This morning I awoke at 4:00 A.M. What the heck? I'd planned to "sleep in" until six. Well, nothing to do but harness my boundless energy and, after putting the sap on the boil, head out to the woodshed for an unscheduled workout. I've been going at it pretty good over the past few days, but I've got to say that I did receive a memo from my body today. It said, "hey buddy, gimme a break already." Fair enough.
I just got the good news that Max and Alice are on their way to Marshfield, outwitting the pending nor'easter, so I've got all the excuse I need to take it down a notch. Relaxing with the family is my one and only plan.

Happy birthday Alice! You are simply the best sister in the world!!!!!!!

Years ago Judy "Easy" C. said that Gerard "Iron Gut" N. was the "perfect man," and now I know why. Aside from being an all-around nice fellow, he's got the politeness schtick down pat. Last night we had a vegan disaster (it happens) when Cara made pizza with this soy cheese that had the pallor of a dying old man. Gerard, of course, insisted that it was great--though he did perform this interesting sleight-of-hand trick where he got Jake, who had already smartly professed to be full, to polish off half of what was on his plate.
Further notes from the food files: today I made my first batch of maple baked beans in the bean pot we purchased at the local hardware store. I don't want to brag, but a certain family member (who won't be named) has already run off to the other pot. Now that's high praise--and you know it!
Anybody out there have any other maple syrup recipes, send them my way.
Jake and I went for a nice walk on the Tanya Loop where we talked about everything under the sun, including his chess game with Chris where there's a time limit for each move of 5 days! I guess Chris just wants to make sure he has something to do when Alice sticks him in the nursing home.

A beautiful day in Machias as we kick off my mother's low maintenance birthday celebration. She doesn't ask for much, my mother, just a library card, a 2:00 P.M. latte and willing pupils of the art of swing dancing. Today she cut a rug with her grandson, and he sure is cunning. Of course, her lovely assistant Cara was right in the mix.

Cut and haul wood
The Lucy Stroll
Basement Yoga

Happy birthday to my Mom! She's going to paint the town red tomorrow. First it's off to the junk shops with Cara, then Lucy gets a woods walk. After all that excitement, what else can we do but eat pancakes with fresh-brewed maple syrup?
This morning I donned the 40 lb. weighted vest for the woodshed workout:
Squats 3x10
Push-ups 5x10
Pull-ups 5x3
Sit-ups 3x20
I asked Jake to pick the components of the afternoon session. He kept it simple, though not necessarily easy:
50 burpee pull-ups
100 double-unders
As I may have mentioned, the burpee pull-up is a compound movement of 4 separate exercises, so, in essence, we did 50 squats, 50 thrusts, 50 push-ups and 50 pull-ups in no time flat.

Peeps in the hoods. Think that's sappy? Well, it's going to be all sap all the time this weekend. Actually I think it's some sort of official maple syrup weekend, but we'll be keeping it on the down low around here in our wonderful little cocoon.

4 mile walk
Basement yoga

I had my moment. Clocked 51 consecutive double-unders. It's fun to reach a practical goal via the old P&P (perseverance and perspiration). What will my next strange little personal challenge be?

A.M. Pyramid (100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 sit-ups)
P.M. 700 double-unders

Tonight we eat vegan pancakes with Maine wild blueberries and our homegrown maple syrup. Then we'll get our read on--I got a nice fat book going--and settle down for a cozy night. Yes, we got a blast of wet snow this morning, but it still feels like spring to me.

A.M. Medicine ball workout.
P.M. 650 double-unders (personal record 40 consecutive)

Today I woke up with a bit of the Monday morning ugh, but then ended up having a day of many satisfactions. I got to work out with Ernie for the first time in a while, since he'd been away to Disneyworld; I felt good and useful at work; the sap is running like gangbusters; and, last but not least, I had a jump rope breakthrough. Oh, and I guess I should mention, Jake made a delicious dinner. He's all about the spinach!
Like anything in life, becoming proficient with the rope requires focus and the ability to relax in equal doses. Generally when you really want to get something right (like passing your road test) you have a tendency to tense up, which of course can lead to disastrous results (just ask my wife, who allegedly failed her road test 4 or 5 times).
As you may recall, my goal has been to do 50 double-unders continuously. Through a great deal of trial and error I realized that I wasn't standing straight enough, I was jumping too high, I was allowing the rope to spin too fast and I wasn't maintaining "soft knees." I didn't figure it all out at once, of course, but these are the things that I've corrected over time. I'm making it sound as though I've now reached my goal, which I haven't, but I am now confident I will hit it sooner rather than later. Today I did 36 in a row (my previous best was 15), and, interestingly, what stopped me short of 50 is that I got winded--and that's another thing that messes you up: a lack of oxygen.
But I know how to take care of that. No problem whatsoever.

A.M. 10 50 lb. dumbbell presses/15 push-ups (no rest) x 3
8 squats with 40 lb. dumbbells at the shoulders x 3
5 pull-ups with 40 lb. dumbbell between the feet x 3
Sit-ups (obliques, knee-ups, bicycles)

P.M. 600 double-unders

Like father, like son...


Cut and haul wood 3 hrs. (now that's a functional workout!)
Walk 5 miles

Had a little maple syrup party today. Shannon and Dan brought their kids over and we had warm syrup (right off the stove) on ice cream--well, actually, we had Tofutti and they had frozen yogurt. Nevertheless, I think we all had that good old timey feeling.
Earlier in the day Greg and I thinned the trees in the sugar bush, so next year we'll have firewood and even better future sap production. Beautiful day to be out in the trees, even though we were cutting them down.
Tonight we had Chinese food with Mitch and Renne and gave them a small bottle of our confection, so hopefully in the morning they will have an extra yummy Sunday breakfast. Plenty of syrup to go around, so don't forget to place your order.

Yoga (instructional DVD)
Run 2 miles
Cut wood

Lovin' it, lovin' it, lovin' it...

... but let me tell you, when I woke up and saw that there was a weather advisory for high winds, I thought nothing of it, until, that is, Jake and I went for a walk and had to fight for every step. I'm sure it would be a good training ground for Olympic sprinters. Resistance, after all, is the name of the game.

Oh, and I would be remiss, following my public display of bad unclehood, if I did not wish the future queen of couture, Celia, a very happy vintage birthday.

A.M.: Dumbell (25 lb.) squat, curl, press/3x8
Burpee pull-ups/5x5
Sit-ups/oblique, knee-up, bicycle
5 pull-ups/10 push-ups x3

P.M.: 4 miles in the wind-tunnel

This is my birthday card to Pop Cirillo, a fine man who sired wonderful children, one of whom happens to be my loving wife--so I guess I cannot thank the man enough! We had a most splendid time getting back on the Sunrise Trail (without skis) for our first walk of spring. Wish we could celebrate the day with you Pop, but hopefully we will see you soon.
Love and respect,
Your son-in-law,
Michael
P.S. Put me back in the will.

Today I appreciated the fact that I tapped trees in this little grove. It's right next to the house, which is a good thing when you're collecting sap in the rain. So I've done snow, I've done rain, what's left but the sun?
I have a new follower who is also an old friend who I have not seen in way too long. Mary B. is a beekeeper now, but back in the day, when we were roommates in the Back Bay, we used to go dancing in clubs and work up the kind of sweat that would make my current workouts look like child's play. Who would have thought we'd both become fuddy-duddys. Well, I speak only for myself, truly, but I know we are both finding our peace in nature.
Yesterday I jumped rope in between the times of tending to my maple syrup. My goal is to be able to do 50 double-unders in a row. A double-under is where you jump once but the rope does two rotations. It's not too hard to do one in the mix of other jumps; it gets more difficult when you do them consecutively, as it requires almost perfect timing. They really get your heart rate up, and are a core part of Crossfit training. I am not a member of Crossfit, but I steal a lot from their web site. I'd join in a heartbeat, except for the fact that the closest gym is a couple of hours away.
This morning I did 150 double-unders, but not in a row. I just did as many as I could, then started over when I messed up. I can do 15 in a row. It won't be long before I reach my goal of 50--that's a promise (to myself). After work I headed back outside to see if I could do a pyramid (where you do one pull-up, two push ups, three sit-ups until you reach 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups and 30 sit-ups, then head back down to 1, 2, 3). That's 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 sit-ups. I did the whole mess in 25:34.
How did I feel afterward? Elated and nauseous.

This post will contain unadulterated braggadocio. Viewer discretion is advised.

Even though I've quit drinking coffee (day 27, but who's counting?), I still have a use for the filters. This is the final step of the maple syrup experience. After boiling on the woodstove for several hours, we finish off on the kitchen stove, then filter into a jar. It takes a while to run through the filter, naturally, but it's worth the wait. I wish I could have brought this batch to Pop, Debbie and Eve, but they got stuck with the trial run. Next time...

Now for the bragging. I finally got a chance to take another go at the Military 1000. To refresh your memory, it's comprised of 75 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups and 525 squats. The goal is to finish in under 40 minutes, which I couldn't quite pull off last time. Today the conditions were better. I had a great partner--Jake!--and we did it in the shed, using our brand new 6 ft. pull-up bar. Time: 37:47. Yeah, boyyyyyy!!!!!!

After we were done we were pretty spent, but still managed to collect gallons of sap. Lucky we could carry the jugs.

Happy, happy birthday to our fabulous Eve!!! As you can see, she's still the Funny Bunny (what I used to call her in her toddler days; well, until she was about 16). Now she's a true redneck lady (that's a compliment in her book).

The food at Debbie's Restaurant was both sacred and profane. Pictured above is her Plant Eaters Delight which is, in a word: heavenly. Below you see Heart Attack in a Bowl. Those who partook looked mighty happy. They say the road to h-e-double hockey sticks is paved with butter.


And there's Eve with her pink fishing rod (which has a technicolor wheel that lights up when spun), given to her by her loving boyfriend Ron. Now that's the kind of guy you want to put a hook into (hardy har har).

Jump in the morning,
work all day,
jump in the evening
while the sap
on the woodstove
boils away...

Hey, is it not time for a POLITICAL DIATRIBE?
There was an article today in the Gray Lady about the impact of global warming on coffee beans. Due to decreased output as a result of higher average temperatures and crazy rainfall the price of the commodity has increased by 85% in the last year, less than the increase in wheat and corn (100% +). Everyone can see that gas prices are shooting up. And you can take my word for it that tuition ain't getting any cheaper. But you know what? There's NO inflation. Thank you Uncle Sam for your honesty.
But none of this is really my point. How is global warming not our number one concern? Kill the planet and we kill ourselves. I wanted to say that if you don't believe in global warming, suck on a tailpipe and see how you feel. But that's not very nice.
You might recall (though why would you?) that last summer when I went from the Mall parking lot to the trail at City Forest the temperature dropped by several degrees. If the atmosphere heats up in Bangor, why not the rest of the planet?
It's not my fault, it's not your fault, it's the asphalt.
Me, I believe in trees.

Probably the exercise video would be a good addition to flagging Birch Wisdom, but in the meantime Jake demonstrates the push-up row. He is in the up position of the push-up and has just rowed the dumbbell to his chest. This is a compound exercise, which we have found to be more effective than isolated movements. Here's what we did:
1. Squat, curl, press with 25 lb. dumbbells (3x8)
2. Burpee pull-ups (5x5)
3. Push-up rows with 25 lb. dumbbells (3x8)
4. Pull-ups with 25 lb. dumbbell between the feet (3x5)
5. Sit-ups (bicycles, oblique crunches, jack-knifes, knee-ups)

In the a.m.: 5 lb. heavy rope (10x40)
50 wide grip pull-ups

This is the view from the deck of my woodshed, where I jumped rope for an hour listening to the great music my Sweet downloaded for me before she set off for college. Praise the sun! And every day from here on out, it's nothing but melt, melt, melt.
That means that it won't be long before the trail is clear and ready for one and all. So I'm glad Jamie has declared his readiness (my interpretation); after all, what's a 500 mile drive between friends?

I bet a lot of people spent the day sneaking peaks out the window just to watch the snow melt. Soon as it's clear I'm going to go on about a 25 mile walk--and I'm not exaggerating. I'm hoping to walk from Machias to Harrington on the Sunrise Trail. It's a flat, straight shot, so if there are any interested parties in joining me for all or part of this jaunt, gimme a holler.

This morning I decided to break the routine of 3 sets of this, that and the other and simply did 25 burpee pull-ups. Then in the afternoon we did 5 sets of the jump rope fandango with a focus on the medicine ball. So it was jump rope/up dog/down dog, jump/squat-press, jump/woodchopper, jump/Russian twist, jump/push-up (decline/incline). Finished with sit-ups. Sorry about the monotony of the detail. Definitely time for a fresh something something.

Maple sap boiling down in the sunroom. Adds a dimension of pleasure doing the syrup this way (rather than using the propane burner) because the heat is produced by the wood harvested last year, while the sap is this year's gift of the forest. Not only that, you can sit back on the couch with a good book while nature does its work.

As the sweetness was percolating, Jake and I went out for round two of the slush walk. What's better than spending time with your beloved son? I wouldn't know...

What's that slung across my shoulder? Is it a new exercise implement to go along with the medicine ball and weighted vest? Well, it does weigh a robust 40 lbs., but we'll whittle that down in no time. It's locally grown organic rolled oats. I was so excited that I made some vegan oatcakes--oats, brown sugar, pureed mandarin oranges, apples, raisins and flaxseed, baked at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Delicious!
On top of that tasty treat, I brewed up my first (very small:12 ounces) batch of maple syrup today on the woodstove. I would have gotten a bit more but the sap was frozen in its containers and didn't melt down enough to pour into the pot. Never had to deal with that last year; not to mention the fact of tromping through a couple feet of snow to get the sap in the first place. The best producer is one of the large maples behind my mother's house, so I'm still thinking it will be a good season once the sun starts to go about its springtime business.
I had mentioned my desire to go on an old-fashioned walk, which Jake and I attempted, but turned out to be a 4 mile trudge through quicksand (wet snow) rather than a stroll through the woods. Well, the fresh air was mighty nice, and it made puttering around the kitchen and mooning over my maple syrup that much more of a delight.

Glad to hear the gospel of the jump rope interval workout is spreading. Thanks Alice! Not so much luck on the China Study proselytizing. I told some people at work about it today and they looked at me like I was crazy. One person said, "so you don't eat real meals?" I said, "no, we eat meals. Last night we had brown rice pasta with broccoli." Uh oh, I thought, I'm sounding like a lunatic--exactly what I was hoping to avoid. But let's face it: we knew all along that I would fail on that score.
I enjoy checking out blogs where people take on various challenges for a year (seems that most of them ending up getting book deals--but why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?) Recently I was looking at the 100 things blog, where this guy started a movement of reducing personal possessions to... well, I guess that part is self-explanatory. Cara and I have been getting rid of at least one thing a day, and I'm really looking forward to a less-cluttered life. Of course, it's important not to replace the junk that disappears with new junk. Anyway, people really like getting free stuff, so it's been fun on both ends. But don't get the wrong idea; I'm not looking to getting down to 100 things; it's too subjective; how about 137 things; or maybe I just use semi-colons until the end of time.
Other things not mentioned: in addition to giving up meat, dairy and junk food, I've stopped drinking coffee (day 17) and I'm actually still pretty friendly. In the past when I've tried to give up the bean I've turned into an ogre!

--200 pull-ups
--200 push-ups
--300 sit-ups

I have removed the junk food from my diet and the junk from my exercise regimen (meaning I'm focusing on high-intensity), but I sure would like to go for a plain old walk. Not that any snow will melt tonight, seeing as how it's going to be 10 below the donut. Come on, Grandmaster Weatherman, it's March for goodness sake!
Let me see if I can put today's workout (with my beautiful son Jake), in an algebraic format:
6x (8x30 sec.)=24 minutes jump rope + 8 minutes up dog/down dog + 100 squats + 98 push-ups + 100 sit-ups + 56 rows

Is pain really weakness leaving the body? And is it true that there is no gain without pain? And have I mentioned this bumper sticker bon mot?--HARD WORK MUST HAVE KILLED SOMEBODY.

This afternoon Jake and I did heavy rope intervals of 8 X 20 seconds with the 5 lb., 4 lb. and speed rope, then did the whole thing over again. We can't understand how it is that the 5 lb. rope seems to have a degree of difficulty far in excess of just one extra pound. I'm sure somebody with a physics bent could explain it, but all I know is that it sucks the wind right out of you.

As we were walking up the trail back to the house I said to Jake, "it's amazing how we only did 15 minutes of actual exercise and it's such an incredible workout." He said, "there's your infomercial." You know, like, "hey, suckers, burn a zillion calories in only 15 minutes a day." Kind of like the Thigh Master--but with actual sweat.

In the morning I did the plank jump side-to-side (8x30)--another real gasser. Then I did squats with the 35 dumbbells on the shoulders (3x10), push-ups holding the 25 lb. dumbbells with a row in the up position (3x10), sit-ups (3x until my stomach hurt), and pull-ups (3x10).

First-time exercise for me and the boy (come April 27 I'll have to call him "the man"): oblique twists. It looks easy and goofy (like a game of Twister), but you feel it. Part of the reason, no doubt, is that prior to this exercise we did 25 burpee finger-tip pull-ups. We also did incline push-ups on the medicine ball (3x10) and decline push-ups on the medicine ball (3x10), as well as one set each of the Russian twist and toe touch. In the morning I did 30 minutes with the speed rope out in the shed, watching the stippling sunlight on the snow.

Today, as I slid on the parking lot ice to my car, I saw a bumper sticker that summed up my life most succinctly: BOLDLY GOING NOWHERE