Episode 1 is up!

I got the first episode of the podcast done and on the server. Surf on over to www.missionarytalks.com to grab a fresh copy.

I would really appreciate any input. I have listened to it a million times trying to get it going. I am concerned that there might be words missing that I edited out. Or that I put in a phrase twice. I stayed near my goal of 15 minutes. I think even I can forgive 2 seconds over.

I am pleased with it. Hopefully others will be as well. Now I really need to get the website fixed so that all the links actually point to something.

6 miles!

I got my six miles in this morning even though I was really sore yesterday and did not think it was going to be possible. I ran it at a 10:44 pace.

It was good to be able to get back on the road and feel like I was doing something. I remember after my last half marathon that it took a while to get back into it. I was much better prepared to deal with that mentally this time around.

The weather was great today. It was 78 according to the thermometer, but it felt much cooler. Completely overcast. I thought it was going to rain the whole time, but never did. Of course humidity was 100%.

Tilley Hat

Last week I was walking downtown during a big Tilley LTH6tourist time. I was walking with another “gringo” when we were approached by a salesman. He asked where we were from and I responded with the name of the area of town where we live.

He said (in his perfectly broken English), “No, you from Canada porque you wear Tilley hat. Tilley are originado de Canada.” I was instantly impressed. If you don’t know what a Tilley is, it is because you have never met a person wearing one. You can’t spend much more than just a couple of minutes with a Tilly hat wearer before he will tell you all about it.

They are pretty distinctive. I would say that I could pick out a Tilley in a lineup of fine hats. I was really impressed that this Mexican fellow would recognize a Tilley. They are not cheap and therefore I am sure that he has never owned one.

I won’t go into all the details of why a Tilley is such a wonderful hat, you can read that at their website. I will say that I love mine. I have the LTM6 model, which is the one in the picture (click for a bigger pic). It is comfortable, does not look bad after being sat on and really looks sharp in general. I could go on and on. They really are all they are advertised to be.

Podcast promo take 2

Well, if you did not listen to my 25 second promo for my podcast yet, you missed take 1. It is gone. I got some disparaging remarks from the ones who should love me enough to go easy on me. But did they? No.

My wife fell asleep about 15 seconds into the first version. When I asked Mom about it, her comments were something like: Don’t worry, you will get better in time.

So, it has been re-recorded. My wife heard it this morning and she has still not stopped laughing. But, at least she did not fall asleep.

On the other hand, I was pleased with the first version. But the second one is definitely more lively and I am glad the family pushed me to do better.

Sore. Ouch!

Wednesday I returned to exercise class (Tae-Bo). I have not been since the end of June when I ramped up my running to 4 days a week to prepare for the Phedippidations Half Marathon. Though I normally don’t like Wednesdays at class because we work on just the legs, I thought it would be fun to go in with all the extra strength I now have. Class went well. I worked hard and strong.

Yesterday (Thursday) my calves were a bit sore, but I did a 4 mile run anyway. Did it in good time considering that I was just going out for a casual run. Just under an 11 min. per mile pace. Then I stretched a bit and jumped into the pool. Normal procedure for me. It is great having a pool where I can cool off and rinse my clothes, which I then just toss onto the clothes line. The rest of the day was spent working on my master’s class (video) and doing computer work. I knew I was getting stiff, so I stretched every chance I got.

Today I skipped going back to class. I was so sore this morning. It took a while to get down the stairs. I have been massaging my legs and putting on muscle cream, but they still hurt. Needing to get out and give them a good stretch, we went to a park to take a nice long walk. We had a good time and my daughter wanted to do some running. So I ran at a nice slow 2 year old pace. Probably close to 45 min. per mile. Then my son (8 years old) challenged me to a couple of sprint races. Of course I had to beat him. After that I gave the legs some good slow stretches.

All seemed to be going well until the twitching started. Youch!! Throughout the morning and early afternoon so far I have had just an occasional twitch in the right calf that gets my attention each time it wants to let itself be known.

We will see in the morning, but I think my 6 mile plan for tomorrow will probably end up being just a nice brisk walk.