As soon as the school buses pulled out of the parking lot, I practically ran out of the building. All I could think about was getting out for a ski. Shimmering sun and perfect snow--"the way life should be," as they say here in the Pine Tree State. I thought about how, given the choice, I'd rather ski on a crisp winter day then lay on the beach in the hot summer sun. But then, in the big scheme of things, I suppose one complements the other. Having said all that, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't rather be trekking in Nepal!!! O Camille, you have so much to share.
Sad, really, how little I've traveled. Partly because I'm a garden-variety agoraphobe, partly because we didn't have the means while raising our beautiful children, and now partly because my wife will not get on a plane.
Still, you never know, and in the meantime: happy happy trails!

There used to be a restaurant called Dojo's in the East Village where I would go and eat crunchy vegetables (broccoli, etc.) on wild rice. It was pretty much my favorite meal and it came into my mind because that's basically what I made tonight for dinner. You see, I was always meant to be a plant eater.
This morning I did a woodshed workout variation (bicycle pull-ups, push-ups, knee-up crunches and kettlebell curls) in the 5 degree chill. We really weren't cold though--so long as you keep moving and stay out of the wind, you're good to go. And of course our workout facility is a practical palace. One other note: Ernie and I could actually see each other without need of our headlamps. So I reiterate: Spring is coming.
Jump rope in the afternoon for 45 minutes. But I'm not saying it's 45 minutes non-stop. I'm constantly getting the rope tangled up in my big feet. I have fun, and I get sweaty, but I'm no Muhammad Ali.

This here is the junk food for plant eaters. Fat avocado, sweet potato fries and tofu fingers? And don't forget the twist of lemon. See, whether she's cooking a chicken until even the thought of salmonella has been pulverized (the kids used to call it "mom's sawdust chicken") or cooking up the health food like it's fish'n chips, my wife has got her wily ways. Does this sound like an early Valentine--or will I be sleeping on the couch tonight?
We had a two-hour delay this morning, so I spent a bit of time sitting in front of the fire reading the awesome book--On the Wild Edge--that Stan loaned me (he seems to have replaced my mother as the librarian to the stars), then hit the elliptical with the weighted vest for a 30 minute sweat frenzy before work.
In the afternoon I did a workout I happened across on YouTube called the Military 1000. It consists of 75 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups and 525 squats. The guy in the video said you're pretty much kickin' it if you complete it in 40 minutes, so of course that is what I shot for. Excuses: I did two bodyweight workouts yesterday, which slowed me down on the pull-ups--and didn't really help with the sit-ups either. Also, I'm so stupid that I ended up doing 600 squats, 75 more than required, because it's tough to do basic math when you can't breathe. At any rate, when I stopped my chronograph it was at 43 minutes. Subtracting the extra squats puts me (I would guess) at about 41 minutes. Obviously the thing to do is try again when I've had a day off from the strength training. I'll nail it: no doubt.
It occurs to me that this is probably beyond tedious; so, again, I apologize. But let me tell you how it helps me. When I did the woodshed workout with the heavy rope yesterday, I was surprised at how hard it felt, since I didn't recall it causing me so much difficulty the last time I did it. I figured it was just because I've been sick. But when I looked at the post in this blog where I last did the workout, I discovered that I'd only done 20 reps with the heavy rope between each set, whereas yesterday I did 30. So it felt harder because it was harder.
You don't give a flying banana, do you? I don't blame you, but, hey, thanks for stopping by.

Rolled out of bed and into some rolled oats with cranberries and bananas. Fortified and ready for the day! Did the woodshed workout with Ernie where we talked about this summer's big hike: the 100 Mile Wilderness. As its name suggests, it's the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail, and I'm chomping at the bit to get out there.
This afternoon I had a more agita-inducing session. It was Woodshed Workout II, where I did all the same stuff as this morning (3 sets: 20 push-ups, 10 pull-ups, 30 crunches) but with a set of 30 reps of the 5 lb. heavy rope between each set of the body weight exercises. That means when you're getting into position to do the pull-ups--which are already tough enough--you're panting like a dog.
After all that (which actually only took 20 minutes), I went for a slow snow-shoe that was just heavenly. Float on my friends, float on.

Yesterday at 5:00 A.M. I went out to remove the bonus snow from the driveway, then figured I might as well go do a woodshed workout since school was delayed and it was so beautiful out with the sun rising on the cottony landscape. Throughout the day I had a scratchy throat and had that feeling of a cold coming on, so when I got home I did a power station workout and called it good. Felt like an easy day from an exercise point-of-view, but a hard one in the health category. By evening I was just plain miserable. My head hurt, my sinuses ached, I was sneezing and wheezing. It ended up that I stayed home sick from work today, drifting in and out of consciousness and having strange dreams. Sounds dramatic, right? Of course, it's just a common cold, but I'm a man so I have to put it in a life-or-death perspective.
Pride is what does it. I haven't been sick in a long time, which I attributed to my smoothie lifestyle, and it's hard to accept that my immunity has broken down to the sting of a bug. Plus, worse than that, today is the first day of no exercise in over two months. So, it's official: the streak is over.
Supposedly rest is good, so good for me, and I hope all is good for you too.

This morning I did the power station workout, then told myself to make no other exercise plans as I thought I might need to save my strength for snow removal. Lucky thing. I spent over three hours (in a morning and afternoon session) shoveling, woveling, snowblowing and chipping ice off the roof. Then I had to lean my head in the door and call out for reinforcements. So my lovely, lovely (who made the best muffins ever in the morning--completely vegan; yes, indeed) came out to discover the snow rose to the tippy-top of her head (and she prides herself on being tall--at least in comparison to her grandmother Esther). So, together we carved out an escape route--now when does that plane leave for Costa Rica?

Beans, beans, beans.
Where you been?
No comments on the life of veganicity?

Tomorrow will be a snow day, so while the beans simmer on the stove, I'll read the book--The Long Walk--that Stan loaned me. Then, someday, we'll go see the movie together, and afterward we'll have Thai food, and I will eat tofu, and I will be happy.

Tonight Cara and I did a nice husband/wife tag-team torture-fest workout. Once again we set the interval timer to beep every 30 seconds, then switched between jump rope and burpees. We did 3 sets of 8 minutes (24 minutes total). We finished up with a variety of core exercises. All in all, a nice, compact and efficient session.

Am I ready to wield the Wovel? Well, I guess I better be...