Sept 23 to 29

I'm still struggling to establish better habits this September. I got a workout done on Monday and Saturday the 28th. No rugby either - I just need some time away from them. The ones that I mean are just too much for me to do while struggling through this month.

I had a great workout Saturday- did sprints and a light jog for 45 minutes. That was awfully helpful. The rest of the week was meetings and sick as dog moments. I'm still feeling it and might have to bite the bullet and get on some antibiotics. That would be super early in this flu season to do that ... but yeesh, the fact of the matter is my body is just so stressed at the moment.

The highlight of the weekend was taking my kid to a University Information fair down by the SkyDome on Sunday. Lots of walking and finding out stuff. The IELTS people were there, too.

hashtag retirement job.

Sept 16 to 22

I missed rugby this week because of the fact that I'm a dad and am needed to be that ballast in the house. When I'm not there, it seems, the world crashes down.

I do what I do best. I float in a boat and help others travel their journey with safety.

It's a nice sentiment, but it makes for crappy training plans. Meh, I got a few workouts done - I even did some hill "sprints" last night at a park near my house. I'll do those from now on while out on a walk or run. Spiked my HR up, so that was good.

A lot of standing around, driving people to various events and cleaning things was my life, too. I can see why others sense that they have lost their identity when they get to this stage of their lives - living a lot for others isn't a lot of fun. At all.

But I want you to know that I know what I was getting in to - I signed up for this. Am I the epitome of happiness at the moment? Ah, no. But, am I looking for a way out? Ah, no that idea as well. I chose this, I made it happen. And now... I move forward.

Training when I can, having a bag and a gym and a gym membership ready to go when a moment presents itself. These are things I already have. Plans and workouts in my head and in my phone that I can make happen ready to go. I need the time, but I have everything else.

I did check weight this week and I was disappointed. I'll make progress for next time. I need to be under the next round number by the end of the month. It's doable, I just need to focus and train.

Sept 10 to 15

Yeah, not much went on during this time.

Some walking in the pool, some walking in the neighbourhood, but no rugby. Both nights I had family crap going on. This weekend, too. Didn't make the last game of the season, either.

Like I said, not much going on.

Sept 1-9

Let's start off with the bad - the H7 Heart Rate monitor battery died. I tried everything to get the battery case off to no avail. Nothing worked. Nothing.

So ... I ordered another one from Amazon and it arrived and hooked up without any problem. I promise this time not to crank on the battery case to remove the battery.

On to the good ...  rugby and walking continued. The nutrition situation improved, but that is because of the way I've structured by day. Still need to make corrections as I go, but there have been improvements since last month.  Nutrition is the key these days. Vegetables and fruit to balance the Advil I'm taking to smooth out the pains and strains.

Feeling good - some nagging injuries, but thankfully my knees are awesome. Hips and lower back and the usual muscles all ache Sunday and Monday.

We had our last home game of the season Sept 7th. I did get a nice assist to a try, but no tries for myself. A sweet win against a very bitter rival club in the region. Some very nice payback on the day. As I was watching the first tram game, had a number of the old boys team come and speak to me about not quitting and staying on the seconds XV. It's one of those things that has been discussed in my house of late. Their ideas have hit home with me.

All I need now is for the summer to come back. I know it will come back to me slowly, I just need the time to pass and for the time to work.

Aug 24 to 30

I'm sad that this summer is almost over. I'm glad that rugby season has a few more weeks to it, but I'd like it to be June again. Well, maybe July 30th again.

I went into work today to get things set up and have a few things to do at home over the long weekend.

In the last week, it's been rugby and walking - both in pool walking and walking around my neighbourhood to get steps done. I've started back sprinting after rugby training and did some jogging during a few of the walks. Need more kilometres for the running and need to get back into the CrossFit type workouts.

The battery on the H7 HRM needs to be changed, too.

Nutrition has taken a step forward and I look forward to getting back into a routine with time for training and eating, too.

Aug 12 to Aug 23

Is there a way of blanking out the vast majority of my brain?

Yeah, that's where I am these days.

I've been making the rugby training sessions in the last few weeks. I've been on and off with my own training but making some needed improvements with diet and sleeping.

Oh, my God the sleeping.

Ran away on a Saturday to be a rugby sult and played for two teams at prop. Ran further away and had a great time chatting with my daughters for Saturday. I'm sure they didn't see how many people I knew there - and I know they don't know how I knew that many people ...  it's just rugby and they aren't there, man.

I keep thinking about turning fifty in 2020. Such a short life. Such a short time on this planet. I'm sad about that. I think I need to be happy about turning fifty. It's a mission that I need to take on, man.

Aug 4 to Aug 11

I’d be lying if I told you everything was wonderful. I’d be lying if I told you things were tolerable in the long term. Right now ... things are merely ok.

Lots of ongoing projects that are stalled for a variety of reasons. I’m not waiting though - need to pay bills and kick ass. And so ... I keep training. I keep working and planning and making ready for the right moment. Lying low, rather than lying about. These days, I’m hitting every rugby session as well as rest days and training days.

Thursday I did the Fire Drill workout - basically, I clean out the garage - I take everything out and wash the floor and then put everything back in. I’ve been doing that for a number of years and it’s awesome. A good workout and now I am ready for the school year and other plans. I have a gym that is functional and not another dirty room into which I collect crap.

The same day I hit 303% on the Polar Loop+ activity monitor. I’m quite proud of that. But we have to move on, man. I had to run around like and idiot on Friday and then played on Saturday. Sunday was a rest day, but I did go for a morning pool walk. Today, the 12th I took my wife to Cedar Springs and got her membership reactivated. So now, at least we can get there together and have a bit of a real. At the very least, at least she has a place she can go to when away from our kids.

Very active days, but still not seeing much progress in the nutrition or the weight loss. It’s like those two things are somehow connected. In any case, I’ll get it done. Meh, I’m looking forward to the challenge this winter of all those workouts and training sessions.

As a part of my belated spring cleaning, I’m tossing a lot of stuff out, including the big wheel I’ve had in my garage for a number of years. I’m finding this sort of tossing out cathartic to say the least. I keep finding things that “do not bring me joy” and enjoy releasing them to the universe, hoping that someone else can gain by these possessions.

I did get a decently priced iMac on Facebook Marketplace, too. I’m happy that my son can play video games non-stop without using my bleeping iPhone. Eeeeeeeesh.