TV Still Surprises Me

"Fictionalization.  Do not attempt."


That's the small text in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.  Just those four words.  You may have seen this commercial but not noticed the text.  It's on one Blockbuster's new "Why wait 28 days for new releases?" commercials.


These are the ones where Blockbuster is attempting to compete with Redbox by bringing up the fact that you have to wait four weeks to get certain movies at a Redbox.  You know the one...it's the one where the guy gets bitten by a raccoon.  The raccoon hangs on his arm as he goes to the emergency room, where he is told that he will have to wait 28 days to be seen.


That's when the words appear:


"Fictionalization.  Do not attempt."


Really?  Really?!?


There's this squirrel that lives by my storage building, and I was thinking it would be fun to let it latch on my arm...

Good thing they warned me.

Redneck Sledding

Last night, in case you haven't heard, Georgia was covered with a blanket of beautiful white snow.  At Casa de Butler, we personally got 5+ inches.  It's awesome.

Today happens to be one of my regular exercise days.  The sidewalks are ice.  The gym is my normal bad weather option, but the roads are "officially unsafe", so I didn't feel like I could really head down there either.  So...options?  It's obvious, isn't it?

I put on my cold weather gear and headed outside to run in the snow in my yard.  Because of my habit of wearing shorts year-round, you may find yourself surprised that I own "cold weather gear".   Well, I do.  Here's the breakdown of my sub-arctic wardrobe:

• ski-mask (a gift from my wife)
• knit gloves (not the best for snow, but they help a little)
• long sleeve t-shirt (I got if for doing the Gobble Jog 5k)
• sleeveless t-shirt (custom, it originally had sleeves)
• Captain America Wal-mart hoodie (only for when it is sub-0 and I am going to be outside for an extended time)
• sweat pants (hand-me-downs from my buddy Don)
• tennis shoes covered with 1 gallon Ziploc bags, held in place with duct tape

I was absolutely toasty!

I headed out in the yard and started running around the yard.  It was hard work!  The snow had a nice 1/2" crust on the top that I had to break through.  I had run while it WAS snowing, but it was the first time I had ever run IN the snow.

I was only out there a few minutes when my son joined me.  We grabbed a big Rubbermaid tub, tied a tow rope around it, and BAM!  Redneck sled.  I drug him all over the yard.  The only problem was that the bottom of the tub didn't have quite enough surface area, so unless I pulled up as well as forward, the front of the tub would break through the ice and our sled turned into an ice-breaker.  That led to him getting dumped out on any corner.  

This just confirms that winter weather is the best weather ever!

It's All Mental...or At Least Mostly

Endurance.

Persistence.

In my journey to health, for each thing that I learn about fitness, I learn two things about myself.  Recently I learned just how much running is mental.  I know, for all you runners out there, you've known this for years, but for me it was something of a revelation.

I was running the other night and I started feeling a little tired.  I really wanted to stop, but I thought to myself, "I can run down to that corner," so I did.  Then I thought, "I can make it to the end of this street."  Guess what?  I made it there, too.

The funny thing was, I really wasn't any more exhausted at the at the end of the street than when I had that first inclination to stop.  It was entirely "in my head".  I wasn't actually close to any kind of physical failure at all, it was purely mental.

When you're exercising by yourself, and there's no one there to pace yourself against or to cheer you on, the only one that chooses when to stop, is you.  Or in this case, me.

What I learned that night about myself was that while I had been fairly disciplined with my exercise routine, I hadn't really been pushing myself.  Normally when I get tired, I stop.  I wonder how many times in my life I've done that?  Just stopping because I wasn't mentally tough enough to push just a little bit more?

"So, Aaron, what's the point?"

Mostly I'm writing this to just help me digest my own thoughts.  But, if this helps someone that reads this get past a little mental "tiredness", too?   Bonus.

Post Gobble Jog Update

Well, my friends...Thanksgiving has come and gone, and with it, the Gobble Jog.  My first 5k was a blast and I really enjoyed.  What a great group of supportive people I have around me.  There were lots of my friends waiting to cheer me on at the end.

One friend really went the extra mile.  About 200 yards from the end, Becky was standing on the side cheering me on, but it didn't stop there.  As I passed her, she jumped back in the race with me and encouraged me all the way to the finish.  It was awesome.  Thanks to her, I made my goal time of < 40 minutes.

Tonight, as a reminder to myself, I framed my number, d-chip, and a picture of me and Cheryl just before the race.

My 42nd birthday is February 10th (please, no gifts).  As a present to myself, I am signing up for the Marietta 5k Mardi Gras Run, benefiting the Junior League, on February 12th.  I've changed my countdown clock from the Gobble Jog to this race, and today it is sitting at 78 days and counting!

Thanks to everyone that has encouraged me, exercised with me, and listened to me babble on about getting in shape and the Gobble Jog.   One race down, a lifetime to go!

10 Days to the Gobble Jog!

Wow!  Hard to believe A) how long it's been since I blogged, and B) how quick the Gobble Jog is approaching!    We just got back from a 9 day vacation (with a little work in the middle), and we had a fantastic time.  We stopped at 3 different state parks (two in Georgia, one in Florida), got to see some great friends, family, and went to the Magic Kingdom.  If you want to see pictures, you can go here:

Our pictures from the trip.

I did 3 miles tonight, but BOY, am I slow.  I can't run all 3 miles yet, and my walking speed is slow.  Of course, I didn't really expect to be able to run it by the Gobble Jog.  I've still got a lot of weight to lose.

That being said, I told my wife that when I broke the 75 lbs mark, I was going to shave my head!  Sorry, Mom!  (Mom prefers my hair.)

I hope to run my next 5k on or around my birthday (February 10th, if you were wondering).  By then, my goal is to run the entire thing.