September

OK, let me get final tallies for August out of the way:

- Swim: Plan = 3500 / Actual = 3500. Grade = 100% = A
- Bike: Plan = 100/ Actual = 94. Grade = 94% = A
- Run: Plan = 90 / Actual = 70. Grade = 77% = C
- Crunch: Plan = 1000 / Actual = 700. Grade = 70% = D

So, if everything is weighted evenly, it averages to 85%. In b-school, we called that the "Gentlemen's B". I can live with that, though I don't like that my running was so weak.

I also made some changes to my September plan. I decreased running goal from 120 to 100. Going fromk 70 to 120 miles in one month was probably asking for trouble/injury. Still, throw a few long runs in there, and I could be right there. I also decreased the crunches from 3000 to 2000. Sure, I want some buff abs, but I think crunches are probably the least effective part of training. Time is better spent stretching or picking up some dumbells. It's on my sidebar so I have a constant reminder. Maybe that will help me pace myself a little, instead of panicking with only 3 days left in the month.

I ran a crappy 2 miles yesterday. It was humid, I just didn't feel like it, I forgot my MP3, and it was threatening to rain. Also, I seemed to have a lot of random aches and pains. Numbness in foot, twinge in my elbow (?); minor annoyances which I think were my body trying to tell me it was tired. Also thinking back about past disasters - 9/11, the blackout, the tsunami.

Looking forward to the long weekend. Planning an 18 mile run (!) and a 50 mile bike ride this weekend. Went to GNC today and bought some Amino Vital mix, which I have never tried but seen recommendations, and some gels. And some bananas.

Ugh. I read an article which referred to the standing water in N.O. as a "toxic gumbo". Get those people out of there! I still haven't seen any kind of long(er) term plan. The Houston Astrodome will be an improvement over the 3rd-world hell that is N.O. now, but they can't use that for more than a few nights. Where are they going to go? Trailer parks? Cruise ships? Campgrounds? Hotels? Also, I think they should start dividing them up into smaller groups. Give them a choice of where they want to go - Houston, Galveston, Baton Rouge, Panama City, whatever. A community or a shelter can handle a few hundred (or even thousand) people at a time. At a time like this, they would be happy to help. But 25,000, or 60,000 is an impossible task. People need showers, clean clothes, clean bathrooms, access to phones -- dignity, safety, security. They also need to be registered somehow, so they can get mail and relatives can find them. Oh, it's just a nightmare . . . Here is some info about the Astrodome plans. It's a start.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3334057