Thanks Coach!

My wife and I want a covered porch on our house.  I'm a do it yourself kind of guy.  We got the building permit the day before I left for camp.  Trouble is, we have an older home.  There are concrete steps leading up to the front door.  Not like the ones you see built today.  These are SOLID - a mass of concrete that is smack dab where we want the porch. (You see where this is going, don't you).

Yesterday, I decided to solve the problem.  There's just something about a cool fall day, men, and power tools.  Not just any power tool, mind you.  A jack hammer - Woo hoo!!!  Six hours later and here's what I have:

Now, if I could just remember where I parked my backhoe.

"Ben, what does this have to do with running?" I hear you asking.  So let me I'll tell you. 

Imagine James Bond for a moment, ordering his signature martini - "shaken, not stirred."  Now imagine being shaken for six hours while trying to man handle a 70 lb beast doing it's best to go anywhere but where you want it to go.  After that, start shoveling concrete rubble out of the way.  A day of manual labor - the kind that makes you thankful to work in front of a computer! 

That comes close to my day yesterday.  To say I was rattled is an understatement.  Exhausted and in pain.  My forearms and shoulders ache.  My legs feel like rubber.  My toes hurt for crimeny sake!  As my dad used to say, "I'm too tired to 'break wind' " (he used a different word, starts with 'f').  And my wife's ears hurt because I am whining so much. 

Off to bed I go.  I do not sleep well because every time I turn over, the muscle I land on screams out!  I awaken this morning to the sound of rain.  "Yes!"  I think.  I'm not going to run in the rain today.  I get a day off!  Then I hear coach.

"Day Off?  Day ON!"

So much for a day off.  I did take it easy (schedule called for a run of 15 miles), and I worked out indoors - 10 miles on the spinning bike, then a 5K on the treadmill (and yes, 180 BPM for you GFR fans out there). 

I actually feel a whole lot better.