And... recap.

So, six years later...


I have:


-Gained about 40 pounds. (40!!!) Then lost about 20 of that. So right now my weight stands at about 210.  Let's not even talk about body fat percentage.  But it's on the way down, and I am confident that in the next 4 or 5 months I can get back to the 190 range.


-Started another new job.  A career, even, so that's good.  One that pays much better, and is completely stable and sometimes relatively enjoyable.  So I'll basically be stuck "here" for the next 18 years, but "here" could be Amsterdam or Tokyo or Washington DC or Paris...  It all depends on what my wife and kids are willing to put up with. But good prospects.


-Kids! Plural! Back in 2010 I had just the one, a sweet, chubby little guy.  Now there are two, a sweet, string bean 7 year old and a mischievous imp of a 10 month old.  The 7 year old is still reluctant to ride his bike, but he will happily pedal behind on the Trail-A-Bike all day, so that's good.
We will wait out the winter before making bike arrangements for the baby, probably a trailer and one of those sit-in-front seats, after some near mishaps and not enjoying the imbalance and difficult handling that I got with a rack-mounted child carrier.  The winter should mean learning to cross-country ski for everyone but the baby, so we'll see how that goes.


-Moved!  First to a tiny town in Texas which was remote and generally impossible to live, but with access to some of the most spectacular and rugged areas in Texas.  Then again to Minnesota, where we bought a house and are putting down roots, so to speak.  Minnesota is great for outdoor activities, although according to a friend there are "water people" and "mountain people."  I have, for most of my life definitely been the latter.  So now I have to learn to swim better and enjoy the relative flatland. But I can't complain because a few blocks from my house I have access to nearly 20 miles of trail running, and a 10 minute bike ride away is some of the best mountain biking in the metro area.  And lakes!  Lots of lakes!  I haven't figured out yet what to do with them.  Swim? Fish? Maybe next year.  Right now I'm just trying to run and ride as much as possible.  I did one 7 mile trail race this year, and I was a little disappointed in my time.  The heat though, is my Kryptonite and it was hot and humid that day.  I can't wait for the fall, and hopefully I'll get a chance to run a longer distance race.  Or even a bike race of some sort.


My health has been relatively good since we moved from Texas.  Asthma and allergies have been pretty low here, only aggravated when I get a cold or the flu.  Recently though, I've been having some shoulder pain when I extend my arm or catch myself after falling off my bike.  The pain is sort of sharp and intense, but doesn't last long.  Probably definitely need to see a doctor though.  And the two stainless steel screws in my ankle from a surgery in 2008 may have snapped.  I was walk-jogging on a bike path with my son a few months ago and I stepped on the edge of the blacktop and sprained it badly.  It healed fairly quickly, but it's been about 4 months now and doesn't feel quite right.  I was warned that the screws could eventually break and may or may not cause pain, so that's probably another X-ray that I need to have done.  Other than that though, I'm feeling pretty good shape wise.  I was in Chicago for work last week and did an 18 mile run along the lakefront, it felt ok, slow, though I learned a hard lesson about fueling for long runs.  Still, it was officially my longest run ever by about 5 miles, so I felt good about that.  Next up, marathon?  Or at least running marathon lengths.  I don't think I'll actually have the time to do an official one this year.  Babies, you know.


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