Hutch DeLoach

30 Posts Ago

Published for Tuesday - January 14, 2025

Written Sunday - 01/12/25 06:25 PM

Hard to believe that 1/2 month ago, on December 16th, I was creating post number 1300 and this is already post # 1330 and that all of that was done some 30 posts ago and how much has occurred between then and now.

I just did a quick review of all the goings on in the past half month and it's amazing. We sure do stay busy around here.

From what my wife was telling me a bit earlier today, we're in for more snow around here. I had no idea that updating our Heating and Air system would prove to be so important as it has been. We're giving that new system a major work-out with all of this winter weather we've been having - not to mention the precipitation (water, snow, and ice.)

Oh, and to enable our staying away from a water pipe repair bill, dripping our water has become a way of life. It wasn't this dramatic last year as I recall.

And now we're facing the possibility of welcoming Allie to a winter wonderland. I hope it doesn't happen but I'm not going to hold my breath for that hope.

I've been able to keep up with the morning ritual and the ham bands have been better than usual in serving as a big part of that routine. They weren't that good today but as a general rule they have been very, very good.

As can be seen in the date written versus date published slots I'm also enjoying writing ahead. In fact, I've even gone to publishing the night before the publication date just to ease up the morning routine. It's worked out very well.

Li's Place

Li's Place

Written Monday - 01/13/25 03:55 PM

Patty and I enjoyed lunch out at our favorite new lunch (Chinese) hangout. They have a great all you can eat buffet deal and that's our go-to treat.

That was followed up by our favorite donut place (almost next door to Li's and a quick stroll down the plaza.) The place is called Lickin' Good Donuts.

Patty dug back in her reserve of energy afterward to plant bulbs next to the house that were provided by Jonathan and Amy. Meanwhile I was spent and started a nap.

Grease

Published for Monday - January 13, 2025

Written Saturday - 01/11/25 08:55 AM

The date and time that this post is being written is a good example of what I was writing about the other day. I have no idea what this post is going to be about, but I'm getting started anyway just to stay ahead of schedule. (There I go with that routine thing again!)

I got up early today. Last night I washed a frying pan and washing off the grease coating (I poured the grease in the garbage) left things goofed up in the drain pipes. Between a shower and the dish washing prep I used up the boiling hot water and could not get the drain pipes clean.

I had to go to bed with a full dish washer and clogged drain pipes that forced water from the dishwasher to back up in the sink. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well with all of that still ahead of me.

I got up early today (Sunday) and turned on the hot water. It took a time for the hot water to reach the sink and the basins started filling up with the cold water that first arrived.

After a short time I was fortunate to get the basins clear and to also clear out the drain pipes using the hot water that finally arrived. I decided to stay with things in the kitchen until I was comfortable that everything was in working order.

Once I was okay with everything, I came downstairs and got my run in. After that, I finished up this post and my wife took care of the fussy cat that was hanging out down here.

Busy Season

Published for Sunday - January 12, 2025

Written Friday - 01/10/25 06:35 PM

It's been a busy time around here. Writing ahead makes things feel a bit busier. I guess that's because I'm a schedule keeper.

With all of the weather going on (and the associated worry that I mentioned) it has only made things seem even busier. A simple example would be the worry associated with dripping.

I don't want to be stuck with a water pipe repair bill. I'd rather pay for some extra (dripped) water. But I also need to make sure when temps drop below freezing that I'm dripping. Just another thing to worry about. LOL!!!

I suppose the truth is, I'm my own worst enemy. I've worked so hard at keeping up with my routine that my Asperger's kicks in when something changes. Especially, when it's something outside of my control, or (for that matter) something I should be controlling, or at least should be able to control.

I really understand how Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parson's character) feels when he gets forced out of his routine by an external factor. That's difficult to admit, but it's true!

More About the Weather

Published for Friday - January 10, 2025

Written Wednesday - 01/08/25 09:05 AM

As I write it's only Wednesday the 8th. But the weather people are saying we've got some snow (and possibly some ice) headed this way. I pray we don't have too much to deal with and that we continue to have power throughout.

In fact, as I publish, whatever is coming should be upon us. I'm thinking this might be a good time to see a wrong forecast as is often the case but the amounts being called for suggest this forecast may be an accurate one.

The thing that leads me to question the forecast is the fact that things never get quite as cold around here as is called for in the forecast. We've got (in the forecast) a wintry mix turning into rain.

What we get may turn out to be entirely a rain event. It's hard to guess And I wonder if the temperature on our outdoor thermometer is reflective of the true outdoor temperature on all sides of the house.

In other words, is it possible that it's just plain warmer on the upper back deck that it is on (for example) the lower deck and out in the yard (where it might snow but where we don't have an outdoor thermometer.)

Running Change-Up

RCU

Written Friday - 01/09/25 09:25 AM

I made a small tweak to my running. I'm back up to a 7.5 treadmill setting which is the equivalent of an 8:00 pace but I'm breaking on 90 instead of 100. The extra 10 step rest makes a big difference in my rest break and my ability to speed the run back up.

The HR was back up to 131 where it needs to be. I don't really start to feel the difference in the pace until that second mile. That's when things start to kick in.

More About Blogging

Published for Thursday - January 09, 2025

Written Tuesday - 01/07/25 06:05 PM

I gave some serious thought to discontinuing my blogging. Well, it may have been some serious thought but it sure didn't last too long.

There's a lot going on and I want to include a blog entry for those things. I still like to go back and reminisce about what's been going on in my life. It's an interesting thing to do.

It's often very tempting to go back and make changes, or corrections, or even improvements. But that just tells me I need to take more time in preparing each post. I've got one shot to get it right and after that my opportunities are gone.

There are some very good writers in my family and I need to be able to draw from their expertise and inspiration. It's the least I could do for those who claim to read this stuff. I need to make it interesting and, at the same time, entertaining.

I think (like this post) I need to go back to writing ahead. It provides time to think about what I want to write and it provides time to do a better job with it. Besides, most of what I write here is not timely. In other words, writing ahead won't spoil what I have to say and especially when I say it.

That's especially true considering that I note on each post when it was written and when it was published. Such is going to be the case for the upcoming weather event scheduled for Friday. I'm guessing I'll call this my lead-up to the event and will write a follow-up about what really happened.

I guess a lot will depend upon whether or not we have an event about which to write.

Either way, the plan is to leave the original date written on the post, even if I go back and do some touch-ups after the original writing.

Slowing Things Just A Bit

Published for Wednesday - January 08, 2025

Written Tuesday - 01/07/25 07:55 AM

Well, I followed up on my plan to change my running routine just a bit. As I had planned, I slowed down my pace just a bit (from 8:00 to 8:30) and lengthened my breaks just a tad, but far from anything significant.

My heart rate (overall) slowed to 127 which is just fine with me. I need to do a workout that is challenging but not obscene as it has been in the past.

It's Tuesday, so today was also a lift day. I'm having great success with my 6-12-25 plan on each exercise. I like the difference.

For anyone reading and not familiar with the 6-12-25 approach to weight training, it just means that you use less weights with more reps as you proceed. The object is to use a weight for each repetition that will cause you to run into some serious muscle fatigue by the end of that set. I've not really encountered any muscle fatigue until taking on this approach.

My ab workouts fall on Tuesdays and Fridays and are the most dreaded part of my workout. I get a good burn when I do them even though there are no weights involved.

The run and the weight training do fine together. In the past it was much dreaded but with the reductions it's now a very doable routine.

The goals should be realistic and attainable. Not crazy for the sake of being crazy.

More HR and Running Stuff

Published for Tuesday - January 07, 2025

Written Monday - 01/06/25 07:55 AM

Today I tried something to see if it would get my HR up a bit more. I decided to skip my last two breaks instead of just the last one. Despite being a bit more winded at the end of the run, my HR was only 137.

That makes me wonder considering how winded I was running that last 1/2 mile at a comparative hyper-speed and with no breaks. Needless to say I was quite surprised that my HR was not closer to my MHR. I really don't know what to believe.

Considering today's outcome, I think I'm going to back down a bit more on the speed but keeping the shorter breaks and the same quantity of them. It will be quite interesting to see what that does.

I hope it keeps my HR pretty high - at least in the 100 + teens. If it does, then that will be my new plan. If it goes below that, then I will have to reconsider.

Almost

Published for Monday - January 06, 2025

Written Sunday - 01/05/25 08:10 AM

Almost! That's how close I came. I almost did it.

Did what? (you might ask.)

The answer is: Slept in and skipped my run. (There was no workout today.)

Today was only a 'run' day and these runs are difficult to say the least. I came up with over a million good reasons to skip my run today and to sleep in.

But guess what? I still got up and did the run. I also emptied the disk washer and got the coffee and cat going. Oh, and I turned off the dripping water.

I have no idea what the temp got down to but I feel pretty sure it was below freezing, based on the forecast for this area. Anyway, better safe than sorry and water sure is cheap out here (unlike other places we've lived.)

Based on the prior estimates versus the actual forecast, I think we came out on the good side of things. A few days back, the forecast looked very bad for this area.

But it's cleared up a bit since then and like I said, I think we came out on the good side of things.

We may still lose power and have some problems but they would be based on the high winds we've been getting and that are expected to continue. They would not be based on the prior forecast. With that (prior) forecast in mind, I sure hope to see some success in getting a generator for our water pump.

If any of what was expected ever does actually arrive, we're going to need one. I hope we get prepared sometime soon. This waiting around makes me wonder and with the wondering comes a bit of fear.

Cold!

Published for Sunday - January 05, 2025

Written Saturday - 01/04/25 02:35 PM

Well, it's getting cold these days! The high today is only 49 and the low tonight will be a sub-freezing temp as usual with this one falling all the way down to 28°F.

I know that doesn't even register a chill with some folks but for this guy it's colder that I care to be. On the 7th and 8th of this month we are dropping all the way down to 20°F and 17°F respectively. That's way down below where this guy wants to be, but fortunately I'll be snug as a bug in a rug with the covers pulled up over my head and enjoying some comfortable sleeping weather.

On Friday the 10th the weather guessers are calling for a mixture of rain and snow with an overnight low near 29°F. I'm sure a whole lot of dripping will be involved and we've already and continue to shoot up prayers that we don't lose power during this cold spell. Lord, please keep the ice away. I'm seeing some stuff about it but nothing in our area so far.

Unfortunately, we lose our water when we lose our power. That's because we're located up on a hillside that is in desperate need of a generator on our pump. It's going to be tough enough trying to stay warm with a ventless fireplace, but I have no idea how we're going to survive with sub-freezing temperatures and no ability to drip water from our faucet if we find ourselves in such a position.

Our utility company has placed an order for a generator to power our pumps up here, but so far no success. Oh and flushing our toilets is another problem that shows up when the power is off for any period of time.

Two things...

Published for Saturday - January 04, 2025

Written Friday - 01/03/25 06:15 PM

Two things in today's post.

First, I was able to do what I hoped to do with my run this morning. I was able to run all 10 runs at an 8:00 pace and do 100 steps on each of the second tenths of a mile resting for only about the equivalent of 30 steps and with no rest at all of the last run.

It was a very costly workout in terms of feeling totally spent afterward but one I'm going to try and replicate each day. It's now the evening of the first time I ran so aggressively and I'm honestly not sure how tomorrow will go.

For my second item in today's post, I don't mind saying that I'm glad I'm no longer a teacher with the way things are going in this day and age. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and am in shock of the way social media has influenced things.

Everyone has a video camera on their phone and everyone seems to be using it to capture whatever they want and placing their own personal spin upon it. I wouldn't have the temperament to survive that which is taking place today.

More Fitness

Published for Friday - January 03, 2025

Written Thursday - 01/02/25 03:30 PM

I want to spend some time here focusing upon my fitness. I'm going to reduce my break size and see how it feels overall.

Presently, I'm running 132 steps in my first 10th of a mile and that's at a 8:00 per mile pace. I'm thinking about moving my mile 2 run up to 100 steps and resting for an equivalent of 32 steps.

As I've noted before I want to do that .2 mile fitness run a total of 10 times or 2 miles with breaks totaling 9 x 32 or 288 steps - which is just over 2/10ths of a mile in total.

That includes a full .2 run on the last interval with no rest break. It will be interesting to see where that puts my HR in comparison to my 150 MHR. It will also be interesting to see how that fits in with my weight training days and what my HR looks like on those particular days.

Speaking of weight training, I'm using the 6-12-25 method for each exercise and I can feel a big difference. On some of my exercises I'm able to use 30, 25, and 20 pounds and on others I'm forced to go 25, 20 and 15 pounds.

On workout day 1 and 4 I'm using 30, 25, and 20 on 3 of my 6 exercises and on day 2 and 5 I'm mostly using the lighter set of weights and in some cases (ab exercises) no weights at all or avoiding the 6-12-25 rule altogether. (On, for example, the forearm and shoulder exercises.)

If You Really Knew Me

Published for Thursday - January 02, 2025

Written Wednesday - 01/01/25 07:10 AM

I did a search on 'if you really knew me' to see if I had written about this topic before. Despite not finding any post with that specific text typed in, I was wrong. Using the image names I was able to find another post on the topic that was done in 2024.

Still, almost 15 years ago, back in 2010, MTV put together an idea for a TV show. The show was called, 'If You Really Knew Me', and as the title alludes to, was based on (high school seniors) becoming more open with one another.

It was a documentary series that premiered July 20, 2010 on MTV and was designed to counter bullying, obesity, and racism. The show seemed to be a great success based on the episodic evidence.

I must say that I was really touched by what happened and what was accomplished during each weekly episode. There were always two individuals who were part of the 'team' and who were the 'guides' to everyone opening up with one another.

Sure, it was formulaic, but it worked! Episode after episode the high school seniors did away with their cliques in favor of a more open society. About five students were featured each episode with a more in-depth review of each.

I wanted to share this program with those who might be interested. I haven't watched the episodes I purchased in quite some time and I decided to watch them again. What I witnessed was just as fresh and real as it was when I watched it back in 2010 and when it was new and on MTV.

Fitness

Published for Wednesday - January 01, 2025

Written Tuesday - 12/31/24 07:50 AM

Well, my weight is peeling off as I hoped it would do. I'm not going to be in my new goal range in 2024 but should be there several days after I get into 2025.

We've got some ice in the forecast if the rain and cold temps both arrive as is forecast. I'm not holding my breath but if the forecast does indeed arrive we may lose power and become dependent upon our fireplace.

If we lose power and there is ice on the streets that could be a real problem for getting out power restored depending upon where the problem spot might be. It's rare that both cold temps and rain would arrive at the same time. I hope it remains a rare thing - even for the upcoming forecast.

Back to fitness, I bumped up my running speed to a treadmill setting of 7.5 (8:00 per mile pace) and did it just fine. No music since I need to do a bit more counting and jump back to running without any counting to prepare me.

I may run through my last quarter mile without a break just to see what that does to my MHR and whether or not it becomes too difficult at that point.

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