, especially when your family is 200 miles away. It never used to bother me but I kinda miss them. I've been married for nearly 10 years - you'd think I would be glad of any opportunity to get away for a while. Maybe I just love my wife - is that weird?

And talking of weird, I hate to start conspiracy theories but the guy sitting a couple of tables down from me looked exactly like Saddam Hussein. If he hadn't been executed several years ago, I might have stepped outside and called a tip line.

Let's get back to more familiar ground - the pushup challenge. It's getting harder but still manageable. Glad I got them out of the way before I went out though.

Week 3 day 2
Plan : 27, 19, 19, 15, at least 25
Actual : 27, 19, 19, 15, 30

Ok, I can't put it off any longer, I'd better go down. At least I brought a book with me to read on the elliptical.

A change in road shoes?

Pushup Challenge : Week 3 day 1
Plan : 25, 17, 17, 15, at least 25
Actual : 25, 17, 17, 15, 30

Ok, I noticed the difference in the number of pushups this morning - it's quite a step-up from week 2, but I'm still hanging in there.

Had some good running this weekend. Didn't get a great turnout for the office running group yesterday (no real surprise), but I still managed to go out fast with both the 5k and 10k groups. It was very humid and not that easy (I chose a real hilly course) so I was glad to be done. I think I may shortly be in the market for a change in road shoes though - after many years of running happily in Reebok Premier Roads, they have suddenly started giving me blisters on the instep. Doesn't happen with my trail shoes, just the road ones. I wonder if running trail has subtly changed my foot shape and/or size. Maybe I should just start taping them (my feet, that is, not the shoes :-)). Any suggestions?

Then this morning I had a fun run at Ken's. The first half was pretty slow, but Joe broke free and took off just before the switchbacks. I took off after him and we hammered the second half of the loop. There's one big climb just after the scenic overlook that goes straight up the ridge. I have adopted that hill as my nemesis and make a point of running it hard each time. It's a really tough hill and my legs are like rubber for quite a while afterward, but it's a good workout.

I've made some ravioli for supper tonight - rolled out some pasta dough to make shells (bought one of these some time ago which makes the process super easy) and stuffed them with a ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, chive, basil and egg white combination. I have a marinara sauce simmering away on the stove, some fajita chicken ready to grill up, and some French country bread just out of the oven. The house smells fantastic.

Sourdough Waffles and Pushups

Now what in the world could possibly bring together sourdough waffles and pushups into a coherent and intelligent blog posting? Well, nothing. But if some vaguely entertaining incoherent rambling will satisfy you then read on.

First up, tonight marked the end of week 2 of the pushup challenge, and that meant it was time for another exhaustion test - how many pushups could I do in a row? A few weeks ago I managed 31 good form pushups and I thought I'd made some good progress since then, so I was looking forward to seeing how far I'd come. Well, I managed 60(!!!!) which keeps me well on track going into week 3. A hundred still seems a long way off though.

And on the flip side, it's Friday night which means it's time for the sourdough starter to rise from the dead (well, the fridge) and feed. Took it out, proofed it with a cup of flour and a cup of warm water and left it to reactivate. Last weekend I cobbled together a simple recipe for sourdough waffles which I really enjoyed, so I'm going to write it down before I forget it - and what better place to keep it than right here.

Ingredients
2 cups proofed sourdough starter (left overnight to activate)
1 extra large egg
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp baking soda

Pour 2 cups of starter (make sure to leave enough behind for next time) into a bowl, add in the egg, oil, sugar and baking soda and stir well.

Cover loosely and let sit for 20-30 minutes

Heat your waffle iron and use the waffle batter as directed by your manufacturer (I have a Belgian waffle maker and this batch makes about 3 lots of waffles).

Serve with syrup, yogurt, strawberries or whatever floats your boat.

And finally, I downloaded a new song for the jukebox - "Sittin' at a Bar" by Rehab. Heard it on the radio while driving home last night and liked it. Don't really know why - if I did it would probably explain a lot :-)

Pushup Challenge : week 2 day 3

Plan : 15, 15, 12, 12, at least 15
Actual : 15, 15, 12, 12, 20

Finished out week 2 of the pushup challenge tonight and I'm still going strong. There is another exhaustion test coming up to determine which track to follow into week 3, so bring it on.

I am taking a training class at the SAS institute today and for the rest of the week. The class doesn't start until 9 - a great chance for a lie-in. So naturally I got up early to go run Walnut Creek with Clea. I'm glad I did because it was one of those days when running just felt so easy. I wore my El Scorcho singlet for the first time and it felt really good. I drove home feeling exhilarated and glowing, and had time to enjoy a nice long shower before heading out to my class.

What a great way to start the day.

The Day After

Pushup Challenge: Week 2 Day 2
Plan : 16, 13, 11, 11, at least 15
Actual : 16, 13, 11, 11, 20

Struggled a little on the pushup challenge this evening and only managed 20 on the final set. Maybe that's because I woke up this morning with a stuffy head and a scratchy throat, which oddly enough made me feel a lot better about my run on Saturday night. Just looked at the results page and I finished in 5:36:43, which was good for 41st place (out of 92 finishers). Not as bad as I thought. It was very difficult on the night to figure out how you were doing as you'd sometimes be passed by runners who were a loop or two behind you. I am also getting a bad case of "runner's nostalgia" and remembering parts of the course I really enjoyed, like the stretch along the Trinity River with the Fort Worth skyline in the background, all illuminated by a beautiful full moon. Yeah, I think I'm gonna run this sucker again next year.

I've mapped out a route for my marathon relay group at work to do our first run together this weekend - I'm going to run it tomorrow after work to look for likely spots to drop water. We have enough people for at least a couple of teams, with abilities ranging from slow walkers to 40 minute 10kers. I'll set the 10k folks out at 6:30am and the 5kers at 7:30am. That way I can go out with both groups and make sure everyone gets back ok. The route is one big loop, so I can always double back and play sweep. I guess my pre-season starts here.

Update : I just realized this is blog posting number 50. Gavin has gone to bed for crimes against parents, so I will go have some "cookies and cream" ice cream to celebrate. Yummy.

Preparing for El Scorcho

Pushup Challenge: Week 2 Day 1
Plan : 12, 12, 9, 7, at least 10
Actual : 12, 12, 9, 7, 32

Since I will be running most of the night I figured I'd get the pushup challenge out of the way this morning. Today's schedule looked to be easier than the last one, and it probably would have been if it hadn't been for my little boy sitting on my back for the first two sets. Now that makes a good 35lb difference that my arms are feeling right now.

The "son of the bitch" sourdough starter was at work again as I used it to make waffles for breakfast. Took it out of the fridge last night and proofed it. Success - they were delicious - very light and airy.

Right now I am sitting here alternating between gatorade and water in preparation for the 50k tonight. The race starts at midnight and it's going to be hot and sweaty so I need to be well hydrated. Quite why I scheduled a 50k race in the middle of my off-season I'm not sure (other than it sounded like fun and probably will be). We plan on leaving for Fort Worth around 5pm so at least I get a chance to take a nap this afternoon. Especially since we got an early wakeup call this morning as 6 hot air balloons were taking off from the school near our house. They set the dog barking like crazy but Gavin was delighted.

I am currently reading "The Best of Mystery" - a compilation of 63 short stories from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. I am only 1/3 of the way through, but it's turning out to be a real hidden gem. Every story so far has been really good - just the right blend of suspense and twist. Standouts for me include Avram Davidson's "The Cost of Kent Castwell", Lawrence Block's "Pseudo Identity", Robert Colby's creepy "Voice in the Night" and the darkly comic "Never Shake a Family Tree" by Donald Westlake. There are several other compilations in the same series which I may have to check out.

Pushup Challenge : week 1 day 3

Plan : 15, 13, 10, 10, at least 15
Actual : 15, 13, 10, 10, 30

Got home late tonight and nearly forgot about the pushup challenge, but just finished off tonight's set to round out the first week. Managed a good 30 on the final set and felt much stronger. Maybe it's all in my head (or due to the alcohol I consumed tonight) since I'm only a week into it, but I think I can already tell a difference. If you add up all those sets, that's 78 pushups I did tonight!!!

This program is also spreading like the plague. I've now got my office mate started on it, and when I got home tonight my wife confessed she'd just finished week 1 day 1 (she managed a pretty impressive 20 "man pushups" on the initial test).

The reason I was home late was that I was out hobnobbing at a Central Texas user group meeting at Dona Emilia's downtown restaurant. Had a good time with a friendly bunch of folks and drank a goodly number of mojitos. Dang those things go down easy. For somebody as suspicious of authority as I am, I'm becoming increasingly corporate. I'm also a lot more outgoing than I used to be - how my younger self would laugh if he could see me now.

And speaking of corporate, I attended the "health and fitness" committee meeting the other day. It turns out they don't want me to assemble and coach a team to compete for the Governor's Cup, they expect me to assemble and coach a team to WIN the Governor's cup. They figure if myself and two other guys can nail down the long legs at a 6:45 average pace, we'll be well on track. Dang, I'd better start hitting the track - my best 10k hovers around the 45 minute mark and I'd have to cut a good 3 minutes off that to get close. Still, I've come up with a pretty aggressive and varied training program (including an 8 mile run on part of the old "Sweaty Twenty" course), so who knows.

And of course, if you know me you know that I often have trouble keeping my mouth shut. I suggested all kinds of ideas at the committee meeting and seem to have acquired a bad habit of creating work for myself.

That's why I try to steer clear of committee meetings.

Pushup Challenge : week 1 day 2

Plan : 12, 12, 10, 10, at least 10
Actual : 12, 12, 10, 10, 25

Well today was week one, day number two of the pushup challenge. I kept on top of the schedule and was happy to manage 5 more on the final set than I did last time. The hundred still seems a long way off though. Congratulations to my pal Jeff for a strong start to his pushup challenge. Anyone else out there doing this?

I've been co-opted onto the "health and fitness" committee at work, and have been given the task of assembling and coaching a team of runners to compete for the Governor's Cup at the Silicon Labs Austin marathon relay. Going to my first committee meeting tomorrow morning, so should be interesting. Guess that's yet another race to add to the calendar.

Unfortunately the trip to the Guadalupe mountains looks like it's off. I will be up in Dallas until the Friday evening before labor day, and may need to be back there directly after (I have a lot of deadlines coming up). Plus I have coaching commitments with Round Rock Fit, and that Saturday is the first real chance to meet up with my group. It turns out my buddy busted up his ankle again last night and may not be able to make it either. He is also no longer planning on running the Cactus Rose 100, which is a bloody shame since I once said that if he didn't run it then I would. Fortunately I think I may have found another buddy who needs a pacer, so that may be my "out".

And speaking of ankles, mine is fine. I tried out some different trail shoes last Saturday - Vasque Velocities - and I loved them. They were very comfortable and I felt like I could run a long way in them. Enough to tempt me away from the Montrail Hardrocks? We'll see.

Pushup Challenge : week 1 day 1

Plan : 10, 10, 8, 6, at least 7
Actual : 10, 10, 8, 6, 20

Started out the pushup challenge this morning after my run. I know at least a few of you have told me you're going to do it too, so let me know how you're getting on and we can pull each other through. I plan on making my pushup days Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Everything felt pretty good this morning, but I know the program ramps up pretty quickly so we'll see how it goes.

Yesterday was the memorial run for Rick Gastelum, a club member and ultrarunner who died in a flash flood during a night run on the greenbelt a year ago. About 10 of us met up at the hill of life and ran to spyglass where we met up with another group, making about 25 people in total. We all ran/walked to the spot Rick's body was found. It is a secluded place off the main trail, and some club members had erected a memorial - a large cross with his name and a photo. It was very moving. I never knew Rick, but I wish I had - many people spoke about him with a lot of affection.

I fell in with Ryan and Carl for much of this run. They are both really strong runners and we pushed a good pace throughout. Carl is another Welsh guy I met on a Saturday morning run a few months back, and I know Ryan from the Rocky Hill Ranch race. I managed to get in a good 14 miles, which I was happy with and was not tempted to go back for more.

Then this morning I was supposed to meet up with some folks to do a hilly road run at 5am, but I overslept and missed it - whoops. I did show up for the trail portion of the run at 7am and got a lot of stick for my non-appearance. We did a double Ken's loop and it was hot, humid and still. Did the second loop with Gabe and Henry and we had a good time - it was the last big weekend of running for both of them before the Headlands 100, which looks like a really nice race. Maybe one for next year?

In completely unrelated news, I made a loaf of "son of the bitch" bread last night from my sourdough starter. This starter has been a lot more successful than my other one, and the bread was very flavorful. I reproofed the rest of the starter and fed it some more this morning to make pizza dough for tonight. The remainder will be fed again and refrigerated. I will post pictures later.

And finally, a quick mention of cricket, the official summer sport of us Brits. I've been listening to the England v South Africa test match on the internet. Just when we thought England were coasting to victory, the South African batsmen put up a real fight to save the game. This is good test match cricket, and I like the South Africans - they have some interesting characters.