Every morning as I leave for work, I stop by AM/PM to grab caffeine (in my case soda, not coffee) for the long commute. I purposely go by this display, look for a second or two, then walk away.



Donuts are one of my worst offender foods. It's one of those things where, if I have one, I need more. I've been known to buy 2 to 3 donuts at a time, and have them finished once I get to work. There have also been the days where I've done something like this, only to find someone's brought donuts into work, and then I have some there! Definitely not good.

So isn't it a temptation to go by the display? Certainly. But it's also empowering to look at them and say to myself, you know, it's not worth it. Walking away sets the tone for the day.

Anyway, today I jogged 5 miles at about 5.5mph. The total time was 57 minutes; again, not the greatest, but I'm working on it. My 5k time was 34 minutes.

I complained about this workout last week. I promise not to complain this time. I'll just say ditto, because I do feel the same way. The funny thing is this workout is exactly what I need for backpacking & hiking! Especially if I'm going to do Mt. Whitney in July/August.

OK, the workout:

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, Alternating supersets, 2 exercises each
* High Step-Up, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11
* Romanian Deadlift, 125lbs, 2 sets of 11
* Off-Set Incline Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11
* Incline Lower Trap Raise, 15lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11

So yeah, that was tiring. I didn't want to jog today but I went ahead, it took me 32 minutes to do 2 1/2 miles. Far from 6mph, but hey, I did it! Now I need a nap.

Another week of exercises, week 2 of the new workouts.

Warmup, 45lb bar on shoulders, all exercises as a circuit
* Overhead Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Good Morning, 3 sets of 5
* Barbell Lunge, 3 sets of 5
* Romanian Deadlift, 3 sets of 5
* Bent-Over Row, 3 sets of 5

Workout, circuits of 2 exercises, repeat circuits until technical failure
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets of 6 @ 40lbs
* Neutral Grip Dumbbell Row, 3 sets of 6 @ 40lbs
* Scaption, 4 sets of 6 @ 25lbs
* Incline Trap Raise, 4 sets of 6 @ 15lbs

Afterwards I did a half-hour of cardio, jogged 2 1/2 miles.

Today was my birthday: I'm now 38 years old. I was treated this morning by three kids lying in bed with me for a half-hour, hugging on me, playing with me.

My wife got me a BBQ grill, which was desperately needed. My mother-in-law gave me a battery operated fan that she was hoping I could use while camping, but honestly it's a bit big for that. No big deal, I'm sure we can find a use for it.

My son was cute, he bought me a Bionicle robot, and it was obvious that he wanted it himself. Unfortunately the pieces are so small and the way he plays, they'd be everywhere. I had him "help" put it together but I really would rather him not play with it. We'd never find the pieces until one of his sisters swallowed them!

Finally, in the evening Angela and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. I got the fresh Pacific Snapper, which was tasty and made for an easy choice. My one "splurge" was a cheese biscuit.

All in all a great birthday!