After a few months of being without my treadmill, it is finally up and running again. My mishap a few months ago fried the main circuit board. Last week a replacement board arrived. I think it took about an hour to swap out the boards, re-lubricate the running deck, and put all the covers in place. I am looking forward to jogging again.

Rachel and I recently go back from the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. This is the third year that we have done the bicycle ride. Like last year, it was at Blossom Music Center. And, like usual, we were unprepared for the ride. Except for a few days ago, we have not ridden our bikes since last year’s ride. The ride was only supposed to be 10K. But, with the weather in the nineties, the heat was too much for a number of people. When we reached the halfway point, Rachel said she was done. It is probably a good thing too. I do not know how much longer I would have lasted. I am still having pains from my treadmill incident a few months ago.

Even though this year's ride is over, it is not too late to donate.

I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend. I did not do too much. I mostly stayed inside and worked on school work. I am off of work for the next couple of weeks. So, I am hoping that things will stay quiet.

Recently, the US Government approved a stimulus payment to us taxpayers. The payment schedule was based on the last two digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security Number as well as if the taxpayer’s refund was direct deposited.

Thanks to having a very low number, Rachel and I got our stimulus payment on Friday. Most of the money will go to bills and such. But, we decided to splurge on a Nintendo Wii. Wiis are still tough to find in retail stores. Rachel was lucky to find a Target store with two available.

I know that runners occasionally talk about "hitting a wall." This usually means a sudden loss of energy. Yesterday, I "hit the wall" while jogging on my treadmill. I know I am in poor shape (right now), but this had nothing to do with my endurance. I literally hit the wall. Well, not quite.

I was about twenty minutes into my jog when the treadmill stopped abruptly. My chest hit the treadmill's console while my feet slipped on the running surface. Consequently, I have severe pains in my chest, hips, knees, and back. I only wished that it looked as funny as it sounded.

It has been a week since I started the National President's Challenge. I have not lost any weight according to my logs. In fact, I have apparently gained a few pounds. However, I know from past experience that my daily weighings can fluctuate by a few pounds. It all depends on when I weigh, when I ate last and what I am wearing. The Challenge continues into mid-May (though I plan to keep exercising past then).

The two most popular days to start an exercise regime are "tomorrow" and "Monday." Tomorrow kicks off the National President's Challenge. The goal is to get the nation up and moving. We (mostly me) are too fat. I had been using the President's Challenge website a few years ago. However, now that I spend two additional hours commuting every morning I lost my exercise time. I miss my morning exercises (sometimes). Well, starting tomorrow, I am going to attempt to do my exercises after work. I am dubious in my ability to succeed.

Yes, the snow has finally arrived. Well, I guess "snow" is a misnomer. "Flurries" might be a better word. Whatever you call it, something was coming down at work this afternoon. I count the days until I need to start shoveling the driveway again.

Since we are not moving out of Lorain in the near future, we had taken everything out of our storage unit. Rachel has been redistributing the boxes throughout the house and has cleared out the room we had previously used for the dogs and our exercise equipment. So, once I get my act back together, I will be starting my exercise regime again.

I am still getting used to working five eight-hour days again. But, it is nice to get home a bit earlier now. Rachel and I had time to walk the dogs around the block. All five of us sorely needed the exercise and fresh air. In addition, we had time to make a nice dinner and play around of Monopoly.

Yesterday, Rachel and I rode in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure 2007. We signed up to do the 10K ride. We had a good time, but we should have done more preparation. Last year, 10K was a breeze. Of course, that was because we had been doing a lot of riding. This year, we had only one or two rides before the event. Consequently, I had to struggle to make it through. But, aside from a slight sunburn, we both turned out okay.