Tony and I went to my cousin’s wedding in Vancouver, BC back in July. The wedding photographer had a “photobooth” at the banquet for the guests to goof off. It would be a perfect photo if Tony had a pocket protector!
Personal
Archived Posts from this Category
July 11, 2010
Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower – buyer beware
Posted by joanne under Personal | Tags: product review, reel mower |[11] Comments
We’ve been using a Scotts reel mower since we bought the house almost 6 years ago. I don’t remember how we came to the decision to buy a reel mower instead of a gas one (something about being green?). Anyhow, when Tony took the mower out for the first time, the neighbor across the street was surprised and offered to lend us his gas mower. Tony declined the offer and started pushing. And pushing he went for all these years. I’ve never touched that thing until this spring as he got too busy with Search and Rescue. I pushed it through the back yard and I was spent. It took so much out of me that I gave up on mowing the front yard (or the irregular L-shape thing of our corner lot).
Then, I read about the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower in a magazine. It is promoted to be “30% Easier to Push”. I read the reviews from actual use posted on Lowes website and they were mostly good. Lowes is selling it for $199.00, probably similar to what we paid for the Scotts. I thought we should give a go. I first went to Lowes by myself to get it. The mowers were stocked on a shelf above the floor level. I pushed one box a little bit and it barely moved. I figured it’s too heavy for me so I waited until Tony was home in another weekend to buy it.
March 15, 2009
Here is the “flipper” I’ll be wearing for the next six months or so while the bone graft heals, the implant is done, and finally a permanent crown is put on.
The flipper
Here I am wearing the flipper. Joanne is making me laugh, and it hurts to smile right now. That’s my excuse for looking so funny. Laughing and smiling big, but trying hard not to smile so hard because it hurts, which just makes me laugh more.
Here I am with the flipper. Doesn't quite fit like the original.
December 22, 2008
A(nother) Walk Through the Snow
Posted by Tony McCray under Personal | Tags: portland snow storm |1 Comment
During yesterday’s trip to the store we ate some Butter Cookies with our coffee, and Joanne really liked them. The problem is neither of us is supposed to eat wheat. So we decided to try making our own using a blend of Amaranth flour and Buckwheat flower. We didn’t have enough though, so back to the store we went.
Ice Covered Mexican Feather Grass
December 16, 2008
I’ve been slacking off at almost everything lately, except work. Ironically, after Sun announced massive layoffs, I’ve ended up working more recently than ever before. There was no real reason behind that, it just happened to be what the job demanded. Between that, the stress caused by the possibility of losing my job, and the fact that I went from working with a great coach with a great training plan to no coach and no training plan took its toll. I’ve been more off than on over the past few weeks. Since the layoff announcement on November 15th I’ve had one decent week of training. Otherwise it has been a day here and a day there. I’ve gone on a few hikes/trail runs just to get away (coming dangerously close to getting lost my last time out – but that is a story for later).
This morning I finally got a decent workout in. I spent some time on my indoor trainer, alternating between riding and doing some strength training. Going forward I don’t really know what the plan is. I’d still like to try and do the Hagg Lake 50k, although it feels like I’m already too far behind to get there by late February. I can always do the 25k instead. What happens beyond that depends on whether or not I remain employed. My personal prospects began to look a bit better after Sun announced they are consolidating their global internal manufacturing operations to the site I work in. That news was hard to swallow, as it will put many people I work closely with out of work, and it doesn’t necessarily mean my job is safe.
In the meantime, I’m going to run, ride my bikes, strength train, and do Yoga. I’m not going to put a lot of thought into this until I know for sure there is a real goal out there. In general I just want to build up my strength and endurance, and ultimately I need to make it challenging and fun. The main point will be to have fun and keep myself tuned up and feeling good.
November 21, 2008
I fell behind in what I hoped to be regular updates about my training. I’ve had some great runs too! Initially it was just busy-ness causing me to fall behind. Now it is a bit of uncertainty about my future. Last Friday Sun announced plans to lay off 5000-6000 people – up to 18% of its employees. I, of course, have no idea how it will impact me yet. There are as many reasons to believe I will get to keep my job as there is to believe I will lose it. Even if I do remain employed, I will almost certainly have to say goodbye to some great people I’ve worked with for the past 4.5 years. No matter the outcome, it won’t be easy to deal with. (more…)
October 20, 2008
Weekend Away
Posted by Tony McCray under Personal | Tags: cannon beach, relaxing weekend |Leave a Comment
Joanne and I just spent a great weekend in Cannon Beach. I’ve been wanting a weekend away for a while, and the end of my two-week training break seemed like the perfect time. We stayed at The Waves Motel, and it was very nice. We got a room right up against the sea wall, with a nice view of the ocean. We didn’t do much, other than sleep, eat, and sit around reading books, drinking coffee/tea, and just looking out at the ocean. The weather turned out to be really nice all weekend, and it was just the perfect, relaxing weekend I was after.
It was a little chilly, but about the best we could have hoped for in October
Now, back to reality (work!). And tomorrow I resume training again. I’m definitely anxious to get back to things!
October 15, 2008
2008 Season Recap
Posted by Tony McCray under Personal | Tags: 2008 season, duathlon, endurance duathlon, portland marathon, Running, timberline half marathon |Leave a Comment
My 2008 racing season has been over for a week now. It was my best yet. Here is a reacp, although I’m probably forgetting a few things:
- After my last race in 2007 I took several weeks off. I started training again on October 15th. I started working with Al Lyman, and following his training plans, on November 5th.
- My first race was on the bike at the Jack Frost Time Trial. My time was a PR for this race and distance.
- The next races I had planned to do were the Estacada Time Trials and the Spring Classic Duathlon. I got sick just ahead of the Spring Classic (the weather was amazing for that race this year too!) and missed all of these.
- I raced in the Hagg Lake 10k. I was second overall and won my age group. Looks like this ‘cyclist with running shoes’ can actually run.
- I learned a valuable lesson at the Blue Lake Olympic Duathlon. I won this race in 2007. Trying to do the same in 2008, I tried to chase someone down on the bike, resulting in a meltdown during the second run. Lesson learned: ride your own race. Very valueable, given there were only a few more weeks to my A race.
- Next I headed south the Bend for the Pacific Crest Endurance Duathlon. I had high hopes, raced smart, and placed second in my age group.
- After talking with coach, decided to focus on the Portland Marathon, 12 weeks away.
- I ran the Crawfish Crawl 5k, placing 5th in my age group, and setting a 5k PR. Setting a 5k PR wasn’t too difficult since this was my first 5k race! But I have done quite a few 5k runs during duathlons…
- I ran the Timberline Half Marathon. With no expectations I ran my own race…and won. Holy crap! I won a running race!
- On October 5th I ran the Portland Marathon in 3:24:22. The hardest and most rewarding race I’ve every done.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with how this season went down. I’ve got some big and different goals for next season, but go in with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence. More on that later!
October 14, 2008
I’ve had one week off now since the marathon. Overall I think the recovery has gone well. My left leg spasms are still there, but since those were there before the race, I don’t think they are related. Last Friday I did a little Yoga, which left me slightly sore. Yesterday I did some yardwork, before all the cooking, with the same results. I’ve got some tight muscles too! It is a little surprising that after only one week I get sore doing these low-impact, everyday activities. I wonder what my first few days training again will be like!
October 12, 2008
More Muscle Testing
Posted by Tony McCray under Personal | Tags: applied kinesology, muscle testing, naturopath |Leave a Comment
I continue to be impressed with the idea of muscle testing both to identify problems with my body, such as what I’m allergic to, and what supplements/medication might be helpful to me. On my most recent trip to the doctor, last Tuesday, I told him about the muscle spasms/overall weakness I’ve been feeling in my left leg. He suggested that in some cases issues like that can be caused by weakness in other muscles – in this case it was possible that my quad was compensating for a weak hamstring. When I mentioned that I’ve always felt more tightness in my left hamstring compared to my right, and that no amount of stretching improved it, he started testing. First, while I was lying on my back and then my stomach, he pulled on my leg and I was supposed to fight him. I couldn’t. My hamstring just didn’t have the strength. He checked for structural issues, considering that some type of chiropractic adjustment could help, but found none. That led him to thoughts of digestion issues, since the hamstring is apparently connected to the upper intestine. He tested a betaine hydrochloric acid supplement, which made a dramatic difference. Once I had the supplement on my tounge my hamstring was strong, and I could easily prevent him from moving my leg. Betaine hydrochloride (HCl) essentially supplements the natural HCl in out stomachs, and aids in digestion, improving the absorption of nutrients like calcium.
He also wanted to test a couple of other supplements that help with digestion: an l-glutamine supplement and a pro-biotic. The problem was he didn’t have these things in his test kit, and he couldn’t open bottles of medication from the medicinary stock. So he simply had me hold unopened bottles of these supplements under my chin while he tested my hamstring. Now, l-glutamine supplementation is something I have read a bit about, and had already thought it might be a good supplement for me to take. A post-exercise recovery drink I used frequently as well as some whey protein I used included l-glutamine, and I had always understood that this was good for digestion and immune system support. With the l-glutamine supplement bottle under my chin my hamstring tested weak. When it was replaced with the probiotic, my hamstring tested strong. I was surprised that something I expected would be good for me, the glutamine supplement (although I expected both things to be good for me), tested weak. I asked the doctor to try it again – maybe I wasn’t ready! Again, the l-glutamine tested weak. I was surprised to see such a dramatic difference in my reactions, given that I was just holding these bottles under my chin.
As of now, my left leg still doesn’t feel quite right, although my hamstring does seem to finally be loosening up a bit, and the typically tight/sore spots are going away. I continue to be a bit frustrated and worried about these left leg issues, although it does seem to be slowing getting better. Hopefully this will all be cleared up by next week when I plan to start training again!
