Wrecked like the Edmund Fitzgerald

The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee."
"Superior," they said, "never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early!"

Gordon Lightfoot

So I know it's Minnesota week and Gordon is from a little further north but this song is about the big Great Lake I'm looking at as I type this. So it seemed extra appropriate to use this song this week. And as an added bonus Mr. Lightfoot will be playing for me in Madison on September 15th. Now before I recount my day I thought I would give you a little history lesson about the song.


On November 10, 1975, an ore carrier - the Edmund Fitzgerald - sank in Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members. Later that month, Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by that article in Newsweek Magazine, wrote what is probably his most famous song: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.

It was a rainy wednesday on the north shore of Minnesota and that changed up our schedule a bit. I spent two hours from 6 am to 8am in the pool. Lap after lap of individual medleys and then 20 minutes of heaving the medicine ball on to the deck while shuffling around the pool. It was hard but I really enjoyed a morning without a 6 am hike. However, the trainers seemed to think that was a great excuse to wratchet up our mid morning session. The 12 circuits became 18 the relays doubled to two and the ab work doubled as well. It was 3 hours of hard ass work and I was on my way to miserable. And there was no 15 minute break each hour. I would have been happy with 5 minutes an hour. But I had it better than my friend bob-a loo. Not often I get to dwarf a bear

After lunch we reconvened for our afternoon session that was promised as a 1 hour cardio session at the local gym. I spent 10 minutes getting reaquainted with my old friend the Nu-Step :) But moved onto the bike and spent the next 45 minutes on an old school life cycle. Was glad to finish that up before learning that I was going to be doing squats and presses over in the weight room. Thankfully that ended rather quickly and I thought maybe I could get a little nap in since it was around 3:30... Found out we would all be walking back to the resort. I'm guessing in the 1.5 mile range. UGH... Jimbo was

not a happy camper. My legs hurt and every step only adds to it. But an hour later I grumply waddled into the resort...Was I happy that I did it?...Not really. I just wanted to put the feet up, ice the knee and shut my eyes. That lasted about a half hour before dinner and a lecture on macro-nutrients

My ass is kicked. If I cough my ab's cry. If I reach out my shoulder shrieks. If I climb my knee sings a tune like a bowl of rice krispees. There is literally no part of me that doesn't hurt. I have a 5:15 am weigh in tomorrow. I don't really care. I have worked as hard in these 3 days as I can. I'm really proud of all I have done and all my FN mates have done as well. No dissapointment in anything I have done. I do really miss my volleyball teammates and my time in the sand. Volleyball>>>>>>walking home from the gym....Peace, Love, and Rainy Day People, Jim

Forever Young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young

Bob Dylan

Day two is winding down and it was certainly appropriate to quote Mr Robert Zimmerman who was brought into this world a mere 26 miles down the road in Duluth, Minnesota. Considered by many the greatest American songwriter he certainly gave me plenty of fabulous music to choose from but let's face it we are at a place like this trying to stay forever young. And with a birthday next week I am really much more staying forever young than knocking on heaven's door

5:30 arrived early as you would expect on day two. I was sore, I was tired, and I was ready to go. There is nothing I do worse than walk long distances, and by long distances I mean anything further than the fridge. I hate that I sweat more than everyone. I hate that I pant and gasp, and stop more than everyone. And I hate that I bend over to catch my breath and am always at or near the back of the pack. I'm happy I could walk 3+ miles today no matter how much those other things effected me and I am damn happy that it can only get better....I hope :)


This hike each morning runs along the shores of Lake Superior. You get to see the sunrise over the lake, the lighthouse, the ships loading iron ore
and heading out on their journeys, tug boats and the train depot. It is a really cool, fun hike from a guy that doesn't really like walking in a circle. The hike starts on a paved path, transitions onto trails and ends in the downtown twin harbor neighborhood.

Each morning I make my last turn and head into the final 1/4 mile at the Dairy Queen. It's not open yet and it seems impossible to get much pleasure from downing the picture of the peanut busted parfait. Something about it makes me smile. Not that I really have a choice but I get a little joy out of walking past the DQ every morning.







Speaking of scrumdillyicious. My turkey taco tonight for dinner was just fabulous. The food here is not plentiful by any measure but it is tasty and I will certainly discuss it more as we go.

I am exhausted. I'm tired, I am beat up. I have been pushed harder in these two days than I have ever been pushed before. Today way leg day. After the morning hike and pool class, we got a 30 minute step aerobics class followed by 2 12 circuit leg rotations. They included lunges, squats, step ups, lifts and wall sits. My knee is really making sound it shouldn't throughout most of this. I was glad that was over until I found out we were doing relays up the stairs....UGH.. But doing something I would never do on my own is why I am here. A little ice and I was ready for the afternoon hike.

We hiked Split Rock State Park today. The highlight of this trip is meant to be the Split Rock Lighthouse. But as you can see the weather really didn't cooperate very well with lots of fog in the area. I did see this cool little island and wished I had worn worse shoes that weren't my best as it was possible to get to the island hopping some rocks and wading a bit. Alas next time. I was a little grumpy, a little sore, and very tired. I'm not sure I did all there was to do but I am damn sure I did all I could do...and maybe a little more.

On to Wednesday, another upper body circuit, and more of the same...Looking forward to it but I'm not going to lie, starting to look forward to Friday night as well. I need these knees for fall volleyball. Hope everyone is happy, content and forever young... Peace, Love, and eek I'm excited, Jim

Some week ending pictures

Blue skies smilin' at me
Nothin' but blue skies do I see
Bluebirds singin' a song
Nothin' but bluebirds all day long

Never saw the sun shinin' so bright
Never saw things goin' so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days, all of them gone
Nothin' but blue skies from now on
(Blue skies smilin' at me
Nothin' but blue skies do I see)

IRVING BERLIN

Well 4 weeks down and to be honest it has gone really fast. I have to say goodbye to some really good friends that arrived the same day as I did and have helped drag, push and support me. So all my best to Colleen, Corinne, and Darlene. I am certainly proud of all of you. Best wishes taking all this fun stuff you learned home, you guys will be missed by lots more people than just me. And also a huge shout out to Katee who is wrapping up a trip here that began before Christmas. The boys at Oral Roberts University are in for a real pleasant surprise.

I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of the Biggest Loser contestants here at the ridge. Again I am not a big fan of the show, more diet, more exercise and way less drama would work much better for me, but hey I'm watching college basketball most every Tuesday night anyway. But for the record of all the contestants I have met, this one is the funniest. She was 3rd place in season 2, but won a pretty big prize marrying the winner Matt Hoover. They have all been really nice to me, and they are no different than any other campers in that they all struggle, they just do it on a much, much bigger stage. Thanks Suzy you made the week much more fun



I'm a little out of order here with the pictures but hey who cares. Another dose of Saturday night sober karaoke. To me this is a blast and I actually have come to realize I pretty much stink, but I don't give a damn. Here's Cherise and I doing Ain't No Mountain High Enough For the record one of us was way closer to Tammie Terrill than the other was to Marvin Gaye. Talk about What's Going On. Marvin rolling over in his grave that's what's going on.

Here's a shot of the Fab Four doing All You Need is Love. I have dragged some unwilling campers on their first hikes, and I have taken people up climbs they wanted no part of, but none of that was as hard as convincing Darlene and Merinda to come up and sing with us.

We had a little outing Friday night as 15 of us went to see Colbie Caillat in concert in downtown
St George at Dixie State College. It was a really good crowd easily over 1,000 people. I'll give Colbie some credit as well. Her show while really similar to the one I saw in Madison in December but better. She played longer and picked up the guitar and ukulele. It was a really good time. Quite a few yawns in the mix by 10pm, but still I think everyone was glad they went.

Michelle and Jerica after rocking it up to the stop sign Saturday morning. Michelle sporting her shirt from the previous nights show.I spent Saturday morning in the Mormon church for the third time in a row. Well the gym in the church. Nothing on this trip has made me feel as good as playing hoops. Not the faster time on the stop sign, not the long slots hike, not the bike riding, and not the faster times on the treadmill. But coming off a screen, squaring up from 22 feet, and dropping in a jumper really reminds me of being in my 20's. Doing it with Eric or Trevor trying to guard me makes it even more fun.

Sometimes when I am here I totally forget to take in the sights. I get used to them and they just become background. But every once in awhile I see something so breathtaking that I pause. This overlook never fails to disappoint. My shorts look a little big as well so no complaints.

Friday we did a really fun hike. I had done the components of it before but never all of them at once. We did Johnson's Arch, Jenny's Canyon, Pioneer Names, and Galoot. As you can tell by the picture your blog host and double digit women. No shock there. It is really cool with the hike to Johnson's Arch being the coolest part. It was my first ever off road hike way back in the day. It's funny I went by myself that day made it all the way to the back but never saw the arch. This time someone said look up and that it was. This trail closes soon as it is where the falcons like to get busy and they are private creatures :)

Denise, sweaty ass Terp fan, and Cherise. Congrats to Denise for accepting the challenge and doing her first off road hike on her last day. And then of course shame on Denise for listening to me when i said it would be really easy with no problems. She had an awesome first 99% of the hike. She got dragged to stop sign on film her first day and progressed so well in her stay. Another great Ridge success story.






Here we are on the summit of Galoot Hill. It's a little fall if you go off this. No one went over the side thankfully. Denise took a little fall near the edge but Darlene plucked back. A little bruise on the knee and a few expletives preceding my name and she was back to good. It wasn't so good for one of our hikers on the other hike. one bad step, one little tumble, and a trip in the ambulance with a broken ankle. In my 24 weeks it was the most serious injury I have seen here. It could have been any of us, the terrain can be tricky and unforgiving but again next to no real injuries in my 6 months here.

Sometimes you leave the Ridge for awhile and come back and there is a surprise waiting for you. No not that..come on.... Meet Talon he is the grandson of Denae who is the guest services manager here. And Denae is way too young and way, way too young looking to be a grandmom. Talon's mom and dad joined in the fun at karaoke. And since it was sober karaoke they trusted me to hold him for a few moments. Best wishes to Mom and Dad and Grandmom.

On to week number 5, more biking for sure, more hoops, stop sign Monday, Mountain sprints, pink noodles and black swimsuits in the pool class, a trip to Dixie State to watch a basketball game, swimming laps at the in-town pool, another 1,000 medicine ball sit ups, treadmill running, a much needed hair cut, two old friends coming to the ridge, bowling Saturday night, and of course, much closer to fun in Vegas. A huge smile from my Terps that have one five straight games including a Saturday night 104-100 double overtime win at Virginia Tech. This trip has been full of magic and really the magic has only begun. Terps get Duke at home Wednesday night in a battle for first place. A special thank you to Linda M from where the turf meets the surf in San Diego. She reached deep into the classic tune bag for a song I always associate with Sinatra. Linda is the Queen of the Avocado ranchers, a consumate horsewoman, and another person who will be looking at her watch and waiting for me to finish the triathlon after she has finished. Can't wait for that. Little surprised she didn't grab a song from her really good friend Cher. I hope everyone has an awesome week. 2 more weeks on campus for me. Wow time flies. Peace and Love, Jim

Lei Me

Glowing and burning blinded by thirst

They didn't see the stop sign

Took a turn for the worse

She said, listen baby. you can hear the engine rev.

We've up and down this highway, haven't seen a goddamn thing.

Life in the fast lane

Surely make you lose your mind

The Eagles

Well, There she blows. The first Biggest Loser van rolled on to campus yesterday. The van was the same, but the name on the side was different. Can't wait to be the fat kid riding the Biggest Loser van to my hikes :) I'm sure the locals will stare a little extra hard until they get used to seeing these around town.









Tuesday is Cardio Intervals and Total Toning in the afternoons. I'll start with total toning because I rarely make it into that class. Total Toning is done in the aerobics room. You have barbells in your hands and a mat on the floor. The class lasts 45 minutes as do most of the classes and you get a full body tone. It's not lifting weights really but there are plenty of reps and I sweat for sure.







Yesterday, I again did two sessions of the cardio intervals. You spend about 50 minutes on the treadmill for each class. You get a ten minute warm up then proceed to do 30 second intervals increasing your speed each time for 8 units, get a one to two minute sprint on top and then decrease your speed for 8 30 second intervals down. You get a couple one to two minute sprints on the bottom and then repeat the intervals and sprints a second time.






As you can tell by the joy on my face these sprints are nothing but fun.










Some people do intervals on the elliptical as shown here. Others choose the stationary bikes. My sweat is always running like a waterfall onto the treadmills.

Sally Sand and I celebrating the completion of our intervals class. As always I look a million times sweatier but I can assure you that Sally broke a sweat. In fact I felt like I was motoring at my top speed only to look over and see Sally sprintinga full 2.5 mph's faster. Plus since she was next to me she got to hear my singing over my ipod which I tend to do when the shut off in my brain malfunctions from all the oxygen racing to my lungs. I imagine hearing an acapella "Take it to the Limit"from the big, sweaty, panting dummy on the next treadmill is a bit disconcerting especially when he probably only pronounces every 3rd word due to lack of air.

Ending the day with pool class is always the highlight to my day.

A little shout out to the new trainer John. Nice to see a boy on the staff. Just for the record John will push you...hard. And when Satan throws in an exercise dvd for his minions in Hell, I am 99% certain it is a copy of John's step class.

Deb the hiking guide just spent some time in Maui. I, of course, asked for her to bring me back a lei from paradise. Now this isn't just any run of the mill lei. And Deb was not your normal hanging out on the beach, drinking mai-tai's vacationer in Hawaii. Deb was in Maui to run in the Maui Marathon. And she has run a marathon or two before. In fact Maui was #185. And St George on Saturday will be #186. And when you finish the Maui Marathon they congratulate you by slipping a lei around your neck. And the lei that went around Deb's neck when she finished she passed on to me. I have rarely been so touched by a gift and hung it on the treadmill for yesterday's classes. I was 20 miles short of the marathon distance but it felt good slipping that lei on when I finished class. Thank you Deb. Have a happy day Peace Love and Lei's for all my friends, Jim

Back in Utah

I hope, for more love, more joy and laughter

I hope, we'll have more than we'll ever need

I hope, we'll have more happy ever after

I hope, we can all live more fearlessly

And we can lose all the pain and misery

I hope, I hope

Dixie Chicks

So I had an awfully quick trip to Madison, but have made it back to the Utah desert for 3 more weeks of Fitness Bliss. A big week upcoming for the Ridge as they will be undergoing a name change on the 6th of October and a partnership with NBC and The Biggest Loser TV show. Don't quote me but I believe starting Tuesday I will be one of the first campers at The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge.

Here's one of the people responsible for the change so if you don't like the new name send Eric, my hiking partner, and the GM at the Ridge your emails. Seriously there is always trepidation when it comes to making a major change in a successful program and I know they have struggled with this decision, but my hope is that it encourages more people that really need the help that the Ridge can offer you to sign on. I will be spending a future blog or two describing how the ridge can help accommodate and and how they can really help people of size that may be afraid to undertake the challenge here.

?Here is my view on most Monday mornings as Eric's butt slowly gets smaller and finally disappears from view as I chase him up the mountain. This shot is shortly after you turn onto the road and start the most grueling 1.5 miles of this hike.

No question that the biggest improvement at the Ridge has been the overhauling of the Reservations department. And let's face it they will have their work cut out for them when the announcement rolls on The Biggest Loser next week. This is Nancy but kudos to Trevor and Katie as well. I used to hear people bitch incessantly about how they had problems with their reservations but now I never hear anyone say a bad word about this office. And don't forget to tell them how much you love the blog when you book your trip :)

Everyday in the dining hall you get a posting of the days food with the calorie counts for each meal. The muffin was good , the tuna was great, the veggie lasagna was dreadful and clearly an insult to all those cheesy, meaty, saucy, lasagnas that wear the name with pride.

This is the Tuna Nicoise salad. It was a new meal for me and I loved it. Filling and tasty, really all I ask out of my meals. Tuna, Greens, olives and even a slice or two of potato. Big thumbs up here.

What all the cool kids at the Ridge are wearing again this year. Jen from Denver, life coach extraordinaire, and my lap swimming sprint partner yesterday. I am always so happy when I can drag someone into the pool with me for some laps, especially if they will push me to sprint. Jen made me huffing chasing her down the pool. Freestyle, Breast, and Butterfly had me behind her but thanks to a slight wardrobe malfunction and knee injury I ruled in the backstroke.

Here's Jen at the stop sign Monday following a quick ascent up the hill. The official time was 1:00:24 but a) the guy working the stopwatch wasn't paying attention, and b) we like to round down here so my official time for her was 59:59 and under the hour she was aiming for. And best of all I am quite certain that no grandmother beat her up the hill this week, she didn't throw up, and like a true champion sucked it up for a picture with sweaty Jim who wore his sweatshirt for the 4.5 mile jaunt.

Francis, Cathy and I at the stop sign. Both these campers were here for one or two of my previous visits. The friendships you make and rekindle each time you come to the Ridge are without a doubt that greatest experience being here. I don't care how fast you make it to the top, how much weight you lose, or how great you feel when you are done, nothing compares to the people that you meet here. It's the one reward you don't know that awaits you when you sign up.

Cathy also sporting a cool shirt. She sent me a picture from this summer of her crossing the finish line of a race wearing the happy peace sign. I'm not sure it makes you run faster but I know it makes you feel better carrying that tie-dye peace sign on your runs.

I hope everyone has an awesome week. I have a couple off road hikes scheduled this week. I got a really. really cool present this morning I will share with you next blog. I promise an in-depth look at the schedule, a review of Applebees which is tomorrow's off campus lunch trip, and exciting news about the coolest person ever from Biggest Loser making an appearance at the Ridge next week. Peace Love and Losers, Jim

Mutuel of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

Never seen eyes so blue

I could not run away

It seemed we'd seen each other in a dream

"You don't have to love me yet

Let's get high awhile

But try to understand

Try to understand

Try try try to understand

I'm a magic man."

Heart

Three weeks in the book and 4 more to go. The weather has been magnificent this week. Slightly cooler in the mornings for the hikes, sunny, blue skies, like Madison in the summer which sadly has now become fall.

People who have been at the ridge for more than two weeks now get a free lunch at a local restaurant. On Wednesday we ventured out to Ruby Tuesday's with a free pass to order whatever we wanted :) As long as you could stand the watchful eye and discerning look of Paige who "suggested" we keep it under 500 calories. Easier said than done. This eliminated, oh about 93% of the menu. Including healthy options like the turkey burger (890 calories) the chicken clubhouse salad (840 calories) and the ultimate chicken sandwich ( a mere 1161 calories). I ended up with the salad bar and a cup of chicken chili, still damn close to 500 calories if not slightly over. There was a lot of grilled chicken and broccoli, and one crab cake and broccoli floating around our table. It was an eye opener to say the least. And probably the greatest lesson of the day was eating out just can not be a common experience if you want to control your intake. The calorie levels are just too high, the temptation just too great, and the likelihood of eating way more calories than you think too prevalent. The ridge is really trying hard to give multi-weekers more outings and more real world experience during their stays. It is a welcome addition to the program. Besides being fun to get out with your fellow campers it gives you an excellent opportunity to practice life outside the fitness ridge bubble. Because surviving and prospering when your stay is over is truly the goal of everyone, and being better prepared to do that is the most important thing you can take away from your visit to the Ridge.




It was animal week at the Ridge!! Well at least for me. You do get an opportunity on the hikes to see a bunch of animals. Mostly rabbits, but also some chipmunks, huge eagles and hawks, the very rare dessert tortoise, geckos and lizards,and of course the occasional slithering serpent. Although 16 weeks in and I have never seen a snake.








Here's me and Rachel Alexandra. No wait it was actually Silver, Chip and Zorro. Now I'm no horse whisperer but I sort of could sense that these three horses were all thinking "Dear God please tell me that the big fella in the tie-dye is not actually thinking of climbing on my back." I have way too much respect for my four legged friends to do that and I'm still a few pounds over jockey weight so I just opted for the photo op standing with this 3-pack.





There are so many ways to exercise. And killing yourself on the treadmill, or agonizing up the mountain, while effective, don't fall under my definition of fun. Hitting the volleyball in the sand surrounded by amazing landscape, with an awesome player, whose name I will spell correctly this time Kami, is so much fun and I am sweaty as can be, and bent over from an hour of this. I know I sound like a broken record when I stress this. Having fun while working out has been greatly responsible for me maintaining and improving on the progress I make while at the Ridge. Thanks again to Kami and Cindy who joined in this week.

Week 4 starts for me Monday. It will be slightly abbreviated as I fly home Thursday evening for a much needed trip to see my girls. A month is very long time to be away from the ones I love dearly and I can't wait to see them. I fly back Sunday for 3 more weeks. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. Peace from the Utah sand, Jim

Cardio Intervals? Gimme two of those

Everything she sees, she says she wants.

Everything she wants.

I see she gets

Loudon Wainwright

On to week 3! I'm tired...nothing new, I'm sore...nothing new, and I'm hungry...nothing new. Monday morning on the trail at a little after 7am, about an hour before the rest of the guests due to my workout partners desire to work that morning. We both trudged to the top. Now I want you to think of great sports like golf and bowling that use a handicap system to make the competition between unequal competitors more equal. The way I see it my handicap was starting early and I was the first camper up the mountain. so give that man a blue ribbon. Sorry Sally, but your under one hour time was not good enough for the win. Yes you were narrowing the gap at the end and yes I beat you by about 45 seconds but clearly the record books will only remember that on Sept 14th I was there first. :) That's Cammy in the volleyball picture. This girl can play and she takes an hour or so a couple times a week to hit around with me in the sand. I sweat like I'm going up the mountain, I breathe heavy like I'm going up the mountain, but I smile like that mountain is 100 miles away. Exercise that's fun always a good idea. Thanks Cammy!!








Chef Cameron, giving the food preparation lecture. Now I'm not going to call it a conspiracy yet but the last couple days the total calories have been under or very near 1,000 calories for the day. He swears they average out to 1200 but I don't ever remember seeing a 1400 or 1600 total on the calorie board. I want my additional 200 calories, preferably in the form of a snickers
bar.








Tuesday turkey sandwich no surprise there. Reliable and always tasty. The salad matched strawberries with the kitchen's favorite....onions. Couldn't even pick the strawberries out because they tasted like onions, as did the tomatoes on the sandwich. But the ample gobbing of brown mustard helped there.











Speaking of strawberries. Everyone's favorite made their Tuesday night return. Thanks Dana for mugging for the camera. And while most of the men eat their strawberry this way I can assure you that most of the women take much smaller bites and savor that puppy.









Monday is always hard because of the hike. Tuesday is always hard because of the way your body feels from the Monday hike. Throw in 4 or 5 more hours exercise on top of it and you have the makings for some sore and tired campers. Not everyone is happy, and not everyone feels like they made the right choice to spend their "vacation" here, but by the end of the week every camper feels like they have accomplished something they didn't know they could, and every camper is happy inside that they proved this to themselves. Me? I still want those missing 200 calories. Peace, Jim

End of Summer

What I feel, I can't say

But my love is there for you anytime of day

But if it's not love that you need

Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed

Tell me, what is my life without your love

Tell me, who am I without you, by my side

George Harrison

Well I have a little over a week left before I get in the car and make the 26 hour drive west. I'm leaving Tuesday August 25th and start my 7 week run at Fitness Ridge on Sunday the 30th. It can't really come soon enough as I have really struggled since the first of the month. My exercise is still good, but being out so many nights between volleyball and trivia and weekend fun has just made it hard for me to keep the calorie end of the equation intact. I just need to feed myself at home much more. Wanted to say hi to Rachel who was the 4th ridger to come visit and partake in Madison. But since she is a UW grad and a UW Law grad it was more of a homecoming for her. I did make her watch a volleyball match which thankfully we won.



Speaking of volleyball we played in the Monday night championship last week. I have been involved in tons of games in my life. Most every sport you can compete in and I have never been involved in a game where I felt that winning was more improbable than Monday night. Not before the match mind you, but as the match progressed and we got spanked around and lost the 1st game 15-3. We were behind the entire second match and facing a match point when a ball we dug out of the net was sent up, but not going over the net. However, their spiker reached across the net to block and caught a piece of the net. Given a second lease on life we rallied to win game 2 16-14. Now I would love to tell you that inspired by this gift we charged to the lead and coasted to the championship. But no, we fell behind again. Trailing 14-9 we staved off 3 match points and rallied to take the lead at 15-14. With our first championship point I watched as one of our players served into the net, however the next two points went our way and we wrapped up the championship 16-14. Now granted this is just a bar league volleyball match, but damn I haven't been this happy about winning something in a very very long time.

I want to say thank you to so many people that made this the best.summer.ever. Let me start with my workout partner Karen, who pushed me on the treadmill and had to put up with me groaning through medicine ball sit-ups. She is nice enough to let me use her facility and I promise I will be back in two months to keep moving. And thanks to the great staff at Club Tavern, which was easily my second home this year as I played volleyball there 3 nights a week. Especially Matt, who had to put up with my bitching when he reffed our matches, and Maddy, Erin, and Ashley who fetched me many a shandy and had to listen to way too much Sara Bareilles on their jukebox. I want to thank Joyce who got me great Billy/Elton tickets. I want to thank my employees who made the summer at Sunshine Daydream successful and my good friend Paul who makes me laugh and has already signed on for March Madness in Vegas again. Also I need to say thanks to my wife who had to put up with me leaving sand around the house, and staying out and being out much more than at any time in our marriage, and for being understanding when I say I am leaving for two months to drag my fat ass up a Utah mountain...again.

Finally, I have to thank my teammates this summer who really have reignited a competitive spirit in me. Trivia: Jon, Sara, Allison, and the others who came out on occasion. Sunday Volleyball: Sara, Luke, Leah, Matt, and Allison. Monday Volleyball Tim, Zach, Tanya, Sara and Allison. Tuesday Volleyball: Karen, Becca, Todd, Zach and Allison. Wednesday Volleyball Tim, Tanya, Laurie, Dan, and Allison. I really need to give a special shout out to Allison who lined up next me in virtually every time I walked out into the sand. I am going to forgive her for not thinking about how her going to South Korea for a year would effect my summer of '10 volleyball teams :) She will be missed and you can see her in the pictures enjoying her going away cake and showing her amazement that I would don a PSU shirt for her at her last volleyball game.

Its now time to start packing for the trip west. I bought some new Brooks running shows today despite the completely condescending attitude of the clerk at the Madison store that is the home of the most serious long distance runners in the area. Yea, I don't look like anyone else in your store but don't treat me like I don't belong or make some comment about how these shows would help me with my "issues". I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the ridge. Looking forward to you guys kicking my ass. Looking forward to getting in the pool, treading, and sweating in the 100+ degree weather. But I'd be lying to you if I said I was looking forward to going 4.5 miles up that damn mountain every morning. :) I hope everyone enjoys their remaining summer and next time you read this I will be reporting from the new look Fitness Ridge. Peace, Love, and Safe Travels, Jim