44 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...
It's been 7 days since I've been on the blog - WOW! I need to add some entries for some workouts, some photos and some commentary so be patient with me as I complete this entry :o) - COMPLETE!
Where I left off last was the day of leaving for Wisconsin to be with my wife's family for my niece's wedding - weddings are awesome!
The kids danced up a storm at the wedding reception and a good time was had by all. It is a great reminder for the rest of us 'old married' people to see the magic of love and hope in the eyes of a newly wed young couple. My 11 year old son Joe dived for the garter tossed by the groom and wrestled it away from his cousin - I don't think he had a clue as to what it means to catch the garter. Come to think of it I would say that a young boy catches the garter almost all of the time anymore. The tradition has remained but I don't think the significance and the meaning are the same in the modern era.
The day before the wedding my brother-in-law Jim Geraghty graciously invited me and my boys to accompany him to his health club, Gold's Gym. Michael racked up a big sweat on the treadmill, I played some basketball with Joe and Thomas, and did get in some weightlifting. It wasn't an intense workout and I didn't record what I lifted - just did a variety of bench presses, squats, lat pull downs, curls and other exercises for about 45 minutes. I miss my weightlifting and look forward to resuming it once Leadville is over.
I did absolutely nothing for exercise on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Part of me felt guilty and part of me said, "Breaks are nice once in a while - let the body recuperate." I guess I listened to the latter.
We spent some time with Joan's family on Sunday. I enjoy being with her siblings, their spouses, and their children - I wish we could see them more often. Unfortunately everyone is busy with their own lives and we don't get together that often. Fortunately we enjoy the time we do have together and I am grateful for these times.
Late Sunday afternoon we traveled west to the Twin Cities to see our good friends John and Maria Slavens. I used to work with John about 20 years ago. He and his family moved away a while back and we don't see each other that often but when we do, it is wonderful. The occasion for this visit was not one that anyone wanted. John and Maria's 19 year old daughter (Sara - pictured below), took her life less than two weeks ago. She was a beautiful person and had been struggling with the accidental death of a very close friend from a few months ago. Sara was a fun loving, kind young woman who served as a steady rock for many of her friends. John and Maria were delighted to learn at Sara's 'celebration of life' how instrumental she was as a source of friendship and strength for so many others.
While the circumstances were sad, it was SO great to spend time with John and Maria, their other children, and some relatives who were staying at their house. We had the best visit for about 2 1/2 hours and talked a lot about family, communication, struggles our young people face in this day and age, and appreciating all the wonderful blessings in our lives. I was amazed at the positive attitude I witnessed from their family during our visit. John and Maria have been reaching out to Sara's friends and making sure they know the Slavens' home is one where they are always welcome and a safe haven for them to be heard, valued and appreciated. In the midst of a tragic event, they have opted to honor Sara by making a positive difference in the future of others - I'm in awe of their strength, courage, and love. I pray they continue to be blessed in the future - they certainly deserve it. This Sunday late afternoon visit caused us to arrive home at 3 a.m. on Monday morning but I wouldn't have traded it in for an earlier arrival at home in a million years. I was also very pleased with my children who exhibited the kindness, compassion, and love that all parents dream their children would display. I don't typically make it a habit to brag about my children but I am proud and thrilled to express how very pleased I was with their character and demonstrated behavior on this very difficult visit. If there are days I wonder whether Joan and I have done a good job raising our children, this was a day when I KNOW we have raised them right.
So Monday was my 3rd day of 'no exercise' :o)
Tuesday we were back at it on the stairs at Bettendorf High School football stadium. We had a great group again - Curt, Lindsay, Gordon, Todd, Rick, and I. Everyone had their own workout agendas but Rick and I settled in on 61 sets of stairs. Not a whole lot to report - we did what we had set out to do - Mission Accomplished!
Tuesday night my very good friend Peter Witty decided to come visit and he brought his 2nd oldest child, his oldest son, Peter Jr. along. They drove out after Pete Jr's baseball game and arrived in the Quad Cities around 8:30 pm. Our family was down at the River Bandits baseball game and they met us there to watch the fireworks show afterwards. We stopped by to see the murals Michael had been painting for the last month. We came home visited a bit and set our plan for the morning. We also went to the backyard to show them our basketball court and Pete Jr. started shooting. My conservative estimate is that he made about 45/50 shots from all over the place - what a shooter! We decided we would go for 76 sets of stairs at 6:30 in the morning - seemed like a patriotic # to shoot for - birth of our country in 1776.
It was a hot morning - as it should be on the 4th of July. My wife Joan joined us but she did her own workout on the track and did some plyometrics. We had been running about 61 sets of stairs over the past few weeks but since Pete and Pete Jr. came all the way out from Northbrook, IL I wanted to make sure we made it worth their while :o)
I wasn't sure how much Pete and Pete Jr. wanted to do - not because they aren't excellent athletes but because stair training is the type of activity that one usually builds up to. I believe we stopped at 30 or 40 the first time Rick and I did a 'stair workout'. We've had a number of friends who have joined us for stair workouts and I can't remember anyone who did more than 30 stairs their first time.
As we started in our sets of 10, Pete and Pete Jr. were looking strong. We reached 20 and then 30. I wondered when they might want to stop. They wanted to keep going and I became really impressed once we hit 40. I had remarked to both of them that they earned the Ironman award - most stairs completed by any of our friends for their first time. Pete Jr. ended up going for 50 - phenomenal!
Pete, as tough as he is, is a US Army veteran and is still in incredible shape. I wasn't the least bit surprised he went the entire 76 sets. Rick commented that Pete was looking even stronger at 70 than he was at 50. We finished up with a pyramid of 5 push ups (25 push ups).
I was extremely humbled that my good friend was willing to drive for 6 hrs for a 75 minute workout. While I don't see him as much as I would like, I'm quickly reminded why I value his friendship and respect him so much every time I see him.
Leadville symbolizes many important things in life to me and I know Pete recognized this, thus his desire to make to take the time and effort to come work out with us.
I love this picture to the left! Pete wanted one last photo where he was taller than his son! I have really only known Pete Jr through annual Christmas letters but it didn't take me long to learn that he is a remarkable young man. Pete Jr is respectful, polite, hard working, and athletic - he is going to be successful in whatever he chooses to do. He has fantastic parents as role models. Some people are worried about the future of this country. I'm not when I know there are young men like Pete Jr. in our future.
The next day Rick Fountain, Curt Johnston, and I ran 6.5 miles at 6 am. It was a bit humid but the run went well after the two days of stairs and we finished up with 36 pushups.
It's been 7 days since I've been on the blog - WOW! I need to add some entries for some workouts, some photos and some commentary so be patient with me as I complete this entry :o) - COMPLETE!
Where I left off last was the day of leaving for Wisconsin to be with my wife's family for my niece's wedding - weddings are awesome!
 |
| Derek and Kathleen Ausman |
The day before the wedding my brother-in-law Jim Geraghty graciously invited me and my boys to accompany him to his health club, Gold's Gym. Michael racked up a big sweat on the treadmill, I played some basketball with Joe and Thomas, and did get in some weightlifting. It wasn't an intense workout and I didn't record what I lifted - just did a variety of bench presses, squats, lat pull downs, curls and other exercises for about 45 minutes. I miss my weightlifting and look forward to resuming it once Leadville is over.
I did absolutely nothing for exercise on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Part of me felt guilty and part of me said, "Breaks are nice once in a while - let the body recuperate." I guess I listened to the latter.
We spent some time with Joan's family on Sunday. I enjoy being with her siblings, their spouses, and their children - I wish we could see them more often. Unfortunately everyone is busy with their own lives and we don't get together that often. Fortunately we enjoy the time we do have together and I am grateful for these times.
Late Sunday afternoon we traveled west to the Twin Cities to see our good friends John and Maria Slavens. I used to work with John about 20 years ago. He and his family moved away a while back and we don't see each other that often but when we do, it is wonderful. The occasion for this visit was not one that anyone wanted. John and Maria's 19 year old daughter (Sara - pictured below), took her life less than two weeks ago. She was a beautiful person and had been struggling with the accidental death of a very close friend from a few months ago. Sara was a fun loving, kind young woman who served as a steady rock for many of her friends. John and Maria were delighted to learn at Sara's 'celebration of life' how instrumental she was as a source of friendship and strength for so many others.
 |
| Sara Slavens (1993-2012) |
So Monday was my 3rd day of 'no exercise' :o)
Tuesday we were back at it on the stairs at Bettendorf High School football stadium. We had a great group again - Curt, Lindsay, Gordon, Todd, Rick, and I. Everyone had their own workout agendas but Rick and I settled in on 61 sets of stairs. Not a whole lot to report - we did what we had set out to do - Mission Accomplished!
Tuesday night my very good friend Peter Witty decided to come visit and he brought his 2nd oldest child, his oldest son, Peter Jr. along. They drove out after Pete Jr's baseball game and arrived in the Quad Cities around 8:30 pm. Our family was down at the River Bandits baseball game and they met us there to watch the fireworks show afterwards. We stopped by to see the murals Michael had been painting for the last month. We came home visited a bit and set our plan for the morning. We also went to the backyard to show them our basketball court and Pete Jr. started shooting. My conservative estimate is that he made about 45/50 shots from all over the place - what a shooter! We decided we would go for 76 sets of stairs at 6:30 in the morning - seemed like a patriotic # to shoot for - birth of our country in 1776.
 |
| John, Pete Jr., Pete, and Rick |
It was a hot morning - as it should be on the 4th of July. My wife Joan joined us but she did her own workout on the track and did some plyometrics. We had been running about 61 sets of stairs over the past few weeks but since Pete and Pete Jr. came all the way out from Northbrook, IL I wanted to make sure we made it worth their while :o)
I wasn't sure how much Pete and Pete Jr. wanted to do - not because they aren't excellent athletes but because stair training is the type of activity that one usually builds up to. I believe we stopped at 30 or 40 the first time Rick and I did a 'stair workout'. We've had a number of friends who have joined us for stair workouts and I can't remember anyone who did more than 30 stairs their first time.
As we started in our sets of 10, Pete and Pete Jr. were looking strong. We reached 20 and then 30. I wondered when they might want to stop. They wanted to keep going and I became really impressed once we hit 40. I had remarked to both of them that they earned the Ironman award - most stairs completed by any of our friends for their first time. Pete Jr. ended up going for 50 - phenomenal!
Pete, as tough as he is, is a US Army veteran and is still in incredible shape. I wasn't the least bit surprised he went the entire 76 sets. Rick commented that Pete was looking even stronger at 70 than he was at 50. We finished up with a pyramid of 5 push ups (25 push ups).
 | ||||
| John, Pete Jr, and Pete |
 | ||||
| Rick, Pete Jr., and Pete |
 |
| Pete Jr and Dad |
Leadville symbolizes many important things in life to me and I know Pete recognized this, thus his desire to make to take the time and effort to come work out with us.
I love this picture to the left! Pete wanted one last photo where he was taller than his son! I have really only known Pete Jr through annual Christmas letters but it didn't take me long to learn that he is a remarkable young man. Pete Jr is respectful, polite, hard working, and athletic - he is going to be successful in whatever he chooses to do. He has fantastic parents as role models. Some people are worried about the future of this country. I'm not when I know there are young men like Pete Jr. in our future.
The next day Rick Fountain, Curt Johnston, and I ran 6.5 miles at 6 am. It was a bit humid but the run went well after the two days of stairs and we finished up with 36 pushups.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!
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