How Did I Get Here?

Quote of the Day: “Do not repeat the tactics that have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”

The deal was, “I’ll go with you if it doesn’t rain.”

It rained.

But my wonderful wife ignored her only caveat and joined me on my 12-mile run this morning. We also brought Buster the Wonder-Idiot who hasn’t run more than a few miles in years. In fact, has NEVER ran more than 5. So 12 was an event and because he’s dumber than dirt, he didn’t know nor wouldn’t have cared if he did that he was about to embark on a personal best.

We loaded up the Honda with Carrie’s bike (because Truckasaurus still has wood in it waiting to be chopped) and Buster, in near-orgasmic excitement, bolted into the Pilot to join us, unaware of what we had planned for him.

The rain let up when we got there and it was a wonderful 45 degrees, no wind, and just a hint of mist in the air. Carrie was my mule who carried the water and other supplies, leaving me unencumbered for the comparatively short training run. Maybe “mule” is a little insulting but “ass” would have landed me on the couch for a few days.

The first 1 ½ miles sucked because there were other runners, bicyclers, and cars. Buster was a spasmodic mess, running all over the place, rushing the runners, darting at the bikers, and blissfully/ignorantly wandering into the path of oncoming cars. Carrie had minimum control over him because she was on a bike and I was trying to concentrate on the run and keep my heart rate under 150 beats per minute. Buster ensured THAT was not going to happen.

After we reached the main turnoff at the 1 ½ mile mark, things got better. In fact, after a couple of miles, old Buster calmed WAY down and I suspect, wondered why the hell we were taking him on a quest to the outer edges of the Earth.

I got control of my heart rate and was able to go pretty fast (another reason I think my numbers are off). Supposedly, I supposed to be having trouble keeping my rate UNDER 150 but I found it a challenge to even get it UP to that except when I hit the hills when it was not a problem whatsoever.

By the time we were on the last mile, Buster was plainly tuckered out. Carrie and he had stopped at mile 5 while I ran ahead, made the turn-around, and met up with them thus cutting off two of the twelve miles for them. For some reason, Buster didn’t seem to appreciate this.

On the last mile, the skies opened up. It just started down-pouring and we all got completely soaked. Therefore, we all got to enjoy eau-de-wet-dog in the Pilot on the way home.

A bit of good news though: they fixed one of the common toilets and I took full advantage of this before the run. This was definitely a contributing factor to the relative ease of this run compared to other weeks.

I was soaking wet inside my new car on the way home but I was happy. Another one in the books.

Tonight, we took care of our taxes. For the last few years, we’ve bought the tax software and tonight was the night Carrie saddled up to the computer desk with me and we worked the taxes.

The software makes it easy and takes most of the confusion out of it. I thought it would take less time but it took quite awhile. Not that we had problems, it just had a lot of screens and redundant questioning. But considering the wide array of situtions it must program for, I was impressed with it.

One thing that I never claimed before (and I WILL claim ignorance) was the non-taxable housing and food allowance the military provides. We discovered we are supposed to put this in and for some reason, it upped my return by $20. How “non-taxable income” can do this when it’s not listed anywhere else is beyond me but I’ll take it.

We got a pretty good chunk of change back and it will pay for the Saturn fiasco and maybe MAYBE have an effect on my decision for a brand new computer. My boy wants an upgrade to play his beloved Toontown on so he’d get this one and I would be zooming around the computing world in a brand new Dell, preferably the newest high-end line they are touting: the XPS — The Ultimate PC Experience.

MAYBE!

Free Advice for Today: “Visit friends and relatives when they are in the hospital. You only need to stay a few minutes.”