GREEN DADDY IS ON!!!

After this past year's layoff, I have become a big believer in the multiple streams of income philosophy. My new job is going well but I can tell it may take some time to ramp up. I'm also still doing mortgages by referral and due to rates being down, I have had some good business in January and February. Hopefully this will continue to be a good stream.

For the last few years I have thought about the idea of starting a lawn care business on the side. I never took any steps to doing it until this past December. There is never a great time to start anything that will take up time away from your family, but wife and I talked it over and this Spring, I'm going to give it a shot. This will be a weekend affair and I'm buying into some existing accounts. If I don't like it, then I'm not going to be out much. My goal is to start this business and get it running without any debt. I have enough of that on a personal level and the last thing I need to do is run a business that way. As cash comes in from the business, I'll replace my garage equipment with commercial grade stuff. It's very exciting to think of the possibilities but it is also scary and stressful because I'll be working 7 days a week and not seeing my family as much this summer.

My ultimate goal with my lawn care business is to be the stream of income that gets our family out of debt more quickly. If I can turn this into a full-time gig and hire some crews, then that would be awesome. We'll see...

sick again

I get strep throat at least 4-5 times per year. On Thursday night I started feeling that old familiar sting in my throat. I went to the doctor early Friday morning to verify that I did indeed have strep. So I'm now on medication and hopefully it won't last too long. The good news about being so familiar with it is that I detect it early before the flu symptoms kick in. I end up having a sore throat for a couple of days. This may slow down the training a little this week. I'm going to try and do my long run tomorrow but we'll see how I feel.

day 18

Today's scheduled run was 3.5 miles. I overslept a little this morning so I only had time for 3 miles. Again, I've hit my block and can't seem to run all the way. It seems that after 3 songs, my body quits and wants to walk. I'm hoping that Sunday's run will have different results...

day 17

For the last 2 days we have been socked in with bad icy weather. I did not make it to the gym on Monday or Tuesday. I did however today at around 5:30PM. Today's schedule was a 2 mile run or cross training. I decided to do 30 minutes of the elliptical. It was a good workout and tomorrow brings another long run.

day 14

Well today was the hated Sunday long run. I was scheduled for 4 miles. I ran over 2 and walked up to lap 13. My left leg was throbbing so I quit the treadmill and went to the elliptical. I did a mile there to wrap up the workout. All in all, it was painful. I did get new shoes so hopefully after they are broken in, it will help with some of the pain.

Day 11

woke up at 5:07 to get ready to be at the gym before 6. I ran/walked 3 miles again and my left shin started hurting again. The good news is that it doesn't hurt as bad as it did on Tuesday so I think it's getting used to the abuse. I'm going to get new shoes this weekend and that should help with the pain.

Day 9

Well, today's workout was the first 'run' of the week. I was supposed to do strength/stretch stuff yesterday but decided to play golf instead. It was windy and my game stunk...that's another story.

Today's run was some of the worst pain I have ever felt. I am developing shin splints in both legs so every step is like a knife digging deeper and deeper. I have been limping all day long.

Tomorrow I'm going with the elliptical so there won't be any impact.

Day 7 Sunday

Holy Balls!!

Today's scheduled run was 4 miles. I went to the gym around 9 and realized it was closed (doesn't open until later on Sunday's). So I decided to go to a park that has a track broken up in 1/8 mile segments. It was about 43 degrees and a little windy. They say it's harder to run outside vs. a treadmill and they are right. I ended up running about 3 miles and walking one. I have since had Advil for breakfast...

It was nice during mile 2 when I started focusing on the music I was listening to (mostly Christian)and the positive messages. It was easier to run when I stopped dwelling on my pain and being out of shape to enjoying the outside, praising God and thanking Him for my blessings. This lasted until my side began to split and it felt like the gates of Hell were bursting through my entire body due to pain. Oh well, hopefully it will get easier.

day 4 training

holy BEEP!!
I was scheduled to stretch/strength training and then run 3 miles. Remind you that I'm 'a' shape...not in shape. So naturally, it hurt and hurt badly. I picked 4 machines (bench, curls, lat pull down thingy, and a sit up machine) and did 3 sets on each. I then ran and walked 3 miles. It hurts but slowly I think it will get easier.

day 3 training

Was supposed to do 2 miles of cross training (bike or elliptical). Didn't make it to the gym due to wrestling with some mortgage business. Will make up on Friday which is supposed to be a day off.

half marathon training

Day 1...didn't do anything

Day 2...scheduled to run 3 miles...ran 2 and walked 1. hurts like hell.