decipherable

I got a run in this morning before the rain. It was not a fun run... I generally don't run two days in a row, so it didn't feel very good at all and I turned back at the same place as yesterday. The last half mile, though, was at a sub-8 minute pace. It feels good to run at that pace, I just can't keep it up for multiple miles yet.

4.44 miles in 40:37 (9:08 per mile)
2 pushups
20 situps

I finished the run before the rain started coming down. It's one of those rains that isn't too hard, but definitely raining and not just sprinkling, and seems like it could go on a long time--sort of like a tempo rain, if that makes sense. Good thing my dad replaced the windshield wipers on my car while I was out running.

The pushups and situps are actually from yesterday evening. There will probably be more of those sometime today. My new philosophy is that it's better to do any pushups than none, so I'll just do 2 or 3 whenever there's an opportunity.

It turns out that in order to use the blog as a means of staying accountable, I have to actually update the blog. Sez some people.

So, I haven't been that far amiss in terms of updating. I just didn't do any workouts between the last post and now, unless you count about ten miles of hiking over two days or packing stuff into the car.

Today, however:
4.44 miles in 40 minutes. That works out to about 9 minute miles.
15 situps
3 pushups

Yep, that's pretty pathetic on the whole. It's a good thing I'm not training for a marathon or anything.

Otherwise, the intervening time has been pretty good. Saturday I had a nice brunch with a sailing buddy, went sailing in light air (ugh), and then played, of all things, Risk for several hours. I had all of Europe conquered at one point, but ultimately lost after a hail mary attempt to wipe out one opponent left me vulnerable to others. None of us had played it before, but that's a fun game if you don't think too hard about what it symbolizes...

Sunday, packed the car and drove to Vegas in absolute misery, because the air conditioner broke down completely on Saturday. This is what I get for listening to the mechanic, my roommate, and K, who all recommended just recharging the system rather than spending the extra cash to fix it for once and for all. Spent the night in St. George, Utah, and headed to Arches National Park the next day.

On the way, I asked a gas station attendant if an arch had fallen down, and he said it was Delicate Arch. So, when we got there, Dad and I hiked there first. It looked okay to us. Here's us with it in the distance:



And it up close:


Looking up at it:


The campgrounds were all full when we got there, so we went to town and took a room at the Motel 6. Dad asked the woman at the desk which arch had fallen, and she said, Delicate Arch. No....

So, on the way back into the park the next morning, we asked a ranger, who said it was Wall Arch that had fallen. We hiked straight past it while looking at some other arches, but eventually saw it... Let's just say that intact arches are more impressive than broken ones.

Tuesday, after our morning hikes, we drove to Golden, Colorado to visit with some family, and then yesterday we drove to Kansas, where it was FREEZING COLD (60 degrees) because of the remains of hurricane Gustav. Fortunately I waited until it was quite hot today before heading out for my run...

First: a big congratulations on the new addition to the Zaepfel family, Clara Faith!



(p.s. I just found a firecracker sticker on my hand. Anna will not be forgotten soon. :))

***

I've been inspired recently by a friend's attempt to remain accountable by blogging his workouts. To that end, today's workout:

15.00 miles in 2:34:47 (a 10:19 pace). There was rather a break around mile 3, since I ran that far with a friend, then stopped back at my car to pick up my water bottle before going on.

There's no question that training this summer has not gone as hoped, but I'm trying to just get my head back into it and try to do my best with the remaining time. I've been struggling with the long runs in particular, stalling out at a maximum of between 13 and 14 miles for several weeks now. Today, it felt like a faucet had been turned off at mile 13, and stopping would have sounded awfully good if it wouldn't have meant a two-mile walk to the car, so it was a slow slogging up the last hill. Still, it was a vast improvement over my last attempt at a 15 mile run, which was just shy of 14 miles and took 4 minutes longer than today. I'm still waiting for that euphoria that can come with marathon training, when you just feel strong enough to take on the world, but at least today I finally felt like I hit the groove, where between miles 7 and 12, it seemed like I could just chug along forever.

This past weekend was absolutely amazing: Thursday's trip to Disneyland was everything I could have hoped for, and I highly recommend going there with natives of Southern California, because man, they had that place down pat. We went to the newest ride (Nemo!) first, and then got fast passes for all the rides that tend to have long lines, and hit attractions with shorter lines in between. We'd gone to 11 or 12 things by lunch, when we hit the wall. Then, the next piece of genius was walking outside the park to downtown Disney for lunch--the prices were still abominable but the quantity of food helped to make up for it. I'm normally getting hungry within two hours of a meal, but I ate so much that it took the rest of the afternoon to start hitting my cracker stash in my bag again. The only thing that I didn't get to do that sounds good is A Bug's Life in California Adventure... in fact, I'd be hard pressed to name much of anything that we didn't do--the only thing I know for sure is the Tower of Terror, which I did on my previous trip to Disneyland AND my trip to Disneyworld, and that's no big loss.

Overall, I didn't really care for the California Adventure park--there are a lot fewer unique attractions over there--but Soaring Over California (the hang glider ride!) was a smashing way to end the day. I'd been a little confused about it beforehand, but basically you sit in a row of seats that rise up and hold you in front of a huge movie screen that takes up your entire field of vision, while you watch a series of film clips that must have been taken from either a small plane or real hang gliders. The seats move just a little and air is blown on you, adding to the illusion of flying. It's super gentle, and a beautiful ride.

On the way out at the end of the day, it occurred to us to see what our prize had been worth in monetary terms, since they recently raised the prices at Disney. A one-day park hopper pass now costs $94! I'm very grateful that my friend didn't just sell her tickets on e-bay :)

The rest of the weekend was also gloriously fun: the Long Point regatta. We sailed to Catalina Friday afternoon, up and down the coast of the island Saturday afternoon, and sailed home Sunday afternoon, with plenty of partying and swimming in between. I've told a number of people a lot of the stories from this weekend already, so I won't repeat them, but it did strike me how completely comfortable sleeping in a berth is--likely a large man would find it a bit of a squeeze, but the berth I had was the perfect size for me, and the movement of the water against the moored boat is so peaceful. I had plenty of time to contemplate all of this, as I lay awake listening to the snoring of the rest of the crew.

So, a great long weekend, one that someone could easily pay thousands of dollars to have, and one that was almost entirely free. It's like a dream.

This sorta happened this last weekend, I hear (didn't witness):


Don't get your bottoms too close to the winches!

And there are some days that this comic strikes a little too close to home:

Well, now that I've crossed the country twice in a week, what am I going to do?

I'm going to Disneyland!!

A friend called yesterday to say she'd won four tickets to Disneyland and California Adventure in a raffle at a cooking demonstration at Bloomingdale's, and would I like to go along next Thursday?

Of course!

Yay!

I want to go on the new Nemo ride! And do the hang gliders.

Jim Stigge was called to be with his Savior Jesus on Tuesday evening, Aug. 5, 2008, surrounded by his family at home.

Friends and relatives are invited to attend a celebration service of his life at First Lutheran Church at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The Rev. Tom Ramsey will officiate, and burial will follow the service at Resthaven Memorial Park under the direction of Trout Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will be at the funeral home on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. to greet friends.

Jim was born Oct. 20, 1944, to Chester Rollie and Velma Marie Drees Stigge in New Orleans, La.

He attended Trinity Lutheran School while his family lived near Gladstone, Neb. At age 10, his family moved to Ponca City where he attended Lincoln Elementary School. Immediately following his high school graduation in 1962, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy serving as a fire control technician on the USS Boston until his honorable discharge three years later. He attended Northern Oklahoma College when he returned.

On December 30, 1967, he married Trudi Eileen Schmidt at First Lutheran Church in Ponca City. They established their first home in Ponca City, but in 1969 they moved to Kamloops and then to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, in Canada, where he earned a license and was employed as a journeyman auto mechanic. The family returned to Ponca City in 1976.

In 2004 he retired as a welder (metallurgy) from ConocoPhillips. He pursued a private CNC Cutting business until he became ill. Just prior to that, he was commissioned as a Laborer for Christ, an organization of retired Lutheran Christians who construct church and school buildings/additions throughout the U.S. During his treatments for illness, he served for five months as a laborer in New Orleans helping with Hurricane Katrina restoration. His ability to help in this capacity fulfilled a compulsive desire and dream of his.

Jim was baptized, raised, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He served as church council president and later as treasurer in British Columbia congregations. At First Lutheran, he had held the position of property maintenance chairperson and later also served as an elder.

Along with his wife, he was an active participant in several different Bible study groups and enjoyed ministering to the elderly and shut-in congregational members.

Jim's hobbies were hunting and fishing, as well as camping with his wife and children especially during their residency in British Columbia. He was an assistant Boy Scout leader and a member of the VFW and the American Legion. Traveling with his wife was one of his more recent favorite pastimes, and he seized every opportunity to spend time with his children and two grandchildren. "Pop" (Grandpa) became a favorite and treasured title.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Trudi; a son Jared Kent of Anchorage, Alaska; a daughter, Dayle Marie-Lydia Stevens and husband Jeff of Twin Falls, Idaho; and two precious granddaughters, Lydia Ranais Stevens and Allie Marie Stevens of Idaho. He is also survived by two brothers, Al and wife Judy of Winfield, Kan., as well as Jerry and wife Mary of Wichita, Kan.; brother-in-law, Al Schmidt and wife Carol of Jacksonville, Ill.; sister-in-law, Hilda Fischer and husband Ed of Winnipeg, Manitoba; and sister-in-law, Maria Schmidt of Dryden, Ontario; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Dayle Patricia; his parents; brother-in-law, Gerry Schmidt; and both sets of grandparents.

The family requests that, that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in Jim's name to your choice of the First Lutheran School Scholarship Fund, 1101 N. Fourth, Ponca City, Okla. 74601 or to the LCEF, Laborers for Christ, PO Box 229009, St. Louis, Mo. 63122-9009 or to Hospice of North Central Oklahoma, 1904 N. Union, Suite 103, Ponca City, Okla. 74601.

Casket bearers will be Phil Collins, Gary Heintz, Mike Lyons, Dan McGregor, Jimmy Schatz and Jack Rawlins.

Honorary casket bearers will be Heath Cartwright, Rick Fritz, Mike McGee, and Dave Robbins.

Ugly Overload!

Oddly enough, this blog seems to have beautiful photos. I haven't really looked much at it yet, but would like to--it looks interesting.

***

Yesterday, I dropped a friend off at the airport. She was flying to Philadelphia via Minneapolis. Later, I had a call from my roommate, who was supposed to be flying in to Orange County that evening. His flight was canceled. He was rebooking on a flight into San Diego.

Driving to San Diego: the plan to take my roommate's car so as to use up HIS gas was foiled by his car being nearly out of gas. Friend with layover in Minneapolis called, stuck in Minnesota.

Roommate called again--a disturbing event, since he should have been in flight. Still on tarmac. Radar tower at the airport was just struck by lightning. (Evidently the people landing at about that time had an exciting time.)

I fell asleep on my former roommate's couch in San Diego. Woke up to phone call: my flight this morning is canceled. Drove to the airport, arriving around one. Found current roommate and left around 1:30 a.m. Arrived home around 3.

Finally spoke to a human being at United airlines at 3:45-ish. Confirmed new flight around 4, to leave tomorrow morning. Sleep, blessed sleep, was elusive--by then, I'd been struggling so hard to stay awake for so long that it was difficult to realize that I really could just sleep.

Woke up at 9 a.m. Phone call from Orbitz, saying that my flight from Denver east was on-time. Wonder how they expected me to catch it.

I think my friend finally made it to Philadelphia by now. My roommate is at work. I am sleepy.