When at the mechanic, jog

I took my daughter's car to the mechanic this morning to fix an oil leak. The shop said it would take about two hours. What to do while they worked on "Baby"?

Go jog!

I missed this morning's run, so this was my opportunity to make that up. I used the same Podrunner track that I listened to yesterday, with which I jogged at a 19 minute mile pace. Today, however, with similar weather conditions, I logged a 3.3 mile circuit at a 17:30 minute mile.

Yesterday's Jog

Today's Jog #1


My plan was to jog all around the shopping center near our mechanic until I reached Starbucks. After claiming my free drink and taking an appropriate break to give the mechanic time to finish the work, I would then jogged back to the shop to get the car. I am writing this first draft as I enjoy my latte and feel great joy for the first 3.37 miles of the day.

After a nice break at Starbucks, I jogged the rest of the way back to the mechanic, about 1.47 miles at a slightly slower pace (17:49 minute mile):

Today's Jog #2

So, when you are waiting for something, consider going for a walk instead of sitting around.

The Daily - Thursday, September 27, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #29

A very productive day as I prepare for a weekend in the mountains of Tennessee and 12 hours of incredible Contra dancing on Saturday. I will be wearing a kilt for the first time in more than a year. Part of the weekend's adventures include dong some car camping and I worked most of the day cleaning the garage and gathering and organizing items for the weekend adventure.

With me being on the road, my daily posts will change somewhat. Internet access where I will staying is sporadic, and my tablet is not happy with the connection there. However, I will be posting "dispatches" to the blog throughout the day via email and, if possible, I will condense them to the regular "The Daily" in the evening or whenever I get a chance to. I will call these "The (On the Road) Daily".

HEALTH & FITNESS

I jogged for 2.1 miles in 37 minutes to the "143 BPM - Best Foot Forward" Podrunner mix.

Blood pressure steady at 118/75.

PERSONAL GROWTH

One of the benefits of becoming more organized is the realization that we have so much. Specifically, I have been asking myself "How many of these (insert item name) do you need?" For example, I currently own eight pairs of dress shorts. These are the eight dress shorts that made the first and second cut during the purge a few days ago. I already donated all the shorts I did not like, could not fit into, or had no room for. But still, do I need eight dress shorts? Would I be OK with just six? Four? Considering I wear dress shorts perhaps once a week for a day or two, that means I could wear different shorts for two months without repeating. Sadly, I tend to gravitate toward the one or two pairs that are my favorite, and the others just sit there. Fortunately, purging and organizing has made me aware of this excessive abundance and now I can make decisions on what to keep and what to wear with awareness. Perhaps, most likely, there will be additional liberation of clothes in the not-so-distant future.

As I was working in the garage, I came across an insane number of cleaning towels. As it is often the case, the quantity has a logical explanation: every time our kitchen towels are replaced, they become garage cleaning towels. The problem, of course, is that the previous generations of kitchen-towels-turned-into-garage-towels linger on in the garage for years and years. Of course, they are not all in one place, where it would be obvious that there was an issue. No, they take shelter and hide from view until one fine day we discover they had taken over the garage. Or something like that. So how many of these towels do we need? Many (for now). Granted, these are often used to wipe oil and grease, etc., and they are truly not worth washing, so now that awareness has set in, like a beacon in the night to guide me, I will be able to keep the numbers to a reasonable level.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 29
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 16
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 19
• Daily Exercise Routine: not counting for now
• Cardio: Yes (2.1 miles 37 minutes)
• Yoga: No
• Strength Training: No
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes
  
• Meditation: day 16
• Number of tabs open: day 12

The Daily - Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #27

Playing any kind of sport can help us learn many lessons. For me, bowling is a constant source of lessons. Every week, every frame, every shot is an opportunity to learn or re-learn valuable life lessons. Tonight was no exception. After a strong first game (206), my next two games were a struggle (ending with scores of 150 and 160). Some lessons from tonight's sessions:

1. Never rest in your laurels; just because game one was good does not mean the other games will be.
2. Adjust, constantly adjust, and be willing to be brave and make big changes when needed. At the end of game two I moved left on the approach and moved my target left a little, shooting three strikes in a row.
3. No matter what, it is just a game, so have a good time, celebrate the success of others (even if they are your opponents, perhaps especially if they are your opponents).
4. Stay humble, always humble. My team has been in first place in the league since we started. We are not the greatest group of bowlers, but we were performing well every week, at least well enough to stay at the top of the chart. Tonight, we lost all points, and we all recognize that the other team bowled very, very well, and we did not.

Bowling, like may other sports, is a valuable teacher if we just stop and learn the lessons.

HEALTH & FITNESS

Very enjoyable morning run for 2.16 miles in 39 minutes. I listened to Podrunner's "139 BPM - Sudden Summer" this morning. Tomorrow I will listen to something in the 141-142 BPM, as part of my plan to increase my speed a little at a time.

Blood pressure was still good at 114/81.

Nutrition was so-so although I stayed within my targeted numbers for calories, carbs, etc.

Morning meditation was great and I intend to do another session before bedtime.

“So what is a good meditator? A good meditator meditates.” ~ Allan Lokos

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

An excellent day of productivity with the help of a simple to-do list. I expanded the use of the list to take notes, add a shopping list to the bottom, etc. It is becoming a great productivity tool.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 27
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 14
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 17
• Daily Exercise Routine: not counting for now
• Cardio: Yes (2.16 miles in 39 minutes)
• Yoga: yes, short morning routine
• Strength Training: No
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes
  
• Meditation: day 14
• Number of tabs open: day 10

The Daily - Monday, September 24, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #26

HEALTH & FITNESS

A nice jog this morning (albeit later than normal) for 2.26 miles in 40 minutes to the great Podrunner track called "137 BPM - Paced Out." For the record, I do not profit from any of you using Podrunner's mixes; I donate to Podrunner on a monthly basis and I hope others will enjoy the tracks and also help Steve continue offering these great workout mixes.

My blood pressure was amazing again today. I pulled 109/68 this evening. Jogging, meditation and Yoga are working!

Today was a better day for nutrition.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

During Saturday and Sunday I navigated the days without a to-do list. That was frustrating because I know I can accomplish so much more when I do have a list to help me along my crazy days. In reflecting on this, I realized that the biggest stumbling block was to create the initial list with all the daily items in it. Last night I decided to create a list for each day of this week. That should help me get over that roadblock. Indeed, it worked quite well this morning and I feel much better about all the things I can accomplish today.

The one drawback of creating future to-do lists is that if something drastic changes in your "master list" then you either have to update a bunch of daily lists or re-do them from scratch. However, that is a small price to pay for being organized and more in control of your day. I suggest limiting the list creation to one week at a time. This would also allow us to apply Dr. Covey's planning strategies and put first things first and start with the end in mind. What do we want to accomplish in the week ahead? Let's plan those "big rocks" before all the smaller rocks take space in our mind and schedule.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Enjoy this video on the "AMRAP Mentality." I think there is much value in what the video advocates (warning: there is a commercial for "Chegg" studying services near the end of the video.)

TIPS & TRICKS

If you need some help implementing the AMRAP strategy detailed above, consider using the Pomodoro Technique (and, yes, there is an app for that). The Pomodoro Technique helps you focus for 25 minutes on one task, and then nudges you to take breaks at regular intervals. This time management approach instills the AMRAP philosophy because during the work periods you go all out at whatever the task is, avoiding all distractions (telephone, email, etc.). I have successfully used this technique for decades.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 26
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 13 (amazingly nice numbers: 109/68)
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 16
• Daily Exercise Routine: not counting for now
• Cardio: Yes, nice 2.2.6 miles in 40 minutes
• Yoga: short routine in the morning
• Strength Training: No
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes
  
• Meditation: day 13
• Number of tabs open: day 9

The Daily - Sunday, September 23, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #25

I hope you had an amazing Sunday!

HEALTH & FITNESS

I went for a nice 1.60 mile jog this morning. Honestly, it was a much shorter adventure than I had planned. As a runner, sometimes your body will dictate how far it will let you go before you have to go, and when you have to go, you have to go. I enjoyed listening to a nice Podrunner track called "134 BPM - Easy Going." I guess picking that track was prophetic in a way I did not anticipate.

Over the last few weeks I have been exercising regularly and I am pleased with the achievements on the activity side of the equation. For one thing, my blood pressure has steadily declined into a normal level (although I am using a medication for it), and today it was 103/78. That is far better than the 150-160/100-110 that I was recording not too long ago. Jogging has definitely helped.

On the other hand, my weight has not dropped all that much. I know exactly why this is: nutrition. There is much truth to the wisdom that you cannot exercise yourself out of poor nutrition. No matter how much we exercise, if what we eat, if how much we eat, and how we eat what we eat are not optimized for better health, then our health and fitness will only be (at best) marginally better. Now is a time for working on better nutrition while maintaining a good effort on exercising and also being mindful of the need for rest and relaxation. Without good nutrition the whole health/fitness triangle quickly falls apart.

My version of this triangle has nutrition as the base. Instead of Mind Set, I use Rest as the third side of the triangle. Each side of the triangle includes three components. Nutrition includes what you eat, how much you eat, and how you eat food. Fitness includes cardio, strength training, and stretching. Rest incorporates sleep, relaxation, and spirituality/mindfulness. Balance in all nine areas brings better health, improved fitness, greater joy.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Darn it! Another day without a to-do list. It is a good thing that it is a Sunday and also the day before a week-long vacation. Despite not having a formal to-do list, I hit all major items, which goes to prove that many of the items I have been working on are becoming habits, part of my daily rituals. I am happy about that. However, I am preparing my daily to-do list for tomorrow as soon as I finish posting this entry.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Minimalism is an awesome way to evaluate as little or as much of what makes your life what it is, and then to make sure that what is in your life actually brings value to your life. The appraisal of what brings value to our life can vary from person to person. In general, it encompasses things, people, and activities. If you are struggling with letting go of things, and do not even want to think about dealing with people, then perhaps you can look at appraising your schedule. Here is a nice video that explains it from the viewpoint of a mom with four kids.

TIPS & TRICKS

And for a simple way to cook bacon and eggs in the great outdoors. all you need is a simple paper bag.

PODCASTS / VIDEOS

I am sharing this video of an amazing tiny house; when I retire I want to move into a tiny house like this one.

TECHNOLOGY

Ever since installing the new router at home I have been testing the internet speed> one of my favorite test sites is Speedtest.net. The main reason I like it is that you can try several servers to give you an idea of you average speed.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 25
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 12 (amazing reading at 103/78)
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 15
• Daily Exercise Routine: not counting for now
• Cardio: Yes (1.60 miles in 29 minutes)
• Yoga: No
• Strength Training: No
• Stretching: Yes (morning stretch)
• Meditation: Yes (morning and evening meditations)
  
• Meditation: day 12
• Number of tabs open: day 8

The Daily - Saturday, September 22, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #24

HEALTH & FITNESS

I was very pleased to jog 3.63 miles in 66 minutes today. I used a different Podrunner track called "136 BPM - March of Progress." It has easily become one of my favorite Podrunner mixes.

One of the joys of running is that the possible routes are almost endless. As I started this morning's jog I thought about going one way and when I came to a certain point I changed my mind and decided to go a different way, one with less car traffic to avoid fumes. It was a good move and it allowed me to go further on my run.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Today was the first day I did not use a to-do list. It was costly in a couple of ways, most importantly that I forgot to take my meds and vitamins until this evening. Normally I take them with breakfast around 10 AM but I got distracted by having to run my daughter to her job and so I lost track of things. I think the trick for me is to get the list done the night before, and then review the list first thing in the morning right after meditating.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Despite not using a to-do list for the day, I did manage to get much done. For example, I got some things ready for next weeks trip and did some shopping. One of the items I bought (double-sided tape I will use to improve my A/C filter positioning) ended up helping to re-position the WiFi antenna on my PC. It looks better and works more efficiently than the way it was before.

TIPS & TRICKS

This gentleman has developed a great self-watering system for inside plants. Very well-thought-out system and extremely inexpensive.

PODCASTS / VIDEOS

I am a minimalist or, at the very least, a minimalist in training. I have made progress in some areas and have slipped in others. In other words, I am human. Today I came across this nice video that gives solid advise on how to get started in the process of minimalism.

I tend to be the room-by-room, do-it-now, no plan, purger. I will try some of these strategies to help me become more efficient at handling the excess items in my life.

TECHNOLOGY

The planned installation of the new router went without a hitch. The new unit is a NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900, and the thing screams. After some minor fine tuning, the wireless speeds have gone from under 10 Mbps to just under 50 Mbps. My cellphone maxed out at 99 Mbps downstairs, and about 50 Mbps upstairs. I am very pleased with the equipment and with the increased performance.

If you are buying a new router, it is advisable to do a few things immediately:

1. Change the administrator's password; my new router forced me to change the password, which is a very welcomed change from past practices.
2. Change the SSID (the wireless identifier) to something unique and also that will not identify you personally. Leaving the default name (my router used NETGEAR70) could possible allow a hacker to guess the password of your unit. Change the router name makes it just a little harder.
3. Change the default passwords. My router has two possible passwords, one for the 2.4 GHz band (for desktops and laptops) and one for the 5 GHz band (for mobile devices such as phones). You can allow the router to use the same name and password for both or you can keep them separate; I have opted for separate for now.
4. Change the passwords for your WiFi access every three to four months. Use some cyber-security hygiene steps and use a strong password that has 10-12 characters made of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.I advocate the use of password padding: select a password/phrase that is easy to remember (for example, TheRedFox99) and now use three or more of the same special characters at the start and end of the word to make it stronger. For example, $$$$TheRedFox99$$$$ is easy to remember and not so easy to crack. By the way, that is NOT a password I have ever used. :-)  Use a password strength checker and see the difference padding can make. The one without padding came at 78% strength. The one with padding was 100% strong and the only weaknesses reported is that it uses repetitive characters and repetitive numbers. So, to make it near perfect, we could change it to !1@2TheRedFox98#3$4 … but now that gets hard to type and hard to remember. To me, the small difference between $$$$TheRedFox99$$$$ and !1@2TheRedFox99#3$4 is not worth the extra brain power and confusion.

Tomorrow I will write a little about password managers and why they are critical for online security.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 24
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 11 (started on the high side but I wa able to bring it down with deep breathing and acupressure)
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 14
• Daily Exercise Routine: not counting for now
• Cardio: Yes -- awesome 3.63 miles in 66 minutes
• Yoga: Not today
• Strength Training: Nope
• Stretching: Yes, as I got up and after running
• Meditation: Yes, first thing in the morning
  
• Meditation: day 11
• Number of tabs open: day 7

The Daily - Monday, September 17, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #19

HEALTH & FITNESS

The rain stopped and I finally got to use those old ASICS shoes that I wanted to try again. I had a nice 2.1 mile jog this morning. It is so good to be back on the road! Today's session was to the tune of Podrunner's "140 BPM - Swift Kicks." Indeed, it kicked me a little about mile marker 1.75, but I pushed through it and ended the session feeling strong.

And I finally achieved a full fitness day. I was able to put a good 35 minute workout this afternoon at the fitness center. I did not get a chance to finish the whole workout I had planned, but it was better than nothing.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Rather than listing all the streaks I am tracking (which you can see below), I am going to focus on one habit per week. I will share my struggles and triumphs as I try to make each activity a ritual, a part of my daily behavior, so that it can become a habit and then help me achieve a goal or series of goals.

This week I will focus on the habit of having a daily exercise routine that includes cardio, strength training, stretching and meditation. In a very real way, those four components are discreet and individual; as a whole, they form the daily habit I want to develop. And this brings up a good point. Complex habits/rituals that have sub-components do not have to be done in sequence. For example, there is nothing wrong with doing cardio first thing in the morning and stretching just before going to bed, with a session of weight lifting in the afternoon and some meditation throughout the day. However, habits (helpful and harmful ones) are formed when we do a certain thing immediately after a trigger happens. For example, we wake up and hit the snooze button — that may not help us achieve our goal. What if we wake up and splash water on our face and do ten push-ups? It is likely that we will not go back to bed then, thus kick-starting our day. The trick is to replace hitting the snooze button with splashing water on our face and doing ten push-ups. Once we do that enough times, the ritual will be established and a new habit formed.

A critical aspect of self improvement is to make small changes. Trying to change everything at once is a sure way to struggle. When we make small changes in the things we do we will, in the long run, achieve far more than we would otherwise. This is one of the reasons people struggle with "diets" — trying to modify our whole lifestyle suddenly will simply increase our natural resistance to change.

If you have followed this blog recently, the one component I have missed consistently is strength training. I do not have a gym at home (just a few dumbbells and a resistance band, which should suffice) nor a gym subscription to a facility near my home. I usually try to do strength training regularly when I am in the office because we have a great fitness center there, and it is free. However, the key word there is "try" — many days I let other things pull me away from working out. These things can be anything from feeling tired to work meetings. Most of them are, in reality, excuses.

I find my biggest challenge for strength training is when I am home (weekends, vacations). I am going to establish a sensible trigger that would initiate the process to do a strength training workout. I will keep you posted.

PERSONAL GROWTH

The fewer-browser-tabs challenge went well today. I feel I was more productive having less tabs/windows open. In many ways I pushed myself to finish one thing before moving to something else. There was a lot less jumping around and a lot less confusion. I like it!

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 19
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 6: excellent reading of 117/79.
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 8 (starting to get more consistent in entering data)
• Intermittent Fasting: I am abandoning tracking of this habit. I have been doing fairly well without having to track it. I will remove that app from my phone now.
• Daily Exercise Routine: Day 1
• Cardio: Jogged 2.09 miles
• Strength Training: 35 minutes
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes, 30 minutes overall in 10-minute intervals.
  
  (In order to count this one, I am making it a bit challenging. A day will only count if it contains at least 30 minutes of cardio, at least 30 minutes of strength training, at least 10 minutes of stretching, at least six hours of sleep, and at least 10 minutes of meditation.)
• Meditation: day 6 (all-time = 40)
• Number of tabs open: day 2 (down to two tabs open for more than a few minutes. All other tabs either closed or stored in "Read Later" (see "Personal Growth " below).

The Daily - Sunday, September 16, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #18

FLORENCE UPDATE

Florence passed quietly over the city in the middle of the night. It is still raining today and will continue to do so through Wednesday. Winds have died down to a constant breeze.

TODAY'S NOTES

Today is Independence Day in my native Mexico. This normally is a day of celebration throughout the country, a great excuse to party and be happy. And yet, throughout the last 208 years, Mexico has struggled to free itself from a seemingly endless chain of dictators. Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. A century later, in 1910, the country endured a bloody revolution that was supposed to benefit the masses. Instead, corruption ate through the country so that an elite class, many of them politicians,became the modern version of a dictator. At the same time, the country has been under the dictatorship of its neighbor to the north, being forced to endure whatever the USA wished to impose on them. Political dictatorship, economical dictatorship, cultural dictatorship — Mexico has seen them all, continues to see them all, strives still to free itself from it all. I miss much of Mexico, especially the people. I do not miss the corruption, the immoral inequality between the few ultra-rich and the many poor; sadly, the same is happening in the USA. It all boils down to greed. When those in power are not satisfied with "enough" and instead they want it all, and they want it all for themselves, all the time, for all times. Historically, this is how civilizations begin to crumble. 

HEALTH & FITNESS

Another wet jog this morning to log 2.83 miles in 53 minutes. I chose Podrunner's "135 BPM - Amplifier" track and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It was wet, with steady rain all through the jog. I have now removed the NHS Couch-to-5K tracks from my phone. It is obvious I now need to work on improving performance and not simply getting to run 30 minutes at a time.

As planned, I opted to use the Saucony shoes with the improved insoles. It was a great choice. The shoes, insoles and socks got thoroughly soaked. The better insoles made a huge difference in the comfort of these shoes. I enjoyed the run and got back home pain free. Although my shoes were soaked, they only felt slightly heavier than heavier than normal. That was a very pleasant surprise.

Today's run was the second in a row in the rain. With the dampness from the rain and the heat of running (and having a raincoat) my old problem of hives came back both days. In the past I would have opted for anti-histamines and scratched the heck out of every bump on me. For the last two days I simply took a cool shower and did some deep breathing. It only took a few minutes for the intense itching to pass and the hives to begin receding. This condition is called cholinergic urticaria, or heat hives. According to something I read today, I may benefit from using cotton instead of polyester shirts. There is also a suggestion of using a vinegar solution to calm the itching down. Further reading indicates Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is helpful. I definitely will try it.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 18
• Blood Pressure Readings: 5 days in a row. Apparently I missed a reading on 9/11/18. Today's readings are a tad higher than they have been (130/80). Worked on it a little through meditation and got it down to 116/67. 
• Logging to SparkPeople: 8 days in a row (began entering food and activity data)
• Intermittent Fasting: 1 day (I did great last night and fasted for over 13 hours)
• Daily Exercise Routine: 0 
• Cardio: Jogged 2.09 miles
• Strength Training: Nope
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes, 30 minutes overall in 10-minute intervals.
  
  (In order to count this one, I am making it a bit challenging. A day will only count if it contains at least 30 minutes of cardio, at least 30 minutes of strength training, at least 10 minutes of stretching, at least six hours of sleep, and at least 10 minutes of meditation.)
• Meditation: 5 days (all-time = 40): morning meditation was challenging again today. I chose a five minute meditation and my mind was all over the place. I am going to do at least one more meditative period today.
• Number of tabs open: 1 day (down to two tabs open for more than a few minutes. All other tabs either closed or stored in "Read Later" (see "Personal Growth " below).

PERSONAL GROWTH

I am all into challenges. One of the most challenging thing I face everyday is the number of tabs I have open in my browser. I often have dozens of tabs open at once. Some are open permanently (for example, Gmail) and others stay up for months before I get back to them. My challenge for the next 30 days is to keep the least number of tabs open at any one time. This is in line with being a minimalist. Of course, there is always the worry of forgetting what tabs were open during some research. With help with that, I installed the "Read Later" extension in Chrome. Instead of  10-12 tabs, I managed to keep one to two tabs open. I kept Gmail going, and I kept Blogger open to add items to this post. My computer seems much happier this way. And I am managing to get a lot more done without so many distractions. A win-win situation.

INTERESTING QUOTE

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

TIPS & TRICKS

If you enjoy Starbuck's then you may appreciate the "17 Ways to Save Money at Starbucks" from The Spruce Eats website.

PODCASTS / VIDEOS

I recently came across this video explaining how an old time management system can be adapted to adult, modern life, for increased productivity and improved life joy. I am seriously considering doing something like this for my time management.

WEEKLY SUMMARY

This has been an amazing week. There are many things I am thankful for as we wrap up the week. Top things to be grateful for:

• Hurricane Florence was only a minor inconvenience for us. Although the wind and rain were worrisome, we were fortunate not to sustain any damage. Many people in North Carolina and some in South Carolina were not as fortunate. My heart goes out to them.
• I was able to accomplish some major cleaning and purging around the house. My bedroom closet is hard to recognize. There is much more to be done, but the progress is something to be grateful for.
• I have been able to jog every morning, and have remained pain free. My blood pressure seems to be stable. I feel well. Life is good.
• I have gotten into some great habits, especially making a daily to do list and sticking with it. The list is nothing fancy but it has been working well for getting much done; at the top of the list are items (rituals) I want to follow and the rest are items I need or want to accomplish. As a past user of DayTimers, I am delighted with the success. Getting back to a normal routine will be interesting and a true test of this system.

The Daily - Saturday, September 15, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #17

FLORENCE UPDATE

Florence is down to a Tropical Storm or Tropical Depression, depends on when the measurements are taken. Regardless, we were very fortunate and suffered no damage. Many others are not so fortunate, even some losing their lives to the storm. We are still experiencing very windy conditions and some heavy rain. The center of the storm is scheduled to go over our home about 2 AM tomorrow with sustained winds of 40 miles per hour. It is not over for us, but it is getting close. The storm path just changed and now the storm center will go 20 miles south of our home; I am not sure if that is good or bad in terms of weather conditions; my guess is that the difference will be insignificant. More on that tomorrow.

HEALTH & FITNESS

I enjoyed a great 2.09 mile jog this morning right after sunrise. It was interesting to jog in tropical storm conditions; it felt much like jogging on the beach when you are running into the wind. I jogged to Podrunner's "138 BPM - Driven" track. It was an amazing experience. I used a slightly older pair of Saucony running shoes that I bought at a significant discount many months ago. I figured I would be OK if they were ruined in the storm. They have not been the most comfortable running shoes. As I removed the insoles to let them dry I discovered why they were not very comfortable. The insoles were extremely thin and probably offered little or no cushioning. Once the shoes were dry I replaced the original insoles with some sports insoles. If it continues to rain (as it is forecasted to) then I will use these same shoes with the new insoles for tomorrow's jog. Otherwise I will switch to an older pair of ASICS that I have not used in a while.

My knees have been pain free despite jogging every morning. That is a huge relief. I have been building up speed and feel terrific. Jogging is definitely my cardio of choice. I recognize, however, that I need to mix things up. I intend to add biking to my routines as soon as I feel it is safe to do so; I think my weight may be too much for my inexpensive bike.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 17
• Blood Pressure Readings: 8 days in a row. 127/79 today. Perhaps too much coffee? Time to switch to tea in the afternoon?
• Logging to SparkPeople: 7 days in a row (began entering food and activity data)
• Intermittent Fasting: 0 days (I ate a snack late last night, so I am back to starting to day)
• Daily Exercise Routine: 0 
• Cardio: Jogged 2.09 miles
• Strength Training: Nope
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes, 20 minutes overall.
  
  (In order to count this one, I am making it a bit challenging. A day will only count if it contains at least 30 minutes of cardio, at least 30 minutes of strength training, at least 10 minutes of stretching, at least six hours of sleep, and at least 10 minutes of meditation.)
• Meditation: 4 days (all-time = 40): morning meditation was difficult. I could barely finish the ten minutes because I wanted to get out for a run before the weather turned bad. I had a second meditation period in mid-afternoon to try to bring my blood pressure down a little; that did not work.

PERSONAL GROWTH

My efforts to organize and downsize continued today. My goal was to clean my closet's entrance area. Goal accomplished (and then some). In the process I got rid of about 10 dress shirts, half a dozen shorts, and some t-shirts. I also worked on part of our coat closet downstairs. I am quite pleased with the changes. I should have most of the closet done by tomorrow afternoon. The hardest part will be going through a ton of photos. That will take sometime.

TIPS & TRICKS

This video shows you how to simplify any wardrobe in about 10 minutes. I used this technique today to help me purge clothes from my closet. It worked like a charm. I will do the same thing with another section of the closet tomorrow.

The Daily: September 1, 2018

Day three of this writing streak; so far so good!

It is Saturday and it seems that the weekends are when I am most vulnerable to fall off my routines and abandon my goals. It goes to show that having a set of rituals for everyday can impact our success. I normally try to get up at 4:30 and be on the road jogging by 5 AM. That requires that I go to bed by 9 PM so that I can get enough rest. Last night, however, I went to bed late (after 10:30 PM) and I did not get up until almost 8 AM. By then it was a bit too hot for jogging so I miss that window for my favorite way to start my day. Too hot at 8 AM? It is if you have a health condition that amplifies the effects of histamines (normally released during exercise) and causes hives all over your back; that happens to me when I exercise in hot, humid weather. Which is interesting because I live in a city that is hot and humid most of the year.

HEALTH & FITNESS

When I first started jogging/running back in 2009, I discovered the Couch To 5K training plan. That lead me to discover Podrunner, the best source for workout music I know of. I have been so impressed and grateful for the hard work of Steve Boyett that I contribute monthly to his website funding. The music mixes that Steve produces can be used for more than just running; he often puts together Tabata mixes, walk mixes, etc. And if you just want to dance (which is also a great fitness activity) then Steve provides dance mixes at Groovelectric. Enjoy!

PERSONAL GROWTH

I have watched the following video many times, and I always find inspiration in the message it carries: it is the little things that make the greatest difference in life.

FINANCES

I started the process of setting financial information through EveryDollar. The initial set up is the hardest part. The next challenge is to keep up with entering transactions daily and working diligently to stay within our budget. Simple things, not so easy to always do. However, I am proud to have finally gotten started. I am very impressed with the website and look forward to using the mobile app. That should make it easier to keep up with things.

PODCASTS / VIDEOS

I want to mention two of the podcasts I listen to regularly:

• The New York Times Daily
• NPR's "Up First"

INTERESTING TIDBITS

Today is "National No Rhyme (Nor Reason)" day.

From the website "National Day Calendar':

September is filled with many reasons to celebrate and some of the celebrations have “no rhyme or reason”.  

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day, observed annually on September 1, actually celebrates words in the English language which do not rhyme with any other words.  Also known as refractory rhymes, these are words that poets try to avoid using in verse.

Some unrhymable words in the English language include: 

• Orange
• Month
• Silver
• Spirit
• Chimney
• Purple
• Woman

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Make a list of words that you believe cannot be rhymed, and check if you are correct. Use #NoRhymeNorReasonDay to post on social media.