Should I Walk the Bolder Boulder?
Friday, May 2, 2008
23 Days Until Bolder Boulder

It would be too easy a day for me today. No run was scheduled so I planned to “sleep in” all the way to 6:00 am and get seven hours of sleep. Getting up at 4:00 am, however, ruined that plan but I did get five hours anyway. It was nice to not have to worry too much about the time. Holly didn’t have school and wasn’t heading out until after 10:00 am.

I decided to go to the YMCA to give Deanne some “going away” gifts. She and her family were headed to South Carolina and today was her last day at the “Y” so I wanted to say “Goodbye.” She had done a fabulous job for all of us – warmly greeting us at 5:15 am every morning with a big smile on her face. No matter what the weather was or whatever private tribulations she faced, she always came through.

I put together a bag of goodies – ranging from a bottle of wine to a bag of jellybeans along with a stuffed toy for her new child and some other goodies. She was very appreciative and knew she would be missed.

It had been a long time since I tried my luck on the LifeCycle at the “Y” so I decided to take a spin to nowhere. I had weighed in at an unsurprising 206 and knew I needed the workout. I read newspapers while I rode and was taken aback at how difficult it was at my usual Level 15 setting. It was becoming obvious I had a long way to go to get in shape. I wanted six months but had only 23 days. Hmmmmmmmmm… That wasn’t good.

At home, I had a nice breakfast of one biscuit with butter and a bowl of strawberries. That was a great start. I made breakfast for Holly and made sure she was all set for the weekend. That meant I was filling our Cheerleading tryout forms, packing food, and verifying plans.

I was focused on work today – I had an enormous amount of farm-related paperwork to tackle – but I took a break for an early lunch at which I downed a giant Dagwood-like turkey sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard, and sliced tomato. Holly could not believe I could open my mouth wide enough to even have a shot at it. I was a bit surprised at my success myself. Holly headed out at noon, had a sleepover birthday party to attend, and wasn’t going to be back until Sunday.

I snuck a large mug of root beer and had to dodge her questions about what I was drinking. I wanted her to avoid soda but gave in to temptation myself. Later, I would end up eating half a tub of Breyer’s “Wafflecone” ice cream. Wow, that stuff was good.

It went downhill even from there as far as eating was concerned. I had more ice cream, at some delicious Monterey Jack cheese from Sunflower Market in Boulder, and made a unique dish consisting of a can of Hormel chili, a dozen chopped scallions, half a pound of leftover already-cooked garlic & butter salmon, some garlic powder, and more butter. It was prepared to serve four people so it was a perfect meal for myself when dining alone.

Except for taking out the dogs a couple of times, my only time outdoors was at the end of the day when I went to the Post Office and Heritage Bank (now First Community Bank). With a long run planned tomorrow morning, I decided to end my work day at 7:30 pm and try to get a goodnight’s sleep.