It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

Christmas season is now upon us, and I'm pumped! I love everything about Christmas including the food, music, movies, and especially the Christmas message being preached at church. I have my Christmas lights up and running as well as my tree.

Tomorrow I go back to the doctor for (hopefully) my final check up. I'm sure they'll put me through torturous physical therapy, and I hope to pass with flying colours. I am going to ask about the tendonitis in my knee as well just to make sure that it's nothing big. I wouldn't mind if I had to go to therapy here in Huntsville a few more times just to help it to go away.

Lastly, I got in three good rides--Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I really enjoyed each of them and my average for each one increased each day (17.4, 17.6, 18.0). I really hope to start swimming this week if all goes well with my doctor's appointment.

Walking for fitness

I never thought at 28 years old that I would have to start walking in order to start running. I have been doing research lately on getting back to running after injury, and the program I have adopted involves walking and running mixtures all the way up until I can run 20 minutes straight. I have walked 3-4 times already over the past two weeks, and although it takes a long time to go a mile, it is rewarding to sweat again (even though it's much less than when running). The program I'm starting says that if I can walk 45-60 minutes with no pain, then I'm ready to begin the run/walk mix. I go back to the doctor (hopefully to be released) next Monday, 12/1, and after that I plan to get back to my normal exercise routine--albeit with much less miles on my body to this point.

Only a few more days until Christmas music can begin!!!

The Price is Right!!

I was sitting around on Wednesday morning wondering how much stupidity should cost a person. Rather than performing some statistical analysis, I decided to run into my garage door with my truck and see for myself what the price was. I found at that $120 was the going price in Limestone County, Al for stupidity.

Somehow on Wednesday morning, as I was backing out of the garage, the door malfunctioned and stopped about 3/4th's of the way up. Since I had no reason to expect this to be the case, I started backing up and was met with a horrible screeching sound. To which, I proceede to move back forward into the garage and get out to survey the damage. Since it was 5:40 a.m., there was a shortage of onlookers (thank goodness). I quickly bent the door back inwards so that I could close it manually. I then called the repair place when they opened and $120 later it was fixed. Needless to say, I'd rather of bought a Christmas present with that money.

Thanksgiving food

I really don't know if it gets much better than Thanksgiving food. I made two sweet potato pies today, and I can't wait to get into them. Then there's turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie, etc. The list goes on and so does the appetite. I have a work lunch on Thursday this week, and I'm excited to start the Thanksgiving food a week early.

On another note, I rode my bike over the weekend a few times and it seemed to go fairly well. I rode today for 30 minutes, but it was COLD! I checked the wind chill when I got back and it was 28 degrees. Thank goodness for windproof tights, toe covers, windproof gloves...

Artic blast

Tomorrow's weather around here is for an artic blast of cold--especially for Alabama standards. I am planning on getting in an hour of cycling and maybe 20-25 minutes of walking. I have a goal to run a 5K on December 20th (Rudolph Run in Huntsville), but I want to start preparing slowly. I will probably walk for a week or so in preparation for a run/walk mix. All the while, I'm continuing to ride and do strength training for my knee.

Knee update

Today I went to physical therapy for my re-evaluation. It took a long while (1.5 hours in total) to do, but in the end, the therapist still wanted to see me for a few more visits. While I might have been upset with this news, I actually welcomed it because I know when I go to the doctor on Dec. 1st, that he will push me really hard to see how strong I am. Therefore, I have decided with the therapist to go to therapy once each week until I go to the doctor. In the meantime, she provided me with a list of exercises to be working on so that I'll be ready come Dec. 1st.

Have any of you ever used a Bosu (http://www.bosu.com/)? I had to do most of my workout on this tough little piece of equipment today. I enjoyed the challenge though. I definitely sweated the most today of any day so far. So there's an update on my knee and how its going. I plan to get in a couple bike rides this weekend (hopefully an hour or so).

Day before the holiday

Well, yesterday I got some good target practice with my pistol. We had target practice at my parent's house using the old pumpkins from Halloween. I was pleased with my shooting, and I feel confident.

I got in two good bike rides (for me) over the weekend. 35 minutes on Saturday with the rough wind and 41 minutes on Sunday in the frigid cold (at least for Alabama it was cold--30s). My youngest brother, Barrett, had great patience with me because I just had to meet him halfway since I'm not allowed to do many hills yet. Anyway, they were both good rides, and I felt decent as far as my knee goes on both of them.

Today at therapy I did some balance training (finally!!). I feel like I should have been doing these things over the past week already. I feel like my strength is coming pretty well, and if I can just get my flexibility back, I'm ready to rock.

Big day

Well, today was a big day in many ways. The liberal Democrats have control of everything now--thanks to the irresponsibility of the Republicans. Thankfully, I already own a handgun in case I need it for any reason (and I plan to get more).

As for my big ride today, all 20 minutes worth of fun at 4:45 a.m. I was mostly just spinning around 90 RPMs with very little pressure on the pedals. However, this is only the beginning of a big comeback for next season. I plan on riding everyday from here on (at least until I work to a point where I deserve a day off). I'm looking forward to the time when I'll be able to run, ride, and swim again (which won't be far off). I'm supposed to be re-evaluated at physical therapy next Wednesday, and assuming I pass everything it's back to normal for me.

I have been listening to a POWERFUL song this week that I hope anyone needing hope of things to come can rely on. The song is Midnight Cry. It is sang by many folks, but I have the one from the Gold City album. If you know the song, I'm sure you'd agree it is powerful. If not, check it out.

Election Day

Well, today is a big day in the history of our country. There is a fork in the road and we must choose one way or another. In elections past, there was not much difference in the paths the country would go depending on who won. However, this year I believe there are significant differences, and as a Christian I believe that I will have to answer for what I've done here on earth (and that includes voting for a person who knowingly supports killing unborn and sometimes born children).

On a lighter note, the doctor has allowed me to begin riding my bike this week (tomorrow is the first day) for about 20 minutes at a time. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope all goes well with it. Although I'm extremely excited to get back on the bike, I am a bit apprehensive to really push down on the pedal with much force on my surgically-enhanced knee.