Normally I don't train in the morning. Especially running. I much prefer to run in the evening, it gives my legs all day to warm up. I think running later in the day reduces running injuries. There's no scientific data behind it, I just intuitively think it's true.I've been dealing with some important work related stuff. Last night I was looking forward to going to bed so I could wake up and keep working on it. I'm one that would rather work through challenges and get them over with. This is a big one.
To prepare for the meeting I forced myself to get up early and do a morning run. If I exercise in the morning, the endorphins take over and I tend to be calmer and more in a zen like state. It's a perfect state of mind to stay patient, calm, listen and deal with differences of opinion.
It worked perfectly, the meeting was focused and productive. I left work early, I was tired and needed to clear my head. More meetings tomorrow. I decided to go for a bike ride and it hit the spot. By the time I got back I felt much better. Exercise is natures drug.
On the ride I realized one of the best purchases I made was a front headlight. In the past week since I got it, I've had a couple of cars almost turn in front of me and hit me. In both cases, the blinking front light got their attention and in both cases it was during daylight hours. I think part of the issue is that people are not expecting cyclists at this time of year.
The reason I bought it was because I was at a bike store and they were telling me that 75% of bike accidents happen with cyclists being hit from the front, not the rear. I would have thought it was the opposite. What I do now, regardless of time of day, is wear a blinding blinking red light on my jersey and a blinking white light on the front. It may or may not help, although I feel safer than when I don't have them on.
I also ordered a SAD lamp off the Internet today. For as long as I can remember, from October to end of January I get tired, over eat and mentally don't feel as sharp. My daughter got one last year and it worked well for her, so I decided to get one and try it this year. It will be interesting to see if it works. Some people swear by them.
Tonight Alice, Reid and I went to the movie "Zombie Land". Not a good movie. I know it's not a good movie when during the movie, I start looking at my iPhone to see if I have any emails. Reid liked it. It is amazing how he can pick out things in the scenes that were filmed inconsistently. He pointed out one view where the candles were burning long and another view they were burning at half the size in the same scene.
Last night before Alyssa's 19th birthday dinner, I was asking myself "what I remember it being like when I was 19 years old". It was a brief moment, I didn't focus on it long, and couldn't immediately remember. We went for dinner and later that night as I was lying in bed, watching David Letterman, which I rarely do. I wanted to see his infidelity apology. At that moment, I remembered.
At 19 years old I lived in my own apartment on Edison Ave in Winnipeg. It was an older, three story walk up, in the low rent district, sometimes cockroach infested and you could always smell in the hallways what any of the neighbors were cooking. And it wasn't a real pleasant smell. I got there by getting kicked out of the house at 18 years old. Not that I didn't deserve it.
I came home from cutting grass, I owned my own lawn care business. We lived in a bi-level, and when I opened the back door, my water bed was taken apart and was at the foot of the basement stairs. My mother gave me the ultimatum to either start getting along with my brother Bob or leave. She thought I was going to kill him, literally.
At that moment I decided to do the latter. I picked up my water bed, put it in the back of my truck and drove away. I ended up spending a week or so on the sofa in the basement at Alice's parents house and then, unbelievably, Alice's mom co-signed an apartment lease for me. She didn't even know me that well at the time.
When I saw Letterman on TV last night, it hit me like a ton of bricks. A moment in time, when I was 19 year old, came back to me vividly. I remember it was October or November, it was around 1 am, I was sitting at my kitchen table in my apartment, my feet were up on the table, I was eating a large bowl of popcorn and watching David Letterman on a small Black and White TV on the kitchen counter.
It was one of those moments in life that is "seared into your mind". You remember everything about it, the surroundings, the feelings and the smells. I remember watching this small TV and looking out the window as the rain and sleet was hitting it hard and the wind was howling. I was all alone in this apartment that was furnished with hand me down furniture from the 50's, stark white walls and the cheapest pots, pans and dish's you could buy at Kmart.
It was a weird feeling because here I was sitting all alone and trying to make it on my own. During the day it was not a problem, I was with Alice and we were working, but at night, after I dropped her off at her parents house, it was a little lonely.
I never had any second thoughts or regrets that I did the wrong thing by leaving home, and it wasn't easy an easy road. The positive was that I felt empowered, independent and good about myself making it on my own without any financial help. I think that's why I remember that moment so well, " at 19 years old I was my own man".
Mod Run - 1:16:20 / 9.04 miles / 8:25 pace / 137 avg hr / 786 ft climbing
Mod Bike - 2:05:25 / 63.56 km / 30.4 kph / 131 avg hr / 1756 ft climbing
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