Early Hibernation?

Did I sleep through the Fall season? It's been like 50 degrees and cloudy for the last 3 days. I like cold weather but not seeing the sun has got me going into hibernation mode. I just want to build a fire in the fireplace and read a good book instead of getting in the suggested 6 hours of weekly training the OMTP calls for.

With that being said I did manage to log almost 8 hours of training last week. Some of it in the gym but the majority was logged on the bike. Long rides with the crew the weekend before and a relaxed ride with WB this past weekend meant 5.5 hours pedaling for the week. That combined with the weather and another damn house fire at 3:30 am Sunday morning has me on the lazy side this week.

The Higher Ground Christmas party Sunday night was a perfect way to start the season. No family pressure, just friends enjoying free pizza and beer. Looking in the mirror behind the bar I realized I was one of the few "mature" folks in the crowd. Doug's dad who's in his 70s was there, as well as Mike's dad who just has me beat by a couple of years. I'm not sure how old Roger is but I suspect we're close to the same age. So in a room with probably 50 people, old guys were a minority. Of course in that crowd there were quite a few "different" characters. Some men with ear rings, some dressed very GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly), some short and loud, some with funny hats. I wish I had taken my camera.

Speaking of cameras, the latest issue of Outside magazine came in the mail yesterday and had an article on the Heroes of Iron Man. No, not the movie, the Hawaiian Iron Man. Along with the requisite pictures of skinny, hairless, 30 year olds there was a picture of a gentlemen who had finished the last 10 Iron Man races. He is 81. Now that's what I'm talking about! Who gives a crap about somebody in their 30s. Heck at that age you should be able to do that kind of stuff. But a dude in his 80s finishing an Iron Man? Now that dude is in a minority!

Oh, and after I finished typing this the sun came out! You're welcome.

Disclaimer: any reference to any persons living or dead is a coincidence

Reading

I love to read. I can tell just by talking to a person for a while if they're a reader. I'll read most anything. If you blog, I'll read it, I don't care if you can write or not. You're the same way. You want proof? You're reading this aren't you? Daily I look forward to reading the blogs that I follow, even though most of them only get updated occasionally.

I guess what brought this to mind is my recent purchase of two books, the first is titled "Sh*t My Dad Says" which has got to be the funniest book I've read in years, and the other is the new Stephen King novel (I can't remember the title right now). I already finished the first book and lent it to Big Worm last night. He's a reader, I could tell by his deep personality.

The Stephen King book is huge and I've just gotten into it. It's about time travel, I know, that's hard to get your mind around, but King is a master at it. He takes you from the present to 1958. A place where everybody smokes and the air in the cities smells bad, but if you wanted a job you had one, the public school system was working, and the country was riding a wave of prosperity. Am I (he) looking through rose colored glasses? Probably, but you have to admit it sounds good. Heck I was only 2 years old in 1958 so what do I know?

The Old Man Training Plan (OMTP) is off to a rocky start. I'm supposed to be doing lite effort rides except for one moderate effort on the weekend. The last 4 rides have been at a moderate to hard effort. I blame all the crew, each has had his turn trying to see if they can blow the ride up, then complaining because it was too hard. They'll be sorry when I have to start riding by myself.

According to my training guide older athletes (yes, that's me) should spend more time building and maintaining strength, which means more time in the gym. So far I'm enjoying my workouts. I'm the most buff person in the gym most of the time. Remember, this is in beautiful downtown Havana, so the clientele may be a little different than in your local gym. I've started back running and hope to get back to 5k shape. It's amazing how quickly it goes away when you stop using it.

The Havana Health and Fitness Center.

The hard rides combined with two back to back structure fires have left me sore. I'm the Assistant Chief of the Havana Volunteer Fire Department, and unless you've done it, you don't realize how much work pulling hose in 50+ pounds of bunker gear is. Both fires took us 3+ hours to put out. Anyhoo it's just something I do for my fellow man. Feeling pretty good about myself today aren't I?