Goodbye 2006

It's hard to believe that today is the last day of 2006. It seems like time goes a little faster every year, which is less and less cool as you get older. When you are a kid, you want time to move faster, because all of the cool things seem to be just over the horizon. Whether it is going to junior high, then high school, getting a drivers license, going to prom, or turning 18 then 21, there is always a cool milestone coming up. Once you get older, though, the cool milestones seem few and far between. You start to wish time would slow down a little bit so your kids would stop growing up so damn fast!

That being said, though, 2006 was a pretty darn good year. Looking back, there weren't many groundbreaking events this year, things that really stands out as life altering, but the little things throughout the year added up to a very satisfying 365 days. On the negative side, I lost 2 grandparents this year, which means that after over 30 years of no deaths, I've lost 3 in the last 2 or 3 years. I've never really had to deal with death, which has been fortunate for me. My mom's mother died before I was born, and my dad's second wife was killed in the Edmond post office shooting while I was in junior high, when I was too young to really get the full effect. When you are that young, you don't really have a sense of how the people around you are affected. Sure, you know they are sad, but you don't really learn much from the way they act. But after Marjorie (my PaPa'a second wife) died, I learned alot about that side of the family, and how greed can tear a family apart. Sometimes, though, you just have to vow to learn from other's mistakes and be a better person. (Don't get me wrong, there is a certain part of the family that may very well get the finger when I see them again. I'm not THAT mature.)

On the other hand, when my dad's dad died this year, it brought me and the kids alot closer to my grandma then I have ever been, which has been nice. While he was in the hospital in OKC, I got to drive my grandma home a few times, which gave us 40-45 minutes each time to just talk, which we haven't done in years. We've also been trying to make it out to her house at least once a week (and not just because she always has fresh baked cookies). I feel bad that it took my grandpa dying for this to happen, but I can't change that now.

I had my 10 year wedding anniversary this year, which oddly enough, didn't seem like that big of a deal. Unless Kary knows something that I don't, I plan on reaching a lot bigger milestones in our marriage than that, so check back at 25 years to see if it hits me harder. My grandma and grandpa would have made it 65 years this year, so I guess I have that record to beat. Hopefully, before long, though, we can afford to take a good anniversary vacation, because I haven't been able to do that for Kary yet, and I really want to because I know how much it would mean to her.

The kids just keep getting bigger and bigger, and they have done so much this year, that I wouldn't even know where to start, so I won't.

The biggest change for me this year has been my discovery of running. When I started the year at about 260-270 pounds, who knew that I would end the year with at least 250 miles run, including a half marathon. Instead of talking about knee, stomach, and blood pressure problems, now I spend my time talking about intervals, running tights and cross training. I weigh around 230, my blood pressure is normal and my knees don't hurt anymore. I very rarely get sick, which seems odd because I'm used to getting sick 2 or 3 times a year. I had always believed that if I could get in shape, my life would be dramatically different, and it is very pleasing to learn that that was correct. If I feel this good at 230, how good am I going to feel at 200 or 205?

So 2006 was a pretty good year. But I'm pretty sure things can still get better. Tomorrow, I may try to lay out some running goals for next year. I prefer to think of them as goals instead of resolutions, because resolutions seem temporary. I know it is just semantics, but when you are trying to motivate yourself, sometimes you have to play little tricks on yourself.

So thanks to everyone who helped make 2006 a great year, and here's to making 2007 even better.

Speed Bump

My weight loss has taken a minor hit with the 4 day weekend due to the snowstorm. I felt like I had made a pretty good start last week, running on Sunday and Tuesday and lifting on Monday and Tuesday, but after not doing much of anything since Tuesday, I feel like I have regressed. On the plus side, though, the beard is starting to come in pretty nicely.

So I guess it looks like I am back at square zero starting tomorrow. I know I can lift weights at lunch, and hopefully I can run tomorrow night. I have the diet pretty well mapped out for the week after going shopping today. Kashi oatmeal, applesauce, yogurt, salad fixins, 15 bean soup, etc, should be the key to losing double digit pounds this week. I had originally planned on weighing myself tomorrow morning, but I don't think there is any need for that right now. I know I'm not where I need to be, so why bother.

I am starting to get a little nervous about the running, by the way. The more I pay attention to other people's race times (especially Aaron's), the more I realize how damn slow I am. I know that I will get faster as I lose weight and start working in speed work, but right now, that seems like a long way away. Some of that may just be panic setting in after not running for almost a week, but it still makes me a little nervous. The good news is that I don't have any races planned until February's Frigid 5 (I'm not sure if my wife is one of the 5, by the way). I guess we will see where I stand then. Hopefully, I will stand about 50 pounds lighter so the other racers don't run behind me to escape the wind...