Why am I doing this?

I am going to subject myself to public ridicule and teasing, but hey… this pretty well summarizes the first 40 years of my life.  Sarah put this together in powerpoint and I extracted it for the web.  It’s really nice… enjoy!

http://www.scottpatton.com/birthday

The 5k Winning Soccer Shopping Surprise Experience

Alrighty, so I got a lot to update you on. First of all. I am 40. Yeah, you read that right, I turned 40. So what? Who cares? Well… it was actually pretty cool turning 40. Many of you are now raising an eyebrow and others are saying “wtf?”. Well, it’s simple… I started off being 40 by running. Something I have never really liked doing but I have found it to be a valid and semi-sustainable form of exercise. I have started to actually enjoy it. I ran a 5k. Yeah, you read that right. Get up off the floor and continue reading. If you are concussed… please call 911. Reading my blog while you are in need of medical care is NOT recommended. So anyway… I ran with a goal of “less than 30:00″. I have done that on a treadmill, but not in the elements… not in the wind, the road… with hills and such. I was a bit fearful but I went within. In some of my pre-race shots, I had my game on. I took off and fought my urge to keep up with the guy in front of me. I talked to myself in an inner-secret-ninja way. I just started running at my pace. I kept telling myself “Save it for the trip back”. I got to the turn around in about 14 minutes. I knew that was “hot” … I was going well, but why? I was about to find out. It seems that the way back was much more uphill. I was glad I had some more gas for the return trip. I kept it going, I ran the whole thing and for that I was happy. My time was about 28:48. Keeping in mind that in January I couldn’t run 1 mile, I was pleased, satisfied and happy with my result. Yes, a good job.

The suplementary highlight of the morning for me was trying to keep up with my son for 1 mile. Not an easy task. NOBODY could do it that morning! NOBODY! Derek ran a 1 mile race and WON! It was against older kids, adults, parents, everything…. Derek WON! Great job, Budro Johnson!

Next came the Mexican food. Mexican food is the devil and I danced with the devil! Cha-Cha-Cha! Wow… that was the best plate of food I have had in a while. Incredible. Soccer came next… that was good. Derek’s team lacked that cohesive bond they needed, but they played hard and had fun! Oddly, Max and I went shopping in the afternoon. We shared a cookie, read a book, walked around the shopping center, enjoyed massage chairs and pet a dinosaur. It was fun…

At this point, the unexpected happened. My wife planned a party for me. A surprise party. I could tell something was up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. She disappeared for 4 hours and then FINALLY called while I was quite worried… well, I got to our club house to find tons of people. My parents, my sister and her husband, my in-laws, co-workers, friends from around the neighborhood, people from all over the place. I was a great party. I am getting choked up writing about it. Sarah did tons of stuff and it was all perfect! Yeah, I am 40… but you know what, I packed more into that day than most people do into a weekend. I do that on a regular basis. I am up first, got to bed last, work out 5+ times a week, am in better shape than I was when I was 38 or 39… I play with my kids, I have fun… 40 isn’t so bad…. the alternative sucks, so I will deal with it!

Princess, thank you! I love you! Thank you! To all that came to visit and share that night, I will never forget it! To those that couldn’t make it… that’s okay too! I appreciate the cards, well wishes, IM’s and all that. Tell you what… In 10 years we are gonna party like it’s 1999! You are all invited!

Scott

ps. I love the photo on here… I look really skinny!

How to clean your cell phone – 101

From Phone Washing

So… most people are all about having the infamous iPhone – not me. While I would love one and I think they are the coolest phone on the market, I do not think they are necessarily for me. You see, I have this issue. I wear painter pants. I have some in jean length and I have some in short length. I love them for the pure convenience of the little pocket on the side. It’s great for sticking your cell phone in, if you are working around the house, it holds a tool or two… but see, here is the problem. It’s SO comfortable, you don’t even notice anything is in there. This can be a small problem if your phone is on vibrate, but ultimately I get by… I can almost always find my cell phone … it’s in the side pocket of the last pair of shorts I wore. Sometimes, though… you find your shorts in the washer. Sometimes you find your phone in the side pocket … in the washer. Twice in the past that was the situation. I was able to dry the phone out really good, bake it in the sun for a day or two and it some how came back to life. Not with my Casio gZone! If you look on the left, you will see a photo of a phone that JUST came out of the laundry. Notice the suds? Yeah, it was in there for at least 30 minutes and if you look closely… you will see there are 4 missed calls. That’s me calling my phone trying to find it! Yeah, I bet your cell phone can’t do that! Anybody that wants me to stress test their iPhone, just let me know! Right now, I feel as if I have the right cell phone. Seriously….

Adrenalin and emotion based exercise takes a toll on you!

Adrenalin is a wonderful thing.  Emotion can be a good thing, but when they both get mixed up and you are caught between a rock and a hard place, bad things (or good) can happen to you.  I got a little out of my element this morning.  A lot of it is based on our cat being sick.  Poor little fat fella… I think he will be okay, but its weighing heavily on me.  I wanted a beer… I really did.  I don’t drink beer today.  I can’t.  So… I want pizza.  I always want pizza, but I limit my pizza consumption.  Then other shit all started to explode.  Major stuff like “I forgot my shorts” and “I scratched my car”.  Well, all of that sucks and whatever, but realistically it’s not that big a deal.  Not worth drinking or getting fat over.  Well, maybe a little fat, but you gotta pay your dues sooner or later and I have committed myself to getting into shape.

I got all worked up.  Couldn’t think, ADHD was in overdrive… didn’t have bike shorts, had running short so just like Forest, I started running.  I ran … I ran … I ran… keep in mind, my longest run (ever) is 3.1 miles on a treadmill.  I have no idea how far I ran, but I ran hard up and down hills, in the outdoors really putting a hurting on my fat self.  It was great.  It hurt, I went hard.  I pushed it.  I was like a machine … really more like one of those rollers they make highways with… but I was on it.  I ran at LEAST 3.2 miles, but that doesn’t include a 10 minute excursion into the woods up and down a HUGE hill.  People around here might call it “Mt. Molehill” or something, but it was a lot more than anything I have seen on the treadmill.

Well, I got back to the office and things are going better, so that’s good, but I am here to tell you… I am WORKED!  I mean seriously worked!  I hate to admit this, because people will probably use it against me, but it was really a great workout and I had fun.  I hurt like a dawg… but hey, no pain no gain!  Pass the coffee please!

Sometimes you feel like a nut…

Sometimes you don’t.  That’s kinda how I feel today.  I don’t… I don’t know why but I just feel number obsessed and fat.  I had the best bike ride I have had in a long time yesterday, I rode well, strong… fast, but I gained my typical weekend 2 pounds and now I am all funked out.  I swear, if I could just work for like 200 days straight, I would probably lose 75 pounds and be done.  Then, I would probably get 65 day off and gain 30… but hey, I’d lose some.

I don’t know why I am funked today.  Things are going well, but at work, the biggest loser competition, I only went down .5 this week.  That’s fine, I mean, I am still winning the competition, I will likely win if I keep going, but because I ate too much mexican on friday, I am goofy.

I also started this funky thing at work.  I walk up the stairs to my office.  I work on the 17th floor, but the easiest place to get to the stairs is through the gym.  That makes it 20 floors.  I enjoy it but about 1/2 way up today I realize I am completely insane when it comes to random worthless numbers.  (Yeah, I know, I have confessed to this before).  Do you know how many stairs there are in your building?  (422).  Do you know all of your 22 x tables?  22, 44, 66, 88…  I just worry so much about numbers.  How long did I ride, how far did I ride, how much power did I put out… it’s all numbers.  I have taken great strides to curb my number addiction when it comes to bicycles… I dont ride with a computer and rarely even take a watch.  I have enjoyed that, but who counts stairs?  Who does 30 second speed pyramids on a treadmill? (well, that one is actually a good motivator and I don’t obsess too much about that).

I keep trying to tell myself, don’t worry about your weight, you are working out, you are doing the right thing.  You have worked hard to make the non-numeric lifestyle changes but at the same time, weight is the “measureable” thing in this equation.  It’s crazy and insane but you know, I am trying.  I am the “most fit fat person” I know.  I started this diet with an obese BMI of 38.   I am still “obese”.  How can I be “obsese”, I work out every day.  I rode 40 miles last week… I have to lose 36 more pounds to just be fat.  I mean, the 24 I lost aren’t even 1/2 way there.  Did you see how many numbers I am crashing around in my brain?

Motivation is slipping today, I hope it doesn’t slip more.  Tomorrow is likely to be Sarah’s first lunch ride with me, I am excited about that.  We are going to ride on the Silver Comet.  We have actually been trying to sort this out for a long time, but something always seems to get in the way (Weather, Ride to the Capital, Weather, This, That, The Other Thing).

The good news is that my funks tend to only last about 12 hours!  Hopefully by this time tomorrow (or sooner) I will have my game back!  I did work out good today!  I just need my brain adjusted a bit…. less numerically?

un-Shocking news

So you see… it’s like this:  Track racing is all about speed.  It’s all about going fast typically on well groomed velodrome.  Nice smooth concrete or wood race tracks.  Well, the track here in Atlanta isn’t so much smooth.  As a matter of fact, it’s actually quite rough.  This is causing some “soreness” if you will.  (Yes, this is another post directly related to my anatomy… but we will spare you the details).  In an effort to increase my enjoyment and minimize the discomfort I can experience after a good two hour session at the Dick Lane Velodrome, I have added a special set up to my track bike.  The seat post you see there is actually a white brothers suspension post.  It’s traditionally for a mountain, cross or even road bike.  As a matter of fact, I may be the only freak on earth with a post like that on his track bike.  I am not sure how well I will like it but I will give it a go.  Worst thing that can happen is I hate it and I can take it off as fast (or faster) than I put it on.

In other news, rain is terrorizing the ATL.  Not just rain, rain with insane wind… sometimes called a tornado or something.  Weather is looking a bit better for tomorrow, we will see.

Finally comfortable

The Dick Lane Velodrome (aka the DLV) is probably the bumpiest track in North America.  It’s bumpy, the corners are poorly designed, it’s just not all that great.  Well, last year I suffered… a lot.  I never really felt comfortable on that thing.  I couldn’t get a good line, I couldn’t get a good turn of speed… it just sucked.

A lot has changed, well, at least tonight.  My form is coming around.  I was able to hold my line, use my “track craft” (whatever that is…) and move around the track with confidence.  Some might say “you have doing this long enough”.  I probably have, but this track is a different animal.  I came in fat and slow and never got much faster.  Now, almost 3 months into my new lifestyle, things are starting to pay off.  It felt really good and was a lot of fun.

Yesterday (I could have put this first, but wtf) I did the Georgia Rides to the Capital.  1500ish of my closest friend and I went on a 20 mile bike ride to the capital to show that we (bicyclists) care.  It was fun.  Also… 39 miles!  good stuff!

Where have I been?

Oh sheesh, that’s a tough one to to answer.  I have been all over the place!  I don’t even remember writing anything in a LONG time so let me see… Key points of the recent days.

Well, Sarah was born in a small town @ the top of Tennessee, most people have probably never heard of it.  It’s called Kingsport.  Those of you who follow NASCAR will know where Bristol is… it’s near there.  Well, I got a to hang out with some of Sarah’s old friends, meet with people she grew up with, experience Kingsport and go to perhaps the nicest wedding I have ever been to (outside of mine that was the coolest ever cuz it was marrying my lovely wife and at Disney so I know that the Mouse was watching!).  It was fun.

Five months ago I knew nothing about my job.  Now, I am like… the man or something.  It’s kind of cool, kind of stressful and definitely has some issues.  I am in a support role.  It’s where I do best, but at the same time you have work in bursts.  When things are calm, its boring as hell.  I get caught up on my web surfing, watch youtube and enjoy life.  When the poo gets flying and the fan gets dirty, I get busy.  I have probably worked 60 hours this week on one particular problem including a sleepless night… I didn’t even go to bed.  Well, the good news is I know how to fix the problem, the bad news is it will take a few days and suck.  Eh… these things happen!   Hey, I do still love my job, so that is good!

Anyway, I have been busier than a one legged man at an ass kickin contest, but I am still losing weight, my cold is going away, things are good!  I have some fun photos to post soon…stay tuned!