Busy Summer

Summer has become very busy all of the sudden.  The 4th of July weekend was jam packed.  I now need my work weeks to relax from the weekend.  Saturday I went for a 60 mile bike ride.  I thought it might be a stretch but I felt great afterwards.  I had been looking forward to it all week from when I invited myself along on a ride with Ron.  The Drumlin trail was a pretty sweet trail and it was a pleasant change from the Milwaukee roads I have been riding on. 

After that ride we scooted out to Madison for the Rhythm and Booms fireworks in Madison.  They are the "Best in the Midwest" for a reason.  I experimented taking pictures this year.  A few of them turned out pretty good and you can check them out here.  We left Karen in Madison with her parents so she could head up to theLake house with them in the morning.  Kt, Chrissy and I headed back to Milwaukee. 

Sunday morning I picked up Ike at 6:45am and then headed to Wind Lake to pick up a generator from Ron.  This is the generator that powers the Victory of the Lamb band float.  I did my usual routine of setting up at church in the morning at Showtime Cinema and then afterwards we had to take things down and get some sound equipment on the float for the Franklin 4th of July Parade.  This is the 4th year I have been in the parade and it is a lot of fun.  I don't have to do too much except make sure tha generator stays on and there is no feedback or harsh tones.

After the parade, we headed up to the Lake house to relax a bit.  As we got within 3 miles of the house it began to rain and became overcast.  Oh well.  I did sleep on the porch so I could listen to the rain.  It served a dual purpose of being good for my back that has been sore due to bike hunching and fat man running.

My running and biking are producing some results now.  I have lost 40lbs since March 15th from a high of 240lbs.  That makes my excercise a lot easier these days.  It also makes my clothes fit.  I still have a goal of 25 more by February 26th.  I'm sure I can make it much earlier than that...I just need to keep my level of excercise up in the winter months.  My goal was to be able to get to a level of fitness that would be fitting for a CC coach as well as match the charts as to what my ideal weight should be.  That would include a wedding and a 25th High School reunion next year to stay trim for.  I have been working on reducing portions on my eating. My goal is just to keep the excercise/diet balance going. 

In the short term though I am training for a 5K on July 24th and a 10K on July 25th.  Then we'll see about maybe a Bike ride like the Best Damn Bike ride or something.  I think the coaching CC at Hope School will make for a very physical fall. without trying to add additional runs in.