Word Of The Day Shorts

Cloudland-the sky

Rob had never fully understood the term cloudland until now. Looking out at the vast field of white that lay just beyond the airplane window, imagining himself walking along, it made sense. 

Word Of The Day Shorts

Today's word is umbra.

We sat dejected in the umbra of the bleachers, sucking down warm water while hiding the best we could from an oppressive sun.  The stench from our makeshift toilet on one end of the bleachers, in a corner boxed in with half rotted sheets o plyboard, wafted above into the visitor stands and down to our team.

Coach paced in front of us, shouting out commands for the second half as if we weren't already down 22 points.  The game was over, but he would never give up.

"They're over there in their air conditioned locker room, sipping ice water," he spat.  Maybe he was more upset at our conditions than he was the score.  It was always hard to tell about Coach.  His intensity, some said "carried over from the war," had a way of blurring the lines.

His never give up attitude, did have a way of infecting the team though.  Even in these tough times, you could see it in the eyes of the players.  A slight gleam of hope of a win that was already out of reach, whether any of us knew it or not.

I knew it though.  We should pack it in now.  Jump on the bus, put the windows down and enjoy all the breeze that 55 miles per hour down the road home could produce.  That would at east take us closer to a real toilet.  That would be enough for me.

That was not to be however.  There was zeal in the coach and it was pouring into the players.  Even me.  I could feel it pulsing through my veins, coursing through my body.

We would take the field, full of zeal, and we would receive the rest of our beating.  We would not give up though.  Shoes laced tight, helmets strapped on, we take the field.

Pet Sanitation Station

Never in my life did I imagine finding this in an airport. I suppose it makes sense in our pet friendly world though. They've got to go too!

This Week in Fitness 1-21-2017

Another week has flown by, and here I am contemplating the week and the things I did and did not do in order to reach my fitness goals.  There were ups and downs, but aren't there always.

All in all, it was an okay week.  I managed three outdoor runs and a treadmill session for a total of 11.5 miles.  The longest run was a night run outside of five miles.  The next longest was tonight on the treadmill.  An interval workout for 30 minutes and 3.3 miles.  Honestly, I would have liked for tonight's run to be longer, but treadmill.  I hate the treadmill.  Some days though, it is a necessary evil. 

And, I wanted to hit the weights after the run, so 30 minutes spelled the end of the treadmill.  Everyday there was some form of working out though.  Not always weights, unless you count bodyweight and I do.  Lunch breaks full of push ups and core work mostly, but there were a few short workouts at home.

That's really about it except the burpee streak.  The burpee streak continues!  30 burpees everyday this week for a grand total of 210 this week.  They're getting a bit easier.  The good thing though, is that even when I can't get a full workout in, I can get the burpees, and that makes me feel not quite so bad.

Tomorrow starts a new week and the goals remain the same.  Be as fit as I can be in the time that I have.  Prepare for the upcoming Spartan Races and life in general.  Won't you join me in the journey?