Yes, I'm still alive

Quick update.

I've been very busy with work.

Running is going well.

Leg is feeling really good.

I've built up to over 32km/week with a long run of 13km on Sunday.

15km this Sunday.

House has finally got a roof on it.

Hopefully they'll keep doing more work on it.

Have a great week.

RunDave

Desiderata

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

--Not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church"! --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career,

however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Just thought I'd throw something completely different in today. I read a lot of blogs that quote inspirational works, so I thought I'd put one of my favourites in. I'm not a very religious person, so this poem seems to sit pretty well with my beliefs, in that it pretty much avoids religion and only mentions God in a fairly abstract and inclusive way. We used to have it hanging in our toilet at home when I was a kid and I couldn't tell you how many times I've read it. One of the remarkable things about it is the ongoing confusion about its origin. This website explains the confusion. I must admit, our copy had the reference to St Paul's Church and I often wondered how someone living in the 1600s could have written something so fitting for the 20th century. When I found out the real story, rather than being disillusioned, it confirmed it's relevance for me. Although not 100s of years old, it was written way back in the 1920s, yet it still holds true for the 2000s, so it is probably more timeless than many give it credit for. Anyway I think it is a good creed for life.

Edit: It should be divided up into stanzas, but blogger isn't letting me do that properly.

Slack blogger

I've been really busy with work stuff, so I haven't had much time to blog. Just a quick update for anyone who is interested. I did my four runs last week, culminating in a 9km run on Sunday. For the first time in months I can say that my leg feels good, and that I'm not just managing it from one run to the next. I'll continue my slow progression so that I don't have a relapse, but at this stage things are looking good for the half marathon in late August. I had hoped to do a 10km race this weekend, but things are pretty tight moneywise, so I may be a no-show. I may just end up running 10 km on my own :( . To the guys at Tracktimes, I will get out there one day soon. I've had a few different circumstances preventing me getting out there, but I should be OK this week.

Happy to be running.

Building companies are f****d!

Want to see the progress on the house? Well, look at the photos from 3 weeks ago because they've done f**ckall since then.

Edit: 16-6-06 still nothing even though they told me they would get some stuff sorted out last week so that the roof could go on this week. Lying bastards.

Sorry about the language, just feeling a bit frustrated.

Getting by/ Dual monitors

A Girl Running pointed out that while my entry about last night's movie was interesting, I hadn't mentioned how my running is going.

I went for about a 6km run on Friday and a 7km run today. The leg is feeling fine while I'm running and most of the time in between, but at times it doesn't feel 100%. This is why I'm taking things slowly. The tingling is still there sometimes and the leg just doesn't feel as strong as it should. There isn't any pain either while running or while resting. I can feel the fitness coming back which is really good.

The plan for this week is to run every second day 5-6km with an 8km run next Sunday if I feel up to it.

Now for something completely different. Does anyone out there have two monitors set up on your PC? I want to set up a second monitor next to mine to make data analysis easier, but I'm not sure what is required. I have the second screen, but I'm unsure about how to connect them up. There is only one female connection at the back of the box, but there is a male connection there too. Do I need some type of adaptor?

Purely Belter

Saw this film on SBS last night. Great film, some really great characters, an excellent story and a great ending. The production values weren't all that good, but the story and characters made up for it. The two boys in the lead roles were great, some of their dialogue was hilarious. The film also showed Newcastle as both a beautiful yet ugly city. The area looked to have quite spectacular scenery, but there was also the ugly architecture and urban decay. 4 1/2 stars from me.

Not pushing it

I was going to run with Tracktimers this morning, but since I ran yesterday and the leg has a slight tingling still, I thought I'd better not push my luck with running two days in a row. I'll run tomorrow instead.

Yesterday's run felt good. I feel like my fitness is returning quite quickly and this is reflected by my heart rate - my laps of the uni loop are getting faster while the average heart rate is decreasing. I did the circuit again and this time my arms and abs aren't so sore the next day. The exercises I did were: Crunches, seated dips (?), reverse incline crunches, chin-ups (still sadly poor at this), incline crunches and push-ups.

PS. The poll results haven't changed much with the dozen or so extra votes from last time. My conclusion? Runners are much the same as the general public in this regard, ie 55-60% sensible (folders), 35-40% crazy (scrunchers), 5-10% eccentric (rollers and other).