Back in the Saddle Again

Man that last blog post really took it out of me! Phew. It's taken me five months to recover. If not for my love for Katie I don't know that I would've ever returned to this treacherous land.

Another thing that has taken it out of me is the Nineteen Miles I just ran! What! What! They felt pretty good, except for the final three which kicked my ace. I fell asleep in the tub afterwards.

And the last thing that has taken it out of me is the three tickets that I have gotten in the last five days for my registration being expired. 50 bucks a pop. Ouch! It hurts to write that. I've decided it's just not right. So I'm taken those punks to court. Seriously I have a court date to contest the last two in a few weeks.

Running has been going well of late. A while back Jordan and I saw this sunset on a run along the Puget Sound. It's one of the best I've ever witnessed.

I totally had a "double rainbow" moment the first time I saw it. It was incredible. When you looked up at the sky it looked like a golden brick. with the same texture and everything.

The pictures were taken by my roommate who happened to be in the Space Needle that evening. Talk about good timing.

And now for what you've all been waiting for I bring you another edition of "Scott's Beautiful Legs."

As you can see there has been some incredible transformation!

Answer: The "kurios" pose.

It feels good to share these pictures which represent how far my body and I have come. Thank you all so much for your support in this journey.

Something Small, Something New

I have refrained from adding a post to the blog recently.  Largely due to my embarrassment of my writing being on the internet, especially when juxtaposed with my siblings’ humorous editions. But. I cannot relate to you the daily annoyance I receive when I see Robert’s feet on a scale, not that they are not beautiful feet or for the reminder of his successful weight loss, but that he posted it on February 28th.  I mean come on.  Why is the little History major updating the blog when word-smith wizards sit in LA, Houston, Chicago, and Seattle?  I can think of one in particular who has little to no excuse, not naming any names, part-timer.  I mean if you guys planned for me to struggle through the difficult process which writing a blog post is for me, then Congratulations!  The annoyance has triumphed over my embarrassment.  I even feel a sense of obligation I mean Kate’s birthday was a while ago, and Scott’s is coming up.  I mean if we were all home the Christmas tree would still be up, sure, but that doesn’t mean the blog should be neglected.  So you guys left this job, not to the goodie-to-shoes (spelling?) in the family who always celebrated with the tree in the background of his/her birthday party and who would probably post except that he is writing sermons, etc., or she has her own blog to attend.  No, you left it to the kid who compulsively checks the family blogs, even mom's, multiple times a day just to see if anyone wants to tell a story, making her laugh in the process.  I love my family.

As for running, I have done little but a few short runs around the hilly Irving, Texas (not to be ironic at all).  I ran eight miles on Sunday.  It was super cloudy and even cool - overall a nice day to run.  Although when I had just reached the top of Northgate hill huffing and puffing with phone in hand, tracking my mileage, it began to drizzle, then lightly rain, then rain, then pour.  And as the precipitation increases in quantity, the little runner is tracked, striding down the hill, hoping her phone doesn’t die and that she doesn’t fall.  Then, she breaks into an all out sprint to get to the door.  A good 0.4 miles.  It felt great!! I haven’t let myself run like that in a couple of months, years maybe. And! I wasn’t dead tired afterward. I actually felt like I could run longer (granted this was all downhill).  Oh well, I am still basking in the sense of accomplishment.  I am excited for the upcoming visits and love you all!

209.5 and Falling

On guard, English Majors!!!

            The road to my first blog has not been without obstacle.  Apparently, the apple that represented me on the Ramsay tree fell a little closer to Dad's side of the tree than Mom's, seeing as how I was the only child who couldn't figure out how to become a blogger on this d*@$ thing.  So here I am, a pseudoblogger posting through Lily's blog with the newly acquired knowledge of her gmail username and password.  Not to be denied even if it requires identity theft, I am coming through on my word. 

Anyways, after my long run of 6 miles last Sunday, I stepped on the scale and it read 2----0----9.5.  That is 30 lbs less than it read three months ago.  (pause for applause and a bow) Now, before I get ahead of myself, let me clarify some minor details.  Without even trying, I seem to have developed a propensity for weighing myself when I feel especially light.  I’ve learned that my prime weigh-in times come right after waking up, post morning-whiz and subsequent removal of every ounce of clothing.  Nevertheless, that scale reads 209.5.  And not even plump old Jonothan can take it from me.  

I’d like to take all the credit and confess that these thirty lbs have required remarkable restraint and dutiful dietary discipline(not bad on the alliteration, huh???); so I will.   Just kidding.  The truth is the weight has fallen off of me.  I play basketball a couple times a week, do yoga on Fridays and…ahem…almost always get a long run in.  Other than that, I still eat what I like.  In fact, the mere thought of forgoing some of those things that I like has been followed by an even greater appreciation for those things during their ensuing consumption.  The only real discipline that I’ve had to enforce on myself is resisting the urge to eat late at night.  This late night discipline results in early morning craving.  And there’s nothing like a Saga omelet to satiate the hunger and reward the discipline.  Needless to say, I think I’ve got a decent thing goin. 

To conclude, some personal messages:

Katie,  I hope you’ve enjoyed your Christmas present. I know I’m no pro yet. 

Jonothan, I hope this post doesn’t discourage you in your weight loss endeavors.

Scott, nice legs.

Lily,  enjoy the warm weather, realizing I’m freezing my royal rastafirin nenes off.

Dad, Congratulations on your successful pecan harvest.

Mom, I love you.  Drink a margarita for me sometime.

A Little Easier.

My running is finally getting a little easier. Robert Bourquein and I ran 12 miles last Saturday, very slow, nevertheless I felt good throughout and felt like I could run a few more.  We have twenty runs to go before the marathon. This weekend begins the mile repeats. The idea is to run 3 mile repeats at the pace you plan to run the second half of the marathon.  The first half with me will be about 10:15 to 10:30 pace depending how good a shape Robert and I can get into, with walk breaks every 4 minutes.  Robert, Scott and Jonathon could probably run 8'45 mile repeats without much trouble. Your total mileage should be about 11 miles so after a 2 mile slow warm up do the mile repeats then revert back to slow pace with walk breaks every 4-8 minute to a total of 11 miles. Of course all the walking counts.

Mom and I are back in the routine.  I have finally caught up at work and she is writing away on her book.  We saw Jonathon last weekend on the way to cousin Martha's funeral at Edna.  His Young Adult Sunday School class which he led while we were there only had 150 attendees.  Mom and I of course were really impressed.

Lots of changes at the hospital which I am struggling through.  The move is on to have hospitalists which means I will move to a complete office practice other than delivering babies and other doctors will take care of my patients in the hospital: I don't like the idea but many people view it as progress.

Feb 24 Mom and I are planning a Jake sighting in LA. Kate you are on alert that since your precocious little one has D's down I expect a few P's in February.  Still haven't figured pictures out.  My weight is stuck at 189 but I have not eaten any peanut M/Ms for over a week so there's hope.  Keep up the long runs and Robert are you there.

Saturday's Adventure with a Running Partner

So as some of you know I went for a run...quite a long run... quite a few-miles-farther-than-I-needed-to run. I ran for over two hours and was completely spent. Witness the following:

The girl there looking chipper is Brie Pajak. A Massachusetts girl who had never run more than 5 miles before Saturday, but trucked on like the ROTC-Air Force Scholarship winner that she is.

We had quite a fun time running up and down one hill and up and down another hill and up and down a third and up and down more hills, which we did not keep track of for the sheer pain associated with the number. And down sketchy parts of MacArthur Avenue.

Towards the end she even made me laugh (never a good thing when you are already tired) so hard I was doubled over running quite a few steps before regaining correct posture.

The moans and groans that I laid on heavens door were many, but I got through. Woo hoo!

Today I even ran again. Brie ran yesterday. And during Chemistry this morning, I was still sore and Brie wasn't.

Nine feels fine.

So Jake and I took a 9 mile trot along the Pacific yesterday. Proof:

We averaged a (wait for it....) 12 minute pace! In my defense...we did have to get out of the stroller a couple times. Once to nurse and later to stare at some big kids on a swing. But other than that we were movin' -- just steam rollin' -- like "eat my dust" like "excuse me, Mr. Cyclist" kinda cruisin'

or not so much

but it was fun. 

Alright You English Majors Here I Come!

As I sail off into the blogosphere for the very first time, I can hear Bill Murray in "What About Bob?" saying, "I blog. I'm blogging. I'm a blogger." I don't know if those words are quite true for me yet, but if the comedic hero of our family continues to be my muse, then I should be alright in this world.

On to all things running.

So far so good. Jordan and I have been running about three times a week and our bodies are holding up, although the weather has been nasty. We just finished a six mile run in the snow. Good luck with that Rob. No likey. We also did a night run this week that was really cold. Yes Jonathan, that is your Gore Tex jacket.

We were pretty tired after.

It seems to me that a theme for the reruns is going to be losing weight. While I'm not trying to shed any pounds, I am planning on paying attention to my bodily transformation. So here is the first installment of "Scott's Beautiful Legs":



And this one is for Katie and Lily. Name what Ancient Greek statue position this is?



Can you say "efficiency'? I mean seriously look at those sexy thangs.



That's it for now family. Merry Christmas Katie. Hope you enjoyed the first third of your gift.

When Watching Sleepless in Seatle Isn't Enough

As I sit at home and watch this movie with mom for the nth time, I checked the family blogs. They are lacking in posts.

Running as of late has been not so enjoyable. The first mile and a half is just plain uncomfortable. But after that the only rough part is thinking about how many times Dad and I will run up to the highway before we stop.

Hope all is well.