4 liters, two half days, drink it all and go in for the procedure.
I drank it. It worked like a charm. And, I'm going in.
I felt a little like Albus Dumbledore in the sixth book, drinking until he came to the bottom of the fountain.
To all (and I mean all) my loyal readers . . . if I were famous, I'd have this filmed on a reality show for the benefit of those who should do the same.
Have a good one. KipK
Monday, October 19, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Running to beat the band
I'm running myself into shape so I can train to run in the Mardi Gras Marathon in late February, in New Orleans. I will be running the marathon with my daughter, who lives and goes to school there.
We have run several races together from 5K's to 15K's to a half marathon. Now, we'll run together in the big one, a marathon. In our preparation, though separated by 950 miles or so, we will run using the same training program and will usually run the same exact workout, mileage and intensity each day over the next several months.
Today, we both ran 6 miles. I was actually planning to run 5 but, when she texted me and said she had run 6, I knew I had to go the extra mile.
The training will be good for me, working off some of the caloric stores I have built up over the last several years (last ran a marathon in 2006 - a while back). And, I eat better when I train because empty calories hold me back from having good, productive workouts.
I think everyone who has the interest should train and run or walk a marathon. It's a great experience that brings an understanding of endurance that cannot be grasped in many other ways.
Have a good one and good luck to everyone in the Columbus Marathon tomorrow. KipK
We have run several races together from 5K's to 15K's to a half marathon. Now, we'll run together in the big one, a marathon. In our preparation, though separated by 950 miles or so, we will run using the same training program and will usually run the same exact workout, mileage and intensity each day over the next several months.
Today, we both ran 6 miles. I was actually planning to run 5 but, when she texted me and said she had run 6, I knew I had to go the extra mile.
The training will be good for me, working off some of the caloric stores I have built up over the last several years (last ran a marathon in 2006 - a while back). And, I eat better when I train because empty calories hold me back from having good, productive workouts.
I think everyone who has the interest should train and run or walk a marathon. It's a great experience that brings an understanding of endurance that cannot be grasped in many other ways.
Have a good one and good luck to everyone in the Columbus Marathon tomorrow. KipK
Friday, October 16, 2009
smooth and powerful
Wednesday, for lunch, I went to the range and enjoyed the pleasure of smashing the ball with power and authority and precision. Each shot, with each club, was struck purely and flew into the air and down the range with a wonderful arcing flight, exactly as I had imagined the moment before the swing.
Hitting a golf ball with precision and power is like no other feeling I have ever felt in any game or sport. In that sense (sports), I don't think there is anything better. Reigning in the power of physics through practice and execution is so cool and so satisfying and so fun.
The season for full rounds on the course is likely over. The range, until spring returns, is where you'll find me.
Have a good one. KipK
Hitting a golf ball with precision and power is like no other feeling I have ever felt in any game or sport. In that sense (sports), I don't think there is anything better. Reigning in the power of physics through practice and execution is so cool and so satisfying and so fun.
The season for full rounds on the course is likely over. The range, until spring returns, is where you'll find me.
Have a good one. KipK
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Blogging from a phone
The official beginning of Fall is/was Tuesday, September 22nd. I'm not sure I have ever seen quite the confirmation on the end of one season and the beginning of the next as I saw on that date. The weather had been, up to that day, sunny, mild, mostly dry - a coolish summery trend, enjoyed for most of the Summer. Tuesday passed without incident but, almost immediately the newsweathermen began to forecast rain and cooler temps. And, the rains and cooler temps started to move in (sort of a surprise given the forecasters' history/track record).
Not to claim too personal a foul, my end of season league golf outing was played in it's entirety in a light misty drizzle with a few patches of harder rain thrown in. in case you were wondering, no, I didn't play well at all, struggling with tee shots most of the day, reaffirming my belief
that to play well you must play regularly (it had been a couple of weeks since my last time on the course).
Friday's weather was okay with some showers. The various forecasts for Saturday changed as often as there was a chance to change it. as a very side note, I played a round of golf this morning (having chosen to believe the "sunny in the morning" forecast versus the possible rain in the morning forecast). You can guess what kind of visible humidity/low flying clouds we played in.
As I look out the backdoor window, at 4:15 pm, there is a continuing light drizzle with interruptions of harder rain. I think Fall has arrived.
Personally, I like the changing of the seasons, always have. It's a little sad that my golf work for the year is slowing down, but, my running work is now ramping up. Enjoy the Fall and have a good one. KipK
Not to claim too personal a foul, my end of season league golf outing was played in it's entirety in a light misty drizzle with a few patches of harder rain thrown in. in case you were wondering, no, I didn't play well at all, struggling with tee shots most of the day, reaffirming my belief
that to play well you must play regularly (it had been a couple of weeks since my last time on the course).
Friday's weather was okay with some showers. The various forecasts for Saturday changed as often as there was a chance to change it. as a very side note, I played a round of golf this morning (having chosen to believe the "sunny in the morning" forecast versus the possible rain in the morning forecast). You can guess what kind of visible humidity/low flying clouds we played in.
As I look out the backdoor window, at 4:15 pm, there is a continuing light drizzle with interruptions of harder rain. I think Fall has arrived.
Personally, I like the changing of the seasons, always have. It's a little sad that my golf work for the year is slowing down, but, my running work is now ramping up. Enjoy the Fall and have a good one. KipK
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Running or golf, running or golf
In the early part of this year, I set my sights on doing a marathon in the fall. Specifically, I picked a fall marathon close to where I live and which I had run before with some success. The date of the run would be in mid October and I would train using an 18 week program. That meant, I needed to get into shape and be able to start training 18 weeks before mid October.
So, in the early part of June, I started the training and began to put in the miles and do the workouts. At the same time, I continued to practice on the range a couple of lunch times per week, played in my league every Thursday and tried to play two or three Saturdays per month. Along with the running and the golfing, I wanted to do some reading and writing. Usually, after a lunch at the range and a run after work, and then taking care of the normal chores around the house (cutting, edging the lawn, a load of laundry every so often, making a dinner - this was when my beloved wife was on vacation in the west) I was hard pressed to do anything more than go to sleep - definitely no time for reading or writing.
I'm not sure of the exact date of my epiphany but I'd guess it was about two months ago. At the end of a day when I did not get everything I wanted to get done done, I realized that I was trying to do too much. I'm sure that one night, as I walked out of the gym, having done a good running workout, I realized that I would not make it to the library that evening and I thought about what I was trying to do and my goals. I wanted to do really well at golf and really well at running. Each activity was very similar in terms of the time it takes to work on and get better at - about an hour or a little more each week day and multiple hours on Saturday.
Yes, I did want to run another marathon. And, yes, I did want to play my best golf and continue to make good progress through the summer and into the fall. Then, it hit me. I can only play golf while the weather is good, which, in my town is middle spring to middle fall. I can run . . .
any day of the year. Even if the temperature goes below freezing, I can go indoors and run on the treadmill. You can probably see what is coming.I decided that during the golfing months of the year, I would use most of my athletic/physical hobby time practicing or playing golf (and, I would keep myself in shape by doing a steady and regular routine of running 2-3 times per week). Conversely, during non-golfing months, or perhaps better said, the running months of the year, I would get into a training program and pursue a marathon at the end of winter or early spring.
The plan above gives the right amount of attention to the two activities I love the most and maximizes the enjoyment of each, without requiring a 25 hour day or 8 day week. I still have time to read, do some writing, and do all the other normal married guy things.
I'm working the plan, currently still practicing quite a bit at the range, but ramping up the running slowly so I'll be ready to train with gusto in about a month. I like the decision and the forward direction it takes me in.
Have a good one. KipK
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Like Churchill said
Once again, through the game of golf, I learned (better said, re-learned) an important lesson about stick-to-it-ive-ness. A few words of explanation:
Every year, around the middle of August, there is a local Columbus amateur golf tournament. It is flighted so all levels of players can enter and compete against their peers. It is a lot of fun and something I look forward to each year with anticipation of having two days of good competition and pressure and performance under said pressure (I wish there were more tournaments like it that I could play in).
This year, as the tournament approached, I felt better and better about my game. I was striking the ball well, putting and chipping well and just playing very well. Of course, that was my first clue that something was not quite right.
On the first day of the two day tournament, I got to the course early, warmed up well and was ready to go when my tee time rolled around. Then, from almost the first hole to the last, I played as if I hadn't seen or touched a golf club in the last long while (days, weeks, months, who knows, as Eeore would say). I struggled mightily and at the end of the day, shot a score which essentially, in my mind, took me out of the running for any of the prizes in my flight. Two of the other golfers in the foursome shot 4 and 5 shots better than I did and there were another 5 golfers with the same kinds of lower scores.
On the second day of the tournament, I again warmed up well and then for the first 6 holes played a bit worse than the day before (hard to do, but achieved nonetheless). I was discouraged and then, basically, stopped worrying and relaxed, since I was playing only for my own enjoyment and to see if I could execute shots the way I wanted and planned to execute them.
At that point, I challenged myself to bring things back to bogey golf. That meant that I needed to make just 3 pars in the next 12 holes. Almost immediately, my game shifted into a relaxed, tension free, athletic state. My next drive was powerful, straight with a slight draw, right down the middle of the fairway. I parred the 7th hole.
Okay, now I only needed to par 2 of the next 11 holes to reach my goal. Tee shot on 8 was perfect, leading to a par. Tee shot and approach on 9 led to another par. I had reached my goal in three holes, not 12. Cool and still relaxed, I played extremely well on the back nine, shooting a 38, just 2 over par (including a birdie on a par 5). Kinda fun, actually.
I shook hands with my fellow golfers (two of whom would eventually win 1st and 3rd place) and went in to turn in my score. After handing over my score card, I went to get a plate of lunch provided by the tournament sponsors and then sat down.
I looked up at the posted scores for the flight and found the lowest, next lowest, 3rd lowest scores. As I looked for the 4th place golfer's score, I didn't see anyone's score that beat mine for 4th. Not believing it, I looked again and then again, finally believing what I saw. There were four more golfers left in the flight who hadn't finished yet, but each of them had shot much higher scores than I had the first day and would have had to shoot under par to beat me. They did eventually come in and hadn't been under par, so, when the prizes were awarded, I was announced as the 4th place finisher for my flight. Cool stuff and a lesson in not giving up, in setting small goals and enjoying the little triumphs in life.
Have a good one and never, never, never, never give up. KipK
Every year, around the middle of August, there is a local Columbus amateur golf tournament. It is flighted so all levels of players can enter and compete against their peers. It is a lot of fun and something I look forward to each year with anticipation of having two days of good competition and pressure and performance under said pressure (I wish there were more tournaments like it that I could play in).
This year, as the tournament approached, I felt better and better about my game. I was striking the ball well, putting and chipping well and just playing very well. Of course, that was my first clue that something was not quite right.
On the first day of the two day tournament, I got to the course early, warmed up well and was ready to go when my tee time rolled around. Then, from almost the first hole to the last, I played as if I hadn't seen or touched a golf club in the last long while (days, weeks, months, who knows, as Eeore would say). I struggled mightily and at the end of the day, shot a score which essentially, in my mind, took me out of the running for any of the prizes in my flight. Two of the other golfers in the foursome shot 4 and 5 shots better than I did and there were another 5 golfers with the same kinds of lower scores.
On the second day of the tournament, I again warmed up well and then for the first 6 holes played a bit worse than the day before (hard to do, but achieved nonetheless). I was discouraged and then, basically, stopped worrying and relaxed, since I was playing only for my own enjoyment and to see if I could execute shots the way I wanted and planned to execute them.
At that point, I challenged myself to bring things back to bogey golf. That meant that I needed to make just 3 pars in the next 12 holes. Almost immediately, my game shifted into a relaxed, tension free, athletic state. My next drive was powerful, straight with a slight draw, right down the middle of the fairway. I parred the 7th hole.
Okay, now I only needed to par 2 of the next 11 holes to reach my goal. Tee shot on 8 was perfect, leading to a par. Tee shot and approach on 9 led to another par. I had reached my goal in three holes, not 12. Cool and still relaxed, I played extremely well on the back nine, shooting a 38, just 2 over par (including a birdie on a par 5). Kinda fun, actually.
I shook hands with my fellow golfers (two of whom would eventually win 1st and 3rd place) and went in to turn in my score. After handing over my score card, I went to get a plate of lunch provided by the tournament sponsors and then sat down.
I looked up at the posted scores for the flight and found the lowest, next lowest, 3rd lowest scores. As I looked for the 4th place golfer's score, I didn't see anyone's score that beat mine for 4th. Not believing it, I looked again and then again, finally believing what I saw. There were four more golfers left in the flight who hadn't finished yet, but each of them had shot much higher scores than I had the first day and would have had to shoot under par to beat me. They did eventually come in and hadn't been under par, so, when the prizes were awarded, I was announced as the 4th place finisher for my flight. Cool stuff and a lesson in not giving up, in setting small goals and enjoying the little triumphs in life.
Have a good one and never, never, never, never give up. KipK
Monday, August 3, 2009
word verification
Over the past several months, I have commented on several blog entries. With the submission of each comment, there is a brief process which includes the commentor attempting to match the letters of a wavy lined, word by typing its equal into a box labeled "word verification". Most or all of you know that the words are semi randomly generated combinations of letters. In this blog, I am going to attempt below to define eight of these word verification letter strings. Wish me luck.
the word verifications:
reweak
snyersyn
caltsyin
surnal
milain
memeoshi
supre
ladde
"reweak" - easiest one on the list - this string is actually spelled backwards and should read "kaewer", which of course, as everyone knows describes someone who does not have courage, spoken with a lilting Irish brogue. An example of this word in a sentence would be, "poor Johnny McMichael, he ran all the way home to avoid the school bully. He's a bit of a kaewer."
"snersyn" - inner city origin, having to do with sleep. "don't make any loud noises, Uncle Bob is snersyn".
"caltsyin" - a shortened phrase that has to do with a phone call and wanting to see you in a very few minutes. "I "caltsyin" five minutes in front of the drug store. Don't be late." Alternative definition would be if the person making the call wants to see the person named "yin", as in, I called to see yin or caltsyin"
the word verifications:
reweak
snyersyn
caltsyin
surnal
milain
memeoshi
supre
ladde
"reweak" - easiest one on the list - this string is actually spelled backwards and should read "kaewer", which of course, as everyone knows describes someone who does not have courage, spoken with a lilting Irish brogue. An example of this word in a sentence would be, "poor Johnny McMichael, he ran all the way home to avoid the school bully. He's a bit of a kaewer."
"snersyn" - inner city origin, having to do with sleep. "don't make any loud noises, Uncle Bob is snersyn".
"caltsyin" - a shortened phrase that has to do with a phone call and wanting to see you in a very few minutes. "I "caltsyin" five minutes in front of the drug store. Don't be late." Alternative definition would be if the person making the call wants to see the person named "yin", as in, I called to see yin or caltsyin"
"surnal" - unfortunate word combination of nervous junior officer, who, instead of saying, "yes sir, colonel", said yes, surnal (said junior officer was then made an even more junior officer).
"milain" - Irish driver's possessive of the road, as in, "get out of the way, that's milain"
"memeoshi" - happens when a singer is warming up and gets something tickling his/her nose, as in. " me me -oSHI', to which the polite response is, "Bless you", or "geshundtheit"
"supre" - very specific question to any person whose name is Ray, Raymond, JayRay, Desiree, and occurs when soup is the appetizer to the meal, as in, "supre, or would you like the salad?"
"ladde" - old English version of the very popular laddie.
Count it. Have a good one, KipK
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