I'm a bit tired again on this Monday, so I do some abdominal work in order to keep the lower back healthy) and then I go for a walk. I stop in at the grocery store and buy a few supplies. But then I turn away from home and stop in at Orchard Hardware to see if they have a heavy duty rake for thatching. So I carry my groceries into the hardware store (because I'm walking) and see that they have a good thatch rake. So now I buy the rake and I have to walk the half mile home carrying my groceries in one hand and the rake in the other. I wonder how this looks to people? When I get home I install some new computer speakers that arrived today and now I have great booming sound for techno and trance based raves at home.
On Tuesday I get out for the morning, make a golden presentation to our customer at Northrop Grumman, and come home. I stop off at the grocery store for supplies and see a ChiChi with a stack of food in his arms - he has no basket. He looks over at me and gives me a huge smile as he struggles to balance his purchases. Ruby is a bit under the weather and I'm a bit unmotivated, so we call off the ResourceScout meeting. Instead I grab the thatch rake that I bought and spend 40 minutes raking half of the back yard. This is a great workout and I'm sweating like anything as I rake. Unfortunately my hands give out before anything else does, so I relax for the rest of the evening.
On THursday and Friday I get out for cold morning runs before work at Northrop Grumman. And I have productive times on both days. On Thursday I come and discuss with Person C_T the contractors who have come over to look at working on the bathrooms. Later we have dinner and watch a movie selected by Person C_T that is...um...okay.
On Friday I get home and lift weights. Whereas on Wednesday I hit all of the "push" muscle groups, today I hit all of the "pull" muscle groups - hoping that a changed workout will shock the body into growth and relieve some of the stress on the joints. Both workouts are good, but my joints hurt. I guess it is time for a week off since I have other indications of being overtrained also. After the workout I rake up the dead thatch in the backyard and mow the backyard again. The backyard is almost ready for winter. Friday night is spent relaxing and winding down from the workweek.
On Saturday I get up early to do the laundry, fertilize the backyard, and dump plenty of water on the backyard. (Some people suggest that the fall/winter fertilizing is the most important because the fertilizer gets deep down to the roots of the grass after you have de-thatched it.) I get out for a great bicycle ride around the loop. I note that on the loop ride you have water nearby for three of the four legs - along the San Gabriel river, along the ocean, and along the Los Angeles river. Early afternoon I do some errands and pick up some hobby supplies to put together a little model of an idea that I have for work that could be patentable. I'll work on this on Sunday. And I get down for an hour nap near 2:40 pm. When I wake up I am refreshed - not hung over like usual. After a phone call or two with Person C_T and Person T_U, there is confirmation that nobody seems willing to go clubbing tonight. So I go lift weights (working on the push muscle group again) before watching "City of God". "City of God" is about the desperate living conditions in a slum near Rio de Janiero, Brazil. It is harsh and violent, but is based upon a true story so I have to force myself through it. And then it is time for some reading and early sleep as I'm turning out the lights just after 10 pm.
Sunday starts off with a good 5 mile run (per the half marathon training program), reading the newspaper, and final preparation of my site. The run is a strange one because I run through a number of "temperature zones". For a while it will be cold, as it should be in the morning, then I'll feel a hot spot that lasts for a few hundred meters, then it's back to cold. Just an artifact of the hot weather that we have had lately, but it makes the run interesting. Just before noon I get out cycling for the aquarium ride. It's a bright sunny day and its warm, so the shirt comes off along the Los Angeles river as I try to absorb Vitamin D from the sun. It's a great ride where I feel strong and the time for the ride is fast.
Sunday afternoon and evening is spent watching football, reading, and relaxing. I don't get in a final session with the weights because I'm just plain overtrained. Instead I get to sleep early but keep waking up every couple of hours. But I don't know why.