Well, well, well. It's been a long time since I've had an opportunity to post anything of value here. Sorry, but my schedule got super busy last month. I really missed writing here! I hope that everyone's getting their miles in and enjoying the first few days of Fall.
So what's new with me? Lots actually. I successfully completed the police academy's two week instructor development school. I've always had problems with public speaking. Which is strange when you think about it. I can deal with bad guys all day long. But, put me in front of a room with my peers or complete strangers and I become unhinged and hence, become speechless. The other 28 professionals who were in the class with me were just as bad off. Unbeknownst to the average person, police aren't robots. We can and will get freaked out when asked to give a presentation.
The school was a little too hodgepodge for my taste. It got difficult to stay focused at times. I was really disappointed with the class on PowerPoint. I'm a fairly computer literate guy. I never had any reason to get into PowerPoint though. The class basically was you, a computer and free time to play with it. I got the basic in and outs. I even bought a handy dandy remote for future presentations. But, it would've been nice to have a formal lesson on what it can really do.
The traffic was just awful. Usually I'm on my way to work at 6AM and coming home around 3PM. Therefore, I get to avoid rush hour altogether. But, the school was 8AM-4PM. So, I hit it every day to and from. One day it took me a freaking hour and fifteen minutes to get to the academy when I'm only 20 minutes away! I give you commuters major props who do that on a regular basis. Wasn't used to working five days instead of four either.
It was refreshing though to be away from all the bad guys and get to dress in business attire for two weeks. Met some really amazing people. I had the pleasure of being in the class with the local officer from my town who exchanged gunfire with the scumbag who killed two firemen on Christmas eve last year a little over a mile from my home. He was just such a humble guy. He did his final presentation on the shooting and the effects it had on him. To hear him talk about the guilt that he had for not hitting the guy. About how residents of my town publicly humiliated him by saying that they were going to get him shooting lessons? If it wasn't for him and his suppression fire, the scum would've killed more first responders and maybe not have taken his own pathetic life. I shook his hand and thanked him for keeping my family and me safe that winter morning.
My nights were filled with a lot of studying, lots of PowerPoint and lots of rehearsing my presentations. In the end, my 50 minute lecture came off without a hitch. I was amazed that I could even talk in an organized fashion for that long! My son was so impressed with me. He really made it feel like a huge accomplishment for me.
After that it was onto the week long physical fitness instructor school. Talk about nervous! The first day candidates have to pass a series of physical agility tests based on a predetermined standard according to your sex and age. Instructors have to perform at the 70th percentile or better to continue on through the school. That meant for me that I had to do 26 push-ups in a minute, 36 sit-ups in a minute and complete a mile and a half run in 11:58. I'd been practicing all the previous month. But, in the world of law enforcement, a push-up and a sit-up have to be done in a certain way or they don't count. I've seen more that one recruit fail after knocking out 70 push-ups in a minute but only have a fraction of them count due to poor form.
As a safety precaution we had to fill out a standard questionnaire that morning and have our pulse taken. Normally my resting pulse is around 60 BPM. But, that morning it was 120! Yeah, I was nervous! Common sense would tell you that if candidates have to pass this agility test to continue on through the school that they would give you the damn test first thing. Nope! We didn't start doing the test until 11:30 AM?! What the hell man? I had to sit around nervous for that long!
In the end, all my nervousness was for nothing. We did lose a quarter of the class to failures. I managed to do 36 push-ups in a minute, 45 sit-ups in a minute and got the mile in 10:28. Which surprisingly put me in the 90th percentile! I was really pleased! It was nice to see all the hard work I put into my training out of work pay off professionally. I thought the rest of the week was going to be a piece of cake. Boy, was I wrong! By the end, I had muscles I never knew existed ache. The mornings were classes on nutrition, fitness and related concepts. The afternoons were workouts. The lead instructors were fit and then some. The last day, our lead instructor was training for a double Ironman?! Who the hell does that? I didn't even knew they existed? Had to do a small presentation the final day. I decided to do mine on the appropriate mileage that kids should be running according to their age. Went really well. My partner did his on the same topic but with a weightlifting angle. Passed my final exam. So, now I'm a PT instructor too!
Originally I was really bummed about getting injured earlier this year and having to scrap the Rochester 26.2. But, now I'm thankful. The PT agility test was the day after that race. There's no way I would've passed that test the day after running a 26.2. Things work out in the long run I guess!
Speaking of training, mine is nonexistent. My poor chiropractor tried, but eventually called it quits with my hamstring and glute strain. He's advised me to not run the Empire State 26.2 and if I really need to race, run the half instead. I'm so frustrated right now! Had to cut back on the training to go to the schools and this strain just won't go away. But, I've still got a little less than three weeks. I'm going to try to put in as much quality training as I possibly can. Even though I'm now in the taper. Then run the full 26.2 for the experience. Even if I have to walk run. The chiropractor also advised me to call my doc and get a prescription anti-inflammatory medicine. It's killing me to be taking six Aleeve a day now. I'm not crazy about it at all. But, I give up. I'll try anything at this point.
Walter the new dog is finally gone. Lots of drama over the last month that he was here. Been really hard on everybody. He's not a bad dog. He just has had a rough life and needs a home without kids, other pets and lots of room to run around and be crazy. To top things off, the new neighbors across the street are officially insane, psychotic and extremely confrontational! Not easy to deal with when you have to wake up every morning looking at their house. We even had to change my son's bus stop to avoid their craziness and their kids. You'd think they'd act a little saner considering that we're neighbors?
After avoiding it for the last two months, I finally got my CT scan on Monday. It was a really long and stressful day. The test didn't take very long at all. But, now I'm waiting to hear from my doc about the results. Fun. The cough is still slightly there. I'm going to make an appointment with a pulmonologist this week too. I just want some damn answers!
The project is wrapping up nicely. I turned the corner last month and have less than 100 days left to run. This has been an amazing experience. Part of me wonders if it's been the cause of a lot of my problems this year. Hope not. I've learned so much. Rolling around some interesting things for next year. I'm already planning on running the Rochester 26.2 since I have a fully paid deferment from this year. Still thinking about some other exciting stuff!
My favorite month of October is finally here! I just love to changing leaves and crisp smell in the air. Some of the best running weather all year started today! I love Halloween too! We went to the garden store tonight and bought our pumpkins, Indian corn, corn stalks and some mums. Let the decorating begin!
Well, my friends, I'm tired and my Nook's copy of World War Z is screaming my name. So, it's off to bed I go. Hope all of you are running for your lives. Thank you again for taking time to read about my silly life...
Talk to you when I get the CT scan results....good thoughts, good thoughts.
It was refreshing though to be away from all the bad guys and get to dress in business attire for two weeks. Met some really amazing people. I had the pleasure of being in the class with the local officer from my town who exchanged gunfire with the scumbag who killed two firemen on Christmas eve last year a little over a mile from my home. He was just such a humble guy. He did his final presentation on the shooting and the effects it had on him. To hear him talk about the guilt that he had for not hitting the guy. About how residents of my town publicly humiliated him by saying that they were going to get him shooting lessons? If it wasn't for him and his suppression fire, the scum would've killed more first responders and maybe not have taken his own pathetic life. I shook his hand and thanked him for keeping my family and me safe that winter morning.
My nights were filled with a lot of studying, lots of PowerPoint and lots of rehearsing my presentations. In the end, my 50 minute lecture came off without a hitch. I was amazed that I could even talk in an organized fashion for that long! My son was so impressed with me. He really made it feel like a huge accomplishment for me.
After that it was onto the week long physical fitness instructor school. Talk about nervous! The first day candidates have to pass a series of physical agility tests based on a predetermined standard according to your sex and age. Instructors have to perform at the 70th percentile or better to continue on through the school. That meant for me that I had to do 26 push-ups in a minute, 36 sit-ups in a minute and complete a mile and a half run in 11:58. I'd been practicing all the previous month. But, in the world of law enforcement, a push-up and a sit-up have to be done in a certain way or they don't count. I've seen more that one recruit fail after knocking out 70 push-ups in a minute but only have a fraction of them count due to poor form.
As a safety precaution we had to fill out a standard questionnaire that morning and have our pulse taken. Normally my resting pulse is around 60 BPM. But, that morning it was 120! Yeah, I was nervous! Common sense would tell you that if candidates have to pass this agility test to continue on through the school that they would give you the damn test first thing. Nope! We didn't start doing the test until 11:30 AM?! What the hell man? I had to sit around nervous for that long!
In the end, all my nervousness was for nothing. We did lose a quarter of the class to failures. I managed to do 36 push-ups in a minute, 45 sit-ups in a minute and got the mile in 10:28. Which surprisingly put me in the 90th percentile! I was really pleased! It was nice to see all the hard work I put into my training out of work pay off professionally. I thought the rest of the week was going to be a piece of cake. Boy, was I wrong! By the end, I had muscles I never knew existed ache. The mornings were classes on nutrition, fitness and related concepts. The afternoons were workouts. The lead instructors were fit and then some. The last day, our lead instructor was training for a double Ironman?! Who the hell does that? I didn't even knew they existed? Had to do a small presentation the final day. I decided to do mine on the appropriate mileage that kids should be running according to their age. Went really well. My partner did his on the same topic but with a weightlifting angle. Passed my final exam. So, now I'm a PT instructor too!
Originally I was really bummed about getting injured earlier this year and having to scrap the Rochester 26.2. But, now I'm thankful. The PT agility test was the day after that race. There's no way I would've passed that test the day after running a 26.2. Things work out in the long run I guess!
Speaking of training, mine is nonexistent. My poor chiropractor tried, but eventually called it quits with my hamstring and glute strain. He's advised me to not run the Empire State 26.2 and if I really need to race, run the half instead. I'm so frustrated right now! Had to cut back on the training to go to the schools and this strain just won't go away. But, I've still got a little less than three weeks. I'm going to try to put in as much quality training as I possibly can. Even though I'm now in the taper. Then run the full 26.2 for the experience. Even if I have to walk run. The chiropractor also advised me to call my doc and get a prescription anti-inflammatory medicine. It's killing me to be taking six Aleeve a day now. I'm not crazy about it at all. But, I give up. I'll try anything at this point.
Walter the new dog is finally gone. Lots of drama over the last month that he was here. Been really hard on everybody. He's not a bad dog. He just has had a rough life and needs a home without kids, other pets and lots of room to run around and be crazy. To top things off, the new neighbors across the street are officially insane, psychotic and extremely confrontational! Not easy to deal with when you have to wake up every morning looking at their house. We even had to change my son's bus stop to avoid their craziness and their kids. You'd think they'd act a little saner considering that we're neighbors?
After avoiding it for the last two months, I finally got my CT scan on Monday. It was a really long and stressful day. The test didn't take very long at all. But, now I'm waiting to hear from my doc about the results. Fun. The cough is still slightly there. I'm going to make an appointment with a pulmonologist this week too. I just want some damn answers!
The project is wrapping up nicely. I turned the corner last month and have less than 100 days left to run. This has been an amazing experience. Part of me wonders if it's been the cause of a lot of my problems this year. Hope not. I've learned so much. Rolling around some interesting things for next year. I'm already planning on running the Rochester 26.2 since I have a fully paid deferment from this year. Still thinking about some other exciting stuff!
My favorite month of October is finally here! I just love to changing leaves and crisp smell in the air. Some of the best running weather all year started today! I love Halloween too! We went to the garden store tonight and bought our pumpkins, Indian corn, corn stalks and some mums. Let the decorating begin!
Well, my friends, I'm tired and my Nook's copy of World War Z is screaming my name. So, it's off to bed I go. Hope all of you are running for your lives. Thank you again for taking time to read about my silly life...
Talk to you when I get the CT scan results....good thoughts, good thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment