LANDSCAPE: Step 3: Hardscape.
With the groundwork ready they poured concrete for the path.

By the end of the week, all of the main structures (path, rock river, and planters) will be ready for what they will need to support. (People, water, and plants).

TRAINING: Step 3: A lot more physical therapy left to do on my shoulder and leg before I can function at full throttle. Last week I came out of hiding a little and ran 5k for the first time in awhile. 27:39. Almost 5:00 slower than last year but almost pain-free. It has also been weeks since I have lifted anything heavy. Today is the day. Some strength is still there. It is just a matter of whether the structures are ready to support the weight.

LANDSCAPE: Step 2: Reinforcing the ground
Demolition takes a long time and is not very exciting but I guess you can’t put in concrete before you dig the hole. You have to prepare the foundation.

Concrete alone is too brittle to provide adequate strength for a foundation. It has to be reinforced with rebar to be sure the structure will be stable and support any weight it is intended to support.

TRAINING: Step 2: Reinforcing the ground
Same story applies. Rehabilitating these stupid injuries takes some work but I have to deal with them before I can really begin building. I am working my way up to 3 sets of 30 internal and external rotation on the shoulders and hips and icing every day. I have seen a lot of improvement in just a week. But it is important I have patience and keep reinforcing the ground I plan to build on until it is stronger than it was before.

LANDSCAPE: Step 1: Demolition
Work started at 7:30. Landscapers tore up all the mulch and weed barrier.

Then they labeled the flagstone path like puzzle pieces and temporarily removed them.

TRAINING: Step 1: Demolition
Physical therapy started at 2:45. Therapist tore up my shoulder and hip for an hour and sent me home to ice.

Last week I finished the Advocare challenge on the same day I closed on a line of credit, finalized landscaping plans, found out Todd’s sister was in labor, and found out Grandma was in the hospital with a broken arm. Quite a day. Tomorrow begins two major efforts. #1. Physical therapy. Need to build myself back up to the point where I can train and be active again. #2. Landscaping project. (Our next door neighbors just started their landscaping project too so when it is all done it will be sooo nice).

I walked around the yard today to remember what it is like now:

Yesterday I suddenly had a vague recollection of a plaque that used to hang on the wall in my bedroom of a big tree. I could probably draw the tree from memory but at the time it wasn’t much more to me than a decoration. Next to the tree it said ‘Great oaks from little acorns grow’. I probably haven’t thought of it in 25 years but for some reason I suddenly thought of it yesterday when we found out that Todd’s sister had her brand new baby girl at 9:00pm last night. Meet Little Miss Maggie Mahan:

[Thoughts continued…]  …It means pushing the limits of what I think I am capable of doing …

… like mountain biking at 12,000 feet. Monarch Crest Trail including Rainbow Trail (long route).

Time: 4.5 hours
Distance: 35 miles
Climbing: 2600 feet
Highest elevation: 11,960 feet

[I will post pictures of this adventure soon.]

[Pausing my train of thought just to say – Mom, you’re never far from my thoughts. Love you and miss you] …

Nancy Elizabeth Stutesman (Feb 18, 1950 – Aug 6, 2003)

I should point out that making “better use of time” for me does not necessarily mean being productive every minute. It means remembering to take the time to see amazing things I have never seen before…

[Crankworx Slopeside Finals in Winter Park – Jul 30, 2011]

Lacking the capacity to handle my normal physical workload, I have a lot more free time. I have probably spent more time with family, friends, and neighbors in the past month or so than the past several months. My house seems to be getting cleaner and cleaner inside and out. Here is an update on the tomato plant I tied up like a puppet after it was flattened by hail and baked at 95 degrees for 5 days with no water (instead of tossing it in the garbage). Todd calls it tomato Franken-plant. But hey, it’s alive!

Personally, I am hoping to call it sweet success. Please turn red!

Patio before:

Patio after:

More to come…

Less than a week left on my 24 day challenge but aside from the Advocare vitamins (which I will soon run out of) I am going to keep on going through to the end of August. I am on a nice slow roll but I am not done yet:

Starting weight: 146
Current weight: 142
Goal weight: 135-137

I didn’t plan to even have a goal weight. I just wanted to feel better – which I do. But as it turns out I feel even better knowing I am approaching a measurable goal. That’s probably one of the main reasons I like CrossFit. A lot of people automatically want to tell me I don’t need to lose weight. That is probably true. I don’t need to do CrossFit either, or ride my bike, or be outside in general. But I enjoy life better when I am striving to reach my full potential at something. Right now I can’t improve my performance with difficult workouts so I am doing what I can to prepare myself for hard work later including resting and getting rid of extra weight I don’t need. And if you think I have nothing to lose let me know and I will send you a photo. Hahaha.

It’s funny. Sometimes it seems like the closer we get to being successful with difficult goals, the closer we get to obsession. There seems to be a very fine line between an obsession with the potential to turn into something amazing and one that is horribly destructive. Last year I ventured way over to the right side of that line and since then I have been hanging out a little too far to the left. With some practice and a little caution I am hoping to slowly make my way to a happy, well-balanced, non-destructive middle ground.