“Raisins on the Moon” by the Pretty Pink Pansies

IMG_5657My crazy daughters have decided that our family needs to start a band, never mind the fact that Olivia and I have demonstrated no musical ability to this point in our lives. The name they have come up with for the band is the “Pretty Pink Pansies” (no room for ridicule there) and our first single will be “Raisins on the Moon” (naturally). I was able to capture Kate and Sara working on this little ditty in the video above. The lyrics for the “verses” are pretty hard to make out, but the chorus comes through loud and clear.

They have even started working on the cover for the single (pictured left). Enjoy this rare opportunity for a sneak peek at a future, sure-fire Billboard hit!

The Next Chapter: Starting Over is Hard

Screen Shot 2013-11-16 at 4.05.02 PMNext Chapter: November 12, 2013

On Tuesday night I hit the roads of Bellevue for a 3.68-mile run/walk in windy and chilly conditions. These temps felt quite brisk, especially during the walking segments. Even though the temps were below 40°, which is normally my threshold for tights vs. shorts, I really didn’t want to wear tights. The shorts weren’t too bad since I was only out there for just over 38-minutes.

For this week I increased my running time from 4 x 4-min to 4 x 5-min with 2-min walk breaks in-between. Overall I felt really good, and kept my pace in the low 8:00s for the final 3 intervals.

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Screen Shot 2013-11-16 at 4.05.45 PMNext Chapter: November 16, 2013

I had really intended to run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week, but my schedule just didn’t work out. So, I missed Thursday, but went out for a mid-morning run today on the Harpeth River Greenway. Unlike the chilly conditions on Tuesday night, today was warmer and muggy with temps in the low 60s. This seemed to make a huge difference in my energy level, as I felt significant fatigue during the final 2 running segments even though they were slower than Tuesday night. It made me realize that starting over from scratch after 8-weeks off is very hard, especially considering how little cross training I did while I was off.

The highlight of today’s run was seeing the new section of the HR Greenway that is under construction, which will finally bring all of the various sections together. Back in the summer they finished a new extension of the original section, but it was left at an abrupt dead-end. Well, this morning I was able to run on the gravel, and newly constructed bridge, that will connect the original section with the section that was farther out. Very Exciting!!

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This is NUTS! Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split featuring Van Damme (Must See!!)

This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen (MUST WATCH). Per slrlounge.com:

 Screen Shot 2013-11-15 at 3.51.22 PMIn an effort to demonstrate the “stability and precision of Volvo Dynamic Steering,” Volvo came up with a pretty creative concept and story to illustrate a topic that, for most people, is kind of yawn-worthy. The ad is 6th in a series of stunt videos that Volvo has released to promote it’s truck. From hamster’s steering a 15 ton truck on a windy quarry to dangling their President from a crane 65 ft over a port, Volvo might have outdone themselves in this 6th “Live Test” video. In this video, Jean-Claude Van Damme is doing his signature splits while standing on the mirrors of two semi trucks, while the trucks drive. Backwards. And to make it even more epic, the entire thing is set to the tune of Enya’s “Only Time.”

With only 15 minutes of morning light, the spot was shot in one take, after three days of rehearsing. The Volvo crew assures us that there are no wires or CG (computer graphics)

The Next Chapter: Worn-Out After 3-Miles!

Screen Shot 2013-11-11 at 4.47.28 PMNext Chapter: November 9, 2013

On Saturday I did the exact same “workout” as on Monday and Thursday, but this time I decided to push the pace a little bit more during my 4-minute running intervals to get my heart-rate up a bit higher. My paces for the 4 x 4-min intervals were 8:42, 7:33, 8:10, and 7:51. The end result was that I was WORN-OUT after my little 3-mile effort, but I still didn’t have any trouble with my hip!!

All-in-all things felt really good. I ran on the new section of the Harpeth River Greenway, on what turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. I love the new section of the Greenway, because there is an almost constant view of the river. My plan for this week is to run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and kick up the time on my running intervals just a touch.

Repeated from Previous Update

For those that didn’t see this on Friday’s update….In related news, I found out the “pinched nerve” causing severe pain and weakness in my left shoulder and arm is not really a pinched nerve. It is very likely an autoimmune disorder called “Brachial Neuritis” that attacks the peripheral nerves in the shoulder and arm as a reaction to a virus present in the body (I had a bad cold at the time this happened). This has basically left me without the ability to make any external rotation movements with my shoulder. The good news is that this is usually temporary and strength should return to the affected muscles over a period of 2 to 4 months. There is still a slight possibility that this could simply be a mechanical problem with my shoulder, so I’m going to see an Orthopaedist next week to cover all my bases. Anyway, I’m no stranger to autoimmune disorders, since the Small Fiber Neuropathy I continue to live with is also of this origin. I’m just happy that the pain is starting to subside, and we’re slowly working our way toward a definitive diagnosis.

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