Cardio, Weights and Loss

Home Gym (1/27/2009)

I left work late again tonight because a co-worker told me that he would be taking his son to Cedars Sinai tomorrow. His kid has been battling a heart problem all his young life and is facing the prospect of yet another surgery. So in order to support him and to get a critical report out on time, I stayed late (past the 6:00 BJJ start time) to get things wrapped up.

Cardio

So I went home and stuck to my guns. Since I couldn't scratch my BJJ itch I worked out in my home gym. I got on the treadmill and ran my little heart out. Now I generally have a rule about that. I DON'T RUN UNLESS SOMETHING IS CHASING ME!!! So, needless to say there will be no distances nor times posted here because they are quite embarrassing. The key point is that I got some cardio work done on a night that I would have previously written off.

Weights

After my running from nothing, I hit the weight machine and did an upper body circuit. I worked arms, chest and shoulders. I often joke that "I tried lifting weights once, but they're just so heavy". Honestly weight training has always been challenging for me. I find it tremendously difficult to get and stay motivated to do it. Tonight it was the work-out of last resort, so in a way I was "forced" to do it, and that helped me power thru it.

Bottom line I'm so glad I was able to stick to my commitment. Even though I missed BJJ, I did not falter in my plans. Normally, getting out of work and missing class would have derailed me. but tonight I was able to overcome it.

Loss

Tonight I also got a call from a friend and former co-worker that a former boss of mine passed away over the weekend. He had gone into the hospital with what he thought was a severe stomach flu. As it turns out, he had a severe and rare form of stomach cancer that was widespread and untreatable. By the end of the weekend he had passed. Steve Barton was only 62 years old and was looking forward to retirement this year. This kind of thing really makes you reflect on your own mortality and just how fleeting life is. It also makes you realize that things are not always as they seem; from stomach flu to untreatable cancer. You will be missed Steve.