Moonshots, Endings, Demolition, Drummer Boys, and an Ultra

2010 in 2010
One of the somewhat obsessive-compulsive things I do (at least, it’s obsessive-compulsive according to my lovely bride, Katie – I think doing stuff like this is completely normal) is to keep track of how many miles I cover each month running, cycling, and swimming. I started doing this about 6 years ago, with the idea that I’d like to travel “around the world” by covering 25,000 miles – which I did last year. So I decided my next step would be to travel to the moon. “How far is it to the moon?” many of you (minus any rocket scientists out there) might wonder. Well, to answer your question, I went to the internet and found the following: “Since the moon's orbit is elliptical (oval-shaped), its distance varies from about 221,463 miles at perigee (closest approach to Earth) to 251,968 miles at apogee (farthest point). The average distance from the moon to the Earth is 238,857.” So there you go. I figure I’ll shoot for the average distance, which is just a little less than 240,000 miles, which means, when you take the average distance I’ve been covering in a year and divide it into the average distance from the moon, I’m not going to make it any time soon (like, it will take me another 47 or so years, give or take, which would mean I’d be around 93 when I finally make it to the moon… so maybe I should just keep traveling around the Earth?). Anyway, all of this got me thinking about a goal for this year, and I had the idea that I’d like to run 2,000 miles in a year. I’ve done 1,000 miles several times, and made it 1,500 in 2009, so it seemed like it might be possible if I was able to stay healthy for the entire year. So far, that’s worked out, and I surpassed the 1,800 mile mark at the end of October and just went by the 1,900 mark last week, so barring any unforeseen and undesired disasters, I’m thinking I’m going to make it in the next couple of weeks. And then I got to thinking that it would be pretty cool to make it to 2010 (since the year is 2010 – get it – 2010 in 2010?) so that’s what I’m shooting for now, and I’d really love it if I was able to time it so I hit that mile mark during the Tucson marathon. I’m afraid I’m probably going to pass it sooner than that, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The rest of the story
If you read last week’s posting, you might remember a section about Connor’s socials studies teacher. This week, she quit.

Demo Day
Our kitchen is now officially gone. They came, they demolished, and they hauled it all away, leaving us with a very large and very empty space. To add to the fun, we found out that the insulation between our ceiling and roof is “R-5” which, for those of you in the know when it comes to all things dealing with insulation, is really, really thin and really, really inefficient, and helps explain why our heating/cooling costs are – wait for it – through the roof. So now we’re tearing out the entire ceiling in the kitchen and living room area so they can add some thicker, heftier, manlier insulation – plus we’ll add some light fixtures which are badly needed in the living room, so that should be nice. Once again, remember, this all started with a new dishwasher.

Did I Miss Thanksgiving?
Is it just me, or does it seem like the holiday season (I would say, “Christmas,” but in the interest of being politically correct, I’ll stick with the more generic term for politically correct reasons) arrives earlier every year. Back when I was a kid, we didn’t start the holiday season until the week before the actual holiday day, but nowadays, the holiday season seems to start as soon as they’re able to mark down the Halloween candy that didn’t get purchased. So I walked into the supermarket last weekend, and what to my wondering ears should appear, but holiday music being piped in on their system, and I have to say, it just felt wrong. I considered taking some kind of stand or making some kind of protest (not sure exactly what this might have looked like, but I imagine it might have involved storming the office where the music/P.A. system controls are kept, announcing that holiday music was not allowed in public places until at least the beginning of December and cranking up some classic Led Zeppelin to get us back in the November groove). But instead, I did nothing. Just continued pushing my cart up and down the aisles, trying to block out the sound of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” which was completely unsuccessful, because that stupid song was stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and now that I’ve typed the title, that stupid song is stuck in my head again, and now it’s probably stuck in your head as well. Sorry about that.

When a Marathon Just Isn’t Enough
Apparently, there’s something wrong with me (some people might say that’s a great example of an understatement). First I ran a couple of half-marathons. Then I ran a couple of marathons. Then I upped the ante by running a marathon in Estes Park, at an elevation of around 7,500 feet. Then I ran Mt. Lemmon, which they billed as the “World’s toughest road marathon” because it climbed around 6,000 feet. Well, apparently that wasn’t enough, because I just signed up for the “Old Pueblo Fifty Mile Endurance Run” after being shamed into it by someone who shall remain nameless to protect their shamefulness (actually, this nameless person didn’t shame me at all – they offered free lodging for Katie and me during the event weekend, which just goes to show how far I’m willing to go – apparently 50 miles - for free lodging, or a t-shirt, or a medal, or, in this case, a belt buckle, which is what you get if/when you finish an “ultra”). Needless to say, my weekend mornings are pretty much booked for the next few months.

That’s all for this edition, so until next time, may your moons remain full and unfettered, may your insulation remain thick and insulatilicious, and may your supermarket remain a Santa-free zone (at least until December).