7:14

That's that goal. Lofty? Perhaps, but aren't goals supposed to be?

If you're just catching up, the Cooper River Bridge Run is this weekend. Although I've done it numerous times, I've never been in great running shape. I am getting better though. It seems that each time I make the trip I'm in slightly better shape. Last year's race was the best so far and I felt really good about my time. I finished in 47:03, which comes out to a 7:34 pace.

This year I have a lofty goal of breaking the 45 minute milestone. What pace is needed to achieve that feat? 7:14. That is the goal. 20 seconds per mile faster. That doesn't sound so hard... does it?

Wish me luck.

Idol - Top 10

Tonight little changed in my eyes. My two favorites had good nights, although Adam definitely edged ahead of Danny. Lil is still third, but Matt and Allison are closing in fast.

More importantly, the bottom three. No doubt, the bottom spots belong to Michael (oiler) and Scott. Joining them in the bottom three will probably be Megan, although I do like her funky style. If I had to choose I'd put Kris in the bottom three, but for some reason the judges seem to love that guy. I just don't get it.

Anyway, my current rankings:
(1) Adam "Jim Breuer doing AC/DC" Lambert
(2) Danny "hey I look a little like Robert Downey Jr if you squint and tilt your head to the left" Gokey
(3) Lil "not Little" Rounds
(4) Matt "I'm really not Elliott Yamin" Giraud
(5) Allison "16 with pipes of 25 year old" Iraheta
(6) Anoop "I wear 4 layers of clothing in the summer because I'm cool" Desai
(7) Megan "Funky Tats" Joy
(8) Kris "I just don't get it" Allen
(9) Scott "vote for the pink pants" MacIntyre
(10) Michael "I'm only here because I got tv time in the early rounds" Starver

The Glass is Half Full

After a solid week of warm weather, this turned out to we a very dreary weekend. It was cold and rainy and it would have been easy to sit at home and pout about the weather and being trapped in the house... but what good is that?

We had a great weekend. Since we were stuck inside, we found much to do indoors.

Friday Stacy and I enjoyed a night out. We so infrequently get out without the boys that it really didn't matter what we did. We knew that it would be very enjoyable. The night ended up being dinner at Arizona Steak House and a movie, The Watchmen, at Sandhill. I'd have loved for both to have been great, but one out of two isn't bad. In reality, I'd suggest you keep Watchmen on your to rent list (and make sure the kids are in bed before you watch it). It was ok, but rather disjointed. Dinner, on the other hand was wonderful. I'd visited an Arizona's years ago for lunch, but for some reason we'd never been for dinner. Now it's on our short list. The food was amazing. I know for sure that my ribeye was and Stacy claimed the same of her fillet. On top of good taste, they came cooked correctly. Nearly every restaurant overcooks their steaks. These were perfect. Also, the atmosphere was great (for night out without the kids). We will go back. You should give it a try as well.

Saturday avoiding the rain, we got the kids out of the house by going to Leapin' Lizards. That turned out to be a great idea. They played hard for 2.5 hours, while Stacy and watched and did some reading. Many other parents had the same idea. I guess great minds think alike.

Sunday I was supposed to have played in a golf tournament. Mother Nature had other plans. No big deal though. Cracker Barrel and EdVenture Children's Museum added up to great day with the kids. They loved it and raved over what a fun weekend it had been.

I love it when the best is made of a less than promising situation. Who cares about the rain when you can have so much fun inside?!

Idol - Final 13

I was very impressed with the top 13. Most of the performances were excellent, however not all of them lived up to the hype. The way the show began, I was beginning to think that they would all rock it. Alas, that did not happen.

I could go into a boring talk about each of the contestants, but I wont. I'll hit the highs and lows.

I have really liked Anoop up until tonight. To me he crashed and burned with Beat It. I hope he gets through to next week to show what he has, but he didn't get it done tonight. He could easily be bottom three, but based on previous performances I hope that he survives.

So who will go? Who knows how the voting will go, but I'll tell you who I think SHOULD go. The bottom three should be Jorge Nunez, Chris Allen, and yep - Anoop, with Jorge going home.

And who are the best? There are a few that were good tonight, but without a doubt there are only 3 that deserve to be in my top 3. My favorites.... I hate to agree with Paula, but I must... Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert are my favorites at this point. Lil Rounds rounds out my top 3. No others compared. Matt Giraud and Alexis Grace could be mentioned in the same breath, but really didn't hold a candle to those top three.

Work, work, work

All week we work so that we can go home and work some more. Isn't that fun?

I can't wait for this time of year. The temperature is finally going up, the grass is beginning to grow, and the yard needs much work. Today we started on that work. It wasn't just the normal straightening and grooming of the bushes. This was hard work. We have a few bushes and small trees that we have been wanting to get rid of so I attacked them. They're now gone, but not before being real pains in my as.... I mean, in my hands. They're covered in blisters, but it was worth it. Now the boys have a larger yard to play in.
Tomorrow we finish the job that is the yard. However, before we start I have some golf to play, which may be interesting with blister-covered hands...but I digress. The yard is coming right along and we should be at a good stopping point tomorrow. The yard work will be done just in time to go back to real work on Monday morning...

That's Heavy!

Doc Brown from Back to the future:
"There's that word again...'heavy' - why is everything heavy in the future? Is there something wrong with the Earth's gravitational pull?"

If I were to step back 15 years and see today as the future, would today be heavy? hmmm. I don't know about everything, but "I" am heavy. Why?
Blame fatty foods.
Blame super-sizing.
Blame the boob tube and my hours of lethargic reverence and over-all worship of it. Find any excuse for being overweight.
Pathetic.

10 years ago I finished up my football career. At my top playing weight, I was 265 lbs. On the football field that may be fine, but in the "real world" that is a bit much to haul around on a regular basis. I told myself that I'd lose the excess, and I did. The next year I was 225. I was proud of my loss... then let myself go. Not 18 months later I was back up to 250 and stayed around about there for the next 8-9 years, with random exceptions when I lost a few pounds before putting them right back on.

Last year told myself that enough is enough. I was set to lose the weight... again...
and I did...
again.

Strangely enough, 225 now is not what 225 was then. Meaning, I'm still to heavy. That was never more evident than at the Race Against Hunger. I was too heavy to run the way I wanted to, so I devoted myself to losing some more weight. My new baseline is 225.

After a week I can tell I've lost a little weight already. How much, I don't know. It really doesn't matter because I'm not going for a quick fix. I want to make a permanent change. I arbitrarily picked out a race weight of 205. I'd like to get down to that weight, but I'll have to wait and see if that works out. I really just want to look and feel healthy.

Follow-up to come later, but I'd really like to see noticeable difference by the Bridge Run. Wish me luck and hopefully my future wont be "heavy".

Idol, Group 3

I'm starting to lose interest in this season. It happens every year. Once we get to the final twelve it gets much better. That being said, there were some good performances tonight and the performances seemed to once again get better as the night went on. My opinions are not as strong this week. I thought this group had less differentiation between the good and bad, but for the record my favorites were:

Guys:
Scott MacIntyre (known as the legally blind guy that Ryan missed the high five with. Hilarious. And even better tonight when Scott made Ryan give him a high five successfully this time around. If you saw it, you know what I mean. lol. Oh, and his singing was pretty dang good too!)
Ju'Not Joyner (Smooth R&B guy that changed up Hey There Delilah).
Jorge Nuñez (sang Dont Let the Sun Go Down On Me).

Girls:
Felicia Barton (didn't make the top 36, but due to a conflict of interest one contestant was booted and she filled the spot and she filled it well.)
Lil Rounds (sang a Mary J song and sang it well. No, sang it incredibly!)