The things we own end up owning us.

Long ago a die was cast: I am a PC user. I do delineate from this. I am not persuaded or seduced by Mac's pretty products or their ridiculously large displays. Macs do great things but to me they feel like computers for idiots. Feel free to throw stones, but I'll be a Microsoft PC User until I die. (and YES I know all about bootcamp, etc... face it, eventually Mac will be nothing more than a software developer just like MS... but I digress...)

All of the above BS is just a bunch of positioning because I am now... *painful, embarassed cough* an Ipod owner. Yeah... I got a 4 gig nano. This happened through the generous birthday assistance of Erik, Nikki, some family members (Monet) and some Ebay auctions. This has mostly come about because of the amazing Nike sport kit and its nano compatibility. If you don't know what I'm talking about read this.

Crap. I'm still not building the narrative, let me try again:

I've been thinking about running a 5k. I've been lifting weights and trying to be generally fit for years now but in the absence of something to train for it can be difficult to maintain motivation for exercise and anything that remotely resembles proper eating. This lead to an idea I kicked around a year ago: I'll train for a race. This didn't happen a year ago but somehow it has magically materialized into a reailty this year. I did a google search for a 5k training program and it looked a little too easy. I started talking to Laine (the girl who does mid-days at RadioU) and she tried to talk me into a half-marathon. She almost had me convinced but after a look at that training schedule it felt a little steep. This lead me to a 10k.

Once I began talking about it on the air, I pretty much backed myself into a corner and so I began Hal Higdon's Novice training schedule for a 10k (mixed with weight training from "The New Rules of Lifting"). I began wondering about running shoes... long story shot: a phone call to Nike and two days later... BOOM. They supplied with brand new Nike+ running shoes and a Nike nano arm band. This lead to the purchase of the nano and the Nike+ sport kit. It works with your shoes to tell you how far you have run, how fast you have run, and how far you have left to reach your goal. You can then upload this to Nike.com and it keeps a training log for you. Honestly, it is some of the most amazing workout tech I have ever owned and I LOVE it. The price tag is steep (and yes, I didn't have to pay all of it myself which may make me a biased commentator) but the quality of what you are getting feels worth it to me.

Side note: I've never been a believer in running shoes. I always thought they were invented as just another accessory designed to take your money. I have never been more wrong about anything in my life. My legs and feet have ALWAYS hurt during and after running. I just assumed that this was from being out of shape. Nope. It was from having crappy shoes. Granted, the ones I have were freebies, but Nike has made a life-long running shoe buyer out of me. Seriously.

So... the 10k training is on. I ran 4 miles in 48 minutes last night. That's not so great.... but you have to start somewhere and being honest about your fitness level is a necessary beginning.

Time is short and I need to get to bed. The Aurora Experiment continues with some success. We seem to have rounded some corner as the nightly, unconsolable fits seem to be a thing of her past. While we still deal with some crying, it is NOTHING compared to what we were dealing with at the beginning of last week. Feel free to pray that this is indeed a somewhat permanent change and not another of the ups and downs of child rearing. :) I cannot emphasize enough to those of you without kids to enjoy your free time!!! It is no where near as available after you and your wife combine chromosomes.

I'm off to bed! This post was supposed to be longer and more interesting but I am sleep deprived. Much love, my friends!