Fun game...still a bad team

Yes...I'll live and die Cub blue. A couple days ago I went to my 1st game of the year. That's right, my first. The biggest reason behind not going until the end of September is I'm pretty bitter about how the organization is taking care of it's fans. Since the Cubs are owned by the Tribune Company, they don't see the importance of winning since the ticket turnstyles still give them the big bucks they need. Corporate whores...so to speak.

At any rate, it was a pretty good game with some late inning heroics by Henry Blanco (affectionately known as Hank White). Oh, and as you can see, they were pretty sweet seats.

Bye bye Dusty...

Some work stuff

Just a peek into what I do for a living. I work for a staging company that produces conventions and tradeshows. I'm the guy that works with the clients to make sure they get what they ask for. Yep, I'm the sales guy. In the old days I was on the technical end.

Here's just a sample from this past week at McCormick Place.

Heart Walk 2006

My company took part in the Heart Walk downtown to support the American Heart Association. There were many companies represented. A few thousand people.

Good cause...good time

Nude Marathon Runner

OK, now that I have your attention.....this is only a joke, maybe some of you have heard it before....I would say it's rated PG-13

A woman was having a daytime affair while her husband was at work. One wet and lusty day she was in bed with her boyfriend when, to her horror, she heard her husband's car pull into the driveway.

"Oh my God - Hurry! Grab your clothes and jump out the window. My husband's home early!"

"I can't jump out the window ~ It's raining out there!"

"If my husband catches us in here, he'll kill us both!" she replied. "He's got a hot temper and a gun, so the rain is the least of your problems!"

So the boyfriend scoots out of bed, grabs his clothes and jumps out the window! As he ran down the street in the pouring rain, he quickly discovered he had run right into the middle of the town's annual marathon, so he started running along beside the others, about 300 of them. Being naked, with his clothes tucked under his arm, he tried to blend in as best he could. After a little while a small group of runners, who had been watching him with some curiosity, jogged closer.

"Do you always run in the nude?" one asked.

"Oh yes!" he replied, gasping in air. "It feels so wonderfully free!"

Another runner moved a long side. "Do you always run carrying your clothes with you under your arm?"

"Oh , yes" our friend answered breathlessly. "That way I can get dressed right at the end of the run and get in my car to go home!"

Then a third runner cast his eyes a little lower and queried, "Do you always wear a condom when you run?"

"Nope.........just when it's raining".

(sorry ladies, no pics to go along with the story)

Bayley & Me

It's Saturday morning and Lora is off to meet her training group on the lakefront. Since my running is on a bit of a hiatus (doc's orders), it looks like some distance walking is my exercise 'of choice' right now.

So I thought I'd take my new training buddy with me to a different part of the lakefront. It's a 5 mile round trip with some rolling terrain and one 60º climb for about 600'

Here's a few pics from our journey...

Can you see the house in there?

A babbling brook...

Bayley (with his Cujo eyes) leading me up the hill...

Bayley hits the gazebo first...tired pup

Remnants of Lake Michigan's sand and water...got his Bears bandana dirty

Bayley took this pic...he's quite talented

Well, he is a Portuguese Waterdog...about time he lives up to his breed
Have a good weekend!!!

Indiana Dunes

They always say a picture is worth a thousand words. And I just don't feel like typing 5000 words.

What's up Doc?

Yesterday I went to Dr. Nicola's office for my feet/shins/legs. Although Dr. Nicola wasn't the one that examined me, I was pretty comfortable with the staff and UIC Sports Medicine Clinic.

After a few minors tests, he immediately ruled out any kind of stress fracture (didn't even cross my mind actually...phew). We decided to start off conservatively.
We went over some stretches that Mr. Procrastinator will have to do...
- lay on back hamstring stretch
- anterior foot stretch (directly effects the top of foot and shin) - calf raises on a step
15-20 reps @ 5x/week for each stretch.
- hold off on running for 3 weeks
- cross train with bike
- long walks on 4th week
- return to clinic in 4 weeks

I asked about using the elliptical machine, but he said they do not endorse it because it is not fully tested as a suitable training aparati as a substitute for running. If you notice the elliptical doesn't imitate running per se. When running, you put one foot in front of the other. However on the elliptical, your feet run on a parallel plane which puts added pressure on your hips. As he was saying that, it definitely made sense. But he said if you don't have any type of hip problems, it should be ok as a limited exercise.

The last thing we talked about was everyday shoes and orthodics. Some shoe brands he recommended were Kenneth Cole, Clark's, Madden, Timberline, Sketchers and Doc Martens. I have a pair of Sketchers, but they're pretty torn up. Formal shoe shopping...blah.

For now we're not going with full blown custom made orthodics. He told me a few brands of sport inserts to choose from and we'll see how it goes...here are those beauties.

Getting There...

A couple days ago, we took a quick drive past our soon to be dwelling in Evanston. As of now, we're scheduled to move in in early December. We're keeping our fingers crossed on that and the selling of our house. Timing is everything of course.
We'll be on the 9th floor facing south (this is the side you're looking at). We can see Chicago's lakefront skyline from our windows which is a cool thing considering we are about 12 miles from there. Below is the southeast corner which is the main entrance for the residents. That's Lora and her son David on the corner.Within our building, there is a soon-to-be-open LA Fitness Center. We went into their office and snagged a membership. It's 54,000 sq feet and has everything you need. But the best thing about it is that we don't have to walk outside to enter the facility. So those nasty winter days won't be an excuse not to work out...dammit.


And now for something completely different...

One of, if not my all time favorite rock band is Queen. Hard to believe, but today, Freddie Mercury would have been 60 years old.

I'll always remember the time I saw them back in '82. His stage presence was so engaging that he had you in the palm of his hand. The only other time I witnessed that was Springsteen. Add that to his incredible voice and you indeed had a true rock and roll superstar.